QuiltCon Class Recommendations

Yikes!  QuiltCon 2019 workshop registration opens up this coming Tuesday, June 26th at 10am EST.  I had better get serious and decide which classes I would like to take. For me, it's always a challenge to balance the amount of classroom time vs. leaving enough time to see the quilt show, shop all the vendors and visit with friends.  It's the perfect opportunity to meet online friends in real life.

QuiltCon is the Modern Quilt Guild's annual quilt show and conference and took place this year in Pasadena, CA.  It was only my second trip to the west coast and my first trip to California.

This view was only steps from the Pasadena Convention Center where QuiltCon 2018 was held and I think these are the San Gabriel Mountains are in the background.

Next year, QuiltCon 2019 is within driving distance from South Carolina and takes place in Nashville, TN at Music City Center .  So, I am definitely planning to attend and the hotel has been booked!

Now, what classes to take?  Well, if you have not decided the classes for which you plan to register, I have a few suggestions.

I previously mentioned the balance between class time vs. show time.  In Savannah, I didn't leave enough time to see the show so I decided to take a light class load in Pasadena.  I signed up three 3-hour classes: Lino Printing with Karen Lewis, Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke and a domestic machine quilting class with Christina Cameli.  I highly recommend taking classes from all three instructors.

I never gave a QuiltCon recap upon returning home, so this is a perfect time to tell you about the classes I took in Pasadena.

Beginning Lino Printing with Karen Lewis

I have never taken a class where I had such a successful outcome.  I was pleased with everything, and I mean everything.  

I preorderd all the supplies needed directly from Karen and she brought them to class for us. This was my first attempt, just some simple lines printed on Kona Pickle. I rotated the lino stamp to create a grid.   

  

Next, I ventured out and tried some leaves.  

This photo was taken in class.  You can see the lino stamps with the ink on each.  I took Kona solids use as the base for printing.  This is Kona pickle.

I made one more stamp in class.  I guess you could call this an improv 16-patch.

I used the simple lines again and wondered about using this print as a binding or a focus print on a zipper pouch.

  Karen was so sweet, I highly recommend her classes.

This is a an excerpt from the class catalog for her beginning lino printing class, SUR100, but she is teaching several other classes.

Hand Quilting with Sarah Fielke

The next class I took was hand quilting with Sarah Fielke.  I have taken one of her Craftsy classes and knew I wanted to take a class from her in person.  And since she's from Australia, I didn't know when I would have the opportunity again.

Now, don't judge my outcome as a measure for taking her class.  This was a first for me, and didn't come as natural.

My hand quilting needs practice, just like free motion quilting or most anything else.  I struggled using a metal thimble as I normally us the little pads that stick to your finger.

Sarah even gave each student a charm pack of her new fabric line Grid Paper, compliments of Windham Fabrics. The top print is Grid Paper in green.  You may recognize it from the June Blogger Bundle I curated for Bernie's Etsy Shop, Needle and Foot.

And, Aurifil provided to everyone a small spool of their 12 wt cotton thread perfect for big stitch hand quilting.

Sarah is teaching several classes, but this the description to her hand quilting class.

Machine Quilting with Christina Cameli

I had been following Christina's blog, A Few Scraps, for a long time and was thrilled to take her class.  Her free motion tutorial, Leafy Lines, is one of my favorites.

The name of the class was Free-Motion Textures.  The class was on Sunday morning and by that time I was a little tired, but free-motioned as fast as I could.  The machine I was using started acting up and skipped stitches terribly, but I kept right on quilting.

 

 And, while I don't remember the names of all the designs, I have the sample to remind me free-motion fillers to use.

Christina is not teaching the exact class in Nashville, but I would recommend any class from her.

Additional Recommendations 

And also, consider classes by:

• Michele Wilke (Factotum of Arts) is teaching several classes.  She has taught a class for us at the Greenville MQG and she's a fantastic teacher.
• Cheryl Brickey (Meadow Mist Designs) who teaching Beginner EQ8 and Subtracting for Minimalism.
• Yvonne Fuchs (Quilting Jetgirl) who is teaching Transparency Quilt Design.

And don't forget about the many lectures that are offered.  I hope these suggestions will help with you picking classes is you are undecided.  Are you planning to attend QuiltCon in Nashville?  If so, I hope to see you there!

Modern Plus Sampler ➕ Sponsors and Prizes

The official start of the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along is just two weeks away and Cheryl (Meadow Mist Designs) and I are getting excited.

On July 5th, the fabric requirements and a couple more layout options will be given.  If you missed the design reveal, you can see Cheryl's original Modern Plus Sampler Quilt here, and my all traditionally pieced version here.  You can find more about the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along here.

Today we want to share with you the generous quilt along sponsors.  The prizes include lovely fabrics, gift certificates, patterns, thread and more.

The prizes will be given out randomly to those that submit a finished quilt or quilt top in the reveal parade taking place in April 2019.  Here are the 14 sponsors...

It's no secret, Cheryl and I love Aurifil thread.  Aurifil generously provided thread while we were making the book quilts.  Aurifil thread is made from the finest cottons grown in the Mako region of Egypt and manufactured in Milano, Italy.  

➕ Aurifil is donating a thread collection containing 12 large spools of 50 wt to one winner.

Christine Scholz, is the owner of BackSide Fabrics, an internet only, family run business, and is located in the Lake Norman area of NC (near Charlotte). They specialize in a large selection of wide quilt backing fabrics that are both beautiful and affordable, and Quilters Dream Batting. 

Backside Fabrics is committed to being your #1 choice for wide quilt backing fabric by providing excellence in service, selection, quality, value, and a shopping experience that is as seamless as the BackSide of your quilt!  Did you know you can order free swatches?

➕ Christine provided backing for two quilts in the book and is donating a $60 gift certificate to one winner. 

Myra of Busy Hands Quilts makes custom quilts and designs quilt patterns. Her patterns include instructions for all sizes from wall to king, including two lap sizes, whenever possible. Clear instructions with easy-to-read charts and diagrams are also a part of her patterns, as well as fabric requirements using yardage and precuts when applicable. She ♥ strip piecing because it saves time, and she includes directions for strip piecing if it works for the pattern. You can find her patterns in her Etsy shop, Busy Hands Patterns. 

➕ One winner will receive a $25 Gift Certificate to spend in Myra's shop.

Beth from Cooking Up Quilts is a quilter, pattern designer, DIYer, blogger, wife and mother. She shares her passion for creating on her blog Cooking Up Quilts. You can find her patterns in her Craftsy shop. 

➕ Beth is donating 2 PDF patterns (winner's choice) for one winner.

The Fat Quarter Shop features high quality quilting fabric for quilting, sewing, crafters and fabric lovers of all ages.  They provide excellent customer service and super-fast shipping.

➕ One lucky winner will receive a $100 Gift Certificate to spend at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Tish of Tish's Adventures in Wonderland designs quilt patterns and makes beautiful quilts.  Tish is an Aurifil Artisan for 2018 and describes herself as a quilter who like to live on the edge, sometimes running with scissors and stitching outside the lines. 

➕ Tish is donating 1 PDF pattern to two winners.

A family affair! Honey, Bunny, and Doll Patterns are designed by a mother (Lori) and two daughters (Alison and Amanda). While it is hard for us to live in three different states, our mutual love of quilting keeps us close! We aim to design quilts that appeal to a wide variety of quilters and designs that work well with a range of different fabric styles! Most of our designs come from quilts that we have designed for ourselves, including Dashing to the Chapel, Spring Splendor, and Ready, Set, Soar! We also offer a limited selection of kits and precuts in our Etsy store, as well as a variety of 108" wide backing fabrics!

➕ Honey, Bunny, and Doll is donating a pattern bundle for an international participant OR a pattern + Kona yardage for a US participant.  

Make Modern is a wonderful digital quilting magazine that is stuffed full of great modern patterns for quilts of all sizes and other quilted items. I have been honored to have been able to contribute a number of patterns to the magazine through the years.

➕ Two winners will each receive a six-month subscription to Make Modern magazine.

Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs is my co-author of Modern Plus Sign Quilts.  Cheryl is a patent agent by day and quilter, blogger and quilt designer by night and is also donating some prizes to the Modern Plus Sampler winners.  

➕ Four winners will each be receiving 2 digital quilt patterns of their choice. You can find Cheryl's quilt patterns in her Etsy and Craftsy shops. 

While Needle & Foot has been around since 2014, Bernie began stocking fabric in January of 2017. She strives to carry a wide variety of quilting cottons.  In her Etsy shop, you will find a large selection of small fat quarter bundles, an affordable way to have a collection of pieces from one line without having to buy the entire fat quarter bundle.  Also, Bernie has recently expanded and now carries a selection of voiles and stretch knit fabrics for sewing garments. Providing individual help is a pleasure for Bernie so don’t hesitate to contact her with questions or concerns when selecting fabrics.

➕ Needle & Foot Fine Fabrics will provide one winner with a $20 Gift Certificate to spend the shop.

➕ Psst! There's a giveaway going on now in the previous post for a summertime June blogger bundle I curated for Bernie's shop!

Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl has been quilting for 20+ years and credits quilting with helping her feel balanced and connected to both her local hometown community and a larger global community. Her patterns are available through her Etsy and Craftsy shops.

➕ Four winners will each receive 2 PDF patterns of their choice from Yvonne.

Lorna is a modern quilter, pattern designer and the author of the Sew Fresh Quilts blog. Lorna uses traditional piecing methods to create a menagerie of animal quilts and an occasional block design. Lorna's patterns are available at her Etsy shop.

➕ Lorna is contributing 3 digital patterns to a lucky winner.

Soma of Whims and Fancies is a software engineer by trade. Aside from math and science, she has loved painting and photography since she was a child. Soma started quilting in 2012. Within a couple months of that, she started writing quilt patterns. Soma blogs at Whims and Fancies and her patterns are available through her Etsy and Craftsy shops.

Four winners will each receive Soma's Stained Glass Flower set of 4 PDF quilt patterns - Kyanite Iris, Selenite Clematis, Olivine Tulip, and Garnet Primrose.

And last, but certainly not least is our publisher C&T Publishing/Stash Books.  Modern Plus Sign Quilts would not be possible without C&T/Stash who brought our vision to print.  

C&T Publishing has become the industry leader for providing exceptional books and products to the quilting, sewing, needlearts, and fiber art markets throughout the United States and internationally.  C&T Publishing’s staff and authors live their mission statement every day...Innovate. Educate. Create.

➕ C&T Publishing is giving away an eBook version of Modern Plus Sign Quilts just in time before the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along gets started.  If you already have your copy of Modern Plus Sign Quilts, which will be needed for the QAL, you can choose another equivalent ($20.99) eBook from their vast list of titles.   

The giveaway will run through Sunday at 8pm EST.  Simply enter the Rafflecopter giveaway below.

Congratulations to Janet T., the winner of Modern Plus Sign Quilts eBook.  

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Remember, all the details for the about quilt along such as the schedule, where to buy the book and more are on the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along page.   We hope you will be making your very own Modern Plus Sampler Quilt.

  

Blogger Bundle with Needle & Foot Fine Fabrics and Giveaway

I was thrilled when Bernie of Needle & Foot asked me to curate a bundle for her Etsy shop, Needle & Foot Fine Fabrics.  And, Bernie has generously allowed me to give away a bundle to one of you too!

I had so much fun curating a bundle.  This was a first for me, so I may have shopped 'til I dropped, so to speak, picking out just the right fabrics to represent summertime.

You can find the June Blogger Bundle here in the Needle & Foot Etsy shop. And, the five-piece fat quarter bundle is 20% off through Friday.

June Blogger Bundle by Paige from Quilted Blooms

I picked out the following five prints, all Windham Fabrics, to include the June blogger bundle which are pictured above from top to bottom:

• Dots in Yellow from Paint the Town by Striped Bear Studio (printed on GOTS certified cotton)
• Dash in Pink from Dreamer by Carrie Bloomston 
• Raindrops from Paint the Town by Striped Bear Studio (printed on GOTS certified cotton)
• Grid Paper in Green from Wordplay by Sarah Fielke 
• Frolic from Meriwether by Amy Gibson

I have started a baby quilt with a garden theme using all five prints on a white background.  The Dots in Yellow made the perfect sun and flower center.

I used a zigzag stitch, not quite a satin stitch, to applique the pieces in place. I cut out a quarter circle for the sun and some triangles for rays of sunshine.  Aurifil (50 wt.) 1135, Pale Yellow, matched perfectly.

A big daisy will be added using petals from Dash in pink.  I cut the petals using the Go! Orange Peel die.

The tulip was also designed using the orange peel die.  I cut the green flower stem on the bias for interest and, again, used the orange peel die to cut out the leaf. 

It can't always be sunshine and pretty flowers, sometimes there are rain clouds too.

You can see the finished top here in this post.

I picked out all Windham Fabrics listed in either the Windham section or Organic section but also check out the following sections:

• Fabric Bundles and Precuts
• Art Gallery Fabrics
• Andover Fabrics
• Voiles and Knits for garments
• 108" Widebacks including the popular Newsprint by Carrie Bloomston

Would you like to win a five-piece fat quarter bundle of my curated Needle and Foot fabrics? Many thanks to Bernie for offering one of the bundles to a lucky winner! The giveaway is open through Sunday, June 23rd at 8 pm EST (US winners only due to shipping costs).

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Linking to Let's Bee Social and Midweek Makers #129.

Traveling Quilts

Positively Transparent, the mini version, was selected for the Modern Quilt Guild's new museum exhibit.  The first stop is The Dairy Barn Arts Center in Athens, Ohio where it, along with many other modern quilts, will be on display until will June 17th.

From there, it will go on to the Schweinfurth Art Center in Auburn, NY.  The exhibit dates are June 30 - August 19, 2018. Exhibit details here.

The MQG has a dedicated webpage, ModernQuilts.com, with more information on the book and exhibit schedule.  The calendar is here.

The book I am referring to is Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century compiled by Riane Menardi, Alissa Haight Carlton, and Heather Grant of the MQG and published by Stash Books.  Positively Transparent and Cursive were selected to be included.

Cursive has just returned home from traveling with the Best of QuiltCon 2017 exhibit. I haven't seen the the quilt since QuiltCon 2017 when it took place in Savannah, GA.

Cursive is a world traveler and has been to the The Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show in Sisters, Oregon (I want to go one day); Festival of Quilts in Birmingham, England; the Australasian Quilt Convention 2017 in Melbourne, Australia; and then on to stops in Japan.

When it returned home the MQG was kind enough to send the placard along with it.  With all the traveling, Cursive was returned in perfect condition and so I'm glad to have it home again.

Modern Plus Sampler ➕ Design Reveal

The day has finally arrived to reveal the Modern Plus Sampler based on many of the design elements  from the book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts. This is just one version, all traditional piecing, I made with mostly Tula Pink fabrics.

On July 5th, the fabric requirements and more layout options will be revealed including Cheryl's version she made here which includes some paper piecing and applique.

 Schedule

The Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along posts will be on the first Thursday of every month. You can always find information on the Modern Plus Sampler QAL page.  

Here's what the first few months look like:

• May 3rd - Modern Plus Sampler announced here
• June 7th - Design revealed today!
• June 21st - Sponsors and prizes announced here
• July 5th - Fabric requirements and additional layouts given here
• August 2nd - Piecing begins with the Tribal Rows
• September 6th - Small Plus areas
• October 4th - Transparency Plus Block
• November 1st - Rick Rack Blocks
• December 6th - Applique Blocks - Cute as a Button and Petal Plus
• January 3rd - 

About the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along

The Modern Plus Sampler is a free quilt-along that will run from July 2018 until April 2019 that uses most of the blocks from the Modern Plus Sign Quilts book all incorporated in to a new lap size, plus sign design.

The pattern will be at the confident beginner level with a few more challenging blocks. Don't worry if you have questions or get stuck, we will all be quilting together and you can ask me or Cheryl's Facebook group any questions you have along the way.

Most of the quilt will be traditionally pieced, but there will be a couple of applique blocks and paper pieced blocks.  We encourage you to try these and learn some new skills. If you would like to avoid applique and/or paper piecing, we will be giving alternative instructions to avoid these methods.

Get the Book

You will need the book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts, in order to quilt along with us as the Modern Plus Sampler includes many design elements from the book.

Modern Plus Sign Quilts can be obtained through the following (Amazon is an affiliate link):

As of today, the Kindle version can be purchased for only $9.99 and the print version for $16.94.

• A signed copy from Quilted Blooms Etsy Shop
• Amazon - print and digital Kindle versions
• C&T Publishing - print and eBook versions
• Indigo - Paperback and eBook versions
• Ask you local quilt shop for Modern Plus Sign Quilts

Everything is so nice and green after the rain we've been having that my quilt blends right into the landscape.

Questions? Join Us

If you have any questions, please email me at QuiltedBlooms (at) gmail.com or leave a comment below. I hope you are planning to join in on the fun and make a Modern Plus Sampler with us!