Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone!  Hope Santa brings you something stitchy in your stocking!

A visit to the Fourth Corner Quilt blog

We are very fortunate quilters in my neck of the woods. We have lots of great quilt shops to frequent, hang out in and feed our passion. And when I say lots - I mean lots, as in no fewer than 10 shops within a 20 mile radius from where I live! Each one unique and bringing their own style and contributions to my addiction to love of quilting.

One of those great shops is Fourth Corner Quilts in Bellingham and I was a recent guest on their blog. Check it out and be sure to stop in the shop if you're up in the "tundra"(as my parents refer to it.)

Happy stitching!

Tonya

Pattern correction

Apologies and a pattern correction are in order! I found out today there is a measurement error in my Time to Sew clock pattern that appears in the Winter 2013 issue of Quilter's World.

The Dresden fan blades should be 3 1/2" not 5". Completely my fault. I used some leftover blades from another project and they originally measured 5". I wrote the directions a while after making it and forgot I trimmed them down to 3 1/2" so they would fit in the frame! Lesson learned!

If you are using the template from the magazine,  just measure 3 1/2" from the bottom of the blade and trim the extra from the top.

My sincere apologies!
Tonya

Red love

Here's a little bit of red love to get you in the holiday spirit if you're not there yet. I saw this beautiful quilt by Grace Hawley last summer at the Busy Bee Quilt Show in Monroe, WA. I love Hawaiian quilts anyway but this one was a beauty - and in my favorite color, no less!



"More Hibiscus" by Grace Hawley

 Completely original and done by hand. The craftsmanship - or should I say, craftwomanship - on this was amazing. Thank you for sharing Ms. Hawley and giving us something to aspire to!

If you're in the area next summer, check out their show. Great location and lots of great quilting happening there.

Happy holiday stitching,

Tonya

All dressed up for Houston!

First time to Houston! Well, kind of anyway...While it's definitely on my wish-list to get to Houston Quilt Market I haven't made it yet. This year for the first time one of my patterns got there without me. My "All I Want for Christmas" tree skirt was hanging in the QuiltWoman booth during Market. Yeah!

Quiltwoman.com booth at Houston Quilt Market

Of course, for such a fancy affair, I needed to jazz it up a bit so I added ***rhinestones***! Actually, this is a new product that QuiltWoman will be carrying and asked me to **bling** a sample of my tree skirt so here's how it turned out...


 

Super-cute if you ask me and I'm not usually a "bling-girl". I'm not sure of the name of the product since they were sent kind of pre-market but it's a fusible rhinestone product that comes in sheets and you can cut to size. I opted to go with all Kona solids and bling the ribbons on the packages with the jewel-tone colored rhinestones I received and I'm pretty happy with the result. Because my pattern uses a quilt-as-you-go method, I even fused the rhinestones through all three layers - top, batting, and backing - and it worked just fine. Easy-peasy.

I may be a bling convert!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Blogging buddy faux pas

I am a bad-blogging-buddy for sure. I have no excuse. My wonderfully creative and talented friend Pam has a super-active blog called Pam Banis Originals full of all kinds of beautiful creative things. She does quilts, garments, costumes, wool, you name it. She also makes these awesome vintage spool ornaments that I love. The pic below are some of her special ones for October.

2013 LIMITED EDITION PB0- PINK THREAD SPOOL ORNAMENTS

She very crazily graciously asked me for a blog interview about my creative process. I did it, she posted it, and I have not shared it. Boo-hiss.

So here you go, if you are interested at all in what goes on in my goofy little creative brain, check out the interview. Or, better yet, just check out some of the really cool stuff Pam does!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Giveaway winner!

Hey Sherry! You're the winner of the magazine giveaway! Yeah!

But I need to know where to mail your prize -

please email me at eyecandyquiltco@gmail.com

Congratulations!

Time to Sew...again!

Hi all,

I got a bit of a gift in the mail this week. My sewing room clock came back home from Quilter's World! I call it "Time to Sew". What do you think?

"Time to Sew!"

It's featured in the Winter 2013 edition of Quilter's World magazine that you should be seeing on newsstands and in shops soon.



Quilter's World, Winter 2013
 

Full project directions are available in the Winter 2013 edition if you want to make one for your sewing room, or any room for that matter!

It was quick and easy, made completely from scraps on hand and was a lot of fun to make! The only extra materials you need are a scrapbook frame and a clock kit from the craft store.

How about a give away? No, not my clock! But a copy of the magazine...;) Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite time to sew. I'll draw a name from the batch and the magazine will be yours!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Sunny Side Up

Here we are at the end of September and the weather the last weekend just confirmed that summer is long gone in my corner of the world. The wind was blowing, the rain was back in full force and summer is just a sweet memory now. To celebrate the beautiful summer that was, earlier this month I decided to dive into all the yellow fabrics I picked up during summer vacation and got to cutting.

All the lovely yellows cut into 2 1/2" strips

I have had this quilt in mind for at least a couple of years. Here's the photo inspiration I've had tacked to my bulletin board for a while. It's an ad for a luxury hotel somewhere but there's something about the tile pattern that I am just really drawn to. What's not to love about a log cabin variation?

Design inspiration - hotel advertisement from a magazine

First, I tried using a solid yellow and solid white just like the tile in the picture but it didn't do anything for me. Disappointed, I put it in the closet and it's been sitting there for a couple of years. Fast forward to this summer and my yellow fabric shopping spree while on vacation. I wasn't ready to give up on this quilt. Like everything else, I figured it just needed to be "scrapped up" for more interest. Now I am loving it! Not content with a little reasonable wall hanging, I went all out and went full bed-size. Big surprise. Going big and going down hard! Here's a sneak peek:


Work in process

Now that the Crock-Pot is back into Fall dinner rotation, I'll have time to get my new summer bed quilt ready! I think I'm going to call it "Sunny Side Up".

Happy end-of-summer stitching,

Tonya

Quilt show weekend

Hi everyone! Just wanted to share some quilt show information if you're in my corner of the world. Today and tomorrow the members of Evergreen Quilters will be hosting their show in Bellingham. Here are the details and a pic of their lovely raffle quilt:

EverGreen Quilters
 2013 Quilt Show
Bountiful Baskets

     
    Friday,     September 13:  10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
    Saturday, September 14:  10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Birchwood Presbyterian Church
Family Life Center
400 Meadowbrook Court
Bellingham, WA  98226

Over 100 quilts by Evergreen Quilters Members,
Merchant tables
Boutique
Raffle Quilt
Raffle Basket
White Elephant Sale
Quilting Demonstration

Admission:  $6,00

If you go to their website, you can print a page with a $1 off coupon for admission. Lots of really talented ladies in this group and I'm sure the show will be great. I'm looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

On the Dot

My modern baby quilt goes retro! I call it "On the Dot" (because all babies arrive as expected, of course!)

"On the Dot"

The inspiration for this quilt design was actually from a silver tinsel Christmas tree my aunt had back in the 70's. It had a color light circle that rotated and reflected off the tinsel to turn your tree four different colors. Very groovy and fun! Did you have one of these? You never know where your going to get and idea for your next quilt.

The quilt and pattern is currently featured in Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting September/October 2013 issue that is available now. Believe it or not, there is no curved piecing in this quilt! I used a window-pane fusible applique technique and then sliced and diced my way to these mixed up circles of color. I love black and white checkerboards just about anywhere but I thought they would be a little too strong for a baby quilt so I opted for grey and whites instead. This was a quick and easy project and I had fun making it.

Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting September/October 2013
 

 Happy stitching,
Tonya

Golden State inspiration

We recently got back from a great vacation in Cali. Lots of sunshine, water, family and fun. I try to sneak in a visit to a couple of quilt shops during vacation and I like to find things that remind me of that trip. There weren't any shops close to where we were but I did talk my hubby into driving to Reno so I could visit at least one shop and I struck California gold! If you get a chance, check out Windy Moon Quilts in Reno. Big store, packed to the rafters with all kinds of goodies and really nice, helpful staff.

I was definitely in the mood for a little golden stash-enhancement!

 

I'm feeling a yellow quilt coming on!

a little Tahoe color inspiration

some garden inspiration?

I think there's some quilt-rule out there that says you should limit the yellow fabric in your quilt top to less than 5 % or some other miniscule amount but I'm not sure about that. Sounds like another rule meant to be broken!

Happy summer stitching,
Tonya

Wacky Jack

Are you ready for a little Wacky Jack? No, it's not illegal or even the slightest bit inebriating, but it is very scrappy and a whole lot of fun!


“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”

 This project was percolating for a while. I had won a small bundle of Halloween FQ's in a raffle at quilt retreat a while ago and they had been sitting on my shelf staring at me every time I would open the door just begging to be used in something. Of course, I probably had enough initially to make a table runner but once this bug bit there was no going back. The final quilt measures 60"x72" and was so fun to make.


“Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine. ©2013 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.”

 One of the best parts of this project is definitely the quilting done by Tracey. If there was ever a quilt that could handle neon orange and acid green spider webs this is it! She did an amazing job and I love it. I will work on some close-up shots soon so you can fully appreciate her creative spirit on this project.

Well, if you're in my area you can see this little lovely at the fair in August. If not, you can enjoy it on the pages of American Patchwork & Quilting, the October 2013 edition that should be on newsstands or in your favorite quilt shop any day now. Even though we are still enjoying these last beautiful days of summer, I hope it will inspire you to pull out those purples/oranges/greens and create a little Wacky Jack yourself.

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Christmas in July and a new pattern

I really wonder sometimes why I feel like working on different projects at odd times of the year. Halloween quilt in February, sure. Red, white and blue in April, yep. Christmas in July, you bet! This project actually had some other deadlines attached so that may explain part of it but I am thrilled to show you my first pattern design!

It's a Christmas tree skirt pattern called "All I Want for Christmas" and it's in stores locally now and available nationally through QuiltWoman.com for retail and wholesale distribution (Pattern #TA-101). Here's a link to Fabric-Etc's blog post about it with a picture of the sample that Tracey made for the shop and to help me test the pattern. (Thanks Tracey!) Check out my pattern page for more info on where you can find it.

It was a really fun project to work on although I have to admit that I procrastinated on actually finally making it! My sister had asked for a tree skirt (about five years ago...) and I hemmed and hawed until the idea came together. Like most of my designs, the idea comes first and then I have to figure out how to make it work!

I tackled this project like eating a pie - one slice at a time! It's broken down into 8 wedges that you piece and quilt individually and then sash them together at the end. It's pretty big - measures 60" in diameter for the very simple reason that we have really big Christmas trees in our family! Also, I figure if I'm going to make such a cool tree skirt I want to be able to see it, not have it shoved all the way under the tree!

If you're new to paper piecing or free motion quilting, this may be just the project for you. The paper foundation piecing is very basic and suitable for a beginner. Also, it lends itself to experimentation with FMQ because you are always working with very manageable sized sections - and let's face it, this will end up under a tree on the floor so cut yourself some slack and have fun!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Borders, backs and basting, oh my!

My completion list is kind of short so far this summer because I've been doing a whole lot of this...

and not much of this...

But I have been making headway. Mostly on things that seem to take a lot more time than I think they are going to. I spent many hours working on borders for a guild project. The two hours I thought it would take turned into six and at the end I still don't know why it took so long! Backs are the same way. Last weekend I spent some time piecing three quilt backs that I had been procrastinating on (mainly because they are my least favorite part of the process.) Again, took way longer than they ever should. I like to spend my time up to my eyeballs in fabric, zipping through piecing and have a whole lot of blocks to show for it as my reward.

Then this weekend, I decided to go completely old-school and thread baste a quilt that I am planning on taking to the lake with me to work on hand quilting. Yes, thread baste. By hand. Never happens.

 

 

But it was strangely relaxing and rewarding. Something about this quilt that makes me want to spend more time with it before it's done. Maybe this quilting-thing is teaching me something about patience along the way. Who knew?

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Happy Independence Day!

Well, it's the Fourth of July! We have been having amazingly beautiful weather here and I must admit I have gotten absolutely NO sewing done to speak of! Usually, our summer weather officially arrives about July 5th but this year we have been lucky and are getting an early dose. After spending a beautiful day out on the bay soaking up some vitamin D and getting ready for fireworks, and no stitching to be seen anywhere, I'll have to go back a year for some patriotic eye candy.

This RWB scrappy tumbler quilt was made for one of my lovely aunts last summer. I tried out the AccuQuilt Go! fabric cutter at Fabric Etc. in Bellingham and used the 6" tumbler die for this. What a snap! I think it took about ten minutes to cut the whole top. It probably took me longer to cut the border fabric :) The other cool thing about the die cutter is that the dies cut a little notch in your pieces that you line up when you sew - perfect points! (a rarity in my sewing room, I must admit.)

That thing is pretty slick! It was fun to play with too and having it at the shop means I don't have to find room for it in the sewing room. Bonus!

Happy stitching and a very happy 4th,

Tonya

Color cousins

What a fun day! I was able to spend time with my good friend Pam and peek into the world of our color cousins at the Northwest Weavers Guild Conference. I'm not a weaver (or a spinner, or a knitter, for that matter!) but there was a lot to look at and enjoy while we got our color fix for the day. We spent some time in the market area and it's easy to see that these fiber artists are just as hooked on color and texture as quilters are! Here's some fun color eye candy to share:

Beginnings of a new stash????....

 

flying geese re-imagined?



String quilt possibilities???....

 

Felted wool! These adorable houses were about 3 feet high. The attention to detail was amazing.



Check out these adorable little felted wool cuties on the clothesline between the houses! Loving the poodle skirt!

Thanks Pam for a fun day!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Tickled Pink Update

Hi all,

I've been scrambling to catch up on everything since I was playing hookey earlier this week and was away at a quilt retreat with a lovely bunch of crazy ladies! I'm sure a lot of people think we're crazy simply because we would want to spend that much time sewing! It was great fun, good food and I got a lot done while having a great time.

Just before I left town, I found out my quilt Tickled Pink hit the newsstands in McCall's Quilting July/August 2013 I blogged about it quickly before I left but then McCall's sent me some more links and photos for me to use so I thought I would give you a better view.

My favorite thing about this pattern is that it's made with only one block of 9 half-square triangles! I love that something so simple can come together like this - and make a bit of a dent in my scrap bin. There are lots of different methods for making HST's but for this project I used Laundry Basket Quilts 2" HST paper. I had a lot of mis-matched fat quarters in my stash that I wanted to clear out and the cuts you use for the HST paper work perfectly with fat quarters. I actually picked out the border fabric after the center was completed. Usually I have some kind of idea of the border before or during but not this time.

If you squint really hard and stand on your head, you can see the quilt on the COVER! Yes, it's on the bottom of the pile and yes, there is only about one square inch poking out but I'm going to go ahead and consider this my first cover shot, what do you think?!

**Event info: If your in my neighborhood this Saturday, June 15th,  I'd love to see you at Fabric Etc. in Bellingham. We're having a little quilt celebration - and cookies!

This quilt coming out the same week as my quilt retreat was kind of full circle. I was actually working on this quilt this time last year at the same retreat. That's one lucky charm of a group and I hope I can spend many more days on the lake with them!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Double quilt bonus week!

Double quilt bonus this week! Hot on the heels of Fons & Porter Scrap Quilts Spring 2013, McCall's Quilting July/August 2013 edition just hit the stands and it features my quilt "Tickled Pink". Thanks to Karen O., one of my quilt-peeps for letting me know it was even out there ;) Here's a sneak peak!

"Tickled Pink"

Needless to say, after a waiting a year, I am definitely "Tickled Pink" to see these in print! Hope you enjoy!

Happy stitching,

Tonya

QOV - Memorial Day

Just in the nick of time for Memorial Day, a finish  to share(or should I say, a finally finished...) Thought you might like to see the finished Quilt of Valor quilt after the plan I had sketched out and shared a few weeks ago. The quilt's been done and hanging but the blogging has been a bit behind!

Here was the original plan...

and here's my finished quilt...(mine's on the left and my friend Rommie's is on the right.)

It's currently hanging at the Ferndale Public Library for the month along with others that were made by local quilters and will be donated to wounded servicemen and women through the Quilts of Valor program. If you can't make it in to see them, check out my friend Karen's blog for some nice pics  (including this one - thanks Karen!)of all the quilts.

Today, and everyday, thank a veteran in your life.

Happy stitching,

Tonya

Great news from my little old sewing room!

Super excited to share some great news with you today - I have my first two quilts being featured in the Spring 2013 edition of Fons and Porter Scrap Quilts hitting the newsstands at the end of this month! Well, not my first two quilts, but my first two in print. One is called "Carrie Nation Baby" and looks a little like this:

The quilt is made of a single traditional block named "Carrie Nation" which was actually a symbol of the women's temperance movement in the 1800's. For an interesting history on the block, check out Grandmother's Choice. Pretty heavy history for a sweet little baby quilt!


Carrie Nation Baby work in progress

 the second one is called "Kaffe's Garden at Night" (named for my favorite fabric designer/artist/quilt guru)and here's it's glamour shot:



Kaffe's Garden at Night work in progress

I absolutely can't wait to see the full spread. I have not considered a tattoo before now but I may reconsider...(just kidding honey!) If anyone's looking for me in the next few weeks, you can scrape me off the ceiling!

Happy, happy stitching,

Tonya