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I've been busy the last couple of years but have kept things to myself and local friends. It is time for me to start sharing again!
Vermont Quilt Festival was cancelled. It is had not been then I would be packing things up to take to the show. I was scheduled to vend Studio 180 Design tools, patterns, book and technique sheets. Instead I will be teaching on Saturday to my normal tribe of awesome students. Maine Quilts is still on for the end of July so I have have been busily finishing quilts and getting things organized for that adventure. My guild show is at the end of September so I also have that on the horizon. I have applied for the first show for 2024. Genesee Valley Quiltfest in Rochester NY is in May. I'm looking forward to meeting quilting from that area. with VQF no longer around I will also try to find some other shows in the the New England/New York area for vending. That's it for now. I'll post some pics next time. My current world view hasn't changed much. I live in a house in the woods in southwestern New Hampshire. My husband and I can perfectly content to stay home and do what we do. For me that is quilting. We have restricted our outings to picking up mail at the post office and groceries at the market in town (about 1.5 miles) or the Super Walmart (about 5 miles). The next closest place is 10 miles away and is a small locally owned grocery store. So what does that have to do with my goal? Well, I'm not going to friends' houses to sew once or twice a week and I'm not attending any retreats (4 have been cancelled). So I am stuck at home like everyone else. As I looked around my sewing space I decided I needed to get some quilts done. Not just the top finished which is my usual completion point but quilted and bound. I have probably 30 tops that are waiting to be finished. That is probably a low estimate. I'll know more in a few days as I go through and find all the small ones I have to quilt. The natural result of this situation is to finish some of them. Since many of them are small I decided to try to finish 1 per day. A couple of them are patterns I am testing for The Quilt Pattern Magazine (www.quiltpatternmagazine.com). I won't be able to show pictures of those until they are published. So here are my finishes so far. If you hover your mouse over a picture a caption will come up to tell you the name of the pattern or source. The first 3 are from Moda Frivol boxes from 2015 or there abouts. These I have pieced and finished. There were already cut out. The bottom 3 were completed tops. The first 2 are from the book Fat Quarter Baby. The last is from the book Fat Quarter Style. I will update the captions after I look up the names for the tiara and the patriotic quilts.
Well, if I'm going to make my goal of a finish a day, I'd better go get busy. You might wonder how I am quilting all of these so quickly. That is for another post. Stay safe and see you again soon. First of all, I have posted all of my scheduled classes on the Calendar. Take a look to see what one or ones you would like to attend. I have included information as to who handles for registrations for each at the top of the calendar.
Be sure to note the 4 (That's right, I said 4!) Sleep In Your Own Bed (SIYOB) retreats I will be hosting at Millstream Community Center in Hinsdale, NH, this year. I won't be providing food - it will be up to participants to do that - but I will provide assistance with any Studio 180 Design tool or pattern you might have. At one (or maybe more) of the SIYOB retreats, we will have a guest instructor, my sister, Sally Silliman, teaching how to make one of those marvelous tuffets. More information will be available about this optional, add-on activity later. She won't be at the February retreat so there is time to prepare. In other news, the first installment of the 5 month mystery for Cheshire Quilters' Guild starts soon. This initial installment is all about fabric selection. I will post the pdf and video in a day or two. The printed pdf will be available to pick up at the guild meeting on the 8th. I hope you enjoy this new take on the guild BOM. Here's to 2020 - the best quilting year yet! To start off 2020 I will be offering a short mystery. The piecing will be simple with nothing very complicated. Of course, I will be providing videos. The first installment will be discussing fabric choices. The project is a small one - just 38-1/2" x 38-1/2". I choose this size because it is perfect for 2 of my guild's (Cheshire Quilters' Guild, Keene, NH) charitable programs - Wheelchair & Cuddle Quilts. Fabrics choices will determine whether for adults (wheelchair) or children (cuddle).
Since it is a small project with limited fabric needed, this will be a great project for your first mystery. I hope my first video provides you with enough examples to aid with your fabric selection. Stay tune toward the end of December or beginning of January for the Introduction for this project.  All good things must come to an end and today is the last day of the Whistle Stop Tour blog hop. I managed to keep up and finish the top! Please be sure to stop by each of the blogs to pick up the instructions for this marvelous sampler quilt.  For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are:
Monday September 9th
 This is just a short post to share the blocks I made to follow along with today's stops on the Whistle Stop Tour blog hop. I hope to post again tomorrow with my top finished. For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are:
Monday September 9th
 Oh, goody! It's my turn for the Whistle Stop Tour blog hop. I am sharing today with my fellow Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor, Tina Dillard, Quilting Affection Designs. Tina is sharing today's 12" block - Hidden Blooms. My block to share is the 6" Rolling Stone. In addition to the pattern download, I am going to walk you through the piecing of this fun block. First thing to do is to cut the fabrics as described and get organized. I like to use the paper plates as described earlier in this blog hop. I used a plate for each section in the cutting chart. Next I pieced the 2" finished square squared units. Don't forget to trim the center squares with your Square Squared tool unless you'd like to give your seam ripper a workout. If you have trouble getting the seams correct, try using your Quilter's Magic Wand to mark the stiching lines on the back of the center square. This has the added advantage of reminding you to keep the precision cut center square on the top as you stitch. Once two triangles are sewn on and pressed away from the center square, I like to check my seams are correct. I orient the unit with the added triangles oriented diagonally so I can lay my tool onto the unit as though I were going to trim. Those nice dashed lines should be right on the seams. Excellent! I then use the edge of the tool to trim off the dogears. Finally once the remaining 2 triangles are sewn and pressed away from the center square, two sides are trimmed. Rotate the unit 180 degrees and trim the remaining two sides. Repeat these steps until you have the 4 square squared units finished - 2 blue and 2 purple. Now on to the four patch. After stitching the squares in pairs, press each pair to the same fabric so you can nest the seams to sew the four patch. I also furl the seam on the back. Unfortunately, I forgot to take that picture. Sorry about that! To make the rail patches, first sew the strips together and press the seam to one side. Then cut the segments needed for the units. Now that all of the units are made, layout out the pieces. Just watch the orientation because you want 2 with purple on the left and 2 with purple on the right. Then sew the rows, pressing toward the rail patch units. Notice in the picture of the back of the rows, you can see the little four patch that appeared when I furled the seams. Two more seams sewn and the block is done. I also showed the back of the block so you could see how I pressed the seams. Voila! There you have it - Rolling Stone. For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are:
Monday September 9th
 Wow! It's Day 6 of the Whistle Stop Tour already. Are you keeping up? The Steam Engine fabric collection sure is stunning with the crisp clean colors. This signature collection from Deb Tucker has beautiful blues, purples and grays. Designed by Kathy Engel, the collection includes some industrial motifs. It is no wonder that this blog hop was named Whistle Stop Tour to promote this fabulous collection. The sampler for this blog hop is called Union Station. It is a combination of 6" and 12" plus a pieced border. Hopefully, you have been visiting the various blogs and downloading the instructions for the various blocks and the pieced border. Today was another two stop day. The 12" block today was Stormy Chain hosted by Tammy Silvers, Tamarinis. Carolyn Raytola, CaTs Quilting, shared the 6" A Popped V block. I really like both of these blocks. Tomorrow will be another two stop day so I'll see you here then. For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are:
Monday September 9th
 Today was another twofer day. Jackie O'Brien, If These Threads Could Talk, Jackie gave us the 12" Card Shark and 6" Roll The Dice. I really like the modern take on the traditional Card Trick block. By the way, while visiting Jackie's blog, did you catch sight of Tucker, her adorable quilt inspector? He is very conscientious so he is hard to miss. I don't have a quilt inspector so I hope my blocks pass muster. Again, Twilight Chic fabric for this version of the sampler. Steam Engine for the next. I'll be sure to post about the Steam Engine version when I make that. Still haven't decided on the size blocks I'll make. Maybe I'll be something different such as 4-1/2" and 9" blocks. Hmmm... For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are: Monday September 9th
 It is hard to believe that day 4 is here already. I was so excited for the posts from Gail Renna, Quilt Haven Threads, and Kathie Beltz, Kathie Beltz Designs. First up is Gail with the 12" Take a Gander block. Next is Kathie with Twisted Pinwheel at 6". I hope you enjoyed the tips that Gail and Kathie shared. I am really like my blocks made up in Deb Tucker's first Island Batik collection designed by Kathy Engel, Twilight Chic. Steam Engine, the featured collection in this blog hop, is Deb's second collection. I'm not sure which I like better. Twilight Chic is rich with saturated colors and Steam Engine has cool clean colors with more graphic motifs. Isn't it great that we can experience both? I can hardly wait to see what colors appear in Deb's next collection. (I sure hope there is another - can't have too many choices in fabric, now can we?) For your reference, the scheduled stops on the Whistle Stop Tour are:
Monday September 9th
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