Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, February 16, 2019 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. ​

​The Starling Quilt Along by the Fat Quarter Shop (affiliate link) is finally here!  There will be giveaways too! I am thrilled to be a blogger for the Starling Quilt Along. It is a fun quilt to make, and I was able to use fat quarters from the Life Is Pink Edition by Art Gallery Color Master fabrics. It was really hard to pick the fabrics because there were so many choices. See my choice in the photo. 

To make your own version of the Starling Quilt and participate in the quilt along, order the Starling Quilt pattern from the Fat Quarter Shop (affiliate link). 

Color Master Giveaway
The Fat Quarter Shop is including a Color Master Giveaway in this quilt along. To enter, take a photo of your completed Starling Quilt and post it on Instagram using the hashtags #AGFColorMaster and #starlingquilt by Thursday, February 7, 2019 at 11:59 CST. On Friday, February 8, 2019 the Fat Quarter Shop will select two participants at random from these hashtags to win an Art Gallery Color Master Fat Quarter Bundle or Box. The winners will be announced on the Fat Quarter Instagram Story on February 8, 2019. 

For more information, see the Fat Quarter Shop Blog.

I am also going to give you some tips on making the quilt here. The quilt is made from two Starling units. I wanted the starlings to be balanced, so I separated my fat quarters so that the units would each be half lighter fabric and half darker fabric. I also separated them so that tone-on-tone prints were balanced by prints. See photo.

As I was cutting out fabric, I noticed that many of the pieces were similar in size. So to help me correctly identify pieces as I sewed, I labeled them. See photo.

I also found it useful to think about the piecing in two units. I did all of the piecing for Unit 1 and then did the piecing for Unit 2. That helped me keep the small unit pieces in the correct unit. See photo of Unit 1 and Unit 2.

Once the units were complete, I tried out my arrangement on my design wall. Once I was satisfied with the arrangement of the units and the background pieces, I sewed the top together. Using my longarm, I quilted the pieced units in the ditch and free motion quilted the background squares. See photos.

I hope that you enjoy making your Starling Quilt as much as enjoyed making mine. 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway!
​
​​I am linking up with
Wednesday Wait Loss @ Inquiring Quilter
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

​Thanks for stopping by. If you have questions or comments, please go to comments or contact me by email. 
​​​​
​Happy Quilting!
​
This post was originally published by JANDA Bend Quilts.

I can't give away too many details yet, but I have provided a couple of hints in the photos below.

Interested? Check back soon to see my completed Starling Quilt and to find out how you can participate in the Fat Quarter Starling Quilt Along and win giveaways from the Fat Quarter Shop!

Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, January 12, 2019 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. 

​Today on Pieceful Sunday, I am linking up with Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs' Best of 2018 Linky Party. I linked up last year and enjoyed reviewing my favorite blog posts. Join me in my review of 2018! I selected five of my favorite posts (in no particular order). To see the other participating bloggers' posts, click on the Best of 2018 Linky Party button.

Thanks for joining me for my trip down memory lane!

Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, January 5, 2019 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. 

Thanks for stopping by. If you have questions or comments, please go to comments or contact me by email. 
​​​​
​Happy Quilting!
​​

How Did I Do in 2018?
Overall. I think that I did pretty well, but some of my goals will be moved to 2019.

Specific Goals:
Workshops. I accomplished this goal! I taught seven Saturday Quilting Workshops at the Tahlequah Armory and Municipal Center in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Most of them were Quilt in a Day (not an affiliate link) patterns, but two were of my own design!

Pattern Designs. I am counting this as partial completion. I did complete two new designs. However, they are not for sale in my store yet.

Online Stores. I still only have an Online Quilt Shop at JANDA Bend Quilts. I dd not create an Etsy or a Craftsy store as planned.

Web Site. I accomplished this goal! I did reorganize my website and make it more user friendly as planned.

Social Media. Accomplished! I did start a JANDA Bend Facebook Group, and have used it to promote my workshops! In addition, I have improved my use of Instagram.

Quilt Alongs. After our successful I Wish You a Merry QAL quilt along, We decided to form a more formal group called Partners in Design.

Here are the members:
Abbie at Sparkle On 
April at JANDA Bend Quilts <--That's me!
Bobbi at Snowy Days Quilting 
Jennifer at The Inquiring Quilter 
Karen at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats 
Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing 
​Laura at Slice of Pi Quilts
Sandra at Sandra Healy Designs 
Sandy at SandyStar Designs
Sherry at Powered by Quilting  
Vanda at Quilting with Vanda 

We completed ourFall into a QAL quilt along in November.

In addition, I have continued to participate in the Fat Quarter Shop Quilt Alongs.

Quilt Market and Quilt Festival in Houston. Unfortunately, I was unable to attend this year.

What Are My Goals for 2019?

Pattern Designs. I want to complete at least four new pattern designs this year and sell them at my Online Quilt Shop and on my new Etsy and Craftsy stores.

Quilt and Quilt Kit Sales. This year I sold my quilts at ourJANDA Bend Christmas Trees Shop and sold Pre-cut Quilt Kits at my Online Quilt Shop. Next year, I want to sell Quilts and Pre-cut Quilt Kits at my new Etsy Shop as well and expand my Pre-cut Quilt Kit offerings.

Workshops. I want to continue to offer monthly Quilt Workshops. I have already scheduled workshops through July. 

Quilt Alongs. Partners in Design has scheduled a quilt along for this year. I am hosting and designing two blocks. In addition, I would like to try my own quilt along using a pattern that I designed.

Quilt Market. I want to attend either the Spring Quilt Market in Kansas City or the Fall Quilt Market in Houston this year.

Looks like another challenging year! That's the way I like it.

Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, December 29, 2018 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. 

​Thanks for stopping by. If you have questions or comments, please go to comments or contact me by email. 
​​​​
​Happy Quilting!
​

​The photo below shows a close up my version which I call "Peppermint Christmas". It is the sample that I am making for the workshop. The quilt top is complete, but I still need to quilt it. I wanted to show you what the pattern looks like in fabric other than solids or tone on tone. There is a lot going on in this version!

You can see the workshops that I have scheduled so far for 2019 by clicking here. I can travel to present these classes as well.

Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, December 22, 2018 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. 

I made the pieced tumblers by sewing together 5” lengths of Lavish, Island Batik (not an affiliate link) 2.5” strips. ​You will need (20) 2.5" by 5" rectangles in various fabrics. I used 10 darks, 10 lights. I placed the darker fabric at the bottom of the tumbler and pressed seams toward the dark. See photos below.

After cutting 10 sloshy tumblers and 18 background tumblers, I arranged them so that the sloshy tumblers were wide side up and that the background tumblers were between the sloshy tumblers. I added four background tumblers on each side as well. These will be used to square the block to 12.5" later. When I was pleased with the arrangement, I sewed the tumblers in rows. The odd row seams were pressed to the right. The even row seams were pressed to the left. This assured that the seams would lock when the rows were sewn together. Sew photos below.

Then I sewed the rows together. Seams should lock. Seams were pressed toward the bottom of the block. Then, using my 12.5" Quilt in a Day Square Up ruler, I squared the block to 12.5". See the completed block below.

​

I really enjoyed making this block because I was able to use my Tumbler Die in a new way.
​
Now it is your turn! I enjoy seeing your posts! You can link up your in-progress or completed piecing projects using the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button below. Please note that the thumbnail photos and links will not show up on this page. You will need to click the Pieceful Sunday Linky Party button to see the photos and links. This may be a little different from what you are used to.  The link-up will be available until Saturday, December 15, 2018 at midnight. If you prefer, you can also link up on Instagram using #PiecefulSundayatJANDABendQuilts. 

​I am linking up with
Wednesday Wait Loss @ Inquiring Quilter
Friday Foto Fun @ Powered by Quilting

​Thanks for stopping by. If you have questions or comments, please go to comments or contact me by email. 
​​​​
​Happy Quilting!
​
This post was originally published by JANDA Bend Quilts.

2018 has been the Year of the Workshop for me. After retiring from teaching in May 2016, I wanted to start teaching people how to quilt. However, I was not sure how to begin. Then I saw that Quilt in a Day was offering a course that would enable people to become Quilt in a Day Certified Teachers. Eleanor Burns has been my mentor since the 1980's. I learned to piece on a sewing machine by watching her on television, participating in her block parties, and making the majority of her patterns. Being a Certified Quilt in a Day Teacher seemed perfect for me. 

I went to the training in Paducah, Kentucky and met some wonderful quilters. The training was thorough and very helpful. You can read more about it here.

However, after I was certified, I was still unsure about how to get started. Where would I teach? How would I recruit students? 

I tried many of the venues that were suggested in the training. I tried contacting local quilt shops. There are very few local quilt shops in rural Oklahoma, which is where I live. I tried contacting quilt guilds. I wrote to program chairs for local quilt shows. Nothing seemed to be working for me. Then I decided that rural Oklahoma is different from large cities. I have to think local. 

I live in the country. The closest town is Tahlequah, Oklahoma. The city of Tahlequah has an Armory and Municipal Center that rents space at a very reasonable rate. I visited the facility and found that one of their rooms would fit my needs, There was good lighting, a cabinet available for ironing and cutting, six-foot tables, and adequate electrical outlets. In addition, the staff were very helpful. I decided to launch my workshops in my own rented space!

I set up a workshop schedule. I had some false starts, but eventually I figured out that people like a six-hour workshop for each project. I now schedule one Saturday a month for the workshops, except for November and December when we are selling Christmas Trees on our farm.

Here are some of my workshop participants. A big thank you to participants who shared their work.

The Seven Pointed Star was made using the Phillips Fiber Art Perfect Seven Ruler (not an affiliate link).  The patterns Girl's Best Friend, In the Pines, and Dessert Time are from Quilt in a Day (not an affiliate link). The Patriotic Table Runner and Christmas Wedge Table Runner were designed by JANDA Bend Quilts.

I want to thank everyone who participated in my first year of workshops. I met so many wonderful women who share my love of quilting. It was so much fun for me. I hope that you enjoyed it as well.  Thank you!

I have planned new workshops for 2019. To find out what I will be offering starting in January, go to Scheduled Workshops. Registration will be available soon.

Thanks for joining me and Happy Quilting!

​This post was originally published at JANDA Bend Quilts.

Here is my setting for the 12 Fall into a QAL Blocks! I call the quilt "Welcome Fall". It feels so good to see all 12 blocks in their places! It has been fun, but it is time to complete our quilts. I used a medallion setting for my blocks. It kind of reminds me of Laura Piland's setting from theI Wish You a Merry QAL last year, except that I am using part of a panel for my center. Laura of Slice of Pi Quilts designed her own center. Below is a diagram of the setting. The center block was cut from a panel. Then the 12 blocks were arranged about the center. 

In order for the spacing to work out, I had to add a border around the panel so that the center block measured a total of 24 1/2" square before adding the surrounding blocks.

The finished center block measured 48" square, and the finished size of the 12 blocks were each 12" square.

Then, I simply added a 5 1/2" border with cornerstones. The cornerstones were cut from the panel as well.

The original panel is shown below. I cut the center medallion and the cornerstones from that panel as shown below.

My center medallion cut was 18" square. I cut 3 3/4" strips to add a border. The center medallion with the border measured 24 1/2".  I chose a batik for the border that I thought would help blend the center medallion and the surrounding blocks. See the photo below.

Then I tried out various arrangements of the blocks and chose the one below. I was looking for a balance of interest and color.

Finally, I sewed the blocks together and added the outer border and cornerstones. The cornerstones were 5 1/2" square and the outer border was 5 1/2". The completed quilt will be approximately 58" by 58". See photos below.

This has been a fun quilt along for me. I hope that you have enjoyed it as well. Please note that all 12 of the blocks in the Fall into a QAL quilt along will be  available free of charge on the designer's  web site until November 13, 2018 at midnight EST.

We are in the middle of planning another quilt along for 2019. To keep up with all the news, subscribe to the JANDA Bend Quilts Newsletter. You can also join our Partners in Design Facebook Group. Announcements will be made there.

​What Group Is Organizing This Quilt Along?

Fall into a QAL is brought to you by Partners in Design.  All the bloggers in the Partners in Design Group met through the 2017 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop. The bloggers  are:
 
Abbie at Sparkle On (Host + Block 11 Designer)
April at JANDA Bend Quilts (Host + Block 2 Designer) <--That's me!
Bobbi at Snowy Days Quilting (Host + Block 7 Designer)
Jennifer at The Inquiring Quilter (Host + Block 8 Designer)
Karen at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats (Host + Block 9 Designer)
Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing​ (Block 5 Designer)
Sandra at Sandra Healy Designs (Block 10 Designer)
Sandy at Sandy Star Designs (Block 4 Designer)
Sherry at Powered by Quilting  (Host + Block 3 & 6 Designer)
Vanda at Quilting with Vanda (Host + Block 1 & 12 Designer)

We are a group of quilt designers and bloggers who are friends and who like to work together.

​What Is the Grand Prize?

​One Warm Company Queen Size Batting.

Exclusive Shabby Fabric quilt pattern “Blessings of Spring” designed by Jennifer Bosworth. The pattern set includes patterns for all 9 blocks to finish to 56" x 62". 

An Omnigrid Zipper Pouch containing an Omnigrid 4” square ruler and a 
pair of 4-Inch Needlecraft Scissors.
*Onmigrid is a Dritz company*

A six month subscription to the e-magazine Make Modern.

How Do I Enter to Win the Grand Prize Giveaway?

There are three ways to enter. Do one of the following by November 11, 2018 at 11:59 pm  EST:
 
​1. Upload a photo of your completed quilt top that uses all 12 Fall into a QAL Blocks ​by clicking on the Blue Frog below. Note you can enter on any Host's website. You only need to enter once. ​

2. Upload a photo of your completed quilt top that uses all of the Fall into a QAL Blocks to the Partners in Design Facebook Group

3. Upload a photo of your completed quilt top that uses all of the Fall into a QAL Blocks to Instagram using #fallintoaqal

​​How Will the Winner Be Chosen?

The winner will be randomly selected from those who post photos of their completed quilt tops by the deadline. Although creativity is encouraged, each of the 12  blocks must follow the posted design. You must be 18 to enter.

I Want to See More Settings of the blocks. Who Are the Other Hosts?

Abbie Danahy at Sparkle On
April Adams at JANDA Bend Quilts <--That's me!
Bobbi Bridgeman at Snowy Days Quilting
Jennifer Fulton at Inquiring Quilter
Karen Thurn at Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Sherry Shish at Powered by Quilting
Vanda Chittenden at Quilting with Vanda

I Have Questions. Who Can I Ask?

You can ask me in a comment to this post or in an email or any of the other Hosts.

Who are the Sponsors for the Quilt Along?

The following members of Partners in Design are providing prizes as well:

Abbie at Sparkle On 
April at JANDA Bend Quilts <--That's me!
Kathleen at Kathleen McMusing​ 
Sandra at Sandra Healy Designs 
Sherry at Powered by Quilting  
Vanda at Quilting with Vanda

To see links to my other posts in the Fall into a QAL Quilt Along, click on the button below.

​Be looking for the 2019 Partners in Design Quilt Along!

​Thanks for joining me and Happy Quilting!

This post was originally published at JANDA Bend Quilts.