Machine Quilting

Stay at home March-May 2020

| FellowQuilter

Well… what a crazy time we’re going through.  I decided I wanted to sew up something during the crisis.  It was a good thing, as I have been enjoying getting back to my sewing machine.

I don’t know about you, but when I just “want to sew”, there is nothing better than an improvisational project.  I have plenty of scraps and stash to play with right here.

I pulled a few pieces from a drawer of scraps, and began.  The nature of the scraps led me to decide upon a wonky strippy block.  I made a few choices, such as using a black shape in the corner of the block, and only building onto two sides.  The blocks size was 9.5″, as I had that particular ruler laying on my cutting table.

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Sewing the blocks was fun, and pretty soon I had my first 12 done…  so, I decided this could be a king-size bed quilt.  I had to keep raiding my scraps bins, and when I would run low on a particular color, I’d slice a few narrow strips off a couple pieces in my stash to fill out the ziploc bag of that particular color of scraps.

All in all, I made 170 some blocks over the course of a month.  I stumbled upon an idea on Pinterest, and liked the effect of turning some of the blocks to give a more 3-D effect.

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I now had to think about a backing.  Scrap quilts are perfect candidates for a scrappy quilt back.  As an added bonus, scrappy backs, make for reversible quilts.  Some of my fabric bins were overflowing, especially the green one.  I also, don’t currently have a green bed quilt.

I pulled about 20 fabrics, and started playing around.  I settled upon a rail-fence type of block to showcase the collection of green fabrics.

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Next up was some quilting time on “Artie”, my Statler Stitcher…

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After the quilt was off the longarm… I decided to try my luck, and do a machine binding.  I’ve tried a few times in the past, and haven’t liked the outcome.  I recently saw a tutorial that showed a slight modification to the way I’ve tried it in the past.  It worked so much better this way.  Maybe I’ll write a post another day, about the binding.  I’m sorry but I didn’t take any photos at this step.

Soon, the project was done, so I decided to throw it through the laundry, and get it ready to use on the bed.

It’s definitely a load in and of itself, and I was sure to put a few color catcher sheets in the wash.

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It came out great, and the whites stayed pristine.  Thank goodness for the invention of those little color catcher sheets.

I hope you enjoyed my journey.  I sure did.  I’m already well into another project, as this did serve to jump start my sewing mojo.

Please post something you’re working on in the comments!  I’d love to see.

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

 

Crown Royal Quilt

| FellowQuilter

Hi everyone.  Wow, has the time gotten away from me and my blogging habit.  You should know that I’ve been really busy quilting and creating in my studio.  I thought that a good place to begin to catch up would be with my Crown Royal Quilt.

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I finished this quilt last year in October, but kept it under wraps for the most part.  It has been shown at the Yuma County Colorado Fair (of course) where it was awarded “Best Use of Color” and at the neighboring Phillips County Fair in Colorado as well.

On a larger stage… it was exhibited at the Machine Quilters Showcase in Cedar Rapids, Iowa earlier this spring, and I won a faculty ribbon.

Today, my quilt returned from display in Chicago at MQX.  I didn’t win a ribbon, but it’s a great honor to be a finalist, and have your work included in their show.

The quilt features an original design of 84 Crown Royal bag embroideries, carefully cut and sewn into the blocks and borders.

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This was truly a solo work, as I designed, pieced, quilted, and bound this beautiful quilt.  I hope you enjoy seeing it too!

I’ll keep it short and sweet today, as I’m busy with a customer quilt on the longarm, and I should be working.  Thanks for stopping by and checking me out.

Happy Quilting!

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

Beautiful Embroidery Quilt

| FellowQuilter

image2Hello everyone.  Yesterday, I had the honor of quilting the next quilt by Moda fabric designers, Sweetwater.  I cannot show you any photos, but I can say that they have once again created a beautiful work of art.  You can see a few photos of their new fabric line at their blog.  Sweetwater Blog

What I can show you… is the beautiful embroidered quilt above.  I’m working on it today.

I’ve been working up to this one.  Intricate designs are a natural for custom quilting.  The stitches and the stabilizer add quite a bit of bulk in those areas, so I knew I would have to do a lot of stitch-in-the-ditch (SID) quilting.  I know what you’re thinking… That’s pretty easy, right?  Well, not exactly.  Straight lines are some of the most difficult quilting, since you can tell if it’s not quite straight.  Also, I am pretty particular which quilts will be a candidate for this type of stitching.  If the piecing is not really precise, SID will just accentuate the flaws in the piecing.

This quilt, however, is pieced very well.  I am writing this post, as I’m taking a break.  I just completed the SID, and started the free-motion work on the top border.  The great part about stabilizing the quilt with SID, is that now, I can jump around to any area, and work on it, without the fear of running into a problem with pushing extra bulk into the wrong area.

I think I’ll mostly free-hand this quilt, except for the yellow background areas around the central star.  I think the robot can do a little work too!

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I hope you have a great day!

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

Quilts of the Plains 2015 Photos are posted!

| FellowQuilter

QOTP_2015__0317b copyHello everyone.  I’ve had a great, albeit very busy, week in Wray, Colorado.  With the help of many people, and many area businesses, we pulled off the 16th Annual Quilts of the Plains outdoor quilt show, this past Saturday, June 27, 2015.

We had a great array of wonderful quilts entered into the show, including many from far, far away.  Our Viewer’s selected a lovely quilt by Valerie from Dove Creek, Colorado.  They also awarded a total of 8 ribbons for the best in category voting.  I’ve uploaded a photo gallery of all of the quilts.  I think they all are winning quilts.  Mixed in, you will also see some street and sidewalk shots.  Perhaps, I caught you looking at the beautiful quilts, or driving down the street.  You’ll see the kind of businesses that line our streets, and help to make Wray such a wonderful place to live, work, shop, or even visit.

Of course, photos never do full justice of an event like this.  I do hope it’s a useful resource though, for quilters who entered or viewed the show, as well as a shameless promotion of our town, our people, and our humble little quilt show on the plains in Colorado.  I hope it makes you want to be a part of it in the future.

Have fun looking through the gallery.  I’ve made smaller versions of the photos, so it will load quickly on your computer, phone or tablet with ease.  If you have a need for a more detailed image, I can provide that on a request basis for you.

Thanks for supporting quilting in Wray, and for your continued interest in my life, art and blog.  I’d really appreciate if you could share this with others, and leave a comment when you stop by the blog.  It really adds a richness to the place.

I hope you have been inspired, and this will manifest in your creative life, whatever that may be.

Happy Quilting & Quilt Viewing,

Fellow Quilter,

Brian Clements

Quilts of the Plains 2015 Is Almost Here!

| FellowQuilter
scrap quilt photo
I’m busy quilting the last of my projected quilts for this years show. I really love how this is turning out, and it will be a perfect gift for a lucky person in my life. It’s a secret, so I don’t want to say much more.

Hi everyone!  It’s been a great year, and I hope you’ve had some time to work on your quilt projects.  I’m finishing up on the last two king-sized quilts that I intend to exhibit into the show.  As you may, or may not know, I am the Chairman of the Quilts of the Plains annual outdoor quilt show, held in Wray, Colorado each year.  The event is held on the Saturday AFTER Fathers’ Day each summer.  That being said, This years show is on June 27, 2015!

The Quilts are on display for ONE DAY ONLY, June 27, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m.

Most quilts are displayed along Main Street from 3rd to 5th Street, and antique and miscellaneous items will be displayed in the Wray Museum.

The quilts will not be judged, but the Viewers will vote for their favorites.  The overall winning quilt will be awarded a BRAND NEW JANOME SEWING MACHINE, and Viewers’ Choice Ribbons will be awarded in each of the categories listed below!!!  I hope you’ll enter, and GOOD LUCK TO YOUR QUILT!!!

We NEED your quilts, or we won’t have much of a show….  We don’t have a restriction on the items you enter.  You may have made it this year, or many years ago.  We kindly ask that you not display items that have previously been in the Quilts of the Plains Show.  You may enter as many items in each category as you wish, and we LOVE seeing the creativity that each and every person has exhibited in their quilts.

The categories remain the same.

Large Bed Quilt

Small Bed Quilt

Baby Quilt

Quilted Wall-hanging

Quilt made by youth – age 18 and under

Antique Quilt – Made at least 25 years ago

Miscellaneous Quilted (Quilt Related) Item

Entries will be accepted at Rainbow Fabrics from Monday, June 22 to Thursday, June 25.  If you have a need for an accommodation outside of that schedule, please let us know.

Raffle Quilt Photo
This photo was taken a few months ago, as I was beginning to quilt the raffle quilt for Quilts of the Plains 2015. As you can see, the colors are gorgeous, and the fabric is all batiks. The blocks were made by local members of the Quilters’ Anonymous group here in Wray.

Again this year, we have a spectacular raffle quilt.  Made of batik fabrics in lovely shades of blue and cream, you are gonna love this one.  The quilt is on display at Rainbow Fabrics.  Tickets are ON SALE NOW through the day of the quilt show.  The Disappearing Hourglass blocks create a very beautiful block, and the quilting was done by Fellow Quilter, Brian Clements.  (ME!)  Tickets are still only $1 each, or 6 tickets for $5.

We rely upon the help of many volunteers.  If you can help, we’d be grateful for anything you can do.  We need people to hang the quilts, take quilts down, push a cart along and hand quilts to the folks up on the ladder…  At the end, we need some volunteers to take down quilts, fold quilts, sort and checkout the quilts to their owners.  We will have an information table, and need people to sit and sell raffle tickets.  Even an hour or two is a huge help!  Please let us know how you’d like to help.

Lastly, I must thank our sponsors.  The quilt show is presented by the City of Wray and the Wray Chamber of Commerce.  The main sponsor is Rainbow Fabrics, and supporting sponsorships from Foltmer Drug/RadioShack/Main Street Clothing, Box Elder Ranch, First Pioneer National Bank, Leigh Floral, Wray State Bank, Ann & Steve Brethauer, and Wray Lumber Company are much appreciated.

If you’d like to receive information on this show, or be added to our email list for upcoming shows, please leave me a comment, or contact me at the following:

If you have any questions, please email Brian at fellowquilter@aol.com or call  (970) 597-1313

Or to reach Wanda at Rainbow Fabrics, she can be contacted at rainbow@plains.net or call (970) 332-4343

Thanks for your support.  I hope you can come to the show!!

Fellow Quilter,

Brian Clements

Look what I found

| FellowQuilter

Hello everyone.  One of the great things about blogging is to engage with other bloggers.  I’ve been checking out some great photos and also some cool writers blogs.  One such blogger posted a really neat close up photo of a piano.  More specifically the insides of a piano.  You can find the photos at https://wordpress.com/read/post/id/36807166/103/

What caught my attention was the way the light played across the different parts.  The strings, the pins, and the felt all had different reaction to the light.

We should translate these ideas into our quilt projects.  How is the light going to bounce across the patches?  How does it look up close?  Is it dynamic when viewed from a distance?  Don’t be afraid to think about these types of questions.  There isn’t usually a right/wrong idea.  Develop your own eye for what looks good to you.  Your admirers will take notice.

I decided to add a little poll for my readers.  I’ll keep track, and I’ll update the results in a future post.  Click here to take my 30-second poll.

I hope this journey is inspiring to you.  Thanks again to GrayDaysAndCoffee for inspiring me.

Have a great day!

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

Some Sunday Inspiration & The Yuma County Fair

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Recently, Joe and I took a road trip in the Pacific Northwest.  I thought I’d share a couple pictures from the Old Morris Tobacco Shop in Victoria, British Columbia.  I really loved the old tile floors, so I had to snap a couple of shots, so that I’d remember them.

Also… the marble light pole in the middle of the room is an antique Italian marble floor lighter.  Yes, it still works.  They told us it is one of only two in the world.

A great shop… lots of manly inspiration here.  Maybe someday, these inspirations will wind up in a project.  Who knows?

Their website is Old Morris Tobacconist Ltd

Also, today is the day that I’ll be entering my newest quilt into the Yuma County Fair.  It’s a strippy quilt that features a vintage French fabric that Joe purchased for me at a show many years ago.  I knew it was destined to become something very special.  I followed the quilt project, as it spoke to me and told me what to design next.  It really was a labor of love.

I digitized some special quilting motifs for the borders.  I think it turned out really well.  The quilt just returned from Seattle, where it was displayed at our wedding two weeks ago.  I hope you enjoy the pictures,2013-03-21 10.46.45 2013-03-21 10.47.03 2014-01-13 10.40.28 2014-01-13 10.41.06

Happy Quilting,

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

Miniatures Wins!

| FellowQuilter

Hello everyone,
Just an update to let you followers know that the Miniatures quilt won Professional Best of Show at the Yuma County Fair in Colorado.
In addition, the award I sponsor, for best use of color in a quilt, was awarded to my good friend and customer, Chris Wade of Wray!!!
Good job, Chris. I saw you (your quilt anyway) at the fair!!! LOL

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Yuma County Fair begins Saturday

| FellowQuilter

Hello friends and followers,

I thought I’d make a quick blog entry to remind you about the Yuma County Fair. I am a big supporter of the fair, especially the open class quilt exhibits. I make a point to enter at least one quilt each year. The main reason I do, is to get feedback from the trained quilt judges as to my work. Over the years, I’ve learned many things, and my quilt-making is improved as a result.

So… you’re wondering why I’m writing this. There cannot be a quilt exhibition, without the quilts! Entering is easy… just drop your quilt or quilts off at the Yuma County Fairgrounds in Yuma, Colorado on Sunday, August 4th from 1:00-4:00 p.m. or on Monday morning from 7:30-9:00 a.m. Don’t worry too much about the competition, as there are many age groups and levels to accommodate everyone. Think how proud you’ll be to see your quilt on display at the fair.

If you do drop off your entry on Monday… you might consider staying to watch the judging. It’s fascinating to hear the judge comment on what makes one quilt stand out, or what might have made the quilt more stunning. I’ve learned a lot by listening… just wish I could attend the judging every year, but Monday mornings are very busy at the stores.

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I’ll be entering this quilt, entitled “Miniatures”. You may have seen it at the Quilts of the Plains show in June. It has some great quilting, and the flying geese blocks are super small. It was fun to make, and I hope you’ll come and check it out, as well as the many other quilts that will be on display.

I hope I’ve inspired you to share your work with others through my blog posts. I welcome your comments, and I hope to see you at the fair! Bye for now, and happy quilting, gardening, BBQ’ing, or whatever summer activities that you enjoy!

Fellow Quilter,

Brian

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