Kitchen Chicken

Time for a little Spring spruce up. I'm almost too embarrassed to even show you the before picture of my much-loved, over-used pot holders that have been residing in my kitchen since forever. I decided it was time to do something about them so I whipped up a couple of new potholders recently.

Super easy and I really cannot think of a reason I haven't done this before now! Here's what you need to get started:

Front fabric, backing fabric and some special heat-resistant batting - in my case, Insul-Bright.

Cut an 8" square from the front fabric, backing fabric and the batting (I like to use 2 layers of batting because nothing is worse that taking a hot pan of lasagna out of the oven and having the heat start to get through before you get to the table!) I also, fussy-cut my chicken down a little and added a strip of the backing fabric for her "nest" because the rectangles I was starting with just didn't work for me.

O.k., now you layer and pin the layers all together.

(yes, I know this picture is upside down but oh well. Friday technical difficulties.)

 Time to quilt! I just used my walking foot for some straight grid lines.

See how I cheated and used a cross-hatch patterned fabric for the backing? No marking for the quilting lines necessary!

Trim them up, add some binding and voila! I didn't even bother with the little hanger loop on the corner because never in my life have I actually hung a potholder! They get tossed in a drawer in my house.

Now, to get these babies broken in and maybe I'll be ready to let the old ones finally go.....

Happy kitchen stitching,

Tonya

Fruit Bowl Bullseye

"And the first shall be the last"....at least when it comes to quilt magazine publications! I'm happy to finally share this quilt with you - especially since this was the first quilt I ever submitted to a magazine. I've learned a few things during the past two years about publishing. One thing I know for sure: nothing is for sure, until you actually see it in print!

This is Fruit Bowl Bullseye and it is currently featured in Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting March/April 2014 issue. The lovely quilting on this one was done by my good friend, Tracey Fisher. (It should also be noted that Tracey graciously listened to my hysterical squealing on the phone when I got my first magazine acceptance - and she even told me she was happy for me :)

Fruit Bowl Bullseye

Adding the binding

F&P's Love of Quilting March/April 2014

This pattern was a jumping off point for me because it was the first quilt that was inspired by something completely non-quilty and I just dove in without a pattern or a plan. It started with a string of beads....

I was working on a lanyard with these beads and was really taken with the design and the colors. Starting to see it as a quilt design, I found this fabric line called "Fruit Slices" by Anthology Fabrics (good luck finding it now, two years later - sorry!) and then it slowly came together. How do I turn that bead into a block? What about the seed beads in between? I originally had a different layout in mind but once I got the blocks up on the design wall other ideas won out.

Follow your quilt inspirations, wherever they may lead you!

Happy Spring stitching,

Tonya

Sue Spargo at the Museum

We so often take for granted the gems we have in our own backyard. This is definitely true for me. My little corner of the world is home to the wonderful La Conner Quilt Museum. I usually get there at least a couple of times a year and recently went down with friends to see the Sue Spargo exhibit and wow!

The museum is worthy of a visit any time but this exhibit is a must-see, if you can. The exhibit runs through March 23, 2014. From what I understand, it is the first and largest collective showing of her work in one place.

So inspiring. I have always been a great admirer of her work but seeing such a collection up close and personal was awesome. Before quilting, I did a fair amount of needlework and even though I don't spend much time on it at the moment, I still really love it and appreciate the amazing creativity.

Sue's work is right up my color alley and the detail is .... well, just plain beautiful.

Happy stitching,

Tonya