Betsy's Best .....quilts and more: October 2017

Wednesday, October 25, 2017

Week 34 House, designed by Jan Patek

Hello everyone...wish me luck, as it is time to go to Market. It is always SO much fun to see everyone and not so much fun to PACK!

I'm introducing Evelyn's Homestead, a pretty group dated 1880-1900. I have absolutely loved working with this line. Be sure to watch my posts on Instagram, maybe Facebook, to see the quilts and more! At least that is the plan. I get caught up in the excitement and forget to take photos!

Here we go with our Question of the Week... LOL! With Quilt Market on the horizon, what is the best part about going to Market? What is the worst part about it - is there a worst part for you? Ok, I obviously did not read the question in advance!!! See above paragraphs! There are many good parts, and one especially bad part and that is not being home for Halloween. I miss passing out candy and seeing the kids dressed up. And I really miss trick or treating with Madison and now Reed for his first Halloween. If there is one thing I would change for Fall Market, it would be timing.

Click here for Jan's Pattern

Don't tell but my parts are only glued down...time ran out, but I will have it to stitch on in Houston!

3" mini Penny

I had some scraps near the machine and put this together, even though nothing about is says 'house'!

Cut the following:

Center square 2"

for Geese, cut 1 - 2 7/8" square

for sky, cut 4 - 1 3/4" squares

for HSTs cut from light and dark, 2 - 1 3/4" square of each

Make no waste flying geese as detailed in my post 2 weeks ago.

Trim each geese unit to 1 1/4" x 2" ( 3/4" x 1 1/2" finished)

Trim HSTs to 1 1/4" square

Enjoy stitching this week!

I'm preparing next week's blog post in advance. Fingers crossed that it posts correctly.

Please visit our other designers to see what they have made. Links below.

Until next time,

~ Betsy

Lynne -
Blog - http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/KansasTroublesQuilters/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lynnektq/
Betsy -
Blog - http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/betsy.chutchian
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/betsy_chutchian/
Lisa B -
Blog - https://lisabongean.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/primitivegatherings.quiltshop/ or https://www.facebook.com/lisa.bongean
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lisabongean/ or https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_quiltshop/ or https://www.instagram.com/primitive_gatherings_ca/
Jan -
Blog - http://janpatek.blogspot.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jan.patek.79?fref=nf
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jan_patek_quilts/
Jo -
Blog - http://jomortonquilts.com/jos_journal/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/jomortonquilts/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE&fref=nf
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/joquilts/
Moda -
Blog - http://blog.modafabrics.com/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/modafabrics/
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/modafabrics/

Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Week 33 Moda BlockHeads Starz by Jo Morton

Another week has flown by at lightning speed!

On to Week 33 with a cool star pattern by Jo Morton. We designers are in the last week of prep for Market and if they are like me, there are not enough hours in the day!!! I'm still in quilting and binding mode. It all gets done, even if I bind on the drive to Houston, no I'm not driving, just a passenger with a needle!

Question of the week...

It's Fall, Halloween is less than two weeks away and Christmas is in two months...do you make seasonal quilts? When do you start making them?

Well, if you have been following me for a while you know I love to decorate for the seasons. My favorites are Halloween and Christmas, but I enjoy seasonal color for spring and summer too. Fall is about so much more than Halloween, and winter is more that just Christmas. Since I collect folk art, Santas, black cats, jack o lanterns, etc., the decorating for them is more holiday specific. To highlight and compliment my pieces, I make quilts of the holiday colors, not holiday quilts...make sense? I like quilts of red and green for Christmas, but for winter, I like red and cream, and blue and cream. Those quilts display well at Christmas and throughout the winter season season.

For Fall, it's golds, browns, reds and oranges, but for Halloween I bring out the orange and black quilts. I normally make a new orange and black or, a brown that is almost black, quilt each year for Halloween. but, not this year. I will make a seasonal quilt anytime the mood strikes me!

My advice is to Enjoy each season....bring the colors into your home. In Texas Fall weather can sometimes arrive at Christmas! No kidding. We don't have the colorful leaf changes as other parts of the country, so to enjoy fall color, we have to make or own!

Here's a sampling of fall and winter, Halloween and Christmas....

New vignette this year.

Spice Box from Bramblewood in the chair.

A little Christmas

A little Thanksgiving

a Bramblewood version of Mary Ann's Baskets

And now BlockHeads...

Thanks Jo, for this block. I love it and made it very Fall-like.

For Jo's pattern and tips, CLICK HERE to visit her blog.

I don't understand how taking pictures one after another can look so different...

Mysteries of photography!

Take your time with this block. Parts are easy, but there are a lot of them. I starched fabrics before cutting. I like that. And, it is a must for the mini! I know we have a similar mini, but not a star in these colors. ;-)

For the 3" mini block, made with the no waste method I detailed last week, cut

center square 2"

4 corner squares 1 1/4"

starpoint background (sky for geese) 1 square 2 7/8"

4 squares for starpoints 1 3/4"

Please refer to my week 32 post if you need a refresher on no-waste flying geese.

Trim starpoint units to 1 1/4" x 2"

Geese are 3/4' x 1 1/2" finished.

Assemble in rows.

Hope you enjoy this week's offering!

FYI....lots of secret sewing has been taking place over the last year and more.

Be watching for more information.

I will be making the next 2 blocks before I leave for Market and will schedule the posts to post at the correct time...LOL. At least that is the plan. Cross fingers that there are no glitches with Blogger. If something goes wrong with the post, I'll post on Instagram for sure, and hopefully to Moda BlockHeads on Facebook. wish me luck, the internet has a mind of it's own, you know.

Also be sure to watch Instagram next week when I attend Quilt Market. I can't wait to debut the newest line, Evelyn's Homestead, meet up with friends and see what the latest trends are. Exciting times in our quilting world.

In other news, delivery of Grace's Garden shouldn't be too far away. May it arrive soon to a quilt shop near you!

Now, please check out my friends and see what they have done.

Until next time ~

Betsy

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

It's my turn....Week 32 Dutchman's Puzzle Moda BlockHeads

Hi everyone! Back again, where did the week go?? I'm getting closer to completing Market samples, one more to go to the quilter, then the binding marathon begins! I dread sewing the binding on the machine because on my small sewing space, but I do love having the quilt over me while I hand stitch the back side down. I'll catch up on some movies or recorded shows, or binge a Netflix series. It's a nice change of pace after the fast pace of the machine.

So here we are for Week 32 and we will make Dutchman's Puzzle, 8 flying geese units set in a pinwheel arrangement. I've got some tips, and lots of photos. Link to the pattern will be a little farther down.

Question of the week...When you went from making quilts for yourself and began doing it as a business, is there anything you wish you'd known ahead of time? Or was ignorance bliss?
Wow...If I knew then what I know now, would I do what I do? Yes. The main thing I wish I knew is that I would need a bigger house!!! The business has taken over the house, in every single room.
When I first started sewing and quilting for the public I was making samples for a quilt shop and hand quilting. That was 1992, um 25 years ago. You make samples and drop them off, easy; pick up the mess and done.. Buying fabric and making a quilt for me was rather dangerous since I have always loved fabric and it accumulated quickly. Hand quilting required a large frame that took up the entire dining room. Daddy made the frame. Still have it, but don't use it.
After working and teaching in shops for many years, a book opportunity came along, then another and another and with each book, more fabric and less space for quilts and fabric. Then there is this passion for antique quilts that I have. They are taking over even more space than quilts for books and for me!
Fabric design and writing books, that is my business. I love what I do. There are deadlines though. Pesky deadlines that nobody warned me about, that would compete with life. Sometimes life wins and sometimes the deadlines win. They are probably the same people that didn't tell me I needed a bigger house. Can't have a job without deadlines. And, then there is working at home, I'm still trying to figure out office hours. It is hard to separate home and work.
So, maybe ignorance is bliss. Time and space shortages have increased evolved, the busier I have become. I wouldn't have believed either would have been an issue even if I had been warned...nope, not me. I still love what I do.

This week I decided to put all the 6" blocks, in order, on the design wall. I made one alternate, at the bottom and an extra bow tie, but can't find the pattern so I don't know which Bow Tie is the original. I also see I made 2 applique blocks with exactly the same blue fabric. ugh. Should I change the background? Aren't they cool all together? I'll get a picture of the 3" blocks another day.

Here is our block for this week, Dutchman's Puzzle.

CLICK HERE for the pattern

Note the Bloc_Loc ruler 1.5" x 3". I used it to trim my blocks.

Look at your pattern's cutting information. I increased the square and rectangle measurements for the connector method by 1/8" and sewed easily, trimmed away excess triangles, pressed to the small triangles and then trimmed each unit to 2" x 3 1/2" easily with the flying geese Bloc Loc ruler.

Arrange the units in pairs and sew together, pressing to the goose, then sew 2 units together in rows.

On the back, I twisted, and flipped the intersection. No clipping needed and the units pressed to the goose and swirled. You can see a tiny pinwheel.

Brown fabric is Rachel Remembered. Red paisley is Grace's Garden, due to be delivered this month. Backgrounds are Lizzie's Legacy and Rachel Remembered.

I made 2 - 3" Penny blocks and intended to make something with the extra triangles from the 6" block. I will, but later....life happened today and needed to take care of something non quilt related.

Note the .75" x 1.5" flying geese ruler I used for these little cuties.

I used the no waste method for these. Even with leaders, the tiny parts were just a tad too tiny for connectors.

The measurements I have given here, already have the 1/8" added.

Select 2 dark prints, cut each 2 7/8" square for the geese.

Cut a total of 8 - 1 3/4" square for the backgrounds

I've photographed the steps.

1. Stitch on each side of the line I didn't draw, 1/4" on each side .

(Below, you will see why I don't draw a line)

2. cut apart on that line I didn't draw.

3. Press to background. when pressing, press the top triangle first then the other. The unit won't make that annoying arc this way. When you press both at the same time, there will be an arc (curve)in the goose.

See the line on my sewing table? I drew one line for connectors and one for geese. I line up my points with it as I sew. The edge of the foot would be lined up with the drawn line, if I drew one. Daddy made my sewing table, so I have to keep buying Pfaff machines so opening will fit the arm.

4. Sew on each side of the line I didn't draw, and cut apart.

5. Press to background and trim to 1 1/4" x 2"

Assemble and press the same as 6" block above.

Hope you enjoy making the Dutchman's Puzzle.

Please visit my friends blogs to see what they are making this week.

Thanks for stopping by.

Until next time ~

Betsy

Wednesday, October 4, 2017

Moda BlockHeads Week 31 Dot Dash by Lynne Hagmeier

Question of the week....Is there something quilt-related on your bucket list? A quilt you would like to make, a show you would like to see, quilter you'd like to meet, etc?

A quilting bucket list! Great question! I'd love someday to go to Paducah. The spring show is always at a busy time as is the quilt show in Nantes, France, but I would love to go. A quilt I'd like to make...on my list is Wagon Wheel, Mariner's Compass ( I have made one block), Clamshell, and other curvy designs. A quilter I would love to meet, oh there are lots I've met, but don't know. After SO many years of attending Quilt Market, there are so many names! I've met Barbara Brackman numerous times but do not 'know' her, would love to chat about antique quilts with her and other quilt historians. I'd also like to meet Jeana Kimball, we have chatted on Instagram!, does that count??? And there are LOTS of wonderful quilter names I do 'know'!

Not that I've been made to think...this question was pretty hard.

What quilts, and quilters, are on your bucket list???

Dot Dash. Last week the pattern name was Four Patch Dash. Hmmm...a lot of dashing going on. Perfect names and blocks for this time as we are all dashing from project to project, busy with Market sewing. Thanks Lynne for this quick, easy and oh so cute block!

Click here for Lynne's Blog and her pattern.

Please visit all or BlockHeads designers to see what they have been making.

I went pretty simple with the fabrics this time and stuck with my background for the mini block.

I don't think I have used near enough of the pretty light ground blue chintz from

Rachel Remembered as I should.

For the 3" Mini Penny block, I used leftover HSTs that I cut away when making connector corners with the 6" pattern. I trimmed them to 1 3/4" square. Cut 4 sashing strips 1" x 1 3/4". Cut center square 1".

Block should measure 3 1/2" for a 3" finished block.

Enjoy sewing these cute blocks!

Until next time ~

Betsy