Glorious Autumn Block Party – Vicki Welsh and Granma’s Treasures

Hi everyone! Welcome to Block 4 of our Glorious Autumn Block Party. Today we have Vicki Welsh as our featured designer and Granma’s Treasures has 44 lovely fabrics on sale this week too.

Visit the Block Party Headquarters for more info and upload your completed blocks to the Flickr group.

Super Deal from Granma’s Treasures

Granma’s Treasures is a little country quilt shop in Eastern Colorado. Just 10 miles from Nebraska on HWY34, we occupy an old bank building built in 1908 in Wray, CO. It’s a beautiful community full of friendly faces, a great place to live and to visit.

We carry about 1000 bolts of fabulous quilter’s cottons, along with patterns, books and tools. We have a gift department where we offer better quality gifts, books, toys, and locally made quilts and handcrafts. We recently added a Needlework room with threads and yarns for crochet and knitting, as well as embroidery and counted cross stitch. We offer classes in quilting and a new class called Mini Monthly Mysteries is just starting up.

Today’s Super Deal:

Super Sales is the name of our deal, and it’s an entire section on our web site – just click on Super Sales in the left hand column to see the 44 fabrics on sale. Quality fabrics, all at bargain prices of 25% or more off the suggested retail price. No figuring, no hassle, the discount will already be deducted. Good through September 30th, or until the fabric is gone!

Here are a few of the sale fabrics:

Start shopping here! – click the Super Sales link on the left.

Featured Designer: Vicki Welsh

How did you get into quilting?

I learned to sew at an early age. I hardly remember a time when I was not sewing. Until my 30s I was solely a garment maker. I loved tailoring and making evening wear. The problem with that is color. Aside from red, I primarily wear black and other neutral colors. I wanted to sew with yellow and orange and green and purple and every other color of the rainbow! That led me to quilting. I made my first quilt in 1989. I wrote about it in 2007.

How/when/why did you transition from a quilter to a designer?

Is there any quilter who does not eventually become a designer? Even if you start with a pattern you might change the block arrangement or the border. We can do that with every quilt we make. I do not design quilts for my business but I love designing quilts for my Sunday posts highlighting my hand dyed fabric palettes.

Which quilt is your favourite? Did you design it? Why is it your favourite?

My current favorite quilt is called Star Struck and it was my first quilt made with my own hand dyed fabrics. I am particularly happy with the back that I tie dyed to match the piecing lines of the front.

How many UFOs do you currently have? I have about 8 tops that need to be quilted and about 10 projects in process. That’s not too bad, is it?

What size of quilt do you prefer to make/design? I prefer making bed quilts. At the end of the day I most enjoy making quilts for my family and friends to use and love to death.

What colour do you use most often in your quilts? I love and use all colors. I suppose I most often use autumnal colors but I also love a good scrappy quilt.

Favourite one-sentence tip for a new quilter: Starch fabric before cutting, it will make the piecing go so much smoother. I make my own starch with this recipe.

Favourite size and brand of rotary cutter: The Olfa 45mm Deluxe Ergonomic rotary cutter is my favorite. I have several different rotary cutters but this one is the first one that I reach for.

Favourite quote or mantra: “Oh well, it was worth a try!”

Block Party #4 – Braced Star

Here’s Vicki’s block, Braced Star. Isn’t it gorgeous in her beautiful hand dyed fabrics! Don’t be intimidated, Vicki’s included great photos in her tutorial. Head over to Vicki’s blog to download the tutorial.

Designer Give-Away

Vicki wrote: In my blog post I talked about the inspiration for my block being my Great-Grandmother. I recently finished a project using feedsack fabrics so, in honor of my Great-Grandmother Flora, I want to share a pack of 6″ feedsack charms. I think there are about 20 charms here. The winner will be announced Monday.

Visit Vicki’s blog to enter the give-away.

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