Cherry Berry Quilts Coming to Bakersfield

There is some good news for Bakersfield quilters. Cherry Berry Quilts in Calimesa, California is opening a second location in exactly the same place as Strawberry Patches used to be.

Besides all the staple quilting supplies, they will also be bringing Baby Lock sewing machines, Koala Sewing Furniture, Tailor-made Cabinets, Floriani Embroidery Products, and Long Arm Quilting Services. Sewing machine repair services will also be available from Ted Lloyd Sr. and Jr.

The owners, January and Shaffer, are busy ordering fabric for their new store and anticipate opening toward the end of July.

Their website, which features updates about the store opening in Bakersfield, can be found at:

cherryberryquilts.com

Fabric Buffet--Online Quilt Shop Review

I want to give a shout out for Fabric Buffet, which is an online only shop based in Paoli, Indiana. I have been trading with them for many years now and have always been pleased. They meet my three requirements for a great vendor: Quality merchandise, fair prices, and fantastic service. Orders are generally filled and shipped within 24 hours.

Since I have lived both in the Far East and the Far West, my taste in fabric is definitely international. Fabric Buffet always has something to satisfy my needs.

"Good Vibrations" is a collection by Northcott. I was excited to get some of this before it was gone, particularly in the teal colorway. It will look great in one of my Asian botanicals.

The other item I got was a bundle of fat quarters from Moda's "Polka Dot and Paisley" collection. There is a sweet story about the inspiration behind the collection by Minick & Simpson: The collection is in honor of their Great Aunt Agnes, who was a ranch woman and loved her polka dot and paisley bandanas. She embroidered her initials in a corner of each one.

Being a lifetime horsewoman myself, this was too sentimental to resist.

When you get a chance, stop by and visit Fabric Buffet. 

The link is: http://www.fabricbuffet.com

Maricopa Quilt Company Closing

Maricopa Quilt Company has officially closed its brick and mortar store in the sleepy little town of Maricopa, California.  According to their website, the owner is retiring.

This closure is a little disconcerting since we just lost Strawberry Patches here in Bakersfield. With the closing of the Maricopa Quilt Company, folks in Maricopa, Taft, and Fellows are going to have quite a drive to shop for quilting supplies.

Their online store is open for the time being, with everything 50% off. The minimum cut for fabric is one yard. There are still quite a lot of goods left. 

I couldn't resist purchasing a few yards. They arrived first thing this morning in the mail.

The link to the website is http://www.maricopaquiltcompany.com

Strawberry Patches Closing

One of Bakersfield's fine quilt shops is closing. I honestly never saw this day coming.

Strawberry Patches has been around long before I became a quilter. I took my first machine quilting class there in 2001. I immediately came down with a severe case of quilt fever, and the rest is history!

The owner, Suzanne Zingg, wants to retire and spend more time with her family. She is trying to clear the shelves this week so she can wrap things up very soon.

Suzanne and Strawberry Patches will be greatly missed.

I Do Love a Challenge!

I do love a challenge, and this octagonal orb pattern is not one to disappoint. I have finished the first eight wedges that make up each orb, and I can see all kinds of fun waiting for me.

Every quilt seems to come with a lesson or two...a skill that we can hone. The irony, though, is that once I get fairly good at said skill, the quilt is nearly finished.

Something else is making me happy. I found some more modern fabrics in my stash to incorporate into this quilt. I honestly had no idea what I was going to do with them when I bought them, but who can resist all that pizazz?

Have a great weekend!

Thoroughly Modern Me?

Yesterday I celebrated International Quilting Weekend with the Bakersfield Modern Quilt Guild. My friend Darla invited me to attend their Saturday Sew-In at Strawberry Patches. What a nice group of ladies! And all of them are so smart. They reported on everything that they had learned from their visit to Quiltcon 2016 in February. I left knowing a whole lot more about modern quilters and their quilts.

My afternoon turned out to be very productive. Looks at all the strips I cut!

I brought this unruly stack of hot pink, orange, and silvery gray fabrics. There is still plenty left over.

This pattern has intrigued me for years. I am going to make the inner and outer rings out of the pinks and oranges. The center ring will be gray prints. The background will be silver gray. And don't expect to see the orbs arranged in an orderly grid. That wouldn't be any fun at all!

The link for the pattern can be found at:

https://themodernquiltguild.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/octagonal-orb-quilt-block-tutorial.pdf

Enjoy the rest of your quilty weekend!

"Rustic Cabin Holiday"

There is nothing better than a box of batik scraps that have been cut into a variety of strips. About four summers ago, I set about making some irregular log cabin blocks.

 

The log cabins remind me of the funky little cabins at a beautiful yoga retreat I have visited in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

 

 

Last summer I finally got the blocks sewn together along with the sashing, cornerstones, and red setting triangles. I didn't have a bit left of that lovely red batik when it was all said and done. I can't remember the name, manufacturer, or where I bought it.

 

The quilt is sandwiched now, and I have finished stitching the anchoring lines. I plan to do some free motion quilting over much of the top, so that should take just about forever.

"Chinese Magnolias With Bamboo"

I always promised myself I would eventually make a bamboo inspired quilt. I wasn't really sure what my color choices would be or what else was going to be on the quilt. I just let those thoughts percolate in my mind for about twelve years.

Finally, when I came home from my visit to Utah in August of 2014, I found myself feverishly piecing tiny blocks made of some gorgeous Asian fabrics I had purchased on my trip. When I eventually came up for air, I realized that those ornate blocks definitely needed some appliqued bamboo to go with them!

And some Chinese magnolias.

I finished this wall quilt just days before I had to drop it off at the Home Arts Building at the Kern County Fair on February 10, 2016. That's where the Cotton Patch Quilters collect their entries prior to their shows. I am really not sure what took me so long to finish this project, but it seemed to go on and on.

Here is a detail shot. I always have such fun with the rich Asian prints.

"Chinese Magnolias With Bamboo" has been juried into the Best of the Valley Regional Show and will headed that way in early April. In the meantime, I will enjoy seeing it hanging on my dining room wall.

A Featured Artist Tradition

My first duty at our recent Cotton Patch Quilters show was to deliver corsages to the Featured Artists. Since I was the Featured Artist at our previous show, I had the delightful honor of surprising the mother-daughter team of Kay Ward and Laurie Britt with their very own pink carnations. I had just made a guess when I chose the flowers. Fortunately, my whim was perfect because Kay and Laurie were both wearing pink.

Kay is primarily a traditional quilter whose applique skills are second to none. Laurie has taken a different path and has become a terrific art quilter.

It gave me such joy to wish them a wonderful weekend as the reigning Featured Artists and made it a little easier for me to relinquish the title. I still have a picture of the corsage that Sally Shuppert gave me as the outgoing Featured Artist.

There might just be a quilt in this...

Cotton Patch Quilters Biennial Show 2016

Oh, what a show! Before too much time flies by, I thought I'd better post a few highlights from my guild's show which took place on February 13 & 14 at the Kern County Fairgrounds. I know that oodles of time has passed since I last posted, but days like this can be so rare.

This is the display of the major winners just inside the main door.

 

The variety of talents and skills in our guild is incredible.

 

 

Two of the quilts looked really familiar. On the left was "Peach Within Reach" by Marilyn J. Smith. She won Best of Show, Large Quilts.

 

 

On the right was my very own "It's Raining Mushrooms in California".

Best of Show, Wall Quilts.

 

 

I am still not believing any of this!

 

More to come...

 

 

A New Year's Finish!

Finally, finally, finally, this quilt is finished!

 

Here is a peek at the fun fabric on the back.

 

The bold plaid is the fabric I chose for the sleeves. I still need to sew those on.

 

Happy New Year!

Hand Dyed Scarves

These are some of the scarves I have hand dyed as of late. Some were Christmas gifts, so I had to wait to post pictures. I did not wrap them but let the recipient choose among several scarves. Without fail, they chose exactly the one I predicted.

 

 

This is one I chose for myself.

English Trifle--A Christmas Tradition

You know you are related when you get on Facebook and your cousins are posting pictures of the English trifle they have made for Christmas. I was no exception.

This is my version that I took to a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with close friends.

 

This dessert is amazing easy to make and is a great way to use up yellow cake if you have some extra. You start by loosely stacking slabs of the cake in the bottom of a trifle dish. I used the shells that are traditionally used for strawberry shortcake because they were on sale, but ladyfingers and Twinkies--yes, Twinkies--will even do.

 

Next, I mixed up a large batch of strawberry gelatin and drizzled it over the cake. The gelatin should just cover the cake. It's all right if a tiny bit of the cake sticks up above the surface as long as it is coated with the gelatin mixture. Chill until the gelatin sets. 

 

My version of trifle includes a layer of Mandarin oranges. A small can will do. I just drained the oranges and sprinkled them over the set gelatin.

 

Next I mixed up a large box of instant vanilla pudding, poured that over the top, then chilled it all in the refrigerator for about an hour. Finally, I topped it all off with Cool Whip. An easy dessert, but you do have to plan ahead because of the chilling requirements.

 

Merry Christmas!

 

More Scrappy Log Cabins

Vacation time! Yesterday morning, I was up by six and piecing batik scraps in my jammies. I squeezed in some laundry, dishes, and general organizing. And some classic movies and naps. I am recuperating from two rounds of varicose vein laser ablation. All went well, but I am still quite tired.

 

My neighbors probably think I look a little strange walking to and from my garage laundry room in pajamas, compression stockings, and tennis shoes, but I really don't care. My legs and feet are feeling a whole lot better!

These Scraps Will Never End!

This weekend I spent some delicious time doing some brainless piecing of random log cabin blocks from my huge collection of batik scraps.

 

 

I got two large blocks and twelve smaller blocks completed.

 

 

I also did some hand-dyeing and will post those pictures later.

 

 

Hand-Dyed Infinity Scarves

I had a little bit of fun this weekend dyeing some infinity scarves that I purchased from Dharma Trading Company along with some new colors of dye. Most of them I dyed in jars. The two lighter peach scarves, I dyed with ice.

 

A shot from the flip side.

 

I am still fascinated by all the surprises that come with hand-dyeing.

On The Road to California 2015

So excited! Just got word that my funky little quilt, "Peace, Love & Haight Ashbury" was juried into Road to California's Quilters Conference & Showcase, which takes place in January 2015. Really surprised since it is becoming increasingly difficult to even get into this show. Also amused since there seems to be no middle ground on this quilt: Some folks really like it, and some folks don't.

This picture was taken at the Best of the Valley Quilt Show in April.

Worth the Effort

This weekend was mostly spent over-dying fabrics and correcting some piecing. Nothing like saturated colors and very sharp points!

The piece of hand-dyed fabric that I over-dyed with ice and maroon Procion powder made me happy.

 

Another piece of fabric that I had previously dyed a pale blue had turned out to be nondescript. I pleated it lengthwise, folded it in quarters, then tied it tightly every couple inches with cotton twine. I laid the bundle on its side in a very shallow puddle of fuchsia dye, then twelve hours later, turned then bundle over and set it in a shallow puddle of turquoise dye.

 

 

Finally, I tackled that set of points that refused to meet in the center of this little quilt with a hand needle and thread. Nailed it!!!.

 

 

Now it is sandwiched and ready for quilting. 

The Dye-Over

 

 

I wasn't completely satisfied with the results when I dyed this piece of cloth the first time around, so I thought I would spring for a dye-over. Sort of like Donald Trump's comb-over, but hopefully the outcome will be a little bit prettier.

 

 

You can see the results of the first round of dyeing at the bottom of the colander. I know, it does look pretty when it is wet after a soaking in soda ash, but it looks really washed out and chalky when it is dry. So I threw some ice cubes and maroon dye over it all and will hope for the best.

 

Meanwhile, I spent several hours picking the paper off the back of my Broken Dishes miniature quilt. There were a couple of points that needed a touch up before I sandwich the quilt and get busy quilting. One point is being particularly grumpy. I am going to have to get my needle and thread out and wrestle it with some hand sewing.

 

Thanks for visiting!

Three Hundred and Four Pieces

Whew! I finally have this miniature top pieced together. It is 18 inches square. Now I get to quilt it.

 

I am still not sure about a name. Maybe "Danish New Year" or "My Girlfriends' China". The link below will refresh your memory in regards to the story behind this little quilt.

 

http://quiltedtimeposts.blogspot.com/2014/09/broken-dishes-miniature.html