It’s been a few months since I’ve done a staff show-and-tell post. The finished projects are piling up around here, so it’s time for another!
Perfect for Retreats
Let’s start with Karen Burns, our acquisitions editor. Karen’s favorite time to stitch is at quilting retreats. She returns from a three-day weekend and amazes us with how many quilt tops she’s completed! Her trick? She collects Jelly Rolls and Layer Cakes. She spends time precutting every project, creating a kit for each quilt. When she arrives at a retreat, she’s ready to do some serious chain piecing. Here are just a few from her latest getaway weekends:
From Large-Block Quilts by Victoria L. Eapen.
From Skip the Borders by Julie Herman. Look how versatile this pattern is! Any fabric collection will work. (You might notice that when Karen gets attached to a pattern, she keeps making it.)
Also from Skip the Borders.
From Urban Country Quilts by Jeanne Large and Shelley Wicks.
From Rolling Along by Nancy J. Martin.
From Homestyle Quilts by Kim Diehl and Laurie Baker.
From Simple Seasons by Kim Diehl.
Never Enough Kim Diehl
We know many of you are Kim Diehl fans. You’re not alone. As you can see, we love her patterns too! Our publisher and chief visionary officer, Jennifer Keltner, made this treasure to add to her collection of Kim Diehl quilts.
“Quaint and Charming Lap Quilt” from Simple Traditions by Kim Diehl.
Seasonal Quilts
Cathy, our author liaison, is getting ready for the holidays. Starting with fall pumpkins, she’s prepared all the way through winter!
“Pumpkin Runner” from A Fresh Look at Seasonal Quilts by Julie Popa.
“’O Christmas Tree” pattern by Adrienne Smitke, from Celebrate Christmas with That Patchwork Place®.
“Cold Hands, Warm Hearts” from A Fresh Look at Seasonal Quilts by Julie Popa.
Linda, our office receptionist and tour guide, is also ready for the holidays. She whipped up this beauty using colorful Halloween fabrics!
“Glimmerglass” from Beyond Neutral by John Q. Adams.
It’s such a treat to work with so many creative souls. Too much fabric? Too many UFOs? Not words you’ll ever hear in our hallways! We’ve already got nine staff projects stockpiled to show next time. Stay tuned!
What’s your favorite season to create quilts for: fall, winter, spring, or summer? Tell us in the comments!
I very rarely comment on these items, but I assumed this on deserved a
—Lily Wallace on October 29, 2014thumb up
Do I have to pick one? I love making quilts for fall and winter. But if I have to chose one I will pick fall. The colors are so abundant. Fall is the best.
—Patricia D. Roberts on October 29, 2014Fall is my favorite time of year. I grew up in the East where the colors are magnificent as the trees change their hues. I like fall much better than spring because I know winter is coming instead of the hot, hot summers of OK. I think fall is a perfect time to piece quilts. Here is OK we are patiently waiting for fall to arrive. The temperatures are still in the 70’s and 80’s and trees are not turning yet. I’m sure the colors will be glorious when fall finally arrives. I’m taking a 34 week class and our teacher told us that according to the Farmer’s Almanac, we are to have a wet winter. I’m not sure if that if rain, snow, sleet, or ice. So, we are thankful for the warm fall temperatures that we still have. Winter may have many of us thinking of staying and quilting this year.
—Susan in OK on October 29, 2014All the seasons. Each season has its own color palate to chose from.
—Quilting Tangent on October 29, 2014Fall is my favorite because I’m drawn to the rich colors and the fact that it’s the time to begin settling in and getting comfy and warm with quilts.
Second would be Winter because it’s nice to be inside sewing up some new quilts while watching the snow fall with a fire in the fireplace and a nice comfort food meal simmering away filling the house with wonderful smells. Just makes me want to hunker down and sew the day away.
—Rina on October 29, 2014I love making things for Christmas but my husband says "enough", so I’ll just move on to another holiday. All of the quilts you are showing are gorgeous, I can’t pick a favorite. I want to make them all and depending on the fabrics used, they could be for a holiday or not.
—connie b on October 29, 2014love love love Christmas projects! Really liking the "new" modern colors – makes a nice change from red/green.
—Gee Hubbard on October 29, 2014My favorite season is Fall. Golden earth tones offset with blues and warm neutrals make wonderfully warm quilts and table runners.
—Lynne on October 29, 2014Winter so we will stay nice and warm. It gets a little chilly in California sometimes.
—Lorinda on October 29, 2014You have no idea how envious I am of your Northern Hemisphere seasons. There are parts of Australia that see snow, we even have ski fields, but I live a long way away from that zone, in Tropical Queensland.
Our winters rarely see days below 20c and I’ve never known a night where the temperature dropped below 8c.
I have one flannel quilt, which is trooped out every winter and resides on my sofa for chilly evenings; I have no heating in my house – no need for it.
Most of my quilts would be classed as Summer quilts, and I only have one that dips below the bottom of the mattress. Most are the topper style so a foot can sneak out from under as a form of temperature control ;D
If I sound a bit sad, it’s because we’re having a very hot Spring here in Queensland – we’ve had record temperatures for October with many areas reaching over 42c in the last week.
—Kayt Deans on October 29, 2014I’m not looking forward to our Summer!!
I love to quilt for spring, summer and winter seasons. Fall not so much.The fall colors don’t move me.
—Janette Velardi on October 29, 2014Love them all.
—Patty Haala on October 30, 2014I love fall colors so I make more fall colored quilts than anything else.
—Barbara on October 30, 2014I am partial to the Fall colors, so do a lot of quilting for Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving …then I throw in some For Christmas, and I love 1930’s & bright colors also…I am working on a quilt now with the Dresden plate pattern done in bright and 1930 fabrics…can hardly wait to finish it.
—Jeanette on October 31, 2014I love all the Fall colors so I guess that would be my favorite.
—Renea on October 31, 2014Fall is my favorite season and those fall colors are my favorite colors so I am drawn to fall creations. I can’t seem to have too many! 🙂
—Carol Kussart on November 1, 2014My favorite time to quilt is in the fall/winter…nice and cozy time to snuggle up to my sewing machine and get creative!
—sharon on November 1, 2014I enjoy quilting in the Fall and Winter the most. It’s the time you can’t get outside to work much, and I’m sure it’s not the time to do deep cleaning, so what’s a girl/guy to do but quilt. Makes good sense in my mind! It’s the snuggle down and pretend like you’re a pioneer woman time.
—Missy on November 1, 2014