Countryside Quilters 1st Quilt Show

Posted on September 21, 2014 by Norma Hanson

On Saturday, I attended the Countryside Quilters first quilt show. Despite the small number of members–only 27–this group put on a huge show–over 400 quilts!!!

I have seen pictures of quilts displayed in the sanctuary of churches before but I had never attended a quilt show in person where the quilts were displayed in this way.

The golden glow created by the lighting in the church combined with the colours of the quilts made the display breathtaking. I was glad I was there first thing in the morning though as the aisles quickly became crowded.

I really liked this scrap quilt. I am going to have to try this layout for some of my string blocks in the future.

I have a maverick star quilt on my list of quilts to make. I really like the effect of the red background on this star quilt. Red is not always a colour that you see as a background, but it really works on this quilt.

The group also hosted old fashioned bed turnings at different times during the day. I was there for the 10:30 bed turning. One of the group members told me that the quilts displayed during the bed turning were not necessarily the fanciest quilts, but they were the ones with the best stories. She was right–many of those stories were enough to bring you to tears.

For a slideshow of more pictures of the show, click here.

This quilt show proves that you don’t have to have a huge membership to put on a great display of quilts!

Update: I found another slide show on YouTube that someone else had posted for this show. It is always interesting to look at someone else’s pictures for the same event that you attended to see things from their eyes. Click here to enjoy!

Crumb Blocks Find a Home

Posted on November 17, 2013 by Norma Hanson

I had a large pile of crumb blocks that desperately needed to find a quilt home. These blocks have been sitting on the shelf in my studio for years collecting dust. As we all know, blocks on a shelf do not do much for warming a body or soul.

So, recently, I took that stack of 40 crumb blocks off the shelf and transformed them into two large lap size quilt tops. (62″ x 74″).

At one point I had all 40 blocks sewn together into one large quilt top without sashing and cornerstones. I wasn’t happy with the chaotic look of that top and so I picked out the seams and stacked the blocks back on the shelf. The blocks sat for a few more years without being touched because of the memories invoked by all that reverse sewing that I did!

Each crumb block is pieced together from 4 smaller, 6″ square crumb blocks. There is everything in these blocks–nine patches collected from a guild nine patch block exchange many years ago, scraps of fabric from leftover quilts made for Christmas, Valentine’s, Easter, floral, and other themed quilts. These quilt tops are truly a trip down memory lane. It always surprises me how much emotion and memories can be triggered by looking at the scraps of fabric in one of these quilts.

Fabric requirements for each quilt:

20 crumb blocks – 11.5″ square

Sashing – 34″ WOF cut into 17 – 2″ wide strips, subcut into 49 – 11.5″ strips

Border – 35″ WOF cut into 7 strips – 5″ wide

Backing – 4 meters

String Flimsy

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Norma Hanson

I am on a roll. I am determined that all of the completed blocks that have been stacked on the shelves for years will be put together into quilt tops. After all, empty shelves allow room for new fabric purchases!

Over the years I have used different techniques to piece together crumb or string blocks. The blocks in this top are strings pieced together onto muslin foundations. The many seams and extra layer of muslin make this a very heavy quilt top.

I am not sure how this will be quilted yet because of the weight of the top. I am debating whether I will finish this one without batting or not.

Finished flimsy size: 54.5 ” x 63.5″

Worldwide Quilting Day

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Norma Hanson

I spent Worldwide Quilting Day in the best way possible – in the company of quilters at a quilt show!

My Quilt Guild arranged for a bus to transport 45 quilters for a day at the Quilters Anonymous 32nd Annual Quilt Show in Monroe, Washington.

There were over 500 quilts on display at this show so picking just one favorite was impossible. These are some of my favorite quilts from that show:

There were quite a few vendors at the show. These are the purchases that I made:

Dee of The Quilted Trillim was in attendance with her realistic raw edge applique designs. Dee told me that with her no tracing applique technique, I should be able to make her Delicate Arch project in a weekend. There are many tiny pieces in this pattern so I don’t think I will be making this one that quickly!

Michele Crawford of Flower Box Quilts was in attendance with her husband. I was really impressed with the simplicity of the two blocks – Block A and Block B – that are behind the design of the quilts in Michele’s two books. Once you make the two blocks the quilt designs are developed by sub-cutting those two blocks. Very clever! Michele indicated that she is now working on a third book in this series.

This is a picture of the cover of the pattern: Snow Flurries. This is a new design by Crabapple Hill Studios that I have been looking to make.

This is the pattern jacket from the Lazy Girl Designs’ bag pattern, Runaround Bag.

I also picked up some art cards by Rebecca Parker, two boxes of just white crayons, and some sparkle floss. I attended a demonstration about how to colour stitchery pieces with crayons where I learned that you should first colour an area with white crayon before adding the layer of coloured crayon. This technique is described by Crabapple Hill Studio on their website as:

Crayon Tinting instructions

Some of the patterns are tinted with Crayola Crayons. It’s a really fun technique that looks SO COOL when it’s done right!!! I like to start the process by coloring any area that’s going to be tinted with white crayon. It sort of “fills” the weave of the fabric and smooths it out to create a base for the colored crayons. It also helps with the blending of colors……….SO!!! You can go through quite a bit of white crayon in a single project. In “Calendula Patterdrip’s Cottage” I used almost 3 white crayons. Having to buy another ENTIRE box of colored crayons just to get one, single, lousy white crayon is just, well……maddening! But….having a little box of all white on hand…..is…..happy-ing! Yes, that’s a new word.

Color tinting is really easy……

1. Trace the design onto the fabric as usual
2. Make sure your work surface is clean and smooth and there isn’t any lint/threads on the back of the fabric.
3. Color all areas that you’ll be tinting somewhat heavily with white crayon.
4. Tint all areas as directed in the pattern (or use your own imagination!) I like to use a little circular motion……..
5. Heat set with a hot iron by laying a white paper towel over the tinted area and pressing (you’ll smell the wax) Remove the paper towel and look at it…..if there’s ANY color on it repeat the pressing process with a clean paper towel.

In the same demonstration I learned about a metallic look embroidery thread called, Cosmo Sparkle Thread. I learned how adding a bit of sparkle floss to a stitchery project can add just a little special something to your project. The Snow Flurries pattern that I bought uses sparkle floss, and crayons so I will be able to try out the new techniques that I just learned.

From Lecien’s website:

Lecien has been producing Cosmo embroidery thread in Japan since 1950. Cosmo thread is made from the best grade of Egyptian cotton available and its texture and sheen is equal to that of silk. Cosmo floss doesn’t twist and tangle like other flosses, and is easy to separate the strands for stitchery projects. Cosmo thread glides smoothly through fabric.

Opening and Using Sparkles

To use Sparkles – do NOT pull an end like you would with other flosses. Gently remove the paper sleeve. Handle gently and keep the loops in nice circles. Find where the knot is; these 2 ends are the ends of the 10 meter strand. Open the loop twice, until all that is holding the loops together is the knot. Gently pull the 2 ends of the strands till the knot is away from the loops and cut the knot. Carefully wind Sparkles around a spool or bobbin.

Today was the perfect way to celebrate Worldwide Quilting Day!

Colour Catcher String Quilt

Posted on July 5, 2011 by Norma Hanson

First, these are some pictures of our backyard. My plant pots are visible from my kitchen window.

I think of this area as my little sanctuary.

We have been enjoying the feathered visitors to our yard as well.

This weekend was a long weekend for me (I was off from work Friday to Monday). While North and South played on the laptop, I sewed. It seamed appropriate that I was watching North and South–a made-for-TV miniseries about the Civil War during the July 4th (American Independence Day) long weekend. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_and_South_(TV_miniseries)

The center of these blocks are colour catcher string blocks. I pieced my string blocks on used colour catcher foundations. http://www.shoutitout.com/preserve-colors.aspx

My friend, started to call this quilt a “conversation quilt”. The strings are from many of the scraps and bits leftover from previous quilt projects. Since each piece has a story to tell, the name conversation quilt was born.

I used all I had of the two black/white fabrics that I purchased last weekend to make this quilt. The quilt is plenty long enough, but it should be a little wider to better fit our bed. A couple of my friends and I were discussing border options on-line. Since this is a conversation quilt, we decided that the quilt would tell us what it needed for borders. We listened, and with the assistance of a friend, I have secured more of the two black and white fabrics. Once the fabrics are received in the mail, I will be making this quilt top two blocks wider. Even though I almost always add at least one border to my quilts, this quilt definitely was not in need of a border.

I used quite a few of the colour catcher string blocks that I had on hand and I still have more left. I will be on the lookout for more quilting ideas to use up the remainder of the blocks so stay tuned for more colour catcher string quilts!

Silver Thimble Quilting

Every quilt has a story to tell; if you are quiet and listen, you will hear it.

Category Archives: scrap