Diamond Argyle Pattern is published

This month Quilter's World Magazine published my Diamond Argyle quilt pattern as a web bonus.

That means you will be able to download the pattern as a PDF file and print it out (if you have a digital or print subscription to the magazine).

If you buy the magazine at the newstand you will also be able to download the pattern!  You will find a code for accessing the download on page 45 of the August 2011 issue.

But please note that the download code is only good for 2 months (until the next issue comes out) so download and save the pattern or print it out while the issue is current.

Of course if you get a digital subscription you have access to all the web bonus pattern as well as digital copies of all issues going back to 2006.  That is what I do.  That way I have access to all the patterns, and the digital subscription is cheaper than the print subscription!

This was a really fun quilt to make.  I used all diamond shapes which were cut from strips and followed a chart to help me keep all the colors straight.

You really do need a design wall for this quilt, so you can lay the strips out on the wall as you go.  It goes together really fast by creating diagonal rows and then sewing the rows together.

This is a picture of my quilt getting started and up on my design wall.  I put together 4 rows at a time as I worked from the upper left to the lower right corner.  Then when all the quilt was made it was easy to sew the 4-row sections together.  If you make a mistake it is way easier to remove a section when only 4 rows are together, than if the whole beastie is put together!!!  LOL

And yes, I did make a mistake or two when I was piecing the top.  But it was easy to fix.

I cut strips of all the colors I planned to use, counted the number of each color I needed, then cut diamonds using the Marti Michell diamond template.  I love her templates because you can cut off the points and it makes lining up the diamonds to sew them together WAY easier.   Then I stacked all the colors for each diagonal row together in a stack so I could just pick up 2 diamonds and start sewing.

I would lay out the strips on my ironing board (I have a big board) and double check the position and color of each diamond against my chart so I was sure I didn't make any mistakes.

NOTE:  When using batiks for this project it is great because there is no right or wrong side!!  I loved that and it sure made it easier than trying to be sure I always had right sides together.

Once I had four rows completed I would sew them together and double check again.  Then they went up on the design wall while I worked on the next four rows.

The cool thing about this pattern is that you can use any size diamond!  So your quilt can get bigger or smaller just by changing the size of the diamond template!  As I was cutting all the diamonds for my quilt using 3" strips I cut any remaining strips in half, to 1-1/2" strips and then cut the same number of mini diamonds!  I plan to make a half sized version of the quilt as well.

Since the is a "CHARM" quilt = all the pieces are the same size and shape -- there are no blocks to sew together.  Once the diamonds are cut you are putting the quilt together as you go.  It is fun to see the results come together on your design wall with each seam!!

You can also increase or decrease the size of your quilt by making more rows or fewer rows of diamonds.  That requires a bit a graphing it you want to make it bigger.  I used EQ7's one-patch layout feature and that made it really easy to make it bigger or smaller.

Now I know you are fretting already about binding those ziggy zaggy edges.  I found a great video tutorial the other day on how to do those and it is really really good.  Go here and take a look at this great resource by Marci Baker for Alicia's Attic.

Scroll down to the 4th video tutorial to see this one.

She demonstrates how to do both "innies" and "outies" on diamond edges, just like the kind you will find in this quilt.  And yes, it really is easy to do.  She also talks about how to do it in her book "Not Your Grandmother's Log Cabin."

Hope you have fun making his quilt!

And -- hold the presses -- I will have a quilt in the December issue of McCall's Quilting called Civil War Stars.   Watch for more info on this quilt in my next post.

Have a great quilty day!!!!!    Reeze

WOW have I ever been busy!

It has been a difficult month for me, and finally things are slowing down.  So several housekeeping tasks need to occur.  First, an apology to the last two monthly winners on my BOM contest. Your prize packs have not been sent and I am grossly negligent and repentant about that.  I am going on a much deserved vacation next week and when I get home your prize packs will FINALLY go in the mail.

Second duty is to pick a winner for the month of April.  All I was able to manage last month was to post the BOM but just didn't have a chance to pick a winner.  So the winner for April is. . . . .

black-tanja59

Congratulations!  I will prize packs in the mail to all three of the past winners the first week of June. Email me with your snail mail address please, so I can send you your prize pack.

So what has had me in such a dither?  I have been traveling a lot to do guild presentations and my local quilt show, where I chaired the mini quilt auction.  I am SO not good with $$ and it took me and the treasurer two weeks to get it all worked out and the money distributed to the appropriate charities.  If I do this again next year SOMEONE ELSE will take care of the $$.

The end of the Academic year was another all-consuming event.  Final exams, grades, assessment reports and planning a summer four-week professional development program has turned those 40 hour weeks into 60 hour weeks. Yikes, I had not idea that being responsible and doing all the things I am supposed to be doing -- on time -- was so difficult!!!  LOL  Add in a few frustrating and goofy trials that can only come from working for the federal government, and it has been a recipe for stress.

For example. . .  I am a "seasonal employee" and as such, I am required to take a 2-week minimum furlough each summer.   Some years I am hired on to teach summer school or do assessment duties so the length of the furlough varies from year to year form 2 weeks to 12 weeks.  When on furlough we are supposed to turn in our keys!  Yea right!  I have to be on campus at least 4 days of my furlough to run events for the summer program I have been planning.  But they won't give us our furlough papers until we turn in our keys.  Which means we can't apply for unemployment for the weeks we are off unless we turn in our keys.  But I can't turn in my keys because I have to be there, even though I am not supposed to be there.  Only a federal employee would have this probem!  LOL 

Well anyway, I am looking forward to my almost two weeks off!  I am going back to Ohio for my college reunion.  We camp over Memorial Day weekend every year and this is year #35.  I made the flag to celebrate 35 years of fun in the sun on the Mohican River and here is the EQ7 illustration.

I will be making it in the truck on the drive from Kansas to Ohio!  Can you see "Mohican" spelled out in the flamingo's legs?  The flamingo is the mascot of our Mohican campout.  Of course we always go tubing down the river so I had to put a tube in there.  The bucket of wine bottles is for the traditional wine tasting that occurs every year.  And I had a special request by one of my friends to put in a can of Rolling Rock beer since it is his favorite.  Of course I had to do that!

So now we are packing the trailer and getting ready to leave in a day or two.  I am so looking forward to this trip as it is all about relaxation, friends and family after the past few months of work, travel, and stress.   Ahhhhhhh, I can almost see the river through the Hocking Hills of south central Ohio.

Oh, and before I go, I will post the next BOM a bit early so it will be there for the first of June.

Block  6  Golden Jubille

Here is block 6 - Golden Jubilee.  You can find the download on the BOM page.  Have fun.

Reeze

Roses Bed Runner pattern in print!

This month another pattern appeared in print!  The June 2011 issue of Quilter's World features my Victorian Roses Bed Runner pattern.  No, I didn't make the cover this month -- that was sort of a once in a lifetime thing -- but they did do a nice job featuring and illustrating the pattern.

This is the cover of this month's (June) issue of Quilter's World magazine.  And this is my EQ7 drawing of the pattern.

Here is the illustration from the magazine of the actual quilt.  And of course, Brenda Weien's quilting is fabulous!

I really fell in love with this rose pattern when I first came up with it.  It was inspired by an old floral basket embroidery pattern I found in a collection of vintage patterns that I got from my sister.  She finds incredible stuff at garage sales!  I adapted the flowers and leaves from the basket pattern and redesigned it into the wreath and single rose motifs in the quilt.  I had a ball playing around with colors on this and even came up with several other designs for quilts using this motif.  Here is just one of them:

I know it is really "girly" but sometimes I just love that victorian look!  LOL

Thanks for checking out my new block of the month and my new publications!

Time for another installment of the BOM Jewels in the Crown - Block 5

It's time for another block of the month.  I have lots of news, photos and stories of my travels over the past 2 weeks but I am just so dratted sleepy I will save the news till tomorrow.

NOTE:  An error was found in Block 5 and it has been corrected!  Please download Block 5 again if you downloaded the file on April 30 or May 1.  It was corrected at 11:30 pm May 1.  Thanks to Bettina for catching the error!!

Here is block 5 of the Jewels in the Crown BOM:

Be sure to go to the BOM page to download the block instructions and the optional foundation piecing pattern.

Bath of Apolausis finished

Whew!  It has taken me a while to get this quilt finished, but it is finally done!

Tomorrow it goes in the mail to Quilter's World magazine and I will get a few days break from quilting before starting on the next one.  Watch for this pattern in the October issue of Quilter's World.  The quilt was really not very hard to make.  But the instructions were a booger to write!  LOL

I had fun making a label for this quilt too.

My next quilt will be for McCall's Quilting, and it is made with civil war reproductions.  That is a bit out of my usual style, but I found a great old vintage quilt and updated the pattern using reproductions.  Originally a 2-color quilt in red and white, it will have a whole new look and feel than the original.  I will post some pics of my progress as I work on it.  Calling it Civil War Stars.  Not very original for a name, but it gives a flavor of the quilt.  LOL

This week I am going to be all over the place.  I drive to Salina, KS on Monday to speak to the Silver Needles Quilt Guild.  I teach EQ Club on Tuesday night at the LQS and on Wednesday night I have a night class for my real job as a college professor.  Then a three day break. . . sigh. . . and then off to Bella Vista, AR for two days.  I will teach an EQ7 class on Sunday (Easter!) and give my Grandmother's Flower Garden Lecture on Monday.  Then back home for a little work on my day job and then off to Oklahoma City for two lectures and a workshop the end of next week.  I get home just in time to vend at the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild Quilt Show, where I am chair of the mini quilt silent auction and doing an EQ7 demo and lecture on. . . oh my, not sure which day!  Gasp.  I think I am seriously over-committed for April!

The Winner of the BOM Block 3 contest is . . . .

I am a bit late with picking a winner this month!  I confess I have been busy trying to do my taxes. . . nope I still don't have them done, preparing for a Guild presentation I gave this morning, getting patterns printed and bagged, and working on quilts with deadlines.   Oh. . .did I mention I have a day job?  Sometimes I forget that in addition to my full time job as a pattern designer and speaker I also have a full time job as a college professor and teacher.  Ok, enough excuses.

11 blocks were submitted this month, and the colors are wonderful.  I hope you go take a look at all the blocks.  They are just stunning.  JewelBOMS is really looking like a jewelry store.

Ok, the random number generator churned and clanked as I put in the entries. And it pulled out number

So I counted out number six and the winner is

Bettina Meier

and here is a picture of her awesome block:

Those are amazing fabrics and really create a stunning block.  Congratulations Bettina.  Please send me your snail mail address and favorite color and your prize pack will go in the mail this week.

Congratulations to all of the Block 3 entries.  You just blow my socks off with your talent and colors.

Block of the Month Posted - Block 4

Time to post this month's Block of the Month:  Emerald Arrows

Go to the Block of the Month Page (tab at top of page) and scroll down to see this month's block.  It is a beauty!  Ok, the piecing is a little more difficult on this one, but the directions will walk  you through it.   And don't forget to post pictures of the block in the Flicker JEWELBOMS group to win a great monthly prize. 

Sunday I will draw the winner of the March block, so you have until them to post your pictures.

This weekend is the Heartland Quilt Network Annual Meeting in Kansas City and will be there all day on Saturday.  It is also the Shop Hop Weekend in Kansas City so when I finally settle down on Sunday with weary feet I will be ready to veg!!

Look what wandered into my email!!!

OK, I am minding my own business, working on my taxes -- Blaaaa!  I am the world's worst bookkeeper, but that is a story for another post -- and my email "bings" to tell me I have an email.  I open it up since it is from Keepsake Quilting cuz I love love love their catalog!  And here is what I see:

Now this is remarkable because of the quilt pictured in the ad!  Yup, you guessed, that is my April Sweet Pea Table runner.  You can see the ad online here. 

Keepsake Quilting is selling the pattern along with a pack of 30's repro charms as a "Pattern Plus."  You can get the pattern (without the charm pack) from my website.

 

Psssst:  Here is a secret just for my blog readers.  Type in "Spring Sale" when you check out from my web site and get 15% off your pattern purchase.  Sale is good through tax day, April 15!

I wish they would tell me they were going to do that so I don't get so stunned when this sort of thing happens.  It was like being on the cover of Quilter's World this month.  I didn't know till I got magazine and saw it. . . .Blam!!!!  The April issue of Quilter's World is on news stands now!

So now that I have burned off that adrenaline it is back to taxes.  Oh my.  I am learning how to use Quickbooks Pro so that NEXT year at tax time, I am not going through stacks and piles and bags and boxes of paper, reciepts, bills, invoices, and used luncheon napkins to figure up my sales and expenses.  I am THIS close to bagging up the whole mess and sending it to my friend Christi in TX (who does taxes for a living) with a note that says HELP!!!  Christi. . . do you make house calls????  To Kansas??????

Oh well, back to the pile O paper.  I vow to be better organized next year and start on my taxes earlier.  OK, you heard me say it, so now you have to hold me to it!  LOL

Working on Mosaic Quilt

I have really been intrigued with mosaic tiles as inspiration for quilts.  There are several great books out there that develop this theme in amazing designs.  I found an old book on antique Roman-influenced mosaics and wanted to play with several ideas.  I have discussed this before in my blog and shown a few designs I came up with.

My interpretation of this mosaic as interpreted in EQ7 is starting to come together.

These are the sashing blocks that run diagonally across the quilt.  I am using the Stonehenge fabric by Northcott to make the blocks.  They really look like stone.

These are the primary blocks that are in the middle of the quilt.  I left out the bust of Appolausis and replaced her with more primary blocks.

Then I made a few blocks to connect the sashings and border the sashings on the outside edges.

Here is a section of the quilt on the design wall with one primary block, 4 sashing blocks and four connector blocks.  It is starting to come together.

I got the top put together at retreat this past weekend.

This shows the first two borders added and the braided border applied to one side.    I put on another braided border last night and when I have the rest of the borders done I will post another picture.

While on retreat, I also put together a BOB -- Bag of Blocks.  This is a swap I invented after accumulating many many bags of blocks from swaps I had participated in.  Several of us in similar situations (many bags of blocks with out ideas about how to set them) do a BOB swap.  We exchange bags of Blocks (BOBs) and devise a setting and put the top together.  We send it back to the original block owners and they have to quilt and finish it.

I received a set of 12 black and white sampler blocks.  I wanted to add some color, and here is what the finished top looks like.

What do you think?  Several girls at the retreat thought I should pattern it.  Do you think anyone would buy the pattern?  NOTE:  I didn't design the blocks.  I only designed the setting.  If I brought it out as a pattern should I include the pattern for the blocks or as a setting for any set of 12 blocks?  Need some input on this.
Thanks. . . you always give me great advice.

Guild Auction Mini

This week I have been working on a mini quilt for our Guild Mini Quilt Auction.  I belong to the Kaw Valley Quilt Guild and our quilt show is April 30, May 1.

As the chair of the Mini Quilt Auction I wanted to get a couple of minis made.  Here is the first one.

The blocks were made by members of the Yahoo Group "Sew Many Swaps" last year in our Midget Blocks swap.  These little  4.5" sweeties were so fun to make.  As the hostess for this swap I collected a set of "charity blocks" from this swap, and this is the first set that I am putting together to auction at our Quilt Show.  The proceeds from the sale of this quilt will go to Women's Transitional Care in Lawrence, KS.

I still need to quilt this, but I was thinking of binding it in scrappy 30's binding.  I sure have enough scraps left to make plenty of binding.  The quilt measure 18" x 23" so it just comes in within the 24" size limit.

I made this first one out of the applique blocks in the set.  I am going to make several more using the pieced blocks.  They are just so darn cute that I am having a blast designing setting for these tiny titans!

How do you think I should quilt it???  I was thinking of McTavishing inside each block, stitching in the ditch around each border/sashing, and doing a little leafy vine in the outer border.  What do you think?