When packing for my teaching trip to Vermont Quilt Festival last week, I flipped through my demonstration notebook to make sure everything was in order. Look what I found in there - a stash of basket blocks and parts for more baskets. I guess I could have made my little quilt a bit bigger. Now I have some starter blocks for another project. Go me!
Wordless Wednesday - La Passacaglia
Unconventional and Unexpected
I seem to be in a finish and clean up mode and that led to prepping this king size quilt for quilting.
A friend's sewing clean out and purge unearthed this fabulous large scale vintage print. Can you believe? It's PERFECT for the back of this quilt.
The large flower print is wide enough that two strip of it will cover the width of the quilt. It lacks about 8 inches to make two full height strips. Whooop! I'm over the moon thrilled to be adding this quilt to the pile ready for basting and quilting. I hope to get it quilted this summer.
Last Minute Hoodie
With one full day before she had to leave for music camp Miss P decided she wanted to make herself a hoodie. She searched the web for a pattern, printed it out and got right to work.
We decided to take the project to the studio where there is air conditioning and fewer distractions. She worked on her hoodie and I build a back for that king size quilt on the floor and then did a little hand stitching.
I have to say this is the fastest she has ever completed a garment for herself. And of course she had to include a pocket because we all know there are never enough pockets on clothing for girls and women.
I hope she has a great week at camp!
Entomologie
Have you seen Betz White's new Entomologie fabric? She sent me some small pieces to add to my La Passacaglia quilt and I am smitten. I especially love that bug and butterfly print. I love that it's a print of some of her felt embroidery; and those bugs and butterflies are the perfect size for fussy cutting.
I ordered some yardage of that one and you can too! Here's a link to pre-order directly from Betz. I am eager to cut all of these prints and add them to my fussy cut quilt. Those supporting fabrics also go with all my others in this quilt. It's like she made the whole collection of fabric just for me to add to my quilt!
The pre-order ends on June 22 so act fast.
Sashing with Pinwheel Cornerstones
I worked this week to get all 49 of these blocks sashed. I sewed sashing strips to the top and side of each block.
This will make the next step of putting the quilt top together a lot easier.
I'm really happy with how it's looking so far.
Nocturne Mini
Here's the second mini from Nocturne blocks. I still have to quilt and bind it but wanted to share it now.
I was a bit more methodical in making this one. I chose one fabric for all of the block centers. I then chose 25 different colors for the rest of the blocks. From each fabric I cut four rectangles for the cross bars, and four squares that were then free cut to make background and blade pieces. I mixed and matched these pieces to build all of the blocks.
This process assures that each fabric is used in each of the three places in a block. I also mixed them up so that they were not paired with the same fabrics.
I thoroughly enjoyed making this little mini.
Quilting Feathers and a Design Wall Reboot
School is almost out for the summer and I am working to finish a few projects. I've had this top ready to quilt for months. I want to get it finished so I can take it on my teaching gigs this summer.
I have a few exciting teaching events coming up. Here's a list of my travel events for the rest of the year. Will I be teaching near you?
June 21-24 Vermont Quilt Festival
July 14-15 Chicago Modern Quilt Guild, Chicago, IL
July 27-28 Bloomington Normal MQG, IL
August 28-29 Common Thread Quilt Guild, Columbus, OH
October 4-6 Northern Lights Machine Quilting Guild, Duluth, MN
October 22-23 - Big Red Quilters, Holland, MI
November 1-4 Stitches XRX, Pasadena, CA
Today I also sewed together the second set of Nocturne blocks and also cut sashing strips and started putting together the postage stamp quilt that's been on my design wall all spring. I am eager for a fresh start at the design wall.
Mini Quilt Swap
My mini quilt for our guild swap with the Chicago Modern Quilt Guild is ready to go!
This bright mural is painted in the alley next to my studio in town. The colors were perfect for a photo shoot of this little quilt.
This was such a fun quilt to make and I LOVE the bright colors. This is a study in value placement. The only constant is the mustard that is used in the block centers and the binding.
I hope my swap partner likes it!
Finished size 14.5'' by 14.5''.
The Magic Forest
I just received Gwen Marston's latest book, The Magic Forest, in the mail. The book really is a magic forest of quilts.
Like her book, 37 Sketches, this book is a work of art. Each spread of the 65 page book consists of a single photo of a tree quilt paired with complementary poetry.
The quilts are made in a variety of styles.
I was pleasantly surprised to see a poem by my friend, and quilter, Ronnie Alff.
The photography, by Frank Solle, a Beaver Island photographer, is beautiful. You can see every quilting stitch.
A trip through this magic forest has me eager to cut into my fabric to start my own landscape of plant and tree quilts.
If you would like your own copy, email Gwen at: gwenjoymarston(at)gmail(dot)com. She is selling them for $32 plus $4 shipping. The book, a very limited edition, is self published and will not be reprinted. Gwen says she only has a handful left so act fast.
The only brick and mortar shop that is selling them is Quilted Strait in Port Gamble Washington.
Edit to add, Gwen has sold out of her copies of the book. The books are now only available through Quilted Strait.
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