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!