Garden Star Medallion Quilt Pattern

I am fast forwarding over the last few months to the final end product of what has been a lot of work and tons of hours.  As I mentioned in my last post back in July, I have been doing some designing for RJR Fabrics and also have learned a lot about pattern writing and publishing in the mean time.

Up until now, I have never written quilt patterns before.  Part of my resistance in doing so has always been due to the fact that I knew if I was going to do it at all, I would need to learn the software that would enable me to illustrate diagrams as well as write good patterns.  Needless to say, this summer was like going back to school!  It was not easy.  There was definitely a huge learning curve as well as more work than I could have imagined. 

Of course, I never make things easy on myself.  I honestly did not know how "over my head" I was when I started writing the pattern for this quilt.    But I persevered and after a couple of weeks of working on it, I actually wound up with something I am really proud of.  I owe a huge thank you and am eternally grateful to Judy Martin, one of the quilt industry's biggest icons, whose design career spans more than 35 years.  She was kind and generous enough to spend over 90 minutes with me on a long distance phone call.  She guided me on a crash course in Adobe Illustrator to get me started drawing quilt diagrams as well as sharing invaluable inside info on pattern publishing.  If it wasn't for her giving me that push, I probably would not have gotten through this.

This medallion quilt was designed with Robyn Pandolph's new fabric line, Garden Gate, by RJR Fabrics.  It is currently due out in stores everywhere as well as online.  The quilt is being offered as a kit by RJR Fabrics to quilt shops around the country.  I am also selling just the pattern in my Etsy store.  If you purchase the pattern on Etsy, you will receive a 20 page 8 1/2" x 11" paper pattern in the mail.  I have also added the option to purchase as a downloadable PDF file that you will print entirely on your own printer if you do not wish to pay shipping.  However, either version is the same full-color pattern with detailed instructions and color illustrations and diagrams, 20 total pages plus a cover.

Here are several photos of the actual quilt so you can get a better look at the fabrics. . . .

The longarm quilting was done by Ramona Sorenson of Corn Wagon Quilts in Springville, Utah.  I was very happy to turn that task over to someone else on this quilt and could actually get used to the idea of having someone quilt my quilts for me.

I will also have two more patterns available very soon, both are table runners.  One is a companion to this Garden Star Medallion quilt done in the same fabrics.  The other one is done in RJR Fabrics' 30s line, Everything But the Kitchen Sink.  Both will be sold as kits exclusively by Missouri Quilt Company.  As soon as they have them showing on their web site, I will share photos of those as well.

For those of you who are patiently waiting for me to write patterns of my other quilts, I still have not done so yet.  I apologize for taking so long, but my time is so limited, I have had more than I can keep up with just doing projects for RJR and getting through this first round.

And now for the most exciting news of all. . . I was notified a few weeks ago that my quilt, Grandmother's Cabin, has won an award in the Traditional Pieced category at the International Quilt Festival in Houston this month!  They don't tell you what exactly what prize you've won.  But I am pretty blown away to have won anything in that show, just being recognized is a huge honor.  So we are flying out to attend the awards ceremony at the end of the month and since we will be there, we will be attending Quilt Market and staying over to see Quilt Festival.  I am super excited, this was not planned ahead at all.  Everything just sort of magically came together in the last couple of weeks.  I will take lots of pictures to share, that show is always so full of inspiration, I can't wait.

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Fourth of July!  Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend and having a great summer!

I have been very busy since I last wrote, but will try to do a bit of catching up while I have a holiday to goof off.  I showed you this little 9-patch table topper in my last post.  

One of the ways I like to display small quilts is to hang them from a hook or peg.  However, I find using clips to hang them tends to distort the quilt and stretches the corners out of square over time.  

Instead, I added a little strip of fabric diagonally across one corner on the backside of the quilt. I top-stitched a 1 1/2"strip of fabric folded in half with raw edges to the inside.  I basted it to the edges of the quilt before sewing on the binding.  While hand sewing the binding down to the backside of the quilt, I also stitched through all layers of the strip to keep it in place and prevent it from pulling on the binding's edge.  It is similar to the hanging loops you see on beach towels and bathrobes.  You could also use a strip of ribbon.  It works great!

I had also promised the rest of the quilt photos from Paducah, so here are a few more worth sharing.  These were mostly in the wall quilt category.  Better late than never, right?

It's the Cowboy Way by Karlyn Bue Lohrenz

It's the Cowboy Way (detail)

Reborn by Molly Hamilton-McNally

 Reborn (detail)

 A Toast to Toulouse-Lautrec by Kay Donges

 A Toast to Toulouse-Lautrec (detail)

 Song of the Sea by Kathy McNeil

 Song of the Sea (detail)

 The Paisley Peacock by Bethanne Nemesh

  The Paisley Peacock (detail)

 Jester's Jolly by Margaret Solomon Gunn

 One Fine Day by Laurie Britt

And here is the cover of the July issue of American Quilter with a peek inside of my winning quilt!  It still seems a bit surreal to me that my quilt won such a huge honor.

Finally, part of my excuse for neglecting my blog is that I have been busy designing quilts for RJR Fabrics for a couple of their upcoming fabric lines.  It is very exciting to be involved and such an honor as well.  This is a peek at a quilt I am doing from one of their new lines, Garden Gate, by Robyn Pandolph, due out this September.  I will be writing the pattern for this quilt (and others) and the kits will be available in stores this fall.  I will also have patterns for sale once the kits are released.

Which leads me to answer a question so many of you have asked me, when will I have patterns available for my own quilts?  I am working on it!  I will be writing and publishing the designs I create for RJR Fabrics, which I will also be able to sell myself to anyone interested in purchasing.  As I have the time, I am going to start writing patterns for quilts I have previously made, many of those which I have shared on my blog.  This is something I am doing in between my regular job at our business, designing and sewing for RJR, and creating my own show quilts.  I am a bit slow, but it is finally happening!  I will let it be known when patterns are available once they are published and will most likely sell them on Etsy until I get comfortable with the whole process. 

On that note, I would like to thank all of you who have commented and written me with your congratulations and words of support and encouragement.  It means more to me than I can say and gives me that extra little push to keep moving ahead.  I am a pretty solitary, homebody kind of person, so receiving your lovely emails is sort of like being part of a guild, except I don't have to leave the house!  Thanks so much to all of you and I hope to be able to share more of what I have been designing in my next post.  

Enjoy your holiday!  Happy Quilting!

Catching Up & Paducah Photos

How is it that we are already over halfway through May?  It doesn't seem possible that summer is around the corner.  I feel like I've been doing nothing but playing catch up over the last several weeks since we were in Paducah, but then that always seems to be the case after being away!

I have been trying to get several quilt tops quilted and so far, I am only on number two.  And these are little quilts!  Here is a glimpse of this little nine-patch quilt that I've marked with an allover orange peel quilt design.  I've showed this quilting design before on another small quilt I did awhile back.  Several of you asked how I get the lines to curve and line up, so I am showing you here.

I used nothing more than a plastic circle template that I had laying around, part of a set of several different sizes.  You can use pretty much anything that is round as long as the circle is large enough to intersect the corners of the block.  This is a 4" circle over a 3" block.  You can see how I line it up, above.  You want the circle to intersect the block about 1/2" to 3/4" on each of the four sides.  Then I just draw around the edge of the template with a blue water soluble pen four times on each block.  It goes very quickly and it is an easy and effective way to quilt with a walking foot.  Click HERE if you would like to read more on how I do this type of quilting.

Since I am so behind on blogging, I am going to jump right in and share some photos from the AQS Paducah Quilt Show.  Hopefully this won't be an overload for most of you!

We stopped over in Chattanooga, Tennessee on our way to Paducah.  Of course we had to check out the antique malls across the street from our hotel.  This beauty was in one shop.  I didn't buy it, but I definitely lusted after it!  Don't you love the scrappiness and the mix of colors together?

Here are a few antique quilts that were part of a patriotic quilt exhibit at the Rotary Center in Paducah.  I apologize for not getting more details on each quilt.

This one was made entirely of yo-yos.

The following quilts were in the AQS Paducah 2016 show and are in no particular order.

Eternal by Kazuko Noto

Yumemi by Maiko Ogawa

Yumemi (detail)

Summer Stars by Cindy Behrens

Bodacious by Claudia Clark Myers & Marilyn Badger

Bodacious (detail) by Claudia Clark Myers & Marilyn Badger

Arabella by Deborah France

Arabella (detail)

Sunburst by Sherry Durbin

Sunburst (detail)

Extraneous Female:  Escapement Mechanism by Beckey Prior

Extraneous Female:  Escapement Mechanism (detail)

Arandano by Marilyn Badger--Best of Show Winner

Arandano (detail)

Ben's Midnight Garden by Barbara Korengold

Victory by Colette Dumont

Oscar the Great by Nancy Sterett Martin & Kristin Sistek

Oscar the Great (detail)

Sparkling by Mitsuko Hashimoto

Sparkling (detail)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas by Linda Neal & Jackie Brown

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (detail)

'Twas the Night Before Christmas (detail)

In a Spring Breeze by Rumiko Ooiwa

In a Spring Breeze (detail)

A Garden for Your Peace of Mind by Kazuko Yamada

A Garden for Your Peace of Mind (detail)

Plates on Lace Napkins by Dawn Larsen

Plates on Lace Napkins (detail)

Supernova by Anapolis Quilt Guild

Tulips in a Vase by Betty Sweet

Tulips in a Vase (detail)

That brings me to the end of the first portion of my quilt photos.  Hopefully some of these inspired you!  I have more photos to share, including some of the wall size quilts, which I will post next time around. Have a fabulous week and Happy Quilting!