Shipshewana Quilt Festival

Last week I was at the Shipshewana Quilt Festival in Shipshewana IN.  If you aren't familiar with the show, check out their website and Facebook page.  I grew up about 45 minutes from "Shipshe", as the locals call it, so the town will always have a special place in my heart.  Even though I live several hours away now, I try to get there as often as I can. 

This is my second year vending at the Shipshewana Quilt Festival and while last year was good, this year was amazing!  In my booth I displayed quilts from my stand alone patterns, books and online classes.  Last fall, when I was signing up for the booth, a 10’ x 10’ booth sounded huge, but when I got everything moved it, it was a challenge to get everything to fit!

I displayed quilts from my 4 books – T-shirts, Memories & More, The Simple Sampler, 2018 Christmas Collection and Ribbons & Rosettes.

Always a favorite from my T-shirts, Memories & More book is the framed Scrapbook Style Photo project.  It is a great way to preserve handwritten memories. 

From The Simple Sampler,  I had several of the 1 block pillows as well as the 3 block bed runner.  From 2018 Christmas Collection, two of the quilts were in the show - my Jingle Bells Quilt as well as Tree of Presents. From Ribbons & Rosettes, I had a couple of the pillows on display as well as the Wreath Hanging. I wish I could have displayed more, but I needed a bigger booth!  Maybe next year ;)

I had all 8 – yes 8 – online classes for sale.  My Learn Stack & Cut Quilting class just became available a few weeks ago and was getting a lot of attention.

I always have a DVD playing at the shows so people can see how my online classes are professionally produced.

And of course, the best part of any show is getting to connect with customers and other vendors.  Its always rewarding to meet face-to-face with customers I have met through social media. 

I do a daily drawing for a free pattern.

Plus I had 3 quilts (Jingle Bells Quilt, Tree of Presents and Modern Irish Chain) in the show along with a quilt that my Mother made which I designed and quilted.  It is the cover quilt from The Simple Sampler.

Vending is always an exciting yet exhausting time!  But the fun never ends as today we get to unpack the trailer and put it all away until next year! 

Playful Pillows - May 2018 Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

This month the challenge for the Island Batik Brand Ambassadors is pillows ... and there is nothing that I love more than a good pillow!

I am super excited to share my pillow with you.  The color combination is completely out of my comfort zone but I absolutely love how it looks! Now I just wish I had a decorating scheme to go with it.

I almost never work with earth tones unless I'm challenged - oh ya, this is a monthly challenge - but there is something soothing, refreshing and grounding about the finished combination.  

I pieced the pillow using Aurifil thread and used Island Batik fabrics from several collections, both of which were provided from their respective companies as part of our Brand Ambassador program.

The block pattern is from my The Simple Sampler book which is due out very soon (like really, really soon!!! - but you can't tell based on the number of exclamation points that I'm using !!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)  !!!!!!)

For the back of the pillow, I used an envelope style backing and complete instructions for making these are included in the book.

I really like using the envelope style backing because it lets you change your pillows seasonally by just removing the pillow form and putting it in a new pillow cover.  Plus it takes less space to store pillow covers than it does entire pillows - which means you can make more pillows!

I hope you have enjoyed my Playful Pillow! To stay up-to-date on my quilting adventures, be sure to follow Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook  or Instagram @masterpiecequilting 

2018 Monthly Color Challenge June = Purple

It's a new month and time for a new color!  And it's my favorite color too!  This month our color challenge is purple. 

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.

So let's show off all this lovely purpleness!  I'm using Jen's pattern (available on her blog - see link below) and this month I made the 12" block.  I've got the 6" block cut out, but it just didn't get finished.  Stay turned during the month and I will get it finished and posted. 

I think the purple block will look great with previous blocks that I have made each month.  

I can't wait to see what your block looks like.  On Jen's blog you have an opportunity to share your green block or anything made with green from June 21 to 30 to be eligible for prizes.  And speaking of prizes, the sponsor for this month is Art Gallery Fabrics who are giving away a fat quarter bundle. 

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
Jen Rosin of A Dream and A Stitch
Dione Gardner-Stephen of Clever Chameleon Quilting
Joanne Harris of quiltsbyJoanne

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!

2018 Monthly Color Challenge: May = Green

It's a new month and time for a new color!  This month our color challenge is green and green is a perfect color for the month of May.  The grass is greening ... finally, after a rather long winter ... and the flowers are all blooming and green is good!

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.

So let's show off all this greenness!  I'm using Jen's pattern (available on her blog - see link below) and I'm making both the 12" and 6" size blocks.

And to show off the beautiful Spring flowers, here are my blocks in the "wild" ... aka the flower bed :)  I love the way the greens match with the daffodil foliage. 

I wanted to take a few pictures of all my blocks together.  Here are the 6" blocks.  Don't they look adorable? 

And here are the 12" blocks. 

Of course in the process of trying to get photos with the blocks laying on the kitchen floor, my canine assistants thought they need to adjust the layout.  Here is Miss Zoey arranging it to her liking :) 

I can't wait to see what your block looks like.  On Jen's blog you have an opportunity to share your green block or anything made with green from May 21 to 31 to be eligible for prizes.  And speaking of prizes, the sponsor for this month is: Island Batik! 

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
Jen Rosin of A Dream and A Stitch
Dione Gardner-Stephen of Clever Chameleon Quilting
Joanne Harris of quiltsbyJoanne

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!

Looking Back, Vintage Quilts - April 2018 Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

I was super excited when I saw this month's challenge.  My specialty is designing quilts inspired by vintage quilts. 

I immediately knew what quilt I was making.  When I taped my Learn to Restyle Vintage Quilts video class a few years ago, I designed 6 different quilts options but we only used 3 in the class - so this pattern has been waiting in the wings for it's moment to shine :) 

Here is a photo of a vintage quilt that uses the same block. 

Keeping the block and the basic layout the same, I tweaked the borders and here is my Spinning Wheels quilt. 

I used fabrics from a variety of collections that I received from Island Batik as part of their Brand Ambassador program. I opted for scrappy pinwheels and selected a neutral for the background, inner and outer borders.  Since the colors all played well with the deep rose, I used it for the pieced border but since I was running out of fabric, I went with a darker purple for the binding.  Nothing like making design decisions on the fly :) 

Since I learned to quilt from my grandmother, I used one of her favorite patterns in the pieced border - a cable.  Since it was a vintage inspired quilt, a vintage quilting motif seemed appropriate. 

I pieced the quilt using Aurifil thread and used Hobbs 80/20 for the batting, both of which were provided from their respective companies as part of our Brand Ambassador program.  

Here are a few more photos of Spinning Wheels. 

The pattern for Spinning Wheels will be available in a few weeks.  

If you want to learn more about Restyling your own Vintage quilt, my class is available both online or in DVD format. 

To purchase Learn to Restyle Vintage Quilts, please click on my affiliate link to purchase. 

If you enjoy learning online, I have classes in a variety of topics and you can read more about my other online classes.

To stay up-to-date on my quilting adventures, be sure to follow Masterpiece Quilting on Facebook  or Instagram @masterpiecequilting 

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