Monthly Archives: October 2023

Woot! My Quilt Is Published!

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Fons & Porter’s Quick + Easy Quilts for winter came out Oct 24, and that’s the issue with my quilt design in it! Here are some pictures provided by the publisher:

And here’s a link for buying a digital copy if you don’t want to go to the news stand.  Studio Stitch has ordered some copies, so you should be able to purchase an actual paper copy there.

I’ll be teaching the quilt at Studio Stitch for those of you who want a class, but it will be in January when we all have time to breathe! With that in mind, here’s the quilt in another colorway that I made to work out any “kinks” in the design.

Yes, it’s being held out a window by hand, so the picture isn’t as nice as the ones taken by the magazine folks!

And of course there are many other fun quilts in the issue. Here’s one I particularly like, even though I didn’t design it 😀

This quilt is called Joyful Gifts

Check it out!

 

Another Type of Circle Quilt

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This is a finish from some fabric I bought a little over a year ago at a nice shop in St. Agatha, Maine. I’ve since seen the Robert Kaufman Venice fabrics elsewhere, and they are all just beautiful. In addition to the lovely colors, the fabric weave is sateen, so it feels exceptionally smooth. Here are pictures of a couple of the fabrics in the line:

I puzzled for months over how to make the perfect quilt from these fabrics and finally settled on this pattern.

I’ve never used patterns from this company before and, whether the problem was with me or with the template, my first attempt did not produce a round circle!

OK, not a great photo, and the block isn’t even lying flat, but you can see that those side arcs aren’t quite what they should be.

After arguing with the pattern for a while, I just re-drew the block in EQ8, printed templates from EQ , and used those. The re-drawn block turned out just fine.

So here is the quilt, and I’m happy to say I like it a lot!

Quit Stats

Name: St. Agatha in Venice

Finished size: 58″ x 69″

Pattern: Circle Time, with several changes by me

Made by: me

Quilted by: Linda Nichols

And here’s one last picture, because I recently read in Meg Cox‘s newsletter that I should take a picture of the quilt top twisted up. Not sure why, but it is kind of a fun picture in this case.

 

Asheville Quilt Show 2023

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I always enjoy the Asheville Quilt Show. There are so many excellent quilters in the Asheville guild, and I always find inspiration at the show. Here are a few of my favorites from 2023.

Sizzle by Kathryn Zimmerman won an award for Outstanding Machine Workmanship

Detail of Tiny Houses by Janet L. Ervin. There were many of these little houses, hand appliquéd and embroidered!

Stripes Rule by Diana Ramsay caught my eye

I thought Lightning, by Tricia Vinson, was a clever use of an ombre fabric. Please note my photo is crooked; the quilt isn’t!

Tierra Nirvana, by Stephanie Wilds, particularly appealed to me because I’m making map quilts this year and have a similar one in mind

Sedona Spectrum by Judy Grebe had an appealing mix of vibrant colors

I loved the geometric shapes in Orange Sherbert by Sana R. Moulder

Our Song, Your Reflection by Audrey Pantas was a gorgeous variation on a traditional design

It Was A Puzzle, by Jane Butckovitz, interested me because I’ve been struggling with how to use this beautiful Wild Blossoms fabric from Moda.

The fabrics chosen for Haze Kilim by Mary Ellen Simmons positively glowed

Tropic of Capricorn, an original design by Catherine S. Beemer, was spectacular in both design and workmanship

There are so many wonderful quilts at the show that I’m sure it’s difficult for the judges to select the winners. As usual, it’s hard for me to see why some won and others didn’t, but I enjoyed them all.

Bloem–My Way

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The Bloem (pronounced “bloom”) quilt by Libs Elliott caught my eye on a visit to Five Little Monkeys, and I promptly went home and made it–with a few variations.

First, of course, I drew it in EQ8 so I could make some changes and try various color schemes.

This is my modification of the Bloem pattern by Zen Chic

I changed a few of the blocks as well.

And finally, here it is!

And here’s a detail of the quilting.

Quilt Stats

Name: Bloem

Pattern by: Libs Elliott, slightly modified by me

Finished size: 65″ x 65″

Quilted by: Linda Nichols

I think I’ll hang this one up to look at it for a while 😀

Another Batch for Ronald McDonald House

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When the quilt closet gets too full, it’s time to send some to various organizations that use them as comfort quilts. Ronald McDonald House of Cincinnati has been a favorite over the years, in part because they are so appreciative when the lady from our group brings the quilts to them. Therefore, these 8 are going to them.

This first quilt was made in 2009. It hasn’t been given away yet in part because I love all those floral fabrics and in part because it was pulled a bit out of shape by an inexperienced quilter who will remain nameless. The pattern is called Crumbs, notwithstanding that the name has been used for a very different quilt since that time.

Second is this quilt made last year and entitled Bright Scraps. No pattern; I made it up as I went along.

Bright Scraps, one of many scrap quilts made last year. And no, the scrap pile has NOT diminished!

Splendid Stars, 2021, is one of several quilts I’ve made from star blocks left from other projects.

Splendid Stars, 51″ x 53″, was made from orphan blocks left from numerous projects

And here is another quilt made in 2022 from my sizeable stash of floral fabrics.

This quilt, called Summer Night, was made in 2005 and includes fabrics with stars that glow in the dark!

The quilt below is one of my favorite “rescue” quilts. The circles were cut from blocks that had failed two or three other arrangements. I cut them out and sewed them onto a background I had already quilted.

 

The following quilt was made from a free pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew. Thanks to my friend Gwen, the “Textile Ranger”, who identified the source.

And finally, this quilt is called Candy Cubes. It was made in 2020 from the book New Patchwork and Quilting Basics by Jo Avery.

And if this seems like a lot of quilts to donate, consider that I’ve now made over 500 and they need to go to folks who can use them. As some other quilters have noted, I don’t want to leave a lot of “stuff” for my daughter to have to dispose of–when I die many  years from now!