Color Me Super Excited

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I am excited, 
honored, 
humbled,
 thrilled,
 and basically just flat out blown away
 to be a part of 
American Patchwork and Quilting’s 20th Anniversary Issue. 
April 2013
When I was told by the editor of APQ that my 
quilt was chosen for the cover, I literally cried. 
Not very many people have seen me speechless and crying at the same time. 
“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2013
Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”
Color Me Crochet 
is a followup quilt to…….. 
my Granny Square’s quilt 
from the October 2010 issue of APQ. 
SIDE NOTE: I would like to announce that since my granny square quilt, I have actually learned to crochet. I have made my fair share of  scarves, but I guess I just prefer fabric over yarn.
This quilt started out as a color exercise for me. I wanted to see if I could mix Kate Spain fabrics with Kansas Troubles fabrics. How would Barbara Brackman play with Me & My Sister? Can polka dots and reproduction fabrics peacefully co exist in the same quilt? What is the difference between modern and traditional? Could it be classic?
My only color rule was to make the center diagonal row of each block the darkest. This color choice was relative once I started putting the blocks together adding pops of texture and shading throughout the quilt. I sliced a piece from many layer cakes as a collected “scraps” for this quilt. It was so much fun. Many nights I didn’t want to stop sewing so I could see how the next block of colors would  stitch together.
Just imagine how many skeins of yarn I would have to buy to crochet something like this.
I hope you enjoy this quilt as much as I did making it.
Congratulations to the talented team at 
American Patchwork and Quilting as they celebrate their 20th Anniversary.
-modalissa 
this issue is available from your fav quilt shop
thanks to maggi honeyman for her super duper quilting

In works

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I wanted to post a picture of my cutting table with several projects in the works. What is it about the new year that makes me think I need to start a bunch of new projects?



The piles in no particular order are:
1. An opened back of chocolate drizzled kettle corn. I made it my personal mission over the holiday to sample every brand and flavor of kettle corn I could kind. My mission has lead me to an addiction for that sweet and salty stuff. (If any of my family members are in my sewing room while I am gone, please do me a favor and get rid of any remaining kettle corn in the house.)
2. A box of letters that my sister wrote in college some 28-30 years ago. I am working on scanning in all the letters and making them into books for her 3 sons. Many of these letters also talk about when she met and married their wonderful father. Letter writing is a lost art so theses glimpses into history are priceless to me and I know her sons will treasure them.
3. A pile of crap, I mean scraps in the corner.
4. Some small nine patch blocks ( just a few small ones right under the light) that will be part of a future post about strip piecing nine patches.
5. A nine patch quilt I am working on using Avalon by Fig Tree and a future line from Bonnie and Camille. I am loving the royal blue that is showing up in some lines now. If Pantone had contacted me I would have predicted some shade of royal blue to be the color of 2013. I guess I may be ahead of my time and Pantone will choose my choice for 2014. I certainly am buying any and all of royals that I can find. Love love love it.
6. My I spy hexagon quilt. It is a work in progress and will be a future post as well. QuiltJane makes the most adorable hexagons templates. I will be sharing more info with you. Don’t tell my kids but I think the first grand baby may get this quilt. Obviously no one is pregnant so there is no rush to finish it. Also a thanks to a few of my friends that have been sharing their small 2 1/2″ novelty prints for this project.
7. My blocks in progress for Open Gate’s quilt along BOM. Check back here on
Feb 1st to see the second set of blocks.

I am writing to you from my hotel room in Paris France. I know it sounds odd but we have zipped over here for a quick weekend to attend maison de objet show. I am traveling with moda’s designer director as she scours the globe for trends and colors. Maybe I will run into those Pantone people and mention by color pick for 2014.
I will give you an update on my trip and my cutting table projects next week.

Au revoir,
Modalissa

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Rue des Ecoles,Paris,France

my Newest Favorite thing

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I wanted to share my newest obsession. It is another app, surprise, surprise!
It is called Frameographer.  
Watch the tutorial of how it works then see the video we made below.
One of my sons decided to completely redo his brothers old rotten deck while they were away for the holidays. Great idea and the family jumped in to help. Some of the family just supplied beverages while some did most of the heavy lifting. I am not going to name names.
http://youtu.be/6thcFo5g5wA
 This is day 2. 
We set the camera to take a picture every minute. 
The App then turned  about 10 hours of work into a 1 minute video. 
We added Grant’s favorite song to the video but it didn’t come across 
when I embedded the video.
Day 1’s movie contains a “mooning” scene that was not fit to post on my blog.
 That video is just shown at private family gatherings.
My next video will be 3 days of piecing a quilt top that will make it look 
like you can make a quilt in 3 minutes.
Thanks for letting me share my silly family and my first video.
-modalissa

Bloggers girls quilt along

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Happy New Year! 
I am happy to be starting the new year with a few friends.
Time to start on a 6 month BOM.
Are you ready?
On the first of each month, 
 we will be posting our “color options” as we participate with
 Monique from 
Open Gate Quilt’s  on her first quilt along. 

 Block 1- color version 1
 Block 1- color version 2
Look how different two of the same blocks can be just by fabric and color placement.
 The fun thing about this project is that it is all about color options
as well as fantastic precision piecing with the use of Monique’s rulers. 
It is 2013  so first thing you should do is 
go out and treat yourself 
to the
 FIT TO BE QUARTER 6.5 & companion ruler.
It changed my life and I am not being over dramatic. 
Accuracy and precision are a breeze with this. I always thought
 I was a pretty good “piecer”, 
but now I am a fantastic piecer!
 My signature piece of fabric is a piece from Edyta Sitar’s Paint Box Collection.  
Stock # 42101-13 color Coco. 
I will be using this as my
border and will also sprinkle it throughout some of my quilt blocks.
I seriously love this print!
This is a fabric that has so many wonderful colors that I could use it for almost any 
project. The possibilities of beautiful colors to coordinate are endless. 
Edyta has a way of doing this with each of her collections. 
I keep a swatch of this fabric pinned to my design wall so I can audition
 fabrics as I make each of the blocks.
For  yardage information, click here.  
Instructions for each block with be posted at Open Gate.
Make a cup of tea and visit each of the Blogger Girls on 
the BLOCK OF THE MONTH LINEUP:
Monique From Open Gate Quilts – opengatequilts.blogspot.com/
Sherri from A Quilting Life – aquiltinglife.blogspot.com
Thelma from Cupcakes ‘n Daisies ~ cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com
Lissa from Moda  Lissa  ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com
Denise from Quilter’s  Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/
Nicole from Sister’s Choice  ~  sisterschoice.typepad.com
Lisa from Stashmaster ~ The-Stashmaster.blogspot.com
Follow each of us to see all the color options on the first of each month .
 I will also be posting some of the ways this ruler can help your day to day sewing.

 I hope you enjoy this project as much as  I have already enjoyed being a part of it.
Upload your block pictures on the Blogger Girls Flickr site.
I look forward to seeing your block progress.
 

Thanks Monique for inviting me!

What I learned on my Christmas break

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Each year on the first day of school I always had to write a paper titled “What I did on my summer vacation.”
This morning as the house is quite and thoughts of the new year are swirling around in my head, I started thinking about the things I learned on my Christmas vacation. The list does not include the obvious things about how thankful and blessed I am to have and be a part of a wonderful family.

Here is the list in no particular order.
1. If an early lunch with an old friend lasts all day, maybe we need to get together more often.
2. Picking out just 6 fabrics for a quilt is very hard.
3. No Internet is a very detoxing and therapeutic experience.
4. Baking soda facial helps close those nasty pores. Thank you Pinterest.
5. A simple Christmas meal is just as wonderful as one with all the hoopla.
6. No matter which family member is missing the holiday is not the same.
7. The pounds I have lost….. I have found and they brought friends.
8. Surprising someone with a handmade gift that brings tears to their eyes is so gratifying.
9. Snow in Texas on Christmas is beautiful.
10. My moms vegetable soup is just as good as I remember.
11. My happiness journal brought back great memories from 2012.
12. I am excited for 2013.

Hope each of you had a wonderful holiday and here’s to a blessed 2013.

– Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

BOM coming soon

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Blogger
Girls Block of the Month

I am super excited to be a part of a big event starting January 1st, 2013. Monique Dillard from Open Gate is doing her first ever online Block of the Month. 
 
Instead of BOM (block of the month) 
this should probably be
 BGBOM (blogger girls block of the month)
So here is the line-up.
Monique Dillard from Open Gate – opengate.blogspot.com
(instructions posted here on the first of each month)

Sherri from A Quilting Life – aquiltinglife.blogspot.com
Thelma
from Cupcakes ‘n Daisies ~ cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com
Denise from
Quilter’s Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/
Nicole
from Sister’s Choice ~ sisterschoice.typepad.com
Lisa
from Stashmaster ~ The-Stashmaster.blogspot.com
 and me
Lissa
from Moda Lissa ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com

 

 
Each of us will be making the same block each month. We are all using different fabrics so this will really give you lots of color choices. There will be 6 blocks posted and you can make the
6 block quilt or make 2 of each block and make the 12 block quilt. There will also be a set of instructions with the finishing options to make either size quilt. 
The instructions will be on Monique’s blog until July 2013.
As soon as you have packed away all the Christmas goodies, get ready, pick your favorite signature fabric for borders and stay tuned for yardages posted soon.
 
 here is a sneak peek at Monique’s finished quilt
Stay tuned…..
 

Travel Pillowcases

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Travel Pillowcases
I have been having so much fun making travel pillowcases. 
All you really need is 14″ of fabric plus a band. 
It is pretty cool how the construction of this pillowcase is done.
 Don’t get me wrong making the standard pillowcases with the
 sausage technique is absolutely amazing. 
The travel pillowcases are made completely different using 1 width of fabric. 
These are fun to keep in the car for road trips or the occasional road side pillow fights!
How about using them as pillowcases/gift bags!

FABRIC SUPPLIES

Body- 14″ by 44″
Trim- 1 3/4″ x 14″
Band- 8″ x 14″

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Trim- Fold in half lengthwise and press
2. Band- Fold in half lengthwise and press
3. Lay the body of the pillow case face up and layer the raw edges of 
the trim and band. Pin in place.
4. Sew along the 14″ side keeping all the layers together .
5. Press
( this is where it can be a bit tricky to understand from written directions)
6. On the opposite end of the pillow case, fold under 6″. 
Press. Fold under 1/4″ of the 6″ and press to create a hem.
look close at the words on picture
7. Fold body right sides together.
8. Fold the flap over the top of the band creating an envelope and pin in place.
9. Sew the 2 side seams.
10. Trim corners to eliminate any bulk.
11. Turn the pillowcase right sides out. The envelope flap will hold 
the pillow in 
place and cover the top 6″ of the side seams.
12. Press and add a 12″ x 18″ travel pillow.
thank you Carolyn Tover for the machine embroidery
Doing some research on travel pillows and found that the size of 
pillows can vary by manufacturer. You may want to decide what size 
your travel pillow is before cutting and vary the  pattern slightly.
For some of the pillowcases I used flannels.
top-Apple Jacks by Tim & Beck
Marmalade by Bonnie & Camille
bottom 2- Cottons from Bear Country School by Berenstain Bears
Sleep tight!
-modalissa

Ombre Jelly Roll quilt

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Have you fallen in love with Vanessa’s Simply Color fabric line?
I know I have.
Vanessa has ombre mini jelly rolls that include only her ombre fabrics.
The jelly rolls are a little misleading because at first glance they look like a nice
little set of spring colors. Once the jelly roll is opened, the colors burst as the
ombre colors flow creating a full pop of color. The quilt shown below
was made from 1 ombre jelly roll and a bella solid background.

ombre nine patch12_6

ombre nine patch12 
 Look how cool the binding and border is using a ombre fabric also.

 

ombre nine patch12_20


Now for the backing…
Just as colorful as the front.

ombre nine patch12_22 
Of course I had to use fat quarters from the Simply color  collections  for my quilt back.
Are you nervouse about just chopping up a bunch of fabrics to piece your backings?
Lynne Wilson has come up with patterns to help you through the process.
Each of the patterns will make a backing up to a certain size.
What a great way to use up your stash! OR use new fabrics like I did!! Ha ha!
I have a reversible quilt that is full of color!
The pattern line is BACK IT UP.

  

ombre nine patch12_9

 For the pattern to make the quilt top, click HERE.
I also made a version with grey solid as the background. These fabrics are so addictive
 that I couldn’t make just one!!