Catch it while you can - for FREE ~

Yes, for free....this week through October 12.....get every Craftsy/Bluprint class for free.

Here's the link....sign in or sign up and catch it while you can.  Enjoy having a  happy-go-lucky crafting week.

Let's see - do I want to learn all about circles with Cheryl Arkison or Ann Petersen.  Perhaps a little bit of improv piecing with Jacquie Gering.  What the heck....it's free so I'll probably go for both.

What about taking a break....with Peter....yes, let's dance it out to boost our energy or get balanced with Caley as she gives us some low impact yoga strength and stretch.

Go now and catch it while you can ending Friday, October 12.

Do You Podcast?

Oh, YES!  Well, here we go with  a 'Just Wanna Quilt' podcast.   Director at Tulane Law School, Professor Elizabeth Townsend Gard and Alex Anderson are in conversation about quilting!

Of interest to me was around minute 3 where Alex talks about taking a quilt-making class.  Yes, even when we know how to quilt, there's always something to learn from other quilt instructors.

And at minute 6ish.....on the concerns of the diminishing number of quilt shops.  With the resurgence of the craft of quilting 15-20 years ago the marketplace became saturated with new quilt shops and  fabric manufactures and is now in the natural trend of settling itself out in the competitive marketplace. 

Other comments that caught my ear:

•  About working from home:  Why you might loose friends when you tell them you're working.....when they know darn well they called you at home!  

• About reluctance:  "Alex, you are not a quitter.....always walk through the door."  John Anderson to Alex many years ago on her indecision about hosting the (then) new idea -  HGTV's quilt show.

• About respect and understanding:  When children recognize and respect that the parent has a life too....Alex's daughter doesn't ask her to babysit a sick child, knowing that Grandma can't get sick. 

• About copyright:  When your project gets changed slightly and published by another as their own.....it's not worth the copyright infringement fight.

• On the topic of shopping local.....Alex says she is one of the lucky who has 8 quilt shops within her comfortable driving radius, so when she knows what she wants, she'll call each shop to see if they have the item. If one has what she wants/needs, she drives. If not, she shops online.  

• Always be an ambassador for quilting, even when the lines are blurred.

And, the lines are often blurred....

Enjoyed every minute of it. There are so many more  "Just Wanna Quilt" podcasts.  Go there.

Onward to the free motion quilting along finish....

Putting it all together:  Echoed pebbles and to the finish:  Success with swirls ~

If 'Beauteous' is a word, then it is ~

Yes, in fact, beauteous is a word synonym to beautiful! 

"Beauteous" - grab this free pattern featuring the fabric of Pat Bravo in her Indie Folk collection.
It is boho style quilting at its 'Beauteous'.   Thank you Art Gallery Fabrics for the pleasure of your swoon-worthy- free-pattern company today.  Your generosity in sharing helps us fill our lives with even more beauty.






Summer isn't over 'til the last flower blooms ~

If this isn't the best the flower garden has to offer....Flower Dance, a free quilt pattern by AGF features Maureen Cracknell's Flower Child fabric collection.  Ever done any reverse applique?  A fabulous design with a surprise ending when the background fabric is cut away to reveal the flower dance design. 

Visit Maureen on her home page...flit about her Etsy store, Flickr her photographs and enjoy all things handmade on her blog.

Art Gallery Fabrics
Photo Credit
Flower Dance featuring
Flower Child fabric collection
by Maureen Cracknell

Vestige ~ a fragment

Vestige:  a fragment, a scrap, a remnant....a quilt!


Free pattern - Free Spirit ~  A quilt designed by Anna Maria Horner and Pam Matthews for the AMH Conservatory official designer quilt collection ~  Spotlighting Vestige fabric collection by Canadian artist, Arounna @ Bookhou.

ves·tige

ˈvestij/

noun

1. a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists.

   
   

   "the last vestiges of colonialism"

   synonyms:

   remnant, fragment, relic, echo, indication, sign, trace, residue, mark, legacy, reminder; remains "the last vestiges of colonialism"

   • the smallest amount (used to emphasize the absence of something).

     
     

     "he waited patiently, but without a vestige of sympathy"

     synonyms:

     bit, touch, hint, suggestion, suspicion, shadow, scrap, tinge, speck, shred, jot, iota, whit,

The Vestige fabric collection can be found here

• Quilting from the Heart and 
• Hawthorne Supply Co 
• and more shops on search, no doubt.

Free motion Quilting with Angela Walters ~

Elongated swirls.....how to quickly fill those borders

I found the most delectable scrap happy quilt on a favorite blog - Red Pepper Quilts - that was worthy of sharing.  Using Rita's comments on construction and this delectable mountains block  how-to from The Fat Quarter Shop, I'll bet your scrap pile will diminish quickly. 

Photo Credit Red Pepper Quilts Pinterest 

Don't want to make your own.... shop Red Pepper Quilts on Etsy!

Angela Walters Free Motion Quilting - Echoed Pebbles

Don't just pebble ! Echo it for fantastic results....a must watch free-motion quilting video.....

Yesterday Revisited: BOM 8 ~ Pieced Star

  Enjoy BOM # 8 - It's A Star.

Pieced Star PDF....this block as named by Ruby McKim in her book 101 Patchwork Patterns

THERE are many lovely versions of the star quilt piecing, varying from four points to eight, and even a feather edged pattern which scintillates with small points along all edges of its large ones. Star blocks have been named for many localities, Northumberland Star, California, St. Louis, and Chicago Star, which by the way, is quite different from the “Shooting Star!” Some are named for people, as “Dolly Madison’s Star” and the “Cowboy’s Star.” There are Morning and Evening versions, falling, flying, rising, rolling, and joining stars, perhaps a hundred varieties of this basic motif. The one here given is an airy, open-looking block about 11 inches square. It is made by piecing 8 small squares from two triangles each, and four oblong blocks of three triangles each, then sewing them together in the block as shown. Star blocks may be set together with alternate plain squares placed either horizontally or diagonally on the quilt. Here they make a handsome coverlet with white strips about 3 inches wide between two blocks joining with a 3-inch square of print at the corners, if seams are added. Material Estimate: 28 plain blocks, and 28 pieced, 7 wide and 8 long, finishes 77 inches by 88 inches. Allow: 5 1/2 yards white, 3 1/2 yards print.

Thank you Pinterest....for this pieced star eye-candy