Giving Back - Christmas Quilt Along

Christmas is a very hectic time for everyone and unfortunately,  many of us get so tied up with everything we forget what the season is really about.  Christmas is about giving, not getting.  It is about giving to those who are less fortunate then us and not about giving the latest and greatest thing.  I will give back to my readers by doing the quilt along on Sunday, July 10th at 8:00am CST.  This little quilt will make a great gift with a homemade touch for someone that is special to you.

While doing this blog post, it got me to thinking about a close friend who is having some health problems...

A good friend of mine was diagnosed with an extremely rare neurological condition which had been giving him a lot of problems lately.  In 2006, he was diagnosed with an Arnold-Chiari Malformation.  It is a condition where part of his brain was growing out of his skull and into his spinal column.  This created a buildup of fluid which was compressing his spinal cord.  He has had several surgeries to correct this problem but recently started having trouble again.  Over the past 5 weeks he had been in the hospital most of that time.  Tomorrow, he is going in for more surgery.  Hopefully this will be the last of it, but we shall see.

A big thank you to Wondrous Woven Fabrics, my sponsor for this quilt along.  This is how my sponsors are giving back to my readers.  They are offering a 25% off discount on holiday fabrics and patterns valid through July 13th.  Use promo code "QubeeXmas" at Wondrous Woven Fabrics.

Let this 2011 holiday season be were we put others before ourselves.

Until next time,

 

Talking with a Friend

It's my great honor to talk with my friend Ryan today. Head on over to his blog see my interview. http://www.ryanwalshquilts.com/

If you are new here, don't forget to sign up for my blog by e-mail & to follow me, both links are found on the right. You'll also find my Twitter, Facebook, blog & quilt along buttons there. We love having so much fun & I'd hate for you to miss any of it.

Until next time,

Quilt Along - Basic Quilting Supplies

Lets talk about the basics.  Quilting supply basics that is.  These are some of the supplies that you need to have on hand for the quilt along.  These are now basics for me.  I use these with just about every quilt I make.  I've got other supplies, but they are put away and collecting dust.  You know them supplies,  you thought you needed it, but really don't.  We all have them.

I'll list what they are here, but will tell you in more detail what they are used for later in another post.  Some I think you'll already know about and use.  Some you might not of ever thought you needed, but really you do.  Most of them you already have on hand & maybe one or two you'll  be really, I need that?  Then you'll ask why.  My answer will be because you will be sorry if you don't. 

1. Pins (I hate to pin, but if I have to)
2. 1" bias tape maker (used for a one step binding method by machine.  I hate hand work. If you like hand work then you will not need this item.)
3. 120" tape meassure
4. White Chalk Wheel or Chalk Marker
5. Scissors 
6. Seam Ripper (small tipped)
7. 45mm Rotary Cutter
8. Acid-Free Glue Stick. (my new best friend.  Used in place of pins) 

• Light weight fusible interfacing such as Steam-A-Seam 2 (when I don't use the glue stick, but I used the glue stick for the quilt along)
• Mechanical Pencil
• Freezer Paper.  (Found in the grocery store next to the foil)
• Clear Ruler
• Sewing machine  

Again, thanks to the following sponsors.  Without them this quilt along would not be possible. 

Until next time,

Christmas Quilt Along - FAQ

Sunday, July 10th 2011

Here are some FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions (Foire Aux Question -French) for the quilt along.

1. What size will the quilt be? 32" finished.
2. Where might I find what fabric requirements? All fabric requirements are here on this post.
3. Do I need to use the same Moda fabric as you? No you may use any fabric that you wish.
4. If there are last minute changes where might I find them? Keep an eye on blog for any additions or changes to the quilt along.
5. I'm not going to be around on July 10th will your post still be up after that? Yes, once the post is up it will stay up. You may join at any point after that.
6. Is there a button I might add to my blog? Yes. Find the code on the right side of the blog. Button comes in two sizes.
7. I heard rumors there will be prizes. Is this correct? Yes, there will be prizes the day of the event only & one grand prize for anyone who completes their quilt & posts a picture in our Flickr group.
8. Where might I sign up for the Flicker group? You may join here.
9. Will you be Tweeting the day of event? YES. You may join me here.
10. I would like to help sponsor your quilt along. How might I go about that? Just send me an e-mail. Love to have you on board.
11. The day of the event if I have questions where might I get answers?

• You may post questions at any of the following locations. All will be manned the day of the event & answered in a timely fashion.

• Qubee Quilts Facebook Page
• Flickr Group
• Email
• Twitter
• Comment here on the blog

If you don't see your question answered here please let me know. Looking forward to having you join along.

Thanks to the following sponsors:

Until next time,

Quilt Along Web Buttons

Did you see that we have web bottons for the quilt along & on the right hand side of the blog? 

They come in both large and small.

Large button is 325x265 & small is 150x122

I'd hate for someone to miss out on the fun. 

Won't you be joining the fun?

Until next time,



P.S.  There is a button for Qubee Quilts too. 

Christmas In July Qubee Quilts Style

There are only 192 day left till Christmas, are you ready?

I've added a counter on the right hand side of the blog to help remind you. Most of you are like "yeah, but no." I don't want to think about it.

The Christmas Quilt along is basically just a day when we lock ourselves away, (or lock the rest of the family away), work on our own Christmas projects, post from time to time about our progress during the day, go and visit the other people who're taking part to see what they're up to, maybe eat a little festive something (chocolate's always good!) and generally give ourselves almost a "retreat day". During the course of it, 'cause it's difficult to stay serious for too long, there will be some fun bits, maybe a little quiz, some suitable music, that sort of thing, and there might be prizes too!

I read this and knew right away I wanted to join in on the fun, but I work every Saturday. I wrote Sue to see if they ever did anything on a Sunday and they have not. She said I could do it on Sunday if I wanted in lieu of Saturday, but I thought that would be no fun. So I wrote Sue back with a few ideas in hope that I could convince her to also do a Sunday, but she told me I had such great idea that I could just run with it myself. I give you.....

To help you get in the mood Qubee Quilts has teamed up with Cathi & Sue and we're going to make one big weekend event of this. Our Quilt Along will be the 2nd weekend in July, the 9th &10th.

One the 9th you jump on over to Cathi & Sue and see what fun things they have planed for you. Then on the 10th you jump back over to Qubee Quilts.

Now, me being me, I can't let all my peeps just run amok. I've got to be in control you know. :-)

I have designed a quilt for my Sunday quilt along. I even have giveaways planned for the whole day. Sure to be lots of fun. For this Quilt Along we're going to make the following quilt.

I'm using Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater for Moda.

This quilt is SUPER easy to make and only 32" big and you can get it done in one day or less. I'll be walking you though every step of the way, from making the circles to quilting and finally, the binding. I'll even share a few tricks along the way.

If you're going to play along and make the Christmas quickie then you will need the following:

• Note: Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater for Moda was used for the sample.

• One Moda charm pack - 16, 5" squares
• 1/2 yard of cream dots, back, red & green fabrics
• 1/2 black binding (One yard total if doing the blocks & binding the same color)
• 1 yard backing.
• 35" x 35" batting
  

There is even a Flickr group where you can post photos to go along with the event. I would love to see what fabric you're using and photos from the event.

I will give you more details as they come in, but for my friends around the world where it might take longer to get fabric, I wanted to get you some basic info.

Don't forget we are going to have giveaways. A few of our sponsors are:

Until next time,

Pillow Talk Swap - 5

This round was only open to the first 50 swappers and I was lucky enough to get in on the fun. The motto this time around was "If you love it, I love it!" Love this pillow I do.

I hope that my partner loves the new DS Quilts collection - Denyse Schmidt as much as I do. As soon as I saw these fabrics I was in love.

20" pillow using a 5" bow tie block set with a Moda Grunge Basic Grey for that modern feel. I used a white linen on the back.

Here are some pics. Enjoy.

I did a diamond style echo quilting with a blue variegated 30 weight thread. The quilting pops on this quilt, but still lets the over all look of the pillow stand out.


Until next time,

Fesh Modern Bee - The Blocks

I'm all caught up with my bee blocks. Yeah!!! After being down & out for two months I was not sure I'd ever see the light of day.

Here is Tammy's block for April. She is not sure who this quilt will be for, but is so happy to have finally come up with a use for this FQ stack that she received free. Shipping error and the company let her keep the wrong one! Wow, nice luck!

May, was my month in the bee. Really it was April, but that is when I was still in the hospital & there was no way I could cut out fabric to send to people. Let alone walk or even breath, but the group let me swap months. Thanks you guys. It means more than you will ever know. Just know that someone still cares for you made my heart sing. On a side note thanks to Thomas for setting up the sewing room downstairs in the bedroom. There was no way I could climb stairs and he knew that quilting would get me back on my feet quicker than anything. Thanks babe, love you!

Anyways, I chose Tula Pink's first line with Free Spirit Fabrics, Parisville as my fabrics. I asked everyone to make a block in their own style. Adding just some solids from their stash that would coordinate with the collection. Here are a few of the blocks.

Block from Jolene

Block from Jolene

Block from Ryan

This is all I have for now as everyone is out enjoying the summer days and time with family & friends. I will show you more blocks as they arrive.

Tune in tomorrow were I will show you a little more of this awesomeness.

Until next time,

I've Been A Busy Boy

You never know just how much fabric you have until you take the time to clean it all up. A few quilts could be made from this stash. It took just a little over 2 hours to straighten. Cleaning is hard work, it wore me out.

It's looks great. Now on to the rest of the room.

I might not have many yard goods in my stash. That is because I'm a collector of FQ's. As you know I love lots of colors and fabrics in my quilts.

Here is a sneak peek of the project from my design wall. I'm impressed with the way the quilting has turned out. If the quilt is small enough I don't mind doing it myself. It's kind of fun. There is so much you can do with just straight lines and a walking foot. Later I'll show you how I do some curves with my walking foot & how I put my binding on with only one trip around the quilt and not two like most people do. I find it more modern looking this way. hehe

I used some left over gray fabric and pieces from the front on the back, the darker gray is from the days when I was into the primitive. Ties in nicely, I think. You can almost make anything modern with the right fabrics around it.

Great way to use of bits of left over fabric for no waste. Most of my backs are pieces with more than one fabric.

Until next time,