Hello Pieceful Quilters!

Well, this is my first post for 2019 - let's hope I do a little better this year!  I have been busy working on a bunch of things.  Some are for my classes and clubs, and some I am just trying to finish so that I can get them out of my sewing room.  I have so many projects that are almost finished, but just need a border or binding, or all the blocks are done, and they just need to be put together.  I have purged a lot of projects that I decided that I just didn't like enough to waste my time finishing, so now I am down to projects that I actually like!  A lot of them are Sarah Club projects, mostly from fabric or block exchanges.  I really love these scrappy projects, and I want to finish them.  My problem is that I can't just make a wall hanging or lap quilt, oh no - I have to make everything bigger.  So, I have tons of blocks that are done or started, and then they got put away to make room for the next project.  You all probably understand this - well, maybe not you people that don't start anything until you finish something.  Trust me - if you are a real quilter, you will get over that.  There is nothing more fun than going to the fabric store and picking out fabric for a new quilt project - or should I say, your next UFO?  Think of it this way - we could be hanging out at bars or the racetrack.  At least our obsession is safe and in many cases, we actually produce something special.  Did you know that studies have shown that quilters have lower blood pressure than other people the same age?  Winner!

Anyway - in Sarah Club we are doing our own version of Pam Buda's 1880 quilt, which I talked about in the last post.  We will talk more about it at our first neeting(s) January 29th or 30th,  January 29th also happens to be the day that the shop is doing the Circa 1880 Free Demos to explain how it will work for the general public.  You can go to one of those meetings if you wish, but keep in mind that there will be some differences if you are in Sarah Club.  If you want to get started on something before then, you can start cutting 1 1/2" strips.  I am cutting strips out of my scrap stash, and some snippets, that are mostly 10" and not much more, so that I can have a greater variety to turn in.  So, go through your scraps and cut 1 1/2" pieces off of anything you can. 

This month in Sarah Club we will reveal our finished (or whatever you have) Mini Fibonacci Mystery Medallion quilts.  If you missed Club last month, here is a picture of mine through border 3.

 I handed out the instructions for the fourth and final border, so if you didn't get one, you can pick one up at the shop, or just email me and I will email one back to you.  You still have a few weeks to finish before the reveal - and a couple of months to finish before our show in August.  Let's have a bunch in the show!

That's it for now!

After Later - Carrie

Sarah's Sewing Circle News

We have so many things going on this year, I thought maybe it would be a good idea to have a place where I can post things you should know - especially with the holidays and snowbird season upon us. 

This month we will be having TWO holiday gatherings.  You can come to either one or both.  I just ask that you let me know if you are planning to come to the evening group so that I can call ahead to make reservations.  

The Evening gathering will be Before our meeting on Tuesday.  We will start gathering at Galati's Hideaway in Cary around 5:00.  That should give us plenty of time to have a relaxed dinner and get to the shop by 7:30.  The Day gathering will be After our meeting - those that are interested will go to The Brunch Cafe in FRG for lunch.  Everybody pays for their own.

I have been working on getting a head start on the little Nine Patch blocks for Pam Buda's Circa 1880 quilt above. Right now, I am just making regular 9-P blocks with 1 1/2" strips - since I have a rather large collection of these. Once we get the template in, I will trim them down to the correct size. Making them bigger will assure that I end up with the correct size.  I know - it is kind of a lot to trim off, but doing it this way requires less thinking, and I do have a ton of 1 1/2" strips that are already cut.  Of course, you can make yours any way you choose - as long as they come out to the correct size.  

In case you were wondering why it will be more fun to do this quilt in Sarah Club.....

Besides the obvious - we have more fun in general, you will have the advantage of being able to choose your own blocks out of the bin we will have at the club meetings each month.  We will also be making the bonus quilts that use the same little blocks:

You should also be working on your Mini Mystery Fibonacci Medallion quilt.  There is just one more border to go, and we will reveal our quilts at our first meeting in January.  You are welcome to attend that meeting, even if you don't sign up - but why wouldn't you?  I finally finished my center block - why do I always go overboard???  I am hoping to get at least partially caught up before we meet next week.  

There is one more quilt in the Yuletide Greetings pattern.  I still have to quilt the last one I did, too.  I will try to have that done by next week, too.  Ok - it could happen.  You aren't holding your breath, are you?  There are a lot of flying geese in this one.....

I am always open to suggestions for quilts that you want to do next session - in our spare time!  I'm trying to come up with some simple and quick ideas!

After Later  -  Carrie

Americana Fabric Line and American Summer BOM

Hello Pieceful Quilters!

So - after vowing to post a couple of times a week, it has been 5 months - Wow- how did that happen?  I could have sworn it was less than three - which is also horrible - but 5????

Anyway, my new fabric company, Penny Rose Fabrics, is doing a blog hop or something, which I said I would participate in.  I am not sure what that really means, and I am guessing that they have probably taken a look at my pathetic blog and dropped me off the list - totally understandable!  But, on the outside chance that I am still in this - I thought maybe I would post something! 

I guess I should start with my fabric lines that are coming out.  First, coming soon to a quilt shop near you, we have Americana.  Being a total sucker for anything patriotic, this was a natural for me.  I learned to be patriotic from my dad, who woke us up on the 4th of July with LOUD Stars & Stripes Forever on the record player.  I didn't always appreciate this - particularly in my college years - but I would give anything to have him around to do that now.  Lesson:  Appreciate your parents while you can - they won't always be around to annoy you!

So, I design fabric - or do I?  Although I have been known to take out a dot here and there, or change the scale of a design, my fabrics are authentic reproductions of antique fabrics.  Most of these fabrics are from quilts, quilt tops, blocks and fabric pieces that I have collected.  I have a special affinity for fabrics from the Civil War era, but I like from the 1800's up to the turn of the century. 

Reproduction - what exactly does that mean?  Basically, I choose fabrics I like from my collection.  I do what I can to enhance them - sometimes that means making the print sharper, as these fabrics are often pretty faded, and sometimes I don't have big enough pieces to make out the entire pattern, so I piece together what I can, and fill in the blank as best I can.  Once I have the print the way I want it, I come up with alternate colorways.  Usually, I have a plan - patriotic, pink & brown, blue & white - or anything that Penny Rose needs!  I always try to make the colors work together, and throw in some neutrals.  Since I own a quilt shop, I know what I need to have in a fabric line for it to sell in my shop.  Whenever we order a complete line, it seems like there are a few dogs that I know will end up in our sale room.  My goal is to produce a line with no dogs.  Hah!

I believe I have digressed - back to Americana.  The Storyboard is below.  As you can see, there are 7 different prints, and each is done in 3 different colorways.  There were other prints that the company decided not to use, and other colors that they had do choose from.  Once they have decided what to do, a stylist (read that - someone that actually knows what they are doing) fixes everything so that it will print correctly on fabric and they send it out for test prints (strike-offs).  Sometimes they get sent back a few times before the colors are just right and the prints are sharp or soft enough. 

 

With the Americana line, we have done a Block-of-the-Month.  Diane Nieman designed this awesome quilt and I think you will agree that it works perfectly with my fabrics.  We are extra excited that Penny Rose is helping us in offering this to other quilt shops.  Ask your local shop if they are going to do it, or do it online through our shop.  You can find all the information at: www.piecefulgathering.com under "Shop Online - Block of the Month Quilts and Clubs.

 

Until Next time...  

 

Happy Quilting - Carrie