Stars Over Tucson, Shining on Lake Havasu

Life is good! Here I am in Central, NY making a very special cactus quilt for a newly discovered sister. I have a half sister (Mary) whom I have known my entire life. Two years ago Mary wanted to submit our DNA to Ancestry.com to see if we really did have Native American ancestor’s as our mother said. Turns out we don’t.

My mother used to tell me in a hushed voice “you have sisters in Canada”! I always wondered if that story was true. Turns out it is true! I have two sisters on my Father’s side. My sister Marti contacted me and we have been emailing, Facebooking and messaging each other for the last 2 years! And get this, Marti is also a quilter. You can’t make this stuff up! We have not met each other yet. Marti lives in Arizona and as I said, I’m in Central NY. Marti is one determined quilting sister. She has been trying to get a local Arizona quilt guild to schedule a class with me so we can finally meet. She did it! The Havasu Stitcher’s Quilt Guild is bringing me to Lake Havasu, AZ in January 2020 to teach a One Block Wonder Workshop at their event “Quilting at the Lake”! I am beyond excited.

I was looking through my quilt book library and saw this quilt by Jean Biddick from her book “Blended Quilt Backgrounds”, and just had to make it for Marti. I know that this type of cactus only grows near and around Tucson but it is such an iconic cactus that always makes me think of Arizona.

So, of course I opened up my EQ8 to redesign & Tuckerize it. I made a few changes. I decided on 12″ finished blocks,

and of course varying shades of purple from Island Batik!

The star points are made using Studio 180 Design’s Wing Clipper I. Tuckerizing a pattern is one of my favorite things to do, and the Wing Clipper is the best way to make flying geese!

Start by making the small stars that form the center of the large stars. There is a link to a complete supply list at the end of this blog post. Make 21 of these double star blocks.

Once the star blocks were made I started to work on the cactus.

These blocks make up the cactus. (See link below for a complete supply list.)

Marti this quilt is just a simple hug from me to you. Can’t wait to meet you!

This quilt is also Tucker approved! Click here for the Stars Over Tucson Shinning on Lake Havasu Supply List.

Lemoynes Lost in Space

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The products and fabrics shown in this post were given to me by Island Batik.

The Island Batik Ambassador’s challenge for May is to “Make It Modern”! The Modern Quilt Guild defines ‘modern” as use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space and alternative grid work. I think I did pretty good.

I decided to make Lemoyne Stars. Deb Tucker’s Rapid Fire Lemoyne Star tool was the very first Studio 180 Design tool I used and is one of my favorites! This tool makes Lemoyne stars in 10 sizes from 3″ to 12″ blocks.

I went to my EQ8 and began to design. The drawing above on the left shows the layout for the Lemoyne stars. The drawing on the right with blue indicates the background I had to fill in. I chose to use the “Add a Plain Block” option. This allows me make a block the same size as the quilt center, color it, and move it to the back, behind the stars to fill in the blank spaces. I also could have used the “Paintbrush” option to color in the background. However, this does not give me the fabric sizes to cut.

I made my 10 different lemoyne stars and went to the design wall. I worked on the right side first. I measured and added a background rectangle to the left and above the green 11″ star. I then added a rectangle to the blue 10″ star so it was the width as the 11″ star above it.

I continued on, adjusting and measuring, adding background fabric, piecing, tying it all together.

Somehow I couldn’t quite maintain the smooth circle.

I guess my stars are ricocheting instead of swirling!

I decided to quilt using a tight meander around the stars and then stitch in the ditch through the seams of the stars so they have a 3D effect. I used the Hobbs Tuscany Cotton Wool Blend to give the stitches great definition.

AND then I liked it better turned upside down, so I flipped it! Lemoynes Lost in Space measures 40″ x 50″.

The background of my quilt is a black batik from Island Batik, it really makes the colors pop!

Happy Spring! As always my quilts are pieced with Aurifil thread. If you want your stars to shine use Island Batik fabrics and your quilt colors will sing!

#islandbatik #Aurifilthread #Hobbsbatting #HobbsTuscanyCottonWoolBlend #DebTucker #studio180design #RapidFireLemoyneStar

Northern Lights

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The more you practice the better you get at something. The same is true with quilting. This quilt was supposed to be for my son Josh for Christmas (last Christmas). Oh well, better late than never. This panel is called Northern Lights by Abraham Hunter for Elizabeth’s Studio. It claimed to be 36″ x 44″ but is was closer to 39″ wide.

I aligned my 6 panels, cut my hexagons and began designing around the panel. I do not trim the panels before I align them. Once they are aligned I can decide whether to use any of the borders or not. I decided not to use the border in the blocks so when I guesstimated how much to trim off to even the edges , I included the borders.

I start by trying to get an idea of how many hexies will fit across the top and/or bottom of the panel. It is just like making a pieced border to fit around the center of a quilt. The width of the panel should be divisible by the finished size of my hexagon block.

You have two ways to make sure your hexagons will fit across the top and bottom of your panel. You can trim or add fabric to your panel and/or you can also adjust the size of your finished hexagon so it is divisible by the width of the panel.

Strip Width Yeilds	Finished Hexie Size
3.75”	6.0”
3.50”	5.5
3.25”	5.0
3.00”	4.5
2.75”	4.0
2.50”	3.5
2.25”	3.0
2.0″	2.5

I decided to cut my strips 3.75″ for 6″ finished hexagons and trim my panel to 36″ wide. Six hexagons will fit across the bottom and/or top of the panel.

I kept playing with the design.

Once I was satisfied with the design, I stitched the hexagons into four sections.

I laid the top portion of hexies on the panel to help give me an accurate width to trim off. I felt I would not lose an important part of the panel by cutting off the tree.

I trimmed the panel, Trimmed the portion of the hexies so it could be stitched to the panel.

I discovered when the bottom set hexies were aligned with side hexies – I needed to add about 1 1/2″ of fabric.

Now it all fit together wonderfully. I just needed to hide the fabric I added and trim the top and bottom points.

You can’t even tell where I added the fabric or hid it with smaller hexagons. Next I will get quilted!

No moose were hurt in the making of this quilt as Tucker was on duty supervising me the entire time.

Using Panels for a OBW V2

Gender Neutral Color Palooza

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The products and fabrics used in this post were given to me by Island Batik.

I’m so lucky to be an Island Batik Ambassador! Especially this year. This year Island Batik has partnered with Accuquilt! We were given an Accuquilt Go Cutter and dies. I received the Mix & Match 8″ Block set of dies (Go Cube!). We were tasked with creating a Baby Quilt.

This set includes 8 dies & 13 block patterns. With these dies you can make 72 different block designs! Wowza!

I chose my blocks and started designing in EQ8 to see what it would look like.

When I was satisfied with the fabrics and balance I started cutting.

I pulled my Island Batik fabrics and started with the Diamond Star Block Pattern.

I needed 8 side triangles for my flying geese units, so I folded my fabric into quarters, centered it over the die, placed the cutting mat on top and rolled it through the cutter. Presto – 8 side triangles.

Now this is a fun “Gender Neutral Color Palooza” Baby Quilt! It measurers 38″ x 56″. It was lovingly pieced with Aurifil Thread, filled with Hobbs Heirloom Premium Cotton Batting and creatively cut with my Accuquilt Go Cutter! Not to mention these fabulous colorful fabrics from Island Batik!

#islandbatik #Aurifilthread #Hobbsbatting #Accuquiltgocutter #GoCube

October in Vermont

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What could be better than a quilt retreat at the Strong House Inn in Vermont in October? Well, how about learning everything you need to know about Studio 180 Design’s Tucker Trimmer! I will be there October 24, 25, 26 & 27, 2019 teaching you how to master using your Tucker Trimmer.

The Tucker Trimmer is used to quickly and accurately trim down pieced squares to exact measurements for perfectly sewn units every time. In this workshop you will learn to make:

Half Square Triangles (HST)
Combination Units
Quarter Square Triangles
Shaded Four Patch Units (Technique Sheet Required)
Shaded Nine Patch Units (Technique Sheet Required)

Tucker Trimmer Sampler Quilt:

You will be making 3 blocks:

I will give you the full fabric requirements and block layouts so you can complete the quilt at home.

But wait there is more! Then we will learn all about the Shaded Four Patch unit.

You will make a table runner using your Shaded Four Patch units.

Then you will learn to make Shaded Nine Patch Units.

You will make this wall hanging with your Shaded Nine Patches:

There will be some surprises. By the end of the workshop you will be completely comfortable using your Tucker Trimmer I. I have no doubt the Tucker Trimmer will become one of your favorite quilt tools!

Don’t miss out, make your reservations now at the Strong House Inn!

A Visit with TQG

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Last night I had a great time sharing quilts with the Tidewater Quilter’s Guild (TQG) in Virginia Beach, Virginia. I lived in Virginia Beach for over 10 years. I always say that TQG birthed me! They were my first quilting guild and they are a wonderful friendly group of quilters.