Quilt-achusetts

That's it the last quilt show that I entered quilts in this year has come and gone and earlier in the same week I got two quilts with judges notes back from another show.  No ribbons this time around but I thought I'd share my judges notes, for growth and for laughs, hopefully. Lilium Quilt First up, Lilium.  I entered Lilium in the PNW Quilts and Fiber Arts Festival, last year I entered Faux Hare Fair .  The judges' notes were short and sweet: "The quilting is really beautiful on this quilt, really well done.  I like the background treatment.  Good color choice.  Peach is nice, a softener to the oranges." Lilium Quilt\ Like I said short and sweet but this quilt did not win a ribbon.  I guess if I read between the lines, the judge might be suggesting that the orange was a little off putting but I really don't know. Moments Quilt Another quilt I had at the same show was my Moments quilt.  This quilt received high praise from the j

This week's row is the second set of anvil blocks and the second to last row!  If you are following along with Benartex Superior Solids row 8 uses colors Raspberry and Dove.  For more details on the Geo Pop version check out Christa's blog post . Infrastructure Row 8 - fabric Since everyone made these block for row six this will be a great catch up week for any of those unfinished rows. Infrastructure Row 8 - units You can use the templates in the pattern or other compatible templates and dye like the Tri-Recs Tool or the AccuQuilt 4" Triangle in Square dye .  Both of these are great tools to have in your collection.  I, personally use the Tri-Recs Tool all the time. Infrastructure Row 8 GIVEAWAY TIME!  This week Make Modern Magazine is partnering with us again and giving away a 6 month subscription to their magazine.  I really enjoy Make Modern there are plenty of great projects and articles that are sure to inspire and encourage your q

As many of you know I design quilts in Photoshop, so you might be wondering why I use EQ8 for quilt design.  I use Photoshop as my sketch book but I use EQ8 when I'm ready to make my quilts and to write patterns.. I recently designed my quilt Ingress/Egress in Photoshop.  Picking my colors and shapes is a very fluid process for me since I've been using Photoshop since 2000. Ingress/Egress Photoshop Design After getting a design I was pleased with I then design the block(s) in EQ8   Sometimes there is just one block like my Why Knot quilt and other times there are several blocks to design like this one.  I can add as much detail as I want when making the block and then apply it to your quilt. Ingress/Egress EQ8 Design As you can see the two designs are very similar but there are advantages to switching to EQ8 when executing a quilt design.  I like designing in Photoshop, it's where I'm comfortable but adding seams to my shapes, applying

Row 7 is here and we're really in the home stretch now.  I'll be going over the Superior Solid's for this week's row and Christa has the Geo Pop version right now on her blog !  There are two yellows, Sunshine and Yellow, and one gray, Gray, in row 7. Infrastructure Row 7 - fabric This week is another grey and yellow row.  Even though the two yellows look very similar the one is a touch more green than the other and is a nice way to transition into the purples. Infrastructure Row 7 - piecing This is another great week to chain piece.  After adding the end units to the yellow strips you can continue to sew the strips together with the same color on top in sets of two then sew those sets together in twos after pressing the seams open. Infrastructure Row 7 This row comes together quickly and before you know it your top will be done, just two more rows to go.  Speaking of finishing, I have a sneak peek of my finished Infrastructure quilt.  I k

Now that everyone is practiced making triangles in blocks it's time to make some more this week!  For the solid version on Infrastructure we will be using Superior Solids Light Yellow and Charcoal.  For more information on the Geo Pop version please visit Christa's blog . Infrastructure Row 6 - fabrics After cutting instructions you'll end up with yellow side units and squares with charcoal triangles.  This block uses negative space to create the anvil shape. Infrastructure Row 6 - Units Each picture or object has both negative and positive space.  For example type the letter "A"the positive space is the black and the negative space is the white, both together for the letter.  Unlike row 4 where the triangles were the positive space and the side pieces were the negative space, row 6 reverses the roles making the triangle the negative space. Infrastructure Row 6 By playing with the negative and positive space of a unit or block in a

This month's challenge for Aurifil Artisan's was to make something using at least five thread colors, I used NINE! Aurifil Five Thread Challenge I started my design by first picking my color palette by pulling threads from my stash.  I started with my go to blue, pink and yellow and quickly added black white.  The orange and green were thrown in to round out my palette. Aurifil Thread and Fabric Pull I did a deep stash dive to pick out my matching fabrics and chose a floral with a similar color palette to represent the white thread.  As you can see from the picture I fine tuned my fabric pull and changed out the background fabric for a textured cream woven cotton. Aurifil Five Thread Challenge After I had my palette and fabric selected I used my Aurifil Thread, Forty3 , to quilt the background fabric with an uneven grid.  From there I placed the circles with a piece of wool batting under them and quilted them down with Aurifil 28 wt thread

Week for was a great week 4 taking it easy, catching up or working ahead on your Infrastructure quilt.  This week there is a little more prepping and sewing but Christa and I give you a little extra help to get through it. Infrastructure Row 4 - Fabrics If you're following along with Benartex Superior Solids , row 4 uses colors: Mint, Lime, Kelly Green, Green and white.  This week I also switched from piecing with a medium dark grey to white 50 wt Aurifil Thread . Tri-Recs Tool and OLFA Ergonomic Rotary Cutter Also this week is our first week with triangles.  The Infrastructure pattern is compatible with the Tri-Recs tool and the units are easily cut with a 45mm OLFA rotary cutter.  The pattern templates and the Tri-Recs tool work the exact same way and for more details on using the Tri-Recs tool please visit Christa's website where she's posted some fantastic videos. Infrastructure Row 4 - cut units When you're done cutting out all the unit