December 2018 Island Batik Challenge -

For this month's challenge the Island Batik Ambassadors were given the theme of Whimsical and Wonky! 

Instead of designing a new pattern for the challenge, I opted to remake one of my existing patterns using a mix of greens, white and red Island Batik fabrics.  

My Oh Christmas Tree pattern was first published in the Winter 2017 issue of Quilter's World Magazine and also in my new Masterpiece Quilting's 2018 Christmas Collection book which is available on Amazon.  

Here is the batik version of the wall hanging.  It is quilted with an edge to edge pattern from TK Quilting & Design. 

And here is the original version as styled for my 2018 Christmas Collection book.  It was custom quilted with an on-point block pattern to accentuate the "branches" of the tree and the background fill was horizontal lines quilted 1/4" apart.  

Styling Creds: Abigail Hake Kellermeyer and Tammi Hake
Photo Creds:  Danielle Morales of InJoy Photography

So which one do you like better?  I haven't decided.  They are the same but yet so different!  

If you like what you see on my blog, share it with your friends.  You can also see more of my work by following me on Facebook or let's be Insta-friends, where I'm always posting.  

A Quick Tour of the Christmas Quilts at the Masterpiece Quilting studio

A week or so ago, I was in a quandary ...  my Fall quilts were still hanging in the studio and I didn't know whether to swap them out with traditional red & green Christmas quilts or go straight to Winter blues & white quilts.  Some days, decisions like this can be a real challenge for me ..... 

Thanks to input from all of you who responded to my Facebook and Instagram post, I decided (wait, you convinced me!) to hang a couple traditional red & green quilts and then the rest in blues & whites.  Well, I started getting out the Christmas quilts yesterday and I had more than I thought!  And there are even a few more that I didn't hang!

So I went all Christmas ....  I'll leave them up through early January and then switch out to Winter. 

When I posted the photos of the Fall quilts on social media, I got a lot of questions about the quilts and if patterns were available.  So in this rather long post, I'll give you all the information as well as the links to the patterns or publications the quilts were featured in - that will make it easy for you to find the pattern and the fabrics too!

From left to right:

Tree Time, while looking a little wrinkled from being stuffed in a tote of Christmas quilts, originally appeared in Annie's A DIY Quilted Christmas a few years ago.  This fun wall hanging stitches up quick with a touch of applique!

A Christmas Legacy is published in Quilter's World Winter 2018 which is currently available at your favorite news stand or can be purchased for digital download. The fabric is the Poinsettia Song collection from Hoffman California-International Fabrics

From left to right:

A Christmas Legacy is on the far left - this gives you a better look at the pieced border. 

Poinsettia Bed Runner, hanging under the monitor, is from my Masterpiece Quilting 2018 Christmas Collection Book, available on Amazon and eligible for Prime shipping.  Order today and you can still get it and have it under the tree as a gift to yourself or your favorite quilter!  There is a matching pillow that goes with this bed runner too. 

Jingle Bells Wall Hanging, across the top, is the perfect horizontal wall hanging to fill in an empty space above the mantle or over a buffet.  The pattern is part my Masterpiece Quilting 2018 Christmas Collection Book, available on Amazon or as a stand alone pattern in my Craftsy store.  

Tree of Presents is a bit of a cross-over quilt.  It's Christmas I used one of my favorite shades of blue along with some "blingy" fabrics to make it.  The pattern is also part my Masterpiece Quilting 2018 Christmas Collection Book, available on Amazon or as a stand alone pattern in my Craftsy store.  

And on the far right, a small sliver of Christmas Friends is showing.

From Left to Right: 

Christmas Friends is the cover quilt on my Masterpiece Quilting's 2018 Christmas Collection book available on Amazon.  Fabrics are Kona solids by Robert Kauffman.  

The Table Runner, hanging vertically in the corner, from my Learn to Machine Bind Your Quilts online class & DVD. The fabrics used were Toscana from Northcott. 

A Little Bit of Christmas, is folded in half to hang, so it's actually twice this size.  This quilt was originally published in Quilter's World Winter 2016 Magazine, which is still available digitally, and I also had the pleasure of teaching a class on it with Annie's Creative Studio  so you can not only get the pattern but learn to make it step-by-step. 

Poinsettia Song - This quilt was made in a 13-week Quilt-A-Long on Annie's Creative Studio earlier this year.  It is absolutely stunning and features the same fabric collection as Christmas Legacy - the Poinsettia Song collection from Hoffman California-International Fabrics

So now you have all the information and a quick tour of the quilts that I have hanging in my studio for Christmas.  Yes, I have a Gammill Statler computerized quilting machine that you see in the photos.   All of these quilts have been quilted on this machine too. 

For the video tour where I explain the quilting on each of the quilts - click over to my YouTube video.  Enjoy!

NEW PATTERN RELEASE - Barn Quilt

I'm excited to share my latest pattern release - Barn Quilt!  

This wall hanging features The Barn Quilt panel by Andover Fabrics that is available exclusively at Yoder Department Store in Shipshewana, IN.   

In the design process, I cut the panel apart and then reconstructed it with multiple frames and sashing strips to create a very unique wall hanging that is too pretty to hang on a barn!  The color placement was very deliberate to show off the symmetry of the quilt. 

I chose to use all solid fabrics that match the colors in the panel,  to show respect to the great influence that many Amish quilters have had on my designs.  While I wouldn't call this a "modern" design is does have a bit of a modern aura about it.  

Print patterns are available at Yoder Department Store as well as the panel and fabric bundle.  Pdf patterns are available for immediate download in my Craftsy Store. 

Since I originally designed the wall hanging as a competition quilt, I went over the top with the quilting.  Lots of cross hatching - both straight and curved as well as straight line quilting with too-many-to-count thread changes. Here is a close-up to show the detail of the quilting. 

I know a lot of you are already thinking - that is too hard to make.  Well, it isn't!  The panel is the star of the show ... or star of the quilt!  If you haven't worked with panels before, now is your time to try them.  I love working with panels.  In fact, I'm a self-proclaimed panel hoarder!  To make it easy, I have an online class, Learn to Quilt with Panels, that takes you step-by-step through working with panels. 

I hope you enjoy making the Barn Quilt!  I would love to see your version of it.  If you aren't already, you can follow me on Facebook at Masterpiece Quilting or on IG: @masterpiecequilting

2018 Monthly Color Challenge: December is Black & White

Wow !  It doesn't seem like the year should be over already.  I've had a great time creating with color this year as part of Jen's 2018 Monthly Color Challenge.  I hope you have been making the blocks along with us and seeing how much color you can put in your world!  It's been eye-opening for me to see which colors I use a lot and which ones I don't use often. 

This month we are working with black and white.  I know it sounds weird, since I love antiques and a vintage farmhouse style, but I am a huge fan of modern black and white quilts.  I think it's all the white negative space that excites me!  After all, that gives more room for quilting!

If you are finding this blog post for the first time and aren't sure what we are talking about .... To get all the scoop, be sure to check out Jen's post.

The block instructions call for three fabrics and I used a light (white), a medium (gray) and a dark (black) of Moda Grunge fabric from Basic Grey to make this month's block.   I am a huge fan of Grunge and use it a lot as a tonal. 

I'm using Jen's pattern (available on her blog - see link below) and made both the 12" and 6" block this month.  

Now that I have all the blocks finished, I had to take a group photo of them before I started assembling them into the final quilts. Here are all the 12" blocks.  Don't they look so beautiful!

And here are all the 6" blocks... And yes, I'm missing one!  The blue-green block from November was hiding out in the bottom of the box I used to store them. It must be shy :) 

I can't wait to see what your block looks like.  On Jen's blog you have an opportunity to share your black & white block or anything made with black and white from December 21 to 31 to be eligible for prizes.  

And speaking of prizes, the sponsor for this month is the Fat Quarter Shop who is giving away a fat quarter bundle of Bella Solids.  I love these colors, don't you?  

Also be sure to visit the other bloggers who are participating this month.  It's so much fun to see what fabrics everyone has selected and how different the same block looks with different fabric choices!

Jen Shaffer of Patterns By Jen
Jen Strauser of Dizzy Quilter
Sherry Shish of Powered By Quilting
Dione Gardner-Stephen of Clever Chameleon Quilting

My game plan is to have the completed quilts finished and a blog post up in mid-January 2019, so stay tuned to see how these gorgeous blocks come together to make a quilt. 

And if you are playing along with us, make sure to use #2018monthlycolorchallenge on social media! And speaking of social media, be sure to follow me on IG: @Masterpiecequilting and Masterpiece Quilting on FB for sneak peeks and updates!