BADLANDS QUILTS: Rugged & Refined

Building Houses

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:00:00 +0000

Sherri and Sinta have organized Another Year of Schnibbles. I plan to participate again this year as time allows. January's Schnibble is the Full House pattern. Carrie had several variations posted on her blog, and I opted for one of the pillows. These are a few of the houses I have constructed so far from an older Moda line, Renewal by Brannock & Patek. Be sure to check out the parade of finishes on February 1st!

Best Pressed

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 20:37:00 +0000

It seems like every year it takes a fair amount of time after the holidays before things return to normal around here... There are many decorations to put away, gifts to find places for, and inevitably I have a mess to clean up in my sewing room from sewing last minute gifts. And also, this very important guy just turned 10 a few weeks ago! (my oldest son, Jon).

One of the things I received this year for Christmas was a new iron. My old iron was ok, but I put it up in our bedroom for ironing clothes and will keep this new one downstairs in my sewing room. It is a SINGER Expert Finish 1700 Watt Steam Iron. There are so many wonderful irons to choose from now: the cute Oliso irons (but I just couldn't get over the foot thing), the cordless Panasonic (that some of the reviews said weren't very hot) and the Rowentas that everyone seems to either love or hate passionately. I wanted something that was a bit lower in price point and this one was recommended by Consumer Reports, so this is what I picked and my husband got. It is has 1700 watts which is comparable to the more expensive models and several settings...and gets very hot. I haven't done any large projects yet, but so far it gets a thumbs up.

And of course, a new iron meant that I had to spiff up my ironing board. It hadn't been that long since I covered mine but let me assure you it was rather nasty...so I kept the patchwork strip and replaced the rest of the body of the cover. So now I'm all set, ready to sew and ready to press!

Merry Christmas!

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:23:00 +0000

Merry Christmas from Minnesota! Hope you all have an enjoyable holiday weekend with your families and safe travels to wherever you are going! See you in 2012!

Sew Mama Sew Winner!

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Sun, 18 Dec 2011 21:39:00 +0000

Without further delay, RNG picked #69,

Cassandra who said:

Gorgeous charm packs! I'm a new quilter, so I really haven't had any experience with patterns. The one quilt I finished with a pattern was a Moda quilt from their bakeshop. It was fun!

Your top recomended pattern designers were Cluck Cluck Sew, Thimbleblossoms, Miss Rosie, Keyka Lou, Noodlehead, Atkinson Designs, Eleanor Burns, Oh Fransson, Amy Butler and Jaybird Quilts. Many of you also utilize the tutorials available on the Moda Bake Shop and blogs and also many use patterns from magazines.

Congratulations to Cassandra and all the other winners...thanks to Sew Mama Sew for hosting and organizing such a fun event for us all to participate in!

Merry Christmas to Me?

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Last night was the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild Christmas social and mug rug swap. Yesterday turned into one of those days...unplanned company, too many phone calls, my 4th grader had two tests to study for and a huge amount of homework for his HP math class all to do last night, and I wasn't exactly a 100% anyway, etc. - needless to say, I just couldn't make it.

So I guess that means the mug rug I made for the swap is for me? In the midst of Christmas shopping and a bit of gift sewing, it's kind of exciting to have a tiny quilt that's mine.

(For inquiring minds, I used Thangles for the 1" finished HSTs w/ Basic Grey Basics fabric as the HST backgrounds and Kaufman Quilters Tweed in the fiesta colorway for the body of the mug rug.)

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 15:17:00 +0000

Thanks for stopping by for Sew Mama Sew's Giveaway Day! I am giving away two charm packs of Panier de Fleurs by French General to one winner. (You have so many more project options with two charm packs than one!)

It can be so overwhelming and inspiring looking at all the patterns available when you plan a project. I have been quilting a few years and have found that I am drawn to a pattern not only by the design, but especially if I know the designer writes and illustrates well. And those that are hard to follow, I don't buy again. I can think of one pattern I used that the instructions didn't make sense and the type was SO tiny with no white space on the page (I'm sure just to get it on the color page), that I'd never buy again from that designer.

Some of my favorite patterns are by Terry at Atkinson Designs, Heather at Anka's Treasures, Carrie at Miss Rosie's and Elizabeth at Oh Fransson. And I'm sure there are many others, I just haven't tried.... so to enter my giveaway (will ship internationally), leave a comment what designer/line of patterns that you have used, is the most clearly written and illustrated?

Congratulations to Cassandra, entry #69!, she is the winner as selected by RNG! Thanks to all that entered!

How Quaint

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 17:00:00 +0000

Yesterday was the first day this week that wasn't jam packed with errands or appointments so I stopped by the occasional shop in town, How Quaint. It is open one weekend a month with a new theme and goodies each month. The preview photos on their facebook page were full of vintage decorations this month, so that was enough to get me back in. Since the store is just a few blocks from the quilt store, I thought some of you that travel through or in the Twin Cities might find it of interest.

I love this champagne colored Christmas tree...

And this sled and Shiny Brite ornaments in their original boxes...

Love the poinsettas...

And if I had unlimited space this red sled on the bottom would have been mine or perhaps the vintage map in the background?

I thought these white enamel lights had an eclective vintage/modern look.

Vintage cookies cutters...

Love how this truck is decorated!

Lots of fun stuff! So if you come to my little town to check out the LQS (which I absolutely love because it has just the perfect balance of modern and traditional), try and come of a weekend that you out How Quaint too. They are open this weekend and then their next sale is January 19-22nd. If you want to make a day of it, two quilt shops to the west would be Make it Sew in Chanhassen and then Heavenly Patchwork in Waconia. Two quiltstores that are south would be Quilting by the Hearth in Lonsdale and Quilter's Dream in Montgomery. And if you are the power shopping, skip lunch so I can shop more type...you should be able to hit all these places in a day!

Lush Paint by Number Deer Mixtape Pillows

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 18:30:00 +0000

As I previously shared, I finally broke into my stash of Lush (the famous paint by number deer line) by Erin Michael for Moda. (Which may be coming back for a reprint as hinted by this in the know Moda lady via Twitter.) I'm quilting a crib size quilt to use as a wall hanging in my living room and from the scraps made these pillows for my couch using Elizabeth Hartman's original Mixtape pattern for the scrappy blocks.

Here is a closeup of each pillow. All block fabrics are from the Lush line and I used Kaufman's Quilter's Linen in Taupe for the sashing.

I inserted a zipper in each pillow back (with a large overlap to protect my leather couch from the zipper) using Natalia at Piece-N-Quilt's tutorial...they turned out fabulous.

Here is a shot of the two backs...each pillow back piece was cut twice as big as the size you see and folded in half to create a double layer of fabric which should give the pillow more body and extend their life in this house full of boys.

I am linking up with {Sew} Modern Monday at Canoe Ridge Creations...check out all the great projects being shared today.

A Peek, then on to Pinning

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:04:00 +0000

Thought I'd share a peek at what I've been piecing with my precious stash of Moda Lush... Both items are pressed and I hope to get everything pinned tonight.

Winner

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 19:39:00 +0000

I've been busy volunteering at school this week (getting goodies for the Harvest Party, chaperoning a trip to the pumpkin patch/corn maze and writing a PTO newsletter) and a bit neglectful of my giveaway. It is a beautiful and sunny day here, so I quick snapped a few photos of the fall color in my backyard to share. (since all posts should have a photo of some sort?)

So without further delay, RNG picked #56 (Debbie who commented on October 22nd at 5:23am) as the giveaway winner.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by and commented. Debbie please email me at badlandsquilts@gmail.com with your addy and I will get the book out to you right away.

300th Post Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 14:47:00 +0000

My last post was my 300th so I thought a little giveaway was in order. Sometime ago for a past book giveaway, I asked all you to leave a comment sharing your favorite quilting book. A large percentage of you recommended, The Gentle Art of Quiltmaking by Jane Brocket. A month or so ago when C&T had a big weekend sale, I finally got a copy for myself and an extra one to share. I was not disappointed by the recommendation, it is a very inspiring book of rich colorful quilts.

If you'd like to be included in the drawing to win this copy, just leave a comment. I'll pick a winner Tuesday evening via RNG. Thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday WIP: Fussy Cut, Cut & Finally Cutting Into...

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:17:00 +0000

Fussy cut...

Cut...

And can you believe I am finally cutting into this...

I've been on a cutting spree...I discovered I can get a lot cut out at the family room game table while I fuel my late night Bravo TV addiction.

Kaufman Kona Solids Challenge

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:45:00 +0000

Last night was the big reveal for the Robert Kaufman Kona Solids Challenge at the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild. There were so many amazing projects! Each participant received a Bright Kona charm pack and was allowed to add one additional solid to the project. Locally, we also added that you must use half square triangles.

I decided to make pillows for my challenge since I'll be donating them to a local food allergy advocacy group for a silent auction. I am hoping the pillows might appeal to a greater audience?

The brighter pillow is a star from Katy's Constellation Quilt which is in issue #5 of Fat Quarterly magazine. I absolutely love this star. I did have a small border around my block to get to the 24" sized pillow, but next time I think I'd make the star smaller and the border larger to see the star a bit better.

The second pillow was inspired by this block I saw on flickr. If there is a name for it, I loved to know? I was nervous the center star wouldn't be obvious while piecing this, but once I started quilting it the design became much more apparent.

To see more of the Kona Challenge, check out the flickr group and also our Minneapolis guild flickr group.

And to more Friday Finishes, check out Amanda's new Finish it Up Friday Linky Party and Amy Lou Who's Sew-n-Tell .

A Ghastly Project

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 18:27:00 +0000

This week I have been finishing up my Kaufman Solids Challenge for the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild as tonight is our meeting and the big reveal. I am so excited to see what everyone has made!

Since I can't show you quite yet what I've been sewing on this week, I thought I'd share what's next on my list! I've been collecting this stack of Halloween themed orange, gray, cream and black fabrics over the past year (mostly on sale after last Halloween). I knew this stack would go well with my favorite Ghastly family...except I wasn't quick enough to get any last year! Thank goodness Alexander Henry decided to reprint this collection, and even added a dinner party to the mix!

I know I'm not alone in my love for this fabric, there is going to be Ghastlies Blog Hop starting on the 24th. I missed signing up for this in my back to school blog absence but certainly will be sure not to miss seeing all the Ghastly creations!

Farmer's Wife Quilt Along

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 19:30:00 +0000

These are the six blocks I made last week. I tried out several of the Farmer's Wife paper piecing templates that Jackie suggested from the Yahoo group and they worked well. With all the different types of blocks and different techniques for piecing, I'm going to learn a lot before these are all done. Even pressing techniques too - a few of these blocks look much better after I ironed them from the back rather than the front?

Without further adieu, this weeks blocks:

This is #1 Attic Window

#2 Autumn Tints (guess I didn't look at the name of this one when I picked fabrics.)

This is #5 Bat Wing

This is #10 Bowtie

#16 Calico Puzzle

#20 Churn Dash

You can see many more blocks in the FWQA group on flickr.

Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild Kona Challenge & Clearly Perfect Angles

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:30:00 +0000

Our current challenge for the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild is to see what we can come up with using a Kona brights charm pack and one additional Kona solid in half square triangles. In past posts I've mentioned how much I like Thangles for accurate HSTs that don't need trimming. Thangles don't work for precut charms so I researched the Angler 2 and Clearly Perfect Angles. Both work similar in the idea that you don't have to mark your center reference line to sew your two seams down the center of your pair of charms that create your two HSTs. The Angler has to be taped down each time and Clearly Perfect Angles is a large reusable/repositionable cling. As you can see, I decided to try Clearly Perfect Angles since I didn't want to mess with taping each time.

The photos show the progression of the process as I'm sewing two charms together. To begin you just line up the upper left angled edge of the charms with the gray diagonal line and the point of the charms to the gray line on the bottom and follow that line as you sew. You can flip the charm around to complete your second seam.

The cling comes as one large piece and you can choose to cut out a small area where the needles and feed dogs are or a larger area around the free arm like I did. You can see above and below here that I did put a piece of quilters tape across the arm of the machine to extend the gray sewing line so that I had a precise line for the entire seam...otherwise the last inch or so you have to eyeball it. (My first ones ended a bit crooked!)

Overall it was a pretty quick process to sew these charms together and I was happy with the Clearly Perfect Angles tool. Time will tell how well the cling holds up...so I'll keep you updated on how it lasts.

Now the fun begins, pressing and trimming!

Bright Batiks for Block Lotto

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:00:00 +0000

These are the nine blocks I made for this months' Block Lotto. I used scraps from my last batik project and added a few new ones for contrast from my LQS to end up with these rich colored curved rails that were are assigned block for September. To find out more about Block Lotto or how to make these super fast curved rail blocks follow the links... and if you want to join in there is even still time!

The Farmer's Wife (Daughter) Quilt Along

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 22:00:00 +0000

I could only resist so long and decided to join the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. These are the first two blocks I made: the Farmer's Daughter (of course because I am one!) and on the left, Evening Star. I made templates for both blocks but they turned out a bit too big so will get remade at some point.

For my background fabrics I am using the Basics by Basic Grey group. I love the varied shades and eclectic prints and scripts in the line. I made a set of 6 mini design boards following Lori Holt's tutorial and they are just brilliant for keeping a scrappy project like this organized.

Since I didn't do so well with the templates I made, I decided to go through and make all the blocks I could utilizing Thangles. (LOVE them! If you're not sure what they are or how they work, check out a this previous post. ) All those tabs on my book are coded for the different size of Thangles I can use on each block.

This is #11 Broken Dishes.

#4 Basket Weave

#9 Box

#6 Big Dipper

And the Farmer's grandsons!

(didn't seem right to have a FWQA post without a FARM photo?)

Since I have six design boards, the plan is to do six blocks a week until I catch up...so we'll just see how I do?!

Easing Back In & Three Creative Studios BOM

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 18:00:00 +0000

This is the third block I've completed in Three Creative Studios BOM series. I started this project about a year and a half ago and as always must've gotten sidetracked by the tyranny of the urgent.

A month or so ago when we were going to my parents in North Dakota for a few days, I was looking for a project to take along. I found all the HST for this block in a zip-loc bag ready to be trimmed...perfect. I usually don't have time during waking hours to sew on my mom's machine when we are there, but I always think small trimming and cutting projects are perfect for after the kids go to bed. I sewed this up when we came back and finally ironed it the other day. Though it is an older project, the instructions are still available for all the blocks on the Three Creative Studios' site. Here are all three blocks together...

(The fabric is Objects of Desire by Sandy Gervais.)

I don't know why, but when I haven't sewn for a while, I always feel the need for a massive cleaning and reorganization so I hope to finish that this weekend. I can't believe summer is over and school starts here in just two days. So much of our summer was spent on organized activities: baseball, camp at the science museum, golf camp, vacation bible school, etc... and the last few weeks of hanging out has been busy with school preparations and not as relaxing as hoped. We do have many fun memories though, and each year you do learn new tweeks/plans to try for your schedule the following summer.

Hope you all are having a great holiday weekend!

Giveway Winner and a Downloadable List of Readers Favorite Brick & Mortar Quilt Shops

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 17:18:00 +0000

Thanks to those of you that entered my blogiversary giveaway! There were 120 entries plus 12 bonus enteries from a previous post that I added on as numbers 121 -132.

RNG first selected entry #39 Laura who said,
OUr LQS is Seminole Sampler in Catonsville, Maryland. Great place with friendly helpers.

And the second number selected was #130 Amy B who said,
Cute! We are Red Sox fans-try to make it to Seatle when they play there. My boys do karate-and i pretend to do hexagons there :) I bring them along and only end up doing 2 or 3!

Thank you for sharing your favorite quilt stores... I compiled everyone's answers into a list that you can down load from google.docs so that if you have want to incorporate any quilt shopping into your travels you have some suggested stores to check out!

Fabric Fieldtrip: Sewtropolis (& last day to enter giveaway!)

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000

This week while the boys were at VBS, I snuck off to see Nikol at Sewtropolis. Nikol, the owner of Sewtropolis & Marie started the Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild and most months we meet at Sewtropolis. Sewtropolis is a sewing studio in south Minneapolis.

Yesterday when I went in I found this shelf of Joel Dewberry's line in front.

There is a large display of Aurifil thread.

There is a large selection of patterns...

And even more patterns! Many of these and the store's fabric are sold on Sewtropolis' Etsy site.

Here's a shelf of Amy Butler fabrics.

And some Anna Maria Horner.

Tula Pink's Prince Charming line of fabric...

A nice selection of voiles...perfect for the hot summer everyone seems to be having.

Various solids...

And lots of laminated cottons, too!

So what's missing? I totally forgot to take photos of the studio sewing space! Check out Sewtropolis' website and blog to see more photos and learn about their classes. They offer a wide variety of classes including general how to classes, quilting, homegoods, sewing for baby, apparel classes and even kids sewing camps.

In case you hadn't figured it out, I am highly distractable. Yesterday when I stopped by, Vanessa was there too and the three of us were talking about some of the guild challenges included the Habitat challenge and the Kona Solids challenge... and my mind was going in so many directions I spaced out photos of the studio area. Guess that means those of you that live nearby will have to just go check it out yourself!

And today is the last day to enter my blogiversary giveaway... go here if you want to enter!

Two Year Blogiversary Giveaway!

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 20:48:00 +0000

With this summer being full of kid activities, I almost missed my Two Year Blogiversary?! I certainly couldn't let the occasion go by without a giveaway, so I raided my OOP bin to share some favorites with you.

I decided two prizes were appropriate since I was celebrating two years. I am giving away a set of 6 FQ of 1974 by the Urban Chiks for Moda and a set of 7 FQ of Garden Party by Anna Maria Horner for Freespirit. I will draw two winners Friday evening the 29th, with the first person getting their choice of the two prizes. To enter, just comment on this post...how about telling me your favorite brick & mortar quilt store since I'm sharing some Fabric Fieldtrips this month?

Also a few posts ago, I mentioned that this giveaway was coming up. Those readers that commented on that post get an extra entry to this giveaway and from those names RNG picked a winner of the Wonderland charm pack pre-celebration giveaway... #1 Mary on Lake Pulaski.

Fabric Fieldtrip: Treadle Yard Goods

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 03:00:00 +0000

While my boys were at their classes at the Science Museum of Minnesota last week, I visited Treadle Yard Goods on historic Grand Avenue in St. Paul. The store has broad variety of fabrics to choose from.

Treadle had a nice selection of Anna Maria Horner prints.

Also Amy Butler fabrics, too.

Here is their selection of Japanese imports...there aren't too many stores in the cities that carry many of these fabrics. (above in the background is part of their Kona cotton and Kaufman quilters linens)

And like my last visit, they have a large variety of oilcloth fabrics by front door to draw passersby in.

This time I took particular notice to the large variety of novelty flannels that they carried.

Check out this ribbon selection, it is nearly impossible to walk by and not touch or purchase something from this display.

In addition to all the quilting fabrics, Treadle also has quite a few apparel fabrics... here are their linens.

Again, I forgot to take photos of the pattern and notion areas but I do think those are geared more towards apparel sewing at this store..but no matter there is certainly plenty of other temptations for the quilter!

Fabric Fieldtrip: Twin Cities Quilting

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 04:00:00 +0000

The fact that I haven't been getting much sewing done lately with so many summer kid activities was well established in my last post. This week both of my boys have classes at the Science Museum of Minnesota and next week they have Vacation Bible School, so I decided to take the opportunity to stop by some of the LQS in the respective areas of Minneapolis/St. Paul and share these outings with you.

Above is Twin Cities Quilting in Roseville, MN, which was opened last summer by MSP Modern Quilt Guild member, Faye Hoch. Faye is a phenominal long arm quilter and her use of color is just wonderful.

One of the most tempting sections of the store is the extensive collection of Marcia Derse fabrics. (And Faye said she has another 20 bolts on order!)

To my knowledge this is the only store in the MSP metro area that carries these fabrics. Faye also has several original patterns that she carries exclusively at her store and many of the designs utilize these gorgeous fabrics.

I love this striking quilt, called TV Dinner by Modern Quilt Relish. You can read a bit more about it on the store's blog.

Here's a peek at some of the fabrics by color...there is a nice selection of modern and bright to choose from, including many unique prints I haven't seen elsewhere.

And here is look at the batik selection which is certainly one of the larger collections in the area.

And of course after I left, I realized I didn't take any photos of the patterns, books & notions area of the store?!...but hopefully I've shared enough of my visit for you to get a good feel for the personality of the store and all the fun things you might find there!

The Boys of Summer

noreply@blogger.com (badlandsquilts) — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 16:10:00 +0000

A good portion of this summer has been all about baseball. (And certainly not much sewing as you may have guessed by my absence here.) In June, we went to a Minnesota Twins game when my parents were here. My older son is allergic to peanuts, so we are most appreciative that the Twins offer several peanut free games.

Since the beginning of May, Jon has had little league. He has several games during the week and had two different weeks of baseball camp. Of course I bring hexagons or something to work on but always get wrapped up in the game and don't get anything done! This week his team has playoffs and a tournament and then we'll get a three week respite before the fall baseball season begins.

And William is in T-ball, too...

With all this baseball, it's not a surprise that I have a stash of baseball fabric!

A few weeks ago while I was off MIA with all these baseball & kid activities, was my two year blogiversary. Later this week I'll host an official giveaway for the occasion...

I like the idea of the people that have been reading along for some time with my sewing (and lack thereof, lately) getting an extra entry, so leave a comment on this post to win an OOP Wonderland charm pack and later this week when I post my official giveaway I'll add the comments from this post to give you an extra chance to win. (And of course this little early giveaway & my blogiversary giveaway will be open to international friends as always!)

Hope you are having a great summer!