Sewing Machine Quilt Pattern Launch!

Announcing my latest pattern - The Sewing Machine Quilt!

This one was a long time coming. But it is finally here and I'm excited to share it with you. It includes:

- Improv and Precision Piecing instructions

- Two blocks sizes: 10'' and 20'' (finished)

- Quilt layout suggestions

- Fabric requirements for quilts from Mini to King

It is available in print and PDF. Contact me for wholesale orders.

This was the quilt that brought me out of a big creative slump. I was struggling to get going and find joy in my piecing, I was burnt out. A teaching gig came along and changed everything. It was an Improv class at Quilt Canada, a most traditional of shows. My students came with open minds and a spirit of adventure. They completely changed everything for me. At one point in the class I always have them throw out ideas for shapes we could piece improvisationally. Just like an improv comedy show! Someone suggested sewing machine. Yes, a sewing machine. I got so excited by the idea that the day I came home I think I made a half dozen of them. It was game on after that. I got excited to create again. 

Buy the pattern here.

If you would like some guidance with Improv or more on the thought process on a pattern like this check out my Creative Live classes on Improv Basics and Translating Inspiration.

With piecing options and all the directions to get you going any which way you like this pattern acts like a guide. It is a love letter to the main tool in our quilting arsenal. 

Mod Christmas Tree Take 2 - In Modern Patchwork

It's that time of year! Snow and Christmas trees and frenzied making. Cookies and cocoa and stress. It's all there. In the midst of it I hope everyone gets at least one moment to step back and appreciate their favourite parts.

My favourite part, as long time readers know, is the tree. Not so much the tree up and all sparkly and covered in handmade ornaments, but the getting of the tree. Last year I celebrated that with a quilt. A fun, modern quilt honouring the tree and my son's new found obsession with Christmas.  The obsession with Christmas and the quilt hasn't changed.

Modern Patchwork, a lovely magazine, asked me to contribute the quilt to their latest Winter issue. I was happy to oblige. I offered them an alternate colour way, but they chose the original. I still made the other colour way though. In this great line from Dear Stella, Mount Snow. Mittens and trees and bikes. It really is super sweet.



For this version I picked out the low volume, soft prints from the line and paired them with a few random, coordinating prints from my stash. Originally, my plan was to make the whole thing low volume, with soft contrast for the trees. But that felt too soft. So I grabbed the red Net print, also from Dear Stella, for the background. I love, love, love low volume paired with red.

The pattern itself is quite simple. The hardest part being the cutting of the angles for the background pieces around the trees. Last year I went from start to finish on this quilt in a few days. This year I have this top done but it won't get quilted, unfortunately.

Now is the time to slow down and celebrate, to make the cookies and take in special moments with the kids. I hope you have the chance to do the same.

Pick up a copy of Modern Patchwork at your local quilt shop, magazine rack, or online.

Glitter Pen - New Pattern in Modern Patchwork

Glitter Pen

85'' x 85''

 This is a fun quilt with a long back story.

Part 1
Looking to fill some weekend afternoons during our long winter I signed up for Creative Bug. While my son napped and Hubby chilled out the girls and I took a few classes. Their favourite was Lisa Condon's Line Drawing class. Months later they are still sketching based on her techniques.

Part 2
I agreed to submit some quilts to Modern Patchwork. Up until then I'd only submitted articles, not quilts. Working with the editor (hi Vivika!) I agreed to use some fabric they wanted. Well, the original fabric they thought of wasn't available. In the meantime I went to QuiltCon and picked up some Modern Country fabric from Windham, just in case the other fabric didn't arrive in time.

Part 3
Upon my return home from Austin I was greeted with the fabric sent to me by Red Rooster. Cool fabric, for sure, but not right for the pattern I was supposed to be making. Hmm... Then my daughters showed me the their sketchbooks and what they did while I was away. One of them immediately jumped out at me and this new fabric would be perfect for it. So I contacted the editor and asked if I could make two quilts! In just a few weeks.
(The Modern Country fabric went into the Argyle quilt also published in Modern Patchwork.)

Part 4
I also contacted Lisa Congdon. While my daughter's sketch was not a literal interpretation of Lisa's work, it was definitely iterative. And I took it another step with the quilt. Especially because this was for publication I wanted to make sure she was okay with it. She, graciously and thankfully, said yes.

Part 5
Sewing like mad, I designed the pattern and finished the quilt. It is designed to take advantage of simple sewing techniques  - it is just a lot of long strips sewn together then cut apart into blocks. I think the pops are colour are awesome. In the end I added the bright coral fabrics to the original bundle of a line called Steel. And that text print is awesome. It is literally a text print, covered in numbers and texting short hand. Comes in both the mustard and black/white. (Must get more.)

Part 6
She won't take it off her bed.

I purposely designed the pattern to fit her double bed with a generous overhang. Perfect for cozying up. The pattern is available in the summer issue of Modern Patchwork.

It is hard to see in the photos but it is rather simply quilted. I stitched in the ditch between all blocks, then I quilted a saying, one letter for each block (minus the punctuation).

"All that glitters, glows, sparkle, shines is not 

as bright as the light of your eyes, shimmering in sun."

Argyle I and II

Argyle

12'' x 12'' blocks

It isn't often that I make a quilt twice. Beyond pattern testing, I have to really, really like the pattern to make it twice. Good thing this is my own pattern!

Introducing Argyle. Appropriately named, don't you think? I was searching for ideas for a quilt for my nephew (see below). At first I was just searching for string quilts or X quilts or any number of things. Then my Hubby suggested an Argyle quilt. I didn't like any of the patterns I found, none were what I had in mind, so I made up my own.

It is one of those techniques that involves a lot of cutting, sewing, then cutting apart before sewing back together again. Oh wait, isn't that all of quilting?



The original quilt resides with my awesome nephew. The second quilt is now published, with the pattern, in the latest issue of Modern Patchwork. The original is 72'' by 96'', a very generous twin size. The one in Modern Patchwork is 72'' by 72''. (Just make more or less blocks to size up or down.)

Colours vary slightly between the two quilts. The original one is bolder, with a palette of blues, reds, oranges, and yellows chosen by my nephew. Some of the fabrics are from his baby quilt! To achieve the argyle effect you need the strips to be a dark, then you need mediums and lights. So I went to black and white fabrics for the mediums and white or tone on tone for the lights.



In the Modern Patchwork version I started with a bundle of fabric from Windham, the Modern Country line from Elizabeth Kinch. To this I added some stashed fabrics. Of note, there is some Karen Lewis Textiles screen prints, Carolyn Friedlander, Monica Solorio Snow, and Lu Summers. The white in this quilt is an Essex Linen. Overall, this is a softer quilt, more subtle in its design.

Both quilts were quilted with a squared off and overlapping meander. The original was done on a long arm and the second one on my domestic Bernina. Both were quilted with Aurifil 2600.

In addition to this quilt, I have another one plus an article on charity quilts in this issue of Modern Patchwork. With an extra copy of the magazine on my table I'm happy to give one away. On Monday I will pick a winner from the subscribers to my newsletter. Subscribe up top if you haven't already.

Oh Canada Quilt - In Red

This particular quilt was started after the shooting at Parliament Hill in the fall. A strong sense of patriotism came over me, and many others. I took solace from the news and this incomprehensible act in my studio. It was nice to reflect and find comfort in the act of sewing.

This year happens to be the 50th anniversary of our Maple Leaf flag. With Canada Day coming it got me inspired to finish this quilt. Such a fun holiday, everyone is in such a good mood, there are barbecues and fireworks, and we are reminded at what a diverse and great population we have. It all seemed to be good motivation to finish the quilt top.

Not only that, it was nice to finish the quilt with positive feelings, with joy in my heart not pain. Sewing can do that, turn your mood around. But the quilt can also hold your mood. Taking a break helps change that, if you want to do so. That was exactly why I took a break. The imagery of our flag is joyous to to me and while it gave me comfort to make the first few blocks, I wanted the final quilt to be happy.

This version is a bit different too. Instead of making slabs and using those for the reds, I collected a bunch of different red fabrics. From flowers to geometrics to hockey themed fabric, it is all there. And because no two reds are the same, each block still looks distinct. I made it exactly the same size as my original Oh Canada quilt, which is a really good lap size.

Remember, in honour of the Maple Leaf's birthday, the Oh Canada pattern is on sale in my shop. Free shipping for the printed pattern and only US$7 for the PDF version.

Happy 50th Birthday to The Maple Leaf

It was Flag Day here in Canada the other day. And this year The Maple Leaf turned 50. Because we are Canadian the celebrations were somewhat subdued. Some people, however, really got caught up in it.

A few months back I had the pleasure of an email conversation with a quilter in Ontario. She was planning on a big celebration and wanted to include my Oh Canada quilt as part of it. And what an awesome job she did! Check out this clip on The National. (That's the nightly, national broadcast on the CBC for my international readers.)

It got me all excited that I decided to celebrate as well. So from now until the end of the month the Oh Canada pattern is on sale in my Etsy shop. $1 off for the PDF version and free shipping on the print version.

#Flag50

Oh Canada, Indeed

There are times when all deadlines, all to do lists, all sense of personal responsibility go out the window because something much bigger happens. Last Wednesday morning I sat with a friend. We watched CBC, scrolled Twitter, tried to distract ourselves and her son. Her Dad was in lockdown in Parliament. The whole country held hostage by what we now know to be a lone wolf gunman, a radicalized young man with a lot of anger and problems. We sat that morning, not knowing, almost not wanting to know.

Then we knew. We knew the stories of the victim that day, of the shooter, of the soldier killed two days earlier.

Over the next few days we knew more about ourselves, our country, and those who serve for us - whether that be in a uniform or a suit. We saw soldiers stand tall in bravery, political rivals embrace, veterans receive long lost respect, communities gather around those so wrongly targeted. The country responded well, in my opinion. We cherish the ideals and values that make us Canadian - freedom, multiculturalism, peace, openness. Those were not shot that day. In fact, they grow stronger.

I'm just a quilter, no one who works greatly in the service for others aside from my family and community. This little piece of the world I occupy is a space I love to share and hope to use to inspire others. At the end of the day last week, when I finally turned off the news, got the scoop on the Parliamentary lock down, and sat quietly with a beer - hey, I AM Canadian - I did what I know to do: I sewed. I sewed the only thing that made sense to me at the time.

In a week of ups and downs, sadness and laughter, family and country, this is the one thing that's made sense to me.

After a year of sales I'm happy to write a cheque for $500 to Quilts of Valour for a portion of pattern sales for my Oh Canada pattern, as promised. With a second printing of the pattern underway I expect to donate even more in the coming year. 

Sewing Machine Quilt Reveal!

Sewing Machine Quilt 

50'' x 50''

It feels like I should have a more creative name for this quilt, but that's exactly what it is. Truth in Advertising. I'm so excited to share this with you. And the news that the pattern for this quilt should be coming in the next month, if all goes well with pattern testing and printing. The pattern will have both improv and precision piecing instructions.

I owe a lot of credit to this quilt for bringing me out of a long slump. For months I was down and not terribly excited about sewing. Sure, I was still sewing, but it was like going through the motions rather than fun. I met my deadlines and plugged away at projects, but I wasn't feeling a lot of joy. But with this quilt I felt joy and excitement. I may have jumped up and down a little even.

A friend of mine pointed out that it was telling that it was quilted sewing machines that got me excited again. You know, I never thought of that! It's so true though. I'm not generally one for symbolism, but this can't be ignored. The sewing machine is how we do our work, where so many of us find peace, and the main tool of our craft. For me to get my mojo back via a sewing machine is about as perfect as it gets.

I revealed this quilt in The Modern Quilt Guild's Webinar I delivered: Improv With Intent. In the presentation I went into great detail about the process for creating this particular quilt (and another one I'll share next week). Look for the Webinar to be posted for Modern Quilt Guild Members on their site later this week.

This quilt was done quite quickly for me. From start to finish in a month. I can't remember the last time I worked so fast! But when that inspiration takes over you have to run with it. It helps that I had long arm time booked and a desire to play with that new tool. It also helps that Le Tour was on when I had hand stitching on the binding to do.

Because this is an improv quilt each sewing machine is a bit different. That's the joy! But it does become a challenge to make them all still look like sewing machines and to solve any little glitches on the fly. Perhaps that's why it got me so jazzed, the little blips in sewing that improv provides are tiny little hills that you have to push yourself just a little bit more to get over. They aren't frustrating, only motivating. And you are always rewarded with the results!

The block below is one of my favourites. Most of the fabrics I chose are favourites, but this one especially so. I've got quite a bit of it hoarded and pull it out often. So glad it is in here.

Don't be afraid to tackle a new idea. Get your fabric out, sketch out the idea, cut and get to sewing. Even if you never make more than the one block you will be rewarded!

It's Over?

Yes, it is a question. But my slump may be over. And I have to give all the credit to my students at the recent Quilt Canada workshops.

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of attending Quilt Canada in St. Catherines, Ontario. This is the annual big deal in Canada, hosted by the Canadian Quilters' Association and put on by a different local organizing committee. It includes the National Juried Show (which had a modern category this year) and 4 days of workshops, on top of the fun things like banquets, merchant malls, and challenges. I had three days of classes, two days being an Improv workshop.

In our small, ridiculously hot classroom we played and played with fabric. When I teach Improv I like to teach a series of basic techniques via blocks. For an audience used to more traditional piecing I find it to be a good foray into the world of Improv. When I get multi-day workshops we then get more time to play.

And oh, did the ladies in this class play. They all embraced improv with open hearts and sharp rotary cutters. As we taped blocks to the wall, brainstormed possibilities, drew out more and more inspiration, and laughed a lot the excitement grew. I was completely caught up in the energy and inspiration. I'm not going to lie, I may have even jumped up and down a little.

At the end of it I was desperate to sew myself. But I had to rush off on a plane to be home for The Monster's 8th birthday. So I found some time in the following week to play. And when I did play I felt all the same excitement in my own little basement studio that I felt in that room. I felt grounded, I felt energized, I felt creative again.

Thank-you so much ladies, I owe you so much.

Here is what I played with. In the class we covered how to take an idea, and image, and translate it into an improv pieced block. Houses, letters, numbers, mountains, diamonds, they all came out that day. We also brainstormed other shapes and one of them happened to be a sewing machine. That idea planted itself into my head.

I think I may turn this into a full pattern as my mind is spinning with possibilities. And if it wasn't the last day of school I could tell you for sure that I would be sewing more of these every day. Yup, the slump just may be over.

Oh Canada Quilt Pattern Sale!

Canada Day is coming up in a few weeks. It's great holiday and being a proud Canadian I feel there is so much to celebrate. Our country is not immune to stupid decisions and passivity, but we are also very socially progressive, inclusive, and so incredibly vast and beautiful.

The Oh Canada! quilt pattern celebrates all this in one fun quilt. It is, by far, my most favourite quilt that I've ever made. The pattern includes the maple leaf template at full size, instructions for piecing the fabric for the block, as well as layout options.

In honour of Canada Day I'm offering the pattern on sale in my Etsy shop. Free shipping for a printed pattern and $1 off for a PDF.

And remember, I am still donating a portion of all sales to Quilts of Valour.

Klee's Trees by Malka Dubrawsky

Only about half the time do I like to do such precision piecing. I have to be in the mood for it. But every time I do it I get pretty excited by the results. Templates or paper piecing or just really good cutting, they all work. So when Malka Dubrawsky asked me to check out her her latest pattern and share it here I couldn't resist. 

In her words:

A while back I traveled to Switzerland and saw so many amazing things, but not the Bern Bears. Rather, I opted to visit the Klee Museum and view an extensive array of work by the artist, Paul Klee. I was especially struck by his drawings of trees. They were simple, stylized and abstracted. 

I came home knowing I wanted to translate those drawings into a quilt pattern and, after several attempts, came upon a block design that I feel captures the essence of Klee’s trees. 

This simple-to-piece block is graphic and clean and has a decidedly modern feel. Craft it in solids against a dark or light background or play with warm and cool colored prints to differentiate the “trees” from the “forest”.

It is a graphic pattern, that gives finishes to a rather cool quilt. Malka provides layout for a pillow and a quilt in the pattern. But you could easily change the size of the quilt but adding or removing blocks.

I made my block in about 30 minutes, but that was 30 minutes of supervising and providing snacks for 2 kindergarteners. And sewing upstairs to watch them play, but still cutting and pressing in my basement studio. Not very efficient!

It is wonderful for me to support quilting friends like this. Malka and I have only had a couple of brief conversations in real life. We live in totally different worlds - oh her heat of Texas. But we bond over swimming and colour. And I really credit her with my low-volume obsession. She was the first person to use the term and share examples, as far as I can tell. Make sure you check out her blog too, always full of her glorious colour and pattern.

The pattern is available in Malka's store, pick it up here.

Malka has very generously offered to give away two copies of the pattern to readers here. 

If you'd like a chance to win a pattern, leave a comment - make sure I can respond to you. Tell me your favourite colour, your favourite artist, whether you've ever been to Switzerland, or even what you had for breakfast! 

Giveaway open until May 14,  6:00 pm MST.

Modern Paris

Modern Paris

72'' x 72''

Do you remember this stack of fabric? And all these scraps? Well, here is the finished quilt. A pattern published in Quilter's Connection too!

This is one of those quilts that isn't difficult, but it does take a bit of time. Loads of half square triangles and circles. I never get bored of those, even with the trimming. And all with some of my favourite low volume love. It started with the Vanity Fair fabric from Dear Stella and an orphan block from my Craftsy class. Then it all came together as a wedding present for friends of ours.

The name came courtesy of our friends, actually. They honeymooned in Paris. And they let me take these shots at their house.

This is one of those quilts that definitely whispers. The value differences in the half square triangles are quite subtle most of the time. Texture matters more than value in this case. It finishes with a very soft and scrappy look. That being said, I think this design would be incredible in high contrast. So bold, especially with the positive/negative part in the circle blocks.

To accentuate the circles I quilted it with swirls all over. And used my favourite Aurifil 2600. That grey goes with nearly everything, I use it all the time.

Thank-you to Dear Stella for providing the initial inspiration with their fabric bundle of Vanity Fair. It is quite the pretty line and it was wonderful to work with.

And congratulations to our friends, may this quilt keep you even warmer as our winter keeps on.

Cataloguing the Scraps

So I designed a quilt. It uses 36 fat quarters but there are some leftovers and scraps. Such pretty scraps. I know people hate to see waste and overly generous yardage requirements in patterns. I do too. When I made the quilt I made a point to keep and organize all the scraps. Here they are.

They could combine to do some really fun and beautiful things. Instead of using the extra blocks on the back I kept them aside and they will be used in a baby quilt. There are all those circles cut from the back of larger circles appliqués. They could be another small quilt if appliquéd on a background. Then there are strips and snippets and trimmings. The fabrics are this Vanity Fair bundle from Dear Stella plus a lot of additions from my stash. All pretty. All useful.

Oh the possibilities!

When the pattern comes out in the Spring issue of Quilter's Connection we can talk more about the scraps - how they came to be and what I may have even done with them by then.

Process on the Quilts in A Month of Sundays

It's another snowy morning. That means it is perfect to talk about quilts. Today to celebrate A Month of Sundays I want to share a bit about some of the quilts with you. As a blogger it is so hard not to share my work in progress when making the quilts for the book. So hard. I'm used to sharing everything from the initial inspiration to the fabric pull to the frustrations to the finished top to the end. Sharing that is part of my blogging style and I believe in the honesty of that. I did take photos along the way while making book quilts, so at least I can do it after the fact.

When I'm making quilts for publication my process is actually a bit different. If I were to go my normal way of sewing - starting without a definite plan, adapting and making changes along the way, and ending with something for the sake of it - I would have a lot of work to do reverse engineering to write a pattern. That is a recipe for disaster - for me and someone trying to make the quilt from that pattern.

Oh boy, was finding text prints at the time of doing this tough! 

Thankful for some screen prints dug up on Etsy.

Quilts destined for publication always start, for me, with the pattern. Not just a sketch, but the actual pattern. I like to draft the whole thing first. This lets me think about the best way to divvy up fabric requirements and calculate yardage as well the most efficient way to make the quilt. I consider myself the first pattern tester. As I work there is always going to be a sketchbook filled with numbers or a pad of graph paper next to me. That allows me to write down any notes or corrections as I go. A half an inch makes a difference.

From first fabric pull to second, after patter drafting, things changed a bit.

A good friend gave me advice when I was starting on the journey of this book. She told me to send out the quilts to be long armed. I'll admit, this was hard for me, but it was the best thing I could do. I was having another baby, after all. The deadlines may push forward because of the need to get the quilts to long armers, but the time saved for me was valuable. It meant a lot less stress and a lot more time with my family during the work. Not to mention the savings on my already taxed joints. So, thank-you to Angela Walters and Janet Madyski for getting me through the work.

I use a lot of binding tape in the book.

Coordinating my snacks and my quilts.

When I was looking through my photo library to pull these images I was struck by just how much the making of these quilts, these books, is intertwined in my life. On the same day I was cutting fabric there was a crew framing in the basement and I had a book launch for Sunday Morning Quilts! Same day. Other days will be pictures of my babies doing their thing - like finishing preschool - while I finish a quilt. And all while I had a newborn. So the quilts, and the book, are a true reflection of our life at a moment of time. And more than once I had to take my own advice that I was writing to slow down and sew, not just get caught up in the frenzy of making.

It is always a huge rush to get the quilts made, though. You think you have all this time but you end up doing everything at the end. Your fingers are sore from binding, your shoulders hurt, everyone in the house is cranky at the fabric everywhere... Then you send the quilts away and don't see them for months, or even a year! It kind of feels anticlimactic. Such an energy high from the moment of first sketches to the last stitch and you don't get a chance to even snuggle with the quilt. But now the quilts are home, living in rotation. Reminding me of the time spent in creation, the moments that happened then, and the concept to just chill out.

Not helping me when I needed to quilt.

So, on this Sunday filled with sunshine and a blanket of fresh snow I will do just that. Right after a birthday party and coffee date with my Hubby. But then, then I can pour some tea, wrap myself in a quilt, and attend to an afternoon of puzzles and paper crafts with my girls.

Remember, there will be giveaways at the end of this celebration. One comment on each post in the month enters you for the prizes.

Tell me, coffee or tea, or hot chocolate with marshmallows?