Quiltmakers 100 Block Blog Tour Nov 8-12

And my blog will be one of the stops on the tour.  There will be great give-aways of patterns and copies of the Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Magazine!  I will have five issues to give away and other prizes as well.  You don’t want to miss this.

Check back early next week for more details.
In the mean time, let me share a few events in my life.  Wow, has October been busy.  My calendar looks like a used bingo card!  Something nearly every day.  Today I had a booth at the Melvern Craft Fair.  Melvern is a small town southwest of where I live that is about 2 blocks long – literally.  But they had a great craft fair today and I was the only quilt booth among all the other crafters.  It was fun.  And I actually sold some quilt patterns.  Plus, you gotta love this --- I got to be the judge for the childrens’ halloween costume contest.  I guess you wear a lot of hats in a small town.  And it was a hoot to see all those adorable little kids in costumes.  What fun!

Last weekend I was a vender at the Maple Leaf Festival in Baldwin City, KS. . . hmmm I think I already wrote about that, but I know you want to see some quilts so here are a few of my favorites from that show.

Maple Leaf Festival Quilt Show VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Next weekend is another much venerated family tradition: Duck Camp.  Yup. . . the start of Duck Season means that we drag the trailer out to the lake so the guys can spend the week killing small low flying ducks.  Not sure why this particular father/son/dog experience is so important but I am not one to stand in the way of male bonding.  Besides I get to camp for the weekend on one of the few weekends in the year still warm enough to camp, the dog loves being able to dive in the lake and swim. . . and the guys do all the cooking.  What’s not to love???
After that I got on retreat for 5 days and I am sooooo looking forward to that.  So what is going on in your world?

Reeze

Tulip Tiles Block 11 is Posted!

Whooppeeee, I knew I could do it.  This month's BOM installment is posted ON TIME!!  This may just be a first for me.   Check out the page tabs at the top of this blog and click on the tab for the FREE Block of the Month.  It is Block #11 and provides you with instructions for doing the outer 2 borders.

Now, if you are a scaredy cat, you could stop at this point and call it done.  But, if you want to give yourself a bit of a challenge, and have that pretty piped and scalloped border to finish off this quilt, then you will want the next and last installment of this BOM which will be posted in December.

Note:  If you have the Groovin' Piping Hot Binding Tool by Susan K. Cleveland, you will want to find where you stashed it.  If you don't have it, I strongly recommend you purchase it to do the piping around the edge of this quilt.  It really does make piping easy to do.

         

This past weekend I vended at the Maple Leaf Festival Quilt Show put on by the Baldwin City Quilt Guild.  It was a great show, with some lovely ladies pulling it together. 

Marla Jackson, the featured speaker, has some great work that you really must see!  Her contemporary African American quilts, soft sculptures and art quilts are absolutely stunning.  Here is an example of one of her works which was featured at the show:

You really need to check out her work, her website, and sign up for one of her classes.  She is a really amazing talent and I had a lot of fun getting to know her during the show.

This week in EQClub we will learn to draw a grape wreath.  See my EQ7 tutorial on the EQ tutorial page.  I have had a lot of fun designing this block and a great quilt that features this block.

Quiltmaker 100 Blocks Blog Tour is Coming

Yup, and guess what???  I have a block in the magazine and am thrilled to be part of the bog tour.  Whooohooo!
Of course I am not famous enough to merit getting my name or block on the cover, but it will be one of the 100 Blocks and that is good enough for me.  BTW, I am working on one for the next issue too!  The magazine will go on the news stands in early November and I hope you will all get a copy.  But just in case. . . .I will be giving away a couple of issues right here on my blog!!!!
I am not sure which block they chose for the issue.  It will either be this one: Rising Star
 
Or this one: Winter Sun

I figure it will be exciting no matter which one they chose!  I will be posting more about this in the next week or so, so hang in there.  They are going to be offering a whole lot of give-aways on the Quiltmaker website as well.

OK, I have more news.  My Publisher Quiltwoman.com has introduced downloadable patterns, and most of my patterns that are available from her will be epatterns in the very near future.  That means that you will be able to pay for the pattern and download it on the spot!  And my newest pattern available from Quiltwoman.com is my Midnight Posies!!  Many of you got this pattern for free last year when I offered it as my free Block of the Month.  In case you missed it, click on the sidebar picture of the quilt on the left and it will take you directly to Quiltwoman.com where you can instantly download hundreds of patterns. . . including mine!!

Oh and more good news.  Last weekend I vended at the Starlight Quilters Guild Quilt Show in Shawnee Mission, KS and here is a picture of my booth.

This weekend I am vending at the Maple Leaf Festival Quilt Show in Baldwin City, KS.  This is a great outdoor festival complete with craft booths, great food and a parade.  The Quilt Show is in the old elementary school building and is always a great show with lots of quilt vendors.  The Maple trees in Baldwin are starting to turn and it is a perfect weekend to come out and see the festival and the quilt show.

Any more good news and I think I will faint.  LOL

Reeze

I'm in the Movies Mom!!!!

Yup,  I finally figured out how to make screen capture videos of EQ7 and put them into my tutorials.  You have got to check this out.  On my tutorial page is my first "talkie" -- a video that walks you through the steps to draw a leaf in EQ7.  It is a very simple drawing exercise but introduces you to several important drawing features in EQ7":

• Patch Draw Motif  - block drawing worktable used when you want an applique shape but no background.
• "Oval" drawing tool
• Brush stroke tool and its settings
• The Adjust tool for editing your drawings
• The Color Tab and Paintbrush tool
• The Save to Sketchbook and Open Sketchbook shortcut buttons
• Notecard in your sketchbook for naming your blocks

WOW, that's a lot to cram into a 4 minute video.  Plus you get to hear my sultry voice (hehehe) narrate the video.  Turn up your sound because I was a little too far from the mike.  I will fix that on my next video.

Please go in and take a look and let me know what you think?  What lessons would you like me to post?  Anything special you want to learn?  I would love to hear your comments.

Vending at Blue Springs, MO

Last weekend I had the pleasure of vending at the Blue Springs, MO Quilt Show!  It was a great show and they really treated the vendors like royalty.  I will definitely be going back next year.  I thought I would share some pictures from the show.  We all like eye candy!

First, here is a picture of my booth.  I made a huge muslin hanger to pin my quilts to which hung at the back of the booth.  This was the first time I used it so I thought I would takes a few pictures to see what it "really" looked like and next time I would revise how I hang them.  I would sure welcome your comments and suggestions about how I can improve the look of my booth.  It looks cluttered to me.

I put my patterns out front and my EQ products along the side.  The easel out front really worked to sell alot of that pattern!  I also had my projector set up and could demo EQ7 for anyonw who wanted to see it.  That was nice but didn't result in many sales.  But a lot of people took my business card so perhaps there will be future business out of it.

There were some absolutely fabulous mini quilts at this show.  Some were in their silent auction and others were on display.  Here are a few of my favorites.  Kathy Fisher, the quilt show chair, was also the creator of several of these spectacular gems.

And then the BIG suprise, hanging in the show was a quilt made from ONE OF MY PATTERNS!  How fun is that?  I absolutely love to see my quilt patterns made up by someone else.  Each quilter puts her own creative stamp on it and the subtle difference in fabric, style, and technique always make me excited.  This one was all HAND APPLIQUED. . .can you believe it?  LOL  My quilts are all machine appliqlued with fusible web and blanket stitch.  I like the look of both, but this one by Kathy Fisher really looks incredible!

She didn't use the pink and turqoise borders, binding and piping I used.  Here border and binding are lavendar.  And her vine is thinner and a darker green.  But her flowers blow mine out of the water!  I just love to see my designs in the hands of a master.  The small picture is a corner of my quilt.  The big pictures is Kathy's.

And since my company is Morning Glory Designs,  I had to take some pictures of this quilt with Morning Glories weaving all over it.  I think this is the one that won the viewer's choice at the show.  It certainly deserves it!

The other mad impulsive thing I did at this quilt show was buy a new Bernina 440QE.  I have lusted after that Bernina Stitch Regulator for so long that I was starting to drool.  LOL  I am scheduled to take my first  class on the new machine next Friday and am really looking forward to learning all the cool things this machine will do.

Finally, take a look at my tutorial page.  I put up a new EQ tutorial that I am experimenting with.  It has a few still pictures and two videos.  I am playing around with JING (thanks to Jennifer!!) and the first vids don't have any sound.  I am going to remake them this weekend with sound, and hopefully figure out how to embed the vids in the blog so you don't have to go away to view them.  So much to learn.  But give them a look and let me know what you think.

More on my first meeting of our new EQ Club in my next post.

Tulip Tiles Free BOM-- Block 10 Posted. . . And the winner is. . .

Hey, I am getting better at getting the Block of the Month block posted on time.  I am only 1 day late this month.  That could be a record for me!  Hahaha 

Anyway, mosey on over to the BOM page and download the FREE instructions for Block 10.  This is the corner blocks for the pieced border, so you will be able to put on the remaining borders you made last month. 

Only two months left in this BOM -- can you believe it??  This year has gone so fast.  I am working on ideas for next year already, and am thinking I will return to an all pieced quilt rather than the combination pieced and applique quilt I did this year.  What do you think?

Please let me know what you would like to see for next year's free BOM:
    __1___ Pieced - no applique
    __2___ Pieced with some Applique
    __3___ Pieced with LOTS of Applique

And then what style should we work on:
    __A___ Traditional Setting (like Midnight Posies)
    __B___ Medallion setting (like Tulip Tiles)
    __C___ Row by Row

Please go VOTE by leaving a comment.  I will draw one voter at random to receive a FREE Morning Glory Design Pattern of your choice!!!  Whoooo Hooooo

Now. . . the Winner of the Free EQ Stash Program is. . . . .

Rebecca Fiedler!

Congratulations Rebecca.  Send me your snail mail address by email and I will get your free copy of STASH in the mail to you right away.  Thanks to everyone who gave me suggestions.  I really appreciate your ideas and suggestions.  I am going to start working on EQ7 lessons to share on my blog this week.  Watch for the first one in a few days.

Working on an Idea for Teaching EQ7 online -- And a Give Away!

I have had a number of suggestions from readers and students who would like more instruction on EQ7.  I think this is a great idea, and am working on a way to do this in a live, interactive format.  In the mean time I am going to start working on a tutorial for my website.  I thought I would cover some of the basics and then take "requests" for tutorials which address specific skills. 

I am starting up and EQ7 Club at my LQS which meets monthly to work on a new skill or project each month.  What would you think about me sharing that lesson here on my blog as well?  I am so loving EQ7 and all the new tools that are available in it, that I want to share that with all my readers as well as the great folks who have purchased the program from me.  Should I put them up for free or charge for the lesson?  Hmmmm, I could sure use some input. 

Hey I have an idea!!!!!  Leave a comment letting me know what it is about EQ7 you would like to learn and how you think I ought to set up lessons.  I will select a comment at random and give away a free STASH program to some lucky EQ owner who takes the time to offer suggestions or ideas.

On another note, I recently found out I have a block accepted for publication in the upcoming

Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Vol. 2!!!

Now that has me totally jazzed and my blog will be included on the BLOG TOUR which will be organized around the publiclation of this issue in early November.  I will be having a Give Away for several free issues of the newest version which will inclue my block and all 99 others as well!!  LOL

I can't wait to see which ones they chose of all the hundreds of blocks submitted.  I sent in two blocks and don't know which one they picked.  So it will be a suprise for me as well! 

In addition to the magazine give-away there will be other prizes including Free Patterns and Free FQ bundles.  What could be better than that???  More details to come.

Oh, and one more piece of good news!  I just got my first quilt pattern published in a magazine. 

Check out Quilters World October 2010 issue and look on page 36.  Here is what you will see:

It is called Spinning Sunflowers and the pattern is published in the current issue.  I am pretty much beside myself seeing my first magazine pattern in print.  Go out and buy the current issue and tell everyone you know.  Better yet, make the quilt!!  The first person to send me a picture of your completed project  will receive a Morning Glory Designs Pattern of your choice!

Holy smokes, I am giving so much stuff away this time that I can't stand it.  I better sit down!  Thanks for sharing my joy with me today while I do my little happy dance.

Pieced Borders are ready for the Tulip Tiles BOM

It's ready!  The instructions for the pieced border for the Tulip Tiles BOM are ready for download on the Block of the Month Page.  They are super easy foundation pieced blocks that will add a touch of elegance to your quilt top.The reversed pair of blocks, repeated along the edge of the quilt center are a dramatic element which looks difficult but is really easy to do.

Before you know it, you will be ready to do the final scalloped border.  So far so good!  I would love to see pictures of your blocks or pieced quilt center.  I will post them here on the blog to inspire and motivate all of you who are doing this Block of the Month.

Remember . . . if you are missing any of the earlier blocks you can still get them on my website.

Day 3 Handi-Quilter Retreat

The third (and last) day of the Handi-Quilter Beginner Retreat began with a shopping frenzy!  We all wanted to get our orders in for all the great gadgets and gizmos we wanted to take home with us.  We packe and repacked our suitcases hoping we could get everything (including all our sewing projects) in.  My suitcase just barely zipped and had to have them ship my new Micro Handles (my big purchase!!).

Our final class was trapunto!  I had never been very interested in do it before, but the quilts they showed us and the techniques they taught us made it seam easy and fun.  They showed us this pink quilt made by inserting bright pink fabric between the white muslin top and the batting after the first layer of trapunto batting had been added and stitched in place.

Then the yellow one, made by one of the HQ Educators blew us away too.

This quilt was one that was marked and stitched but not yet quilted.

For our projects we did a quick technique where batting was placed under an applique piece and then edge stitched onto the quilt.  We used our little practice tops to make cute bags.

This one is mine before quilting it. Somewhere I have and AFTER picture and will add it as soon as I find where I put it!!  LOL  What was so cool was that we made the whole bag on the longarm!  How cool is that?  The only thing it needed was handles.

We had an incredible saladbar lunch and then we had. . . GRADUATION!  How fun is that??  We each got a certificate, some great recipes (from some of our previous meals) and a picture.

Back row: (L-R) Janet, Terri, Melanie, Reeze, Carol, Marianne, Ella, Debbi and Jeri.

Front row: Sandy (standing), Diane (kneeling in front of her), Dyanne, Hope, Dennis, Linda, Candie.

We also had to take a sisters picture since we had 4 sets of Sisters in this group!!!

Terri & Melanie (back row left)

Dyanne & Hope (front row left)

Sandy and Diane (middle)

Ella and Debbie (right standing and sitting)

Of course we had to get a picture of our great teachers as well.

L-R: Kathi Salter, Cheryl Duncan, Vicki Hoth, Hatty Brown

Before our van swooped us off to the airport I had to take a few more pictures of quilts around the lobby of this incredible building!!

So off we all went to our various planes, trains, and automobiles.  I learned so much in this class and hope I have the opportunity to take another one soon.  I highly recommend it.  Of course as soon as i got home I had to load a practice quilt and try out all my new tools, technique.  Hope you enjoyed coming along for the ride.

Day 2 Handi-Quilter Retreat

Day two began with a review of the products offered by Handi-Quilter.  OK, what quilter can resist an array of gadgets and gizmos geared just to their needs?  Not this quilter!  LOL  It was fun – and tempting -- to see all the cool tools available by and for HQ, and to shop for them right there on the spot.  WARNING – save room in your suitcase to take those babies home with you.  I ended up buying a set of micro-handles for my machine and had to have them shipped because my suitcase was too full of class samples, books and other goodies I purchased.  I tucked all the other goodies I purchased into my carry on so I could fondle them all the way home on the plane!

  

Then we went to work finishing up the bobbin work we started the day before.  It really was amazing how great it worked and was relatively simple to do.  My sample was a bit hard to see on my fabric with the thread color I chose, but many of the other retreaters had some fabulous bobbin work.  I want to try it, now that I am home, when I have the time to do it slowly and concentrate on my fabric and thread a bit more seriously.

Vickie spent most of the morning teaching us to do feathers.  This was totally fun.  While I have practiced feathers a lot, watched a number of DVD’s on how to do them, read some books, etc., it was really valuable to watch Vickie’s lessons and then practice, practice, practice on our fabric.  I have lots and lots more practice to do, but I feel like I made some real progress in learning to do feathers.

OK, so I won’t win any award for these feathers – but it was really fun to practice.  I have loaded my practice fabric on my HQ16 at home and am doing more rows of practice feathers so I don’t forget what I learned!!!

Lunch was catered in and as usual it was delicious.  They sure know how to feed quilters!  Did I mention that there was always a table full of snacks, chocolate, sodas and water out for us all day?  Oh my, no chance of losing weight on this retreat!!  :-)  Ok, so I am not complaining.

After fueling up we had a demo on using the micro-handles and another one on using Groovy Boards.  These are so cool, and it was very tempting to want to buy some, but I resisted the urge. Barely.  After the demonstration on Groovy Boards we had a really valuable class on pantographs.  This was terrific class, taught by Hatty, and we made a quilt with a border to border panto with a separate panto for the boarder.  Then Hatty taught us how to turn the quilt to complete the borders on the sides.  This was something I had always wanted to learn and not only got to watch but got to do!  I just barely finished this project when the bus came to pick us up for dinner. 

Whew, after a second day on my feet, my dogs were barking!!  But my second wind came when we arrived at this marvelous Chinese Restaurant and the food began to appear in bowl after bowl.  Oh my.  All I can say is. . . . the shrimp was incredible.  I even resisted dessert just so I could have more of the shrimp.  It was that good. 

It rained and poured while we were inside eating but I am pretty sure none of us noticed.  Between being exhausted, famished, and overwhelmed by the quality of the wonderful meal, we almost missed the magnificent rainbow which formed over the valley as we drove back to our hotel.

I drug my sorry back side down to the pool that evening and soaked in the hot tub till I turned lobster pink then went up to bed and slept like a log.

One more day to go and I couldn’t wait to learn more.  Tomorrow. . . .Day 3.

Reeze