MORE...

My friend Jann has made several beautiful Square Dance quilts. Jann is an accomplished weaver, beader and quilter. She has a wonderful mastery of color. She uses primarily batiks and hand dyed fabrics in her quilts. I am so happy that she uses lots of my hand dyed fabrics because I love seeing how she brings them to life in her quilts. And best of all, I get to machine quilt her pieces so I get to enjoy having the quilts in my studio for awhile.
Click here to see more http://jannblock.wordpress.com/category/quilting/

FAST FUN EASY QUILT

 Last November, at The Gathering  http://www.aquiltersgathering.com/

in Nashua, NH  we saw this pattern over & over. Several vendors featured it using different pattern names, tools & techniques.

My friend, Sandy has been intrigued with this design for quite awhile, so we had a mini retreat & we each made a wallhanging.

We used the basic techniques from the book Square Dance by Martha Thompson and then tweaked them a little.

I started by sewing 49  6.5" blocks together ( 7 blocks across x 7 rows ) Add a border all around - I used 6" wide, to be safe, but actually trimmed off quite a bit.

I made my own template using a 4.5" ruler. Measure 3/4" from each corner of the ruler

and connect the dots with lines drawn with a marker. *Use some clear tape on your ruler & draw on that if you don't want to permanently mark your ruler.

Next, position the  template (ruler) with the lines matching the seams on the blocks; as shown below.

*TIP - I found that my small rotary cutter was the easiest to maneuver when cutting around the template AND I put some sticky-back sandpaper dots on the back of my ruler because the ruler tends to want to pivot and skitter around in the middle where all the seams are joined and raised up a bit.

As you cut your new "pinwheely" blocks line them up on a design wall AS YOU GO ALONG -so you don't end up with a big jigsaw puzzle of mismatched blocks. 

Now, just sew your blocks back together.

Use care in sewing and pressing your new blocks as they are now cut on the bias. I really didn't encounter any problems with the bias issue at all.

You will have some waste blocks to use in some other project or use in your border - These are on the bias so use care sewing them.

Add a border or two.

Machine quilt.

And......

TA DAAAAAA !!!!!!

Here is Sandy's top. She used a package of 10" squares. It is gorgeous.
This fabric just sparkles. I love it !

SPRING IS ON THE WAY

Well we finally have some snow-just in time to usher in the first day of March.

A good time to hunker down and do some projects

I just mailed this out to my sister for her birthday

hope she doesn't see my post today.

I've been stamping up a storm

These are a few of my handmade stamps

Notice that I'm taking close up photos - I don't want you to see the total mess that I create when I'm working.

This is a more realistic view here. I haven't eaten a meal on a real table in years - Isn't that why they invented TV tray tables anyway?

I'm always in awe of those perfect studios in magazines. How does anyone get anything done in those studios ?  I mean REALLY!!!! The only place that I ever saw a studio that I could relate to was Robbi Joy Ecklow's in STUDIOS magazine (Spring 2010) in an article called "Disorganized Organization"

VERY COOL !

Fun with Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

PEACE by artist Paris Bottman

Thanks to Gail Peck from our local quilt shop, The Quilter's Workshop, in Newport, NH  (http://www.gailpecksquiltersworkshop.com/) for sponsoring a very interesting program on Sunday.  

Holly Moose by artist Paris Bottman





We were treated with a great lecture/trunkshow/slideshow/ how-to demo presented by Traci and Jane from the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. (http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ )

 They work with licenced artists and they "translate" their paintings into patterns for art quilts. I was particularly interested in the tools and techniques that they use for the intricate cutting and fusing that they do.
The program was really well presented, they explained everything in great detail. And, best of all, we got to see 90 gorgeous quilts up close & personal.
This would be a great program for quilt shops & guilds to look into.

AND their favorite scissors are Famores - sold by The Scissors Man (http://www.famorecutlery.com/ ) They recommend Famore 4" large ring micro-tip 711 and Famore 4.5" large ring serrated 714

A big shoutout to Brint and Sebastian who were our neighbors on the houseboat in Paducah this spring. Aren't they hotties??  Brint is sporting his dashing dust mask which he uses when he's sharpening hundreds of pairs scissors every day at the show.



"THE Scissors Men"



READ THIS NOW !!!!

Drop what you are doing and read this incredible blog post by Austin Kleon.
This link was just sent to me by a friend and it is the most succinct, dead-on-target thing I've ever read about making art.  Go to http://uajourn.pbworks.com/f/How+To+Steal+Like+An+Artist+(And+9+Other+Things+Nobody+Told+Me)+-+Austin+Kleon.pdf
 Also see Austin at:
/www.austinkleon.com/2011/03/30/how-to-steal-like-an-artist-and-9-other-things-nobody-told-me/
This article - blew me away - I've never read anything about art that captures the essence of creating like this one. It's The Artist's Way captured in one concise pearl.
. 'Nuf said - just read it.

Green Mountain Quilters Guild, VT - I'm Vending

WOOO HOOO - just found out I will be vending my hand dyed fabrics at the Green Mountain Quilters Guild meeting in Vermont this Saturday, May 14th. The meeting is held in Bethel VT at Whitcomb High School on Rte 12 (10 min from the Bethel exit off Rt. 89)  Doors open at 8:45.  

The program will be a presentation by Christine Fries-Ureel.  Don't miss this program - she is an amazing quilter.

Check out Christine here:

http://www.loveabideth.com/index.html