New Quilt Patterns! Free Spirits and French Reel

My fabric line with Henry Glass Fabrics & Co., Sentimental Stitches, will be shipping to quilt shops next month, and I have two new quilt patterns which feature the line!

Free Spirits quilt pattern

Free Spirits features some of my favorite elements:  birds, flowers and berries. The big 24" appliqued block is surrounded by a dogtooth border and finished with prairie points. I've included a full size applique placement diagram, so placing your applique pieces will be a cinch!

French Reel quilt pattern

French Reel is another small quilt, which features the beautiful Sentimental Stitches striped border print.  The French Reel blocks are 6" square.

 

Here is one of the blocks in the process of being appliqued by machine.

Getting closer!  Do you remember my recent post about making my pressing station? I have really been enjoying it - it makes a huge difference. Above you can see some of my other pressing tools. An iron, of course. This is a Reliable iron, which is great for quiltmaking, as it has an auto shut-off override, and it steams really well, without spitting. Yes, I steam my seams! I use the scrub brush to brush off threads and lint from the fabric covered board. I was using a lint roller previously, but I was going through too many rolls of tape, so this brush works just as well. And finally, the strip stick, just barely visible in back, is wonderful for pressing seams open, without distorting other areas of the quilt. I like to press seams open when joining flying geese together for dogtooth borders to make them nice and flat, and also when joining two dogtooth borders to each other..

Henry Glass Fabrics is having a great giveaway on their blog every week, and this week, starting today, you can enter to win my French Reel quilt pattern, along with a bundle of Kim Diehl fabric! Follow this link to enter!

http://henryglassfabrics.blogspot.com/2014/09/happy-fall.html

Good luck and until next time,

Martha

Quilts From Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Fall 2014

My quilt, "Tuscany", is featured in this newest edition of Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Fall 2014.

"Tuscany"

I used fabrics from my fabric line, Elementary for Studio e Fabrics.  The block I used for "Tuscany" is the block I designed for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 8, "Martha's Basket". I machine appliqued the handle elements, which made this twin size quilt assemble very quickly.

"Martha's Basket"

The Fall 2014 Quilts from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks is on newsstands now!

Shopping in Missouri

I just recently returned from a nice ten day visit with my mother in Kansas City. Oh, how I miss my mom! She was kind enough to indulge my need to go to my favorite antiquing town, Greenwood, Missouri, so I could shop for things I don't need...hee hee. I brought an empty suitcase, just in case I found a few small treasures to bring home with me. 

It was just the right time of year to visit, as one of the shops, Greenwood Mercantile, was all decked out with Halloween displays.

If this white cabinet could have fit in my suitcase, I would have taken it home with me!

 

There is also a wonderful area in Greenwood Mercantile that has bountiful stacks of beautiful hand dyed wool.  Heaven!

Here is one of the little goodies I did bring home with me, this wonderful heart shaped make-do, found in the wool area above. I love hand crafted art!

I also paid a visit to a few quilt shops in Missouri. Our first stop was Quilter's Station in Lee's Summit. Here I am in front:

Quilter's Station, Lee's Summit, Missouri

 And here I am inside with Rita, owner of Quilter's Station. They have the BEST selection that I've found of woven plaids and stripes, and if I remember right, she said they have 16,000 bolts of fabric to choose from. Again, heaven!

Quilter's Station also has kits for two of my patterns, Broomstick Hollow and Pumpkin Party:

Broomstick Hollow at Quilter's Station

Pumpkin Party at Quilter's Station

Our next stop was Missouri Star Quilt Company, which, I learned, is actually a series of 4 or 5 different shops, each with a different theme, in the town of Hamilton, Missouri. It was a beautiful day, with fluffy white clouds - here is picture of main street, which is lined with all things Missouri Star Quilt Company.

Main Street Hamilton, Missouri

One of the Missouri Star Quilt Shops is devoted to reproduction fabrics, and with permission, I was allowed to photograph this wonderful redwork quilt, which hangs in the shop.

Caldwell County Subscription Quilt c. 1890

 

I think the design of this quilt is just so wonderful - the way the lines of embroidered names are oriented, and interspersed with botanical images.

Until next time,

Martha