Retreat planning day

 My retreat friends and I got together on Sat. to plan the food and games for our upcoming Feb. retreat. It's three weeks away and we're counting the days! Then we spent some time sewing. I worked on sewing the first large diamond together for my Lone Star class model and cutting another set. I love how this looks! That's all I will cut until demonstrating for the class on Saturday.

 Then I worked on making a few more black/gray Honeycomb blocks for that class. I am becoming obsessed with this mostly black/gray quilt. I partially sewed some of the seams together, but can still add more blocks if I want. I got opinions on using the zebra sets, and they all loved them so I worked them in.

Pat brought two show and tells ....her zigzag quilt, which is beautiful with 2 color zigzags.

 And this gorgeous 30's prints rail fence. She gave both of these quilts to Cindy to quilt for her (she has a long arm quilting business).

 Cindy brought her Chevy truck  quilt...she worked on getting this finished at our last retreat and it is now finished, quilted and bound.

 She put a road on the back of it! She delivered it to her brother on Sunday.

 Then she worked on her Sampler Club quilt. It's coming together nicely!

 Dianne worked on her Scattered Thoughts quilt...she has some gorgeous fabrics set on a gray background, so I can't wait to see some blocks finished.

 Rose worked on her last Sampler Club quilt....we all love her fabrics and think she should share.

 Pat was also working on her Sampler Club quilt...she had a problem with the sashings and had to get out her ripper...hate when that happens.

 Diana couldn't come as she had some family obligations. We missed her!

I worked on some class paperwork all morning yesterday...then went swimming with a friend at the senior center. It was my first time in that pool...the water there is so warm...it was wonderful. We did water aerobics. I'm not much of a swimmer, but I love water aerobics. I used to go to a class in the summers, but haven't gone for quite a few years. Maybe time to get back into it.

I worked on more paperwork when I got home and will probably do some pattern writing today as I'm home because of the holiday. Are you sewing?

New beginnings for a new Sampler Club

The Highlights Sampler Club Group One met for the first time last night. We spent some time oohing and aaaahing over the new fabrics they were going to cut up for this quilt. That's part of the fun, isn't it? enjoying the fabrics?

They learned a new way to make no waste flying geese, and were amazed at how quickly they came together. This technique works well if you are very careful about your seam allowances and need four that are just alike.

As you can see, there are lots of fun colorways...

I have a second group making this quilt beginning later in the month, so you will see a lot of blocks from this sampler design.

Love a new beginning...

Diana W

Part of the fun of teaching classes is that you get to see the designs come to life in different colorways. I would love to have the time to make each quilt several times, but it just isn't possible with my time constraints. So when I see a pattern I designed, like Scattered Thoughts, being made in different fabric choices, it's especially fun for me.

Lorraine C

Diana W. (top of page) is using fabrics with a graphic twist, while Lorraine and Jane are using batiks.

Jane D

There is a lot of background in this quilt, so it's interesting to see what they choose for that as well. While Diana W and Lorraine went with a light background, Jane, Gina and Diana S chose vibrant tone on tones for their background. That is going to really change the look of the quilt too.

Gina S

Diana S

Kim had a soft pretty floral background...she is also adding green and brown to the quilt. Once they had some of the first sets of blocks made, most of them started sewing more stripsets together so completing the rest of the blocks would be quicker.

Kim C

I am excited to see these quilts finished!

Not much sewing going on.....Scattered Thoughts class today

Scattered Thoughts

It's been a busy week back at work, so not much sewing  going on! I am teaching my newest design, the Scattered Thoughts quilt class today at Cut Up and Quilt, so I'll get to see lots of starts in different colorways for it today. That's always fun!

 We had a weather day from school on Wed. but I worked on the patterns for the new sampler most of the day. I'm still not finished, but getting there.

 My small quilting group met Thursday night....we had fun catching up.

Scattered Thoughts

It was a busy week back at school. I'm pretty behind there, but just keep plugging away at it.

Happy Saturday....hope you are quilting!

Vibrant Lone Star

 I have a Lone Star quilt that I made a few years ago hung as a model for the upcoming Lone Star quilt class later this month, but I wanted to make a working model as well. I have been collecting some batiks over the past several months, so I got them out and started playing with progressive layouts. You can use any fabrics for this quilt, but I had collected some grays and reds and wanted to use them in the same quilt. How to blend them?

After I settled on these eleven fabrics, the final decision (in my mind, at least) was whether to put the black and gray with the gold squares next to each other, or separate them with the gray mottled fabric. Part of me wanted to put the gray mottled in between them because technically speaking it's darker, so if you are doing a progression of color, it should probably be in between. But I really liked the effect that they have on each other when they are side by side. It looks like the squares are spilling from the black onto the gray. You can see which way I chose...what would you have done?

I only cut one strip of each color the other night so I could see how they looked as a star point. I will probably sew one or two points completely together ...I have to leave some of it to demo cutting and sewing during class. I don't have a background for it either, so I need to take the point with me to find something that the star will show up well on. I have a few ideas....any suggestions?

Just playing....

 I  spent some time  cutting and piecing some Honeycomb blocks that I can use for a working model for the class. I used a couple of leftover blocks from the quilt and then cut up some fabrics I thought went together that I had in my stash. I don't really know if I like the pink/purple combo, but thought I would try it. Also not sure I like the black/gray set with the zebra print, though the closer it gets to being sewn together, the better I like it. They are all sewn into half blocks now. I will eventually make another quilt out of them, but not until after the class.

I had made a few of these project bags for my great nephews for their birthdays in Nov. I had one more partially completed for a third little guy, so finished it up too. His birthday party is Sunday. You can probably guess what his favorite thing is....

 I've been working on the patterns for my new sampler design...I've felt more like sewing than writing lately, but they are coming along.

bag back

 I have cut these gorgeous batiks for another class model, but it's back to work for me today, so no sewing! Happy Monday!

A finish to start the new year!

Ziggedy Zag

 After finishing this quilt on Sunday, I was anxious to get Ziggedy Zag quilted. It was a top I made to demonstrate what you could do with the Strip Tube Ruler back in Sept. at Cut Up and Quilt. I am finishing it for my newest great nephew, Robert.

Blue flannel backing

It was a great chance to try out a new panto I bought a few months ago, Prickle Patch. I chose a blue mottled flannel for the back and gold thread. I love using flannel backing on baby quilts. 

Prickle Patch

  I like the overall look...It fills in and blends well from row to row. I like pantos that make it hard to find the rows. I don't have as large a reach on my midarm as some, so I usually stick to pantos that are about 6.5". This one is 7.5", so I probably couldn't use it on a large quilt, but it worked fine for this one that finished at about 60" long.

Close-up of back

I had used a jelly roll for the quilt and had some strips left over, so chose the ones I had left with letters and then mixed in some of the blue prints for a scrappy binding.

I love this binding as there are so many cute prints in this line and it makes the binding very playful. 

 The label is on and ready to gift the next time I see little Robert. I saw him for the first time at Christmas and got some snuggle time in....he is adorable!

I'm trying really hard to add labels to all the quilts I finish, so made one for the Honeycomb Waffle, Too quilt.  I have the supply list ready, so it's good to go as a shop model for class. 

 I cut the sewn stripsets for the working model for this class yesterday and put them on the design wall. I want to sew them into half blocks today. I might even play with a layout, though I won't finish it until the class is over.