Back Door Quilts ~ Our Local Quilt Shop

Yesterday I needed to make a quick trip into town for toilet paper, a small pair of sharp scissors and a fingertip stiletto.  Well the quick trip turned into four hours and I found more than scissors at our local quilt shop, Back Door Quilts.

The plan was to go in the shop, don't look around, go directly to the notions wall, keep my head down, eyes on the carpet, check out  and leave.  HAHA!  At least I had a plan and I tried.  

 These Kitty Christmas mini charms were just too darn cute, I had to have them.  The plan was to make a small quilt using these charms since the shop had sold out of the adorable panel.  BUT... I knew I could find the matching panel online. It will be here in a few days.

Y'all know I'm not a fan of black, orange and purple.  But there's something about Wecker Frisch fabric and panels that I love.  Admiring from afar with every new line.  What is happening to me?  I've never been a fan of novelty prints or panels.  All I can say is when you become a grandma things change.

They are a perfect balance of not too cute and not too scary for kids and adults.  I would like to make three Wecker Frisch Halloween quilts for the grandkids.  A quick Google search brought up a few older panels.  Most were way overpriced since they are out of print.  Luckily I found a shop with last year panel that was reasonably priced.   Hopefully next year Wecker Frisch will have another great Halloween line of fabric.  These will be put into the stash until next year.

This Flea Market print is perfect for a quilt I drew up last week. There was only three yards left so I decided it was too risky to leave it behind...wink, wink.

More about this quilt coming soon but I'll tell you how it started.  Remember last week when I sorted all the fat quarter bundles by color?  While sorting I decided to try to use up all the other precuts.  There's a few jelly rolls, honey buns, a couple Jolly bars, one layer cake, and a ton of charm packs.   

This Flea Market jelly roll was purchased a few years ago at the same shop.  The quilt I designed needed a little more than a jelly roll.  A quick pull of two fat quarters and a quilt kit was ready to go.  It might be the next quilt I make.  I also have pulled fabric to go with a layer cake and decided on a Missouri Star Video quilt pattern.

Now for the  things on the shopping list.  A year or two ago I bought these pink handled scissors at this shop.  They are great scissors, sharp all the way to the tip.  Perfect for applique and snipping threads.   The plan was to use them only at the longarm but they have become my favorite and I use them all the time and find myself hunting them down.  It would be nice to have one or two more pairs to place around the studio.  The shop no longer sells them.  They have several other good scissors, I chose the KAI.  I've heard great things about this brand.  I hope they live up to their reputation. 

They will become the longarm scissors.  The scoop in the blade is great for cutting threads close to the quilt without cutting the fabric.

The shop didn't carry finger stilettos but they ordered it and it should be in soon.  It's made by Traditional Primitives.  You can find here.    It's supposed to make the edge turning safer and quicker than tweezers or a regular stiletto. 

Well, that's it for my quilt shop haul.  It was a fun day at Back Door Quilts.  They  have a small online shop that does not list everything in the shop but if you need something you might give them a call. They are really good about doing all they can to get it for you. 

Did I tell you they were featured on one of our local news channels?  Watch this short video on YouTube to get a little snippet of why I love this shop.

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Seeing Stars ~ Bumpkin Baskets Quilt

Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might,  have these finished by tonight.

The little stars have put a twinkle in my eye.  I'm loving it!  Only nine more to make. That's about two hours worth of work.  How do I know?  I timed myself yesterday.  Well...I didn't start a stopwatch.  I watched(listened to) two episodes of Mike and Molly.  During the two episodes, five stars were made.  Trying to speed up the process only made my time worse. So five and hour it is. 

  

You're going to think I'm a little crazy but I'll also be making the other plan of light blue circles for the center of the flowers.  

Sounds nuts, I know.  Once all the stars and circles are finished, the quilt can be laid on the floor and I can start playing with the circle and star options. All stars, all circles, every other, stars only in the corners.  And you never know, maybe I can use the leftover applique pieces somewhere else in the quilt. 

 As I looked at the picture below while writing this blog post I noticed how the flowers were nesting perfectly on the bottom of the red arches.

  Oh my goodness!  I did not plan this!  I could scallop the border by cutting away the fabric below the arches...that would be cute!  However, it would leave the quilt too small for my bed.  So, the struggle begins...the battle with me, myself and I.  Which one will win?  Only time will tell. 

This post has been linked up at

Songbird Designs for Monday Musings

And

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts for Design Wall Monday

Hop over for more quilt inspiration!

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Applique Ideas

 The Bumpkins Baskets quilt is slowly coming to life and evolving along the way.  Below is one option for the final border applique.

And then there's the next option.

The original plan below was ditched when it came time to make those small cluster of flowers.  One big flower is easier and in my mind it looks better.

Some of the applique on this quilt is raw edge and some of it is prepared edge.  To make prepared edge applique some type of template is needed.  Normally I would use multiple layers of freezer paper to make the templates but not today.  The template below was made with No Melt Mylar Quilters Template.  It's sold in     18" x 12" sheets for around $6 to $7 at the local quilt shop, Joann's and of course Amazon.  I've been hoarding a couple sheets for years.  It's easy to store and forget under the cutting mat.  

The template material is smooth and slippery when trying to turn the edges under.  To stop the template from sliding a little basting glue is helpful.  I spray the back of the template, lay it on the fabric then cut about 1/4" away from the template.  

A watercolor painting pen filled with starch makes the turning process a little faster.

After ironing the edges into place, the template is removed.  The inner points of the flower need a little anti-fraying protection.   A very tiny amount of Aleene's Ok To Wash-it does the trick without being super stiff.  I've used this for years with no issues when stitching the applique by machine or by hand.

The hardest part of the process is deciding if I want blue or yellow in the center of each flower.  Maybe both?  What do you think?

I'm going to end the chat with a little real life photography.  Not so pretty.  I often wonder if every quilter is this messy.

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Fat Quarter Bundle Breakup

Hello Quilty Friends!  It's time.  Time to do the unthinkable.  I'm breaking up with fat quarter bundles.  It's time to break free from the plastic and ribbons that have imprisoned my quilt creativity.  From the dark depths of the quilt fabric cabinets my cute little fabric bundles beg to be set free.  It started out as a faint whisper but the cries of freedom have gotten so loud I can no longer ignore their pleas. 

So, this week I'm releasing them.  Stripping away the plastic dust covers and freeing them from the ribbons of bondage.  These gals are very loyal even though they've been kept in captivity for years.  Each one of them is ready to serve their purpose and excitedly whisper..."Pick Me!"  Oh my beauty's, only when the time is right.  There's still much to do before we can make a plan.  Be patient and we will get there when the time is right.

  First we need to find your strengths and weaknesses.  This will ensure each of you will live the best life possible.  You will be free to be exactly what you were designed to be...a beautiful color of the rainbow.  They are so happy to finally be part of a bigger plan and a HUGE rainbow.  Now to show them how to really shine.  First, each one of you will need a little TLC after being confined for so long.

See you soon, when the girls are ready to for the final freedom parade.

Linking up over at QuiltFabrication for Midweek Makers.  I guess the only thing I'm making is a mess!

 

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