Thursday, January 31, 2019

A Tour of the Winter Quilts at Masterpiece Quilting

In December I shared my traditional red & green Christmas quilts that I had hanging in my studio.  If you missed the post, you can catch it here.  

I've taken those quilts down and with the help of hubby, have a few of my blue and white Winter quilts hanging.  I know I shouldn't admit this, but there were a few of these quilts that I had forgotten about making.  It's good to get them off the shelves and out where they can be seen.  

Most of these quilts are larger, so I don't have as many to share and I discovered that I have no ... none, zero, zilch .... blue and white table runners or wall hangings!  I think I may have to rectify that and design a few :) 

So here are the photos - I'm working from Left to Right as I describe each one.  And I'm skipping the video this month, so I will share more about the quilting as I describe each quilt. 



On the left is Fractured - which is one of my Masterpiece Quilting brand patterns.  To learn the back story on Fractured, check out the blog post I wrote about it last year.  The pattern is available for purchase as a PDF download on Bluprint.  The white background fabric has a bit of silver metallic for a winter-y touch and it is quilted with a snowflake edge-to-edge pattern. 

Fractured is the same base pattern I used to make the Oh Deer quilt for Island Batik's new Oh Deer Collection which was shown at Quilt Market last Fall & is shipping to stores now.  That modified pattern is available in my Etsy store

On the right is Baubles which was just in the Winter 2018 issue of Quilter's World Magazine.  It is also made with Island Batik fabrics and Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Company.  Baubles might seem like an unusual name for a quilt, but when you read the back story, it will make perfect sense. 

And please forgive the computer cords running through the middle of the photo .... with me, it's real life every day and these things happen ....  





From Left to Right:  On the Left is the Grecian Squares & Swags Bed Quilt.  This quilt was just my 3rd quilt design to appear in a publication!  It was published in 2013 in Annie's Applique Techniques Made Easy Book - which is no longer in print :(   The blocks create a secondary pattern in the center of the quilt and were quilted with individual block patterns and the appliqued swag border was custom quilted with straight line quilting. 

In the middle is Nine-Patch Beauty which was in the Winter 2015 issue of Quilter's World Magazine.  This traditional patchwork quilt uses gray as the background and is paired with blue and white nine-patches.  It was quilted with an all-over pattern for texture. 

On the right is Checkerboard Beauty which was Annie's Quilts with Unique Borders Book which was published back in 2014.  I really feel old when I think about how long ago that was and how much my design style has evolved over the years.  Sadly, Quilts with Unique Borders is no longer in print either.  Again this quilt was quilted with individual block patterns and custom quilted in the borders. 



On the very left you can see a bit of the custom quilting in the border of Grecian Squares & Swags. 

Next is Nine-Patch Beauty and Checkerboard Beauty and then finally on the right is Orange Peel.  

Orange Peel is one of three quilts that I teach how to make in my Learn to Restyle Vintage Quilts video class and was inspired by an antique quilt of my Grandma Scott's.  You can read more on the back story in a previous blog post
This quilt was full-custom quilted with lots of feathers - my favorite! 

Well that concludes our tour!  I hope you have enjoyed seeing some of my quilts.  Stay tuned for a Spring Quilt tour coming sometime in March.  I've got lots of Spring quilts I can't wait to share with you! 

Monday, January 28, 2019

Farewell as an Island Batik Ambassador

As many of you know, I have spent the last two years as an Island Batik Brand Ambassador.  It's been an amazing fun and rewarding time as I have had an opportunity to represent a great company, work with beautiful fabrics, have my designs included in their Quilt Market displays and last, but not least, to meet and work with some of the most talented designers I know.

But I've got some other projects I want to work on and my schedule will only permit so much, so I did not reapply to be an Ambassador for 2019.  

As a final farewell, I want to showcase some of the quilts I've made over the last two years using Island Batik fabrics.  The quilts aren't in any particular order and I've included a quick description to make it easy for you to find the patterns.  By no means is this all of them - it's only about half! 

This is Modern Chain.  A remake of the pattern using solid fabrics was in Make Modern Magazine in 2018.  I was so excited for my first international magazine appearance. 



The Holly Table Topper is one of my favorites.  Simple, Elegant yet Festive!  The pattern is available in my Masterpiece Quilting's 2018 Christmas Collection book available on Amazon


I used Island Batik's Sakura collection to make this beautiful quilt for the Back to School blog hop in 2017.  The design was my Black & White Express pattern available as a pdf download on Bluprint.  Isn't it amazing how different fabrics totally change the look of a quilt?  Take a look at the pattern and then this photo. 


Charming Stars & Pinwheels was first published by Annie's as a lap quilt.  The larger version featured Island Batik fabrics and is on the pattern cover.  This pattern will be available very soon too! 


This paper-pieced beauty brought a lot of joy to our table at the time of my Mother-in-Law's passing in 2018.  Some cut flowers we received matched perfectly for the photo shoot. 



Plum Delicious, aptly named for the fabric collection it featured was made for a Blog Hop in 2018. The PDF pattern for this customer favorite is available and stay-tuned for this quilt in a different colorway in the next few months! 


Valentine's Day is right around the corner and this oversized mug rug will make a great gift!  If you are like me, my desktop tends to serve a lot of functions including breakfast nook and lunch station - so a mug rug is a necessity.   A pdf pattern is available for download on Bluprint. 


The monthly challenges for the Ambassadors always kept me on my toes. In this challenge we needed to use a new technique - so I used Ricky Tims' Covergence method to make this stunning wall hanging.  



My Spinning Wheels design was inspired by a vintage quilt I purchased at an auction.  Another design which will have a pattern available soon ... I think I need to get busy releasing new patterns! 


This quilt features Island Batik fabrics in my Star Bright pattern.  I made a smaller version here and again, am blown away by how much the look changes with different fabrics.  If you don't believe me, take a look at the original Star Bright pattern


I will be totally honest, I was never a fan of paper-piecing.  I can tell you horror stories of fabric sewn to both sides of the paper.  Well, I'm starting to embrace the method... slowly but surely.  There would have been no way I could have made this beautiful pumpkin using traditional patchwork. 


Earlier I mentioned that being a Brand Ambassor gave my quilts an opportunity to be displayed in the Island Batik booth at Quilt Market.  Here, I used the Oh Deer collection and my Fractured Quilt pattern to create this stunning quilt.  I caught up with the quilt in Houston last fall for a quick visit.  It's on the road traveling to quilt shops and trunk shows until 2020!  While it's traveling, you can still make the quilt - here's a direct link to the pattern. 


Stepping Out is one of my new favorite quilts ... okay, so I have lots of favorites!  I love this impromptu photo shoot with some barn wood beams.  The pattern will be coming soon for Stepping Out!  (p.s. remember I mentioned earlier that I need some time to get some things done - I'm majorly behind on new pattern releases!) 


Oh Christmas Tree is one of the patterns in my Masterpiece Quilting's 2018 Christmas Collection book available on Amazon.  It makes a beautiful wall hanging that is deceiving easier to make than it appears. 


Baubles was in the Winter 2018 issue of Quilter's World Magazine.  I love the softness of this design and how it showcases the fabrics so well. 

Dots & Dashes is the last quilt I made as an Ambassdor for the Getaway Blog Hop.   It's a fun and spirited quilt.  The PDF version of the pattern is available for purchase in my Etsy store



And finally, one of our Charity projects was making Kennel Quilts.  Miss Zoey and Miss Lilly gave their "paw of approval" before the quilts went off to pets in need.  You can learn more about the Kennel Quilt program here.  Won't you participate with me? 




If you have made it this far in the blog post ... that was a lot to get thru! ... I invite you to follow along on my quilty journey by subscribing to this blog, following my Masterpiece Quilting page on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting. 

Sunday, January 27, 2019

NEW PATTERN RELEASE: Dots & Dashes

I just wanted to share my latest pattern release.  

This fun and spirited quilt is called Dots & Dashes and is made using Island Batik fabrics,  Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 and Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Co. and Aurifil thread.   I'm extremely grateful to each of these companies for providing the materials to make the cover quilt. 


I made this version of the quilt for the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop.  You can read my blog hop post here.    I'm already playing around with other fabrics and color combinations for the quilt in my design software - what colors do you think it would look good in?  

The circles were cut with using a 5" die cutter which made them fast and easy!  I was worried if I had enough shades of Aurifil thread to blend with each of the circle fabrics, but the thread blended nicely with so many fabric colors. 

After fusing, I finished each appliqued circle with a machine blanket stitch. 


The pattern for Dots & Dashes is available in my Etsy store as a PDF download.  Print patterns will be available shortly.  If you prefer a print pattern, please let me know.  

Sized at 63" x 63", Dots & Dashes makes the perfect throw or works nicely as the top quilt on a child's bed with its fun and whimsical style. 



To keep up-to-date on all that I'm working on, please subscribe to my blog list, follow me at Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting. 



Tuesday, January 15, 2019

Island Batik Getaway with the Paisley Park Collection

I hope you have been having a great "Getaway" on the Island Batik blog hop! 

An easy place to start your "Getaway" is on the Island Batik blog where you can see the entire schedule as well as get a glimpse of what each collection looks like.   And be sure to enter the giveaway to be eligible to win some souvenirs from the "Getaway" too!  


The collection that I want to share with you is Paisley Park

To showcase the collection, I designed and am releasing a new pattern Dots & Dashes.  The pattern is available for purchase in my Etsy store
 

Dots & Dashes is made with the Paisley Park Collection from Island Batik, Steam-A-Steam Lite and Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Company and Aurifil thread. 


Dots & Dashes features easy strip piecing paired with raw edge fusible applique to create this stunning quilt. 




Be sure to follow along on the hop by visiting all the "Getaway" locations and don't forget to enter the giveaway sponsored by Island Batik for some fun fabric bundles!

I will be giving away 3 Dots & Dashes patterns, so leave me a comment about what you want to "Getaway" and I will select three lucky winners at the end of the blog hop!  

Getaway Blog Hop Schedule


WEEK 1
Monday, January 7 - Crystal Ball


Tuesday, January 8  - Ditty


Wednesday, January 9 - Elk Lodge


Thursday, January 10 - Feline Fine


Friday, January 11 - Flea Market


WEEK 2
Monday, January 14 - Fortune Teller
Jennifer Fulton- The Inquiring Quilter


Tuesday, January 15  - Gypsy Rose


Wednesday, January 16 - Paisley Park


Thursday, January 17 - Soul Song


Friday, January 18 - Twilight Chic


WEEK 3
Monday, January 21 - Winter Park


Tuesday, January 22  - Bazaar


Wednesday, January 23 - Blossom


Thursday, January 24 - Boho


Friday, January 25 - Brookview


WEEK 4
Monday, January 28 - French Blue


Tuesday, January 29  - Midsummer Night


Wednesday, January 30 - Oh Deer


Thursday, January 31 - Snow Berry  


Friday, February 1-  Candy Cane Lane and Icicle
Anne Wiens- Icicle - Sweetgrass Creative Designs


Barbara Gaddy - Candy Cane Lane  -Bejeweled Quilts by Barb