Tile Tango Baby Quilt

I had fun last weekend with a baby quilt for my niece and her husband, who are first time expectant parents.  This was such a fun quilt to work on, and it has an even better story.  Thad and Charlene (the expectant parents) married a few years ago.  While attending a reception in their honor, I met Thad's mother, Jane.  Jane contacted me a few months ago with this "opportunity".

 The story starts 36 years ago when Jane was pregnant with Thad.  Her friends gave her a baby shower and each woman who attended the shower made a quilt block.  They gave Jane the blocks at the shower.  (Make a note.... Don't give a pregnant new mother who is not a quilter a pile of blocks... make the quilt for her!).  Jane has kept the blocks for all these years.  She cherished them, but always felt badly that she hadn't made anything with them.  I'm so glad that she called me!

I love a good challenge (good thing!).  These blocks were all different sizes and there were 13 of them! Some are painted, some are embroidered, some appliqued.

We don't know the gender of the baby, so I used 30's prints in many different colors, a white background, and yellow border fabric.

T


I showed Jane several patterns, and she liked the Tile Tango pattern from Atkinson Designs. (On sale through the end of April, 2012).

The cool thing about this pattern is that I could use it to set 13 blocks.  If you count the tiles, the first 5 rows have 13 "framed" 9-patch blocks.  This also makes a good size for a baby quilt.

I also thought this would be a good pattern to modify slightly to accommodate slightly different sizes of blocks.

 The pattern calls for framing 9-patch blocks and setting them with solid background blocks.  But I framed the focus blocks and set them with 9-patch blocks in between the frames.

To make the 9-patches, the pattern takes you through the process of sewing strips together, sub-cutting them, and then using those pieces to make the blocks.

So far so good.... now on to the fun part!

I arranged, and re-arranged, and  re-re-re-re-rearranged the blocks until I was happy with them.  I had some friends with me and one of them (thanks, Jean!) pointed out that each of the things in the blocks (animals, trains, people, etc) should be facing in toward the center.  We also balanced color and size of designs as we played with the placement and frame colors.  It was very helpful to do this with a room full of friends!.

For some of the smaller blocks, I made the frames larger, and for some, I added to the white background.  One of the reasons that I used the 9-patch blocks is that they distracted the viewer a bit so that the different sizes of frames and focus blocks weren't as obvious.

The focus blocks were on very thin fabric- I think they are probably poly-cotton that was so popular in the 70's.

I backed them with a piece of the white background fabric so that they would be more stable and so that you could not see through them, which would have shown the seams.

Once I had the focus blocks framed, and the 9-patches made, this quilt went together in a flash.

My original plan was to give the quilt 2 borders- a smaller white inner border and a larger yellow outer border.  But I never make that final decision until I have the center of the quilt finished.  Then I lay out the border fabrics and "audition" them. When I did that, I decided to leave out the white inner border.  I thought it looked best with the the yellow from the 9-patches blending into the border.  This created the illusion of the blocks "floating" over the background.

Such a fun project!  Now to quilt it and send it off to Jane so she can present it to her new grandchild (and his or her parents, of course).  I hope that some of the women who made these blocks see the quilt and remember their gift of 36 years ago! 

I also have a funny story to tell you about Thad and Charlene's first date.  Thad had just met Char and thought it would be interesting to do a quick internet search to see if anything about her popped up.  Char is a doctor and his search did yield a few things- mostly relating to her professional life.  But I had once mentioned a quilt that her sister, Melanie, made for her.  This took him to my website.  So- by their first date, I think Thad knew as much about me as he did about Charlene!  Little did he know that I would become his Aunt (by marriage)!

Congrats to Charlene and Thad!  We're all on "high alert" waiting to hear baby news!  (Let's hope I get the quilt finished before the baby arrives.)

Bargello Shirt Workshop

I had a wonderful day today!  The quilt guild to which I belong (Westside Quilters Guild, Hillsboro, OR) offers a wonderful selection of classes and workshops throughout the year.  This month, we branched out a bit and used our quilting skills to create a piece of wearable art.  Here's my creation!

 Our instructor for the day was one of our guild members, Ann Laffin (on right).

I wish I had taken some photos of the project in progress, but I didn't think of it.  I was so engrossed in my project!

We were instructed to bring a shirt or sweatshirt to class, along with strips of 5 different fabrics plus an accent fabric.  I selected a gently used shirt from my husband's closet that he never wears.  Now he's guaranteed not to wear it!  It's over-sized on me and I intend to wear it as a casual jacket.

My fabric strips are from the Winters Grace and Olde World Style collections. 

It's all in the details... I took off the little collar buttons and put them back on when the shirt was embellished.  And I'm very happy with the thin black piping on the sides.

I took the original pocket off the shirt before adding the bargello piece.  But the space that once had the original pocket was not completely covered with the bargello and it bothered me.  So I made a pocket from my scraps and placed it in the original pocket position.  It took almost as long to get this pocket right as it did to make the front panels!  I'm glad I did it, though.  I like the pocket.

Kathy made this shirt.  Really cute!  It's a little hard to see in this photo, but she used gold lame as her accent between some of the strips.  Fancy Schmancy!












This one is a sweatshirt and has a zipper added to the front.

A short-sleeved denim shirt.

Another sweatshirt with zipper.

And this is one of my favorites.  When Ann made this, she used her embroidery machine to add some flowers to the collar and front.  She also did embroidery to the back.  It's really cute.











It was a fun day, I learned a few things, I enjoyed the company of fellow quilters, and I have a COMPLETED shirt/jacket to wear.  Life is good!

More Atkinson Designs Quilts....

I asked for photos of quilts made with Atkinson Designs patterns this month for an extra chance at the giveaway. (There's still a lot of April left-- keep sending them in!)  This was sent by Andee in Arizona.  Andee blogs at Moderndiary.blogspot.com.

Nice Slide Show, Andee!

I thought I'd show you a few of my own quilts made from Atkinson Designs patterns.  ALL in-stock Atkinson patterns on my website are on sale this month, by the way.
The first 2 are Lucky Stars.  This in one of my favorite patterns.  It's so quick to stitch up!  The stars "float" which makes piecing a lot quicker (and more forgiving).  And Terry's patterns are so well written that it's very straight-forward.  The first was made for my DIL when she graduated from high school.  She wasn't my DIL yet at that time and it was the first quilt I made for her.  If you scroll down several posts, you'll see a pic of her with the snowman quilt I made her this past Christmas.  The second Lucky Stars was made for a charity auction a few years back.  It brought in a nice donation for the Lelooska Foundation,

This one, sadly, is no longer in print.  It's called Allegro.  I love it and it's the background quilt in my profile photo.

And this one is not an Atkinson Designs quilt.  I lifted it from my friend, Charlotte's, Facebook page.  :-)  It's her most recent finish and I thought it was really cute and just had to share it with you.  I love this pattern.  One of these days it just might make it to my sewing machine. Really cute quilt, Charlotte!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend.  We've had SUCH a rainy spring, and this past weekend was sunny and warm-ish.  WHAT a gift!  It was such a spirit-lifter!  Today is beautiful here in the pacific northwest, too.  I think spring weather has FINALLY arrived here!  YEA!!!  (That means garden pictures are soon to come).

Atkinson Designs Quilts

For this month's giveaway, I offered an extra entry if readers sent me a photo of a quilt they made from a Terry Atkinson pattern.  I thought I'd share some with you- thanks to all who sent pics!  This runs the whole month, so please send more!

Thanks to all who have entered the giveaway.  I have your entries!

Leah from South Carolina send me this picture of her Slideshow quilt.  CUTE!  I love it in the soft colors.  You can see her other great quilts on her blog, Quilted Delights.  She recently wrote a good post on paper piecing, too.

Cassie from Nebraska sent this photo in.  She calls it Madeline's 100 Good Wishes Quilt.  Cassie used the Slide Show pattern for inspiration and modified it a bit to use the fabrics she had.  You can read about it HERE on her blog.  Nice, Cassie!

Rebecca sent me this picture of a quilt she made for her daughter using the Lucky Stars pattern.  I've made three quilts from this pattern myself- it's one of my favorites!  The stars "float" so the seam matching is minimal.  Rebecca's blog can be found HERE.

Jocelyn, AKA the Happy Cottage Quilter, sent me a photo of her Yellow Brick Road.  I've made a few of these, too.  YBR seems to be a "go to" pattern for a lot of quilters who want a quick, cute, functional quilt.



Julie O. sent photos of 3 Atkinson Designs quilts:

 I love how she used fabric photo transfers to replace some of the blocks in this Yellow Brick Road quilt!

 All About Me is a very popular pattern.  So FUN!

Here is Julie's Tile Tango.  Love it!
Thanks for the picks, Julie.


 Thanks, again, to all who sent pictures.  Your quilts are all treasures!   Keep them coming!  Just a reminder that I have 16 of Atkinson Designs patterns on my website and they are all on sale throughout April.

Quick Kitchen Towels with my Accuquilt GO

 I thought you might like to see a quick project I did with my Accuquilt GO!  I made these 3 little kitchen towels for my son and daughter-in-law to use in their new kitchen.  I used the GO! Birds die (#55324).




I backed 3 pieces of fabric with Steam-a-Seam Light (you can use whatever fusible product you prefer).

Then, I cut a few of all 3 birds and wings from each of the 3 different fabrics. I mixed up the colors and laid them on the 3 towels- rearranging them until I was happy.  I followed the directions on the fusible paper to fuse the shapes to the towels.

Note:  The GO! instructions say that I should not put more than 6 layers of fabric through the machine at a time.  When the fabric is backed with fusible paper, it counts as 2 thicknesses, so I only put 3 layers at a time through the machine.  Never overload the GO!

I then used a blanket stitch on my sewing machine to go around all of the shapes.  I used a skinny satin stitch to make little legs and feet and a dot of an eye.

Voila!  A quick and fun gift!

Note that I used flat towels.  You can experiment with plush towels, but the fusible won't behave the same.

Got the Quilt Bug?

I went to the Northwest Quilters show at the Portland Expo Center yesterday with a few friends of mine.  Fun show!  The first "quilt" you see when you enter is this.  Is this fun or what?!?!  It was featured in Quilters Home magazine a while back.  If you're in the Portland, Oregon area and looking for something to do on a rainy day,  the show runs through today.

My DIL has a bug..... hmmmm.....

April Giveaway!

For the April Giveaway, the winner will be able to select any one pattern from Atkinson Designs that is in stock on our website.

Click HERE to view the selection.  We currently have 16 different patterns designed by Terry Atkinson.

To enter, just leave a comment to THIS POST and say you'd like to enter.  That's it!

For a second entry, if you are a follower of this blog (long time follower or brand new- it doesn't matter),  leave a SECOND COMMENT to THIS POST and let me know that you are following.

For a third entry, tell your friends about the giveaway.  I don't care if you blog about it, post it to Facebook, tweet about it, or take out an advertisement in the New York Times.  Just spread the word.

Then made a THIRD COMMENT to THIS POST and tell me.

Want a 4th entry?  Have you ever made a quilt designed by Terry Atkinson?  Send me a photo.  I'd love to see it!


We'll run this for the whole month of April.  On May 1st, I'll use the trusty random number generator to pick the lucky winner.

If you are a "No Reply Blogger", make sure I have a way to contact you, or make sure to check the blog on May 1st to see if you won.  If I can't contact you, I'll have to select another reader and that would be very sad.  :-(


GOOD LUCK!

Cobblestone Crows

I made this wall hanging a few weeks ago.  I donated it to a benefit auction that will be held later this month..  The proceeds will benefit the Lelooska Foundation in Ariel, Washington (just north of the Portland area).

The pattern is called, "Cobblestone Crows" and was designed by Sheryl Mycroft of Random Threadz.  Sheryl has a real talent for designing patterns that are not very difficult, but look stunning.  I sell the patterns and complete kits on my website and I've always wanted to make this up.  I like it so much that I want to make another one for myself!  Sheryl also designed the Manzanita Tree pattern.  She's very talented- and very nice, too!

The fabric is appliqued onto the background.  The Crows are applied with fusible applique and then stitched very closely around the edge.  Then the beads and buttons are sewn on by hand.  It took me longer to sew on the beads than it did to make the quilt!  The bead packs are made for Alderwood Quilts by my bead artist friend, Lanai Kinsky. I carry the little bead packs in 6 different colorways.  The thin green border (see top photo) is 3-dimensional, which is a really nice touch.  (Did I mention that I love Sheryl's patterns?)

The funny thing is that the birds are seen as "crows" by the designer.  I see "Raven".  And a friend of mine looked at it and said, "Magpies!".  So... their identification is in the eye of the beholder.

Play with your food

Put a little cheese sauce on this and you could replace mac and cheese with little weenies.  Would this be fun to have kids help you make or what!

I have no idea where this came from.  I saw it on Facebook.  I thought it was hysterical.

A Quilter's Brain

Topstitch Needles

 Ever wonder what makes a TOPSTITCH NEEDLE different?


Well.... I've fallen off the blog bandwagon again.  Time to hop back on!  I thought I'd share some information about topstitch needles that I just found.  Just a little background first... I don't sell thread on my website.  I did for a while, but it sat there on the shelf collecting dust (not good for thread).  It seems that thread is an item that people really prefer purchasing in person- to get the perfect color.  I personally use several brands.  There are  many good ones available these days.  I don't know if you ever thought about it before, but our mothers and grandmothers had only a couple of choices and they weren't a fraction of the quality we now enjoy in thread.  Although I don't use any one brand exclusively, I find myself using Superior Threads more and more often these days.  What I will say is that, while there are many companies that sell very good quality thread, I have never found thread that I DON'T like make by Superior.  I subscribe to Superior Threads newsletter, which always has good information.  They try hard to educate customers. Superior also sells needles. This month, they talked about topstitch needles (my new favorite needles for piecing!) and I thought you'd enjoy the following information.

The following is used with permission from Bob Purcell, www.superiorthreads.com.
 (click on images to enlarge)

EDUCATION: Needles Have you ever wondered what a needle burr is? The eye of a needle is punched out in the manufacturing process.  Sometimes the punch process is not clean and a microscopic fragment of metal is left behind (see photo at left of a new Universal #80/12 needle -- not ours!).  As the thread goes through the needle, the burr snags it and causes problems.  If it is a small burr and you are using a cotton thread, the burr will snag some cotton and pull out a piece of lint while the thread keeps going.  If you are using a smooth polyester thread, the burr will snag the thread and result in breakage.  This explains why sometimes a cotton thread might run well, but a stronger poly thread breaks.  A large burr will cause problems for all threads.  Burrs usually do not develop during use but exist in an imperfect needle. A burr in a smaller-eye needle (most needle styles) will cause more problems than a burr in a larger eye needle (Topstitch style).

During a visit with the largest industrial needle manufacturer in the world, I was surprised to see their catalog.  It was as big as a phone book.  There were hundreds of different needle styles, each offering a variety of sizes.  I estimated a total of 4,000 choices.  For the past 12 years, we have learned much from professional quilters, embroiderers, general sewists (I like this new word better than sewers), and educators. As far as needles are concerned, many tell us the needle they use in home machines is the Topstitch style needle -- regardless if they are piecing, quilting, constructing, or embroidering. (The only exception to this rule is when sewing on knit fabrics, and then a ballpoint needle is used.) FYI, the least favorite needle of professionals is the Universal needle.

There are three main advantages of a Topstitch needle.
1. The point is sharp, but not razor sharp.  It has a very slightly rounded sharp point with allows the needle point to penetrate without cutting the fibers.  Many needles have a similar point.
2. Wider and deeper groove.  All needles have a groove which runs up the shaft of the needle.  The thread lies in the groove rather than along the outside of the needle.  The groove on Topstitch needles is wider and deeper than most other needle styles. This is beneficial especially for medium, heavy, decorative, and sensitive threads.
3. The favorite feature of the Topstitch needle is the extra large eye (see photo below).  It is twice as large as most other needle styles.  The large eye gives much more room for thread as it moves through the needle and greatly reduces stress on thread. (Click on the images to see close up details.)
In our sewing room, we have only four needles:
 1. Topstitch #70/10 for very fine threads such as MonoPoly, #100 Kimono Silk, and Bottom Line.
2. Topstitch #80/12 for fine threads (50 wt.) such as MasterPiece cotton and So Fine #50 polyester.
3. Topstitch #90/14 for medium threads (40 wt.) such as King Tut, Rainbows, Art Studio Colors, Highlights, Metallic, and Glitter. 
4. Topstitch #100/16 for heavier threads (30 wt. and heavier) such as So Fine #30, Perfect Quilter, and Poly Quilter.

But how about metallic needles?  Here is the truth.  The best selling brand of home machine needles in the world packages the Topstitch needle in a green Topstitch needle pack and also packages the same Topstitch needle in a gold pack and labels it as Metallic needles.  They are the identical needle in two different packs.  No wonder those metallic needles work so well! They are Topstitch needles.

How about titanium-coated needles?  These needles are very similar to regular chrome needles but have a micro-thin coating of titanium nitride (a ceramic-like substance) applied.  This micro-thin coating does not affect the overall strength of the needle, but it does make the needle last longer (5 to 8 times longer than a regular needle) and it costs only 20 cents more.  Most factories around the world use titanium-coated needles due to their durability.  If you have heard the rumor that titanium-coated needles can damage your machine, don't believe it.  They do not create any greater risk than does a regular needle.  Professionals and factories would not use them if there were a greater risk of damage.  Use them and enjoy them.  They really do last a long time. For scientific results of laboratory testing, please view the Organ Needle Company brochure.
Our Topstitch needles, which fit all home machines are titanium-coated.
View Bob's video presentation on needles

Flannel Snowman Quilt

I wanted to show you the little snowman throw I made for my daughter in law.  It's was a really super quick quilt- mostly strips.  The checkerboards were pieced but the rest of the work is all done by the fabric.  It took almost as long to bind it as it did to piece the top!

Here's a close-up, but it's difficult to see the quilting.  I just did large swirls.  Not quite stippling- just easy swirling all over.

Emily posing snuggled up with her new quilt.  It's so nice to make a quilt for someone and have it so appreciated!

December Giveaway Winner- Be Colourful Pattern

Sorry I forgot to do this yesterday.  I was just having tooooo much fun putting decorations away and cleaning (NOT!).

I was really impressed with the number of people who genuinely hoped to win this giveaway.  It just goes to show you how much people like Jacqueline de Jonge's patterns.  I'm so sorry I don't have a few dozen of these to give away!  Thank you all for entering, and especially to those of you who sent photos of Christmas quilts for me to share.  I loved seeing your handiwork.

The trusty random number generator tells me that this pattern will be traveling across the border to B.C., Canada..... to live at Peg's house!  Peg is an avid quilter and blogger.  She has several blogs.... one of them being Pieces on my Mind.  CONGRATS, PEG!  I'll send you an email.

I'll post a January giveaway soon!