Those Mesa Ladies/ August

 A lovely day yesterday with

those cute Mesa Ladies.

They really are the nicest of people,

and I feel it's a privilege to 

meet with them each month.

One of my favorite parts is to see what everyone is working on.

 Stephanie (Stuph From Steph)

just finished her amazing Row Along Quilt 

designed by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet.

I love Stephanie's version.

Such beautiful fabrics!

And do you notice how she combined her colors

around in the border?

Wonderful idea!

 When Steph and I both made these rows 

we worked from tutorials on Lori's blog.

The Row Along became so popular

Lori expanded the ideas and

has a new book coming out.

Quilty Fun

can be pre-ordered 

HERE

 Chevrons

The ladies had  lots of 

Show and Tell this month.

 Cars

 Peg made a String Quilt

using newspapers as her foundation

for the blocks.

  String Quilt

by Janet

 I fell in love with another quilt

Janet was working on.

 Paris by

Margot Languedoc of The Pattern Basket

 Each block has a cute gathered ruffle that 

is sewn down the center.

 I've been seeing Margot's name around a lot lately.

She is the designer of 

Strawberry Social

that so many are making right now.

(If I had the time, I would love to make this quilt!)

Each month one of the ladies brings lunch

for our group.  

Peg really out did herself!

Such an amazing cook!

Peg runs a catering business

Snaps Cookies and Catering

which I highly recommend if you live 

in the Phoenix Metro area.

Scraps Have Feelings Too

Emily Bailey, from Em's Scrapbag recently asked me to be part of Scrap Happy Summer where each Wednesday she features a guest to answer questions about  their Scrap Quilts.  Today is my day! 

Thanks Emily for the invite.  Here are my answers to Emily's questions:

Butterflies Are Free

For the last two years, I have challenged myself to "Use What I Have" from my stash, rather than go out and buy new fabric. It's been a creative process on several levels, from finding patterns that fit within my goal, to looking at my scraps with a new perspective.

What do you consider a scrap? What's to big/small?

I save just about everything bigger than 1-inch wide. I now look at those small pieces of fabric for their future use as "color".

I've noticed there are two types of scrap quilts. One is more like a Potpourri where any color will do, as seen in my Mumbo Gumbo quilt below.

Fabric is used in terms of "value", separating lights from darks. 

The other type of Scrap quilt is where that piece of fabric is used for it's "color". For example, a block might be done in bits of blue, or a combination of lights can be used as a strata background. My Modern Baby Chevron is an example of this second type of scrap quilt.

Do you prefer big projects or little ones when using your scraps? Or do you use a combo?

I used to mainly focus on making larger quilts, because I had a strong desire to minimize my stash pile.

How do you keep your scraps form taking over your sewing area?

I have boxes near my cutting table where I toss my scraps, separated by color. One thing I have really noticed is how much my taste in fabrics have changed over the years. I went through my stash and identified a lot of fabrics that were no longer "me" and donated them to my guild. It felt good knowing they would be used for charity projects, or appreciated by a new owner. At the price of fabrics, I used to think I had to hold onto everything, even though it sat hidden in boxes. I've learned to not be afraid to 'destash' even with my scraps. They can be happy in a new loving home!

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

Any tips you would offer others when using scraps?

Bring them out to play often. They can get lonely sitting all by themselves, tucked away in a box or bag in the back of a closet. Scraps Have Feelings Too :) 

To read more of Emily's posts on Scrap Happy Summer, make sure to visit her blog HERE

Destash Your Quilt Scraps

 How do you 

Destash Your Quilt Scraps?

What do you do with all of those

left over bits and pieces from

your favorite quilt projects?

 What size is too small to keep?

I was asked that question recently,

and it made me think.

I toss small "leftovers" 

sorted according to color

in these 12" X 12" X 3"

Protect and Store boxes

by Darice

 I like the boxes because they are clear and allow me to see

the colors of the fabrics inside.

 Plus, they stack nicely in a bookcase near my sewing machine,

making them readily available to play with.

For my larger "chunks" of left over fabric, or yardage pieces

I sort into those into wire baskets.

On a good day, 

they are stacked neatly according to color

Lately I've been pulling out entire drawers

and cutting out random colors of 9-inch blocks.

Here is the dilemma:

Why is it after 2 years of sorting, cutting, 

using, and re-stacking

those fabric scrap bins and boxes

don't seem to be getting much smaller in size?

oh, if my banking account 

would only do the same :)

Ziggy Cubes Fabric

 I rarely buy fabric anymore.

I've had so much in my stash

that my goal for the last few years has been to

Use What I Have

Seriously

I think I could make scrappy quilts 

day in and day out

and still have enough fabric to keep me busy

for a long, long time. 

 But, when I won a Gift Certificate

from the Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

to Pink Chalk Fabrics

I felt that long ago, but not forgotten

 fabric buzz 

start to take place.

I'm glad no one was sitting next to me

because I think I might have started 

to drool

when I sat down

and began scrolling through Pink Chalk's web site.

 If you could buy one fabric,

and only one fabric,

what would it be?

I chose

Ziggy Cubes

by French Bull

for Windham fabrics.

Quilt Label Ideas

 My friend Jackie Kunkel (Canton Village Quilt Works)

travels extensively with her quilts.

She is a Nationally Certified Judy Niemeyer Teacher,

has her own on-line store,

and her personal quilt designs

are published often

in major quilt magazines and books.

 With all of the traveling in and out of airports,

winding her way through many States,

there is always the risk of baggage loss or mix ups.

Labeling a quilt properly is

 ESSENTIAL

for safe return.

I was curious to see how Jackie 

tackles this challenge.

 I was especially interested to see that she 

takes a picture of her quilt 

to place on each label.

(great idea!)

Also included:

The Name of the Quilt

Her name/ including Home Town and State

Date Made

The Quilters Name

Pattern Designer's Name

 Jackie prints her labels

on 

EQ Printables

Inkjet Fabric Sheets

from the

Electric Quilt Company

that can be found

HERE
The printables come in several fabric choices 

from Regular Cotton to 

Premium Cotton Satin

and also available

in various sheet sizes, too.

Sometimes we drag our feet in labeling our quilts,

but it really is the final 

and very important step

in saying our quilt is finished

and ready to travel into 

this big wide world.

Carlotta's Quilts

 I wanted to finish up with the last few pictures I took

at our

Show and Tell with the

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting 

this month.

 I was especially impressed with the 

Art Quilts by 

Carlotta

( what a beautiful name, too!)

 Carlotta likes to add bead work to 

each of her pieces.

 She said you will always

be able to find some type of

bug or insect in each of her designs.

 Many of her pieces are made for customers.

 As a side note,

the charity work that goes on behind the scenes

with the PMQG

led by B.J. and Jacki

is equally impressive.

This month we gathered quilts for the 

Elderly victims of the

Yarnell Hill Fire

 As many of you may have read in the National news,

we lost 19 Firefighters from the Prescott Fire Department

in this tragedy.

Our state of Arizona has grieved deeply,

and communities have looked for ways to help.

 127 buildings and many neighborhoods

in Yarnell were completely destroyed.

These quilts donated by our guild members

will go directly to the Elderly 

who have been identified specifically as needing 

blankets for the winter.

This really is what quilting is all about.

Phoenix Modern Show and Tell part 2

I was very happy to see

 that so many

brought Show and Tell

to our

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild meeting.

 These ladies truly inspire me!

I come away wishing I could make

everything they are making.

 Christy Fincher (Purple Daisies)

made this Modern green, orange and gray

for her son's bedroom.

 Christy also brought a sample of her latest wall hanging

to show how her husband has

begun practicing quilting on a domestic machine.

Nice job!

I can only imagine that when Sharon Schamber is

your Mother In Law, and Christy is your wife,

 even the men take opportunity

to learn from the best.

 A wonderful Modern looking quilt

made for a boyfriend.

 Mint Chocolate Chip

What a great name for a quilt.

What fun fabrics.

As a side note, Bonnie is wearing the latest skirt she made from

The Essential A- Line book

by fellow PMQG member Jona G.

 Bonnie's design

working with 

Kaffe Fassett 

shot cottons and stripes.

 Our guild currently has a

Drunkard's Path Challenge going on.

Bonnie made her version 

out of Hungry Caterpillar fabric

 Andee's Drunkard's Path

 Kirsten dipped into her scrap pile.

And Danny has been playing with flannels

for this queen sized quilt that will 

be a gift for a friend.