A Busy Week

Can it be just a week ago that I was in Thousand Oaks?

It seems like months.....it's been so busy here with work, market prep, the responsibilities of life.

I'm so excited to tell you all about the new plans, and show the new patterns, but for now, here's so student work from last weekend....

Laying at Lauren's to choose the interior background. We loved the burgundy. Can't wait to see this one all finished up next Month!

This one is Lorns's.....we reversed the values on the feathered star portion, and it is stunning! 

Happy Quilting!

Cat

Market Prep

Well, it's getting down to the wire here. I leave for Market in exactly 2weeks. Hard to believe it is here so quickly. I have 6 new patterns plus a Block of the Month to release.....I have 5 of the quilts back from the quilter, and one more due back on Monday, so it is bind and photo time around here....piles like this are all over the house.....and quilts in different states of binding are scattered all around....time to get some good rom-coms and settle in for a major hand sewing session....

What are you working on?

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

New Class Bookings

Just a quick drop in to let everyone know that I have a few new upcoming classes.....

We'll be doing the Celebration Tree Skirt at Memory Lane Quilt Shop in El Cajon in November, on the 16th and 17th.

We've also added a whole new series at Memory Lane, including Mariner's Compass and Bali Wedding Star!!!! Chris, Tina and I have been planning this one since before I became a Certified Instructor...and we finally found dates that work for everyone. Super stoked about it!!!

New Stuff in the Shop

I can't believe it is October...the summer has flown by, everyone is back in school, and Christmas is less that 100 days away. I simply can't believe how quickly this year has flown!!!

In a year of flying times....I wanted to introduce you to a few new patterns, some of which were previewed at Market in May, bust are just now getting to the shop shelves.

Osprey's Nest
I love this quilt. As usual, a picture never does it justice....it is simply breathtaking in person. And so far, I haven't seen any wild version of it, but I have one in my own vision -- black and white log cabins, with lime green, bright yellow and violet "parrots" instead of geese.......

Followed by the newest in the Wedding Ring Series --- Princess Tiara --- This uses the Wedding Ring Ruler set to cut the asteroids, and a lovely pieced "crown" in the arcs. I NEED this one for the business, don't you think??? I really like the blue version on the pattern cover sheet, so perhaps I will stick with Judy's color way on this one.....scary right???

And here is another from the Wedding Ring series, this one is super modern, with minimal paper piecing (in the sawtooth melons) -- it is done using the ruler templates....and is lovely. It is called Art Deco.

And finally -- Compass Rose......a tablerunner pattern, with enough papers to be a bed runner (there are enough papers for 8 compass blocks). I finished my sample of this one a few weeks ago, and quickly sent it off to Quilt in a Day in San Marcos, CA, where I will be teaching in on Sunday, October 20th. If you are interested in taking the class, call the shop and reserve a spot, as there are only 12 spots total for the class. 

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Market Madness Has Begun

Officially.

It technically started a while back, but I am really feeling the pressure the last few days, as the fabrics come in, need cutting, samples being made, and bound and generally requiring lots of hours of dedicated sewing/quilting/writing all at once.

Not sure how much time I will have here on the blog, since I have 3 teaching weekends in the midst of the run up to market, and am still proofing patterns, and doing bindings (and one or two late designed quilts that I HAD to make).....you know what they same about inspiration??? Grab it while you can, so I did. Love the result but not the drama of getting in pieced, quilted, bound, written, proofed, photographed and printed in just over 3 weeks!!! Oh Vey!!! One day I will learn!!! (Didn't I say that last year???).

Maybe I should write books instead, you have to turn them in ages before the come out in print, perhaps I should change my approach??? Or maybe I should publish patterns as they get pieced, quilted and bound and not "save them" for market??? But then they would be in last season's fabrics, and that's no fun!!! Oh, the options to think about when you are procrastinating!!!! I need to go make dinner and do laundry, and to be honest I am sewed out for the day, but cleaning doesn't seem like fun either!!!!

Since I am going to be a little less bloggy due to my schedule, make sure you are following me on twitter (@queeniequilts), instagram (@queeniequilts) and on facebook, as I do update those more frequently.

Happy Quilting....

Catherine

Procrastinating

I should be beavering away on quilts for market...it's just a few weeks from now!

Instead, tonight I am procrastisewing. That is procrastinating on the items you should be sewing but still sewing....

I did some fiddly super precise work earlier this evening, so I wanted something mindless, so I turned on an old rerun of Bonnie Hunter's Quilt-Cam, pulled out an old easy-peazy UFO and got to work.

This project is at least 10 years old. At least....I remember buying the fabric as a bundle at the Quilt Room in Dorking, Surrey, U.K. while I lived abroad, and I have been back in the states for 9 years.....(hard to believe, but we'll leave that or another post!). 

Anyway, it is called Giselle, and I think it is Robyn Pandolph while she was at South Seas, but I'm not sure, and there is no selvedge, so no evidence. I remember that it came as fat quarter meters. And I know that I had to buy multiples to get all of the prints, so they must have been store made FQ packs.....there are 8 prints, and I planned a simple 4inch square random placement, very shabby chic look. Which became very boring.....big wide strips, and just piece them into paired strips, and then pairs of pairs, etc, etc, etc.

I only got to the pairs of pairs part before I gave up the ghost and moved on to something else. Giselle has been a UFO ever sense. She is not the only 1, in fact there are about 40 in the quilting closet that are partially finished. And I am on a mission o reorganize, declutter and simplify, and that has meant evaluating all the UFOs.....giving away pieces and parts, redeploying fabrics to the stash that I no longer like in the pairing, and prioritizing the list. That prioritization started in early August, since I knew I wanted all UFOs completed by December 2014. I sorted and rated and ordered all 43 projects, with a plan to blog through the UFO destruction process as part of the 2014 plan of events.

So, back to Giselle....here she is as I pulled her out of the box. 48 combos of 4 - 4 inch strips. In desperate need of pressing. 

I pressed and subcut them, and the started pairing the pieces.....

So they look like this....

Next up......pairs of pairs. And sleep, lots of sleep, because Giselle is kinda boring sewing folks. But good procrastination.

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Glacier Star - class 4

We had our 4th Glacier Star session this week at Cotton and Chocolate in Thousand Oaks. Fun was had by all.....we worked on the snowflake center, which is by far the hardest segment in the quilt. And now we are masters of the snowflake. Looking forward to next month and getting started on assembly of the curved piecing.....

Just a few teaser pics from class....

Pam's version....we did the alternate to put the green one on the top point. Love it!

Patty's laid out on the table....love this colorway!

Wendy's version.....We are doing a different alternate for hers.... Alternating the center star with 2 greens, one print, one solid.

Vicki's version.... This one reminds me of Oregon.....lush greens and pristine blue skies.

That's all the pics I managed to take....though most people finished their snowflakes, I was obviously a bag class historian this month. I promised to be better next month!

Happy Quilting!

Catherine