Collage Quilt Planning

 

I want to try and quilt this vintage travel poster using 

Sandi's method in @Quiltcabana ebook, Fabric Sketch Collage

 

 

I think it's a good candidate for collage quilting, except for the beach(?) background.

I might dumb that down a lot.  Any advice?

 

And what if we changed the sky to blue?

hmmm...……

 

Anyway, Sandi's book is great, you should try it.

She makes a scary new technique simple and fearless.

I'm inspired :)

More PreQuilt

Last week when I wrote about all the WOW PreQuilt Features, I became extra interested in how this  creative "randomizer" evolved. So I've asked PreQuilt inventor Gar Liu to share more news here about how PreQuilt started and where it is going.

To begin with, a brief history. [Literally short-- PreQuilt is just one year old!]
PreQuilt began last July with Laura Henneberry's (Commonwealth Quilts) Circus Tent Quilt.

And it has evolved quickly from a color picking app, to an HST design tool, to a full application design platform. More designers joined, wishing coloring pages for their quilts too. Quilter/programmer Steph Skardal supplied the fabric catalogue. The latest feature is the custom block design tool. 

Have you tried PreQuilt? Check out the color randomizer in this video.

According to Gar, PreQuilt's best features are the one's that short-cut repetitive tasks, such as selecting quilt quadrants or checkerboard blocks for quilt design editing. This way, designers can stay focused on their planning, without getting discouraged by minutia. 
Gar says, "We hope that PreQuilt can leave people in an art director's position where they make decisions and then come in to tweak. Something like a self driving car where you can put your hands on the wheel at anytime to take back control."

Coming next for PreQuilt.....fabric calculations AND ombre mapping!

Happy Anniversary to Gar, Laura, and PreQuilt! And best wishes for many more creative years. Thanks for inviting us all to share in your amazing design tool :)

Donna's Quilty Valentine

A new Pearl's Post poem was planned for today. But I'm' postponing it in favor of a new story related to  Quilting Nurses, one that is perfectly suited for celebrating this Valentine's Day.

Dad was again in the hospital this week, just for testing, and he is doing great. It was a new hospital, very nice yet unfamiliar to us. Imagine how happy I was to see this:

There were six giant framed batik blocks decorating the hospital main corridor! A tag on each frame said,

"Created by Donna Smith in loving memory of Donald Smith"

What a lovely tribute! See why I wanted this news for a Valentine's Day post? 

Do you think Donna is a local quilter? I hope I get to meet her some day.

Then I can tell her, thanks Donna, for the extra effort in framing your blocks, and making our hospital stay more beautiful and homey and bringing peace to my heart.

Happy Valentine's Day



Quilting in Williams

Alex and I made a rainy day trip up north and look what we found!  Williams is home to Grand Canyon Railway, Bearizona, and best of all, Quilts on Route 66
Easy to find in a turn of the last century building on the old Route 66 historic Railroad AVE of Williams, Quilts on Route 66 has tons of charm and some unique finds too:

This sample of Creative Girl Pattern from BelieveMagic stopped me in my tracks.

Yes, it really is raw edge applique, Customized with tiny sayings patch and script quilting too!

 

Here are handmade lampwork bead fobs. So great to find local arts represented:)

 

This sparkly Japanese floss was another  must-have find.

Quilts on Route 66 is a  great LQS for Americana and Route 66 fabrics -

Alex chose a prickly pear FQ, of course;)

 

An adorable shop in an adorable town, I can't wait to return:)

 



Show and Tell

Here are a few of my faves from the neighborhood.
Hope you have time for a cuppa and a little show and tell.

Big stitches, beads, feature buttons, applique, and some stitchery.

It all comes together in Lynette's tiny pictorial.

Here is Barbara's tiny quilt - sew cute!!!

Diane worries about the scale of the cats:flowers & birds

 Here is one of Diane's gourds.

The beaded edging is pine needles!

This one is HUGE, I never saw such a giant gourd.
The edging/handle is burned lasso.

 Everyone contributes Rows for Valor.

Then Carolee builds the Valor quilts.

The GFG on the wall really is from Carolee's grandmother.

 I love this one-patch, Super clever design.

Especially the border.

Not to mention, Karen's great workmanship.

I guess this also counts as R/W/B, and as pinwheel?

Foundation pieced pillow case. Also a one patch.

Spinning the biggy/smalls makes it look like a Spool.

Sculptured T-Shirt Quilt.

LOL I should have got a picture of the whole thing. Of course this block was center top ;)

This one is from the museum, and traveling AQSG exhibit.

There were more pictures but my phone ate them. AARG!

Check out the sculptured edge!!!

I would have flipped the sawtooth rows so they appear to come from the sashing instead of from the block....but that might have made the green too overpowering? What do you think?

For sure that is the tiniest dresdens I have ever seen. Paper Pieced?

Pearl says I should get to work now.

Happy Monday!

Custom Dolls

Meet Alwina

 She is a very special gift, 

made by custom doll artist Molly B. Vehon.

 Can you believe all the beautiful details? 

Authentic Prim handpainted face.

 Check out the tiny zombie stitches!

I got to pick the white pumpkin fabric:)

You know how hard it is to get dolls perfectly stuffed like this!

Plus, Alwina's coffee stained hands and feet are scented with cinnamon,

just another extra charming detail.

What, you'd like your own custom doll?

Or maybe you now someone who needs a gift doll??

Molly can make you a doll for any/every season.

Convo with crochet artist T.Allie of 918 Girl Creations  to get in touch with Molly.

THANK YOU, MOLLY!

Periwinkles

Dying to try this cover quilt, Periwinkles, from Missouri Star Quilt Co.
BLOCK Magazine Late Summer 2015 - Vol. 2 Issue 4

Jackie @SewExcitedQuilt sent me this!

She shared her trip to the real life Missouri Star Quilt Co. with me.

 



So when Karen devised a unique fabric game for our neighborhood club,
I knew exactly the pattern I would go to!

At Christmas, Karen gave us each three 1/4 yard (9" wide) cuts. They were mystery cuts, wrapped, you couldn't see what you were picking. Next, we each invent something with them by St. Patrick's Day. It's a great game to break you out of your same old go-to stash selections.

Except......Periwinkles is a layer cake pattern. So I had to talk the pattern into 9" blocks.
Furthermore, I don't have the Periwinkle template.

How hard can this shape be?

Take your HST, fold at center, bisect the angle, and you get...

No!

Not Periwinkles.

Ha. Should have seen that coming.

After much experimentation (and I'm sparing you all the pics, ok?),

I discerned a 3-1/2" cut makes a good Periwinkle.

LOL we shall see how it all turns out:)

 

Thank goodness, Pearl is supervising.

 

 Thanks, Jackie:)



Thanks Pat and Eleanor

 

Pat Nagle visited our Guild last night!
My first driving at night adventure since cataract surgery last week.
Sure glad I cowgirled up and made the trip. We had hot apple cider and....

There were modern traditions.....


Geese flying over Geese
Not Applique!

 

modern Trip Around the World

..and old,,,,


clever edges and applique combinations
add dramatic interest to Dresden Plates

Log Cabin birdhouse, Star sunshine
I'm always amazed with Eleanor's Fences

...and the cleverest piecing techniques!

scrolling colors
even the border is rainbow

Crazy layer cake

Plus extra lovely quilting, of course:)


Cabbage Rose in HST Feathered Star

 



Pineapple, one of my favorite stitches

Thanks, Pat! For making the long drive on a cold November evening

to bring patterns and rulers and amazing quilty ideas to share.

 

Thanks Pat, and Eleanor too, for sharing your cleverness, talent, and fun!

 

And Thank You! For reading:)

 

Computer still hurts my eye, so I won't right again for a week or so.

I hope you will stay warm, and enjoy some hot apple cider

along with these Pat and Eleanor quilts.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

October Auction Small Quilts

It was a dark and stormy night...

Really!  Didn't think I would get to attend small quilt auction at guild last night. I travel 30 miles to guild meets. Not fun with flash floods warnings all day.
But the storm cleared around sunset, and Alex helped making diner and medications for her Grandpa, and I hadn't been to a quilt show in a long time so....off I go.

And glad I did! I got to share 2 witch hats in auction, which were well received, thanks ladies:)
Here are my faves from the mini quilt show auction:

Swoon Houses! Look- the doorways are fussy cut with tiny women. Sew Clever! LUV when a classic pattern gets a unique twist. Totally worth the trip!

Halloween Cat and Moon: Just adorable applique. I never think of batik for moon and starts. Darlene's quilts always make me smile.

Applique Bouquet:  LUV a scrappy background. This one is extra clever;

"tablecloth" portion of background is quilted with crosshatches, to differentiate from rest of background. Can you see?

Witch Sue:  Most Sues are applique, but this one is very cleverly foundation pieced. Sparkly star stickers added on her hat. Cute!

Quiltigami:  Origami kimono, first I've seen in real life! This works extra nice as a single block study, don't you think?

Simple & Sweet:  I never find cute fabric like this! Extra simple runner -oval framed with bias binding before cool border fabric- showcases fun fabrics. sorry only partial pic.

....And the storm stayed away until I returned to my own neighborhood:)
It's been a busy month with emergency plumbing and car repairs. Focus between surprises has been to try and  finishing witch hats for the RHQ Etsy Shop, so I haven't stopped to put up Holiday decorations yet. Mini quilt show was just what I needed to get in the holiday spirit.

Do you have Halloween quilts to share? I'd love to see them!!!  You are welcome to post onon
 Commemorative Quilting FB Page.