Summer Mountains

 This was a "group" project. One of my employees pieced this, my long arm quilter quilted it and I put on the binding.

The pattern includes instructions for two sizes of quilt. We made the smaller version (36" by 48"). The larger size finishes at 72" by 96". The pattern is available both in store and in our online shop. Click the following link to go directly to the pattern in my online shop: Summer Mountains

Have you tried ruler quilting?

 I started ruler quilting a few years ago after attending Quilt Market in Houston. I stopped by the Sew Steady booth and watched in wonder as it was demoed at the show by Donelle McAdams. I signed myself up to learn how to do this from Donelle and purchased all the stuff on the spot. Fast forward a few years and I've taught the beginner class I learned through the class with Donelle several times at my shop. When COVID hit Sew Steady pivoted quickly to offering high quality virtual classes. My shop has sponsored several of their virtual classes in the last year or so.

Nancy has taken several of their classes and recently finished the class project from Donelle's "Next Steps" class.

Linda took my very first beginner ruler quilting class several years ago and has quilted quite a few UFOs and other projects since then. Her latest finish is for a new grandbaby.

My shop is sponsoring another class from Donelle starting October 4, 2021. The class is called ...And Beyond! If you are interested in signing up you can sign up following the link below:

Sign up for Donelle's ... And Beyond! Class

All the details about the class can be found by following the link above. Signing up through my shop's link helps my shop. If I get enough sign-ups then I get to sponsor the class for free. I also get a small commission on anything you buy from Sew Steady for the class or you can just contact me directly to order what you need for you.

The great thing about these classes is that you can watch them live (and ask questions) or you can watch them later. With the multiple session classes like the ... And Beyond! class, you have 30 days after the LAST class to watch and rewatch ALL of the sessions of the class. Many of these classes are also available through Sew Steady University and if you purchase a Sew Steady University class then you own the class and can watch and rewatch forever.

For more information about Sew Steady University click here.

How Have You Been?

 Well...I don't know about you, but I got completely overwhelmed with running a business in the age of COVID. I found that I had no time or energy for anything extra, such as this blog. I focused on my Facebook business page and my Instagram page and my shop newsletter and website. However, I have missed this format. 

And, I opened a "real" online shop and closed my Etsy shop. The shop name is Alamosa Quilt Company, the same name as my physical shop.

So I'll start with a recent "finish". It isn't quilted yet, but hopefully I will get it to my quilter soon.

The pattern is Fernanda by Villa Rosa Designs. The fabric collection is Warm Winter Wishes from Studio E. The finished size will be 56" by 72". I plan to use the plain buffalo check from the collection for the binding and I will be using the border print from the collection for the backing.

Adore Him Quilt

I ordered this panel and coordinating fabrics for my shop.

The fabric company had a quilt designed using these but I didn't really like their design. So I came up with my own design.

It finishes at 54" by 76" and we kitted it up. Kits are available in our Etsy Shop and in store. These kits are only available from my shop because I wrote the pattern.

I used a snowflake wide back for the backing, shown below.

If you purchase a kit and want this backing fabric to go with it you will need 1 3/4 yards. Again, the kit is available in store and in our Etsy Shop. Most things in our Etsy Shop have free shipping and I can include backing fabric in the same box as the kit.

I should also mention that everything in the Etsy Shop shows that we have only one in stock. This is misleading. Etsy charges listing fees to shops by the item. So most shops on Etsy only list one item at a time even if they physically have more than one of the item. It just saves us money. So if you see something in our Etsy Shop and want more than one, just contact me. Chances are I do actually have more than one of most things. The exception would be completed quilts.

Judie's Album Quilt :: A Finish

My aunt sent me a stack of completed blocks and what she thought was all the fabric and the full pattern to finish this quilt. What I actually got was most of the completed blocks, ONE square each of the fabrics for the setting triangles (not nearly enough to finish the quilt) and what looked like the left over fabric that was used for the sashing (again, not nearly enough). There was no outer border fabric or binding fabric and the pattern was only the final month pattern that told how to assemble the rows and put on the borders. 

Using the photo of the completed quilt included on the first page of the part of the pattern I received I figured out how to make the missing blocks. Some rows were complete, others I had to make one or two blocks and one row I had to make all of the blocks. I used the setting triangle fabrics I received to pick fabrics from my shop that were similar since one block of each fabric was not enough.

My long arm quilter used a baptist fan pattern for the quilting which turned out really nice.

Here is what it was supposed to look like:

I think I did pretty good at being true to the original. This was obviously a block of the month style pattern probably from the 1990s. I do not have the full pattern and have no idea where one could find it. I traded, begged and borrowed fabrics to make the missing blocks because I do not have any of this style fabric in my stash. Luckily I have a few friends who collected this style of fabric back in the 1990s and they were willing to part with enough for me to make the blocks I needed.

I carry a good selection of Kim Diehl and Jo Morton fabrics in my shop and those are what I pulled from for the setting triangles, sashing, border and binding fabrics.

Great Outdoors Quilt :: A Finish

Are you familiar with Connie Haley? Google her if you aren't to see all of her great designs. Now a fabric company has started working with her to get her designs on fabric. This quilt uses one of her lines, Great Outdoors, that I got in my shop this year. 

Here is the quilt.

The front has a newspaper print in it and I used a slightly different colorway of this print for the back.

Here are the fabrics from the line that I ordered. The first is a panel and second/third are the coordinates. All but the last one are used in the quilt top.

The quilt finishes at 56" by 56" which is the perfect size for an RV quilt, a lap quilt or a really nice sized wall hanging. The piecing is fairly simple allowing the awesome fabrics to do all the work!

If you want a kit, you can go to the Etsy shop, Alamosa Quilt Company on Etsy, to purchase it. The kit does not include the backing fabric but I'd be happy to add some to your order. If you look closely at the quilt you will notice that the allover camper fabric (last one in the photos above) is not used on the front of the quilt. It would also make a nice backing for the quilt or you could use the newsprint one like I did. Just convo me through Etsy if you want to add backing fabric. 

Woodland Animals Quilt :: A Finish

Did you know that I have opened an Etsy shop in addition to my brick and mortar shop? You can check it out by clicking this link, Alamosa Quilt Company on Etsy. If you do a search for my shop on Etsy, you need to search for AlamosaQuiltCompany with no spaces. This is the easiest way I could find to quickly get an online shop up and running for my physical shop. If you click the link you will notice that there aren't a lot of items up for sale yet in the Etsy shop. The problem with online shops is that it takes 15-30 minutes per item to list things for sale in the shop. I don't have a lot of "extra" time laying around so it will take me a while to get things listed. I am going to concentrate on kits at first, especially ones that are unique to my shop.

That brings me to my Woodland Animals quilt. This kit is unique to my shop. 

This quilt started with the animal blocks fabric. Honestly, I didn't make this quilt. I asked one of my employees to "do something cute and unique" with the animal blocks fabric. This is what she came up with. I thought it was so cute that I had her kit it up.

The backing fabric is one of the many Australian Aboriginal fabrics I carry in my shop.

If you want a kit for this project you can click over to the Etsy shop and purchase it. The kit does not include the backing fabric, but I would be happy to add that to your order for you if you would like. All you need to do is convo me through Etsy.

The kit is also for sale in my physical shop. So if you are ever in Alamosa, Colorado, stop in, say hello, and you can pick up the kit directly from the shop.