Chickadees and Berries - We have a Winner!!

Oh my goodness I was overwhelmed with the beautiful responses to the Chickadees and Berries Christmas Gift Trio post and Tutorial.    Thank you all so much!!   

There were so many entries and sweet, sweet comments I could not possibly respond to every one.  

Thanks again for your kind and encouraging words.    I hope you have a chance to pickup this lovely panel and coordinating fabric by Jackie Robinson (Animas Quilts) for Benartex.

I would LOVE to see anything you make from it.

  You can send images of completed projects to me anytime -- my email address is:  karen @ redbirdquiltco dot com.   

Before we announce the winner I want to also thank our Giveaway Sponsors.

Many thanks to Bear Creek Quilting Company for hosting the tutorial AND providing the Chickadees and Berries Fabric Kit Giveaway!!

 A  great selection of fabric and a fantastic company to work with.    

Thank You!

Again,  many thanks to the Aurifil team who also do a wonderful job of supporting the independent designers and bloggers.   You can't find a better cotton thread for your quilting needs.  

I'm always excited to add to my #Auristash and do so every time I find a great deal.  

Did you know Bear Creek Quilting Company is carrying Aurifil 50Wt Cones now?

Oh Boy!!

That is 6452 yards of thread on one Cone!!  The bigger the cone the better the deal!.   

Thank you both again.

Ok - now on to our winner -- we had 362 entries that made it in before Midnight Sunday (EST).  I used Mr. Random Generator and he choose #281.

 Congratulations Rachel!!

Comment number 281.   

Rachel blogs over at Quilt or Dare -- do checkout her fun blog and say hello.

You're going to love these products Rachel -- congrats again!

There is a lot going on in Redbird Quilt Co land this coming weekend.  If you live in Central or Western NY consider joining in the fun at Creekside Fabrics in Arcade, NY .

There is an all day workshop Friday for Free Motion Quilting Basics and Beyond -- you won't want to miss that. 

On Friday evening we'll be learning how to prepare the Faux Ruched Flowers that were shared in my Chevron with A Twist Quilt for the Moda Bake Shop.    It's going to be a fun "Dessert and Share" at the Hope Lutheran Fellowship Hall.

Saturday morning starts out with a 1/2 day Needle Turn Applique Workshop and wraps up at the Hope Lutheran Quilt Show with a Lecture and Trunk Show (1pm).   

Don't miss out now -- we'll have a blast!  

More details can be found on my Facebook Events Page -- I would love to meet you so do come up and tell me if you follow my blog.   

Have a great week everyone and, as always, thanks for  your continued support.

PS - I haven't forgotton about that binding tutorial or FMQ Feather video - stay tuned (thanks for your patience).

Happy Stitching,

Karen

Tutorial and Giveaway - Chickadees and Berries Gift Trio

Greetings and Welcome to
Christmas in September !!

If you've been following along on Instagram and/or Facebook you know I've been working on a surprise using the awesome Chickadees and Berries Fabric Panel by Jackie Robinson for Benartex.

I'm excited to share my creation with you today on the Bear Creek Quilting Company Blog.

The neat thing about this fabric panel and tutorial is that, with just one panel and a bit of yardage, you can make a beautiful coordinating Christmas Gift Trio that includes a wall hanging, a table runner, and a set of 4 coasters.

Share it with someone you love or keep it for yourself.  Either way - it's really charming! 

This is the wall hanging we'll be making: 

And the table runner and coasters:

As always, I had a blast free motion quilting the Trio using my Aurifil 50Wt Mako Cotton thread and including some decorative top stitching with Aurifil 12Wt Mako Cotton... Oh! The joys of having a growing stash of Aurifil thread. 

Maybe you've heard me encourage others to use panels for practicing and enhancing their free motion quilting (FMQ) skills -- this tutorial and trio is a great place to start.  It doesn't matter if you're quilting on your domestic machine or just learning a long-arm... practice makes perfect.  

A panel allows you to play and learn and grow your skills with little investment in time or money.   Also, when you're done stitching, you have a sweet gift to give to someone you love or donate to a charity organization.   It's a win-win situation.

On the Bear Creek Quilting Company blog - I share the fabric requirements and a step by step process for preparing the Christmas Gift Trio that uses this *beautiful* panel.

But, before you run off to the Bear Creek blog to see the step by step tutorial, let me share a few FMQ images and tips.  

I pieced, quilted and finished the Trio on my home machine -- a Janome Horizon (7700).

The quilting process is always the most fun for me - I love scrutinizing the fabric and thinking about where and how the piece will be used to help determine how to quilt it.   If the fabric is really busy, often the quilting details won't even be noticed -- keep that in mind when you're deciding how to quilt busy fabrics.

On this particular panel - much of the quilting design came from studying and listening to the fabric.

Enjoy these close-up images and tips:

I used Aurifil 12 Wt to avoid

Stitching in the Ditch:

 Often, before free motion quilting a pieced quilt, I will stitch the seams in the ditch to stabilize the quilt (domestic machine quilting).  With this particular piece I decided to stitch outside of the ditch with Aurifil 12 Wt thread.

Don't you just LOVE the texture and sheen the Aurifil 12Wt thread provides -- a beautiful decorative element to the overall quilting... 

Keep these things in mind when top stitching with Aurifil 12 Wt thread:

• Use a 90/14 needle
• Use Aurifil 50Wt thread in the bobbin
• Take advantage of your machine Walking or Even-Feed Foot
• Choose thread colors that complement the fabric
• Set your stitch length higher than normal

To top stitch with 12Wt Aurifil thread, I set my Janome straight stitch to 3.0 or higher and took smaller stitches at the beginning and end to "tie-off".

It gives such a wonderful accent:

 Once done stabilizing the quilt sandwich I'm ready to begin stitching with a finer weight thread.

Aurifil 50Wt is my go-to cotton
thread for Free Motion Quilting!

On this particular piece, I LOVE the way Aurifil #5001 made the panel shimmer!!

I free motion quilted around every bird and nearly all the leaves and berries -- what great FMQ practice!

If the panel has a subject that I want to highlight with movement, I almost always use echo stitching to do this.  Echoing involves quilting around the original subject several times in even (or not so even) increments.  For the Chickadee -- it added beauty and movement.
Try it out yourself - sew much fun!

On the table runner quilting, the background in the panel fabric was perfect for stitching little mini C's or swirls.

If you were following along on my Instagram feed -- this is what I shared.
Notice how the quilt design was actually inspired by the fabric background.
It's good to let the fabric speak to you -- quiet your mind so you can hear.

 

Let's talk Free Motion Feathers:

Often when I quilt feathers I use a air or water soluble pen or a Clover Hera Marker to mark the feather spine.
With this panel the pine boughs were screaming "Quilt me with feathers!".
Never pass-up an opportunity to quilt feathers!

Mark the feather spines:

Here's another section marked:

To begin quilting a feather I always start with a pearl or paisley at the bottom of the spine.  Now work up one side of the spine, creating "bump-back" feathers as you go and remembering to make rounded plumes as best you can.  After I've stitched one side, I use the spine to travel back to the beginning and work up the other side of the feather.

Once you get a rhythm going they are so fun!!

I don't fuss too much with perfecting feathers -- I just have fun!

*** Note: 10/18/15 ***
I've recorded two Curled Feather videos for your learning pleasure. 
Click here to watch the stitched version.
Click here to watch the "practice on paper" version
Have fun with it!!!

And thank you for subscribing to my channel: Redbird Quilt Co. YouTube

On this particular piece, filling the negative space with echo quilting seemed appropriate.

On the smaller sections of the wall hanging I let the fabric speak to me.

I quilted those wispy lines that were already printed on the fabric - love it!

On the table runner -- I quilted little C's or mini swirls in the panel ends and decided to practice feathers on the Cream/Red center.  The Cream/Red Scroll fabric is beautiful and can really stand on its own.  Quilting feathers or any motif here is great practice because no-one can see your mistakes ;)

Winding down... so you've seen all sorts of detail images and read fun quilting tips -- if you still have questions about the Trio feel free to leave me a comment (include your email) and I'll be sure to get back to you...

To close and before the Giveaway details are revealed -- No quilt is complete without a photo-shoot at the lake...
We love our summertime cottage, the water, the air, the neighborhood -- and especially the view.

Table Runner

Wall Hanging

 ****

Its a Giveaway!!! ** CLOSED **

 Now for the fun part -- the wonderful folks at Aurifil thread and the Bear Creek Quilting Company have sponsored a giveaway for one lucky winner!

How would YOU like to win a collection - that's right, 12 Spools of Aurifil 12Wt Cotton thread.  This particular designer collection was chosen by Victoria Findlay Wolfe and is called "Fresh Modern and Timeless".  The colors are amazingly beautiful and I KNOW you'll be thrilled to top stitch or hand stitch with this lovely collection of threads!

Also, you can't practice your Free Motion Quilting on this Trio unless you have the fabric.  The generous Bear Creek Quilting Company added a Chickadees and Berries Christmas Trio Fabric Kit to the giveaway mix.   Yes!  You'll win the exact kit I used to prepare the Christmas Trio - woohoo!

For a chance to enter the giveaway -- jump on over to the Bear Creek Quilting Company blog, check out the Chickadees and Berries Christmas Trio Tutorial, and leave a comment there letting them know what part of the Trio you liked best and why.

When you return here -- leave me a comment too-- any comment at all.

Please be sure I have a way to reach you - NoReply bloggers, leave an email address.
(It breaks my heart when I have a winner with no way to reach them)

The Giveaway is open through end of day Sunday, September 27th and a winner will be announced Monday evening, September 28th.

Entries are open to ALL participants - We love our International followers too!

Here are some extra entries if you so choose:

Please let our sponsors know how much you appreciate them by "Liking" or leaving a comment for them on Facebook.
Aurifil shares inspiration daily including awesome projects, tutorials and events.
and the
  Bear Creek Quilting Company shares the latest fabrics and lots of fun!

Leave me an extra comment if you follow one or both!


As always -- I appreciate your support.
*

Did you know you can visit me on

 Facebook at Redbird Quilt Co

and/or

Follow Redbird Quilt Co on Instagram

I post all sorts of fun things there!!
**

If you love to Free Motion Quilting consider joining my Facebook Community Group

 Free Motion Quilting Frenzy group

*

Plus

I share quilting related

videos on my YouTube Channel

*

I'm also on Pinterest, Twitter

and I share other tutorials and patterns

on My Tutorials (above) and

on  The Moda Bake Shop

and on my Craftsy page...

Have a blessed week all -- Happy Quilting!!

Karen

Half Square Triangle Love and Giveaway!

Greetings fellow quilters!! 

Today on the Moda Bake Shop I'm sharing a little Half Square Triangle LOVE.

You see, I used the Electric Quilt 7 software (EQ7) when designing Chevron with a Twist for the Moda Bake Shop.  During the process I stumbled upon an EQ7 "feature" that rearranged the half square triangles in-place, rotating them without moving their original location.   WOW -- I was amazed at all the different layouts I could "click" through!!

Once I got the hang of it, I created a bundle of different HST quilt layouts with just a few EQ7 clicks:

I was really excited to see that changing the orientation of the half square triangles in their original positions on the quilt would yield such a variety of quilt designs.

I've shared 7 of my very favorite layouts on the Moda Bake Shop - so be sure to jump over and check them out by clicking here.

Below are a few more designs to ponder -- remember - on each one of these designs the HST's are in the same position on the quilt but oriented in a different direction to make a new design.

The Top Down Layout:

The Scrappy Diamond Layout:

The Basic Chevron Layout:

Each one of these quilts, and the 7 layouts I shared on the Moda Bake Shop, can be made using my "Chevron with a Twist" recipe.

To see the original Moda Bake Shop recipe for "Chevron with a Twist" click here.

To read my original blog post about "Chevron with a Twist" click here.

Are you interested in the quilting designs used on "Chevron with a Twist" ?

I recently shared a blog post and two YouTube videos about marking and quilting the Curved Crosshatching on a domestic machine using the wonderful QP Curve Templates!!    

Click here for the blog post (it includes links to the Videos)

OR

Click the image below to view the Marking a Curved Crosshatch Video:

Click the image below to view the Quilting a Curved Crosshatch using TheQPCurveTemplates Video

And just today I published a YouTube Video for creating the Feather Star-burst block!!
Click the image below to view the Quilting the Feather Star-burst block using TheQPCurveTemplates

Stay tuned for a coordinating blog post and still image tutorial on Feather Star-burst...

***
I just love those QP Curve Templates by Linda Hrcka for The Quilted Pineapple - learn more about them here and in my post link above ^^.

Now, we can't let this opportunity get by without a giveaway... 

How would you like to make one of the Chevron with A Twist layouts using a Moda Charm Pack ?   It would make such a cute little wall hanging...

My good friend Cindy from Sew It Is Quilt Shop has donated a Laundry Basket Quilts Heart's Content Moda Charm pack so one of YOU can make a mini quilt by adding just a little yardage.

Sew It Is Quilt Shop is my local go-to-for-great-prices shop - with a fantastic online store too!!

Checkout Cindy's Moda Sale Fabric (all less than $7.00 /yard) here.   Or, look for the newer lines of Moda Fabric that are all $9.00 or under here!!  Like I said, fantastic prices!!

While you're shopping, if you're ready to purchase your own version of EQ7 - Cindy has that too, and will ship it for free!  If you live locally, be sure to ask her about the two hour EQ7 tutorial included with your purchase. Click here for EQ7.

Now... Let's get on with the Giveaway!!

Leave me a comment letting me know which one of the 10 Half Square Triangle layouts YOU like the best.  There are 3 in this post and 7 on the Moda Bake Shop post.
That's it!!
(Don't forget your email address)

The Giveaway is open through end of day Saturday, April 4th and is open to everyone!

***

Before you go - there's one other active giveaway on my blog.
How about this beautiful Aurifil 12Wt  Designer Thread Collection by BariJ ?  
Aren't these threads "Splendid" ??

To learn more and get in on the Aurifil giveaway click here (ends 3/31) 

Thanks for stopping by and Happy Stitching!!

Karen

Chevron with a Twist Winners - Plus!

"Thank you" just doesn't seem a sufficient way to express my gratitude for the sweet comments you shared about Chevron with a Twist!    I really appreciate your feedback.  Thank you so much -- you sure know how to put a smile on my face. 

Image courtesy Junelily.com

and...  Before we get to the lucky Aurifil Thread winners - know that, as promised, there are upcoming posts to outline the quilting details for Chevron with a Twist and show how I used the awesome QP Curve Templates by Linda Hrcka from The Quilted Pineapple to quilt it.  Trust me, there's an awesome giveaway that goes along with that post -- so do stand-by for that.    If you're wondering what Chevron with a Twist is -- you can click here to see the introductory post.

On a separate note:

Later today I'll be sharing the stage with some wonderfully talented ladies and participating in a blog hop for Wendy Sheppard's book "Recreating Antique Quilts".   Woohoo!!

Be sure to stop back -- you'll be thrilled to see a book giveaway and a new wool applique quilt that I prepared from Wendy's Ivory Baltimore Wall Hanging design.  That's later today.

**

Now... what do you say we announce some Aurifil thread winners !   Many, many thanks to the great team of folks at Aurifil - they are always so generous with their products - sharing two cases of thread for me to giveaway during this celebration. #aurilove

It's easy for me to support and brag about Aurifil - their thread is great for piecing (it allows your seams to press nice and flat), it's great for hand work like needle turn applique (it doesn't twist and knot and melts into the fabric) and it's awesome for free motion quilting on a domestic machine.  I just love it...  I know you will too.

So.... Winner #1 goes home with 12 large spools of Aurifil thread from the Quilted in Honor collection:

 Random Number generator choose #79

 Comment #79 is:

Congratulations Material Girl - I'll send you an email Tuesday so we can celebrate your thread win!!

Next winner receives 10 small spools of Aurifil thread in the "I Can Fly - Citrus" collection by Mark Lipinski.

Mr. Random Generator choose:

 Comment #173 is:

Congratulation Di!!   I'll drop you an email later today so we can get this package in the mail to you!!  

Many thanks again Aurifil for the awesome giveaway.

To see the complete free tutorial for Chevron with a Twist -- visit it on the Moda Bake Shop.

Have a blessed day!
Karen