Day 24 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Ocean Waves

This weekend I finally finished a project that was starting to grow roots in my sewing studio! A couple of months back you might remember me talking about making a quilt for the MCC quilt room located in Ephrata Pa. Well, I finished it, and it left this morning...and I it feels great for several reasons. First, it's an awesome organization, which my family has been a part of for many, many years. Second, I had a reason to try our Ocean Waves pattern, which was a lot of fun, (don't fear all of those triangles) and the Third reason I loved this quilt is becasue it used a lot of fabrics from my stash. I used over 12 yds! And when you use that much out of your stash (it still didn't make a dent in what is left in my stash) it releases a little guilt that you might have, and you are then free to go out and buy more fabric!

So, that is what Cori and I were doing last friday. Sorry for the delay in blogging that morning, but we we hit the road early to get to the quilt shops. Our first stop was Oma's quilt shop in Grunthal MB. Adina (Oma) always has the most welcoming smile, and enthusiasim for anything that you are working on. We bought fabric to finish a bunch of projects, and of course we also bought fabrics for no reason at all. From there, we headed even farther east to Tanell's quilt shop which is in Steinbach MB. www.tanells.ca This is where we found a lot of the Joel Dewberry's, the Amy Butler's, and the other bold prints that we picked up. Cori also found the best backing for one of my quilts. I sewed up a red and white quilt a few years ago, and I love it, but it needs the right backing. Cori found this amazing red with a small white dot. It's perfect. now I can send it off to the quilter, and share it with you soon.

Cori and I are also talking about what we are going to do when these 100 days of quilts are done. We could easily have a 100 days in Myra's fabric stash! But I think we have a better plan - and it is something no one has ever done before. We will start talking about it soon, because it will envolve all of you, and one of you will come out a real winner.

The other thing you need to keep your eyes open for is this Ocean Waves quilt again. Sometime this month, I will post a picture of the origional quilt, and in that picture is one of us. I will post it on one of our birthdays....which happens to be a day when we will give YOU the gift.

-myra

P.S. The Ocean Waves quilt that I pieced will be sent to Material Resources in Ephrata Pa. It will be hand quilted by Amish and Mennonite women, and donated to one of their quilt sales in the US. To find out more, please visit www.mcc.org/reliefsales .

Quilting Retreat NEWS!

I think that we mentioned that we are holding a spring retreat this May 2-4th in Portage La Prairie. Registration is almost full, but we just wanted to let everyone know that there are just a few spots left. We have the details on our website www.bluemeadowdesigns.com under "hometown retreat". At this retreat we will be unveiling our completly kids fabric collection (check it out at www.rjrfabrics.com and lookin under upcoming collections.) You can work on any of our new upcoming kids patterns or create your own. Come join in the fun,meet quilters from all over, share ideas and come and be inspired. We have an all inclusive package, guest room, lots of room to sew and of course FOOD!Consider this your personal invitation - come and join us this spring! If you are interested please contact me cori@bluemeadowdeisgns.com

~Cori

Day 23 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Hunter's Star - Traditional Quilts to Paper Piece

I found another project from our third book. It is quite a simple quilt, composed of only one block, but by turning it, you suddenly have a star appear. This is also a very old design. I believe that there is a recorded Hunters' Star quilt that was made back in the late 1880's, but it must not have been a popular design, because we are always surprised how many quilters have never seen this pattern.

This is another layout where you can play around with color, and have some fun. The first time I saw a Hunter's Star, it was a scrap quilt, and it looked amazing. You can also use another color in the star piecing to make it really pop out.

Way back in time, when I was first starting to quilt, I wanted to make something for my dad's office, so I chose to do this design, using a dark tan and a dark navy print. It looked really good, and it fit perfectly into a masculine setting.

-myra

Day 22 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Exclamation

Yes, I am posting another 'hot' looking quilt, which means that the weather has turned cold once again. Last night it was projected to get down to -45 degrees, and if it holds through til morning, school will be cancelled! The kids are waiting for the news...

Exclamation was published this past summer by Quilts & More magazine. In fact, you don't have to go searching through the pages to find it...it's on the cover. I remember getting the call, and the editor telling me 'Congratulations, your a cover girl!' I am trilled that it is only our project on the cover, and NOT my face. How do they choose which quilt goes on the cover? I have no idea, I just know they were very happy with how their photo shot worked out. They had scheduled the room shot for the quilt, when they felt they needed 2 pillows to go with the quilt. We made them up in a day, and over-nighted them to the magazine.

How did we design such a loud quilt? It was a challenge to us, and we really did have to step out of our comfort zone. The magazine chose which fabric line and coloring they wanted the project to be done in, and then they came to us for a quilt layout idea. We stared at the fabrics for a while, and then made some logical decisions. 1.) We needed to keep the fabrics in large pieces, otherwise you wouldn't be able to see the prints. 2.) We needed to calm the prints with a crisp clean white. 3.) We needed to separate the prints because if they run into each other, they will be lost. 4.) Because of the magazine it is in - the project has to be fast and fun, and appealing to young quilters.

When the final quilt was done, we were very happy with the result. It defiantly stands out in our shelves of projects. And this is a great layout for any bold prints, or Asian prints that you don't want cut up into little pieces. It is a simple layout, but play around with it, and let us know what you come up with.

-myra

Day 21 - of 100 Days of Quilts

View of the Wild - All Through the Woods

This is defiantly one of our earlier quilts! It is from our second book, called All Through the Woods, and was released in 2001. This is a book that Martengale was very hesitant to release, because they felt that it was too 'location specific'. Which means that quilters who don't live in the mountains or woods would never buy the book. It turns out they were very wrong. Many quilters felt a connection to the Canadian, woodsy projects, even though they lived in different countries.

The finished size of the wallhanging is 28" x 36", but it is another project that I would love to re-do in another size. I think it would be great to enlarge it to make it a twin size quilt for a boys' bed. It was also the one place in the book that I could sneek in a big horned sheep. I wanted to include this animal because it is very unique to the Rockie Mountains in Western Canada. And why are the fish so big? Well according to my husband, that's the average size of fish up here in Canada.

-myra

Day 20 - of 100 Days of Quilts

The wedding quilt

This quilt that was the foundation of our first fabric collection - Love Joy Peace. We usually design the quilt before we design the fabrics that we need. And I know that this approach is completely backwards from all other fabric designers.

Cori and I also firmly believe that there are three times in a women's life, when they are more likely to become quilters. 1) When they have their first home/space and they want to decorate. 2) When they are getting married. 3)When they are having a baby. During any of these three times, a women will look at quilting as something she might want to try, because she can see where the finished project will be used.

Cori and I wanted to design a specific 'Wedding Quilt' because we want to bring back the tradition of making a quilt for a new bride. Sometimes newly engaged young women would be dragged into my mothers quilt shop, cringing at the quilt that someone in the family was going to make for them. Cori and I tried to design a simple modern quilt, that would fit into a young brides home.

On the quilt we appliqued, and embroiderd all nine 'fruits of the spirit' taken from the book of Galatians. We even included the fruits that are hard to swallow - such as Patience, and Self-Control. Sometimes it is good to have these reminders in front of you, because in marriage, you will need all of the fruits. And it isn't a coincidence that we put Faithfulness at the very top of the quilt. The large words of Love Joy Peace are all appliqued, and the six smaller words, are all embroidered using 6 strands of embroidery thread. (it took 1 skein of floss for each word) We did publish this pattern in the Love Joy Peace book that was released when our fabric was printed, but we still have a few copies left. If you are interested in them, just e-mail Cori, and she will get one to you.

-myra

Day 19 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Baby Boho

When we started these 100 days of quilt, I had wanted to share more of our early quilts with you, but somehow, I keep coming back to some of our more recent work. I think that I will spend some time this weekend photographing our 'early days' and share those with you next week.

This is a baby quilt that we designed to go with our second fabric line - Bohemian Rhapsody. The intent of this design, and coloring was to challenge quilters in their thinking of what a baby quilt should look like. Have you seen some of the colors that new mothers are putting in their baby rooms? It's not just pink or blue! I love the crisp clean lines of the quilt, and the colors fit into the modern rooms that we are seeing. However, I have also seen this quilt done using kids prints, and it looks great. Why not use a wild print in the large area, and surround it with blocks of color?

The layout was designed to have a modern feel to it, but it also is EASY for a new quilter. Many new moms want to make a baby blanket, but they are intimidated by the prospect. So, they need something that is not too complex...or it will never get finished...and they will never quilt again. And if they never become quilters, they will never know the joy of fresh new fabrics.

-myra

Day 18 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Little Leaves - Traditional Quilts to Paper Piece

What season is it? I love autumn, but I don't want it to be fall, because then winter would soon be starting again. But Cori and I are going through some of our old project, and being re-inspired. This quilt was a paper pieced project that is found in our 3rd book. However, when we came across it again recently, we re-formatted it into a beautiful bed quilt. Of course, the blocks would be much larger, and therefore they would not need to be paper pieced. (I can hear many of you cheering) I need to find the right fabrics, and I think it would look amazing done in Bali prints. And since many of my Bali's are used up, I guess I need to go shopping!

So is there a story behind this little quilt? Of course. We had completed all of the 12 projects for our book, when we suddenly got a call from the editor. They had more pages to fill, and so they needed us to design and quickly make two more projects for the book. Cori and I were both a little stumped. I don't remember how, but we managed to invent two more little quilts, and these leaves were one of them. So, if we had never been pushed by an editor, we never would have created this project.

-myra

Amish Sampler NEWS

I got this email today and it pertains to the quilt that Myra put up today and I thought it was worth sharing...

"I thought I would take a minute and fill you in on what we intend to do with the quilt - other than sell lots of patterns and kits! Two years ago we started up our Rainbow of Hope Quilt Auction. More details are on our website but basically a bunch of us got together and decided to make quilts in honor of people we know who have been affected by cancer. If people needed a starting point, I asked that they choose an awareness color and put that in it. The first thing we learned is that it is not all about pink! The second thing we learned is that hardly anybody walked through the doors of our shop who could not identify with our cause. The kick off was June 1st, the quilts were due September 15th and the auction was September 30th the first year. My customer base unanimously voted that our local Hospice House receive the few hundred dollars we might raise. 105 projects later and an evening of laughter and tears we gave our Hospice House $18,000! Feeling quite good about ourselves and our "one-time" event I went to work that Monday and had two ladies waiting in the parking lot to pick out fabric for the 2007 auction donation. We tweaked the event, changed the auction date to the first Saturday in November, added an expensive dinner, got a donation of a diamond necklace to go to the Viewer's Choice award winner and handed Hospice $25,000! For 2008, the staff decided they wanted to do a quilt together and raffle it off through the year with all the proceeds to go to Hospice - guess which quilt we decided on! We are hoping to raise more money with the raffle tickets than we would by auctioning it off. Last year's Viewer's Choice sold for $1600 so we had better start selling tickets. I know that was a lot to ask a simple question but I just wanted you to know where your quilt is headed!
Thanks,"

Quilted Expressions
Lynchburg, VA
http://www.quiltedexpressions.com/

Isn't that something? How this all started was she put up a pole on her website for their block of the month. And after a few months it was official, our Amish Sampler pattern won! I have been in touch with Tamera and things are going well with the project. It is so cool to hear from our her, with such exciting news. Please go check out the web site...maybe even join the BOM.

~cori

Day 17 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Amish Sampler

This Amish Sampler is a quilt that we did a few months ago using the RJR solids. It is a new style of sampler that we really enjoy doing, because you can play around with block placement, and make your quilt unique. With this design, you once again have area's where you can do some classic Amish quilting. And it really is the colors that make this an Amish quilt. Why not try this same quilt using prints, and create a totally different look?

The hardest part about this project was trying to figure out how we were going to photograph it. Cori and her family pull this cutter behind their horses in winter - and it is the closest 'Amish' item that we have. So, with a fresh coat of snow, we ran outside on Cori's farm to quickly snap a picture.

(and yes - kits of this quilt are available at your local quilt shop)

-myra

Day 16 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Little Lady - Kids size

It has been so cold out here in Manitoba. I decided to post something bright and cheery.

This is a quilt that we made using RJR Handsprays (available on our website!)
The lady bugs are a personal favorite of mine. This quilt is also a reversable quilt. Using the colors that were on the front, we made stripes on the back. How cool is that?!

By using the handsprays this quilt has a contemporary style, however it would also be interesting to see it done using soft prints. If anyone has done that - send me a picture please. This pattern is also available in baby size.

~cori

Day 15 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Sherbet Baby

Sherbet Baby was a fun little quilt that we made using the RJR solids. Once again, it is the quilting that makes this quilt great. We planned this quilt to be clean and classic, and it is a design that would have a whole new look if you decided to use fun kids prints in the big center squares. But if you wanted a quilt in these exact colors - check with your local quilt shop, because RJR has made kits from this design.

-myra

Breaking the rules

Cori was down on Thursday, and the few afternoon hours that we had just flew bye!!

During the 100 days of quilts, we have been showing you our past quilts. Many of these have been designed and made to fit into a specific format of a book or magazine. What you haven't been seeing, are the quilts that we are creating now. These are NEW designs made for no one's purpose but our own. So, Cori and I spent a day playing with colors...and it is the thing that we do best.

At my mother's store, we use to stack and play with fabrics for hours. We don't have that large resource at our fingertips anymore, but we can still play. And at the risk of being too bold and forward - we have a few suggestions for quilters and quilt shops....

Suggestion #1 - BREAK THE COLLECTIONS!!
Over the past few years, we have let ourselves be limited to collections. Some quilters almost feel it is wrong to add a fabric from a different collection into their quilt. Quilts aren't suppose to be Puritans, they are suppose to be creative and beautiful. And stores are also letting themselves be limited by collections. What happens when one print is sold out? Suddenly they don't know what to do with the remaining fabrics. Do you ever think of mixing a 30's print with a bali? Why not?

Suggestion #2 - STOCK THE BASICS
Some shops have become so focused on buying collections, that they forget to stock basics like handsprays and solids. I know these are 'boring' fabrics, but they can be very essential in building a quilt. I personally go through several bolts of solid white in a year. I LOVE crisp white as a base for the bold prints, and I am always surprised when I go to a quilt shop, and they don't have solid white or solid black.

So here is a quick example of mixing fabrics. We started with a piece of Amy Butlers' Lotus, (the large floral) and added our black & white paisley (from our Bohemian Rhapsody line), along with our green leaves, and a black RJR handspray. And suddenly you have a new combination that no one has seen before.
















Then we played some more. We started with a large print (I think it's Amy's) added our teal paisley to the left side, added a moss green/brown handspray, our gold paisley, some body's stripe, a piece of a Heather Bailey, and our geometric backsplash print. It looks awesome together. And just for fun, we might throw in another teal or green. (our own prints that we used are all from our Bohemian Rhapsody line)

And on a side note. How did we come up with the idea of 100 days of quilts? Well this past December when Cori and I were trying to fly into Chicago, and we were in a 'holding pattern' waiting to land, I told her about a site I love to visit. It's http://www.materialobsession.com.au/ and it is a shop in Australia. The best part is that they have a very unique way of mixing colors. They are way more adventurous than many of us, and I love to learn from what they do. And the other best part of their site is their blog. They actually have quilts on their quilting blog! And lately I have been getting a little frustrated by quilters and designers who put everything except quilts on their quilting blog.

So now that I have vented out somethings that I have kept bottled up, I can take a deep breath, and go back to the designing board. And who knows what we will have to share with you at the end of our 100 days.

-myra

Day 14 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Lemon Slice
























Today's weather forecast is for the temperature to reach -43 degrees. Welcome to winter in Canada! And the strange part is that school isn't cancelled until the temp. reaches -45 degrees. So the kids are hoping that it will get just a smidge colder.

So to contrast the cold, I looked through our pictures for the hottest, brightest quilt we own. This is the Lemon Slice quilt that we made up this summer using the NEW RJR handsprays. These new colors are lush and vibrant. And our friend Karen did an amazing job machine quilting this project with a great variegated thread.

I had fallen a little behind in making kits of some of our quilts to put on our website, but I think that I will cut a few kits of this one, because today I need to hold fabric that is bright and warm.

-myra

Day 13 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Holly & Berries Tablerunner - Four Season's of Quilts
























This isn't what I was originally going to post today - but I thought I had better do this now, because Christmas is just about a faded memory.

I remember when Cori handed me a rough sketch and said 'think this will work as a table runner?' Sure, why not? And as we worked on it, it became a really elegant project. There are two section of appliqued berries and leaves on an embroidered vine. Next, there are three rows of ivory & white paper pieced blocks. And finally, there is a great stripped border at each end.

(Do you want to know a few shortcuts for this project? To save time, you could machine stitch the green vine by using a heavier thread in your sewing machine. And if you are intimidated by appliqueing small berries...why not sew on red buttons?)


-myra

Day 12 - of 100 Days of Quilts

Amish Sunday
buggies have 129 pieces
border has 406 pieces
Finished Size: 22" x 8 1/2"

While compiling our 100 days of quilt, Cori and I were searching back, and trying to figure out what really was our first quilt pattern. Right now, we think this is it. I have it on record that a quilter - who happens to be my daughter's kindergarten teacher, bought a copy of this pattern way back in 1997.

Back then, we were on a definite 'paper piecing' kick, because it was a method that we could use to make so many different designs...and you don't have to be an expert quilter to use this method, you just have to be able to sew on a line.

As you can tell from the above information, there were A LOT of little pieces in this Amish sampler, and Cori hand quilted it. (and knowing Cori - she probably did it in one evening.)

-myra

Day 11 - of 100 days of quilts

Oklahoma Twister - American Patchwork & Quilting

I love looking through quilt books to find 'new' old blocks. I own the mammoth Encyclopedia of Quilt blocks, and I think there are 3000 historically documented blocks in the book. I came across this one several years ago, and it is called 'Oklahoma Twister'. I put the block into my EQ program, because I wanted to know what it looked like in a quilt layout. I loved it. I made this quilt for myself - which is a rare treat - but later American Patchwork & Quilting called wanting it for one of their issues.

It may be hard to tell, but the background print is a beautiful, and colorful small print. I would recommend using a small print as the background, because it will help hide the hundreds of seams that this quilt has. I also assembled it the old fashioned way..by cutting hundreds of half square triangles, but if I was to do it again, I would use the grid method, or Thangles.

We actually got an e-mail this summer from someone in our Provence who wanted to make this quilt, but they were going to call it the Elie Twister instead. About 1 hour north of where we live is a small town called Elie, and they were hit this past summer with a F5 tornado. This was the first time in history that Canada has ever had an F5. We might have a few small tornado's, but we don't have the right climate for the big ones...or so we thought.

-myra

Day 10 - of 100 days of quilts

Pineapple table runner - from 'Four Season of quilts'

This table runner was one of the projects in our forth book, and it really was Cori's inspiration. I have never been fond of the pineapple design, but many many years ago, Cori saw one in a shop window, and it changed her life. (OK, maybe that was a little dramatic, but here's the story.)

Back in 1994, I convinced Cori to come with me and my parents on a trip to Pennsylvania. I wanted her to see this beautiful area where I had lived for 2 years. We were staying at the home of my Amish friends, Jonas & Amanda Stolzfus, and I will always remember Cori sitting in their home in the evening lamplight, surrounded by Amish women, and tieing her very first quilt project.

A few days later, we went into the closest town, called Intercourse. (yep, that really is the name) In 'that town' is a great quilt shop called The Old Country Store. If you ever get to Lancaster Co. you must go to this quilt shop. Unfortunately when we got there, it was closed. But in the store window was a beautiful Pineapple quilt, and somewhere I have a picture of Cori standing in front of that store window with that quilt behind her. That design and coloring left such and impression with Cori, that 10 years later, she included a variation of it into one of our books.

-myra

Myra is right - I have fallen in love with the pineapple design. In fact I did make my own version too! But Paper piecing is the ONLY way (I think) to make this quilt. FYI...this project is in our THIRD book called "Traditional Quilts to paper piece". It' s not in print any more, but go to ebay...I am sure you can find it there!

~cori

Day 9 - of 100 days of quilts

















What's the name of this little project? We have no idea. It is just a little table mat that Cori invented a few years ago. The funny thing is that the outer border, and some of the flower prints are from 30's fabrics..and this is not Cori's usual style. I was surprised that she even owned scraps of these prints. So one day Cori just showed up with this cute little thing, and gave it to me and said 'here, quilt it.' We kept the quilting simple, and I think that it shows that a project doesn't have to be frilly to be pretty.
-myra

Day 8 - of 100 days of quilts

Baby Blessings

This is a simple little baby quilt that we made when our first fabric line -Love Joy Peace was released. It is unique, but easy enough for a new mother to make.

The funny part is that whenever Cori or I were pregnant, we COULD NOT think up a single baby quilt for our own children. Now that our kids are all in school, we have lots of baby ideas.

Cori reminded me of this quilt yesterday, when she stopped in to pick up some of our Cape Cod fabric. She will make this quilt again using the soft pinks in the line. I want to make it using the blue's and browns. We might pass along those photos to you in the future.

-myra