New Patterns coming soon

I am excited about the new Morning Glory Designs patterns that will be in shops this summer, featuring a new Christmas collection from Northcott called Old Time Christmas.

The patterns are done and on their way to the printers.  They will ship in April and go to shops in May, if all goes as scheduled.  Yea right!  Hahaha  If you want a jump on them, I will be putting them up on my website as digital download patterns next week.

There are two patterns.  The first is called Celebrations Table Topper and is super simple.  It measures 50 x 50, a perfect size for a dining table.  It uses a tree skirt panel appliqued to a big square of background fabric!  Add a border and you are done.

MGD 233  Celebrations Table Topper

The second pattern is actually THREE patterns in one!  Celebrations Table Trio. Yup, this one is a great value.   It is a set of 2 placemats with a matching table runner (20 x 48).  

MGD 234  Celebrations Table Trio

The pattern is paper pieced to make it easy and accurate featuring blocks on point.  On-point blocks often have fractional measurements which are difficult to cut, so piecing with foundations makes them perfectly accurate every time.  The ribbon print borders are a stripe printed on the diagonal so cutting rectangles is easy- no bias edges!

I even added a bonus 6" mug rug pattern to go with the set.  Isn't it cute?  This set will make a great Christmas or Holiday gift for friends or family.  Watch for the Northcott Old Time Christmas collection in shops this summer.

The mug rug would make a great class project for shops.  It could be completed in one class session, incorporating foundation piecing and directional cutting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Beach Dreams Block of the Month

I just finished printing Block #3 for Beach Dreams!  WOW this is a BIG pattern. 21 pages!  But they are printed, bagged and ready to go out to subscribers.  

The pattern is big because the blocks are big!  The palm trees in Block 3 are 14" x 25".  They are almost big enough to plant outside!

It is not too late to purchase Beach Dreams Block of the Month or Beach Dreams Fabric Kits (which include full color patterns and postage).

CLICK HERE to Subscribe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One More New Pattern

I just heard from Northcott who approved another new pattern.  The fabric is a Southwest fabric collection called Stonehenge Sun Valley.  Their Stonehenge SW collections have been popular in the past and always sell out.  So I am excited to see a new collection coming.

I will be writing this pattern, but it needs a name.  I would love some suggestions.  Normally my pattern naming mojo works well but I could use your help on this one.  This is a lap quilt 56 x 56 with a bonus wall hanging version in the same pattern.  It would also make a great table topper if you have SW decor.

 Leave a suggestions in the comments.  

If I choose your suggestion you will get the pattern for free when it is ready to release!

Thanks for taking a look!

Name that Quilt Contest for the NEW 2021 Block of the Month

It is almost ready, and I can't wait to share with you the new Block of the Month for 2021.  But before I can release the patterns it needs a name!  It is fun, beachy, and full of all the things I love best about being on the Beach.  Now is your chance to Name that Quilt.

2021 Beach Themed Block of the Month

Leave a comment with your idea for a name.  The winner of Name that Quilt Contest will win a fabulous bundle of Beach fabric.  Details about sign ups and the release of the first installment will be coming in the next few days.

Creative Spaces Blog Hop Week 6: Tool Storage

Sorry I am a day late posting my blog.  I have been traveling the last 2 weeks, and FINALLY arrived home this afternoon.  I am collapsing with my feet up in the recliner while I am writing this post.  It has been a fun trip.

  

I left on July 31 and flew to Texas, then back to Kansas City, then to Nashville, Cleveland, Chicago and finally home 14 days later.  Phew!  Saw Family, friends, and lots of great quilts and ate some great food!  Now, back to work!!!!

This week I will take you on a tour of my my tool storage.  You have already seen some of this, but as we wrap up this 6-week long blog hop, I will show you a few of the storage ideas I have come up with over the years.

Let's start with Rulers.

Who can resist a new ruler?  Not me, for sure!  I love to explore new cutting and piecing techniques and a new ruler gives me the chance to try out new ideas.  I store rulers in wood ruler racks on my worktable.  The big ones are in a large rack on the left.  These are square rulers from 7" up to 20".  It protects them while keeping them handy.

The smaller rack to the right holds short rulers and small squares.  A bin with extra rotary cutters in several sizes sites next to the ruler racks. In addition, my Martelli turntable is nearby.  This is a great set up for pressing and trimming blocks and smaller units.

To cut strips and larger cuts, I keep my long rulers in a rack mounted to the post just above my large cutting table.

Notice my brown stool in the bottom picture?  I pull that out to sit at my cutting table if I am doing a LOT of cutting.  It is a back saver.

I also keep a few rulers on my ironing board.  If I am paper piecing or sewing and trimming at the machine, I keep a turntable and a few trimming rulers on the ironing board.  It is all about keeping things close to where I use them.

Notice that I have a basket with ironing stuff right on my ironing board too.  Starch, Best Press, water spritzer, and cups for filling the iron all go in there.  There is also a pressing cloth folded and tucked in there when I need to protect surfaces I am pressing.  

Beneath the ironing board is a 3-drawer storage container which holds more pressing hams, a clapper, and other pressing tools left over from my dress-making days.

Specialty rulers and templates I don't use often go in a storage drawer under my long work top.

I typically keep rulers I use for classes in the box that holds all the class stuff, but I also keep a large supply of extra templates in the storage drawer.  

Smaller templates and rulers I use very seldom go in a small bin stored on my shelving units.

They are easy to find when I need them and out of the way when I don't.

Big things too big to put in a drawer or a bin are stored at the end of my worktop or behind my cutting table.

Because I teach a lot of quilt classes and vend my patterns at a lot of shows I have to be able to store things I need and access them quickly.

This long narrow table holds bins that store patterns, class supplies, and vending supplies, below the table.  Each bin is labeled with its contents and I can pull out just the patterns I need to ship or the class I need to teach.  This has made my life SOOOOOO much simpler.

Quilts for trunk shows are stored on my storage racks and in suitcases.

I actually need more room for quilts!

This is part of my fabric stash, by color.  These reside next to my quilt storage racks.

I have this old pie safe cupboard I use to store my light boxes, paining supplies, extra irons, my Brother Scan and Cut and a few other odd goodies.

 When I first started quilting everything I owned for quilting fit in this cupboard!  hahaha

So thanks for hanging out with me the past 6 weeks.  Watch for the announcement of winners of my weekly give away coming at the end of the week.

Easy Binding Winder

Karen K Buckley 4" Scissors

Aurifil Thread Pack

and this week. . . .

A Fat Quarter Fabric Bundle!!!

Be sure to leave a comment to be entered to win.

Thanks for hanging out with me for this blog hop.  It has been a blast.

Here’s the list of participants and the days of the week they’ll be posting. Click the links to go to each of their blogs below and follow them, or bookmark their sites so you can check out what each has to say every week!

MONDAYS

• Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis
• Cherry Guidry of Cherry Blossom Quilting

TUESDAYS

• Reeze Hanson of Morning Glory Designs
• Jessica VanDenbergh of Sew Many Creations

WEDNESDAYS

• Kate Colleran of Seams Like a Dream
• Kris Poor of Poor House Quilt Designs
• Jessica Caldwell of Desert Bloom Quilting

THURSDAYS

• Jackie Kunkel of Canton Village Quilt Works
• Vicki Hansen of Cranberry Pie Designs

FRIDAYS

• Erin Hentzel of Avery Lane Designs
• Christa Quilts

SATURDAYS

• Toni Smith of Quiltoni
• Swan Sheridan of Swan Amity

SUNDAYS

• Pauline McArthur of Funky Friends Factory
• Annie Smith of Simple Arts
• Joanne Sharpe

New Block of the Month for 2016

Well, now, that's different!

That is what I heard when I showed this year's new BOM to some friends.  Yup, it is different!  After 4 years of doing applique BOMs I promised my readers I would do a pieced one this year and here it is.

The Seminole Sampler

I have been teaching Seminole Patchwork for several years and thought it was time I designed an original sampler I could use as a teaching piece.  So this does double duty!  I will be offering a free row every month on my blog and in my newsletter.  Subscribers will receive a bonus block, as always.

Peggy from ConnectTheBlocks.com will be providing FABRIC KITS for this project, and I am thrilled to be able to offer these incredible kits to my readers. Last year's Deco Gardens kits were a huge success, so I am hoping that you will enjoy these fabulous batik beauties.  Watch for the link coming January 8.

In the meantime check out Peggy's amazing batiks and kits.  Her yard cuts are 40" and shipping is free.

Go to the new 2106 BOM tab at the top of this block to access the link for row 1, the Harlequin row.

BIG NEWS, I am doing a monthly give-away on my blog for those who enter each month's contest.  Each month will be something different to enter.  This month all you have to do is leave a comment on the 2016 BOM Tab. WOW!

Did you love all those Art Nouveau flower blocks?  Well I did too, so I am still designing more of them.  Click here to get this month's new block, the Daffodil.

December Free Project

Sometimes I get carried away when I am designing with EQ7.

I wanted to do something special for all my readers and subscribers to thank you for hanging out with me this year.  So I designed a special block just for you.

Click here to download the free pattern for this 12" block.

So here is where I start getting carried away.  I wanted to add a border so that when I put four of the blocks together I would get a square designs.  So I added a vine to the flower block.

Click here to download the bordered block.

So  here is what it looks like with the four blocks together.

I love this 24 x 24 pillow look and thought about some other arrangements for other Christmas decorating.  Here is my idea for a table runner.

Two squares of four block. 24 x 48 Pretty simple, but still fun. However, if you are not an applique girl then you might break out in a sweat trying to do 8 blocks. Then I thought of something simpler and less square.

I really like this one.  Three 12" blocks on point and the little deco garden border blocks festooning the sides in reds and greens.  I might even make this one.  At 20 x 45 it is a great size for a holiday table.

So here is a table cloth sized quilt.  I liked the offset squares of flowers when I started rotating the blocks.  But the next one is simpler and leaves room for some pretty quilting.

So you can use these two free blocks to make any of these settings or just use the four in a square to make a pillow, candle mat, table topper, or wall hanging.

"It amazes me that a little bit of moving around changes the look of the block so much.  But wait till you see what happens when you start changing the color!"

So now I am starting to get really carried away in EQ7 and go back to the four block poinsettia arrangement and start playing with color.  I always see blue poinsettia fabric in the stores so I did a blue variation.

Wow, I loved that one, and the bit of purple really contrasted nicely with the blue.  Of course poinsettias don't really come in blue, but they do come in white and pink so I thought I would try a variation in first white, and then pink.

What do you think of the white one?  I loved this one too because it reminded me of those years as a teenager when I worked in the florist shop with my mom and sister.  There were so many gorgeous white poinsettias in the shop.  OK, so here is the pink version.

OK, so it's not really pink, but I loved the combination.  I started playing with my favorite EQ7 tool - random recolor - and it looked sorta pink, ok more red than pink. But I liked it anyway, and it was a bit less traditional for all you non traditionalists.

This is more like it.  I loved this pink version.  So romantic and victorian.  I picture it in a Country Home article on "A Victorian Christmas!"  It would fit just right in my pink and green bedroom.

Then I inverted the colors just for fun.  Peggy (www.connecttheblocks.com) this one is for you, the bling girl!  I would put crystals all over this for you.  It also matches my Easy Binding Winder!  Hohoho.

Doesn't that make you want to run for the pepto bismol?  Hahahaha  So I kept hitting the random recolor button and here is what I came up with.  Well actually this is only a small sample of what I came up with because once I started I couldn't stop.  But these were some of my faves.  Perhaps they will give you an idea about how you would like to color your blocks.

These colors looked Asian to me.  The gold behind the deep blues and purples looked so rich.  Not sure about the light blue border, but it does make a soft contrast (complement of orange is blue!) to the bold colors in the design.  Remember, these combinations are totally random!  Those of you who are especially anal and #don't do random may want to look away at this point.

This looked like ice to me.  If you are a "Frozen" fan you might like this. It  would go great in a little girl's bedroom filled with "Frozen" stuff.  The stonehenge fabrics in the background are such a cool texture, also.  Even the purple border provides a nice counterpoint.

This is another one of those warm variations with the blue violet and red against the gold.   Whooo doggy, that would light up someone's ugly brown sofa!

This one with the blues, grays and turquoise is much more "me".  I love these cool colors against a silver background.  I would so totally make this for my back porch wicker chairs and sofa.

While these muted greens and tans are not my colors I could see this in the cabin with rustic furniture and hunting decor.  My husband would call this the "camo" version.

This has a more modern look to me, especially those cool black and white print flower centers and lime green (the new neutral!) haha.  But I gotta tell you it is growing on me and I am more open to these colors than I once was.

This is for all of you K-State fans.  You know who you are and I didn't want to leave you out so when this variation popped up I save it just for you.

This one is for my friend Cara Gulati, cuz it is in her colors and style.  I think this would appeal to her.  Warm, rich, kinda kinky, but fun - always fun.

I can see you start to yawn so the show is over.  Hope you enjoyed playing along with me while I shared this project with you.  Download the free blocks (available only for 30 days) and share with me what you would do with them.

Thanks for hanging out with me in 2015.  I love each and every one of you.

PS.  Watch for my NEW block of the month coming in 2016!