|
As many of you know, I design patterns that are published in The Quilt Pattern Magazine. In the March 2019 issue you will find my latest design, Happy Pinwheels.  If you are interested in subscribing to The Quilt Pattern Magazine, click here and use the discount code: CDMQ. Before I forget, I want to share pictures of the tops from the patterns I tested in this month's issue of TQPM - Burst & Telluride Puzzle. I really enjoyed piecing these interesting patterns. For full disclosure, I work for TQPM formatting patterns from other designers for the magazine. I don't get any extra money for promoting. I just love the magazine.   Today I was sewing the sample for a mystery quilt that will be published starting in the October issue. When it gets closer I might tell you more about it. IT is twin size and will be a nice project to work on over the winter. Also, check out one of my local quilt shops, Four Pines Quilting, in Claremont, New Hampshire. March marks the start of the BOM I designed called Modern Twist. There are 4 colorways so there should be one you'll love. They mail nationwide so everyone can enjoy.     That's it for now. Talk to you again soon.
As a Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design I was asked if I would like to participate in the Island Batik Twilight Chic Blog Hop hosted by Studio 180 Design. Twilight Chic is Deb Tucker’s signature collection for Island Batik designed by Kathy Engle.  The schedule for the entire blog hop is: Monday, February 4 Tuesday, February 5 Wednesday, February 6 Thursday, February 7 Friday, February 8 Saturday, February 9 Since today is Thursday it is my turn so here goes. Since I started quilting in 2012 I have spent a lot of time designing patterns that use five 1-yard cuts. In 2017 I became a Certified Instructor for Studio 180 Design. Since then my design focus has changed to incorporate the Studio 180 Design tools. Today I want to share how I designed the block for my Tumbling Stars quilt. Loving the Split Rects tool, I set out to design a block that used that unit. For a square block, I came up with this preliminary sketch.  I decided to put Split Rects in the side rectangles and Flying Geese in the top and bottom positions.  To me this looked like a star that had gotten a little squished – like it had rolled and had its’ star points pushed in. Hmmm, …. Tumbling Stars. I had a name but how could I make it look like it was rolling? Maybe if I put something in the middle on an angle it would have that impact when I rotated the block. I liked where this was going. Maybe I needed a center that didn’t move.  Excellent! Just what I was looking for but how was I going to piece the middle? I needed to draw in a few more seam lines.  I did it! I had a block that would appear to roll as I rotated it plus I could make all of the units using my Studio 180 Design tools – Split Rect, Wing Clipper I and Tucker Trimmer I. Each block had 2 Type #1 Split Rects, 2 Type #2 Split Rects, and 2 Flying Geese of the same size, plus 2 smaller Flying Geese, a Shaded 4 Patch and a square.  Next up was fabric selection. The fabrics in the Twilight Chic collection supplemented by some of the Island Batiks basics made that part easy. Island Batik and Studio 180 Design provided the fabric and I got busy.   It took very little time to make all of the components and piece the blocks. My fabric calculation used less than a yard for 4 of the fabrics and about 1-1/8 yard of the background. My goal of creating a pattern that utilize five 1-yard cuts was realized. So here it is – Tumbling Stars.  Finally, there is a giveaway:  I wanted to share with you the outcome of my galaxy class on Saturday. It was so much fun to work with a great group of quilters. As I said, there are 2 different sizes for this pattern. I was fortunate enough to have some working on each size. There were 2 working on the small 2" units, 4 working on the medium 3" units and 3 working on the large 4" units. Everyone was able to finish at least 1 of each block. Check them out.  Do you see what I mean about the various combinations of fabric? Each one is awesome but also so different. I'm not sure which combination I like best. The large blocks made with 4" units looks so huge compared with the small blocks made with 2" units, don't they? Looking at the fabric combinations give me feelings of the beach, Christmas, 4th of July, elegance, coziness, cheer, and more. For me, this is the best part. I can't make every combination of fabrics so this is the next best thing - drooling over the selections other have made.  Here is the wonderful quilters with whom I spent the day. There were a couple of shy ones in the back but a tremendous group of women.
I love teaching because it allows me to share my love of quilting with such great folks! I can hardly wait for my next workshop. Next up is my post for the Island Batik Twilight Chic Blog Hop hosted by Studio 180 Design. Twilight Chic is Deb Tucker's signature collection. Be sure to catch all of the blog posts. My post is on Thursday. Here is the complete listing: Monday, February 4 Tuesday, February 5 Wednesday, February 6 Thursday, February 7 Friday, February 8 Saturday, February 9 Today I am busy getting everything packed up to take to a class. I am teaching the Studio 180 Design pattern Galaxy at a workshop for my guild, Cheshire Quilters' Guild, in Keene, New Hampshire. I am particularly looking forward to seeing the various combinations of fabric. I've gotten sneak peeks at a couple of them and they are awesome! I'll post some pictures afterwards so you can enjoy the variety too!  Here is a picture of my Christmas version of the medium size. The medium size is made using 3" finished units. The small uses 2" finished and the large uses 4" finished units. This is an awesome way to create multiple sizes for a pattern because the design is exactly the same. Below is the small version I made.  The fabulous thing about this design is the illusion of circles. There is only straight piecing in this quilt but our minds round things out. The key to getting the circular illusion is to have good contrast. The green and the blue contrast nicely with the red to create the design.
In other news, I am taking part in a blog hop this week. I will be sharing how I designed my quilt Tumbling Stars. Stay tuned! |
Archives
June 2023
Categories |
RSS Feed
|
|
|