HEART OF WINTER TOUR



Heart of Winter Tour, Saturday, February 12.  Above is the Attic Window's  Heart of Winter Tour Quilt sample.  Isn't it lovely?  It's not even in my colors and I just love it.  Each participant who goes on the tour will receive a free pattern at one of the participating shops so, at the end of the tour you will have the complete pattern for this quilt.  Fabric kits using the Kansas Troubles fabrics by Moda are also available for purchase.  There are still seats available.  Come join us  this Saturday, February 12.   No need to worry about the weather or road conditions.  Just sit back and ride in a warm, comfortable bus.  A bus will pick you up at the Attic Window Quilt Shop, then take you to Around the Block in Portland.  From there you will go to Quilts Plus in Kalamazoo, where you will enjoy lunch, and then on to Quilted Memories in Montague, then back to the Attic Window.  The hours are approximately 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. For the price of $40 you will ride in luxury while you talk to your quilting friends, receive lunch, free patterns for the above winter project, and watch demos at each store.  This is a fun trip and will help you get rid of those mid winter blues.  Besides, who doesn’t want/need to get out of the house after that snowstorm?  Call the Attic Window for reservations.   

Saturday was First Saturday Bee and Judi shared her latest finish. She made it from the pattern I blogged about here.  She said it was quick and easy.  I love the modern feel to it.

I hope I haven’t shown you this before. It seems so appropriate for this time of year. Check out this PDF file for a Cute As A Button Quilt.

Allie-Oops Sweet Happy Life has a tutorial for a darling Castle Doors Needle book. Check out her Christmas Through the Year project too.  You can participate any time you wish.
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Stay Positive!
Caroll

SARA’S FOLLY

When I stopped in at the Attic Window Quilt Shop Saturday, I found Sarabeth Carr with this beautiful quilt. She calls it Sara’s Folly for a reason. She told me that several years ago she found pieces of fabric in an old cedar chest belonging to her mother. Some of these pieces were cut into the shape of leaves. She also found an envelope with 1934 written on it. Inside was a sketched design and directions as to how to put the quilt together. Sarabeth took those small pieces of old 30’s fabrics and made this beautiful quilt. Note: these pieces were not fused on but are turned under and hand stitched. Saturday she was looking for binding. Sarabeth’s words of wisdom: Make sure you have enough binding before you sew it onto your quilt. She was short about two feet and looking for the same fabric. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to find old 30s fabrics like this? They always look so fresh and clean against a white background. Great job Sarabeth and thanks for sharing! (Click on picture for a larger/closer view)

I was also looking for fabric and found the cute owl fabric. It is What a Hoot by Exclusively Quilter.

Any child will love a quilt made with this What a Hoot fabric.

Not up to a quilt? How about making a pillowcase. These are small “camper” pillowcases. Really cute.
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Chiseled In Cloth has some cute animal patterns. These free, easy to appliqué quilt blocks will fit comfortably on a rectangle of fabric 7.5” x 9.5”. Each of the patterns is designed with a beginner in mind. Check it out!
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Until next time,

Caroll

SHOW AND TELL AT THE ATTIC WINDOW

I have a couple other pictures to show you from my trip to the Attic Window Quilt Shop last Tuesday. I had to take a picture of this quilt that Virginia is making. She made this Grandmother’s Flower Garden completely by hand and now is hand quilting it. She has been working on it for about two years. Isn’t it beautiful!

I can’t get over this pieced work by Mary Holt (Maggie’s mother). It is awesome. Each 16 patch square is made up of 1 ½ inch blocks. The pinwheel blocks are 4 ½ inches square. Notice how expertly each piece is put together. All the seams match, all the points are pointy. I am in awe of such wonderful work.

I recently did an interview with Blog Interviewer. It’s about how this blog got started. If you are interested, check it out.

I’ve also been asked to be a contributor to Pins & Needles and today I posted about a new book at the Attic Window Quilt Shop. It’s by a Michigan author. Check it out.

In fact, when I was on the new blog Pins & Needles, I saw this free stitchery pattern that you might like. Take a look here.

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Until next time,
Caroll

MAKE IT AND TAKE IT STUDENT WORK

We had a Make It And Take It yesterday at the Attic Window Quilt Shop and the reverse appliqué technique was taught. Sharon has her piece all ready to sew. The students said (promised) they would bring back their finished project the last Tuesday in April so we could view the finished items and ask questions. REMEMBER your commitment gals, you promised. Besides, blog readers want to see them too!

After they chose their fabrics and made design decisions, the women got down to work.

You have to really think before you cut when doing reverse applique. Otherwise, you may be doing regular applique rather than reverse applique. Fortunately, these students didn't have that problem. Great students who followed directions!

The class was only two hours long so they got right down to work.

I'm looking forward to seeing their finished projects. Some women chose from various large flower designs. One student drew her own design. I can't wait to see her butterfly. Next post I'll show you a picture of the upcoming Make It and Take IT project scheduled for next week. This project is sure to make you think of those summer days ahead.

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Caron Mosey has a darling BOM on her site. Check it out.

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Until next time,

Caroll

LET SCRAPS BE YOUR INSPIRATION

This week I would like to introduce you to Gerry Cavanaugh who is truly my inspiration. She has made seven quilts from her scrap box. Month after month, she would bring in her beautiful quilts to the Attic Window Quilt Shop First Saturday Bee and tell us how she made each one “just from scraps.”

The picture above shows Gerry’s latest creation. She said she still has 135 balls to appliqué on the border, but you can see it is going to be a beautiful quilt.

Like most of us, the New Year threw me into a cleaning/organizing frenzy. Once into that project my large pile of scraps appalled me. I had several options. I could make cute little crafty items, from jewelry to eyeglass cases to pin cushions. However, I am a quilter. I wanted to quilt. Another option is that I could just trash them. No! Absolutely not! There is something in my blood that will not let me just throw them away. They are worth something. I can make something beautiful with them. Jerry’s quilts were proof of that. I turned to Gerry for help.

Gerry said that last March she decided that she needed extra space. While cleaning and reorganizing, she decided she had to do something about her scraps. Like me, she could not just throw them out and started going through magazines and pattern books looking for designs to make with her scraps. The above nine-patch is completely made of scraps.

After spending eight hours ironing each little scrap in my scrap box, I called Gerry to ask what I should do now. I have heard of various ways to sort scraps but could not bring myself to cut all my scraps into little squares and sort by size. Sorting by color made more sense to me. Gerry said that at first she didn’t cut her scraps but did sort by size. She realized she had a pile of strips and made this beautiful strip quilt pictured above. She said that she would recommend using up your strips first. (See here for instructions for the above quilt) You can then cut your left over strips into squares for the next project. She said that when considering the next quilt she would move to the next size down, maybe using five-inch squares, and design her quilt around that. After that, she would make a quilt with 2 ½ in squares, then use up the 1 ½ inch squares. If you have triangles, put them together to make squares.

I am so imspired and hope you are too. I'm off to sew strips and hope there is a good program on TV tonight. I will keep you updated on my progress. Thanks Gerry for all your help. Your quilts are beautiful and inspiring.

Raspberry Rabbits has a free stitchery pattern. Each month there will be a new, happy and positive sentiment for you to stitch.
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Until next time,
Caroll

NEW SAMPLES AND STUDENT PROJECTS

Above is a purse that student Geri made. It has scads of pockets for all those special items. Don’t you just love her fabric and how she fussy cut the outside pocket? And how about that button! It’s special too. She does such good work! Thanks for sharing Geri.

The above Sewing Caddy samples are made by Sue for her class on April 23. The pattern is free when you sign up for the class. They are so cute and so handy to have. Stop by and take a look at the Attic Window Quilt Shop.

This is another student project. Yvonne showed us her Relay for Life quilt. Don’t you just love these cute fabrics? She had lots of leftover fabric so she made several purses that will be sold with the money going to Relay for Life. Thanks so much Yvonne. You do beautiful work and are truly an angel to do this.

Teachers Julie, Barb and Vickie put together kits during the Attic Window teacher’s meeting Friday night. The newsletter will be out this week. Look for it in your mailbox or you can read it on the blog. These women have lots of new classes planned for you and the promise of lots of fun.

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Molly Chicken has a tutorial for the cutest Easter birdy. Something just in time for that special child, or the child in you.

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Until Next Time: Happy Quilting!