Quilting Blog - Cactus Needle Quilts, Fabric and More

Marrakech Elephant Embroidery

2013-05-20T08:29:00.000-06:00

A few months ago

the very talented

Danny Heyen (Mommy For Reals)

brought this darling

Elephant pillow

that she had embroidered.

All of us at the

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

fell in love with it,

and asked her if she would come and

teach a hand embroidery workshop.

Saturday we gathered to

learn several stitches

that make this

Marrakesh Elephant

practically come alive.

The art of embroidering on

quilt fabric is becoming increasingly popular.

Danny did a great job as a teacher!

She was well prepared

brought samples

drew diagrams

and gave individual help.

And the room was packed!

The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

is really growing!

Danny started us out by providing

a section of fabric

Marrakesh by Valorie Wells

Karavan line

This is an older fabric that is harder to find

and almost out of print.

Danny found it at

Fabric.com

She said she had to

"kill a lot of elephants to get one good section to work with"

We were fortunate because Danny provided us

with kits,

complete with floss

generously donated by DMC

I've done some embroidering in the past,

but learned some new techniques that were very helpful.

My favorite part was learning the

Split Stitch

seen here on the gold curly sections.

I find hand work

very relaxing and look forward

to spending some time with my

Marrakesh Elephant

Thanks for a

GREAT workshop Danny!

Campfire Cones

2013-05-19T00:07:00.000-06:00

In our church

we have an annual tradition

where the men and boys gather for an overnight

Father and Sons Camp Out

They head to the mountains,

pitch their tents

cook food

let the little boys run in packs

(and get plenty dirty)

and tell stories around the campfire.

It's a "GUY THANG"

and I don't know who is more excited to attend

Mr. Cactus

our son-in-law

or our grandsons.

I sent along a fun little treat

that I saw on Pinterest.

Campfire Cones

by Laura of Come Together Kids

You start with a waffle cone

and frost the inside with peanut butter.

Fill the insides with a mixture of

chocolate chips

mini marshmallows

and chopped bananas.

A mouthwatering blend of flavors.

Fill as many as needed

for an ooey-gooey time.

Campfire Joy

Wrap each individual cone in foil.

I packed the

Campfire Cones in a zip-lock bag with

easy to follow instructions.

Turning every few minutes, the cones only need 5-10 minutes on the coals

to melt the chocolate with the marshmallows.

Then be prepared for some happy faces.

Our grandson Noah said he couldn't decide what he liked more:

Campfire Cones

listening to grandpa tell stories

in the campfire darkness

about aliens

who sucked up camper's tents

and transported them into spaceships.

*fortunately, all ended well :)

yep, it's a guy thang.

Greetings From Arizona, A to Z Quilt

2013-05-17T12:31:00.000-06:00

When Arizona turned 100

in 2012

many quilters throughout the State

paid tribute by creating

Centennial Quilts

Several of these quilts

from the Prescott area

are currently on display

at the

Sharlot Hall Museum

Greetings From Arizona, A to Z

by Ann Novak

Chino Valley, AZ

When Ann was a teenager in the 1950's,

her family took a road trip

that included

following Route 66 through Arizona.

She wrote:

"I collected postcards along the way

and my favorite cards featured

balloon letters filled with photo scenes."

When it came time for Ann to show her love of Arizona

through a Centennial Quilt

she chose to combined personal photo's

in a picture card format.

Have you collected postcards like these on trips?

I think it's interesting that the

balloon letter format

can still be found today

on State postcards.

Nice job Ann!

Viewing your quilt really took me on a trip down Memory Lane.

Slot Canyon Quilt

2013-05-16T08:37:00.000-06:00

Another wonderful quilt

currently being shown

at Sharlot Hall Museum

Slot Canyon at Page, Arizona

by Beverly Ann Markham

Prescott, AZ

Beverly wrote that she created this quilt from

a photograph of Antelope Canyon

"I have attempted to render in fabric and capture

the after-effect of centuries of water that

has coursed down it's gorge and shaped

the rocks as we see them

and also capture the effect of

diffused light from above."

"I love the rocks and rock formations

and especially the color changes in the rocks

as the sun moves across the sky."

Cowgirl's Scrapbook Quilt

2013-05-15T00:01:00.000-06:00

Sometimes you see a quilt

that just makes you smile :)

Cowgirl's Scrapbook

was that kind of quilt for me.

Currently being shown

at the Sharlot Hall Museum

in Prescott, Arizona

By Lorraine Owens

Chino, Arizona

Lorraine wrote:

"Cowgirl's Scrapbook was inspired by all the women

I have ridden horses with

throughout the state of Arizona."

"A lot of them are ranch girls

that grew up on the back of a horse,

and some like me dreamed of being on a ranch,

but grew up in the big city."

"I wanted to create something to

remember them all by

and their friendship was the inspiration

for this quilt."

Isn't it interesting that

no matter our background,

whether we are a ranch girl

or city girl,

we still feel the need to create and

memorialize through quilting.

Ye Haw!

Sunglasses, earrings and cowgirl hats

What fun girlfriends!

Arizona Colors Quilt

2013-05-14T00:01:00.000-06:00

While visiting the

Sharlot Hall Museum

I was excited to see a

selection of quilts displayed

in one of the exhibit rooms.

The Yavapia County Quilters

of Prescott

shared their contributions

to the

100 Years 100 Quilts

honoring Arizona's Centennial.

Arizona Colors

by Carol Miller

comes with a wonderful story.

Carol's mother

Pauline McCollough Brown

hand pieced this star when she was

in college in the 1930's.

Carol wrote:

"It rested in a box untouched and unknown to me,

for 50 years or so.

Mom was moving out of her homestead

when I found it under a bed."

Carol rescued the quilt with a promise to finish it one day.

She eventually added the contemporary fabric

that surrounds the star

and the pieced border.

Do you ever wonder what may

become of your UFO's

that might get tucked away in a box under a bed?

Who knows?

Maybe some day your quilt

might hang in a beautiful museum.

It's possible!

There were several other

wonderful quilts

as part of the exhibit

that I will share with you this week.

Prescott, Arizona

2013-05-13T09:09:00.000-06:00

As Mr. Cactus and I are getting to know Arizona,

we like to take little day trips

around this wonderful State.

Saturday we ventured about 90 miles North of Phoenix

and spent the day in

Prescott

We had the most delightful day

in this historic Cowboy town.

For our first stop, we visited the

Sharlot Hall Museum

Rated #1 Attraction

by Trip Adviser

Sharlot Hall is a beautifully maintained

open air museum

that hosts

7 historic buildings, exhibits, gardens

and living history programs.

I was impressed with the textile exhibits

especially this model of the

Copper linked dress

Sharlot wore to the Presidential Inauguration

of Calvin Coolidge in 1925

Copper was an important part of Arizona's history

and this over dress reflects

Sharlot's tribute as she traveled to Washington as the chosen elector

to cast Arizona's 3 electoral votes.

The copper dress and jewelry

weigh in at over 9 lbs.

She also wore this

Prickly Pear Cactus hat.

What a lady!

(I like her already)

In 1864 Prescott was the original capital of Arizona Territory.

Sharlot Hall Museum houses the first

Governor's Mansion

along with Fort Misery,

the oldest log cabin structure in the state.

They had a nice quilt exhibit (yes!)

that I will show you more about in the next few days.

Mr. Cactus loves to hike

so we checked out a few easy trails

around

Lynx Lake

Beautiful setting in the Ponderosa Pines

where we watched canoeists

paddle lazily around

in the Arizona sunshine.

We'll be back.

Happy Mother's Day!

2013-05-12T08:54:00.000-06:00

The most beautiful necklace a mother can wear is not gold or gem, but her child's arms around her neck :)

- Man Of Honor

Row Along Quilt Links

2013-05-10T09:32:00.000-06:00

Several people have been e-mailing me

with questions about

Bee In My Bonnet's

Row Along Quilt

by Lori Holt

Lori published the instructions for this quilt

in tutorial form

every two weeks

from Fall 2012- Spring 2013.

Currently the instructions are only available

through individual links on

her blog, and not in a book.

If you look at the right hand side on

Bee In My Bonnet's

blog

you will notice a

Row Along Button

Click on the button and it will take

you to the Row Along Flickr page.

The flickr page will give you a list

with links

for all of the tutorials.

I hope this helps!

This really was such a fun quilt to work on.

Lori's tutorials with pictures are clear and precise.

Maybe someday they will be in book form,

but for now they are free!

Angle Play Table Runners

2013-05-09T09:44:00.000-06:00

The Nimble Thimbles Quilt Guild

recently met together for a class

taught by Ken Casey

Angle Play Table Runners

So many from our group signed up

that the guild created 2 classes.

All commented that Ken was a great teacher

and they really enjoyed learning

how to use

Margaret Miller's

Angle Play Templates

Three of the ladies brought their finished

table runners for this month's

Show and Tell

And also for Show and Tell

Bertie brought her

Circular Table Runner

that she made using

a 10-degree Wedge Ruler.

With the left over sections

she made a

"reverse color" runner.

Which one do you like the best?

There are so many fun quilt designs

coming forth using

these fun specialty rulers.

Row Along Quilted

2013-05-08T00:01:00.000-06:00

I just got my

Row Along Quilt

back from the quilter

and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out!

Pat Roche (Pat's Just Quilting)

did the most amazing job!

Each row is individually

quilted with the most wonderful designs.

Pat really has such a talent

for interpreting a quilt,

and giving it that

extraordinary touch.

This post will be a little picture heavy

because I want you to be able to see

all of the rows and

Pat's beautiful quilting.

Enjoy!

Sometimes the intricate details of

the quilting show up even better

on the back of a quilt.

Thank you Pat for your

outstanding quilting!

Your work has really made this quilt.

And it was so fun to complete the last little bit

of stitching

by adding

Lori's Bee label

on the back.

My Row Along Quilt

will be a treasure

that I will hold dear

to my heart

for years to come.

Carpe Quiltem

2013-05-06T00:01:00.000-06:00

Cafe Press

must be a kindred spirit.

Buttons can be ordered

HERE

Little Darlings Crazy Quilt

2013-05-05T08:07:00.001-06:00

When I was a little girl

my mother had several

Hummel Figurines

sitting on shelves as decorations

in our home.

Because of their delicate nature,

I was not allowed to touch them,

so I spent many hours

staring at the porcelain details.

They became

"surrogate dolls"

where I would imagine myself

inserted into their farmland settings.

It brought back a lot of memories to view

Geri Hruzek's

Little Darlings Crazy Quilt

at the Arizona Quilters Guild Show

Hummel figurines were based on the drawings of

Sister Maria Innocentia Hummel

and became popular during WWII.

Soldiers stationed in West Germany sent the figurines

home as gifts

and they quickly became a collectors item.

Geri won a

Honorable Mention ribbon

at the show.

She wrote:

"Completely handmade including the piecing,

embroidery, embellishments, appliques

and quilting."

Wow

Look at the detail!

I can't imagine how many hours

went into

all of the embellishments and stitching's.

Apple Tree

My mother's figurines are long gone now.

I wonder if they might have been donated to a thrift shop

when styles of collectables changed.

I enjoy the figurines on Geri's quilt even more.

Crazy quilts always have so many

fun places for the eye to look

in just one small section.

Beautifully done!

Calli's Pickledish Quilt Block

2013-05-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

For the last year I have been part of a pretty amazing

Bee Group.

Each month we have made a block for one of our 12 members.

For April

Calli from Make It Do

asked us to help make

part of her

Pickledish quilt block

Because the block is quite large

and detailed,

Calli requested we each make 2 arcs.

She sent us the fabrics and paper pieced templates

needed for our assignment.

For the instructions we were asked to view

the free tutorial by Aneela Hoey

on her blog

Comfortstitching

It was easy to make and fun to do!

I'm a little sad that this is the end of our year

with the Bee's Knees.

Thank you ladies for including me

in your wonderful Bee.

An extra thanks goes to

Amy Smart (Diary of A Quilter)

and

Sherri McConnell (A Quilting Life)

for organizing our group.

I've been stretched in my quilting skills

and tried techniques I've never used before.

It's been a fun ride.

Purple Mountain Majesties Quilt

2013-05-03T13:08:00.000-06:00

With a name like

Cactus Needle

my eye always goes

towards the Cactus quilts

at shows.

Purple Mountains Majesties

by Jean Ann Williams

from the

Arizona Quilters Guild Show

Jean Ann wrote that she made this

quilt as a wedding present

for her nephew and new wife

who live here in Arizona

I really like the

positive/negative effect

on the Saguaro's.

Looking at each block up close,

it appears that Jean Ann

might have used

reverse applique on one side.

The quilt was also

hand quilted by Jean Ann.

Nice job!

Did you know that when

pronouncing

"Saguaro"

the "g" is silent?

"Suh-wah-ro"

I can often tell who is a

native Arizonian and

who is not by how they

pronounce the Indian words

that are so prevalent in this

culture.

As a relative newcomer,

I still have a lot to learn :)

Judy Niemeyer Trunk Show with Jackie Kunkel

2013-05-02T09:36:00.000-06:00

If you live locally here in Arizona

or would like to make a trip here this summer,

come join us for a

fun quilting event!

My friend

Jackie Kunkel

a certified Judy Niemeyer teacher

is coming all the way

from Connecticut

to teach

and provide a trunk show.

The Judy Niemeyer Trunk Show will

be offered on

August 14th

10 am- Noon

35th Ave Sew & Vac (Northern Store)

Cost $5

HERE

Jackie will also be teaching

My 2 Baby Sisters

the newest pattern from Judy Niemeyer

in a two day class

August 17th and 18th.

Space is very limited

so register soon.

HERE

Jackie is a great teacher

and I'm so excited to know

she will be sharing her

vast knowledge and quilting talents

here in Arizona.

Moss Stitch Crocheted Afghan

2013-05-01T08:50:00.000-06:00

We arrived back home yesterday

from our quick trip to Utah.

Beautiful tributes were offered to our dear Uncle,

and we were able to visit

with many family members

that we haven't seen in years.

In our grief, we also feel

the joy of connection with family

that often accompanies a funeral.

Mr. Cactus and I decided to make the long drive from our home in Arizona

to Northern Utah

in order to make a stop off

in Southern Utah.

We checked on our home in St. George

and enjoyed an overnight stay with family.

In just a few short days

we put in a lot of miles.

I knew I needed something to keep my hands busy

during the long drive

so I grabbed a stack of left over yarn

before we headed out the door.

Working the

Moss Stitch

I started crocheting an

easy to do afghan.

I've always loved scrap quilts,

and I'm pleased with how this

afghan is turning out

using a wide variety of colors

of leftover yarn.

I'm at a beginner level in crochet,

and the Moss Stitch is an easy one to do.

The only skill required is a

chain stitch and single crochet.

I alternated colors with each row.

There are a lot of tails still to be woven in :)

Using a 5.5 crochet hook,

I chained 250 for the base,

which makes the width about 61 inches.

I'm not sure what the length will end up.

It may be determined by how

much yarn I have left!

*I'll keep you posted.

There are a lot of easy to follow

You-tube tutorials

that teach the

Moss Stitch

(also known as the Seed Stitch or Granite Stitch)

Lisa from All Free Crochet helped get me started:

Uncle Lincoln

2013-04-28T00:01:00.000-06:00

We are in Utah

for the funeral of

our dear Uncle

Lincoln Boam Sorensen

1931-2013

It's always hard to

say goodbye

to someone

who's kindness and influence

made this world

a much better place.

Godspeed on your new journey

Uncle Lincoln.

Until we meet again.

Omigosh Quilt

2013-04-27T00:01:00.000-06:00

Several years ago my friend Judi

asked me if I wanted to make the

Omigosh Quilt

with her.

15,000 pieces

with mostly

1/2-inch squares.

Omigosh!

Aptly named!

This is a scrappy quilt,

and I am all about using up my scraps.

But, it took me about 10 seconds

to admit this was not a project

I was prepared to tackle.

At least not yet.

I do hold on to the pattern and look at it fondly

from time to time.

Someday I would like to make this quilt :)

Really!

I love seeing the works of those

who have accepted the

Omigosh challenge.

OMG

A Million Tiny Pieces

by Joan McNamara

shown at the

Arizona Quilters Guild Show

Machine quilted by

Jessica (Jones) Gamez

If you break the blocks down into

little tiny sections

it does look kind of doable.

Joan won a 3rd place ribbon

in the Pieced Large category.

I think she deserves an additional

"A" for effort.

Original Omigosh pattern by Sue Garman

can be found at

Quakertown Quilts

HERE

Quilted Chairs

2013-04-26T00:01:00.000-06:00

In our struggling economy

it's common to see

web sites

with DIY Tutorials

repaint old furniture

with bright new colors.

It's impressive to know that

it's now

cool

decorate our living spaces

using the oft repeated mantra

Make Do

Revamp

Make Old New Again

Did you know that the term

Repurpose

actually became an official word in 1984?

That's why I was especially interested

to see these

Quilted Chairs

on display at the

Arizona Quilters Guild Show

So what do you think?

Are you ready to take grandma's old chair

and add a few half square triangles

in Kaffe fabrics?

I might possibly get away with

the blue one in my sewing room,

but I know Mr. Cactus

would put his foot down on the

hot pink number.

The mantra in our home

would soon

chant to the

Pig Latin version

Ix-nay on the Air-chay

Those Mesa Ladies and Their Quilts

2013-04-25T08:27:00.001-06:00

Once a month I meet with a

little quilt group out in Mesa.

Those Mesa Ladies

are so much fun to be with!

They provide a wonderful lunch

and we spend a few hours

quilting away

and yabbering.

I truly don't know what we enjoy the most:

the quilting

or the eating

or the yabbering.

It's probably the mix of all 3 that makes for such a delightful day.

Peg just got her

4th of July Pinwheels

back from the quilter.

Oh, my stars!

Such beautiful quilting!

Peg was so happy with the final result.

Karen worked on binding

a quilt for a new grandson.

A great Chevron pattern

Amanda just got her

I Heart London

back from the quilter

This is a fun raw edge pattern

that works up quickly

from

Lizzie B Cre8ive

Amanda will toss it in the wash

and once it's dried, the edges will fray up and

become more 3-dimensional.

Peg was laying out her latest

Work In Progress

This is such a fun idea Peg organized

as part of a family reunion.

She asked each family to bring a yard

of Kaffe Fassett fabric

cut into squares.

They traded fabrics with each other

at last years reunion,

and were challenged to go home and

sew them into a quilt.

They are to bring the finished quilt back to this year's reunion.

Each one will be different,

but all will contain the Kaffe squares.

Now, THAT sounds

like my kind of family reunion.

Basketweave Braided Star Block

2013-04-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

I mentioned yesterday

that the

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

has a Bee going on.

Each month the group

makes a block for

one of the members.

Fabric and pattern is

provided by that

month's host.

For the upcoming May block

Kirsten (Maniacal Material Girls)

brought her sample

and kits to make the

Basketweave Braided Star Block

love, love, love this cute

little paper pieced

log cabin-ish

great way to use up scraps

block.

Free PDF template

and Tutorial

offered by

Nydia of ADD Crafter

Nydia shows one block

with scrappy colors.

And another sample using

solids in one color hues.

Be still my heart!

I have been pawing through

my scraps and

dreaming

about making this quilt.

I like how the finished size

ends up being a nice large

12-inch block.

Now I just wish

I could sit

at my machine

all day long

and make

one block after another.

Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild/ April

2013-04-23T08:09:00.000-06:00

The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

is a relatively new guild

but, now that we are up and running

there are

so many fun things going on!

Danny has started the

Vitamin D Bee

a bee group where

they take turns each month

making a block for the members.

This month

the group made a

Swoon block

*by Thimble Blossoms

for Danny

Love her fabric choices.

Ever since Camille came out with this pattern,

I have had it on my to-do list.

And there was a pincushion swap.

My favorite

was a design created by Tracy.

I asked Tracy how she made this pincushion,

and she said she created the top

using her mini-Dresden ruler.

The guild has completed their

first Charity Quilt.

And for our meeting

Alissa Clark taught a

Paper Piecing Workshop

We had a choice of making

this cup...

or Soda bottle.

The above work in progress is by Kirsten.

So many talented ladies in this group!

The Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

meets the 3rd Saturday of every month.

We would love to have you join us!

For more information,

see the PMQG

web page

HERE

YoYoVille Quilt

2013-04-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

Two of my favorite quilts

to view

at the Trilogy Quilt Show

were

YoYoVille

and

In My Garden

YoYoVille

made by Priscilla Duffin

I really love this quilt!

A great way to use scraps.

Priscilla counted

237 yoyo's

and 40 houses.

Fusible applique

and

then edge stitched.

YoYoVille

is a Bunny Hill Design

In My Garden

made by Maureen Bredenberg

Machine quilted by Nancy Walker

Hand Appliqued

and machine pieced.

Trilogy Quilt Show

2013-04-18T09:22:00.000-06:00

This was my 2nd year to attend the

Trilogy Quilt Show

hosted by the ladies

out at Power Ranch

in Gilbert Arizona

This is a small show,

but I especially like to see

the Charitable Volunteer work

provided by this club of quilters.

It's impressive to see what a

group of around 25 women can do

to bring comfort through quilts.

Power Ranch is a large Master Planned Community

and the Trilogy group meet in their beautiful club house

several times each week

in preparation for their annual show.

This year's show was hosted

by Linda Coll.

Many of the show quilts were for sale or raffle,

with proceeds going towards

Sunshine Acres

Doves

and

AZ Blankets For Kids

* over 70+ quilts have already been donated this year

I really like how the ladies display their quilts,

hung against Banquet Folding Tables

laid out in circles.

The Stars Are Named

made by Audrey Ferguson

Dolly Dress Up

made by Priscilla Duffin

Panel by Holly Holderman for Lake House Dry Goods

comes with dimensional accents

Stormy Night

made by Sandy Wooster

I'll share with you a few more quilts from

the show tomorrow.