Tuesday, June 18, 2019

School Swans?

I'm taking Katie's advice and sewing something, anything, to get back in the mood. In March I bought a kit on impulse.  I wasn't feeling very creative but I wanted to get back to my sewing machine. I figured a kit might do the trick.  This one was small to guarantee a quick finish and a sense of accomplishment.



We live in a university town. My husband teaches at Iowa State University and by this fall I will have two kids attending as students.  Maybe it's time to add a little cardinal and gold to my home decor.  Just a little though. 

Iowa State has two resident swans, Lancelot and Elaine, on Lake LaVerne on campus.  Elizabeth Hartman's pattern Swan Island is a perfect fit!  When Rachel at Quilting Connection chose the red and gold accents for a store sample, it struck me as just the right touch of ISU tradition and colors.  The kit includes only the fabric for the swans and you add your choice of background.  Brown fits my living room furniture, and it sure makes the swans pop. They kept me busy for a day or two, then sat on the design wall waiting for me to quilt them and turn them into pillows.

So, back to the idea of a quick finish.  Piecing the swans kept me busy for a couple of days, but the quick finish eluded me because of that creative void. I didn't want an allover pattern like the one used on the pattern cover because there is too much contrast between my swans and my background.  The quilting would be either too showy on the swans or too showy on the background. I knew what I didn't want but had no clue what to quilt instead. My swans hung on the wall for a couple of months.

A couple of days ago I decided to at least prepare the quilt sandwiches (I was going to say baste but that sounds like I am roasting these swans!) By the time I finished stitching in the ditch around and in the swan block, I had a plan for the background too.


I used my Westalee rulers to start stitching concentric circles centered on the front of the swan.  Since I don't have any that will let me stitch out anything larger than about 12" in diameter, I switched to my walking foot with a guide arm for the larger circles, switching to a very long stitch length when I had to stitch across the swan.  This let me keep track of the curve on successive rounds until I got past the swan.



I needed each of those curves as a guide to follow on the next round, all the way out to the edge, but the long stitches across the swan were easy to pick out afterwards.  I wrote a post all about this method several years ago.



I like how it turned out.  Last light I prepared a zippered pillow back, this morning I sewed the front to the back, and tomorrow I'll bring home some coordinating fabric for binding.  I bought brown for the binding yesterday when I popped into the shop for brown thread, but now I am leaning towards binding in fabric that matches the feather tips.


This is almost a finish, and I think my creativity is stirring.  Next up: quilting the butterfly quilt.  I has a longarm quilter baste it for me and it is ready for me to get started.  I'm going to try starting with stitching in the ditch again and hope ideas for the rest come to me while I stitch.

Saturday, June 15, 2019

Fundy Skies: tester versions

As promised, here are pictures from my pattern testers.  They all did a beautiful job with their quilts and provided useful feedback about the pattern .  It's a better pattern thanks to them.

I love seeing the design paired with all the different fabric choices.  Without further ado, here are the quilts.  Enjoy!


Throw size by Kathleen Ross



Twin size by Judy Juhl

Lap size - baby with extra borders top and bottom, by Louise.  Check out her blog My Quilting Odyssey to see the beautiful quilt she makes while living aboard a boat.

Queen size by Lora Garrison.
Queen Size by Judy MacLeod.  Judy is a longarm quilter and I can't wait to see how she quilts it.  You can find her on Facebook as Painted Pony Quiltworks.

Baby size by Jeanne Holmes.  Find her on FB as jeanne.f.holmes or on Instagram as @jeammeholmes.

Thank you all so very much testers!


Remember, you can get a 25% discount on Fundy Skies today through June 21 in my Etsy shop by using the coupon code STARGAZING.

Friday, June 14, 2019

Did I forget to mention...?

Several months ago I released my latest pattern, Fundy Skies. Yup. After a false start with one photographer, I finally got a good picture for the cover (thank you QuiltPhotography.com!) and released the pattern.  Shipped it to distributors.  Uploaded to my Payhip shop, then to the Etsy shop when I switched to that.

I apparently forgot to announce it though.  My marketing needs some serious work!


I really, really love this design.  You can't accidentally cut off the points in this star block, so it is very forgiving.  The sashing is actually built into the large blocks so there are no long sashing strips to measure and sew. And if you like to nest your seams to help match corners, this pattern makes it easy.  Detailed pressing instructions help you nest every seam that needs to nest.

I designed it for my own bed several years ago, and revisited the design for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary quilt last year.




Here's what Kathleen, one of my wonderful testers had to say about the pattern:
"I loved this pattern.  Originally I thought it too wordy but as I went along I found it so organised and clear.  The cutting charts were accurate and easy to follow and I loved that you showed pressing directions - all seams nested perfectly.  This is a fantastic pattern..."
Thank you so much for being a tester, Kathleen!  I am also grateful to Judy J., Louise, Lora Garrison, Jeanne Holmes and Judy MacLeod.  Please drop in tomorrow to see pictures of their versions. 

In the meantime, please spread the word that the pattern is now available .  Ask for it at your favourite quilt shop (they can order directly from me or from distributors Checker or Brewer) or pop over to my Etsy shop to buy a PDF download.

Get a 25% discount on Fundy Skies today through June 21 in my Etsy shop by using the coupon code STARGAZING.