Juvenile Prints

I love these Girl Friends and Super Kids prints by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman.

There are also some great border prints by Sarah Jane for Michael Miller that would make a great girl's skirt. The first is from "Children at Play", and the second is from "Let's Pretend".

Sarah Jane also designed the adorable collection, "Out to Sea". 

  

Check out this geometric print from "The Circus" by Marie Perkins for Robert Kaufman.

Low volume choices don't get any cuter than "Little Red Riding Hood" by Tasha Noel for Riley Blake.

By now it's obvious I have a little girl, so I'll throw in "Once Upon a Time" by Alexander Henry paired with Cloud 9's "The Land That Never Was" to round out my list of favorites.

   

You can also donate 2.4% of what you spend to the Albuquerque Modern Quilt Guild, or another cause, by downloading the iGive button to your toolbar. Click here for more information.

Drive Through Quilt-Along - Road Construction

Cut one 2 1/2" x width of fabric (42" or more) strip of a cream, white, tone-on-tone or low-volume fabric and one 2 1/2" x width of fabric (42" or more) strip of black. Sew together the longest sides using a 1/4" seam. Press toward the black fabric. this means your seam should be laying underneath the black fabric. Measure to make sure the width is 4 1/2". If it is larger, adjust your seam allowance to be larger. If it is less than 4 1/2", adjust your seam allowance to be smaller (a scant 1/4"). Cut the cream/black strip in half. 

Again, sew together the longer sides with black touching cream. Keep the selvage or jagged ends on the same end so fabric lost is minimized.

Cut the end even by lining up the horizontal lines of the ruler with the center seam, rather than the top or bottom raw edge. Crosscut at 6". Pull the larger portion of the fabric aside. Slide the ruler without moving the fabric you are cutting, and cut at 5", 4", 3", 2" and 1". Repeat this process two more times. Then cut three more 1" strips. You should have 21 strips total.

Take 16 of the strips and sew them together in pairs by joining the shorter sides, black to cream, with 1/4" seam (unless you needed to adjust). Press toward the black fabric. You should now have 8 strips.

Again, sew the strips together in pairs by joining the shorter sides, black to cream, with 1/4" seam. Press toward the black fabric. You should now have 4 strips.

Take four more of the 8 1/2" original strips. Add one to each of your longer strips, being careful to adjoin cream to black with a 1/4" seam.

Locate your remaining original strip.

Use a seam ripper to remove the stitching.

Add one 2 1/2" x 1" rectangle to each of your long strips. Attach the 1" side to the 1" end of the strip with right sides together using a 1/4" seam. Make sure black is adjoined to cream and cream is adjoined to black.

You should have four strips that measure 42 1/2" long at this point.

Cut 8 2 1/2" x width of fabric strips of black. Sew the long side of these strips to the top and bottom of the skinny 1" strip you created.

Modern Sampler

Calling All Albuquerque Locals!

I have two upcoming UNM Continuing Education classes. Descriptions follow the picture.

Modern Sampler Quilt

Number of Weeks: 6

Day/Times: Tuesdays 6:00-8:30 pm

Starting Date: 2-4-14 

Ending Date: 3-11-14

Location: Ann Silva’s Sewing Center

Delve into the emerging world of modern quilting! Experience piecing techniques including improvisational, strip, pixel, foundation paper and curved, as you compose a quilt top containing nine unique blocks set in an alternate grid layout. Experiment with bold colors, innovative background choices, on-trend fabrics, negative space, geometric shapes, Internet resources, and reinterpretation of traditional quilt blocks. This course is suitable for those with basic sewing skills, rotary cutting experience, and knowledge of quilt construction.  Sewing machines are available for use free-of-charge at Ann Silva’s.

Quilt Top to Finished Quilt – Modern Style

Number of Weeks: 5

Day/Times: Tuesdays 6:00-8:30 pm

Starting Date: 3-18-14 

Ending Date: 4-15-14

Location: Ann Silva’s Sewing Center

Gain the skills necessary to turn an unfinished quilt top into a completed quilt. Various contemporary basting, binding, and free-motion quilting methods will be explored. This course is suitable for those with basic sewing skills, rotary cutting experience, and knowledge of quilt construction. Sewing machines are available for use free-of-charge at Ann Silva’s.

Today's Tutorial - Carseat Cover

Make sure you cut notches in the rounded corners of the two 29" x 41" pieces of fabric you sew together using a 1/2" seam allowance. This will create less bulk in the corners and make it easier to turn right-sides-out. Remember to leave a gap for turning. This gap will be closed during the top-stitching process.

Your 8" x 4 1/2" rectangles will be folded like so.

Stitch using a 1/4" seam allowance on the lines I have marked here, leaving a gap for turning.



When you flip it right-sides-out, it should look like this.

Ta-da! This is the strap after top-stitching using an 1/8" seam allowance.

Add velcrow as shown. Use sew-on velcrow without adhesive, or it will gum up your machine.

Use a double row of stitching to attach the straps to the cover. Buttons can be added as a decorative embellishment. The picture below shows how to attach the completed carseat cover to the carrier.



I'm linking up with:

Q4 Finish-A-Long

I'm giving it another go with the Q4 Finish-A-Long.

My list might look familiar, as I unrepentantly finished newly started projects rather than making much headway on UFOs this quarter.

Here goes...

I have this paper-pieced border.

I've started this in another color scheme.

If I get an insatiable urge to do some considerable curved piecing, there's this beauty designed by John Flynn. I organized in in a pleasing layout on the back of a tablecloth, and the it waits.

This coneflower pattern by Melinda Bula is waiting for some of her "renegade thread play." I even have pre-wound bobbins and matching spools of thread waiting to see the light of day. 

This is a 2011 Saturday Sampler that I gave a drastic redesign. The original version is shown here.

The Saturday Sampler 2011 is ready for quilting.

You'd think I'd know better, but the 2010 needs some additional applique before the top can be assembled.

This quilt top gave me a great excuse to use my fruit fabrics, but it still awaits quilting.

This top from "Two From One Jellyroll Quilts" needs quilted too.

I have books and all kinds of great fabrics, but I've yet to get sketching on this idea.

This Sharon Schlotzhauer design has been fused, but needs machine appliqued down before I lose my yucca flowers.

Here's an insane idea I have patterned for a competition piece. It has great potential.

This is a Block of the Month. I have a few more blocks and the layout to go before I am ready to continue the process.

This baby needs basted and quilted, as does its counterpart made from different fabrics.

I've fixed the oops pictured below, but it still awaits basting.

Here's yet another item waiting for me to figure out how to load my mid-arm.

Here's one of my students showing how a completed version of a quilt block I demonstrated should look.

Here's mine. Oh, the shame!

This needs to be quilted.

This needs some seams matched a bit better, and then to be basted.

Some quilting is warranted here.

Then again, I haven't quilted this color way either.

Perhaps, that's not so bad compared to this one.

I want to make more of these little characters.

My excuse is that I need more black for the backing, but really I'm scared to mess my brother's graduation quilt up since so much work has gone into it already.

This top needs pieced together before it goes to someone else to be quilted for a charity fundraiser.

Here's another one in different fabrics.

The blocks are being assembled for this one.

This is a class sample I am using to demonstrate the process.

I bought some Berenstain Bear fabric. The plan is to make a great big treehouse, whose windows open up to reveal fussy-cut sections of my purchased fabric. However, I'm thinking I should get some of the bears doing something other than outdoor sports. Oops!

I have some blocks I painted with acrylic paint and coordinating fabric. They're crunchy because I should have added fabric medium. Shucks!

These are cut. Perhaps they can make a chevron.

Bargello needs some TLC. I hope it hasn't shuffled out of sequence.

My first rendition of this quilt had a seminole border. I am lacking the coordinating fabric and motivation to give this one the same, so I suppose I should baste it.

Can you tell this is an triple Irish chain? I thought not. My hair-brained idea of using embroider center squares is holding up the works in this instance.

This hasn't been unpackaged since the one block I completed at the workshop.

I've had quite enough of this, so I'm thinking a throw pillow, or tote, or anything that doesn't require another blasted Mariner's compass.

This is another one that I don't foresee a future of completion. I think perhaps a wash to restore it to its original unmarked splendor is in order.

Jacqueline De Jonge can keep her "Be Colourful" all to herself. It's pretty, but not enough for me to trace and add seam allowance to the whole blasted thing. Deb Karasik spoiled me with her pieces prepped on transparent paper, and there's no turning back. Therefore, the pieces can only hope to become a wall-hanging or some such smaller project.

Speaking of Deb, her pattern just needs quilted.

David Taylor, I admire your lovely hand applique, but I would like this hummingbird completed in my lifetime. Therefore, I will be machine stitching this cute little fella.

These antique dresden plates are equally unlikely to be hand-appliqued. I'm thinking about cutting them into circles, machine stitching a center, and turning them into lollipops or something equally scandalous in the eyes of tradition.

Somebody did all this lovely hand applique, and I think it would be lovely made into a quilt. Hum...

These beauties are all hand stitched. My major contribution has been finding a matching muslin for sashing.

Laura Wasilowski's class activity hasn't come very far. I think I was going to make flowers to stick out of this jug. It's been so long, I don't know what my big plan was.

Maybe I should just throw this one away so I don't have to machine applique it. I'm not terrible attached anyhow.

This Judy Niemeyer pattern just needs some time, but I like how my fabric choices are working.

Here's a southwestern block of the month that is lacking a few blocks.

Michelle Watts, you are a fabulous teacher, so I have no good excuse for why this hasn't been out since the workshop.

Robbi Joy Eklow, I like your work, but I can't get my mind wrapped around your unique fusible applique process, so I think I'd do what works for me. Maybe another throw pillow is in order.

I had a great time dye cutting Eiffel towers, sea creatures, dinos, leaves, a clock, robots, trains, and trucks. Now to make each into a quilt.

I'm not a fan of panel quilts, but this own one was cute. I decided to try out the mid-arm. It looks like a drunken money got ahold of it. Now my domestic needs to clean up the mess.

Fabric selection has occurred for Nana's Garden Quilt. Not much else to report regarding that.

Here are two unfinished Quilt-In tops and a guild scrap quilt that involves stitching triangles on the right and left sides of a strip.

Here's yet another Quilt-In top.

This lovely needs quilted.

Upon reflection, this list is way too long. It's a bit depressing. I think I cheer myself up by buying fabric for another project. Yes, that will be fun! (Please don't judge me. It's a sickness.)