Ode To The Blue and Grey

Finally! I squeezed some much needed sewing time into this week so that I could finish piecing my new BOM quilt that starts in January. Ode to the Blue and Grey features fabrics from Marcus Brothers Fabric's Adelaide collection. When I saw this fabric collection I fell in love with it and knew immediately I wanted it for my 2011 Block of the Month quilt project.

Now I'm working on quilting it and thought I'd post some pictures so you can really get a good look at the fabric. Although Electric Quilt produces great images, there's nothing that compares to seeing a quilt done up in the actual fabric. I've only quilted three of the nine blocks so I do have quite a way to go. Better get back to work!

For more details on our BOM, visit http://www.nancyrinkdesigns.com or look for the previous flyer I posted here on my blog and/or on Facebook.

New Blocks for upcoming BOM

 

This weekend we are “babysitting” our daughter’s baby, Jack.  He gets along great with our Daisy whose mellow demeanor is a nice match for Jack’s lively personality.   Of course we are going to spoil him rotten!

McCalls Design Star

Is anyone else as hooked on McCalls' Design Star as I am? I kept checking and checking on the McCalls Quilting website so that I could see what the designers did for round two. Finally, the quilts were up, and it was my opportunity to vote. Wow, it was really hard to decide! Finally, after scrolling through the twelve quilts at least a gazillion times, I made my choice and clicked on the "vote" button. And guess what?! I can vote again tomorrow, and the next day. This is great because there were a few other quilts that I really liked, too.

If you want to learn about McCalls Design Star and see the quilts, here is the link: http://www.mccallsquilting.com/contests/design-star-contest.html

Have fun!

A Great Day with GREAT Friends

Today was a great day because I got to sew with my quilting group. Lynn made a yummy lunch of homemade Fiesta soup and Eve brought an apple pie down from Kohnen's bakery in Tehachapi,so we were all set in the food department. We had a great day sewing and catching up on what's been going on with everyone. Next time I have to remember to bring my camera so I can snap some pictures of show and tell. Lynn and Nancy M. had each made a table runner from an Eleanor Burns pattern that features a maple leaf. Eve was working on some holiday tea towels from one of Nancy Halvorsen's books. I managed to finish two blocks for my new BOM, Ode to The Blue and Grey, which if all goes as planned, will be ready to go in January 2011.

Here's the first block.


I'm not really sure I like this second block. The large paisley half-square triangles in the four corners seem to get lost. I may go back and re-work this block, but I'll wait until I get a few more blocks done. That way I can see how the blocks work together.

New Patterns Introduced at Fall Quilt Market

I've been busy designing and making some new quilt patterns for Fall Market. Here's a brand new pattern called Playa Del Sol, which measures 73" x 91". We made it up in a new collection called Blue Storm, designed by Laura Berringer for Marcus Fabrics. The pattern calls for ten half yards of coordinating fabrics, 3 yards of background, 1 7/8 yards for the border, and 3/4 yds for the binding. The blocks are easy to piece and there are few seams to match. It's a great beginner quilt project.




Cosmo Girls is a quilt I had a lot of fun making. I used a decorative satin stitch to finish the edges of my fused patches and even did a bit of embellishment with a decorative "reverse" buttonhole stitch. I also played around with the focus print, fussy cutting it for the leaves and the flower centers. The fabric collection is Cosmopolitan by Exclusively Quilters. The pattern includes full sized applique pieces--there's no enlarging to do.

I also reworked a few of our patterns in some new collections. Here's Papillions in Marcus Fabrics' new Mariposa collection, also by Laura Berringer. These two just seemed like like were made for each other!


And what could be better than a holiday fabric collection that can be used all year round? As luck would have it, I was able to work with fabric designer extraordinaire Faye Burgos in developing Cedar Chest Memories for Marcus Fabrics. I can't take too much credit. Faye did all the designing, I just gave my imput and helped select the fabrics to make the "cut" for this stunning collection. I designed a new quilt,a wallhanging called In The Pines and re-worked some of our holiday patterns--Seasons Greetings, Oh Christmas Tree, and Christmas Table Runner in fabrics from the collection. I love how each project really has its own look.



Now here's my favorite: Gift Wrapped. Cedar Chest Memories was designed to fit this quilt, and doesn't it look just perfect? The gift wrapped boxes in this pattern are just what you'll want want for Christmas, or any time of the year for that matter. I'm already planning on draping it here--and there--around my house.


All patterns retail for $8.50 each at Nancy Rink Designs We also sell wholesale to shop owners. Phone us at 661-205-2649 to order.

New "Quickie" BOM Starts September

July 2010 Newsletter

Just click to open: July 2010 Newsletter

Get your 10% off coupon and see what's new at Nancy Rink Designs.

Here's What I Did with the Pineapple Blocks

By the way, here's what became of my pineapple blocks. I made a small wall hanging/table topper and a table runner. Here they are on my dining room table. Aren't they perfect? Do you see how well they work with the fabric on my dining room chairs? I am very happy with them and with myself for stopping and making two smaller projects.

Feeling Inept

I have been struggling this week with getting a good photo of one of my new quilts. I'm trying to finish up the pattern jacket for Gift Wrapped, a rich pink and brown quilt I designed to feature Marcus Brothers' Olde Cedar Chest fabric collection. Here's one of the photos. The cute little dog is my daughter Diane's maltese, Jack. Isn't he a doll? We've been dogsitting a lot lately and I couldn't help wanting to put him in a shot.Here's another photo.
Now, to me, these don't even look like the same quilt. But the real problem occurs when I paste the photo into the pattern jacket using Adobe Photoshop. The jacket looks good on the screen, but when I print it, it has a distinct green cast to it. I've tried to adjust it in several ways, but the image still comes out with the green cast. Do any of you have any suggestions for how to fix this? I am really feeling inept and frustrated at this point.

Design Wall Monday

Here's what's on my design wall today. I NEED to be working on other projects I have in the works, but the other day in organizing --or attempting to organize--my sewing room, I came across this gold fabric that reminded me of a pineapple. Then last night I must have dreamed about it because I woke up with an idea in my head for a pineapple block. So here are four of the blocks, fused and rotated so that they create a larger block. Now my tendency is to keep going until I have a giganto bed sized quilt. I'm fighting that urge, and thinking that this might just look good as a little wall hanging or a table topper. Or if I really want to make more blocks, I could make a matching table runner or placemats . . . Or I could just abandon this and get to work on my project that I have a deadline for . . .

Spring Cleaning Sale

Well now that I'm back from market it dawns on me that I need to make room for the fabulous new things I have coming. I can't wait for you to see what's up my sleeve!

Meanwhile, it's time to clear some things out so I'm marking kits down--most of them are 20% off--and putting many sample quilts up for sale.

But rather than tinker with the website, I've popped them onto ebay. Here are some of the links:

Akimbo Quilt Kit: was $54 NOW $43.20



Mellow Yellow Quilt Kit: includes pattern, and fabric for the top, binding, & BACKING


was $51.90 NOW $41.52

Whew, I'm Tired Already and I'm Not Even There Yet!

Yes, I'm already worn out from getting ready for my guild's show this weekend. The guild, The Cotton Patch Quilters of Bakersfield, is a large, dedicated guild with enormous talent. Several of our members exhibit and have won awards in national shows--three member won awards at Houston last year! So, even though I'm just vending and have vended at shows large and small, I feel a bit of extra pressure getting every thing ready for my booth at the Bakersfield show.

And it just seems inevitable that things go wrong when there's that bit of extra pressure. Let's see, first my computer got a nasty worm that took me who is not very well versed in the techno world far too long to get rid of. (Advice to self: don't download videos "friends" post on Facebook!). Next, the company I usually rent my pole and drape from didn't have what I need--all their pole and drape was being dedicated to a local bridal show. Third when I went to work this morning and opened my classroom door, a horrid stench knocked me over. My students were practically in revolt and it was only after I'd opened all the windows and doors, sprayed air freshener, and called the office to complain that they'd come in the room. After a while, we oddly got used to the smell, but I was assaulted by it again and again every time the heater went on. Yes, I hear you saying, "Then turn off the heat!" Not that easy. Our heating and cooling is controlled by the central office. We can only adjust it a total of about five degrees.

So if you're in Bakersfield, CA this weekend or want to see a fantastic local quilt show, come on out to the Kern County Farigrounds. Doors open 9:00 AM Saturday, 10:00AM Sunday. Men are free, so your DH won't cost you a thing!

Something new, something blue!

Here's a first for me. First, it's my first publication of 2010. This cute little wall hanging is featured in Quilt Almanac 2010. It's made with fabrics from Exclusively Quilters Bryant Park collection, which is a lovely collection of funky florals, interesting geometrics, and great blenders. There are two colorways--the aqua shown here and a salmon which you can see on their website http://www.classiccottons.com
The second first, is that I've never had a quilt's photo shoot taken in a bathroom. I couldn't help but chuckle a bit when I saw the photographs for the magazine. Now I don't don't why, really, this tickled me. After all, I do have quilts hanging in my bathrooms. Lots of my quilting friend have quilts in their bathrooms too. It's just that it's not often that we see a bathroom shot in a quilting magazine. And the third, first is that I've never had anything published in Quilt Almanac! It's exciting to have one of my quilts grace the pages of this quilting magazine.
Needless to say, I'm looking forward to see what other firsts are in store for me this year. Maybe I'll wake up and be forty pounds lighter. Now that's worthy of a good long chuckle!

Applique is done, piecing is done

The leaves are now appliqued to the vines, so all four of the borders are done. The center piecing is also done, so now I have to put the two together and turn the vine in the corner and add a few more leaves there. This project is moving along nicely. Hope it remains that way.

FindAQuiltPattern.com

FindAQuiltPattern.com: "http://www.findaquiltpattern.com"