Last night was our Anniversary Guild Meeting for my guild, Free Spirit Quilters. I must say that our president, Kim, really went all out! It was an Oriental-themed party complete with fans and chopsticks. Have you ever eaten birthday cake with chopsticks???? It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be -- the icing helped a lot. We had a discussion on different types of silk (with examples) as well as a selection of kimonos on display. Two members even gave a demo on tying scarves, which was very interesting.
We also had sew and tell, mostly oriental pieces. I even took a pice of sashiko and wouldn't you know it, but another member had the same preprinted panel too! Great minds think alike, I think.
Probably the most memorable event of the evening was when our president, Kim, came out of the restroom dressed in a blow up sumo costume, complete with the appropriate wig. OH MY!!!!!!!!! If I can scare up a photo of it, I'll post it on my blog. It was a real hoot.
Great meeting -- I don't know when I'd seen so many of the members come at the same time. It was nice to see.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Sunday, April 15, 2012
JELLY ROLL RACE
A few blogs ago, I mentioned an upcoming jelly roll quilt race......Well, race day finally arrived --- yesterday!
Our group, "Pennsylvania" against the "Chicago" group.
The contestants:
The Pennsylvania group consisted of ten sewers: Mary Lee, Leslie, Lynn, Sherri, Jill, Shirley, Evie, Gaynel, Debbie, and me (Tricia).
The Chicago group consisted of eight sewers: Phyllis (sister of Mary Lee), Vera, Erusha, Babe, Maureen, Kathy, Pat and Gwen.
We began the race at 10 AM our time (9 AM Chicago time).
Gwen of the Chicago group was the first to finish at a little over 1/2 hour! WOW -- she stitched like greased lightning! Congratulations Gwen -- you are the Queen of Fast!
The second overall finisher was Vera, also from the Chicago group. Vera was visiting her daughter (married to Phyllis's son) and new grandbaby and is from Tula, Russia! Так держать, Vera!
The third finisher was none other than our very own Jill from the PA Team! WAHOO, JILL!
Here are the rest of the quilts!
Debbie's quilt (PA):
Pat's quilt (Chicago):
Shirley's quilt (PA):
Kathy's quilt (Chicago):
Gaynel's quilt (PA):
Babe's quilt (Chicago):
Evie's quilt (PA):
Lynn's quilt (PA):
My quilt (Tricia -- PA):
Phyllis's quilt (Chicago):
Mary Lee's quilt (PA):
Sherry's quilt (PA):
Leslie's quilt (PA):
Maureen's quilt (Chicago):
Here's a photo of the whole Chicago group with their quilts:
We didn't take a group photo of the PA group. :(
Sadly, Erusha of the Chicago team had some machine issues and wasn't able to finish her quilt until she went home in the evening. Sorry Erusha....we're glad you finished your top though!
I have to give a special high five to Debbie of the PA team -- she is a brand new quilter and this was her first quilt project. Talk about trial by fire! Well done, Debbie -- welcome aboard!
THE RESULTS:
Gwen of Chicago was the fastest individual, but PA won the award for fastest group finish.
Congrats to all of the racers......may all your dreams be quilted!!!
Our group, "Pennsylvania" against the "Chicago" group.
The contestants:
The Pennsylvania group consisted of ten sewers: Mary Lee, Leslie, Lynn, Sherri, Jill, Shirley, Evie, Gaynel, Debbie, and me (Tricia).
The Chicago group consisted of eight sewers: Phyllis (sister of Mary Lee), Vera, Erusha, Babe, Maureen, Kathy, Pat and Gwen.
We began the race at 10 AM our time (9 AM Chicago time).
Gwen of the Chicago group was the first to finish at a little over 1/2 hour! WOW -- she stitched like greased lightning! Congratulations Gwen -- you are the Queen of Fast!
The second overall finisher was Vera, also from the Chicago group. Vera was visiting her daughter (married to Phyllis's son) and new grandbaby and is from Tula, Russia! Так держать, Vera!
The third finisher was none other than our very own Jill from the PA Team! WAHOO, JILL!
Here are the rest of the quilts!
Debbie's quilt (PA):
Pat's quilt (Chicago):
Shirley's quilt (PA):
Kathy's quilt (Chicago):
Gaynel's quilt (PA):
Babe's quilt (Chicago):
Evie's quilt (PA):
Lynn's quilt (PA):
My quilt (Tricia -- PA):
Phyllis's quilt (Chicago):
Mary Lee's quilt (PA):
Sherry's quilt (PA):
Leslie's quilt (PA):
Maureen's quilt (Chicago):
Here's a photo of the whole Chicago group with their quilts:
We didn't take a group photo of the PA group. :(
Sadly, Erusha of the Chicago team had some machine issues and wasn't able to finish her quilt until she went home in the evening. Sorry Erusha....we're glad you finished your top though!
I have to give a special high five to Debbie of the PA team -- she is a brand new quilter and this was her first quilt project. Talk about trial by fire! Well done, Debbie -- welcome aboard!
THE RESULTS:
Gwen of Chicago was the fastest individual, but PA won the award for fastest group finish.
Congrats to all of the racers......may all your dreams be quilted!!!
Monday, April 9, 2012
Oops!
Okay, okay I've been really remiss about blogging for a while. It's just there's been so much going on. Some good, and some not so good. So here's the dish:
I've been working a bit on projects for my upcoming book. I have three tops done already -- two are already sandwiched and ready to quilt, I just have to do it. And I've got the fabrics for another seven projects, thanks to a trip to Heirloom Quilting and Antiques in Brookville PA recently. (Heirloom is a great shop -- around 8000 bolts including batiks, 1800's reproductions, 1930's reproductions, basics, contemporary, wovens, novelty, kids/baby). Their prices are reasonable too. So, if you get to Brookville, PA, stop by and check them out!
I've just finished a couple of projects for Quilter's World magazine and am working on two new pieces -- a bag and a baby quilt. Riley Blake sent me the fabric for the baby quilt, a new collection called Vintage Baby -- very sweet in pink, yellow, blue, and green with some red accents, too. I'm looking forward to working with this collection! I just finished the bag prototype and now I'm ready to work with the actual fabrics -- blue batiks! These projects are for the December 2012...... I'm also working on some new designs for an upcoming House of White Birches book, too.
I did have some very disheartening news a few weeks ago, though. Northcott dropped my Cocktails at Eight fabric collection, but I'm shopping around for another fabric company, so stay tuned on this topic. It was a big let down after waiting for all of this time, but fabric companies are hurting right now due to the economy and the high price of cotton.
In the meantime, I finished my taxes AND have had three sick cats...... It's certainly not been boring around here.
I've been working a bit on projects for my upcoming book. I have three tops done already -- two are already sandwiched and ready to quilt, I just have to do it. And I've got the fabrics for another seven projects, thanks to a trip to Heirloom Quilting and Antiques in Brookville PA recently. (Heirloom is a great shop -- around 8000 bolts including batiks, 1800's reproductions, 1930's reproductions, basics, contemporary, wovens, novelty, kids/baby). Their prices are reasonable too. So, if you get to Brookville, PA, stop by and check them out!
I've just finished a couple of projects for Quilter's World magazine and am working on two new pieces -- a bag and a baby quilt. Riley Blake sent me the fabric for the baby quilt, a new collection called Vintage Baby -- very sweet in pink, yellow, blue, and green with some red accents, too. I'm looking forward to working with this collection! I just finished the bag prototype and now I'm ready to work with the actual fabrics -- blue batiks! These projects are for the December 2012...... I'm also working on some new designs for an upcoming House of White Birches book, too.
I did have some very disheartening news a few weeks ago, though. Northcott dropped my Cocktails at Eight fabric collection, but I'm shopping around for another fabric company, so stay tuned on this topic. It was a big let down after waiting for all of this time, but fabric companies are hurting right now due to the economy and the high price of cotton.
In the meantime, I finished my taxes AND have had three sick cats...... It's certainly not been boring around here.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
I'm Baaaaa-aaaaaack!
Well, it seems I took a little hiatus from blogging this month. All of a sudden, it's March 20th. How did that happen?
The weather in my neck of the woods has been amazing so far this month. First, of course, we had a very mild winter, and now we've skipped spring and it's summer. Our temps have been 30-40 degrees warmer than average. I've been fighting the urge to dig out my warm weather clothes, but I think I'll have to succomb to the urge after all. We are expecting another day around 80 degrees tomorrow. You have to understand -- I LIVE IN NW PENNSYLVANIA! It usually snows here into April. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this weather but I do wonder what it's doing to the natural world. The trees think it's time to leaf. Flowers are blooming. I heard that people are starting to till their gardens -- not too mention taking of their snow tires. I'm still thinking that Mother Nature will probably have the last laugh and will hit us with a massive snowstorm when we're not looking.
Anyway, check out this photo -- it's a HUGE snapping turtle making its way across the backyard. We usually don't have "turtle crossing" until late April into May so it sure was a surprise to come home and see this big dude ambling across the yard.
The next day we had a little painted turtle making his crossing across the yard.
Oh, do you know what "peepers" are? They are tree frogs. They woke up a week or so agao and now they are serenading us, sometimes even in the daytime. They are really loud and we can even hear them inside the house.
Okay, Okay, on to the quilt stuff. Recently, my friend Melanie went on a quilt retreat and she made a gorgeous version of my quilt "Luscious" from the April 2012 issue of Quilter's World. Here's her version:
Isn't it lovely? I got to see it in person today when Melanie, my pal Leslie, and I met for lunch. It was a great time! Nothing like a three hour lunch spent gabbing and eating.
If you haven't checked out Quilter's World yet, please do -- it's a great magazine (I'm not just saying that because they publish my designs, either)!
I'm excited that my first fabric collection will be launching next month and then will be avialble in shops later this fall. It's called COCKTAILS AT EIGHT and has a fun and flrty 50's feel. I hope you'll love it as much as I do! I'm working on a few new ideas for Northcott right now, too. So stay tuned.....
The weather in my neck of the woods has been amazing so far this month. First, of course, we had a very mild winter, and now we've skipped spring and it's summer. Our temps have been 30-40 degrees warmer than average. I've been fighting the urge to dig out my warm weather clothes, but I think I'll have to succomb to the urge after all. We are expecting another day around 80 degrees tomorrow. You have to understand -- I LIVE IN NW PENNSYLVANIA! It usually snows here into April. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this weather but I do wonder what it's doing to the natural world. The trees think it's time to leaf. Flowers are blooming. I heard that people are starting to till their gardens -- not too mention taking of their snow tires. I'm still thinking that Mother Nature will probably have the last laugh and will hit us with a massive snowstorm when we're not looking.
Anyway, check out this photo -- it's a HUGE snapping turtle making its way across the backyard. We usually don't have "turtle crossing" until late April into May so it sure was a surprise to come home and see this big dude ambling across the yard.
The next day we had a little painted turtle making his crossing across the yard.
Oh, do you know what "peepers" are? They are tree frogs. They woke up a week or so agao and now they are serenading us, sometimes even in the daytime. They are really loud and we can even hear them inside the house.
Okay, Okay, on to the quilt stuff. Recently, my friend Melanie went on a quilt retreat and she made a gorgeous version of my quilt "Luscious" from the April 2012 issue of Quilter's World. Here's her version:
Isn't it lovely? I got to see it in person today when Melanie, my pal Leslie, and I met for lunch. It was a great time! Nothing like a three hour lunch spent gabbing and eating.
If you haven't checked out Quilter's World yet, please do -- it's a great magazine (I'm not just saying that because they publish my designs, either)!
I'm excited that my first fabric collection will be launching next month and then will be avialble in shops later this fall. It's called COCKTAILS AT EIGHT and has a fun and flrty 50's feel. I hope you'll love it as much as I do! I'm working on a few new ideas for Northcott right now, too. So stay tuned.....
Thursday, March 1, 2012
A NEW ADVENTURE
As if writing a new book and keeping up with my magazine pieces isn't enough -- now I'm adding teaching quilting eclasses on www.craftartedu.com too!
Follow these links to check out my classes:
LOG CABIN TABLE RUNNER CLASS
FREE QUILTING BASICS TUTORIAL
Come play with me -- let's make a project together!!!
Follow these links to check out my classes:
LOG CABIN TABLE RUNNER CLASS
FREE QUILTING BASICS TUTORIAL
Come play with me -- let's make a project together!!!
Thursday, February 23, 2012
My Baby is a Centerfold!
Have you received your April 2012 issue of Quilter's World magazine yet?
I'm thrilled to share that I have three -- yes that's THREE (3) -- quilts in this issue! On Page 31, you'll find my Spring Baskets Wall quilt in shades of turquoise, red, pink on snowy white. On page 50 -- my CENTERFOLD project -- is Steppingstones which failry glows with Stonehenge fabrics. (Sorry, I'm not in Playboy afterall -- HA HA!). Then on page 59 you'll find my sassy strawberry quilt fittingly entitled Luscious.
If you're not a subscriber to Quilter's World magazine -- you should be! They always have great projects in different ability ranges in every issue. Each issue has a common theme too. The photos are great too -- I can never wait to just look at the magazine page by page from cover to cover. Oh, did I mention that each project gives quilting suggestions too???? What are you waiting for? Get your subscription now and tell 'em Tricia sent you! www.quiltersworld.com
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Playful Quilting
Have you tried making a "Jelly Roll Race" or "Jelly Roll 16oo" quilt yet? The concept is really sweeeping my area right now as groups and guilds challenge their members to be the fastest sewer. In April, I have a group that is going to make Jelly Roll Race quilts.
So...........I made a sample! I used 2 1/2" strips from my scrap stash for this one, although I plan to use a Stonehenge strip set for my next one. In 1 hour and 25 minutes, I had a completed aprox. 48" x 60" quilt top! WOW! Add a border and you will get a large throw or small twin quilt. Add a series of borders to make a large bed quilt.....
Here is my sample for your viewing pleasure:
Oh, our group in April is going to race against a group in Chicago! May the fastest team win!!!!!!!!!!!!
FOr more information about Jelly Roll Race quilts, watch the following YouTube video: Jelly Roll 1600 quilt video by Heirloom Creations.
So...........I made a sample! I used 2 1/2" strips from my scrap stash for this one, although I plan to use a Stonehenge strip set for my next one. In 1 hour and 25 minutes, I had a completed aprox. 48" x 60" quilt top! WOW! Add a border and you will get a large throw or small twin quilt. Add a series of borders to make a large bed quilt.....
Here is my sample for your viewing pleasure:
Oh, our group in April is going to race against a group in Chicago! May the fastest team win!!!!!!!!!!!!
FOr more information about Jelly Roll Race quilts, watch the following YouTube video: Jelly Roll 1600 quilt video by Heirloom Creations.
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