Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Your #ToesInTheSandQAL photos - A year in the making!

My Toes In the Sand Block of the Month book hit store shelves just over a year ago. Toes in the Sand is my love letter to California. Each block is named for a beach along the California coast. 

And now that the folks who signed up early for a #ToesInTheSandQAL are finishing up their quilts, I thought it would be fun to see what everyone has made over the course of this past year. If you shared your blocks, tops or quilts using #ToesInTheSandQAL, you just might spot your work below!

Let's take a scroll to see what everyone has been sewing and quilting.

Baker Beach

Santa Barbara

Venice Beach

Sonoma Coast

Torrey Pines

Santa Cruz

Pebble Beach

Santa Monica

Long Beach

Hermosa Beach

La Jolla Cove

Big Sur



Some finished tops & quilts:

























Thank you so much to everyone who shared their pictures! It's been wonderful to see your fabric selections and your progress along the way. The Toes in the Sand Block of the Month Design is available for purchase. You can ask for it at your favorite local and online quilt shops.

What have you loved about the #ToesInTheSandQAL? Are you a fan of Block of Month projects and programs?


© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

Friday, February 21, 2014

SewDown aka SnowDown...


I travelled to Portland, OR, on Friday, February 7, to teach at The Modern Quilt Guild's weekend sewing retreat SewDown. Turns out, I brought a snow storm with me!




I always travel with a quilt & a pillow. This is a scrappy Chopsticks quilt that Jessica gave to me.


I taught my Sidekick Sampler class. The focus of the class is cutting and piecing blocks using my Sidekick ruler. I had shipped my class kits and supplies to arrive when I was due to make it into Portland, but the snow storm had other plans for class supplies...


Amazing wonder woman that she is, Valori Wells saved the day with a suitcase full of fabric that my students used to make their blocks...


And they made beautiful Night Sky blocks with Valori's new Blueprint Basics line from Robert Kaufman




Kathy from Pink Chalk Fabrics made her first block for her Northwest Night Sky quilt.





















Valori Wells presented "Life of a Fabric Design."








Violet Craft & Valori Wells
LOVE these women.
uh oh...
It was OK. It made for a great day to sew...






Bill Volckening's lunch lecture, "Masterpiece Quilts: Modernism in American Patchwork, 1810 to 1970."








Thank you to my students, friends and the MQG for a great weekend in Portland, no matter the weather!



© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/