Blue, Green, and Orange Hearts ! - Work in Progress

Below is the Challenge 3 information for Project Quilting.

I took photos of my (WIP) Work in Progress. I started with my paper pieced hearts, using blues and greens and oranges! 

Challenge 3 – Be My Valentine - Project Quilting

Now, to mix things up a bit. I am hearing lots about Valentine's Day on the radio and in the ads, so decided we'd work with it for Challenge 3.......with a few twists, of course. After all, anyone can make a Valentine quilt. In Project Quilting, we want something more.

1. The inspiration is Be My Valentine.
2. The main colors of your project will be something other than red or pink. You can use small amounts of red and pink, but the overall color should be something else.
3. You cannot use the word "Valentine" on the front of your project. You may use it in the name if you wish.
4. POST your entries with a description of your creative process, including where you are (ie, I create in Madison, WI) and the size of your project by Sunday, February 13, 2011, at noon, CDT, to this flickr group – Project QUILTING with KimsCraftyApple: http://www.flickr.com/groups/1401824@N21/ OR email a picture/description of your completed project to lapaceksorchard@gmail.com with PROJECT QUILTING in the subject line.
5. If this is the first Project Quilting challenge you've participated in, please email Kim atlapaceksorchard@gmail.com with PROJECT QUILTING in the subject line so that Kim can send you feedback from the judges and keep you updated on the behind the scenes going-ons.
Remember, these challenges are intended to help you Think Outside the Square. Be creative. Take a risk. Do something no one else will think of doing.

submitted by Diane Lapacek

Panel Quilts with SHORT backing fabric!

So you bought a beautiful panel of fabric with matching backing fabric (maybe it was a kit), but the backing fabric is the same size as the front and it is not big enough for a long arm quilter to pin and clamp onto the rollers, so what do you do?

Add fabric strips! Here's how to do that.

Press/Iron your backing fabric and then make sure it is straight. Trim the uneven sides to make it a perfect rectangle?

Then add long strips at least 5 to 6 inches wide to all four sides. Use a small tight stitch to sew/attach the strips to the sides of your backing fabric. Make sure they are straight and even also.

Press/Iron again, so your seam allowances are pressed towards the strip not the backing fabric.

That's it! So simple!

You can do this with almost any backing fabric that is large enough to cover the back of your quilt, but not large enough for your long arm quilter. When you have a larger quilt like a full size quilt your backing fabric needs to be at least a couple inches bigger than the back and then you can add strips. When in doubt, email or call your long arm quilter.








More information on Backing Fabrics:
In my quilting shop I carry several extra wide backing fabrics from a quilter's blenders in at least a dozen colors to bleached & unbleached muslin to tye dyes and floral color tones to solid dark backing fabrics. Most are 108" inches wide. You can order online thru' my website at Extra Wide Backing Fabric Page. There is a listing of most of the fabrics available.

Photos of Backing fabrics in the Photo Gallery. Click on any of the photos and it will take you to the complete photo gallery.

Any questions feel free to email me at Marcia@craftysewing.com.

Escape to Cloud Nine - Project Quilting Season 2 Challenge Two

It's the name of the place that I LOVE ... I read the challenge on Sunday and started thinking.... What place should I choose? Where's my favorite place?..... Our favorite campground on the Mississippi River, the hunting and hiking land behind our house, a quilt retreat, a quilt shop, a vacation spot, my mom's house, my brother's house, my sewing room at our home, my sewing room at the camper .... I brain stormed while I cut strips for the background fabric. Then I started sewing strips and taking pictures ... I had lots of ideas....but couldn't make up my mind.


I even sent an email to family members to enlist their help with the brain storming. My husband said "What is the name of the creative space/place you go to in your head, when you are zoning in on your quilting and not paying attention to the real world?" Hyper Focusing??? Ritch suggested I name the quilt something like.... Hakuna Matata -- cause when I am "hyper focusing" that is where I go... when I am sewing, quilting, and creating. But he said that is not the right name! Has to be something about the creative space in your brain!!!


Then I did an internet search for names of places (towns and cities with unusual names) that might represent the name of the creative space in my brain. I read about the right brain and left brain and the parts in between that transfer the information back and forth. I thought I knew all about Attention Deficit and Hyper Focusing. I went Thesaurus.com and found tons of words that deal with imagination, creativity, and even more than I wanted to know! I found a site that had Quotes by everyone in the world. The coolest part is that I was reading more than I have ever read in years! Was that part of the challenge? Finally I decided that Cloud Nine described my creative space or place in my brain. So I named my quilt Escape to Cloud Nine because I love to go there.....


Tons of pictures on the Photo Gallery and Flicker.
Information - Project Quilting.