Katie and Mike's Wedding Quilt....

Those of you who know me, know that I've been working on a wedding quilt for my sister pieced from our father's ties.  Here it is... 

Posted on Sunday, February 26, 2012 at 09:45AM by Registered CommenterQuiltology | CommentsPost a Comment

Urban Amish remix...mistake or success?

Sometimes we learn more from our mistakes than our successes.  And sometimes we can turn one of those mistakes into a big success.  That’s what Alice did with her recent attempt at the Urban Amish quilt pattern.  

Here’s the back story…Alice took the Intro to Patchwork class a few months ago and made a fun little boogie woogie quilt for the baby she’s expecting this winter.  Bitten by the quilting bug, she decided to try her hand at the Urban Amish quilt.  One bad cutting mistake later…and her pieces didn’t line up correctly for the original pattern. 

But that didn’t stop Alice!  No way.  In fact that simple little mistake led to another and then yet another.  And guess what?  A whole new design strategy emerged.  

Of course cutting rules are important to achieve the original design pattern.  So if that’s important to you, fix it.  Start over and recut.  Or you can think about using your “mistake” as a jumping off point for a whole new design direction and have some fun with it.  Afterall, spontaneity and improvisation may make things much more interesting! 

Katherine Hepburn once said, “If you obey all the rules, you’ll miss all the fun.”  

Alice’s quilt is definitely lots of fun!

Posted on Thursday, September 22, 2011 at 01:19PM by Registered CommenterQuiltology | CommentsPost a Comment

Quilt-spiration...

You know you’ve been bitten by the quilting bug when you begin to see patchwork patterns everywhere you go. 

Heather only started quilting two years ago, but now she notices the pattern play of tiles in her bathroom, the repeating design work of windows in Chicago’s downtown skyscrapers and the rural patchwork that is America from  the window of a plane cruising at 30,000 feet. 

But it was this summer’s trip to Spain that really got the quilt-spriation juices flowing with a visit to The Alhambra. 

Heather writes…

”We wanted to hit a major landmark we heard was one of the most beautiful in Spain—The Alhambra—an old Moorish fort that’s served as a summer palace in the South of Spain. 

This castle is considered a UNESCO world heritage site so it’s a huge tourist attraction. We had to buy our tickets in advance with a very specific window of time to enter the old palace. 

Built in the 1300s by the Nasrid sultans who ruled a portion of Southern Spain until the late 1400s, the palace showcases amazing craftsmanship with beautiful wood and stone carvings and tile work that just screamed—MAKE A QUILT FROM ME!

Half of all the pictures I took on the 9-day trip were taken at the Alhambra.  I know that some of the tile work could be easily recreated in a quilt, but the other designs appear much more complicated, and a little beyond my current quilting abilities.  But you never know! 

I'm including some of my photos.  I hope they inspire you.

I'm thinking that a bed sized quilt based on the simple blue, yellow, and green blocks might be in my future.”

Posted on Tuesday, September 6, 2011 at 01:29PM by Registered CommenterQuiltology | CommentsPost a Comment

...julie baeb designs

I thought I might share some fun pictures I received this week from Julie Beab.

 

Julie just started a new business making these really cute t-shirts and onesies that she personalizes with her fun and fab appliqué designs. The initials and ages are the most popular--which makes them just perfect when you need a special birthday present or baby shower gift.

 

The website is still under construction, but Julie is happy to email a copy of her catalog so you can see more examples of her work along with the t-shirt styles and fabric swatches she has available.

 

Julie Baeb Designs

Julie @baebdesigns.com

 

Posted on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 06:12PM by Registered CommenterQuiltology | CommentsPost a Comment

Oh baby...

Hey everybody—look what Sarah has been up to! 

She’s been busy making baby quilts for her girlfriends’ new little ones. Thank goodness she’s had some time to post the pictures to her blog.

Check them out…here’s a sneak peek.

Baby Posh—a new pattern from our friends at the Blue Underground Studios--is a modern interpretation of patchwork.  Sarah selected Kaffe Fassett’s classic paperweight print as her focus fabric—and then splurged for our super soft turquoise minkee as the backing.  Our friend Sally did the quilting on her long-arm machine, using a new retro pattern she downloaded from an Australian designer.  Simple--yet sophisticated.  What a lucky little baby!

And if you’ve been looking for way to use up those bits and pieces leftover from other projects, just take a look at what Sarah did with her scraps.  I spy Amy Butler, Heather Bailey and Chic Blooms from Art Gallery Quilts.  No piece goes unused here in Amy Butler’s classic wallpaper design quilt. The pattern is a free download—the piecing easy—and the result—fabulous! 

Don't be afraid to mix both small and large scale prints and then pop it with lots of color.  You can keep it all harmonous by playing the color value game.  When all your colors have the same intensity of color--they'll play nice together!

cu soon,

Posted on Monday, September 22, 2008 at 08:21PM by Registered CommenterQuiltology | CommentsPost a Comment
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