I finished another quilt this week and this one has a lot of meaning for me. Some of my favourite vacations have been here on Vancouver Island spending time at the beaches. Watching the water and the birds is so relaxing for me. You too?
The fabrics are a new collection from Northcott called Swept Away. The amazing ombre fabrics are very effective for the shaded borders.
My new pattern is now available in the Patchworks Studio Store and fabrics are available in stores now.
Use the Northcott Product Finder to find a store that carries these fabrics. Here's how it works:
Click the 'Swept Away' link above
On the top right of the screen you'll see "Product Finder"
Use the 'dropdown' arrow to select your province/state and you will see the shops that ordered the fabrics.
The International Quilt Association sponsors International Quilt Festival in Houston every year. And they invite quilters to donate a small quilt as a fundraiser for the organization.
This year I donated one of my Give & Take Applique quilts.
This New York Beauty quilt uses Northcott's Stonehenge fabrics - very appropriate since Northcott is celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Stonehenge fabrics next year.
Hope my quilt is popular and makes a lot of money for the organization!
For the first year in almost 20 years I am NOT at International Quilt Market in Houston and I'm definitely missing all the fun including see long-time friends and seeing what is new and exciting in our quilting world.
I'm not missing the booth setup part as much! But I'm there in spirit....working on the setup for the Victoria Quilters' Guild Christmas Sale that starts this afternoon.
I even wore my new Northcott shirt (that I would have normally worn in Houston to help in their booth). Thanks Northcott for the great shirt and CONGRATULATIONS on the Stonehenge 10th Anniversary!
Have you ever done a Quilt Along? I haven't but I saw a post on Facebook from Jen Shaffer inviting people to join in. Jen's pattern company is Patterns by Jen. I was first intrigued since she is using a Northcott Flannel fabric for her quilt and I love the Enchanted Forest collection.
So I had a look at the quilt we would be making and I LOVED it too!
I have always liked Medallion-style quilts. In fact I designed two Medallion quilts and posted the instructions on the Patchworks Studio website in 2000 and 2003. (Can't believe how long ago these were done!)
Quilters could join the fun to make the quilt like a 'block of the month program'. They bought a pattern package that included templates where they were needed, paper piecing blocks and the applique shapes that were added in some areas of the quilts. This package was sent by regular mail since this was long before the internet widely available, Facebook did not exist and I had to post monthly instructions on the website. I guess this was really an early version of a Quilt Along!
Here are pictures of the 2 medallion quilts that I designed.
Club Medallion, 2000
Melon Splash, 2003
This Quilt Along will be a lot more fun because you will be able to see Jen make her quilt and I'll be making it too. I think there are other designers who are joining in as well. And you can share your progress on Facebook and Instagram. So how do you join in the fun? First..............READ Jen's blogpost here. Second.........Order your pattern (links to purchase are in Jen's post) and there are a lot of options to get the pattern. Third.............Join the Facebook group to ask questions and share your progress. If you are using Instagram use #theborderquiltquiltalong OR the really short #tbqqa so we can see your progress. It all starts on July 18th with Introductory Posts. I'll be sharing the fabrics I'll be using. While I love those flannels.....I have selected something else and I'm doing a bit of a 'flip' with the quilt. You'll have to come back on July 18th to find out! See you soon in the The Border Quilt Quilt Along!
Three new patterns were finished over the weekend and have been added to the website.
Swing Along is a child's quilt or coverlet suitable for Beginners and more advanced quilters will like this quick-to-make project too. The large quilt is 47" x 56". The small quilt is 36" x 36". Fabrics: Sleepy Sloth byNorthcott
Only 4 stunning fabrics are needed to make Gemstones II. Strip piecing and easy connector corners make this project quick and fun. Choose a textured background for your quilt; blue and white backgrounds are shown in my pattern. Quilt size: 59" x 79"
Skill Level: Confident Beginner Fabrics I used: Strokes of Brilliance by Northcott
Night Blooms quilts are a perfect showcase for Imogen Skelley's bright multi-layer floral designs found in Northcott's Floral Fantasy collection.
The small quilt is 29" x 47" and is suitable for Beginners.
Intermediate quilters will enjoy making the large quilt (39" x 57") with its lattice border (not paper pieced).
It is over for another year and I had an amazing time in Houston this year. It started with my far TOO early flight to Calgary. Managed to capture this sunrise picture from the plane.
Then on to Houston. My hotel was formerly called The Inn at the Ballpark (now the Westin Downtown). You know what that means! Right next to Minute Maid park where the Houston Astros were playing in the World Series. We had a few crazy and noisy nights with our hotel lobby full of fans (standing room only). It was hard not to get excited along with them. Houston won but had to go back to Los Angeles to do it. Congratulations! Houston has had a rough time lately and they deserve a chance to celebrate.
There has been a lot of updating in the area around the Convention Centre. Last year was a massive construction zone with several new hotels being built and a re-configuration of the area directly in front of the centre. Restaurants have been added to make it easier to find food!
Art installations have also been added to the area including this structure. Changing colours of lights shine through the fountains and the whole structure moves and there is music to enhance the experience. And that's what I felt it was - an experience!
Here is a video I found on YouTube so you can see how this kinetic structure moves.
I helped with the setup for the Northcott booth. We had 2 sections because it was the big launch of our new division, Banyan Batiks. Here are a couple of pictures of the quilts on display.
This is my quilt, Shibori Weave.
The other part of the booth showcased several new collections including Stonehenge Maplewood. My quilt, Maplewood Trail, is the one on the right. I loved using the ombre fabrics to create the latticework around my quilt.
On of the nicest things about Market is reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones.
I just finished my latest quilt. This will be a new pattern with an exciting new fabric division from Northcott. Banyan Batiks will make their debut at International Quilt Market this fall in Houston.
The fabrics I used are from the Sophie collection combined with a great new basic collection called Ketan.
Watch for the release of my Zen Chic pattern early in 2018. Stay tuned for a couple of new patterns using these amazing new batiks!
Are you expecting some additions to your family? Want a couple of quick quilts for gifts? Thinking of getting ahead of the gift giving holidays? I have 2 NEW patterns that might be just what you are looking for.
First is Baby Beginnings. I designed this quilt because I LOVE this new fabric collection from Northcott. Who can resist flannel fabric with ONESIES! The fabric is called Hello Baby - what a great name
This fabric collection has 3 different colourways and I couldn't choose just one for the pattern - sometimes we want a quilt for a little girl, sometimes for a boy and sometimes we are making it ahead and there ARE new parents who have decided to be SURPRISED!
So I included all 3 colours in my pattern for a baby quilt and cot quilt.
The other new pattern also uses a Flannel fabric. This fabric collection is called Snow Bears - wintery polar bears having fun in the snow! This is a Quilts for Kids collection. That means that a percentage of all sales of these fabrics is donated to Quilts for Kids Inc.
I called this pattern Bear Tracks - I can imagine bear footprints in the snow!
My pattern includes a large quilt (54" x 74"), small quilt (39" x 44") and a pillow (11" x 27").
This was the view in my back yard last week! Okay Mother Nature....we've had enough now! Where I live on
Vancouver Island we normally have very MILD winters. The grass stays green and
we only have a few days of cold weather.
But this year has been DIFFERENT and I mean WHITE different!
We had another snow storm earlier this week and there is no green grass
to be seen.
I have been feeling a bit 'house bound' this week so took the
opportunity to quilt some small quilts so I can share with the Parksville Quilt House Guild next week as part of my Northcott Fabrics Lecture.
Here
are the 3 quilts I quilted last week during my Snow Days.
This
is Galaxy, designed by Sue Beevers. Sue used Northcott's ColorWorks Concepts fabrics for this small
quilt. This will be a fun donation to my Guild's Baby Quilt program.
The
next quilt is Route 66. This uses the UrbanElementz collection by Patricia E. Ritter. This quilt uses
pre-fused applique shapes designed by Patricia and she has lots of other
appliques available too. I think this will be perfect for my daughter's
small trailer when they go camping in the summer.
For
this quilt I used some new Longarm Templates that I got at Quilt Market last
fall. These are Oval CTemplates by HandiQuilter.
And this is where I used the
centre oval for custom quilting:
The
third quilt has been quilted and I just have to add the binding.
This
is Shattered Crystals
by Pine Tree Country Quilts.
It showcases an amazing Digital Panel fabric called Expressions.
I used SuperiorThreads MicroQuilter thread and a pantograph for this one. This thread is ON SALE and it is great for texture without 'in your face' thread colour.
I have
the same quilt with black accent and hope to work on that one next week.
This
fabric will be delivering to quilt shops in April. There are some wonderful
projects you can make with this collection!
I had a fun week making use of my time while the snow fell outside. The rains have come and I'll see that green grass soon!
I have just added 5 new patterns to my website. Most of them were designed in the summer last year and the final pattern development was completed just before the holidays. This brings me to 22 new patterns published in 2016! Dancing Orchids combines piecing and appliqué - but you don't need to make the orchids! They are 'fussy cut' from the orchid print in the Artisan Spirit Sandscapes Orchids collection by Northcott and then fused in place. This pattern includes 2 sizes: you can add the asymmetrical border for the large quilt (46" x 58") or make the smaller quilt (35" x 47") without the border. I have included one of my favourite appliqué shapes in the quilt too - the Monstera leaf. I have used this design for my Machine Quilting with Decorative Stitches workshop and as a quilting design. Buy this pattern. On the Move: I have wanted to make this pattern for a couple of years. It is based on the wedding quilt I made for my daughter and son-in-law in 2014. I just had to wait for the perfect fabric. Hipster on the Go by Northcott was just what I was looking for! This pattern has 2 sizes and 2 colourways. The large quilt is 56" x 65" and the small quilt is 39" x 44" (perfect for a baby quilt).
The next design uses Island Batik fabrics and is a Give & Take Appliqué pattern (one fused design equals TWO blocks). This Holiday Bells table runner is 18½" x 48". It's NOT too early to get started on a holiday project for 2017!
I had a lot of fun working with panels for the next pattern. Yes....this quilt uses 2 of the same panel so you don't need to do all that amazing piecing! I cut the panels into sections and recombined the pieces with 3 coordinating fabrics to make this 59" x 67" quilt.
The Psychedelic panels are from the ColorWorks Concepts 2 collection by Northcott. I called this design Galaxy Twist.
And the last pattern is one for the golfers in your life. A great collection of prints called On the Green make this quilt lots of fun. There is a golf course scene, golf balls on the grass and golf clubs and golf bags and shoes. There is a fun allover print with 'tees' as well. Two sizes are included in this pattern - large quilt 56" x 72" and small quilt 48" x 60". Piecing is very easy for these quilts and they make a perfect gift. What else could I call it? Tee Time!
Today's job was trimming one of my new pattern quilts in preparation for the binding. This is Galaxy Stars and it will be displayed in the Northcott booth at International Quilt Market at the end of the month.
Pattern will be available in March 2017. HINT: It uses PANELS!!
I love it when I can combine
testing a new product with a small project. I had a cute flannel panel fabric (Northcott's Flirty Birdies)
in my stash and decided to make a cot cover quilt for my new granddaughter, Brooklyn. Two textured solids and a wavy stripe coordinated well.
I thought
'tipsy blocks' would be fun to make with the bird blocks so I decided to give
the Creative Grids Perfect Rectangle
Ruler a test run. The ruler's main function is to cut perfect rectangles
that can be assembled to make half-rectangle blocks when the width is one half
of the height. But these half rectangles can also be used to 'tip' square
blocks.
I cut four 8" squares from
the panel, followed the instructions with the tool to cut triangles from
8-1/2" wide strips and then sewed them to the square. The instructions
that come with the tool are well written and illustrated.
The final step was to
square up my blocks to measure 11" square.
I joined the blocks with sashing
and prepared my quilt sandwich. I tried Pinmoors
for basting. These are drum shaped rubber pieces that allow you to baste
your quilt with straight pins. You push the sharp end of the pin into the
Pinmoor. Since I have some arthritis in my right hand it was easier to use the
Pinmoors than safety pins (my usual basting method). The pins stayed in place
and were easy to remove as I quilted my small quilt.
And here is Brooklyn's first quilt - the first of many I'll make for her!
