Where's Barbara?

     I'm here. Wow! Has it really been 8 months since I posted?
     The huge scrappy quilt I referred to in my last post has been quilted, and is available as a laminated pattern, as well as an e-pattern on Craftsy. It's a slightly tweaked reproduction of an antique quilt I own. The original is in ugly browns and reds. I wanted to use ocean colors with some pops of sunshine yellow- so much prettier. It's a great way to use all those little bitty scraps.
     I call the pattern "Wind Farm", but in these colors it's obviously an offshore wind farm!  I completed it in time for spring show season.

Wind Farm

Another pattern that debuted this spring was Five and Fabulous! You can purchase a hard copy or e-pattern. This is my third pattern using five 1-yard pieces of fabric. I had purchased the fabric a while back, and got tired of them taunting me. I really regretted buying them until one day, while searching for something on my computer, I came across a pattern I had worked up in Quilt Pro. I barely remembered creating it, but with only a slight change in border widths, I was able to make it work with five yards of fabric. What's more, the Warm Company provided me with a great batting to test, and with a little cutting and piecing, I was able to use it on this quilt. Viola!

Five and Fabulous!

      When my mother saw the finished quilt she said, "Jody would love this." Jody (my niece) isn't getting it, but she IS getting this:

Pineapple Blossom

     This is Bonnie Hunter's "Pineapple Blossom" pattern. I used the scraps from "Five and Fabulous!" with other pink, green, black and white fabrics in my stash. The borders are the leftover backing strips from "Five and Fabulous!" This was a fun pattern and I love the border of pieced triangles made from the cutaway corners.
     I found this fun fabric for the backing, "Chinoiserie Chic" from Westminster. I have enough left over to make a cute bag or two.

"Chinoiserie Chic"

I had a booth at three quilt shows in March and April. At the first one, I purchased a sweet Moda charm pack, and by the third show had created a new pattern with it. "Rick Rack Charm Pack Bed Runner" uses one charm pack and 2 1/2 yards of background fabric, plus a tiny scrap for the butterfly bodies. Bed runners are great for a pop of color on a white cotton bedspread, or as extra warmth for those of us with cold feet. This will be up on both my web site and Craftsy this weekend.

Rick Rack Charm Pack Bed Runner

     After spring show season was over, I was VERY busy at work for several weeks, and the last thing my brain wanted to do was be creative. So I put my spare time to good use working on UFOs.

     This is a remake of one of my earlier patterns, "Star Light, Star Bright." The original was made from floral prints and was too busy for this bold, graphic design. I loved the pattern, but not the finished quilt.  I had long wanted to do a more "solid" version.
     A couple years ago I was asked to make several long, reversible runners - red tonal print on one side, cream tonal on the other. I was left with long (over four yards long) strips along the fold of the fabrics. I started cutting pieces to remake the quilt, and when I was done cutting, I had enough pieces for 7 1/2 of the 12 blocks! I only had to purchase fabric for half the quilt. And for backing I found this lovely floral stripe from Red Rooster. It's so soft and silky it would make great pajamas!
    I decided a while back that I wanted to hand piece and hand quilt this baby! I only had one border left to go, so I dug it out of the UFO pile and stitched it on. How to quilt it was a dilemma. I didn't want to quilt it as separate blocks, as the pattern has so much movement I thought an allover design would be better. Finally I decided since I love free form, free-motion machine-quilted feathers, I would reproduce the look in hand quilting. I chose thread to match the bits of tan in the backing. I have a LONG way to go, but it's a portable project, as well as something to do with my hands while watching television. Of course if I want to finish it in this lifetime, I need to seriously up my scanty tv watching.

Star Light, Star Bright

allover feather quilting

     Next in the UFO pile was my Judy Niemeyer table runner, "Cactus Blossom." I started this in a workshop with Jackie Kunkel two years ago and finally finished piecing it. I have some amazingly gorgeous variegated thread in my stash to start quilting it, but not enough to finish it, so I need to order another spool, which I will do today.

"Cactus Blossom"

     One of my favorite workshops was the one I took with Anita Grossman Solomon, "Anita's Arrowhead".  I made extra blocks and added a border for a large quilt for my tall husband! This is completely from my stash. Still not sure how I want to quilt it, but no hurry! I've got the backing pieced and batting purchased, but it's too warm to use this time of year. Can you tell I'm procrastinating basting this big boy?

"Anita's Arrowhead"

     I love this pattern, and Anita's amazing techniques, so I signed up for her Craftsy class, "Traditional Blocks Made Simple." I sat and watched almost the whole thing in one sitting. I highly recommend this class, which includes an e-book version of her Rotary Cutting Revolution!  (And with that last sentence, I inadvertently gave a nod to not one, but two companies in which I am an affiliate- Craftsy and C & T Publishing.)