Fabric Selection can Entirely Change a Pattern

007 - Slice It Up Placemats

In preparing for a recent demo, I needed to show the various steps to make these placemats.  The pattern cover showed the placemats in Christmas prints.  To show every step, I also made a set of the above placemats in modern brights.  What a contrast to the original pattern.

So when we are looking at a pattern, think beyond the colors on the pattern cover.  The results can be very striking.  I'm thinking I should change my pattern cover photo!

From the Classroom

Spent what would have been an otherwise dreary Saturday in Calgary sewing with a great group of ladies st the Calgary Threaducation Centre for my Rail in a Rail class.  Everyone's quilt turned out great and they were all so different.  

The pattern has two sizes - a 42" square quilt top with a border or a 72" large lap quilt.  With the larger quilt, it is simply 4 repeats of the smaller quilt top.  The smaller quilt to is a great size for a baby quilt or table topper.  

Take a look for yourself:

Here is Jackie's stunner.  The bright colors just make me smile.  Jackie is debating on adding the borders as this is destined for a table topper. 

Judy worked like a beaver to get her quilt done by the early afternoon.  The colors are very caliming.  I can't wait to see how she will quilt this one.

Sharon agonized for hours on her fabric choices.  She was bound and determined to make this one from her stash.  Sharon had oh so many choices!

Pat took a more formal view for her color choices.  Another great finish.

To the ladies, it was a pleasure spending the day with you.

Dragons Heart Quilt Shop - Delightful Quilt Shop in Pincher Creek Alberta

Dragons Heart Quilt Shop

I can't believe we have been back for over a week now. Our annual Social Stitcher's Retreat was in Cowley, Alberta on June 9th to 12th.  We have been gathering together for over 10 years in a converted old Catholic church to sew, eat, share and laugh.

On our travels we always manage to visit a couple of quilt shops on our way down.  This year we visited a new shop in Pincher Creek - Dragons Heart Quilt Shop.  The shop opened in October of last year and has a wonderful selection of fabrics and patterns.  Our guild certainly did our best to reduce some of their inventory.  The shop has a classroom in the back and has three APQS machines.

The shop is participating in Row by Row this year and has a great die cut windmill on their row.  It is a must stop for quilters collecting the rows.

Lynn the owner is great and very welcoming.  We did enjoy our stop this year and will be sure to come back.  And if that isn't enough, they have decorated their bathroom in a rustic sewing theme.  Just take a look!

A Quilter's Bathroom

Saturday's with Susan - Come Join me June 25th at Addie's

"Just the Essentials" Bag

Come join me at Addie's Creative Fabrics in Cochrane on June 25th from 11 to 12:15 pm for some tips and tricks for working with zippers and for the demo of this great little bag.  Just for attending this free demo, you will receive a complementary pattern for this bag.   

I have called it "Just the Essentials" as the bag will hold your phone, a credit card and some cash secure in the zipper pocket and your keys will be safe on the hidden inside key ring.  With two quilted pockets on the front and reverse of the bag, you will have room for all your essentials for Stampeding here in Calgary.  

Zippers, zippers zippers.  They really don't have to be that scary.  On Saturday I will demo a couple of tricks to getting you on your way to be a real pro!  

Again, the demo is free, so take that quick 15 minute trip from the city and join me at Addie's.  I look forward to seeing you.

Celebration of Quilts - our Entries into Heritage Park May 28 & 29, 2016

My Rail in a Rail

What a celebration! I spent 1 1/2 days surrounded by wonderful quilts.  In the morning Armiel, my pattern tester extraordinaire, and I volunteered at the Calgary Modern Quilt Guild booth, lunched with my parents and Social Stitchers guild and then a bit of touring around in the afternoon.

Couldn't temper the excitement and we were the first ones through the gates again on Sunday.  

I was really proud to have a Social Stitchers Group display of my Strip and Flip Pattern.  As an added surprise was two more Strip and Flip quilts as well!  It is amazing to see how different one pattern can be.  Lets take a look.

My Rail in a Rail

Social Stitchers' - Cityscapes, Almost Amish and a Traditional Blend

Social Stitchers' - Cozy Cabin, Orange Makes Me Smile and Spring Has Sprung

 Barb from one of my classes - Scrappy Stitch and Flip

Mary, one of my long armer's - Read All Over

Saturday's with Susan - Join me April 30th

A Peak at our Free Pattern

Hope you have your taxes done... so you can join me on Saturday, April 30th for "Saturday's with Susan".  This free, did I say "FREE" demo at Addies Creative Fabrics in Cochrane.  We will have a complementary pattern to share to help you make something for your traveling family member, friend or teacher.

Also we will take a look at a helpful tool you can make yourself.  If you have a tendency to rearrange your block pieces when moving them to your sewing machine - this tool is for you.

Bring your show and tell so we all can be inspired!

I hope to see you from 11:00 - 12:15 on April 30th at Addies in Cochrane.  Please register in advance so that we can ensure we have enough copies of the complementary pattern for everyone.

Rail in a Rail - Modern, Traditional or ...just Relevant

Daley's Rail in a Rail Quilt - 72" square

After sharing some of my quilts with a group of quilters I was asked if I considered myself a modern quilter.  Before I really gave a lot of thought to my answer I replied I didn't like labels.  Rather, I enjoy many things about both traditional and modern quilting.  I love the precision of traditional quilting, but I am truly drawn to simple shapes and fresh colors.

My quilts and patterns are a blend of both traditional and modern quilting.

Take for example my newest pattern - Rail in a Rail.  The fence rail block is a very old traditional quilt block.  This block is often the block that beginning quilters start in their first quilting classes.  But, if you embed a smaller fence rail in a larger rail, add a monochromatic color scheme and you have a very modern quilt.  This design takes what was a very simple quilt and adds some more technical piecing, increased attention to layout and color choices.  And all this is before you even consider how to quilt the top.  Deciding on how to quilt a Rail in a Rail quilt is yet another learning.

It is not by chance that all the small rails meet precisely to create a diamond pattern in this quilt.  Rather, attention to accurate 1/4" seams, pressing to create nested seams and an organized approach are all key contributors to the success of this quilt.  It is a challenge to get all those tips and tricks into a written pattern.  This is when the written pattern or video simply can't capture the benefits of a face to face class.  It is impossible to get an answer to your specific questions from an online video.  We all learn in a face to face class.  I hope my students get as much from my classes as I do.  

For me, quilts today have to be relevant - to be loved and used.

When I started my first sketches of this quilt, I set out to make a quilt with simple lines and colors that my son Daley would want in his first home.  Whilst Daley still uses the quilt he took to university, this one had to be a quilt that he would want for his home.  This quilt had to be relevant to his style and preferences - no intricate piecing or fall colors for him.  The quilt also had to be useful, not a wall quilt or lap quilt for one for him. 

But, what is relevant to Daley may not be the same for everyone else.  For me to be relevant to a broader quilting audience, I try to make a more than one size of a quilt, switch over to more traditional colored and quilted versions for all of my quilt pattern.  As of right now, I have finished three Rail in a Rail quilts and have another three in progress.  Four are very modern, but the last two are anything but modern. 

Come join me at The Threaducation Centre in Calgary for my Rail in a Rail class on Saturday, July 16th.  We will be making the 42" square quilt top in the class, sharing those tips and tricks for a quilt success and  having a group discussion on quilting options for your quilt.  Let's work together to make a "relevant" quilt for you or that special someone. 

Always Learning - A Day at 3 Dudes Quilting in Phoenix

I always come away from a class with some new tips and tricks to share.  Today I spent the day with Ray Steeves of 3 Dudes here in Phoenix.  The shop is delightful.  The classroom is big with plenty of light, plug ins and good cheer.

Today we picked 10 sets of 6 - 2 1/2" strips that "play nice together" from Ray's scrap bucket and set about to build a new rail fence block.  I did "cheat" a bit and threw in a couple of neutrals that I had brought along.  

Here is Ray setting out the basics of our blocks.

When we picked out our strips we didn't know how we were going to use them.  I was in a monochrome mood and made Arizona coloured blocks.  I have more orange blocks to make.  A dear friend's penchant for cheddar is rubbing off on me.

Here is the first four of my blocks.

My solids are Essex linen and snow Kona.  The learning today, there is a gold mine in our scrap bucket!

My tip of the day - pressing on a damp cloth.  Put your blocks on top is a slightly damp cloth and your seams are even crisper.  The cloth can't be too damp. But rather slightly damp and your blocks will be flat and crisply pressed.

Thank you ladies and Ray for a delightful day.  If you are ever in Phoenix, it is worth a stop!

Www.3dudesquilting.com

Rail in a Rail - It's Done

I am excited to share with you my latest pattern - Rail in a Rail!  This is not your traditional fence rail quilt.  Inset small patterned rails into larger monochromic rails and you have the "Rail in a Rail" cover quilts.  Build on your strip piecing skills create this stunning quilt.

The pattern includes the instructions to complete a square 42" baby quilt or a 72" lap quilt.  In my house all lap quilts have to be big enough to share.  The baby quilt is also the perfect size for a table topper or wall quilt.

This pattern continues my quest to bring together traditional and modern quilting genres.  In the cover quilts, I have combined traditional quilting techniques with modern colors and design.  Lets take a closer look at the cover quilts.

The teal tones of the smaller quilt highlight the design of the rails.  The colors just make me smile.  I seem to have a teal theme of late for many of my quilt works in progress.  

My son, Daley has already claimed the grey lap quilt.  In fairness, I did suggest it would look lovely on a grey toned couch.  So as he keeps reminding me, this one is destined for his home one day.

Hope you like my latest work!

Tools of Choice....

Given a choice, I would always choose my sketch book and crayons over our Windows computer.  But alas, computers are a necessary device.

Tonight I set out to install drivers for our new printer on our Windows machine.   At the onset I said to Bruce, it was a three hour job which I didn't have time for this past weekend.  

I had a very productive weekend in my studio!  

Truth be known, I really didn't want to work on the printer this weekend.

I thought I was done the dreaded job.   But, my test print came out on the old printer. I'm not sure how that happened as the computer wasn't recognizing the old printer earlier today.  It was like the old printer wasn't going down without a fight.    I just sat and laughed.  How was this possible?  Three hours later, two of which on the phone with Norton,... I'm done.  Perhaps I jinxed myself my telling Bruce that installing the drivers was a three hour job.

So, the fruits of my labor this evening was a successful print of a one page email for Bruce.  No sewing, no sketching, no fun!  

Tomorrow I will have a chance to switch up my tools for the fun ones!

Early Morning in the Zone

I got up and started back to my current project - a baby quilt from a commercial pattern.  It is amazing how differently you look at a pattern after writing a few of your own.  Things like, are there good illustrations of the steps and blocks, are the illustrations in color or black and white, are there pressing instructions so all your seams nest nicely,....

I also reflected on how the last time I made this pattern that I had a friend to share some tips and tricks.  Whilst sewing can be that quiet place where we can get into the zone, there is no replacement for sewing with firiends or meeting new friends at a class in a bricks and mortor store.  

So, here is the result of efforts from the wee hours this morning.

Now I'm off to Addies, for some flange fabric.  Didn't think I needed it originally, but it is sure nice to go and get what I need rather than wait for the mail!

Count down,....

A stack of patterns awaiting a cover and folding.  It is quite the process.  One cover quilt was completed, but for the binding, last spring. I wrote the pattern in the last two months and I finished the other cover quilt after Christmas.

Thanks to the support of a great friend, Armiel, the pattern was tested and reviewed this past month.  I couldn't have completed the pattern without her help!  

Pictures in the Snow

What happens when you didn't complete a quilt before the snow arrived?

You are out tromping around in your boots, dragging your quilts in the fresh snow, putting plastic bags on your camera tripod legs and praying it doesn't start snowing again before you get your photos.   Thankfully it was delightfully warm, I didn't even need to have my mitts on.

So, what do you think my friends in Phoenix area will think when there is snow on the cover of my new pattern?  Those crazy Canadians!

My new pattern"Rail in a Rail" is in the final edits.  There is a 42 inch square baby quilt and a 72" square lap quilt for two!  A quilt that fits only one person is of little use in my household.  Here is a peek at the colours in the baby quilt

I will release my pattern in February 2016.  The final edits always take longer than I would think.  Stay tuned,.....

Down to the last scrap

What to do with all the leftover "Holly Topper" scraps? I am always short of place mats.  So, this year I am going to make 14" x 18" place mats with the leftover blocks/pieces of blocks from my projects.  Bind and back them with the same fabric and I will have a matched set of sorts.  Let's see how long it takes my family to find their favourite one and then the jockeying for "their" mat will begin.  

I had a bit of fun adding in the 3" house block from the Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks series from 2015.  This block is addictive.  You can find the 12 months of Bitty Blocks on their website.  These are yet another great leader and ender project to have beside your machine.  I am rather addicted to these small blocks and have only made 2, so far!  Quiltmaker Bitty Blocks  How many will you make this year?

Spring is Around the Corner - the beginning of a New Year!

I have been "holed up" in my studio for the last few nights now.  Yes, even last night for a couple of hours.  I can't help but think that spring is around the corner when I am working with such spring themed fabrics.  That is, until I peek my head out the window to a foot of snow on the ground.  Here is a view of "Holly Toppers Gone Spring".  This is a sample for a class I am teaching.  The colours just make me smile.

This morning is the start of a New Year.  I have so much to be thankful for - family, dear friends, health and overwhelming inspiration around me to continue sketching and taking these designs to finished projects.  So here is to seeing the inspiration around us this year!