Challenge #1

Above is my entry for the first challenge project put on by Always Quilting quilt shop in San Mateo. They gave us three months to work on the challenge, but I've been so busy lately, that I really was only able to work on in for roughly the last two weeks. My design changed countless times from when I first got the challenge. Maybe if I hadn't decided to design it myself, I could have saved myself from a lot of grief!

The challenge was to use the two fat quarters shown below in an interpretation of the theme Spring Flowers. The two fabrics had to be an integral part of the quilt, and not just in the borders. We could add as much other fabric that we wanted. Other than that, it was pretty much anything we wanted to make. I decided to use the green print along with a solid white to make a kind of latice, and a vine and flowers appliqued over the top.

I tried quite a few different types of fabric flowers before settling on an origami style folded flower. Below are some of the practice flowers without their centers. I settled on the one on the far left, but the final ones looked much better in the purple fabric.

I believe they will be hanging in the the shop for a month and the winner will be chosen by a Viewer's Choice ballot. We received our next challenge on Saturday. I'll post the fabrics another time. Next theme is Fun in the Sun. Hmmm. Time to put my thinking cap on...

FP - part 10 and other news

I've been a busy little sewer lately. (I've seen that people are starting to call themselves "sewists", presumably because reading the word "sewer" does not give a pleasant picture...) I'm working furiously on a challenge project that is due on April 26. I've been so busy with class projects lately that I didn't realize how close I was getting to the deadline. I'm attempting an original design and it has changed countless times in the last week. I'll give more details and possibly pictures this weekend. Maybe by then I will have decided on a set design.

Back to the free pattern links from the fabric companies:

Clothworks is another popular fabric company. They have the Laurel Burch lines, as well as a new line of antique toy prints called Toy Box. This one is a new favorite of mine of course because one of the motifs in the print is a monkey with cymbals. The largest print of the monkey is within a panel of nine toys and I'd hate to buy the whole panel to cut out just the monkey, but sometimes a (quilt) monkey's gotta do what a monkey's gotta do... Free pattern link here.

Class Begins

Class begins again tomorrow night, Monday, April 14, 2008 at 6:00 at the VETS. Below are images of the class projects for this session. First is a table runner featuring the Duck & Ducklings block. I like the way certain blocks, particularly ones with triangles in the corners, have a completely different look when turned on point, which is why I chose this particular block for this project.


Next is a quilt with a very old block setting that you don't see too much anymore, which I'm calling Checkered Zig Zag. This would be a good way to set any kind of blocks, including sampler blocks.

Lastly is Floral Nine-Patch. An easy quilt that looks more complex because of the way the colors are positioned. This one ended up being quite big, and I didn't have any way to take a picture of it, so this is the EQ5 rendering I made. The colors are pretty close, except for the border, which is a plaid in the actual sample. I pulled the darkest fabric from my stash, and I didn't have enough of that orangy-red for the border, so I used a different fabric.

All of the samples are made and the directions are written and printed, so all systems are go for this session. I look forward to see all my friends and getting to know the new people who came to the preview last week.

Now it's time to start on the summer project...

Preview Night on Monday

Hi all. Who knew that there were so many fabric companies that offer free patterns???!! I'll keep posting them, but not as often.

Preview night for the next class session is tomorrow night, Monday, April 7 at 6:00 pm. Class starts next week, Monday, April 14 at 6:00 pm. I've been feverishly working on this session's projects. Today I was TRYING to get a table runner layered and quilted, but a certain cat must have heard the swish of fabric being layed out and made himself at home under the layers. He stayed there quite a while while I worked on readying the other projects.


In other news, I treated myself to a quilt kit recently. I usuallly don't buy kits, but I just adore this quilt that I kept seeing on line and decided that if I didn't get it, I'd be sorry later when it wasn't available. The funny thing is, this pattern was designed by Elizabeth over at Late Bloomer Quilts, who is from the Livermore area. (Her blog is in my sidebar) It was designed at a block-of-the-month project. However, I found the best price on it as a kit from a Suzanne's Quilt Shop, which is in Georgia. A long way around to get the kit.

That's it for today. Hope to see you all at the Preview!

FP - part 9

There are a lot of great fabric lines over at Andover Fabrics. They have the new Very Hungry Caterpillar line, as well as Oliva the Pig, Rosie the Quilter and the Washtub prints. They have quite an extensive library of free patterns.