MAKE THIS TABLE TOPPER WITH VICKIE S.

Vickie’s Stripology class is this Friday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  Wouldn’t you like to join the group and make this beautiful table runner?  Just call the shop to register.

 If you haven't taken a class from Vickie you are missing something as she is an excellent teacher.

Vickie recently taught the Spiral Lone Star quilt and this is her instruction board mock up.  No question about what she means here.

 Vickie also teaches the One Block Wonder Class.  While at the Shop today I got to see the various table toppers you can make in her class.

 I like the idea of table toppers as my piecing skills are not that great and I'd never attempt a big quilt, but would love to make one of these smaller items.

Above, Vickie shows us the striped fabric that was used to make the blue table topper.  Wouldn't it be fun to take this class!

 Speaking of Vickie's classes, Judi A. send me this picture of her No Measure Bargello class that she took from Vickie.

Judi also sent me this picture of Peggy who took a recent NYB class from Vickie.  Great fun quilts!  Thank you Judi for sending the pictures!

HAPPENING THIS WEEK: 

• Mod Squad, Wednesday, Oct. 28
• Doll Bee, Thursday, Oct. 29
• Stripology, Friday, Oct. 30

Be sure and check the calendar on the Sidebar for more happenings at the Attic Window Quilt Shop this week.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

• Fun Threads has a tutorial for adding an inside pocket and an outside zipper pocket.

♥ Caroll, 
Caring , Sharing and Creating Smiles

JUDI'S LONE STAR SWIRL ALMOST FINISHED

Judi A. sent me this picture of her beautiful Lone Star Swirl quilt.  We began working on these a couple months ago at our Happy Scrapper’s Bee.  It looks like Judi is all finished and has it layered and pinned, ready to quilt!  This is absolutely stunning, Judi.  Thanks for sharing it with us!

ON ANOTHER NOTE:  Did you go check out the Row By Row Shop Hop website?  This is a must for anyone traveling this summer.  I talked more about it on yesterday’s post. You won’t want to miss this. 

Fabric Mutt has a tutorial for a darling Seat Stash.  Check it out!

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

HAPPY SCRAPPERS - MORE WORK ON LONE STAR

The Happy Scrappers met Saturday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop and a fun time was had by all.  It will take me a couple of days to tell you all about it.  Vickie once again provided us with detailed instructions as to how to proceed with our Lone Star Swirl Quilt.

 Above she demonstrates how we should put the diamonds and squares together.  She will be starting another class on how to make this Lone Star Swirl quilt.  Watch the calendar for upcoming dates and times.

Here she helps Judi place her diamonds and arcs on a wall board, deciding which colors look best where.

Here is what they came up with.  This is going to be a stunning quilt.

As is this one!  This is Diana’s quilt.  She placed it on her wall board so I could get a picture.

Vickie is so helpful and demonstrates each step we need to follow.  Above she shows Peggy how to block a diamond.  I was so lucky because I was way behind in that step and while I was working on my arcs Vickie continued her demos and blocked all my diamonds for me!  Thank so much Vickie!

We had some show and share that day too.  Above Nancy shows us her lovely Lone Star quilt that she had made several years ago.

Val showed us her scrap jar quilt.  Check out that cute little frog in the top right corner.

This is Val’s Sweet Shop quilt.

This is a close up of Val’s appliquéd chocolates and the cute little spider.  Tomorrow  I’ll tell you something else Val did.

This photo shows us working away!  It was so nice to see Stephanie!  It makes us feel so good and wanted when someone spends an hour on the road to come sew with us.  We appreciate that! You can read more about Stephanie by going to the Great Lakes Modern Guild Blog. 

This is such a fun group to spend the day with.  Above JanaLee, Cathy, and Rosa have a good laugh!

Hope you will come visit tomorrow when I’ll share more of the Happy Scrapper’s antics!  If I get permission I’ll show you the handsome man who stopped by that day.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:  I love this quilt and it seems fitting that I should link to something scrappy today.  Fabric Therapy has a tutorial for a Strippy Scrappy Flippy Happy block!

Also:  Check out Bejeweled Quilts to find a link to a fabric Easter Basket Pattern. 

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

YOU CAN MAKE THIS LONE STAR

The Happy Scrappers met again Wednesday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.  Most of us continued working on the Lone Star Spiral Quilt that we started last Saturday.  It really was a full working day.  Above is Catherine’s mock-up of the quilt she is going to make.

Of course, our wonderful teacher Vickie was there to guide us every step of the way.  I can’t say enough about Vickie’s teaching skills.  I would never have attempted a quilt like this without her by my side.

Above Vickie demonstrates how we should sub cut our strip sets on a 45 degree angle.

She stressed how we must keep our sets together and tagged so we will not become mixed up when creating our diamonds.

Above, we watch as Vickie shows us how to create the diamonds using one strip for four different strip sets.  This is where you could easily become confused if you don’t follow Vickie’s instructions.

Once Judi A. had her strip sets sewn together, Vickie showed us how to block the diamond.  It is important that each diamond be precisely pressed to the same size in order for your quilt to go together nicely.

Above, Judi shows us her first completed diamond, all pressed and ready to go into her quilt.

 Diana worked on her mock-up.  I love these bright colors that she has chosen for her quilt.   We all have our work cut out for us until we meet again in April.

IN THE MEANTIME, DON'T FORGET THESE UPCOMING EVENTS:

• Strip Street Bag class on Saturday, March 15th from 10-3.  
• The Modern Bee meets Wednesday, March 26th from 10-4
• The Applique Bee will meet Tuesday, March 25th from 1-4.
• THE SPRING CLEAN-UP SALE is Thursday, March 20th through Saturday, March 22nd.  You will want to take advantage of this stupendous sale! 
• There is a Stitch-In on Friday, March 21st from 10-6.  I understand a paper-pieced block will be taught.  The Stitch-In continues through Saturday, March 22nd, 10-5.

MORE UP COMING EVENTS AT THE ATTIC WINDOW QUILT SHOP:

• 7th ANNUAL SPRING FLING SHOP HOP, March 28th through April 5th.  Six west Michigan shops are included with giveaways at each shop.  Passports can be purchased for $5 at any shop.  Visit the shop to sign up for a drawing and receive a free pattern.  At the end of the shop hop there will be a drawing for a sewing machine from completed passports.  Participating shops are:  Attic Window Quilt Shop; Calico Creations (South Haven); Custom Quilts Unlimited (Fennville); Pressing Matters Quilt Shoppe (Holland); Queen Bee Quilt Shoppe (Grand Rapids); So South Haven (South Haven).  
• The Quilter’s Road Trip is April.  12 Shops are participating.  Passports are $5.  Each shop chose a different month for its wallhanging.  Chris chose January because she loves snowmen.  Secretly she’s afraid we’ll all be made at her for choosing snowmen since we are so sick of snow here in Michigan.  I don’t think she needs to worry because that snowman is so darn cute!  Patterns and kits are available for purchase.

ON ANOTHER NOTE:  Bee in My Bonnet has a tutorial for a notebook cover.

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll

BEST TEACHER EVER!

When Vickie S. brought this quilt to show-n-tell at one of the Happy Scrapper’s meetings last year at the Attic Window Quilt Shop, we all gasped in awe!  What a stunning quilt.  We begged her to tell us about it and cried that we wanted to make one too.  We finally wore her down and she agreed to help us make our own Swirl Lone Star Quilt.

She told us that this (above) was the first Swirl quilt she made and that she learned a lot while making that quilt.  She said she was not happy with her first quilt and made another, which is the first picture above.  Vickie must be a born teacher.  I think she is one of the best teachers I’ve ever heard.  She came prepared with all the tips and tricks we needed to know to make this quilt.  

 We are using the book Loan Star Quilts And Beyond by Jane Ann Jan Krentz.  This book is filled with wonderful designs and Vickie pointed out that you needn’t make a swirl quilt and if you would rather, the book has lots of instructions for other more traditional quilts. 

Vickie said when she made her first quilt that she was not happy with it because she did not get enough contrast in her colors and lost her points in the background.  She said when making a swirl quilt you must think about contrast.  She said she found that is why it is important to first make a mock up of your quilt.  This will help you decide on colors so you won’t lose your points in your background fabric and also help keep you from getting confused and lose your swirl when you put your quilt together.  The above mock-up is made using Japanese fabrics from her stash.

Talk about preparation!  Vickie made several mock-ups to help us see how the quilt would look using different colors and different fabrics.  

This is another mock-up using reds and blue greens.

This one uses Christmas fabrics.

This one is in earth tone fabrics.

Vickie distributed her tips and techniques that she learned when making three of these quilts.  

Vickie has a wonderful color sense too and showed us how she designed her quilt and why she chose certain colors. 

Vickie spent all day with us helping us choose fabrics and helping us prepare our mock-up.  Above she helps Judi A. with her layout.

This is Judi’s mock-up.  Vickie is a wonderful teacher, informative and inspiring.  I went to Happy Scrappers that morning thinking I was not going to make this quilt. It required way too much piecing for me.  Besides, I did not need to start another project.  I did not need to buy any more fabric.  By the end of the day I was so inspired that I purchased new fabrics and hope to get my mock-up made ASAP.  

Vickie will be at the Wednesday Happy Scrappers meeting and repeat her instructions for those who could not attend on Saturday and help those interested in choosing fabrics and making your mockup.  We can’t thank Vickie enough for her generosity! 

ON ANOTHER NOTE: My Quilt Infatuation has a tutorial for a simple tablet sleeve.
 

Until next time,
♥
Stay Calm! Stay Kind! Stay Positive!
Caroll