The beginning of November brings us to Week 8 of our Celebrate Christmas Quilt-Along. I hope you are enjoying our quilt-along as much as I am. Be sure to check out the Flickr group to see the super cute blocks that have been made so far.
Block 22, Circle of Geese Wreath, has been designed by Lynette Caulkins. Our friends at the Fat Quarter Shop have a fabulous 50% off Super Deal for you to enjoy too.
Super Deal from the Fat Quarter Shop
Fat Quarter Shop is the online quilt store with the best and widest selection of yardage, fat quarter bundles, specialty cuts, quilt kits and patterns. We also offer access to many wonderful quilt clubs, block-of-the-month programs and exclusive projects.
Most of all, we pride ourselves in our top-notch customer service, with friendly, knowledgeable representatives and speedy same-day shipping. Our user-friendly web site makes it easy to find the collection, designer and even the theme you are seeking. Fat Quarter Shop has all you need for your next project, so start shopping with us today!
Today’s Super Deal:
50% OFF Meadow Friends by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. Enter code MFRIENDS at checkout. Expires Monday, November 7th @ midnight CST.
Get your Super Deal Savings here!
Featured Designer: Lynette Caulkins
What is your quilting style?
Hi Everybody! My quilting style is ADD. Whatever catches my eye. Ooooo, Shiny! (You get the picture, although I’m learning discipline this year.) I love just about any style of quilting out there and really enjoy working with a great variety of techniques. I favor larger quilts that will hopefully be heirlooms, so my projects take a long time to complete. This leads to boredom fairly quickly with a given project – I just get sick of looking at the same colors, doing the same tasks over and over. So, I do tend to have about 4 projects on the current WIP list at a time to rotate amongst. My favorite projects right now (which are actually not on the priority list) are "Listen with Your Eyes", which I started at a class with its designer, Jacqueline deJonge, and Quite Rebellion on the Pond.
My top priority items are "Marissa’s Moment" for my youngest, "Burning Up the Slopes" for my cousin’s new marriage. These are both original designs – the one to incorporate a charm pack that surprisingly grabbed Mari’s heart despite the very-girly colors; the other to commemorate their incredibly fun proposal moment in a tux on skis. I’m also helping two teens finish "Lori’s Irish Butterflies" for my girlfriend, their mother.
I’ve just about got entirely back on my feet after a long bout of depression from my first empty nest semester, so I should be starting in on my priority list very, very soon! In the meantime, I did manage an acceptable forward movement on the crazy BOM list (thanks to the responsibility of BOMs Away), so it hasn’t been an All-Stop on the UFO list like it appears to be.
How did you get started quilting and/or designing?
Nobody taught me to quilt, per se, but my mother sewed a lot and got me started in clothing construction. Thanks to her for teaching me how to be precise and exacting with detail when I want to be. My grandmother, though, was a prolific quilter, making a quilt for every grandchild and great-grandchild at significant stages. That example combined with a personal penchant for puzzles, and I started working on my first quilt when I was a 19yo nanny in the Philadelphia region. I remember it was in shades of pink and purple and white solids that modern gals would approve of, but I had no knowledge of rotary cutting or free-piecing, so it was all template work and scissors. Wowza. Soooo different from how I operate 25 years later! And so solitary since there was no Internet, no Blogland, and I had no knowledge of quilt guilds.
Do you have a favourite quilt?
My favorite finished quilt this year has to be "Sailing with the Flying Needles", with its fun quilting (dolphins in those borders), shell trim and seashells around the compass. This was designed around BOM swap blocks that I got at our guild’s meeting last summer.
But I also really love how "Wagon Wheels West" turned out! Not my favorite colors at all, and I almost puked and threw out the blocks while I was making them, but I’m oh-so-glad I pulled it out of the closet and finished the top because once it was sashed and the borders were going on, I was absolutely smitten. This is a reproduction-style quilt done in fabrics that are copies of textiles printed at the time that every one of my great-great grandparents were migrating west in handcarts and wagon trains. (The top design is by Charlotte O’Leary.) Wagons and handcarts are quilted in the wheel blocks, and all their surnames are quilted around the border.
Another favorite from this year is the memory quilt duo "Around the World with Mr. Hernandez". These are twins made to commemorate my daughter’s special years on her school’s NaGISA international science team, and the working trips they made to Egypt, Crete, and Crystal River, FL. The quilting is thematic and really cool, and the first significant quilting job done on my table-top machine. I used every technique there can possibly be for that – chalk pouncing, tape lines, blue/purple marking pens, walking foot, and free-motion.
For pure sentimental value, though, I’d have to choose "Hugs and Kisses from Above for Jaycee". I designed this concept quilt at a guild challenge workshop to make a quilt for my cousin’s first grandchild, whom she eagerly longed for but never got to meet (unless they partied together in heaven before she was born). It’s supposed to represent Kelly’s love raining down on Jaycee.
Quick and fun questions:
- Favourite colour:Give me Caribbean colors – clear blues, greens, aquas in medium to heavy saturation.
- What part of the quilting process do you like the most? I probably like the “dream-of-making-THAT!” stage of quilting the most. And I least enjoy trimming tons of HSTs, however, it’s a great opportunity for guilt-free time in front of a good show. ;D
- Chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, or: CHOCOLATE. smooth, creamy, dark, unadulterated, and not overly sugary
- Most exciting place you’ve travelled: How’s living in Tehran, Iran for 2 ½ years for exciting? (when I was elementary-aged). My all-time favorite vacation as an adult: northern Wales, hands down.
- Favourite super hero or comic book character: Captain America!! (Because he called me "Sweetheart")
Block 22 – Lynette’s Circle of Geese Wreath
Here’s Lynette’s Circle of Geese Wreath block. It is a foundation pieced block and the bow is appliqué. Head over to Lynette’s blog to view her tutorial and download the patterns.
Share Your Photos
Upload your completed blocks to our Flickr group for a chance to win some adorable buttons from Button Mad – Incomparable Buttons. One winner for each of our quilt-along blocks will be randomly chosen. You have two weeks to complete Lynette’s Circle of Geese Wreath block to be eligible to win.
Congratulations to the Week 5 button winners:
- Block 13: O’ Christmas Tree – Maria Spiller
- Block 14: Christmas Tree Lot – CBNova1
- Block 15: Mare-y Christmas – FunThreads
Quilt-Along Links
Please share the Quilt-Along graphic on your own blog. The more participants, the more FUN!
great post and project – thanks