Bee Block, Log Cabins, and a Winner!

It's been a very nice long weekend for me.  I got to attend a sewing class, I went for a drive with my husband up into the mountains, and I'm finishing up some little projects.  Plus, I have selected a winner for the Grow Your Blog Giveaway.

The first order of business was to make up a block for my Stash Bee Hive 4 group #stashbee. This is a fun, modern block to construct. It was easy and I love the way the colors in the fabric played out. Queen Kathy wanted navy blue or dark yellow on one side, and modern neutrals on the other side.  Hope she likes this one - it's going clear to Australia! Super fun, fun!

The class I took on Saturday was to learn how to use the Curvy Log Cabin Ruler, created by Jean Ann Wright (former editor in chief of Quilt Magazine).  Jean Ann and her sister, Janet Houts, are now pattern designers, and Jean Ann has been having fun designing quilting rulers, too.

I didn't have time in class to get the other 'set' done. If I had, you could see how the curviness of the blocks comes into play.  In my block, the white background is smaller than the printed blocks. When put together, it gives an optical illusion of curves.  I need to make a mere 57 more blocks for my quilt, so I do believe this quilt is my long-term project!

These are 6" blocks, and four blocks make one larger block. Very scrappy!  I thought about doing each one the same, but that taxes my brain too much. So I chose to go scrappy.

Yesterday, I didn't sew or quilt a single stitch. Nope, not me. My husband and I drove up north about 60 miles to see how the Stanley Basin in the heart of the Sawtooth Mountain Range was fairing this year.  While our snow has melted in the valley (elevation 5,500 feet), there hasn't been too much snow melt up high.  We have a cabin that sits about 7,200+ feet, and the peaks are 10,000 or higher in these photos. So lots of snow in the high country. Which is a good thing for our drought-stricken state.

View from Galena Summit looking north across the Sawtooth Range.

This is the view from our cabin. Kinda hard to take, but someone's gotta do it!

The Sawtooths and Mt. Heyburn and McGowan peaks. Redfish Lake sits on the other side of the trees.

Oh! My winner!  It was a fun month to get responses from the Grow Your Blog Giveaway.  I met a lot of nice people and followed several new blogs myself.  When it came right down to it, the winner of four fat quarters of wonderful Kaffe Fassett Collection fabrics is:

Diane Wingo

Thank you, everyone, for participating, and thank you Vicki at Two Bags Full for hosting this event. It was a pleasure to participate!

I'm going on a road trip soon, so I have this strange sensation that Fabric From Far Away is calling my name. Perhaps there just might be some Stash Collecting in my near future?

Quilting with a smile,

Barb

February Goal Finished for A Lovely Year of Finishes

Trying to tie up loose ends before I head out for a business trip and then a vacation in the warm sunshine!  I'm glad to report that I completely finished my batik quilt as my February project for A Lovely Year of Finishes.

It sure is a bright one.  Here's some photos of the finished quilt. I think I will list it in my Etsy Shop.

Short and sweet post today because I have a WHOLE lot on my To Do List.  But I really did enjoy working on this quilt, especially the quilting!  What are you working on this week?

Quilting with a Vacation Smile!

Barb

Modern Curvy Log Cabin Designs

I had the most fun last month! I was fortunate enough to be asked to quilt two sample quilts for pattern designer Janet Houts. She was making quilts for her sister, Jean Ann Wright, to demonstrate the versatile use of Jean's new Curvy Log Cabin ruler. 

Designed and pieced by Janet Houts and quilted by Barb Neiwert

The design of the ruler creates a pleasing visual slant that gives the traditional log cabin a modern twist. What fun!

Rainbow Swirls designed and pieced by Jean Ann Wright

And here's Janet showing off yet another version of the Curvy Log Cabin. This one is called Wiggly Worms Log Cabin.

Janet Houts with her Wiggly Worms Log Cabin Quilt. Quilted by Barb Neiwert.

This new ruler can create such a diversity of fun, modern designs. I just had to learn more about, so I've signed up for a class that Janet and Jean Ann are teaching locally in Sun Valley on Feb. 14. If you're in southern Idaho, I think they have a few seats still open for the class.

This Wiggly Worm was such a fun piece, I just did a swoopy sort of double circle motion throughout the body of the quilt to give it some movement. The border was a fun "S" swoop.

Circles, circles everywhere!

The backside of Wiggly Worms Log Cabin

I'm going to make the Rainbow Swirls Log Cabin - I love the carefree feeling this quilt evokes!

This quilt was made with the 8" Curvy Log Cabin Ruler. I love the neat patterns it creates!

Kaffe Fassett fabrics play well on this Curvy Log Cabin lovely.

Well, that's about it for pictures.  I just wanted to share these lovely quilts with everyone. In case you'd like to make your own, the Curvy Log Cabin Ruler is made by Creative Grids and both the Wiggly Worm and Rainbow Swirls patterns are published by Cut Loose Press.  You can also get them from the Sun Valley Fabric Granary in Hailey.

For now, I'm looking for the perfect bright fabrics to use in my own Rainbow Swirl quilt. Hmmm......Kaffe would be perfect!  Or wait! How about some great Hoffman batiks?  Looking forward to the class!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

February ALYOF Goal - Batik Beauty!

I was organizing my fabric last week and ran across a Layer Cake of batiks from Moda called Make Waves.  I didn't have a good place to store them, so I decided right then and there to cut them up and work them into a quilt.

I happened to remember a little video from Missouri Star Quilt Co. about slashing up a layer cake. However, I altered the slicing a bit and instead of cutting the first sewn block into half, I cut it into a 3.5-inch section and a 6.5-inch section, just to give it a little variety.

Here's the layout:

When putting together a scrappy quilt, I've learned to snap a photo of the layout, look at it on the computer, and I can see if something seems out of place.  After looking at the pic above, I rearranged a little bit, and then sewed it all together.

My goal for February will be to get it quilted, bound, and finished!  I actually got the quilting finished yesterday, so I'm well on my way to meeting February's goal - go, me!

I used a large, swirly rectangular echoing quilting motif. I also used purple variegated thread - how fun is that? It was a fun one to freehand quilt.  It actually reminds me of topographic lines.

I hate to speak too soon, but I'm feeling accomplished. Now to work on the binding!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

Sew Sweet Simplicity Block 4 and Giveaway

Wow! We're on the final stretch for the Sew Sweet Simplicity BOM. It's been great fun to create these six blocks using basically the same small blocks but placing them in different ways to create a totally different look.

Here is how my Block 4 turned out.

I also did the Bonus Block 2 and like it as well!

Here they are together:

And then I put them all together, and wow - it looks like I'm a quilter :)  Now I need to figure out exactly what to do with them. Do I make more and make a lap quilt? Should I turn this into a wall hanging? Exactly how am I going to quilt the interior of each block? All good questions. The fun is in deciding what my finished project will look like.

What do you plan to do with your blocks?

Once again, Jacquelynne Steves is having a Giveaway to celebrate all you wonderful quilters that are quilting along with us.  For my giveaway, you have two chances to win!

1.  Tell me whether or not you make quilts to decorate your home for special occasions, i.e., birthdays, Valentines, Christmas, Fall, Halloween, Fourth of July, anniversaries, and what type of quilts are they.
2.  Following along isn't required, but I sure do love hearing from all of you and following your quilting stories.  To have a second chance to enter, just let me know how you follow:  Facebook, Instagram, Bloglovin', email, Twitter or Pinterest.

The contest will be open until midnight (Mountain Time) on February 2, so get your entries in soon!

You might want to hop over to these other blogs to see how their newest blocks are shaping up, and enter for other chances to win!

Crazy 'Bout Quilts
A Quilt and a Prayer
Bejeweled Quilts
Wedding Dress Blue
Mountain Quiltworks (You are here!)
Garden Path Quilts

UpstairsHobbyRoom 
Lily Pad Quilting
Quiltscapes

 Jacquelynne Steves

February we'll show the Big Reveal and how these blocks look pieced together into a quilt. Fun, fun, fun!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

It's a Party! Grow Your Blog and Giveaway

It's a party - whoohoo! Who doesn't like a good party? I'm anxious to meet some new people and see what you've been up to to wile away these crazy cold winter days. There are so many great bloggers participating in 2 Bags Full's Grow Your Blog!

But first a little about me. And I mean, just a little because I really don't like talking about myself that much.

Here's the surface view of Me:  My Day Job is managing a state-wide accounting association. I've done that for more than 15 years from my home office and I'm getting ready to retire from it a year from now (yea!!!).  But retiring isn't in my vocabulary just yet. . . . . . I'm also a quilter!

Quilting has become my passion, so much so that I bought a Gammill long arm quilting machine a couple of years ago and I've been in seventh heaven ever since. Sure, I've torn my hair out trying to learn to navigate the tricky boundaries and interplay of thread and fabric. But it's been great fun! I've discovered late in life (I'm still holding onto being a 50+ something gal for a few more months) that I have a creative side to me that loves being released. Loves it!

Quilting practice after taking one of Judi Madsen's first long arming classes. Fun, fun!

Baby quilt from fabric swap

So I work my day job, quilt for others, and make some nice things to sell in my Etsy shop (link at top of page) and at local craft fairs. Definitely keeps me busy.

I have two grown children: a son who is an accountant and a daughter who is a fine jewelry designer. She's always been the creative one in our family and now it's paying off for her as she designs custom-made, fine wedding and engagements rings. My husband and I have a 15-year-old Cocker Spaniel named Misty, and we've been dog-sitting our son's Cocker Spaniel, Camber, for several months now while he gets settled into a new job. I love these critters!

Misty - the Old Lady at 15

Camber loves his toys!

We've lived near the Sun Valley ski resort in the mountains of Idaho for more than 30 years, and so I consider myself a Mountain Girl. Hiking, boating, fishing, skiing, watching wildlife and just plain watching the clouds pass by are some of the many ways I feel blessed to live where I do. This is my little piece of God's Country and I don't take it for granted one little bit! It's also why I named my business Mountain Quiltworks. I love where I live!

View from my living room window. See? I'm blessed!

This is part of a herd of 17-23 deer that hang out. Very cool.

Here's a bird's-eye view of my neighborhood.

Oh, look! There's my house - way down there out the canyon to the east by that BIG white field!

And now for my Giveaway! And of course it's fabric!!! I have four one-quarter yard cuts of Kaffe Fassett, Phillip Jacobs and Brandon Mably fabrics! I cringed when I cut them from my stash, but I'll bet they will end up going to a good home!

To enter:  Just leave a comment!

I will announce the winner on Feb. 15. Please check to see if you are a No-Reply blogger.  I must have a way to contact you should your name be chosen as my winner! And I try to respond to all email comments, and I'd hate to not be able to communicate with you.  If in doubt, just leave your email in your comment.
Don't forget to stop by 2 Bags Full Grow Your Blog Party for the full link-ups for the rest of the Party  this week. It's definitely a crowd!

Thanks for stopping by. Good to meet you!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb

January Project Finished!

January 17, 2015 - a day to remember! Why? Because I finished my January Goal for A Lovely Year of Finishes, and it's not even the end of the month yet. How sweet is that?

I went into Christmas with just one small section of this tree skirt pieced together. It was intended to be used for Christmas 2014, but Plan A didn't pan out. Hangs head. So what's a girl to do but to go to Plan B.

After quilting it, I decided I wanted a bright binding on it and found some that matched well. I've never done machine-stitched binding on a round, circular shape before. While it's not perfect, it suits me just fine because it done, finished, and no one is going to criticize it as it lays beneath the tree, not when there are presents to be unwrapped!

So on to my next unfinished project.  I already know that for February I am going to machine applique my Fall Leaf table runner, get it quilted and bound.  I'll only have two weeks to work on this as I have out of town plans, so I plan to start and finish the first week of February. It's good to have a goal or two!

Quilting with a smile,
Barb