Picnic Time! Serving Deli Trays!

Marny here...so pleased with a new pillow for my home! It all started with an email from a customer. She had already completed two projects out of Picnic, but had questions about her exploration of the Deli Tray block. 

I had trouble visualizing the answer to her question. I am happy to report it turned out to just be a simple cutting issue. In order to arrive at the answer I ended up making a pillow. 

This block is FAST! It looks far more complicated than it is. The illustrated techniques in Picnic for cutting and piecing make it a breeze. I think choosing three purples/violets from my stash to get the transparency took longer than the cutting and sewing did.

Testing the transparency with darks to the outside.

 

This time the lights are to the outside and the dark is in the center. 
The medium remains the intersection.

Individual pieces ready to be sewn.

Pieces sewn together, each column is about 17" long.

Columns shifted for joining together.

Matching up those dog ears!!

The columns are sewn together. They are designed to be trimmed to size later.

Using a ruler to check how and where to trim to 15 1/2".

Here I am trimming the block 3/4" off the top point. I repeated for the bottom point.
Keep the side edge of the block square with markings on the ruler.

Trimmed to 15 1/2". Ready for the additional background to be added.

Just a little flat piping added for color, 
a bit of rounding at the corner, and the pillow is complete.

Till Tuesday...

More on Notebook Cover Exchange

Marny here...look what I received from Annette in the Des Moines Modern Quilt Group Notebook Cover exchange! She used her favorite block from our book Quilts du Jour. This notebook will be well used and much loved by me! Great blue-green ombré on white, beautiful button and a closure that actually works. It is all perfect. Thank you Annette!!

Emily V. received the one I made. 

She requested a composition book cover. I used the Stiched in Color tutorial. Emily loves cats and has a fabulous sense of humor. How about kitties fishing for dinner in a goldfish bowl. I had fabric with little goldfish, but how to do the rest? Paper piecing was one answer. I found a cute solution on Carol Doak's site under the heading of free patterns. It is called Cat in the Pumpkin. Surely it could translate to Cat in the Fishbowl.

Fishbowl here we come...      

Goldfish fussy cut!

Cat in the Fishbowl!

  A pseudo Cat's Paw block might work too. 

The quadrants are 3" square with 1/4" sashing. 

Front of Composition Book Cover

 

Back of Composition Book Cover

 

Inside of composition book cover (Dear Stella fabric)

A little extra fabric bundled up for fun!

 

We are going to be part of this very special event in Ames.
We have a commissioned work that will be hung just in time!
More in the weeks to come.

DSM Modern Group Notebook Exchange

jill here...  Last night was our DSM Modern Group notebook exchange.  This was so much fun.  The participants were assigned a secret recipient with a just few requests...the size, preference for color and fabric design, avoidance of any color and special likes.

These are a few of the many different creations.

My recipient stated she likes Tula Pink fabrics and
ROYGBIV gradation...doesn't like purple or dull colors.
 My process was going through my previous drawings
so that I didn't have to completely reinvent a design.
I adapted a sketch with transparency.

This was my creation for Eva Marie.
The background was a Tula Pink grey.
The transparency colors were in my stash.

Front

Back

Label on the inside on Tula Pink Fabric....
covering a very pink spiral notebook!

This was my gift made by Emily..Love it!
The Albers elements make me very happy
and it's the perfect size to pop into my purse.

The full out transparency.

And inside was Carolyn Friedlander' fabric and
a special Fireworks treat.
The little "This took forever" label can be used at my discretion!
Thanks, Emily

'till next week.....

Odds and Ends

Marny here...just a few quick notes today!

Another three Bee blocks for month four.

First, I couldn't stop at just the three Bear Paw blocks for our bee. They were so much fun to make and the fabrics were still strewn on the sewing table! Easier to make blocks than to clean the table off.

Next, Jill and I have two speaking engagements coming up next week! We are very excited. Meeting friends, new and old, at guild meetings is so rewarding. We'd love to have you come if you are near either night! The first talk will be to the Old Capitol Quilter's Guild in Iowa City on Monday, September 12th. We'll be discussing how we use constraints and challenges to drive our designs.  Here is a link to the programs offered by OCQG. There will be lots of quilts and sharing and laughter! On Tuesday evening we'll be speaking again just down the road from home to the Ankeny Area Quilter's Guild. Here is a link for their website. It should be a fun evening!

And on to a small clothing sewing project I've started. I bought yards of cute flannel awhile ago, and am finally attempting turning it into two pairs of toddler pajama pants. I'm using Oliver + S Sleepover Pajamas pattern. 

Timeless Treasures children's flannel for waistbands

 

Noah's Ark design by Blank Quilting for the cuffs

Toddler pajama legs ready to be sewn! Now I just need to catch the toddlers and check the fit!

AND...here is an announcement about the current Thomas Knauer quilt exhibit in the Anderson Gallery at Drake University in Des Moines.

Enjoy the arrival of fall!l Till Tuesday...