Paper Piecing for Block Exchange

I signed up to participate in a paper piecing block exchange which Beaquilter posted a few weeks back. It is now closed but she has a good tutorial on the paper piecing of this block. 

Those of us who chose to participate told of our color choices for blocks. I chose bright colors-pink, turquoise, lime, yellow and we are all using the same Kona white for the white section.

I thought I would work on my own blocks to begin with to make sure my machine was working well and to see that the pattern made the correct size block. So far I have 1/4 of my block made.

I am going to work on this block to complete before it gets too late.

Placemats

I made placemats for my daughter's apartment. She picked the colors and sketched the design. She likes them and they look great on her table. 

I am busy getting my quilting class schedule figured out for September and October. I made a class sample of Exploding Pineapples from Karin Hellaby's book "Sew Simple Pineapple" and I was very pleased with the technique. Unfortunately, I did not take a photo of the quilt before taking it to the store and will have to wait to until I go back to get a photo. But it is cute and was fun to make. 

I am working on a chevron quilt for my daughter. Solid colors and will be quite modern looking. It was her design and color choices. I know she will gently work her way into sewing, but it will be a few more months as she settles in to the new job and apartment. 

Am also in the process of getting ready for the AQS Show in Grand Rapids, Michigan in a few weeks. I am taking a few classes and have to pull together the materials I need. 

Georgia Bonesteel Trunkshow

In June I went on a Quilters' Bus Trip to The Outerbanks, North Carolina. We did many things over the seven days, including attending the Original Sewing and Quilt Expo in Raleigh, N.C. on June 20. But I was so glad we were able to have Georgia Bonesteel meet with our group for a private trunkshow.

I had seen Georgia on TV shows many years ago with her Lap Quilting Techniques. I have to say it was not something I was interested in attempting. She had so many quilts to show us that she has made over the years; I am sorry I was not a bit more inquisitive about her over the years. She is a lovely lady. She has a new product for quilting pieces called Grid Grip.  It is  an iron on grid paper that is drawn on, cut out, ironed on fabric with the fabric grain and one cuts with a 1/4" seam allowance .

I some photos to share: 

The Folk Art Center is located in Asheville, N.C. on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Entering the Folk Art Center

Georgia Bonesteel describing one of her many quilts.

Our tour director, Kimberly, presented Georgia with a basket of
items made in Michigan. 

Why Label Quilts

I found this on Facebook and wanted to post it here as well as share it on Facebook. 
Saddest Yard Sale
I made many quilts over the years before I realized the importance of labeling them. I am going back and labeling those older quilts (that I still possess) with as much information as I can recall regarding its construction. But the least I can do is get my name on them. 

I would like to make some fancy labels, but I don't think it is as necessary as getting my name as the maker on them. I will work up some fancier labels for the quilts I make in the future. 

Square in a Square Technique

I have been working with the Square in a Square ruler by Jodi Barrows.  It was a ruler I bought 15 years ago when I took a class. I had not used it since then. On April 10 I went with a friend to Jodi's lecture and trunk show at Quilted Memories in Montague, MI. She was touring Michigan talking about her new book and the Square in a Square technique and products. 

To make a long story short, I got out my ruler and began working with it again. I felt I understood the technique and ruler much better after the lecture. The projects I have done are pictured below. 

30" x 30" - I taught this as a class.

30" x 30" - I made this after the class
 and the floral burgundy fabric around the edges is going to be the backing fabric. 

42" x 42" - This was the class sample I taught from.

This is a table runner made as I demonstrated the technique for the class - 19" x 41"

Have any of you used the Square in a Square ruler?  If so, what do you think of the technique? 

Lastly, the other day I sent photos of one of my EQ projects that I finished to the EQ gallery (click here to view it in the gallery). 

It is a quilted pool table cover that I made per my husband's request. We were traveling in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan a few summers ago when we stopped at a quilt store in Paradise. Normally he doesn't go in quilt stores, but this one had a very woodsy theme so he came in. On the wall were a number of quilt samples. The panel in the middle of one caught his eye and he asked me if I could use it as the center of a quilt for his pool table. I said no problem (yeh!) and we bought it. It did take a year and a half to get it from the EQ design stage to the final quilt top, then I waited a few more months for the longarm quilter to finish it. It is very colorful and he likes it. And now that it is on the pool table, I no longer use it to lay out quilt blocks for sewing, I just can't bring myself to cover it up. 

Here it is on the carpet to show the pattern. The colors in this photo are more exact than those colors in the photo below. 

And below, it is on the pool table.