Chain Gang Quilt Variation

 Another quilt that really

caught my eye at the

Arizona Quilter's Guild Show

was 

Chain Gang 

by Karen Cox

 I've seen this quilt pattern before at previous quilt shows, 

and it's usually

completed with traditional 

needle turn applique.

 I was particularly interested in seeing

Karen's variation

using 

Digitized embroidered applique.

 There is so much that can be done now

with computerized domestic machines.

The digitized technique

really gives this quilt a modern look.

 The original 

Chain Gang pattern

was designed by Sue Garman

offered as a sampler series

with Quakertown Quilts.

 Karen won a 3rd place ribbon

in the 

Mixed Technique Large

category.

 Traditional blocks are included

in the settings.

Machine quilted by Judy Taylor

Karen wrote:

"I used all different fabrics for my version of this exciting and 

challenging quilt.  Claudia digitized

the applique for the embroidery module".

Saguaro Sentinels Quilt

 Yesterday I attended the

Arizona Quilters Guild Show

at the Mesa Convention Center.

This is always such a great show

with over over

300+ quilts

and a nice selection of vendors.

I took a lot of pictures 

and will share with you some of 

my favorites.

 Saguaro Sentinels

by Patsy Kittredge

was a stunner

and represents our

Arizona desert so well.

Winner for Excellent Use of Color

and a 1st Place Ribbon for Theme

 Patsy wrote:

"Using my photos as inspiration, 

I painted the sky, 

pieced the background hills,

couched yarn for texture and 

used raw edge applique."

The best way to spend

National Quilting Day :)

Row Along Spring Tulips

The temperatures have been

absolutely gorgeous here in Arizona

this last week.

A perfect time to 

pull out bright, happy fabric scraps

and work on 

Row 13 Spring Tulips

with

Bee In My Bonnet's 

Row Along

 Lori announced this

is our last row

for the quilt.

 I really have enjoyed the process of

making a new row every two weeks.

 All 11 Spring Tulips are 

happily dancing

up and down,

 and have found their spot at the top of

the other rows.

 One of my goals in making this quilt was

to only use fabrics that I had in my scrap piles.

In order to have enough fabric to cut out

the tulip backgrounds

I improvised

and went even more scrappy,

using 3 different yellows.

I also used a wide selection of greens

for the leaves and stems.

 The use of various backgrounds makes

my quilt look quite different than Lori's sample,

but 

the old proverb

Variety Is The Spice of Life

 holds true

especially in quilts.

Next step will be to sew all of the rows together.

Happy Pi Day

 Mr. Cactus is very analytical and originally went to college on Math scholarships.

This morning he 

 informed me that if 

you hold 3.14 up to a mirror

it looks like this:

How cool is that?

 And to make the day even more perfect for him,

Pie is his favorite dessert.

 For me, Math was my least favorite subject,

and unfortunately I'm not good at making pies, either.

But, I do work at a wonderful bookstore

Deseret Book

with a 

Lion House Pantry

that bakes all day long.

The most wonderful aromas

waft across our aisles

tempting us continually.

 In honor of 

Pi Day

I will be bringing one of these home :)

*And , as a side note,

did you know that in 2009 the

U.S. House of Representatives 

passed a non-binding resolution

that recognizes March 14th 

as National Pi Day?

Grab a fork!

Scrappy Trips Cool

 Back in 1981 

Barbara Mandrell released a song called

"I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"

I'm not a song writer

or a singer

but if I had that talent

I would write a little melody 

and serenade you with

"I was Scrappy Trips When Scrappy Trips Wasn't Cool"

 Yes, I have finished my own version of

Scrappy Trips Around The World

free pattern by

Bonnie Hunter of Quiltsville

 It seems that lately everyone

and their dog has been making

this pattern.

Have you seen the explosion of 

Scrappy Trip Alongs

on Flickr and Instagrams?

And they are all out of the cutest fabrics!

(I want a re-do)

 But, back in December of 2011 when

I  first started making my Scrappy Trips

I didn't know how COOL it would be to

make this pattern out of bright happy fabrics.

I was thinking I just wanted to use up old scraps

that were 

"no longer my kind of colors anymore"

and have a little picnic quilt

that could be thrown on the lawn.

 None of my fabrics match,

which is really OK with 

this kind of quilt,

because the pattern seems to 

emerge using lights and darks.

 In Bonnie's pattern she suggests using

2.5- inch strips.

I opted for 2-inch strips instead,

making my blocks slightly smaller.

 Finished size 45" X 73"

40 blocks total

(5 blocks across and 8 blocks down)

One of my goals for 2013 is to 

finish up 

on quilts that I have previously started.

Now that's COOL