Bird on Limb For a Scrap Quilt

I love how the bird population increases with the warmer weather of spring. The birds chirping outside inspired this new pieced scrap quilt pattern “Bird on a Limb”.

Bird on a Limb Quilt Pattern

The pattern is designed to use your scraps or precut fabrics and fat quarters for the blocks to give it a scrappy look. You can customize to make it all one color if you prefer. The birds have just landed on a limb with these pieced blocks. The size as shown is 64″ w x 76″ h. It’s easy to adjust your quilt to make a larger or smaller by adding or decreasing the blocks or rows. It’s also easy to customize for a table runner, placemat, table topper or wallhanging to give you lots of uses.

Embellish by adding buttons or beads for eyes, or a mix of both for additional scrappiness.

This pattern is available from Etsy WhimsiColor for instant download.

I hope this spring finds you outside listening to the bird chirping with a beautiful day and with plenty of time to quilt.

Phyllis

Enjoy Spring Showers May Flowers With a New Quilt Pattern

Spring is almost here!  Days are getting longer and the weather much warmer. But the spring showers are necessary to have the beautiful May flowers!  This new quilt pattern, Spring Showers May Flowers will have you ready to enjoy both.

Spring Showers May flowers Quilt Pattern

This quilt pattern includes both patchwork piecing and appliqué and is 52″ wide by 63″ high. The size can be easily adjusted to make it larger or smaller. Spring Showers May Flowers makes a great scrap quilt by using your scraps for the flowers and umbrella appliqué pieces. This pattern uses 2 color combinations for the quilt blocks and alternates the blocks. You can use different colors for all the blocks to give it a scrappy look. Its great also for adding embellishments with buttons or beads for the flower centers, or using rick rack for the umbrella handles instead of appliqué.

This pattern is available from  Etsy I would love to see your quilt that you make with this pattern!

Have a fun day of quilting!

Phyllis

Sew a Bunny Apron for Easter

If you are stuck in the kitchen cooking for Easter, why not make it fun wearing this bunny apron? This apron will delight kids of all ages with the bunny pocket.

Easter Bunny apron pattern

This half apron made with this Bunny Apron Pattern is 33″ W and 21″ H and can easily be adjusted to another size. Buttons and embroidery floss embellishments are used for the bunny face. It can quickly be sewn for Easter or for everyday use in a couple of hours. The bunny pocket can be made without the bunny adornments.

Aprons are so trendy, you can wear it as a fashion statement while hiding the Easter eggs!

This Bunny apron pattern is first in a coming series of Special Occasion apron patterns and is priced so low you can easily buy one for each occasion. The pattern is available in my Etsy WhimsyColor shop.

Happy Sewing and Happy Easter!

Phyllis

Quiltcon, The Modern Quilt Guild Amazing Conference

I was delighted to attend Quiltcon, presented by the Modern Quilt Guild  in February. Quiltcon is a beautiful and amazing quilt show, with wonderful classes and lectures. Not only was the location in Pasadena, CA beautiful, the weather was also (well, except for the day I arrived when it poured rain). I want to share a few of the gorgeous quilts exhibited at the show.

Modern Quilt Guilds throughout the US and several countries submitted entries for the “Member Charity Challenge”. These quilts were displayed through the hall of the convention center and in rooms for viewing. This quilt is “My Baltimore” by the Baltimore MQG.  I showed many of these quilts in my Instagram and Facebook posts while atending Quiltcon.

My Baltimore BMQG

“David Bowie” was designed by Holly Hickman and was in the Moda fabric booth. I think this quilt was shown on social media more than any other quilt there! You can find more information about the making of this quilt on Moda’s Blog.

David Bowie

“Falling” is by Kathy York of Austin, Texas. The batik cirlces reminded her of strands of beads so she hand stitched some dashed lines to represent the cording. This quilt was entered in the “Use of Negative Space” category.

Falling Quilt

“Cat Face” was by Megan Callahan of Bakersfield, CA. and was entered under the “Piecing” category.

Cat Face Quilt

“Handcrafted Triangles” is by Jennifer Johnston of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada and was entered in the “Improvisation” category. I love all the colors.

Handcrafted Triangles Quilt

“My Brother’s Jeans” by Melissa Averinos won “Best in the Show”.  She found the jeans in the trash after her brother’s death.

My brothers Jeans Quilt

“Picnic Petals” is by Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill of Woodbridge, CT and was entered in the “Modern Traditionalism” category.

Picnic Petals Quilt

“Puttin’ on the Glitz” is by Gina Boyd of Davis, CA and was entered in the Glitz Fabric Challenge by Michael Miller Fabrics.

Puttin on the Glitz Quilt
“Square Dance” is by Carol Dennis of Garland, TX and was entered in the “Piecing” category.

Square Dance Quilt

“The Big Swirl” by Betsy Vinegrad of Short Hills, NJ, was entered in the Glitz Fabric Challenge by Michael Miller Fabrics.

The Big Swirl Quilt

“Whimsical Logs” by Letitia Chung of San Francisco, CA, was entered in the “Modern Traditionalism” category and won 1st place.

Whimsical Logs Quilt

“Red Hot” by Shawna Doering of Denver, CO, was entered in the “Use of Negative Space” category and won the Judge’s Choice Award.

Red Hot Quilt

“Making Triangles” was made by Dawn Golstab of Leander, TX.  This quilt was entered in the Triangle Quilt Challenge.

Making Triangles Quilt

In addition to lectures and classes, there were also demonstrations in the exhibit hall. I really enjoyed this block printing demonstration by Valori Wells. You can see some of the gorgeous fabrics she created with her block prints on the table in front of her. I learned a little about block printing in college and was so inspired watching Valorie that I bought her book “My Life in Fabric”afterwards

Valorie Wells Demonstrating Block Print

An exhibit of quilts by Gwen Marston created a display of beautiful colors. She also gave a lecture that I thoroughly enjoyed. She is so colorful in all that she does!

Gwen Marston Quilt

In addition to all the color and quilts, I enjoyed spending time with a very good friend, Robin Pickens. We definitely inspired each other shopping in the vendor area!  One can’t have too many quilt supplies!  Robin had lived in the Pasadena area several years ago and gave me a tour of parts of it and I enjoyed meeting her lovely family. Spending time with a friend and lots of talking was icing on the cake for Quiltcon!

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of the quilts! I tried to get all the information correct, but if I have any mistakes, I apologize and hope that someone will let me know so that I can correct it.  There were so many more absolutely breathtaking quilts and I wish I could show them all.

Keep quilting!

Phyllis

 

Gorgeous Quilts from Spring Quilt Market Minneapolis

In part two of my photos from the Spring International Quilt Market held in Minneapolis, I want to show you some of the beautiful quilts displayed. Sometimes a picture doesn’t provide the detail that makes the quilt so spectacular so I took some close up detail photos that I’m showing with the quilt photo.

This quilt, “Happy” is by Robbi Joy Eklow of Third Lake, Illinois and used the technique of raw-edged fused appliqué and free motion quilting. In this quilt, she combined the purple, green, and orange rings with giant flowers from another quilt that she had not finished.

Robie Joy Eklow Happy Quilt

Wild horses inspired this quilt “One Fine Day” by Laurie Britt Piper of Bakersfield, CA.  The technique used was raw-edged appliquéd, fused and painted.  On a road trip through Utah, Colorado and Idaho, she had to stop in the middle of the highway to let a group of wild horses pass and turned that moment into inspiration for a quilt.

One Fine Day wild horses quilt

One Fine Day wild horse quilt detail

“Bentonville Square” was created by Karen Kielmeyer and the Van Go-Go Art Quilt Group of Bentonville, AK. They decided to do a slice quilt based on a postcard of an original painting by Jane Garrison Davidian of Fayetteville, AK. The techniques used were machine appliquéd and pieced.

Bentonville Square Quilt

Kathy York, of Austin, TX, created “Suburbs” used techniques of hand-dyed, batiked, discharged, over-dyed, fused appliqué, and machine quilted, and hand quilted. This quilt was inspired by the fires that ravaged Bastrop, TX in 2011. New houses were build with each unit individualized by color and pattern.

Suburbs Quilt

Suburbs quilt detail

“Bohemian III Rain” is third in a series “Rain” by Sandra Peterson of Muncie, IN.  The technique used were machine pieced, foundation pieced, hand appliquéd, and hand quilted. She wanted to create a three-dimensional design using the series’ original fractal wheels, and to develop a technique for curved foundation piecing. The motif design answer was umbrellas.

Bohemian III Rain quilt

Mary Ann Hildebrand of Comfort, TX, created the “Japanese Tea Garden” quilt and used the techniques of fused appliqué, free-motion quilted, threadpainted, painted and penciled. The Japanese Tea Garden, built in an abandoned stone quarry in San Antonia, TX around 1910, was the inspiration for this quilt.

Japanese Tea Garden Quilt

“Born Free” quilt is by Denise Sargo of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The techniques used were appliquéd, burned, hand-embroidered, inked, dyed, and machine quilted. The quilt is to portray the kind of animals, the proud, fierce-looking lion, that is vulnerable due to the loss and destruction of habitat.

Born Freen Lion Quilt

“Moody Beach, Maine, 1957” is the subject of this quilt by Margot McDonnell of Tempe, AZ.  The techniques were fused, machine appliquéd and quilted, and painted. This original design was inspired by a vintage non-professional black and white snapshot.

Moody Beach Main Quilt

“Sunflower Pilgrimage” by Susan Bianchi of Saratoga, CA, used the techniques of fused, couched, machine and hand-quilted. She was inspired by Annie Liebovitz’s photography technique of overlapping several photographs to make one imperfect but complete image.

Sunflower Pilgrimage quilt

“Rhythm & Roses” was created by Karen Echmeier of Kent CT, and used the techniques of topstitch-pieced, couched and hand-beaded. This quilt is from her book Layered Waves, and is part of a series of quilts with the theme of “Finding Center” to stay focused and maintain balance with the rhythm of life.

Rhythm and Roses quilt

 

rhythm and roses quilt detail

Marina Landi and Maria Lucia Azara of Sao Paulo, Brazil, used techniques of appliquéd and quilted to create “Summer Wind”.  A painting by Anna Bocek inspired them to dye silk and form the quilt with a great number of colors and shades and to reproduce the painting’s hair movement.

Summer Wind quilt

summer wind quilt detail

“Thunderstorm” by Brigette Morgenroth of Kassel, Germany, used the techniques of paper-pieced and hand quilted to represent the dark sky, pouring rain and the blue, green, orange and yellow umbrellas. The quilt is made with hand-dyed cotton and the elegant curves of the Twisted Log Cabin block.

Thunderstorm quilt

Thunderstorm quilt detail

“Prince Charming’s Shoe Sale” is by Pam Rubert of Springfield, MO and used the techniques of hand-dyed and stitched. This quilt is a contemporary version of Cinderella with her and her stepsisters as modern women who drove to the Charming Shoe Store in their own pumpkin cars.

Prince charming's shoe sale quilt

Prince charming shoe sale quilt detail

“Furrealizm…Dali Has Gone to the Dogs” is by Pauline Salzman of Treasure Island, FL. The techniques used were fused and appliquéd. The design was inspired by Salvador Dali’s “The Weaning of Furniture”.

Dali has gone to the Dogs quilt

Dali has gone to the Dogs quilt detail

Quilt Market is always more fun in a vibrant city such as Minneapolis with a dynamic downtown area. This city was home of the iconic Mary Tyler Moore show. This statue is at the spot where she tossed her hat in the air that was shown at the beginning of each show.  In researching, I discovered that this shot was ranked as the second greatest moment in 1970’s television.

Mary Tyler Moore iconic hat toss statue

I hope that you enjoyed seeing some of the beautiful quilts from market. I apologize for the quality of some of these photos – the overhead lighting of a convention center is not always conducive to good quality photographs and accurate color.

It’s always a joy and delight to walk among all the quilts displayed during this show and I am already looking forward to next one.

Phyllis

Create a Wedding Gift – Dove and Heart Wedding Quilt!

The wedding “season” is arriving soon, but you still have plenty of time to create an heirloom wedding gift with this Dove and Heart Wedding Quilt pattern.

Dove and Heart Wedding Quilt Pattern

This quilt is wall hanging size of 42″ x 42″ but is easy to increase the size if you want a larger quilt. This pieced and appliqué quilt has appliqué hearts and doves to symbolize love and marriage.  The center block with the two hearts has space to embroider the bride and groom’s name and date of wedding if you choose to. The block arrangement is easy enough for beginners to piece.  The pattern includes full size heart and dove pattern templates.

This pattern is available on Etsy for purchase as a downloadable pattern.

Happy Quilting and best wishes for all the brides and grooms!

Phyllis

Arbor Window Quilt Pattern with Views of Trees

I love trees and enjoy looking out my window at the woods and trees.  This quilt catches the spirit of viewing trees through window panes. This quilt pattern. Arbor Window, is free beginning April 15, 2015 for the next two weeks by joining the April Quilt Dash

Arbor Window Quilt Dash

Arbor Window, designed by Tammy Harrison for this months Quilt Dash, is made with a traditional and classy paper pieced quilt block designed with muted fabric colors.  The blocks with the trees are in random settings in window panes to make this quilt a modern beauty.

The Quilt Dash is free to join and you will be entered for a drawing from each participating quilt shop for a prize.

Have a beautiful day of quilting!

Phyllis

Quilt Colorful Dragonflies for Spring

Spring is almost here, I hope. With that arrival, we will see all kinds of flying things, from birds to butterflies and dragonflies. I love dragonflies and we have a lot of them buzzing around in our yard in the warm months. I thought dragonflies would make a great subject for a spring or summer quilt with this new pattern.

Dragonfly Flight Quilt Phyllis Dobbs

This Dragonfly Flight quilt is available for purchase here through Etsy WhimsyColor store.

Dragonfly Flight is a nice size for a throw, 44″ x 55 ¾”, but can be resized by adding blocks. Large green buttons are used for the dragonfly heads. Is a fun quilt that allows you to play with the direction of the blocks and dragonflies to give a totally different look to your quilt. You can make your dragonflies all one color or make them several different colors. I also chose bright color fabrics for this quilt as I’m really tired of the dreary winter months and am looking forward to the warm sunny days of spring while I watch the dragonflies flit around.

I wish you a wonderful spring and summer!

Happy Spring!

Phyllis

Kitty Cats and Yoga – Fun Purring with Free Patterns!

My latest fabric collection, Purr-fect Balance with Quilting Treasures, featuring kitties in cute yoga poses, is now in fabric stores. I want to share some free quilt and sewing patterns that I designed with this collection, a quilt, tote bag, and a yoga mat bag.  You can view the fabrics in my prior post for Purr-fect Balance fabrics. 

Purr-fect Balance Kitty Yoga Quilt free pattern

This quilt is 44″ x 55 ¼” in size, which is a good size for a throw quilt or wall hanging.  You can even lay it on the floor for your yoga workout. The skill level for the quilt is advanced beginner.

Kitty yoga bag patterns

These bags are for a roomy tote to carry your yoga clothes or for shopping. The other bag is to hold your rolled up yoga mat. Maybe these fabrics can entice your cat to help you with yoga, although he or she will be trying to help the minute you get down on the floor.

I hope you have fun with these patterns and fabrics. I love cats, needless to say, (and dogs too), and designed the fabrics in happy and bright colors.

All patterns are available for free download from the Quilting Treasures website. Click on the link below the quilt and it will give you the links to the individual patterns.

Happy sewing and quilting,

Phyllis

 

 

Quilt Some Happy Shamrocks for St. Patrick’s Day!

St. Patrick’s Day is a fun holiday to celebrate whether you are Irish or not! The color green is everywhere as are lucky shamrocks. You can sew and quilt this “Irish Spring” quilt with a shamrock pieced block to use for St. Patrick’s Day or all year.

Irish spring shamrock quilt pattern

This quilt is free for two weeks by joining the Quilt Dash and dashing through some online quilt shops February 13 through 27, 2015. “Irish Spring”, designed by Tammy Harrison,  is 59″ W x 73″ H and is constructed with 20 blocks and sashing in several shades of green with black accents. The Quilt Dash is free, so join and received this free pattern.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day and may the luck of the Irish be with you.

Phyllis