Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival Passport to Quilting Seattle Submission

Posted on May 28, 2023 by divadiversion

This year I volunteered to hang the challenge quilts for the Richmond Quilting Guild at the Quilt Festival in Hampton VA. I received the last quilt at the last minute and I’m so glad the quilter was able to complete her project.

This years work title was “Passport to Quilting”. We were inspired to make quilts that reminded us of our travels.

I’ve been blessed that my husband loves to plan trips for us and have a treasure trove of memories to draw from. However, my artistic abilities are somewhat limited. That being said, I leaned into a couple of commercial patterns and books.

My first piece was Seattle. We visited there in the autumn of 2018 after the passing of my mother. Initially the trip was planned as a post trip to seeing Mama Lou.

Seattle is a hip young city with lots of independent restaurants, a vibrant art scene and so much to see. We especially enjoyed the Chihuly Museum and the Space Needle, and were delighted by our harbor ride. I would highly suggest getting a city pass if you ever get the opportunity to visit.

The pattern I used for my submission was U.S. Skylines by Shannon Brinkley. Visit her website https://shannon-brinkley.com to view her gallery and check out her patterns both paper and pdf.

This was a new technique for me as I seldom (almost never) do applique. To actually piece that applique, was a stretch. I loved the trip and I wanted a keepsake, and I wanted to participate in the Challenge. I had plenty of fabric to work with, so why not try. Let’s give it a go!

My palette was inspired by this photo of my beloved in front of the Museum of Pop Culture.

The directions were clearly written and easy to follow. Take your time, read and re-read and don’t fret.

I found the perfect background and appied the skyline to it and zig zagged with monofiliment. The monofiliment I used was from Aurifil. I was amazed at how easy the monofiliment worked in my machine. I’ve used this type of product decades ago and remember it was not a pleasant experience so there have been some wonderful improvements over the years.

And here it is at the show. I was pretty excited to see it up there.

If you belong to a guild that offers an opportunity to participate in a challenge for any quilt show, I would highly recommend the experience. It’s fun to see your work hanging with the work of your friends and quilt buddies. It is great to see how you have evolved as a quilter, the lessons learned and the changes you’ve gone through.

I’m looking forward to the next challenge!

Until next time…Piece!

Posted in Accomplishments, Quilt Show, Richmond Quilt Guild, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

Two Simply Fabulous Finishes

Posted on November 22, 2022 by divadiversion

It started with an invitation a baby shower.  Although I realized beloved and I would be away for the event, I knew I wanted to send something special. 

So much creativity starts with a mess.  I was pulling fabrics and settled on what I thought I wanted.  There were animals and bright colors and fish and a quiet grey that pulled it all together.  The pattern although flawed but free.  Still in spite of the flaw, the correction was easy and the piece went together well.  I thought perhaps it was “user error”. 

And then I walked back into the closet and found fabrics even more appropriate for the nursery of this precious little bundle.  I cut and sewed and verified that there was a flaw and it wasn’t “user error”, but still the top went together beautifully with one simple correction.

Can I tell you the name of the pattern?  Nope, I decided that there were bunches of patterns out there to choose from and recycled the pattern.  I can tell you it was offered as a free pattern in 2013 from one of the fabric sites.

Prior to leaving for vacation I dropped them with the quilter with my ideas about quilting knowing that the quilts were in good hands.

Quilt One I am calling City Zoo.  I love the varied animal prints, and the “blender” prints I used.  Seriously those hippos and blue monkeys and alligators look so friendly!

The backing is pieced.  I didn’t have enough of the animal wreaths, but the companion print worked nicely with it.  The affirmations in the wreaths though fill my heart with joy! “You make the world a better place” “you are pure delight” “my heart adores your heart”. Honestly I’d love to put this soft message on the back of all my baby quilts! I should have bought a bolt, but alas, it’s all gone. The flannel is cozy soft and the quilt is bound in flannel as well. 

The quilting pattern used by Deanna from Creative Quilting is a variation of the City Windows edge to edge pattern and per my request she quilted it in grey thread. 

This sweet generously sized baby quilt can be found for purchase at https://www.etsy.com/shop/vintagevacouple Click on quilts and you will find this and many other quilts pieced by me and quilted by one of my trusted quilters.

Quilt Two is Bespoke Water Baby.  There are two different mermaid prints as well as two different sea horse prints.  There is a fabulous octopus and some of Dear Stella’s whales. 

All of these are surrounded by schools of fish (by far one of my favorite prints ever!).  On the back is more Dear Stella fabric, some anchors and some fish.  Deanna quilted this with a design that we are calling “Moving Seaweed with Fish” It is an adapted edge to edge design she did specifically for this quilt. There is a fish in most every blocks. This will be in the mail tomorrow.

It was such a delight to be able to start and finish something with less than 40 hours of committment. I’m going to have to do something a little less involved (like these) once in a while!

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Summer Class Work

Posted on September 15, 2022 by divadiversion

This summer I took a class with my friend Sandy through the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. The Consortium meets four times a year, twice in person and twice via Zoom. The meeting for this class was in Culpeper, VA. I love Culpeper! There are several wonderful antique shops and an Amish store with lots of interesting tasty delights and a wide variety of restaurants. We stayed two nights so we could take advantage of the location and drive home well rested after class.

Our class was Modern Hexigon Table Runner. I took it because the sample photo was cute. That was in spite of the fact that I had sworn off hexies. Several years ago I tried my hand at EPP hexies and I lost interest quickly as my hand stitching is somewhat inconsistent and the project moved incredibly slowly. But this was promising and looked finishable.

We started right in as the class was full and took up two classrooms. That being said, never once did I feel that the instructor was overwhelmed. She was organized, her instructions were clear and she was available to any and all of us to answer questions.

I brought my fabrics precut, got my hexies pressed and glued and ready to go.

Because of electrical issues we all shared irons. That didn’t really hold anyone up. Sandy had brought a cute little iron that we could use at our work table, which was very helpful. She is a great travel and quilting buddy, she thinks of all the stuff and is very organized!

These gorgeous French General fabrics are what Sandy worked with. I love how the look against the white.

It was exciting to see what everyone brought with them to work with.

We worked on our runners all day and even a little at the hotel that evening. I promptly brought mine home and put it aside to continue of another project I was working on.

Finally this week I have a finished table runner to share.

My Garden Variety Table Runner is complete.

I had so much fun working with this fabric. It truly pleased me that I had it in my stash and now it is in a cute “finish”. My difficulty was laying my hexies out so there was a consistent quarter inch in between each of them which then affected my quilting. Practice makes better, so maybe I will try this again.

If you have any ties to Virginia and enjoy quilting I would highly recommend joining the Virginia Consortium of Quilters. With the classes and meetings and retreat you will be inspired and meet many others interested in the craft we love so much. Check them out at https://www.vcq.org and I hope to see you there sometime soon.

Posted in Accomplishments, Food, Hexis, Quilting, Scraps, table runners, Uncategorized | Tagged | 4 Comments

A Puzzling Quandry

Posted on September 10, 2022 by divadiversion

One of my favorite quilting buddies and I visited a local quilt shop a few months ago. It was my first time in the shop. Our area has five independent quilt shops which is a wealth of inspiration. All the shops have their own niche. We also have two JoAnnes and a couple of other big box stores. That being said there is no shortage of places to spend your quilting dollars.

The shop was cute, with a nice variety of fabrics. Not a big place, but you could certainly find something that gets those creative juices flowing. And find something we did. There was a charming quilt made with the Dear Stella Little Fawn and Friends collection. It really was adorable and started with a panel, and some simple piecing, so I thought it would be a cute quick quilt for charity.

Seriously
Aren’t these
the cutest!

We looked carefully at the quilt, chose some fabrics and had them cut. We decided that some of the fabrics could be substituted with a fabric that wasn’t quite as expensive as what we were purchasing which was well over $10/yard. Before leaving we asked about the pattern. The woman that was assisting us (who I suspect is the shop owner) said that the pattern was available in the kit. The kit was over $100. The pattern was not available without the kit. I took a couple of mental notes and did some quick drawing when we got to the car.

After our second stop it occurred to me that many fabric companies have free patterns available that are created using the new fabric lines. Well low and behold, there was the pattern. It is called Little Fawn Celebration. This and other adorable pattern designs can be found at: https://www.dearstelladesign.com/page/projects-181/#link-category-218070

Instead of making one large quilt, I made two smaller quilts, as that is what most of our charities are looking for.

I had these soft cozy cotton flannels in my stash which is perfect for the backings of these quilts. Both pieces were quilted by Cheryl Maddern a member of the Hospitality Chapter of the Richmond Quilters Guild.

So what is my quandry? Would you have thought the customer service fell short when it came to our inquiry about the availability of the pattern? I should probably just brush it off right?

Let me share these inspiring links to help you choose your next projects:

https://www.henryglassfabrics.net/current-projects/

https://www.robertkaufman.com/quilting/quilts_patterns/free

https://www.michaelmillerfabrics.com/inspiration/free-downloads/html

https://www.freespiritfabrics.com/projects

Posted in Accomplishments, Charity Quilts, Flannel, Quilting, Richmond Quilt Guild, simple, Uncategorized | Tagged | 1 Comment

Fun and Done – Charity Quilting and a New Flag

Posted on August 29, 2022 by divadiversion

I’ve been putzing away the summer, doing a little of this and a little of that. Making a few blocks on this quilt, and then changing direction and working on another project. It’s my work style. But the problem is I never feel like I get anything done. And then I do.

My friend Sandy told me about this six hour quilt and I pulled some fabric and made one. But one wasn’t enough so I made another. Because I didn’t want them to be too big, just big enough for a recliner or chair I made them smaller than directed.

Front
Quilting Detail
Side Two
Side One
Side Two

The front and back are done at the same time, and it’s like having two front sides. These are by no means heirloom quilts, but they are perfect to throw in the car or use at a game. The one thing to remember is that batting is directional – seriously, who knew?! For those of you who do a lot of charity quilting, this works up quickly and easily. Need a fast gift – this works great. Directions for this are at https://diyjoy.com/how-to-make-a-six-hour-quilt/ You can also find a video on YouTube, Kay Wood’s 6 Hour Quilt Techniques. In the video Kay Wood does hers with a serger. Mine were done with a standard machine.

Then I made this

I call this my ROYGB Quilt aka Pride

I enjoyed working on the patriotic quilts last year and thought I would try this out. Working with the primary colors was a joy and brought back memories of Mrs. Bakers first grade class and learning our colors. The method was simple and piece went together beautifully. This particular quilt is just 46″ x 61″ so it is perfect for the couch or car, or can be hung on a wall.

The quilting is ADORABLE!

Quilting was done by Terry Burris Quilting and the design is called “I Love You Hand Sign”.

It felt good to FINISH something.

Check out the vintagevacouple on Etsy for gifts and books and fabrics.

Posted in Accomplishments, Charity Quilts, Quilting, simple, Terry Burris Quilting, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Same Pattern – Two Executions

Posted on July 29, 2022 by divadiversion

It never ceases to amaze me how the exact same pattern can look so different by switching the fabrics.

Several years this pattern was introduced to me while I was on retreat with my sister Terry. One of her buddies (Cindy) was making this out of a gorgeous black speckled batik and a bright color that I’m having difficulty remembering right now. The thing that struck me was how simple the pattern was and how complex it looked.

The pattern is called Rolling Waves and it was offered in the MCcalls Quick Quilts magazine in September of 2008. Today it is still one of my favorites. Although not as “quick” as some, it is easy. As Cindy says you do get weary of making the same block over and over, but the practice is good and the reward is great. Just put on an audio book and go for it. Or break it down into warm up blocks. Before you know it you are done.

Using only two fabrics, this is what I completed. The first time I did this it was for a quilt for my mom. Hers too was made using only two fabrics.

Rolling Nine Patch – Two Fabrics

Then I looked through my scrap pile and thought “What if?” Seriously, don’t the best ideas start with “What if”! So I sorted through and pulled out all of my low volume black and whites and my solids and blenders and started to work.

Happy Scrappy Rolling Nine Patch

Isn’t this a fun quilt! I just love the way it worked up. And all the motion that the pattern creates is fascinating to me.

The pattern consists of three different nine patch blocks so this pattern is truly beginner friendly. And as you can see it can also be scrap happy.

I love the way each of these quilts worked up, and can see myself doing this again in the not too near future. Terry Burris Quilting did the quilting on both of these pieces.

Same pattern, different fabrics

.

Although I do not have this pattern available I’m pretty certain you can find it on the Quilting Daily Website or the McCalls free quilting patterns website.

However, if you are looking for a quilt pattern to inspire you, I have several wonderful quilt books available at the vintagevacouple etsy store. All are used and deeply discounted. Use the code DIVADIVERSION10 when you check out for an additional 10% discount.

Til next time…piece!

Posted in Etsy, Nine Patch, Quilting, Scraps, simple, Terry Burris Quilting, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Frocktails with Richmond Really Sews

Posted on July 15, 2022 by divadiversion

Last week I did a thing. I hadn’t done this in a very very long time. But before I could do the “thing”, I had to finish something.

For several weeks I’d been following a group on Facebook called Richmond Really Sews. I decided I would go to one of the meetings to check it out. The group is led by a retired costume designer that moved here several years ago from California. Karen is delightful, enthusiastic and empowering. She had put out a call for people to come sew with her. There were over 1000 responses from people that knew very little about sewing to others that know their way around a pattern. There are people of different backgrounds and ages and sizes. It’s a very diverse and beautiful group. And we “come together in friendship and we sew”. That’s the mantra.

For the celebration of the one year anniversary of Richmond Really Sews there was a fashion show. It all came together beautifully. The creations were gorgeous and as varied as the group. To see a great representation of what went on at our Frocktails Show check out the montage on Richmond Really Sews on Instagram.

That being shared, in order to participate, I needed a “frock”. It has been several years since I made something to wear, but I was confident I could do it. I wanted to make something that I would wear again.

Last month we went to a car show, and I just happened to notice that there were very few people dressed the era of the vehicles they were showing. Perhaps it was the extraordinaryily hot weather, but I’m thinking this may be the norm. Those that did “dress” for showing their cars did garner a little more attention. We will be showing and participating in car tours with our sweet 1956 Nash so I thought I would make something that would do double duty.

The pattern I chose was Butterick B6318.

Butterick B6318, my inspiration for Frocktails

Instead of making a “muslin”, I went right in for the dress. I cut it out put it together and tried it on and um, well, lets just say I spent some quality time with my seam ripper and remaking the bodice. It’s a lesson learned that off the rack and “bespoke” garments have a different fit. In the future, I will make certain that all of the “fitted” parts will be made in muslin, prior to the intented fabric.

There was this wonderful hat in one of my favorite thrift stores, and a rightous pocketbook in another and I dug through my closet and came up with my pretty red gloves.

Although there was a little nervousness, once I got on that runway I had a blast! And so did everyone else. The audience was so uplifting and the experience was incredibly empowering. I mean really…

Having fun on the runway
What a joyful experience!

Now for a little shameless self promotion. If you would like to create a “frock” of your own, check out the bargains in the Etsy shop. I have some wonderful fabrics priced to move.

Vintagevacouple@etsy.com

Posted in Accomplishments, Challenges, Coaching, Etsy, Frocktails, Garments, Richmond Really Sews, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Just DO IT… Changing Direction

Posted on March 20, 2022 by divadiversion

This week is the final challenge of Project Quilting Season 13. The prompt was “Flying Geese”.

First, I looked for some foundations I had purchased a couple of years ago from Alison Glass. They were nowhere to be found in my studio, which started a mass reorganizing event that will be ongoing for at least several weeks. More on that later. Then while looking for those foundations I did find a wearable vest pattern that I have been wanting to do for a long time.

Victory Garden Vest Circa 1995 But would I finish it on time.

Then I found a foundation pattern that I had printed off from Piece by Number called “A Circle of Geese”. (piecebynumber.com or bcheri.etsy.com) Although it didn’t seem like a very original or inventive idea, at least I might finish the project.

Off I went pulling out some of the same fabrics I’ve used for my other challenges. Hmm, a theme seems to have developed. The piecing began and was finished, and low and behold…

Seriously! Well fine then. Just going in a different direction. This from a gal that could get lost in a paper bag. Changing Direction is what I’m going to call this one. It is important when doing something directional or circular with paper piecing foundations that you pick up the right foundations. I picked one from the wrong pile.

And roll with it I did. I got braver with my quilting, although it’s still straight lines, there are more of them.

Initially I was going to use a grey on the geese and change out each color to outline the geese on the grey. Then I found a wonderful variegated thread that I’ve had and the colors worked well with the project.

And I’m going to make the deadline.

It’s been a great season, filled with inspiration and growth for this quilter. A shout out to Kim Lapacek of Persimon Dreams and Trish of Quiltchicken for their time, talent, organization and all around awesomeness for providing so many of us with these challenges and for everything that goes on behind the scenes. I am already looking forward to next year.

To see how others interpreted the challenge go to https://kimlapacek.com/2022/03/flyinggeesehtml and scroll to the bottom. So far there are over 140 projects done, and one hour to go.

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Rhythm & Repetition is a Wrap

Posted on March 3, 2022 by divadiversion

How’s that for alliteration!

Sunday I was waiting for the challenge to drop and when it did…well the only thing I could come up with was “wash rinse repeat”. I read some the articles provided with the challenge and that was helpful. Then I went to google for a visual search and found a few things I could work with. Needless to say this weeks challenge is not very “original”.

As Kim says, “Done is better than perfect”.

One of the things I like about Project Quilting is you can’t obsess over decisions. There are seven days to come up with the idea and create a plan and follow through. I work slow so it can’t be too elaborate, but I also want to create something “useful”. I can overthink or elaborate the plans that I make through the challenges later.

So back to my google search. I put in the appropriate prompts and came up with this.

I like google search because of the option of an image search as well as articles. This was one of the images used as an example of rhythm and repetition in art.

The symmetry and simplicity of the shapes in the image appealed to me. And I was confident that it was a project I could finish in the time allowed.

Within hours I had my fabric pulled and was cutting out shapes from fusible web.

This was a great opportunity to use my Charm Templates and some scraps!

I adhered the shapes to a background and then stitched around them for good measure.

Because this is a fast challenge, needle turn applique is out of the question. However, I really like to make sure my pieces are secure.

Then there was the quilting. I used various threads the approximate colors of the shapes and stitched horizontal quilting lines across the piece. After I put a back on the piece, I stuffed a pillow in it and the piece was complete!

A modern vibe for my couch!

If you would like to see other interpretations of the challenge visit https://kimlapacek.com/2022/02rhythmandrepetition.html and scroll down to the submissions. If you click onto some of the pictures, you get to visit blog spaces or Facebook posts or Instagram to tell you about the artist’s process.

Posted in Accomplishments, Challenges, Project Quilting, Scraps, Uncategorized | 10 Comments

Dazzling Diamonds

Posted on February 21, 2022 by divadiversion

This girl was late to the party. But what an exciting entrance!

The inspiration for this weeks Project Quilting was diamonds. As in the shape of a diamond, or as hard as a diamond or…well there was plenty to work with as far as coming up with a way to execute a design using the inspiration.

Initially, I was not going to participate because the chances of me finishing timely was less than good. I had a wonderful planned visit to my friend Sandie, and my grandson Logan was coming to visit for the weekend so this was not my first priority. Still, once the idea hit me I wanted to participate. And I did finish, but not before the deadline. It was a fun project as well as one that I am pleased with the outcome.

A few years back I had participated in the Trinkets sewalong. I remembered that there was a foundation for diamonds in the pattern and ran off my foundations. I have found that newsprint paper tears much easier than standard office paper so that is my “go to”. The price is generally lower too. Then I dug through some stash, deciding on my color story, settling on a multi-color overall, with black and white backgrounds.

The blocks came together. At first I had decided there would be four, but that was really too small for anything useful, so then added five more for my nine.

The blocks coming together.

Once I finished the additional blocks I found something to use as the sashing that was the perfect size and color without digging too deep. Then there was the backing that was as close as I could get to a diamond in black and white. Honestly, the only thing that could have made this come together easier is if it had just put itself together. I LOVE the way these blocks work up and finish out.

Dahling it’s time for your closeup…

Project Quilting 13.4 Diamonds

A big thank you to Kim of Persimon Dreams and Trish from QuiltChicken for the inspiration and fun.

Hmm, maybe I should tidy up some of this creative chaos and do some laundry before the next challenge drops.

Posted in Accomplishments, Challenges, Paper foundations, Project Quilting, Uncategorized | 4 Comments