Nancy Rink Designs

Road to CA 2012

2012-02-15T20:28:00.000-08:00

Here is our booth at Road to CA. I think I took this photo on Sunday. We were pretty cleaned out by then! Thank you shoppers. I love that they carpet the entire show floor. Thank you Carolyn!

And here I am with my dear husband and partner in crime . . Oliver. He wrote all the historical narrative for Away From Home. Teaching Early American History at California State University Bakersfield for the past 30+ years has been good practice for writing a quilt book with me.

I took LOADS of photos of the spectacular quilts. I will try to post those soon.

Two of my hometown girls, Cindy Krug and Molly Hamilton won best of show. Here they are with their stunning quilt. Cindy taught me how to machine quilt!

MIA

2012-02-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Okay, it's been QUITE a while since I have blogged. Finishing up the Mill Girls' first draft, editing it, cutting shop kits for Amish With A Twist, my first BOM with Marcus Fabrics, finishing The Mill Girls BOM (again with Marcus), and now trying to complete the Mill Girls BOM patterns has kept me busy, busy, busy. Oh, and in there was a trip to Ontario, Ca to vend at Road to California, and a weekend vending at the Cotton Patch Quilter's Guild biennial show here in Bakersfield,

I feel like I've been working from dawn to dusk seven days a week! But what a whirlwind of experiences I have had.

So let me show you a few things from the list above!

Here's the feature quilt for Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by the Lowell Factory Girls. The book is scheduled for an April 2012 release and is being published by Kansas City Star.

And here is The Mill Girls: 1830-1850 block of the month quilt. It is a 10 month program that will run in shops starting September, 2012. Encourage your local shop to participate!

A swatch chart of The Mill Girls' fabric collection. Judie worked with the archivist from Old Sturbridge Village to create a collection authentic of the time period.

Now switching gears . . .

Here's a close-up of Amish With A Twist so you can see some of the quilting. This is a "flexible" BOM program that is starting now in some shops. The pattern is for exclusive use with Marcus Centennial Solids.

One of the 5 parts/patterns and fabric that is part of the Shop Kit offered to quilt shop owners.

Once all the five parts are assembled, they are all put together along with a Shop Guide into the finished shop kit. So far I have put together 186 of them. Yes, I am keeping count!

A Straggler

2011-11-28T09:35:00.000-08:00

A big cheer went up here on the day I shipped off the quilts for Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by the Story of the Lowell Factory Girls. I worked doggedly to get nine quilts/projects done for the deadline. But I only finished eight. The ninth was not done. My sense of triumph was tinged with a bit of disappointment. But Donna, my editor assured me that eight was quite enough for a book. But you haven't seen this ninth quilt, I thought. It really fits with the story we are telling in the book.
But luck was on my side. The photographer wasn't available until December 9th. Is this an odd coincidence? Quilt number nine, Dec. 9?? Donna told me get it done and to her before Dec 9 and it's in the book.
Although #9 was not done, I eked out some here any there over the Thanksgiving holiday. When the family was in watching football, I was in my sewing room. When everyone was sleeping in the day after Thanksgiving, I was up early making the binding. Here's a picture that shows where I was.

So today after my daughter headed home to San Diego with her cute little dog Jack riding shotgun, I sewed the binding to the quilt. Tonight I'll sit in front of the TV with Oliver and watch our favorite shows that all seem to be on Sunday night and sew down the binding, add a label and a hanging sleeve

Mill Girls Update

2011-11-10T15:06:00.000-08:00

It's been quite a while since I blogged about the quilt I'm making for my upcoming book, Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by Lowell Mill Girls, (Kansas City Star Books pub). Getting ready for my first Quilt Market put things on hold for a while, but I am back at work, trying to make my November 17 deadline.

Here is the center panel all appliqued. The spool blocks are being arranged and a row of them are added to the top and bottom of the center panel.

Now it's time to arrange the border blocks I've been piecing and appliqueing. Still have a few blocks to finish.

All the blocks are done and sewn to the top. Just two more borders to go. Moved to the design floor "aka. the living room".

Loaded on my Millie. Time to quilt . . . .

. . . and quilt . . .

. . .and quilt. . . and still quilting! In this last photo you can see a little bit of the last two borders.

Quilt Market--Houston 2011, cont.

2011-11-09T12:01:00.000-08:00

I didn't get a chance to take many photos at Market but I did manage to snap a few pics.

Here are the Paul and Mary Ellen, the creative forces behind Bonnie Blue Quilts. As always, their booth is warm, homey, and gorgeous!

This quilt-Royal Peacocks--was in the Hoffman Fabrics booth. I designed the pattern for them the week before Market. Don't know who made it, but someone definitely burned the midnight oil! The fabric is gorgeous and has gold metallic highlights. It also comes in a blue color story. The pattern is free to download on Hoffman's website.

Although Vicki Bellino of Bloom Creek Quilts was not at Market, her new block-of-the-month quilt Vintage Rouge was. The quilting on her quilt is to die for. And the piecing is so, so clever because she used a Marcus' Strip It (TM) fabric along with several others.

Here is a corner of the Exclusively Quilters' booth. Notice the red arrows? They weren't hanging in the booth, I Photoshopped them on the photo so you noticed two quilts I designed. The larger quilt on the left is Fantasy Garden, that features fabric from their Renaissance collection. The little quilt in the lower right corner is Have A Heart made with their Let The Sunshine In collection.

I have to give credit to my dear friend Mary Carpenter who made both quilts just for Market. Unfortunately, she became so ill that she was unable to attend Market and see her wonderful work on display. Next year, Mary! Both quilts were quilted by Lynn Douglass of Lynn's Creative Stitches.

Here's another picture of Have A Heart hanging in my booth. Yes, Mary made two quilts--one for me and one for Exclusively Quilters.

And, of course, here is my booth! It was my first time at Market as a vendor, so it definitely was a learning experience. You may notice that I brought along a table and chairs. So many of the young designers have no place to sit and virtually stand all day. That is because they are young! This 50 plus year old lady cannot do that anymore--thus the seating! I think some of the shop owner appreciated it too!

And here's another view of the booth. Sorry the picture is a bit fuzzy--it was taken with my camera phone.

Quilt Market 2011-Houston

2011-11-03T11:35:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't blogged in quite a while. Getting ready for my FIRST market took over because I wanted to get everything right. Market went well--I think--since I have nothing to compare it to. But there were some unexpected glitches, but those will be for another blog!
Amish With A Twist (88" x 105"), our new block-of the-month quilt debuted, which we are doing in conjunction with Marcus Fabrics (http://marcusfabrics.com/). Seven new solids have been added to their Centennial Solids collection for the program, which runs February-June 2012. Designed with the beginning quilter in mind, the pattern instructions are in full-color and feature lots of diagrams and photos.
Check with your local shops to see if they are participating!

New Block Finished with a Hurt Finger

2011-08-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the tree block I posted last time is not done. I've been working on another quilt that I have to get done next week.

Then my laser printer had a snafu and paper wrapped around one of the rollers. I painstaking pulled the paper off, but still can't get the darn thing to work. The error light is still blinking and the screen flashes "jam in output bin."

To top it all off I had a sewing accident last night. I did something I'd never done in my forty some years of sewing: I sewed through my finger on my sewing machine. And yes, I'm having a hard time typing not using the finger. The offending finger is the ring finger of my left hand. For the life of me, I don't know what happened. I was sewing like a mad woman, trying to get the last border put on the quilt that has to be done next week, when Oliver walked into the room and started talking to me. I looked up, taking my eyes off what I was doing and "BANG". The sewing machine needle was in my finger and actually broke off of the machine and was sticking out of my finger. It had gone through the top of my finger, nail side first but did not break the skin on the other side, although I could feel the tip of the needle when I touched the pad of my finger. I had Oliver get pliers--he went out to the garage for his needle-nosed pliers so he could get a good grip--and told him, "you'd better pull hard and get it out on the first try." Thankfully, he did. Then he filled a coffee mug with ice and a little water and told me to put my finger it it, which I did. We debated about going to the emergency room but wondered what a doctor could do at that point. The needle was out, and ironically, the only evidence left was a little red dot on my fingernail and a tad bit of bruising. Oh, and I also took an extra strength Tylenol which really helped.

So, this morning I felt pretty good. The finger is sore--sort of feels like its been slammed in a door. So I finished the block I'd planned on finishing last night. Now I will always think of my finger when I look at this block. (this was photographed when all the patches were glue basted in place)

By the way, Oliver freaked me out some when he got up this morning. He walked into the family room and saw me sewing, and said, "You know, I've been thinking . . . what happened to the thread?"

The Mill Girls Tree Block

2011-08-22T11:39:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! The first block of the feature quilt for Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by the Lowell Mill Girls is all appliqued.

Now, onto another block.

I've been busy tracing, cutting out, prepping applique patches all weekend (and trying to finish up the piecing on another quilt which--if all goes as planned--will be one of the extra projects in the book). So far, I've been using the freezer paper and starch method for my applique. This is the method I prefer, although I think I may have to use needle turn on another one of the blocks because freezer paper and starch may may far too unwieldy a process.

Here's what I have laid out for one of the two tree blocks. I still have lots of leaves to go!

Applique Time

2011-08-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

This week I've made some progress on the applique blocks for the the Mill Girls book. The quilt is a medallion style book and has four applique blocks at its center. Here is the main block with the applique prepped and glued in place. The "factory building" is sewn down as is the sun and the moon. All of the fabrics are from the new Mill Girls fabric collection Judie Rothermel designed especially for this quilt, plus another quilt I've designed for a block-of-the-month program with Marcus Fabrics (more on that later once I start making that quilt!)

The "brown thing" both girls are holding are shuttles, a tool used in textile manufacturing. Once I start sewing the patches down, I'll cut out the center of the shuttle patches, so it better resembles a shuttle, not a loaf of French bread.

A shuttle is a tool designed to neatly and compactly store weft yarn while weaving. Shuttles are thrown or passed back and forth through the shed, between the yarn threads of the warp in order to weave in the weft.

The simplest shuttles, known as "stick shuttles", are made from a flat, narrow piece of wood with notches on the ends to hold the weft yarn. More complicated shuttles incorporate bobbins or pirns.

Originally shuttles were passed back and forth by hand. However, John Kay invented a loom in 1733 that incorporated a flying shuttle. This shuttle could be thrown through the warp, which allowed much wider cloth to be woven much more quickly and made the development of machine looms much simpler.

Away From Home: Quilts Inspired by the Lowell Factory Girls

2011-08-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

After working on them for two days, I finally have the applique blocks drawn for the book on the mill girls. The quilt has a center medallion made up of four applique blocks. Then, in the border blocks that surround the medallion there is one applique block repeated eight times. There are other blocks in the border round, but they are pieced.

So now that I have my master patterns--and my fabric which arrived fresh from the factory on Friday--I'm ready to begin. There's still a lot of prep work for the applique since I like to use the freezer paper and starch method. And, it's almost inevitable that I will make changes as I work through the quilt construction. You know how it goes, sometimes a fabric you thought would look perfect, doesn't. Or you want to add something. Or subtract something.

In any case, I am so, so excited to get this project going.

Oh . . . and I've been working on another quilt for the book. It's going to be one of the additional projects. Here's a little peek at some of the stars that are going into this pink and brown beauty made from the Cocheco III collection by Judie Rothermel for Marcus Fabrics.

Classes, classes, classes (part two)

2011-08-08T19:58:00.000-07:00

Then I finished the week at Bolts to Bindings located in Bakersfield, CA. This time we were working on Windrose, which is a mariner's compass pattern. I always love it when I get to teach someone how to do something they really want to learn, which in this case was paper piecing. These gals were all A+ students because they took to it like ducks to water.

Geri, the shop owner, put together a really good looking kit that many decided to use. But everyone who used the kit placed their fabrics differently so no two were alike. I cannot wait to see how they all come out. I hope to see photos . . . . and post them for you to see, too!

Classes, classes, classes

2011-08-08T19:45:00.000-07:00

Last week I was busy teaching classes and giving a trunk show. My week began at the Tehachapi Mountain Quilt Guild in Tehachapi, CA. They are a fun group, and we had a great time the day after the trunk show when they all worked on their own version of my pattern Ring of Stars.

Glenda and Eileen decided to use the kit featuring red and white fabrics

Judy and Nancy work in crisp blue and white.

Pam in red and black . .

Linda in earth tones . . .

Joan's quilt will have a scrappy floral look . . .

Definitely the most daring color combination . . .

And don't you love to see the different ways quilter's work!

What I Did Today

2011-06-09T20:48:00.000-07:00

What a productive day!

**three loads of laundry
**grocery shopping
**unload/load dishwasher
**wash pots and pans
**talked with mom on phone while she was getting a blood transfusion
**cut, folded, packaged Block #6 Ode to the Blue and Grey
**answered emails
** played catch with Daisy
**went for my first swim in the pool this summer

Okay, so maybe not EVERYTHING on the list was productive . . .

. . .but finishing all the applique prep on this quilt was! YIPPEE!! Just when it seemed like it would never get done. I kept working on it because the alternative was going to the grocery store. Now it's time for some sewing!

Make it Yours

2011-06-07T21:06:00.000-07:00

I love it when quilters show me the twist they put on one of my patterns or kits.

Look what Kathleen Schumacher did with her Homeward Bound Kit. She changed the applique border, making it all her own. Don't you just love it? And, on the blocks around the edges, she used the same fabric that is in the setting triangles to create a "floating" look to the birds in the air blocks.

Simply beeeuuutiful, Kathleen! Thank you for sharing.

It All Begins With the Fabric

2011-06-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Fabric. We love to touch it, to pet it, to stockpile it. It's why we quilt. It's why we keep starting new projects before finishing the old.

The fabric collection I am using for my upcoming book Away From Home: The Story of the Mill Girls is being designed by Judie Rothermel and Faye Burgos, two of Marcus Fabrics' designers. I had to pinch myself several times this past week because I received the strike-offs (the pre-production prints) and was asked to give my input. The package contained lots of prints, some in various colorways, and some in colorways so subtle in their variation that it was difficult to discern the difference. There were FAR more fabrics than we needed. The task was to narrow it down to 24 fabrics that I would use in the quilt.
Well, I stacked the swatches. I sorted them. I compared them to my illustration of the feature quilt. I put some to the side. Then others. Then a couple made it back in. The best I could do was get it down to 27.

In the meantime, across the country, Judie was doing the same. We were to submit our choices to Faye who would compare our selections. At this point, I don't know what Judie picked, but I do know that she narrowed her selections down to 32. (I can't tell you how relieved I was to hear that!)
So here's just a little sneak peek of my choices

Ode To The Blue and Grey

2010-12-23T16:13:00.000-08:00

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

2010-12-11T12:04:00.002-08:00

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

2010-11-11T12:54:00.000-08:00

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

2010-11-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

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

2010-10-31T13:52:00.000-07:00

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

2010-08-06T18:19:00.000-07:00

July 2010 Newsletter

2010-07-13T11:54:00.000-07:00

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

2010-07-09T07:55:00.001-07:00

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

2010-07-09T07:32:00.000-07:00

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

2010-06-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-24T16:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-01-26T20:05:00.000-08:00

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!

2010-01-09T16:50:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

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

2010-01-04T16:06:00.000-08:00

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

Ready, Set, Go

2009-12-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

Here are my leaves all ready anad waiting to be appliqued to a vine border. The fabrics are from Marcus Brothers new Civil War collection.

Free Pattern for Marcus Brothers Fabrics

2009-12-12T15:59:00.000-08:00

What could be better than working with Marcus Brothers' fabrics? Here is a beginner friendly pattern I designed for them using fabrics from their Brandywine Flannel collection. You can download the free pattern at http://marcusfabrics.com/makeit/projects/brandywine_flannel_quilt/index.html

OOhhhh, Wildwood by Erin McMorris for Free Spirit

2009-12-10T16:38:00.000-08:00

Pssstt. Here's just a little bitty sneak peek of a corner of the quilt I made from some of the fabrics in Erin McMorris's Wildwood collection. This group of fabrics is so fresh, funky, and fun! The quilt has simple piecing with a touch of applique in the borders, which seems to be my trademark lately. The gorgeous quilting was done by Lynn douglass of Lynn's Creative Stitches. She's a longarmer friend of mine here in Bakersfield. Look for the pattern to this quilt in the May 2010 issue of The Quilter Magazine.

Cyber Sunday & Monday Sale

2009-11-28T18:10:00.000-08:00

15% off all patterns, kits*, and quilts.

Select Fabric $5 per yard
(one yard minimum)

Discount applied after purchase on online sales.
phone orders 661-205-2649

*discount does not apply to BOM kits

Free Quilt Pattern

2009-11-27T15:02:00.000-08:00

Hoffman Fabrics is known not only for its Bali Batiks but for its innovative screen prints. Here's a free pattern I recently designed for Hoffman using the Seville collection. You can download the frre pattern from the Hoffman website at http://www.hoffmanfabrics.com/EDocs/Site10/Seville%20quilt%20pattern.pdf. The quilt is made with several half square triangles in an asymmetrical setting and it has a touch of applique.

Finished Pool Wall

2009-11-06T20:09:00.001-08:00

Here's the final wall . . now on to the landscaping....

Our Pool's Quilt Wall

2009-11-06T19:45:00.000-08:00

If you live in Bakersfield, CA life is easier in the summer if you have a pool. Our temps frequently reach over 100 degrees for several days in a row, so staying cool can be a challege. Oliver and I had a pool in our old house, but when we built out new house the pool decision was one decision too many. Then after a couple of years we just decided we could live without the pool. Well, toward the end of this past very hot summer we changed our minds. it was time for a pool, but we didn't want it to look like just a hole in the ground. Plus, I wanted to do something a little different, something colorful, and something a little quilty. A tile wall was in order. Hope you enjoy the pics of our wall construction. The tile guys were fabulous and had some fun too.

New Block of the Month Quilt

2009-09-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

It's time for the new block of the month quilt, Galactic Explosion, to grace my website. I agonized over a colorway for this quilt. I had about four or five diffferent versions, then finally narrowed it down to two: a cool blue/green/aqua/ colorway and and a warm red/orange/coral/yellow colorway. Which one would people like more? I pondered. Red, Blue? Then, it came to me--duh! Why couldn't I just show both and leave it up to quilters to decide what they wanted to do. Heck, it's a free BOM quilt--quilters can make it in an autumn palette, Christmas themed fabrics, or muted taupes. What was I thinking--and why do I think so much? What's that old saying . . .keep it simple. To get the free monthly patterns visit my website http://www.nancyrinkdesigns.com Then YOU can decide what fabrics you want to use for you Galactic Explosion. By the way, if you want to buy the fabrics for the blocks each month, the kits are only $5 each!

Try Something New

2009-08-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I am the first to admit that I can get very stuck in my ways. If I find a method of doing something, and am comfortable with it, I tend not to be very receptive to trying a new or different method. Take half-square triangles for example. I am still making them the way I first learned: layer two squarees together, draw a diagonal line, sew 1/4" on either side of the line, then cut on the drawn line. Voila! I can make these guys all day long this way. I've seen demos for various triangle papers but I couldn't figure out how that method could be any faster, cheaper, or more accurate than my old tried and true method. I've sewn together strips of fabric, then cut them into the squares. This actually is a fairly good method, but the few times I've used it, I've had to find the book with the directions and virtually re-teach myself.

So, now I am in the process of preparing the applique pieces for a vine border to go on a reproduction quilt I'm in the process of designing & making. And my friend would be proud, I'm trying a new method. It's a method demonstrated in a book by a very famous quilter in one of her books on applique. She has very detailed instructions in her book, so I'm not having a problem executing the method. Although, right about now I'd like to execute myself! My normal applique method involves freezer paper and occasionally starch. Famous quilter X's method requires a heavy foundation material. Then you trace your shapes on the foundation. Cut out the shapes. Glue your shapes to your fabric. Turn the edges and glue them in place. Do the edges of my shapes look cleaner and crisper than my freezer paper method? Is the method cheaper? Is it quicker? Will I use this method again? Am I inflexible? Do I have a problem trying new methods? Can I honestly answer all of these questions. Hmmm. . . . back to the glue!

Life is a Series of Dogs

2009-08-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Comedian George Carlin had a routine I loved called "Life Is A Series of Dogs". My first dog, Punky, was a character who lived to be 15 years old. He survived being hit by a Suburban, but had to have his front left leg amputated and steel pins held his pelvis together. His vet, who did his surgery, said he was a miracle dog and, in fact, wrote an article for a veterinary medicine journal about Punky's cutting-edge surgery. After Punky, I thought I would never get another dog. But I am adept at eating my words, and less than a year after Punky went to dog heaven, we brought home a ditsy Shepherd mix named Daisy. She's a rescue dog--the best kind--and she's a love. The other day I took her to the groomers and when I picked her up the girl at the front counter said. "Oh Daisy--sigh--she's a sweetie. She's been talking to everyone all day and giving everyone kisses." That's Daisy! She doesn't bark, but she's a talker. Trust me--I've had entire conversations with her. Plus I get a thousand kisses a day from her.

Long Beach Show

2009-08-03T16:30:00.000-07:00

Oliver and I are back from the Long Beach Quilt Festival. We've finally managed to get everything unpacked and in its place. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good because our inventory is the most organized it's ever been. Naturally, I over-prepared for the show. I brought too many kits, too much fabric, too many patterns, etc. My dear husband loaded and unloaded all of my stuff, helped me set up our booth, and served as cashier. I could not have done it without him and his unending support. He remembered the camera and took several photos of our booth. I managed to snap one of him though--he's the handsome man in the third photo!

I've been "flocked"

2009-06-13T06:37:00.000-07:00

Okay, when my son David who's in town for his ten year class reunion came home late last night from hanging out with some of his old high school buddies, he woke his dad and I up saying, "You've got to see this." Across our front lawn and down our driveway was one plastic flamingo after another. They were in the shrubbery too and one was even hanging from a tree. One flamingo perched by the front door sported a sign danging from his neck which read, "You've been flocked by Frontier volleyball." I couldn't help but laugh. I'd had a major number of these talented and beautiful high school young women in my AP Comp course this past academic year at Frontier High. In my mind's eye I could see them stealthily creeping around my front yard, placing every flamingo so it was in just the right pose, all the while trying to suppress laughter.Of course my question now is, what do I have to do to get rid of these flamingos?

Manic

2009-06-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

Okay, in my last post I stated that am lucky. Now, thanks to menopause, I'm in another mood (don't we love the ever shifting state of emotions "the change" brings us?). I've received so many fabulous fabrics in the past month that in an effort to get EVERYTHING ready and just so for the upcoming Long Beach Quilt Festival, I've pushed myself over the edge just a bit. My design was says it all. Three quilts in the design stage??? What am I thinking. I also have two that need quilting, and one that needs a binding. I've two other collections that need to have samples made up. And I'm also trying to get directions written, patterns published, and kits made up. YIKES--I've got to get back to work!

Lucky

2009-06-06T14:54:00.000-07:00

What a lucky lady I am! Look at these gorgeous fabrics from Marcus Brothers Fabrics. They are from two collections: Cotillion and Cotillion Yarn Dyes. Pati of Marcus Brothers, sent me the collection and said, "We want to see what you can do with this line." Oh,ho, ho, I thought. Do I love a challenge? Well the quilt is all pieced together and is about to go on my longarm. I've consulted my longarm experts Lynn and Christiane, for quilting ideas, thread color, etc. and feel like I'm ready to tackle the quilting. The quilt is so, so soft and pretty that I want to do it justice. I'll be sure to share a sneak peek when it's done.

A New Venue For Best Of the Valley

2009-05-13T17:29:00.000-07:00

This year the Best of the Valley Quilt Show moved from the Tulare Agri-Center just outside of Tulare, Ca to the McDermont Field House in Lindsay, Ca, which is about 15 miles west of the old site. If the name "Lindsay" sounds familiar, it's probably because you've opened a can of Lindsay olives or two. In fact, what is now the McDermont Field House was once packing sheds.
The show to go off without a hitch, due to the expertise of the staff who puts on the BOTV show each year. This year, Bobbie Moore turned over the reins to Suzanne Kistler, who seemed to handle her duties with grace and style.
Here are some photos of my booth at the show. (I'm in the hot pink sweater)

Kits are done

2009-03-15T16:29:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my wonderful friends--Lynn Douglass, Eve Hall, and Christiane Marzi--the Mellow Yellow kits, plus two other kits are put together. We laughed through several days of cutting, folding, arranging, and packaging kits. These gals are incredibly creative. I just stood back and let them work their creative magic. Can't wait till we do it again, girls!

Mellow Yellow

2009-02-28T17:18:00.000-08:00

Every time I say the name of this quilt and fabric collection, I cannot help but start humming the song "They call me mellow yellow . . . that's right." The quilt is designed, the fabric is in, and now I need to make a sample quilt. Boy is the fabric gorgeous--the yellow is truly yellow--like crayon yellow. For a free pattern, visit the Exclusively Quilters website. That will also take you to a link for the kit.

2009-02-01T15:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I haven't posted in a while. But that's because I have been madly working on several projects. Finishing some, beginning others, and just letter some ideas percolate for a while. Here's how the butterfly wallhanging came out. Look for the pattern in a spring issue of The Quilter Magazine. I'll let you know the exact issue when I get word.

2008-12-05T20:17:00.000-08:00

"Thrilled" is how I felt when I saw one of my quilts "Oak Leaves" in the latest edition of The Quilter Magazine. I designed it especially for a grouping of hand dyed fabrics I had been tinkering with for a while. Hand appliqueing the blocks and border took an even longer while, as did the quilting. This is one of those quilts I'm not going to part with for some time.

New Fabrics for Spring

2008-12-05T20:12:00.000-08:00

One of the new spring lines, Urban Rhapsody, arrived recently and I've been busy working on some new designs. Here's what I'm planning to make. Let's see how it goes. You know how sometimes you get started on a project and then it seems to take on a life of its own . . .

Pandas

2008-10-16T18:18:00.000-07:00

When Exclusively Quilters asked me to design a quilt using one of their new lines, Giant Pandas, I was somewhat apprehensive. The line featured a rather large panel of pandas, and I had never really made a "panel" quilt before. After tinkering with several designs on EQ6, I had a few things to send them--none of which I was very thrilled with. Neither were they. In the meantime, I had designed a much larger quilt than what they wanted, so I just said "what the heck" and sent off that larger quilt design. Well, sometimes, another set of eyes, another perspective, another designer can suggest just the thing to make a design work. A crop here. A shift there. A change in measurements. Voila! Magic! Giant Pandas is my first quilt design employing a panel.

And for those of you who may be interested in making a panda quilt of your own, I am currently taking pre-orders on the kits for this 40" x 48" wall hanging at my website nancyrinkdesigns.com.

By the way, thanks Deb, for all of your suggestions!

"Flower Power?" (aka "The Westminster Project) Quilt

2008-08-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

The quilting is complete and the binding is finally stitched down. Now all it needs is a label. And so begins the process of selecting a name. "The Westminster Project", as it had been dubbed while in progress, will simply not do. The name is too sterile, too empty, too nondescript.

Oliver, my clever husband, says the quilt looks like a 1960s throwback with its funky bold colors and large floral print. Of course I was but a small child in the '60s, so who am I to judge whether "Flower Power" is a name appropriate for this quilt that features a Kaffe Fassett floral print in the outer border, and other more subdued Kaffe Fassett prints, along with other fabrics manufactured by the Westminster Fabric Company, in the blocks and inner borders. So what do you think? Is "Flower Power" it? If you have any other clever name ideas, please, please weigh in!

The Westminster Project, continued. . .

2008-07-15T19:14:00.000-07:00

The blocks are fused and the satin stitching complete. Prior to this project, I did not have much experience at satin stitching. I can most definitely see that my last blocks are much better than my first. The stitching is smoother around rounded edges and crisper at corners. I thought about taking the stitching out of some of the first blocks I made, but, trust me, that was a fleeting thought that I batted away much like one bats flies away from a picnic feast. What the worst and most tedious part of the Westminster Project (so far) was tearing away all of the stabilizer. I had stabilizer shrapnel scattered all over my sewing room. And before long there was stabilizer all over the house because it hitchhiked on my dog, Daisy, who likes to hang out in my sewing room. Next step: assembling the alternate blocks.

The "Westminster Project"

2008-07-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

And now on to the "Westminster Project". This quilt, which for lack of a better name at this point in time, has been dubbed the "Westminster Project" because the lead fabric and several other fabrics are manufactured by Westminster Fabrics. If that name doesn't ring a bell, then just think of fabric designer Kaffe Fassett, one of their lead designers, and the designer of the lead fabric I'm using.

So . . . the quilt's designed--thank you Electric Quilt Company. The lead fabric chosen, along with a stack of potential running mates. don't they look yummy together?

Now for the next task. The pattern I've designed has a whimsical applique flower block that I plan to fuse and then satin stitch with threads from my bountiful thread stash. I grabbed one of my many rubber trays and pulled practically every thread that I thought would work. Now, how to decide. I don't want my trial and error to take place on my beautifully fused blocks. No, no, no, that will just not do.

Due to some personality defect implanted within me at birth, I realize that I must approach the task of thread selection in a rational, logical, and planned manner. (Oh, how I do hope there are some of you out there with this same condition. For those of you who can throw caution to the wind and just jump right in, I applaud and greatly envy you.) So here's what I did. First I sewed together a piece of my background fabric, a deep burgundy, and a piece of light green scrap fabric left over from the Sunflower quilts. Then I did a test satin stitch of each thread on the background fabric and wrote the name and color of the thread next to it on the light colored fabric. Very systematically organized--very planned--very logical. Time consuming, yes, but I should be able to avoid any gross color errors which would lead to--gulp--ripping out. And obviously, I had so many threads that I had to do two swatch pieces.

So, what of all this test sewing and satin stitching and overly compulsive behavior? Here's how I proceeded. When I needed to satin stitch around a fabric, a pulled the fabric from the stack and folded the test stitch swatch next to it in order to see which thread looked best. In the example in the photo, the fabric is a blue green mottled fabric. What thread choice would you make?

Okay, I've made my choice and picked one. . . I think. I'm off to sew. Satin stitching is not my forte, but a girl has to learn sometime.

2008-07-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

There's a time to quilt and a time to dye, and yesterday was a dyeing day. The "Westminster Project" (sounds like a band name from the 70s, doesn't it?) pretty much cleaned me out of green hand dyed fabric. And since I have a trunk show next week, I thought it a good time to dye fabric for myself and collectors of hand dyed fabric. I dyed well over 50 yards of fabric. YIKES, what was I thinking?! The dyeing is rather fun. It's the washing and pressing and trimming that's work. But here's just some of the evidence of my hard work.

Quilt Patterns from Exclusivley Quilters Fabrics

2008-06-26T12:20:00.000-07:00

Over the past few months I've had the privilege of working with Exclusively Quilters Fabric Company, designing quilt patterns for several of their fabric lines. Below is a slideshow of the patterns I've designed and some of the accompanying fabrics. If you'd like to see more of their fabrics, pay a visit to their website. There you'll also find links to shops that carry their fabrics. You'll also get a peek at some of their upcoming lines. Of course if you want any of the patterns, you can get them from my website nancyrinkdesigns.com. I also have kits for Forever Lovely and will soon have kits for Akimbo.

Their fall lines are currently "in the works'--I can't wait to see them and begin the process of figuring out what I'm doing with them. My plan is to share some of my design process and construction steps with you here on my blog.

Meanwhile, I have a quilt I'm making with some great Westminster fabric that'll I'm going to share with you, too.

Patterns from Exclusively Quilters Fabrics

2008-06-26T12:17:00.003-07:00

2008-06-25T21:27:00.001-07:00

Working on the New Block of the Month Quilt

2008-06-25T18:24:00.000-07:00

Designing, making, and writing the directions for a block-of-the-month sampler quilt always seems to have me frazzled. I want each BOM quilt to have a theme, so that's the first task. The theme of the new quilt is "Building Blocks", which, coincidentally, is the name of the quilt. When I selected the theme of building blocks, what I had in mind was all of the building toys I played with as a kid. I wanted each block to be named after a different building toy, so I sat down and began brainstorming the names of toys.

Legos, Lincoln Logs, Tinkertoys, erector sets . . . . . Uh, wait . . . that's only four. The quilt has twelve blocks.

And so I began some online research into different types of building toys. I certainly found a lot of very interesting toys. Some of them I had seen and my own children had played with, but I certainly didn't know the official name of the toy. Other toys I had never seen before but was intrigued by them. One such toy is Kapla, a French toy made from marine pine.

It just goes to show you. Quilt projects can take you to some unusual places. I got to revisit my childhood and some really cool websites with really cool toys!

Oh, and by the way. Yes the quilt is done and will debut July 2008 on my website, nancyrinkdesigns.com.