Jaybird Quilts

Monday, January 23, 2012

Road to California Quilt Show 2012

I spent Saturday at the Road to California Quilt Show. I wasn't working in a booth... I was just there to shop & look at the quilts. It was nice to just enjoy the show.

The place was pretty busy.

I got a chance to catch up with MaryAnn. We've been blog/california quilt show friends for a few years now.

I also caught up with Vicky, Nicole, Honey Run Quilters, Sheri, Verna, Cozy Quilt Shop & so many more people and shops!

Sandy Klop of American Jane

Stephanie from A Quilter's Dream had a beautiful booth as always.

Along with some great new bags!

My Off the Rail quilt was on display in Old Made Quilts.

These quilts were from a special collection put together by Ricky Tims.
All that Jazz - Improvisational Quilts
Left - Woods Walk by Valerie Maser-Flanagan
Right - Waters Edge #1 by Valerie Maser-Flanagan

There was a special exhibit of work by Susan Else. This Ferris Wheel was motorized and pretty amazing in person.

All of her work was beautiful, but I think this one was my favorite. It's called Forever Yours.

There were hundreds of show quilts on display. For anyone who hasn't been to a quilt show I highly recommend it as some things just can't be appreciated in photographs.

I really enjoyed Wendy Lee Petroglyph. I got a few panels from here. Once I come up with a plan I'll show you!

It was nice to catch up with Natalie of Beyond the Reef

It was a rainy mess for the drive up to the show... but this was the view at the end of the day. The drive back was quite beautiful.

This was the sunset on the drive home. A prefect ending to a great day.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

PLAN - my 2012 word of the year

Have you ever picked a word of the year?

I know many people that do this pick something like organize, embrace, simplify, peace and so on. There is nothing wrong with those words, {or any word anyone picks} but none of it ever seemed to fit me. I'm not big on New Year's Resolutions because I think you can make a change at any time. That being said I decided when I woke up this morning that I wanted a word for this year. It didn't take me long to realize my word is PLAN.

Random photo of some of my fabric since this post needed more color.

Plan my time better. I have some big time management issues. I'm sure some of it comes from the cross country move, but I have never really been good in this area. I'm good at getting things done at the last minute but that doesn't mean my body likes the stress of it.

Plan my projects. Yes sometimes I want to sit & sew just to sew, but I'd be less stressed if I planned out my projects a bit more. I've got so many ideas for Jaybird Quilts that sometimes I end up not sewing for an hour because I can't decide what to work on first.

Plan my blog. I used to be a good blogger. {Good is relative here since none of you are beating me up... I'm just beating myself up.} I want to get back on a regular schedule of posts that are a bit more planned out vs. the "oh man I haven't blogged in a few days what am I going to write??" moments.

Plan to have free time. I can often become a workaholic and spend what should be my free time doing work. Life is short & I need to start spending more of it just living.

Plan by writing things down. I often get random bursts of big ideas & somehow don't write them down, or write them somewhere and forget where that is. I'm in the midst of planning a new system for myself to keep track of my ideas.

So I want to know your thoughts.

Have you ever picked a word of the year?

Did you pick one this year? If so what is it?

Have any planning tips for me?

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

My Tablet Keeper!

disclosure: this is a sponsored blog tour by Clover & Nancy Zieman

Welcome! Today is my day to post about the new Tablet Keeper I just made! If this is your first time visiting you can learn about me, check out my patterns, my free tutorials and you can subscribe to my blog over in the right column to stay in touch! --->

I met Nancy at the last Quilt Market and got to check out her new Tablet Keeper template. I don't use templates very often but I thought this was kinda cool. It will make keepers for E-tablets or Paper Pads in three sizes. I made the smallest paper keeper & plan on making one for my iPad next!

Here she is!!

Fabric pile #1... aka scraps from my new quilt won!

Outer fabric is Prince Charming by Tula Pink

Binding & Closure flap is Outfoxed by Lizzy House

Here is the inside during construction. In addition to the three fabrics I started with I decided to add a few more including a fussy cut section of Tula Pink's frogs. I just love them.

Inner fabrics are Prince Charming by Tula Pink

Closure flap is Outfoxed by Lizzy House

Corner pocket is Half Moon Modern by Moda

I followed Joan's instructions and added a pen/pencil pocket. Before binding I did a test fit of my pad & pencil.

I added the binding and used my clover wonder clips to hold it in place.
Note: The instructions tell you to add the plastic shape keepers before binding since you are closing up where they go. I found that it was easier to add the left/bottom/right sides of binding before putting the shape keepers in and adding them at the last possible point before binding the top. Also it is impossible to finish the binding how I usually do since the tablet doesn't bend like a quilt does. So if you make a tablet keeper follow the included directions for hiding the raw edges of the binding. Lastly you can sew the binding all by machine, but of course I did it by hand since I prefer the look.

The back before the binding was finished.

All done! I got a pad of graph paper from staples so that I can use my tablet keeper to sketch out new quilt ideas. This way I can keep notes & ideas together in one neat place.

Closeup on my prince charming.

I'm very happy with how this came out & look forward to making more!

Also Nancy has a big giveaway going on right now for a tablet keeper & all the notions you need to make one. Check it out and be sure to enter!

Be sure to check out the other stops on the blog tour to see all the different options!

Here is the full schedule!

January 3 Nancy Zieman

January 4 Amy Ellis

January 6 Vicki Christensen

January 9 Joan Hawley

January 10 Pat Sloan

January 11 Eileen Roche

January 12 Liz Hicks

January 13 Fran Ortmeyer

January 16 Ilene Miller

January 17 Julie Herman {here!}

January 19 Natalia Bonner

January 20 Frieda Anderson

January 23 Cindy Cloward

January 24 Beckie Hansen

January 25 Amy Webb

January 26 Allie Robertson

January 27 Mary Mulari

January 30 Laura Wasilowski

January 31 Carol Porter

Clover Needlecraft provided the Tablet Keeper template set, and most of the notions for this project. The fabric was all purchased from Sew Modern in Los Angeles. The pad & pencil came from Staples.

Monday, January 16, 2012

Come What May quilt top done!

Last night I finished my quilt top! I was so excited that I had to do a quick test fit on my bed even though it isn't quilted yet! I posted this photo via instagram to twitter & facebook and was shocked at the number of likes and comments it got last night on facebook. {thank you!}

Quilt Pattern is Come What May

Pillow Pattern is Jawbreaker

Now it's time to make a backing for this & get it sent off to Angela so she can work her magic!

I also finished my tablet keeper yesterday... so come back tomorrow to see which fabric I used!

Thursday, January 12, 2012

A quilt for myself

Believe it or not I've never made a quilt for my own bed. In fact I've never started off making anything for myself that is larger than a wall quilt. Kinda silly I know!

This fact came up in conversation last weekend while I was teaching at Sew Modern. I was teaching Fast Forward & discussed with my students how I was considering making a giant Fast Forward for my bed. My plan was to use Prince Charming and create something similar to the quilt that Becky made.

I started pulling fabrics and quickly realized with my schedule chances were I'd never finish a Queen/King fast forward. At this point there was no turning back since the excitement of making a quilt for myself had already hit me. It didn't take long for me to connect the dots & realize that Come What May was the perfect pattern. It has big blocks which are not only fast but great for featuring big prints.

Here is a peek at my Come What May quilt. It is so big that it is currently taking up the entire floor of my studio and it was impossible to get all of it photographed at once. Once I get all the blocks pieced together I'll take it outside for more photos.
I gotta tell you that I love this quilt. I still love the original one too... but this one is quickly becoming my favorite quilt I've ever made.

Fabrics4 prints from Prince Charming by Tula Pink1 print from 1001 Peeps by Lizzy House2 prints from Outfoxed by Lizzy House1 print from Half Moon Modern by Moda
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FYI... for those of you who have been wondering...
Come What May, Radio Way & Jawbreaker are all now available!!
They have all been shipped to distributors and shops over the last few weeks. If you are interested you can find a list of shops that carry my patterns here.

{Biscuit will be available soon. Nobody here to blame for this delay but myself... releasing patterns so soon after moving probably wasn't the best idea. I'll let you know as soon as they arrive from the printer.}

Monday, January 9, 2012

Tablet Keeper Blog Tour

I wanted to let you know about a Blog Tour going on now. The Tablet Keeper blog tour featuring the template set designed by Nancy Zieman.

My day is coming up next week & I need your help to pick which fabrics I should use to make my keeper!

Choice #1 is a bright & fun mix of fabrics.
Prince Charming by Tula Pink
Outfoxed by Lizzy House
Half Moon Modern by Moda

Choice #2 is a bunch of Cat in the Hat fabrics.

Choice #3 is an assortment of Art Gallery fabrics I have just been staring at since market. {Sometimes fabrics are just too yummy to cut!}

So what do you think I should use? Let me know in the comments section and come back next week to see the result!

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Today's post is by is Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs & she has some great tips on how to make some modifications like adding a pen pocket.

Here is the full schedule!
January 3 Nancy Zieman
January 4 Amy Ellis
January 6 Vicki Christensen
January 9 Joan Hawley
January 10 Pat Sloan
January 11 Eileen Roche
January 12 Liz Hicks
January 13 Fran Ortmeyer
January 16 Ilene Miller
January 17 Julie Herman {see you back here!}
January 19 Natalia Bonner
January 20 Frieda Anderson
January 23 Cindy Cloward
January 24 Beckie Hansen
January 25 Amy Webb
January 26 Allie Robertson
January 27 Mary Mulari
January 30 Laura Wasilowski
January 31 Carol Porter

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Laminated Fabric Placemats Tutorial

When Elijah & Aliyah were visiting recently I was reminded of why my mom has plastic placemats when we were kids. Kids aren't usually the neatest at the kitchen table! So I decided to use some of Ann Kelle's new laminated prints to make easy to wipe down placemats for the kids. Fabric Details Zoologie & Remix Slicker prints designed by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman. These fabrics should be hitting quilt shops this March. They are 55" wide which makes them ideal for larger crafts, tablecloths & so much more. --
*General tips for sewing with laminated cotton fabrics*

1. Use a walking foot. Many people will suggest you use a teflon foot but I don't own one & have had success using my walking foot.

2. Be careful using pins. Pins will leave permanent holes in laminates. Use pins only in the seam allowance or use clips like I do below.

3. Do not put your iron directly on the laminated side of the fabric or you'll have quite a mess. You can press laminates cottons but you need to use a pressing cloth.

4. If you are new to sewing with laminated cotton fabrics I highly suggest reading this post by Kathy Mack over at Pink Chalk Studios. Kathy goes over the basics, ironing, washing and sewing tips.

-- Ok ready to make some placemats? Supplies - Laminated Cotton fabrics - 2 Rectangles 19" x 13" - A 19" x 13" piece of low loft cotton batting - Clover Wonder Clips {or similar clips that won't make permanent marks - A small plate or another round object that is around 5" to 6" in diameter 1. Use a small plate or another round object to create the round corners. Place the plate on each corner and trace around the one edge with a pencil. Repeat for all four corners on each piece of fabric & cut with scissors. {Leave the batting as a rectangle for now.}

2. Layer the pieces. Start with the batting & then place both pieces of fabric right sides together.

3. Use the wonder clips to hold all three layers together. If you are using pins make sure that they are close to the edge in the seam allowance.

4. Use a walking foot and sew around the placemat with a 1/2" seam allowance. Leave a 5" to 6" opening on one side so that you can turn the placemat right side out.

5. This is what the corners should look like.

6. Trim the excess batting and some of the fabric off at each corner. Trim so that you have a scant 1/4" seam at the corners.

7. Turn the placemat right side out. Use a pressing cloth to press it. Often the seams will not lay as flat as with regular fabric even after pressing.

8. A pressed placemat.

9. Use clips to hold the fabric together where the opening is. Start at the opening and top-stitch around the placemat with an 1/8" from the edge. You'll sew the opening closed at the same time.

10. It's that easy! One of the best parts is that these are also reversible.

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Here are the wonder clips in action when I was making a bag from laminated fabrics. The clips were great for holding all of the layers together.

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Want to link to this tutorial?

Here is a button you can use.

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial! You can find all of my tutorials here. Also if you make these placemats please add a photo to the flickr group so we can all see.
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No part of this tutorial or pattern may be reproduced without written consent of Jaybird Quilts.

For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/