Modern Quilting

Summer Sampler

April 25, 2018 By Katie Leave a Comment

I’m not much of a joiner, but I really admire the ladies (Katie of Swim Bike Quilt, Lee of Freshly Pieced and Faith of Fresh Lemon Quilts) that host this sampler. So when I was asked to design and contribute a block to this year’s I thought to myself to just keep it simple.

This year’s sampler is travel inspired and my thoughts went to all the solo and accompanied road trips I’ve taken throughout the years in the Southwest and those roads tucked between all that sandstone.

Thought I’d share the quilt mockup with you today! They’ve mocked it up in 3 different color ways, and Sewtopia will be offering solids kits [10% off if you pre-order here], and so will Mad About Patchwork in Canada!!

Beginning May 14th, each week they’ll share a quilt block inspired by a different global destination.

Katie, Lee and Faith have 10 guest designers this year including me, with a total of 18 blocks to make an 80” x 80” quilt, and we hope you will follow them on Instagram [if you don’t already!] and get to know them all a little better.

You can purchase the 2018 Sampler here!

Katie Blakesley – www.swimbikequilt.com @swimbikequilt

Lee Heinrich – www.freshlypieced.com @lee.a.heinrich

Faith Jones – www.freshlemonsquilts.com @freshlemonsquilts

Daisy Aschehoug – www.warmfolk.com @warmfolk

Rebecca Bryan – www.bryanhousequilts.com @bryanhousequilts

Debbie Jeske – aquilterstable.blogspot.com @aquilterstable

Kristy Lea – www.quietplaydesigns.com @quietplay

Karen Lee – www.quiltaposy.com @quiltaposy

Melissa Mortenson – www.polkadotchair.com @polkadotchair

Carolina Oneto – www.carolinaoneto.com @carolina_oneto

Katie Pedersen – www.sewkatiedid.com @sewkatiedid

Angela Pingel – www.angelapingel.com @angelapingel

Christopher Thompson – www.thetattooedquilter.com @the_tattooed_quilter

Our hostesses have picked out three color ways.

Save $5 with special pre-sale pricing! Now through May 13, Summer Sampler 2018 is available for a one-time payment of just $24.99 total. That gets you all 18 blocks and everything else listed below!

Summer Sampler 2018 includes:
• Fully-tested instructions for a new 12″ (finished) block each week, beginning May 14 and running through September 17
• Complete finishing instructions (delivered September 24)
• All fabric requirements and suggested Kona Solids colors
• Quilt mock-up coloring sheet for planning
• Weekly Summer Sampler newsletter email subscription with information about our inspiration, tips for sewing that week’s block, and other bonus content
• Access to a subscriber-only Facebook group to interact with other quilters and the designers

If you have already purchased, you should have received a “Welcome PDF” with fabric requirements and much more information about the quilt-along. (If you purchase now, you will automatically receive that and all other future files.)

The first block pattern will be sent the week of May 14.

Customers in the European Union: Please visit Lee’s Etsy shop to purchase this pattern.

Fabric requirements for the blocks: Approximately 2-1/2 yards of white for the blocks and a total of 3 yards of colored fabric to make the blocks, as well as 1 yard of white for the border and 4-5 yards of solids for the hourglass filler blocks. More detailed information is available in our Welcome PDF that you can download on purchase.

Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century

January 23, 2018 By Katie 7 Comments

Forming The Seattle Modern Quilt Guild seems like such a long time ago now. I’ve met some of my closest friends through the group. In the beginning we just hung out together in a lovely church up on Phinney Ridge and quilted. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t miss the days of the guild being small, but movements take hold because there is interest in doing more and we became one of the first to formalized into our non-profit status as part of The Modern Quilt Guild.

Had the Modern Quilt Guild stayed small and this movement not grown, my quilts, studio and teaching likely wouldn’t have evolved and intertwined itself into my life at the level it has.

And then the Modern Quilt Guild conceived Quiltcon and I had a comfortable avenue to submit my quilts for exhibit and I did so every year. 2018 is the first Quiltcon I haven’t submitted to the exhibit and I have to say that it was a mix of bad timing, needing my quilts for the workshops, and that having my quilts in the new release of Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century felt like accomplishment enough.

It’s certainly an honor to have my quilts placed next to some of the artists I admire most in this beautiful coffee table book by the Modern Quilt Guild. Two of my quilts are in the book, Skewed Symmetry and Diving Geese. You can read more about these quilts and the process of making them here and here.

I submitted a few quilts to Quiltcon last year and tag Skewed Symmetry on at the end. If you were ever to see my trunk show/lecture you would probably think this one doesn’t fit in with my other quilts. It lacks the color I generally go for, but it’s good to push the limits and make something out of your comfort zone every once in awhile.

My Diving Geese quilt was made with a crazy piecing method I’ll be teaching at Quiltcon this year. It hung a few years ago. Quilted by my friend Krista Withers, it won Best in Quilting.

Good thing the book is hardcover. It’s pages have been thumbed through by all the students in the studio and there might be a little margarita salt stain already. We all agree what a beautiful and well published book this is. Very inspirational.

I’m bookending the tour here, but go have a browse at all the other amazing artists involved and pick yourself up a copy of Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century, you won’t regret it;)

12/13/17	Amber Corcoran	Fancy Tiger Crafts
12/14/17	Heidi Parkes	Heidi Parkes Art
12/15/17	Melissa Cory	Happy Quilting
12/16/17	Penny Gold	Studio Notes
12/18/17	Shruti Dandekar	13 Wood House Road
12/19/17	Amy Friend	During Quiet Time
12/20/17	Paige Alexander	Quilted Blooms
12/21/17	Angela Bowman	Angela Bowman Design
12/22/17	Lysa Flower	Lysa Flower
12/27/17	Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill	Whole Circle Studio
12/28/17	Jacquie Gering	Tall Grass Prairie Studio
12/29/17	Christa Watson	Christa Quilts
12/30/17	Heather Black	Quilt-achusetts
1/2/18	Kristin Shields	Kristin Shield Art
1/3/18	Krista Hennebury	Poppy Print Creates
1/4/18	Cinzia Allocca	Deux Petites Souris
1/5/18	Suzanne Paquette	Atelier Six Design
1/6/18	Yvonne Fuchs	Quilting Jetgirl
1/9/18	Ben Darby	Hunts Patch Quilts
1/10/18	Nicole Daksiewicz	Modern Handcraft
1/11/18	Kristi Schroeder	Initial K Studio
1/12/18	Kathy York	Art Quilts by Kathy York
1/13/18	Marla Varner	Penny Lane Quilts
1/15/18	Brigette Heitland	Zen Chic
1/16/18	Stacey Sharman	Hello Stitch Studio
1/17/18	Stacey O’Malley	SLO Studio
1/18/18	Kim Soper	Leland Ave Studios
1/19/18	Steph Skardal	Steph Skardal Quilts
1/20/18	Cheryl Brickey	Meadow Mist Designs
1/22/18	Shea Henderson	Empty Bobbin Sewing Studio
1/23/18	Katie Larson	Katie Larson Studio
1/24/18	Katie Pedersen	Sew Katie Did

:: Split Crumbs Quilt Top ::

October 4, 2017 By Katie 4 Comments

Loving this finish.

This Split Personality crazy piecing technique that I’ve been teaching is so fast and satisfying. I can’t stop making the blocks in all my favorite color ways.

I’ve made several sets and they’re waiting for their own quilt designs to come to me. I’ve also had a little personal challenge going on to make quilt tops come together with fabric I already have, a task that takes a little more design time.

I used traditional block techniques like half squares and quarter squares and randomly placed them up on the design wall filling in here and there with solid fabrics. For the quilting I off set it a bit, diagonally coming together somewhat in the center. It was enough without distracting.

Alexander Henry from stash for the back.

I love this Notorious line by Cotton and Steel for the binding.

This turned out to be an easy baby quilt and I love the heart pillows I made with the left over blocks even more.

I wish I could have both of these in two places at once so that I could show them at my lectures in Ashland next week and at the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild as samples for the November 4th workshop.

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:: Fractured Hearts Pillows ::

September 19, 2017 By Katie 6 Comments

I don’t know what it is about these crazy pieced blocks I call Split Personality, but I’ve got to say they’re nothing short of addictive. In talking with a few students in Saturday’s workshop, I’ve realized I’m not alone in this addiction. After learning the technique they’ve created more than a few sets and let them marinate on their design walls until the perfect quilt design idea came to them for their placement.

I had some left over blocks from my Split Crumbs Quilt top, so I placed them into one of my favorite shapes, the heart. I used the improvisational stitch and flip triangle technique we teach in Quilting Modern for the tops of the heart, and a good ole half square triangle for the bottom.

I’ve been wanting to play with a binding/sashing for pillows, but will have to start teaching myself another zipper or closing technique besides an invisible zip.

The variegated thread stitched up a lovely line. I was thinking a grid, but it didn’t need it.

In the Studio’s evening Open Studio for September and October we’ll focus on installing an invisible zipper into a pillow. I know it sounds complicated and scary, but I actually know 12- year olds that do it without calling their mommy and trust me, making pillows is addictive in a good way. You are welcome to bring any project though.

Of course if you don’t need the hand holding, but just a good tutorial for installing your own at home you can check my invisible zipper pillow tutorial out here.

The Seattle Modern Quilt Guild will be hosting me to teach the Split Personality Quilt Block November 4th. They’ll open up the workshop here soon, so save the date! Not sure but there might be some spots left at Quiltcon too.

Happy Week Peeps:)

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:: Spilt Crumbs Quilt Top ::

June 12, 2017 By Katie 9 Comments

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I take organization to a serious level. So I was teased for showing up to retreat with two cart loads and no real project plan. Clothes are easy to pack for this type of vacation, but my time management for planning projects just didn’t exist.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | No Foul Quilt

Along with a lot of other random stuff, into the car went some blocks a few of my lovely students and I created last month. They helped me test drive a crazy piecing technique I call Split Personality as a three hour workshop at Quiltcon. It’s an easy technique that creates multiple blocks with ‘crumbs’ of each fabric in all sorts of fun linear shapes.

I’ll be teaching this block as a full day workshop in the studio this month.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

I started with the blocks we had made in colors I honestly didn’t like much together. I figured I didn’t have anything to lose by cutting them up. If I didn’t like what was happening I’d trash them and move onto the next set.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio | Crumb Quilt

I loved what happened.

I aimed for an easy design. Nearly everyone with some quilting experience has trimmed many a half square triangle, so merging one with the crazy piecing seemed ideal as a sample. Some time with the design wall led to this layout.

I love to have loads of examples of how to use a technique and/or block and students appreciate the inspiration, so I played with one of my favorite shapes that utilizes half square triangles AND improv stitch and flip triangles with the Split Personality blocks with my leftovers.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I think these will be pillows, just have to decide whether they need sashing, piping or another colorful background. Stay tuned, I have 3 more sets of these blocks in a range of color ways left.

SEW KATIE DID | Weekend Retreat

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

As far as sewing at retreat, here’s what I walked away with. I find with the studio I don’t have as much time to sew and even though I needed to stick with making samples, I was also much more relaxed and organized on my walk out;) It might have been the inspiration, awesome company, good sleep or the margaritas…really doesn’t matter.

I highly recommend retreats.

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio

I’m pretty much smitten with this block. I love that you could fit it into just about any improv or traditional quilt design as a ‘made’ fabric. It just seems now that I find inspirational quilt designs I want to put it into everywhere.

I’ve got a weekend and weekday workshop on the studio schedule for this block.

sew katie did | Seattle Modern Quilting Studio

And Seattle’s got nothing but clouds in our future this week, so I’ve picked out a backing and am ready for some quality quilting time if I pay my time management cards right;)

SEW KATIE DID | Seattle Modern Quilting & Sewing Studio And of course there’s Quiltcon. I’ve never been to Pasadena, so if anyone has some hot tips they’re willing to share about eating & where the best margarita is I’m all ears.

Happy making Peeps;)

Check out other quilts made with the Split Personality block:

Walk the Line | Straight-Line Quilting Workshop

January 28, 2017 By Katie 6 Comments

I still quilt, I swear.

The New Year brings out the clean, organize and purge in me. So on the 1st I jumped into The January Cure, a scheduled out month of house chores. Even with a few missed days to teach in Jackson Hole, the momentum to finish is still present.

I’ve also made my yearly mental checklist of unfinished tops or other projects that could use some quilting.

Maybe some of you are making these lists, and organizing for the year as well. I thought you might even welcome the opportunity to refine your straight line quilting skills in a workshop before you tackle all those unfinished quilt tops on your own home machine.

I’d certainly like to share all the know-how of straight line quilting I’ve accumulated and I happen to have a closet, a very clean closet 😉 full of quilts to show you as examples. Each of them have their own straight line quilting story.

To practice these geometric, curvy and geometric designs I thought we’d go with the New Year’s theme of ‘organize’. Nesting buckets seemed appropriate, made with either whole cloth (we won’t count that as a new project;) or orphaned blocks (you can see that look here).

We’ll learn the tips and tricks of using a walking foot, marking, turning and burying knots as you master modern straight line quilting designs on the studio’s Bernina machines. The bucket’s panels make perfect practice palettes and you can pull from your stash to make them happen.

Take a closer look at my finished quilts and smaller projects with straight line quilting, or SIGN-UP to develop this skill for yourself.

Hope the New Year has been rich in craftiness Peeps.

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I’ll be showing my quilts and speaking at the Seattle Modern Quilt Guild’s Wednesday, February 8th meeting from 7pm-9pm. You don’t have to be a member to attend, so this is a great opportunity to check out what they have planned for lectures and workshops this year. I promise to entertain;)

Skewed Symmetry Quilt

November 23, 2016 By Katie 14 Comments

| Inspiration |

I’m not quite sure where the inspirational starting point was for the Skewed Symmetry quilt. The blocks originally seemed destined to become matching pillows, but from the moment I stacked the blocks it just kind of developed on the design wall organically.

The mitered log cabin blocks were the cast-offs from making the Alignment Optional Pillows with my Psychedelic Baby Block technique. The color-way seemed best left alone and I liked the idea of the minimalist blocks partially floating depending on the background. I actually ran out of black fabric, so the planned symmetry of halfing the background eye-catchingly fell into the rule of 3rds instead.

Essex yarn dyed linen combined with Cotton Couture’s split personality of a dull and shiny side, offered multiple layers of texture.

Improvisationally pieced and designed. I love that.

| Quilting |

I went vertical with the quilting in a Metler black thread, subdividing the quilt with 1″ lines and then went back in for the fill. I didn’t really worry that they were evenly spaced, just eyed it up on the design wall here and there with distance as my assistant. Some are 1/4″ apart and others a little bit more or less.

Unfortunately, I tugged out the top corner of the quilt when I hung it to photograph, but this is truly one of the squarest quilts to date with no waving at the edges. No blocking, so satisfying.

| Binding and Backing |

The binding switches out in value/fabric to oppose what’s in the quilt at the top and bottom vertical strips. Not only do I like the design interest it adds, but I was able to scab together enough scraps of black to make it happen.

After talking about white batting bearding in my Alignment Optional Pillows post, I actually did have the foresight to order some black batting. All said, done and basted I realized my backing fabric had white in it. I was a little concerned the opposite effect of black batting bearding through would happen, but all went well.

This quilt will be a great workshop sample to explain how I improvisationally panel out a quilt on the design wall.

I’ll be the visiting artist at the Arts Center of Jackson Hole teaching a two day Psychedelic Baby Block | Improv Strip Piecing Workshop January 21st and 22nd. I’m pretty excited to have two whole days in Jackson Hole to hang out with students and play with both of the blocks this technique creates!

I should mention that I’ll also be in B.C. Canada in February and a bunch of locations in Washington come winter-spring. All my locations are up on the Events page.

Happy be grateful weekend Peeps!

Christmas Flurry Pillows

December 17, 2015 By Katie 57 Comments

It pretty much started with this VANHAKAUPUNKI fabric Jefe bought me last year for Christmas.

I stretched it over the frame covering the other Marimekko for the season.

So what do you do with the leftovers?

Well duh.

And of course you need coordinates.

And as it happens the coordinates match the ones from last year:)

But with the endless rain here all I want to do is sew or sit on my pillows,

so I made some more for the family room too.

I finished up some more dopp kits and napkins that I’ll share next week, but I think that’s it for my #handmadechristmas this year. Here’s the link to my invisible zipper tutorial if you feel in the mood to make some holiday pillows yourself.

::GIVEAWAY::

Oh, and the fabric giveaway as promised are these lovely Christmas fabrics. No annoying follow me here and there stuff, just copy and paste a link to your favorite PATCHWORK or QUILTING handmade gift tutorial in your comment and you could win…

(2) large scraps Heather Ross Flannel
(1) FQ+ out of print Alexander Henry Merry Moderns large print
1/4 yard out of print Alexander Henry Merry Moderns small
(2) large scraps Cotton and Steel Candles
(1) FQ out of print Alexander Henry Birds
(1) FQ Folk lore print in grey

Good Luck!

Modern Domestic Gallery Show

December 14, 2015 By Katie 7 Comments

I’ve always enjoyed teaching at Modern Domestic in Portland. They sell quality fabric, Bernina machines and have an amazing classroom that doubles as their gallery space. Of course I should mention the friendly and knowledgeable staff;)

They kindly asked me if I’d like to be featured. It turned out December was the month I could manage since I have no scheduled trunk shows or classes. I figured people are making and shopping to boot and would see the quilts.

I pulled all of these wonderful images from their blog, and Instagram.

I selected quilts from the series I created, my Value Quilt Tutorial and then a few that reflect my favorite technique workshops, like elongated and double-trouble triangles.

I loved this photo that Sometimes Crafter posted on her Instagram account.

It’s always so fun to “see” (I wish I could have gone) all the quilts hanging together, especially in such a light and bright space.

I’ve been working on holiday gifts that I’ll likely pop back in to share at the end of the week. Maybe a Christmas fabric FQ giveaway??? Be sure to add your email to the “follow me around” button in the sidebar for that update. I’ve got some out of prints you surely need;)

This Tuesday, next Tuesday (22nd) and this Thursday I have a space in Open Studio with requests to teach/work on double sided napkins and other holiday projects like the dopp kits and zip pouches I’ve been making and posting on my Instagram. Drop me an email to join us;)

Happy Monday Peeps!

::Playing with Hearts::

November 10, 2015 By Katie 7 Comments

I’m still quilting my Christmas quilt made with blocks that I call ‘Split Personality.” Both the vertical and horizontal quilting lines were finished over the weekend and I’ll move onto the diagonal lines once the week’s open studios and workshop are done.

I try to give my body a break from quilting every hour or so and since staring at my design wall is a favorite activity I’ve dedicated my move around time to these solid fabric versions. Last season I was rather smitten with all the heart designs I’d been seeing and decided I’d really like to play with an improvisational variation of this shape.

The block’s effect is similar to what the crazy piecing technique in Quilting Modern produces, but this new technique is rather quick and without fuss.

These Split Personality blocks have evolved into the “what” with their heart shaped design element, but they have yet to find the “how” of their final composition. I’ve been inspired by so many traditional quilts layouts where I could place this block, but am really trying to stay improvisational with this one.

I have plans at the end of the week to play with some I made that I’m not as happy about and see where an elongated heart shape might land me. Pays to not always throw away the ‘not so goods’ eh? Maybe in the end I’ll have some great trivets for Christmas presents at the least:)

Happy midweek Peeps!

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I’ve got new Open Studio dates up and a few spaces in my design wall/improv workshop left. Thanks to everyone’s feedback and response to my newsletter. I’ll be working on an evening Open Studio and a Sunday monthly in the new year. Hope to see you soon;)

::Quilting In Process/Split Personality Christmas Quilt::

November 5, 2015 By Katie 14 Comments

I’ve procrastinated quilting it long enough. I thought I’d long arm this quilt with swirls, but couldn’t make my date with Sandie so I went ahead last week and basted the beast.

I’m an over baster so I thought this time I would use my plastic template to draw out my quilting lines and get a visual on the best placement for the pins. Less moving them around=more quilting time right?

It did the trick.

The horizontal and vertical lines are nearly done. I believe it helped stabilize the blocks a bit for the crosshatch lines that will come next across the Essex linen.

I went a quarter inch from each seam and will use painters tape as a guide for the crosshatch.

My thought is that the quilting will echo the Xs and Os the blocks create in the secondary design. There’s a load of piecing to contain and tack down.

Sneak Peek of the back. So glad I went with the Cotton and Steel flannel.

Perhaps next week I’ll have something finished to show! I’m itching to play on the design wall with the same block in solids and get the workshop for this block put fully together.

Hope you’re having a great week peeps!

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P.S. I’ve got one spot in my open sew Thursday, November 12th from 10am to 3pm and some spots in my workshops at Circa 15 fabric studio. Give me a shout out if you’d like to join/sewkatiedid@gmail.com

I’ll try to keep my Facebook page updated with classes and sew ins until I get my website up and running;) or follow along with Bloglovin.

::Solstice Picnic Quilt::

June 22, 2015 By Katie 25 Comments

Regardless of moving from Fremont we did not break tradition and made it to the Fremont Solstice Parade with children in tow.

I won’t get into too much about the history of the parade, but it originated in a hope to make a better world by supporting the neighborhood and raising funds to end poverty. Roan’s school in Fremont was a grant recipient and in turn able to help school many of the city’s homeless children. The parade is void of anything motorized, highly artistic in nature often with a theme of political protest and really is an all over good time.

It is traditionally led by body-painted bicyclists. This year there were hundreds of them. A great way to show eleven year olds that even painted artistically 99% of bodies look nothing like in magazines;)

Of course we broke out the Solstice Quilt to place on the pavement. This quilt lives in the car and is the most washed quilt we own. One thing I noticed this year about putting something handmade onto the ground was people respected your space a little more. Considering the parade was the largest I’d seen this was a good thing. Once the parade was in full swing and we weren’t really sitting anymore I pulled it back to a less selfish amount of space.

The Solstice Picnic Quilt was the first quilt I ever created in a virtual quilting bee. I gathered 36 scraps of the same color for each participant and had them cut and sew together the postage stamp blocks.

Of course as I discovered when the blocks were returned is that a quarter inch seam isn’t the same measurement to everyone, so I built each block out log cabin style and squared them all wonky with my largest template to the same size.

This quilt was also my first free motion quilting experience. I had a cramp in my calf for about four days after from pressing the pedal and it truly is a disaster if you look close. It was a great practice tool.

House on Hill Road gave me the idea for the ‘rock pockets” on the back corners to weight the quilt so that the crows or wind can’t fly off with it on the beach.

I’ve always loved this out of print Alexander Henry Sun Signs print and fussy cut out Jefe’s, Roan’s and my signs.

If you don’t have a quilt of this utilitarian nature I suggest you make one. Picnics, beach, parade, soccer games, I can’t imagine life without it.

Happy Week Peeps;)

I believe I’ll have furniture in the studio by next week!

Modern Quilting

Summer Sampler

You can purchase the 2018 Sampler here!

Modern Quilts: Designs of the New Century

:: Split Crumbs Quilt Top ::

:: Fractured Hearts Pillows ::

:: Spilt Crumbs Quilt Top ::

Walk the Line | Straight-Line Quilting Workshop

Skewed Symmetry Quilt

Christmas Flurry Pillows

Modern Domestic Gallery Show

::Playing with Hearts::

::Quilting In Process/Split Personality Christmas Quilt::

::Solstice Picnic Quilt::

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