Quilt Show is Around the Corner

A guild quilt show that takes two years to plan and execute can seem to take forever to arrive.  Then, BAM!, it's right around the corner and there are all those little things, and some not so little, to finalize.  Three weeks from today, October 9, 2015, Fanfare 2015 Quilt Show and Sale will open in Huntsville, AL.  See all the info about the show here.  There is also a Facebook Event here.  If you are anywhere within driving distance, come to the show--you'll be glad you did!!

We have arranged for several nice incentive prizes to encourage our members to volunteer for all the jobs that must be done.  The committee has done all it can to prepare, the rest of the jobs have to be filled by the membership.  As an incentive to sell raffle tickets, the person who sells the most tickets will be awarded this little quilt that I've been working on this week:

 

It is a replica of the Raffle quilt, Celtic Solstice, designed by Bonnie Hunter and used with her permission.  These blocks are 50% smaller, 6" blocks, vs. 9" blocks in the quilt and is 21" square.  The fabrics are leftover from the Raffle quilt.  I used wool batt and will add some free motion quilting on my new machine--when I get the courage to tackle something I really care about instead of just "practice" blocks. 

Here is the Raffle Quilt and it's not too late to buy tickets--you don't have to be present to win:

Queen-Size, 94" square

The other thing I make time for each week are the Stars in a Time Warp QuiltAlong from Barbara Brackman.  This week it's Lancaster Blue and/or Greek Key designs.  I didn't have any Greek Key fabric but I did have the lovely Lancaster Blue:

I still have to finish hand quilting one of my show entries, sew the binding in place on a very large quilt and add all 3 labels to my 3 entries.  It will all get done, I just have to keep at it. 

Tomorrow I'm riding our guild bus to the AQS show in Chattanooga where I will meet up with my good quilting friend, Ellen and her daughter, Lauren, and see Anne Francoise again, she's visiting from Switzerland and seeing a lot of the South this trip.  She brought a sweet onesie for my grand-girl Stella, featuring the Swiss  National Flower, Edelweiss--may you have an earworm all day of that song from the Sound of Music:

Edelweiss...
Edelweiss...
Every morning you greet me
Small and white, clean and bright
You look happy to meet me
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow
Bloom and grow forever...

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Teaching Quilt Classes

I love to teach classes and Fall sees me back in the classroom quite a bit--with beginning students in a 5-week course, and shorter classes of various projects throughout the Fall. 

Yesterday I taught "Bali Sky", the Carpenter's Star pattern from Calico Carriage Designs.  It is a very easy version of the Broken Star pattern, made with half-square triangles and no set-in seams.  It makes a fast project when you need a gift, whether it's a wallhanging or bed-size quilt.

My Sample, 36" square
 

A special treat for me was this was set up so a friend from Switzerland could attend.  I met Anne Francoise in Houston, we became Facebook friends, and when she let me know she was coming to the US in September we arranged for her to attend both my lecture September 10 and this class September 12.  She's also been to Nashville and Paducah and is heading for Chattanooga, where we will see each other again next weekend there.

 

Quilters are great people and folks made sure to welcome her to our events.  On Friday she was on her own and was surprised to be greeted at two quilt shops by women who had attended the lecture the night before or knew she was coming because I told them she would be shopping that day.  She even went to the same restaurant she and I had eaten at Thursday night and had the same server, who remembered her and that she was from Switzerland.  Anne Francoise said she felt like a celebrity, being greeted so warmly at unexpected places. 

All the students made great progress, some making 3" squares, some 6" and some 7.5" for a queen-size quilt:

Anne Francoise' American Memory

JoAnne speeding through the rows

All rows sewn and labeled--ready to pack up

Susan making a Queen size--the star includes deep red fabric--really striking with the black and gray!

Ina working away on a Christmas wallhanging

Kim, a new quilter making her first quilt, a Christmas wallhanging--she made great progress and learned  a lot

Sorry to say, I did not get photos of Yvonne, Pat and Laura working hard on their large quilts--they know to send me photos when they get theirs done.  Everyone did well and will be finishing these projects soon.

The lecture on Thursday night, "The Hard Stuff", went well.  The Madison Station Quilters were welcoming and I saw many friendly faces in the crowd.  I love Show and Tell and saw these beauties:

 

I ended with this image, warned them not to hit the hard stuff until the sewing was done, and gave this bit of advice when working on more challenging quilt patterns: 

It's only hard if you tell yourself it's hard.
Take it slow.
Follow instructions and tips given with the pattern.
Figure out which techniques work for you, there's more than one way to achieve most results.

And:  SUCCESS IS WORTH EFFORT.

Let's quilt!

Barbara

 

Bernina Q20 Sit-Down Long Arm Quilting Machine

A few weeks ago at Quilt!Knit!Stitch!  in Portland, OR, I bought the Bernina Q20 Sit-Down Long Arm Quilting Machine. 

This is how it looks without the two extension tables--this is how it will look most of the time, until I start doing large quilts. The wonderful Bernina Ergonomic sewing chair is coming soon, from Switzerland.

It's a big investment and my friends probably think I'm nuts, but I did it.  It arrived yesterday.

Five large, heavy boxes on a pallet, delivered by UPS Freight.  The woman who called me the day before to set up the delivery appointment scared me.  She said the driver was only "required" to unload the pallet off the truck and put it down--not to deliver it to my garage.  Yikes!  She did say most of the drivers were "nice" and would "probably" help me get the 343 lb. pallet into the garage.  Double yikes!  No worries, however--the driver lowered the pallet with the truck lift gate, the small lift was already in the pallet bottom and he happily followed me to the garage, no questions asked.  Relief!  And the rain that was forecast held off for a few more hours. 

My beloved husband had come home early to help with this.  We unpacked the pallet in the garage, five large, heavy boxes had to be hauled into the house.  It was hot and humid and we were quickly soaked and dripping.  Water and Gatorade kept us going.  The bottom box, of course, held the main part of the cabinet, which opens to provide storage under the two extension tables--that's where the cabinet assembly instructions were.  Once the boxes were in the house, in 3 rooms, he started the cabinet.  He's very handy and the instructions were good so it went together pretty easily.  I stayed out of the way until he needed more hands.  In just under 3 hours, I was stitching.  He said he felt like he'd done a full day's work and we were really sweaty but it got done.

My first stitching--still need lots of practice but the machine makes lovely stitches without much effort.  No gloves or anything other than my hands on the fabric.

 Right side extension area open--this is the storage area, left side has the same amount of storage.

 

Both extensions are in here, the table is now 78" wide x 36" deep, throat space is 20".

 

Here's the plan--I have a bunch of quilt sandwiches prepared and stacked, some are pieced, some are pre-printed, most are solid fabric on top, print on bottom.  Each day I'll start the day with 20 minutes of practice--focusing on one design each day for those 20 minutes.  Some days I'll be able to spend more time but each day, the first 20 minutes in the studio will be for machine quilting practice.

Here's the 20 minutes I played around with this morning, in addition to older stitching already done on this practice piece. 

I have a bunch of quilt tops that need to be quilted so I need to get to those, AFTER the guild Quilt Show October 9-11, and AFTER Houston, October 21-November 2.  I am taking two free motion classes there, one with Sue Nickels, one with Helen Godden--I know I'll benefit greatly from both of those.

Do I have buyer's remorse?  A little, especially as it took more than 3 weeks to arrive.  But I just have to make time to use it to finish quilts.  And I can always rent time on it, right?  It's a terrific machine that is very easy to use.  Stay tuned for progress reports.

Now I have  a little more to do to prepare for tonight's presentation to the Madison Station Quilters guild, on "The Hard Stuff".

Let's quilt!

Barbara

The Hard Stuff

I'm giving a presentation to the Madison Station Quilters next week on "The Hard Stuff".  I'll talk about these more challenging quilts:

Mariner's Compass, made 2001, original pattern



Double Wedding Ring--this is a mini, made 2009, pattern by Virginia Robertson

Feathered Stars: Joyful Journey made 2009, pattern by Sue Garman

The PowerPoint is ready and I did step-outs for blocks needed for my next quilt, Diamond Jubilee.  I'm about a year and a half behind in starting that one so this was a good reason to get started.  Here are the 2 blocks I made this week:

These are 15" finished stars.  One I made by Foundation Paper Piecing with Sue Garman's pattern, Stars for a New Day.  The other I did by regular piecing.  The problem with that:  those feathers are a weird size for regular piecing:  13/16".  Yes, I did all the measurements in sixteenths of an inch--crazy!  At the lecture, I'll have suggestions on how not to make it so hard.

I've also been plugging away at the Barbara Brackman  Stars in a Time Warp QuiltAlong blocks.  Here are the last four weeks:

 

 

Barbara Brackman is the queen of quilt block history and has written many books about this wonderful topic.  I have them all and this is a great way to learn more about fabrics and techniques over the centuries.  I am making two 6-inch Sawtooth Stars each week--I now have 68 blocks done.  Each week, Barbara shows some possibilities for how to use our stars and I'm beginning to think about how I want to set them.  Time will tell.  Here are a couple possibilities:

I'm on the lookout for a Printed Center Medallion panel

A lifetime of Applique' though
 

Now it's time to get those garments started for Houston--that will be here before I know it.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

What's New Pussycat?

Back from Portland and there is a new project:  rearrange the studio to accommodate the Bernina Q20 sit-down longarm that will be arriving soon.  Mostly, I just look around the room and say "oh, my, where do I put this stuff?"  It's time for a major purge again...

Instead I worked on this:

This is a replica of an antique top I bought at Spring Market in Minneapolis, read about it here. I think I will make twenty more blocks and add a border.  Time will tell.  It's going on the back burner for now.  Patches gave it her seal of approval.

And I worked on Smitten:

This is not the final layout, just a grouping of the blocks I have done.  Some are hand-pieced, some machine-pieced. The pattern is by Lucy Carson Kingwell--I first saw it on Instagram.  Most are doing this by English Paper Piecing.  I am using Marti Michell's Perfect Patchwork Template Set H--cutting out for regular piecing, either by hand or machine.  This, too, is now going on the back burner...

What I have to do right now: 
       1.  prepare a Power Point Presentation I am giving in early September--I'll be much more relaxed when that is in the can

      2.  Figure out the 3 garments I have to make for Houston now that the fabrics and patterns have arrived

 

 

Great manufacturers donate fabrics each year for the Education Team to make garments--we wear specific garments on specific days.  This helps make us visible as Staff, people able to help and answer questions from the many hundreds of folks we see each day, and makes it easier for us to plan our wardrobes for 1-2 weeks living out of a suitcase.  This year we have Vintage Made Modern by Amy Barickman for RJR, Zen Chic from Moda, and Shimmer by Jennifer Sampou for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.  In addition, Indygo Junction has graciously allowed us to select patterns to make our garments.  Part challenge, part wardrobe manufacture, it's fun but time-consuming.

      3. As co-chair for our guild quilt show October 9-11. 2015, there is much work to do in the next 6 weeks.  Five of us met for 6.5 hours yesterday planning the quilt layout for 201 quilts, an exhibit of Inspired By Gee's Bend quilts that are for sale, and a big Silent Auction.  I've been heavily involved in most of our 14 shows, in charge of 3 of them.  This will be the last I plan to be in charge of.  If you're involved in a volunteer organization, you cannot thank the people who make things happen enough--most members simply have no idea what it takes to pull off an event like this.  By the way, our show will be FABULOUS--it's a not to be missed event in the Southeastern US. Information on our website:   Heritage Quilters of Huntsville.  Here is the raffle quilt--you are not too  late to get tickets:

Celtic Solstice Fanfare  94" x 94" pattern by Bonnie K Hunter, used with permisson

Time to get to that Power Point--let's quilt!

Barbara

Off to Portland

I'm headed to Portland, OR this week to work at the Quilt!Knit!Stitch! show--the summer International Quilt Festival event.  As usual, the days before one of these trips is filled with laundry, lists and making sure I have everything ready to pack.  And checking the weather:  Portland, 80's and dry, home 90's and humid.  Nice time to go to the Pacific Northwest.  If you are in the area, don't miss this show!

Here are the Smitten blocks I have done--I've prepped/packed several of these to hand piece on the plane, if I have enough room to do that.  This pattern is by Lucy Carson Kingwell and I found out about it on an Instagram post of someone doing the Smitten Quilt-Along, #smittenqal

Many people are doing these blocks by English paper piecing: wrapping the fabric around paper pieces and whip-stitching them.  These I've hand and machine pieced, much faster and more accurate for me.

A friend whose blog I follow, Lori of Humble Quilts, is going on a mission trip to Bolivia this fall.  She recently asked her blog followers if they might be willing to make little sundresses/pillowcase dresses she can take with her.  The response was overwhelming:  read her post here.  She gives links to several patterns.  I made these two this week, very fast and easy.  I will be MEETING HER for the first time in Portland--I'm very excited about that, we've been following each other for quite some time now.  She lives in that area so I can put the dresses directly into her hands:

While I was making these dresses, from yardage, not pillowcases, I learned we are doing a similar service project in Houston this Fall.  So I'll make several more when I get home.  It's a great way to use up yardage I am ready to part with. 

I also got my Stars in a Time Warp blocks done for this past week.  We are working with Floral Trails-type prints.  As I was making the small dress above I realized that fabric was a floral trails reproduction so it became the background of one of my blocks:

In Portland I'll be working at our Open Studio demo area on the show floor, demonstrating String/Crumb piecing.  Here are a few samples:

I wrote about the String Swap Block Challenge in this post.  The 8 pointed star is 12" finished and I really like it so I'll be making several of those during the demos.  I also suggest lots of other ways you can use leftover pieces to make great string blocks.  This is a free event, four different sessions are going at the same time, for two hour sessions and people come and go as they please.

In addition, I'll be teaching two sessions at Make It University, again on the show floor.  This is a one hour class that costs $10--for that, the student gets a kit with everything they need to make the project being taught.  Here are my offerings:

Hand Piece the 8 Pointed Star, this is 6" square

Hexie Stars:  English Paper Piece OR Hand Piece, students choose which they want to do

 These events are in addition to my other duties in the Education Office--it's a fun and busy time.  It's also great to reconnect with my Education Team friends who come to help run the show.  Good times!

I may not have time to post this week but I'll take lots of photos for the next time.

Let's Quilt!

Barbara

Baby Love + Smitten

We made a quick trip to St. Louis to visit our grandgirl, Stella, and her folks, our #2 son, Andrew, and his wife Lauren.  The trip there took 9 hours as we used the "streetlight way", less than half the trip was Interstate.  A little less stressful than high speed traffic, lots of trucks, etc., but that's a long time to sit.  The trip home was Interstate all the way so we could visit our #1 son, Joshua, in Nashville.  It took 8 hours to get home, there was some stopped traffic in the Nashville area.  We loved seeing Stella and her parents, but it was a long trip for 2 days with them.

BTW, if you are in St. Louis and want a fine dining Italian meal, you can't miss with Charlie Gittos on the Hill --oh my, what a delicious meal!  Save your pennies and splurge for a special occasion there. 

Every grandparent thinks theirs is the BEST, and we're no exception.  She sure is cute.  She was 2  months old on August 2.  Here are more photos of my scrumptious Princess:




Grampa is SO happy

My Favorite shot

We are so proud of the job our kids are doing as parents and feel confident the next generation is in good hands.  It's amazing to see my "baby" as a daddy--he's a natural.  When Lauren returns to work later this month, Andy will be the full-time caregiver of his precious little girl.  What a special time for them to share. 

Just so this has some quilt connection, I took 3 Smitten blocks with me to hand piece and finished them all, some sewing in the car, most while we babysat Stella so her Mommy and Daddy could go to a movie.  Here they are along with the two blocks I machine pieced last week:

Now it's on to the next block design.  These finish almost 12" across so they go together pretty quickly.  I'll prep several blocks for my trip to Portland, OR next week for Quilt!Knit!Stitch!  Lots of airplane time on that trip. 

Let's quilt!

Barbara AKA BB