Colorado Cadence: BMQG Charity Quilt for QuiltCon 2017

I'd like to introduce Colorado Cadence . . . 
Boulder Modern Quilt Guild's charity challenge quilt for QuiltCon 2017

The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild has made a QuiltCon charity quilt since the challenge first began in 2014. Making charity quilts has always been a large part of the BMQG's mission and I'm thrilled to say we have donated more than 50 quilts over the past three years. For a small guild, averaging around 24 members, I think that's pretty amazing!!!

Today I'd like to share the process we went through to bring Colorado Cadence to fruition.

When the color palette and theme were announced by TheMQG, we talked about possible directions we could use to depict the idea of scale and agreed upon the color palette we wanted to work with. We also chose to use mostly prints rather than working with solids as we have done in previous years. Using the prints allowed us to use scale at the micro level within the design which gave the final quilt even greater variety and depth.

As chairperson, I developed a few ideas to review at our the next meeting. One of those ideas came from our President, Cynthia, who had seen an article about Roberto Burle-Marx, a Brazilian landscape designer. The article included this wonderful mosaic. 

photo by Scott Zona shared via Flickr Creative Commons

At the review meeting, everyone agreed the mosaic offered wonderful opportunities for exploring the use of scale. The next step was to develop the design. Squares and circles, structured through the use of color blocking, was the basis of our concept. The super large areas of color provided an additional level of scale beyond that within each block. 

I started with big blocks of color which provided the larger scale element of the quilt. Then things were broken down into 12" blocks and the basic design elements of squares and circles came into play.

More and more details were added which provided texture and variety. And with each progressive refinement more and more movement and rhythm was introduced to the overall design.

The layout was then broken into sections based on color and packets of fabric were pulled together that included a small amount of a solid plus a few prints. Participating members were asked to sign up for 2 or more blocks of a given color and to supplement with fabrics from their own stash. In this way we added even more variety to the quilt. Sewing assignments were designed to be flexible so those who wanted could add their own twist to their blocks. The main criteria was to stick with the color scheme and basic square and circle elements. This worked well for our group and we ended up with a little of both. Some made their blocks exactly as the diagram showed and others took liberties. 

Over a 2 month period, members worked at home and during our monthly sew days to make their blocks. As the blocks came in, I put them up on my design wall at home to keep tabs on the progress.

All blocks were due in September. Then, during our October sew day, many people pitched in to sew the blocks together. By the end of the day we had not only a finished top but were well on our way to a finished backing made from the leftovers.

Our talented President, Cynthia, took everything home at the end of the day. She completed the backing and then worked her free-motion magic by quilting a variety of different motifs in the various sections of the quilt. We are so lucky to have her skills in the guild. She used her sit down Juki mid-arm machine. Look at all this wonderful texture . . . 

By early January it was ready for the finishing touches. Label. Sleeve. Binding.

The vast majority of our guild participated in one way or another. THANK YOU, THANK YOU quilters for all your time and talents. I am so proud of you and our quilt.  This picture shows many, but not all, of the quilters who helped.

Seeing Colorado Cadence hanging in Savannah with the other charity challenge quilts will be amazing. Many of our members will get to see it in person. While I won't make it to QuiltCon this year, I can certainly vouch for how inspirational it is to see so many quilts, all sharing the same theme and colors, hanging together in one place. AMAZING!!!  And all for charity. Quilters truly are generous people.

The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is based in Boulder County Colorado. If you live in the area or even if you're visiting, we'd love to have you join us. Evening meetings are the second Thursday of the month and sew days are the usually the third Sat or Sun of the month. We currently meet/sew in Louisville, CO.

Learn more about us by visiting our Facebook page or our website.
Follow us on Instagram too @bouldermqg.

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Kaleidoscope Breeze; Online Charity Drawing Sept 24th

This award winning quilt, Kaleidoscope Breeze, can be yours!

On behalf of the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild I'd like to share what our chairperson Josi of AvocadoQuilts wrote up about this quilt.

Occasionally, an amazing group of women come together and create beauty and goodness out of thin air (and a pile of fabric).  This is the case for the award winning 2015 QuiltCon Charity Quilt, named Kaleidoscope Breeze, which may be yours soon!

This quilt has been generously donated to the Anchor Center for Blind Children by the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild which will be holding an online and physical drawing for the quilt on September 24th at their annual Cherrity Pie Festival.  Click here to purchase drawing tickets for the quilt.  Please pass the word to all the quilt lovers out there, friends and family members alike.  All proceeds benefit the blind children at the Anchor Center, which is dedicated to teaching fundamental life skills to children from birth to kindergarten.  I have been involved with fundraising for this amazing cause for three years now, and am continually so moved and impressed by the impact the school has, and more so on the strength of the children and families who attend.

This quilt was created by a group of skilled Modern Quilters from the Boulder Modern Quilt guild as a challenge quilt for their 2015 QuiltCon entry.   Over 71 quilts were created by guilds worldwide as part of the challenge, and all of them benefited charity organizations in their respective local communities after being on display together in 2015. This particular quilt then went on to win 1st place at the Boulder County Fair in 2015 for the group quilt category.

Anne Deister of SpringLeafStudios.com, created the unique design for this quilt in Adobe Illustrator.  Over 12 guild members then paper pieced the 36 blocks together, requiring them to sew the fabric directly on a paper pattern in order to create crisp lines.  The blocks were then arranged on an alternate grid to fulfill one of the challenges.   The quilt is 68″ x 88″ and made entirely of solid Kona Cotton fabrics.  The professional quilting was done by the guild president Cynthia Morgan, which truly put the finishing touches on this work of art.  The Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is very pleased to donate the 2015 QuiltCon Charity quilt to the Anchor Center for Blind Children as a fundraising item to go home to one fortunate supporter during the 2016 Cherrity Pie Festival!

To see the process of the quilt creation,  please visit Anne’s blog post for the quiltcon charity quilt challenge, and for more information on Modern Quilting, feel free to visit the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild on their Facebook page or website 

The more we can spread the word and sell tickets for this amazing quilt, the more it can raise to help the visually disabled children of the Anchor Center.  Please pass on!  

Much thanks to Josi for all your hard work in getting this organized.
As quilters, we have the pleasure of seeing beautiful colors and fabrics. 
The Anchor Center for Blind Children helps children who cannot see. 
Please consider buying a ticket and supporting a very worthy cause.

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Post QuiltCon; Getting Back in the Saddle

For so so long QuiltCon seemed very far into the future. Now it's in the past. Time to get back into my sewing saddle and get things done. And if this bad pun doesn't make sense, see last week's silly sewing saddle photo op?

My first week post QuiltCon was kind of a bust due to the combination of snow shoveling and muscle strains that left me hobbling around unable to stand straight. All is well now thank goodness and I'm anxious to get lots of things started.

First up was to get February's Mid Century Modern Bee block done. Carla of Lollyquiltz invited us to a party . . . a layer cake party. Not with layer cake cuts of fabric but with a cute paper pieced layer cake on a stand by Ellison Lane.  People signed up for things like, strawberry with raspberry filling, blueberry with mint filling, and lemon with raspberry filling. Don't they all sound delicious? I'm not much of a baker or cook but a fabric layer cake I can handle. I chose orange cream with mint filling. Yummy!

I'm not sure how Carla will be putting all these cakes together but I do know it will be quite delicious when she's finished. I know they are all making me hungry.

While I was in the bee block groove I went right ahead and made March's block for Cindy of Live a Colorful Life.  She asked for dresden blocks in bright colors with a black and white center. I certainly had fun with this one too. Brights are abundant in my stash and I chose to go with brights and prints combined for some very lively blocks. I ended up making two because they are so fun make.

Now that I'm caught up with bee block making, I can dive into all the goodies that came home with me from QuiltCon. This was my bag emptied out on the desk. Fabric samples, magazines, thread, tape measure, even a watch. I'm toying with an idea to use up all the charm and mini charm packs in a postage quilt. Maybe along the lines of Carla's leaders and enders quilts. She sews little squares together at the beginning and end of her regular piecing and rather quickly has enough little pairs to make an entire quilt. I've just used little scrap strips with no purpose other starting and stopping. Read more about what she calls her free quilt process here.

I also bought fabric . . . of course I bought fabric. When do I not buy fabric?  Island Quilter was there and this is a shop I have longed to visit. I've even schemed vacation ideas that would take us to the Pacific Northwest just so I can go visit the shop and drool over their aisle of Kaffe fabrics. I was quite reasonable I thought and settled for a selection of Aboriginal Dots. This is one line I don't have in my stash. The colors are so hard to judge online so this was a chance to buy a few of my favorite colors in person. They will make a very good addition to all the Kaffe prints I already have.

I also picked up a few of Amy Butler's new line Violette. I've loved this colorway since first seeing it.

A few low volume were thrown in for good measure. I keep collecting these but really really need to start using them. Ideas are percolating . . .

And my last purchase at QuiltCon was an Anna Marie Horner mixed bundle. I've always liked her overall look but not that many individual prints. The colors are little more bohemian to me and not quite my style. This bundle really caught my attention though. I think it will play nicely with a quilt design I have been sitting on for a long while now. Time to start cutting and see how it takes shape.

Ideas are swirling in my head with all these new choices plus all the inspiration from QuiltCon fresh on my mind. Time to sew sew sew . . .  : )

How about you? What are you working on?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced and with Needle and Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation.

Oh, I almost forgot. I'm finally on Instagram for all of you who have been bugging me. WaHoo!!!
Find me at #springleafstudios    I'm just getting started but hopefully will get the hang of it soon.

QuiltCon Review Part 1

I'm slowly recovering from a fabulous time in Austin at QuiltCon 2015. It was amazing, overwhelming, inspiring, exhausting . . . you get the idea. I'm bursting with so many new ideas I don't know how to process it all let alone know where to start.

What happens in Austin should perhaps stay in Austin . . . but I'm sharing anyway. Yee-Haw!!!

who knew you could ride a sewing machine?

The best part of QuiltCon was meeting and making new friends and it started in the airport on my outbound flight. I just knew there would probably be a few quilters on my flight and sure enough I had the chance to meet five from both the Denver Metro MQG and the Front Range MQG. Even got to sit with one (Chris from FRMQG) on the way to Austin. We talked non stop. First time I've never bothered to crack a book on a plane ride.   : )

Met up with my roomie Cindy of Live a Colorful Life in the airport.  I'd never met Cindy in person and now feel like we are BQB (best quilt buddies).  I owe the fact that I even went to QuiltCon all to her. She gave me the kick in the rear I needed to actually commit to going when she asked me to be her roomie.  THANK YOU CINDY!!!!!

A quick hotel check-in and we were off to registration. There we immediately ran into Elizabeth of OPQuilt and her friend Leisa. Also Leanne of She Can Quilt and Marianne of The Quilting Edge, who are both from Canada. Plus there was Amy of Amy's Crafty Shenanigans from the UK and Stephanie of Venus de Hilo from Hawaii. How's that for spreading the quilty love? These were just a few of the quilters/bloggers that I already had a connection with prior to QuiltCon. I was happy to meet many more throughout the event by trading pins and a laugh or two. Quilters from all over the world attended.

Meeting some of my MidCenturyModern bee mates was definitely a major highlight. Wish we could have spent a little more quality time together. Maybe a MCM retreat is in order soon. I also had a great time getting to know some of the Boulder MQG members better, especially during a lovely dinner with Cynthia, Kim and Kim's sister-in-law Ruth. Sadly I didn't take many people pics. Here are just a few.

Cindy, Me and Elizabeth

MCM bee dinner with Cindy, Elizabeth, Debbie, Linda, Leisa, Rene',  Elizabeth, me and Michelle.

Rene', Linda, me and Cindy

walking back from dinner, Cynthia, Kim and Ruth

Trading pins with lots of people was so much fun and an excellent way to introduce yourself to total strangers. Although quilters are never really strangers, are they? My lanyard got so heavy I finally had to take all the pins off just to save my neck.

Giving and receiving handmade gifts added such a special touch to the whole experience. Cindy gifted me the most beautiful Sew Together bag. I've admired them from afar but have not been brave enough to make one. She nailed it with all the Kaffe fabrics plus it was full of little Kaffe charm squares. She knows me well. Linda of Flourishing Palms made the handy fabric tray to hold loose items on the night stand when you travel. I made use of this right away. Read more about them here. And Elizabeth handed out Washi tape that is so so cute. Can you believe I've never bought any Washi tape? Love them all . . . the gifts and the givers.

My talented daughter also gifted me with this custom quilty necklace and set of earrings before leaving. It couldn't have been more perfect. Thank you daughter dearest. You're the best. If you'd like a necklace or pair of earrings of your very own she'll be happy to make a custom one just for you. Choose your own quilty phrase and color scheme. You can contact her through her website. EmilyClaireStudio.com.

I made little fabric pin cushion rings for all the MCM ladies and all the Boulder MQG members at QuiltCon. Loved making them and can't wait to whip up some more. Each one became my favorite and now there are none left. Not even one for me. Time to cut more scraps and fill my bowl again.  : )

For the longest time, QuiltCon seemed so far off into the future . . . plenty of time to make, prepare, get ready and plan for the event.  Then it was here.   Now it's over.   : (  

It went by in a flash and I felt like I was in a complete daze the entire time. Let me repeat. A complete daze the entire time. Normally I'm quite the planner. Very organized, very structured. Not this time. Not at all. My apologies to anyone I met who thought I was a space case. I'm not. Believe me.

I'll be back with another post on my favorite quilts in a few days. Of course one of my favorites was my own called Matrix Blooming. There's nothing like coming around a corner and seeing your very own quilt hanging in a show.

I also designed the quilt made by the BoulderMQG for the charity challenge. My design, everyone's help sewing and Cynthia's fantastic quilting. I believe there were around 70 charity quilts hanging. That's a lot of charity quilts people.

I know this is a stretch, but pulling all my thoughts together really is my WIP for this week so I'm linking up with Lee at Freshly Pieced. I had hoped to meet her in person but sadly didn't get the chance. Maybe next time.

Ready or Not . . . Here I Come QuiltCon 2015

It's finally here. I leave for Austin in the morning.

Months ago when Cindy of Live A Colorful Life asked me to be her roomie I was thrilled. If it wasn't for her I probably would have procrastinated about committing and wouldn't be packing now. Thank you Cindy. Can't wait to meet you and the other MCM ladies.

QuiltCon seemed so far into the future at that time. I had thoughts of making all kinds of things. Gifts, new bags, maybe some clothes. Haha . . . very little got done. My biggest accomplishment was finishing a quilt entry and having it accepted. I'm looking forward to seeing Matrix Blooming hanging in the show. I'll share more about it after I get back.

I've also got a few buttons to swap. Would love to meet you and trade pins.

If you're going, I hope we get to meet.  If you're not, I'll be reporting once I get back.
Time for me to finish packing.  : )

QuiltCon Charity Quilt Challenge

Can you guess what this pile of scraps is for? Yep. The QuiltCon 2015 Charity Quilt Challenge.

I designed the quilt our Boulder Modern Quilt Guild is making and must admit when I first saw the colors I was both sceptical and a little uninspired. Working with this palette was a challenge . . .  a good challenge, but still a challenge. I guess that's why it's called a challenge project right?  However once a few ideas started coming together, the colors also fell into place. Turns out most of the guild felt the same about the colors. Many said they weren't ones they would have put together and yet everyone ended up liking how they were working in our quilt. My least favorite . . . the burnt orange.

In contrast to the color challenge, I found designing with an alternative grid to be lots of fun. While many of my quilt designs are block based, I still look for creative ways to use the blocks and love exploring all the possibilities. Playing with blocks and alternative grid ideas while designing this quilt was no exception. I think the design works quite well and creates a lot of movement, especially with the addition of the partial blocks.

The next challenging part came with the construction. It's a paper pieced design which I always find a challenge. Really, what was I thinking? Definitely not my favorite type of sewing. No matter how hard I try, I always make a few mistakes. The fabric doesn't cover the entire area. I forget to trim the seam allowance before adding the next piece. I sew on the wrong line. You get the picture. And ripping out those teeny, tiny, itty, bitty stitches is a b___!  Everyone, including me, struggled at times. Let's just say seam rippers were in high demand.   : (

But thanks to the help of our fantastic members, we not only persevered, we conquered!   : )   This past weekend we whipped out ALL the blocks. Let me say that again . . . ALL 36 paper pieced blocks. DONE. Way to sew ladies! I was very impressed that everyone hung in there. No one even came after me with a rotary cutter for designing a paper pieced quilt. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Here's how it looked by the end of the day. I'm loving how the blocks and colors are working.

We'll be assembling the top at the next sew day in November and that should be a breeze after all the paper piecing. Yea! Then it's basting, quilting and binding. I think we'll be in good shape to have it all done in time to meet the challenge deadline.

Stay tuned here at SpringLeaf Studios and on our Boulder Modern Quilt Guild blog as I post about our ongoing progress.

I'm also curious . . . are you part of the QuiltCon 2015 Charity Quilt Challenge? If so, what has been the most challenging part for you and your guild?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced. This is a big WIP for our guild. 

I'm also linking up with Sew Solid Sunday at Esch House Quilts. I don't always have a solid quilt to link up, but this one fits the bill. Check out the links to see what others are doing with all solids.

Looking Back . . . Looking Forward

It's that time of year  . . .
Time when many of us make plans and resolutions for the New Year. With my husband, my daughter and myself all exploring various creative businesses, we have been meeting and talking about our goals for 2014. It's been fun to share and support one another. Part of the plan is to hold each other accountable throughout the new year so we stay on track. I really can't wait to see what each of us accomplishes and creates this year.  : )

Looking back . . .
I started 2013 with the goal of publishing more patterns, exploring submission possibilities and posting more regularly here on my blog. I can say 2013 turned out to be the year of submissions. It was fun and flattering to find success by having some of my projects published. You can read a few submission tips here. I also managed to write more posts and make a few other changes to my blog. The downside was that my pattern publishing just didn't happen. Lots and lots of ideas and designs. Lots of quilts in various stages of completion. But no new patterns.  : (

But even though the patterns didn't happen, there were lots of other good things that took me in new directions. Things I couldn't even have imagined at the beginning of the year. Things like winning an award at QuiltCon and going to Quilt Market for the very first time!   : )

Westminster Fibers booth . . . one of my favorites.

Another positive step for me in 2013 was meeting other quilters and stepping out of my little isolated world. I became involved in the early stages of the Boulder Modern Quilt Guild and designed the logo.

And I joined my first online quilting bee, the Mid Century Modern Bee. Plus an online art quilt group, Four-in-Art. All these experiences have been so rewarding. It's easy to get into a rut when you're in your studio alone and don't realize how isolated you are. I'm a loner when it comes to working most of the time but I still need interaction and connections. If you don't have a group, I highly recommend joining at least one online group or real life guild that will teach, challenge and inspire you. It's definitely worth the commitment.  : )

Looking forward . . .
In 2014 I plan to refocus on pattern development and make it the year of patterns. I also want to expand my blog content to include tutorials as well as some type of design exploration lessons. The design process is what I truly love. Additional design options are a big part of what I include in my patterns. Now I'd like to share more of these design explorations with you here on my blog.

One other thing I need to do in 2014 is use my stash!  I probably have enough fabric to keep me sewing for years and yet much of it is not where my fabric tastes reside these days. What to do about that? Perhaps I'll open an Etsy shop just to destash. Perhaps I'll explore how this older fabric can be made into something more modern. Maybe it will even become part of a new blog series . . . traditional with a modern twist.

Here's a peak at some of the newer fabrics I plan to make good use of. I'm looking forward to stirring up some wonderful new things with some of these beauties.

Hope you'll join me and see where the new year takes SpringLeaf Studios.

What are your quilty goals for 2014?

I'll leave you with this quote seen recently on another blog. 

Apologies to which blog because I can't find the source.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.