Row by Row Experience: The New River Fiber Co.

September 6, 20142 Comments

The New River Fiber Co., located in Blacksburg, Virginia, was a great find during my Row by Row Experience. It had a modern vibe, and I just loved the “Spring” block they created for this “Sew a Season” shop hop:

The photo, taken from their Facebook page, does not show how beautiful the fabric was. I bought the kit:

The New River Fiber Co. had wonderful quilt fabric as well as lots and lots of yarn. They also had really soft pillow forms. I bought one and made a pillow with this quilt block.

The “dogwoods” were easy to make, basically a snowball block with one background corner missing:

I made two big, one medium and two small “dogwoods.” I machine appliqued the centers using decorative stitches:

I played with the arrangement until it pleased me:

I initially did not have the “half” dogwood on the right side, but when I squared up the block it just seemed like that part needed a flower. I used the part cut from the top dogwood. Thank goodness for seam rippers.

I used the leftover fabric to make the back:

I added an invisible zipper, and it was done.

This pillow is feminine, and I’m going to use it in my small home office/corner.

This shop was worth the drive: 880 University City Blvd, Blacksburg, VA 24060.

Row by Row Experience: Blue Crab Quilt Co.

August 30, 2014August 19, 20216 Comments

UPDATE: BLUE CRAB QUILT COMPANY IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS!!!

As the summer winds down I am reflecting on my Row by Row Experience, a shop hop with over 1200 quilt shops from the US and Canada participating. The theme was “Sew a Season.” I traveled to eight shops in Virginia.

I was at one of my local quilt shops, Blue Crab Quilt Company, a few days after the shop hop began on July 1 and was purchasing fabric for the pattern, White Labyrinth by Zen Chic. I noticed the shop’s block for the Row by Row Experience:

I bought the kit (the pattern was free), but soon decided I wanted the blue crabs to pop against the background. And, I wasn’t going to make a quilt with this block. I used a solid navy for the crab and a white background to make a block for a tote bag:

The photo above shows where I “big stitch” quilted the block. I used fusible fleece on the back of the block. I marked it using Sewline’s fabric pencil. This is the best marking pen I have found.

I adapted the pattern, Mini Bow Tucks by Quilts Illustrated. I made it longer. It’s more of a tote bag than a purse. I also didn’t add a pocket on the outside or inside the bag. I used cording to make the bow tucks on the side:

Nautical is very fashionable right now, and I’m loving this finished project:

The shop hop ends September 2, so I still have time to visit at least another shop. I enjoyed all the shops I visited, and I have more projects in the works from each shop.

“Aerial” is done.

August 17, 20142 Comments

I finished “Aerial,” a pattern by Carolyn Friedlander.

This was the first time I used the method, low-fat quilting. I had purchased the book, Machine Quilting in Sections. Don’t Finish Another Quilt Until You Read This Book, to learn how to reduce the bulk of the quilt. And I’m happy to report it worked. I was able to quilt the quilt in sections on my sewing machine. The only problem I had was re-assembling the batting. I had to be very careful to get the pieces to join without overlapping. Using the 2-inch strips of fusible tape from Marti Michell, I was able to attach the two pieces without any trouble. You can’t tell the batting is pieced.

As I quilted, my free motion skills improved and my circles started looking much better: