October Month End Update

Well, it is mid-November, almost. I can't quite believe that it is already the 8th of November....I like these posts to be completed by the 2nd or 3rd AT THE LATEST.... And yet, we are firmly on the 8th, and I am just sitting down to get my thoughts together to get started....

In terms of sewing and quilting, I haven't gotten much done this month, with the travel and prep for Market and Festival, there wasn't a lot of time to sew, other than market sewing. I spent the early part of October doing market prep, aka super secret sewing. The patterns were released on the 21st, and available for shipping now. They made their official debut in Houston on the 25th. As a result, there was very little Judy sewing completed this month....though I did get some quilts back from Montana...

So, on that note, back to the project list....

The goals as stated at the new year are in black, amendments (changes/additions, etc) are in blue, and status is red....

Piecing
1. Captain's Wheel complete and sent to the quilter in February.
2. Celtic Wave (Queen) - Piece Along to start in mid-February! complete and sent to the quilter in July.
3. Flower's for My Wedding Ring - Didn't make much progress on this one this month. October - did nothing on this one, no one single thing.
4. Scrappy Trip Layout completed and labeled, just need some time to sew. October - Bonnie was here and spoke at my guild this month, so I did at least pull it out and prep borders.
5. Osprey's Nest Done. Closed.
6. Hawaiian/Prairie Star - Added in April, I have cut it all out. and I will be taking it on retreat this weekend. So fingers crossed a lot will get accomplished. Got nothing accomplished on this one.....
7. Fire Island Hosta Queen - Added in April. I have cut this one out as well. I should take it to retreat, but that might mean I get neither done...so we'll have to see. Done. Hanging at Cozy Quilt Shop in San Diego for a class that starts in September.

Quilting
1. Winter Wonderland - I got it back and I love it. I posted some pics, and did a blog post.
2. Glacier Star - Handed over to the quilter while I was in Montana. Headed back my way.
3. Mariner's Compass done. Quilted and bound.
4. Compass Rose - done. and blogged. 
5. Meandering Star - done. 
6. Captain's Wheel - at the quilter
7. Celtic Wave Queen - sent to Montana for quilting
8. Flower's for My Wedding Ring - 
9. Scrappy Trip
10. Osprey's Nest - Done.
11. Feathered Star Queen - sent to Montana

Pattern Writing
1. 2014 Block of the Month - starts on January 13th! - Done. started February 13th. whole year worth of patterns have been scheduled!!! We found an issue with these....all of the posts that had been scheduled before the July 1 blogger update were corrupted, so once I get back from Market (or maybe while I am there), I will get these reposted!!! Sorry folks!!!
2. 5 new patterns for spring market - all done!!! 
3. 5 new patterns for fall market - all done!!!

Other projects :
1. Amazon Star finished
2. Pepperdish finished - no change
3. Crackers finished - complete
4. Feathered Star Queen finished - complete
5. Project Destash - current total is --57.25. October - I should be happy that I didn't buy an fabric this month, but I must admit that I also didn't really burn through as much as I wanted to either. 48 fat quarters were used in the making on my market quilts, along with 12 1/2 yards of backs, and 3 3/4 yards of bindings. Several of my quilts were made with fabric that was gifted from Hoffman Fabrics, but I used all of it, so I haven't counted it here....total of October -29 1/2 yards. Total yards used : -88 3/4. Not bad.... Maybe I can get to -100 by the end of the year. That's only -6 yards for November and December, of course it is mid-November, and I have some as of yet unreported November buys....


November Sewing Plan
Due to all of the travel plans this month, and the prep for a super secret visit in December, I am not sure how much sewing will get accomplished, but I do have some things I want to get done, including  an IG Swap, and a Disney Swap....so maybe there are some things that will happen, and maybe not....

How are your quilty goals going this year???

Have you started thinking about next year????

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Quilt Along Quilt Along - Here we come

It's that time again, to work on a new Quilt Along. For those of you who haven't done one of these, it's really simple....we pick a project, I put together a schedule, and then we work on it.....it's an accountability and completion strategy for me as much as a teaching opportunity. I walk you through any questions on the pattern, and give pointers on specific topics..and take lots of in process pictures, and you work on it, and send me any questions....

So, this quarter, we are working on Stormy Seas by Judy Niemeyer. It's a great classic setting, and whether you use it as a table runner or Bedrunner, it will be amazing.

The original is done is Edyta Sitar's new line from Moda, a combination of batiks and cotton prints is shades of cream, caramel and blue. I will be making mine from a combination of Kansas Troubles prints, since it will be a gift for a friend....but I'm jumping ahead....

Here's the schedule :

November 15th - official start of Week 1 : fabric selection and preparation, since this is a smaller quilt, we have left less time than normal for this piece. So, please start early if you can...since you only have the weekend according to the official schedule.

November 17th - 23rd - Week 2 : Bag 1 Sewing

November 24th - 30th - Week 3 : Bag 2 Sewing

December 1st - 7th - Week 4 : Bag 3 Sewing

December 8th - December 14th : Bag 4 Sewing

December 15th - December 22nd : Assembly : Curves and S Curves

And that's it. Of course, in there is that pesky Thanksgiving holiday, and all of the Christmas shopping and preparations that are going on, so I know this May be a bit to commit to for some of you. If it's not the right time of year, or just not the right project right now, just keep sewing on whatever you are working on. Enjoy it. It's your time for your hobby, so make the most of it! You can always refer back to the posts next year....

So, until I see you again, happy fabric selecting!

Catherine

Market Release #5 - Parallel Universe

This is my favorite of all of the quilts that I made for Market this year. It's a large quilt, clocking in at queen size. I found the border by accident and grabbed all that was left on the bolt. It is a Moda batik, and the first time I had purchased their batiks. I have used their regular cotton prints for most of my quilting life, but they only moved into the batik side about 5 years ago, and their selection of batiks is still small relative to their cotton line, and since I live in Southern California, just down the street from Island Batiks, and just down the road from Hoffman Fabrics of California, there aren't a lot of the Moda batiks on the shelves here. But this one.....This one is lovely. A navy background with multi-colored dots in yellow, red, pink, green and orange. I used the print to pull all of the other prints, in navy, lime, sun, turquoise, hot pink, tangerine, and a hint of red....

The blocks are big on this one, so the quilt works up really fast...I could easily see this one in other combinations : red and blue only for 4th of July, red and green only for Christmas, or purple, lime green and black for Halloween....or reproduction prints, or Bonnie and Camille's Daysail. The blocks are big enough to show off fussy cutting squares, and those larger prints.

I hope you will enjoy this one as much as I have.....Parallel Universe.....

The lovely swirly quilting was done by Kerry Smith of Escondido, under a super short deadline, and as always she came through and I love, love, love the quilting!!! The swirls are perfect on the angular piecing. Did I mention I love it?

Well, this completes my updates on all of the patterns from Market. International Quilt Festival opens today at 5pm, and goes through Sunday. Look out next week for information on the show and all of the people we meet...we are expecting 50,000+ quilters to descend upon Houston in the next few days.....If you are at Festival, stop by booth 1714 and see them in person.

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine

Market Release #4 - Starry Starry Night

Starry Starry Night was the first quilt that was designed for this market. I've had it on paper for a while, but didn't get around to making it until mid-September....it was one that just languished in a drawing form for a long time....

Here are the outtakes from the photoshoot.....

This quilt is a combination of batiks, the border print and background are by Robert Kaufman, and the stars are a combination of Hoffman prints and 1895's.  

Of all of the quilts that were made for this Market, this is the one that Penny the Dog kept trying to steal. At every stage she either stole blocks, laid on the middle of the blocks, or attempted to steal the finished quilt.....she seams to think that her cute face means she gets whatever she wants.....

See, that gleam in her eye.....

I hope everyone has a great week, it may be a little quiet here as we participate in Quilt Festival which runs from Wednesday night at 5, through Sunday at 4pm. 

Hope to see you all there, and have a great week in the meantime!!!

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Make a List Monday

Make a List Monday is brought to you from Quilt Market. It is the final day of Quilt Market, the three day trade show to show off all the new trends, fabrics, notions, and quilting paraphernalia.....

I'm in booth #1714 and having a blast......I have a lot of blog posts to catch up on from Market, and prep for Quilt Festival, which starts on Wednesday evening.....so, for this week, no sewing. Just shows and travel between now and November 6th....so, here's a quick peak of what to expect this week....

This one is from a Sassafras...and was the newest hit....they were everywhere....in their own booth....

In the dear Stella booth....

In hoffman's booth....

In American Made Brand solids booth....

Simply stunning everywhere!

Stay tuned for a Judy Market Trunk Show.....at Anthology, Hoffman, RJR, Timeless Treasures, everywhere!!!!

See you soon!

Catherine

It's that time again -- Sew Along Starts November 15th

It's time to start thinking about the new edition of a Sew Along. I've been thinking about it for a couple of weeks, trying to figure out which quilt to do next, and I've got it down to three, and it's your chance to set the priority...so, let me know which one you want to work on and I'll work on the schedule over the next few weeks, with the intention to start on November 15th...so far, the options are...

Option 1 - Flower's for My Wedding Ring - a classic wedding ring, with gorgeous corner appliqué.
Since we haven't done one with appliqué yet, I thought it might be a fun new technique to cover.....

Option 2 - Stormy Seas - A relatively new pattern for a table runner. This one might be a good option because of the time of year.....I know a lot of people have Christmas and Thanksgiving commitments, and this one has a lot less sewing that some of the others. New Techniques to cover include the S curve.

Option 3 - Prairie Pinwheels - This pattern was released at Spring Market and is a really quilt strip pieced technique. I sewed one of the original samples in Reclaimed West in just a couple of days, so this one might be another good option given the time of year. 

 Option 4 - Ice Crystals - one of the newest released patterns, this one is a quick and easy one as well, based upon the glacier star center medallion, and is appropriate to the season.

SO, that's my four current recommendations...and I am looking for your input on which one to do next.....My plan is to start on it during the week of November 15th, and finish sometime in late December or early January, depending upon which one we pick.....I will also be doing some You-Tube videos to go with the weekly posts, giving you some more info on how to work on it....

Which one is your favorite???

Happy Quilting!

Catherine

Market Release #3 - Simply Strippy

This quilt was inspired by simplicity. I wanted something that would be quick, would use a bali pop, and would leave a small amount of scraps. This one is made of the new Bali Pop called Mercury -- a great blend of yellow, orange, and green 1895s, that has a great modern vibe. I will definitely be carrying this one in the store when they are delivered in February. Here's some outtakes from photo day....the quilt is 45 x 54.

The quilting was done by the amazing Kerry Smith of Escondido, CA, and the fabrics were provided by Hoffman Fabrics of California. 

Happy Quilting!!!

Catherine