Home Grown Collection by Nancy Halvorsen for Benartex

I'm super excited to be part of this blog hop showcasing Nancy Halvorsen's new collection Home Grown for Benartex.  I've been a Nancy Halvorsen fan for a long time and it's an honor to get to design with her fabrics. 

The Home Grown collection includes a panel grouping with beautiful messages and some lovely coordinating fabrics. 

I love working with panels.  I love buying panels.  

I love collecting panels.  And I love designing with panels. 

As I designed this quilt, I wanted to showcase each section of the panel as well as the other fabrics in the collection.  If you have never worked with panels, check out my online video class Learn to Quilt with Panels to alleviate any fears.  

My first project can do double duty as either a wall hanging or a throw quilt.  It measures 48" x 54"  and is quilted with the "Tread" edge-to-edge pattern by TK Quilting & Design and contains Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Company. 

I planned to take some really cute lifestyle photos of the quilt on our couch, but my photo assistant, aka Miss Lilly, kept photo bombing my efforts!  

The fabrics in the collection lend themselves to some amazing design options.  I love stripe fabrics.  If I would have had enough, a stripe would have been used for the binding for a fun candy-stripe effect.  Instead I alternately used two shades of red which I finished with a machine-binding.  If you haven't started to machine-bind your quilts, my online video class Learn to Machine-Bind Your Quilts gives you three easy options for time-saving machine-binding. 

Instead I used the stripe as an accent on each corner of the center panel.  By changing the orientation of the striped squares, I was able to create a focal point in each corner. 

My second project is an 18" x 18" pillow.  I needed a "Springy" pillow for our couch and these fabrics worked perfectly in our decor.  The pillow features one of the blocks from my The Simple Sampler book which is available on Amazon.  By selecting some of the "softer" prints in the collection, it's amazing how much different this pillow looks than the full quilt. 

My book also includes finishing instructions to make an envelope pillow back.  I had some fun and used leftover strips to piece the backing! 

And what would be a blog hop without a giveaway?  I'm giving away a bundle of 8 - 10 Home Grown fat quarters to U.S. residents.  Please let me know how you would use the panel in the comments to be entered to win.  Please remember, if you have your account set to "no-reply" then enter your email in the comments so I can contact you if you win.  I will select a winner on Monday March 4th, so everyone has time to enter. 

Be sure to join the other bloggers and be sure to enter to win some fabric at each stop! 

Monday

Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday

Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday

Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt

Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday

Jennie @ Clover and Violet

Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday

Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

If you are new to my blog, WELCOME! and I invite you to follow my blogging adventures by entering your email on the right sidebar.  You can also follow Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting

My Continuing Adventure in Surface Pattern Design

I was totally blown away by all the kind comments and words of encouragement from my blog post earlier this month about my Adventures in Surface Pattern Design.  If you missed the post, you can catch it here.  

A lot of you asked more about the class that I took.  It is the Surface Design Immersion with Bonnie Christine.  It is an online-only course that lasts 8 weeks but once you enroll, you can watch the classes over and over.  Yep - I have watched some of them at least 4 or 5 times, if not more. 

The important detail is that enrollment happens only ONCE A YEAR and it is going on RIGHT NOW.... February 19 - February 26 .... so you need to ACT NOW.  Click here to be taken directly to the course page, where you can enroll and see more details about the course modules. 

The class includes a comprehensive section on Adobe Illustrator - which I knew nothing about a year ago and trust me, if I can figure out Illustrator, then you can too!  Learning Illustrator was the primary reason I signed up for the class, but I learned so, so much more. 

So in my earlier post, I shared that I had been doing my homework and then deleting it.  Well I do want to share a couple quick cell phone photos (so ignore the bad lighting and camera angle) of a sketch I did at retreat and the repeating pattern that I created from it.   Much of my sketching relates to patterns that I free motion quilt, so lots of feathers, flowers and fauna.   So this is my original sketch of a curly feather with cross-hatch fill inside each feather that I drew last fall during the Immersion Retreat for class members. 

And this is what it looked like after I manually turned it into a repeating pattern.  I carried the cross-hatch design to the background and added a small curly feather in the center.   Is it perfect?  Heaven's no .....  but I am proud of it in a very "first step" type of way.

The class covers more than just Adobe Illustrator.  Pattern design and the business of how to become a licensed artist is also extensively covered - which was important to me, because I needed to see the big picture of how surface pattern design could fit into my income streams.  

I am blocking time during March and April to retake much of the course again this year.  Yes, it is that important to me!  I hope you join me in the class. 

Remember, enrollment is open until February 26th and then it closes for the year - so don't delay in enrolling.  See you in class! 

Sidestep Quilt in Quilter's World Spring 2019 issue

I am super excited to share one of my latest designs with you - the Sidestep quilt!  The pattern in the Spring 2019 issue of Quilter's World magazine.  Swing by your favorite news stand or local quilt shop to pick up a hard copy or order a digital copy online.  

I made Sidestep with a fat quarter bundle of Brenda Ratliff's Garden Club fabric collection for RJR Fabrics and added yardage of two of the prints in the collection for the "step" and the binding.  Huge thanks to RJR Fabrics for providing the fabric as well as thanks to The Warm Company for the Warm 80/20 batting, Aurifil for the thread and Tammy Oberlin of TK Quilting and Design for the Tread digital quilting pattern.   It truly takes a village to make a quilt and I'm grateful to work with such great companies who provide products which allow my designs to come to fruition. 

Sidestep uses square-in-a-square units that "step" side to side to create a visual zigzag running vertically down the quilt top. The steps are large enough to show off larger-scale prints as well as small prints. 

Sidestep isn't my only quilt in Quilter's World Spring 2019. In case you missed it, here is link to the blog post about my Hearty Blooms quilt.

To stay up-to-date with my blog, be sure to subscribe on the right hand column or follow Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting 

$2500 Craft Supply Mega Giveaway - Celebrating Annie's Creative Studio's 1st Birthday

As many of you know, I'm a quilting and sewing instructor for Annie's Creative Studio and I've been instructing a few of the Creative Living episodes too.  You can check out my first post about Annie's Creative Studio to capture my excitement!   

Since Annie's Creative Studio is celebrating it's 1st birthday, we decided a birthday bash was in order with a mega giveaway worth over $2500 USD. 

Check out all that you can win! 

The important date to remember is February 28, 2019.  That is when entries are due.  To enter, go to the Annie's Creative Studio page and click on the "Giveaways" tab.  No purchase is necessary, and you do not need to be a member to win. Giveaways are open to members and non-members of Annie's Creative Studio.

My mind is spinning with everything I could make if I won!   Leave me a comment about what you would make if you won! 

And of course, huge thanks to all of these sponsors who provided items for the Annie's Creative Studio Birthday Bash Mega Giveaway. 

While it's impossible to pick a favorite, here are a few of my classes for you to check out. 

The Poinsettia Song Quilt A Long was a super fun time where we made this stunning quilt. Everyone learned a lot of new techniques including fussy-cutting, paper-piecing and sewing y-seams without stress!  

It's no secret that I'm an antique junkie and avid auction go-er.  So one of my favorite ways to give an old piece a fresh look is with chalk-paint.  In this Chalk Painting Tips & Pointers episode, I'm giving some broken-bottom cane chairs a new life for holding flower planters. 

I adore a good table-scape and this paper-pieced Star Table Topper is the perfect center piece for your table.  In the episode, we cover the basics of paper piecing and the assembly of this beauty.  

If you aren't already a member of Annie's Creative Studio, now is the perfect time to join us!  Sign up for the free trial and be amazed at what all you can learn! 

If you would like to receive notification of my blog posts, please sign up on the right hand side of this page or follow my Masterpiece Quilting page on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting

Hearty Blooms in Quilter's World Spring 2019 issue

With Valentine's Day fast approaching that means Spring can't be too far away! 

I think I finally have all of our Christmas decorations put away and have transitioned to a Winter / Early Spring decor.  (You realize that I will now find the elusive Christmas decoration that I forgot to put away!)

Anyway, my Hearty Blooms topper which is in the Spring 2019 issue of Quilter's World magazine, will bring a lot of Spring cheer to your table.  If you don't subscribe to Quilter's World, you can pick up a copy on your favorite news stand or purchase a digital download.

With the hearts, the quilt can make its appearance in time for Valentine's Day, and with the floral blooms, it can stay out all Spring.  The style is a bit folk art-ish and the colors bright and well saturated, but not too bold.  

For Hearty Blooms, I selected fabrics from Timeless Treasures fabric company and feel they really make the design stand out.  Huge thanks to Treasures graciously providing the fabric.  

To make the quilt, I also used complimentary Warm 80/20 batting and Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 fusible from The Warm Company and thread from Aurifil. 

Hearty Blooms can do double or even triple duty in your decor.  It is just the right size that it could be used a stunning wall hanging or across a bed as a decorative throw that is sure to brighten up the room.  

Hearty Blooms isn't my only quilt in Quilter's World Spring 2019 - I will be blogging about my Side Step quilt soon!

To stay up-to-date with my blog, be sure to subscribe on the right hand column or follow Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook or on IG: @masterpiecequilting 

My Adventure in Surface Pattern Design

A few months ago I blogged about my trip to Texas where I attended Fall Quilt Market and Bonnie's Christine's Immersion Retreat for Surface Pattern Designers.   Today I just want to share a little more about my surface pattern design adventure.  

While I still don't know where this journey will lead me - I am continuing to learn, sketch and grow.  In January, Bonnie announced a monthly challenge in her Flourish Surface Design Dig group. We all know I love a challenge!  And it was great motivation for me to stop drawing and deleting my work.  And yes, that is what I had been doing ... for the last 11 months ... going through the class assignments and then deleting what I made.  

So I faced a whole bunch of fears last week and submitted one of my designs to the challenge group.   It's called Stars N Swirls.   

I view it as my starting point and I've now made it public for everyone to see and critique (please be kind).   I'm a firm believer that "It's not where you start, but where you finish, that counts" ... so who knows where I will finish!