Sapphire Celebrations for International Quilt Festival

In 2016,
 I attended a luncheon at Houston international Quilt Festival.

The guest speaker was Karen Nyberg.

She was the astronaut who quilted in space. 

The tables were covered in fabric for table cloths 

And 

The napkins were 10” layer cake pieces. 

I was the lucky winner of the table cloth and napkins.

You can read about it HERE

I have been trying to think of what special projects should make with them. 

This line of fabrics were Blue Barn by Laundry Basket Quilts

Aka...Edyta Star!  

This year at at luncheon in Houston they mentioned they were looking for blue and white quilts 

To 

Help commemorate their Sapphire year of Festival.

I knew right there and then....

What I was going to to do with my special stash!!

I love cathedral window blocks....

And 

Offset flying geese....

Terry Whitman made this quilt sing! 

Her custom longarming skills are stellar. 

Other quilters see her work and ask me what kind of computerized machine she has. 

This work is all her own creation.  

She can always bring a quilt to life!

I decided to enter it for the Sapphire Celebration! 



If it is chosen...fabulous! 

If not,

 I have a beautiful memory quilt 

with a great story

of 

time spent with friends at a fun luncheon! 

‘Blue Birds Amongst the Stars’

I will let you know either way! 

Christa 

Farm Sweet Farm Beginnings

Bee In My Bonnet is having another quilt along!!

I loved the Autumn Love QAL

Terry Whitman did an awesome job custom quilting it!!

I used Quilters Dream Double Puffy batting to give the applique some depth!

A few more finishing touches 

and

that one is a wrap!!

Just in time to start....

Farm Sweet Farm

by

Bee In My Bonnet...Lori Holt

How can I not do this QAL?!?!?

Animals(cute ones at that!!), tractors and barns!!

Like the Autumn Love quilt,

I am using scraps of this and that.

I love the barn block!

Of course... I could not make my tractor RED!

I am pretty sure this is an old JD 4020

Looks a little rough at the moment 

but 

I need some handwork to take on a cruise...

These two blocks are going to be packed...

Lucky critters get to go on a vacation!!

Hope my little scissors aren't confiscated again...

I will probably lose them...they are so tiny!!

Christa

Sassafrass Lane Babies

I loved this little farm animals pattern

by

Amy Bradley

It is called Animal Whimsy

I needed a baby quilt for a little girl.

I chose these 4 critters....





I like to use up any extra blocks I have laying around so I inserted the pink HST's



I think this kitty might still need some whiskers....



How cute is this pup!!



I quilted it myself.....

Nothing crazy!!


 
I used some pink chevron minky
so
it is ridiculously soft!!

Instead of binding it the usual way....

I brought the back to the front.

Soft, fluffy edges!!

Christa

Mean Machine

People often ask me how I get so much sewing done.

Do I sit and sew all day??

Are there an extra 10 hours in a day where I live?

Nope.

I have a job....or ten.

I do most of the cattle and farming.

I sew windsocks for the oilfield.

One of my best kept secrets....

My industrial sewing machine by Reliable!!





This puppy sews 5000 stitches a minute!!

It pulls the fabric is SOOO straight you hardly have to guide it.

It sits in an oil bath...

so you know that's an engine!!




It is a workhorse!!

It only does straight stitch but that's what MOST of quilting is.





I have a 'couple' other machines for the fancy stuff..
(couple is a loose term 'for more than I need')





With a foot pedal like this.....

You know that's where the term 'pedal to the metal' might have come from!!

I love the knee lift also. 

Lots of days,

 I go to my sewing room at 6:30am and spend an hour.

It's my therapy.

I am a very, very sick person.

I need all the doctoring I can get.

I feel a fever coming on...

Christa 

Stashtastic by Doug Leko

This was a kit that Doug Leko was so kind to put together for a class I took in Houston

It is his new book, Stashtastic.

Doug’s company is called Antler Designs.

Each pattern has a scrappy and organized version. 

The fabric in this little kit is from Three Sisters

and

GE Designs provided the little arrows for marking your ruler. 

I finally got to making this sample.

I decided to make it a little baby quilt. 

It was the perfect size to play with machine quilting. 

Practice makes perfect 


and I sure need practice!

I had just enough minky in this plaid left to back it! 




It’s a perfect little girls quilt!

It’s on its way to a little sweetie as we speak!

Thank you to Doug Leko for his book and rulers! 

Love it! 

Christa

The Block Party Quilt Retreat 2019

The Block Party Quilt Guild

(otherwise known as the Torquay Girls)

is
 hosting a retreat!!

It is February 14-17, 2019.

The cost will be 180$/person
and
includes Thursday Supper to Sunday Brunch.

Trust me, you will not be hungry for three days!!

It will be at Circle Square Ranch near Wolseley, Saskatchewan

If you like to sit by the fire and hand stitch....

Or run into town and visit Tigerlily Quilt Shop...

Or just sit and stitch between amazing meals....

Then this is the retreat for you!!

There is always amazing show and tell!!

and great camaraderie!

If you are interested in attending email me 

at

 acmarcotte@sasktel.net 

or 

call/text 306-421-7056 for more information!!

Christa 

Pleasant Pheasant Fun

I wanted to stick to my plan to use up my stash in 2019.....

So a few of us hit one of our favorite quilt shops on December 31! 

That makes it 2018 stash!! 

If you haven’t discovered Pleasant Pheasant Fabrics in Crosby, North  Dakota yet...

You are missing out!  

Tamara was having a 40-60-80% off sale!!

So many choices! 

We made a real mess of her store as we had pulled bolts from all corners of her store! 

She carries everything from batiks to Moda to Northcott and Blank

You want it ....she probably has it! 

Our guild made this quilt that Justin just finished hanging in Tamara’s shop for a month.

It will be auctioned at the Ashworth Bull Sale with proceeds going to Stars Air Ambulance 

This is our 5th year! 

We purchased the pattern and fabric from Pleasant Pheasant Fabrics 

And

Since we don’t need the quilt until March we figured she could show it as a sample! 

It is worth the trip to her store some time! 

Thanks for the New Years Eve fun, Tamara! 

Now to get that OLD stash dealt with!! 

Christa 

Stash Bash by Quilts and More

I have to say I really enjoy Instagram. 

It’s such an easy and quick fix of inspiration 

I took a class on how to fit social media in your life with out it ruling your world. 

You scroll through the feeds quickly

Only stopping on what really catches your eye 

  

It’s amazing what you can absorb in only a few minutes of surfing. 

Quilts and More are hosting a fun little Stash Bash on Instagram. 

 

Each day they ask for a different picture post regarding your stash

Day 1 ...show off your stash

This is my crayon box!

I try to stick to what can fit in this old pie cupboard 

Backing and precuts are not in here 

But 

For the most part... this is it!!

Day 2....color you have most of

Well...you know me if you say blue or brown!! 

Mostly batiks too!!

Day 3...fabric that is YOU 

I am probably going to have to go with blue/brown batiks!! 

If you are on Instagram

Check out #QAMStashBash

31 days of Stash-alicious!

It’s been fun to see others stash! 

I am @christamarcotte on IG