And She's Off!

OK,  I just couldn't stop myself.  I started another applique' project.I have joined the group of quilters addicted to Kim McLean patterns.
This all started when I found the blog Glorious Applique.  The pictures just draw you in.
I also have a friend who does a lot of Kim's quilts so I can see how beautiful they are in person.
I decided to start with the Hearts and Flowers quilt in Quilt Romance by Kaffe Fassett. 
Since I didn't have any Kaffe fabrics  I ordered the fabric pack and started a stash. My fabric pack from Glorious Color came this week.

Trouble is all the fabrics aren't in the pack and I don't have a clue how to substitute or cut them up or use them to get a good effect. 

To be continued.

Virginia Quilt Museum's Shenandoah Valley Botanical Album Quilt

It's the 15th of October and time to post my first blocks for the Virginia Quilt Museum's Shenandoah Valley Botanical Album Quilt Sew Along.

This month we were to stitch the Pineapple block.

I am making the 16 inch block because most of my fabrics have large prints and will show better on larger applique pieces.

There are three pineapple blocks in the quilt.  I have chosen to make my quilt using Kaffe Fassett fabrics since I have a nice collection of them.

My background is a Moda Bella soft butter color.

I still haven't decided if I will ink the names of the blocks on my background.

 

 As far as what technique I will use well, I am a starch and turn girl so I will stick with this method.

There are so many different ways to do appliqué and we must pick the one that works the best for us.
In my opinion there is no right or wrong way just what works for you.

We have two very talented ladies leading this Sew Along :

Dawn from Collector with a Needle http://collectorwithaneedle.blogspot.com

Doreen from Aunt Reen's Place  http://auntreensplace.blogspot.com

The sales from this lovely pattern are to  benefit the VA Quilt Museum  http://svbotanicalquilt.blogspot.com

There is also a Facebook group you can follow  https://www.facebook.com/shenvalleybotanicalquiltsewalong

It's never too late to join the fun.

Nancy

How About A Little Color - "Flower Pots"

I have been working on so much red and green fabric I decided I needed a little color in my life.

This is Flower Pots by Kim McClean.  

I really like Kim McClean’s patterns the  pieces  are large,  the curves are gradual and very easy to stitch and she lets the fabric do most of the work for you.

These blocks are only prepped and need to be stitch but it was a nice change to work with some of Kaffe  Fassett’s beautiful fabrics.

Happy Stitching.
Nancy

It's got to be a Habit.

I think blogging is just like exercise....it's a habit or routine you get into.  Once broken it's hard to start back.
You have to really push yourself to get going again.
Lately I have had a lot of distractions in my life so here I am pushing myself.

I am almost finished with all the applique on my Flower Garden quilt.  I know this is a terrible picture but I just can't figure out how to photograph 24 blocks and two borders without having a picture overload.  I am working on the bottom border now and then I only have the top one left to do.
My next step with this quilt is to wash and trim all the blocks.  Then I have to decide if I want to sash it like the pattern with scrappy  2" squares sewn together or use just one fabric for the sashing. If anyone is interested in making this quilt it is a Kim McLean pattern and really fun to do especially with all these wonderful Kaffe fabrics.

One quick question before I move on.  Does anyone recognize this fabric?  It's the tree in the bottom border.  I have something to use but just curious as to what this might be.

Last year I bought this pattern  "Feathered Tulip in Vases" from Dawn at Collector with a Needle.  Dawn and her daughter find antique quilts and reproduce great patterns from them.
Well, I have been forever trying to decide what type fabrics I wanted to use.  Did I want to use solids like in the original quilt or look for prints?
In the end I decide on prints and the original colors of the antique quilt.  The pattern colors are much lighter but thats because they have faded so much over the years.
If you click on the link above and go to Dawn's blog you can see the fabrics she has chosen for her version of the quilt.  The pieces are quite large, something I like and I hope it goes quickly because I have this one in the waiting.

Calico Paradise is also one of Dawn's reproduction patterns and it is really something.  Maybe if I start now I will have the fabrics chosen when I finish Feathered Tulip in Vases.
We can always dream can't we?
Happy stitching,
Nancy

Lolly Pop Trees Started

This is my latest project.
 It's designed by Kim McLean and called
Lollypop Trees. 

I think it is just beautiful.  

I have completed two of the blocks so far.  

The pieces are quite large and so it goes rather quickly.  

I think the hardest part of this quilt is picking the right fabrics. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

Almost all the fabrics in this quilt are by Kaffe Fassett.  

I really like his fabrics they are so bright and colorful.

I think this is going to be a fun quilt.

A Farmers Wife

I haven’t had a lot of time to spend on my Farmer’s Wife quilts but thought I would post my progress.  I have been making two versions.  A traditional one made with reproduction fabrics and one made with red, white and cream.

The traditional one is set like the book suggests and for the red and white one I am using a setting I found here.  I think it gives it a more modern look.  If I want my daughters to keep any of my quilts and not sell them all in a yard sale  I better start getting more modern.

My latest purchase is from Kris at Lavender Quilts.  Some of the new Kaffe Fassett fabrics for my applique’.  I think they are just wonderful.

Happy Stitching,
Nancy

Harrison Rose

Dawn and her daughter do such a great job creating patterns from antique quilts.  Over the last few years I have made several quilts from Collector With a Needle patterns.  It seems I have started a tradition without even realizing it.

The first was Feathered Tulip in Vases

That one went so well I  decided to make Calico Paradise. 

This Past year I started Noah and Matilda and have the center completed.  I do see a trend here.

Their latest pattern is Harrison Rose.

Harrison Rose is such a pretty pattern of an antique quilt  I felt like I really wanted to make it.  We wouldn’t want to break a tradition would we.

These are some of the fabrics I am going to use.  I have collected so many bubblegum pinks and this seemed like a good quilt to use some of them.

At first I thought about doing it in the traditional reds and greens or even some of my beautiful Kaffe fabrics but decided to go with the pinks.

I do think this pattern would be just beautiful made in some of the wonderful new fabrics.  The pieces are large enough to really show them off.  It’s just that I don’t have a large collection of them and I wanted to use fabrics I already had.

Harrison Rose has several options for the flower block.  This is the one I choose.

Dawns patterns are so well done.  The  blocks are full sized so you don’t have to have them enlarged and as an extra all the quilting designs from the original quilt are included.  To see any of these patterns just click on the  names of the quilts.

 Happy Stitching in this new year.
Nancy

Shenandoah Valley Quilt Along Month Two "Blue Flag"

I am late again posting about my block for this month.

My Blue Flag block is not blue as you can see.  I really didn’t want any blue in my quilt but I did want to add something other than red, pink, yellow and green so I chose violet.

My blocks so far.

It’s been fun working with these colorful Kaffe fabrics.

If you have the time and would like  to see all the  beautiful interpretations of the blue flag block go here. 

Now back to cleaning and cooking for Thanksgiving.

Until the next time,

Nancy

Accuquilt and the 4 x4 Diamond Die

 I decided in order to justify the purchase of my Accuquilt GO I would make a quilt from each of the dies I have purchased using the pattern that came with the die.   I have already made an Applecore quilt so for my second quilt I chose the 4x4 diamond die. I bought this die thinking I would use it to make one of Kaffe Fassett quilts from his book Simple Shapes, Spectacular Quilts but that's another story.

I went through my stash (because thats another part of this challenge to use only my stash fabric) and found all of the yellows and oranges I could.  I stacked them and cut 4 1/2 by 11 inch pieces.

I placed  them on the Accuquilt die and cut diamonds. I can't believe how fast the cutting goes using the GO.
I cut the leftover corners into 2" squares to use later.

This quilt has 2" strips between all of the diamonds so I got out my 2" strip die.  Just look how quickly I cut the strips and they are perfectly straight.

The first step is to sew a strip to the end of each diamond.

Then you sew the diamonds into rows. When I laid them all out on my design wall I found I needed 94 diamonds the pattern called for 88 must have been a misprint. 

Another problem I ran into was when I sewed the strips between the rows to assemble the quilt.  I started sewing the long strip to the bottom of the row but it works better if you sew it to the top of the row.

When pinning the rows together you need to match the strips on the bottom of the diamonds to get the correct design.

I think this is a pretty cute quilt even made from scraps and leftovers. It just needs some pretty borders to finish it off.                                                                                                

Borders Added and Quilted.