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.

Lemoyne Star Class at TQG Spring Fling

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I just got home from teaching a Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star class at my local quilt guild; the Tidewater Quilters Guild in Virginia. Every year we host a Spring Fling by the guild members for the guild members. It is an all day celebration of classes, food and prizes. We had a blast. I taught the Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star to 17 lovely ladies and 1 brave gentleman. I wore a shirt I made incorporating strips that would be used to make a Lemoyne Star on the front and embroidered directions above each strip: “Strip A, press toward the background, Strip B, press toward the star point. I had a finished lemoyne star on the back. It was a really fun day, with great students who learned a new technique.

Big Star Block, Part 2

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Big Star Block is right – these layer cakes are on steroids! This is a big quilt. But it is an easy quilt. I think it is a good quilt for beginning quilters who want to make a large quilt. These blocks are 24″ x 24″ finished. I was just making a class sample, I should have made fewer blocks. Oh well, too late now. I have put together a lesson plan, I hop it makes sense.

Big Star Quilt Lesson

Big Star Block

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I was on YouTube looking at quilting tutorials and I saw one being demonstrated by “The Missouri Quilt Company called the Big Star Quilt. I thought it would be a great quilt for beginners to expand their skills. The block is 24″ finished and is made from Layer cakes or 10″ squares. So, I went to my stash. I don’t have a lot of layer cakes so I decided to use some of my Wizard of Oz stash (I only have about 6 tubs of Wizard of Oz fabric stashed away)!

I love their method for half square triangles. Place two layer cakes right side together and sew a 1/4 inch seam around all 4 sides of the square. Then cut diagonally, twice. You now have 4 half square triangles. I am in the process of making a lesson plan for this quilt. I’m making twelve – 24″ blocks with sashing. This quilt will measure about 94″ x 120”. Each block requires 6 layer cakes, 2 light, 2 dark and 2 background, plus four 5″ squares for the snowballs. The only part I hate is squaring up the half square triangles. I had 144 half square triangles, it only took an hour and a half. The quilt will be so much happier because I took the time to square up, and of course using the Tucker Trimmer makes it easier. This quilt can be made in miniature also by using charm square packs.

Soho Sunflowers, Number 51

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I have just finished my 51st hexagon quilt. This one is being donated to Quilters Dream Batting, Hopes & Dreams Challenge. Hopes & Dreams raises funds for ALS Reasearch (Lou Gerigs disease). 100% of all funds raised by Quilters Dream Batting goes to ALS Research. If you think you, your Bee or local quilt shop would be interested in donating quilts please go to their website http://quiltersdreambatting.com/HD/ALS.htm for all the details.

Eeeeek! An Obituary Quilt?

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Every time I mention I’m making an Obituary quilt people shiver. I love my family and my family’s history. Finding obituaries is finding a treasure trove of information. I get really excited when I find information that tells me what they and their lives were like. This is how I remember them, how my children and grandchildren will get to know them.

Remember Me! This was truly a labor of love and a learning experience! I have a tendency to jump into projects feet first and figure out the details along the way. My sister and I had collected so many wonderful obituaries that one day I said “I know, I will make them into a quilt”. I started entering the information into my lettering software and began embroidering them. Some took over 3 hours to embroider. Then I had to figure out how to connect them into a cohesive top. I’m not sure if I was successful or not. I just started playing with them on the design wall, measured the negative space and figured out how to join them. The star blocks are Rapid Fire Lemoyne Stars (my favorite). I know it looks a little weird, but I kind of like the randomness of the top. I had real trouble with the borders. The embroidery shrank up the fabric, so I had to rip out what I could and add fabric to try to square it up. I got one end of the top square but not the other. I couldn’t take off the whole border as part of the embroidery went into the seam. I did not want to start over so I just went with it.

These obituaries start in 1900. That’s amazing, 113 years ago!!!

Spilling the Beans a Little Early

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My wonderful daughter-in-law Pam is having a birthday next week. I’m spilling the beans a littler early. I made her this King size quilt to celebrate her birthday, she loves red! It measures 100 inches by 120 inches, phew, that was work! I always make a gift bag for the quilts I make, but this one is too big to fit in the bag. I love Pam, she makes my son very happy! Now they have a lot to be happy about, they are expecting a daughter in August. I’m so happy for them (& I’m happy for myself, a new grandchild to play with and love)! Happy Birthday Pam! I’ll see you next week!

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!