Author Archives: ifthesethreadscouldtalk

About ifthesethreadscouldtalk

I made my first quilt in 2004 and it was LOVE at first stitch! Im referred to as the Queen of One Block Wonder Quilt (OBW)? I have made 59 of these quilts and have been teaching the process since 2006. Check out my OBW Gallery and the free tutorials I offer. I am proud to say that I am a Studio 180 Design Certified Instructor. I am trained to teach you to use all the Fundamental and Rapid Fire Tools. If you have not yet discovered Deb Tucker and Studio 180 Design tools you do not know what you are missing. You will be amazed at how much your quilting skills can be improved by using these tools.

More Tales of Hexagon Quilts

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I’m waiting for backing fabric to arrive so I can quilt Soho Sunflowers and I’m almost finished with my Obituary Quilt. I thought I would share some tidbits about Hexagon Quilts. The first hexagon quilt below I named “Koi in a Blender” I made for Alex in 2006, I made the second “Jumping for Joy” out of the same fabric in 2008. What I found interesting is how different they came out. I made the third “Route 66” in 2006 and again in 2007 for a friend of mine. Again they came out so different.

I taught a hexagon quilt class where two students with the same fabric worked next to each other and their quilts came out completely different. I guess it depends where your repeat starts and what your vision is.

Teeny Tiny Hexagon Quilt

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I wanted to see what would happen if I cut my hexagon quilt strips 1 1/2″ wide. Well, I made a 12 inch hexagon quilt. The process stays the same, but by varying the size of the strips you vary the size of the block. If you have a very large print you can cut your strips wider making a larger block. Some of my students don’t want to make a full size quilt. So they can choose a fabric with a smaller print and cut their strips smaller, such as 2 1/2 inch strips makes a great wall hanging.

With the rest of the fabric I made this quilt. I cut the strips the standard 3 3/4 inches wide. This quilt measures 65″ x 82″. Below is the original fabric I started with.

New Horizons: Tidewater Quilt Guild

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The first photo is Pink Lemonade, Raffle Quilt for 2013 for the Tidewater Quilters’Guild. Last April I taught “The Bee” a One Block Wonder class, it was a great class. Below are some of the completed quilts that were in the New Horizons exhibit at the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival. They all came out so beautiful, great job!

Progress with Oak Ridge Stars

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We had our second class tonight for Oak Ridge Stars. I can’t believe how much work my students got done in one week! I commend you guys, you did a great job. Well I’m off to the Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival tomorrow, fun fun fun!

Deb Tucker, How Do I Love Thee?

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I taught a class last night at What’s Your Stitch N Stuff in Virginia Beach making the quilt pattern “Oak Ridge Stars” using the Tucker Trimmer by Deb Tucker. I love Deb’s patterns. She goes into great detail so you understand exactly what to do. We used the Tucker Trimmer to square up pieces so when we put our blocks together they are perfect. You can buy Deb Tucker procducts at your local quilt shop or www.studio180design.net . On their webite are videos to show how to use their great products.

Myrtle May & Me

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I decided to take Myrtle May out for a run. Myrtle May is my Singer 301A, hey that rhymes! She had been cleaned and tuned up and she now purred like a kitten. Not bad for a gal that is 60 years old. You see, Myrtle May & I are both turning 60, we were both born in 1953.

I ventured into sewing room number 2 where I park some of my sewing machines and set up Myrtle May and my Babylock Serger. I had 3 shirts that had been cut out since last summer and this was a good day to give Myrtle May a workout and git em done!

I have been wearing the same shirt for 10 years. It started out with long sleeves and a collar. First the long sleeves went, then the collar. You see, I am a Flasher – Hot Flasher that is is. I love cotton shirts.

This is a gift from my Aunt Judy for my birthday. My two dachshunds don’t know what to think about them!

Pattern Inspiration

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The Quilt Ninja was born in 2008 When I entered and won First Place in the Virginia Consortium Of Quilter’s (VCQ) Apron Contest. I used Indygo Junction pattern Sewing Smock IJ694, but gave it my own twist by machine embroidering the pockets with quilting designs. I would reach around and grip the ruler from the pocket on my back while simultaneously whipping out my rotary cutter and crying out “Quilt Ninja”! The Quilt Ninja has been my alter ego ever since. This year I remade the vest using the Easy Silhouette Vest IJ730 because I lost 50 pounds.

In 2008 I won first place in the Tidewater Quilters Guild Show, Virginia Beach, VA for Wearable Art. I called it “Head Above Water”. I used the One Block Wonder process for the blocks. I laid down the pattern and designed the blocks over it until I couldn’t see the pattern anymore, then I sewed the blocks together, repined them to the pattern piece and cut out the pattern using Indygo Junction Retro Raglan Jacket IJ764. I thought it looked like water, so I machine embroidered fish swimming on it.

In 2011 I made my “I Love New York” jacket using the Indygo Junction Easy Silhouette Jacket IJ741. I hadn’t lost the weight yet so I enlarged & lengthened it and lined it. I machine embroidered NY items on it such as the Statue of Liberty on the sleeve, etc. On the back I embroidered the Textile Mill behind my grandparents’ house in upstate New York. My tribute to NY.

I guess you can say Indygo Junction Patterns inspire me!

Telling Stories with Machine Embroidery

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I made this quilt for my sister in 2010. While we were searching for family graves and information we found a story on the Town of Vienna, NY’s website. it was full of information about our ancestors. It contained great stories and Civil War information. It was a treasure trove of information, so of course I put it into a quilt called “Yankees in Tara”.

Did You Say Obituary Quilt?

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Why yes, I did! I started working on this idea 2 years ago but was overtaken by events. My goal this year is to finish the Obituary and Cemetery quilts. My grandmother Bessie was very into family history and geneology. Of course I and my sister took it for granted. When Bessie passed in 1987 all her family knowledge went with her. In the past 3 or 4 years my sister and myself have worked hard to find the secrets of our past. Our hard work has been rewarded. We have many great obituaries, some over 100 years old. So, that is how the idea began. I have typed the obituaries into my lettering software and machine embroidered them. I have 2 more to get done but I ran out of the fabric and black thread today.

In my head I envision the blocks randomly arranged on my design wall. When I get a pleasing design I will measure the negative space and make blocks to fill in and join the obituaries. I’m thinking I will choose one simple block and either enlarge it or reduce it to fit, and stick to a simple color scheme of blue and brown. I’ll keep you informed!

Christmas in January???

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I am part of a Quilting Bee of 10 talented women. Every year we hold our Bee Christmas party in January because everyone is so busy in December. We had our party last night and it was wonderful! we had such a good time. We had a potluck of great food and we laughed til the tears ran down our faces. I thought I would share some of the pictures so you could see the great gifts we exchanged with other.