Sunday, March 20, 2022

QuiltCon 2022 Favorites Part I

I came. I saw. I took a whole slew of pictures...at QuiltCon 2022. My long awaited opportunity to skip town and meet up with some of my quilting buddies finally came. Moreover, I managed to bring back inspiration without bringing back infection. Whoo hoo! 

Take the Stairs (which means there's no easy way to reach a goal) by Charles Cameron was inspired by a 1965 Bruno Morassutti and Enzo Mari work. It's a take on how focusing on process over product brings personal growth.

Take the Stairs by Charles Cameron @FeltLikeSweets, Quilted by Carrie Hauser @lovebuglongarming

Memories of a pink velvet story time chair are reflected upon in the paper-pieced Aunt Sophie's Chair by Susan Brakeman. This is another example of color transitioning and negative space increasing as you transition across the quilt.

Aunt Sophie's Chair by Susan Brakeman @wildpoppyquilts

Falling Stars by Tighe Flanagan is a deconstruction of a traditional twelvefold geometric pattern. The entire quilt is composed of triangular patchwork units. Off-white ghost units were used to create negative space. 

Falling Stars by Tight Flanagan @tigheflanagan

Celebration by Irene Roderick plays with improvisational curves made with thin strips, and represents fireworks.

Celebration by Irene Roderick @hixsonir

Claire Victor English Paper Pieced shapes resembling pyramids with stiff ribbon piercing through them in Piercing Pyramids. The domestic machine quilting is meant to mimic ribbons.

Piercing Pyramids by Claire Victor @cvquilts

There were so many great quilts, so I hope to be back soon with more.

Monday, March 14, 2022

Citified Blog Tour

I'm pleased to be a proud participant in the Island Batik Citified Blog Tour. This luscious collection of sunset-inspired hues is the signature line of my dear friend, Sherry, who I last saw at QuiltCon, since she moved away from Albuquerque. 😭 But enough blubbering about that. Let's all find some consolation in beautiful fabric, shall we? I find that gorgeous batiks and chocolate help many sorrows, or at least it's worth a try.

Signature lines are designed by in-house Island Batik Designer Kathy Engle. 

Sherry created the patterns featured in the Citified catalog. This batch of her designs (shown below) is quite impressive. You can pick them up from her Payhip or Etsy shops. Check out her blog page for a giveaway.


Citified is currently shipping, and comes in yardage, as well as precuts including 10" squares and 2.5" strips. Check the Store Locator to find local shops that carry Island Batik.

Check out my wall-hanging using my mixable Rolling Diamond blocks, available as a digital, printable set of over a dozen 14" interchangeable paper-pieced block options in my Payhip store



Paper-piecing instruction is not provided in he pattern, but you can find several YouTube videos demonstrating the process. Do remember to make sure your printer scale is set to 100%, because that can cause major sizing issues. I put four together with a 1 1/4" border for a simple project. The fabric requirements are four cream and eight vibrantly colored fat quarters. This gives you some leeway depending on your paper-piecing efficiency.


In thanks for dropping by, pick up your free pattern for the Double Diamond block (top right in the quilt) from my Payhip shop. 

I have several more layouts for the blocks in the works, so come back for more fun. Also, check out the other participants throughout the coming weeks.
March 8 – Sherry Shish of Powered By Quilting
March 9 – Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis
March 11 – Kate Starcher of Katie Mae Quilts
March 12 – Leanne Parsons of Devoted Quilter
March 13 – Sally Williams of Paleofish Designs
March 14 – Afton Warrick of Quilting Mod
March 15 – Sarah Vanderburgh of Sew Joy Creations
March 16 – Jen Strauser of Dizzy Quilter
March 17 – Kathryn LeBlanc of Dragonfly’s Quilting Design Studio
March 18 – Laura Piland of Slice of Pi Quilts
March 19 – Anja Clyke of Anja Quilts
March 20 – Sherry Shish of Powered By Quilting






Saturday, March 12, 2022

QuiltCon Together Winners Exhibit

While I have an abundance of Quilt Con pictures from this year's event, I thought I'd start off with a look back at 2021. From the QuiltCon Together Winners exhibit, Mosh Pit @ the Golden captures the energy of a mosh pit taking place at a bar down the street from an off-the-grid 1920s cabin in Wrangell St. Elias National Park.

Mosh Pit @ the Golden by Maria Shell @talesofastitcher

Everything All at Once by Maria Shell the start of a series based on the Flowering Snowball quilt block.

Everything All At Once by Maria Shell @talesofastitcher

Downstream captures the intersection of glassy corporate office buildings, urban living, and natural spaces. It's a reminder of how our lives are interconnected, with our actions in one capacity affecting us in others. I love the play of color and shape roughly making out fish, and how there are slight variations within the structure.

Downstream by Yvonne Fuchs @quiltingjetgirl

Crimped by Amy Friend is an original design inspired by a scalloped edge wedge, using foundation paper piecing. V shaped straight line quilting reflects the colored shapes on the left.

Crimped by Amy Friend @duringquiettime


One of my favorite group quilts is It's a Mad, Mad, Mid-Mod World by the South Bay Quilters Guild as a president's quilt for Julie Limbach Jones.Mid-centruy design are highlighted by the color palette; Austin House and Outhouse by Carolyn Friedlander, Atomic Starburst by Violet Craft, and ModDog, ModCat and Mod TV by Colourwerx patterns; custom appliqué shapes; and fussy cut fabrics. 

It's a Mad, Mad, Mid-Mod World by Julie Limbach Jones  @jilimbachjones, Quilted by Matt Randall


One Block by Silvia Glaubach, from the QuiltCon Together Winners exhibit, was made during a 100-day project and features improvised Log Cabin and Courthouse Steps blocks in a limited color palette.

One Block by Silvia Glaubach @surori_textiles

Dresden Coffins by Andrea Salisbury uses two black and white fabrics, fussy cut and positioned in varying arrangements. Each plate is composed of 12 hand pieced coffins.

Dresden Coffins by Andrea Salisbury @andreasalisbury

Urban Emergence combines improve blocks created by bee mates wing shades of blue, white, and yellow with the theme of "urban" and "architecture" and symbolizes emerging from fog into blue skies post pandemic.

Urban Emergence by Ellyn Zinsmeister @ellynz