One Quilt, One Day, Start to Finish

Yesterday I made this quilt:

OK, so it is only 11" x 13" but it's finished!

The backstory:

Our guild, the Heritage Quilters of Huntsville, is having a little contest this year:

1. Check a book out from our large library
2. Make a quilt from the book
3. Bring the quilt to a guild meeting
4. Fill out a slip
5. At the end of the guild year, August, two people will win $50 gift certificates to my favorite shop, Patches & Stitches .

I had known about this for a few months with no plans to participate. At the last guild meeting, Thursday, the Librarian made a pitch for this because, more than half way through the year, there was only ONE participant, the Librarian herself.

So the next day I was in Patches on other business and since our library is housed there, I checked out this book, Little Handfuls of Scraps  by Edyta Sitar:

That night I looked all through the book--there are several designs I really like in it. I selected the one I wanted to make, Sophie, page 66.

The next day, yesterday, I was ready to begin about 11 a.m. I selected all the fabrics from a shoebox full of reproduction prints I keep close at hand. All the pieces were cut out and assembled on a flannel board I use to take blocks ready to sew from the cutting table to the  machine:

I sewed and  pressed, took a short lunch break, sewed and pressed some more and  had the top done pretty quickly. I cut the batting and backing to size, ready for quilting.

My plan was to hand-quilt it as I needed a hand project for evening sewing. But first I would stitch-in-the-ditch on the Bernina Q20 sit-down longarm machine. That didn't take long so I thought, I'll just machine quilt the entire thing. That didn't take long either, less than 45 minutes to fill the squares with "orange peel" designs, using curved rulers.

Next, it was time to trim it, cut and create the binding, cut and create the hanging sleeve, and attach the binding and sleeve by machine.  By 3 p.m. it was done. Last evening I hand-stitched the binding and sleeve in place and this morning I hung it in the hallway.

So, one quilt, one day. I sent an email to the Librarian to let her know her pitch was heard by at least one of us. She was happy. Next month I'll take it to show and put my name in the hat.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Upcoming Classes

It is almost September when class schedules at local quilt shops ramp back up. I have several new classes and several "back by popular demand" classes to offer this Fall locally.

At Patches & Stitches in addition to two sessions of my long-running Quiltmaking 101 5 week Beginners class, I am teaching:

Super Southern Star:  my "go-to" gift quilt because I can make the top in a weekend. In this all-day class students finish about a third of the top and know how to complete it. Many love it and make more than one. From Calico Carriage Quilt Designs:

About 76" square

Little Handful of Scraps: a variation of a quilt from Edyta Sitar's book. Emphasis on careful piecing and design work will be the focus:

About 12" x 14" 

Creative Log Cabin: who doesn't love a Log Cabin quilt? I've made several with different techniques and rulers. At Quilt Market this Spring I saw a demo on the Creative Grids 8" Trim Tool for Log Cabin blocks and wanted to try it. It worked well, everyone will get perfect blocks:

About 58" square

Another local store I will be teaching at is Huntsville Sew and Vac.

Long Time Gone: a very popular Jen Kingwell pattern. This six month class will meet for 3 hours once a month. No sewing machines are needed in class. Students will bring their book and fabrics and cutting tools. I will demo the steps for the various blocks we'll be making that month and they can get help with fabric selection and cut their blocks out in class, sewing at home. At the last class we will audition various sashing fabrics to select the best.

Spellbound: a pattern from Calico Carriage Quilt Designs, this quilt uses your choice of two Jelly Rolls, both the same, one background and one fat quarter for the center. A great quilt to practice free motion quilting on when it's done:

Flip N Sew Throw: such an easy quilt that makes a fast gift. Start with a back fabric, add a cotton batt, cut a bunch of strips or use a Jelly roll and piece and quilt at the same time, through all layers, 3 hour class:

37" x 41", using a crib size batt

Mug Rugs: another 3 hour class for making fast quilted gifts. Enlarge the batt and back to make placemats:

If you are local, I hope you find something of interest. Sign up soon, spots fill quickly and we want to have all the supplies you will need on hand when class begins.

If you are not local, I have added my Teaching Calendar to the top bar so you can see where I will be. I would love to see you in class.

Let's Quilt! 

Barbara 

Two Wonderful New Books!

What a treat--while I was gone two new books appeared at my house.

First,

500 Traditional Quilts, Juried by Karey Patterson Bresenhan.  A stunning collection of amazing quilts!  Some are familiar because they've won major prizes in international competition.  Some are very recently made, some more than 20 years old.  Some are clearly traditional, some you really have to look to see the traditional connection.  Some were made by quilters with international reputations, some are just us plain folk, making quilts for our family and friends and because it's our passion.  I am so humbled to be included in this company of quiltmakers! 

As if you didn't already have enough reasons to attend the International Quilt Festival in Houston this fall, the 40th anniversary show, many of these quilts will be on exhibit there.  What a special treat to see these "in the cloth"!  If you are interested in quiltmaking today, you will want this book.  I spent an hour just slowly turning every page--so much to see and admire. 

Second,

Handfuls of Scraps, Pieced into Amazing Quilts, the latest book just out by Edyta Sitar.  I spoke with her at Spring Market in Pittsburgh and was thrilled that she sent me her book.  It includes photos of 36 antique quilts and has 15 scrappy quilt patterns.  Here are a few of my favorites:

While I own more than a few books and it's probably time to declutter the shelves a little, these two  are real keepers and ones I will refer to frequently when I want inspiration for what's next. 

I hope you will look for these and see if you, too, have to add them to your library.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara