HOMEWARD BOUND -- MONTH 3

 This quilt is the 2023 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show. It was designed by Sarah Fielke exclusively for The Quilt Show and is only available at The Quilt Show. The best news is it's FREE for Star Members of The Quilt Show. Each month in 2023 a new part of the quilt is released for download to Star Members. 

This month we continue with the 116 circles, in 5 different sizes, that make the Hollyhock blocks:

In Month 2 we got the circle sizes for all of them. The Fabric Requirements pages show all the fabrics used in each month. A lot of people making this quilt around the world have already added ALL the circles so all they have to do in Month 3 is add the small leaves in each of the four Hollyhock blocks.

BE SURE you watch the Month 3 Video before you begin. It is a great video on how to do beautiful needle turn hand applique. And several good tips for using pins and glue and thread.

A word of WARNING about those leaves! The pattern says to use photos of the quilt, like the one above, to see where to place the leaves. 

BEWARE: the Coneflower petals we will work on in Month 4 stick out farther into the Hollyhock blocks than you think. 

I thought I spaced the leaves out far enough but I didn't and had to remove and reposition 1 or 2 in each block when it was time to add the Coneflowers. 

To help you avoid the problem I will show you how far out those Coneflower petals go. This is my quilt, up through Month 5 with some of the stars from Month 6 in the corners.

From the top of the Coneflower to the outside petal edge at the Center, you need to allow at least 6"--that shouldn't be a problem because none of the small leaves go there

The petals on the left and right sides go out about 5 1/2" from the TOP of the Coneflower seed head. So don't put the small leaves anywhere near that area. Wait until the Coneflowers are in place to finish adding the few small leaves that go near the Coneflowers:

Sarah mentions waiting to place some of the small leaves until after the Coneflowers are added in the Block of the Month show: Homeward Bound Block of the Month  This show is FREE FOR ALL TO WATCH all this year so even if you aren't a Star Member, I encourage you to watch. There is a lot to learn in this one.

This is also a reminder to watch the show again if you are making this quilt. It is full of tips that you will use throughout the year and may have missed in January when you first watched.

Since there is not a lot of work to do this month, you could start making some of the 15 yards of 1/4 Bias for the stems used in Month 7. It will take about a half yard of fabric to make that much if you want it all the same. You DO NOT need to make 15 yards of continuous bias. Just cut the fabric as long as you can on the bias, and  make it. If you should need to join shorter pieces together, and you probably won't, you can do that as needed in Month 7. 

Detail of small stems: 

Detail of long stems:

Complete quilt:

It is not too late to start. Simply Join The Quilt Show and jump in. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

A New Project

 While teaching last April at the Virginia Consortium of Quilters I met Patty Murphy. She was teaching a great quilt I was really taken with:

This is Patty's photo, taken from her website, find all her information about this quilt here: Patty Murphy Handmade.

During Show and Tell at VCQ, I saw her students' work and how to make this quilt became apparent. First, make the background:

Then add the Orange Peels:

Isn't that great? I bought the pattern and started looking for background fabrics. 

I found 9 ombre pieces at  Southern Charm Quilting and bought them, along with a few large florals for some of the Orange Peels:

I recently had time to start making the background:

Then I started playing with the Orange Peels:

T

This is still a work in progress but it is fun.  Playing with the fabrics is part of the fun. I had to add more background fabrics from my stash. Now I have to cut and prepare more Orange Peels. Once they are made and placed, I will machine applique them to the background,

There are several ways to make the Orange Peels--mine have turned edges--but they could be easily cut and fused too. 

This will be a class at Southern Charm Quilting sometime in 2023--just as soon as I can get the top completed.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Garden Party Down Under Class Efforts

 A group of great students worked on Garden Party Down Under during 2022 as part of a year-long class. We met 6 times, every other month for a Lecture/Demo class at Sweet Home Quilting and Supplies. All sewing is done at home. I provide tips and tricks for the current and upcoming month's patterns. We enjoy "show and tell" and  best of all, many of the students have become friends.

Here you can admire their efforts.

Mary-Louise is making her GPDU from men's ties on a black background. She didn't bring it to our final class as she is deep into making baby clothes for her first grandchild. Her daughter has named her   "Mistress of the Wardrobe" so she started playing with fat quarters to see what she could make: 

One of the flower motifs from GPDU:

Cyndi has a great eye for fabric, color and design--I would love to play with her scraps. 

Cyndi designed her own corner blocks, using an idea from one of the skinny vases: 

Cyndi pieced the Diamond borders and they are ready to go: 

Sally is making this quilt so much her own. Lots of wool and hand embroidery, along with regular applique. I admire her work so much:

Fanny is using a beautiful, soft pastel color palette, so different from some of the others. It is such a lovely quilt: 

Victoria has used this project to help her through some life obstacles. She tends to second guess her ability. Each class we are able to assure her she is making a great quilt and has made it her own by adding birds and other personal motifs: 

Claudia is using the Kit as well as some of her own favorite fabrics. Her work is meticulous and coming along beautifully:  

Julie has a great sense of color--I love everything about this block: 

Remember, it is not too late to make your own Garden Party Down Under--or even to just acquire the patterns for FREE. All 12 of the monthly patterns are available to Star Members of The Quilt Show through December 31, 2022. After that the rights to the patterns return to the designer, Irene Blanck, and you will have to buy them from her. 

I enjoy teaching these Lecture/Demo classes locally. There may be one set up for the 2023 Block of the Month quilt for The Quilt Show if there is enough interest. Local folks, please let me know by December 1 if you want to participate. You must be a Star Member of The Quilt Show to get the patterns for HOMEWARD BOUND, designed by Sarah Fielke exclusively for The Quilt Show::

Here is mine in progress, I used a different background so I could start in September: 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GPDU -- MONTH 11 and 12

Here we are close to the end of Garden Party Down Under. Designed exclusively for The Quilt Show by Irene Blanck, this lovely quilt is sure to be a favorite in your family for years to come. 

Month 11 brings us the last vases--I call these "Skinny Vases". Here are mine in the sample quilt I made last year: 

Here are designer Irene Blanck's: 

I made a tracing of the circular flower for placement help. Here you can see mine is more oval than round but that's OK:

Once the two skinny vases for Month 11 are done, you can complete the left side of the quilt. Then you make the left side Diamond Border, either by applique or piecing--see my post on the Month 10 Diamond Borders for more information.

I liked these Skinny Vases so much I made them again, even though all my previous blocks were already put into two finished wall hangings. It was time to make one more project from my 2022 sample blocks made this year:

Month 12 has you make the top and bottom Diamond Borders, including a floral motif in each of the corners. Once that  step is done, your quilt top is finished!

One more step--upload a photo to the Forum for the world to see your beautiful top: Show Your Finished Top Here    Take a look to see really great quilt tops.

Here are the two wall hangings I made earlier this year with the blocks made as samples for the blogs and videos. It just goes to show you don't have to make a bed quilt if you don't want to:

Months 1 and 2, 38" square

Months 3-7, 50" square

In December I will have closeups of the quilting I did on mine. 

This month we have released BOTH Month 11 and Month 12 patterns so those who joined or renewed at the end of 2021 can still get ALL the patterns without having to renew for another year. Of course, I can't imagine why everyone wouldn't want to renew, The Quilt Show provides a lot of bang for your buck. I learn something from every show--a new show is released every two weeks. AND you have access to ALL the previous shows, going back 14 years.

AN IMPORTANT REMINDER ABOUT ACCESS TO THE PATTERNS:

The patterns are FREE to Star Members of The Quilt Show until December 31, 2022. There are many reasons to become a Star Member, the Block of the Month patterns are one. If you love this quilt, you can make it, just download and/or print and save the patterns in a safe place. After December 31, 2022, we will no longer be able to provide them to you, nor can anyone else. You will be able to buy them from the designer when she regains the rights to the  pattern.

Very soon it will be time to get ready for the 2023 Block of the Month project. It is a charming quilt, full of things to learn and I know you will like it. I am happily working on mine.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

MY FAVORITE QUILTS # 2

In the 1990's I made a lot of bed size quilts and when I think of how busy life was then, with kids, the house, several jobs, and a husband to keep happy I really don't know how I did it all.

Of course, I was younger then, a lot younger. And quiltmaking was absolutely my passion by then. I HAD to  make quilts, there was no other option. That remains true to this day.

Here is the story of another of My Favorite Quilts. 

LONE STAR GARDEN, 1997, 90" X 90" 

Detail 

The center star was inspired by an antique quilt in the book Star Quilts  by Mary Elizabeth Johnson. Each of the 8 very large diamonds is cut from a border stripe fabric, and each has to be cut exactly the same as the rest. I bought 5 yards of the Jinny Beyer border stripe and got started.

I had to return to the store to buy more yards--those diamonds are huge. I finally got all 8 diamonds pieced together, each is a single piece of fabric. The beauty of using a border stripe is the center will be a big surprise. I didn't know what it would look like until all 8 diamonds came together. I loved it.

I designed the applique blocks/triangles with inspiration from the book Jacobean Designs  by Pat Campbell. Using some of my most favorite fabrics, I cut flowers and leaves and stems for weeks. The hand applique process took months of stitching at night, mostly. 

When the center of the quilt was done it was time to figure out a border. It would have been simple to throw more of the border stripe on and call it done. But, no, this quilt deserved something more challenging than that.

Jinny Beyer had developed a technique she called "Soft Edge Piecing" and had written a book by that name. I knew that was just perfect for this quilt. So I went back to the store and bought the rest of the bolt--by now I had purchased close to 15 yards of this one fabric for this quilt.

I  hand basted the border stripe to a length of the pink background fabric. Then did that 3 more times to prepare the borders. Over many hours I slowly cut on a line on the border stripe, turned it under and hand appliqued the border stripe to the background. This is "soft edge piecing", an appliqued edge on a base fabric.

While it was completed in 1997 I know I worked on it for about two years. I marked it for quilting and took it to a woman who has doing hand quilting for the public back then--she quilted quite a few quilts for me in those years. She liked my quilts because I brought them marked and basted so all she had to do was quilt them. And regardless of the price she asked, I paid her in cash, the amount she asked, AND fabric. She didn't drive and getting out to a store was difficult so she loved having a big bag of fabric to use for her own quilts. 

This quilt was the first I  had exhibited at International Quilt Festival in Houston, It was included in the Special Exhibit "Traditional Treasures" in Houston, 2013. It was a thrill to see it hanging there.

This quilt taught me that a great quilt doesn't get made in a day. Lots of stitches, and time, will make a great quilt, just keep going. Learn new techniques, read a lot of books, get inspired by quilts from the past. And make it your own.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

GPDU -- MONTH 10 The Two Skinny Vases

I am providing the Month 10 information a bit early this month. Before we can start making the Diamond Borders, we need to make the two "Skinny Vases"  so the right side of the quilt can be assembled.

This month we make TWO vases, what I call the "Skinny Vases". Each block is 14" tall x 6" wide finished, so are trimmed to 14.5" x 6.5", and then they are sewn together to make a block 14" tall x 12" wide finished.

My latest blocks, not sewn together:

My blocks from the Sample quilt made last year, thanks to Donna D:

Irene's blocks from her quilt:

These feature wonderfully shaped vases, small circles, bias stems both 1/8" and 1/4" and flowers and leaves.

They sew up quickly and I think they are great vase blocks. Star Members of The Quilt Show have access to the Month 10 Video I made showing some tips for making these vases.

Once the Skinny Vase blocks are joined together, the right side of the quilt is assembled with blocks previously made. Then we can measure the quilt to check what size the Diamond Borders will be. 

There is a second blog post on making the borders and there are TWO VIDEOS ON BORDERS--these provide very important information you need to read BEFORE cutting the Diamond Border fabrics. Find them under Month 10 in the 2022 Block of the Month section. The videos and patterns are available FREE to Star Members. 

It is not too late to start making your own Garden Party Down Under--the patterns remain available FREE for members of  The Quilt Show. until December 31, 2022. The Block of the Month patterns are included FREE with membership, a great deal. 

I use Karen K Buckley's Perfect Stems to make the 1/8" stems. For the 1/4" stems I cut bias fabric 3/4" wide and press in thirds, no sewing, no fuss, just press in thirds.  All my circles are made with Karen K Buckley's Perfect Circles. 

All the shapes are prepared with patterns cut from Print & Piece Fuse Lite, printed out then fused to the wrong side of the fabric. This reverses the design but I am fine with that. 

As you get your Skinny Vases done, post a photo on the Forum--there is a Topic specifically for Month 10 -- Show Your Progress Here.  FORUM for Garden Party Down Under

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Student Progress with Garden Party Down Under

This year I am teaching a lecture/demo class on Garden Party Down Under at a local shop. There are 11 students working on this quilt. The two-hour class meets every other month--just enough to keep everyone motivated and most have kept up so far. Having a class deadline helps. Though it's not required. Even those not caught up benefit from the tips and tricks shared by all in the class.

Admire their efforts to date: 

Claudia 

Claudia--shoo fly blocks are just the best

Claudia--love that vase fabric!

Cyndi--using all leftover fabrics from previous quilts

Cyndi--love that vase. And her Dresden is various black prints, all 12 different

More lusciousness from Cyndi

Sally is adding some wool and lots of hand embroidery

Look at Sally's detail handwork

More from Sally

Franny has only made it to one previous class but she is loving this project

Lots of Franny applique

Franny's Month 1 and 2 together

                                        

Great blocks from Sandy--who always smiles so big--fire the photographer!

Sandy

Love this vase and the entire block from Sandy

Sandy used a dark background for the Dresden Plate center

Julie got a sense of accomplishment from joining months 1-5 together

Julie--I covet this one!

Julie's month 7 block--the easiest one yet

Leila is doing her applique with the Back Basting method. At the May class she explained the process, and I told the students how to find more information on this method. Google "back basting applique"--I believe Jeana Kimball first taught this method years ago. 

Phyllis gave it a go after the May class and she tells us "This is my applique method going forward". Here are two photos showing the process Phyllis is so happy with.

Here the leaves are back basted and ready to be appliqued, except for the lower left leaf--it is ready to be back basted. The vase is a chunk of fabric ready to be back basted: 

Another of  Phyllis' finished blocks: 

Back basting has the advantages of no marking on the front of the quilt, no pins once the shapes are back basted to the background, which makes it very portable hand sewing, and the basting lets you know exactly where to turn the edge of the shape under. Try it, you might like it.

In these year-long classes, friendships are usually formed. Several of these women have been in prior Block of the Month classes with me: Color My World, Sizzle, Afternoon Delight, Patchwork Barn and Halo Star Medallion.  I look forward to seeing each of them every class.

One of our group is undergoing cancer treatment at the moment. Before class started this time, she was gifted a lovely hand made shawl, made especially for her, in her colors, by one of the other students--who only  met her this year. Quilters make the BEST friends:

Cyndi and Julie

Speaking of Cyndi, I have long coveted her stash! She has a great eye for color and design and a DEEP stash. Before class she  showed me this wonderful scrap quilt she is making, all from her little scraps. String/Crumb piecing is so much fun to do, and even better when the fabrics are this bright. The pattern is in Bonnie Hunter's book String Frenzy.  The string piecing was done on paper. Great job, Cyndi:

Being Summer, 5 of our classmates were out of town for this month's class--we look forward to seeing their progress in September. 

It is not too late for YOU to start making Garden Party Down Under. This pattern designed exclusively for The Quilt Show by Irene Blanck is FREE to Star Members of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims  There is so much to learn and enjoy as a Star Member and this FREE pattern is the icing on the cake. It is available until December 31, 2022, when the rights to the pattern return to the designer and she can sell it. Join NOW and get it FREE.

Let's quilt. 

Barbara