Charity Quilting

Blogger has made some changes to the blog drafting tool and I'm trying to give it a go before it becomes the standard. It appears the intent was to make the tool easier to use for those writing their posts on mobile devices. I draft my posts using my desktop computer. I can type faster, pull content faster, and generally get from idea to blog post faster on my desktop than I can with my mobile device. I've been blogging either with a desktop of laptop for almost seven years. Change is hard. I just wish the new tool was as good as the last one. You can learn more about the changes Blogger is making on their blog. 

I've been trying to finish up projects that have been hanging around too long. This little quilt has been quilted and trimmed for months! I finally found some coordinating fabric, made the binding, and got busy. If you want to learn how I machine finish binding, check out my Quilt Binding: Tips and Tricks page. 

This little quilt is destined for the Baltimore Modern Quilt Guild. Every time I use one of these I think I should design labels through Spoonflower. One of these days.

This little quilt was made with leftover half-square triangle units from my Good Fortune quilt by Bonnie Hunter. She has loads of free patterns on her blog Quiltville. I finished my version of Good Fortune in January of 2019. 

Quilts by the Bay

I try to attend a few local quilt shows a year. The closer the show is to my house, the more likely I am to attend. The Annapolis Quilt Guild's Quilts by the Bay is one of my favorites. 

There are often used tools you can pick up, like this embroidery machine for about half the original price. (Similar to this one available from Amazon.) 

Or homemade treats such as this cornucopia of fudge. There were so many flavors!

It was great to see a trio of Good Fortune quilts hanging together. From the left: quilt-makers Marilyn O'Loughlin, Gail M. Lee, and Brenda Shriner. While the mystery quilt isn't still running, you can buy a copy of the pattern directly from Bonnie Hunter on her Quiltville website. 

I couldn't resist buying a few things. So much for my fabric diet. 

I've been eyeing the Star Storm Quilt pattern from Victoria Findlay Wolfe for a while now. This was a great opportunity to support a local shop that is outside my normal travel distance and pick up this fun pattern. Bought from Capital Quilts, a quilt shop in Gaithersburg, MD.

One of my favorite parts of the show is the Country Store. This is where guild members price their unwanted books, tools, and fabrics at great prices. I picked up a couple yards and ten fat quarters (one of which turned out to be a fat eighth) for a little over $20 after tax. I don't need any more fabric, but at that price it was hard to pass up.

I purchased a total of 3 and 7/8  yards of fabric.

Fabric purchased this year: 11 and 1/2 yards

Quilt Show: Southern Comforters Quilt Guild

Since discovering the Southern Comforters Quilt Guild, and their annual show, I try to get to it every year. It's only a short drive (about two miles) from my house to the show. Here is a summary of last year. This year was another great year.

This year they had a fun vendor hop that seemed like a great idea to me. I try to stop in at each of the vendors to see what they've brought. Working a show is so much work. I decided to join in and visit the different shops. I met some great vendors. 

What did I get for playing along? Why, a goody bag with a few fun things inside. Candies, thread, thread spool hugger, a craft clip, some fabric (even though I was so good and didn't buy any fabric), a marking pen, and a coupon for a local quilt shop. Some of these tools I already have and use, others (like the marking pen) are new to me. I'll let you know how they work out.

I hope this fun vendor hop helped get people to the vendor booths and made it a success for the vendors. Sometimes quilt shows are the only time I see some of the vendors because they're too far for me to travel, or their schedules and mine just never meet up.

Tools and supplies (affiliate links):
thread spool hugger
craft clips
marking pen

Quilt Show: Southern Comforters Quilt Guild

Last Saturday I attended the Southern Comforters Quilt Guild Show.  I'm sorry to admit that I rarely take photographs of the quilts at the quilt show. Often there are strict rules about photographing the quilts and it is just easier if I don't take photos. That way I don't have to worry about failing to give proper credit.

I found some fabrics, a tabletop ironing board, and a quilt book in the From the Attic section (destash items from guild members to benefit the guild), I spent a total of $5.50. I also discovered Brediculous Yarns. I couldn't resist this skein of DK in the colorway Black Cat. 

Just Llamas by Wendy Allen.

This quilt was too cute to fail to share. Aren't they darling! Pattern: Mama Llama Love.

Quilt Show: Faithful Circle Quilters

I will go to any local quilt show. I will invariably buy things I do not need. That doesn't stop me from shopping. The Faithful Circle Quilters quilt show was an excellent show with room after room of quilts. I could have spent all day looking and shopping.

I couldn't resist this Marvel print and coordinating almost solid. The whale fabric... I might need it.
Shop: Prints Charming

I love the 30's reproduction prints and I couldn't leave this darling stack where it was.
Shop: Hoppin' Bobbin

I saw the sample for this cute wallet and wanted to give it a try. Maybe with some bright Kaffe Fasset or some Tula Pink. Ooh, what about some Ghastlies?
Shop: The Cloth Peddler

I'm a fool for tools. Since I'm all for makiong paper piecing easier I figured I would give this tool a try. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Shop: ARDO Templates at Cotton Stop

Support local shops and quilt guilds!

Retail Therapy and a Quilt Show

Last weekend I went to a fun little quilt show in my own town. The Southern Comforters Quilt Guild of Bowie, MD, put on a great little quilt show just a short drive from my house. I did my part to participate in some retail therapy.

I picked up some 24" purse zippers. Let's hope my color sense didn't fly away and at least one of these will work for a planned project.

I had to pick up this darling kitten fabric from Prints Charming.

I love it when the guilds do their "Out of the Attic" sale. I picked up these great fabrics for a whopping $2. That knit themed fabric is going to become an awesome knitting project bag.

I didn't take many photos of the quilts, but I did cast my vote for viewer's choice in every single category. I tried to give each quilt my honest time when I filled out my ballot. These stockings really made me smile.

The mini quilts that were placed with the entries to prevent people from touching the quilts were just as amazing. This one was one of my favorites.

I should totally drop by for a guild meeting and meet some of the amazing quilters.

The Wandering Quilt Returns!

Remember when I posted about Soul Stealer?  And about the fun adventure the quilt would be going on?  All the way to Paducah, KY, and then on to the AQS show in Des Moines, IA, as part of the BadAss Quilters exhibit.  I was so excited when someone shared photos from the quilt show on Facebook.  I got to see my quilt from all this distance.

On Thursday evening I returned home to find a UPS notification that i needed to sign for a package and I knew my quilt had finally returned from its travels.

I went home for lunch on Friday so I could catch the UPS man and catch him I did!  I signed for my package and set it aside for the evening.  Back to work I went.

When I got home I grabbed the box and went up to my studio to open up the box and get my ribbon.

Yes, I'm excited and pleased my quilt got to go to a quilt show.  I'm so much more excited about the ribbon that every quilt in the exhibit received.  I love this ribbon!

Thank you to Maddie Kertay at the BadAss Quilters Society for being the advocate to get all these bad ass quilts into the AQS in not just one show but two!  Great job!

Soul Stealer - A Quilt Made of Dreams

Months and months ago -- meaning more than a year ago -- a friend of mine said she had a dream about a quilt that would steal your soul when you slept under it.  She said it had tentacles and was green and black.  That was how this quilt was born.  That simple idea rolled around in my head for days, weeks and maybe even months.  (Don't worry, no souls were used in the making of this quilt.)

I found that I had some black and white prints from Blank Quilting.  I paired that with some solid cotton in a bright yellow/green and some black and white prints from my stash.  I designed the block size based on that simple beginning.  I had no idea how big the finished quilt would be or how many blocks it should have.  I just sort of went with intuition.  

I used Electric Quilt to design the layout and the simple blocks.  This quilt uses ten different blocks (all based on the same basic block) to give me the space I wanted for embroidery.  The blocks were positioned so I could fit in several different embroidery designs but without making the two sides just mirror images.  

The blocks used different areas of background fabric to give me that embroidery space.  I pieced all of the embroidery blocks so the embroidery machine could do its work while I finished piecing the rest of the blocks.

My embroidery machine showed me the error of my ways when it came to walking away and leaving it without adult supervision.  This isn't even a block I could save.  At this point I wasn't sure I even had enough of that green left over to make another block.  I found the fabric and made another block to replace this one.  I used eight different embroidery designs from Urban Threads to make the different blocks of this quilt.

The blocks spent more time in a pile waiting to be sewn together.  I finally got them stitched together and the border attached.  Then the top waited some more to be quilted.  I still had to find a suitable backing.

I ordered the pre-wound Bottom Line bobbins and Fantastico thread just for this project. This means I still have an insane amount of bright green thread.  The best part is that it is great thread!  

I picked up the backing fabric at the Annapolis Quilt Show hosted by the Annapolis Quilt Guild.  When I saw it I knew it was the perfect backing for this quilt. Maybe not an exact match on the green, but close enough and the three swirling arms of the print are just perfect.  A busy backing and coordinating thread are great when you want people looking at the front of the quilt and not the back.

The backing is pieced, which is not unusual for me.  I don't mind a pieced backing as long as it is done thoughtfully.  I took loads of pictures of this process and plan on sharing another backing tutorial at some point.

This one came out better than I hoped.  I didn't plan this so much as it sort of happened.  I'm likely overly pleased with it.  You can see the join, but it isn't terribly obvious.  

With all that green on the outside, I wanted to stay green on the inside.  I was pleased with how this batting quilted.  It provided some nice body to the quilt and didn't compress as much as I would have expected from a comparable cotton batting.  You can find out more about Quilter's Dream Green batting on their site.  I'm going to use this batting in another project soon.  I'll try to write a better review as I work through that project.

When I loaded the quilt onto the frame I couldn't decide what to quilt onto that surface.  All that embroidery had to be worked around but I had all that amazing thread.  I stood there and just stared at it for a while.  I've been known to sit in my chair and just look at a quilt.  Mostly I'm hoping it will say something to let me know what it wants.   

In the end, I settled on a simple swirl with points.  Not so many points, I suppose.  I like this easy filler.  It gives me freedom to move around and work with both curves and points.

Swirls and spikes.  Swirls and points 

Sometimes they even look like tentacles.  I did all the quilting without the aid of the computer.  This quilt really needed the custom quilting, I think.  Working without the stitch regulator takes some getting used to.  Now that I'm comfortable working without it I absolutely love it.

A quilt this cool needed a special label.  I checked my embroidery library and found that I had picked up this great Inked Alphabet set from Urban Threads. Since all of the embroidery designs in this quilt are from Urban Threads I figured this would be perfect way to finish off this quilt.  The capital letters and the spider web skull are from Urban Threads.  The rest of the lettering is from my embroidery design software. 

The label is huge!  Okay, maybe that is an overstatement.  It measures 7" high by 11" wide finished.  This is the first quilt I have ever sewn a hanging sleeve onto.  What a pain in the backside that was!  I will seriously consider needing a hanging sleeve before I ever do that again.

Here is the final design.  I created this image using both Electric Quilt and The GIMP.  I used EQ for the quilt blocks and the border.  The embroidery designs were added in GIMP.  I'm sure there is an easy way to do it all in EQ, but I was more comfortable with editing in GIMP.

This quilt turned out to be so much more than I expected.  I love the final effect of the quilting, too.  As you can see I decided to go with the green border instead of the original black.  I like how the blocks seem to float on the surface of the green background.

Finished dimensions:  62" wide by 72" long.

The best part about this quilt?  It's going to the AQS QuiltWeek – Des Moines, IA, event on October 1 - 4.

When Maddie at BadAss Quilter's Society asked people to submit their quilts to AQS for AQS QuiltWeek in Chattanooga, TN, I decided to jump on the chance.  It doesn't hurt to try, right?  Much to my surprise, Soul Stealer was selected, but was chosen to attend the Des Moines show.  I'm not picky, though, I want to share this quilt and I don't care how far it has to travel to get there. 

If you're in Des Moines, IA, during the show and manage to snap a picture of Soul Stealer for Instagram please tag me (@beccascrazyprojects) so I can see it at the show.