Straight and Arrow

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I am so lucky to work with such a talented group of people. One of the gals is Holly Hickman.  Her brain is amazing. You may have seen her quilt in a recent Quilts and More Spring 2014 publication. I knew when she made that quilt that I would want to make it once the magazine came out so I hoarded the fabrics.

Quilts n More 2014- Straight and Arrow by Holly Hickman quilted by Natalia Bonner

Wanting
to make a certain quilt and hoarding is not uncommon for me, but for some reason
this one actually got done. Arrows are such a trending thing that I had
to jump right on this project. My husband is 5/128 Chickasaw Indian which makes the kids 5/256. I think this is the reason for their newly found attraction to Indian items.

Holly Hickman’s quilt- quilted by Natalia Bonner

I was surprised when my eldest son, Grant loved this quilt so I am sure it will find a place in his home. I made the quilt extra long because I really wanted to use the pre- printed log cabin fabric.
 

  He is a tall
dude so this would cover him from head to toe. Don’t you hate those
“throws” that are big enough to actually get cozy under?

  My version of Holly’s quilt is quilted a little different and I added a little bit more border fabric. I can’t wait to throw it in the wash and deliver it to #1 son. 

-modalissa

Nested Churn Dash Quiltalong

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I am sure you have seen this quilt all over the Internet by now.
 A very talented and uber creative Jane Davidson of QuiltJane has started this quilt along and today is my day to post my version of this quilt. 
First I have to tell you a little story. Jane participated in my Low Volume Burgoyne Surrounded #APQquiltalong project.
Quilt Jane’s version
Tone it down main quilt photo
Here is my version
 The Fabric and value placement that Jane used in her quilt creating an entirely new design. The quilt is not even recognizable as the traditional Burgoyne Surrounded pattern.
So when it came time to make my version of Jane’s Nested Churn Dash, I thought I would get all artsy fartsy and make the fabrics start as a pinwheel in the middle and spiral out to the edge. I was going to shade each piece as if you were looking into the eye of a tornado. 
I was going to ….. was the tricky part of that plan. Didn’t happen!
  
Instead I opted for Positive Negative. 
I am really into that right now.
Everywhere there was a light I used dark instead and to keep the design simple I used Bella Snow in place of the prints in the design.
Now let me tell you this did get a little tricky because I was actually sewing backwards from what the pattern said and what my mind knew of the design. I loved how one single block came out.
That is all Jane asked us to do, one single 24″ block to make a mini quilt.
But, of course I saw that Miss Rosie was making a big quilt and Jane had done that super duper quilt for the #APQquiltalong. I couldn’t just stop at one block. I am a little competitive like that.
For the big version, I made every other block positive backgrounds and the other negative backgrounds. Confusing?
In cutting the fabric pieces the only thing that changed was what I used for the center square, so this was actually quite easy once I got the hang of it.
Here are the pieces for one of the 4″ blocks.
Here is a different block design. I just rotated the bar sections.
Now I have flipped the half square triangle sections.
Then by swapping out the center square, I have a negative version of my first block.
It really was fun playing with the simple possibilities to achieve a few different block designs.
If you are making this quilt, Jane has given all kinds of options to make your 
half square triangles, in this post.
I wanted to show you one more.
 Forgive me, because it is really hard to tell from a single picture what exactly this ruler does. It is called Bloc_Loc. It comes in a variety of sizes. I just happen to own the 2 1/2″ and the 4 1/2″ ones which is exactly what I needed to make this quilt.
The center of the ruler has an  1/4″ indentation. The ruler slides right up to the seam allowance and locks in place. This ruler only works if you press your seam to one side.
Here is a video that explains how cool this is. 
Once you square up the blocks you will have this cute little pile of scraps.
I love the 4″ blocks all by themselves as well.            
Just to update you on the list of blogger’s participating. Check them out.
June 10th – Kim Niedzwiecki – http://www.gogokim.blogspot.com.au
June 11th – Pat Sloan – http://www.blog.patsloan.com
June 12th – Lissa Alexander – http://www.modalissa.blogspot.com
June 13th – FatQuarterShop – http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com.au
June 16th – Frances Newcombe – http://www.bellybuttonsboutique.blogspot.com
June 18th – Sherri McConnell – http://www.aquiltinglife.com
June 19th – Sara Lawson – http://www.sewsweetness.com
June 20th – Amy Smart – http://www.diaryofaquilter.com
June 21st – Katy Jones – http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com
Be sure and post your pictures to the  Flickr Group to win some beautiful Aurifil thread packs and other great prizes. 
Use #NestedChurnDash on IG, FB, Flickr and twitter. Winners will be announced 30th July 2014.
 Can’t wait to see your version of this quilt.

Blogger Girls Month 6 BOM

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 It is that time again for the Blogger Girls’ Block of the Month. The final month of free block patterns includes month 6 blocks.
Next month we will be showing the final quilt and the layout directions.
 

 Amazing how different these two blocks are using the same pattern. Can you spot the difference in how the templates were used?
Clue: top corner
Once you spot the difference you will also spot my mistake! I didn’t even notice it until just now! I guess it happens to all of us.

Some of the other blocks.

Be sure and stop by all the blogs for the Block of the Month.

Sherri from A Quilting Life – aquiltinglife.blogspot.com
JoAnne from  A Patriotic Quilter – http://thepatrioticquilter.blogspot.com/
Lissa from Moda Lissa ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com
Denise from Quilter’s Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/
Jodi from Pleasant Home ~ www.pleasant-home.com/
Monique from Open Gate Blog ~ http://opengatequilts.blogspot.com
The FREE patterns are available here.

Nested Churn Dash Quilt Along

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You may know Jane Davidson of QuiltJane from Australia. I love the name of her blog, Want It, Need It, Quilt.
She is starting a quilt-a-long of the Nested Churn Dash. This is big fun quilt block that has taken on a life of it’s own. Starting June 1st, 2014, Jane will be taking us through the steps to make a 24″ x 24″ nested churn dash block.
She has invited 10 of her favourite quilters who couldn’t pass up the opportunity to “Quilt Along with Jane.”
For the more adventurous, you can continue on and using the 24″ x 24″ finished block you can make a pillow or mini quilt or make a quilt, ranging in size from 28″ x 80″ (1 x 3 block bed runner), 54″ x 54″ (2 x 2 block setting), 80″ x 80″ (3 x 3  block setting) and 106″ x 106″ (4 x 4 block setting).
Fabrics – April Showers, Happy Go Lucky
by Bonnie and Camille for Moda 
Mark your calender
June 1st – Requirements, fabric selections and layouts.
June 6th – Tips and hints for making the blocks.
June 9th – Carrie Nelson – http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/
June 10th – Kim Niedzwiecki – http://www.gogokim.blogspot.com.au
June 11th – Pat Sloan – http://www.blog.patsloan.com
June 12th – Lissa Alexander – http://www.modalissa.blogspot.com
June 13th – FatQuarterShop – http://www.fatquartershop.blogspot.com.au
June 16th – Frances Newcombe – http://www.bellybuttonsboutique.blogspot.com
June 17th – Katy Jones – http://www.imagingermonkey.blogspot.com
June 18th – Sherri McConnell – http://www.aquiltinglife.com
June 19th – Sara Lawson – http://www.sewsweetness.com
June 20th – Amy Smart – http://www.diaryofaquilter.com
June 23th – Making a quilt using the Nested Churn Dash block.
June 30th – Finishing the quilt.
July 30th – Winners selected from the Flickr group.
The block pattern can be purchased and downloaded from here and here.
Upload your finished blocks or projects to the Flickr Group to win some beautiful Aurifil thread packs and other great prizes. Use #NestedChurnDash on IG, FB, Flickr and twitter. Winners will be announced 30th July 2014.

Roadtrip QAL

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Untitled
Texas
is a BIG STATE
so a 
BIG QUILT ALONG

was certainly in order. Join these Texas bloggers for a super sized quilt along beginning June 1st. Melissa from my Fabric Relish has organized a road trip that takes you through some of best known cities and possibly some of the little known places in Texas. Each stop along the way will feature a quilt block and a little bit about the area.

June
2 – Dallas – Ashley at Urban Spools
June
5 – Tyler – Colleen guest blogger at Pretty Little Quilts
June
12 – Fort Worth – Lindsey and Jodie at Fort Worth Fabric Studio
June
16 – Amarillo – Aoife at thREDhead
June
19 – Lubbock – Jada (guest blogger) at My Fabric Relish
June
23 – El Paso – Jennie at Porch Swing Quilts
June
26 – Midland/Odessa – Donna at Donna’s Lavender Nest
June
30 – Big Bend – Cristina at Pretty Little Quilts
July
7 – Houston – Teresa at Third Floor Quilts
July
10 – Beaumont – Taryn at Pixels to Patchwork
July
14 – Austin – Amanda at What the Bobbin
July
17 – College Station – Hilary at Young Texan Mama
July
21 – San Antonio – Ellyn at Ellyn’s Place
July
24 – Hill Country – Lissa at Modalissa
July
28 – Rio Grande Valley – Melissa at My Fabric Relish

The Roadtrip is going to happen though out June and July with all kinds of giveaways along the way from the following sponsors.

Texas Roadtrip QAL

I Wasn't Born in Texas, but I Got Here...Texas Bumper Sticker

There is a saying that you is pretty common bumper stickers so I thought I would share here. I came from Kansas to Texas when I was 5.
Mark your calender. Where else can you take a 2 month road trip without leaving the comfort of your sewing machine?

-modalissa

fabric swaps

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Have you ever participated in a swap?
I know you were thinking of the show, Wife Swap and I don’t mean that kind of swap.
I recently had a wild hare and decided to participate in a few swaps. When I first contacted Michelle from Quilts from my Crayon Box, I think she was a bit puzzled. Why in the world would I want to participate in a moda fabric swap when I have access to all the fabric in the world? RIGHT?

 

Believe it or not fabric comes and goes and I am always kicking myself that the “good stuff” is all gone. I never let this get me down because there is always something better coming down the pipeline. The cool thing about this swap is there are pieces from 10 different Kate Spain collections. Seriously this stuff is priceless. To read about the swap, check out Quilts from my Crayon Box’s blog post.

 
The tough thing now is to decide what to make OR just pet them.

Another Swap that I participated in was the worldwide polka dot exchange put on by Prairie Stitches Quilt shop. Blog post here. 
Everyone knows that I love polka dots so this was perfect for me to add more dots to my collection. The world wide web certainly has connected us all but I miss the actual friendship groups, sewing circles and small group fellowship. Prairie Stitches organized this swap so each person would receive an envelope with a 10″ square from the actual individual that sent the fabric. This meant I received 60 pieces of mail that was not a bill, a catalog or junk. 60 pieces of fabric in the mail, quilter’s heaven.

some of my treasures

 Each envelope has a bit of a story that goes along with the person’s name, where they were from, etc. One of the gals has the same name as an old friend of mine from high school. I checked it out, not the same person but did end up re-connecting with an old friend in the process.
Another good exercise about these swaps is that it challenges me to use fabric I did not pick out making me have to work with an open mind and have fun with the creative process.
 
Funny side note: My daughter and I were in Florida this past weekend seeing my BFF. I overheard my daughter telling my friend, you should see all the fan mail my mom gets. This cracked me up. I quickly informed both of them that even though the letters were addressed to modalissa it wasn’t officially fan mail since I had sent them something first. I guess that makes it a reply to fan mail.

I hope each of you are having fun in your creative process and making many new friends along the way.

-modalissa

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 What draws you to a quilt pattern? I have wanted to make a certain quilt from the Moda bake shop forever. Well to tell the truth I have several of the patterns printed and waiting in the wings to make but this one was calling my name.

I dove right in. The pattern is Sunday Potluck by KnottyGnome Crafts.  This quilt was faetured on the Moda Bake shop in September 2013. I loved how classic retro the fabrics were and it looked prefect for a Sunday picnic. I planned on making it using the American Jane collection, but I ended up using those fabrics for another project. So I had a Fig Tree and Co layer cake and wondered how different the quilt would look.
Same pattern, two completely different looks. what is your favorite way to change up patterns?

SIDE NOTE: This is a good reason to not try and take a picture on a windy day while your daughter is trying to hide behind the quilt top. My daughter will kill me if she sees this and probably never hold a quilt top for me again.

Enjoy,

Modalissa

Wishes B.O.M.

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It is the first of the month so it is time to catch up on my block of
the months. on April 1st,  I shared block 4 from the blogger girls BOM
and today is my show n tell for the Wishes quilt along from Fat Quarter Shop.



I am on month 4 of the quilt along. These blocks are so fun because they are 18″ finished. They get big very fast compared to the blogger girls BOM that are 6″ finished.



Time to change my machine needle. See how the seams kind of pucker? Yep, should have put in a new needle. Do you not change your needle until it breaks? Guilty. I have read that you should change your needle every time you start a new project. I tend to work on several projects at once and time slips away.
So now that I have my monthly block obligations caught up, I am putting a new needle in my machine, giving it a fresh oiling and then on to making market quilts. Can’t wait to to show you a few peeks along the way.

-modalissa

Bloggers Girl's B.O.M. 4

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It is that time again for 2 more blocks from Monique Dillard of Open Gate designs.
If you are new here each month Monique posts 1 new 6″ block pattern. The cool thing is that she also shares cutting instructions to make an additional color option.


Month 4 block- color option 2


Month 4 block- color option 1


The two blocks lined up right next to each other really show how different they are.


Love them. Check back again may 1st for the next round of blocks.

Enjoy,
Modalissa

Granny Square- lost and found

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Have you ever misplaced something? Of course you have. Have you misplaced a quilt? Probably not. I made this granny square quilt a couple of years ago. Dragged it to quilt market to submit it to a magazine and never did. We have hauled 100’s of quilts back and forth from show to show and have never lost one so I knew this quilt had to be somewhere.
It could have been nicely packed with the show stuff, it could have been in the stack of quilts for trunk shows, it could have been on display somewhere throughout the buildings.
No need to panic. It would show up eventually.
Well surprise, surprise it finally showed up. I had packed it away in a very safe place and completely had forgotten about it. The mind is a terrible thing to loose, right?
I was so excited. It was like running into a long lost friend. I love anything granny square and now that Lori Holt’s new book, Great Granny Squared is out I think I want to start another quilt.
My favorite block used to be nine patches or log cabins but the granny square is quickly taking over the number 1 spot. This quilt is made from all kinds of moda candy 2 1/2″ squares. I love how each block looks different depending on the color and fabric placement.
The red and white block shown above is one of my favs in this quilt.
Striped binding cut on the bias…. I am obsessed about stripes and the color orange still so it is funny to see that I used this fabric as the binding over 2 years ago.
I am notorious for hiding things so well that I can never find them. I am just sure that i have hidden a ton of money somewhere and that some day my when i am long gone my kids will find it. They better not throw out any of my treasures just in case i have stashed their inheritance there. Is that a good way to entice them not to call goodwill as soon as I am gone……(note to jillian)
Do you have a favorite quilt block that you can just make over and over?  
-modalissa