Friday, December 6, 2024

My QuiltCon Submission (and Rejection!) / Beauties Pageant 274

I am a sucker for a good quilt challenge. There are projects I never would have developed without a formal challenge encouraging me to focus on a particular palette, block, or theme. My favorite such events are those hosted by the Modern Quilt Guild for display at QuiltCon.

The MQG usually releases the details of two challenges during the summer, when my creativity and productivity are low, low, low. The result is a harried fall, when I try to get a project or two over the finish line before QuiltCon submissions close. It’s not an ideal schedule, and because of that, there are many years I don’t sew anything for submission.

What you see pictured here is Folk Heart, the quilt I made for this year’s Ruby and Bee challenge. Tara Faughnan chose the six colors, and participants had to use at least three of them in a quilt top.

I spent a long time spinning my wheels with these fabrics. At one point, I was determined to work with applique, figured out how I could create a particular design, and then abandoned the idea. 

For me, the key was to stop thinking about shape and home in on the palette. Once I decided to place red hearts on a black background, it was easy to imagine them in off-set columns of chunky half log cabins with misplaced cornerstones.

I quilted Folk Heart with a big X and then echoed the quilting lines in each quadrant of that X. I finished by hand quilting one color in each block. The picture below shows some orchid cross-stitches and blue running stitches. Elsewhere in the quilt, there are little Vs on some of the red hearts and diagonal running stitches on some of the black backgrounds, among other embroidery motifs.

Although I didn’t set out to create a project that reflects my Pennsylvania upbringing, I think Folk Heart does just that. The juxtaposition of so much blue and black reminds me of Amish attire, and the hearts are reminiscent of Pennsylvania Dutch folk art. 

Unfortunately, Folk Heart was not juried into the show. I know a lot of people were discouraged by their rejection emails. Honestly, I would have been more surprised if Folk Heart had been accepted. There’s a QuiltCon aesthetic, and this isn’t it!

I realize that, as time goes on and I delve deeper into pattern design and sales, the less modern I’ve become. I still love big blocks, negative space, new takes on old classics, but it’s a spectrum and I’ve inched away from the modern design that initially captured my quilty heart all those years ago.

I usually encourage people whose projects aren’t accepted to submit the next year, but I’m convinced QuiltCon isn’t the right venue for Folk Heart and will save myself the application fee. : )

Do you ever submit to shows? It’s not really my thing, but it sure is fun to attend an event and see my work on display!


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Friday, November 22, 2024

Ornament Collection Pattern Release / Beauties Pageant 273

Ornament Collection, the design I’ve been talking about the past few weeks, is done, and I’ve released the pattern out into the world!

Instructions include two projects that are appropriate for confident beginners and above: a large throw-size quilt and a table runner. If your weekend sewing plans are open, you can start your project today and have a quilt top finished before the turkey is on the table next Thursday. (If you don’t celebrate American Thanksgiving, the turkey is optional but recommended.)

This pattern is especially suited to those of you who want to ...

* Sew a big quilt fast—the throw finishes at 70" x 73.5"



* Use leftover squares from a layer cake—the runner requires just five squares 10" x 10"



* Maximize your precuts—you can sew two throws and two runners with a single layer cake (although fat quarters work, too!)



* Celebrate the holidays by making big, bold blocks—the ball blocks finish at 13.5" x 14.5", and the bauble blocks finish at 8.5" x 14.5"

For my first Ornament Collection project, pictured at the top of the post, I opened up a layer cake of Twas by Jill Howarth for Riley Blake. The red, green, and pink palette is the perfect complement to the vintage vibe of Twas.

My next version, which I am in the process of piecing now, incorporates prints from Rifle Paper Co.’s holiday lines for Cotton and Steel. I’m using another light background with this second quilt because it’s more in line with my personal aesthetic .... and a cream or a white doesn’t show the Golden Retriever hair the way a dark background would! I love nontraditional Christmas palettes, and the pale blue and orangey-red I am using will change things up nicely ...

A green background would be equally fabulous, though, and drive home the idea that these are ornaments hanging on the tree. Here is the throw mocked up with Cozy Wonderland by Fancy That Design House for Moda ...

I am very pleased with how my first Ornament Collection came out. I received some expert advice about quilting options for my second version and will share that in a future post! Until then, this is my favorite finish for November, so I am linking up over at Quilting Jet Girl!


All PDF Patterns 25% Off

To celebrate the release of Ornament Collection, all PDF patterns (excluding the Almost Free for Charity patterns) are 25% off through 11/30/2024. No code required. This is my Black Friday sale—snag your good buys now!

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The pageant rules are simple:
  • Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
  • Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
  • Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter



Friday, November 15, 2024

Let's Talk Table Runners / Beauties Pageant 272

In the 10-plus years I’ve been quilting, I have made a total of three table runners. On one hand, I have limited places in my house I’d display a runner. My children (and/or dogs) may do bad things to a table runner (there was an applesauce incident on the kitchen table just this past week!). And putting covers on my pretty table tops doesn’t seem really “me.”

On the other, if I made more runners, I would have more-frequent finishes, and wouldn’t that be nice?

When designing my Ornament Collection pattern (releasing next Tuesday, November 19), I added a runner option. The sample I’ve made so far is the throw, and it’s a generously sized throw at that. But I figured that some people might want a smaller, faster finish. What I didn’t consider until Anne (@batiksbythebay) mentioned it to me on Instagram is that people who live in the southern hemisphere celebrate Christmas in the summer. They have little need for a Christmas-themed throw. Of course! Why didn’t I consider that? Needless to say, all future Christmas designs from me will include the option of a smaller finish for that very reason.

Me with a freshly longarmed Ornament Collection. Picture and quilting by Ophelia Chang.

Because I am a runner newbie, however, I had to ask Anne how she would orient the ornaments in a runner.

Should they all be right side up (as I would prefer on a runner displayed on a console placed against a wall)?

Or should the baubles be upside down (as I would prefer on a runner displayed on a kitchen island)?

Anne said both, and that’s what I’ll do. : )

So, what other runners have I made up to this point?

There was the runner I made for the sideboard in my dining room (and still resides there).

There was the runner I made from Modern Plus Sign Quilts and gifted to a friend.

And then there was the runner I made from a free pattern on Moda Bake Shop and gifted to another friend.

You knew this was coming ... I am soliciting any and all thoughts on quilted runners. Do you sew them? Do you display them? What are your thoughts on the issue of orientation? Thank you in advance!

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The pageant rules are simple:
  • Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
  • Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
  • Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter