Category: My Quilts

Splendid Sampler- Day 57

August 27, 2016

I am 57 out of 100.
This is not my class rank or my finish in the last 5K I participated in.
It is my block number in the Splendid Sampler.
I call it the Super Splendid Sampler. (triple S)

It seems like yesterday that I met with Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson as they were cooking up this idea. What a idea it was, bringing together 100 different people from the quilting community from all over the world to make 1- 6″ block.

Sounds easy enough! I had fun playing with a 6″ block, but tying it to a story about me got a little tough. Where to begin?

I played wth fabrics and decided Starting Point was the perfect description for my journey as a quilter. I started quilting in 1980, pre-google, pre online shopping, pre-almost everything! I am a self taught quilter, trying to figure it out as I went along. This was my Starting Point.

The Block instructions are posted on the Splendid Sampler website. I snagged this picture from the site. I had completely forgotten that I wrote the silly note on the envelope when I mailed it to Pat.

In 1989 my SIL gave me a book, It’s Okay to Sit on My Quilt by Mary Ellen Hopkins and an Olfa rotary cutter. Game Changer!! I was hooked. Many books, classes and quilts later, I am still as passionate about the art of quilting as I was then. I continue to learn and be inspired and hope the Splendid Sampler has inspired you.

If you are making the sampler, keep going, you can do it. Hopefully, you have learned a few new things and met some quilty friends along the way.

ONE FINAL THING
Organizing and supporting such a project has been borderline miraculous for Jane and Pat, or maybe a better description would be as if they were herding cats. Thank you to Pat, Jane and all of the designers contributing to this project. Hop on over to Splendid Sampler to download my block instructions.

-MODALISSA

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Kettle Corn

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August 24, 2016

How super cool is Lisa Bongean of Primitive Gatherings? She is the first person to be shown on the cover of American Patchwork & Quilting. This does make her the official cover girl of quilting. Nick, her husband, thought she should do the photo shoot in a bikini, until everyone informed him it was not that type of cover girl. (just kidding, Nick!!)

I was tickled to see Lisa on the cover and then continued to flip through the pages to see some of my other friends. Vanessa Goetzen of Lella Boutique’s bright shiny face on page 5, Betsy Chutchian‘s reproduction quilt, Just Toasty on page 35, Pat Sloan, Bonanza of Baskets on page 54, and then on page 79 I almost wet my pants. There was my quilt, Kettle Corn. You know I love scrappy quilts and mixing all kinds of Moda designers fabrics into one quilt. I also love fall and I can be found munching on kettle corn regardless of what time of the year it is. My family must think I am a bit of a mad scientist. I am always dipping, dying, bleaching and messing with fabrics. I had a variety of fabrics and wondered what they would look like bleached and overdyed. I loved how some of the modern lines turned almost vintage with a dunk into bleach. Shown here is the quilt top before it was sent to the quilter. It really shows off the variety of prints.

Everything including fabrics from Sandy Gervias, Urban Chics, Zen Chic, Vanessa Christenson, Barbara Brackman, Fig Tree and Sweetwater. I guess I could have named it Kitchen Sink since many of the fabrics have spent some time there and I threw in such a variety. Love it!

To be in such good company with all the people in this issue warms my heart.

Can’t wait for the season to change to fall and be surrounded by all things pumpkins.

Look for the October issue of American Patchwork and Quilting!!

Also a thank you shout out to Carrie Nelson and Elizabeth Besse. I was recouping from surgery so they jumped in and wrote the article for me.

I had the easy part of making the quilt.

-modalissa

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APQ quiltalong- It all adds up

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February 15, 2016

First of all i thought I would sneak in a few pics of my grandkids. Jarrod and Lindsey’s little angel, Imrie Reign Alexander.

and of course Nolan delivering a Valentine package to his cousin.

I am participating in the third annual American Patchwork & Quilting Quilt-Along.

This year the folks at Meredith have all kinds of projects to make as you Quilt-along. Two patterns in APQ, one in Quilts and More, and one online, all with one theme—this year it’s plus-sign quilts. They are calling the quilt-along “It All Adds Up.”
I have always loved the simplicity of the RED CROSS logo
and now to see all the popularity of Cross/Plus Sign quilts, I knew I ~~wanted~~ needed a reason to quilt-along.

Here are the “It All Adds Up” quilt-along projects:

1. “Plus Postage” quilt from designer Susan Ache

Instagram: yardgrl60

2. “Grand Total” from designer Pat Bravo

Instagram: patbravodesign

website: patbravo.com

Instructions are in the April 2016 issue of APQ for both of these quilts.

3. “Easy Addition” from designer Brenda M. Ratliff

websites: justabitfrayed.com and pinkcastlefabrics.com

Instructions are in the Spring 2016 issue of Quilts and More

I had a hard time making up my mind on which one to make. I started out with Susan Ache’s version but then had an idea of who I wanted to make this quilt for. The end product needed to be a bigger quilt and I didn’t want to make more blocks, so I decided to morph Susan Ache and Pat Bravo together. They both live in Florida so they do have that in common. Makes sense to me!

My version is based on a 2″ finished grid.

I love love the little plus signs thrown through out. They just make me smile!

A positive – negative filler block thrown in.

Some of the plus signs got elongated into cross shapes.
The blocks are 16″ finished.

If you are quilting along, please include the same hashtag as the first two years, #APQQuiltalong. I love seeing the pictures of everyone’s projects.

I added one row of pieced squares in between the blocks and am
excited to send it off to let the quilter work her magic!!

As a bonus there is a super-easy plus sign pillow from the HowToSew.com site.

http://howtosew.com/blog/sewing-projects/it-all-adds-pillow ;

Log Cabins Rock!!

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February 12, 2016

One of the most recognizable American quilt blocks has got to be hands down the log cabin block.

One of my quilts is featured in I Love Log Cabins by Martingale Publishing.

The setting seems fairly common but for me it is really different. I did not use 5,000,000 different fabrics like I usually do. Each “log” is the same fabric as it is built out from the center, rotating from light to dark and back to light. The blocks are then sashed with assorted putty grey fabrics on only 2 sides, making the blocks easy to assemble. This quilt looks just like it could be a modern version of a quilt on Laura Ingalls Wilder’s bed. Little House on the Prairie fan, anyone?

Stock # b1339 Available now at your favorite retailer!

How about this classic log cabin with the added stars?

Quilt made by Kimberly Jolly

Log cabins with red centers represent the hearth (fireplace/warmth) of the home while the light side of the blocks represents the sunny side of the home, dark side represents shady side. to me this version represents a happy cheerful home full of warmth. Isn’t that the fun part of quilting and sharing stories? Each quilt speaks to each of us differently.

Wouldn’t this be so yummy in Christmas colors?

And if you think quilting is for “old ladies” then you are in for a treat. Just look at this Log cabin variation, Rockin’ the Rainbow by Jackie White. I have not meet Jackie and I have no idea how old she is but she has got to be a ton of fun just by looking at her quilt. It makes me happy, plus I love the funky pieced binding.

Young or old, their is a log cabin for you.

The log cabin quilt is symbolic for the westward movement following the civil war. There are all kinds of stories about the underground railroad and the use of log cabin quilts to send the enemies locations just by the direction of how the quilts were hung along the fence. Truth or Fiction? Who really knows but as a quilt enthusiast, it does my heart good to believe that quilts have had a social and political statement for hundreds of years. If you would like to learn more about the history of Log Cabin quilts, visit Barbara Brackman’s blog.

If you are as hooked as I am on Log Cabins and want to make one of these quilts, visit Martingale for all the details.

-modalissa

Blender Rows

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January 21, 2016

If you are a follower of all things Moda, by now you are following along on the Moda All Stars, All in a Row blog hop. There are all kinds of fun things planned. If you are just joining, all the details are listed here.

Today I wanted to share with you a little bit about my rows in the book. I made some little basic filler rows that can be used to add to the main featured rows. Sometimes we all just need a little space and I thought this was true with row quilts. Each of the designs are super cool on their own, but slap another row right next to it and it can begin to feel a little squashed. Right? just like in real life. These filler rows can be used for all kinds of additional design options. The quilt shown above has the flying geese rows added as a border. There are also two filler rows used in the quilt. I especially like the layout and design of this quilt. Only 3 rows were used with a center applique row in the middle and two additional rows mirror each other to create a nicely balanced design. Made by Mellissa Corey

I made a quilt for the book that is nothing but the filler rows. I struggled when choosing fabrics. These were supposed to be filler rows and I need the colors of the rows to “fill” in with. It is a fun and funky quilt and in the right fabrics could be an interesting quilt all on its own.

This book is just the beginning of a series of Moda All Stars books. And of course I am a border-line stalker of the designers and I was honored to have a small “filler” part in the project. Any project like this has so many moving pieces, so you can only imagine how thrilled I was to receive this book autographed by the people that made it happen. Thank you!

More behind the scenes All -Stars are some of the people that are not afraid to answer my call when I say,

Hey, you want to………………?
or
What about………?

Just one all star is Susan Ache. She pieced some of the Gallery quilts. If you know Susan then you know she is quite prolific. Not only did she make one gallery quilt but she also thought we needed one in all reds, so she made it!

Susan Ache, Sarah Huechteman, Janet Hill, Chelair Etter, Maggi Honeyman and Melissa Corey played a part in making it all happen. So far, they are all still answering my phone calls. Thank you for that!

Tomorrow, join me as I showcase the actual Beauty of a Pageant.

-modalissa

Lazy Honghorn

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December 15, 2015

I love the name of Kerra Job of Live.Love.Sew‘s pattern, Lazy Longhorn. She is a cattle rancher’s wife, so she knows a bit about Longhorns. However, my dad was a Texas Aggie through and through. He always said we could go to any college that we wanted except…..University of Texas. Fast forward many years later, my son is there and my brother lives in Austin, Texas and has really no other choice but to be a fan of UT.

So when I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make it. My dad would get a kick out of it being called Lazy, but at least I didn’t use traditional UT colors.

I wanted to something a bit more funky, so I choose a floral from Lella’s Boutique’s newest fabric line, Little Miss Sunshine. It is a yummy coral color. From there, I choose a variety of oranges to pinks.

This is the part I love about quilting, mixing all those cool fabrics. Choosing just 10 fabrics was a bit difficult for me, I usually like at least 50different combinations.

Who would have thought but I ended up with a range of fabrics from Lella Boutique to Zen Chic to Chloe’s Closet to Amy Ellis to Jen Kingwell.

Usually I lay the finished blocks on the floor and re arrange them, stretching and turning as if I were playing a game of TWISTER all by myself. Then I have to sew them all together. If I leave the blocks on the floor they are an open invitation for the dogs to make themselves right at home.

I don’t know why I haven’t thought about this before, but I used one of each of the fabrics to decide in what order I would put the blocks. I played around with the balance of color, value and design. I didn’t want all the oranges to be together. I couldn’t put the busy or geometric prints all together.

I rearranged a few times until it was pleasing to my eye. No great right or wrong way to do it, only a matter of my own personal preference. Once I decided on my favorite, I only have to keep the small swatches in order to use as my guide when I am ready to join the blocks.

Do you have a favorite placement of the fabrics?
Here are 3 options side by side.

Version 1, 2 or 3 ?

Much like playing the game of twister, color is all about balance. Do your eyes hurt yet?

This is much like going to the eye doctor… Tell me which one can you see better… 1 or 2, 1 or 2?
I always have to have him do it over again and again just so I can make sure.

Here is another option. Look at the fabrics in Grey scale. Is the version you picked in the picture above, the same here? By taking all the color out of the picture, it lets your eyes concentrate more on the value (dark and light) of the fabrics. 9 times out of 10, if you are happy with the value placement, you will be happy with the balance of color. In quilting as in life, I guess the key is to finding the right balance.

I’ve got to get back to sewing these lazy longhorns, they are not going to sew themselves.

Peaks- the quilt

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November 18, 2015

I recently posted a picture of this quilt on my Instagram because I love it.
I love the colors.
I love the pattern.
I love the quilting.

I love, love, love it.

Someone asked me about the pattern and colors so I thought I would share it here. When I went to hunt down

the good pics, I remembered it was featured in the April May 2013 QUILT magazine.

So here are their nice styled, color corrected pictures from 2013.

And here are the details if you want to make your own version using Bella solids.

9900-51- Buttercup,

9900-81 Goldenrod,

9900-83 Grey,

9900-125 Betty’s Brown,

9900-147 Coral,

9900-162 Amelia Apricot,

9900-171 Etchings Charcoal,

9900-185 Zen Grey

9900-209 Clementine,

9900-210 Strawberry,

9900-213 Mustard,

9900-244 Harvest Gold.

A fat quarter of each.

The background could be anything but I used 9900-182 Porcelain (4 1/4 yds.)

I refer to this type of quilt as a 12 pack, not a 6- pack that is something completely different. Pick your favorite 12 colors, add background of your choice

and the possibilities are endless.

Choose all shades of greens and browns for trees,

blues and greens with a little white on top for snow capped mountains,

30’s prints for a retro quilt

or just a combination of all your funky favorite fabrics as a scrap buster!

I shot a pic of the quilt with my Iphone as I zipped by the quilt laying on an unmade bed at my sons house.
The quilt looked even better washed and used. I love it when a quilt has been put to good use.

Tag me if you make a version of this quilt. I would love to see it.
Here is the pattern for your use.
Enjoy!!

-modalissa

for the mayors

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September 19, 2015

This summer I enjoyed a vacation with my best friend and her crew. She has 3 children and I have 5. We went every where together for many years dragging all 8 kids in tow, including many trips each summer to the beach. Traveling is different now. The kids are grown and many of them have kids. Fun, right?

This is Kay’s second child, first son and his precious family. I wanted to give each of the families a quilt that I had made and I knew this one was perfect for the Mayor family.

I love the big graphic feel of this quilt but the symbolism was also perfect since it is 4 monkey wrench blocks nestled inside each other. Bubba and Miranda have 3 girls but at the time were expecting their 4 child, a boy!!
I thought Bubba could use a little blue in his life with all those girls around.

This design is from a quilt-along with Jane Davidson, of quiltjane.com.

While on vaca, I wanted a picture of the family with the quilt. Mom was so cute and did not want to get the quilt dirty or sandy. I told her my quilts are made to use, build forts, and drag on picnics.

But the very best thing is to take brand new baby pictures on them.

As Granny Kay says, my cup runneth over.

Little baby Wyatt is here and all those girls are going to spoil him rotten.

Congratulations!

-modalissa

Smitten, Smitten, Smitten

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September 11, 2015

Have a I rambled enough about how much I love this quilt design? I took it to the rose garden in my neighborhood and thought I would snap a few creative pictures. Not a good idea! The quilt top with exposed seams got caught on every little thorn!

So I “artistically” threw it over a bench and loved how the quilt top looked. I was so busy looking at the quilt that I didn’t even realize how cool the brick was until I was about to crop it out of the picture. I had to keep those tessellating Texas shaped bricks in the picture!

I am pleased to say that Smitten is complete and off to the quilter.
YEAH! YIPPEE! HURRAY!

The quilt top has been complete for a little while but I wanted to use my leftover bits and pieces to add to my quilt back. Funny story: I showed the back to a friend of mine and she loved it. I said wait until you see the front. Her only comment was I like the back better. Ouch, right? The front is nothing but set in seams! So for that reason I am not showing you the back until it is back from the quilter. Don’t get me wrong, it is cool in a funky, minimalist, modern kind of way!

Thanks for stopping by.

-Modalissa

I am Smitten

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August 17, 2015

If you follow me on Instagram you will know that I am obsessed with the Smitten pattern by Lucy Kingwell. (This is a Jen Kingwell pattern designed by her daughter Lucy.)

Smitten by Lucy Kingwell

I started out hand piecing the blocks while I was on vacation.
Love love love!!

Then returned from a long car ride and became impatient and started machine piecing the blocks.

I cut strips from a big assortment of fabrics and used Marti Michell’s templates to cut the actual shapes.

Then I just sat down playing and picking from my pile of shapes to create different blocks. I would sew late into the night and think,
just one more block.
You know what happens then, it is like eating Lay’s potato chips, just one more and before you know it the bag is empty. That is what making these Smitten blocks is like, you can’t ~~eat~~ make just one.

3 smaller hexagon blocks are joined to make bigger hexagon shapes.

At some point it was time to make some decisions on colors and fabrics. I really wanted the black but some of the blocks were just too dark or heavy. I knew I needed the depth that the black would give so I concentrated on grey , textures, checks and assorted prints that would read black/dark.

Jen Kingwell’s dot from Gardenvale is the perfect color.
Not to black, but just right.

I am making my quilt a tad bigger which means I am still making blocks. Some of my blocks may be too dark so I will put them to good use on the back.

One of the blocks I made an OPPS. It was not supposed to go like this at all.
But I like it and I am going to finish it out “creatively”.
Who knows it may make the front of the quilt. If not it will be mixed into the back.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/27835222@N08/shares/13398J

I am going to have the quilt top done by the end of the week. Or at least that is what I am shooting for. It is to the stage that I need to lay it out, but I have two big dogs that like to “sew” with me. They are hairy mongrels so I will have to keep them distracted during this time.

Then it will be off to the quilter to work her magic. I will be on the lookout for quilting designs.
Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?