QuiltCon Memories

It's QuiltCon season! The show floor opens Thursday in Phoenix so I want to gather memories of past QuiltCon's all in one post!   Memories

My first QuiltCon was Savannah in 2017 - photos above. I had only recently discovered the MQG and joined my local guild. I knew very few people when the show started but knew so many more once it ended! I got to meet blog friends in person and met a slew of folks when volunteering. The show was so incredibly inspiring and I knew I found my people. 

My very first quilt to be accepted into QuiltCon was Briar Rose in Nashville, 2019. I was over the moon thrilled to have a quilt in the show! In fact, I spent too much time 'stalking' my quilt - standing away from it and watching to see people look at it.

Volunteering is one of my favorite things to do at QuiltCon, especially the Wednesday registration time period - you see so many friends and quilting royalty. A bit of both in this photo from Auston, 2020.

Top: Paige, Karen, Linda
Middle: Sarah, Jacquie, Kitty
Bottom: Tara, Anja, Christa

I had an amazing total of  4 quilts on display in the virtual QuiltCon Together in 2021. 

Boomerang - which was also featured as a pattern in QuiltCon magazine - along with Carnival,  Cartwheel and Astro. Astro was a MQG quilt of the month. 

I missed attending Phoenix in 2022 - too much Covid anxiety - but 3 of my quilts were there. Boomerang hung in the actual show (the MQG allowed quilts to be resubmitted that had been juried into QuiltCon Together.) 

I Believe in Dragons was part of the Small Quilt category.  (Read more about it here.)

Left Turn was part of the Hexagon Challenge.  (Read more about it here.)

QuiltCon in 2023 was in Atlanta. I had two quilts in the show. Patent Pending was a fun group quilt and I enjoyed doing 'ta da' photos with everyone.

 Linda @florishingpalms, Kitty @nightquilter, Charles @feltlikesweets, Val @valbetweenquilts, and Me (kneeling);2nd row Pat @peacockcreekdesigns and Sarah @saroy; Not pictured - Yvonne @quiltingjetgirl

My quilt Decade was part of the MQG 10th anniversary exhibit.

Finally, QuiltCon 2024 was in Raleigh, about 20 minutes away from my home which gave me lots of time for volunteering - still a favorite activity! I was fortunate enough to have 3 quilts in the show. Echo, which was also in QuiltCon magazine gallery, Mending Fences, and The Twist.

It's been a blast revisiting all these prior shows.

Phoenix, here I come!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Cute Economy Blocks - Progress Report

I love Ruby Star fabric and have been having great fun for months making economy blocks where the centers are from two panels. I've now got all the 4" x 4" finished squares sewn into 12" x 12" finished blocks.

When I made the nine patches, I payed attention to color and not necessarily the cute pattern inside the squares. As I result, I've got some fun unplanned combination. In the bottom row alone, there is a lion roaring at a turtle (center) and a bear giving side-eye to some gummy bears (right)!

This quilt is for us as a couch quilt and I look forward to discovery other fun 'vignettes' when the blocks are all sewn together.

Next up is to create blocks from all the 3" x 3" finished squares.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

New iPad Case

After purchasing a new iPad, I wanted a soft case to keep it protected especially when I carry it in a bag. Isn't this fabric from Ruby Star just perfect?

The gold works perfectly as both the lining and the accent on the front of the bag. I used two layers of fusible fleece to give it some thickness. No pattern for this one - I really just made it up as I went.

P.S. I have a tutorial that I wrote back in 2014 for making an iPad case which involves binding. 

Have a wonderful day! Patty

WIPs and UFOs

I recently pulled my orange peel quilt out of a project bag and promoted it from a UFO to a WIP!

For me, WIPs (works in progress) are projects I am actively working on even though they may be sitting untouched for weeks (or months?). While UFOs (unfinished objects) are projects that are currently abandoned and may or may not be something I intend to finish. (That make sense?)

I needed a handwork project for guild meetings - there is hand quilting in the orange peels - plus mocha moouse is the Pantone color of the year and matches well to one of the fabrics in this quilt!

Here are my other WIPs:

My economy blocks made with all Ruby Star fabrics. I need to count these all up and do an updated blog post. I've got a bunch more to make - they are all kitted up for a easy sew day.

My Blue Scraps quilt is a WIP that I hope to finish sometime this year in order to donate it but if I don't finish, no worries at all!

Granny squares! Really loving this project and already thinking about what I can crochet once this is all assembled. I make progress on this every day - even if it is only adding the round of white on a square.

These Sunny Blocks are at risk for moving from WIPs to UFOs but I've not given up on them yet. While the arcs are fun to FPP, sewing the block together is finicky.

Recently moved from the WIP to the UFO category are three projects. (There are at least two other projects sitting in the UFO category - my faux applique and my Rin blocks from 2018!) The first is a rainbow needle turned applique project (similar to this one) that perhaps will get some attention during upcoming travel time.

The second WIP-2-UFO is a quilt made with 4 blocks from the Local pattern QAL I was doing with friends. I ended up setting just these 4 together and have now folded away the quilt top to be finished (hopefully) someday.

The third WIP-2-UFO is a quilt top based on the blocks for the Seattle MQG's free BOM. It was perfect for using some coordinated large scraps. I ended up improvising some extra or different blocks in order to use my scraps on hand. Next up is to create a pieced back. This will be a donation quilt - hopefully finished later this year for for now it is parked in the UFO pile!

Finally, not  yet a WIP - just an aspirational pile of pretty fabrics that will someday become a queen-sized quilt!

I had been wanting to write this post for awhile - it is helpful for me to have this all listed in one place!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

My Explorer Tote

Yet another Noodlehead pattern for the win!

Did I need this bag? 

Not really. But it was great fun to make and I know I will put it to good use. I joined a couple of friends one afternoon to make our Explorer Totes and we had a blast.

Adding a zipper was optional - you could also go with a magnetic snap. The pattern instructions for adding a zipper were really good and I will likely refer to them when adding a zipper to a different pattern.

The back of the bag has two nice large pockets.

The fabric print is from a Zen Chic line Bluish. I used Soft & Stable and this turn lock. The lining was some scraps from (I think) an Art Gallery fabric.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Blue Scraps

Corralling my fabric stash so that it fits in the allotted storage area can be a challenge. A recent fabric purchase to support supplies for a queen-sized quilt displaced a bin of blue solid scraps from the bookshelf.

Instead of stashing them in a closet, I decided to use blue and other pops of color to make large pineapple blocks with a goal of creating a quilt to donate to my guild's community giving. The blocks are FPP using this paper. Its a great project to sit down and make when you just want something to sew.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Peachy Keen in Make Modern Issue 62

I'm thrilled to share that my quilt Peachy Keen is in the latest issue of Make Modern Magazine. The fabric choices for the quilt were inspired by the 2024 Pantone color of the year challenge. The quilt would look great in all different colorways.

Make Modern is a digital magazine. This is my fifth pattern to be published in their magazine! The others were Sequence (issue 23), Briar Rose (issue 27), Linked (issue 31), and Pickle Bird (issue 58). They are a wonderful team to work with and I would highly recommend them if you are looking for a way to have a quilt design published.

In addition to Peachy Keen, you'll find 8 other gorgeous quilt patterns plus a interesting way to turn EPP into bangles. There are also several articles including setting realistic goals for the new year and FMQ swirls.  

Issue 62 is available for purchase as an individual issue. Or, for more fun and more quilts, grab a one year subscription or an all access pass! 

Note: I am a Make Modern affiliate. 

Have a wonderful day! Patty

My Compass Bag

A new year, a new bag!

This is one of Noodlehead's older patterns - the Compass bag. I had great fun in the making process and fudged my way into a recessed zipper for the top of the bag.

I added a zipper pocket to the outside, perfectly sized for my phone. There is a zipper pocket inside. I plan to take this bag to QuiltCon next month. It should have all the room I need to carry basic stuff plus a small snack or two!

I intend to wear the bag as a crossbody - I love it. The fabric is a canvas by Ruby Star. 

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Welcome 2025!

The end of one year and the beginning of the next is a wonderful time to reflect on goals accomplished and to set new ones for the upcoming year.  I recently shared my Best of 2024 post and now I'll be linking up to Yvonne's #2025QuiltingPlanningParty.  I've filled this post with some eye candy of favorite finishes for the year because it is always fun to share them one more time. (The quilt above is my favorite finish of the year - something I use most days - read more here.)

(For reference, see my 2024 goal post and the mid-year check-in.)

Starting with my making and creativity related goals:

• I ended up making three quilts specifically to submit to QuiltCon although two of them served other purposes too! Arcturus was my first attempt at the fabric challenge for Phoenix and happily it was accepted. Peach Fuzz was my Pantone Challenge quilt (not accepted) but a pattern is coming soon. Finally, Stepping Stones was made for my guild challenge and to also have another fabric challenge entry.

• I donated two quilts to my guild charity this year, Scrappy HSTs made only fabric from stash (go me) and Lily which was at the request of Fat Quarter Shop. There is another donation quilt ready for quilting made entirely from stash that I hope to finish this year.

• I gave myself a goal to spend time playing and experimenting. Large curves showed up in my Arcturus quilt and I hade fun with the Project Quilting prompts - A Bit of Blue was my favorite make from that challenge. I started a new improv project and I also really had fun with the process of creating my Currents quilt. Relearning how to crochet and making lots of grannie squares was also a great example of focusing on this goal. Playtime will be an intention that I bring into this year.

I did reasonably well with my goal to keep my fabric stash so that it fit within the bookcases I currently have. Fabric purchases are project based with the exception of some solid colors that I always want on hand. At the time of this writing, everything is nicely organized so lets hope it stays that way! 

I did generally achieve my goal of blogging 1-2 times weekly and my monthly newsletter got some updates that are working for me.

Six Hours

I give myself a big high five for working on general well being goals. I walk or swim daily and added a twice weekly strength training practice. I also make time to create, read and nap most days. Spending time with friends was also important and a focus I want to carry forward. The quilt above Six Hours was made with 5 friends on a quilting weekend at the beach this past fall.

Rainbows

Moving into 2025, I have similar intentions for the year:

• Enter at least one new quilt into QuiltCon 2026 (Raleigh!)
• Finish at least one scrap quilt to be donated to my guild's community giving project.
• Make time to play and always have at least 2 different kinds of handwork WIPs
• Continue blogging at least once weekly and post finishes on IG - I want my grid to be filled with all the good stuff!
• Focus on my personal well being by making time to exercise, to read, to rest, to relax with friends, and - most importantly - recognize joy in every day.

Thanks for taking the time to read through my post. I wish you a happy and creative 2025!

Have a wonderful day! Patty