Sister's Choice Quilts

Some Worthwhile Links

This has been a very unproductive week around here!  Since I have not done any sewing, I wanted to share links to some various things you all might find of interest or inspiration.

This book by Pam and Nicky Lintott has been out for some months, but it only just came to my attention.  Paulette at SweetP Quilting posted on it this week.  Go check out Paulette's blog and look at the basket quilt from the book cover, that was made out of Rouenneries fabric.  Go ahead, I'll wait.

Amazing, right?  Don't you want to get online and order a layer cake of Rouenneries II and make one?  Me too!

Another tantalizing vision that I spied online is the Floral Antique Flower collection by Lecien.  This is an upcoming group that will be released sometime this summer, according the Lecien rep I spoke to on the phone.  Kristyne at Pretty By Hand showed a photo of the entire bundle, which you need to go look at right now.  Go on.  I'll wait.   She is making things for the company for Market, and obviously needs it in advance of its release so she can make up a quilt or two.  I want that job.

Must. Have. That. Collection.  It is sort of confusing to me, because I have a feeling that Lecien names one or two of their collections "Antique Flower" every year, but I swear, this is a new one.  Shade of silvery green, burgundy, tobacco, charcoal, pink, champagne.  Gorgeous.  I wonder why they can't come up with a name other than "Antique Flower"?  They have another group in pinks and aquas coming out this summer also.  Called Antique Flower.  So good luck ordering the right bundle.  Fat Quarter Shop differentiates the two groups by calling one Floral Antique Flower and the other just Antique Flower.

And here is a link to a Moda Lissa post (first linked by Sherri at A Quilting Life) where she shows how she organizes her charm packs and Schnibbles patterns.  For all of us doing Another Year of Schnibbles, this is such a wonderful idea!

Ok, hope those links give you something fun to ponder!  Have an excellent weekend everyone!

Grandpa Larry update:  Grandpa was transferred to another care facility yesterday.  His insurance won't pay for any more care in his previous skilled nursing facility, so we had to find another place for him to get rehabilitated.  And pay for it ourselves.  He still can't walk, so with luck, the physical therapists will be able to work with him and get him mobile again.  He just can't understand why he can't go home, but in order to do that, he needs to be walking.  He has thoroughly enjoyed all your cards and good wishes.  Thanks so much for contributing to his recuperation with your prayers and messages.

Final Day, Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts Blog Tour-- And Giveaway!

Let me introduce you to "Memory", the quilt I made from Monique Dillard's new book "Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts:  Eleven New Projects from Open Gate Quilts", published by C&T Publishing.

My quilt is not complete--I have ordered border fabric ( for a narrow blue containment border and a wider red print for the outside border), but it hasn't arrived yet.  I think you can get the idea of what this will look like finished from the 48 blocks I have completed and sewn together for the center of the quilt.

This is a picture of the quilt in the book:

Monique's patterns are so accurate and easy to follow.  She gives instructions for making multiple sizes for most of the projects in her book, and when her own fabulous rulers are recommended (for additional accuracy), she shows very clearly how to use them.  She also has a lovely blog where she shares her work and life with her adorable dogs Maple and Tilllie.

It's so funny, many of us who are quilters also have pets in our homes.  Why is it that when we finish a new project, our dogs or cats are so keen to investigate the completed work so thoroughly?

Here is Ozzie, checking for any mis-turned block units.  Can't have that, don't you know?  I am so glad I have him watching out for me.

To celebrate the launch of Monique's new book, Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts, I am doing a giveaway today of both the book and one of her wonderful rulers!  Please leave a comment below for a chance to win one of these two great prizes.  The winner will be announced on Monday.

But wait!  After you leave your comment here, you must go to one more blog to see another one of the projects from the book.  Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie's Quilt Company has also made a project from the book, and it is sure to be amazing as everything she does is!  You will also have one more chance at winning one of these terrific books if you comment on her post today.

Thanks so much for following along with those of us who participated in the blog tour this week.  And very special thanks to Monique for honoring me with the invitation to be part of her book launch.

 

 

Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts-Day Three

Welcome to Day Three of the blog hop to launch Monique Dillard's new book "Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts".  Today you have TWO sites to visit to see amazing quilts made from patterns in this book, as well as two chances to win the book!  So, without delay, you must go visit Denise at Quilter's Window, and Monique herself at Open Gate Quilts.

I promised to show you a tricky bit in my block construction and give a little tip to make things come out right nearly every time.

See those intersections where the red half square triangles meet?  It is REAL easy to have those be askew.  Much easier to have them be wonky than nicely lined up.  And that kind of wonkiness makes me seriously crazy.

So, what's the trick to making them line up perfectly?  Besides paying attention to where you are stitching I mean?

U-shaped pins.  If you haven't tried these, you must give them a chance. 

Here's how they work.  A picture is worth a thousand words.

Snuggle up your seam intersections so they abut nice and tight.  If you have sewn your HSTs with a proper scant quarter inch seam and pressed your seam allowances in opposite directions, this should happen without a struggle.  Stick your U-pin in place so that the tines hold down each seam allowance.  When you stitch the seam, go slowly (so you don't break your needle stitching over the pin) and try to get the needle to come down right in that "sweet spot" where the stitching lines form an X where they meet.

You will be amazed at how perfectly aligned your finished results will be.  Now, you can certainly achieve this with careful stitching and regular straight pins, but I find the U-pins to be far more consistent.  Besides, those pesky seam allowances are held down nice and secure, so there isn't any of that nasty folding up and mis-stitching underneath.  Don't you just hate that?  When you turn your piece over and the back side shows you a big mess of folded over seam allowances and you have to un-sew and do it again?  Those days are over with U-pins.

 

Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts-Day Two

Welcome to Day Two of the Traditional Fat Quarter Quilts Blog Hop and book launch!  Today is Lisa's day to post on the project she made from this wonderful new book by Monique Dillard (Open Gate Quilts).  Jump on over to Lisa's blog Stashmaster for a look and a chance to win a prize or two.

My day to post on my project is this Friday, and to tell you the truth if I make this deadline with a finished top it will be a miracle.  I got a late start due to the construction of my sewing studio, and have been behind from the get go.  I am happy to report all my blocks are finished, and now need to be sewn together.  Then borders and Bob's your uncle.  I understand I am not the only participant who is scrambling (ahem) so I don't feel so bad.

Here is a look at one of the blocks that comprise my quilt top, which is called "Memory".

There are forty eight of these blocks in the top that I am making.  The terrific thing about this book is that Monique gives instructions to make most quilt patterns in Twin, Full/Queen, and King sizes.  You can take your pick and make the size you want.  I love it when a quilt book author provides that information, which is definitely an extra step for the author and a huge bonus for the quilt maker.

I had to make 384 half square triangles for these 48 blocks.  My method was to take Monique's measurements (which are slightly oversized) and trim the HST units down to size after sewing.  To sew the HSTs, I used my Angler 2, which I have raved about in the past.  A must when you are making a gazillion little HST units.

Here is a photo of my Angler 2 in use.  You don't have to draw any lines, just line the corners of your squares up along the guideline and stitch away.  I reinforced the visual guideline on the Angler template with a strip of blue painters tape.  The rest of that tape around the edges just fixes the template securely to my sewing surface.

Tomorrow I will show you the tricky bit of making these blocks and the tool I use to get perfect results.

Meanwhile, gaze at my sewing companion in her activity chair.  She loves to spin around and play with all the toys around her.  Her only frustration is that she thinks this chair should bounce, which it doesn't.  She has knocked her little sock off trying to make the chair go up and down.  Where there's a will, there's a way...

 

Another Great Book by Monique Dillard

I am so excited to be participating in a Blog Hop this week to celebrate the launch of a new book by Monique Dillard, the talented quilter, author, and creator of the Fit To Be rulers!  Her previous book "Fat Quarter Winners" was a big success last year, and this new release by C & T Publishing promises to be just as fabulous.

You are invited to follow along this week and see the inspiring projects created from patterns in this book by some of your favorite bloggers!  Here is the schedule:

Monday - Thelma  (Cupcakes n' Daisies)  
Tuesday - Lisa  (Stashmaster)  
Wednesday - Denise   (Quilters Window) and Monique (Open Gate Quilts)  
Thursday - Sherri (A Quilting Life) 
Friday - Carrie  (La Vie En Rosie) and Nicole (Sister's Choice)

Be sure to stop by and comment on everyone's blogs on their scheduled day.  Besides seeing what we all have made from Monique's book, we are giving away prizes!

So, don't wait another minute!  Go see what Thelma made from the book!  Be sure to comment for a chance to win some great prizes.

 

 

 

 

 

Cozy Mystery Recommendation

An author has come to my attention and I am just thrilled to share her books with you.  Louise Penny is an award winning Canadian author who has a series of cozy mystery books about a storybook beautiful village called Three Pines.  The first book in the series, "Still Life", introduces us to the residents of Three Pines, and to Inspector Armand Gamache.  An amazon.com review describes Inspector Gamache as "an elegant, well spoken man who commands his forces with integrity and courage".  Once you meet him, you will be wanting more!  And be warned, you will want to travel to Canada immediately and stay at a B&B full of antiques and be served mouth watering food.

The author, Louise Penny, is an excellent writer.  As lovers of mystery know, a good who-done-it features a good plot, interesting characters and really good writing.  She has that down in spades.  I would say her books will appeal to those who enjoy Ruth Rendell and Elizabeth George.  Penny's books are in the "cozy" genre, but are written to appeal to the intelligent reader who appreciates sophisticated literary mysteries.  Her plots are complex and always involve human emotion and meditations on behaviorial motivation.

In the first book, Still Life, we are introduced to Three Pines and those who live there--recurring personalities who will continue to appear in future books.  You will begin to feel as if you know these characters and that some of them are your friends.  I could hardly put the first in the series down, and am now on the second book "A Fatal Grace".  I believe Ms. Penny has written six books in the Three Pines series to date, and I plan to read them all.

Don't laugh--the plot of "A Fatal Grace" concerns a universally disliked woman who is murdered at a local curling match!  I am completely hooked.

So, pick up one of Louise Penny's books and settle yourself in for a cozy reading experience.

 

 

How I Really Have Been Spending My Time

 
Now here is a book I never in a million years would have predicted I would read.  The first in the George R. R. Martin Game of Thrones series.  The genre is fantasy, and aside from the Lord of the Rings books and A Once and Future King, it is a genre I have completely ignored.

A friend highly recommended the series, so I picked up the first book.  The characters are so sharply drawn, and the intrigue, the treachery, the suspense are keeping me right on the edge of my seat as I read.  I can barely put it down! 

There will be six or seven books in the series, and at around 800 pages per book, I may be reading these for the next five years.

 

Fat Quarter Winners Reveal and Give Away Winner

 
Congratulations to Christina Drury, who was the winner of my Fat Quarter Winners Give Away!  Contact me with your mailing address Christina, and this wonderful book and a set of Monique's amazing rulers will be in your hands before you know it!  The rest of you still have three more chances to win, so if you haven't left a comment on Monique, Thelma, or Lisa's give away posts, hop on over and do it!

A big thank you to all of you who chimed in to advise me against the borders I was thinking of using for my Rummy quilt, which I have been making from a pattern in the book.  I had a choice this weekend--- of sewing on Saturday, or driving to my favorite quilt shop (three hour round trip) to search for the right fabric for my borders.  Shopping usually wins out with me, so in my car I jumped and headed up to Prairie Queens in San Jose. 

Whew.  With the help of Debbie and Annette, I found just the right thing!  But, having spent my free time shopping and driving, I did not finish my quilt top by today's reveal.  Here's what I do have to show:

 
All my blocks are sewn together!  And this is my border fabric:

 
The inner border fabric has that bit of tan I was looking for, plus the dots are a pinkish red, which plays well with the few pink toned blocks I tossed in the mix.  The outer border is a rusty burgundy shade, with a tannish gold figure that works great with those same colors found in the majority of my blocks.  Couldn't be happier.  Bet I finish it by next Monday!

Thank you so much Monique for the opportunity to participate in your book tour.  I am so happy with my quilt and with the future quilts I know I will be making from the amazing patterns contained in the book.  If any of you are interested in purchasing the Fat Quarter Winners book and any of Monique's rulers, do go to her website "Open Gate Quilts".  She also has many many terrific patterns that are available there.

 

Rummy: Borders

 
I finished all my blocks for Rummy, the quilt I am making from Monique Dillard's wonderful new book, Fat Quarter Winners.  I was afraid I might not make the deadline for my big reveal next week, Monday April 25.  I worked like a donkey on Saturday and Sunday though, and did get my blocks done and sewed together. 

Now I am auditioning borders.  The tan solid will be my inner border, and I am leaning towards the Renee Nanneman fabric on the right for the outer border.  In the photo it kind of fights with the blocks that have a lighter background, but looks pretty good with the blocks that have more tan backgrounds. 

I don't know.  Maybe I should just go with a burgundy tone on tone for the outer border?  I think I need more  of a selection, and won't have any time to go shopping in time for the deadline.  Ack.  Should I put this border on and have a finished quilt, or wait until I can find something exactly perfect?  I want to love this quilt.  Should I take a risk and wait til I can find just the perfect border, even if it means the quilt won't be done by Monday?

Added later:  Whew, I have definitely been persuaded not to go with that border fabric!  Too busy.  There is enough going on in the quilt with the intricately pieced blocks.  Thanks for your input--this is what I love about blogging!  Instant feedback that can prevent a person from totally making the wrong choice!

Give Away for Fat Quarter Winners!

 
I am doing a giveaway in honor of the wrap up of the Fat Quarter Winners book tour next week.  The prize will be a copy of the new, hot off the presses, Fat Quarter Winners book by Monique Dillard, plus a set of her fabulous rulers "Fit To Be Geese", "Mini Fit To Be Geese" and "Fit To Be Square".

Leave a comment on today's post and you will have a chance to win a great prize.  As a matter of fact, leave comments on Monique's, Thelma's and Lisa's blogs on their book tour posting days this week, and have four chances to win!  Monique is today, Thelma is Wednesday and Lisa is Thursday.

 
I thought you all might get  kick out of this.  This workshop is currently how my future quilting studio is being used.  The present owner loves to work with wood, and has it set up as a shop for himself.  You saw how immaculate his garage was in a previous post.  It can't come as much of a surprise that his wood working shop looks as if you could eat off the floor.  I swear, by comparison, the rest of us look like total slobs compared to these people.

There are two windows, a double front entry door, and lots of wall space for cabinets and book cases.  I am still waffling over whether to hire a cabinet maker to custom install all the storage units for fabric and patterns and "stuff", or if I should order pre made cabinetry from Ikea.   I have a friend who recently redid her quilting room with Ikea cabinets and they are amazing.

It is going to be such fun to share my remodeling journey with all of you!  Have any of you done a set up of a quilting studio/area in your home?  Is there anything you want to share?  Or maybe warn me about?  Anything if you could do it again, how you might do it differently?  Anything you did that you are loving?  Tell, tell, we all want to know.