Pageant Highlight Reel / Beauties Pageant 62

The presents have been opened, the carols have been sung, and the cookies have been eaten (like, in their entirety, before our holiday guests even arrived!). But my dining room is still a dining room and won’t see any sewing for a few more days. So I present to you today some highlights from Beauties Pageants past ...

Tubak, of Den syende himmel, followed a tutorial on the Bernina site to make this adorable kitty pouch. The zigzag eyes are her own addition to the pattern, and they’re brilliant. It’s impossible to look at pictures of her project without smiling!

As a mama to two boys, I flipped over Janine’s Chicago skyline baby quilt. Check out her blog, Quilts from the Little House, for lots more pictures and a blow-by-blow description of her creative process.

And Allison, at New Every Morning Patchwork and Quilting, revealed her Modern Chains. This pattern appears in a recent issue of Quilt Now, and it features everything I love in a modern quilt—an oversize, off-center design with negative space. Beautiful!

If you’ve been able to tear yourself away from holiday revelry enough to finish something, we want to know about it. Link up below!

Although I love the low-key days we’ve had at From Bolt to Beauty world headquarters this past week, it’s rare for me to go more than a few days without sewing. I miss the hum of my machine and the feel of fabric beneath my fingers. Here’s hoping the new year includes a lot of sewing and quilting. : )

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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.

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Variations on a Theme / Beauties Pageant 61

Without a moment to spare, I have three Christmas minis bound, wrapped, and ready to share!

These projects were fun opportunities to blow through scraps—of both Christmas fabrics and random whites/low-volume prints—and by playing with the palette and layout, each of the three has its own personality.

Some highlights include this sweet cabin, whose polka-dotted fabric looks like falling snow ...

This holly branch, which is the perfect combination of a scrappy foreground and a scrappy background ...

And this overall color combination ...

I love Christmas palettes with surprises, and the blue here doesn’t disappoint!

I’m not sure whether these three minis are the end of me and this pattern collection (available here, from Sterling Sewn). Heaven knows I have the necessary bits and pieces to continue, but these log cabins start off with 1.5-inch strips, so although they eat up scraps, they do so at a slow pace. : )

If you have a favorite holiday-themed pattern, I am always on the lookout for new ideas. Please share them in the comments below! (And, by the way, I have four Christmas quilts planned for the new year. Christmas sewing at From Bolt to Beauty world headquarters may last until spring!)

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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

And Then There Were 19 / Beauties Pageant 60

I am slowly whittling down my WIP list. What was 21 items long a few weeks ago, is down to a whopping 19. Yikes! The way I see it, slow but steady will win this quilty race, and I celebrate each finish, no matter how big or how small.

Here is my latest finish, what I am calling my Little Lady Quilt. It’s a feminine take on Camille Roskelley’s Little Man Quilt, from her Simplify book. The novelty fabrics are from Rae Ritchie's Seaside Carnival. The remaining bits are Kona Cottons in a variety of colors, a random Art Gallery print, and strippy scraps of an ocean-themed Janet Clare fabric. The real takeaway, however, is that everything came from my stash. (Insert fist bump here.)

Even the backing fabric, a purple-y Anna Maria Horner print that plays off the tiniest bit of orchid from the quilt top, was already owned by me.

This is my fourth (but not final) version of this pattern. You can see my others in these posts:

• Little Man in Orange and Blue
• Little Man in Blue and Brown
• Little Farmer

I know some of you have finishes to celebrate, too. Please link up in the Beauties Pageant below!

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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

Ho, Ho, Snow / Beauties Pageant 59

For some of us in New England, last weekend’s Thanksgiving break was extended two days due to the arrival of 18-plus inches of snow. We were given ample time to prepare for this storm both logistically and emotionally, but I was not ready. Usually the snow season starts with a few inches here and there, which can often melt with a warm day or two. That way, we ease into winter. But there’s no turning back from a foot and a half of snow. Farewell, lawn! I’ll see you in April!

Luckily, I had a project that was easily worked on in the short spurts of sewing my family affords me on snow days.

This project is Sterling Sewn’s new Log Cabin Home for the Holidays pattern, which I tested back in October. I plan to make a few mini-quilts with this pattern and gift them at Christmas. I especially like the one I’ve completed in its entirety over those snowy days (see the picture at the top of the post). The palette has a vintage quality to it—with a red and green that’s not the typical holiday red and green and the introduction of a pale blue. I continued this effect in the scrappy background with off-whites, bits of Grunge in paper white, and cream.

It’s a treat to work on smaller projects. Mini-quilts and table runners allow me more opportunities to develop palettes and fabric pulls, which is the most enjoyable part of sewing for me. (WHAT?! I never would have said that five years ago. I definitely need to delve deeper into that in a future post.)

I don’t know how many of these minis I’ll be able to wrap up in time for gift giving. A second mini, already quilted and ready to be bound (see pics above and below), is in more traditional holiday colors. I hope to start a third this weekend in a yet-to-be developed color combination.

Who else has a finish to share for the past two weeks? Please upload it to this week’s Beauties Pageant!

By the way, my apologies for being a no-show last Friday. I reserve the right to flake out every so often, and instead of posting something then, I worked on submitting projects to QuiltCon and Paducah. It was annoying and I would have rather spent the time writing a post, but the submissions are done, done, done!

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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

The Sobering WIP Count / Beauties Pageant 58

In a moment of self-imposed accountability this past week, I made a list of my WIPs. Anything that I had pulled fabric and chosen a pattern for counted. The exercise was a sobering one ... I have 21 WIPs. For some quilters, that number is laughable. For me, someone whose sweet spot is 5 or 6 WIPs at any given time, that number is overwhelming.

But I’ve got five weeks left in 2019, and I’m going to make the most of them. I want to finish as many quilts as I can, so I’m focusing on the low-hanging fruit: Anything that already exists as a quilt top is a high priority. I just bound my QuiltCon challenge submission (pictures to come), and I’m moving on to these two large baby quilts. I’m planning on quilting a simple two-inch grid on point. The binding for both is sewn and pressed, ready to go.

These two quilts have their own palette, but both are built around Seaside Carnival
 by Rae Ritchie for Dear Stella.

Ritchie’s illustrations run the gamut, from whimsical carousels to tattooed mermaids.

The lighter peach version and this orchid one are for two sisters. I love how
both projects are the same design and use the same fabric collection but are very different.

Once these two baby quilts are completed, I’ll be down to 18 WIPs. I think I could potentially finish an additional 4 before December 31st, which would be awesome. Fourteen WIPs is a respectable point to start the new year, right?

Feel free to start a pool betting on whether or not I can accomplish this in the comments—HA!

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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

Does the World Need Another Quilt Designer? / Beauties Pageant 57

Quilting serves me in a variety of ways. Sometimes, it helps me find peace as I listen to the hum of my sewing machine and guide fabric under the needle. Other times, it’s an opportunity to challenge myself technically, proving that I can master applique, partial seams, or Y-seams. And then there are other situations when it’s my chance to unleash my creativity and feed my soul in a way nothing else does by designing something from scratch.

Publishing my original designs—either independently or in a magazine—has always been a possibility, but for many reasons I haven’t made the leap. First of all, in a world where everyone has access to a word-processing program, if not full-out design and layout programs, there are tons of quilt designers. And some of those designers are producing really beautifully written and well tested patterns. Plus, I am not kidding myself: I know publishing my patterns for public consumption is a big time commitment with little potential for financial gain. If anything, any income I would make would do little more than support my habit hobby.

Then there’s the issue of my style and the way I construct my quilts. Would people want to re-create my original designs?

Take, for example, three original designs and the quandary each poses when I consider marketing the pattern to the quilting community ...

1. Near Wild Heaven

I designed and made Near Wild Heaven as a submission to American Patchwork and Quilting’s two-color challenge for QuiltCon 2019. It didn’t make the cut, which was fine, because I really love this quilt and wouldn’t have designed it outside the context of the challenge. But is it a good candidate for a quilt pattern? I designed it to be a monochromatic piece. Would it work pieced in multiple colors? And wouldn’t potential purchasers want that kind of versatility?

2. Circa 1870

The next design of mine, Circa 1870, showed at QuiltCon 2019. I think it’s a fresh take on a hexagon quilt, and it’s been well received by other quilters. I can’t help but wonder, though: Would other people actually want to make it?! I pieced it all by machine, which means I sewed Y-seam after Y-seam. From my experience, most quilters hear “Y-seams” and run the other way.

3. Modern Warm and Cool Coin Quilt

I’m not ready to reveal the next potential pattern in its entirety, but here’s a sneak peek...

It’s a layer-cake variation of the quilt at the top of this post without the improv piecing. It’s an easy sew. My question is, Do quilters want easy sews? I think in some people’s minds easy patterns should be free patterns.

You all are a biased lot. After all, you’re here. You’ve seen my projects, and if you’ve come back, I presume you’ve liked what you have seen. Would giving this publishing idea a shot make sense? I covet your thoughts!

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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

Confession: I Don't Mind Y-Seams / Beauties Pageant 56

Coming clean last week on my recent procrastination problems has had a positive effect on my sewjo and focus. Just knowing that I’m not the only one dragging her feet to the December 2nd QuiltCon submission deadline helps. So thanks for reading and thanks for sharing words of encouragement, offers of accountability, and similar stories of procrastination woe.

In a moment of clarity, I’ve realized that, although completing two new submissions for QuiltCon would require a herculean effort I cannot muster (and grumpiness and stress from me that my family cannot endure), I can complete one project. In fact, in the past 24 hours, I’ve managed to piece a backing and baste a large throw quilt toward this goal. I’m not ready to share that project with you—it’s kind of nice to have a secret from the quilty social media world. I will, however, share snippets of the quilt that won’t be quilted and bound (perhaps even pieced!) in time to submit this year ...

I’m sure you can see why this quilt will not be finished by early December. I’m machine-piecing hexagons. Actually, I’m paper-piecing the majority of those hexagons and then machine-piecing them from there. What can I say? I don’t mind Y-seams, and piecing this project is a process I enjoy. (I know I’m in the minority here.)

I have never sewn with—let alone designed with—any of V and Co.’s ombré fabrics, but I couldn’t imagine using anything else in this quilt. The subtle color variations in the fabric give the hexagonal gems dimension, mimicking the effect of light reflecting off the facets.

I have yet to decide how to quilt this, although a plea for help at a recent guild meeting garnered some interesting ideas. Any thoughts from you on that front? Since I no longer expect to finish this in time for QuiltCon 2020 submissions, I could really go crazy with the quilting, either tackling some fancy quilting design myself or hiring someone to do custom work.

A design wall was a necessity for this project, so I made one with foam board and batting.

For more from me on machine-pieced hexagons, check out these posts:

• Circa 1870
• Happy Hexie Baby Quilt
• How I Machine-Piece Hexagons

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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

The Pit of Procrastination / Beauties Pageant 55

Friends, I’ve fallen into a pit of procrastination. Facing the December 2nd QuiltCon deadline, I’ve been working on anything and everything other than the two quilts I designed and started specifically for submitting this year.

Deciding to decimate my Amy Butler and Denyse Schmidt stash has proved to be an especially effective procrastination technique. It has led to no fewer than five new items on my to-do list. I already cut a few of these projects and, in need of some mindless sewing before yesterday’s Halloween festivities, started sewing blocks (see picture above) for one of them, a version of this quilt from Cluck Cluck Sew.

You’ll find bits of DS’s Eastham and New Bedford lines in these blocks. There’s also an early print from Rifle Paper Co. I snatched up tons of that sweet floral, all in scrap form, from a guild mate. Once I noticed that the peaches and greens in that fabric pair well with DS’s gray-toned palette, I quickly concluded I had enough to build a quilt around.

I can’t find anyone else in the procrastination pit I’ve cut and sewn myself into, but I’m sure I’m in good company. Who else is down here, working on one project when they should be working on another?!

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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

Recent Fabric Purchases / Beauties Pageant 54

If my nan were still alive, I’m afraid she would think that she failed me. My nan was a hardcore shopper. She loved the mall, loved spending money, loved buying things for her granddaughters. I kept up with her and her shopping habits through high school, but I’m not much of a shopper anymore. My middle-age self is much more fiscally conservative than my 16-year-old self was, and purchasing clothes or jewelry or stuff for my house doesn’t bring me joy. The exception, of course, is fabric.

Buying fabric is fun, like really fun. The thing is, I have a decent-size fabric stash already, and it’s hard to justify buying manufacturers’ new releases when I already own enough material to make many quilts.

Despite that, I was able to rationalize some minor fabric purchases lately. They were enough to satisfy my desire to bring new fabric home without having to add storage for my burgeoning stash.

First I headed to a discount store about an hour from my house for fabric for backs. At 3 dollars a yard, the prints below, from Joel Dewberry and Whistler Studios, were hard to pass by. I bet I’ll have them all used up in the six months. (BTW, I have a system for stashing fabric for and piecing backs. Read about it here.)

A second fabric-buying excursion happened during my guild’s latest quilt retreat. One of the nearby stores is pretty big. There were many temptations. I escaped with buying a little pile of what the store calls “bits,” or fat sixteenths, for 50 cents a piece. I’m compiling scraps to make April Rosethal’s Overcast pattern, from Lucky Spool’s Scraps, Inc. Vol. 1 (see her original here). My collection of bits, pictured at the top of the post, will supplement what I’ve already cut and keep that project nice and scrappy.

What is your stashing philosophy? Do you, like me, try to use up what you have on hand? (I have suggestions on that front if you’re open to them. Read them here.)

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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

Choosing Sanity This Christmas / Beauties Pageant 53

About this time every year, I make the same resolution: Christmas prep is going to be a sane event for me. I vow to limit the number of handmade gifts I will give to family and friends. I decide to buy presents for my kids’ teachers instead of sewing something. I remember that some of my best holiday sewing happens in January, when I’m still riding the Christmas-spirit high without the pressure of a December 25th deadline.

Then sometime, usually by mid-November, all that wisdom flies out the door and I’m making 13 drawstring pouches or 27 quilted tissue holders!

But not this year. I have a three-pronged resolution for 2019. Will you help keep me accountable?

1. I am not going to touch the Christmas fabric I bought at last year’s post-holiday sales. It can wait until 2020.

Return to Winter’s Lane by Kate and Birdie

Vintage Holiday by Bonnie and Camille

Juniper Berry by Basic Grey

2. I will make a wall hanging or two (but definitely not 13!) using Sterling Sewn’s new Log Cabin Home for the Holidays pattern. I am thinking one will be for me and any others for those who deserve special recognition come Christmastime.

I got to pattern-test the new holiday-themed blocks from Sterling Sewn. They’re crazy cute!

3. I will make some lovely presents for friends, but I’ll use the gift-giving opportunities called Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day to distribute them. A February or May deadline is much more doable.

This block just needs 29 friends to make a quilt top!

If you have fallen victim to the allure of holiday sewing in the past, the From Bolt to Beauty readers can keep you on track! Share your own resolutions in the comments below.

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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