Cinnamon Swirl in QUILTS & MORE (Fall 2017) & More…

Hello Friends, I hope you are well!  I am noticing it’s a bit chillier in the mornings these days, which means summer is quickly fleeting away — giving rise to everything good that is associated to cinnamon!  Though I am a winter wimp, one thing I do like about the colder weather is that cinnamon gets to shine in all the bake goods etc.

I am so happy my quilt Cinnamon Swirl is being featured in the Fall 2017 issue of Quilts and More!

Used with permission from Quilts and More™ magazine. ©2017 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

Cinnamon Swirl uses Autumn Air fabrics from RJR Fabrics.  These fabrics are absolutely gorgeous.  Take a look at the fabrics in the group here.  You know I almost never design anything too complicated to make…. the blocks are basically 9-patch blocks, elongated and sashed within the blocks!  The pinwheels sashing blocks add to the visual effect, and the overall layout gives an Argyle impression.  The construction went really fast even for a “snail-paced” piecer like myself. :)

Used with permission from Quilts and More™ magazine. ©2017 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

So… curious mind wants to know if you are excited about fall/autumn…. TELL ME!

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I am also happy to announce the winner of my Sparkle FQ Bundle Giveaway.  I had used the fabrics to make a Christmas pillow a couple of Saturdays ago.  Congrats to Janie — I have emailed you separately, if you could email me your shipping address, I will get the FQ bundle out to you!

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And a quick update on “Help Me De-Stash” project…. THANK YOU ALL for the very overwhelming responses!  I have almost shipped out my first 20 boxes!  The upside of that is I am finally able to see the floor of my family room. I will work on the boxes on my first waiting list.  I had hoped to write those on the first waiting list yesterday, but that didn’t happen.  I am running late this week — Miss Baby’s camp and other work-related deadlines.  But please don’t give up on me.  I hope to write those who made it to the waiting list by this weekend!

My de-stashing effort has been a good one.  Even with the fabrics I am keeping, Miss Baby walked into my sewing room a few nights ago, and commented, “Mom, seriously, who is going to use up all these fabrics?” — she did a sweeping motion with her hands!  I have officially nominated her to be my “conscience” for all things sewing!

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Thanks for stopping by, Friends!  I hope you have a lovely rest of your day!  I need to get going — I have pattern writing to do for more than 10 patterns!  Yikes!!!

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FREE PATTERN: Pumpkin Patch

Hello Friends, I seriously felt like this week has flown by.  I was shocked when my husband informed me it’s Friday today!!!  I got quite a bit done this week, but felt like I didn’t get enough done.  So, I probably would have an all-nighter or two in my near future just to get everything caught up.  But that’s alright.  I like getting things checked off my list. :)  I wonder how many of you out there are list-makers?

To end our week of chatting, I thought I would share with you another free pattern called “Pumpkin Patch.”  This pattern is design using Benartex‘s Autumn Fauna line, to be released very soon.  Watch for these fabrics – they are yummy!  I was working toward an autumn quilt that feels a little more contemporary.  The use of white in the quilt also gives an airy feel.

I know autumn seems a long way for us in the northern Hemisphere, but I thought this design might delight my southern Hemisphere friends! :)  Click here to download the pattern.

With that, I shall say adios for now!  I will catch up with you later!  Hugs.

FRIENDLY WARNING: Just in case you are making…

my Warm Blessings quilt … there is a slight boo boo in the quilt assembly diagram in the magazine.  This is what you will see in the magazine.  See how the brown patches in the 9-patch block centers are all going in the same direction?

That’s not the case in my original design with which I made the quilt.  The difference is subtle, and probably won’t matter much.  But I felt like it is my responsibility to share the information with you in case you are wanting your quilt to look EXACTLY like mine.  I also feel the braided effect is a little more prominent with the brown patches oriented differently from block to block.

Please know that I am not mad at the editorial staff  of the magazine because I think they consistently do a good job.  Sometimes things happen.  The difference was indeed subtle.   Thus the friendly warning. ;)

I want to also take the opportunity to thank you for your super kind and sweet comments on the quilt.  Have a blessed rest of the day.

UPDATE 1/28/2013:  CLICK HERE FOR REVISIONS ISSUE BY QUILTER’S WORLD.

Mums the Word in THE QUILTER (October/November 2011)

Hello Friends! I hope my post finds you well. I received my Mums the Word quilt back from the Editor. The quilt is featured in the latest (October/November 2011) issue of The Quilter.

Photo as appeared in The Quilter

The construction of this quilt is quite straight forward – only squares and rectangles, even though some of the squares are as little as 1/2″ finished. I wanted a panel look for the quilt to highlight the beautiful fabrics in the beautiful Northcott‘s Mums the Word collection.

The fabrics in this collection are accented by metallic gold specks . [My Canadian readers, you ought to be so proud of Northcott being a Canadian company!]

I quilted a mixture of feathers and stencil motifs on this quilt. Where the panel blocks are geometric and regular, I traced stencil motifs onto the blocks before quilting.

I then quilted feathers in the larger blocks and rectangular areas.  I used a modified mark without really marking method to quilt the feathers in the large  blocks to achieve a uniform look.   Except for marking rough placements of the spines of the remaining feather plumes, everything else was free-handed.

In fact you can see on the back better what I meant by my mixture of stenciled motifs and feathers. Quilting was done with Aurifil Mako 50 Cotton (Color 2310) over Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting.

Mums the Word is the last of a series of fall-themed quilts I made/designed for publish. Should you be interested to see my other fall quilts this year, check out the following links:

1. Pumpkin Patch Runner

2. Thanksgiving Table Topper

3. Autumn Hues

4. Autumn Place Mats (with Pumpkin Silhouette Applique)

5. Tuscan Leaves

6. Spice Garden

Thanks for stopping by!  Have a glorious autumn day!
p.s.  I have more pictures to share — stay tuned

Pumpkin Patch Table Runner in House of White Birches’ LOG CABINS TODAY

Pumpkin Patch is the last of my four projects featured in Log Cabins Today, published by House of White Birches. [Just to clarify, Log Cabins Today is a book available for purchase that is published by House of White Birches. The book features 32 projects with complete patterns and instructions. I have received emails expressing confusion on the matter. I do apologize if I hadn’t expressed myself clearly in my previous Log Cabins Today posts. Click here to order your copy of the book.]

Pumpkin blocks made of modified log cabin blocks come in three sizes in this table runner project. The rail fence blocks are added and placed at a convenient spot on the runner for you to place your knick knacks etc so as to not prevent the pumpkin blocks from showing off!

Quilting is a mixture of free-handed and modified stencil motifs.

I used a variegated fall colored thread (Aurifil Mako Cotton 50) to quilt the runner over Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting. Fabrics consist of swatches from Everything but the Kitchen Sink, Crazy for Dots and Stripes, Jinny Beyer Palette and Pindot collections, all by RJR.

I hereby conclude my Log Cabins Today posts. I hope you have enjoyed looking at my interpretations of the log cabins for the modern and fun quilters. Now, curious mind wants to know if you have a favorite out of the four I have shown you this week. To view previous Log Cabins Today quilts, click here, here, and here. If you would be so kind, I would also like to know the reason for your favorite.

That’s all for now. Thanks for stopping by. I have a busy rest of the week waiting for me. So I am going to fly for now. Take care!

Bloggers Quilt Festival: Scattered Leaves

In keeping with the fall season, I thought I would show my Scattered Leaves in Amy’s Fall Bloggers Quilt Festival this year. My Scattered Leaves quilt is special to me because it was selected to be the cover quilt of The Quilter‘s November 2010 issue. My regular readers are probably sick of me showing this quilt (sorry!), but I thought the new visitors might like seeing it…

Fall is a favorite season in my household. So I jumped at the opportunity to work with RJR‘s Autumn into Winter fabric collection. I used just about all the fabrics in that collection to achieve a scrappy look even though the fabrics are from the same collection.

The blocks are the popular maple leaf block, with a “signature” twist. Instead of stitching and commemorating names of people, I hand stitched popular food items we enjoy in the cold months of the year on each block.

Quilting was done free-motion on my domestic machine. I quilt all my quilts on my Bernina 640E.

I used Aurifil Mako 50 threads of different colors to match the main color of each block for quilting.  Using Hobbs’ Tuscany Silk Batt makes my quilt soft and cuddly.

This quilt will be treasured in our household because it will memorialize the comfort of food in our family for many many years to come.

Thank you for stopping by.  I hope you have enjoyed the Bloggers Quilt Festival.  Should you feel like viewing more fall quilts I have made this year, here are the links: Fruit of the Vine, Cascade of Leaves.  You may also click here for my Japanese Fruit Pie recipe – a favorite at our house.

Have a blessed and fantastic autumn!

Cascade of Leaves in QUILTER’S WORLD (October 2010)

Hello Friends, it’s great to have you visit again! My Cascade of Leaves quilt is officially featured in Quilter’s World‘s October 2010 issue!

You may remember these fabrics from months ago:

These fabrics from Benartex‘s Silk Road Collection turned into this quilt:

I loved working with these fabrics because they give the interpretation of fall colors a rather exotic look:

Here are some close-ups of the leaves. I can see these leaves by themselves on a throw pillow. I might have to make some to go with the quilt.

The overall feather quilting is comprised of machine embroidered feathers (stitched with Isacord machine embroidery thread), and free-motion quilted filler feathers (stitched with YLI Silk 100 thread) :

Again, I used Hobbs‘ Tuscany Wool Batt for the batting. It made my quilt lay nice and cuddly and soft despite being densely quilted:

Thanks for stopping by.  I wish you a lovely fall season!

“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” – Genesis 8:22

Scattered Leaves in THE QUILTER (October/November 2010)

I somehow see my Scattered Leaves quilt (featured as cover quilt in The Quilter‘s October/November 2010 issue) in an outdoor setting. So, despite our crazy schedule, we managed to load everyone and the quilt up and went to the park...

You can see my little photography stylist being hard at work, making sure that my quilt was draped just right.

I had shipped this quilt by Express Mail to the editor because of a photoshoot deadline. Well, my quilt was mis-delivered and as a result missed the photoshoot. One of the editorial staff ended up having to drive the quilt to the photographer’s house to get him to photograph it for the October/November lineup.

[Picture from http://www.thequiltermag.com]

I was touched to hear about the behind-the-scenes dedication of the staff at The Quilter. I am now even more appreciative of the editorial staff with whom I have the absolute privilege and honor to work.

I have stitched on the blocks some favorite food items the Ivory Spring household enjoys during the Holiday Season to go with the “Autumn into Winter” fabric collection name. [Click here for more ideas on personalizing your quilt blocks.] I used one strand of DMC embroidery floss stitching with tiny stitches (about the size of a single weave on the fabric). The tiny stitches make the cursive words flow much more smoothly.

You can see that pumpkin is a big deal in the Ivory Spring household. I am interested to know what your favorite pumpkin anything recipe is for the fall/winter season:

The quilt was made with fabrics from RJR‘s Autumn into Winter collection. I used almost all the fabrics in this collection for this quilt to give it a scrappy look.

Scattered Leaves was quilted using my domestic machine with Aurifil‘s Mako Cotton 50 threads of different color to match the different fabrics over Hobbs‘ Tuscany Silk batt – absolutely bliss, I tell ya!

Kits for the quilt are available from Quaker Town Quilts.

Ellen (no blog) left this comment on a previous post about my Scattered Leaves quilt that just leaves me feeling warm and fuzzy. I am all about heirloom. To hear that someone is graciously including me in her family’s tradition just made my day. Thank you, Ellen.

“I am definitely going to make the commemorative quilt, Scattered Leaves, for Thanksgiving. Our family traditionally feast together. Because it’s your design, you’re going to be part of our family for years to come. Thank you, Wendy. ” ~Ellen

I will share some of the recipes on this blog in a few weeks when the weather gets colder. Meanwhile, I am going back to work. I am currently working on a SUPER sweet project. I can’t wait to show you some preview pictures.

“When this you see…

…please remember me” is a saying seen on some antique samplers invoking the loving memory of the stitcher who lovingly stitched a piece of needlework and gifted that work to someone special. It is officially OFFICIAL this week! The Quilter’s November 2010 issue hits the newsstands tomorrow on the 14th. Think of me when you see copies of this magazine displayed at the stores, would you? :)

To date, having a cover quilt is the biggest tribute I could give to my quilting teacher Barbara. Without her encouragement from day one, I would not even dream of doing what I do in this season of my life. So, in my mind, she is right there on the cover too.

RJR Fabric Company, Aurifil and Hobbs also made the cover. The quilt was made using RJR’s Autumn into Winter fabric, quilted over Hobb’s Tuscany silk batt with Aurifil’s Mako 50 Cotton threads. Thanks a gabazillion to these wonderful companies for making quality products that make me sing with delight! A special recognition goes to Rogers Sewing Center – my sewing mother ship. I have met the most wonderful people there.

Many many thanks to my friends (including you, my bloggy friends) and family (my sister is officially my biggest fan) who have encouraged me. Your encouragement has helped propel me along in this quilting journey. THANKS to those who write me emails and comment on my blog late in the night. Hearing from you while I am burning the midnight oil helps me stay awake. And believe me, I have had quite a few of those oil-burning nights in the last couple of months.

Kudos to the editorial staff at The Quilter. They are wonderful to work with, AND they always do a great job putting out their magazines.

[Picture from http://www.thequiltermag.com]

My greatest thanks to my Creator and Redeemer who has made everything beautiful in his time (Ecclesiastes 3:11a), and for making the autumn season simply GLORIOUS with the colors depicted in my “Scattered Leaves” quilt!

I will have more pictures of the quilt to show you tomorrow. Remember to come back, k? I’ve gotta run! See you later.

Secret revealed!

I made the cover ! Well, not me exactly, but my quilt did – in the October/November 2010 issue of The Quilter!!!

I have known about this little tidbit for a couple of weeks, but I wanted to let The Quilter break the news first before I announce it on my blog. I have studied this cover over and over again, and still having a hard time believing my quilt actually made the cover quilt. It just seems so unreal to me.

[Picture from The Quilter’s Facebook page]

You can be totally honest… do you like this cover? What do you like and dislike about it? I am anxious to read your thoughts. Meanwhile, I should get off the fluffy clouds on which I have been walking, and get back to work – don’t you think? I will show more of the quilt when the magazine officially comes out. Thanks for stopping by. I appreciate your visits, as always.

My quilt in Quilter’s World (October 2009)

Believe it or not, it was but a few days ago I received my October 2009 copy of “Quilter’s World“, along with my quilt featured in the issue:

May I present to you “Baskets Full of Apples”?

Baskets Full of Apples is the first fall themed quilt I made. For some reason, I always end up making springy quilts. So, I hope Baskets Full of Apples marks future fall quilt opportunities for me!

I attempted to add a little more interest to the border, and am pleased with the result:

The quilting is done over a polyester batt simply because I had never used a polyester batt prior to the quilt, and wanted to do a little experimenting! I used to work in research at a wind tunnel. So, sometimes, I am simply overcome with the need to experiment and try something new just to see what happens.

The quilting was done free-hand, with no prior marking:

Fall is quickly upon us who live in the Northern Hemisphere. My mind has drifted to pecan pies, apple crisps, chili…. mmmmm!

Thank you for popping by. I always appreciate your visit as always. Please leave me a comment so that I can visit you back. Have a great day!

A parting note: Quilt kits are available from Pine Tree Country Quilts. Quilt was made with “An Apple A Day” fabrics by Benartex.