I’ve been sewing the Ramblin’ Rose quilt pattern this week.  

Of course, some of the week was spent staring in awe at the blizzard and then staring in awe and dismay at the snow drifts.  Then came the shoveling… the porch, the walk, and a path in the yard for the dogs.  And we had lots of brief power outages.  Just for a minute or two, but enough that you didn’t dare leave a computer on or a computerized sewing machine!  So sewing went a little slow.   I’m sure many of you experienced an unusual week with this storm that effected so much our the U.S.   Hopefully all is well and you’ve dug out and are ready to move on!

Back to the pattern…  The directions for Ramblin’ Rose are so easy to follow.   Claudia tells me all her patterns are like this and are the result of their pattern format and reviews with the Black Cat Creation crew.   The cutting directions include layout diagrams for all the pieces that are required.  This is a big help… I’m never sure which piece to cut first and how to lay it out so that I have enough material to cut the remaining pieces.  The diagrams eliminate that problem.  The sewing directions again included a diagram.   After constructing the background it was easy enough to layout the applique pieces using the pattern cover as a guide.  The directions say that you can place the applique so it’s pleasing to you, but I needed help and the picture was just right.

A few things I did different… the fabric requirements call for Jumbo ric rac, so that’s what I bought.  I think Jumbo in one store is just Jumbo, and in others it is super giant oversized Jumbo.  That’s what I bought – the ric rac on steroids.  But I like it.  When it came to the flowers I imagined purple but when I laid it all out the pink looked better.  It went well with the green and it lent a softness to the whole quilt.  My pink fabric showed some of the background through it so I cut extra flowers and used two pieces for each flower – one just a little smaller than the other.  This blocked the background and as an added bonus, added more dimension to the project.  The applique still needs to be sewn down, the top needs to be sandwiched and quilted, then bound.  But, hey, we’re on the way!   

Now, don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win “A Bouquet For My Love“…. it’s a gorgeous quilt!

(Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win the pattern A Bouquet For My Love!)

It’s always interesting to talk to people that share the same interests; to hear about their take on things and how they got started in this wonderful world of fabric.  In the past few days I’ve been learning all about quilt designer Claudia Atchison, pestering her with questions and requests for pictures.  Here is some of what she had to say . . . .   

My great-grandmother was a quilter and did all kinds of hand work. She taught me mostly embroidery and crochet.  She will always be my greatest influence. She had stopped quilting by the time I was old enough to learn from her, so quilting came later.  I continued to sew and by the time I was twelve I was sewing my own clothes and by high school I was getting paid to sew for friends.

In the mid 1980′s I took a quilting class at the community center in North Richland Hills, TX.  When the class ended I was hooked.  There weren’t any quilt shops in my area, but I bought a few books about the basics and learned more as I made a few quilts.   In the mid 1990′s I worked for an applique designer, Robyn Pandolph, and helped make samples. This is when I fell in love with applique and all things folk art.  A love that, like quilting, continues today.

I first met Judy Reynolds in 2005, working at a quilt shop with her. I had an idea for a baby quilt and told Judy I wanted to give it to her. She said to make a sample and write instructions and she and her partner, Amy Cotham, would decide if they could market my pattern under the Black Cat Creations name. I’m happy to say that “Snuggle Up” was published and I have been designing ever since. Judy and Amy are great and very supportive of their guest designers.

As mentioned earlier, I love applique, all kinds. Needle turn, fused or dimensional. I have several wool applique quilt patterns that I really enjoyed designing.  Pictured here are A Yard of Roses, A Yard of Hydrangeas, and A Yard of Sunflowers.

But, most of my patterns are pieced, and some have a little applique on them. My favorite is “A Bouquet for My Love”. I designed this for my husband in blues and browns. For the last 44 years he’s brought me flowers for no reason, I thought it was time I gave him some in return.

I don’t have a typical work day schedule. I might sew all day for several days in a row and then not sew at all for a week. My husband is semi-retired, if that explains anything! If I have an idea in my head, I might spend all day and half the night to get it down on paper before I forget what the idea was.

Instead of a studio, I use a small bedroom at the back of the house. My husband put shelves in the closet for my fabric. I have a wrap around sewing table that holds two machines and has a small space for a cutting board between them. I have a cutting table that the sides can be folded down when not in use. All my rulers and cutting boards are on a rack on the wall. One wall is a design wall. (I have ruler envy… I can’t imagine that there are any that Claudia doesn’t have!)

I have a room above the garage for my Tin Lizzie and my reference books and extra fabric, of course. 

As for inspiration, I get it from lots of places. Sometimes the fabric just speaks to me and I know right away what it will be when finished. I got several of my wool designs by working in my flower beds. Sometimes just doodling on a piece of paper will give me an idea. “Chocolate Fondue” was inspired by the fabric. When I saw that beautiful pink and brown fabric, I could almost taste chocolate dipped strawberries and chocolate covered cherries.  And I always keep a notebook handy to jot down ideas. You never know when these ideas will turn into a quilt pattern!

A Bouquet For My Love by Claudia Atchison.

This beautiful fat quarter friendly quilt has easy patchwork and easy three dimensional machine applique.   A soft, pretty, romantic quilt just right for a queen sized bed.  

For a chance to win this pattern leave a comment on this post. 

For more chances to win, leave a post on future blog posts until midnight (central time) Feb 4th. 

For even more chances to win, like us at our QuiltersWarehouse Facebook page and leave a comment on our Facebook status updates and links and pictures posted that are dated between now and Feb 4th. 

An interview with Claudia coming soon! 

Claudia has been sewing nearly all her life.  She was making her own clothes by the age of 12, so I wonder how old she was when she actually took her first stitch! 

Claudia’s patterns aren’t just for quilts.  She has several purse and bag patterns. 

I hate to pick favorites, but isn’t this just the cutest?!?!  Texture Magic gives those flowers some texture and makes them pop.  You’ll love carrying this Lizzie bag around.  

Here’s a great idea.  The Quick Change Bag pattern is for a reversible bag with a separate lining.   Pull out the lining, reverse the bag, replace the lining.  Ready to go!

And Claudia’s patterns aren’t just for cotton.  Her “Yard” patterns are table runners of beautiful flowers.  They are designed for wool, which gives a beautiful three dimensional quality to the finished piece. 

Hand embroidery and beading create additional interest on A Yard of Roses.  This quilt measures 10″ x 36″ when finished.

But, never fear, Claudia DOES have quilt patterns too.  And not boring, same old same old patterns.   Her quilt patterns are not each like the other.  Some of them are bold and graphic.

Sunflower Farm is a good example.  The design is striking, yet fairly easy to construct.  Four basic blocks and some simple applique… before you know it you’ll be snuggling under this quilt dreaming of Spring.

Ramblin’ Rose is another one of the bold, graphic designs and I’m excited to be making it over the next couple weeks…. I’ll share progress with you.

And then there are the beautiful, gently graceful quilts, such as Morning Star. 

Flowers in varying shades of purple flow across an ever so subtle pieced background.   Before adding the beads to embellish the flowers it might be fun to do a little free motion quilting on the flowers and leaves. 

So there’s a peek at a bit of what Claudia Atchison is all about. Be sure to check back with us over the next two weeks.   We’ll be posting an interview with Claudia and some pictures of where she creates, there will be progess on Ramblin’ Rose to report, we’ll look at some more patterns, and of course a giveaway!

(Don’t forget – leaving a comment on this post before Friday, January 21 at midnight (central time) will give you another chance to win three patterns from Prairie Sky Quilting!)

Here’s a few of my favorite patterns from Prairie Sky Quilting…

Presto Pinwheels seems to move as your eyes scan the top. I’d love to make this in bright bold colors. Maybe a very light blue for the background and then a bold bright blue for the pinwheels, a red for the squares and purple for the alternate squares. Or florals for the pinwheels and different greens for the alternate squares.

I love the monochromatic Lively Lattice Pattern and can see this in many different monochromatic colorways. It might also be fun to try a colorful small scale pattern for the background and a solid reading tone on tone for the lattice part.

Magnifient Medley includes instructions for crib, lap and twin size quilts.   Wouldn’t this look great in a crib size with these Cat in the Hat fabrics?!  The red stripes in place of the brown with the panel fabric fussy cut for the circles in the brown and then…. might need to play around with the rest of it, but how cute would that be?!  Perfect for hanging on the nursery wall.

I don’t know about your living room or family room, but in mine one quilt just isn’t enough.  I’d love to make Triple Expresso – Shake, Rattle & Roll all in the same fabrics.  Enough quilts to go around and it’d give the room a new look.

Well, it looks like I have lots of projects to add to my to-quilt list!  Do you have any favorites?