Fellow Quilters,

Welcome to my second post today!  My regular subscribers are probably

scratching their heads right now, thinking “Did she fall and bump her head?” because I NEVER post twice in one day.  Well, you know what they say – Never say never.  There is a very good reason for 2 posts today – I am wearing 2 hats as Northcott and I participate in Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 15 blog tour, taking place this week.  My first post was for Northcott’s participation as a sponsor of the tour.  This post is because I have a block in the issue – woop-woop!

#1454 Diamond Cut block

My block is #1454 Diamond Cut, made with Northcott’s uber-delicious Artisan Spirit Shimmer. It has just a hint of metallic gold – enough to make it shimmer (haha) but not enough to make it at all challenging to work with.  I have made numerous quilts with Shimmer, and they all turn out drop-dead gorgeous because of the fabric.

The Diamond Cut block is similar to the block that I used for my Bevels quilt featured in the November 2015 issue of McCall’s Quick Quilts.

Bevels quilt from November 2015 McCall’s Quick Quilts

However, I added corners that create a secondary design when multiple blocks are sewn together.  Using 2 different values of one color gives the distinct impression of shading in the fabrics, creating an optical illusion.

Quilt #1

In this alternate colorway version, I used multiple colors and placed them on a black ground, using one color (gray) for the corner pieces.

Quilt #2

In the 3^rd version, I used a light (cream) ground instead of black as above.

Quilt #3

I also played with a few other blocks in Volume 15 that had a central on-point square motif.  While there were several in the issue, only 2 had the same grid as Diamond Cut – #1464 Checkerboard Square and #1474 Nine Patch Palette.  Here is Diamond Grid with Nine Patch Palette, and then with the corner squares of Nine Patch Palette recolored.  What a difference!

Quilt #4

Quilt #5

Diamond Grid didn’t play as well with Checkerboard Square in my opinion.

Quilt #6

I also combined Checkerboard Square with Nine Patch Palette, both with and without recolored corners.

Quilt #7

Quilt #8

I have 3 copies of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 15 to give away, and I will throw in some Shimmer fabrics as well.  For a chance to win one of the 3 prizes, please post a comment on this blog post by midnight tomorrow Friday May 5^th telling me which of the 8 options is your favorite.  If you haven’t commented on my earlier post for the Northcott giveaways, please do!

As I write this post, I recall writing a similar post for Volume 13 which came out around this time last year and which also featured one of my blocks.  It was a crazy-busy time, particularly because, while returning to Canada from a Florida vacation, I had to make an unplanned multi-day stop in Paducah, Kentucky to join my colleagues in the Northcott booth at AQS Quiltweek.  I did not have any of the clothes or shoes that I needed to wear at the show (cycling shorts, golf clothes and swimsuits were NOT appropriate), so I called my son at home and walked him through my closet via the telephone as he pulled out the required dresses, matching shoes and jewellery, and Fedex’d them to me.  Remarkably, he managed to select all the right ones!

Enjoy the 100 Blocks blog tour road rally, and be sure to stop at the other designers’ and sponsors’ blogs to enter the rally.  Good luck!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Today is my lucky day, and yours too!  This week is the blog tour for Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 15, and not only is Northcott a sponsor, but I also have a block in the issue.  The good news for you is that you get 2 chances to win a copy of this great issue chock full of creative blocks – one chance for commenting on this post and one for commenting on my block post.

I really enjoy writing the Northcott post – it allows me to stretch my creative muscle by recreating some of the blocks and making them with the fabric collection featured in the Northcott ad in this issue.  This time around it is Little Genius (Little Genius ), part of the Tiny Treasures series of small-scale prints.  Little Genius is also a Quilts for Kids collection, benefitting Quilts for Kids (http://www.quiltsforkids.org/ ), a non-profit organization dedicated to brightening the lives of children who suffer from abuse or life-threatening illnesses.  Quilters are so kind-hearted and generous with their time, regularly making quilts that aid those people less fortunate.  Coincidentally, my modern guild had a charity sewing day last month, and we made a quilt with various house blocks for a local facility that provides support for families living with cancer.

With that in mind, I selected any blocks in Volume 15 that looked like houses, whether they were traditional or not.  This included #1441 Tree Houses, #1449 Beach House, #1495 Adventure Seeker (it is a teepee), and #1499 Candy Box (it reminded me of modular housing).  Since, as quilters, we like these quilts to be quick and easy, I also selected some of the easier blocks, such as #1411 Diamond Twist and #1489 Offset.  I noted that #1489 Offset looked like a low-rise apartment.  With 6 different blocks in all, I had lots of options.

I then set to work recoloring them in Little Genius, keeping the background the same in all blocks to maintain cohesiveness.  Here they are!

Then I set them into a variety of quilts, creating 6 different options.  The first one has 2 each of all 6 blocks, with the lengthwise border stripe used for the outer border.  I added sashing to minimize the varying grids in the blocks.  It looks like a sampler quilt.

Quilt #1

In Quilt #2, I used the 4 main “house” blocks, keeping the sashing and border.  I think you would agree that the result is somewhat less “sampler-y”.

Quilt #2

Quilt #3 has just the 2 main “house” blocks, and I like this version a lot.

Quilt #3

I used only the teepee and apartment blocks in Quilt #4, changing the block ground to solid cream, and it has a cleaner, more modern look.

Quilt #4

In the final quilt, I used the 2 more modern “houses” (the modular one and the apartment one) and used a less-busy print in the border.  The effect is quite grid-like, and appeals to the modern quilter in me.

Quilt #5

I am having a tough time deciding which one is my favorite, so I’m asking for your help.  For a chance to win a packet of Little Genius fabrics and a copy of “100 Blocks Volume 15”, please post a comment to this blog by midnight tomorrow Friday May 5^th telling me which quilt is your favorite.  I’ll randomly select 3 winners.

I hope you enjoyed your visit to my blog, and this post on behalf of Northcott.  Please check out my other post today as one of the block designers – you’ll be glad you did!  For more chances to win a copy of “100 Blocks Volume 15”, be sure to visit the other blogs in the tour as well.

Cheers,

Patti

Last Thursday night our area had a late-season storm that dumped 4” of heavy snow on us, so Friday was a self-proclaimed Snow Day – I like to refer to it as a Sew Day.

View from my sewing room

I am presenting several guild trunk shows in the coming months, and wanted to get some new quilts made for them.  Earlier in the week, I had pulled out the fabrics for my new Two by Two pattern that is made with Northcott’s Noah’s Ark collection. It has instructions for a lap, twin or double-size quilt that showcases a cross-wise panel and a lengthwise border stripe.  It also has instructions for a crib-size quilt that utilizes a book panel.

Two by Two crib quilt

I had started the crib quilt on Wednesday, and determined that, even though I had fabrics to make only the crib and twin sizes, I actually had almost enough scraps to make the lap version as well.

Two by Two toddler-lap quilt

I could donate it to my guild’s charity quilt program! I picked up a 2^nd panel and an additional 1/4yd of one fabric, and I was good to go.

There is something therapeutic about sewing all day long.  I put on my tunes, made a pot of tea, and enjoyed the snowy view outside my sewing room window while I stitched away.  By day’s end, I had finished piecing the crib quilt and the twin quilt, and the blocks for the lap quilt were done.  As I was sewing, my piecing process made me think about a technique that I discuss in my Borders & Binding workshop. I use it when I have pieced sections that I am joining to unpieced sections AND the unpieced sections are on the lengthwise grain of the fabric – lengthwise borders are a good example.

In our quilting fabrics, the lengthwise grain of the fabric is not as stretchy as the crosswise grain.  We typically cut our strips width-of-fabric, or crosswise from selvage to selvage.  When piecing, we can use this stretchiness to make 2 sections fit together.  This is particularly helpful when the 2 sections are supposed to be the same length, and somehow ended up as different lengths.  Perhaps our seam allowance was not exactly ¼”, or our cutting was not entirely accurate.  When one of those sections is cut on the lengthwise grain and is the shorter length, we do not have the ability of stretching it to fit.  How, then, do we manage to fit the 2 sections together?  We use the feed dogs – those jagged teeth under the presser foot – to make the longer section feed faster than the shorter section by placing the longer section on the bottom and the shorter section on the top as we sew the sections together.  One of the wonderful students in my class at A Mountain Quiltfest in TN last month called this the “baggy bottom” method.  I used this method when I added the outer borders to my quilt, since they are cut on the lengthwise grain.  It is counter-intuitive for me to do this – I like to have the pieced section on top so that I have control over the direction of all the seams.  However, it is much easier to put the border on the top and check each cross seam from underneath as I approach it.  I also used this method when I sewed the blocks to the sides of the panel – I checked my panel and determined that the lengthwise grain ran vertically in the panel.

The outer corners of the Two by Two quilts have ¼-circle fan blocks.  These blocks are constructed using 5 wedges cut from a template.  I know that paper-piecing these blocks would be more accurate, however the larger size quilts have 10” blocks, and that doesn’t fit onto a standard 8½” x 11” piece of paper.  My blocks were ever so slightly larger than square, which would have made the outer edges of the quilt wavy – not good!  I used a square ruler to trim the 2 straight edges so that the block was once again square – I positioned the 45° diagonal line through the middle of the center wedge to determine where to trim the 2 straight edges.  My 3 quilts now have perfect corners and flat borders.

trimming the fan block

I am teaching my Borders & Binding workshop several times in the next few months, including:

• April 20 at the Niagara Heritage Quilt Guild in St. Catherines, ON
• May 3 at the Windsor Quilt Guild
• May 15 at the Beaverton Quilt Guild
• May 17 at the Moraine Quilt Guild in Newmarket
• July 28 at Quiltfest 2017, sponsored by Tennessee Quilts in Jonesborough, TN I am also teaching my Fast & Fabulous Bargello wall-hanging class and my Stacks of Presents wall-hanging class AND presenting my lecture/trunk show at Quiltfest.  It is a fabulous 3-day event packed with classes and lectures (details at tennesseequilts.com)

I had a fantastic time teaching at A Mountain Quiltfest last month.  All my students were wonderful – so enthusiastic, and overflowing with Southern charm.  It was delightful!  There were 400 quilts in the various exhibits, including a special silent auction to raise money for the victims of the Pigeon Forge & Gatlinburg area who lost their homes in the fire a few months ago.

Ronni’s quilt

I purchased a lovely Christmas quilt from my friend Ronni from Florida – this picture does not do it justice.

Ronni’s quilt label

The label is great!

I would like to share a couple more pictures of recent projects with you.  The first one is a gorgeous quilt made from Northcott’s Peony Passion for staffer Marilou, who is currently undergoing chemo.

Marilou’s quilt

Susanne pieced it and I quilted it.  Marilou and I share the same birthday.  Best wishes Marilou!

The other quilt is my guild challenge quilt.  The colors that I had to use (and no others) were yellow and black.  I had fun with this, utilizing some of the techniques I learned in Lenore Crawford’s class 3 years ago.  I used a photo of a flower (daisy or sunflower) as inspiration, cropping it to show only part of it.

Mellow Yellow

I called it Mellow Yellow.  Coincidentally, there was a VERY similar quilt in the show at A Mountain Quiltfest with the same name.  I wish I had taken a picture!  It was eerily similar.

Thanks to everyone who commented on their best class.  The randomly chosen winner is Darlene of QuiltShopGal – great advice! I am participating in a blog tour next month for the next issue of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, so be sure to visit, ‘cause I always give away packs of fabric and a copy of the magazine.  There’s a special twist this time!  See you soon!

Cheers,

Patti

For most quilters, this time of year is a bit early for “Quilt Show Season”, when area guilds have their annual or biennial quilt shows.  For me and Northcott, however, it is full-on quilt shows right now.

Last month my colleagues and I attended Road to California in Ontario, CA, about 1 hour from L.A.  It was our first time at this show.  The weather was unseasonably cool and very rainy, but that didn’t stop the quilters from coming.  We met thousands of enthusiastic quilters from the area and beyond – lots from neighboring states, quite a few from Canada, and even some from Europe.  We were taking sign-ups for our monthly newsletter, chatting with consumers about the quilter-friendly features of Northcott’s website (the Product Finder is the best!), inspiring passers-by with our colorful display, and providing information on where they could find the displayed fabrics at Road to California.  When we had a quiet moment or two, usually toward the end of each day, we would zip around the show to view the incredible quilts in the show, and shop for quilting essentials.  LAGA, a vendor that I had not seen before, was selling beautifully-stitched purses and bags, and I just had to have one.

Ria handbag by LAGA

The bags are made in Indonesia by Tsunami survivors and profits help them rebuild their lives.

Now, I am very particular about my purses – they need to have tons of perfectly-sized pockets for all of my stuff. I am not one to toss everything into my purse, have it fall to the bottom, and then dig for it when I need it.  No, there needs to be a pocket for each item so that I can retrieve it instantly.

Studio Kat’s Encore bag insert

After purchasing my beautiful purse, I stopped by Studio Kat’s booth and bought a pattern for the Encore purse liner. Now I’m all set!

Next week, the Northcott team is heading to Savannah, GA for QuiltCon.  This is Northcott’s 2nd year at QuiltCon, but it is my first time, and I’m very excited.  I am rooming with fellow Barrie Modern Quilt Group member Judi, who is also a QuiltCon rookie and is equally pumped.  I have signed up for 2 evening classes: one on quilting ideas & inspiration, and one on designing modern quilts using Electric Quilt. In addition to taking classes, I am also presenting a demo/lecture on Alternate Gridwork, showing lots of examples from my stash of quilts. I still have 1 quilt to piece for this, and one to quilt as well.  My colleague Elaine is also doing demos – curved piecing and improv piecing.  All of this is in addition to manning the Northcott booth – taking newsletter sign-ups, promoting the special Northcott challenge for QuiltCon attendees,chatting with quilters, and more.  If you will be there, please drop by and say hi.  It will be a busy but thrilling week!

Next month I am once again heading to A Mountain Quiltfest March 21-25 in Pigeon Forge, TN to teach and present my trunk show. Three of my 5 workshops (Stacks of Presents, Easy Lone Star, and Fast & Fabulous Bargello) are already full!  There are a couple of spots in my Simplified Double Wedding Ring workshop, and my Borders, Bindings & More workshop still has space as well.  It is my favorite workshop – the student learn so much!  Mountain Quiltfest is a great event – the teaching faculty is fantastic, and the quilts in the show are amazing.  There are lots of vendors, and the team that runs the show is delightful.  Pigeon Forge is a great town, with so much to offer.  It is an entertainment mecca, with a variety of dinner theaters, attractions, and of course the fantastic Smoky Mountains. Many of the quilters return year after year, and it is so nice to reconnect with them.

Stacks of Presents is my newest workshop, and I am also teaching it locally at Oakville Sewing Centre on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17th.  Owner Linda is making a party of it, with everything but green beer!  I’ll be sure to wear green – when your name is Patti, it’s a given that you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

To round out Quilt Show Season, the Northcott team is once again having a booth at AQS Paducah April 26-29 for Quilt Week. We had such a great time last year, and our booth was non-stop busy. I expect that it will be the same this time around. If you’ll be there, stop by and see what we’re up to.

Speaking of quilt shows, I have been busy with the challenge for my traditional guild.  I can’t show you a picture of my entry, since the voting hasn’t taken place yet.  I’ll share a picture in my next post, and talk about my inspiration.

I have also been busy with 2 projects for an upcoming issue of Quiltmaker’s Quilts From 100 Blocks.  As soon as I have some photos from the magazine editors, I’ll share them with you too.  I also made a large lap quilt for my ski club’s fundraiser.

Stacks of Rails & Boxes

I snapped a quick photo before I dropped it off at the club.  It was made with Northcott’s snowboard fabric collection called Freestyle. I backed it with flannel to make it extra cuddly!

I have been doing my level best to get back up to speed with my snowboarding this year.  I didn’t board at all last year, as hubby and I were in New Zealand and Australia for our winter.  I must admit that I had way too much trepidation getting back onto the slopes.  I lost a big chunk of my confidence in my ability to snowboard.  I am so thankful that I put myself into the 8-week adult lessons this year.  It has been the single best thing to give me confidence. Every time I go down a run, I am thinking about the techniques that instructor Tim has taught me – techniques that will help me successfully get to the bottom of the hill, and to improve. I am even trying out a new snowboard that will make my riding easier and more fun.  After all, isn’t that what it’s all about? The same philosophy can also be applied to quilting.  Classes can do so much to teach us new techniques, or to help us improve our current methods.  They certainly give us confidence, and they can be a lot of fun.  Isn’t that why we quilt?

It’s time to give away some fabric.  For a chance to win a packet of luscious Northcott fabric, please leave a comment on my blog by February 20 telling me about the best class that you have taken.

See you soon!

Patti

Fellow Quilters,
What is on your design wall? I have a little project on mine – literally! A while back, Carolyn Beam, editor of Quiltmaker magazine, asked if I’d like to participate in a fun little sew-along that she and the staff at the magazine are doing this year with some of the blocks from past issues of “100 Blocks”. The sew-along features half-size versions (6″) of 49 different blocks from past issues of “100 Blocks”.

3 color options in Quiltmakers 100 Blocks mini sampler

The digital pattern is available from Quiltmaker here and kits for 3 different options are also available here . My Lavender Lattice #856 from Volume 9 was included in this special sew-along. Here is what it looked like originally, made in Northcott’s Lavender Market.

original Lavender Lattice #856

I also used the block in an issue of “Quilts From 100 Blocks”, this time using Christmas Traditions. Here is a picture.

Featured in Quilts From 100 Blocks, using Christmas Traditions

I used an alternate block with it, and set it on-point, and it took on an entirely different look.

detail of Christmas quilt

This time around, my block seemed to say “star” to me, so I selected a variety of yellows and golds from the Artisan Spirit Shimmer collection, and added a piece of yellow Sandscapes and a lovely rich gold from the new Shimmer Echoes. I chose a navy background for the night sky. I also selected 4 other blocks from the sampler pattern and colored them in the same fabrics. Here are my 5 chosen blocks.
Now, if you have followed me on any of the “100 Blocks” blog tours, you know that I love to mix and match. Today’s 5 blocks yielded some great results! I initially combined 2 different blocks in a straight setting. Here are the various combinations. Some of them are a bit too rigid for my liking, one is a bit too busy, one is too plain, but several of them turned out quite well!
Then I combined different pairs in an on-point setting, and they really sparkled. I rather like the ones that include the outer triangles from block #90 in the setting triangles. Some of them are so different from the others. I’m having a hard time choosing a favorite, so I would like your help. Please post a comment on my blog by Friday November 18 telling me which one is your favorite, and how many projects are on YOUR design wall. I will randomly choose 3 comments, and those commenters will win a packet of Shimmer fabrics. Quiltmaker has also given me an issue of Volume 9 (rare – it’s out of print!) to give out. You can also stop by Quiltmaker’s blog to see which fabrics they’ve used to stitch up my block. Thanks for your help, and good luck!
Cheers,
Patti

Fellow Quilters,

It is Tuesday today, and that means that it is my day to blog as part of the Quiltmakers 100 Blocks Volume 13 blog tour.  The tour lasts all week, with 7 pattern designer bloggers each day.  I am wearing 2 hats today – I am blogging as a sponsor of the tour (Northcott provides some prizes for you to win) AND I have a block in this issue – woop, woop!  The issue is just hitting newsstands, and the blog tour is a great sneak peek at what’s inside.  I have an advance copy, and let me tell you, it’s good!

My block is #1319, Going to Class.  It has a school of fish, and the fish are swimming in opposite directions.  It reminds me of when I was in high school and there was a 5 minute window to get from one class to the next – everyone was racing in opposite directions!  Hence the name Going to Class.

#1319 Going to Class

Normally in my blog posts for 100 Blocks, I recolor my and a few other blocks and combine them to see what happens.  However, this time my block did not play nicely with the other blocks.  I scanned the issue looking for designers that I know, and spotted Chris Hoover’s #1341 Morning Glory block.  I recolored it in the Eagle Pass collection that Northcott is showing in this issue.  I came up with 2 color options – I think I prefer the green one.

Chris Hoover’s Morning Glory block version 1

Chris’ block version 2

Scanning the issue, I saw Deborah Johnson’s #1380 Piper’s Puzzle.  Recoloring it gave me this.

Deborah Johnson’s Piper’s Puzzle block

Next, I combined the two.  I’m not really liking it.

Chris’ & Deborah’s initial Eagle Pass blocks

What if I change the background to make it the same in both blocks?  Still not liking it.

Okay, what if I designed a quilt around the panel from the collection?  This collection is digitally printed, so the detail in the designs is so realistic.  Northcott featured this collection in our booth at Quilt Festival last week, and the attendees loved it!  They came right up close to examine the detail in the fabric.  For my next attempt, I put the panel in the center and put blocks in the border.  Here are 2 options.  I’m liking it more, but I think I can do better.

My final version has some additional inner borders to separate the panel and the blocks so that both stand out.  It is double/queen size now, 86” x 96”, and I’m liking it a lot.  It’s a real guy quilt.  With 2 sons, guy quilts are popular at my house.

Now, with these posts, there are always giveaways.  I will give a prize pack of the Eagle Pass fabrics to 3 lucky people who comment on my post by midnight tonight.  Quiltmakers has also given me a copy of Volume 14 to give away.  For your chance to win, please post a comment today telling me who you would make a guy quilt for and why.  And don’t forget to visit the other bloggers for a chance to win prizes at their blogs too.

I am blogging again tomorrow as part of Quiltmaker’s Mini sew-along, so please visit again – more prizes!!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Today’s post is a quick one, to give you some eye candy of what I’ve been up to lately.

I had a great time in New Liskeard 2 weeks ago teaching my Stacks of Presents class to an enthusiastic group of quilters at Buy a Yard or 2.  Mike cooked gourmet meals for the weekend retreat, including a turkey dinner, since the project was holiday-themed, and Gayle partook in the class.  Long-time quilting friend Liz billeted me.  Several gals either finished or almost finished their quilts – well done, ladies!  Those northern gals were so much fun!

Shirley’s Stacks of Presents

Shirley posted a picture of her completed top on Facebook.

I am scheduled to teach the Stacked Presents workshop next March 21 – 25 at A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN as well, along with my lone star, simplified double wedding ring, bargello, and mitered borders workshops. I notice that Cynthia England is also teaching there, and is the speaker one night!  Cynthia just won best of show at Quilt Festival in Houston last week.  For details on Mountain Quiltfest, visit http://www.mypigeonforge.com/events/quiltfest/.

Over the summer, I spent a bit of time piecing a couple of small quilts, but didn’t spend any time quilting – I was at the family cottage, and my longarm machine is not portable.  I really enjoy the quilting part of quilt-making, so I got my fix last month quilting several of the quilts to be featured in Northcott’s booth at Quilt Market.  Here are some photos of a couple of modern ones.  It is stretching me as a quilter when I put one of these on my frame, trying to think of the best way to quilt it.  I really enjoyed the process!

Strips & Bars pattern by Patti Carey

Strips & Bars quilting detail

The grey one is my Strips & Bars using Northcott’s Colorworks Concepts, out next March.

R-evolution by Kat Wilson Tucker

The white & stripes one is by Kat Tucker Wilson of Next Step Quilt Designs using Simply Stripes.

I was part of the Northcott team manning the booth for Quilt Festival last week, and colleague Elaine challenged me to make a wall quilt using Stonehenge Gradations in the new Graphite colorway for a display in our booth (we were challenging attendees to make one using 5 chips (5” squares) from the Graphite fabrics.  The fabrics said “cow” to me, and I added a super-quick fusible cow face to my Rail Fence quilt, and named it Don’t Fence Me In.

My “Don’t Fence Me In” challenge quilt

It attracted a lot of attention, as did our entire booth.  Quilt Festival is like Mecca for quilters – 25 aisles of booths, and then there are the quilts!  I was thrilled to see my Psychedelic quilt hanging in the Superior Threads booth.

My “Psychedelic” quilt in the Superior Threads booth

My entire thread stash is Superior Threads!  Ninety percent of my stash is variegated thread, and Superior is king of variegation.  My Gammill and I are particularly in love with Fantastico, a high-sheen variegated thread.  I picked up a cone of Superior’s newest thread, MicroQuilter, a super-fine 100-wt for applique and micro-stippling, and am looking forward to giving it a try.

At Festival I met up with Susan-Claire of Gourmet Quilter – my mom and I are making her That Town & Country Block-of-the-Day quilt, and Mom’s version is half-size.  We have the first 49 blocks done – yes, I know, we are about 35 weeks behind.  Susan-Claire snapped this photo of me in her booth with Mom’s version.

Mom’s mini Town & Country quilt

I am participating in 2 blog tours next week, with prizes being given out for both of them, so if you are not a subscriber to my blog, please make a note to drop by on Tuesday Nov. 15^th for the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks tour and Wednesday Nov. 16^th for the Quiltmaker 100 Blocks minis sew-along. You may win a prize or two!

See you next week!

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Today I join 4 other quilters who are blogging about what home means to them, as we participate in The Road Home Row- along.  The Row-along, organized and hosted by Marian of Seams to Be Sew http://www.seamstobesew.com/ and Amy of Sew Incredibly Crazy http://sewincrediblycrazy.blogspot.com/, has 40 designers from all around the world, each creating a row reminiscent of their “home”.  It started September 6 and runs for 6 weeks, with bloggers posting each Tuesday and Thursday.  You are invited to collect as many rows as you want, and they are free!  There are also tons of prizes – each blogger has a prize, there are weekly prizes, and also some grand prizes, so increase your odds of winning by visiting as many of the blogs as you can.  Let me tell you about my row.

I am a Toronto girl, born and raised here.  While I now live an hour’s drive north of the city, I still travel into the city to enjoy all that it has to offer – world-class theatre, cuisine from every corner of the earth, top designer boutiques, professional sports teams (including World Series winner Toronto Blue Jays), world-renowned hospitals & universities, all crammed into the city.  Despite that, it is a very green city. Toronto is on Lake Ontario, one of the Great Lakes, and our waterfront is a leisure playground, with lots of boating in the summer months.  The best view of our spectacular skyline is from the Toronto islands, just offshore of the waterfront.  Toronto is the biggest city in Canada, and our airport is the hub for air traffic to the US and overseas.   How do I design a row reflecting these characteristics of my hometown?

Each row is 12” by 24-40”.  Now, if you’ve been to Toronto, you know that there is a special building (the CN Tower) that is iconic, and it is very tall – 1800ft!  This meant that my row needed to be vertical.

My piecing bits & pieces

I am a piecer at heart, so I needed to include some of that.
My row has storm at sea blocks to represent the lake.  I used a selection of Northcott’s Toscana suede-like texture to create my row, including the range of clear blues for the sparkling water.

Storm at Sea blocks

The seams nested together because of the direction that they were pressed (2 opposing corners pressed in, and the other 2 opposing corners pressed out).

I selected warmer teal blues for the flying geese blocks to fill the sky. I randomly arranged them on my work surface, moving them around until I liked the color placement.

Assorting the flying geese pieces

Then I sewed the sky to the lake, inserting the skyline background between the 2 pieced sections.

Putting it all together

Finally, I added the applique pieces that bring the row to life.

My finished row waiting to be quilted

Here is my helper Susanne, preparing the applique pieces.

Susanne preparing the appliques

She is in the Northcott sewing room (we are in the midst of Quilt Market preparations, so she is almost buried in projects).

I hope you enjoyed your visit to Toronto.  The free pattern for my row is available on Craftsy (Road Home Row-along Toronto) until the end of October.  Marian and Amy have collected lots of prizes, so be sure to visit Marian’s site at Seams to Be Sew http://www.seamstobesew.com/  to enter for a chance to win a lovely 18” x 24” cutting mat from Calibre Arts or a fabulous embroidery disk from Anita Goodesign (embroidery is so popular right now!).  These prizes are available for US residents only, so if you’re NOT a US resident, I have something for you too!  For a chance to win a packet of Toscana fabrics like the ones used in my row, please leave a comment on my blog telling me where “home” is to you.  I will collect entries until September 21^st.

Here is the full list of participants in The Road Home Row-along – have fun visiting as many as you can, and entering to win the prizes.

September 6

Allie-Oops SweetHappy Life 
creates Harrisville, MI Sunrise Coast
Cynthia’s Creating Ark
creates Adelaide South Australia
Kissed Quilts
creates Grand Coulee, Washington
Renee’s Quilting Addiction
creates Alberta, Canada

September 8

Sew Incredibly Crazy
creates Colorado
Quilt in Piece
creates Amanzimtoti, South Africa
3 Patch Crafts
creates Bulgaria
Just Let Me Quilt
creates Las Vegas, Nevada
 

September 13

Tweety Loves Quilting
creates Edinburgh, UK
Quiltscapes
creates Heber City/ SLC
Seams To Be Sew
creates Idaho Falls, Idaho
Pine Valley
creates New Zealand

September 15

bdieges designs
creates Road to Tehachapi (CA)
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
creates Worcester County in Central Massachusetts
Cloth and Paper Studio
creates North Georgia Mountains
Patti’s Patchwork
creates Toronto, Ontario Canada

Seacoast Quilter
creates New Milford, Connecticut
September 20

Beaquilter
creates Denmark
Heleen Pinkster
creates Netherlands
Seams To Be Sew For Batts In The Attic — date may change
creates Hollywood/LA
Rebecca Mae Designs
creates Northern Maine

September 22

Words & Stitches
creates Beaches of California
Quilt Art
creates Africa
I Can Quilt 2
creates Baltimore, MD
Any Pattern
creates Port Angeles, Washington

September 27

Creatin’ in the Sticks
creates Dodge City, Kansas
MooseStash Quilting
creates Alaska
Patchwork Breeze
creates West Michigan Shoreline
Sue Griffiths Featured At Just Let Me Quilt
creates Northern Rivers Region, NSW, Australia

September 29

Quilted Fabric Art
creates Burlington Vermont
Westend Quilter
creates Manitoulin Island, Canada
Pamela Quilts
creates Oregon
Quilt Fabrication
creates Silicon Valley, CA

October 04

Linda Robertus
creates Netherlands
Elm Street Quilts
creates North Carolina
Sarah Quinn Featured At Seams To Be Sew
creates Outer Space

Patchouli Moon Studio
creates Central New Mexico
October 06

Cheryl LaPlant Featured At Quilt In Piece
creates York, Maine
Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse
creates New Hampshire
Bumbleberry Stitches
creates Oklahoma
Needle in a Hayes Stack
creates Mojave Desert

October 11
Show N Tell Day

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Today is Labour Day, the official end of summer.  It was a busy weekend at the lake, as many of our cottage neighbours packed away their summer toys.  The lake is getting cooler – refreshing, especially in the morning, before the sun has had a chance to warm it.  It is not yet too cool to jump into after my morning power-walk, and I am hoping to take advantage of some warm weather in the upcoming days to go for a few more dips before cottage season is over for another year.

PC175 Flight Path twin-sized quilt

I took the opportunity to photograph my latest quilt on a couple of Muskoka chairs on the dock as the sun slipped past the trees.  The chair colours matched the quilt quite well.  Oddly enough, the lavender fabric in the quilt appears as blue, while the lavender chair is still lavender.  Go figure!  This quilt will be on display at the Simcoe County Quilt, Rug & Craft Fair September 16-18 at the Simcoe County Museum in Minesing, as part of the Barrie Modern Quilt Group’s display.  I have been a member of the Barrie group for 3 years, and we have been invited to participate in the Fair this year for the first time.  I am trying to get another small project done for the Fair, if the other items on my To Do list don’t take longer than expected (they almost always do).

I was finishing the instructions yesterday to one of my new patterns – it is called Pine Grove, using Stonehenge Elements (shipping to stores next month).

PC195 Pine Grove lap-size version made with Stonehenge Elements

I used the Blue Planet colourway, so my pattern should probably have been called Spruce Grove.  The wall-hanging-to-king-size pattern includes templates to cut the tree pieces, and I included instructions on how I prefer to cut the pieces when using the templates:  I tape them to the underside of one of my many acrylic rulers, squares or triangles so that the angled edges of the template are aligned with the edges of the acrylic.  No more trimming off extra bits of template when cutting the pieces!  Here is the picture that I included in my pattern. Give it a try the next time you have similar templates to cut.

Tape paper templates to the underside of a ruler and cut along edges of ruler to cut the pieces.

This pattern is a variation of my Oh Christmas Tree pattern that I designed 5 years ago to use 2½” strip packs.  I have had several requests to provide instructions for a king-sized version, so I included this size in the new pattern.  It’s a great masculine quilt in the Stonehenge Elements, don’t you think?

I also designed a quilt using Slate, the other colourway of Elements.  Winter Solstice, originally made with Stonehenge Woodland, was published in McCall’s Quilting as Misty Pines.

The Elements version of PC190 Winter Solstice – in lap and queen-size

When Northcott’s Creative Director Deborah Edwards designed the new Elements collection, I think she had my quilt in mind, because it is a perfect fit for Winter Solstice.  It appeared in the magazine as a lap quilt, and I have added a queen-size version to the instructions of the Elements version of Winter Solstice.  Another great guy quilt!

Next up on my To Do list is a row quilt that I am making as part of The Road Home Row-along and blog hop.  My day to blog is September 15^th, but the hop starts earlier, so please check it out.  Here is a sneak peek at part of my row.

Part of my Road Home Row-along row

I have a few upcoming local trunk shows  if you’re in the area – Lindsay Creative Quilt Guild on September 12^th, Settler’s Village in Bobcaygeon on September 13^th, The Quilt Store in Newmarket on September 15^th, and the Georgina Pins & Needles guild in Sutton on October 4^th.

Time to get back to that list…  see you soon!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Anyone who knows me also knows that I really like quilting – I like designing quilts, sewing quilts, and I especially like quilting them.  My heart sings when I am at my long arm machine.  I have not had much opportunity to quilt regularly this year – it’s challenging to fit a long arm machine in your luggage while travelling (LOL).  While helping my colleagues prepare for our Spring Quilt Market booth, I got to quilt 12 quilts designed by other Northcott pattern designers, and that was interesting, not to mention therapeutic!  I rarely quilt things that I have not designed.  Last week, I got the opportunity to finish a quilt top that has been waiting to be completed – it is the lap-size version of my Tiles & Lattice pattern, and it is a workshop sample for my upcoming class at my local shop, The Quilt Store in Newmarket (I am teaching it October 6 & 20).  The pattern uses the STRIP-R and No-Sew Circles from Stonehenge Gradations, so I had very few seams to quilt around.  Here are a couple of pictures of the quilting.  I wasn’t sure what to do in the open areas around the perimeter, so I used the melon shapes in the No-Sew Circles for inspiration.  The binding is made with the scraps from the No-Sew Circles that weren’t used in the sashing.  There was virtually no waste!

In addition to the Tiles & Lattice class, I am also doing several other workshops at The Quilt Store:

Borders & Bindings on August 24

Easy Lone Star on September 9

Fast & Fabulous Bargello on September 28

Creative Machine Quilting (free-motion) on October 1

If you’re in the area and are interested in taking any of these classes, please give The Quilt Store a call.  I am also presenting my Interesting Quilts trunk show at the guild in Bobcaygeon on September 13 and in Georgina on October 4.

I have been doing a lot of designing lately, using new Northcott collections, and that has really got my creative juices flowing.  Sometimes it takes time to get back into a groove or mindset.  I often get asked how I come up with so many designs, and the answer is that I design regularly – the more you do it, the easier it is.  That’s true for so many things, though, isn’t it?  The more you practice something, the better at it you become.  Designing quilts is no different.  It will be interesting to see how rusty I am when I jump on my snowboard in a few months.  Not having snowboarded at all last winter, I will be more than a bit apprehensive.  I hope to spend a lot of time on it this ski season, so maybe my skill level will increase.

One of the projects that I designed recently is a row for another Row-Along, happening in September.  Last year I participated in an EQ Row-along organized by Marian at Seams to be Sew.  The theme for Marian’s Row-along this year is The Road Home.  Each of the participants designed a row reminiscent of their home or the area where they call home.  I chose Toronto.  Designing my row was a learning experience for me, since my row includes some appliqué and that is not one of my areas of strength in EQ.  I am looking forward to making my row, and posting pictures of it on my day to post.  It is a vertical row, because Toronto has a very tall landmark.  Can you guess what it is?

Since I have been doing a lot of designing, it means that I also need to do a lot of pattern writing, so I had better get back to work.  I hope you can find some time for your passion this summer, whatever it may be.

Cheers,

Patti