Buckeye Sewing Retreat Day 2

Saturday my roommate Judy and I were up early and headed to breakfast around 7:30 a.m.  Breakfast was great; I had a waffle, orange juice and milk.  Then it was back to sewing!!

My table mate wasn’t up yet so I decided to bind my first Judy Niemeyer quilt Desert Sky.  I used the same fabric for this binding as I did on my Bali Breeze.

 

I started the binding and hanging sleeve on one of my Scarlet and Gray Bargello wall hangings, and then we broke at noon for a lunch of Salad, Chicken Noodle Soup, and Pie again!!

 

 

Then it was back to sewing.  I finished both the Bargello wall hangings then it was time for a nap!!  I need to rest my neck and back, prior to The Ohio State Buckeyes football game!!  During the game I sewed down the hanging sleeves on the both of the Bargello wall hangings.

 

After we defeated Penn State I started getting out my paper piecing supplies for my Feathered Star. I had a number of border sections to paper piece.

I did manage to stay up till about 10:30 p.m. without any sewing mistakes or rotary cutter accidents!!

 

My final post will include some of the beautiful projects that some of the quilters worked on this weekend.

Feathered Star Quilt - Step 1 - Judy and Brad Niemeyer

Judy and Brad Niemeyer released some new patterns last week at the Checker's Open House.  I left a message for Beth at Cottonpickers Quilt Shop and requested that she save/order one for me.  Cottonpickers is now a certified Judy and Brad Niemeyer quilt shop!!  This means that Beth and Becky are working on a number of patterns so that they can offer classes this Winter!!!

 

It's the Feathered Star which is 60" x 60"

 

 

When you first look at this quilt you don't see a number of fabrics, but there are actually around 13-15 different ones.

 

The pattern is divided into 5 chapters and each one includes detailed instructions.  You start in the middle and work your way out.  All paper piecing is to be completed before any units are sewn together. 

 

I started looking throught my batik fabric stash last night and selected fabric for the 1st Chapter which includes the inner accent star.

 

 

Each chapter seems to include dark, medium and light fabrics.

 

I will be using a number of the fabrics from my Desert Sky quilt with some additions.

 

My biggest fear when starting a pattern is the selection of the fabrics.

 

This image is from EQ7 and uses the 4 fabrics I selected.

 

 

I think my selection of the star fabrics will work!!!

 

I will continue to update as this quilt comes together!!

New Long Arm Quilter and some Beautiful Quilts

The morning I found out about Jennifer's passing I was meeting with my new Long Arm Quilter.  I think Jennifer would be pleased with my choice.  Becky Silbaugh of Ruby Blue Quilts in Madison, Ohio.  Becky is the daughter of Beth Safik of Cottonpickers Quilt Shop in Chardon, Ohio.  Becky is a grapic designer, pattern designer and a great quilter.  She has won awards at the Lake Farm Park Quilt Show and has really added to her longarm skills.

 

That day I dropped off 3 quilts for her to complete.

 

Two of them where Day and Night Quilts by Eleanor Burns



 

The third one was my first Judy Niemeyer Quilt Desert Sky

 

 

I selected Fireside for the backing of these 3 quilts to make them all soft and cuddly.

 

I picked up all 3 quilts last Saturday and I can't wait to get them all binded!!

 

 

 

 

Becky did a great job on all 3 of the quilts.  You can see more pictures of these quilts on her 

Ruby Blue Quilts Blog

Desert Sky Quilt top is finished

Last night I was able to sew together the Desert Sky blocks.

I think it turned out really nice!!!

Now I have to decide what my next project should be!!!

 

I think the quilt might be upside down compared to this EQ7 image. 

 

Desert Sky Steps 6 and 7

I started removing the paper from the blocks earlier this week.  The process went pretty smoothly.  The pattern suggests reducing your stitch size by 1 to allow for easier removal of paper.  The important thing is to not pull so hard that you pull stitches out at the same time!

Yesterday was the first meeting of the Super Saturday Stitches at Cottonpickers Quilt Shop in Chardon, Ohio.  It is a group of quilters that met attending the From Marti and Me Club meetings.  Now we stay on Saturday afternoons for 3 hours to work on our projects.  I packed too many things and Jim was wondering if I was leaving for longer then the day!! 

I had some quilts that needed backings, so I had those in a bag, and backing for my Let It Snow quilt to stitch together.  Then I had 2 of my ArtBin Double Deeps filled with my Snail Tail and my Desert Sky projects.  I love these boxes, they help to keep my project organized.

Beth at Cottonpickers was having a Ping Pong ball sale, so I used my 30% to get backings for 3 of my quilts.  I need to contact Becky at Ruby Blue Quilts to get them on her schedule.

I spent part of the afternoon working on removing the paper from the blocks and then I used 45 minutes to put the blocks on my design wall so the other quilters could help me with my color placement.

I completed removing the paper today and I'm now ready to cut out the final six 7 inch blocks and complete the placement of the border blocks.

As you can see Nermal is helping me!!

Desert Sky Step 5

I have completed 16 of the blocks for my Desert Sky quilt.  So I have updated by EQ7 version of the quilt.  This will probably not be the final version.

What do you think?

Desert Sky Step 3 and 4

After cutting the fat quarters in to the designated pieces, Judy recommends using small binder clips to hold the fabrics together.

You need to separate the foundation pieces.

Judy explains the paper piecing way better then I can.

It works because of her step by step instructions.

And the use of the folding card and 1/4" add on ruler for trimming.

It always amazes me that something this ugly can turn into this!!!

Step 4 is going to take a while, I will post some pictures when I complete the curved piecing of the background piece.

I hope to get a block of time this weekend to work on this, or it's going to take forever!!

Desert Sky Step 1 and 2

The fabric has been selected.  It is 24 different Batiks Fat Quaters with unknown names and different manufacturers.  They range from Dark to Light.

Now it's time to cut out the first pieces.  I had to number nine of the darks 1 - 9 and match them with nine of the lights.  Then I divided the pile in half and followed the layout in the pattern. 

What's cool about Judy and Bradley's pattern is that they have you cut out pieces to use for the foundation piecing.  I was always concerned about not having big enough pieces.

This is a pictue of the first pile.  I have to complete the cutting of this pile and start on the remaining one.  Nine pieces of fabric can be cut with a sharp rotary cutter.

So now 18 of the 24 fabrics have been used.  The remaining 6 will be used for border blocks and solid blocks.

I will return with photos of the foundation piecing!!

Desert Sky - my first Judy Niemeyer quilt

I have selected 24 Batks and they have been cut into fat quarters.

They need a final pressing before I start cutting them into pieces!!

I also scanned all the fabrics so I can use EQ7 for help with placement of the fabrics.

I will post pictures as I go along so you can see my progess.