Quilt Qwazy Queens Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to my blog. I am very happy to be participating in this blog hop, organized by Marian at Seams To Be Sew. Thank you, Marian, for all the work you do putting together these fun events. Down at the bottom of this post you will find out how to enter for several giveaways each day of the hop. The list of sponsors is incredible!

The schedule for Quilt Qwazy Queens is:

Quilt Qwazy Queens Schedule

March 16

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Resourceful Momma
UCanQuilt2

March 17

Freemotion by the River
KwiltKrazy
FunThreads Designs
Pink Doxies

March 20

Jane’s Quilting
Seacoast Quilter
Words & Stitches
Quilting Affection

March 21

Thrift Shop Commando
Batts In The Attic
Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Sew Many Yarns

March 22

MooseStash Quilting
Life in the Scrapatch
Seams To Be Sew

A number of the participants have shared their sewing spaces/studios. If you are looking for great ideas, or just enjoy seeing other's studios, be sure to visit everyone. Daily prizes will have expired for past days but there are more to come.

I do not have a room that is my sewing studio. I am in the process of cleaning out my husband's family home (he passed away last year). There have been 3 generations of his family that have lived in the house since 1916, and no one ever threw anything out. So I thought I'd share some photos of where I am making due and sewing when I can. 

First is the kitchen cart that actually works pretty good for a cutting table. It holds a 12" x 24" cutting mat and has a wing I can flip up to hold bolts.

My stash looks pretty organized, doesn't it? I have fat quarters and smaller yardage sorted by type (batik, repro, modern, etc.) and by color. This is only about half the boxes. My husband gave me a monthly anniversary gift for the 15 years we were married, wrapped in fabric, or just gave fabric. He mostly purchased fat quarter or half yard bundles of full lines of reproduction fabric, from Reproduction Fabrics. I've tried to continue his habit of getting the new lines as they come out. 😊

My final sewing essential is my machine, a Bernina 830 with embroidery. It sits on a desk from Amazon at the end of my bed. I put a 12" x 12" pressing board on my desk and I'm set. I try to spend a couple hours a day sewing but fell behind last year. I'm dealing with a few health issues and don't have much energy some days. Oh well, we all take breaks from sewing sometimes. 

When I moved to the Seacoast area of New Hampshire in 2002 I joined 2 guilds as a way to meet people. I belong to the Cocheco Quilters in Dover, NH, and the Seabreeze Quilt Guild in Exeter, NH. Seabreeze has their show coming up on April 22nd so I've been trying to finish some projects for the show. You would think in the 2 years between shows I would have something. Well, I do, and I have some photos!

 

My friend Bea and I decided to do the block of the month for Seabreeze for 2015/2016 and created the original sampler pattern shown here. Each month in the newsletter, for 12 months, you got a block pattern in 6", 9" and 12" sizes. You could make all one size, or combine all 3 into the sampler layout shown. Bea's is on the left, made from batiks. Mine is on the right, made from Thimbleberries stash. There were some filler blocks to make everything fit together, and Bea used all neutrals for hers. I used prints. I like the two different looks!

This quilt is called Pointing to Center and I designed it for a short block of the month for 2016. With the show coming in April we wanted something that could finish in December. I know of at least 2 other guild members who have made this quilt and will have it in the show. Should make a nice grouping, don't you think?

Both of these patterns will be available in my shop at Craftsy, and at QuiltWoman for wholesale purchase, very soon. I just need to reformat them from the monthly newsletter layout.

I have two more at the quilter and expect them back any day. One was a mystery quilt that one of the other Seabreeze members provided in the newsletter. The other is the Bonnie Hunter Quiltville Mystery from this past year. I have been saving her annual mystery patterns that start after Thanksgiving for 5 years. This year, I made it, too! I used many fat quarters to substitute for the yardage required and so finally made my first scrappy quilt. When I started to assemble the blocks I thought I was going to hate it. But I love it now. I'll have photos soon.

Ok, I think it is time for the fun stuff. First I have a bottle of Terial Magic Fabric Spray. This is a fabric stiffener like heavy starch. It works great for anytime you want a firmer hand, like with cutting machines, scrapbooking, etc. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Northcott Fabrics has given the Quilt Qwazy Queens a whole bunch of fat quarters. My prize for today is from the On The Green collection.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The last chance to win here today is a $50.00 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop. Good luck to all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

One final good thing today is the discount available for Electric Quilt. I use this program all the time and would highly recommend it. 

Use the promo code: EQHOP201 for a special hop price, good till 3/27/2017

Exclusions: Electric Quilt 7, EQ7 Migration Kit, Upgrade from EQ Mini to EQ7, EQ Mini Migration Kit, EQ Academy classes, and EQ University classes.

Don't forget to visit the other blogs today, and be sure to stop by and see Marian for the winners. 

I hope you have enjoyed your visit with me. Hopefully new medication should have me feeling better and back to work on the 101 Patchwork Patterns quilt that I've been sharing here. It's been on hold a bit but I'm ready to jump back in the water.

Thanks again,

Mary

My January Challenge and A Touch of Snow Blog Hop Winners

I was chosen as the January Challenge for Henry Glass Fabrics. They shared a fabric line called Pretty as a Pansy and I commented how I liked it. A couple emails later and they sent me a package of the fabric. It is very nice feeling cotton, with a smooth finish and a nice hand. They included 2 of a panel from the line so I thought I should use it. I already had a design started that would use a panel so I started off strong.

Then I tripped over Nosey. Remember Nosey from my last post? The 19 pound stray that must be part Maine Coon, from his size. I was coming out of the bathroom just off my kitchen and tripped over him. I landed flat on the floor. Both knees were bruised, the back of my left hand hit the door frame, and I don't know what my right hand/wrist hit, but I know I flung it out trying to stop the fall. Anyway, I'm not even a month out of the brace on my right wrist so this didn't do me any good. I couldn't do much for a week or so. And I didn't get to the photographer with the quilt, but I will. This is the top before any quilting was done.

On to better things, Marian of Seams To Be Sew announced the winners from our blog hop yesterday. She sent emails to the following lucky people:

Carol M.

Carolyn S.

Kathleen G.

Susan S.

So check your email if your name is here and see what you've won!

I am off to a long weekend sewing retreat tomorrow and plan to do a couple blocks for the 101 Patchwork Patterns quilt. One of the guilds I belong to is going to the Franciscan Guest House in Kennebunk, Maine. Hope everyone gets time to sew!

Mary

101 Patchwork Patterns Block 14

Welcome to another block in the delayed, but ongoing 101 Patchwork Patterns. After a tough couple months I've finally been able to sew again and I'm really enjoying it. You don't realize how much you love something until you can't do it. Well, hopefully I won't have to be in an arm brace again, because it really makes it hard to type or rotary cut. I'm very right handed and I could push pieces through the sewing machine with my left hand but that was about it!

Before we get started I want to tell you all about a blog hop that started today. A Fresh Snow is today, and Monday through Wednesday. We will be sharing projects that include fabric other then cotton. As quilters we tend to use mostly cotton so it will be interesting to see what everyone does.
The schedule is:

Jan 20 (today)

Jane’s Quilting
Lulu & Celeste
Quilt In Piece
3Patch Crafts

Jan 23

Quilted Fabric Art
Ravellry
Bdieges

Jan 24

Elm Street Quilts
Resourceful Mama
MooseStash Quilting
Any Pattern
Seacoast Quilter

Jan 25

Life in the Scrapatch
Sew Many Yarns
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Seams To Be Sew

I hope you can stop by and visit all these wonderful blogs. There is a daily prize to be had! Thank you to Marian of Seams To Be Sew for organizing another fun event.

Download Milky Way Pattern

This block starts a new portion of the quilt, and the blocks are going to measure 10" in the quilt, so 10-1/2" including seam allowances. I have detailed making half square triangle units several times before. This time we are making 9, 4-patch units. The following walks you through a quick and easy way to do this.

Start with 2 strips of each blue and white, cut 1-1/2" x 14". Sew pairs of blue and white strips together as shown above. Press towards the blue fabric.

Next,  place the two strip sets right sides together with the colors opposite each other.

Place your ruler at the right end of the strip set. Align any ruler line with the horizontal seam. Make a cut to the right end of the strip set, just a quarter inch or so, to give you a clean edge.

Spin your mat around, or carefully pick up the strips and turn them around. Use your ruler to cut 1-1/2 inch sections from the strip pairs. At the sewing machine, sew a 1/4 inch seam on one cut edge of each pair. Open and press.

Using the 4 patch units, the half square triangle units, 2 yellow squares and 2 background squares, lay out your block. Sew into rows, then sew rows together. It looks like a lot of piecing but goes fast.

So, here is a drawing from Electric Quilt of where we are at. This round will be 20 blocks. If you haven't had a chance to assemble your center portion yet, the assembly instructions are here.

Be sure to stop by on Tuesday and see what I've been working on in wool.

Mary

New England Quilt Museum & Eerie Nights

I went to the New England Quilt Museum in Lowell, Mass today. They have a monthly book group lunch meeting that includes a nonfiction title and a fiction title. The fiction today was Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas. I've read several of her books but not this one. It sounded like an amazing story so it's gone on my list. The other book discussed today was 101 Patchwork Patterns by Ruby Short McKim. I was invited to speak a bit and show the quilt to date. It was very interesting to see the couple antique Ruby McKim quilts and some blocks that they have in their collection. I hadn't been to the museum in a while and I really should go more often. The exhibits are always incredible. The current exhibit that just opened today is America's Appliqued Quilts from the Christ Collection. If you are anywhere in the area be sure to see it.

Now, for the promised first part of 101 Patchwork Patterns quilt assembly. I have a step by step document to help, and it is pretty straight forward. If you have any questions, on any block or other instructions, please ask. I am always glad to help. I know what I write makes sense to me, but may not always make sense to you. I ran to one of my local quilt shops yesterday to pin the quilt up for a photo, and it looks like it needed pressing. I changed the arrangement from the drawing a bit to distribute the colors nicely.

The Eerie Nights Blog Hop started today. You can see the full schedule at Sew Incredibly Crazy. There are lots of great prizes and fun projects to see. My day is next Thursday, October 27. I've got a free pattern for you.

Thanks for stopping by. If you get your quilt center together please share a photo on Facebook. We'd all love to see it!

Mary

101 Patchwork Patterns Block 13

I've been extremely busy with one thing and another... you all know how it goes. And before you know it, a month has gone by. These past few weeks have been very busy with guild quilt shows. I've been to four. After back surgery in 2014 I had missed a couple years of shows so I've really enjoyed going to: Merrimack Valley Quilters, Belknap Mills Quilters Guild, Monadnock Quilters Guild and one of the two guilds I belong to, Cocheco Quilters Guild.

There are two area events left in this fall season, both the same weekend and both new events. The Connections Quilt Festival is in Nashua, NH, November 10-12. Also new to the area is a vendor only show at the Sturbridge Host Hotel in Sturbridge, MA, November 10-12. This is sponsored by Pinwheels and Friends who hold a spring event in Mt. Kisco, NY. This will be their first time in Sturbridge.

Also, I am participating in two fun events on Thursday, October 20. First, I am part of the Eerie Nights Blog Hop and Thursday is my day to share. I have a quick and easy table topper with a fall look. Lots of great prizes are up for grabs during the hop, too. And I'll be speaking at the New England Quilt Museum during their monthly book club lunch meeting on Thursday. Their books for the month are 101 Patchwork Patterns and Whiter Than Snow by Sandra Dallas. I have read and enjoyed several Dallas novels but not this one. Think I can read it by Thursday?

I have two blocks from 101 Patchwork Patterns to share today, and I'll be back in a day or two with the first assembly instructions for our quilt. I chose an all pieced block and an alternate block with a little bit of applique. Whichever you choose to make is fine, and this block will allow us to assemble the first round of our medallion style quilt. The choices are Steps to the Alter or Cherry Basket.

Download Steps to the Alter Pattern

First you need to cut the Piece A green squares in half diagonally. I use the lines on the cutting mat to help me get the cut right on the diagonal by laying the square with the corners on a vertical line and using the 45 degree line to make sure it is straight on the mat.

Next, I lay out the rows needed for half of the block. 

Then I glue baste the squares to each other so I can go to the machine and sew without worrying that squares are out of place.

Next, sew pairs of yellow and green rows together. 

Now make the brown and beige half square triangle unit, and using the other half of the brown square, make the other half of the block. 

At this point you can sew the yellow/green pieces and the beige/brown pieces into rows, or sew each half together. I chose to sew the halves together. As you can see here I pressed the seam allowances open on the yellow/green rows.

Sew the two halves of the block together and you are done. (Sorry, missed a photo of this step.) 

As an improvement I am working on setting up a photography station with better light. I've been checking other blog posts on the issue. These seem to be particularly dark and I apologize.

Download Cherry Basket Pattern

This is very similar to the Steps to the Alter block above. Your small blocks are half square triangles rather than simple squares. 

Sew the rows of the basket together just like you did before. Also, add the dark purple half square triangles to the background rectangles.

Next you'll sew the background/triangle pieces to the basket, first one side then the other. Make sure you have an overlap of the dark purple triangles at the bottom corner of the basket. Sew the half square of background to the bottom of the basket.

After cutting the 8-5/8" large square on the diagonal, press to mark the center. Also fold the applique handle in half and line up the folds when placing the handle. Be sure that the bottom edges of the handle will be caught in the seam allowance.

I used fusible web to trace the basket handle and fuse it to the background triangle. I used a machine blanket stitch to sew it. You can use any stitch you would like: straight, zigzag, blanket, even hand blanket stitching is fine. Whatever you want is what's right.

Sew the handle portion to the basket portion. They are not equal halves like the Steps to the Alter were. Check to make sure you have a 1/4 inch seam allowance on either end of the handle portion extending beyond the basket portion.

Quilt including block 13.

So that wasn't too bad, was it? Remember you only need to make one of the blocks unless you want to have a spare. Each round of the quilt layout uses a different size block to make the dimensions come out right. So the 12 or 13 9 inch blocks we've made will surround the large center block. 

Check back in a couple days for the first assembly instructions.

Thanks for visiting,

Mary

The Road Home Row Along - New Milford, Connecticut

Welcome to the Seacoast Quilter! I am enjoying the row along so much. Thanks to Marian of Seams to Be Sew and Amy of Sew Incredibly Crazy for organizing this event. No small task, with 40 participating designers! I'm fairly new at blogging and I'm very grateful I was able to join the fun. I knew right away what I wanted to do. I started with a row that was just the Christmas trees. I decided last week to add the bandstand because it was just too plain. The templates were a challenge, but that's good for you, right?

New Milford, Connecticut

Download Row Here from Google Drive

or find it at Craftsy

My row depicts the town green at Christmas time. I didn't get a very good photo with my phone but will try to post a better one soon. As a typical New England small town, we have a green in the center. The bandstand is the only structure on the green itself. Trees are set up along the whole length as Christmas approaches.  It's a well known event in the Litchfield County region, and made the cover of Redbook magazine back in the sixties. 

The WWII era tank is another well known feature. 

I was born in, and grew up in New Milford, Connecticut. We had lots of Aunts and Uncles and cousins in town. Saturday nights usually found the whole family at one house or another. And a number of them played instruments so there was always music involved. New Milford was only about 8,000 people when I was a child. It's now about 28,000! I live in the Seacoast region of New Hampshire now.

I took some photos as I made the row. First I used printer friendly pieces of Steam-a-Seam 2 Lite for the applique shapes. Simply printing the pdf template pages is so easy. It has removable paper on both sides. When you remove the first layer it is tacky so you can place your pieces and they stay put. Once you are happy with the arrangement you fuse in place as usual.

I have two methods of joining the sky and the ground fabrics in the pattern. I ironed a fold at the top edge of the ground fabric and applied a fusible tape. This is by Clover to use with their bias tape makers. I then fused the ground to the sky and sewed it together with a blanket stitch.

The next step was to place the applique pieces. For the bandstand, I placed the pattern placement guide under an applique sheet (Bohin Non-Stick Ironing and Craft Sheet),

This allowed me to position all the pieces for the bandstand and fuse them together.

Now I can peel the completed unit off and place it on the background fabric. Adding the lamp posts and trees was simple from here. I usually tack down fusible applique when I quilt but I think I may do something on the bandstand to help define it. Maybe just black thread and "sketch" the details?

Now, to the fun part. Everyone has the opportunity to win one of lots and lots of prizes over the course of this blog hop. Thanks to all the sponsors. Please visit Seams to Be Sew to be entered in the drawing for the Calibre Art cutting mat, and lots of other goodies. To enter the drawing for 5 winners each day of an Anita Goodesign Machine Embroidery CD answer the question in the Rafllecopter widget here. Both of these are for U.S. entrants only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you've just found the Row Along today, no problem. You can visit any of the participants on or after their day to collect rows. Most will be available through the end of October. The schedule for The Road Home Row Along is:

September 6

Allie-Oops Sweet Happy Life creates Harrisville, MI Sunrise Coast
Cynthia’s Creating Ark creates Adelaide South Australia
Kissed Quilts creates Grand Coulee, Washington
Renee’s Quilting Addiction creates Alberta, Canada

September 8

Sew Incredibly Crazy creates Colorado
3 Patch Crafts creates Bulgaria
Just Let Me Quilt creates Las Vegas, Nevada
Quilt in Piece creates Amanzimtoti, South Africa

September 13

Tweety Loves Quilting creates Edinburgh, UK
Quiltscapes creates Heber City, Utah
Seams To Be Sew creates Idaho Falls, Idaho
Pine Valley creates New Zealand

September 15

bdieges designs creates Road to Tehachapi (CA)
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs creates Worcester County in Central Massachusetts
Patti’s Patchwork creates Toronto, Ontario Canada
Seacoast Quilter creates New Milford, Connecticut

September 20

Beaquilter creates Denmark
Heleen Pinkster creates Netherlands
MooseStash Quilting creates Alaska
Rebecca Mae Designs creates Northern Maine

September 22

Words & Stitches creates Beaches of California
Quilt Art creates Africa
I Can Quilt 2 creates Baltimore, MD
Any Pattern creates Port Angeles, Washington
Patchwork Breeze creates West Michigan Shoreline

September 27

Creatin’ in the Sticks creates Dodge City, Kansas
Sue Griffiths Featured At Just Let Me Quilt creates Northern Rivers Region, NSW, Australia
Seams To Be Sew And Batts In The Attic creates Hollywood/LA
(Dual Posting)

September 29

Quilted Fabric Art creates Burlington Vermont
Westend Quilter creates Manitoulin Island, Canada
Pamela Quilts creates Oregon
Quilt Fabrication creates Silicon Valley, CA

October 04

Patchouli Moon Studio creates Central New Mexico
Linda Robertus creates Netherlands
Elm Street Quilts creates North Carolina
Sarah Quinn Featured At Seams To Be Sew creates Outer Space

October 06

Cheryl LaPlant Featured At Quilt In Piece creates York, Maine
Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse creates New Hampshire
Bumbleberry Stitches creates Oklahoma
Needle in a Hayes Stack creates Mojave Desert
Cloth and Paper Studio creates North Georgia Mountains

October 11
Show N Tell Day
TBA

Thanks for visiting. Please join me on Facebook or sign up for my new e-mail newsletter. I am doing a block a week honoring 101 Patchwork Patterns by Ruby Short McKim. We're only up to block 12 so there's plenty of time to join in.

Thanks,
Mary