Washington Shops and a couple of Projects

Hi Everyone,

 

How was your week and weekend? 

Did you get any quality quilting done? 

Well, I've been hard at work on a project

 and I am happy to say that I finished a top! 

This is called Autumn All Around 
and it's a pattern from

the Summer 2013 issue of Primitive Quilts.

 

 

It's 31" X 36" and has 94 "pennies". 

I love autumn/Halloween/Fall stuff and
this wool applique has it all! 

Now all I have to do is get it
loaded onto Gammill Bea!  :-)

How do you think it should be quilted?

 

Another project that I brought along with me is

Merry Merry Snowman. 

It's a Bunny Hill Design pattern and I bought it as a

block of the month about two years ago (oops).

In any case I did get it started, finally, and block one is now complete!

 

 

 I think I'm going to add black buttons for the eyes

of the snowman at the top.

 The french knots don't seem enough... 
what do you think?

So that's what I've been doing the last few days but I promised to finish filling you in about the shops that I visited in Washington so lets do that now...

Des Moines, WA

 

This is Country Carriage Quilts and this

is an AMAZING Shop. 

 It's about 15 minutes from

SeaTac International Airport

so if you're heading through there make sure

that you give yourself some time to go...

I promise, you won't be sorry! 

This shop is worth missing a flight over!

It's also a Quilt Sampler Featured Shop and

 as we take our tour you'll see why!

 

 

This is their sale area... Lot's of great kits and

$5 wool scrap bags.

 

Here's the contents of mine...

 

 

 

This shop has everything and

very cleverly and artfully displayed. 

There's a lot in this shop but you can see it all.

 

 

 

So, along with my bag of wool scraps,

I did find one more thing to purchase...

 

Another block of the month!

 

It's called Minglewood and here are a few shots

 of the sample they had hanging in shop: 

 

 

They had it hanging in a hallway so

I wasn't able to take a head-on shot.

Isn't it gorgeous?!?!  How could I resist?! 

 My mom couldn't resist either :-)

 

Anacortes, WA

 

 

In Stitches is in Anacortes, Washington which is

 as far west as you can get without a boat .

I understand that new owners have taken over

as the original owner retired. 

 

It's a nice shop with helpful staff.

 

 

 

 

Mt Vernon, WA

 

Last, but certainly not least, is Calico Creations

 

 

 

This shop has a lovely selection of patterns

 

And lots and lots of fabrics to choose from

It's well lit and the layout lets you see all their wonderful offerings!

 

 

But I have to say that my favorite part

 of the shop was the wool!!!

 

 

  

 

And as it so happened, my mom and I arrived

 just after the shop received a new shipment!

 

SCORE!

 

The only problem was how to choose

from the 100 or so colors? 

This is just a few of the choices!

 

Here's what I bought...

Aren't they GORGEOUS! 
These are Mary Flanagan Woolens and

if I had hit the lottery,
trust me, I would have bought
a LOT more.

Of course, I bought wool from other shops so,

truth be told, this is only about half

 of all the wool I acquired on this trip.

  I guess I better get started on some wool applique projects!

 So, that's my Washington Quilt Shop Experience. 

It was so much fun traveling from
shop to shop with my mom...

 we always have such a good time! 

 I still have to tell you about all the
INDIANA shops I've been visiting
so make sure you come back in a few days!

Until then,

Happy Quilting!

Irene

 

 

Sew much to Share!

Hi Friends!

I have so much to share that I hardly know where to begin...  It's been a crazy July and it's only half done!

You probably wondered if I had once again abandoned my blog but fear not!  As it happened I took a last minute trip within my current trip to the great Northwest.  I spent a week in Washington during the Fourth of July and it was FABULOUS!  Now, the thing about Washington is that it has the most beautiful three WEEK summer and this year was no exception.  My folks live on Whidbey Island, which is North of Seattle and every year they host a Fourth of July party.  Usually one or two of my parents' five childern and their families make it up to enjoy the fireworks over the harbor but this year all of us were planning to go.  Of course, as my mom says, "If you want to make God laugh, make a plan", and let me tell you He must have been rolling on the floor with this one!  My husband and I were all set to make the drive to Whidbey when his new employer moved his training date up a month which meant no Fourth with the family.  I was so bummed and of course my husband encouraged me to go alone but this new job was such a change for my 26 year-Air-Force-Veteran husband that I wanted to be there to support him while he transitioned to civilian employment.  Well, I just couldn't stay away so on the 3rd of July I bought a ticket at 1 pm and by 5:30 pm I was in the air and on my way!  I coordinated with my sister, Tracey, and my brother, Chris, so that my arrival would be a surprise for my parents... I think we succeeded....

 

 

 

Here's a photo of my folks and and their kids.



From left to right:  Dave, Tracey, Me, Mom, Dad, Victoria, Christopher

 

 



This picture was taken from their yard.  They have an amazing view of the harbor!



Panoramic View from my parents' patio.

 

 

 

It was such fun!  The downside was that I had to go without my hubby.  The upside, besides spending time with my family, was that I could spend a day or two (and a dollar or two) exploring the quilt shops around the area with my mom :-) and here's what I found:

 

 Oak Harbor, WA

 

 

 

 

The Quilters Workshop is one of two or three quilt shops on Whidbey Island.  Unfortunately, this is the only shop I was able to get to on the Island so my next visit I'll have to be sure to budget in more time for quilt shop exploring!

 

I found this shop a little disorganized but once the shopkeeper (owner?) got off the phone I found her to be friendly.  This shop offeres long-arm services and had a small selection of yarns for knitters and crocheters as well as fabrics and quilting books.  I cannot say that they had a whole lot to choose from but what they did have was good quality quilter fabrics and notions.

 

My favorite part of the store was this sign which

was hung in the doorway to the classroom.  Sorry about the glare!

 

 

Seattle, WA

 

 

You can find Undercover Quilts in Pike's Market- the popular tourist attraction- in downtown Seattle.

 

This is a quilt that was made for one the shop's anniversaries

(sorry, can't remember which one!)

by one of the customers

 

The problem with this shop is it has sooo much in a small space!  Lot's to see here especially if you like outdoorsy themed quilting. 

 The staff was very friendly, welcoming and gracious! 

 

 

The Quilting Loft is also in Seattle- a little North of Pikes Market.

 

 

This is a new location for the Quilting Loft. 

It used to be futher south on the same road but

the new location offers more space and better light!

This shop offers lots of modern and bright fabrics

 and the shop itself is bright and airy; 

lots of room to step back and see everything.

 I was a little disappointed that they didn't

have kits of some of their samples

but the staff was very friendly and offered to help gather fabrics. 

Unfortunately, when you are in a hurry to get to

a bunch of shops before they close it doesn't leave a lot of time for picking fabrics :-(

 

 

Another Seattle shop is Pacific Fabrics

and while not strictly a quilt shop,

 it has some great quilt fabrics and notions.

 

 

This was the last shop of the day and

we only had about 10 minutes

to see everything before they closed! 

I did find one gadget that I thought I'd give a whirl....

 

This is the Cutting Edge and it's a vinyl strip

you apply to the back of your ruler. 

Each package contains 10 strips.

 

 

You apply by firmly pressing on to the back of your ruler. 

Now, the idea is that when applied the strip will

a) provide non-slip action and

 b) provide a lip that works as a stop

 much the way your quarter-inch foot works when piecing. 

 In all honesty I have not used this while cutting fabric but

one pitfall I see is that in order to work

you must apply it very carefully (ie accurately)

 to your ruler or all your cuts will be wrong. 

Can you see how when I applied it here

the strip is not as close to the line on the right as it is on the left? 

 

 

 

 

I can see using this as a general guide

when cutting a lot of pieces the same width

 but I think using the actual ruler line

when cutting fabric is a better option for me.

 

Well, try as I might to keep things brief

I just can't seem to manage it! 

 I have several more shops to tell you about

 as well as project updates

 but you'll have to come back to read about them

as I am out of time! 

I saved the best for last so make sure you drop in! 

I'd love to hear your comments so feel free to leave one!

 

Happy Quilting!

 

Irene

Have Projects, Will Travel

Hello!

 As I mentioned in my last post, I am on the road traveling with my husband while he trains for his new job in the civilian world.   Did I mention that we are driving with three Yorkies in the car?   Well, we are and I can tell you that it's a lot of time in the car when you have three Yorkies insisting on potty breaks every few hours!  

Of course, as all avid quilters do, I brought along a project to work on while my husband drives.  In part, this is so that I make some headway on some of the many "hand-work" projects that I brought along with me.  But another reason is that I find I am much better off in thoughtful prayer with my eyes down and my needle moving while my husband re-lives his air-refueling days as a pilot in the US Air Force.  I tell you, sometimes he rides so close to the cars around him I can read the labels on the other driver's t-shirt.
Scary!

Anyway, I brought a couple of projects in the car and am happy to report progress...

My Antique Rose Quilt is from a McCalls Quilt pattern that I started ages ago and have yet to complete.  I mentioned this quilt in a previous post and it's on my Piecing List so I'm glad I am making progress on it.  This is where it was when I started working on it again:

And here it is now... Color difference is from using a new camera to take the pictures

Can you tell that now all the red flowers and yellow centers and one of the blue "bear paws" are done?  I use a template-free applique technique so it makes it hard to tell what is basted-on versus sewn-on.  Not as much done as I would like but it's a start...

Now, my mom started this same quilt about 6 months after I did and hers is done!  I have it loaded on Gammill Bea (my longarm) and am almost done quilting it.  This is an early-on shot taken just as I started the quilting.

 

Once we arrived in Phoenix, AZ. we settled into Dave's folks house. We are very fortunate that it's only a short distance to the training site and that his parents, who have fled from the nuclear hot Phoenix summer, were so kind as to allow us to stay in their home...with three Yorkies...while they are away.
God Bless you, Dave and Carnell!

  If you look back at my previous posts, you'll see that I have spent some time at the Arizona quilt shops.  From Tuscon to Prescott and most places in between there are some really great shops here but on this trip I didn't go to any of them!  Now, for me, that's a hard thing... I hate knowing I'm passing by a quilt shop and can't go in.  But I had my reasons... First off, we were down to one car so I only had a couple of days when I could shop. The main reason though, is that I have soooo many projects already and I really, really, REALLY want to get some of them done!  So, I decided to stay home and get a few of my projects off the list.

 

I brought about 15 projects along with me all in various stages of completion.  I decided to just dive in and I am happy to report that I got two projects D-O-N-E!

 

The first project is this cute tote bag from the book

Everyday Living, Make It & Sell It. 

 

 

This pattern uses French Seams which is not only a very

cool technique but makes a wonderful neat seam.

 

This is the seam.  I know it's a little hard to see but that's what makes it great :)

 

 

 

The next project is a new spin on an older technique...

Remember the watercolor quilts that used the grid-interfacing? 

 

 Well, Quiltsmart has put together the Mondo Bag using a

grid-interfacing and - to make things really easy -

you can use mini-charms!

 

As you can see I used "Ticklish" to make my Mondo Bag.

 

I thought I'd share a few things I learned while putting this bag

together so that if you decide to give it a whirl you'll avoid

some of the pitalls I encountered.

 

I purchased 5 mini-charms as I was told that's what was needed to make the bag, which is true if you don't consider the handle part of the bag.  So, buy six if you want to make the handle out of the charms as well.  I ended up using my lining fabric for the handles and was happy with the results so that is always an option.

 

There are four grid-interfacing panels that make up the bag.  When using the mini-charms, layout all four panels at one time.  I did mine individually and found that I had used my favorite fabrics from each mini-charm pack all up before I got through the third panel. You will use all but maybe 2 or 3 of the squares from the five packages so you may want to buy a few extra mini-charms if there are fabrics included that you don't want to use in your bag.

 

Here is a layout in progress

  

 

Once your've completed your layout you iron everything in place and then using a 1/4 inch seam allowance start sewing just like you did for those watercolor quilts. 

 

Here is the panel after it has been ironed and sewn- 

 

The back-

 

 

And the front- 

 

 

 

 Perfect Corners!  Which is one of the reasons I love

this grid-interfacing techinque! 

 

This is my helper, Katie Belle. 

She is a 3 month old Yorkie and makes it her business to insure that everything I make can be used at naptime.  Riley and Murphy, my other two yorkies are smart enough to stay out of my way when I'm quilting.

 

 

 

Here is my finished bag.  The interfacing gives the bag body so that it doesn't fold in on itself.  In this picture it kinda looks like the bag is hanging on the wrought-iron shelf but it's not!

 

 

 

Again, this bag is MONDO!  Great for almost anything, I used it at the grocery store and was able to fit about 15 things in here!  See how well it stands open?

 

 

Fabulous, right?  This would be great for any day trip or an overnight trip. 

You can get so much in this bag it's crazy! 

 

 

 I also mangaged to get some of my Farmer's Wife quilt blocks done too. 

Have you seen this book?

 

This quilt is based on submissions to a publication called, you guessed it, The Farmer's Wife.  There are 111 blocks in this book... each 6" finished.  I belong to a block of the month club and each month they send 8 or so blocks to complete.  They are on month 4...I am on month 1 and playing catch up. 

Thanks to the miracle that is the internet, I belong to a Yahoo! Group called...you guessed it!...The Farmer's Wife and they have provided paper-piecing patterns for all the blocks!  Hooray!

 

Now, it's my experience that most quilters either love or hate paper-piecing.  I happen to be one of those who love it for the same reason I love the grid-interfacing technique...the precision is wonderful! Here are the blocks I have finished so far...

 

3 down, 108 to go.

 

One of things I decided to do is put the date I complete each block on the corner of the page and swatches of the fabric used for each block.  You can't see the date in this photo but there are the color swatches.  I'm not sure why the picture is sideways....oh well, you get the idea.

 

 

 

 

My mom is also doing this quilt and just like with the Antique Rose, she is way ahead of me and getting her blocks done each month as she receives them.  I wanna be just like her when I grow up!

 

Well, I'm afraid I've been a bit long-winded (or written) again.  That's good news because it means I got a lot done that I could share with you! 

 

Keep Quilting!

 

Irene

Back on the Blog!

Yep, FINALLY!  I'm back on the blog!  It's been over a year but here I am.  You're probably wondering where I went...or maybe not but I'll tell you anyway :-P

 

There I was, minding my own business when all of a sudden I was overtaken with this crazy idea to get a JOB!  Yes, a JOB!  I don't know what I was thinking...well actually, I was thinking, "Imagine all the fun quilty stuff I can buy if I have a job!" So, I started the hunt and THAT was the beginning of the end.

 

I was hired in February 2012 by a local contract manufacturer as an Account Coordinator.  It was a good job in that the days went by VERY fast.  It was like being in a time warp.  I no sooner arrived in the morning and BAM!  It was time to go home.  That was the good part...well, that and payday.  The bad part was that by the time I got home at the end of the day I was EXHAUSTED and having spent the entire day on a computer the LAST thing I wanted to do when I got home was more computer stuff.  I didn't even want to SHOP online! 

 

On top of that, I had no quilting time.  I worked a 45+ hour work week and used the weekend to do laundry, housecleaning, pay bills and that kind of icky household stuff so even if I had time I wouldn't have much to blog about....I mean, who cares about how a dropped I brand-new, giant-size bottle of laundry detergent which broke open creating a mess that took HOURS to clean up?  And while now I had some extra cash, I had no time to spend it!  How awful is THAT?

 

Well, my salvation came in the form of my husband's retirement from the US Air Force after 26 years of service and his entrance into the civillian workforce.  His new position requires him to go to several different places for training over the course of several months and we decided that I should travel with him rather than be apart for 9 months which of course meant that I had to quit my job.  The funny part is that shortly after I quit my job my husband's new employer changed his training to just two months! God works in mysterious ways!  My last day of work was in March and since then I have been crazy busy putting together my husbands retirement dinner/party, entertaining visiting family and friends, and getting ready for our travels.  Now we are on the road which means I'll be able to go to a ton of new quilt shops and blog about them all. I'm so EXCITED! 

 

To be completely truthful, I can't say I haven't quilted at all...I have managed to work on a few things and when I get back home I'll show you what I've gotten done.  I'll have to update all my lists, too. Sadly, my New Projects and Piecing lists have grown at a much faster rate than my Finished list but I just get so excited when I buy and start new projects.  Of course, I've brought several projects to work on while "on the road" and so I'll be able to share those experiences with you.

 

I had some very specific criteria when choosing the projects to bring along with me.  First of all, it had to be something that I could work on using my 1952 Singer Featherweight. 

 

 

Now, if you ever get a chance to buy one of these babies in good working condition, DO IT!  It is the greatest machine and so easy to travel with and great for taking to classes. 

 

Secondly, it had to be a project that was already started AND either hand-work, or a paper-pieced project. Why paper-pieced?  Basically, I don't like to switch machines in the middle of my projects because they all sew a little differently.  With paper-piecing it doesn't matter because you are sewing 'on the lines'. 

 

Now I did have one exception to rule two, and that is my Wedding Star quilt.  This is a pattern by Judy Niemeyer and uses Bali Pops.  I took this photo of the sample hanging in the quilt shop where I bought the pattern. 
 

 

Here's a detail shot...

 

 

Isn't it wonderful?!

 

I haven't started it yet and am a little intimidated because this is a big quilt. 

But it is, for the most part, paper-pieced!

 

Well, this has gotten a bit long-winded but it has been awhile since we last visited. 

Check back in a couple of days and I'll show you all the projects that I brought along

 and the progress I've made on each of them :-)

 

Until then,

Keep Quilting!

 

Irene