Bless Be the Tie that Binds

Jo Morton Broken Dishes

Ahh, finally something gets finished!  With summer winding down, the daylight hours growing shorter and a new season of Duck Dynasty, the binding has been added.  Am planning on using this quilt during Christmas.

I fell in love with this quilt when I first saw it on  Pinterest.  Yes working with those small half square triangles was tedious and never ending but the finished quilt was so worth it!  The binding and large outer border are some of my favorite Jo Morton fabric.

The minute I spread the quilt on top of the bed, Miss Callie Mae claimed it.  The colors in the quilt will make it a fall favorite.  A sleepy calico and Jo Morton fabric what's not to love.

 Goose Tracks

This will be another fun quilt to use at Christmas time or Valentine's.  (Most of the fabrics used in this quilt are French General)

In addition to being a fabric addict I am also addicted to Duck Dynasty.  Here are the words from one of my favorite scenes:

Phil Robertson to Miss Kay:  "You are my best friend, and I love you dearly, I'm going to be with you for the long haul, until they put me in the ground.  Good?

Miss Kay responds:  Perfect

Phil and Miss Kay their hearts are bound with love.

Jo Morton Eggs and Bacon

Jo Morton Little Women Club #11 Eggs and Bacon

Today was Jo Morton quilt class.  You are correct, I did not make this quilt, the pictured quilt is the teachers quilt.  It is awesome!  My schedule has been super busy, I did not select fabric, no cutting, no sewing, no quilt.

The half square triangle inner border adds more dimension to a already challenging quilt.

If I have not already said this, the teacher is a very precise quilter!

This is also the teachers quilt, a Jo Morton Friendship Quilt.

For show and tell Marilyn brought another of her applique quilts.  Aren't the fabrics divine?  

As Marilyn was talking about this quilt, I believe she incorporated both English paper piecing and appliqué.

Another show and tell called the One Hundred Yard Dash using jelly rolls.  While showing this quilt another quilter shared a funny story about someone who had pre washed a jelly roll.  Can you picture the results of pre washing a jelly roll?

Block of the month 

More block of the month--wool appliqué

And one more block of the month

Now for some rationalization:  No one in the class had their eggs and bacon quilt!  Yes, I do feel better.  Call it the summer heat, school starting, the challenge of the quilt or just busy schedules.  Next months Jo Morton is called Framed.  

Jo Morton Little Women Club Quilts #11

Show and Tell is one of my favorite parts of quilt class.  This is one of Margaret's appliqué quilts.  She used a combination of fabrics:  wool, brushed cotton, Primitive Gatherings shirtings and some Jo Morton from her stash.  Wish I had taken a photo of the back of this quilt--the workmanship is incredible.  Margaret loves appliqué, she had received her block of the month kit from Primitive Gatherings this week and has already finished it!

Pottery Shards--Aren't the fabrics awesome?

More pottery shards--more yummy fabrics

Pottery shards--blue version, wish I had thought of this

This is Terri's, notice she aded a small inside border

This is raspberry swirl, the maker of this quilt has a wonderful eye for color

This is Carmen's Yankee Doodle appliqué quilt.  Beautiful!

Carmen brought this antique quilt to share.  The hand quilting was exquisite!

The back of the quilt.  This quilt came from Lancaster, Penn and is believed to be Amish.  Notice the use of solid print fabrics.

This is next month's project--flying geese.  After class, Carmen and I took a road trip to a new quilt shop.  We found some awesome fabric on sale, met some super nice quilters and one of them introduced me to a new quilting ruler, which I am calling my secret quilting weapon tool!

Jo Morton Class #3

Yesterday was the third Jo Morton Little Women Club quilt class.  It's show and tell time.  Here are some of the completed  beauties quilts.

This is Miss Rosie, I believe this is the teacher's quilt.

The lady who made this quilt fussy cut the borders and sashings.

Check out her label, isn't it cool?

This is the back of Carmen's quilt.  She turned a mistake into part of her backing.  Very clever and resourceful!

Several of the quilters in the class really enjoy appliqué.  One lady made both of these.  Just for the record, she had Yankee Doodle completed at the second class.

This is also the teachers quilt.  Aren't those Jo Morton fabric's beautiful?

This is our next quilt--an Ohio Star set on the diagonal.  I am anxious to get started!

Of course, I bought more fabric, mostly shirtings.  Two of my favorite quilting tips are color sheets and foam core. Am I the last quilter to learn about color sheets?  They are used in the wash cycle to absorb color.  I will definitely be using color sheets the first time I wash the red and white Christmas stars quilt.  The foam core covered with batting is a great way to lay out the blocks of the quilt, it assists with design and placement of blocks.   Miss Callie Mae is loving all the quilt activity--she has a discerning eye for fabrics!

Let the cutting, sewing and pressing begin!

1st Jo Morton Little Women Class

Saturday was my first Jo Morton Little Women quilt class.  WOW!  Our instructor had completed examples of the miniature quilts we will be making. 

After seeing the quilts and reading and hearing the instructions for the first project I am feeling more than intimidated!  One thing I have learned:  there are always going to people with more advanced skills than me, always going to be over achievers, always . . .  So, its decision time.  I can either choose to let myself feel intimidated or pull on the big girl britches and get started.   Want to guess which one I am choosing?

The first project is in the lower left hand corner.  It's pink. I am not a pink fan.  Good thing I have a good supply of walnut dye.

Here are some photos of the fabric.

Those fabrics are calling my name!

While waiting for the class to start, I found Barbara Brackman's William Morris Tapestry fabric.  If you have not seen this fabric, go to your local quilt, fabric, hobby shop and see it.  I knew I was in trouble when I started hyper ventilating and the shop owner brought a brown paper bag to help me with my breathing!