Category Archives: Monday’s Design Wall

Monday's Design Wall, Out My Window, Quilting

Design Wall Monday

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My design wall has been pretty much unchanged since a week ago, so I thought I would take you shopping with me for quilty things at the Des Moines AQS show.

We got back from the Des Moines show yesterday a little tired, a little poorer, but very glad we made the trip.  I did some shopping for items that I have bought on line before, but it’s so much better to see in person.

  • King Tut thread.  One of the longarm sales reps was stitching on black fabric with a variegated pastel.  Gorgeous!  I mostly quilt with poly-wrapped poly or poly-wrapped cotton, and sometimes with all cotton.  Three cones of Superior’s King Tut went into my shopping bag (a jewel-toned variegated, a green variegated, and a nice neutral tan/taupe).
  • Golden Threads pantos.  I haven’t added any pantos to my collection for a long time, and this was my opportunity to see the true scale and density of each pattern in person.  I bought four:  1)  Iron Gate by Keryn Emmerson (my fave designer); gender neutral design, quite open.  2)  Decaf by Sue Patten; tighter flowy pattern of ferns.  3)  My Favorite Leaves (5″) by Judy Allen; leaves and loops, looser design, really pretty.  4)  Clover Meadow by Keryn Emmerson; clovers, medium density, looks really fun to sew.
  • Sewline Fabric Glue Pen.  A pen housing an approx 1/4″ wide stick of fabric glue.  The store clerk said it worked well for basting English paper piecing, and said it didn’t leave a residue or stiffness.  I am going to try it on my GFG quilt…we’ll see.
  • TQM Products.  Susan Brown owns TQM Products, and they make a couple of pretty nifty rulers.  (Disclosure:  Susan is a FaceBook friend of mine, although I hadn’t met her before, and she was so generous as to give me a couple of her rulers.)  One ruler you have maybe seen before; it’s for efficiently and quickly cutting bias binding.  The second ruler assists you in sewing your final binding join in a nice diagonal seam.  I join my binding that way, but I have my own cumbersome made-up way of doing it.  I am excited to try Susan’s little ruler.  A big plus to her rulers:  she has the instructions on how to use them printed right ON THE RULER.  Smart.
  • Miscellaneous stuff:  FQs of silk shantung for some whole-cloth experimenting (yummy!); We spent a LOT of time in Lori Smith’s booth.  I bought a pattern I may just drool over and never make, but I love it, “Chocolate: A Sampler Quilt“.
  • Wool!  Wool is big this year, and I’ve avoided it in the past like the plague.  Really.  Til now.  I bought a couple of kits so I just need to buy some floss (probably), and hopefully have NOTHING LEFT OVER.  I am not going to go down that wooly path — well, maybe just a few steps, then I will turn right around and be a regular wovens quilter!

In the last week or so, the robins (and the occasional cedar wax wing) have been FEASTING in our little crab apple tree.  I’ve wasted spent a lot of time shooting birdie pictures through the glass.  A sample:

Wasn’t that fun?  We’ll have to go shopping together again sometime.  Be sure to visit Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times to check out what other quilters are doing.

Monday's Design Wall

Design Wall Monday

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Lots to tell you about today, so fill up your coffee cup!  Since I just got back (a week ago) from a quilt retreat, I actually have some progress to share.  Yes, we were a busy group of 11 stitchers.  And being the unfocused person that I am, I even started two new projects.  (Hmm, that’s not supposed to happen…)

New Project #1 is a baby quilt made with the Lil Twister template and some yummy Moda charm squares.  I wanted it to be a bit bigger, so I trimmed up the waste squares from this technique and made an extra border.  I used two charm packs (total 80 squares) and about 1 1/2 yards of border fabric.  I’m really happy with this one:

I also made 9 more star blocks and worked a tiny bit on my applique blocks for my pieced/appliqued top.  I have all 12 star blocks done, but have 11+ applique blocks to finish:

And, New Project #2 is an arrowhead block quilt done in dark green and a gold/cream print.  Here are four blocks, but I did get 16 blocks done, 14 (or 16) to go, depending upon the setting I choose.

Roseann from Rosebud’s Cottage in White Bear Lake, MN, so GENEROUSLY donated 12 of her Quilt Kits on Sticks when I saw her at the MN State Fair! Roseann absolutely exudes fun, and she wanted to make sure we would have a little extra fun too.

The kits make the cutest little mats, and ten of us made them up at the retreat.  (There was a LOT of discussion about whose mat was the cutest…although I’m pretty sure it was mine..)

All of the Alabama quilters were delighted (and amazed) to receive a gift from a shop owner in Minnesota, and we are all sending a HUGE Thank You your way, Roseann.

If you haven’t quite finished your coffee yet, click here to look at my setting options for the arrowhead quilt and vote on your favorite.  I’d appreciate the help!  And after THAT bit of tomfoolery, be sure to visit Roseann’s blog and her shop, Rosebud’s Cottage.  Then stop over at Judy Laquidara’s Patchwork Times to see what other quilters have done this week.

All time well spent.

Monday's Design Wall

Design-Wall Monday

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Finished a baby quilt for great-niece Hanna B.  Or Hanna “Bee”.  The “B” family likes the association with the buzzy kind of bees, so Hanna’s quilt has as many bee fabrics in it as I could find.  The backing fabric says “busy as a bee” all over it, which should be appropriate for a toddler.  The pattern is Terry Atkinson’s Yellow Brick Road.  The quilting is freehand edge-to-edge swirls.

I hope the little darling doesn’t end up in treatment over a bee phobia!  Or is that pho-bee-a?  (Excuse the toes.  Do you do that when you take quilt pix?)

Linking to Judy Laquidara’s Design Wall Monday Post:  Patchwork Times

–Sue

PS:  I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but check out these Brownie Cheesecake Sundae Bites!  I think I will have to try this one soon…