Hunter's Star Quilt Has Been Gifted!!

Hello Everyone,

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day! We did, it was very quiet and we just kind of did whatever we wanted to do... all day long! We definitely don't get days like that too often.

One of the main things that I wanted to share with you was the Hunter's Star (a.k.a. Hot Flash) was given to my daughter!! It is quilted and the binding is applied by machine on the one side. Only the hand sewing remains.

Here is my sweet daughter with her new quilt. She loved it! I am so glad too.

Here is the back. I pieced it with more black and white fabrics and four different blue and teal fabrics. In the middle of the backing you can see the label that I pieced right into the backing. This way it will always be there.

This took a team to hold up for a full shot. Here are the details:

~the quilt measures 91 X 91

~I used Quilter's Dream White Cotton Supreme batting.

~I quilted it with an edge to edge design with hearts and swirls and white thread.

~the pattern is Hot Flash and can be found here

~tools used were Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star Ruler and the Tucker Trimmer which can be found here.

~I will finish the binding over the next week so that it can go on her bed. More pictures to come then.

Until Next Time...

Hunter's Star Quilt Has Been Gifted!!

I Think My Hot Flash Is Just About DONE!!

Hello Everyone,

Yes, it is true, I am almost done with Hot Flash!! Although I may end up naming it something else. Now mind you my daughter's birthday is only 2 days away, so it most likely will be ready for Christmas and not her birthday. I don't think she will mind.

This weekend, I applied the pieced borders and really love the way it looks. I just need to add one more plain border. It will be a black with a white background.

These quarter square/half square triangle combo units were easy peasy using the Tucker Trimmer. They really turned out perfect. My daughter picked out the blue and teal fabrics without knowing what I was going to do with them. Well, I guess she knew that I would be making some kind of quilt.

I just love how the saturated color of the blues and teals "POP" against the black and white. What do you think?

A closer look at the combo units really show how nicely they work up.

I think that she will be pleased even though it isn't her Union Jack Flag quilt (that she also asked for). That will come next...

You can see that you can mix different kinds of fabric. I always do. I used a mix of batiks and regular quilting cotton prints in this quilt. Using batiks is always a pleasure, they press so nicely and are always saturated in color.

I just couldn't pass up putting the quilt on the bed to see how it would look. Albeit, it is isn't her bed.

Recap on what I used to create this quilt:

1. Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star Ruler.

2. Black and white fabrics from my stash and shop.

3. Batiks from my stash and shop.

4. Tucker Trimmer.

6. Hot Flash Pattern.

So if you are interested in making one of these beauties, you can find everything you need in my shop!! Plus, the black and white fabrics are on sale for this week only for $7.75 per yard.

Hopefully next time you see this quilt it will be quilted and bound. I think I will do a fairly simple pieced backing too. Do you think I can have it all done by Christmas??

Until Next Time....

I Think My Hot Flash Is Just About DONE!!

There Is A Pile!

Hello Everyone,

So sorry, this post was intended for yesterday, but we were without internet! It is really amazing how much we depend on technology isn't it?

Anyway, so this past weekend I did some sewing and worked on my daughter's Hunter's Star Quilt as shown in this post. I was able to put on the two inner borders and also work on the 3rd border which is pieced.

The result was these combo units. Black and white with a touch of teal and blue, just like she wanted.

I started with 3 piles of squares. One black, one white, and one with blues and teals. Very saturated in color. She picked out the colors. Many of them are batiks. Even though she picked out the colors she still doesn't know what the quilt looks like. Now to keep it that way.

This is what it looks like during the piecing process. I just love the little pile of trimmings.

I used the Tucker Trimmer to get my combo units to the correct and precise size. It is a wonderful tool and can be found here.

Very little waste, but what I like best is the accuracy it gives you when the blocks are all trimmed up. This way your piecing should go together really easily and accurately.

These are just a few of the blocks, I really like them and can't wait start putting them on the design wall with the quilt. You can get an idea of what it will look like here. The pattern is called Hot Flash. I am hoping to have the quilt complete for her by the holidays. Wish me luck!!

Pssst... All batiks are marked down to $7.75 per yard through 12/3, in the shop. And I now stock black and white fabrics! (Shameless plug)

Until Next Time....

There Is A Pile!

Color... Lots of It!! And Winners too!

Hello Everyone,

I hope you have all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and also survived Black Friday!! Speaking of Black Friday, check out the specials going on my home page of my shop! We had a fun day on Thanksgiving visiting family, but we are now home ready to get back into daily life. That is a good thing!

Recently, at my quilting retreat, we had the wonderful opportunity to visit a fabulous studio of art quilter Frances Holliday Alford. It is located in the quaint town of Grafton, VT and is well worth the stop. Her studio is called Embellishment Studios and very appropriately so. I wanted to just sleep there!!

She has been featured in Quilting Arts magazine and is quite the talent. I took tons of pictures, but was really taken with one piece that is in progress. So I chose to show you these.

Simply gorgeous! She had drawers and drawers filled with buttons and beads. All categorized by color. All fun too! This is still in progress.

Once you start getting closer to it you can distinguish the different beads and buttons that she has attached. Things like flowers, ladybugs, and ducks.

Hands too!

It is a very organized, kind of disorganized rainbow of color.

I just love the way the circles go from larger to smaller. I look forward to seeing this one complete.

Doesn't this piece make you want to get out all your buttons and beads and just begin playing? Now if this wasn't enough to make you drool, just take a look at this...

This is her fabric stash!! Well organized and gorgeous!

Now for the winners of the rulers from this post...

The winner of the Hunter's Star Ruler is:

Suzie from Little Busy Bee

The winner of the V Block Ruler is:

Quilting Chris!

Thank you to all who entered the drawing!!

Until Next Time...

Color... Lots of It!! And Winners too!

Rapid Fire Hunter's Star

Hello Everyone,

First, I must apologize for my silence in replying to comments. I have been away on a wonderful quilting retreat for a week and tried hard to stay away from the computer. So please accept my apologies. This is not like me...

But I did have a wonderful time and was able to get tons accomplished!! I was pleased. This week is going to be a fun one on my blog because there will be a giveaway in relation to this post and Wednesday's post. So be sure to check back on Wednesday for the giveaway!!

Onto one of my big accomplishments at the retreat...

I bet many of you remember my previous posts on my black and white Hunter's Star quilt. You can find them by clicking here and here and here.

I began this quilt for my daughter as she has requested a black and white and teal quilt. I was able to get the body of this quilt complete at the retreat. I was very excited about this.

It was done with the wonderful tool... The Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler! This ruler is the ONLY method, in my eyes, to create a Hunter's Star. No diamonds or trapezoids to cut. Really easy. You can find this ruler in my shop, here. And I do show some detail using it in my previous post here.

This ruler was created by my friend Deb Tucker of Studio 180 Designs. You will be able to listen to her on my Podcast on Wednesday when the podcast becomes available.

Anyway, I created this quilt with many, many different black and white fabrics from my stash. I really love the look of this and hope my daughter will too. But you might be asking yourselves, where oh where is the teal?

That will be in the border. It is going to be a pieced border using the Tucker Trimmer, another tool by Deb Tucker!!

But UH OH... What happened to my quilt??????

While I was piecing the blocks together, my good friend Justine snuck in a piece of Hunky Men Christmas fabric!!! I think she thought it either needed a little more color or possibly a little more intrigue.

Here they are close up, just in case you were wondering just how hunky they were!

As per our entire quilting retreat, here I am posing with my best Wilson (aka Anna) pose!

Stay tuned for Wednesday's BIG giveaway!!!

Until Next Time....

Rapid Fire Hunter's Star

More Layouts

Hello Everyone,

I wanted to share with you a few more examples of the Hunter's Star. These are some photos that I took while at class at QBTY.

This first photo is a 3 color or 3 fabric version of a Hunter's Star. Laura (our teacher) made this table runner to demonstrate using the 3 colors for this pattern. It looks much different than a 2 color or 2 fabric version. Just lovely!

Here is my friend Maria modeling one of her completed blocks. She chose to make a 2 fabric version. If you click on the picture to enlarge you will see that the fabrics she chose are tone on tone. She is making a lap size version for her son in law to be! Lucky guy!

Yet another 2 color version from another student in the class. Beautiful in blue and white.

So Maria worked hard in class and was able to get all these blocks completed and up on the wall. Doesn't it look fantastic! I am telling you this ruler is the best!

Here is another student's red and white version. Just gorgeous! So I know that you all would like the link again for the ruler. Just click here to go to the site for the Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler. Don't forget to look at Deb Tucker's gallery while you are there.

Also, don't forget to check out the NEW Kaffe, Philip, Brandon, and Martha fabrics that I just added to my online shop. I know you will just love them!

Until Next Time...

More Layouts

Hunter's Star Revisited

Hello Everyone,

I know that many you have been waiting to see the results from my Hunter's Star Class. Also, I know that some of you had never even heard of a Hunter's Star. If you weren't able to read my first post about this wonderful block, just click here and then come on back.

Well, all I have to say, is that if you decided to go ahead and purchase that wonderful Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler, you have made a great investment in your quilting tools, for sure.

Here is the first 4 blocks up on my design wall!! Very scrappy and all from my stash. Now traditionally this block is done with 2 fabrics. Well, of course, I can't seem to be traditional. So I did a two color version, but made it totally scrappy. I love the effect!

Here you can see the star form. When all four corners of the block meet they make this wonderful Hunter's star. The neat thing about this method is that it is all strip pieced. You never have to cut any diamonds!!

On the back of the block, she has you press the seam open. The reason behind this is because when the corners all meet up to form the star, there would be way too much bulk and would not lay so flat. By the way, bulk is a longarm quilter's nightmare. When my customers give me something that is bulky, it is definitely much more difficult to quilt over those areas because the hopping foot just can't make it. Then the foot needs to be adjusted. It is just better if the seams lay flat, for sure.

Here you can see the corner where the star will form. Oh, and by the way, this block is made slightly larger than you need. I say this because you trim it down with the ruler and every single block is not only the right size but just perfect!! So the whole quilt should go together with ease.

Now I just need to get the rest of the blocks up on the design wall. I will continue to show you my progress and some final photos from the class too. In the meantime, check out the new customer quilts that have been loaded to my gallery.

Until Next Time...

Hunter's Star Revisited

Hunter's Star

Hello Everyone,

So how many of you ever wanted to make a Hunter's Star quilt? How many have made one? Well, I fall into the first category. I have always wanted to make one, but just never got around to it. But this past November, while on my quilting retreat, one of the ladies was busily making one all week long. Terry had a neat little ruler that made it really simple to create the Hunter's Star block.

We were all very intrigued and almost everyone at the retreat ended up purchasing this ruler. It is called the Petite Rapid Fire Hunter's Star ruler from Deb Tucker. It allows you to make this block in any size from 5" to 8". She also has a larger ruler too.

Anyway, so my favorite LQS, Quilting By The Yard, was doing a class with this ruler. So I rounded up the girls and we took the first class last Tuesday. It was a lot of fun and I just can't say enough about this ruler. It really gives you perfect results and you strip piece the whole thing!!

Here you can see me using the ruler to cut my first trapezoid. You first cut the strips and then just align your ruler and cut.

Then using the lines again on the ruler, you flip it and cut again.

Until you have your trapezoids cut and then you join them to another strip. This strip will form the diamonds which will become the stars.

Here are my trapezoids all joined to the "star point" strips. Kind of looks like prayer flags a little.

You press them open and then align your ruler again and cut them apart. This is what forms the star point.

In this photo, you can see where I had cut them apart and now have joined the other side of the trapezoid to the opposite "star point". Everything does get trimmed up later.

I did get to the point where I made one block, but I am saving those results for later. We have one more class next week and I will let you see it then. But I highly recommend this method! Very speedy and accurate!!

In other news, lots of new goodies in my online shop!! Kona Cotton fat quarter bundles, roll ups, charm packs, NEW Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and Martha Negley fabrics as well. Just go HERE to check it out.

Also, my newest Podcast Episode #9 is out. I talk about the value of having the correct quilting tools and highlight some of my favorite. Just click HERE to listen or go to iTunes to download.

Until Next Time...

Hunter's Star