Basting my Quilt

If you follow my Facebook page, you may have seen my post about marking my latest finished quilt top for hand quilting. A question was asked on Facebook about the stencil I used, so I will answer it here as well -- the stencil I'm using is from The Stencil Company, and it's a stencil for the Baptist Fan pattern. one of my favorite all over quilting patterns for pieced quilts.

So now my quilt is fully marked, and I thought I would share how I baste my quilts. The way I baste my quilts has gone through a few changes over the years. When I first began making quilts, I basted all of my quilts on the floor (luckily that was a younger me). But after I bought and read Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Machine Quilting, I used the method she illustrates in the book on how to baste on a table using large binder clips. The table she recommended was one of those long catering type tables, roughly 24" x 8 ft., which I immediately went out and bought. I basted on that table for quite a few years, until I purchased a fold-able cutting table, and came up with another idea:

I bought another identical table, and created a wonderful basting surface, and sometime-design surface by putting the two tables together, and clipping them together where they meet with one large binder clip on each side. The binder clips hold the two tables together very securely, and the two tables together create a 59 1/4" x 71 1/2" surface. The height is just right, and I can lean across and just reach the middle when I'm basting (a taller person would have an easier reach). One of the advantages of using these tables, in general, is that when the fold up, they take very little space, and they are on casters, so they are easy to move around.

I lay the backing right side down, centering the backing on the table. Then I use the large binder clips to clip the sides, stretching the backing as I go. I start in the middle of each side, and then work my way out from the middle of each side until I reach each of the corners.

The backing is stretched and clipped to the table on all sides with large binder clips

If my quilt is shorter than the table edges (smaller wall quilts), I use extra wide masking tape to tape the backing to the table.

After the backing is stretched and clipped, I lay the batting over the backing and gently smooth it flat. I'm using The Warm Company Warm Bond 80/20 bonded quilt batting that I won last summer from the Primitive and Folk Art Exhibit. I LOVE this batting! It has the thin loft that I like for my quilts, and it's soft and glue-free.

Last, comes the quilt top. I use my rulers to make sure every block is square and every border is straight. For hand quilting, I thread baste, and for machine quilting, I pin baste.

This was a fun quilt to make, and I enjoyed using prints from my first fabric line with Studio e Fabrics, Elementary, and mixing them in with a variety of prints from my stash. And I'm looking forward to spending more time with it as I hand quilt it. Time to start threading needles and get this quilt basted! 

Until next time,

Martha

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers Volume 9 - Welcome to the Blog Tour!

It was almost 5 years ago at Spring International Quilt Market, that I was given the opportunity to submit a block for the first Volume of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers. And here we are celebrating Volume 9!

My block for Volume 9 is titled "Hearts and Stars", and it's #813 in the blue-tabbed applique section of the magazine. I hand appliqued my pieces using fabrics from my Elementary line for Studio e Fabrics. I was so excited to find it on the cover!

Hearts and Stars

Here is a quilt I designed using the block, with the same block fabrics. This would be a good quilt for the more ambitious quilter!

Hearts and Stars Quilt

And here is another idea for using the Hearts and Stars block, this time a table runner. The color combination of black, red, green and gold reminds me of Christmas.

Hearts and Stars Table Runner

Click here for a tutorial on one way I make bias vines, from one of my previous Quiltmaker Blog Tour posts.

I'm giving away one copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 9 here from my blog. For a chance to win, just comment below and tell me whether you like to make bed quilts, lap quilts, wall quilts, or small projects like table runners. OR, all of the above! If you are posting anonymously, just be sure to include your email address in your comment, so that I will have a way to contact you if you are a winner.

I have a second giveaway for my Facebook friends. I will giveaway one copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 9 and all of the fabric needed to make the block from Elementary. Just head over to Facebook and leave a comment under my post featuring my Hearts and Stars Block.

Facebook Giveaway!

To go to my Wagons West Designs Facebook page click here.

Post your comments between now and Saturday, May 3rd. I will announce the winners on Monday, May 5th.

Thank you so much for visiting! After commenting below, click here go back to the Quilty Pleasures blog tour list to continue the tour!

Happy touring!

Martha

Borders, sashings and fussy cutting

Decorative stripes can make beautiful borders, settings strips and sashing and my new line of fabric, Elementary, includes a beautiful stripe in three colorways:

Cutting the strip or border to focus on a particular element of the stripe is commonly referred to as "fussy cutting".

To fussy cut your border, you will need to know the measurement of the unfinished width of the border. Using a chalk wheel, mark a line of chalk down the center of the motif you wish to use as the center of your striped border. Divide the unfinished width measurement of the border in half. My diagram uses a 6 ½" unfinished border measurement as an example. 

Half of 6 ½" is 3 ¼".   

Measure 3 ¼" away from the center chalk line on both sides and cut on those lines.  Before cutting, you can use this chalk method to determine the number of repeats you can derive from the width of your striped fabric. 

It won't be long before I will be showing you my next line of fabric with Henry Glass Fabrics - Sentimental Stitches! And it has a beautiful stripe, too! Can't wait to show you!

Until next time!

Martha

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers Volume 8

Welcome and thank you for visiting my blog on this fun blog tour sponsored by Quiltmaker Magazine! I love to design quilt blocks and I'm so honored to be included in the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers Volume 8!

Pictured below is my block, Martha' s Basket:

Martha's Basket

For a look at how it would appear in a diagonal set I've added the black triangles:

Martha's Basket block on point

My basket is named for my Grandmother, Martha. Grandma was an incredible seamstress and needlewoman, and my fascination for patchwork began with a beautiful Wedding Ring quilt that she made, and under which I slept in grade school. I don't have Grandma's sewing basket, but I do have a wooden cigar box in which she must have kept the paper and chipboard templates and piecing leftovers from working on that quilt:

When I chose fabrics for my block, I was in the middle of working on new patterns, which all had Fall and Halloween themes; hence, the orange and black color scheme But the block is very versatile, and has unlimited possibilities. Here are a few example of Martha's Basket using prints from Elementary, my new fabric line with Studio e Fabrics, which will be appearing in quilt shops this month.

Here is the block with a sweet pink and green color scheme:

And here it is with a more dramatic blue and red on gold:

So many possibilities!

Thank you for visiting today on the Blog Hop!

If you would like a chance to win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8, please leave a comment below by 11:59 pm PST Sunday, Nov. 17.

AND

For another chance to win a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8 AND a bundle of Elementary fat quarters, just go to the West Designs Facebook page www.facebook.com/WagonsWestDesigns and leave a comment on my Quiltmaker Vol. 8 block post, again by 11:59 pm PST Sunday, Nov. 17.

Good luck and enjoy the rest of your blog tour! For a quick link back to the blog list on Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures CLICK HERE.


Until next time,


Martha

Basket Quartet

September and October are now history! Wow, that went fast! I was busy doing a number of things. I finished two Halloween/Fall themed punchneedle pieces, but unfortunately not in time for patterns for this year. So, it will have to wait until 2014, but I will have them ready for a big show I will be doing the first of February (Feb. 5-8). I'm going to have a booth at the first ever American Quilter's Society show here in Phoenix. I'm so excited! If you have some time to spare for a nice little quilting related vacation, you might want to think about a trip to Phoenix in February.

I was also fortunate to receive some sample yardage of my new fabric line, Elementary for Studio e Fabrics. The fabric turned out beautifully, the colors are so rich! I designed three different free to use patterns for the line, which are all posted on the website www.studioefabrics.com .

So I began working on Basket Quartet (Light) for an upcoming event I'm doing at Zoe's Trunk, in Chandler, Arizona. It should be fun! As you can see from the flyer, we will be having a hunt for the missing Elementary fat quarters - finders keepers! And Sherlock Holmes will be there leading the hunt!

Here is the quilt, Basket Quartet, that I am currently working on. A lot of applique!

Basket Quartet

As much as I love hand applique, in the interest of time I decided to do this quilt by machine, which is fun do as well. I prepare my applique pieces with starched turned-under edges like so:

I simply pin the pieces in place with tiny applique pins, and then stitch the pieces to the background using a tiny vari-overlock stitch in a color that closely matches my fabric. I use Mettler 60/2 cotton thread, Aurifil Mako 50/2 cotton, or DMC 50/2 cotton machine embroidery thread, whatever matches best! This is the method which I think best mimics the look and feel of hand applique. No glue, no fusing, just pure fabric!

I'll be sure to post a photo of the quilt when it's done. I have one block finished, three to go!

I hope you'll join me next week for the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks from today's top designers, Volume 8 Blog Tour which starts Monday, November 11. My day for the tour will be November 13 where I will talk about my block and giveaway one copy of the Vol 8 issue. The block I designed for this issue is one of my favorites, I hope you like it too!

Here is quick link to start the blog on November 11 - www.quiltmaker.com/quiltypleasures . Have fun!


Until next time!

Martha

2013 Spring Quilt Market Portland

I finally have a few minutes to sit down and write a recap of our trip to Portland, Oregon for the Spring 2013 International Quilt Market. I was lucky to have my husband, Thom, along with camera in hand to capture some of the moments of the trip. And, of course, he did so much more than take pictures.

We left Phoenix on Wednesday before Market, and it was fun to run into Nancy Shamy and Cindy Oates, two fellow designers, at Sky Harbor airport. Cindy's company, of course, is Taylor Made Designs, and she has been a pro at the business for over 20 years. This was Nancy's first market for the inauguration of her new pattern business, Kenzie Mac & Co.

The next day I was able to start showing the prints from my new fabric line, Elementary, for Studio e Fabrics, at a morning Schoolhouse for quilt shop owners. What a thrill, after nearly a year of hard work developing the line with Studio e!

 

 Studio e Fabrics Schoolhouse 

Quilt Market 2013

Banner for Elementary in the

Studio e Fabrics booth

The quilt on the banner is one of the quilt patterns I designed for the Elementary line. Here is another version of the quilt -- the instructions for making the quilts will be found on the Studio e Fabrics website soon.

One of my booth neighbors at market was Quiltmaker, and I was so excited to see my block "Simple Life" from Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 7 magazine framed and hanging in their booth.

Quiltmaker booth at International Quilt Market

Portland 2013

On Saturday morning of Market, a group of designers met at the Quiltmaker booth to learn a very unique dance created by Gudrun Erla of GE Designs, titled "Quiltmaker Shuffle". The dance was videotaped and will be edited and posted soon by Quiltmaker. Although I've never been any good at choreographed dance moves, I gave it my best shot. :)

I have more to share, but it will have to wait until another day!

Until next time,

Martha