Potter's Wheel QAL Closing Ceremonies!

Sincere thanks to everyone who participated!  No matter how you've participated, thank you! Cheering on fellow QAL-ers, sharing your palettes, sharing pics, and sewing along with us, well it was all amazing!

Hearth is ready!

This mini uses up the circle scraps from 22 Potter's Wheel blocks, and the background neutrals from 8 blocks.  Pieces are cut to 1 1/2" wide, and different lengths to make the mini.

 In addition to it being a pattern for a 19" mini, I added instructions for how to make it into an 18" pillow, and you can select between an envelope closure, or zipper closure (shown). 

Pattern is in the shop selling for $8, and it's also been included in the Quilt Along coupon that you have received in your emails recently.

So, I might as well add this to the giveaway lineup!  Nola @luv.pieced , you've won a digital copy of Hearth!  Yay!


Please remember to take a minute and like/follow/comment on our Sponsors social media.   We're really thankful to them for offering to be part of this!

So, in no particular order, here are the winners of the prizes:

The Winner of Cranky Kangaroo's 6 patterns of your choice is Anja   @anjaquilts! 

Jaymi Horne Instagram
Pattern Shop
Handmades and Quilts Shop

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Kim @kgibsonlane is the winner of a digital copy of The Moonrise Quilt, which will be available later this month.  

proto cred: Sarah Bodri
Instagram

Blog

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Wendy @redlabelquilts receives Andrea's Sleepy Fox Kit!  

Website

Instagram

Facebook

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@susanboudreau has won our Grand Prize- a bundle of their new Cotton and Steel Basics!  They don't even ship out until the new year, but you're getting them early!

Susan's IG account is private, so below are some pics of her quilt.  Wouldn't want you to miss it!

C+S Website
C+S Instagram

Here's Susan's quilt!  I love these colours!

Yay!  So thrilled for all of you!  I hope you'll consider joining another QAL with me!  I have a quilt pattern or two in mind, that would be great QAL Patterns!

Bequest Maker's Tour

Today's my day on the Bequest Maker's Tour.  It's only day 2 of 10, and I'm over the moon with the project sneak peeks we've seen. I'm looking forward to the upcoming days!

It has been so fun to watch all these inspiring makers receive their fabric, and start cutting into it! My favourite part of this whole creative process is seeing what other creatives make with our fabric.  We've also just released our Lookbook that's full of creative ways to use our fabric.

Today, I thought I'd share something that has become my tradition in our fabric design process. As soon as our fabric arrives, I take a few prints from the collection, an embroidery hoop, gather some silk ribbon, Aurifil's cotton floss, and my little tin of pearls, and sit and stitch.

When I was studying Costuming at Dalhousie, there was a book in the university library that was called Embroidery of the 18th Century (or the name was something like that, it was 20 years ago). The old red book had previously lost its dust cover, and weighed a ton, but I carted it around for those opportunities I had a moment to look through the pages.  It was my Pinterest circa 1999.  I poured over that book again and again, learning stitches, searching for inspiration, and looking in wide eyed amazement over the coverlets, gowns, and shoes covered in embroidery. Ohhhh the late fees I paid on that book.

So, when it came to time to make my final project gown. You can bet it had embroidery! Cuffs and bodice were embroidered in silk thread and silk ribbon, using stitches that were common in the 18th century, and still are among the most common embroidery stitches today.

So back to Bequest!  Cav’s artwork always brightens my mood!  I wish I could paint like that.  I love watching her carefully painted watercolour turn into art on fabric. 

My friend Meaghan studied Art at NSCAD in Halifax, and she once was assigned to select a Master's painting and replicate it.  She had to think about the colours they used, and mixed; the brushstrokes, and their direction as they moved across the canvas; the colours on the brush for every stroke.  It made her see the original painting in a way she hadn't before, and taught her much.

Embroidering is about as painterly as I get, so it's been special with June's Cottage, and now with Bequest to work with the art on fabric in this way.  

Shared in our Lookbook is this hoop before it was finished, and also another hoop that I embroidered.  Go check it out! 

We have AMAZING creatives as part of our Maker's Tour, we hope you'll follow along each day, and look out for a Follow Loop Giveaway happening on Instagram at 4pm on November 23rd.  The Giveaway loot is awesome!

Here's the calendar for our Maker's Tour, and links to their creations will be added here as they become available.

Nov 12th
Jemima Flendt @tiedwitharibbon

Blog post sharing her Confetti Cushion

Nov 13th
(us) @briarhilldesigns

You're here, seeing my hand stitched creation

November 14th
Stacey Lee O'Malley @slostudio

November 15th
Jacquie Schluter @jacquiesews

November 16th
Wendy Mierke @sewknotcrochet

November 19th
Lisa Hofmann-Maurer @sewwhatyoulove

November 20th
Carla Peicheff @cpeicheff

November 21st
Jen Orme @lilmaisiedaisy

November 22nd
Shannon Fraser @shannonfraserdesigns

November 23rd
Jess Zimmerman @coralbunnyandlo

Potter's Wheel Quilt Along WEEK EIGHT! Last Week!

We've made it to the final week of our QAL!  Assembling your quilt top week. Thanks so much for joining in, and encouraging each other!

I haven't shared many pics of my quilt, mostly due to this: since the design wall played a big part in colour placement in the quilt, and my sewing room is in our basement, it's tough getting a good pic.  My quilt top is ready for the Longarmer's this week!

I have to admit, I was curious (read: nervous) how this would turn out.  Making an ombre from pink to white to teals to dark greens to black, I was worried if it would look broken up and there would be no flow, but wow!  Somehow it turned out!  I think the colours bleed into each other well.  Phew!  I'm so relieved that gamble turned out better than expected!

I've got the backing pieced, using my favourite Invisible Pieced Backing tutorial, and I've decided to bind with either a pastel teal or the leftover low volume neutrals.  I'll get the binding made this week.

So, onto the good stuff!  Here's a review of how the giveaway will go:

We have four prizes from four great sponsors! Winners will be randomly chosen from those who have posted a finished quilt top by midnight on the last day of Week 8, which is Sunday November 18th. Winners will be announced on Nov 19th.

Info on the Giveaway sponsors and the Giveaways are all in Week Seven's blog post.

Remember:

1. We have two Longarmers happy to quilt your quilts at a discount, and before Christmas. Sheri in Nova Scotia, and Dara in British Columbia.

2. We need to see an IG post with your finished Quilt Top by midnight Nov 18th to be entered in the draw for the giveaways. If you don't have Instagram, please email me briarhilldesigns@gmail.com and put in the subject line, "PWQAL Giveaway entry."

3. If you'd like to use a pattern that will use up those awkward leftover curved pieces, use the coupon code QALTREAT for 40% off select patterns from my Etsy shop. That's the best discount I've ever offered. Coupon code is exclusive to QAL subscribers, and to three patterns: Glimmering, Best Dressed, and Hearth (available at the end of the QAL). Coupon code is valid until Nov 30th.

I'm seeing amazing finishes all the time on my IG feed! Way to go friends!

Potter's Wheel Quilt Along WEEK SEVEN

We're at WEEK 7!  This Quilt Along has been flying by for me.  Has it flown by for you, too?

This is our last week of sewing blocks, so finish 'em up!!!  Week 8 will be all about assembling our quilt tops!

Oh my goodness guys!  I'm loving your work!  Thanks so much for quilting along with me!  As an update on my quilt, well it's looking great!

Since I wanted to do an Ombre layout, I cut and sewed all the curves, then pinned them to my design board to plan the layout.  I spent Easy Week sewing the blocks together.  It looks prettier than I imagined it would.  Don't ya love when that happens?

All planned out!

 The blocks are now almost all assembled, and layout is finalized.

The time has come to share the final Giveaways!  We have four prizes!  Winners will be randomly chosen from those who have posted a finished quilt top by midnight on the last day of Week 8, which is Sunday November 18th.  Winners will be announced on Nov 19th.

Here are the prizes from our great giveaway sponsors:

Jaymi Horne especially loves Foundation Paper Piecing because she says she has very little patience and doesn't like pre-cutting.  I totally get that!  Sometimes we all just want to get to the sewing!  Jaymi has over 50 patterns and many more in the works!  Take a look at her FPP tutorial on her “quick and dirty” method.

Instagram
Pattern Shop
Handmades and Quilts Shop

The Winner will win their choice of 6 patterns from her shop!  We'll notify Jaymi of the winner's selections, and she will send you the digital files of the patterns.

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This is Bobbie from the Geeky Bobbin If you haven't already seen her longarm quilting, fussy cutting tutorials, and her fun Retro Tetro pattern (it's on display at Quilt Market!), be sure to check her out! The Moonrise Quilt is the first pattern in Geeky Bobbin's Lakeside Reflections Series. This geometric, modern landscape quilt plays with subtle changes in colour value and basic shapes at different scales to add texture and movement. This pattern includes tips for piecing curves, so even a confident beginner can successfully make a striking wall hanging or throw quilt.

We're all curved piecing pros now anyways, right?

proto cred: Sarah Bodri
Instagram

Blog

Bobbie offered to do a rendering of her new pattern in Bequest!  I love it!

The winner will receive a digital copy of The Moonrise Quilt, her next pattern coming out later this month.  If you want it the second it's available, Bobbie has started a preorder for the pattern.

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Andrea Tsang Jackson is a textile artist, quilt pattern designer and teacher based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. As a designer and an educator, she wants to inspire others to reach their own creative potential and to see themselves as designers of their own lives. Although her favourite colours to wear and design with are neutral, she loves to play with colour in her 3rd Story Workshop.

Website

Instagram

Facebook

Winner receives Andrea's Sleepy Fox Kit!  Isn't it a fun block?

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RJR is celebrating its 40th anniversary this Fall, and as you probably know, Caverly and I are textile designers with them.  They're happy to sponsor our Grand Prize- a bundle of their new Cotton and Steel Basics!  They don't even ship out until the new year, but one of you will be getting them early!

I'm in love with these basics already.  I've been playing with the digital files for months, because I designed some new quilt patterns for the new C+S lines, Kibori, by Chiemi Fujita and Wildwood by Rifle Paper Co.  Both quilts use some basics.  I haven't gotten to sew with the basics yet though, because the sample yardage just barely arrived before Quilt Market, so these were pieced at RJR, and they'll be shipping fabric to me as soon as they're back from Market so I can remake these for the pattern covers!  

Meet Starstrung:

Here's Yonder:

So, you have one day short of two weeks to show us your finished quilt top!  You can do it!  Think of how great it will feel to sew that last row, hold it up, and admire your handiwork!

Potter's Wheel Quilt Along WEEK SIX

It's here!  EASY WEEK!

How will you use this week?  Catching up?  Taking it easy?  Getting ahead?

by Nola of @luv.pieced

No matter what, I hope it's a good week for you!

I've got my blocks up on my design wall, and my quilt is a puzzle nearing completion, as I decide which fabrics to fit into the spaces.  As I'd mentioned before, I'm doing a gradient and I decided the best way to approach this planned gradient was to sew the curves, then pin the pieces to my design wall, get an idea of what else I need, then assemble the blocks.  Each block will have a specific place in the quilt.  So I'm hoping the first half of the week will be catch up, and the second half of the week will be about getting ahead for me!

by Helen @helen_ellice

I'm so amazed at the finished quilt tops!  Some are even quilted already!  Incredible!

by Andrea @morphea80

If you're still not sure how you'd like yours Potter's Wheel quilted, here's another option!  Dara from Stitched Quilting Co is also offering to take Potter's Wheel quilts as well.  Her speciality is free motion quilting, and any of my free motion quilted quilts have been done by her.  So, she's offering the same deal as Sheri - 25% off batting and 10% off  quilting - the only difference is this, Dara is able to quilt either a panto, or free motion quilting.

Also, GIVEAWAY!
We'll have to wait until next week for pictures and more details, but here's what I can share about the final giveaways!  The Grand Prize is a fabric bundle from C+S that releases this weekend at Quilt Market, and since Cotton + Steel haven't shared a sneak peek of these fabrics yet, I still need to keep it a secret.  But I'll tell ya!  I'm SO in love with these prints!  You're going to love them.  You'll get them months before they're in stores, too!

How's that for motivation?!?  Keep on sewing guys!  You can do it!

Also, we have three other awesome prizes from three other inspiring sponsors so stay tuned for next week's blog post!

Have the best week guys!  Keep on encouraging each other, and thank you for all the kind words shared about the pattern!  You guys are the best!

Potter's Wheel Quilt Along WEEK FIVE

Lots to address this week!
First off!  Congrats!  Your creations are beautiful and so inspiring!  Keep it up!  Things are looking amazing!  

This week I'm sharing loads, so forgive the long blog post, but next week's will be a light blog post, (as will the Week).  Next week is Easy Week!

Your Pile of scrap fabrics is piling up I’m sure, so I have some simple patterns that you can make with the scraps left over from Potters Wheel Curves.

Also, perhaps you've started considering how to quilt your quilt.  I've shared my Free Motion Quilting favourites, my favourite Edge to Edge Quilting Pantographs, and a special offer for Longarm service from an excellent quilter here in Nova Scotia.  (If you're not in Canada, but in the US, considering the exchange rate, it could still be a great option!)

So, let's start off with options to consider for those scraps.  I'll be offering reduced prices on all these patterns exclusively for QAL members soon.  

Here’s Glimmering.  It's mostly a paper pieced pattern using 2 1/2” triangles.  Here's how I would make it with my neutrals.  It's available in print, and also in my Etsy shop as a digital download.  Please note:  Every triangle uses up 108 triangles, so you'll have to consider how many triangles you can get out of your scraps, depending on the size of the Potter's Wheel you're making.  Blocks are 18 1/2" finished, so you could easily make an 18" pillow with every block. (I'd add a 1 1/2" border, and once it's quilted, trim it down to 19", and use a 1/2" seam allowance to sew back of pillow to front.)

Here's how I would use my main fabrics, a few neutrals, and I couldn't decide on a background fabric:

Here's Best Dressed.  It's a mini pattern available, using small bits, too!  You can cut one tumbler piece from your main print scraps, and two from every neutral scrap.

Here’s another pattern I’m getting ready for you!  

Hearth Mini.  It measures 19" x 25", and I think it would make a great 18" pillow, by omitting a few rows!

The pattern will be ready Week 8 of the QAL!

Also, I thought it would be a great time to have a chat about how you're going to quilt it!  How ARE you going to quilt it, do you know?

Here are my FMQ favourites.  Free Motion Quilting is not one of my strengths yet, so I opt for FMQ options that are easy to be successful with.  Here are my go-to's from most easy, to more challenging, including how I do it.

Organic wavy lines.  I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt.  No lines touch.  Waves are very mild.  Every line starts on the same side of the quilt. 

Organic wavy lines with a flourish.  I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt.  No lines touch, but they sometimes echo each other very closely (1/4").  Waves look more stormy.  Every line starts on the same side of the quilt.

Ribbon.  I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt.  At first the lines look very much like the organic wavy lines, but more spaced out.  I then go back to every line, crossing over, and filling in the space.  Every line starts on the same side of the quilt.

Ribbon Meander.  I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt.  At first the lines are a very wide meander, with your hand (not stretched out) able to fit within the curves and between the lines.  I then go back to every line, crossing over, and filling in the space.   Sometimes I create a meandering line all the way across the quilt then go back to where the line started and go across the line again, but also since this is a meander, sometimes  even in the centre of the quilt, I loop around and work my way back across the ribbon.

Long Meander.  It's almost like an elongated stipple.  I know in the image there are sharp points, but they wouldn't be there in my FMQ.  I start from the side at the middle of the quilt, and work my way towards the top or bottom, then start close to where I began and finish the other half of the quilt.  I allow space between the lines about the width of my finger.  I quilt out a line, make a hook, and include a wide or a narrow S curve out of the hook.  I never cross over lines, and allow some areas to be denser then others.  I often will do large areas 3 ft square, then  meander my way into another area.  The quilting is a random sequence of lines, hooks, S curves, puddles (that's where I curve into a space and make a little oval, and curve back out again), and curvy meanders to the next space. 

Longarm Quilting Opportunity

Before I share my favourite pantos, I though I'd let you know I've made an arrangement with Sheri of Violet Quilts.  She's offering a great promotion to anyone in the Quilt Along on their Potter's Wheel Quilt.  She will quilt a Panto or Edge to Edge on your quilt for 10% off, and 25% of batting (Hobbs 80/20). Almost every panto I've had quilted on a quilt has been done by Sheri.  You'll love her.  She is guaranteeing these quilts will be done before Christmas whether you're dropping it off or mailing it.  You can contact her through her Facebook page.  It would be great to give her some notice, if you're planing to have her work on your quilt.

Pantos that would look great on the Potter's Wheel Quilt

On my first Potter's Wheel I used a modified version of Three Tours Wavy Stripe by Methodist Hill Quilt Studio. It's a free Edge to Edge.  It almost looks like a straight line, but it doesn't catch on the horizontal lines of the quilt, which I like.

This is Fancy Schmancy by Karlee Porter.  I've put it on three quilts so far, and love it!  She also has several Retro Tile designs that are brilliant! Check 'em out!

Three Sisters Baptist Fan is one I've been wanting to put on a quilt for forever, just waiting for the right one!  I think it would look awesome on a Potter's Wheel!

Wiggle Worm is another I've been wanting to try!  

Next week is Easy Week!  No assignments, you can choose on of these three options for the week - catching up, getting ahead, or doing nothing!