Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block E

 Westward Ho!

 

It's week 5, and this week we have Block E, which just like last week and Block D, it's a super easy block, and you'll make just one. Still time to catch up if you're a little behind!

Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along - Block E

I never get tired of squares, whether it's four patches, nine patches, sixteen patches, on and on!

If you're sewing along with the Prairie Patchwork Quilt Along, I hope you're enjoying the blocks so far! The link to download Block E instructions is below:

CLICK HERE to download fabric requirements and cutting instructions for Block E.

 

Until next time!

Martha

Are You Ready for Spring Yet?

Hello Friends!

It's really just the beginning of the winter season for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, where snow is falling around many of us. But the reason I ask ... if you are already thinking about Spring, I have a new quilt pattern I titled "Spring Dance" which is featured in the new issue of Quiltmania #141.

 

Quiltmania #141

 

Spring Dance by Martha Walker

 

 

 

 

 

Just two pieces make up the little applique blocks, which are just 4" square. I used a scrappy assortment of my favorite reproduction fabrics to make up the blocks, and for a little speedier assembly, I machine applied the shapes to small print shirting style prints. Here is a detail of the quilt:

 

Spring Dance (detail) by Martha Walker

Our floor is now finished, but our house is still in disarray. Last week and this, I was working on the new Prairie Patchwork sew along project while the workers were sawing away, in and out with the doors and windows wide open. I had a little sewing space set up with my machine and pressing/cutting station so I could continue my machine work. And, when things got too crazy, I would shut myself up in a small bedroom, which was untouched, and turn on my electric heater, and hand applique the blocks for the project. 

Now, Thom and I are painting the four rooms with the new flooring, and two are complete, with two more to go. Then, lots of moving of furniture, not to mention trying to eliminate all of the dust that seems to be on everything from the construction. 

I'm still hoping for a February start date for the Sew Along, or perhaps March. I think it will be fun! 

Happy stitching, and until next time!

Martha
 

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

Nancy's Quilt Camp

A few weeks ago I was invited to attend Nancy's Quilt Camp in Prescott, Arizona. There was a last minute cancellation, and I just happened to be at my dentist's office where Denise, a talented quiltmaker, and frequent quilt camper, works, and she invited me to the camp, which was just a week away. I was tired and a bit burnt out after having been immersed in completing my book, Betsy's Scrapbag. I thought maybe a quilt camp away from it all was just what I needed to get back into the swing of things, and motivate me to return to sewing with enthusiasm. So I signed up!

I had to hurry up and plan something to work on. For me, when I go to quilt camp, I like to have projects to work on that are more production oriented. I don't want to have to make design decisions away from home. So, I planned a few simple blocks to piece, and madly started cutting away for 2 days before the camp weekend.

When I arrived at quilt camp on Thursday afternoon, I was warmly greeted by Denise and Nancy, the camp organizer. I can't say enough good things about Nancy. She definitely puts her heart and soul into making the camp a fun and welcoming experience for all. She planned lots of fun raffles, and she went out on Saturday afternoon and generously bought enough foam core board and batting to make everyone a portable design wall. What a fantastic idea! And the amazing thing about Nancy - she was doing all of this, and with a smile on her face, while going through chemotherapy after having breast cancer. What an inspiration!

Portable Design Wall

I met so many nice ladies, and as always at quilt camp, I picked up some great ideas. My tablemate, Natalie, had some wonderful lights added to her sewing machine, and I just had to order the lights when I returned home.  Here are my new lights added to my machine, and what a difference they make!

You're supposed to cut off any excess length, but I looped mine around (you can see that on the left), because I wanted to use ALL of the lights, haha! Here is the box they came in, if you want to buy these lights for your machine:

Inspired LED Sewing Machine Light Kit

Back to camp - It was just what I needed to kick start my quilting. I had a great time piecing my blocks, and I came home and haven't stopped having fun in my studio. My basket "bottoms" were completed at camp, and all I had to do when I came home was sew on the handles:

Thank you, Nancy and Denise, for a great time! 

Until next time,

Martha

Betsy's Scrapbag

Today is the first official release day of my new book, Betsy's Scrapbag! It's now on our website, and we have a lot of work to do to get it out and about to your favorite quilt shops.

The first of my Scrapbag Girl TM series began with Annie's Scrapbag, a pattern book of quilts and projects inspired by my fictional seamstress, Annie, a girl living in the early homesteading days of the American frontier.

Annie's Scrapbag

Book 2, Betsy's Scrapbag, follows with quilts and projects inspired by the American Revolution, and Betsy's story of her family's role in the fight for American independence.  And just as in Annie's Scrapbag, Betsy's Scrapbag includes FULL size applique placement diagrams for all of the projects, including the wool applique projects. No drafting on your part needed - whew!

Betsy's Scrapbag

Just like in Annie's Scrapbag, Betsy's Scrapbag includes patterns for quilts, wool applique, and this time a punch needle project, Lady Liberty, one of my favorites! Lady Liberty is made primarily with Valdani 3-ply floss, with the addition of DMC embroidery floss. I also have instructions for my easy method for finishing punchneedle, that "stiffens" it for hanging or applying to a platform, such as a box, or basket, but it's archival, meaning no glues are used.

Lady Liberty

Autumn Stars is one of the five quilts in the book, and is the largest quilt, - a queen size 89" x 89". 

Autumn Stars

There are 10 projects in all, with four wool applique projects, one of which is the Liberty pillow, appliqued using my favorite Aurifil Lana wool threads, which you can also find on our website:

Liberty pillow

To celebrate it's release, I'm having a giveaway for one copy of Betsy's Scrapbag! Just follow the directions in the Rafflecopter box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck, and I hope you find Betsy's Scrapbag soon at a quilt shop near you! I will announce the winner of the giveaway on Monday, March 21st!

Until then,

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