Heading To Houston

This morning I'm heading to Houston for the International Quilt Festival!! Whoohooo!!!

Pumpkin Table Runner

I was perusing at Jody's of Pleasant Home the other day and saw her pumpkin table runner. I knew I had to be a COPY CAT.

Thank you for the inspiration Jody. I've been looking to make a special something for a special someone.

My version.

There really isn't a pattern for this table runner. Each pumpkin is free formed and then you add enough white around the outside to come up with a large block. I chose to make each of my completed blocks 12" X 15"

It was fun to pull out some scraps that made me think of fall.

I am not one to machine quilt my projects, but this one looked small enough to attempt.

I'm not saying who is getting this present, because it's a surprise. Just know it was made with love.

Jody's inspiration, (and mine too) came from the artist Ingrid Press, who's quilts offer a repetition of shapes or motifs.

If you would like to read more about Ingrid, Sewn has done a guest interview:

http://www.sewn.net.au/HaveASay/GuestCorner/IngridPress.aspx

This is the quilt that originally caught my attention, and drew me into Ingrid's work.

Several groups are blogging about her right now.

Ingrid was born in Germany but moved to England in 1965 when she married. She made her first quilt in 1998.

Ingrid is known for her "less is more" look.

She also prefers dense quilting.

Experimenting with Ingrid's style is on my to-do list. Don't you love her work?

Kim's GiveAway

My friend Kim is offering the most wonderful GiveAway. Make sure to run over and check it out on her blog Bitty Bits and Pieces.

Kim's work is also being featured on Moda Bake Shop. Several items are shown with easy to follow tutorials. If by chance you don't win her giveaway, you can make these beautiful projects yourself. I know the Dresden Plate Charger is now on my to-do list. Or maybe I'll do the table runner. Or maybe I'll do both!

Bubbly Babies #2 Finished

I have finished my second Bubbly Babies quilt designed by Annie Unrein.

Many thanks to Linda Brown who did the machine quilting for me.

Eight of the blocks are stitched with Texture Magic.

As a reminder this quilt, and other Texture Magic friendly patterns can be purchased through Superior Threads or from Annie's web site.

It's always fun to work with TM to see how each block will turn out depending on the type of stitching used.

Babies love texture, and this is a fun quilt to lay on and touch at the same time.

Sometimes the back of a quilt can almost be as pretty as the front.

Dixie Diva October Night Meeting

We enjoyed another Dixie Diva night meeting, with lots of Show and Tell.

This month we met at Verny's house.

Margaret is already thinking Christmas. she made this wall hanging as a present.

Fun pattern where the tree ends are tucked.

She also made several Halloween wall hangings that will be used for gifts.

Jan K. just made a new bag that I thought was so unique. This really is different than any bag I've seen around.

Jan just had back surgery a few weeks ago (for the umteenth time) and we were just thrilled that she could even join us, let alone bring something new to show.

That Jan. Not much can keep her down.

The sides of the purse are held together with velcro. Inside and outside there were a lot of pockets. I love the blue batik she used to make the bag.

Jan also brought the greatest notion to show us. This is called the Edge Perfect Blade and she found it through Nancy's Notions.

This blade will fit any 45mm rotary cutter.
As you run it down the edge of a piece of fabric it will make evenly spaced holes. These holes can then be used for the button hole stitch or as a guide for crochet edgings. I'm sure there are many other uses, these are the ones Jan suggested.

Here is the information from the back of the package.

Bev was binding Wickedly Easy Quilts/ pattern by Annie Unrein

Everyone seems to be getting ready for Halloween.

Bev continues to work with her Paula Nadelstern fabrics. She put some of her squares into a table runner.

On this one she is toying with the green fabric as a background and wanted to know the groups opinion.

Verny works for Bernina and has been teaching a class on how to make a crazy quilt using the embroidery machine.

Verny loves Halloween. Every inch of her house was decorated with some fun Halloween item.

This is her Spicy Spiral Table Runner made with Halloween fabric.

The fabric with the eyes glows in the dark. We even turned out the lights to oooh and ahhh.

When I say Verny loves Halloween, I'm not just a kiddin'. She even puts a Halloween tree in her living room.

This greeted me at the front door. I thought the trick or treaters had already arrived.

And she had beautiful Halloween quilts around the house.

Thanks Verny for hosting another Diva meeting!