Selecting Fabric

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday, I help a couple of students go through their fabric choices for the Glacier Star class I will be teaching on Friday.  They brought along some of their own and we played a little. 

Part of choosing for this quilt is selecting colors, tones, values that you like but work together well.

During this process we play and add and eliminate fabric until we get that correct combination.  Here is some of what we came up with...

One grouping was these jewel tones with gray backgrounds.  She wanted a shot of brown in there as this is going in her room which has those colors.  The brown is going to be accents and the inner border to frame it up.  I think it is going to make the center star POP!

Jan started with this and is using a minimal amount of fabric.  We added another two colors to this palette and I think it will make it sing.

I am looking forward to these two working on their quilts.

Unfortunately I didn't take many other photos.  (insert sad face here)... but I will on Saturday and Sunday so stay tuned.

Oh, but I did take one more photo...

Jan brought in here Total Eclipse to show off!  Isn't it gorgeous??

Stay tuned for more...

Until Next Time...

Selecting Fabric

Day 6... The Finish....

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday was the "Official" last day of the Certified Shop retreat!  A great time was had by all and we all made some new friends and had fun with old friends too. 

Even though it was the "Official" last day we are still here for another day and a half and there is going to be some more sewing going on... Yippee!!

For now, I want to share some of the events of yesterday...

First, I am just ECSTATIC!!! I finished my Queen Size Feathered Star and I just couldn't be more pleased.  I adore this quilt and would make it all over again in a heart beat!!!

But the best part is that you will all be able to make this too, if you like.  I will be kitting this up just like this in my online store.  There have been many requests for it on Facebook and we will make that happen.... I will keep you up to date on the status.

The start of the day you could find Roger and I joining our Feathered star segments together. It was nice to have someone else there making the same quilt.  The difference is he made his from Radiance fabrics, a blend of silk and cotton and mine is all from batiks.

So we decided to do something fun and see what our segments would look like together.  Actually not too bad... What do you think?

Everyday was gorgeous here in Montana and we took advantage of it eating on the deck everyday.  We had hummingbirds visiting us while we were eating.  

This photo is just too funny not to share, Denise and I were helping Roger (who is way taller than either of us) put his quilt up on the wall.  My arm doesn't even reach 2 inches above his shoulder... LOL.

My pal Ginny was having a moment... She was definitely doing a happy dance!

Denise made great strides with her My 2 Baby Sisters.  LOVE the colors!

Roger's quilt... just breathtaking....!!!

Twin Feathered Stars. They look lovely together, don't you think?  This was a great little photo shoot.

Carol's Mariner's Compass with the feathers added.  It is turning out just gorgeous!

Ginny finally has the design wall to herself now that my quilt is down and she had no problem filling it up.  Her Captain's Wheel looks just gorgeous!!

Sally was busy adding the ropes.  I love the yellow it adds so much!

Lauren moved her quilt into the main room and the lighting is so much better.  Love how it is turning out!

Ardelle has half of her Mariner's Compass all quilted!  She is also doing her quilt out of a combination of Radiance and cotton fabrics.  I really am loving this color way!!

And yes, I couldn't help myself... 

I started a new project!  

To see more photos from the retreat (LOTS more photos), just click here.

Until Next Time...

Day 6... The Finish....

Day 5...

Hello Everyone,

Yesterday was a very productive day and another gorgeous day in Montana.  I swear that Judy ordered this weather up for all of her Certified Shops. Thank you!  

I took TONS of photos yesterday and added them to the album here, but had a difficult time choosing which ones to put in this blog post.  So here are the ones I chose.

Ardelle and Roger Kerr gave us all a fantastic quilt show over the balcony of the house.  This Cactus Rose quilt that Ardelle made just blows me away.  I LOVE it!!  

Judy did many demos and talks today.  Here she is demoing her Wedding Ring technique.  As you can see we hang on her every word.

Roger and I are so CLOSE to completing our Feathered stars.  This one is his.  When I left last night I still had enough to keep me busy today, but I have a feeling that Roger will not go to sleep until his is complete.

Judy going over kitting, fabric selections, color, etc.  Don't you just love all these fabrics in one place!

Ahhhh... the draw back of paper piecing... You have to remove the paper!

Ardelle and Roger's walls.  They are looking great!

Here is where I stopped for the night.  I have almost 4 corners done.  I just have to join a few more pieces and then we are ready for the happy dance!

Sally's scrumptious purple/jewel tone Mariner's Compass.

Carol's Fall Foliage Mariner's Compass.

My buddy Denise... an over achiever working on multiple quilts at one time.  They are fabulous, Denise... hurry though and finish it up!

Shahena, working on her ropes for the Mariner's Compass.  Loving the colors here.

My best buddy and partner in crime, Ginny is still working hard on her Captain's Wheel.  What is taking you so long Ginny?  Oh wait... that is right, no directions!  LOL!

And look what I spied just across the street from us and perched on a tree by the lake... an Osprey.  Beautiful! 

I know my goal was to get my quilt done today, but I am almost there... So stay tuned!  In the meantime, check out the photos here... 

Until Next Time...

Day 5...

Flying Geese

Hello Everyone,

If you like flying geese then this quilt is calling your name!!

I designed this quilt last year and it has finally hit the newsstands!!  You can find it in Quilt Almanac.

This quilt is relatively simple to create.  I used a variety of batiks, but I think this would look fabulous in modern fabrics, Kaffe fabrics... really the sky is the limit.

This flat shot was from the magazine.  I do have photos that I took of it last year, but believe it or not I cannot locate them in my photo library.  And yes, I was not going out in the snow to take new photos... BRRRRR!!

Here is a stylized photo from inside the magazine. 

And of course, my photo.... I look younger here, don't you think??

Anyway, the really cool news is I am on the cover again!!

See down there in the lower left corner.  Yes, I know it is small, but it is the cover!! Woohoo!! I am excited nonetheless. 

If you like this quilt or just the magazine, you can find both in my online shop.  Well, the quilt itself is not for sale, but the kit is by clicking here.  Find the magazine by clicking here.

Oh and guess the name of the quilt...  

Flying Geese. 

Until Next Time...

Flying Geese

Two, Two, Two Giveaways in One!!

Hello Everyone,

Yes, you read that right!!  I am giving away two fat quarter packs at two of the fabulous blogs that I sponsor!

First up, the NEW Oval Elements colors.  Aren't they fantastic?  You can find them here in my shop, but if you would like a chance to win this bundle,  please go and visit my friend Maureen at Maureen Cracknell Handmade.

Click Here To Enter the Oval Elements Giveaway!

The second bundle is this fabulous set of batiks from my shop.  You can find these by clicking here, and many more batiks too.

But if you would like a chance to win this bundle, please visit my friend Alyssa at Pile O Fabric.

Click Here to Enter the Batik Giveaway!

Best of luck to all!

Until Next Time...

Two, Two, Two Giveaways in One!!

Onto A New Project...

Hello Everyone,

If you have been reading my blog for a while there are two things that you know about me for sure.

1. I love bright fabrics.

2. I love all things Judy Niemeyer.

In June, I will be taking another class with Judy. I have taken quite a few with her, I guess I am somewhat of a groupie... Anyway, I started to pick out fabrics for this project and I began to audition my choices.

I pulled the above bolts of Kaffe Fassett fabrics and one batik. I love to audition fabrics because it really can help to show the variation or lack of variation in your choices. But this is definitely the color palette that I am going for with this one.

This is the project I will be doing. She shows two versions on this cover sheet and I will be working on the blue/yellow/green version. Slight difference in the color layout.

Above you can see I ended up swapping out one of the pinks (the top one). I liked the Cloisonne from Kaffe better. There was definitely more color and interest in this one for my purposes.

I do love this color palette and I had said in my Quilt Magazine Blog Post, we get color inspiration from everywhere. So where did I get my inspiration for this one...

Yes, from my beloved mismatched Sol-Mate socks. I have a drawer full and they are my favorites. But this is one of my favorite color combos.

So then I started to doubt the green batik and how light it was, so I then grabbed a different green batik.

This batik is slightly brighter and darker and I think it is a better fit. What do you think?

Here is my final selection in order, top to bottom:

Roman Glass - Purple

Clover Dots - Green

Hoffman Bali Batik - Belize

Cloisonne - Magenta

Buttons - Red

Paperweight - Paprika

Summer Tree - Pink

Aboriginal Dot - Sweet Pea

What projects are you starting on and how do you go about picking your fabrics?

*** Don't forget the BIG sale going on now in the online shop! Click here for the details.***

Until Next Time...

Onto A New Project...

Tilted Four Patch

Hello Everyone,

Yes, another project that I was working on at my recent quilt retreat. Don't forget, I was almost gone for a week! Loved every minute too.

I am involved in an online swap with my quilting podcast buddies and we had to make 4 blocks of the Tilting Four Patch. The pattern came from The Quilter's Cache and is free and downloadable, just click here to get the pattern.

We could use any fabric of our choosing to send to our partner. Since I was prepping for a Judy Niemeyer Class (that I am taking today) with batiks, that is what I chose.

Here are the results...

I really like the results. I just hope my partner likes the blocks too.

I will be putting them in the mail tomorrow. The bright batiks really pop against the dark batik, don't they? It would be really neat to see some of you making the same block and seeing the fabrics that you would choose! Let me know if you do, I would love to see them

Don't forget to enter my giveaway on this blogpost, it ends tomorrow.

Also, don't forget all pre-cuts in the shop are on sale for 15% through Friday. Use the code precut15 at checkout. They make great stocking stuffers!

Until Next Time...

Tilted Four Patch