Decisions for Deco Quilting + Stonefields Quilt "Shirtings"

Hello, quilting friends!  Another page has been ripped off the calendar and we find ourselves in the month of June, in the year 2025, which -- by the way -- remember when that was like a science fiction "way in the future" year?  (Alas, no Jetsons rocket ship cars or, my absolute favorite, the automated conveyor belt closet that gets you showered and dressed for your day while you are still sleeping...)

Okay, so my Tuesday To Do is going to be super light this week.  Mom has declined significantly since we moved her to Austin a month ago.  Her lung cancer has spread to her brain and she is barely eating anything.  Home hospice began May 27th and I'm flying out to see her tomorrow.  If I get any hand stitching prepped today, I'll bring it with me, but it's already 2:30 PM and here I am yet again, writing a blog post instead of actually handling fabric.  Why?  Because I've made some design decisions that I want to record while they are fresh in my mind.

Next On My Long Arm: Deco Quilt for Custom Quilting

Now that I've finished custom quilting that vintage sampler for my friend Marybeth, my long arm frame is open and available for the Deco quilt top I finished in March.  While I'm not in a huge rush to dive into another custom quilting project, I've wasted invested a lot of time over the past week thinking about how I want to quilt it once I'm ready.  

My Deco Quilt Top With My Anna Maria Floral Print Backing Fabric

My Deco needs to be custom quilted because the whole reason I was drawn to the pattern in the first place was that I thought it had great possibilities for custom quilting.  That's what drew me to the Building Blocks Sampler quilt that I (typically) overcomplicated and dragged out over too many years, too.  Once I finally got the Building Blocks/Nanu! Nanu! quilt top finished, I quilted it with an allover meander to just get it done and on the bed already, and now I kind of regret that I didn't set it aside until I had the time and "bandwidth" necessary to see my original vision through to the custom-quilted conclusion.  So, Custom Quilting will happen for Deco, or else no quilting will happen at all.  The quilting will combine digital computerized designs with hand guided ruler work and SID (stitch in the ditch) quilting.

I looked through hundreds of different digital designs before settling on this Jeweled Feathers "Little Sister" design set from Anne Bright.  What I love about Anne Bright's Little Sister sets is that she always has an assortment of related designs for the different shapes and sizes in a real quilt top.  

Anne Bright's Jeweled Feathers Little Sister Design Set

I'll be using the Jeweled Feathers 8W block in all of my full 8" alternate blocks, with Jeweled Feathers Quad in all the side setting triangles and Jeweled Feathers Double for my corner triangles.  

Second Thoughts on Scrappy Celebrations, Emma Louise Muslin Background for Stonefields + New Specs for Rebecca

Good morning, Quilty Peeps!  How is it Wednesday already?!  And how is it nearly the end of May when it was just February the other day?!!  Time doesn't just march on at a steady pace.  Time is picking up speed, taking shortcuts, and leaving me in the lurch.  All of which warrants a new practice for me: Reevaluating whether or not to keep working on a project all the way to the bloody end, just because I started it!

Here's your last glimpse of my inspired-by-Scrappy-Celebrations project on the design wall before I take it down and put it into a crypt prison project box from which it may or may not ever emerge:

I Celebrate Abandoning This Project Today!

This project has been tried and found guilty of Failing to Sufficiently Challenge and Engage My Brain, Wasting My Time, and Wasting My Tilda Precuts!  That last charge was the most serious, and I'm afraid I was an accomplice in this crime against my creative energy.  

Two things initially appealed to me about the Scrappy Celebrations quilt when I first saw it: The quilt "breaks the rules" about combining 4-patch and 9-patch blocks in the same quilt, but it works because only squares and rectangles are used in all the blocks.  I still find that interesting, but as I've been making the blocks I've been thinking ahead and dreading what a pain in the tush it will be to sew them together with all these seam allowances going different directions.  So I had already been toying with the idea of adding scrappy sashing strips between my blocks, but sashing increases the size of a quilt so I'd have fewer blocks (and less variety in my quilt) if I did that:

54 x 64.5 Tilda Celebration With Scrappy Sashing

In the EQ8 rendering above, I've arranged the 21 9" blocks that I've already sewn along with 9 more block mockups and "painted" my sashing randomly with prints from the Tilda Sunday Brunch collection to get an idea of what that would look like.  Meh.  I don't hate it, but I wish I hadn't made so many blocks using the same fabrics!  

A Color Plan and Fabric Shopping for Stars Upon Stars + TODAY is the Last Day of the Carolina Lily Quilt Show!

Good morning, quilt lovers!  Just a quick post from me this morning before I dash off to the Union County Agricultural Center because our Carolina Lily Quilt Show opened yesterday and TODAY IS THE LAST DAY!  The show is open until 4 PM with 200+ quilts to see, a full vendor mall with all of the area's best quilt shops and sewing machine dealers gathered on one place for convenient shopping (with show specials), and a boutique of handmade gift items for sale.  Four of the six personal quilts I entered are sporting ribbons and several of my clients' quilts ribboned as well (more about that in my next post, I promise).  I hope to see you there!

And now, the real focus of today's post -- I made some decisions and did some online shopping a couple days ago, and THIS QUILT IS HAPPENING, YOU GUYS!!!  I'm so excited!

Star Upon Stars Quilt: Decisions Made, Fabrics Ordered!

I wrote about this antique 19th century quilt back in November of last year (you'll find that blog post here) and how I was considering it as a new challenge project for myself in 2023.  Well, Edyta Sitar recently announced that she is starting a QAL (Quilt-Along) for Star Upon Stars on March 15th with weekly blog posts and videos on her YouTube channel.  

Edyta is Doing a Star Upon Stars QAL in March!!!

The QAL will run for just three weeks, covering the three components of the quilt: the diamond pieced center stars, the smaller Lemoyne stars, and the sashing.  (No, I don't think anyone is going to finish the entire quilt during the three week QAL!). In her intro video for the QAL Edyta suggested that anyone who is worried that this quilt might be too difficult for them should just try making one sample block in the QAL and if they don't want to continue, that can become a pillow cover or a small wallhanging.  She also announced that she has a new template set available for this pattern, including one template for the exact size that each of the eight multi-diamond star segments is supposed to finish, which perked my ears right up -- in Jan Krentz's book Lone Star Quilts and Beyond, she recommends making a template for the desired finished size of those units out of template plastic.  The idea is to check each of those units after piecing them and correct any discrepancies before sewing them together.  You can find the template set and pattern for this quilt on Laundry Basket Quilts' web site here if you'd like to join me in this madness!

Original 67 x 74 Star Upon Stars Quilt (left) with My Fabric Picks (right)

One of the reasons I was vacillating about this quilt is that I was undecided about whether I'd attempt a faithful recreation of the original or reinterpret the quilt in a modern palette of solids, which would tone down the visual busyness and show off my piecing skills better (prints tend to camouflage seam lines).  I was also on the fence about the size of the quilt, because 67" x 74" is too small for a modern bed but this is way to elaborate to be a couch throw for the dog to curl up in (sorry, Samwise!).  

In the photo above, the original quilt made in 1846 is on the left, and you can see the contents of my shopping cart from Laundry Basket Quilts on the right.  

Rebecca's Ultimate Etsy Gift Guide for Quilters and Crafters

 Hello, friends, and happy Nearly Thanksgiving to those of you in the United States!  Today's post is something I've never done before -- a shopping guide chock full of gift-worthy goodies that I personally would love to find under my tree on Christmas morning.  If you have quilters, sewists, or embroiderers on your shopping list this year, I have some suggestions that are sure to be received with delight.  (If YOU are the quilter/sewist/embroiderer reading this post, you may find a few items for your OWN wish list).  What's more, every item on my list is in stock and coming from a small craft business owner via Etsy -- and none of them contains those pesky microchips that are delaying just about everything else you might want to buy for the holidays this year.

A Few of My Favorite Tools

Each of the items on this list is something I personally own and love, or something I currently have on my own wish list.  Feel free to share this post with others, post on social media or wherever.  Disclaimer: this post does contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking my link.  I do appreciate your support of my wicked thread addiction!  😉

 Beautiful Tools: Where Form Meets Function

The items in this section are a pleasure to own and use because they combine the finest craftsmanship with beautiful design.  Bonus: They make great Instagram props to "style" your work-in-progress photos.

1. Hand Embroidered Felted Wool Pin Cushion from Etsy maker Martha of Quilt Shenanigans.  Who is this good for?  Anyone who does any kind of sewing at all can use a pin cushion, and these must take Martha hours to individually hand stitch and embellish with tiny beads.  Her hand stitching is exquisite, the felted wool is soft and luxurious to the touch, and the pin cushion is well-packed to hold its shape and is stable on a flat surface.  Even the slenderest pins slide in and out with ease, and she has lots of beautiful designs in stock to choose from.   

My New Favorite Pin Cushion, made by Martha of Quilt Shenanigans on Etsy 

2. Handmade, Hand Paired Embroidery Scissors from Maison Sajou.  These are manufactured by a 200-year old company in France, but available in several Etsy shops.  I got mine from Penelope Textiles' Etsy shop.  A few things to know: There are lots and lots of cheap imitations out there for a fraction of the price, but while the mass-produced knockoffs might look just as cute as photo props, there is no comparison to the way they actually cut.  It's like the difference between a Wustof steak knife versus the plastic knife that comes with your takeout order.  The lesser version SORT of cuts, but not cleanly or easily and it's not a joy to use!  Authentic Maison Sajou scissors are individually handmade by French craftsmen, with hand paired blades that are kept together throughout the entire production process to ensure that they match up perfectly. They are sharp, accurate, and cut smoothly and cleanly all the way to the tip (which is absolutely crucial for snipping the inside corner seam allowances in needle turned applique).  Who is this good for?  Anyone who enjoys any kind of hand stitching like cross stitch, embroidery, needle turned applique, or hand quilting would love to receive a pair of Sajou scissors!  In addition to the Hare design that I own, there is also a cute Eiffel tower version, gorgeous Art Nouveau Peacock scissors, and other historic reissue designs to choose from.  Of course, if you just want a cute pair of scissors for a photo prop, those cheaper knockoffs will suit you just fine!

Hand Paired Hare Embroidery Scissors from Maison Sajou, via Penelope Textiles on Etsy

In Which the Ghost of Claude Monet Wrests Artistic Control of My Kaleidoscope Quilt and Turns It Into Giverny

Oh-Ma-Goodness; It's MARCH Already!  I'll save you the suspense and tell you right up front: Finishing all 63 blocks for my son's high school graduation quilt is my one-and-only monthly goal for March.  By which I mean, finishing the octagonal centers of all 63 blocks is my goal -- I'll be deciding on the corner triangles once all of the octagons are completed and arranged to my liking on my design wall.  

Nine 11 Inch Kaleidoscope Blocks Completed

Behold, 9 of the 63 block centers are completed and up on my design wall.  That's one row down, and six more rows to go.  I'm planning to make three blocks from each fabric, so there will be much greater variety in the finished quilt than what you see on my wall right now.

The First Four Blocks

Keeping my time constraints in mind, I'm trying not to be TOO neurotic about the center points matching absolutely perfectly.  Meaning that I'm taking care to match them as perfectly as I can the first time, but have resisted the urge to grab my seam ripper over minuscule misalignment that you can only see from 2" away with your high-power reading glasses.

Two More Retro Sampler Blocks Completed, and Fabric Crises Averted

 Hello and happy Tuesday!  This post needs to be a "quickie" because I have a dentist appointment to get ready for.  I like making these Tuesday To-Do lists, even if I don't always cross everything off before the next Tuesday rolls around.

Last week, I managed to eke out two more 5" sampler blocks for my '80s Retro Building Blocks sampler quilt:

5 Inch Puss In the Corner Block

Neither of these blocks is in the original Moda Modern Building Blocks quilt, by the way.  I always try to mention that in case anyone out there is working on that quilt, so as not to confuse anyone. Like most of the blocks in my quilt, these were both foundation paper pieced due to the non-ruler-friendly patch sizes that happen when you take a 6" block and force it down to 5".

5 Inch Card Trick Block

Meanwhile, my order of Kona Solids from Missouri Star Quilt Company DID arrive this past week, including the Ocean blue that I was needing so desperately, and I washed, dried and folded all of it.  I HATE prewashing fabric, but the only thing I hate more than prewashing fabric yardage is frantically trying to remove dye bleed from a finished quilt.  

Border Fabrics for Spirit Song!

Well, I haven't stocked up properly on hand sanitizer or toilet paper, but I did make it to the quilt shop yesterday to select borders and backing fabric for my Spirit Song quilt!

Borders, Binding, and Backing Fabrics for Spirit Song Quilt

The blue print with flowers and birds (at the top of the photo) is for the backing.  The blue-on-blue spotted fabric will be for a narrow inner border, and the glorious pink, purple and orange Kaffe Fassett floral print is for a wider outer border.  That rainbow sherbet kind of batik that you see a sliver of along the left side of the photo is from my stash, and I'll be using it for the binding.  I even remembered to pick out a blending shade of 50/3 cotton thread for hand stitching the binding, which I usually forget until it's time to stitch the binding on a Sunday afternoon, the quilt shops are closed, and I don't have the right color.  Success!  Picking out the fabrics is my FAVORITE part of quilting.''

First Two Rows Sewn Together

I did get the first two rows of this quilt sewn together earlier in the week, and it was fun to see that secondary design emerge, crisp and clean, when I pressed the seam.  HOWEVER, upon closer inspection:

This Needs To Be Fixed!

HORROR OF HORRORS!!  Those two seam allowances are crisply pressed in opposite directions and YES, I pinned on both sides of the seam intersection, but I must not have had the two seams butted up against one another tightly when I pinned them.  I know that a lot of people would call that good enough, and I know that it wouldn't be glaringly obvious in the finished quilt.  I also know that I'm going to rip that bit out, repin, and restitch it because I absolutely cannot live with it like that, not after all the pains I went through to get the blue triangle points as close to perfection as humanly possible!  

That's actually what prompted me to take a field trip to the quilt shop, because I knew I would regret it if I left that mismatched seam alone, but I didn't have the heart to rip it out right then and there.  I was TIRED.  But now, after picking out the border fabrics, I'm feeling more motivated to get back in there with my seam ripper and get this fixed.

By the way, my border fabric is ANCIENT -- from the Philip Jacobs for Kaffe Fassett Collective back in 2012 -- and it was still full price.  Also I left ONE yard on the bolt, so hopefully my brain was paying attention when I calculated cut lengths for my borders.  The quilt shop does not have enough yardage to give me border-length cuts, and it's not a current fabric anymore.  I did find someone on Etsy who has two yards of it left, though.

Painted Daisy Magenta from Free Spirit Fabrics circa 2012

Anyway, I'm slightly annoyed that this discontinued fabric was being sold at regular price, but not because I wanted a discount.  No, I'm annoyed because leaving the bolt in with the current Kaffe Fassett offerings led me to assume that this was a current fabric, too.  When a fabric is current, you know the shop is probably going to get more in, or another shop will have it if you find yourself short.  I would have purchased the whole bolt if I knew that it was an 8-year-old pattern that I can't get more of easily!  This one reminds me of another early Kaffe Fassett Collective fabric by Philip Jacobs that I fell in love with and can't get more of, Iris and Peony.  I just really love those reds and purples together.

Iris and Peony in Red, Philip Jacobs for Kaffe Fassett, Sadly Discontinued

Incidentally, a quick search just turned up a few half yard and fat quarter pieces of this fabric on Etsy as well.  Of course the Etsy sellers have INCREASED the price of these "Hard to Find, Discontinued, Rare Early Prints" so I still got a bargain on my Painted Daisy fabric by paying the "regular" price for it!

In other excitement yesterday, Mister Puppy Wumpus dug up and chewed through a section of fiber optic cable in the back yard while I was enjoying my coffee on the deck, certain he was harmlessly digging up tree roots around a stump.  This is why I'm not getting any quilting done, people!  Puppies have to be watched CONSTANTLY, and by the time he falls asleep for a nap, I'm exhausted from chasing after him and I need a nap, too!

Monday Updates: Spirit Song Quilt, Frankenwhiggish Applique, a New Fabric Shop, and a Puppy Portrait

Hello and happy Monday!  The "little one" (my 6' tall 16-year-old son) is back to high school today, but I still have my 19-year-old son home for a few more days before he heads back to college.  Now that it's Epiphany and Christmas has officially ended, Bernie is taking down our Christmas trees today.  I've been sewing 4" Birds in the Air blocks together over the weekend for my Spirit Song quilt (whose color palette was inspired by the contemporary choir dress code colors for which I never have anything to wear).

First 16 inch Block Sewn Together for Spirit Song Quilt

I'll need twelve of those 16" blocks in a 3 x 4 layout for this throw-sized quilt.  This is a total procrastination project, by the way.  I have no intended use or recipient in mind for this quilt. But, since it's Design Wall Monday, here are all of the blocks (before I started sewing them together) laid out on my design wall:

192 Four Inch Blocks on the Wall, Final Layout

Colors are weird in that photo because I took it late at night and then tried to correct shadows and yellow cast from incandescent lighting, etc.  But that's the photo that I printed out to use as a placement guide as I'm assembling the blocks into a quilt top.  

I'll be working on my never-ending Frankenwhiggish Rose needle turned applique project this afternoon with my SouthSide Stitchers Bee amigas.  I feel like I've been making little green leaves FOREVER...

Hand Stitching for Today's Sewcializing Bee

Colors in that photo are weird, too.  Here's the first completed block:

Block One of Nine for Frankenwhiggish Rose Quilt

Colors are more accurate in this photo.  I completed the first block in its entirety to see how I liked it, and then started making eight more identical blocks assembly-line style: all of the stems, all of the large petals, all of the circle centers, and now I've been bogged down with putting sixteen leaves on each block for aeons...  I am so looking forward to finishing the leaves and moving on to the reverse appliquéd tulips, stuffed berries, and broderie perse rosebuds at the center of each block!

One of my quilting friends and I checked out a new local shop yesterday afternoon, and I came home with some goodies:

Shopping Treasures from a New Local Shop, Stash Charlotte

The store is called Stash (located in the Plaza Midwood area, for those of you who are fellow Charlotteans), and they used to sell only yarn and knitting supplies until they were bought by new owners who decided to add fabrics and Janome sewing machines.  I found out about them at the Charlotte Quilters' Guild, because Stash is one of our sponsors for our upcoming March quilt show (they've donated a Janome sewing machine as a raffle prize) and I've been meaning to check them out ever since.  It turns out that they are the ONLY non-chain quilt shop near Charlotte that is open on a Sunday afternoon, a crucial piece of information that I will be storing away for sure...

Stash is a very small shop and they have a lot more yarn than fabric...  BUT...  the fabric that they do carry is an interesting mix with an aesthetic that I like, and the manufacturer names on the bolts were kind of off-the-beaten-track, not the same lines that are carried by other quilt shops in our area.  I noticed a few Japanese fabric companies that I've only seen in online shops before, and OH MY GOODNESS, y'all -- they carry LIBERTY OF LONDON!!!  I have eyed those fabrics online, but with a skeptical eye due to the higher price point.  Now, having seen the fabrics in person, I'm officially a groupie.  

Liberty's Strawberry Thief Print on Tana Lawn

The crisp clarity of Liberty's highly detailed prints reminds me of the magnificent (and stratospherically expensive) screen prints from Scalamandre.  And the cotton lawn fabric that Liberty prints on has the softest hand and drapes like silk charmeuse.  I know that Liberty is a favorite with quilters and crafters, but I'm thinking of using it for a light-as-a-feather blouse, skirt, or dress -- maybe in Spirit Song colors so I'll finally have something to wear to church!  :-). Wouldn't this fabric be luscious for a blouse like this one from the Danish pattern designer Personal Pattern?  

Blouse 4253 from Personal Pattern, available here

You might have noticed some yarn in that photo of my shopping treasures, too, even though I have never even considered learning to knit.  I picked two of the thinnest, most interesting variegated wool yarns because I couldn't stop petting and squeezing them like I was that crazy lady in the "Don't Squeeze the Charmin" commercial!  I'm planning to experiment with them in my bobbin with decorative machine stitches, and if that doesn't work, I'll play with them in my serger loopers, and if THAT doesn't work, well, I might have to sign up for a knitting class at Stash!

I have one final picture to share with you before I wrap up this post.  I have to show you what one of our pastors surprised me with after church yesterday.  He had seen my Facebook post about losing our dog Otto to cancer just before Christmas, and he painted this for us from one of my photos:

Painted by Drew Goodson, Associate Pastor at Christ Lutheran Church in Charlotte, NC

I was so overwhelmed.  I had no idea that Pastor Drew was gifted with artistic talent in addition to his gifts for ministry.  I so appreciate the outpouring of love and compassion from my blog readers as well.  Thank you all so very much.

Well, once again I've lost track of time while writing a "quick blog post" and I'm on the verge of being late for my sewing bee!  

Linking up today's post with:

·       Slow Sunday Stitching at http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/  

·       Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com

·       Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts  

·       Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

·       Moving it Forward at Em's Scrap Bag

·       BOMs Away Katie Mae Quilts  

F. Schumacher Gone Quilting? Quilting Inspires Interior Design Inspires Quilting...

Those of you who have been with me for awhile know that I am more of a designer than a maker.  For every 10-15 quilt ideas that I sketch out on my iPad or in EQ8, only one or two of them ever makes its way into the tangible reality of fabric and thread.  I spent 20 years in the interior design industry, where I used to pass my window treatment, bedding and pillow design sketches off (along with bolts of gorgeous fabrics and trims and detailed work orders) to the amazingly talented hands of my custom drapery workroom.  Then the makers in the workroom would turn my designs into reality while I got started dreaming up new ideas for another client.  

So anyway, because of my interior design background, this glossy, oversize design magazine from F. Schumacher called The Bulletin appears regularly in my mailbox.  And I had to share with you guys that, according to the tastemakers at F. Schumacher at least, "American Folk Art" is #2 on the list of up-and-coming interior design trends:

This is a Hot NEW Trend, According to F. Schumacher

Now, how cool is that?  We quilters have all just been so ahead of our times...  Those two fabrics pictured above are jacquard woven matelasses.  Although the one on the right is named Tristan Patchwork, it's not actually patchwork -- or quilted -- at all.

76762 Tristan Patchwork from F. Schumacher, Retail $236/yd

Naturally, as a designer AND a quilter, I love this fabric.  It would be fabulous for light duty upholstery, throw pillows, or a structured window treatment.  It comes in Yellow, Charcoal, or Indigo and the scale of the "blocks" is a good deal smaller than they would be on an actual quilt -- the pattern repeat is 13.5".  So that's interesting -- modern quilters are playing with scale by making quilt blocks that are larger in size, while textile manufacturers are playing with smaller-scale versions of the same traditional block patterns.  I also love how the traditional 2-color quilt idea is kicked up a notch by adding a second, paler yellow to the mix that almost reads as a visual echo or a shadow.  

My Pea Soup Paint Strip Challenge

Hmmm...  Our guild is doing a "paint strip challenge" for next spring's quilt show, and I had the misfortune to draw a very BORING strip of sage greens that doesn't feel challenging AT ALL.  I'm supposed to use at least two of the greens from my paint strip in my challenge quilt but I am sick of those greens already because they are in my Frankenwhiggish applique project, my Pineapple Nostalgia, even in Lars's Mission Impossible quilt.  I guess I misunderstood the challenge -- I thought they were going to have two or more "difficult" colors in each envelope, or colors that you don't typically think of as "going together" or something.  When I saw that Tristan Patchwork fabric in the Schumacher magazine this morning, I realized that I could definitely do something similar using my two shades of green where they are using yellows, but I'm not sure that's going to be interesting enough to hold my attention all the way through to a quilted and bound finish, you know what I mean?  I'd rather do a color challenge based on THIS story in the same magazine:

I Want THIS to Be My Color Challenge!

How much fun would it be to come up with a quilt based on THOSE two pages?  This is fashion designer Johnson Hartig of Libertine, and I absolutely adore his new interior fabrics collaboration with F. Schumacher.  I love how Hartig has taken this uber-luxurious, high-end cotton viscose velvet fabric and decorated it with goofy, campy Tibetan tigers.  It just makes me smile.  

77231 Jokhang Tiger Velvet from F. Schumacher, Retail $700/yd

Even MORE fun?  Check out this 3" wide trim, also from Johnson Hartig's collection for F. Schumacher, adorned with SAFETY PINS.  This is so delightful to me that it ALMOST tempts me to return to interior design, just so I can talk someone into decorating their living room draperies with a wide band of safety pins down the lead edges: 

77270 Punk Rock Mix Tape from F. Schumacher, Retail $198/yd

(Attention, DIY Fashionistas -- anyone with a sewing machine can recreate this look by sewing a bunch of safety pins to ordinary 3" wide grosgrain ribbon from JoAnn's...)

So my own PERSONAL interpretation of our guild's color challenge is going to be: How can I incorporate my boring greens into the weirdest and most unexpected quilt possible???  

But that challenge piece is WAY down on my list of priorities at the moment.  At the moment, I'm focused on:

1. Getting back to my longarm machine to try out a different thread combination and hopefully get one of my two outreach tops quilted
2. Working on a commission to finish a Double Wedding Ring UFO
3. Anders' sampler quilt, Beware the Ishmaelites

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I'm linking today's post with:

MONDAY

·      Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts 

·      Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt

TUESDAY

·      Colour and Inspiration Tuesday at Clever Chameleon

·       To-Do Tuesday at Home Sewn By Us

Because Quilters (Like RAMONA!) Are the Nicest People, I Am FINALLY Joining a Quilt Guild

I'm starting today's post with a shout-out to Ramona, who blogs about her quilting and other needlecrafts over at Doodlebugs and Rosebuds Quilts.  I have never met Ramona in person, but she is one of the many kind and generous quilters I've had the pleasure to connect with on the Internet through the various quilting linky parties in which I participate.  So Ramona read my last blog post  where I mentioned that I'd given up all hope of finding anymore of the leaf fabric I needed to complete my eight remaining FrankenWhiggish Rose needle turned applique blocks.  And then Ramona, out of the sheer goodness of her quilter's heart, took it upon herself to hunt down my discontinued, out-of-stock fabric and FOUND IT for me on eBay!!!

This Project Has Been SAVED By the Kindness Of a Stranger

Can you believe that?!  Of course you can, because if you're reading my blog in the first place, chances are good that YOU'RE a quilter and you have heart of gold, too.  I cannot even begin to express how grateful I am.  Of course I had done every Internet search I could think of when I first discovered the fabric shortage a few months ago, but at that time I came up empty-handed and it didn't occur to me to keep checking since the fabric was so old to begin with.  I started working on this in 2014, so the "Sandy's Garden" fabric was LONG since discontinued.

YES!!!  New Yardage From eBay Is An Exact Match to My Strip From 2014!

Seriously, you guys -- my heart runneth over.  And Ramona, if you ever need a kidney or anything, please give me a call.  I owe you one!

I'll probably give this quilt another name if I ever finish it, but for now I'm calling it the FrankenWhiggish Rose because I cobbled the pattern together from different sources like a Frankenstein monster.  The traditional Whig Rose applique pattern was very popular with 19th century quilters, there are lots of variations, and I love every antique Whig Rose quilt that I've ever seen.  The quilt pictured below is a stunning example of an antique Whig Rose quilt from the collection of the International Quilt Study Center and Museum:

Whig Rose Quilt Attributed to Del Patterson circa 1895-1905, International Quilt Museum Collection

Isn't that gorgeous?  Quilter Kim Diehl reinterpreted the traditional Whig Rose pattern in 2004 in her book Simple Blessings:

Kim Diehl's Country Whig Rose Wallhanging, from her Simple Blessings Book (affiliate link)

I hadn't seen Kim's original quilt when I started mine, though -- I was smitten by another quilter's adaptation of Kim's pattern when I saw it published in the September 2006 issue of Quilter's Newsletter Magazine:

Joyce Stewart's Village Gardens Quilt, Adapted From Kim Diehl's Country Whig Rose Pattern

So I started with Joyce's pattern from the QNM magazine, but I am not a fan of hearts so I swapped those out for reverse appliqued tulip and leaf templates that I got from an antique quilt reproduction pattern in another magazine, and then I added the stuffed berries because stuffed berries are fabulous, and the broderie perse rose buds that I decided to put around the center of my main flower were because I'd never tried needle turned broderie perse and wanted to see if I could do it...  See?  An arm from this pattern, a leg from that one...  If Dr. Frankenstein had been a quilter, I'm sure this is how he would have put his quilts together, too.  

Anyway, that's where my quilt block came from, and then after making one complete block, I imported a photo of my actual quilt block into EQ software, using that photo to color plain blocks in my quilt design (the same way you'd import a photo or scan of a fabric and use that to color patches in your design).  I like to work this way, making a single block out of real fabric and then using the design software to try it out in different settings so I am sure I really love what I'm seeing on my computer screen before I go ahead and make all of the blocks, especially when it's something really time-consuming. 

My EQ8 Design for My FrankenWhiggish Rose Blocks

When I made my first block, I didn't have a whole quilt design in mind and didn't know whether I'd be making one block or several.  Once I finalized my design and knew I'd need eight more blocks just like the first one, I decided to do them assembly-line style for efficiency.  So, by the time I realized I had nowhere near enough green fabric for all of my leaves, I had already spent hours and hours and HOURS appliqueing the stems, the large layered petals, and the stacked centers onto all eight remaining blocks.  When I discovered the fabric shortage and wasn't able to locate anymore of it, I got so discouraged that I shoved the project in a bin and stopped working on it.

Now, do you understand why Ramona's gesture of kindness, taking the time to hunt down discontinued fabric for a fellow quilter she's never even met, means so much to me?  I am so excited to get this project back in my fingers again!

And the kindness of Ramona got me thinking about ALL of you wonderful quilters that I've come to know online.  My Internet quilting buddies are the best -- when I asked for help, you have emailed me lengthy tutorials, mailed me samples of your favorite products, notions, etc.  Someone made me a beautiful embroidered needle book and mailed it to me from New Zealand when I broke my collar bone in a bicycle accident a few years ago, just to cheer me up -- from NEW ZEALAND!  

And so an introverted, secretive closet quilter named Rebecca ventured forth to last night's meeting of the Charlotte Quilters' Guild, thinking that if quilters from all over the country and all over the world who've never even met me can be such wonderful people, then maybe it's worth the risk of walking into a room full of strangers to meet some of the quilters who live in my own town.  I'm going to have to play hooky from choir rehearsal on the first Wednesday of the month so I can give this quilt guild thing a try...  Wish me luck!

Do you belong to your local quilt guild?  Any advice you'd care to share with me in the comments? 

 I'm not even 100% sure that I know what one does as a member of a quilt guild besides paying the dues and showing up at the meetings.  But for now, if you'll excuse me, I have 128 leaves to cut out of my green fabric!


Today I'm linking up with:

• Let’s Bee Social at www.sewfreshquilts.blogspot.ca/ 
• Midweek Makers at www.quiltfabrication.com/
• WOW WIP on Wednesday at www.estheraliu.blogspot.com 
• Needle and Thread Thursday at http://www.myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/  
• Whoop Whoop Fridays at www.confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com 

• Finished Or Not Friday at http://busyhandsquilts.blogspot.com/ 
• Slow Sunday Stitching at http://kathysquilts.blogspot.com/  
• Oh Scrap! at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework at http://quiltingismorefunthanhousework.blogspot.com
• Design Wall Monday at Small Quilts and Doll Quilts http://smallquiltsanddollquilts.blogspot.com  
• Main Crush Monday at Cooking Up Quilts http://www.cookingupquilts.com/ 
• Monday Making at Love Laugh Quilt http://lovelaughquilt.blogspot.com/ 
• Moving it Forward at Em’s Scrap Bag: http://emsscrapbag.blogspot.com.au/