Fresh Start Over At…

… Http://ladykquilts.wordpress.com

I hope you’ll check out the new site. I started fresh in order to have the web address Lady K Quilts instead of this one which is LK’s Craft Room.

Thanks for visiting!

XO-K

The Sugar Block Club 2013 Wrap Up

2013 has brought many wonderful things. New friends, in person and on-line via Instagram, new skills and some fun trips. One of the highlights of this year was in the sewing/quilting part of my life. It was participating in Amy Gibson’s Sugar Block Club. When you ask me who my quilting idol is, I am quick to answer with the name Amy Gibson. I first “met” her in January of 2012 when I signed up for her BOM class on Craftsy.com. I didn’t make all of those blocks that year, but I learned so much from Amy’s instruction and guidance. With the skills I learned from her class, and many other resources, both on-line and while working at the now closed LQS, I have gained a great sense of confidence in my skills as a quilt maker. I love sewing everyday and feel fortunate to find constant inspiration every day. Thanks to The Sugar Block Club, Stitchery Dickory Dock and Instagram, I now call Amy one of my online friends. She is a SUPER MOM, amazing designer and quilt maker and such a sweetheart!

Getting back to business, I have finished making all twelve blocks from The Sugar Block Club 2013. Next up is assembling the top. I ordered my border and backing fabrics over the summer and I am excited about the traditional layout I will do with cornerstones and mitered corners on my border. I have loved using Denyse Schmidt’s Flea Market Fancy. The fabrics in this collection are so fresh but with a vintage feel. I blended in some fabrics from her Quilter’s Quarters line at Joann’s and the outcome is perfect in my opinion. All those fun colors pop against Kona Snow. The border and background fabrics are the two grey florals from FMF.

Now for the exciting news! Amy Gibson and Electric Quilt hosted a giveaway of EQ7 on Amy’s blog, Stitchery Dickory Dock. People, I WON!!!!! I couldn’t believe it but I was determined and entered in the giveaway everyday. I received the SWEETEST email from Amy letting me know I had won. By the end of the week I received my software from Jenny at Electric Quilts and I have hit the ground running.

Moving into 2014, I have already signed up for Amy’s Sugar Block Club 2014 Edition. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for all of us, her fans and friends! I hope you’ll join us in 2014!

Thanks to the Quilting Gods for IG!

Earlier this year I became very active on Instagram. My following/follower lists grew and IG “friendships” began between me and some pretty amazing women who either make a living in the quilting industry or are intense hobbyist of quilting/sewing. One of these women is Teresa Silva of Quilting Is my Bliss. She is a long arm quilter who lives in Yakima, WA and her work is stunning! She quilts for major names in the quilt industry, including Julie Herman of Jaybird Quilts. Teresa was so flattering in her comments of my work and genuinely showed interest in quilting my quilt tops in the future. Her quilting skills are amazing and her pics spoke for her talent.
Today my greatest expectations of her custom quilting skills were surpassed when my quilt arrived home. Teresa and I had spoken on the phone about how to approach this quilt, though I trusted her whole heatedly with whatever she wanted to do. Her custom work and eye to detail and design are incredible! I will let these pics speak for me.

“What Cancer Cannot Do” Quilt

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. A friend of mine, Christa Floresca, from high school is the Founder and President of PINK JAMS, a non-profit organization that raises money for breast cancer awareness. Christa works tirelessly for what she believes in and I admire her tenacity and drive that helps make PINK JAMS a successful and valuable organization.

I wanted to join in the effort and make something that PINK JAMS can either auction or raffle off at their upcoming 2nd Annual Under 40 Music Marathon at the Hard Rock Cafe Washington, D.C. However the PINK JAMS Board decides to use the quilt to raise money, I feel confident that either a doctors office, hospital or a very lucky individual will get great joy from the vibrant pink and white fabrics set against a soothing gray ombre fabrics. Scattered across the top are inspiring sayings about what cancer cannot do. Please take a look for yourself below.

Making this quilt was a special experience for me. I used fabrics from V. & Co.’s Simply Color collection as well as a wonderful white tonal fabric that I have used in several pieces in the past, including the Granny Square Quilt I made for my mom, a breast cancer survivor herself, last year. I’m not sure the name of the pink with gray flower fabric though. The focus fabric in this quilt of course is the panel of sayings titled “What Cancer Cannot Do” by Block Party Studios. Using their free quilt pattern, I created this quilt fairly quickly and easily. With the assistance of my friend Mel, I did change the layout so the quilt had a more uniform look and was more appealing to the eye. I love how it turned out.

When the top was finished I was faced with the challenge of finding a long arm quilter to put her magic touch on the quilt. I posted a pic of the top on Instagram and asked if anyone was interested in quilting it for charity. I tagged two long arm quilters and the one who was scheduled to quilt a personal quilt of mine responded with a resounding, “I’ll do it!” Her name is Teresa Silva of Quilting Is My Bliss. Though we have never met personally, I consider her a friend after great correspondence via e-mail and of course the origin of our friendship, Instagram. Teresa is a gifted long arm quilter and I have drooled over her stunning work for months. Well, Teresa didn’t disappoint. Her custom work is breathtaking and the swirl pattern she executed across this quilt is perfect. I had to ask if it was custom or pantograph. I was blown away even more when she confirmed that these are her custom swirls. Thank you Teresa for your stunning work and your time.

I hope my quilt makes a pretty penny for PINK JAMS this fall!

September! Where did YOU come from?

Well, HELLO there September! I can’t believe it’s the fourth day of the month already. Dang! Where did the summer go? Oh, I know! There aren’t really seasons here in the Central Valley of California so time just moves along and then, BAM!, first day of school pics flood my Facebook newsfeed. Have a great year kids!!

Along with a new month comes a new Sugar Block Club pattern from the lovely Amy Gibson of Stitchery Dickory Dock. I am always so excited to check my email on the first of every month and see what Amy has planned for me. She never fails to please and this month was no exception. “Come Fly With Me” is the name of the block and it’s a nod to the beloved “Granny Square” block pattern. This is one of my favorite patterns of all time so I was happy to see Amy’s adorable pattern.

I made my block on Sunday evening after a nice little day trip to Paso Robles, CA and Birch Fabrics aka www.Fabricworm.com. The assembly of this block was a new-to-me take on the classic pattern. It came together quickly though. Of course, one of the most fan parts of making the block is fabric selection. I am primarily using a FQ Bundle of Flea Market Fancy for my print fabrics and I love pairing colorways and seeing what will work in the layout of the block. I had added some Riley Blake dots in orange and gray to my bundle and I wanted to use the orange in this block. I love how the blue square just pop in the center.

I am loving how my SBC blocks are turning out and when I put them on the design wall together, I know this quilt is going to be one of my all-time and life-long favorites. I already purchased my border and backing fabrics. I chose both gray floral prints from the Flea Market Fancy collection and know that colors in the blocks will pop even more in that setting. I will sash it in Kona Snow, which is also my background fabric, and do scrappy corner stones. At least that’s my plan as of today.

Only three more blocks to go before I can assemble the quilt top. That also means there are only three more months left in 2013. AHHH!!!!!!

Are you participating in the Sugar Block Club? If so, please leave a link to your blog, Flickr or Instagram so I can check out your blocks.

Happy Quilting!

Are YOU ready for some football?!?

Who’s ready for some football? This girl and her hubby! Oh, and Rocky! Yup, we are die hard Skins fans. Hubby and I grew up in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs of D.C., respectively, and no matter where we live, we bleed burgundy and gold. To help us get even more excited about the new NFL season, today I made Hubby his very own Redskins pillow.

I had ordered the fabric for this project last week when I received an email from Fabric.com letting me know that their NFL themed fabrics were on sale. I couldn’t resist! After the fabric finally arrived yesterday (their free shipping over $35 deal is great but the wait for it is soooo long) I got busy trying to figure out what pattern to use. I decided I wanted to use the Redskins fabric as the focus piece and the yellow and white as a frame. I love how it turned out! When it comes time to quilt, I rarely know what I’m going to do. Last month I bought a quilt guide for my walking foot and really like how I can quilt wider lines with it. This pillow came together very quickly and finished at twenty-one inch square. I used some more of the Redskins fabric for the envelope closure on the back.

Hubby got home an hour early today thanks to the Labor Day weekend, so I surprised him with his pillow and he loved it. Our beloved Redskins finished out the 2013 pre-season 4-0, RG3 was cleared to play in the regular season and Hubby has a Redskins pillow to punch, lay on and throw when needed. Hail To The Redskins!!

Do you make sports themed items for your home and family? If so, please share and if you have a flickr, Instagram or blog leave a link so we can all see it.

Which way?

Have you ever been sewing and designing along, having a grand old time, when you finish assembling your blocks, put them up on the design wall in two different ways and just say, “Shit!”? That just happened to me. It’s not the worst problem to have but when it happens, it can stop you in your tracks. Both layouts look…AWESOME. I know! I told you it’s not really a bad problem to have. But I have it, so I need some help. Hubby really likes it one way in person but then when we look at the pictures we agree that the other way looks cooler.

Let me back up. Saturday morning I was flipping through my IG feed and came across a photo of the popular Marcelle Medallion quilt. I remembered that I had the magazine with that pattern so I went to my studio and pulled it off a shelf. I started flipping through this cool magazine out of the UK, Love Quilting & Patchwork, and found the Marcelle Medallion quilt pattern. Originally this quilt pattern appeared in the book Liberty Love.

After reading some about it and deciding that paper piecing was not what I wanted to do in that moment I continued to flip through the magazine. Then I came across the pattern “Urban Cabin” by Kelly Biscopink. Originally this pattern appeared in Biscopink’s book Modern Designs for Classic Quilts.

I decided I would give this a try but only make four blocks instead of the whole sixteen blocks the pattern provides instruction for.

Now to decide which fabrics will be used. I pulled out my treasured Stile FQ bundle by Liberty of London and began editing the stack down to the eleven fabrics needed. I liked the look of the gray and white fabrics pictured in the magazine so I auditioned different gray fabrics with the eleven prints. I chose Ash in the Color Weave collection by P&B Textiles and used Kona White by Robert Kaufman.

A great tip when trying to figure out the values of your prints for a quilt is to take a picture of them laid out together and edit the picture to black and white. This picture will show which prints read as light, medium and dark and can make it easier to design your fabric layout.

Now that I had selected my fabrics I went ahead and figured out how many cuts I needed to actually make since I wasn’t making the full size quilt. Once that was done I got to pressing and cutting. After a quick consult with Hubby about whether to have the lights go into the white/gray fabrics or the darks, I got to work. The four blocks came together relatively quickly. Remember, this is a log cabin pattern so it can get tedious sewing strips, pressing, trimming, and repeating the process over and over.

A quick tip for those of you who may be new to patchwork is to always square up your blocks. This process allows for more accurate piecing as you build your blocks and then sew them together. After I added every strip to the log cabin, I pressed the fabric using spray starch and then squared up the edges of the new strips. I did this to provide a clean and straight edge and to prevent a bending effect that can happen when the edge isn’t perfectly straight.

Pinning is extremely important for accurate piecing too. I know that this was just sewing strip to strip but to prevent any imperfections, I pinned as the strips I added were longer and longer. It took a few extra seconds every time I pinned but I feel it was worth it in the end.

I finished building my four “Urban Cabin” blocks with great excitement and they turned out beautifully. Then it was time to see how they looked together! I put them up on my design wall in the layout I had originally decided on but then for some reason I switched them around in the opposite layout and freaked out. Both layouts looked fantastic! What now? So I took some pics to get a new perspective. If you ever need to look at your project in a different light I suggest taking a picture. It can provide a fresh perspective and you may notice something new. I showed Hubby the pics and he liked one layout over the other. Then I asked him to check out the blocks in person on the design wall and we liked the other layout better then the preferred layout in the photo. Ugh!

So, what do you think? Let me know which layout you prefer please. Also, has this ever happened to you? You started making a project with a certain look in your head but when it came to assembling the blocks together you were faced with a conundrum. Which way should it go?

UPDATE: Thank you for all of your suggestions. I haven’t put the four blocks together yet but I will be assembling it with the color at the center. Thanks again!
~Lady K Quilts

Sugar Block Club Update

I promise I have been making my Sugar Block Club blocks monthly. I love every pattern and Amy Gibson’s instructions are all very well written and her pics are beautiful as well as helpful.
I’m a huge fan of samplers and the skills and techniques that are learned and honed with each block. I highly recommend if you are just learning to piece your patchwork that you sign up for a sampler or Block of the Month (BOM) program with your LQS if they offer in-store classes or go to http://www.Craftsy.com and purchase (for free!) Amy Gibson’s BOM 2012 class and get learning. Craftsy is also offering a BOM 2013 on-going class for free. When you’re done with that go sign up for Amy’s personal BOM program, The Sugar Block Club and join in on the fun.
I am loving how Denyse Schmidt’s (DSQuilts) Flea Market Fancy fabrics play so well with some random additions from my stash. These blocks are going to make an adorable quilt that I am looking forward to displaying and using in my home come early 2014.

I have an excuse! I promise!!

What have I been up to? Well, my blogging presence may have fallen off the face of the Earth but I sure have been sewing up a storm in my craftroom. I love it! I have been working on building my Instagram presence and relationships too. You can find me at @ladykquilts. I hope you’ll follow me on Instagram!
I’ve also been trying to figure out what I need to do to get my Etsy shop up and legitimately running. Federal Tax number? Home Business License in California? The forms and list of things to do and read keeps growing and growing. Ahhh!!!! Do you have an Etsy or other online shop? If so, do you have any tips for a newbie?
Like I said, I have been busy sewing these last few months. The quilt shop I worked at closed at the end of June so my time has been freed up even more. After a week away from my craftroom due to a visit from my mom, I am back in here working.
Here are some pics of some of the projects I’ve completed or are getting closer to complete.

Test some block patterns? I would LOVE to!

Last fall I saw an interesting Facebook post by Quiltmaker Magazine.  They were looking for block testers and if you e-mailed them at the listed address in their post, you could be one of those people.  Guess who e-mailed Quiltmaker Mag the next moment?!  This lady!  Yup, I could have sucked, good thing I don’t, but I was notified that I was going to be a block tester for Quiltmaker Magazine’s 100 Blocks Volume 7 issue.  I was so excited and announced it to friends and family.  A couple of weeks later the process began.  I tested nine blocks using different techniques, some which were intimidating, and really enjoyed the process.

A few weeks later, I received an e-mail inviting block testers to take on an additional responsibility.  I responded immediately to the request and was now going to be making a quilt for the magazine using some of the blocks I had tested.  Quiltmaker provided the fabric for the quilt and the quilt shop I work at, Quilter’s Quarters, sponsored the quilting.  There was a chance that my quilt would be photographed and published in the issue.  I didn’t have a guarantee, but I knew the quilt would hang in Quiltmaker Magazine’s headquarters in Golden, CO.  Well, I am thrilled that a picture of my quilt was published in Vol. 7 of Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks magazine!!  I received an advance copy of the magazine as well as a mug with all 100 blocks pictured on it.  How cool is that!?!  It is sitting in a place of honor on my bookshelf in my studio.

Here are some pics of the blocks I tested as well as my favorite ones of the bunch.

Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Vol. 7 will be on newsstands and available for purchase online and in quilt shops tomorrow, May 7th.  I hope you’ll go out and buy it and then try some of the beautiful blocks yourself.  Keep an eye out for my quilt!  I named my quilt “San Joaquin Valley Sunset” and I hope you like it.