A DEER FISH TALE OF A QUILT

My husband Todd and I celebrated our 30th anniversary this past September.  We decided to rent a house at the beach for a long weekend and take our two dogs (Booker and Parker) with us as they love the beach.  We had a wonderful time, the weather cooperated for the most part and the house we rented was perfect.  We were in Pacific City and apparently a large family of deer come through the neighborhood each day.  The neighborhood is right off the busy coastal highway.  One day while we were out the deer were in the neighborhood and looking to cross the highway.  Wouldn't you know it, Todd starts stopping traffic to help them cross while I'm behind the deer trying to get them to cross where Todd was.  Fortunately everyone made it safely.

During our stay we enjoyed eating at a few local restaurants, frequented the brew pub and drove around exploring the area.  The Pelican Pub and Brewery was a great stop and we enjoyed a wonderful meal at Delicate Palate Bistro for our anniversary.  We let the chef serve what he recommended.  Everything was wonderful!

While we were out exploring I saw a road sign for a quilt shop.  Really?  This is a small coastal area (I mean really small).  Todd was a good sport and agreed to make a stop.  We drove down this long gravel road and came upon a large house.  The quilt store was in the basement and was amazing!  I couldn't believe how much fabric was in the shop.  By the way, the shop is called BJ's Fabrics & Quilts and she has a website: www.bjsfabricsquilts.com

I was working on making quilts for Christmas and have a brother in law who enjoys fishing and the outdoors.  I just couldn't find the right fabrics around town (or other stops around the state).  Anyway, I found great fabrics to coordinate along with some other goodies.  Did I mention that Todd waited patiently in the car for me?  

I decided to make both my brothers in law the same pattern of quilt using a five piece squares.  It is amazing how different two quilts can look even when using the same pattern. I backed it with a warm cozy flannel as my brother in law is a long-haul truck driver.  My friend Gail did the long arming.  We decided upon a rather simple pattern given how busy the fabric is.  

The anniversary weekend was wonderful and I look forward to future stays in Pacific City to enjoy time with the hubby and pups, good food and beer and of course another stop at BJ's!

SPA COLLECTION BATIKS AND A BIG BLOCK PATTERN

When it came to making a quilt for my mother in law I decided to work with a collection of batiks from Keepsake Quilting.  I had the fabric for several months before finally deciding on a pattern.  I found a pattern called The Big Blocks Quilt by Black Cat Creations that I thought would accent the fabrics well.  I bordered the blocks with narrow strips of white and believe the overall look turned out nicely.  The colors are a bit more vivid that the photo shows.

The small borders are a great accent but can be a bit of a challenge to work with.

The back is a very soothing batik
I decided to keep it simple so as
not to take away from the front.

The final size is 53" x 71" which is a nice size to sit on the couch with to read a book or watch TV.  I'd like to make another quilt with this pattern but with bolder colors.  I imagine it will have a completely different look and feel.

SISTERS BOTH WITH GIRLS NAMED KATIE

My sister and I each have a girl named Katie. My sister's Katie is older and happens to be a horse so we always tell our daughter that she was named after a horse.

FUN WITH ORANGE, CIRCLES AND TREES!

My brother in law is a single father with two boys.  All are very into soccer so I designed a quilt and selected fabrics that incorporated that in a rather abstract way, circles.  The color orange was chosen as it is a family favorite color and the trees on the back represent the strength and stability my brother in law brings to his boys.  

This was actually a very simple pattern that went together quickly.  Each block is made of five 2" strips and I flipped the blocks when attaching to come up with the pattern.  Once fun thing about this quilt is all the stops involved in selecting fabrics.  They were selected at different times from different stores but believe they blend together well.  I kept the longarming pattern rather simple as the patterns are quite busy.

I love how the longarming
accents the back

Thank you Katie for holding
up the quilt - cute toes!

STRIPS & SPARKS - The making of a quilt from strips

I've always admired quilts made from strips of fabric and thought I'd make one as a gift.  Apparently there are several different methods to assemble a quilt from strips.  After researching different methods I decided to purchase a pattern from Keepsake Quilting as I've had good results with previous patterns.

The quilt I made was for my father in law who is a lover of nature.  I selected the fabrics from different quilting stores in Western Washington.  The fabrics were a mixture of batiks and fabrics with leaves or bark looking patterns.  The fun thing about making this quilt is the way it goes together.   You sew a total of 74 strips end to end until you have one strip 2" wide and over 1600" long.  Fold it in half, sew together and trim the end.  Repeat again and again and again (you get the idea).  I then added two borders and made the back of a really cozy flannel.

COME WHAT MAY QUILT

I generally design the quilts I make but decided to purchase a pattern and fabric from Keepsake Quilting.  I had been told that their fabrics were top quality and found that to be true.  The pattern was actually a book with three different size options.  The amount of fabric shipped was more than enough to complete the project (always great to add more fabric to the stash, right?).  The finished size for the quilt I chose to make was 64" x 80" and made with a total of 24 blocks.  One of my favorite things about the pattern is how the quilt blocks "disappear" within the quilt.  Each block consists of nine pieces of fabric but when assembled you will see that fabrics connect to make the block pattern blend in with the next block.  The fabric for the back looks like a watercolor, fresh and beautiful colors.

I made the quilt for my parents for Christmas this year.  We live about 200 miles apart so we met up for lunch after Christmas and exchanged gifts.  Apparently the quilt was put to good use right away as my brother drove my parents home and my father napped in the back of the car with the quilt.  The pattern was a fun one to work with and will likely make another one day (perhaps a lap-sized version).

Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop - Day #2

I'm back on the road for Day #2 of the Quilt Shop Hop.  Ten more shops on the schedule for today, beginning in Olympia and ending in Vancouver, Washington (home for me).  Given that day two would take me through some smaller towns I wasn't sure quite what to expect but I'm up for an adventure so let's go!



Stop #1 - Bayside Quilting, Olympia, WA
What a find!  I walk in to find all the ladies that work there with red polka dot ribbons in their hair (like "Rosie the Riveter") and guess what?  I'm wearing red polka dot Keds!  Seriously, the store scores as one of my favorites.  Lots of room to wander and wonderful fabric selections.  I picked up a couple of batiks to go with fabric I found the day before.  I will most certainly be back!


Stop #2 - Ruby Street Quiltworks, Tumwater
Just a bit south on I-5 is Ruby Street.  It is right off the freeway so quick to get to.  While I didn't purchase anything here it was worth the stop.  They had an offer with their quilt block (return to the store with it completed by July 31st and you get 40% off a single cut of fabric).  We'll see :-)






Stop #3 - Quilter's Junction, Centralia, WA
Look at those shutters!  What a great way to quickly dress an otherwise boring warehouse building.  Walk inside and you're in a cozy quilt shop.  There were a lot of locals in the shop at the time and can tell it is a favorite hangout for quilters.  I found some very cute sock money fabric to make into a pillowcase for my nephew.  You could incorporate this stop in with a stop at the outlets (just saying)!


Stop #4 - Sister's Fabric, Chehalis, WA

Sister's Fabrics is so adorable that it was worthy of two photos (and yes, I'm entered to win that amazing quilt, fingers crossed).  Every square inch of the store is utilized.  Fabric is double stacked and patterns are on each end of a row.  There were amazing quilts on display as well.  This little gem is nestled in a great area to stroll the streets and grab a bite to eat!



I did purchase a pattern from the store and looking forward to selecting fabric in the near future.  As I was leaving I happened to leave my quilt block kit behind but thankfully they tracked me down - much appreciated.  
The shop finishes in my top 5 favorites!







Stop #5 - The Quilt Nest, Castle Rock, WA
Well the day of great little shops continues.  I had never been into the town of Castle Rock (just saw the exit going up and down I-5) and was quite impressed.  One thing I noticed was the number of themed prints they had (you know what I mean - you need to make a quilt for a person into hunting and looking for a fabric or two).  Well, this is your place.  If you live in Vancouver this really isn't that far out of town.

Are you thinking I should be stopping for a bite to eat?  Well no time for that today!  I saved half my sandwich from yesterday and kept it in a cooler along with water.  Time is a wasting and I need to get to stop #6!

Stop #6 - Longview Sewing, Longview, WA
Evidently Longview is taking advantage of the summer weather and getting roadwork done.  Traffic, traffic everywhere (and some rude drivers).  That being said, I arrived at the shop.  Not a lot to see from the outside but once inside you will find the place full of light.  I found a piece of fabric to use for a backing on a quilt (don't we all have around 5 or so projects going at once?).  To my surprise it was on clearance - $6.99 a yard - SCORE!




 

Stop #7 - Momma Made It, Longview, WA
The next shop is just a few blocks away from my last stop.  How convenient, especially given the traffic.  The picture I'm posting was actually taken from the internet as I forgot to take a photo.  Truthfully, I thought the store felt a bit darker.  The majority of the fabric had a vintage look.  They were beautiful just not what I'm drawn to.  That being said the fabrics were lovely and good to keep in mind if working on a project with that sort of feel (in fact, I sent a message to a friend while there who is working on a vintage project).






Stop #8 - Paisley Duck Quilting, Kelso, WA
Yep!  Just when I'm thinking that I've bit off more than I can take in one day I arrive at Paisley Duck.  Who knew that Kelso had such a great store?  I'm most impressed by the little touches in the store.  Projects that are just a bit out of the ordinary (right up my alley) and fabric lines that I haven't seen at other stores on my trip.  They also had refreshments for weary travelers and displays of past shop hop quilts.  Inspiring!


Stop #9 - Just For Fun Quilting, Vancouver
Well, we're back in the 'Couve, my hometown for the past 30 years.  And wouldn't you know it?  I've never been to Just for Fun.  Evidently they have quite a following as the owner explained she has expanded several times over the past 5 years.





- Stop #10 - Fiddlesticks, Vancouver WA
Well, here we are.  The final stop of the journey.  Fiddlesticks is about 3 miles from my house so I know them well.  They have had quite a run on the shop hop fabric (good thing I didn't wait until the last stop to purchase).  I turned in my passport here with 20 stamps which puts me in the running for some fabulous prizes!


Well, there you have it.  Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop 2014 is in the books.  All in all I would say I was more impressed with the shops from day #2.  As I stated above, most of the shops are in small towns with fewer people to pull from and it shows.  They go above and beyond with customer service, project ideas and selection of fabrics.

I now have 20 blocks begging for attention but of course they are going to have to wait for other projects ahead of them.  I look forward to returning to several of the shops I have discovered along the journey as I travel up and down the I-5 corridor.  I hope my blog gives you a bit of insight as to what is out there.  Perhaps I'll see you next year!