On the Road Again

 This week I head to Dallas to tape The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. Even though it's my fourth time as the "Guest Artist", there are still butterflies. 

The show will air at the beginning of January as we start the 2022 Block of the Month. The quilt is wonderful, I LOVE my sample quilt made with my own fabrics and think a lot of people are going to love this one.

Here is a teaser--it's still Secret Sewing so I can't show you much:

This is the BACK--of course. When I showed this back fabric some weeks ago, there was a run on the fabric at The Quilt Show store. They got it back in and I see they have run out AGAIN. If you want it, let them know by clicking "Notify Me"--you will get an email when it is back in stock.  108" Quilt Backing 

It has nothing to do with the front of the quilt, it is just great fabric about friendship. Since 9 of my best friends helped me make the sample, it was perfect.

It takes a lot of time and effort to prepare for taping so that the show will look like it took no effort at all. Here are my 3 Segment bags, with everything I need for each Segment we will tape--showing how to prepare, create, and enjoy making this quilt pattern:

I have had four phone conversations with the producer, Shelly Heesacker, for a total of about five hours. She is superb at her job, really knows how to make the shows cohesive, interesting and FUN! She is a delight to work with and I am eager to see her again. 

Clothes are planned--what to wear for the taping is a major thing. Too flashy and all people see is what you're wearing. Too bland--that's no fun. Where will the mic go? No buttons, necklaces, scarves, etc, that can bump against the mic and cause problems. Everything is washed and ready to get packed. 

Here are the set decoration quilts I am taking: 

As I will be in Dallas less than 48 hours, this is my luggage--assuming everything fits. I never know until I start filling up that big purple suitcase. If I have to, I will add an additional smaller piece of luggage for my clothes. Quilts take up more room in luggage than you think:

The quilt is likely to be revealed in October, as usual, so I still won't be able to show it to you until then. It will be a challenge to take photos on the set I CAN show you when I get home.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Annual Friends Retreat

Each summer, three quilting friends get together for a few days to quilt, working on our own projects. Since so much time has gone by since the last visit, there is lots of show and tell. Last year, we missed getting together due to COVID. 

Here is just a glimpse at all the quilts we shared with each other:

A very old project of mine, more than 20 years at least, I wanted to replace the light background with a brighter white. I removed the red border, took the background out, used those shapes as templates for the replacement fabric and am much happier with it now. It will grow a bit with additional borders. This is before I changed out the background, sitting on top of more of my show and tell quilts:

Ellen made this as a gift--now to quilt it. Here is the link to the FREE pattern for Hot Dog Day:

Hot Dog Day

Ellen often has leftovers from one quilt that become the seeds for another. I love this little log cabin, made from the leftovers of the one it is sitting on:

Ellen is fairly prolific.These next photos are some of what she brought to show. Kathleen Tracy's Schoolhouse Sampler--a nice palette of fabrics:

When you have tons of half square triangles, in several sizes, you put them all in one quilt, using an applique panel for the center:

This has a Christmas feel to it, but wasn't designed specifically for that holiday:

Another Kathleen Tracy pattern, the original blocks are 6" and the small version has 3" blocks: 

The MOST IMPORTANT task I got done was to baste the SECRET SEWING project so I can start the quilting this week. Here is the back:

I showed this one, a small version of Antique Rose Star. My original is now in Houston and if I get to teach it before the Special Exhibit quilts come home, I need a second sample: 

The quilting is coming along on this one, Western Sun Small, soon to be done:

Sharon's husband makes dinner for us each year and this year all three husbands are able to join in:

Since we go to Sharon's house, she doesn't drag her quilts to our meeting place. Here are a few of hers:

Sharon spent most of her time on this big project--it is looking great. Called Cadence Court, the book provides excellent instructions and many design possibilities. It is paper pieced:

We look forward to our annual visit. The three Amigas:

Let's quilt.

Barbara

What Am I Doing?

 I can't tell you. Well, it's more accurate to say I can't SHOW you.

About this time of year Secret Sewing goes into high gear in my Studio. Here is a Hint: I will be in Dallas in August taping The Quilt Show...

Just a Teaser. Due to shipping delays, common in every industry at the moment, I am using my own fabric to test the pattern. Here are bits of tiny scraps--that's all I can show.    

                             

I love to use a wide variety of fabrics in my quilts, because I can never run  out. Short on a deep purple? Select another that is similar. Instead of using a large amount of one background fabric, I use many, from white to tan. 

This year I have some awesome helpers, my Sunday Sew and Sews gang, who are helping get a lot of work done. While they are sewing, I am reviewing all the pattern instructions, which takes a  lot of time. I  have to do that myself, in the quiet of my Studio.  

In addition, I am writing "Optional Alternative Instructions" for those who want to try different techniques. So far, I have 11 pages prepared and ready. A few of the Sunday Sew and Sews will carefully review those for me. Despite best efforts, typos sometimes happen.

Writing patterns/instructions is harder than you might think. The designer knows what they mean but may not provide enough detail so the quiltmaker understands clearly what is meant. 

I also know that our Quilt Show members who make the annual Block of the Month quilt, really like specific instructions. For example, "Press". Immediately the question will be "Which way--to the dark, light  or open?" While it may not matter, sometimes it does, farther down the  line. I try to anticipate those questions.  

When techniques are new to a lot of people. like using Freezer paper for Color My World, the 2021 BOM, I try to provide detailed instructions and often make videos that show the process. I already have two videos done that won't air until October 2022 for the next project.

If you want to see more of my fabric pull, look back at the first Teaser post I made: Fabric Pull and the need to pre-wash. I will write much more about pre-washing in the future.

When not working on this I am creating a second "Charming Sampler" quilt. I will be teaching this locally in October and in Rhode Island in  August. Since I need a sample for both places, I have to get a second one made quickly. Here is the second in progress, small blocks, 3" finished:

And the complete project:

It's a fun class that teaches a variety of speedy tricks, which all can be applied to larger blocks in the future. 

Things are picking back up. I bought two airline tickets this week and booked a hotel at a location I am driving to.

And, I found all 20 of the quilts in my possession that need to be shipped soon to Houston. Two are on the walls of my home, four are stored in a closet. Of the 14 others, three need better labels. Two more quilts will be delivered to Houston by the owners--one is a friend who owns SIZZLE--HOT! and the other is in the Corporate Collection of Quilts Inc--Red and White--By the Numbers. Read more about that quilt here: Red and White--the Wrap Up. This is the blog post I tell people to read if they want to know who I am as a quiltmaker.

That's it for now. More to come way in the future on the "secret sewing" project.

Let's quilt.

Barbara

In the Works

 At night I like to have hand work I can stitch on, to help me stay awake until the late news.

Here is a small quilt I hand-pieced and am now hand-quilting. Wool batting is so luscious for quilting:

Hexie Stars

Recently I started quilting "Hummingbird Hollow", the variation of Afternoon Delight my friend Janet came up with. Still have to decide what curvy design I want in the white squares and if I want to do any curvy quilting in the floral blocks--they do have cross hatch quilting through them:

Hummingbird Hollow in quilting process

When I think about gifting a quilt to a friend, this is why I want them to have a quilt I made:

A big project of Secret Sewing has just begun that has kept me VERY busy the past week and will occupy most of my time for the foreseeable future. Can't share but it's really good.

What are YOU working on? I hope it's something fun and enjoyable. 

Let's quilt.

Barbara

Littles Came to Visit

This post is more family than quilting--jump to the bottom for the quilt.

We had our grandkids for 4 days recently--their Mom had major surgery so they spent 4 days with each set of grandparents so Mom had a week to get a bit better before having them home.

My loves.  Stella is 5, PopPop is more, Sam is almost 2:

 The kids love each other, most of the time, always hug when meeting up again--this is a morning hug upon awakening:

 Stella is a super big sister, always watching out for her "brudder", and teaching him things, like "watch out for the street", "say please and thank you", etc.:

When my two sons were this size I was 40 years younger. Things I forgot:

1. Kids are loud
2. Kids are messy
3. Changing diapers is still not fun--at least we aren't using cloth diapers like I did in the Stone Age
4. Siblings fight over toys--buy two, if possible
5. Kids eat almost hourly--not a lot at once, just very frequently
6. PopPops are pushovers--whatever the grands want, they get
7. Sometimes an Ipad is your best friend:

Watching Disney+ while we watch the news

All in all, the kids did great and we managed pretty well. We did FaceTime each day with Mon and Dad--lots of kisses on our phone screens--and that helped. Stella would be really worried about Mommy for a few minutes then got busy being Stella and all was well.

She is a great picker of blackberries. The first day she picked these and said "BB, we need pie!" And so we had a blackberry pie. She also taught Sam not to pick the red ones, only the black ones:

The best things about Littles I forgot:

1. Snuggling up in a big chair to read books is wonderful
2. Laughing at all the funny things they say and do is wonderful
3. Watching them sleep is like seeing angels--and that is wonderful

So they are back home now. The house is more or less clean and tidy again, and really quiet. I can sew to my heart's content. It was good for all of us, especially Mommy and Daddy who were able to concentrate on Lauren's recovery, which is going very well.

For the next week or so, I will be hunkered down quilting my secret sewing project, which is on deadline:

Let's quilt.

Barbara AKA BB

Houses are HOT!

With all the talk of "safer at home", "staying at home", "quarantined at home", etc., quilters are making house blocks and house quilts in record numbers.

I wanted to make one too BUT:

1. I have a great house quilt I made a couple years ago, called The Village

2. I am too busy with deadline projects--like usual

SO, when I saw a great house quilt top made by a friend who recently passed away, I snapped that up in a hurry!

It is an unusual size and as I look at it I think I will remove some of the lower rows to make it smaller and have more houses/trees for another small quilt. It also needs another border or two. My husband saw it on the design wall and said "That's nice--when did you make that?"  Thanks to my friend for making it--little did she know, I would buy it and it would be mine.

My quilt, The Village--a great workshop quilt I have taught several times. The next time I teach it, we will do freezer paper piecing--teaching a new skill for most quilters:

I finished Foothills, washed and dried it, and we have been sleeping under it--a great topper for our king-size bed. My husband likes the AC at brrrrr level so we need extra cover at night. This is one of my most favorite quilts I've made, so glad it is done:

 The pattern is available Here.

This week I am quilting the "secret sewing" quilt and loving how it is coming along:

Using Superior's Microquilter 100 wt thread for all the ditch work, it can hardly be seen. The thread color on the back matches so perfectly that when I do need to take a bit of it out because OOPS happen, it is very hard to see the stitches. When all the "bones" are added, the stitch in the ditch lines, I will use a larger thread, probably King Tut or So Fine 50 wt, to create more texture and designs on the quilt. It is SO hard not to show it to you, but eventually...

This is blackberry season in my yard, which lasts about two weeks. Where I turn this:

 into this:

Never forget to put a cookie tray under a fruit pie before it bakes. SO glad I didn't have to clean the oven after this was done. And it was as yummy as it looks. The rest of the berries will go in the freezer to become Blackberry Cobbler for Christmas dessert.

Are YOU making house blocks or a house quilt? What else are you making that has a connection to the COVID-19 time in our life?

Let's quilt,

Barbara

Time for Free-Motion Quilting

The other day I did my least favorite thing in the quiltmaking process: I basted a quilt for free-motion quilting:

Here it is, all folded up--it's 70" square and this is the back. No, I can't show you the front yet...

I have a detailed Tutorial on how I pin-baste for machine quilting. The quilt in the Tutorial is larger than this one. For this one, I used my dining room table, laying out the back, batt and quilt top centered on the table. I taped and clamped the back down, then pin-basted the center of the quilt. NOTE: I don't close the pins until the entire quilt is pin-basted. Once the center section was pinned, I un-taped and un-clamped the quilt, slid it over to one side, and re-taped and re-clamped the back. I put pins in that side, then did the same on the opposite side.

Once all the pins were in place, I carefully turned the entire thing over to check for pleats or puckers.  There are always a few near the outside edges. It is a simple matter to remove the offending pins, flatten out the 3 layers again, and re-pin. When it is completely flat, no puckers or pleats, I turn it over and close all the pins.

This process took about 2.5 hours. I should  have been playing music because I just don't find this task fun. Necessary but not fun.

UPDATE: There is a fantastic video in the Classroom of The Quilt Show, featuring Cindy Needham and her table method for pin-basting:  Pin Basting with Cindy Needham. I sure wish I had seen this BEFORE I basted this one. What a great way to be sure the back is flat and square! Just another reason every quilter should be a member of The Quilt Show--with the current "Staying at Home Special" of $19.95 for 6 months or $39.95 for a year, I truly believe this is the best bang for your quilting buck. Join Now!

Next I made a "test" quilt sandwich from several of the fabrics in the top, the same batt and back:

This will be used to test a variety of threads, their colors, and set the tension for each. It is also used to warm up before tackling the quilt each day. The batt is Pellon Wool Blend, soft, with some loft, that will give dimension to the quilting. I have several ideas for quilting designs I am eager to try on this.

Before I jump into quilting this one, I will finish the quilting on my Foothills Quilt, which I began quilting in April. I wrote about that HERE. It will be good practice to get loosened up for the quilting on the "mystery" project:

 Fortunately, I kept a sketch of the quilting design, along with the rulers used for those designs, handy, until I could get back to the Foothills quilt:

Another thing I do as soon as I baste a quilt, is cut the extra back fabric for the Sleeve I attach to every quilt I make.  The fabric is cut to approximate size and I put a note on it that says "Sleeve" so I don't accidentally use it for some other purpose. Since I know what the binding fabric will be, I have also made that already--it is saved with the sleeve--in a safe place. And that place is noted in my Journal, on the page that lists "Where Did I Put?"

I will be glad to have Foothills quilted and be ready to get to work quilting the mystery, soon.

What is your least favorite part of the quiltmaking process?

Let's quilt,

Barbara

Wednesday Already?

The week got away from me.

Lots of secret sewing and parts of the Sawtooh Star project:

Running out of design wall space to properly lay out the Sawtooth Stars--there will be 50 of these blocks, 6" stars set on point are now 9" blocks. There will be 2" sashing between:

I made a few more masks for my sons and their women. Looks like we'll be wearing masks for some time so I will make more for all of us soon. The women both love their "Wonder Woman" mask:

I will get to see my eldest son and his girlfriend this weekend as we gather for a "birthday girls" celebration--Stella and I have birthdays one day apart. We will meet at Lauren and Andy's house--the first time we've all been together since Christmas. Stella will be 5 and Sam is 21 months--how fast they are growing!

While together, I will give Joshua and Cait quick sewing lessons on how to use their new machine. I was able to get my friend, Janet's 1958 Singer 401A Slant-O-Matic machine--she received it as a wedding gift that year. A few new parts were bought and my husband cleaned it up very well, oil and lubrication, and it sews a beautiful stitch:

Joshua recently asked me if buying a $100 brand new sewing machine online was a "good deal". I said "NO!" They would be far better off finding an older heavy-duty solid machine. We started looking on Facebook Marketplace, CraigsList, etc. Those offered for sale usually were not guaranteed to work, as the sellers often said things like "My grandmother's machine, I have no idea if it works". And parts were often missing. So when I found out Janet had this one, I jumped on it.

I've put together a basic sewing kit, scissors, thread, rulers, some fabric, etc., so Joshua and Cait can play with the machine as they learn how it works:

Too bad they live two hours away. But it will be so good to see everyone.

Now it's back to that secret sewing for me.

Let's quilt.

Barbara