Fellow Quilters,

Woo-hoo!  Today is Day 1 of the Stay at Home and Hop virtual tour of 40 uber-talented pattern designer’s blogs/websites.  Over the course of the next 10 days I’ll be posting 4 times and providing you with a list of 9-10 other designers to check out.  You’ll get a new list in each post, and 3 days to go through the list at your leisure for a dose of inspiration – these are savvy designers and you may know some of them already!

Today’s post includes:

Lone Star Pattern Works https://www.lonestarpatternworks.com

Powered by Quilting https://www.poweredbyquilting.com

Cottage Rose Quilt Patterns https://www.cottagerosequiltshop.com

The Cloth Parcel https://www.theclothparcel.com

Faith and Fabric https://www.faithandfabricdesign.com

Linen Closet Designs http://www.linenclosetdesigns.com

Designs by Sarah J https://www.designsbysarahj.com

Rona the Ribbiter Quilts https://www.ronatheribbiter.com

Quilt Fox Designs https://www.quiltfox-design.com

Seam to Be Sew https://www.seamstobesew.com

You may want to go back and visit their blogs/websites again during the Hop to see what else they’ve posted.  You might even subscribe to their blog/newsletter or follow them on Facebook.  While you’re at it, if you’re not already following my Patti’s Patchwork Facebook page, you can hop over to do that, and subscribe to my blog here or newsletter here (scroll down to the bottom).

Here’s what you can expect from my 4 blog posts:           – a bit of newsy stuff on what I’ve been up to lately, mostly quilt-related

– a quilting tip or trick.  I’ve been quilting for almost 30 years now (I started when I was 3 – hahaha) and teaching quilting for about 20 years so I’ve gleaned a few nuggets during that time.

-a tasty comfort-food recipe to tide you through these stay-at-home times.  I like cooking almost as much as I like quilting, and I must admit I’m pretty good at it.  These are recipes I make regularly that have become family favorites.  I’m sharing them with you ‘cause you’re my quilting family 😊.

– free stuff!  As if free recipes and free quilting tips aren’t enough, I’ve got free fabric up for grabs. Not just any fabric, no, it’s Northcott fabric!  The good stuff!! You’re going to have to work for it though.  I’m looking for feedback on something and you’re going to post your feedback comment on my blog.  I’ll randomly select 1 (or 2 if I get a lot of responses) to receive free fabric.  Shall we get started?  Yes, let’s do it!

I am super-thrilled to have my E-Z Miter and lone star tool featured in the May/June issue of McCall’s Quilting, on newsstands March 27.  Let me give you a bit of background on this mini tool with mighty benefits. On the way home from a Borders & Binding workshop I taught to the Sarnia guild last April I was pondering how I could make mitered borders easier to mark – the students really got the concept of pre-cutting the mitered angles prior to sewing them on the quilt.  They struggled, however, with marking the spots to start and stop sewing them.  I came up with the idea of a small angled template with precisely drilled holes, and that is how the E-Z Miter tool came to be.  It includes detailed instructions on fool-proof mitered borders as well as instructions on using the tool for lone star/Lemoyne star blocks/quilts as well.  Simply place the tool in the inner angled corner of your mitered border to mark the exact spot to start and stop sewing.  Use the square corner to mark the quilt or block, then connect the two dots for perfect foolproof mitered corners.  Easy peasy!  I even have a how-to YouTube video here. I demonstrated the tool to McCall’s editor Lori Baker last Fall at Quilt Market and gave her one to try at her leisure.  Word on the street is that she now uses it regularly – yay Lori – and asked that it be featured in the Fresh Picks section of nifty new quilty stuff.

So, how do get your hands on one of these awesome gadgets?  So glad you asked!  You can find them at select shops or through my website here. They retail for $10.50 Canadian (roughly $8 US, though with the plummeting Canadian dollar they’re getting cheaper by the minute ☹).  Now, Canada Post (I’m Canadian eh) does not let me ship these to the US for less than a parcel rate of $9 (ack!).  However, for the next 2 months I have arranged a special shipping rate for my American quilty friends – enter the code EZMcCalls at checkout for $5 off.  A shout-out to my friend Sara of Ladeebug Design for helping me with this.  To entice you further, I’ve written a free pattern just for you that uses the E-Z Miter tool for the mitered border and the star.  The Botanica Lone Star quilt is 41” square and features Northcott’s new Botanica collection including a gorgeous lengthwise floral stripe, used in the border of the quilt.  Enjoy!

Now we get to the quilt tip part of my post.  When I am piecing a quilt such as the Botanica Lone Star, I press my background seams toward the star – what?!?!?!  Yes, because I am already thinking how I want to quilt this beauty.  I have meticulously pieced that star and I want it to pop, so I am going to stitch in the ditch around the star, in the background if I have pressed the seams toward the star.  My favorite pressing tool is the Clover Hera Marker and I have a quick video on Northcott’s site of how I use this uber-handy gadget.  That’s two tips!

Now for the recipe – it’s a dessert because my motto is “Eat dessert first” or at least scope out what dessert is so I can save room for it.

Chocolate Orange Mousse

Melt…..                                            4oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
Remove from heat and add…     3 egg yolks

Beat until thickened then add… 6tbsp softened butter

1tbsp orange liqueur (Gran Marnier or Cointreau)

½tsp vanilla

Separately, beat until stiff…        3 egg whites
Fold ¼ of the egg white mixture into the chocolate mixture, then gently fold the chocolate mixture into the rest of the egg whites.  Spoon into 4 dishes and chill for 30 minutes.

Now for the giveaway.  I’ve got a bundle of Botanica waiting to be made into a Botanica Lone Star quilt.  For your chance to win it, visit the Workshops tab on my website and post a comment below telling me which workshop you’d like to take.

Thanks for stopping by, have fun and please stay safe and healthy.

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Well, it has been many moons since we chatted, and I have so much to share with you.  I hope to be doing just that over the next 10 days as I participate in a quilt designer blog hop – the Stay at Home and Hop event.

#stayathomeandhop

Our lives have been turned upside down the past few weeks as Covid-19 has spread worldwide with lightening speed.  Quilting events everywhere have been cancelled – both of my local guilds have cancelled their upcoming meetings and workshops until further notice.  What to do?  Quilters are a resourceful group and have taken to the world wide web for their quilty fix.

Enter the Stay at Home and Hop virtual quilt tour of 40 talented designers sharing their tips, new stuff and maybe a few free goodies along the way.  The Hop runs from March 21 – 31 with links to new designers’ sites every 3 days and promises to be a great diversion while we hunker down in the safety of our sewing space.  In my blog posts I will be sharing stuff I’ve done lately (newsy things), a favorite recipe that is easy to make and tastes great (since restaurant dining is not an option – I will even include one or two gluten-free recipes for Pat K and Pat T.  Full disclosure: I like cooking almost as much as quilting and am quite good at it), a quilting tip, and a chance for some free stuff.  Free stuff is the best!

I invite you to come along with me to find a few new-to-us designers, some great ideas, some new gourmet recipes and lots of inspiration.  I’ll be looking for comments and feedback for the free stuff so don’t be shy.  The comments make me feel like you’re right there in the seat beside me on this adventure.  You are my virtual quilting peeps!  Let’s do this together!!

See you tomorrow,

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Where do I begin?  How about “I’ve missed you!” or perhaps “I’m back from the proverbial black hole that I fell into” or even “It’s been WAY too long!”  So much has happened since we last chatted that I really don’t know where to start.  It’s like when you get together with a friend who you haven’t seen in forever and “What’s new” makes you pause and think “Had any of my grandchildren even been born when we last talked, and now I have 6.”  Truth is, when I haven’t blogged for a long time, it IS hard to put my thoughts on paper, so to speak.

So, last time I blogged I mentioned that I’d had my laptop stolen while on vacation.  Gone.  Never to be recovered, including all the files on it.  There is a black hole somewhere with all my files, however it’s not the one I fell into and I’ve stopped looking.  Note to everyone:  Back up your files or save them to the cloud.  Period. Even if they’re not work-related.  Please tell me you’re already doing this or that you’ll start right now. Thank goodness my son, who has my previous laptop, was not motivated enough to wipe the files off the laptop.  For once I’m very glad he procrastinated.  I was able to retrieve half my files, including photos from a 2-month-long New Zealand vacation as well as several other ones.  It has taken me 8 months to get caught up on quilt patterns that I designed pre-theft – I had to recreate the quilt images in EQ8 by deciphering my brief notes for each design before sitting down to write the instructions.  It added a good 8 – 16 hours of time to each pattern.  There are several patterns that were already published for which I lost the files, so I have scanned my copy of the pattern to use when I need to reprint them.  Some of them have more longevity and I should rewrite them to get better files for printing.  I think that’s a “rainy day” project, except in this case I would need a rainy month or perhaps a month of Sundays.

Last time we chatted I was heading to A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN for my annual teaching gig.  Somehow (I don’t know how this happened – honest!) 2 pair of boots ended up in my possession, including my new favorite pair – my Luccheses!!

Two new pair of boots

They felt like they were made for me the second I slipped my feet into them.  I will be teaching in 2020 as well – March 4-7 – and I hear tell there are some must-see teachers and speakers so save the date.  The class schedule should be up on the website soon.  I’ll keep you posted – you don’t want to miss 2020!  Just saying…

So, I had a booth at Spring Quilt Market in May – my first booth ever!

The Patti’s Patchwork booth at Spring 2019 Quilt Market

Quilt Market is THE trade show for the quilting industry.  I did a Schoolhouse presentation showing ideas for projects with my new Vino fabric collection, shipping to stores in November.  Then Hubby and I manned my booth for 3 days while I networked with shop-owners and buyers.  The response to my collection and the projects/patterns was very positive.

PC246 Chardonnay

PC247 Sonoma Trails

PC248 Wine Tour

The buyers liked all my patterns, particularly my upcoming Tote Bag Trio pattern (I’m still working on the final touches, testing other patterns for do’s and don’ts, including these two from ByAnnie – the I’ll Drink to That wine tote is perfect made from vino, don’t you think?).

To Market, To Market Tote

I’ll Drink to That tote

My pattern will include a wine gift bag, a super-handy roll-up tote that holds a ton and fits into your pocket or handbag, as well as a padded multi-pocket tote that holds 4 bottles of wine – I call it my retreat bag.  The booth next to mine was Pat Fryer’s (Villa Rosa) and Pat happened to have 4 bottles of wine that she loaned me for my tote – thanks Pat!  Pat has also designed a fabric collection for Banyan – Patio ships in January – and she has a cult-like following.  My colleague and fellow pattern designer Daphne Greig of Patchworks Studio was also at Market with her Tapa Cloth collection, shipping in December.  I just love the panels in her collection!

While I was madly prepping for Quilt Market I was also working on a little side project – a quilting tool!  On the way home from a Borders & Binding workshop to the Sarnia guild in April I was pondering how I could make mitered borders easier to mark, as the students really got the concept of pre-cutting the mitered angles prior to sewing them on the quilt however they struggled with marking the spots to start and stop sewing them.  I came up with the idea of a small angled template with precisely drilled holes, and that is how the E-Z Miter tool came to be.

E-Z Miter tool

It includes detailed instructions on fool-proof mitered borders and also instructions on using the tool for lone star/Lemoyne star blocks/quilts as well.  Simply place the tool in the inner angled corner of your mitered border to mark the exact spot to start and stop sewing.

Mark the inner corner of the mitered border

Use the square corner to mark the quilt or block, then connect the two dots for perfect foolproof mitered corners. I sourced a supplier and had the tools manufactured, alas not in time to take to Quilt Market.  My impromptu corrugated cardboard prototype was convincing enough to generate several orders however.  I am happy to report that the tools are now in stock.  I am super-excited about this cool tool.  I can do mitered borders in my sleep since I’ve done so many, however even I use the tool because it is faster than not using it.  The main distributors are very interested and will be placing orders shortly.

As if prepping for Quilt Market and designing a tool wasn’t enough to keep my busy, Hubby and I also sold our house (finally!!) and were frantically packing/purging.  Okay, Hubby was doing the packing while I was prepping for Market.  Our closing was May 31 so we had 1 week to totally purge and finish packing after returning from Quilt Market.  It was chaos!  Newsflash:  Most of your stuff isn’t worth anything to anyone but you.  Hubby tried in vain to find buyers for our fine furniture – no luck.  Today’s buyers do not want antique mahogany dining suites in pristine condition, or oak harvest tables and chairs.  Even our kids didn’t want it.  We gave most of our stuff to Habitat for Humanity, and even they refused some of it because they knew they had no takers for it.  We did the Marie Kondo thing and thanked our stuff for being in our life, then let it all go.  It is, after all, just stuff. I am now very selective about what I purchase, having gone through this.  I am still trying to find space for some of the “I can’t say goodbye to this yet” stuff.  Give me another few months and I will likely be ready to bid it adieu.

AND, while all the above was going on, I also set up a website for my pattern business – WOOP! WOOP!  I am thrilled, excited and over-the-moon happy to announce that Patti’s Patchwork is now open for business!!  Web designer Holly helped me navigate the minefield that is website jargon – computer language is so foreign to me.  After several bumps along the road, we have everything up and running.  All my patterns are up on the site, including the new ones for Vino, as well as a couple holiday/seasonal ones – PC242 Carpenter’s Star

PC242 Carpenter’s Star

and PC241 Vail.

PC241 Vail

I welcome you to visit the site, take a look around and let me know what you think.  There is a tab with information on lectures and workshops, and a newsletter tab – I will be endeavoring to write a newsletter monthly, so please sign up if you’d like to keep up with what’s new.  Patti’s Patchwork also has a Facebook page that you can follow and share with your quilty friends.

What’s up next, you ask?  A well-deserved vacation (Hubby says watching me work this hard is exhausting him), as well as designing my next Banyan collection, and several guild talks and trips.  I will be in Hamilton MO this Thursday/Friday for Missouri Star’s 11^th Birthday Bash, so if you’ll be there please stop by the Northcott/Banyan/FIGO booth to say hi and pick up some treats.  You can even see the E-Z Miter tool in action!  October 2 I’m at the Peterborough Quilt Guild, October 9^th I’m at the Pieceful Nights guild in Toronto, and October 18-19 I’m at the GEM Retreat in New Liskeard.

Keep working on your Stonehenge Block Party quilts.  The deadline is end December, and judging takes place in January.  The winner will join Hubby and me, along with Northcott Creative Director Deborah Edwards and Stonehenge creator Linda Ludovico on an 11-day trip to England, including a behind-the-ropes tour of Stonehenge next June.  The trip is now sold out so the only way to join us is to make a quilt and win the contest.  Good luck!!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Long time no talk!  The last time we chatted was waaaaay back in November, just before Hubby and I embarked on a 28-day South American trip.

glacier in Chilean fjords

waterfall in Chile

Unfortunately my laptop was stolen during the trip, and I have spent most of the last month repopulating my files – searching through emails for attachments – and recreating pattern files.  I still have many hours of work to do before I will be caught up, and some files are lost forever.  Lesson learned – I now have an external hard drive to back up my new computer.

In my last post, I had a giveaway for a packet of dee-lish Artisan Spirit Shimmer squares just waiting to be stitched into not one but two matching quilts: my Gemstone Dreams quilt featured in McCall’s Quilting AND the bonus pattern made with the scraps from Gemstone Dreams.  The lucky winner is Connie Goman – congratulations!  Connie is a member of my new-to-me local guild.

Old Man Winter has arrived in my area with a vengeance!  The past few weeks have been particularly snowy, with road closures due to blowing snow and treacherous icy conditions.

Iced trees on the ski hill

I’m making good use of this snow however – my annual snowboarding lessons are well under way.  Instructor Tim is challenging me and my fellow classmates to step out of our comfort zone and stretch our skills (I use that term loosely!).  I am doing much better at riding switch (backwards, or other-foot-forward on a snowboard).  Much of this credit goes to my nephew Dillon though.  A few weeks ago, I spent the day with him trying to teach him how to snowboard.  He rides “other-foot-forward” compared to me, and I found he caught on better if he could see me riding the same way as him, so I forced myself to ride “other-foot-forward” (or switch) all day.  Tim says learning to ride switch will improve our regular riding and it’s very good for our brain.  He also says that learning to snowboard through the trees will help too, but I’m not buying that one!  Trees are solid objects that don’t move out of my way and only result in injuries.  Since I need to get on a plane next week, my immediate goal is to avoid injuries.

Where am I flying to?  Nashville to attend QuiltCon, the annual modern quilt show!! Woop! Woop!  I am super-excited to be manning the FIGO booth with Christina and Ghazal.  We have a couple of fun giveaways of Lucky Charms pre-cuts that can be used to make a table runner and pillow.  Last week I pieced and quilted Shades of Citrus designed by Lo and Behold using a rainbow of Lucky Charms fabrics.

Shades of Citrus by Lo and Behold made with FIGO’s Lucky Charms

It will hang in the booth along with several other Lucky Charms quilt.  I have signed up for 3 evenings of classes.  It’s great to have the opportunity to learn from the uber-creative teachers at QuiltCon.  These classes will seriously cut into my shopping opportunities however (I have a new Western belt, hat and pair of boots on my list).

It’s a good thing, then, that I’m returning to Tennessee next month as well to teach at Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge.  I have enjoyed teaching at this fabulous event for the past few years.  Most of my classes are full or almost full, however there is still space in the ½-day Intro to Improv(isational piecing) class #21 on Wednesday March 20

Intro to Improv

and the full-day Garden Gate #55 class on Friday March 22 – a new class for me.

Garden Gate full-day class

I am joined by a star-studded roster of teachers:  Bonnie Hunter, Nancy Mahoney, Klaudeen Hansen, Cheryl Sleboda and Linda Hahn, among others.  Linda is a fellow Banyan Batik fabric designer, and her Island Vibes collection is shipping to stores next month.

Did I say fellow fabric designer?!? Why, yes, I did!  Sample yardage of my very-first-ever fabric collection, Vino, has arrived in Northcott’s warehouse.

Vino by Patti Carey for Banyan, a division of Northcott

It was surreal to see full bolts of fabric that I designed.  There are 3 color groupings:  warm burgundy-colored Bordeaux,

Vino – Bordeaux colorway

bluish-purple Tempranillo,

Vino – Tempranillo colorway

and delicately aged Ice Wine (I’m Canadian, makers of great ice wine).

Vino – Ice Wine colorway

Over the next 2 months I will be designing and making projects and patterns with Vino to decorate my first-ever booth at Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City, MO May 17-19th.  The sales reps will start selling the collection in April and it will ship to stores later this year.  Stay tuned for further details!

Speaking of new patterns, I have two.  Sidewalks of Paris PC243 uses Northcott’s “Paris…always a good idea” collection.

Sidewalks of Paris PC243

It is a great pattern for pre-cuts (fat 1/8’s and fat 1/4’s) and for modern collections too.   The pattern includes lap, twin and queen sizes.  I tested it on a bundle of Japanese yarn-dyes I bought last year.  I’ll post a photo of that quilt next time.

My other new pattern is Solstice Star PC233, using Northcott’s 10^th anniversary Stonehenge collection called Solstice. The fabric collection is gorgeous!  I am so pleased with how my quilt turned out.  Both patterns are available through Quiltwoman.

Solstice Star PC233

Northcott featured the collection and all the Solstice quilts at Fall Quilt Market and I was part of 2 Facebook Live recordings (here and here ) announcing the exciting events Northcott has planned this year around this 10^th anniversary collection.  I am anxious to see the fabulously creative quilts quilters around the world make for the block party. The top prize is a 9-day trip for 2 to England with a private tour of Stonehenge, and I will be attending along with Northcott’s Creative Director Deborah Edwards and Stonehenge creator Linda Ludovico.  So exciting!!  Tickets for the trip will also be available for purchase just in case you don’t win 😊.

Well, that’s all for now.  Back to my file rebuilding and snow shovelling!

Cheers,

Fellow Quilters,

I had the pleasure and honor of having a quilt featured in the latest issue (November/December) of McCall’s Quilting magazine.

McCalls Quilting November-December 2018 cover

This issue is chock-full of seasonal projects large and small, including one by my quilting bud Dodi Poulson – yay Dodi!  There are several bright and jewel-toned projects tossed in as well.  My Gemstone Dreams is one of them.

Gemstone Dreams

The quilt is based on a block I designed for Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 15.  For this quilt, I selected 15 different pairs of textures from Northcott’s Artisan Spirit Shimmer collection, with each pair having 2 shades of the same color – light and dark pink, light and dark teal, light and dark yellow, etc.  I also used 2 shades of gray from Shimmer, and a cream Shimmer for the background.  In 100 Blocks, I used the same color for all triangles, but I substituted the gray in the corner placement for this quilt.  I made 2 blocks with each color duo, managing to squeeze the pieces from a fat 1/8.  I opted not to put borders on the quilt, keeping it modern.  I stitched some straight lines in each block to emphasize the bevelled effect, then I stitched straight lines ¼” apart in the background, alternating the direction of the lines in each section.  I am thrilled with the final quilt.  The Shimmer fabrics, with their hint of metallic, are perfect for this project.

To me, the easiest way to construct each block was to do “sew and flip” corners when sewing the smaller colored triangle – I used a square, sewing along the diagonal, pressing along the stitching line and trimming the excess.  I did the same when adding the larger gray triangle to the opposite corner.

sewing with all-purpose foot

When sewing these, I find it easier to use the all-purpose foot on my sewing machine, allowing the leading tip of the square to slide under the wide toe of the foot instead of getting caught and bunching up or folding back.  So, here’s the funny thing.  Despite having a warehouse of Northcott fabric at my disposal, it bothered me to discard the excess triangles that I trimmed away.

sewing the foot width away from previous line

So, before trimming, I sewed another line the width of my foot, roughly 3/8”, away from my previous line of stitching, then cut between the 2 stitching lines.  This gave me 8 half-square triangle blocks of each duo that are almost 3” square.

stitching a foot width away from original stitching line on both squares

I did the same thing with the larger gray corner squares – I sewed a 2^nd line and trimmed it away before I added the smaller gray square in the corner.

after trimming

I did not save the smaller light-and-dark gray half-square triangle blocks – they were too small for my liking.  However, I collected a stack of 60 lighter gray/cream blocks and 60 darker gray/cream blocks to add to the 15 stacks of colored blocks.

what I had after sewing half of a block

new block

I now had a total of 120 colored blocks and 120 gray/cream blocks.  I plugged them into my EQ8 design program and created the following block by adding (4) 1½” x 3” cream pieces, (4) 6½” x 3” cream pieces and (1) 1½” square of contrast (I used a darker shade of gray).  My block finishes at 11” square not including seam allowances.  I made 30 blocks –  2 of each color duo.

I arranged the blocks in a 5×6 layout as for the original quilt.  For ease of assembly I added 1” sashing between the blocks (cut 1½” x 11½”) and used the same darker gray 1½” squares as in the blocks for the cornerstones.  My quilt finishes at 59½” x 71½” with 2” binding made with the darker gray as well.

my (almost) free quilt made from the trimmed scraps

In total, I needed an extra 3¼yds of cream background cut as follows:

• 20 strips 3” x width of fabric (wof); cut each strip into (6) 6½” pieces
• 24 strips 1½” x wof; cut into (71) 11½” pieces and (120) 3” pieces

I also needed 5/8yd of darker gray cut as follows:

• 7 strips 2” x wof for binding
• 2 strips 1½” x wof; cut into (50) 1½” squares

The end result?  With less than 4yds of additional fabric, I got a colorful throw-size quilt.  How fun is that?

But wait!  It gets better!!  From the pieces of colored fabric that I used for my quilt, I managed to cut enough pieces to make another Gemstone Dreams, and I am prepared to give them to one lucky reader.  All you need to add is the background fabric and the two grey fabrics.  For a chance to win precut squares of all the colored fabrics in Gemstone Dreams, please leave a comment on my blog by November 16 telling me what your favorite Christmas tradition is AND the page number of the November issue of McCall’s Quilting that my Gemstone Dreams pattern is on.  You will need a copy of the magazine to make the quilt.  Since I also have an extra copy of the magazine, I will draw a second name to win a copy of this terrific issue.  I look forward to reading your comments, and good luck to all!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

As I sit writing this post, I am enjoying the last of the local peach crop for this year – a definite sign that Fall is here.  Autumn is my favorite season, with the clear blue skies and brightly-colored trees.  We get lots of red, gold and yellow foliage mixed with the evergreens.  Fall walks are glorious, with the crisp air, no more flies or mosquitos, and the earthy scent of fallen leaves.  I try to step on every dried leaf just to hear the “crunch”.  Even a short walk is enough to clear the cobwebs of all-day computer work as I design quilts for upcoming fabric collections and write instructions for soon-to-be-released patterns.

Speaking of patterns, have you enjoyed the blog posts and free patterns from the My Happy Place Row-Along?  I was one of the first bloggers on the tour, and every Tuesday and Thursday until October 4 there are new rows for you to try.  Here are the still-active links:

Thursday, September 20, 2018

Clever Chameleon | Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Heleen Pinkster Quilt Design
Cynthia’s Creating Ark | Seams To Be Sew

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Songbird Designs/Brenda’s Blog | Powered By Quilting | Kissed Quilts
Happy Sewing Room | Sew Joy Creations

Thursday, September 27, 2018

BobbininQuilts | Daydreams of Quilts | The Quilted Snail | Scrapdash

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Words & Stitches | True Blue Quilts | Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse
Meanderings Along Lizard Creek | Creativeblonde

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Quilt In Piece | Jaded Spade Creations | Mountain Meadow Designs
Masterpiece Quilting | Pamela Quilts

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Show and Tell Day

The winner at my blog is – drum roll please! – Christi of Shelby, NC who prefers the ocean.  I totally get that.  There is something mesmerizing about walking along a beach listening to the surf lap upon the shore.  A packet of Christi’s favorite colorway of Stonehenge Gradations will be on its way to her shortly.

Last weekend was my annual retreat with the quilters from GEM Sewing in New Liskeard.  I taught a bobbin quilting workshop and an improv piecing workshop, and the students did amazingly well.  No issues at all with the bobbin quilting and couching.  However, all that changed when I demonstrated the first improv block.  As I randomly whacked it in half with the rotary cutter to insert a new strip, I could hear a few gasps.  This was definitely NOT the way some of the quilters were accustomed to piecing their blocks!  Everyone took a giant step outside their comfort zone, rose to my challenge and completed block after improv block with success.  Here they are after just one block!

The GEM quilters after piecing their first improv block. Diane was weak from the stress of random cutting and piecing.

Here are 2 more of the blocks:

GEM retreat green improv blocks

Gem retreat pink improv blocks

Many of them are well on their way to getting their quilts finished.

Blocks being auditioned for a layout

During the evenings, I worked on my own projects alongside the gals, and managed to get 2 tops pieced for my Alternate Gridwork trunk show this upcoming Saturday September 29 at Simcoe Sew & Quilt in Barrie (from 10am to noon).  I am working on getting at least 2 more tops done for the trunk show.  Then I’ll start the list of quilts to be made for Fall Quilt Market in Houston.  I’ll be making the blue version of my Good Vibrations,

PC231 Good Vibrations queen-size in the blue color option

and the throw size of Solstice Star using Stonehenge Gradations Solstice to celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the Stonehenge collection, in addition to 4 others.

I am also part-way through piecing versions of 2 new patterns:  Besties (using Northcott’s Girls of the World)

PC225 Besties lap quilt using Girls of the World

and Glass Menagerie (using Northcott’s Zoometrix).

PC226 Glass Menagerie lap quilt using Zoometrix

I’ll post links and some of my step-by-step photos next week.

See you next week!

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Woop!  Woop!  Today is the first day of the My Happy Place Row-along organized by Marian Pena of Seams to be Sew – thank you Marian for organizing this fun event.  This is the 4^th year of the Row-along and Marian has managed to round up a whopping 47 fantastic designers for this 5-week event.  Guidelines of the Row-along can be found here. Along with 4 other designers, I am leading off this fun event that includes free patterns for rows that depict our happy places, and giveaways at each stop.  If you’re new to my blog, welcome!!  In it, I like to share stories of my mostly-quilty life, along with tips and insights.  I hope you’ll visit often, and even subscribe.

My Happy Place Knobie from The Fat Quarter Gypsy

When Marian proposed this year’s theme of My Happy Place, many thoughts popped into my head.  Quilting is a BIG part of my life.  In fact, I have this terrific Knobie from The Fat Quarter Gypsy hanging on the handle of my longarm.

After all, my heart sings when I’m quilting.  However, several of the other designers selected quilting themes for their rows.  So what, then, should I choose?

Anyone who has followed my blog for more than a few months knows that my second love has to be snowboarding.  But how could I incorporate this into a row??  It would have to be vertical, and include snow-covered mountains, perhaps interspersed with some trees.  I thought of one of my all-time best-selling patterns, featured originally in McCall’s Quilting, then showcased in an 8-part quilt-along series.  McCall’s called it Misty Pines, however I call it Winter Solstice (available here).

PC190 Winter Solstice

Could I make a variation of it?  Absolutely!  Introducing On the Slopes, (click to download) a 12” wide x 30” high row/wall-hanging perfect for your favorite skier or snowboarder.

On the Slopes by Patti Carey

I gathered a selection of textures from a variety of Northcott collections, including Stonehenge Gradations, Naturescapes, Toscana and Artisan Spirit Shimmer.

Selection of Northcott textures

I needed 7 different values of grey from snow to medium grey.  After cutting all the pieces, I kept the greys in order for easy reference.

greys in order

To easily cut the triangle pieces using the template, I butted my ruler up to the edge of the template, then moved it to cut the piece.  This saved me from inadvertently shaving off bits of my template.

To easily cut the tree fabrics into quarter-square triangles, I aligned the squares on the vertical and horizontal lines on my cutting mat.

quarter square triangle cutting

Then I gathered the components for each tree block and placed them in stacks for quick assembly.

Assembling the tree pieces for chain-piecing

While sewing the mountain sections, I positioned the patches so that the seams were pressed toward me, thereby preventing them from getting twisted under the feed-dogs on my sewing machine.

Delectable mountain seams toward me

I did the same thing when sewing the columns of the quilt together, sewing the columns from bottom to top.

Assembling the columns with seams toward me

Here is my quilt top, finished except for the applique.

Finished quilt top minus the applique

In the pattern, I include appliques for a skier as well as a snowboarder.  I haven’t decided if I’m making this for me (snowboarder) or a friend (skier).  Perhaps I’ll do one of each!  This project took less than a day, so I could easily make another.

I hope you enjoy making this wintery scenic row as much as I enjoyed designing it for you!  Here is a list of the other designers and their blogs.

Tuesday September 4, 2018

The Quilt Rambler | Duck Creek Mountain Quilting | Cheryl LaPlante
| Patti’s Patchwork

Thursday September 6, 2018

 Be A Quilter

Pretty Piney | Ms P Designs USA | Creatin’ in the Sticks
Freemotion by the River | Any Pattern   

Tuesday September 11, 2018

Barbara Dieges | Upstairs Hobby Room
Quilt Art | UlaSewing / SzycieUli

Thursday September 13, 2018

Pumpkin Patch BC | Sew Incredibly Crazy
A Quilting Chick | Patchwork Breeze

Tuesday September 18, 2018

Just Let Me Quilt | Elizabeth Coughlin Designs | Quilt Fabrication
Renee’s Quilting Addiction | Made By Marney

Thursday September 20, 2018

Clever Chameleon | Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Heleen Pinkster Quilt Design
Cynthia’s Creating Ark | Seams To Be Sew

Tuesday September 25, 2018

Songbird Designs/Brenda’s Blog | Powered By Quilting | Kissed Quilts
Happy Sewing Room | Sew Joy Creations

Thursday September 27, 2018

BobbininQuilts | Daydreams of Quilts | The Quilted Snail | Scrapdash

Tuesday, October 2, 2018

Words & Stitches | True Blue Quilts | Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse
Meanderings Along Lizard Creek | Creativeblonde

Thursday, October 4, 2018

Quilt In Piece | Jaded Spade Creations | Mountain Meadow Designs
Masterpiece Quilting | Pamela Quilts

Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Show and Tell Day

Words & Stitches | Upstairs Hobby Room | Powered By Quilting
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Clever Chameleon | Creatin’ in the Sticks | Sew Joy Creations

Visit each designer’s blog to see their row and download the pattern for free within 1 week of their post.

Now for the giveaways!  I will randomly select 1 winner to receive a bundle of eight 1-yd cuts of Stonehenge Gradations (see them here).  To be eligible, please leave a comment on my blog by midnight September 10, telling me what your happy place is.  In your comment, please let me know which colorway you would like should I draw your name.

EQ8 software – a $259 value

Please also enter here to win the grand prize, a copy of EQ8, the amazing quilt design software I use every day to design my patterns. This prize will be given out at the end of the Row-along.

Enjoy the My Happy Place Row-along, and please stop by each designer’s blog to collect their pattern and enter for their giveaway.  Have fun!  I can’t wait to see your Row-along quilts!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

Happy Friday!  Today is officially the last day of the last week of summer – 😦  I am busy prepping (a.k.a. baking) to go to a friend’s cottage for the last long weekend of the summer.  Earlier today I worked on my row quilt for the My Happy Place Row-Along that starts next Tuesday and runs for 5 weeks.  Along with 4 other designers, I am leading off the Row-along!  There are some fabulous giveaways each day.  Here is a little taste of my row:

Row-along preview

Here’s what my sewing table looked like earlier today.

My sewing table

Until next Tuesday, have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

This past week I have been particularly busy with several quilty things, including:

• Strike-offs for my batik fabric collection for Banyan Batiks. It was like Christmas in July!  I just about hugged the FedEx driver when he delivered my parcel.  This was my first look at my collection on fabric, and I was over-the-moon excited.  Some of the fabrics were fabulous – even better than I expected – while others will need some tweaking.  Overall, I am very pleased, and can hardly wait to get started making up projects with the collection.  I will be showing the collection at Spring Quilt Market 2019 in Kansas City, so I will have lots of time to make some great quilts and accessories.  Unfortunately, I cannot show you anything from the collection yet, however suffice to say that there are some unique fabrics in it.
• Designing patterns for 3 more fabric collections from Northcott’s September 2018 release. Here is an image from the contemporary floral group, likely shipping to stores late Spring 2019.
  

  upcoming Mod Trellis pattern

  I also played with this batik collection that has a large stamped print.

  

  upcoming Flower Boxes pattern

  Lastly, I had fun with a darling collection by Alaskan artist Barbara Lavallee – I find her artwork irresistible!

  

  upcoming Quilting with Mama pattern

  In total, I designed 7 patterns with fabrics from this release – that’s a lot of computer time.  One of my favorites is this design for the 10^th anniversary Stonehenge collection – it includes Celtic motifs.

  

  upcoming Stonehenge Solstice Star pattern

  I will be making this up for Northcott’s booth for Fall Quilt Market in November.

• Developing new classes for Mountain Quiltfest 2019 next March 20 – 23^rd in Pigeon Forge, TN. This is always a super event, with world-class teachers.  Next year’s instructors include Nancy Mahoney, Linda Hahn, Klaudeen Hansen, Cheryl Sleboda and Bonnie Hunter, the scrap queen!
• I drooled over the latest issue of McCall’s Quilting that arrived in my mailbox this week. The September/October issue has an abundance of Autumn color, including 9 Fall-themed projects or articles.  I was tempted to dig into my stash for some orange, gold, rust and moss green fabrics to try one or 2 of them.  This issue also has my Jaded Facets table runner/bed runner – Woop!  Woop!
  

  Jaded Facets bed-runner/table runner

  I made it with Stonehenge Gradations.  Here is a close-up of the quilting. This project is based on a block I designed for Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 13 back in 2016.  It looks so different in the current issue of McCall’s!  It is easier than it looks, like most of my designs.  If you don’t have a subscription to McCall’s, you can find this issue on newsstands for another month or so or order the e-zine here.

Last week, I posted about quilt patterns, and solicited your opinion.  I’ve had some great feedback – thank you!  There is still time to comment if you have not already done so.  I will randomly draw a winner from all responses posted by August 8, so please take a moment to send me your thoughts.

Until next time,

Cheers!

Patti

Fellow Quilters,

The last time I chatted with you, it was April, and I was knee-deep in snow.  Now it is July, with sweltering temperatures, and I am thinking wistfully of snow, hoping the thoughts will keep me cool.  Our area has rather high humidity levels, so 80° feels more like 100° with any amount of activity.  My desire to go for a good ride on my bicycle has been over-ruled by my desire not to pass out from heat stroke, so my bike is languishing in the garage.

So, what have I been doing instead? Well, I’ve been keeping myself very busy with numerous guild presentations and workshops, including the Georgian Bay Quilt Guild, Oakville Sewing Centre and Napanee Heritage Quilt Guild in May, followed by the Hamilton Quilt Guild and Simcoe Sew & Quilt in June.  Here is a pic of the sashiko class at SS&Q – 18 enthusiastic gals.

sashiko class June 2018 at SS&Q Barrie

Due to the overwhelming response, a 2^nd class has been scheduled for October 13.  Next month, I will be presenting a trunk show and workshop at the Chatham-Kent Quilt Guild and also teaching a bargello class at SS&Q.

In May, I was also crazy-busy whipping up samples for two 30-minute presentations for Quilt Market, the industry’s semi-annual trade show.  Northcott has the stunning Imagine collection (with 5 fantastic panels!) shipping to stores in December, and with the help of my colleagues, I designed and stitched up 7 quilt tops and a dress in 5 days.  Here is a link to one of the Schoolhouse presentations .  I’m wearing the dress that I made, with my sparkly boots!

In June, I wrote patterns – 8 of them, in fact – and tested them, so I currently have 10 projects in various stages of completion.  There is Shaded Tiles, made with the fabulous Stonehenge Maplewood (the ombre fabrics make this quilt glow),

PC210 Shaded Tiles

and In the Reef, a pattern for 2 different options of a tropical lap or throw quilt featuring a digitally-printed underwater seascape (Coral Reef).

PC211 In the Reef

Then there are 4 different winter/holiday patterns:  In the Woods, with vintage-looking Spruce Mountain (I used the lengthwise border stripe in a horizontal strip quilt),

PC222 In the Woods

Cameo Stars, with ethereal Stonehenge Joy to the World (I fussy-cut the block panel into octagons),

PC223 Cameo Stars

Gifts Galore, using the fun and funky Fa La La,

PC224 Gifts Galore

and Tree Line, made with Banyan Batik’s Winter Light (I used a stamped tree border print in this modern quilt, making it super-quick to whip up).

PC230 Tree Line

I’m also working on 2 patterns using Amish Life, based on the charming artwork of renowned artist (and quilting friend) Pat Buckley Moss.  I have gone on several quilting cruises with Pat, and it was a thrill and an honour to design with her fabric.  Her collection includes some printed cameos, a panel and a border stripe, and I used them in Bordering on Amish

PC212 Bordering on Amish

and Snapshots of Life.

PC213 Snapshots of Life

While cutting out the cameo blocks, I came up with a little tip:  I needed to cut the blocks 7½”, however my ruler is only 6” wide.  I positioned my ruler so that the 3¾” line was centered in the cameo and cut along the edge of the ruler.  Then I grabbed my smaller 4” x 14” ruler and positioned it beside the 6” ruler so that the cut line was at the 1½” line on the small ruler.  Voila!  I could now accurately cut a 7½” wide strip.

Trimming the cameo blocks to 7 1/2″

Because of this flurry of activity, my makeshift sewing room is bursting at the seams!  I am running out of places to pile stuff.  I have been reading with interest, therefore, the terrific 6-week Creative Spaces blog hop hosted by fellow Northcott pattern designer Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis and her friend Cherry Guidry.  There are 16 pattern designers participating, sharing a plethora of tips on designing and organizing a sewing studio (a.k.a. room), favorite tools, and general management of the stuff that goes on in our creative space.  I have already picked up a few choice nuggets – thanks gals! I had to laugh at some of the photos being shared, and the quantity of some sewing notions (scissors in particular) that some quilters own.  I have 7 pair, including the large and small Karen Kay Buckley ones in my travelling toolbox and the pin-on ones for my longarm.  WAAAY less than others!  How about you?  How many pair of scissors do you use specifically for your hobby?

The other question I have for you relates to purchased patterns, and I would be grateful for your feedback on this.  I realize that patterns are not inexpensive – the average quilt pattern is in the $10 range. In comparison, a quilt magazine is about $7 and often contains 10 or more patterns.  I appreciate every purchase of one of my patterns.  I try to add value for the purchaser by including multiple sizes in each pattern.  Occasionally an alternate size isn’t appropriate, often because of the particular fabric being used in the pattern.  In these cases, I try to include a second design (as in the In the Reef pattern above).  How important is it to you to have multiple size or design options in a purchased pattern?  Please poll your quilting buddies (maybe forward this blog post 😊), then leave a comment below.  I will randomly select 1 responder to receive some of Pat Buckley Moss’ Amish Life collection.  I’ll leave this one open for 2 weeks, until August 8.  Good luck and thanks for your input.  In the meantime, I’ll be in my sewing room, plowing through 10 quilts…..

Cheers,

Patti

PS.  Congrats to Stephanie Woodward, the recipient of the bundle of lovely Canvas textures from Northcott’s Essentials.