Quilt Posse Meet-Up

Last week I flew to Nashville, TN, was picked up and hosted by my friend Kathy P., and met some amazing Quilt Posse guild members in the Clarksville, TN area. On Thursday night I gave my “Cutting Up” lecture with lots of props detailing innovative cutting/sewing methods. Then, Friday afternoon I presented a “Charmville” workshop. I was so impressed with the creativity of the ladies in attendance. Here are some pictures of the progress attained in our afternoon together.

Can you tell that Trish favors Amish fabrics and quilts? (I was surprised to learn that there are many Amish farms in the Trenton, Pembroke and Hopkinsville areas.)

For her mini quilt of 12 houses, Alycia selected fabrics relevant to each month of the year, whether in color or motif. Here we have January, February, and March.

Can you imagine fussy cutting all these 1 1/2″ Halloween themed squares? What a cute seasonal quilt this will be!

Kathy likes to make souvenir quilts of her travels. She referred to a photograph of San Gimignano, Italy as she constructed her design.

Linda used Hawaiian fabrics including the perfect Hawaiian sunset background fabric.

Isn’t this a fabulous use of a gradated blue background fabric? Light blue for the top row, working to dark blue for the bottom row.

And here’s Sally, who is including a tree in her quilt even though she “hates” green. As a surprise, Sally brought her Holiday Mystery Quilt to show me. She followed the clues for my design as presented on The Quilting Company blog. Awesome!

   

Many more imaginative variations of “Charmville” are underway by the Quilt Posse guild!

Moving on to Saturday . . . the workshop participants worked on making blocks for “Linked.” Here’s a conglomerate of the various colorways. I can’t wait to see pictures of their completed quilts!

If your quilt group or guild is looking for a speaker or workshop presenter, I have dates available in 2019 and 2020. Contact me at aby.quilts@gmail.com.

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“Nappy Nap” Follow-on

Thanks for your kind comments regarding the publication of my quick and easy flannel baby quilt, “Nappy Nap,” in the January/February issue of Pre-cut Patchwork.

Here’s a freebie for you to check out. The January 10 blog post by The Quilting Company contained instructions for making a flannel burp cloth to coordinate with the baby quilt. Click here to see!

The “Soft Touch” burp cloth is the first in the new column series, “Loving Your Leftovers.” I designed six projects that utilize pre-cut scraps; one will be pictured and patterned in each issue of Pre-cut Patchwork in 2019! Look for this bi-monthly publication on your favorite newsstand.

The quilt design looks equally charming in a feminine colorway. These fabrics are from “Flower Mill” designed by Corey Yoder. Just look what you can make with 5 fat quarters plus yardage for borders!

Would you like to try this fat quarter friendly design or one of the other delightful projects patterned in this issue of Pre-cut Patchwork? Leave a comment below to be in the drawing for a free magazine. The drawing will be on January 20.

 

“Nappy Nap” Published!

Great news, my baby quilt, made with flannel fat quarters, was published in the Jan/Feb 2019 issue of Pre-cut Patchwork. Aren’t the polar bears and penguins adorable? The fabric line is “Below Zero” by Northcott. What do you think of the border made with two different prints?

As a bonus, my instructions for a coordinating burp cloth embellished with rickrack follow the pattern for the baby quilt.

You are going to love the entire issue of Pre-cut Patchwork. And I hope you’ll try “Nappy Nap” when you next make a baby quilt.

Blog Readers Share Gifts From the 4th Quarter Challenge

Our 4th quarter challenge was finishing gifts. Sometimes, when the busyness of the holidays hit, our best intentions of making gifts get pushed aside. The goal of the blog challenge was to keep you and me motivated and enthusiastic about finishing what we determined to make for friends and family.

Liz, who works at a school, sent a picture of a Cat in the Hat wall quilt she made for a Secret Santa exchange. The recipient is a learning consultant and loves Dr. Seuss and that mischievous Cat.

Marcia made table toppers for one of her daughters and a daughter-in-law. She followed my tree pattern which was on the cover of the Nov/Dec 2018 issue of Quilty magazine. Marcia enjoyed the project, saying the table toppers were “a lot of fun to put together.”

   

Maridee sent a picture of a “Gone Fishing” quilt she made for a friend’s baby boy. The pattern was designed by Annette Ornales and features her signature peeled back patchwork.

And now we’ve entered a new year – 2019, and I need suggestions for our challenge. Many of you were enthusiastic about completing UFOs during the 1st quarter of 2018; we worked at cutting our scraps into usable sizes in the 2nd quarter; 3rd quarter we worked  on current projects; and in the 4th quarter we focused on making gifts.

What would be fun? A Quilt Along, a Block Exchange, a Block of the Month?

What do you need motivational encouragement for? Completing a large project, learning a new skill, organizing your sewing space?

Please leave your suggestions in the Comment section below!

“Raspberry Stars”

This vibrant quilt, made mostly with batiks, is a sample for my class at Sew There! Quilts and More in Angier, NC. The class dates are February 5 and 12, and there are still slots open for the evening class. If this 41″ square quilt appeals to you and you live locally, call Bonnie to sign up, 919-331-2499.

Using the Creative Grids “Cat’s Cradle” trim-up rulers designed by Deb Heatherly made constructing this quilt a snap! This was my first experience using these rulers, and I wholeheartedly endorse them. Instructions are given for making the units over-sized, and patch dimensions for multiple sizes are printed on the rulers. The photos below show the two ruler placement positions for trimming up the units.

    

Each ruler comes with written instructions, and I found this on-line video tutorial helpful in understanding how to use them.

Because my background fabric was light gray, I used a light gray polyester thread to quilt freehand spirals over all. (Click the picture to zoom in.) I bound the quilt with the same paisley print as the outer border. This quilt makes a bold impact as a wall hanging, and it is the perfect size for baby’s crib.

Intrigued and want some practice in using the “Cat’s Cradle” rulers? Sign up for my “Raspberry Stars” class!

4th Quarter Challenge Wrap-Up

The fourth quarter of 2018 has come to a close, and, with it, our fourth quarter challenge finds closure. The challenge for this quarter was completing gifts for friends and family. The two gifts I determined to complete were placemats for my dad and step-mom and the Christmas tree skirt for my friend.

   

It feels great to have achieved my goal and to have made something beautiful for family members as well as a friend!

Marni sent a picture of her rendition of “Night Lights,” my wall quilt design that was published in the December/January 2019 issue of McCall’s Quick Quilts. She enlarged the quilt to 103″ x 103.” King size! It was a wedding gift for her son and his wife. Due to time constraints, she tied (rather than quilted) the quilt – the wedding was at the end of December. What a great, time-saving idea – enlarge a favorite quilt block to giant size for a bold, one block quilt! Thanks for sharing a picture of your quilted gift, Marni.

I wonder if you have pictures of your completed gift projects to share with blog readers? If so, please send them to me: aby.quilts@gmail.com.

A New Neighborhood

New houses with landscaping are sprouting up on my design wall! I’m making a “biggie sized” “Charmville” as a workshop sample. The original “Charmville” was published in the Feb/Mar 2014 issue of McCall’s Quick Quilts, You can see all the blog posts, including a quilt along, by typing “Charmville” in the search box at the upper right corner of your computer screen.

The houses in this new neighborhood are based on 2 1/2″ squares and the trees are up-sized accordingly. I’ll be teaching a workshop for both sizes of “Charmville” in the Trenton, KY area on Friday, January 11 from 1-5 p.m. If you live in the area and would like to attend, leave a comment below. There are still a few participant slots available; I’ll contact you with more information.

Other opportunities to meet up in person in the Clarksville, TN area:  “Cutting Up” lecture on Thursday, January 10 at 6 p.m. at the Methodist Church on Madison St.  “Linked” quilt workshop on Saturday, January 12, beginning at 10 a.m. (Trenton, KY area), participant slots still available.

“Linked” quilt