Slow and Steady

That's what wins the race, right?
It better be because that's the pace I seem to be working at when it comes to this quilt.
Here's today's progress shot:

My deadline is November 30, actually the 29th because I already made an appointment with my long arm machine buddy to quilt it. That actually helps because nothing gets my butt in gear like a deadline.
In the meantime, I'm going to be quilting another large top next week and writing up a new quilt pattern. I'm super stoked about this design and I hope you all will be too. Also, I'm slowly adding samples that I've made for various magazines and books to my Etsy store. Yesterday, I uploaded these:

 Tomorrow, I've got at least one more pillow to add and maybe some potholders and a Strips and Bricks quilt. Check Ye Olde Etsy Shoppe if you think you might be interested.

Around the Block this Week

Last week I previewed some of the projects from my soon-to-be-released book, one of which was this quilt. To prove my point that I'm almost never completely done with a design, I'm posting these images.

A customer recently asked me to recreate this quilt. It's basically the Nate quilt but constructed primarily out of squares that have been dyed to look concentric rather than being pieced concentrically. I've done a lot of the dyeing and am ready to start sewing. The blocks measure about 20" square though they're pieced improvisationally so that's a little iffy. The final quilt is supposed to measure about 85" x 91", so I'm figuring about twenty blocks with a maybe an extra row or two should get me close to the desired size.
I thought it would be fun and helpful(for me) to focus this week on posting newly made blocks. Hopefully that will give me incentive to work steadily and avoid distraction as well as reassure me that progress is in fact being made.
And, in hopes of making it fun for you as well, I thought I'd end the parade of blocks this week on Friday with a little giveaway. So, check in to see new blocks, some explanation of the process, and hopefully watch this quilt top get closer to completion.
This is where I am so far:

 Here's hoping they'll be quite a few more blocks on that wall by week's end.

Book Preview #4

I'm a little torn about what I want to feature in today's preview. On the one hand I'd like to focus on one of the non-quilt projects because there are 14 of them and 6 quilts. On the other hand, there is one quilt I especially want to mention, partly because I'm pretty fond of it and partly because it's going to be the focus of my demo tomorrow during my Open Studios session at Quilt Festival in Houston.
The thing that's tipping it for the quilt is the fact that I rushed to make an alternate block to demonstrate tomorrow and I'll be damned if I'm not going to show it off in this space.
OK. Today's featured project is called The Modern Baby Quilt.

 If memory serves me this was the first project I designed and finished for the book. Truth be told, that's the way I work, one project at a time from start to finish. I don't like to have multiple things going simultaneously.
A few weeks ago, I posted about this quilt and told you all that it was a variation of a quilt from my book. See, I wasn't kidding.

I love making baby quilts. They're so gratifying because they're small and a wonderful opportunity to be playful, both in terms of fabric selection and construction.

I really wanted this quilt to be fun to piece and for me that means it's a wee bit challenging. There are plenty of projects both in my book and in others that are fabulous for a newbie, but sometimes I feel like there's not that much out there for someone who's got a few quilts under their belt. This quilt uses a technique called Y piecing to machine sew the partial and whole hexagon sections. It's an incredibly useful little technique and can be used to machine stitch other odd shapes. Y piecing does require that you stop stitching some seams 1/4" short of a corner and that can be disconcerting. A part of me really wanted every millimeter of my seams sewn together, but a few deep breaths and watching the top come together and stay that way despite the unstitched corners, reassured me that Y piecing was pretty darn cool.
So, tomorrow I'm going to be demonstrating this cute little trick using the templates from the book. I've made a couple of variations from the original.

 Rather than use one fabric for the center hexagon, I sewed it out of 6, string pieced triangles. I made a template for the triangle, but added a bit too much seam allowance. No matter, after I sewed the triangles into a hexagon, I overlaid the one of the outer hexagons and trimmed it to size. You gotta roll with the punches. I limited the color palette to orange for the "flower" and gray for the background, but used a variety of fabrics to give the block complexity.
I might pick up a few new oranges and grays tomorrow at Quilt Festival. Rumor has it they sell fabric there. :)

Book Preview #3

When I think about it, I'm pretty amazed that the project I'm featuring today is one of my favorites. First off, it wasn't even my idea to design one of these; my editor suggested it. It's not an item I would typically make like a quilt or pillow, yet it is, without a doubt, one of my favorite projects in the book .

 I love this sewing machine cover on so many levels.

There's the simple fact that it's a very practical item. As someone who is forever cursing having to stop sewing so I can brush lint out of my machine, anything that cuts down on dust and drek in there is a good idea.
Also, because I'm always a little tentative whenever I engineer something, I'm awfully proud that I figured out how to insert a piece of cardboard in between the layers so that top of the cover would lay flat on the machine. And, the cherry on top of that is that the cardboard wasn't new or some fancy oak tag, but straight out of my recycling bin.

If I'm completely honest though, I'd have to say the element that endears this item to me most is the patchwork pattern. I based it on a photo of a window I saw in a magazine. I saved the photo and would periodically look at it and wonder how I could adapt it to patchwork. What's funny is that the final pattern is only dimly like the photo, but I guess it was just a jumping off point.
I love this pattern so much that I've already re-imagined it as this:

and this:

There are loads of variations on this pattern and the more it's re-worked the more possibilities are revealed. Maybe that's why I'm drawn to this project. The pattern can be adapted to a host of items in a host of configurations. And that's just what I might come up with. I can't wait to see what others figure out.

Book Preview #2

Today's preview from Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration can best be described as one of my oldies, but, hopefully, goodies. I first created this improvisationally pieced quilt titled Nate's Quilt for a dear friend's new baby.
The first incarnation looked like this:

 My friend's baby Nate is no longer a baby, but an incredibly cute 3 1/2 year old and since then I have returned to this design numerous times to make pillows,

mini quilts,

 and even larger quilts.

And now I'm proud to share it in my new book.

 What strikes me about this design and makes it a favorite that I turn to again and again is that, despite it's improvisational underpinnings it is essentially repeatable and adaptable to a variety of scales. And, if I can repeat it and adapt it, so can you.

What's more it's not about following exact measurements, but making one block and a second and then adjusting the size of one or both, so they fit together. It's about trusting your eye as you freehand cut strips. It's about loving the off-kilter nature of this design and being confident that you can contain it so it doesn't go completely haywire by focusing on solids and adhering to a few basic parameters of construction.
I listed my essential "rules" for embracing improvisation in a little sidebar titled " Ten Ways to Love Improvisational Piecing".

You can read all about them in this post from Quilting Art's blog, Quilting Daily.
Improvisation, whether it's based on a simple block like this modified log cabin or a complicated block like Double Wedding Ring (yes, you can improvise a Double Wedding Ring), is such a fun way to approach quilt making. It's definitely one of my favorite techniques and that's why I wanted to preview this quilt for you. 

Book Preview #1

I feel like the first thing I should do is announce the winners of last week's giveaway, so I'm going to do that super quick because I have a week's worth of previews to get to.
OK. The winners of the fabric bundles and free copies of my new Hex Pot Holder pattern are:
mcregan: I love all of your projects! Thanks for the giveaway!
mama: love it! those are beautiful... and what a great idea for gifts. i used to give people those ones made with loops on a loom when i was little, but this would show that i've come a long way in regards to crafts!
tropicslady: WOW, I've been eyeing the potholders since you first posted about them. I even asked if perhaps you had a tutorial for them! I gave them my best shot but mine didn't turn out too well. So glad to be able to get my hands on a pattern. Great holiday gifts, don't you think?
I have sent all of you emails letting you know you are the winners and asking for your mailing addresses. I hope you enjoy your goodies and thanks to everyone for playing along, especially those of you who kept up the food/cooking metaphor in your comments. They were delicious!

On to today's topic. I've decided to devote this week to previewing my new book, Fresh Quilting: Fearless Color, Design, and Inspiration because on Friday I'll be at the International Quilt Festival in Houston doing an Open Studios demo as part of the book launch.

 I got my advance copy last week and excited doesn't quite describe how thrilled I was to see it. I knew it was coming because the day before I got an email from Fed Ex telling me that Interweave Press had sent me a package. I'd already received the projects and a stack of lovely postcards to hand out to friends, family, and just about anyone who's palm might be in an upturned position, so I knew it was a copy of the book. I practically staked out the front door in anticipation and I'd like to take a moment to thank Interweave for sending it via Fed Ex rather than UPS. Don't get me wrong, both companies do a fine job of delivering to my neighborhood, but Fed Ex tends to deliver early in the day and the UPS guy never comes before 5:00 pm. I'm so glad I didn't have to wait all day with my nose pressed to the front window.
My plan in this space this week is to preview 4 of my favorite projects including pictures from the book as well as pictures I took myself before I sent the projects to Interweave last December.
I've decided to start with this quilt:

 It's called the Strips and Stripes quilt and it seemed a fitting first preview for a couple of reasons.

 First, it is not only one of my favorite projects in the book, it may be one of my favorite all time quilts I have made.

                                                                    (back view)
Second, I bought all the fabric for this quilt last year at Quilt Festival.

They're all Kaffe Fasset's shot cottons and the fact that they're all new fabrics, purchased specifically for this project and from the same designer is very unusual for me. I really love the simplicity and color focus of this quilt. Folks, this is such an easy, quick project to execute that you can really play with color. The element that unifies the vertical columns is the repetition of one color throughout that column. For instance, in the left-hand vertical column, the pale blue is repeated every other strip from top to bottom. You don't have to remake the quilt in these exact colors to tie the columns together, you just have to repeat your chosen color. You can adapt this quilt to your personal color palette and aesthetic.

Even the quilting is simple and simple to execute. It's just long lines stitched horizontally about 1/4" apart. I did mine free motion on a machine with a darning foot, but this could easily be done with a walking foot as well.
My version of the quilt measures 43 1/2" x 45". It would make a terrific baby quilt or lap quilt. But, because the elements of the quilt are so basic, enlarging the quilt to twin size or larger is easy.
Are you getting the point? It's simple to make, simple to use as a vehicle for your own creativity, and simple to enjoy. That's why it's one of my favorites.

For those of you who'll be in Houston this Friday, November 5, I'll be in the Open Studios booth form 3-5. I hope you'll stop by to say hello.

My Favorite Recipe

My favorite recipe calls for 1 part beautiful fabric,



mixed with 1 part easy-to-follow instructions for a beautiful and useful item,



Sprinkle in a wonderful new sponsor,



Top all that with a giveaway of both fabric and pattern as well as a discount code that gives you 15% off each item ordered through October 31 and you've got a treat that will have you loosening your belt and saying, "What the hell, I'll run an extra lap tomorrow."
Pretty tempting recipe, right? Well, I whipped it up in celebration of my new collaboration with The Fabric Quarter as well as the release of my latest sewing pattern, Hex Pot Holders. This wonderful online and bricks and mortar shop has an amazing array of modern, fun fabrics from Robert Kaufman, Moda, Cloud 9, and so much more.
In fact, the fabrics I used for these pot holders:



were chosen from the awesome selection of cottons available at The Fabric Quarter.

To spread the love that is great fabric at a great price and used in a fun and functional pattern, The Fabric Quarter has even created a kit that includes all the fabrics I used in my pot holders, heat-resistant batting, and my Hex Pot Holders pattern.
But wait,( I have long wanted to use this phrase), that's not all. The Fabric Quarter is giving away 3 of these 8, fat quarter(how appropriate is that?) bundles.



They are folded into these amazingly cute stars and topped with a tape measure. The packaging is adorable.
Now I'm regretting having said,"that's not all," already because there's so much more.
The three lucky winners of the fabric stars will also receive a free copy of my Hex Pot Holders Pattern and The Fabric Quarter is offering a 15% discount on all items purchased between now and October 31 to all my readers. All you have to do is include the code POTHOLDERS15 when you checkout.
Forget the recipe metaphor, this is a smorgasbord of good stuff.
So, if you'd like an opportunity to win all you have to do is leave a comment along with your email. The email serves two purposes: 1. I can easily inform you when you are the big winner(s). 2. The Fabric Quarter would like to be able to update you on all their terrific products and sales. Don't worry. Your email won't be offered up to anyone else and you can always unsubscribe if you find you don't enjoy browsing beautiful fabric.

I'll take comments through October 31 and announce the winners on November 1. Good Luck!