Wednesday, March 27, 2013

March Flaunt Your Finish



Welcome to our March Flaunt Your Finish!  

It's been a long winter for some of us and we're happy that Spring is right around the corner. Here in Oklahoma, that means it will be summer in two weeks.  If we're really lucky we might have four whole weeks of Spring! I exaggerate, but not by much.

With Spring and Easter quickly approaching, some of our members have been busy sewing clothing. Andrea made this adorable Easter dress for her daughter using the "Stella" pattern from Violette Fields Threads. The fabric is from Sarah Jane's "Out to Sea" collection.


Jemellia has also been sewing dresses and although they're not shown here, she's made at least two for herself as well as this cute one for her daughter. This one is the "Geranium Dress" pattern by Rae Hoekstra. Jemellia says she's may challenge herself to round out the month with 1-3 more apparel pieces.


Agnes made this beautiful quilt inspired by the Quilts of Gee's Bend. Using fabrics from Windham Fabrics "Quilts of Gee's Bend" Series, Agnes' quilt is an interpretation of an iconic quilt by famous Alabama quiltmaker Loretta Pettway Bennett.


Having personally visited Gee's Bend a few years ago, making this quilt was truly inspirational and insightful for Agnes. She's now come full circle as far as exploring this very important influence on the Modern Quilting Movement.


We've mentioned before that several of our members participated in the Madrona Road Challenge sponsored by Michael Miller Fabrics and The Modern Quilt Guild. Our guild challenge was to make a mini-quilt and here's Andrea's. Andrea has never done any improvisational cutting/piecing before, so she played with that idea a bit. Great job!


It seems like we're always talking about bags at our meetings. Jemellia brought this bag to our last meeting and we all just loved it! And here's Melissa's version of the Holiday in London Duffle Bag by Bari J.  Melissa used the fabric line Comma by Zen Chic. (Look for it at your local quilt shop!)


This is a really great sized bag and let me tell you this: Unbeknownst to either of us, I'm also making this bag from the Comma fabric line. And while I'm piecing mine differently, I'm hoping it looks as great as Melissa's bag!


Ann is a new member and this is her first Flaunt Your Finish!  Ann saw this next project in The Liberty Book of Home Sewing.


It took a bit of time for Ann to collect the fabric she wanted to use, as she quickly discoverd she would not be able to find the Liberty Fabrics specified in the book. (If you are a Liberty of London fan, you know how quickly they go!) At the time, Ann was well in the throes of her batik phase. The body fabric was a pretty easy decision, but she didn't know how she was going to replicate the tail feather 'eye' look. Ann even went so far as to buy feathers to use!

Buying a fat quarter here and there of fabric she thought might work, Ann also searched for pins and sequins. She finally came across this exotic piece of Ombre Marrakesh by Michael Miller and felt her prayers were answered! As it turns out, this beautiful print is only seen if you look at the underside of the "feathers". The wrong side has smaller batik pieces appliqued onto them.


Everything finally came together and this is the finished project, only a mere 50 weeks later! She's so excited to give it to her friend who...wait for it...goes by the pseudonym...Gwendolyn Peacock!  Great job Ann, and definitely worth the time to find the right fabrics.


And finally, in more ways than one, we have Amanda L's "Little Apple Orchards" quilt. Amanda began this quilt June 2012, with a charm pack of "Little Apples", some coordinating solids, white and quilters linen. The apple cores are English Paper pieced, and the quilt is hand-quilted with a combination of No. 8 Perle Cotton and a variegated Sulky blendable thread. Congratulations Amanda, it's beautiful! 


Thanks for joining us this month for Flaunt Your Finish! We hope you've gained some inspiration to start a project of your own or complete an unfinished one lingering around.

Now, Flaunt YOUR Finish by linking up your blog or Flickr page below.  It doesn't have to be a brand new post, just one from the month of March.

Check back next week for April's Block-of-the-Month!



Sunday, March 17, 2013

March Meeting Recap

Happy Sunday Everyone!

This is my first time taking over the meeting recap so I hope you will bear with me.

Of course there was talk of QuiltCon since this was the first time we had all been together since the big event.  There were pincushions to swap and swag bags to pass around as well.  We also talked a little more about out Quilt Show that we will be holding in 2014.  Such a long way away!  More time to make some great quilts I guess :).  Another topic of discussion was about the different types of techniques we would like to try in order to expand our sewing skills.  Some of these ladies came up with some things I had never thought of before, but will look forward to trying in the future (there was ONE that I'm not quite sure about, you all know what I'm referring to :P).

And lots of great new projects to show off...


Stephanie brought a beautiful mini quilt that she made to match her Christmas tree skirt.  Whether it's three months late or 9 months early, we'll never tell.


Debbie showed off a great boxy zippered pouch with the tiniest hexagons!  Love her fussy cutting!


Agnes made a pincushion for Andrea using scraps given to her by Anna Maria Horner herself!  I'm sure it will be cherished!

Shana, being an overachiever, had TWO things to show off...her name tag--cupcake of course :) and her new crocheted scarf -- which is now available in her Etsy shop.


Another overachiever, Amanda finished up her Apple Core quilt that she started in June 2012, and with that much hand stitching its no wonder it took about 9 months to complete.  If I understood correctly, this is her original design.  WOW, impressive!


She also brought her brand new Art Student Tote using the pattern by Anna Maria Horner.  Her use of the Essex Linen has made me add some to my stash :)


Amanda R. brought a baby quilt she made for a special little someone that is due this spring.  Lucky kid!

Elizabeth shared her pillow made with a sheer overlay (is that the right term) and some appliqued patches.  It was complete with cute tassels at the corners.


Andrea bragging about her wonderful pincushion :)


And showing off the adorable dress she made for her daughter using a Clover & Violet pattern.  (Wonder if it comes in adult sizes?)


Emily also had two items to show us.  The first was her completed Madrona Road Mini for the challenge.  She thought it wasn't modern enough, although I think she's the only one.


Her second finish was the adorable embroidered quilt that she had been working on with her mother for quite some time.  Each block has an animal representing a different letter of the alphabet.  Too cute!


Mandy showed off the bag that was made for her as a sort of "consolation prize" for being unable to attend a retreat due to her husband's Valentine present (the flu).


Leslie had an older item to share.  She brought a placemat that she made in a loom class several years ago.  I, for one, had never seen anything handmade on a loom.  So neat!


Jemellia brought her HUGE duffel bag that she made using a Bari J. pattern and Glimma fabrics.  Very impressive!

And last but not least, Melissa brought a cute little baby quilt for a dog loving friend. 

That about sums it up.  I hope that I've gotten all of the details right (I will be taking notes next time, don't worry).  Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for the April meeting!

Monday, March 4, 2013

March Block-of-the-Month


Hello, friends! Stephanie here. It's March and time for another block for our Block-of-the-Month. 


I selected the scrappy X and "Plus" Block from Amy Gunson's tutorial at Badskirt.  The instructions on Amy's blog are for an 8" block, and since we've been making 12" blocks, I found this fantastic cutting diagram from Brenda of Pink Castle Fabric/justabitfrayed.

This is a scrappy departure from the previous BOMs, but I hope you enjoy this block. The best (and most time consuming) part of this block is selecting the fabrics.



FOR EASY TO PRINT INSTRUCTIONS: CLICK HERE.
Cutting Your Fabric:

You'll need 7 different fabrics for a "scrappy" look.

1.  For the X:  Cut one 5.5" x 5.5" square from FOUR different fabrics.
2.  For the X Backgrounds:  Cut eight 3.5" x 3.5" squares (I used four different
     greens in mine.)
3.  For the "Plus" Backgrounds:  Cut four 2.5" x 3.5" rectangles.
4.  For the center "Plus" :  Cut two 2.5" x 2.5" squares AND one 2.5" x 6.5" 
     rectangle.

Sewing it Together:

1.  Layout your fabrics to plan your block

2.  Begin by aligning a 3.5" square background fabric with the corner of a 
    5.5" square and mark a line from corner to corner as pictured.

3.  Sew along the marked line and trim away the corner, leaving a one-quarter inch seam allowance.

4.  Repeat for the other corner of the 5.5" square.

5.  Press.

6.  Repeat steps 2-5 for the remaining 5.5" squares.

7.  Sew and press the "Plus" pieces as shown.

8.  Check the final layout and assemble the block.

You're done!  
Thanks for joining us for our March Block-of-the-Month!