Retreat Recap

Sorry for the delay in this post. I swear time is flying by at warp speed and I'm already packing for the next show. I just got home, but this should be the last travel plans for awhile.

 These are some of the projects I finished while at retreat. What I will show you here are the projects I can show now, the others will have to wait. This first one was a side project from a few of the Moda Candy Bars. This box contained three or four lines (I think, it's been awhile) and I just added some white on white paisleys that I had in my stash for this simple pattern. It's a decent size and I'm still trying to figure out what to do with this one.

 If three wasn't enough, a fourth Aura should do the trick. This quilt is completely scrappy and reversed in color. I used a mixture of shirtings for the blocks and various Civil War red-ish prints for the background. I'm thinking I may try to hand quilt this one, but we'll see. (See the other versions of Aura by clicking here)

 This last quilt is a more primitive version of Roll of Stamps, also from my book, Seamingly Scrappy. I used a jelly roll of Harvest Moon by Kansas Troubles and some of the new Primitive Muslins for the sashing. I know it's kinda weird, but I have this cowboy print in my stash that will work great for the backing. My Mom got it when I got my horse, and we never got around to making anything out of it. It'll be a fun little surprise on the back.

Now I did finish these three tops as well as two other tops and their coordinating backings and bindings while at retreat. Now, I did have some of the blocks premade before I left. No tops were together, but I had an amazing time and still was able to work on my Bali Wedding Star too! I still have a long way to go, but I'm getting closer!

Now, it's the last time I have to say bye to this little guy and his chickens (which he waits to play with until I get home!), but if you're in the area, come see Mom and I at our booth at the NQA Show in Columbus this weekend. I'll take pictures and try to post when I can!

Book Quilt: Roll of Stamps

Now I love traditional quilts and I have this unspoken quest to make as many of them as possible. (well maybe it's not such a secret now, but oh well) With every quilt I make I try to push myself to do something I never have before. It might be a new block, a new setting, fabrics I never thought I would use, something. So this was one of them:

Copyrighted Image provided by Martingale, Brent Kane, photographer

I have always wanted to do a postage stamp quilt. I love the mixture of squares and colors and a jelly roll was the perfect opportunity to create this quilt. I incorporated strip piecing into the construction of this quilt which makes it go so fast. And just to make it a little different than the usual postage stamp quilt, I added the accent sashing around each block.

There are all sorts of quilts in the book that range in skill level from beginner to slightly challenging. Now I'm not saying that you have to have years of quilting under your belt in order to make all of these quilts. These quilts are designed so that a beginner can make them and build their skills, but an experienced quilter will not be bored making these designs either. Sometimes even the most skilled quilter needs a simple(r) project to give their mind and body a break.

Now how many of you have a jelly roll sitting around that you don't know what to do with it? (Yes, I'm guilty of having one or three of those sitting around) This quilt is great to use up that jelly roll and a bit of yardage. Just remember, once you use of something from your stash, that just means you need to go shopping to fill it's place! Works for me!

I'll be back with more quilts from Seamingly Scrappy soon. I can't believe it's less than a week away!