2016 Christmas Quilt

Yet another Missouri Star Quilt Company pattern! (Nope, I am not being paid by them but I am available if they happen to read this. Call/email me!)

This was based on the "Sandy Sunrise" Quilt from BLOCK magazine Spring volume 2 issue 2.

I made 8 blocks, the pattern calls for 4. 

I free-motion quilted feathers with looped accents in the center blocks. It finished at 72" square.

a Scrappy finish

Yes, this is from a #MSQC tutorial and pattern, but isn't it cute?

This went together like a dream. I cut 2 1/2 inch strips from my scrap box, and used some cream yardage from my stash.

Kerley likes it too!

He may have tried to claim it. 

But this is a gift!

Free-motion in a soft loop all-over, used Aurifil 50 weight thread and Quilter's Dream puff poly batting.
 

 

 

How the Missouri Star Quilt Company gave me back my mojo

Long title! But a true experience. 4 of the last quilts I have finished came from the MSQC's tutorials. Jenny Doan is so entertaining and breaks the steps down so well. She made quilting fun for me again.

 

After losing my mother-in-law in 2012, then my Dad in 2013, I landed in a very deep and scary depression. I tried to keep moving forward but seemed like everything was too much effort.

After I lost Dad, I bought my Tiara, I found the repetition of FMQ soothing. But my quilts seemed without joy.

We also moved, twice. Selling, renting, buying again. And the stresses that come with these tasks wore me down.

Then, my Mom mentioned that she and a group of her friends had challenged each other to make a quilt out of MSQC's Block magazine. Using only what they had in their stashes.

That was the catalyst for me. Instead of trying to make each Quilt a masterpiece, I just wanted to make a pretty quilt. And I did. 

Just going through the video tutorials was fun. I subscribe to the MSQC "BLOCK" magazine, so I have them to refer to for additional info and inspiration. 

No, this is not a sponsored post, these thoughts are purely my own.   

Stay tuned, another MSQC quilt to come!

Asheville Quilt Show

We drove to Asheville this past Saturday to see the annual Asheville Quilt Show. My first time at this show and I was impressed by the number of quilts as well as the venue!

While hard to do, I do have a few favorites from the show:

Made by my dear friend, Ania Reich, this won 1st in the Special Technique division. Her statement:

Another friend, Gina Boone, won with her amazing whole cloth:

Hard to see all the intricate stitching, her statement:

 

Other favorites, each with the quilters statement:

I love the color in this!

Again, the color drew me in. This one used silks along with cotton, gorgeous.

This quilt was so striking, not another remotely similar. In both color and fabric choices, it was amazing.

This is a great example of a traditional block with a modern fabric where the quilt lets the textile do all the work!

In the modern category, Emily Coffey won with this:

 

The colors and stitching are phenomenal.

The construction methods were of note:

Very inspiring show!
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

My studio

We bought this house in December of 2015, and had some updating done. Part of this included closing in a screened porch for my studio/office. While it is a work in progress, I am working in it daily. The first challenge was creating a design wall.

The wall itself is brick. (I'm not fond of the the raw red color, that will eventually change.) So hanging a design wall took some research.

The ingredients: styrofoam insulation boards (easy for me to handle):

white duct tape

  

outdoor tape

505 spray

(not pictured)batting scraps.

I sprayed the batting with 505, laid the styrofoam on top, flipped over and smoothed out. Then flipped back over and used the duct tape to secure the batting edges.

Then added the outdoor tape.

I leveled using the mortar lines and hung the panels.

I hung this in April, it is now the end of September and it is still hanging well. 

The outdoor tape is amazing!