Karla Alexander's Curved Ruler Quilt

Karla Alexander is one of my favorite quilt artists.  I have gotten to know her thru Greenbaum's Quilted Forest.  She does fabulous patterns and she has some wonderful rulers to go with her patterns.  One of her patterns is called Inferno ...I've been waiting for just the right time to start this lovely quilt and last weekend was it.  I went to a 3 day quilt retreat on the Oregon Coast...oh, what fun it was.  I stayed up till the wee hours of the morning sewing and having great conversation with my friends.

I started the quilt...but I have to say that I ended up doing my own version of Karla's...I am not even close to being done with the blocks, but I couldn't wait to show you what I have been creating.

Karla's pattern is pretty easy:  stack up 4 fabrics sized 9" x 13"

Isn't this Peacock Fabric just Beautiful!  We just got the collection in our shop two weeks ago and it's just about gone.

Using Karla's really cool ruler that has HER name on it (lucky girl)...

Lay Karla's Ruler on top of the stack:

Do you see in the picture there are curved lines on the ruler?  Those lines are split so that you can put your rotary cutter down thru the slits to cut the layers of fabric.  I only cut 4 fabrics at a time, but stacked a total of 12.

After the strips are cut, I do a shuffle with the fabrics.  I start with stack number 2 and take 1 fabric off the top and place it on the bottom of the stack.  Then I go to stack number 3 and take 2 fabrics and place those at the bottom of the stack and so on.  Now when I sew them together I will have a different block every time.

Now...let me be clear at this point!  I don't have a picture of  the strips sewn back together and I apologize.  Maybe I will surprise you in the next week and sew one so you can see what it looks like.

After I sewed the strips back together I had a square.  I then cut the sq. with my rotary cutter and sliced it diagonally.  Then I sewed a skinny little strip of the green into the block.  Then I took a 8" Triangle and cut 7 1/2" triangles from the square.

I've started to sew some of the triangles together to get a better idea of what it will look like as a quilt.

I am loving the look...it feels like ART in progress.

I highly recommend you check out Karla's quilt and website...she's so talented!

Quilt Challenge

as you may have seen from a recent post of mine...i made a challenge quilt from Valerie Well's fabric and entered it at the Oregon Garden Quilt show.

i said i would keep you posted if i won...well, i don't know yet what place i am, but from their website they said "seeing as only 4 quilts were entered, all will get a prize" 

yay!!!!  a prize for me

InkScape Update

i was thrilled to see so many of you read my blog about InkScape and i thought i would write again about the wonderful program.

i have floundered for years not knowing how to get diagrams into my purse patterns, and even with some research i couldn't find the perfect program to use, so i was painstakingly hand writing my diagrams in my patterns.

over Christmas break when i had a little extra time, my husband said "check out Inkscape and go thru the tutorial"...i did, and within a couple hours...i was making diagrams in Inkscape! 

i was over the moon with joy.

it was so easy to learn...i'm sure i have so much more to learn about the program, but i was able to update a few patterns with neato diagrams.

here's an example of what i can do in Inkscape

after i create the diagram i can cut and paste into a Word document...it's so cool!

so...i'm pleading with you.  if you want to create your own patterns and don't know where to start, start with Inkscape - go thru the tutorial that is offered in the program...it's so easy!

happy friday!

Aurora Colony, Oregon

for the past few months i have been deeply engrossed in Jane Kirkpatrick's trilogy about the Aurora Colony here in Oregon in the 1800's.

it is a fasinating story and her books do not stray far from the truth of the colony that settled right here in Oregon.

i love the history of the story and i'm even more interested because i live only 30 minutes from where this story unfolded.

this website seems to have a lot of good information about the Colony and i look forward to visiting the museum very soon.

of course, it interests me because the woman of the Colony were quilters and i would love to gaze upon some of the quilts.

Oregon Garden Quilt Challenge

on Friday i entered a quilt into a challenge at The Oregon Garden...there will be a quilt show there at the end of January.

i was giddy about the fact that on the day the quilts were due...mine was the 2nd one to be turned in and my friend's was the 3rd. seeing as there is 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, we may all place if no one else entered.

the challenge was to take Valerie Well's (Stitchin Post) fabric and use at least a fat quarter of it in the quilt. the quilt could not be over 36" x 36"

it was a challenge seeing as the fabric was a huge print and the quilt had to be small.

i used the challenge fabric as my background.

here is my quilt

in this little quilt that turned out to be 34" x 35", i used several techniques...the tummy of the kitty is reverse appliqué, i hand stitched the wording, the whiskers are a very fine wire, the strips around the kitty were made very scrappy then sliced and diced into the background fabric.

i had so much fun working on this challenge, but it WAS a challenge

close-up of the back
















i will keep you posted...if i placed

My 'ONE WORD' for 2012

for 2011 my 'one word' resolution was "reduce"...i accomplished that in many different areas of my life

for 2012 i have chosen "simple"... i know everyone has their own interpretation of what this might mean, but for me it means ...

• to make do with less
• use what i have on hand to create with
• not running out to make a purchase every time i think i need something
• for example...instead of setting the table for guests with two table cloths and special expensive napkins and a huge flower arrangement...going with pretty placemats, greenery and some candles....

i just always tend to go over the top and get completely stressed in the process...well, i'm changing my ways, i'm scaling back.

i've been inspired by Anne Marie at Na-Da Farms...her house is so simple, and beautiful.  she has a great blog and a wonderful shop.

New Logo and Inkscape

hi dear friends...happy new year!

i have to admit...i've struggled with what to name my blog, my patterns, my stuff and as some of you know i was convinced to change my name over to Apt5Studio...but, i've had a change of heart and i'm sticking with my name.

i already feel established under my name and at this point feel i better not make changes...as you can see from my new header. :)

i am so excited because i have learned a new program called INKSCAPE.  learning this program has opened a whole new world for me with my patterns.  i am giddy with joy over being able to do diagrams for my patterns in Inkscape.

so if you wander why i might not be reachable by phone, or why i won't leave my house for a coffee date, etc...i am probably sitting in front of my computer completely immersed in this wonderful program coming up with fun new patterns!