What's New in 2012?

Hopefully 2012 is off to a great start for you! It is for me (aside from a doozie of a cold), but it is difficult to say goodbye to some quilty fun I had in 2011. Firstly, Barbara Brackman's Saturday morning posts including history and blocks for her Civil War Commemorative Quilt (available through June 2012). Nancy Rink offered Ode to the Blue and Grey. I love the Beyond the Cherry Trees Album Quilt offered by Sentimental Stitches, Clutch is a smart little dog to have claimed that quilt for his own. With a name like Henrietta Whiskers, how can you resist? Of course, the tail end of 2011 held the unveiling of eight steps on each Friday morning when Bonnie K. Hunter of Quiltville posted clues to her latest mystery quilt, (spoiler alert!) Orca Bay (<-- click the link to see the 'solution'). Bonnie's Cheddar Bow Ties will have to carry us through to the next mystery quilt.

In San Luis Obispo County there is legislation pending (it will be considered this week!) to ban single-use bags in stores (if it's passed, no more "paper or plastic?"). Consequently I have spent quite a bit of time lately whipping up totes. Of course, I had intended to make them up months ago, but quilts and other fun things came to the forefront. Not anymore! Now I have a collection of totes waiting by the door to carry whatever I need. I even made smaller bags lined with Insul~Bright for frozen/cold items.

It's still early in the year and so many new blocks of the month have surfaced already. Here are a few I will keep my eye on (in alphabetical order). These are each generously offered by the designer for no fee (some for a limited time, for example free for thirty days, then for a fee).
A Year of Mini Quilts by Amy Heaton of Country Junk'tion
Asian Teapots by Angie Padilla of Angie's Bits and Pieces
Country Cottages by Shabby Fabrics
Just Takes 2 by Brenda of Dear Jane and Gayle of Sentimental Stitches
Mumm's the Word Anniversary Sampler by Debbie Mumm
Mystery Mondays with This and That Patterns
Project Quilting Season 3 began yesterday at Kim's Crafty Apple
Scrappy Plate Club by Bunny Hill Designs
Vintage Sampler by Reeze Hanson of Morning Glory Designs (42 garden-inspired blocks!)
With all of that good fun, 2012 promises to be a good year for quilting!

Fabulous Favorite Freebies:
*Always on the lookout for great quilt patterns for large scale fabrics and found Royal Peacocks by Punch Studio. That one is a keeper!
*Make a Kwik-Sew Insulated beverage Cup Cozy.
*An Owl Potholder would be a cute addition to your kitchen, or a great gift.

Hopefully you have resolved to do whatever it is you want or need to do this year and put a plan in place. I am preparing more wholesome meals for myself in 2012. So far I have made chili with cornbread and pumpkin muffins. Mmmm.

Here's wishing you a great 2012!
~~Lisa

October is in Full Swing...

I love all things Fall: grapes, apples, leaves, pumpkins, and a little warm beverage. Around these parts our neighbors are harvesting their grapes, this is wine country! This Fall we have had fog, along with cool, clear nights and even unseasonably warm temperatures.

What is worth mentioning: an upcoming quilt mystery by Bonnie K. Hunter. A sample of past Bonnie mysteries are available here. I believe the fabric requirements will be posted on her Quiltville blog on November 1 and the first clue will be posted on November 18. If you're not sure what to do with all of your scraps ~ this is a great way to put them to use! Warning: Bonnie makes large quilts (typically about queen-sized or larger). If desired, make one-half the number of units called for and fill in where needed once the end result is more clear. That way you will have a smaller quilt and still participate in the mystery.

My favorite free patterns are:
*Timeless Treasures features Christmas Memories - this would be great with your favorite redwork or with the convenience panel as shown. Also, there is another pattern for a Kindle cover!
*P&B Textiles has a nice pattern called Gray Matters.
*Quilting Treasures offers the Autumn Harvest pattern by Possibilities, it's lovely.
*McCall's Quilting always has many free patterns, and this time the Lodge Getaway caught my eye. Based on the traditional shoe fly block, this one is a timeless classic.
*Maywood Studio's Wyoming Star - still seeing stars and so many possibilites with this pattern.
*Note: I hope you love them too! I have no affiliation with these entities, merely passing along information to you.

Enjoy the Autumn, before you know it Winter will be upon us!
~~Lisa

September is National Sewing Month

How will you celebrate?
Visit the National Sewing Month website
Check out Barbara Brackman's Quilt 1812: War & Piecing blog
Dream about the arrival of Rouenneries Deux
Participate in the Moda Country Fair blog hop
Solve the Mystery - Quilting is Murder

Fabulous Free Finds:
Another idea to celebrate sewing ~ make a scrap quilt based on value. It's remarkably liberating to forego all rules and place fabric only according to whether it's light or dark. C'mon, give it a try! Here are a few patterns centered on that principle:

Cindy Carter's Scrappy Maple Leaf
Log Cabin (and Courthouse Steps, a variation)
Curved Log Cabin
Any of Bonnie K. Hunter's patterns (Scroll down, patterns are listed on the right side of the page)

Aren't they lovely? Most importantly, enjoy the process.
~~Lisa

Summer Fun

Lately I have been working on a few projects, finishing the Three Bean Salad quilt, attending swim meets, working a lot (I work at a college and Fall is just around the corner - instructors return from Summer break next week and students will return the following week.) and making class samples for the Autumn Leaves and Quick Trip patterns. Since mid-June I have also reflected on my progress toward my 2011 quilting goals.

This year it has been a priority to get outside the box and not be the same quilter I was in 2010. I just want to grow as a quilter, that's all...nothing wrong with the 2010 me, but I thought, 'let me spread my wings a little more'. So, I have sought out new techniques and patterns. So with that in mind I have free motion quilted on an actual quilt (not just a bit of muslin!), sketched several original quilt patterns, English paper pieced a pattern I had not done before, improvisationally pieced (so unlike anything I would typically choose -- and that's the point) and learned a new technique for making flying geese in order to keep that commitment. I have not yet done everything I set out to do, but that's the whole idea behind taking stock of my accomplishments and tweaking goals as needed. Did you make quilting goals for 2011? How are you doing?

My favorite freebies of late are:

First, the Market Tote -- to carry your late Summer harvest. If that's not enough to keep you busy, there are two Layer Cake Quilts: the Double Slice Layer Cake Quilt, the quilt top uses only a layer cake (without borders), and the 1 + 2 Easy Quilt pattern which uses the layer cake plus two yards for the quilt top. My favorite freebie accessory to date (yes, ever) is this Sewing Caddy. I use it all the time and I cannot believe I ever sewed without it. It was especially helpful in class, when space is limited. I did not make the pin cushion as I wanted the pocket to be free of encumbrance and available for my rotary cutter. If I were to tweak it, I might consider adding a button hole about half way down one slim pocket to allow my seam ripper to have a 'holster' and be more accessible. As it is I dig for it...but don't mind much.

I have been thinking about the Civil War quilt, saving patterns each week and dreaming of completing them on time...but not keeping up lately. I will get caught up eventually. Also I have been anticipating starting a new irish chain scrappy quilt, so I am collecting blues. How is that for a conundrum....I have such limited time and dreams to sew so many quilts. Such is the puzzle of an inspired quilter, right?!

Keep on stitchin,

~~Lisa