I am slowly getting back up to speed. My shop received a lot of fabric while I was out sick!
This is Sundance from Windham Fabrics.
File these under better late than never! These gorgeous western prints are a bit late in arriving (originally scheduled to arrive in March) but they are worth the wait. Lassos, horses, ranch wear, bandana paisleys and an awesome cattle drive print! I have a pattern in mind for these that will really show them off.
I'm sorry I dropped off this week. I came down with COVID and was out of commission for a bit as a result. Doing much better now but still not back to work. The photos I am going to share with you today I took before I got sick. I have been stuck at home since June 12th so these were taken before then.
The above quilt was made by Nancy C. She took the first run of Donelle McAdams' Westalee ruler quilting class called "... And Beyond!" The class is still available in reruns. Click the following link to view the class on the Sew Steady University website: ... And Beyond! Class. Full disclosure the link is an affiliate link so you if you sign up for the class through my link I will get a small financial kick back. It's a great second class for ruler quilting. I would suggest that you take at least one of their beginner classes first, either a virtual class or an in-person one. Or have at least done a little ruler quilting first. It's a nine part class with the first few being just on the piecing and the rest being on the ruler quilting.
I must confess that I don't remember who made the quilt below! Seems like a really long time since I took the photo even though it's only been about 2 weeks.
It's a disappearing nine patch quilt. It is so large that I had a hard time getting a photo of the entire thing!
Linda took the very first Westalee ruler quilting class I taught at my shop several years ago. Since that class she has finished more older UFO projects than I can count and taken quite a few virtual classes through Sew Steady University. Linda is participating in the 2022 2nd Saturday Sampler Block of the Month through my shop and she is doing hers quilt as you go style and quilting the blocks with her Westalee rulers. These are the last blocks she brought in to share with me.
There are 12 "blank" blocks in the finished quilt. Linda is quilting each of the "blank" blocks with a different design. I am really looking forward to seeing her quilt when it is finished!
Nancy has also really taken to the Westalee rulers! She took the ... And Beyond! class from Donelle McAdams through Sew Steady University. This is her finished class project.
The ... And Beyond class is a great second class to take for ruler quilting. This is a 9 part class. The first three sessions cover the piecing part and the last 6 sessions cover how to quilt it. It's a great class! All Sew Steady University classes are yours to watch as many times as you need. And when you buy it through the link I provide I get a small kick back.
Cheryl bought our Christmas Wreath kit last summer. She's a fairly new quilter so she was a little worried about making the ribbon border, but she did great!
Cheryl and her husband are back again for this summer so she brought this in to show me.
Last week we had our the first Stella Bag and Wallet class. We had a full classroom but only one person got both the bag and wallet finished.
Cynthia has made a few basic tote bags but this was her first bag "real" bag. She learned how to put in a zipper, both on the top of the bag and an interior pocket on the wallet. She learned how to make pockets and install a magnetic snap on the wallet. She also quite quickly realized how with a few skills should could make a bag her own. I think she's hooked!
I taught my first class for the little stitched pin cushions. I had two willing "guinea pigs" and they both did great. One didn't think she would like the technique but went along with it because she is just super nice like that. However, she ended up really enjoying the process. This is her pin cushion.
My other student was more of a willing participant. She asked to join in when she found out what I was doing. She also did great and enjoyed the process.
They both started out just doing running stitches but quickly caught on to the possibilities. Then they branched out with a variety of stitches and patterns.
Classes at my shop are typically three hours, 1 pm to 4 pm. Both of them had their pin cushions completely finished by 3:30! I had already made the crushed walnut shell insert for them. They picked out what fabric they wanted on the back of their pin cushions and I topstitched the folded edge for them and then I attached the backing fabric by machine for them. These just have an envelope back like you would do for a larger pillow.
Leah has been busy making herself new kitchen towels. She bought several of our towel kits and got these two sewn up already.
Peggy purchased the fabrics and pattern for this beauty from my shop last summer.
The pattern is a Villa Rosa Designs pattern called Fernanda. The fabrics are Whispering Pines from Northcott. These fabrics sold out really fast after they arrived, about 3 weeks. The same designer has a new collection that is very similar to this one coming out. I have received the shop sample I ordered, but the fabric hasn't come yet. It's called Soar and is just as gorgeous as this collection. I'll share it with you here when it arrives.
This is Lynn R.'s first t-shirt quilt.
The pattern she used is called Block Talk. It's a fabulous pattern for a t-shirt quilt because the designer has an online calculator you can use to figure yardage and finished sizes. It's also great for those block style panels and layer cakes. Lynn was nervous about doing this project because she had never worked with t-shirts before, but it's pretty easy for a fairly experienced quilter like Lynn. All she needed was a quick "cutting table class" (what I call it when I talk a customer through a project at the cutting table in 5 or 10 minutes).
The Spargoettes Group (Sue Spargo design fans) meet several times a month at my shop. Janet D. has been working on this bunny during her recent visits.
The pattern is not a Sue Spargo pattern. I can't remember who designed the pattern, but Janet only used the pattern as an inspiration and for the main applique elements. She is doing a lot of hand embroidery on this in the style of Sue Spargo. She thinks she is almost done now.
Barb R. has started Squash Squad, a Sue Spargo pattern. She has all 9 blocks appliqued but has only done the embroidery on these two.
Linda C. doesn't live in Alamosa, but she stops in every time she comes down to visit her family in the area. She does beautiful needle turn applique and likes to make up Sue Spargo designs using only cotton fabric instead of mostly wool.
Above is her latest finish, Forest for the Trees, made up using only cotton fabrics and hand embroidery. Sue Spargo's design are so good that it doesn't matter what type of fabric you use for her patterns - they all look amazing!
I finally had time to get the Starlets sample pieced together.
I love the traditional style fabrics made up into a very modern style pattern. The fabrics I used are from the 6th Street Cottons collection and I might have used a couple from Homestead Harvest. Both collections are designed by Julie Letvin for Robert Kaufman Fabrics.
This is a really nice pattern! There are instructions for 4 sizes of quilt. I made the smallest version. It will finish at 45" by 48". You need yardage for the stars but the rest is made from fat quarters.
Now I need to pick a backing fabric, baste everything together and quilt it!
I received a beautiful new collection from In the Beginning Fabrics last week - two months earlier than it was scheduled to be here! Believe me, that is a first of late! I am still missing orders from March, April and of course May of this year.
First the fabrics - Sci Fi fabric collection:
I have been playing around more with my "Kanwandiko" stitching. I am leaning toward the name "stitched meditations" now or "mindful stitching" instead of a weird, made-up word. I have finally perfected my technique to one that is more my own rather than following someone else's ideas. Here are the few I have made so far.
The one above I made using only solids. I thought I would like it more than I do. Maybe if I had just used a single color of fabrics in various shades I would like it better. I'll try that at some point. Or maybe I it's the white thread I don't like. I could have used a different color thread for each fabric. Maybe I'll try that too at some point.
