Grand Canyon Sunset - In Progress

Grand Canyon at sunset - this is basted and not yet quilted

 It's been a heck of a last 3 months but hubby is up and back at work half time now. Thank you for all the encouragement you've given me since the last blog and I'm happy to be back to work myself! 

I started this quilt last August before we left for Ukraine, I just never had time to show you what I was working on after I finished The Perfect Nanny (Mary Poppins). By the way, I sent it off to the National Quilt Museum where it will be part of their traveling exhibition for the next 2 years. Maybe you'll be able to go to an AQS show and see this added exhibit?  

On to my new quilt -

New Quilt and Holiday Wishes

I'm so happy that people like my new book. I've had a lot of people tell me about it on facebook and it is still the #1 New Release (quilt book) on Amazon!  There are quite a few simple projects in it, and as the saying goes "You have to learn to walk before you can run".  

My latest quilt is one for runners.  This week's blog will continue to show some of the steps and a bit of the process. My quilt is pieced and ready for applique.

Quilting Daily's Book Review and Progress on my Latest Quilt

I got another great book review! 

Quilting Daily gave it a rave review (see below) and it hit the #2 spot for quilt books on amazon. Plus it has held the #1 New Release spot on Amazon for nearly a week now!  That is awesome for an art quilting book!

I had to take some screen shots.

Book Review, Exhibitions and Happy Dances

Happy Dancing!

 I've had such a good week I'm like Joy Joy Joy!

First - my book Lovely Landscape Quilts gets excellent reviews from Quilting Arts Magazine!  Well, this is sort of last week's big news.

But....

Sunset still in progress

I am making progress - slowly but surely! This blog entry will show you a bit of how I use a tear away foundation to piece my quilt tops.  I call it the Fold and Sew technique and I invented it in a moment of desperation years ago. (I have a patent on it, if you can believe it!)

I use a foundation to piece long strips.  It makes a huge difference keeping those straight rows straight! HUGE difference.  What you are seeing is the top part of my sunset quilt; it is all the strip segments sewn together and transferred to a tear-away foundation. I use a simple glue stick for paper to glue the strips to the foundation and will fold and sew along some lines I drew on the foundation earlier.

I explained the technique much more in depth in my first book and it will also be part of the subject matter of my second book.  And maybe a third?!  So, let me show you some of the steps involved in using a foundation to piece. 

New quilt in progress...

Sunset - not sure of the name yet!

This is my progress after a couple of days.... I don't work steadily so maybe I worked 8-10 hours total?  I can show you the steps I've taken so far though.  :)

Making Night Hunter

Night Hunter by Cathy Geier

I've been thinking about the Holy Spirit lately and about the more predatory aspects of His character.  We usually see Him represented by a white dove, coming to us in peace... which He does.  But sometimes I think of Him as a predator, coming after me when I stray and invading my dreams and my heart, always drawing me closer to God through His love.

Here is how I put the elements together to make this quilt.  

Making Blue Ridge Mountain Sunset

I thought I'd post a few pictures I took along the way making Blue Ridge Mtn. (This is the quilt they chose to be the cover of my book!) It has all my favorite colors and someday I'd like to make a large version of this quilt! How many 'somedays' are there do you think?! Especially for us quilters... we have more ideas than we have time.