McCall's Peace Cottage Quilt Along - Lesson 5 and a #Giveaway!

Lesson 5! We are crusing right along!  I hope you are having fun. Have you figured out that this is a row quilt yet? Row quilts are great, they offer variety. If you are one of those people who get bored easily doing a large quilt with the same blocks over and over and over again, well this type of quilt will be right up your alley!

TIP: Value plays a key roll in keeping this part of the quilt interesting.  Select fabrics that are light, medium and dark. Before you stitch them in place, take a picture and see how they look to you.  Taking a photo will give you a perspective that will help you with your placement.

These blocks will go quick for you, stack them next to your machine and chain piece them.

TIP: Make sure that you finger press your piece open first and then press to get that seam open completely.  Take your time when pressing, don't scrub your piece, press it with an up and down motion.  Doing this will help prevent distortion and will give you a nice accurate block.

If you have been following along, you know that I have raced ahead.  We had a pretty large forest fire going here and sewing kept my mind occupied.  The fire is out now and we are all very grateful to the many men and women that worked so hard in the heat and smoke to take care of us!

Tanker 131 on the Trailhead Fire. Photo July 1, 2016 by Matthew Rhodes

Yesterday my friend Brenda Allen and I took a drive out to Grass Valley and visited one of our favorite little quilt shops, Sugar Pine Quilt Shop. They have a great selection of Civil War Repros and that is just what I needed to finish off my quilt borders  They are wonderful, they have lots of fat quarters pre-cut and if you don't see what you want they will cut you a fat quarter right off the bolt, no problem!

This is such a fun little quilt shop, they have several rooms, each one is chock full of incredible fabrics, notions, patterns, books...you name it, they have it.  There is an eclectic mix here, a little bit of everything for everyone. Their fabrics run the gammit from Civil War Repros to Kaffe Fasset, Neutrals, Solids and Batiks to Modern Prints, Soft Pastels to Bold Colors, Orientials, 1930's Repros, Landscapes, Skys, Childrens Prints everything for everyone! 

I spotted an owl print (Brenda loves owls) and when I pointed it out to her she had to have it. It is so cute and of course, they had the perfect colors to blend with it!

I will be working on the piano key borders today. I was successful in finding the bits I needed to complete this quilt. These were my choices, they will blend with some of the fabrics I have left from my construction.

I'm planning to insert the strip piece in the border where she has the two little pieces and then do the piano keys beyond that...I think it will look nice. You can see my audition below.

OKAY!  I promised you a giveaway!  Right now on our Facebook site we are giving away Moda's All in a Row!  Yes! A book that features 24 different Row-by-Row Quilt Designs. Discover the mix and match possibilities for fabulous quilts with row patterns by your favorite Moda designers including Lissa Alexander of Moda Lissa, Lynne Hagmeier of Kansas Troubles Quilters, Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms, Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts, Pat Sloan and many more.  

To Enter:

LIKE our Facebook Page www.Facebook.com/SisterOfTheDivide

COMMENT on the giveaway post which is pinned at the top of the page for you.

SHARE that post with your friends on your Facebook page

That's all, there is nothing ever to purchase. My goal is to inspire a next generation of quilters.

Drawing will be held on July 30th and the winner will be announced on our Facebook page on August 1st.

Good Luck Quilters! 

If you are quilting along with us on the Peace Cottage check back next week and we will have another post for Lesson 6. If you missed the previous lessons, you can visit our older posts or go to McCall's website at http://www.mccallsquilting.com/PeaceCottage

Okay, I'm off to get my borders made! Make something beautiful today!

Happy Halloween Village!

Last weekend, you will remember, my friend Noell Phipps and I went up to Sugar Pine Quilt Shop in Grass Valley. While I was in a fabric frenzie, I notice that Anne was cutting several fabrics and she had a book open on her counter. I asked her what she was doing and she said she was getting fabric ready for a class. I looked at the book and had to have it!  Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier.

The outside of the book didn't peak my interest, it was what was inside that caught my eye. I never would have picked this up if Anne hadn't had it open to a very cool project. Thumbing through I noticed the Halloween Village and the Christmas Village...CUTE!

This weekend, my friend Brenda Allen came over, she needed some help finishing up the mitered borders on her quilt, so we worked on that and just sewed the day away.  Sometimes it's just great to have that creative synergy of another person to sew with. Anyway, at the end of the day I showed her the book and said...what do you think? Well we were off and running! I was pulling halloween colors last night and so was Brenda, we made our templates and got to cutting...I jumped the gun a little but she caught right up!

Last night I was playing with the bits and getting the basics laid down...this morning I scrapped it and started over...haha!  Fickle.

Brenda came over after church and we really got busy. Scissors flying!

My kitchen is thrashed!  But we are having a ball. The beauty of this project...no sewing, you glue the bits down. There is a process and I would suggest that you get the book and read thoroughly the basic instructions. You are using basic shapes and if you ever played with Colorforms as a kid you will be right at home! Don't be afraid to move things around!  

As you get the basic shapes down and start to embellish them, that is when the fun begins. Here is Brenda's quilt:

The beauty of this project...it's only 16 inches square. You probably have everything you need to make it in your scrap bins or your stash. It goes quickly and you will have immediate gratification. Putting the roofs on is when the fun begins because you start seeing it coming together.

This was the Happy Halloween Village from Karen Eckmeier's book, you can see how much fun you can have embellishing, the sky is the limit.

Finished for today, I'll be adding to this after work each evening I'm sure, as the inspiration hits.  Check back to see the finish!

Don't forget to visit our Facebook page to enter our giveaway this month!  www.Facebook.com/SisterOfTheDivide

Where to find The Real GOLD In Placer County!

Placer County in Northern California is famed for the 1849 gold rush, 49er miners would come from all over the world to try their hand at placer mining in the hopes that they would get rich...although those days of golden glory are gone, there is still plenty of REAL GOLD to be found for quilters at the Sugar Pine Quilt Shop!  This quiet unassuming little building is packed to the rafters with a wonderful eclectic mix of fabrics.  You will never be disappointed and I challenge you to leave their shop without purchasing a basket full of fat quarters!  It cannot be done!

Located in historic Grass Valley the home of the Empire Mine. You can find them at 452 South Auburn Street, Grass Valley, CA 95945.  They are open Tuesday through Sunday from 10am to 5pm.

 

The Empire Mine operated for 106 years, from 1850-1956, producing some 5.8 million ounces of gold from 367 miles of underground workings. The Empire Mine was the richest individual gold mine in California

George Roberts, the original discoverer of the gold, on what became known as the Ophir vein,  soon sold his interest and by 1869 William Bourn Sr. owned controlling interest. The Bourn family maintained control of the mine until 1929 when it was sold to Newmont Mining. Newmont also purchased the North Star Mine, resulting in Empire-Star Mines, Ltd.

By the 1950s, inflation costs for gold mining were leaving the operation unprofitable. In 1956 a crippling miners strike over falling wages ceased operations. The mine was officially closed a year later on May 28, 1957 when the last water pumps were shut and removed.

In 1975 the State purchased the surface property as the Empire Mine State Historic Park.

There is no need for you to get dirty and ride underground to 

find the treasures that abound at Sugar Pine!

Do you like Kaffe and Jacobs...they have it, like batiks....they have it, like Michael Miller...they have it, like contemporary...they have it, like traditional...they have it...oh, I could go on for hours but you get the idea.

Everyroom, every nook and cranny has quilter's notions, rulers, pins, patterns, ideas, inspiration.  If it's not here, you don't need it. Each room that you walk into, invites deeper exploration.

"Why yes I am purchasing more of that cute little house fabric and what is it that you are cutting fabric for right now?" I asked Ann as she measured my fabric..."We are teaching a class in Happy Villages by Karen Eckmeier " she said.  "Let me see that book, I think I need that, that looks like fun!"  She explained the technique and the book flew into my basket.  It's like that at Sugar Pine, it's contagious creativity at it's best!

Every room has just a little different flavor, exciting unexpected patterns, books and fabrics are at every turn.  Your mind will be spinning very quickly.  There is even a little window seat where you can sit quietly and look through the quilt books and baskets of patterns.

Sometimes you just want a fat quarter of that special fabric, you may be collecting for a particular project or just love that one fabric...well, no problem!  Ann will cut you a fat quarter of absolutely any fabric in the store!  Often you will find the fat quarter already cut and on the shelf under your selection or rolled up and poking out the top of the bolt.  Your wish is their command.

You never need to go home and say, I wish I could get a fat quarter of that fabric I loved but they only cut a  1/2 yard minimum...not here! You want a fat quarter of that fabic, well by golly, that is what you will get!

Cheerful corners await you filled with treasures!

Sample flimsies and beautifully finished quilts are at every turn.

There are fun projects for you above every shelf of fabric.

Fabrics are somewhat color coordinated for your viewing pleasure, just know that you will be easily side tracked by flickers of color everywhere. You've heard of the legendary Gold Fever...well that is nothing compared to the Fabric Fever Frenzie that will bite you when you enter!

Precuts, jellyrolls, layer cakes, sale fabrics...it's all here waiting for you.  As you enter the store, be sure to grab one of their little baskets, it can get cumbersome balancing all your bounty!

The gals are happy to help you put together a run of fabric for the project you are working on.  I get carried away everytime I go into their store, I just love it! So here are my purchases for today...I added some white and black.  The dot and the bees I have in my stash but I wanted a little more.

These pinks and this aqua were singing to me...they also will go in my stash.

This gray and this yellow are going to be a table runner, mostly gray with pops of colored squares and rectangles, the yellow may or may not make it into this project, but it's in my stash now...

This batik with the blue dots will be the background in a winter wall hanging that I am collecting for.  Originally I was going to get some white fabric and dye it, but this batik is absolutely perfect for what I am doing...More to be revealed.

And of course, I had to purchase some more of this little house fabric.  Crazy for it...I used it last year to make a table topper and I am in love with it!

And finally these little penguins were dancing and singing to me...I could see them out of the corner of my eye and they danced their way right into my basket!  After all, Christmas is coming!

If you have the opportunity to get to Northern California, be sure to take the time to visit the Sugar Pine Quilt Shop, you will NOT be disappointed and you will surely discover the Real Gold in Placer County!