Creative Bee Studios Creative Bee Studios

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Image of Lighthouse Quilt

Patriotic Decorating with Quilts

July 2, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

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Patriotic quilts are often on display in my home.

Beyond patriotic quilts, quilted delights of all genre are the general focus in any room in our house. Rarely does someone ask, “Are you a quilter?” when they walk into our home.

Suprisingly, I only realize that this might not be the norm when I see my house through a non-quilter’s eyes.

Granted, there is sometimes the fleeting thought, “Do I have a problem?”  Surprisingly, “Bloop!” -that thought’s gone! Without a doubt, this is why I surround myself with fellow quilters. Summarily, if I have a problem, they do, too!

Back to patriotic quilts.

Perhaps you are aware from previous posts that I lost my dad. He was a World War II veteran.

I and my sisters hosted a memorial open house in his honor. I had the task of decorating the church hall.

Accordingly, patriotic décor was an easy choice. Patriotic quilts were assumed. I asked my friend, Nancy, to bring a few of her quilts. Between the two of us, we were able to decorate an entire fellowship hall with mostly quilted pieces.

Who knew we had that many patriotic quilts?

It sure made easy work out of decorating for a challenging day.

Without a doubt, honoring my dad was the best part about using the patriotic quilts.

Here are just a few pics:

Image of Quilt of Valor
Dad’s Quilt of Valor on display.

Moreover, the quilting friends who helped make and present food and drink for the day are treasures. You can’t beat quilter friends!

Image of Patriotic Quilt and Crosses
Nancy’s quilt with the Wall of Crosses.
Image of Flag Quilt
Image of Three Quilts on Tables
Image of Quilt and Lantern

From full-size, table toppers, table runners and centerpieces, we had a variety of quilts to work with. They made the task easy with a few decorations on hand.

Therefore, I’m so grateful that Nancy shared her quilts!

Finally, A neighbor once asked me where I intend to hang all of my pattern quilts in my house.  Well, with now more than 50 patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides, I would definitely need another house!

(By the way, I only had 16 quilt patterns when she’d asked!)

Liberty Quilt Pattern

Image of patriotic lighthouse quilt
Liberty Quilt Pattern

This lighthouse quilt is made with both sides of one patriotic stripe by Kaffe Fassett. The background is made from a wide variety of fabrics, including numerous patriotic designs.

See more than 50 quilt patterns in my SHOP that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel!

Image of Bee

Quilting with Etsy

June 25, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

If you love to quilt and don’t have enough time, maybe this How To is for you!

Firstly, this “how to” is meant to explain some the of mystery of shopping on Etsy. Secondly, I hope it saves you time, to boot!

If you are like me, sometimes you’d like to wear a button: “I’d rather be quilting”.

Obviously, if you are a quilter, you already know that quilting is time-consuming. Personally, I don’t consider myself productive when I’m doing something like laundry, housework, or even computer-work! Obviously, I know that these are necessary things to do and are valuable. But the way my mind works, do things other than creating beautiful quilts is kind of like buying tires. I just don’t want to do it!

Shopping online can be annoying and even scary.

So, I get it when quilters who aren’t familiar or comfortable shopping on-line get frustrated. Not only does it take time, it takes time away from what we’d all rather be doing!

Hopefully, this little How To guide to Etsy can save a quilter some time while introducing some fun quilting options.

To keep things simple, I’ll use my own shop for some how-to examples.

Five things to know about how to use Etsy:

  • Etsy is an online global marketplace for all kinds of unique goods. It features handmade items, supplies,  or vintage goods from little shops from all around the world
  • Etsy is easy to use. Simply type the name of the item or shop you are looking for in the search bar at the top of the website. If you don’t get a result you are looking for, try a “key word”, like “quilt patterns”, “bee” or “seahorse quilt pattern.
  • When you find something you like, click on the heart and it becomes one of your Favorites. All of your favorite items and shops are accessible through the simple “Favorites” button.
  • Also, you can to browse a feed that Etsy provides based on your searches and your favorites.
  • *Purchasing on Etsy is easy and safe. The Etsy company handles the monetary transaction completely, so the shop-owner never gets your payment information. For example, when someone places an order in my shop, I only get that person’s name and shipping address so that I can fill their order. That makes Etsy a place where you can shop online at many different boutiques while only providing your payment information to one company.

Etsy reviews and ratings are different!

Image of How To Shop on Etsy
Creative Bee Studios Etsy Shop

Like many companies, the Etsy review system is based on stars. You can rate one, two, three, four, or five stars. Moreover, most people still consider three stars to be good or average; a four is even better; and five is perfect. However, on Etsy, any star rating below a FIVE hurts that shop. Keep that in mind when you are giving reviews on Etsy!

How to consider the content instead of the stars.

You can also easily read reviews to see how other customers like a shop and the goods they’ve received. This is highly motivating for shop owners since they only want top ratings and reviews. You are sure to get good service! In the same fashion, consider that a 4-star rating (which Etsy considers bad) by I customers who states, “I LOVE IT!” is likely a fantastic review by someone who simply doesn’t ever give 5-star reviews.

What can you find on Etsy?

Quilters can shop for all things quilt related. Besides patterns and fabric, look for notions, fusible web, tools and rulers and even Featherweight machines!

How to search in Etsy
Sally the Seahorse Quilt Pattern in Etsy.

Use the Easy-Link SHOP button to get to my Etsy Shop found HERE.

Hope you’ve learned how to have fun on Etsy!

Want to learn more? Click here to learn how to use both beautiful sides of fabric!

SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel HERE!

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

Introducing…Bubbles & Bonus Tips

June 18, 2018 /

Choose background fabrics that add sparkle to your quilts!

To take a look at background fabrics, first let me introduce you to (drum roll): The Bubbles Quilt Pattern!

Image of Bubbles with scrappy background fabrics
Bubbles

Notice the varied background fabrics in this quilt. The baby whale is made using both beautiful sides of Kaffe Fassett’s Paint Pots fabrics!

You might think that once you’ve chosen a good focus fabric, your work at auditioning fabric is done. But really, you’ve just begun to have fun!

Secondly, it’s important to know that background fabrics for #usebothsides quilts are what make the quilts really sparkle! When you attend one of my classes, you learn that there is a certain “feel” you are trying to achieve in the relationship between your focus and background fabrics.

First pick focus fabrics. Then background fabrics.

It DOES truly begin with your focus fabric choice – you have to pick that first and foremost. (I’ll discuss focus fabric auditioning in another post. Tips for choosing focus fabric are included in each pattern.) Once your focus fabric has been chosen, you want to achieve a balance between your focus fabric and your backgrounds.  I encourage using a mix of fabric styles and to use this quilt as an opportunity try something new. I figure, it is a fun quilt– so use fun fabrics  which may not be appropriate in your more “serious” quilt work. I’m going to use two quilts as examples. Below are Phoebee and Bubbles:

Image of Bee Quilt
Phoebee Quilt Pattern

Phoebee really makes a statement.

Notice that the bee is made from very bold fabric. She’s not one bit shy. The background fabrics can be bolder for her because her focus fabric and her character allow it. Some of the background fabrics are darker in value than I would use with my other patterns, depending not just on the focus fabric, but also the subject matter and what I want you to feel when you look at the quilt.

Image of Bubbles with background fabrics
Bubbles Quilt Pattern

Now looking at Bubbles.

I hope you see a sweet, endearing “fellow”…youthful, happy, maybe adventuresome… maybe up to something. This baby whale can be a boy or a girl and you can change his or her attitude just by choosing a different focus fabric! What I am hoping you have noticed by now is that the background fabrics also have a different feel. In fact, most of the accent strips I used  are reversed to keep them from overpowering this sweet whale friend.

Once you’ve chosen your focus fabric, lay the fabric out, loosely shaped for the pattern you’re making– but with a twist. Literally, twist the fabric so that half of the fabric shows the reverse side. Audition BOTH sides of the focus fabric with your background possibilities. Each #usebothsides pattern gives detailed instructions for how to audition fabrics.

My husband and “silent” business partner just happened to name the two above quilts.

Next, compare the focus and background fabrics of these two quilts:

  • cauldron quilt
    Something’s Brewing
  • image of red truck quilt
    Merry

In conclusion, don’t want to get too serious about your fabric auditioning, because these patterns are designed to be fun, fast, and easy quilts. Plus, they make great quick gifts.

For more fabric auditioning fun, book a class or program for you next group event! Click here for more information.

SHOP more than 45 patterns HERE.

 

image of port and starboard

River Heritage – Port and Starboard

June 11, 2018 /

Port and Starboard

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Table of contents

The Port and Starboard block is our newest design for Month Six of the River Heritage Mystery Quilt!

Quilts Ahoy!

I knew from my Girl Scout canoeing days that “port” means LEFT and “starboard” means RIGHT. It’s easy to remember that the words “port” and “left” both have four letters. The same is true when looking out the front of your boat, vessel, ship, or even kayak, I guess.

Image of Port and Starboard Photo
View from the ferry ride across the Mighty Mississippi for River Heritage!

How Port and Starboard came to be.

What I didn’t know was how those terms came to be.  Here’s what I found out:

Starboard

Initially, boats were controlled by a steering oar (before the rudder was centered on the boat) which was usually on the right side of the stern. Sailors would call that side the “steering side”. Eventually, the two Old English words “steor”  and “bord” combined, which mean “steer” and “side of the boat”. 

Port

The opposite, or left side, of the boat was usually used for docking and loading the boat. Therefore, it was known as the “larboard”. Apparently, “larboard” was too easily confused with “starboard”, so the term “port” was adopted to refer to the side that faced the porters who loaded (ported) supplies onto the boat.

So there you have it! Port and Starboard.Image at Ferry Dockign

Now for the ferry ride!

While brainstorming for ways to photograph the river for this fun mystery adventure, I thought of the ferry crossing in Ste. Genevieve. I have vague memories of crossing the ferry as a kid and I remembered that my Uncle Elmer piloted the ferry for a number of years. My cousin, Bonnie, shared with me that he and 4 other men purchased the ferry in 1975 to keep it running for farmers who lived in Ste. Genevieve and farmed in Illinois. He would pilot the boat on the weekends during his retirement. 

Uncle Elmer loved the river and spent a lot of time there. If my Aunt Alice didn’t know where he was, she could find him at the river talking to fishermen and farmers. Before he married Aunt Alice, he was a river boat pilot pushing barges from St. Louis to New Orleans. Now his grandson, Jeff, pushes barges from Tower Rock in Ste. Gen. down the river as far as New Orleans.

Image of Elmer Wichern
Uncle Elmer piloting the ferry.
Image of Young Man Working the River
My dad.

Elmer’s younger brother, Bill (my dad), also worked the river as a young man. The only story I remember from my dad about working on the river is that once while in New Orleans he got an anchor tattooed on his arm. Apparently, this brought a lot of trouble from his siblings when he got home! I loved tracing that anchor with my fingers.

Watching the maneuvers of the ferry first hand made me realize just how important are Port and Starboard!

Image of Orville Wichern
My dad.
Image of River Crossing

The Port and Starboard quilt block is really fun to make!

Similar to the Trail of Tears block, this block is made from sixteen half-square triangle blocks. The difference is the layout.

River Heritage Month 6 Port and Starboard Printer-Friendly

image of quilt block

Remember to check your values.

Here you see both the color and black and white versions of my block. This is how I check the values before stitching my block together.

Image of Black and White Port and Starboard Block
Image of Port and Starboard block

Additionally, you’ll continue with your own color scheme for your fabric choices.

Image of river in Port and Starboard
View from the ferry.
Image of Vehicle on Ferry

Share your block using #riverheritage on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter!

SHOP more than 50 quilt patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric HERE!

River Heritage Month Seven

SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel HERE!

Image of Two Fabric Squares

Tips for Half-Square Blocks

June 4, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Table of contents

Half-square triangle blocks are easy to make.

However, these tips for half-square triangle blocks can really help the beginning quilter to understand how and why you need to square your units or blocks accurately. I know they helped me!

There are lots of techniques for making these blocks. This one describes how to make them individually versus mass-produced, in case you don’t need 200!

Start your half-square triangle block with two squares.

Image of Two Fabric Squares

For example, shown above are two 4-inch squares of fabric. One is a dark gray batik. The other is a soft white.

The block we need will be 3 1/2″ (before sewing to other units). The actual “finished” block size will be 3 inches. Therefore, above you see two 4-inch squares. Draw a diagonal line, corner to corner, on the reverse side of the lightest fabric.

Draw a diagonal line from corner to corner on the light square.

While it doesn’t really matter which fabric you choose, you’ll follow this line as a guide for stitching. Just make sure you can see your marking well.

Stitch on both sides of the marked line.

Layer your squares with the marked one on top; I’ll say “right sides together”. However, remember that if you are using BOTH beautiful sides of fabric in a half-square triangle block, you’ll want your “intended fronts together”. This means BOTH right sides will either be facing down or facing up.

Next, stitch from corner to corner, 1/4 inch from the drawn line.

Image of Block with Stitching

Make great time by chain-stitching.

If you have lots of these units to make, try chain-stitching them. First, have your squares marked and paired, ready to stitch. Second, stitch on one side of the line on each set, without cutting threads in between. Thirdly, turn the string of them to repeat the stitching on the other side of the line.

Cut on the center line.

Separate the units by snipping the threads. See “Two Purple Tools for Quilting” for a great cutting tool. Press to the darker fabric. The block should be larger than 3 1/2 inches and have threads and tails (or ears) on them as shown below.

Image of Block and Ruler

Use a squaring ruler with a 45 degree line.

Using any ruler with a 45-degree line, place that line along the diagonal seam of your block and so that the over-all size after you trim the first two sides is still slightly larger than 3 1/2″. Notice the extra fabric outside of the 3 1/2″ marks?

Don’t trim the first two sides at the 3 1/2 inch mark.

Trim the first two sides slightly larger than 3 1/2 inches. This will allow you to get the most accurate finished unit with a perfectly aligned diagonal seam.

Image of Last Cut for Block

Next, spin your half-square triangle block around and line up the trimmed sides directly on the 3 1/2″ marks. Trim the last two sides.

I AM from the Show-Me State!

Perhaps most new quilters would figure out on their own not to make the first trim at exactly 3 1/2 inches, but I needed a kind teacher to show me why I shouldn’t so that with the first trimming cuts.

If you are making the River Heritage Block-of-the-Month Mystery Quilt, you are probably figuring out that there are a lot of half-square triangle blocks  in the design.

Here is a the Trail of Tears block, featuring all half-square units.

Image of Quilt Block
Click here for link to Month 5.
Image of River View
Click for link.

SHOP more than 50 quilt patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric!

Image of Grace Quilt Pattern
Click for link to Grace Quilt Pattern.

SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube Channel HERE!

Traveling Quilts

May 30, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Table of contents

Traveling with quilts is part of my life.

Technically, I’ve had one traveling quilt in an actual show that toured the AQS circuit for a year. That was exciting!

Mostly, I’m talking about taking quilts with me when I travel.

First, do you travel with quilts? Guilty! I take quilts on vacations, retreats, and even short hotel stays. I like to have them around for warmth and beauty. Maybe I’ll take one along to bind, to photograph, or to just enjoy.

Putting my own quilt on a strange bed makes me feel more relaxed.

Image of Car Sign
Click Here for Website

This wasn’t my idea, though. A long time ago, I roomed with a friend at quilt retreat who always brought one of her quilts along. I loved seeing which quilt she’d bring to decorate her bed. When I started bringing quilts, I found I rested easier the first night, because I’d claimed that bed as my own with my signature quilt. I decided Donna had a great idea; I never apologized again for packing a quilt!

Traveling quilts hit the guild meeting circuit!

I have the pleasure from time to time to share my story and quilts with quilt guilds during their membership meetings. These trips usually require about 50 quilts. In addition to the large trunk show, I integrate a power point presentation to make sure everyone has a front row seat. It’s lots of fun. Most especially, I like meeting all the new quilters and watching how each guild operates.

One such pleasure was with the PUPS (Pickin’ Up the Pieces) Quilt Guild in Cordova, Tennessee (near Memphis).

I find it fascinating to see the differences between different quilting groups. Size alone can change the dynamics of a group. Meeting location is another factor. Personalities of the members can change how a guild operates. What seems to be constant, though, among all guilds is that the love of quilting, creating, and discovering new opportunities outweighs any of the challenges brought to a group of women (with a sprinkling of men).

Below are a few memories from my visit with the PUPS guild.

Show and Tell

Image of Traveling Quilts
Image of Show and Tell Quilts

The large auditorium allowed the quilts to be on display on the floor!

As you can see in the photos, this was a fantastic way to get a close-up view of each work of art! And just look at those fantastic quilts!

Interestingly, the guild had a master list of projects that the members had registered earlier in the year. When a show and tell item from that list was completed, that quilter got credit for the completion and was entered into a drawing for retreat funds (money)! How cool is THAT?

Look at all this SHOW AND TELL from only 22 members present!!! I really liked being able to go around and look at each quilt closely during the break!  However, I did later find out that this particular meeting was their LAST CHANCE to complete those projects and that may have contributed to their prolific quilting!

Talk about traveling quilts! These quilters put on one heck of a show and tell!

Image of QuiltsImage of Patterns

Block-of-the-Month

Myself having been in charge of Block-of-the-Month for my guild in the past, I was surprised when their quilters showed up with their blocks dutifully completed for that month and laid them in a pile on a table. This guild had a different way of handling their BOM program. The PUPS gals collect those blocks and make them up into quilts for their community. It’s a really nice way to help the community while quilters  learn new techniques.

Virtual Retreats

I thought this sounded like loads of fun! You just pick a weekend (pretty far in advance for planning purposes). Choose your projects, your favorite jammies, and snacks and have your own retreats at home – but shared with pictures and videos on the guild Facebook page!

Prep for traveling with quilts.

Finally, though I try to be over-prepared, I’m always a bit nervous before giving a presentation. While everything went off without a hitch, I was thankful that I didn’t know who they had just hosted! Thankfully, I didn’t know before I got to town that I had SUCH BIG SHOES to fill.

Marie Bostwick had spoken the month before. Had I known that, I would’ve driven there a month earlier! Thankfully, it didn’t sink in until the next day that I was following that awesomeness. I’m pretty sure Marie and I would be besties, if she actually knew me!

You’ve got competition, Ree Drummond, Pioneer Woman! (Click here to learn how to have Ree as your best friend!)

A big shout-out and thank-you to the PUPS Quilt Guild for their hospitality!

Wondering about the 50 quilts? Click here for my Etsy Shop!

Image of traveling quilts
Sally Quilt Pattern

Enjoy traveling with your quilts and enjoy your quilting journey!

Check out Spooky Quilts-A-Brewing for some bubbly quilt class fun!

Visit Home Sweet Home to see class projects on display where I was raised!

See Heartland Quilts for more class projects.

Image of Quilt by Pool

OKLAHOMA! Backroads in South Dakota

May 21, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

Oklahoma Backroads is a great quilt for someone in OKLAHOMA! or South Dakota!

In 2014, I made this Bonnie Hunter quilt called “Oklahoma Backroads” (click here for pattern link) for my daughter’s graduation from high school. The quilt had the dual purpose of commemorating her role as Laurey Williams in the musical, OKLAHOMA!. Image of Quilt

First, like most Bonnie Hunter designs, this one had lots of pieces.

Secondly, I used lots of scraps (as one does in a Bonnie Hunter quilt). I LOVED that many of these scraps were from my late mother-in-law’s stash. One of those fabrics was from matching colonial dresses she had made for Jacquelyn and her and their American Girl dolls, Felicity! See the Felicity tea pot quilt HERE. Additionally, I used fabric and lace on the borders which were used on Jacquelyn’s costume for the role of Laurey. 

Image of Quilt Label
Notice I named Jacq’s quilt using all caps with an exclamation point – as the musical is named –OKLAHOMA!.
Image of OK! Poster
Image of Dancer Spinning
Image of Quilt by Pool
Image of Scene from OKLAHOMA!

As a college graduate with a major in musical theatre, Jacquelyn was excited to land a real job, straight out of school!

When she accepted a three-month run in South Dakota, I was happy to know she was taking her quilt with her. We were all excited that she’d landed the role of Laurey Williams for Black Hills Playhouse! As you might guess, our vacationed to South Dakota for opening night!

Image of Theatre
Image of Theatre Inside

I love that there are meaningful fabrics in the quilt she’s packing for her first time so far from home.

We’ve never been to this area of the country. In addition to seeing the beautiful new landscapes, I gained a quilt shop featuring my patterns! Click here to see The Quilt Shop.

Back to the Oklahoma Backroads quilt…and value.

When I made this quilt, I separated my scraps into lights, mediums, and darks. However, I really hadn’t discovered that the values change, depending upon what values surround them. I would have achieved more defined primary and secondary patterns had I paid attention to that. Discover the nuances of value as you learn to audition BOTH sides of fabrics for my own patterns! Click here. I’ve learned a lot with #usebothsides quilts when it comes to VALUE!

Image of Buffalo Moon Quilt
Buffalo Moon

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

image of trail of tears

River Heritage – Trail of Tears

May 14, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

The Trail of Tears quilt block is Month 5 in the River Heritage Block-of-the-Month Mystery Quilt.

The Trail of Tears quilt block is a classic block depicting a rich, though sad history. However, as the Mississippi River definitely play a part in this story, it had to be included in our quilt. Thankfully, I can share with you what I learned about this beautiful park while learning about this dark trail.

Image of River at Trail of Tears State Park

The Trail of Tears State Park, located on the Mississippi River, in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri, is a beautiful park with four trails, three river overlooks, a lake, campsites, picnic areas, and a visitor’s center. It  also is a burial site which commemorates the tragic deaths and hardships of the forced relocation of the Cherokee.

Image of River View
View of the Mississippi River from Trail of Tears State Park.

The Trail of Tears State Park

The visitor’s center is filled with information including audio recordings, video presentations, books, and static displays about the Trail of Tears, plus information about wildlife found in the area.

Image of Cherokee on Trail of Tears

It is difficult to read, see, and hear about the struggle of these people at the hands of our government and, consequently, our country.  Still, it is wonderful to have the history and beauty of the state park right here in our own “backyard”.  I highly recommend a visit to the state park for the views and the history lesson.Image of Trail of Tears SignImage of Mississippi River

The Trails

Choose from a variety of trails to hike at the park. They range in distance and difficulty to suit just about everyone.

Image of stone
Later found to have inaccuracies, this covered stone still stands to honor all those who endured the march of relocation on the Trail of Tears.

The Quilt Block

The Trail of Tears quilt block is made from sixteen half-square triangle squares. Make eight from a dark/light combination. Make another eight from a medium/light combination.

Image of Trail of Tears Block
Trail of Tears Quilt Block

Follow the instructions for value (light, medium, and dark) and use your own color scheme to make your block. Remember to check your values by taking a black and white picture of your fabric choices.  I look forward to seeing the variety of blocks you make!

River Heritage Month 5 Trail of Tears (Printer Friendly Version)

River Heritage Month Six

SHOP more than 50 quilt patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric in my Etsy shop HERE!

Image of Pattern Cover

Introducing…Angelina

May 7, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Table of contents

The Angelina (ballerina) quilt was designed from a photo I took of my daughter on pointe.

While her technical name is simply, “Angelina”, I call this quilt, “Angelina (ballerina)” for a reason.

To me, pointe shoes are just beautiful.

First, as a little girl, I always aspired to be a ballerina. However, in the small town in which I was raised, I only got to take dance lessons a few times. That’s how long the teachers stayed in town!

Moreover, both of our two daughters took ballet lessons for years (so I got to live out my dream through them). Of course, this explains why a ballerina quilt would be on my mind. Consequently, over the years, I have sewn countless elastics and ribbons to many pairs of pointe shoes. Keep in mind, most of the time, this was hurried and last minute, right before class. Therefore, most of the years, I didn’t WANT to be sewing ribbons and elastic to pointe shoes! I wanted to sew little pieces of fabric into bigger pieces of fabric, like the rest of my friends!

Pointe was the point!

Obviously, both of our daughters loved ballet. However, I’m not sure either of them would have stayed with it as long if they’d ever thought pointe shoes were off the table.

However, when I realized I was in the last few years of having pointe shoes in my life, I began to cherish those stitches.

The Angelina (ballerina) point(e) of this story is from the American Girl spin-off of the little mouse with the same name. Angelina Ballerina is a cute little mouse who loves to go to ballet lessons. We still have her, along with her stage, costumes and props. Like most of the American Girl stash, she’s going to stick around. And, Angelina Ballerina wore pointe shoes!

Image of Angelina Ballerina

Now for this Angelina (ballerina) quilt pattern!

Image of Angelina ballerina
Angelina Quilt Pattern

The Angelina (ballerina) quilt was also inspired by the fabric, which was originally used for the mason jar bouquet pattern, called Grace.

The RIGHT side of things.

The RIGHT side of the floral focus fabric is used to make the pointe shoes, ribbons and binding.

The REVERSE is key.

Angelina (ballerina)’s tights and the sole of her left shoe is made from the REVERSE of the same floral focus fabric.

It’s all about VALUE.

I knew I had to get things correct when drawing out this pointe shoe template. Having never been on pointe shoes myself, I checked with my daughters to make sure Angelina was standing properly on top of her shoes!

Background fabrics count, too!

Once you’ve chosen the perfect focus fabric for your ballerina quilt, you’ll want to choose background fabrics carefully, too. You learn how to audition both sides of focus and background fabrics in the pattern. Using a variety of background fabrics adds interest and sparkle to your quilt!

Image of Paige
Paige, 2011

Pointe isn’t all glamour and glory, though. Mom’s of pointe students are well aware of the time spent stitching in ribbons and elastic. Additionally, girls generally never outgrow point shoes because they break down too quickly and must be replaced often. They take special fittings and there are hundreds of options from which to choose.

Image of Jacq on Pointe
Jacquelyn, 2018

For the young dancer, pointe shoes seem to be a right of passage. It takes determination, maturity, time, and skill…and the acceptance of bloody toes, ugly feet, and a large collection of expensive and eventually smell shoes!

Determined girls wouldn’t have it any other way.

Neither would Angelina Ballerina!

See more than 50 quilt patterns that use BOTH beautiful sides of fabric HERE.

 

Enjoy YOUR quilting journey!

Image of Orville Wichern
Orville J. (Willie) Wichern 1926 - 2018

The Tie that Binds

May 1, 2018 /

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Table of contents

Blest be the tie that binds.

There are ties that bind us within our families, within our interests, and within our world. Additionally, current events, a world away, tie us all together.

Personally, this has never been more apparent to me than with the loss of my dad.

Image of Orville

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

We pour our ardent prayers

Before our Father’s throne.

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

Our comforts, and our cares.

We share each other’s woes,

Our mutual burdens bear;

And often for each other flows

The sympathizing tear.

When we asunder part,

It gives us inward pain;

But we shall still be joined in heart,

And hope to meet again.

John Fawcett, Wendell Kimbrough

Memories of Dad

I think some of you will know exactly what I mean when I say that my heart is sorrowfully heavy and full of joy–all at the same time.

The ties that bind joy and sadness.

I lost my 91 year-old father.  I’m sad that our family doesn’t have pictures of the times I remember most from my childhood. These ties that bind seem silly. But the memories are vivid in my mind. Some are simple, like my dad in our garage, fixing the brakes of my bike so I could ride to the pool. Moreover, I remember my dad pulling our boat around for the hundredth time to try to get me up on skis. Did he know the life-long memory he was making? Couple that memory with one of him hitting the throttle and telling me when to pull the plug as we drained our boat. It’s strange, these ties that bind. Finally, I have a not-so-happy memory of dad directing me and my sisters to help put up our tent on a hot afternoon. We were NOT happy campers AT ALL.  But these memories are precious.

When the struggle is over.

In these last 13 months, while he struggled with his health, my sisters and I got to see Dad again–the witty, silly, playful side of him. He was an endearing man who softened the hearts of his caregivers and doctors, especially when they figured out he was constantly messing with them.

The peace which passes all understanding.

Moreover, I am full of joy and forever grateful that my dad had great faith, even when it hurt him tremendously to keep it. However, in his final moments he asked, “Where am I?” and answered himself peacefully, “Heaven”, as he passed. Ultimately, this is the only tie that binds that really matters. Few of us get such confirmation at the end of our loved one’s life.

In conclusion, when I start to focus on the doubts and questions of what could have been, I remember that incredible “God Wink” gave us upon Dad’s departure from this world.

Instead of Quilting Analogies to the Tie that Binds

This is supposed to be a blog about quilting. Actually, there are many analogies I could make that use quilt themes to describe family and loved ones and friendships. Instead, I’ll leave a few pictures of the man I called dad. And thank you, friends, for allowing me to share him with you.Image of Willie with QOV

Image of Willie
Dad acting silly with his cap.
Image of Dad and Mom; ties that bind.
Image of Willie and WWII cap
Even in illness there is the tie that binds.
Image of my dad and the tie that binds.
Orville J. (Willie) Wichern
1926 – 2018

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