QuiltCon 2018 Recap ++ Quilts

QuiltCon was an amazing trip, I got to see so many friends, take some wonderful classes, and see such inspiring quilts.  I am sure that you saw oodles of quilts from QuiltCon on Instagram and on other blogs, but here were some of the quilts at the show that really spoke to me...

Oblique by Diana Vandeyar

@DianaVandeyar

This was one of the MQG patterns of the month and I really was drawn to the color combination of the deep pinks, gray, and pop of yellow.

Serendipity II by Sarah Hibbert

@quiltscornerstone

I have tried to do scrappy and low volume and it is very difficult for me, I think that Sarah achieved the right balance of color, shapes, and prints in this small quilt.

Reflection by Anne Sullivan

@playcrafts

This small quilt (which took second place in the small quilt category) spoke to me with its use of color.  How Anne achieved the gradient like effect and used such strong, bold colors together was inspiring.

Follow the Dots by Debbie Jeske

@aquilterstable

I followed Debbie's blog seeing this quilt come together so I was very happy to be able to see it in person.  What was very interesting to me was how Debbie quilted it and how she left certain colors in different areas of the quilt quilted and unquilted.

Patchwork Fan-Tasy by Jan Frazer

Year made: 1989

Part of the SAQA Presents: Modern Inspirations - Art Quilts From the 1970's Through Today

This was part of a special exhibit and not a juried in quilt.  The piecing and shapes in this design are just awesome.

 Bay City Balconies by Donna Brennan

Year Made: 2016

Part of the SAQA Presents: Modern Inspirations - Art Quilts From the 1970's Through Today

I really liked how in this quilt, it was interesting from afar, but when you looked more closely, a whole other level of detail was exposed.

Positive : Negative by Lorena Uriarte

@lorena_in_syd

Beautiful plus sign design, the plus sign itself is made from tiny pieced plus signs and the background is made from tiny minus signs.

Wayward Transparency by Yvonne Fuchs

@quiltingjetgirl

I made a version of the Wayward Transparency during Yvonne's quilt along so I was excited to see the original.  The tight cross-hatch quilting on it was fabulous.

Family by Kyla Farquharson

This quilt was made by a 10 year old in the youth category and it is one of my favorites.  The design is so innovative and just adorable.

Orange Opals by Katherine Jones

@twocatsquilts

It is more difficult to see in a picture versus in person, but with the use of color and how the seam lines on the circles either matched the seams in the blocks or were offset, made the quilt look truly three dimensional.

Plus Surround by Paige Alexander

@quiltedblooms

I had to include this quilt as it was made by my room and co-author Paige Alexander and is from our book Modern Plus Sign Quilts.

Shine a Light by Hillary Goodwin

@entropyalwayswins

This was my viewer's choice.  The piecing was amazing on this one, check out the single block to see how it was constructed.  The circle has a pie piece in it and then the circle is inset into the square with all of the seams matching.  I also loved the color scheme and the simple grid quilting.

I hope that you enjoyed a little peek into the QuiltCon quilt show and maybe saw a few quilts here that you had not seen yet on social media.  Did you attend QuiltCon?  Which was your favorite quilt?

Getting Ready for QuiltCon 2018

I can't believe that QuiltCon is almost here, I am so excited to see the quilt show, take some workshops, and most of all meet up with some wonderful quilters.  

I'll be at QuiltCon all 4 days, so if you see me, please stop me and say hi!  If you won't be at QuiltCon, I will be posting pictures on my Instagram account @MeadowMistDesigns.

My Buttons

I have my Meadow Mist Designs buttons ready to hand out...

...as well as some Modern Plus Quilts Book pins...

My Quilts

I will have two quilts hanging in the quilt show, Pop Rocks and Curated Cabins..

..I will also have Celestial, a quilt from my book hanging in the C&T booth...

... Flutter (and another plus sign quilt that will be in the spring issue) in the Modern Quilts Unlimited booth as well as Chalk...

My Schedule

In addition to a couple of workshops, lectures, and time to just wonder the quilt show and booths, I will be at the C&T booth for a book signing on Friday from 3-4pm.  I will also be in the Modern Quilts Unlimited booth helping out some of Friday and/or Saturday.  Please stop by and say hi!

I hope to meet as many of you at QuiltCon as I can, come get a button from me :) 

During QuiltCon, I will be posting pics to my Instagram account, MeadowMistDesigns if you would like to follow along.

Sidekick Tote ++ Echino Version

I have been getting my packing list together for QuiltCon next week and was looking to pick out a purse to bring. I wanted a shoulder bag that was big enough to carry my essentials for the day.

I was originally planning on bringing my old Sidekick Tote by Noodlehead, which I made back in 2015 (see below). Upon closer inspection I found that I had loved it to death. The tote was stained and I had actually worn through the fabric in some places.

I decided I needed to make a new bag and since I loved the Sidekick Tote so much, I made a new version.

I had some Echino linen prints that I had been saving hording since I bought them at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin. The main part of the bag is a mostly black linen Echino print with small, bright pink birds on it.

For the pocket, I played around with a few options and came up with a mint colored Echino linen print with bright pink bias trim and a few other, more tame options. Both my husband and others voted for the more tame fabrics, but I thought the bright pink was too fun to pass up.

Anna's instructions are wonderful and got me through the whole process with minimal frustration and use of the seam ripper. I even did the zipper and magnetic snaps done correctly the first time :)

New for making the bag this time was my choice of interfacing. Last time I used a combination of Pellon 808 and Pellon fusible fleece which gave the bag a good structure (which I liked), but it did seem to make the fabric stiff and crinkly in places.

For this time around, I used some of the Soft and Stable from byAnnie and it was awesome! It was flexible, easy to work, and gives the bag such structure while leaving it very soft. It will be my go-to interfacing from now on.

I am loving my new fun and bright purse and am proudly using it at work and around town. I hope to meet as many of you as I can at QuiltCon :)

I am linking up to Link a Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Sewjo @ My Go Go Life, and Show Off Saturday @ Sew She Can.

Meadow Mist Designs ++ Made By You ++ February Edition

I love seeing the quilts made with Meadow Mist Designs patterns!  Here are just a few that have been floating around blogland / Instagram recently.

Have you made a MMD pattern?  I would love to see it!  Please send me a picture at meadowmistdesigns at gmail dot com. (All pictures used with permission, and some links are affiliate links.)



Hayley from MooBird Stitches

Hayley recently showed off her completed Midnight Mystery Quilt and I love how she was able to make the quilt so scrappy and yet at the same time so cohesive (I am lacking in this skill so when I see scrappy done well, I am in awe!). She finished the quilt with straight horizontal line quilting that adds great texture in the background fabric.

You can see all of more of Hayley's projects on her blog and on Instagram.

Photograph by Hayley

Photograph by Hayley

Huong L.

Huong made wonderful versions of two of my patterns, State of Being and Half Circle Mirror. 

On State of Being, Huong said "I’d like to share some background information on the color choice for the State of Being quilt. I made the quilt for my daughter’s coworker with the fabrics that she bought with her Mom, they had intended to make a quilt together, but sadly, her Mom passed before they got around to make one, and your pattern is perfect with what she had handed over, it worked out well because there wasn’t much yardage left when it’s all done, I used whatever remain on the binding. I added the butterflies and one rose embroideries because they are her mom’s favorites."

The quilt is beautiful, with its soft gradient and better embroidery. 

  

Photograph by Huong

For Half Circle Mirror, Huong used a great color palette making the center column stand out with a great orange color. I can't wait to see how she decides to finish the quilt!

You can visit Huong on Instagram.

Photograph by Huong

Erin from Make It Sew

I saw Erin's baby version of Broken Frames on Instagram and I fell in love with the prints combined with the green framing fabric (along with the pieced back)!  A lucky boy will be the recipient of this quilt.

You can see all of Erin's latest finishes on her blog and on Instagram.

Photograph by Erin

       Photograph by Erin

                                                                                                                      

Many thanks to Hayley, Huong, and Erin for permission to highlight your quilts!

Joel Dewberry Charity Quilt

As part of the Foothills Piecemakers Quilt Guild, we make philanthropy quilts with members making blocks, making quilt tops, and/or quilting the quilts for various charities.  I did not make this quilt top  but offered to quilt and bind it. 

Charity quilts are wonderful quilts to practice new quilting and binding techniques. It is a win for the quilter to practice a skill and a win for the guild to have some of the quilt tops finished into quilts.

This quilt used some large pieces of Heirloom by Joel Dewberry for FreeSpirit fabrics.  The bold yellow and reds of the large scale prints are fabulous in this line.

For the quilting design, I quilted a a curl and then surrounded it with two tear drop shapes.  It was a larger design so the quilting went well, but I found it difficult to keep the spacing of the quilting lines even over the quilt top.

For the quilting thread I went with an Aurifil gold thread in a 40 wt (versus my usual 50 wt).  This is a little thicker yarn which helped the quilting stand out a little more.

When it came time to bind the quilt, I was between an almost black print and a magenta print.  The black print was the winner because I thought that it framed the bright colors better.

I finished the lap sized quilt and turned it into the philanthropy group of my quilt guild where it went off to a good home at Safe Haven (a local shelter for women and their children).

I am linking up with Finished or Not Friday @ Busy Hands Quilts and
Finish it Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts.

Reminder - Quilt Pictures due for the Magnolia Mystery Quilt in 1 Week

Just a quick reminder...if you took part in the Magnolia Mystery quilt, pictures of quilt tops and/or finished quilts are due to me in one week to be eligible for prizes and to be in the big reveal parade.

Photos can be e-mailed to mmdmysteryquilts@gmail.com and they need to be received by midnight on Thursday, February 15th.

We are going to have 31 winners (combined prize value of over $1,000!) so be sure to get your picture submitted.  If you have any questions, you can leave them in a comment below and check out the parade/prize FAQ here.

Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book ++ It's Here!

At long last, Paige and my book, Modern Plus Sign Quilts has been published!

Want a quick flip through the book?  Here is a short Instagram video of the book pages...

The book is now available in hardcopy at:

• Amazon (affiliate link)
• C&T Publications
• signed copies - Meadow Mist Designs Etsy Shop (plus when you purchase a signed copy from me, you get a free, bonus quilt pattern of your choice)
• Indigo (large Canadian online book store)

You can also get a digital version at:

• C&T Publications

Book Hop

Kicking off on Monday, March 12th will be the Modern Plus Sign Quilts Book Hop, we have 40+ bloggers joining us!  Each of the bloggers will be sharing a version of a book quilt they made and there will be prizes for each day of the 10 day hop.  I hope that you will follow along!

Plus Sign Sampler Quilt Along

In addition, this summer I (along with Paige) will be hosting a Plus Sign Sampler quilt along!  The quilt along will be run just like my annual mystery quilts with monthly instructions and quilters sharing in the Facebook Group and on Instagram.  The quilt will contain blocks from almost every pattern from the book, so you will need your Modern Plus Sign Quilts book to join in.  We are excited to sew up the quilt in preparation for the quilt along!

Magnolia Mystery Quilt ++ My Reveal

Thank you so much to everyone who has been taking part or following along in the Magnolia Mystery Quilt, here is the reveal of my version of the Magnolia Mystery Quilt :)

To participants - please make sure to e-mail me (MMDmysteryquilts at gmail dot com) with a picture of your quilt top or finished quilt, the pictures are due by February 15th to be included in the parade and be eligible for prizes.

To everyone - Please stop by Monday-Wednesday (March 5th - 7th), to see the Magnolia Mystery Parade showing off everyone's versions of the quilt pattern.

Just as a reminder, all of the information and instructions for the Magnolia Mystery quilt can be found in the Mystery Quilts tab above.

For my mystery quilt, I used white as the background and a mixture of red Bonnie and Camille prints for the Fabric A, a teal-green Cotton & Steel print for Fabric B, and Kona pepper for Fabric C and the binding.

For the quilting, I used a white Aurifil thread (2021 in 50wt) in an allover paisley swirl type design.  This quilt is destined for my couch so I wanted to make sure the quilt was cuddly and not too stiff.

I am going to enter my Magnolia Mystery in my local quilt show, so I blocked the quilt before binding to make sure the quilt was nice and flat and square. I made a little video of my quilt getting a bath on Instagram (you can see it here) and I have a tutorial on blocking quilts right here.

While I was taking pictures of my quilt I noticed that 4 of the full magnolia blocks together would make a really nice baby sized quilt. Though the magic of photoshop, I "made" my quilt into a baby version (which finishes at about 40" square):

I think that a baby version of the Magnolia Mystery might be on my to-do list now :)

Please come back on March 5th-7th for the full parade, there are some absolutely beautiful versions of the Magnolia Mystery Quilt!

I am linking up to Let's Bee Social @ Sew Fresh Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday @ My Quilt Infatuation, Whoop Whoop Friday @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts, Fabric Frenzy Friday @ Fort Worth Fabrics Studio.