Pat Sloan 2014 Mystery BOM – Chopin – A Passionate Quilter From Texas

July 8, 2014

Where Does the Time Go?

Anyone who is still in the active workforce knows that time passes so s-l-o-w… Well, let me tell you – Retirement times passes so FAST that even when one wakes up at 4:30 thinking that they will be in their Studio quilting by 9:30 AM has another thought coming! How can a quick run to the store, bank, and pick up tacos at a drive in window take over an hour and a half? Especially when one lives about 5 miles from a small town! Well believe me it does and it threw my schedule off about 3 hours. So my dream of being in the Studio cutting out a new quilt today has not really gone as planned. I guess I knew that it was not a “good brain day” after I had pressed my block for Baltimore Applique Society (BAS) donation, cut the batting and backing, then realized – OH do I have to add a BORDER???? Well, needless to say, back to the cutting table….. At least I did not mess up the block! Whew!

I did finish the border on my for the Baltimore Applique Society donation quilt without anymore stupid things happening and it is now ready for quilting. This particular block is from the Elizabeth MacCullough Hervey Quilt Pattern, Block D3. BAS is such a great group to be a part of. They are located in an area where they go to the Museums and actually copy the Baltimore quilt pattern from the original quilt. I really regret that when I lived in the Northern Virginia area that I was not a quilter. I had always wanted to learn how to quilt since the 1970’s, but there was not time with a full-time career. So I jumped into the quilting world two years after I retired. The first technique I tried was needleturn applique and I feel in love with the it! This was before glue! (I am a Traditional needle turn appliquer.)

BAS will be hosting a “Bits of Baltimore Online Auction” to be held October 1st through the 15th and October 20th – November 3rd. I will post more information on the Auction in another post. Now on to the hand quilting. I am pleased with the outcome. At first I had some issues with the fabric I had selected, but things began to take hold and now it is finished (oops except the quilting!)

I have decided that I will continue to save the Austen Family Quilt BOW, but will not be working on it this year. I am going to complete the Globetrotting, Threads of Memory, and Happy Scrappy Quilt. I have received my fabrics that I was lucky enough to find to add to my stash for Happy Scrappy. The fabric line is Ruby’s Flower Garden and Summers Basket of Flowers! So it is now time for me to get serious on getting things done. I have also decided to do Sentimental Scraps by Edyta Sitar for Laundry Basket Quilts. The pattern is in the Quiltmania magazine Number 99, page 81. My friend Jaydee has already completed her quilt and she did a wonderful job. I hope mine comes out as pretty. I purchased the border fabric along with some other pieces from the Hope Chest Collection. Here is a picture of Jaydee’s beautiful Sentimental Scraps quilt.

Jaydee Quilt Mania Scrappy Quilt — Jaydee’s Sentimental Scraps

I will be posting my progress as I go along with Happy Scrappy and Sentimental Scraps. SS has 130 3″ nine patches and I will have to make more as this will go on a California King Bed…… Oh boy – more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

Have a blessed day – Enjoy!

March 31, 2014April 1, 2014

Barbara Brackman’s BOM update

Well, I spent the day working on one Block. I do not care for paper piecing and I guess one pays for holding out. I used templates for this block on the large star points. I have some issues with the outer points, but hoping that it will be OK. If not, there is always time to remake the block. But for now, it is done and I am caught up on my BOMs.

I am thinking that I may start on Lucy Boston Crosses next. But then there is always Woodlands (some log cabin blocks) or that beautiful Prairie Rose quilt or if my Quiltmania magazines arrive I might start the Di Ford Mystery. Or I may just sit outside and enjoy the sunshine tomorrow.

Barbara Brackmans Block 3 of Threads of Memory – Colors are a darker beige, large star is a blue, and the 8 point star is a Mauve.

March 30, 2014March 30, 2014

Catching Up on 2014 Goals

Greetings from sunny South Texas where it is 87 degrees and 26% humidity – Nice pre-summer day!

Welcome to my new Blog Site. I love Word Press, now that I have learned how to set up a Blog. The quilt shown above is a quilt that I designed called Jacobean in Batiks. It was inspired by Pat Campbell and different Embroidery Patterns. It is needle turn applique and has embroidery around each piece and hand quilted. I am considering entering this quilt and 3 others in the Austin, Texas Quilt Show in September.

I have been working on playing the “catch up” game with my 2014 goals and projects. I have been inspired by all the projects that Rosemary Youngs has been working on this year. I met Rosemary when I ordered her CD’s that support her Civil War Books. I have learned so much by following her Blog. She has been so inspiring and helpful in guiding me through the world of Reproduction Quilts and introduced me to Di Ford’s work an Australian Quilter, Barbara Brackman’s Blog and her BOM and BOW for 2014, Country Threads, Jo Morton’s fabrics and the Quilted Moose Prairie Rose pattern, and Lucy Boston by Linda Franz. Di Ford’s book Primarily Quilts Book is absolutely a must for serious quilters to have in their library. I was at a crossroads in my quilting journey and I knew I needed inspiration to move to something different. Rosemary has introduced me to so many new avenues it is unbelievable.

I was able to acquire a pattern of Prairie Rose and was lucky to be able to find the fabrics that are used in this quilt at the Fat Quarter Shop. I hope to start on this soon. Di Ford has a Mystery Quilt in the Quiltmania magazine and I have subscribed to the magazine for the year through Homestead Hearth. I can hardly wait for the first 2 issues to get here! Friday I spent all day trying to find the fabrics for this quilt. Thanks to Reproduction Fabrics in Montana and Happiness Is Quilting in McKinney, Texas and Fat Quarter Shop. What great online shops and customer support! It will be a more time-consuming quilt, but oh so pretty. Di Ford has 2 other quilts in her book that I would like to also work on this year or next.

As I have stated in previous posts, I am now what I call an Organized Quilter! All fabric in its’ place and a great book that has all the patterns and information for my Just Take 2, Barbara Brackman BOM – Threads of Memory and the new one coming up – Austen Family Album BOW. I switched to Pat Sloan’s 2014 Mystery BOM from Country Threads. This is a great way to hone my quilting skills. I am using my EQ7 software by taking the patterns and inputting them into EQ7. Fun Fun Fun.

I am still working on my BAS blocks for the BAS auction in October. I need to begin pushing on these as they are due 8 Aug! I have made another friend through this project. What a great year I am having. How I wished I had been quilting when I lived in the DC area in the mid-1990’s. Espeically since I love to hand applique – I could have been involved with Baltimore Applique Society (BAS) in person, rather than from afar.

I find that I am learning how to really add movement through color to my quilts. This has been a goal of mine since 2010 when I realized I need to work on color and movement of color with my fabric. I have always been afraid to jump into scrappy quilts, but now I am beginning to feel more comfortable in using the beautiful stash I have. I will admit…. I have broken my promise to not purchase any fabric this year….Justification: I do not have that many reproduction fabrics….

OK – Now on to where I am in my Project Book.

Pat’s Mystery BOM is called Globetrotting and is based on places that she has visited. Pat is from the Washington DC area so it is appropriate that she designed the quilt around a block that represents that area. I am a visual person and she provides great visuals for this free BOM.

Globetrotting BOM Fabrics — This is my fabric selection. I have always wanted to make a blue quilt so I pulled the fabrics from my stash – I have had them quite awhile and glad to finally use them up!

Washington DC Block 1. This is the Center Medallion for the BOM. It measures 24 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ Unfinished

Venice Block 2. This was a fun block to make. It measures 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ Unfinished

Chicago Block 3 2 — Chicago Block 3. I was going to use the same fabric (the light) in the middle of the block, but decided to step out of my box and try something different. I love it! The block is 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ unfinished.

Tomorrow I will work on Block 3 for Barbara Brackman BOM and probably wash my fabric for Woodlands and Prairie Rose. I received my pattern yesterday and this will also be a fun quilt to make.

Until next time, have a great time quilting!