Just checking in

Oh my gosh! My last post was just after the River City Quilt Guild show in November!!!! Whatever happened to my goal of trying to post no less than weekly? Hmm. Plans often go astray.

In all honesty, I worked really hard to get everything I was submitting to the guild to be ready that by the time the show came and went I was tired of material, sewing, quilting and everything that goes with it. Though I did take time to quilt some quilts on the long arm for customers. But that is different. It wasn't a choice.

Here it is at the end of January and I am just getting back into sewing every day. I try to quilt on the long arm at least three days out of the week. I have only done two this week and I don't see me doing any more this week. Which means next week I have to do four. It is not like I don't have them to do for sure!

I took a class at Meissner's in December on using templates with the long arm. I was intrigued and bought three templates. Then I had to get the table extender for the machine. I was going to purchase one when I found out we had one. It just had to be located, which took a while since we were busy with Christmas, life, school and everything else that hits in December. Finally I got it the week after Christmas and it sat for three weeks while I just looked at it - afraid to try something new. At the beginning of this week, I put a Community Service quilt on the machine and decided this would be the day to try out the new templates. The first one was using the circles I purchased. I love this template because it has like 10 different sized circles to use. I used the biggest one and then went in three and used the next one and then went in three more and used the next one. So it looked like a circle within a circle within another circle. I could have gone one more, but didn't because that looked too small to get around. I will try it some day. Anyway it turned out pretty cool looking.

The quilt had some applique to it. One of the template I bought is one that fits over the hopping foot of the long arm. It is made to hold on to the hopping foot and guide it more smoothly around appliques and such. Oh how I love that template. I do a lot of applique and can never quilt nicely around the designs and am always disappointed with how the quilting looks. I like this though I wish I would have had this when I did my sister, Anne's quilt. It would have looked a lot better than it did.

I like to read Bonnie Hunters blog. She writes every day - unlike me. She had the following on her blog. I liked it and decided to show it here:

Good sentiment.

Keep on Quilting

or dreaming while looking at the stars!

Jenny Doan Seminar July 16, 2015

Jenny Doan came to Sacramento!

Meissner's Sewing of Sacramento (http://www.meissnersewing.com/) hosted Jenny in a four day, fun filled seminar. Wednesday Jenny gave a  trunk show. Thursday, the day I attended, She gave a full day explanation of how Missouri Star Quilt Company (https://www.missouriquiltco.com/) came to be formed and what they do on a daily basis. She showed us quilt after quilt after quilt. She told us stories about her kids, her husband and her life in Hamilton Missouri. There were 250 people there to oooh and aaah, laugh and even cry. That was Thursday.

Friday (today) she is giving a quilting class. I did not sign up for it because the description was for beginning quilters. I am not a beginner, but after yesterday I am truly sorry I did not sign up. She is truly a remarkable person and makes it fun to be with her.

Tomorrow, Saturday, she will re-do what she did yesterday.

Jenny and me. Don't you love that pink quilt behind us!

Venita and I attended together.

Me, Jenny and Venita

Pat Miljarek attended, also. She grew up in Spreckles California, as did Jenny. When Jenny came on stage and started welcoming us, she saw Pat and stopped and talked to her directly. Then explained to the audience they came from the same small down just south of Salinas California. With tears in her eyes, she told Pat how happy she was to see her. During the break, Pat was able to get a picture of her and Jenny and Jenny's husband Ron, who grew up in Salinas.

Ron Doan, Jenny and Pat Miljarek

I took a camera with me but the battery died after taking just a few pictures with it. So most of the following pictures were taken with my phone. The quality is not the greatest but you will be able to see some of the beautiful quilts that were displayed and discussed during the seminar.

 The above quilt was made with layer cakes. Jenny explained how to scallop a quilt and then how not to be afraid to do bias binding and how easy it is to sew it on even in the grooves of the scallop. It does make the quilt more charming. But so does that fabric she chose.

 Pinwheels. Offset them so you do not have to line them up perfectly. Plus it gives more motion to the quilt.

 Disappearing Pinwheel. Love it!

 Jenny said she was making a bunch of Dresden plates when someone put her large tumbler template down on top of one set. The above quilt was born. Charming.

 This quilt is called Orange Peel. Venita and I wondered why it was done in blues. I like it though so much that I bought the template to make it.

 Jenny's Disappearing Hour Glass quilt done using a package of layer cakes.

 A simple and quick baby quilt made using one charm pack package. Too cute.

All the quilts Jenny showed us has had a tutorial made about how to make it. Her tutorials are on You Tube, but you can also get an app that has them all listed with a link to each of them. I have been saving all her tutorials on my Pinterest application but after installing the app to the links this morning, I now have instant access to them.

Jenny showed us a turkey she made using the Dresden template. Too cute. There is a tutorial for that, too. Plus on her blog there is a pdf file you can down load for the pattern. The link to it is http://blog.missouriquiltco.com/?s=turkey.

In her little town in Missouri, she has been creating an empire. She has several quilting shops now. They have developed a retreat center that will house 40 people (minimum of 10 needed). It is a bed and breakfast set up, with her caveat of "you make both." There is a wonderful restaurant, bakery and hamburger joint if you don't want to cook your own food. There is no hotel in Hamilton, so bring your ten best quilting buddies and stay and sew at the retreat. In case you can't do that, there is a motel 12 miles away.

At the end of the seminar, Jenny said quilters are selfish. Yes we are. We spend an inordinate amount of money to purchase beautiful fabric that we cut up into smaller pieces and sew into quilts. We give these quilts to family, friends, charities and others less fortunate. We put off cleaning, cooking and other household duties. But at the end, we are leaving our legacy with these quilts. These will be passed down to future generations. They will be sold at yard sales or thrift stores to excited quilt lovers. They will become dog beds and furniture covers. But in the end they will be our salvation. As Jenny said "when you create, you heal." So go heal yourself and work on a quilt.

Keep on Quilting

Harmonic Convergence quilt

In February my friend, Venita, and I went to Modesto to a Ricky Tims Seminar. It was three days of great fun as we listened to Ricky, Pam Holland from Australia and Alex Anderson talk about their inspiration, perspiration and accomplishments. [See my February 2014 post of this event.] Great incentive to Keep on Quilting. During one of Ricky's seminars, he showed us his Harmonic Convergence quilts and how easy it is to make one. I thought I can do this. So I on the way home, Venita and I stopped at a couple of quilt stores. I purchased the fabric to make the above quilt. That was Saturday. On Monday I entered my quilt studio hoping I could remember all he said or at least my notes would cover what I couldn't remember. After just a few hours the top was done. So easy.

After I finally quilted it, I took it to my guild for show and tell (or Chantell as Ricky calls it). As I mentioned the pattern name, I said I bet most of you have probably made one of these quilts or are aware of the pattern. Lots of nodding. My first thought is they have done this and are not interested. Wrong. Many probably had done it or seen it done and was not interested, but a lot of people asked me what the name of the pattern was again and the ease of it all. Our guild president is a gentleman that has been a member along with his wife for many years. He is just getting into piecing himself and said it would be a long time before he would attempt something like this. I told him actually he could do it now because it is super easy. It really is. It is just strip cutting two coordinating or contrasting pieces of fabric and then putting the strips back together again in reverse order of each other. Love the technique. Love the ease of making a quilt that people oh and ah over. I especially love the fabric I chose for it.

If you ever get the chance to go to a Ricky Tims' Seminar, go. It is so worth the time and the money.

Keep on Quilting

Ricky Tims' Seminar - What an experience!

From Thursday afternoon to Saturday evening, my friend Venita and I and over 300 other people were led through a variety of quilting techniques, home-spun stories, best sewing machine feet instructions, hand quilting dos and don'ts, "you can do this" ideas, music and so much more. Lots of "Chantells." You have to go see Ricky to find out what a Chantell is. We were even given a recipe for a five star restaurant appetizer. These were three days of fun, laughter and even a few tears that I'm so glad I participated in.

 Thursday afternoon. 300 plus participants. We were off to the side, but because of our location and the big screen, we saw everything that went on. On Friday and Saturday, we stayed on the side but more up front. I honestly don't think there was a bad seat anywhere the way they set up the stage and seating.

This is a self portrait of Ricky. Pretty good likeness of him.

 Also presenting was Pam Holland from Australia. I could listen to her speak all day. Loved her accent. This is just one of many of her quilts on display. See more at her website at www.pamhollanddesignsandproductions.com..

Alex Anderson was the other presenter. The above is one of her quilts. She is more of a traditionalist quilter, as am I. I bought two of her patterns. Both look pretty involved. Hopefully someday I will work on them. See more of her work at www.alexandersonquilts.com.

Ricky had patterns, CDs of his music and DVDs of his quilt work, his hand dyed fabric (which I bought tons of) and many notions for sale. His website is www.rickytims.com.

Wonderful weekend. Exhausted and glad to be home.

Keep on Quilting

Lil Twister Quilt

I see the Twister quilts and their corresponding cutting ruler everywhere. I love how they turn out. I was given a 20 piece charm pack several years ago and wondered what I was going to do with it. I had no coordinating fabric. I didn't have enough to make into a good sized quilt of any kind. Hmmm. Maybe I will try the Lil Twister tool my daughter bought.

I looked into my stash and found a pink fabric that would go well with it and cut it into 20 5 inch squares, so I had a total of 40 squares.alternating pink and the charm pack, I sewed them all together.Then added a border of 5 inches all around.

Next I took the ruler and started cutting the quilt up.

Wow! you have to cut a lot of fabric off your quilt and just throw away. It is nothing you can keep and do something else with. But you wind up with some cool looking squares. I had watched a Missouri Quilt Company video on how to cut these up, so I knew to keep them organized. Thank goodness for that info. I had a hard enough time putting it back together by just cutting one row at a time and sewing them together. Had I cut the whole quilt up, I would still be working on it. The link to the tutorial is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-d1sqIfUctQ. Worth your time to watch.

When all was said and done, I really like what turned out. It will make a cute table topper or wall hanging come spring.

It is worth trying at least once. I think if I was going to do another one, I would do the bigger size or use more fabric.

Here is my finished project:

Keep on Quilting!

Calculate backing and binding website

Do you hate math? You betcha!

Here is a website that will figure the amount of backing material needed for any size quilt, and then tell you how to put it together to work. Yeah. I love it!

It will also tell you how much binding fabric you will need for that size quilt.

Just go to http://www.mywebquilter.com/index.aspx to let them figure it out. FREE!

Keep on Quilting!

Measuring Your Bed for a Quilt

The following information was on Blank Quilting e-mail. To see all that Blank Quilting has to offer, go to http://www.blankquilting.com/. I love their website because they have a lot of free patterns you can download.

Measuring Your Bed for a Quilt

When making quilt for a bed we often forget to consider the size of the bed, resulting in a quilt that is too short or hangs down to the floor.


Measure the mattress width (A) and add twice the length (B) of the quilt that hangs over the mattress. This is called the "drop." (C)

For coverlets: measure from the top of the mattress to slightly past the bottom of the bed rail.

If you want the quilt to cover your pillows, measure the mattress length, then add one drop length plus 10" to 20".

Keep on Quilting!

Flying Geese Tutorial - Sew Easy

Love to have flying geese in your quilts but hate to make flying geese? Watch this tutorial by Ricky Tims. You will never be hesitant to make those geese again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78Mu0C_QL8Y

Here is a link to several other ways to make the flying geese pattern. I usually do the second one. They each have their own advantages. Try each one and see which one works best for you.

http://www.quilterscache.com/H/Howtomakegeese.html

Keep on Quilting

Wildflower Rhapsody May Block

The end of April is near. We at Beehive Quilts are preparing the May block of the Wildflower Rhapsody BOM. We expect it to ship either Monday or Tuesday, next week. So be looking for it by the end of next week in your mail box.

Did you all get a chance to finish last month's block? Mine is half done. Hope to finish it today.

We received pictures of two finished blocks for last month. Their pictures are posted on this blog. Would love to see more. The first picture sent in was Renea Aldrich's. She will receive 4 fat quarters just for sending me a picture of her finished block. Good job, Renea. 

There will be a similar award this next month, too, so watch for what you could win. This month it will be different. I realize some of you will receive your block quicker depending upon the USPS delivery schedule. So what will be done from now on is that for everyone who sends me a picture your name will go into a drawing. The drawing will be held at the end of the month. The name that is drawn will receive whatever is chosen to be the gift for the month. You can send it to me electronically or through snail mail, as long as it is received before the last day of the month each month. That way everyone has a fair chance of winning the gift.

We had the suggestion of posting a picture of a finished block. Here is May's block:




May's block for Wildflower Rhapsody BOM
Thank you, Elisa, for completing this block.

 In April's block package you received a half yard cut of the brown fabric and some general instructions. Those instructions stated you would be fussy cutting your brown fabric (#14) for several blocks. You can see Elisa cut her brown fabric so a flower would show up in each small block. That is the reason you received it all at one time. You get to decide where that fabric will be placed. Remember you will use it throughout the 12 blocks. Cut it wisely.

We have also developed a "BOM Block Insurance" package. We are selling a package of 1/8 yards cut into fat eighths, which is 9" x 22" approximately. There are 14 different cuts - one cut for each fabric used in the main 12 blocks. This package will give you the insurance that you will have enough fabric for those of us that cut and then read the instructions. You can find the package at http://www.beehivequilts.com/bomfat8ths.

As always, have fun with this block. Post your comments about the blocks here (see below). We love to read your comments.

Keep on Quilting

New Patterns and Quilt Books listed on website

Check out some of the new patterns (including Lori Holt's) and quilt books that have been added to our website at http://www.beehivequilts.com/category/384742. Good pricing - lower than the suggested retail pricing. Here are just a few:

[To go directly to the website to order each item, put curson over picture and click the mouse.]



Love those Art to Heart patterns. Easy to make, too.




It is never too early to start working on
your Christmas designs.




Lori Holt's Gardening pattern. Great for spring time.





Another Lori Holt.




Snow Day. . . Sew Day.
Easy and fun applique pattern.Snowday Quilt Pattern



Quilt Labels - FREE - Part II

I found another site that offers free quilt labels:

http://www.quilterscache.com/Q/QuiltLabels.html

Don't you love the Internet?

Quilt Labels - FREE

Quilt labels are so important. Many of us have antique quilts that were handed down through the family or perhaps obtained elsewhere and have no history of who made it or when. Put a label on every quilt you make, so 50 years or more people will know the when and who of your heirloom.

Now you can get really creative with your labels. I have seen where people have printed a picture on fabric, or taken part of the fabric used on the top, or embroidered one, or had one specially designed one. Most of us just write the information on muslin and sew it on, which is fine. It is better to have something there, than nothing at all.

But if you want to make it special without a lot of work, have I got a website for you. All you have to do is print this out on printable fabric, write your information on it and you have a darling quilt label.

Go to http://quiltwithus.connectingthreads.com/page/quilt-labels to see what I am talking about. See samples below. But go to the above website and click on the one you want to print out.

Don't you love them? There are more to choose from.

Flying Geese, the easy way

Received a notice of Clothwork Textiles new blog site. Went to see what they had there and was quite impressed. Best of all there was a way to make flying geese easier than the old fashioned way. Go to http://www.clothworkstextiles.com/blog/ and look for the display on making flying geese. I have not tried it, but it looks really easy.