quilting retreat

It has been a while since I really had the chance to sew for myself without interruptions. So, I signed myself up for a quilting weekend at the Quilt Oase to rejuvenate my vitals and relax with the girls.

What to work on? I have a stack of woven plaids that have been with me for about a good ten years. I started a project for my husband using half-square triangles - HST and a tan neutral color. I found the pattern in an Australian Country Patchwork magazine and thought it was really great (at that time). Needless to say, I never completed the project and the patches are still in a metal tin somewhere in the basement. I still want to finish up a quilt for my hubby incorporating plaids, especially since we will be celebrating our tenth anniversary this year. How to make a modern quilt for a man using plaids?

I have been asking myself this question for about a month or two now. I have been looking high and low for patterns. I want to do something with 60° triangles to get more experience but don't want a typical country quilt. This one caught my attention by Jaybird Quilts? I can't exactly see who made it, but saw it referenced once.

I thought this could be a down and dirty pattern to cleanse and go quickly. Should I do it, or should I try to come up with something else? It states that the triangles are sewn on paper log cabin style. Do I really need the paper? Can't I just sew strips onto a pre-cut center triangle? I need advice. Does anyone have any?

MODERN PLAID QUILT IDEAS ANYONE?

sneak peek - a new free pattern at moda bake shop

Almost one year has gone by since I had my first free pattern published at Moda Bake Shop. If you remember, it was called "prairie Traditions" - made from one layer cake. I have submitted a few more patterns for the Bake Shop over the year, but they are a hard bunch of Chefs! However, they did like a small quilt which I named the Forgotten Five Mini made from your favorite charm pack. You will be able to download the directions for one miniature quilt, one pillow case and one pin cushion over at their site sometime this month.

I look forward to seeing your interpretations and what you can do with your free pattern.

Also, if you haven't already, register to win a free charm pack to make items from the featured pattern. I will be drawing a number from registered Google Followers one week after the pattern is published. You can join this site under Patchwork Friends at the bottom of this page. The lucky winner will receive a little package of goodies!

Warm wishes,
Karen

let your kids go crazy

Last week was fall break in school, so the kids were with me all week. No vacation was planned, and we didn't go anywhere, the entire year. I will have to put that on my list for 2014. ;-) So, I tried to concentrate on housework and getting things back into order. I should put a cleaning lady on my list as well. My eight-year-old son told me that he wanted to sew! How cool is that? So, instead of taking one of his previously started projects out, I thought of a new one. I grabbed my tote of Christmas fabrics and taught his how to go crazy. He loved it.

He wanted nine blocks in his quilt, so we agreed on a 6 x 8" block, 2 x 3 rows. I cut a few foundation blocks, and we got started. My son really enjoyed picking out the fabric and making sure that we only used the fabric once in each block. He also understood the concept of contrast. It wasn't always easy to understand how to sew on the patch so that the first piece was completely covered, but I also had problems there. We managed to get one block done, and then he decided he wanted to pick out the fabrics, iron them and position them; it was my job to sew them on.

We now have four out of nine blocks, and I am looking forward to getting the other five finished, and that before December! He will have his first ever X-Mas quilt that he can share and remember - Mom and I made this one together.

I know a lot of you sewing fanatics have young children at home, and I would really like to encourage you to teach and share with your children this technique. It is great to use up those scraps (it doesn't have to be for Christmas either). It also doesn't matter if the sewing lines are 1/4" or 1/2"; they just have to be relatively straight.

Start with a small project similar to the one below using 6.5 x 8.5" unfinished blocks. The final size will be about 17 x 19 inches and a great size for a wall hanging, placemat, doll quilt, center piece or tote. Teach your kids how to sew, how to rip a seam, how to iron (correctly), and so on.

If you accept this challenge, I would love to see what you came up with, and we will have a little contest - first, second and third place winners. I look forward to hearing from you.

Get your patch on!
Karen