Back in January, Carrie Nelson and I were on a road trip and stopped by to see Kimberly at The Fat Quarter Shop. Kimberly decided to start a series of Q& A with Kimberly videos and we were the guinea pigs. We had a great time visiting and answering questions from online viewers. I mentioned the log cabin quilt that I made back in the 80’s. I have had several people ask me to show the quilt so I dug it out of the playpen from my grandson’s house.
Man oh man!!
Seems like yesterday.
Cliche but true.
The 25th Anniversary issue includes what Jody Saunders references as the DREAM TEAM.
She isn’t talking about the designers even though they are pretty darn special if I do say so myself.
I am NOT going to spoil who the dream team is. You will just have to see for yourself!
I have had the privilege of reading this magazine since the beginning when I searched for anything that had the word quilt in it or on it!
Then wam- bam, 25 years later one of my quilts was chosen to be in this publication
alongside some of my quilting idols and friends.
Mabeth Oxenredider
and Amy Walsh
This is one of my all time favorite quilts for many reasons but
mainly for the community that has shared their version of this quilt with me.
While I was making the quilt, I was probably cursing since it seemed like I was sewing for months with no end in sight,
but the final result has brought me such joy.
A very striking color option by Monique Dillard.
My second favorite pages are page 8 and 9.
These two pages are chock full of stats from the past 25 years.
The right hand page has a picture of all the issues from the past 25 years in one nice neat stack.
I can’t even begin to imagine all the great designs, products, articles, designers and fabrics that are featured in these pages.
The hours of inspiration, education and therapy that quilters have experienced just thumbing through the pages.
History!
Gives me goosebumps!
I want to give a shout out to Lori Eggers and Chris Neubauer.
I see your picture on page 9. It is nice to put a face to the names.
Great job, ladies!
Get this magazine on newsstands first week of Feb. and flip to page 4 to see the DREAM TEAM. I think you will agree!
Then see page 66 to make your own version of my Tone It Down quilt.
I am blessed.
-modalissa
My daughter is the middle child. She has two older brothers and two younger brothers.
If you have read many of my posts you know I am into birth order. Jillian has so many different traits that it is hard to define her into a certain birth order. She is the middle child, she is the only daughter so that is like being a first-born and sometimes the only child comes out in her. So with this being said the main trait she carries is the girl with the biggest heart which has nothing to do with birth order at all.
She worries about all of this motley crew known as her family and makes sure they are all taken care of.
Shopping for her is impossible!
So when it was time to figure out what to do for her for Christmas, it needed to be a gift that she couldn’t take back.
So the answer was a quilt, but just what quilt was the tough part.
I decided the girl with the biggest heart needed a quilt that was just that… a big heart.
The quilt is fun and fast to make with 1 moda layer cake and 3.75 yds of background fabrics.
She loves Lella Boutique’s fabrics so it was easy to choose what fabrics to use.
After the quilt was quilted I decided it needed to add a bit of embroidery which was not the smartest move.
Embroidery through the quilt with Snuggles on the back did not make for the best stitches but she loves it no matter what.
This pic is a better pic for actual color and also to show the snuggles on the back. Once she has used a quilt with snuggles on the back that is all she ever wants to use! Have you tried different textures on the back of your quilts? Flannels, snuggles, lawns, denims, wovens? It is so much fun that there are so many options now. Remember when the only thing quilter’s used for their backings was muslin? How boring!
Another shot of some of the crowd with Jillian always hiding in the back. Love her to pieces!!
The pattern was designed by Holly Hickman and featured a Kate Spain fabric collection but translates into any collection.
If you want to make this quilt for the person with the biggest heart in your family, here is the pattern.
You will need 1 moda layer cake and 3.75 yards of background.
Perfect for a Valentine’s day project!
– Love yall.
-modalissa
So many of the projects I am working on are “top secret” and I completely forget to show and share. Week one of 2018 and I thought I would catch up on a few of the things I have enjoyed being a part of during the last quarter of 2017.
First up is a quilt kit for Angel wings.
The angel model is my grandson, Jacob. This was the beginning of him rolling over so it was tough to
even catch a photo of him laying flat. We even had a little swaddling of fabric to cover up his diaper
but that was impossible to stay in place. Love love his little rolls!
I am one year ahead on Christmas quilts. YEAH, YIPPEE!
At work I signed up to make the sample of one of the Bonnie and Camille quilt kits,
with Vintage Holiday fabrics.
This quilt will travel to trunk shows throughout the year and by Christmas 2018 it will come home to live with me!!
Nothing like having a deadline to finish something an entire year in advance ! This never happens for me.
I had the wonderful opportunity to be a part of a new program called COLOR CUTS by Moda. If you have been following me for very long you know that I love working with a variety of moda designers to create scrappy quilts. Not scrappy quilts that are everything including the kitchen sink, scrappy quilts that are color coordinated and have a large range of fabrics.
This quilt was designed by Carrie Nelson using Color Cuts Layer Cakes, Bella Silky solids and Cake Mix papers. Stacking print layer cakes with Bella solids and adding the triangle papers to be able to mindlessly sew hundreds and hundreds of half square triangles is the perfect kind of sewing therapy that I needed right before Quilt Market. I love how airy and clean the quilt is. The variety of some of the centers makes there be movement throughout the quilt.
I didn’t make this one but I did create it digitally, does that count? Carrie and I tagged team on this sampler.
Sarah Huechteman made our actual sample but this one is certainly on my to – do list.
Isn’t this one SWELL? I just finished up this sample and I am super excited to have it for 2018. I can’t wait to have my grandkids snuggling under this classic fun quilt. I am sure it will become a family heirloom. Fabric is Swell Christmas by Urban Chiks and will be in stores MAY.
One more thing that I have been working on for the past two years is my very first solo book!! I have always worked behind the scenes along with many, many talented designers on collaborative books. Yet I have a hard time calling this a solo book, since so very many people were a huge part of this project. Oh Scrap hits the shelves in March 2018. You will be hearing lots more about this book and I would be honored if you choose to add it to your quilt library.
Now I am off to work on a few more top secret projects that I will share in bits and pieces as I go along!
Here’s wishing you a blessed and healthy 2018.
-Modalissa
Giveaway Closed
Donna Cutting- you are the winner of an All in a Row E-book. I have sent you an email.
My name may be on the cover but it what’s inside
that makes this book so special.
Talented designers including Corey Yoder, Betsy Chutchian, Jen Kingwell, Jo Morton, Lisa Bongean, Sherri McConnell, Karla Eisenach, Camille Roskelley, Kate Spain, Barb Groves, Mary Jacobsen, Brenda Riddle, Sandy Gervais, Sandy Klop, Kathy Schmitz, Deb Strain, Barb Adams, Alma Allen, Anne Sutton, Lynne Hagmeier, Stacy Iest Hsu, Laurie Simpson, Janet Clare, and Pat Sloan. Each of these designers have created a special row for you. Whether making a seasonal tablerunner or a fun whimsical quilt, there are so many options.
A few other people that need mentioning are Susan Ache, Maggi Honeyman, Alison Dale, Tamra Dumolt and Karen Burns.
Thank you for your sewing and quilting!
All the big awards shows have people that fill the empty seats when the stars are away getting ready for presentations, accepting awards or even taking a bathroom break. I wonder how you get the job to be a seat filler? I would sign up for that, sitting next to Keith Urban would be a dream come true.
Speaking of fillers, my contribution to this book is the filler rows for the Moda All Stars.
My 4″ filler rows to be used as borders, additional mini rows and spacers between the designers rows. The patterns are named Join Hands, Floral Frenzy, Stair Steps, Scallops, Criss Cross, Looking Glass, Twigs, Beans and Triangles. Shown above is a quilt made using combinations of all the fillers.
Along with Lisa Bongean, I am sharing my post on the last day of the blog hop which is also the day after Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is an American holiday that gives us the opportunity to gather with friends and family, enjoy food and fellowship and to reflect on what all we are thankful for.
I do not know if Martingale choose for me to go last but I am glad they did. I have so much to be thankful for and all of the people listed above are part of the reason why. I am blessed to work with people that I also call my friends.
People that share their talent, inspire and teach others and work hard every single day is what this industry is made of. This also includes all the additional people that work behind the scenes to actually produce a book. (as shown above)
Together, the designers are donating royalties from the book’s sales to benefit Give Kids the World Village . This charity helps children with life-threatening illnesses enjoy week long, cost-free vacations with their families.
I am giving away an E-book courtesy of Martingale publishing. To enter, leave a comment here and tell me if you were a seat filler at any awards show who would you like to sit next to. The winner will be announced Tuesday morning ( November 28th)
Just in case you missed any of the stops on the hop, I am sharing them here. You can also check out the Allinarowquiltalong Fb page for details.
Here’s the schedule …
November 13
Martingale: http://blog.shopmartingale.com/
Moda: http://blog.modafabrics.com/
November 14
Pat Sloan: http://blog.patsloan.com/
Janet Clare: http://janetclare.co.uk/blog/
Corey Yoder: http://littlemissshabby.com/
November 15
Laurie Simpson: http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/
Stacy lest Hsu: https://www.stacyiesthsu.com/blog/
November 16
Anne Sutton: http://bunnyhillblog.com/
Alma Allen: http://www.blackbird-designs.com/
November 17
Lynne Hagmeier: http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/
Betsy Chutchian: http://betsysbestquiltsandmore.blogspot.com/
November 18
Deb Strain: https://www.instagram.com/debstrain/
Kathy Schmitz: http://kathyschmitzstudio.blogspot.com/
November 19
Sandy Klop: https://www.instagram.com/sandyklop/
Sandy Gervais: http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/
November 20
Brenda Riddle: http://brendariddle.blogspot.com/
Barbara Groves and Mary Jacobson
November 21
Karla Eisenach: https://www.thesweetwaterco.com/the-sweetwater-blog/
Camille Roskelley: https://www.instagram.com/thimbleblossoms/
November 22
Sheri McConnell: http://www.aquiltinglife.com/
Kate Spain: http: https://www.instagram.com/katespain/
November 24
Lissa Alexander: https://modalissa.com/
Lisa Bongean: https://lisabongean.com/
Gratefully,
-modalissa
Every Quilt tells a story!!
(and I am trying to catch up on telling a few of my quilt stories)
My niece headed off to Texas Christian University in Ft. Worth, Texas this fall. I wanted to make her something “fun and funky” that would fit her personality.
I grabbed my inspiration from the TCU Hornfrog’s fight song which seems silly but has great history tied to it. I contacted the family to send me pieces of their clothing or some sort of message or keepsake so Kennedy would have a piece of each of us with her. I had no idea what the correct color of TCU was, so when I started receiving vintage t-shirts from her mom (also a TCU grad) in a big variety of purples, I knew I could do this.
Nolan’s favorite color is purple so he helped and I think he was sure this was for him. I promised him I would make him one for college! (excuse the laundry on the table- real life pic)
I apologize in advance for the cell phone pics, but I think you will get the concept.
When Kennedy was little she couldn’t say Lissa and she is the one that coined my nickname, IZZY.
I must be too lazy to do a quilt label, so I always have the quilter stitch my label in with the quilting stitches. ( thanks, Maggi Honeyman)
My brother sent me some text messages that he had kept. They were so sweet that I had to use them. I transferred them to fabric using an inkjet printer and Printed Treasures printable fabric. This is a picture of the back of the quilt. I used Purple Snuggles on the back so that this quilt could be dragged to football games on cold Texas winter nights. Okay, it is not that cold in Texas but I love the weight and feel of this fabric for quilt backs.
My mom probably kept every card, picture or note that Kennedy had ever sent her. My mom passed away last year and I knew pieces of Gammy needed to be included. Various notes and messages are used throughout.
Kennedy’s maternal grandmother passed away several years ago. Popsicle (grandad) sent me a box of clothes and as soon as I opened the box I could smell Mama Faye. Both Grandmothers are still a special part of Kennedy’s life and keeping a good eye on her.
In the left hand corner of the picture above is a copy of Kennedy’s baby blanket. I just took a picture of it and transferred to fabric.
Isn’t technology great? The printable fabric is washable and you can transfer almost anything to it.
I found a drawing of Kennedy and her mom. Had to use that!
Remember when people actually wrote letters? And kids always had to end with P.S. and P.S.S and
P.S.S.S. Thank you for my cleansing set.
It was a nightly ritual if you were with Gammy. You got to use all her fancy cleansers, cotton balls and
moisturizers no matter what your age.
My mom and Kennedy wrote letters back and forth quite often, but there was one small problem. Kennedy could not read cursive so my mom would write a letter, my brother would read it to her. But if there was anything “secret” that Gammy wanted to talk about such as boyfriends, etc., she would print it and put it in a special envelope labeled, FOR KENNEDY’S EYES ONLY.
My message to Kennedy was a piece of a T-shirt my brother gave me after I had brain surgery, What’s Your Superpower? I hope she thinks about all her many gifts / super powers that makes her such a special person. 
Really I promise the quilt is cool, but cell phone pics from a dorm room probably don’t showcase it best.
Some of her mom’s t-shirts were cut up and used as pieced letters, but a few of them had such strong messages that they needed to be highlighted on their own. Make It Possible, Make It Happen, Make It Yours.
I don’t have a pic, but I also sewed part of a TCU T-shirt to the bottom, back middle of the quilt. I did this so that the quilt could fold up into a Quillow, a quilt turned into a pillow. The main reason I did this is when the quilt is in use, she could also slide her feet into the little pocket for extra added warmth. I think ever I may have to add a foot pocket to all my quilts in the in the future.
My sister in law really knows how to throw a graduation party so I had to include this pic of my
granddaughter, Imrie enjoying the yummy cookies.
Riff, Ram, Bah Zoo
Lickety, Lickety, Zoo, Zoo
Who, Wah, Wah, Who
Give “em Heck, TCU.
Over and out. Thanks for listening to my story.
-modalissa
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Recently, or I guess it has now been a couple of years ago, I remodeled my childhood home. I moved into this house when I was in second grade, grew up here, married living close by. After my father passed away, my mom followed the tradition of don’t make any major decisions/changes for a year. When she was ready to move to a smaller place, I was still adjusting to loosing my dad and didn’t want to also part with the house I grew up in, so with a growing family I bought the house. Ironically we moved in when my oldest son was in second grade.
He came home from school and told me his P.E. teacher was a real old lady. Yes, you guessed it, she was the same P.E. teacher that I had and I didn’t think she looked a day older.
We raised our kids in this house. They all attended the same schools that my sister and brothers attended. The kids hunted Easter eggs in the same yard as I did, celebrated Christmas just as I did and now their kids are making new memories in this house.
Something as simple as playing hide and go seek wasn’t going to work for them. I knew all the hiding spots. Been there, done that!
So what does this story have to do with this quilt?
There is a builder that has been revitalizing our little town with wonderful new homes all throughout the community. He doesn’t do remodels!! I talked him into doing a little remodel and I had plenty of time for him to do the work in between his new builds. He tried and tried to talk me into leveling the house and building new, but I didn’t have the pocketbook for that. The remodel turned into a much bigger project with slab leaks, electric rewiring, in addition to what was already planned and budgeted for. Remember, he doesn’t do remodels!
So what does this story have to do with this quilt?
This builder happened to be one of my neighbors growing up. He was from a large family and all the neighborhood kids were always at his house. So maybe I guilt-ed him into doing the work, but I knew I could trust him and he knew the history of our house and family.
So I decided to make his family a quilt as a Thank You. They are big fans of the show Fixer Upper, so I went with greys and whites, grunges and crossweaves and any other texture type print I could find.
The triangles are all going upwards as symbolism of all the hard work his family has done in our community. I built each piece one by one.
There is half a row of triangles going in the opposite direction so he can remember, 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards when helping out an old childhood friend making her wish’s come true. Thanks Todd!!
Used Moda Snuggles on the back. All the flying geese shapes were made with Bloc Loc rulers, FG4 x 8 and FG2 x 4.
If you have not used any of the Bloc-Loc rulers yet, I highly recommend them.
They will be a basic in your quilting tool box.
-modalissa
What can you make with a Moda Charm pack, a moda candy and a few yards of bella solids?
I am pulling this blog post out of my draft section because I share a free little pattern download at the bottom of the post but also wanted to share the incredible quilting.
A charm pack (42-5″ squares) and a mini charm pack (42-2 1/2″ squares) So easy. Start sewing with the precuts to make a quick project during balancing all the summer schedules. Plenty of room for autographs for a family reunion project.
WOWSER! Feathers Galore!
Hope everyone is enjoying the beginning of summer.
Here in Texas the heat and humidity has hit us.
If you want the pattern, click here for a free download.
Pattern includes a larger version that uses 2 charm packs and 2 mini charms.
I would love to see what you make. Share your pic on FB or IG and tag me, @modalissa.
my how time flies!! Seems like yesterday that I sat down with Jane Davidson and Pat Sloan as they were dreaming up this little project. we talked about the logistics of getting fabrics in all of the designers hands, how we would create the website, who was going to do what and when it was all going to happen. We talked about all the things that have to happen in the background to make this all work. AMAZING!!
This LITTLE project does not even begin to describe how the community of Splendid Sampler has grown. Designers from all over the world have created blocks and shared a little about themselves, then quilter’s from all over the world joined in. The splendid sampler bug spread like a virus that there is no cure for. Here are just a few of the blocks available.
YEAH! That is my block!!
To celebrate the SPLENDID SAMPLER book, there is a fantastic giveaway!!
Click here for more information about the book and the giveaway.
Enjoy!!
-modalissa
I am so super excited that one of my quilts is featured in the December 2016 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. I may have to have a Holiday Party and invite everyone over to help me celebrate. But since I can’t do that I will just have to share my Holiday Party Quilt on the newly redesigned cover of this wonderful issue.
If I were to have a party I would need to borrow all of their props to use by my quilt and I would need to clean my house, so I doubt that is going to happen anytime soon.
I thought I would share how this quilt came to be. Do you remember the old commercials from the 80’s for doublemint gum?
Two..
Two..
Two Quilts in one.
I wish it was that easy.
The quilts shown below that were APQ Quilt-Along features were the inspiration.
I drew out the Holiday Party using some of the math from my Burgoyne Surrounded shown below and added in leftover pieces from my four patch quilt to get some what of a morphed holiday version. Once I connected the dots and added a few more squares to fill in the holes, the Holiday Party quilt came to life.
Now I have the jingle from the 80’s commercial stuck in my head. Double Fresh, Double Smooth, Double Pleasure waiting for you……..
for more info on this quilt, April issue 2013
https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/apqquiltalong/
for more info on this quilt, April issue 2014.
All pictures used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
©2016 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.
December issue, on sale October 4th.
Party!!!.
-modalissa
This design is just as yummy in classic blues and tans as shown in the color option featuring Windham fabrics.