Flaunt Your Finish: July 2014

We didn't have a guild meeting this month and I have to admit it was nice to have a little break. I suspect many of our members enjoyed the break too, as I saw several photos on Facebook and Instagram that revolved around non-quilty activities.

A good portion of our members participated in this year's Michael Miller Fabric Challenge. We've shared snippets along the way and many shared their finished projects on Facebook as the deadline came and went. We'll be showing them off at our August meeting and sharing them here shortly thereafter.

In the meantime, we have these finishes to share with you. Please link up YOUR finish at the bottom of this post. Remember, it just needs to be a project FINISHED in July. It's okay if your blog post was earlier in the month.

AGNES made this quilt for her friend, Agnes, and her brave Hungarian family, as they are driving cross-country from NY to LA and up to San Francisco this summer. Since I had so much time on my hands (not), I made the husband a Hawaiian shirt out of the same fabric in black (Alexander Henry Route 66). 

Also, the quilt has its own carrying tote, so it can travel well. Take a good look at Agnes, she will be helping our Agnes with our Budapest Quilt Show this November!

BRI has two finishes to flaunt. The first is the Big Star.  It is a retirement gift for a good friend.  The pattern came from the blog La Bella Colori. The background fabric is from Kate Spain's Cuzco line....which Bri loves!  It had so many bright colors in it, I pulled colors from it for the star points.

The second is a triangle quilt Bri made as part of The Sassy Quilter's Quilt-Along earlier this year. I originally left the edges pointy but I wasn't able to figure out how to bind it on the inner angles, although I read two different tutorials....oh well.....so I used a small dinner plate and made it wavy....

For some unknown reason my husband chose to take down my clothesline....so I made him hold the quilts up....

ANN was busy this month as well and has several finishes to share. I was contracted to produce a couple of mini quilts to feature new machine embroidery pattern packs designed and produced by a former employer of mine, OESD (Oklahoma Embroidery Supply & Design). In 1997, I was hired by them to produce their first press catalog. It was quite an adventure. Fast forward and I'm still in touch with these great folks. They were looking for something on which to apply their new designs and thought mini quilts might fit the bill. These traveled to this year's Bernina University (dealer trade show), in Nashville, Tennessee.

This was for their 'Kimono Cuties' line. (I came to find out this was a licensed product line in the same vein as 'Hello Kitty,' a popular accessory character for young girls.) I gave the customer a few examples of modern quilt layout styles and they chose what happened to be OKCMQG's January BOM from last year! For both of these examples, I pieced the tops, they applied the embroidery, then I got them back to back, quilt, and bind.

This one is a take on the 'Swoon' pattern that features a Christmas design 'Festive Stitches.' I sized the pattern to accommodate the mini's dimensions, offset the block and came up with this. The backing, also pieced, is a 300% 'blow up' of the front pattern. (I've obscured their patterns because I have not yet seen this design pack debuted for sale on their website.)

Another job Ann took in was a houndstooth baby quilt. I'd made one as a gift for a friend a few years ago for the daughter she was expecting. Her friend, who'd been trying to get pregnant for a decade, finally did so and my quilt deadline date was August 1. After a few hit and misses on exactly what she interpreted as 'teal and purple' (see the scans of the Kona Cotton card I sent her), here's the houndstooth. The first time, when I did her quilt, I didn't have a written pattern so 'winged' how to do the diagonal stripe blocks. It was a bit work-intensive. This time, I adapted the instructions of the video tutorial by Missouri Star Quilt, making 'tubes' that cut into squares. It's a pretty cool process to watch! She demonstrates the process using charm squares and yardage. I used yardage only.

When quoting the job, I gave my friend two pricing options—quilt-shop-quality fabric or 'average' fabric. She choose the lesser of the two. I did not particularly enjoy cutting, sewing, or pressing it. It just felt 'off.' I have become SO spoiled, especially immediately after working with that lovely, supple Michael Miller challenge fabric. I try not to be a fabric snob, but after an experience like this, I am happy to love the fabric that's better!

Ann demonstrated the iron-on transfer process for quilt labels at our June meeting. This month, she started applying those transfers to twill tape to make labels for herself. Other than being paranoid about clipping the print with an iron in a later pressing, I really like the look. That said, if they were screen/permanently printed, they'd be perfect!

Once again, thanks for joining us! Please link up your project below and grab a button from the sidebar to share with your blog followers!

A Monthly Dose of Inspiration: July 2014

I hope everyone enjoyed a festive 4th of July and is having a great summer!  The days are sunny and warm and it is a great time to take advantage of the long days of summer to work on your projects.

Each month we like to share with you some of our members' creative works from Flickr to provide you with a little inspiration.  Below are some recently shared projects.  Maybe one of these will spark an idea and start you off on to something new.

Happy Sewing!

1. Route 66 Quilt  2. Totem  3. Seasonal Potholders  4. Arkansas Crossroad Block  5. Stars and Stripes Table Runner  6. Veggie Garden  7. Triangle Quilt  8. LMaggieMea Dress  9. Ticker Tape Pillow and Catch-all  10. Stars Second Quilt  11. Fabric Bundle  12. Botanics Wool Felt

Flaunt Your Finish: June 2014

We have just a few finishes to flaunt this month. As a guild, we have numerous projects in the works and I suspect that our members are working to get their portions completed or are still recovering from this week’s QuiltCon registration frenzy.

Don't forget to flaunt YOUR finish at the end of this post!

For our guild Quilt Show in October, we’ve all been asked to make two bunting flags. If you've already completed your flags, please get them to Amanda L. If you haven't started them yet, here's a little inspiration for you...

Ann completed her two flags this month. She found the pattern for the origami crane online and thought she’d give it her own twist by using prints instead of just solids. “I don’t do much paper piecing and this one was a little challenging because I didn’t have written directions and had to search out piecing order instructions.”

For the second flag, “I sat with graph paper pad in hand and sketched and sketched away until I came up with the design. Simple. Fun. Different from the first one. And, yeah, it’s got a message.”

Amanda L. has really wanted to get around to making some decorative items for various holidays and use up her scraps. Amanda designed this beautiful “Stars and Stripes Table Runner”. “It’s the first of, hopefully, many more fun, fast and scrappy holiday projects”. You can get the FREE pattern by visiting Amanda’s blog The Cozy Pumpkin.

Jana put the finishing touches and binding on this quilt. For those of you who remember, yes, this is the quilt top that was already pieced and she saved from an uncertain future. We still love her amazing quilting!

Regina used 4 traditional log-cabin quilt blocks that she discovered buried in her stash to make this great quilt for her husband for Father's Day. "The blocks (and cat print fabrics) are so old, that I’m calling them ‘vintage’! Had so much fun turning these traditional quilt blocks into a modern lap quilt. Hubby and our cat, Libby, both love it."

As for me, Leslie, I've been making receiving blankets for a nephew and his wife who are expecting their first baby. I told her I'd set her up with all the blankets she'll need and a quilt is next! This also gave me a chance to FINALLY use some of the decorative stitches on my machine that I bought two years ago. (Psssst....I should've taken that training class.)

You're next! Flaunt Your Finish by linking up your blog of Flickr page below! 

Meeting Recap: June 2014

While we are at an all-time high of 63 members (Yippee!), the somewhat sparse attendance at June’s guild meeting was an obvious sign that summer is here! So if you were not there…(a) we missed you; and (b) no meeting in July. We’re going to take a little summer break ourselves and meet up again in August at our new location: Newchurch, 9201 N. Rockwell. Lots of reminders will be coming, so just keep an eye on your email, this site and our private Facebook page.

A big THANK YOU to Regina and New Hope OKC!  We've LOVED meeting in your facility. Thanks for opening it up to us.

So…the meeting…

The meeting was really great fun! Our program director, Amanda, planned another fun and informative night. Several members shared their methods of quilt labeling. If you already label your quilts, you may have a favorite method. If you haven’t yet found a method you prefer, here are some ideas to inspire you.

Becca machine embroiders her labels, which relate to the theme of the quilt. 
Here are a few examples of her work:

Christy also machine embroiders, but she embroiders on a miniature quilt block that she’s machine-paper pieced. It was really fun to watch her pre-programmed machine “do its thing”.

Amanda L’s labels are hand-embroidered with a little message. She gets free clipart from the internet to make her design and prints it from her computer. She then uses a light box to trace the design onto her fabric and then, with a layer of batting underneath, embroiders with Pearle cotton. She binds it (yes, just like the quilt) and hand-stitches it to the quilt.

Elizabeth A shared the basics of printing your own labels through Spoonflower. She created her graphic, laying it out 2 x 2, and uploaded to the Spoonflower site. Spoonflower then prints it on repeat, and Voila! labels on yardage. Just cut the label and stitch on or into the quilt. The fabric comes in many colors too.

Teresa hand writes her labels with fabric pens (colors them too!) and then heat-sets them.

Ann showed us iron-on labels using Transfer Magic Ink Jet Transfer Paper. After designing your graphic, create a mirror image and feed the sheet through your printer. Set with a hot, dry iron. When cool, remove the paper covering, place the image face down on your quilt and use a hot, dry iron to transfer the image.

Thanks, Ann, for the labels we took home!

Agnes prints her labels on fabric with her home printer. You can use the sheets that are already adhered to paper or use Wonder-Under and create your own sheet to feed through your printer. After cutting to its desired size, Agnes uses the selvedges to create a frame for the label.

As you can see, there are a variety of ways to label quilts. Use your imagination to experiment and discover what works best for you!

Jana rescued this quilt top and gave it new life! Stunning quilting! Keep yours eyes out for quilt tops in antique stores or garage sales. You never know what they can become.

And this is a quilt top that Jana pieced herself using beige linen.  We're looking forward to the finished project!

Regina completed her "Your Color Story" project that she started at our May meeting. After stitching down the scraps that spoke to her, she turned it into a pillow. Her husband loves it and asked, "Do we get to keep this one?" 

Regina also shared this cute and quick baby quilt. It's basically four fat quarters (squared up of course) border and binding. This is a quilt where the fabric makes all the difference. Love it!

...and the back is just as cute!

 Rebecca made this wonderful quilt top of golds and greens. Looking forward to seeing this one finished as well.

One day on Facebook, Rebecca posted photos of some random blocks she had and sought advice on what to do with them. She turned this bird into a cute mat or mug rug.

And a shoe block into a shoe BAG! Love it!

I love when a demonstration really inspires. Agnes continues to find great inspiration from Elizabeth R's "Your Color Story" presentation. A terrific pillow...

...and a scrap catcher with scrappy fringe!

 Ready for summer....Jemellia had been sewing clothing, including these cute shorts!

If you're making one pair, you might as well make two!

 And even though Shana is currently cutting back on the coffee, she completed this cute quilt top made with coffee themed fabric.

That's our meeting wrap up!  Check back often to see what else our members are creating!

A Monthly Dose of Inspiration: June 2014

Summer is up and running and the weather is heating up quickly.  Take advantage of the cool air conditioning and the long days to get in some productive sewing sessions.  What sewing projects do you have planned for the summer?  Here is a collage of some of our members' works to help get you in the creative mood.  Enjoy and happy sewing!

1. Patchwork Bag  2. Granny Square  3. Swoon  4. Summer Banner  5. Economy Blocks  6. Curve Quilt  7. Ticker Tape Mini  8. Block  9. Mug Rugs  10. PB & J  11. Star Light Star  12. Baby Quilt

Flaunt Your Finish: May 2014

One of the things I love about Flaunt Your Finish is the opportunity we have to see projects from those members who aren't able to attend meetings as much as they'd like. We interact a lot on our private Facebook page, but we don't always get to interact face to face. Sharing our projects is just another way to get to know each other. By sharing our projects and expressing our individual styles we can see our commonalities and appreciate our diversity. We inspire, encourage and learn from each other.

Hopefully, we'll inspire you as well. So, sit back and enjoy the lovely projects we have to flaunt this month. Please link your own finish at the bottom of the page. We'd love to get to know YOU as well!

In our May Meeting Wrap-Up post we shared our activity "Your Color Story". Agnes finished her little ticker tape mini quilt she started at our meeting. "Our Queen Elizabeth was right, ...this is totally addictive, I am going through my scrap bin, and actually raiding other people's scrap bins too!"

Bri had not one...not two...but three BIG finishes this month!

#1 – the 2^nd baby quilt from last year’s Stash Bee swap.  Bri asked for red, white, and blue blocks using the ‘asterisk’ block.  She says she "tried to put them together in an ‘improv’ fashion with some large areas of blank space but it doesn’t come natural. I got a bunch of blocks so I made two baby quilts which I plan to donate." How can you not love a red, white and blue quilt!

 

#2 – the ‘Happy Quilting’ Star Light Star Bright Quilt Along quilt.  Melissa Corry had instructions for blocks of varying sizes and quilts with multiple blocks.  Bri went with one large block and was able to keep up with the weekly instructions fairly well – only falling behind at the end.  She mailed this one to an online friend who had a birthday this week.  And since we love it, we're not surprised that her friend loved it as well!

#3 – a sampler quilt.  This was a BOM from way back.  Bri's coworker is going to raffle/auction it for a fundraiser for their annual Clothe a Kid Christmas Project. Mmmm....I love the mix of fabrics!

Teresa had a flurry of finishes right before Quilt Market. A lunch tote for Hoffman Fabrics, one for Michael Miller Fabrics, and a few samples (sandwich tote, lapmat, and potholder) for Warm Company. 

Right when Teresa came back from Quilt Market, she made a breast cancer bow and tutu outfit for her new grandbaby, Bailee (cute alert!). "Now, I must focus on cleaning up the studio and actually unpacking my suitcase!"

Heather is very happy to be done with this quilt. She won a fat quarter pack from Michael Miller at Quiltcon 2013. Wanting to do a special project with it, she started this "summer" quilt in March 2013. "I got mad and put it on hold. I finally picked it back up and bam, finally done." Pattern is "Pretty, Simple" from Quilty magazine. "It is pretty simple if you are good at matching seams!" I love the white border and pop of orange in the corners.

Heather's bonus project is made with Amy Butler's new Hapi fabric. The pattern is V & Co Hampton Weekend Bag with some small changes. Heather tucked the handles in between the line and shell, and made a small bottom. Great bag!

"Because really, what else can you do when two of your favorite Trekkies fall in love and make a baby?" Robyn made this Star Trek quilt with fabric from Camelot's Star Trek line and mixed in some solids from her stash and local quilt shop. 

It also has her first-ever hand-stitched dedication.

Ann has been making these great wallets. "Maybe I'm getting to be a bit of a Johnny-One-Note, but I do think about other projects as I work on these. :-)" Ann broke away from the pattern's 'V-pieced' outer and used some of that lovely Essex Yarn Dyed Linen from Robert Kaufman as Angelina used in her 'Feathers' quilt that debuted at the Winter Quilt show. Ann added a couple more Kaffe prints to last month's purchases and used them to piece/curve the outside design. 

The recipient of the second one chose/supplied her fabrics and Ann loves how they work. "I've been purchasing too much fabric with more of these in mind and will try to resist 'flaunting' all of them. Ha ha!" I've been enjoying making these, especially as special thank you gifts for a couple of ladies who've helped me lately and are just pretty darn special!

Now it's YOUR turn. Please share a project you finished this month by linking your blog or Flickr page below. As always, thanks for joining us and stay tuned for next month's Color Inspiration. It's quickly become my favorite feature!