New pattern and a shop hop

So here's what I've been working on lately, a new pattern. Not for a magazine this time, just for retail sale in shops. Of course, I'm flying by the seat of my pants again so I'm never quite sure how these things are going to turn out. Producing a pattern is so much more work than I ever think it's going to be. Writing, editing, photography, graphic design, the list goes on and on. And that's without sewing a single stitch! But, I'm giving it another go. So this is Cavanaugh Crossroads...

Some of you in my neck of the woods may recognize the name. I started working on this during a retreat out at Lake Cavanaugh with friends not too long ago. The block itself is from a traditional block design from early last century called Crossroads. Nothing too clever - just putting the two together and I decided I liked the name, so there you have it!

Here are a couple of test blocks we did in alternate colorways. You know how much I love my Kaffes! I was playing with the photo editor app on my phone, inverted the colors, and decided I had to make it in Kaffe reds with a black background. The center is Moda Grunge Basics "Decadent". Not for the faint-hearted! Reminds me of flames! My lovely friend Verna made a test block in batiks, soft blue/greens with a melon center which turned out great (but I can't download the pic for - sorry!) Batiks are always a winner. She made one in 30's too - I love it. (That one I managed!)

Done in Kaffe Fassett's red "Lotus Leaf" fabric.

Super sweet in Verna's 30's too

The pattern, as shown on the cover, finishes at 54" x 54", a nice throw or baby quilt size. The blocks are BIG, 18"! The pattern also include size options for twin, queen and king size. I rate this as a beginner/easy pattern. A half square triangle is the about as tricky as this one gets, and you even make two at a time.

Availability is limited at the moment. I rushed this one into production so it could be available during the Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop, June 24-28. You can find the pattern at Fabric-Etc. in Bellingham. The original quilt top will be there on display, too. If you're not in the area, you can contact Carol and the crew to order. Shop owners and distributors - if you're out there! - feel free to email me directly and I'll hook you up!

Happy summer quilting,

Tonya

Baby Love

Talk about timing! If I were to have another baby (don't worry honey, I am definitely NOT having another baby), the timing would be perfect for this quilt for Valentine's Day - and I didn't even plan it that way. It's called "XOBaby!" and it's making its appearance now in the March/April 2014 edition of McCall's Quilting.

"XOBaby!", McCall's Quilting, March/April 2014



I made a pink version and a blue version for the magazine and my good friend and long-arm quilter, Nikki Crisp did the lovely quilting on these. She did a great job, as always, and I really like the swirly pattern she chose.



"XOBaby!", McCall's Quilting, March/April 2014

Here's a close up of the blue version:

 

You need to see the blue version in the magazine though because there's a real cutie-patootie modeling with it in the picture. (Not one of my cuties - they are both too old!) McCall's also included a free sweet pillow version of the pattern - also available on line. Nice! I may have to make one of those too!

These blocks are quick and very versatile. I liked the fact that you make each X and O with four of the same components so you don't have to decide too early in your process which blocks will be which, know what I mean? Just make them all up, lay them out wherever you like the fabric, and then commit them to either the X or the O block.

I'm also a bit of a rick-rack junkie and have used it several times. It adds a playful element that I like, especially on quilts for kids. For this project, I used the 1 1/2" jumbo rick-rack on the borders. You could just stitch straight down the middle, and for a narrower rick-rack, I might do that. But for the jumbo, I like to stitch down both edges so that it will still lay flat after washing.

I found the rick-rack at a favorite LQS in Bellingham called Fabric-Etc., and they just got a bunch more in too! Oh, the possibilities!

Well, I hope you have someone sweet in your life to quilt for - today and every day.

Happy Valentine's Day 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