Strips Cut

This weekend I decided to use my wool stripper and cut some of the wool for my rug. I am using size 8 or 1/4" strips.  Unfortunately, my photography skill is lacking, so you can't see any of the colors the way they really are but I think you get the idea. The point is to show my progress on the rug anyway, right?

I have several more blacks that I have ordered so the background will have interest. The blues are more of a teal color and the pinks are not so pink. I have more shades the greens and pinks ordered too. The applique blocks around it are some of the 'unironed" wool blocks I have been appliqueing from Laundry Basket Quits, Applique Affair. I have two more blocks to finish out of 25 and some of the border blocks left to applique. I am making the rug to coordinate with the quilt when it is finished.

After I cut the strips for my rug I divided the quantity in half. Since my design is symmetric and I've never hooked before I wanted to make sure that I had enough strips for the whole rug. Now, if I run out of a color I can cut more or get more ordered. Someday I can just dye the wool I need but I'm taking baby steps right now.

My tracing fabric should arrive today so I am hoping to get my design drawn on my linen soon.  Once that is done and all my edges sewn so my linen doesn't fray, I can start the process of hooking.

I don't know anyone who hooks in my area so I have learned everything from a few books and on the Internet. Thanks to great sites like Red Jacks Rugs I was able to see first hand how to hook. Gene Shepherd has a wonderful blog and a virtual camp to learn rug hooking and wool dyeing. I have also gone to YouTube to watch videos. I joined a Yahoo rug hooking group who are so great for giving advice and I am following several blogs of rug hookers.

By studying quilts at places like Virginia Rug Fest and several rug hooking sites I have learned what styles I am attracted to, what colors I prefer, how to shade, and making interesting backgrounds.

One of my favorite places to purchase wool has been Ram in the Thicket. Susan Sylvia has the largest selection of colors and values of anyone on the Internet and the best part is that you don't have to spend a fortune getting what you need. She is beyond gracious, a pleasure to work with and her wool is wonderful.

Viola, Tulips, and Simply Daisies

All three of these stunning new quilts are designed by Brenda Yirsa for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. Brenda has once again done an outstanding job creating these beautiful, fresh, and modern designs.

I am honored to have done the quilting on the cover quilt for the Viola's.

These quilts are fun to make and what I like is that they look harder than they really are so it makes the quilter look even more amazing. By using Wonder Under Fusible Web the pieces are just traced, ironed on to the fabric, cut out on the drawn lines, and fused together to the background. Using the Applique Pressing Sheet from Bear Threads makes it super fast and easy! As always they are sewn and quilted with the BEST thread, which is Aurifil.

Each one of these designs is a pattern from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company and they also have kits for each pattern with the exact fabrics shown in the original. How great it that?! Just when you thought it couldn't get any better....they also have the thread kits that you can order so you have the exact thread used in the quilt too! High quality fabric from Batik Textiles, thread from Aurifil, and designs from a leading cutting edge artist. It doesn't get any better than this.

Poinsettia By Brenda Yirsa For Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

This is one of the Poinsettia I made for Trunk Shows for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. It is designed by Brenda Yirsa.

Shelly Diaz, my daughter, put the top together for me and I did the quilting. We made three of them. They are so much easier than they look, and everyone wants more bang and less work.

The batiks are from Batik Textiles and the thread I used is Aurifil 50 wt. I use Wonder Under Fusible Web by Pellon to fuse the applique down.

Holly Moose by Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

Holly Moose is a new pattern from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. It is taken from the artwork of Paris Bottman. This is one of my favorite designs from Paris. I believe Carol Rockwell designed the holly in the border which I really like. I couldn't wait for this design to come out. I of course need one for me.

The patterns are available at Bigfork Bay Cotton Company as well as the kits. If you get one of the kits be sure you get the Aurifil thread pack that goes with it. Once you use Aurifil you will never go back to any other thread.

I always use Pellon Fusible Web for my applique. They have recently come out with batting too! Cotton, wool, soy, bamboo, and poly. I can't wait to try their batting. Soy sounds very interesting to me.

By the way, if you are a Quilt Shop, and you would like to book the Trunk Show with all three of the New Paris Bottman designs, be sure you get in touch with Traci Suzanne Marvel at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

Peace for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company by Paris Bottman

When Bigfork Bay Cotton Company first came out with their amazing patterns, two years ago, and I started making their Trunk Shows for them I wondered how they were ever going to keep coming up with such wonderful fresh new ideas. I'm not wondering any more. The high quality of artistry just keeps coming with each new season.

This pattern, Peace, is designed by Paris Bottman. Her artwork, which is seen all over the World, transfers so well to quilts. I am so very excited to be making this quilt right now. Bigfork Bay Cotton Company has a total of three of Paris Bottman's patterns this Spring.

As always the kits as well as the patterns will be available at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. For each of the kits there are also Aurifil thread packs that you can purchase. If you haven't tried Aurifil thread yet, you can't imagine what you are missing. It is the finest thread on the market. I will never use anything else.

Christmas Tree by Paris Bottmam for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co

Here it is! The first quilt I've done of the new designs for Spring 2009 by Bigfork Bay Cotton Company!

Christmas Tree is a wonderful design based on the art work of Paris Bottman. There are a couple more of her designs coming out too that are just as fabulous!

My daughter Shelly wants this quilt really bad. It is so amazing in real life and so very simple to make. I really mean that. I use Pellon Wonder Under so that I don't get heavy build up in the layers and it never leaves gummy stuff on my needle. To quilt it I use Aurifil Thread exclusively.

I can't wait for you to see all the new patterns coming out for Spring. Patterns and kits for Christmas Tree should be available around the second week of March. Call 1-888-245-5718 or order online at their website http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/. If you are really anxious I would pre-order just so you make sure you get yours right away.

Butch by David King for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

Shelly, my daughter, and I finished two Butch quilts for Trunk Shows for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/. Butch is designed by the Artist David King and is the companion of Sundance which I finished earlier. Shelly drew the pieces to the Wonder Under Fusible Web, cut them out, and fused the pieces into a quilt top. All I had to do was quilt the top, bind and put on a hanging sleeve. Shelly has been such a great help to me.

This quilt is so adorable! My son Randy has a black lab named Buck who looks so much like Butch. As soon as Randy saw Butch he asked me if I would make him one. How can I resist?

The fabrics used in the kits, which can be ordered directly from Bigfork Bay Cotton Co., are all by Batik Textiles. They are by far my favorite Batik company and anyone who knows me and how much I LOVE my batiks knows that is a big deal. Batik Textiles keep coming out with more wonderful colors and designs all the time.

Plumeria and Hibiscus Quilt Patterns

These are the new Plumeria and Hibiscus Quilt Patterns by Brenda Yirsa for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. I absolutely LOVE all three of her new designs so much. They look like they are so hard but seriously they are not! These quilts, like the Bird of Paradise below, are quilted by Carol Rockwell. I saw no reason to photograph the three I just finished for trunk shows when Carol did such a great job of taking the pictures to send so that I could see how she quilted them. I was so impressed with her quilting that it is how I chose to quilt the trunk shows I have done.

Be sure to see these and other new designs at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ You can order the kits or patterns by calling Toll Free 1-866·245·5718. Don't forget that they also have the thread kits available for each design as well!

Bigfork Bay Cotton Co Bird of Paradise

This is the new Bird of Paradise pattern, designed by Brenda Yirsa. This particular quilt was photographed and quilted by Carol Rockwell. She was gracious enough to send me photographs so that I could quilt my trunk shows as closely as possible to hers. I love her quilting style so much. Usually when you see a pattern by Bigfork Bay Cotton Company it is her quilting on the cover!

Kits and patterns are available as always at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ or you can order by calling Toll Free 1-866·245·5718.

Rock Star, Free Pattern by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co.

We ALL love free patterns and this is a great design called Rock Star by Lynn Stalowy, owner of Bigfork Bay Cotton Company. You can download the directions right off the website at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ The quilt uses fabulous batiks by Batik Textiles.

You can order the kits for this quilt right off the website, it's on page 10, or you can call Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. 866·245·5718 and talk with one of the ladies. You can't believe how reasonable the price of the kit is! I'm getting one for me!

Be sure you look at all the great kits available while you are there. They have other designs besides their own but I know when you see the fabulous patterns by the various artists who design for Bigfork Bay you will be amazed!

Don't forget the Aurifil Thread and the giant size pressing sheet by Bear Threads Designs while you are there!

A King and His Guards by Ty Livingston

I haven't taken a picture of A King and His Guards yet so this is one of Carol Rockwell's. This is a new pattern designed by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ It is lighter in real life and just beautiful..

My daughter Shelly made the two tops for me and I quilted them. She has been helping me out and doing an amazing job, as usual. I can't wait to get more of the new designs to make the trunk shows. Be sure to see the newest creations on the Bigfork Bay Cotton Company website!

Bear, Raccoon, VW by Ty Liningston

Look what I got!!!! I won this fantastic painting by Ty Liningston on eBay. http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/tysoriginals I am so happy. I had emailed Ty to tell him how much I enjoyed his work since I do the trunk shows for his pattern designs by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ and in my email I told him how disappointed I was that I didn't win a different painting with the VW, Bear, and Raccoon. Next thing I knew this painting was on the eBay store. You can't imagine how excited I was!!!

Photography does not do his paintings justice. This really is truly wonderful. My husband was very impressed.

Thank you Ty for allowing me to see this adorable painting every single day.

Butch and Sundance for Bigfork Bay

I have been so busy finishing up quilts lately! Last week I mailed off 12 finished trunk show quilts, two of which were the new designs and I forgot to get pictures! Sundance is the retriever by David King for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Carol Rockwell does the original quilts for the covers and fortunately she took a photo so I am using her photograph of her quilt. He is just fabulous! The other dog coming out this time is a black lab named Butch. Sundance and Butch are two I will definitely have in my personal collection. I haven't done Butch yet but I can't wait! The one here is another one done by Carol Rockwell

The other quilt I didn't get a picture of is a new one of Ty Livingston's called Peek-A-Boo! It is an adorable raccoon peeking out of a pumpkin.

I am very excited about all the new designs coming out so you will have to check back for your sneak peeks. Hopefully I will get better organized and remember to get pictures!

Butterfly Kisses by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co

Butterfly Kisses is designed by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.con/ Ty Livingston sells his original art on eBay at http://myworld.ebay.com/tysoriginals/ I made three quilts of this design for the Bigfork Bay Cotton Co Trunk Shows. The One Moose Open Sleigh is in an earlier post and I made three of it too. These Trunk Shows are NOW SHOWING at The Copper Thimble in Miles City Montana, Deer Country Quilts in Seeley Lake Montana http://www.deercountryquilts.com/ , or Log Cabin Dry Goods in Spokane Washington http://www.logcabindrygoods.com/ . They are only showing for a limited time so hurry!

These patterns are available at any of the quilt shops above. I use Aurifil thread to quilt them with. Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. carries this thread in packs to match their kits too. If your shop isn't carrying Aurifil thread yet, they can carry it by contacting Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. BBCC are Distributors for Aurifil thread. Aurifil thread is the finest quality thread on the market. One spool of Aurifil goes farther and has less lint than any brand I have ever tried.

I use Wonder Under fusible web by Pellon on all my fusible quilts too, just in case you wondered.

Lazy Daze and Autumn Lullaby by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co

I just finished making three each of these Lazy Daze and Autumn Lullaby quilts by Ty Livingston for the Bigfork Bay Cotton Co http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ trunk shows. Lazy Daze is my favorite from the series. It just has so much meaning for me and I can't wait to make one for myself. They are all the most adorable designs. My Daughter loves Butterfly Kisses, which you will see soon. Everyone seems to have their own favorite! They are so easy to relate to. My husbands favorite is the Autumn Lullaby.

I hired my daughter Shelly to help me with the cutting and ironing down phases of the quilts. She is so good at it and I really appreciate the help. She is the only person I know who is as much of a perfectionist as I am so we make a great team. She made it easy to come home from vacation and not feel too far behind.

The other quilts in this series from Ty are just so adorable. This series is designed for a beginner so the pieces are all just fused on a black background and one border is added. You could easily translate these to fit your own color taste and use your stash since there aren't a lot of colors. The patterns are available at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ as well as the kits.

I'll be done with the others in the series soon so if you have a favorite shop you would like to see have the trunk show have them contact Traci Suzanne Marvel at traci@bigforkbaycottonco.com. These quilts are just adorable and you really need to see them in real life.

Chickadee Dreams by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co

I finished three of the quilts for the Distributor Modeknappen in Sweden http://www.modeknappen.se/. So far I made them the Winter Wolf, One Moose Open Sleigh, and Dancing Chickens by Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. After I got them in the mail I finished three of the Chickadee Dreams by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company's trunk shows.

This little guy is so adorable. The Kits by Bigfork Bay use all Batik Textile Fabrics which I just love. As always, I quilted them with Aurifil thread, the only kind I use, and I use Wonder Under by Pellon for the fusible.

I am trying to get as many trunk show quilts done as possible since Alan and I are leaving for Kenai Alaska in a couple of days. My brother Rich and his family have lived there for 17 years and I have never been up there to visit. It's about time don't you think? We are so excited. I am going to fish for Halibut on the Ocean. It's my first time fishing ever. Alan and my brother Rich have done it many times so I will be in good hands. I plan on hitting some quilt shops with my sister-in-law Sarah. She isn't a quilter but what woman doesn't like to shop. My brother has planned our trip with some wonderful adventures. I can't wait!

One Moose Open Sleigh by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

OK, I know what you are thinking. "Wow, Sylvia finally learned how to take a decent photograph!" As much as I would like to take the credit I have to say that I am just using the photography of the famous John Staloway. He is not only my boss, who I have NEVER met, he is the photographer for all the pictures on the cover of the Bigfork Bay Cotton Co patterns. He's the owner of the company too, along with his wife Lynn, so I'm guessing it's ok for me to use his photo which shows how great the quilt is, instead of my photo's which make it look like the colors don't match.

One Moose Open Sleigh is one of the new designs by Ty Livingston for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. This one isn't for their trunk show, which I will make three more for. It is for a Distributor in Sweden who has picked up the Bigfork Bay Patterns and the fabric from Batik Textiles. I told my family that I'm International now! She is having me make 4 of the BBCC quilts for shows in Europe. I am very excited. I am making some for a Distributor in Denmark too, I am International you know!!!

Sebastian the Beagle Quilt

I'd like to introduce you to Sebastian. This adorable Beagle is the newest friend of Perrito the Pug. The pattern for this quilt, from Bigfork Bay Cotton Company, http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ is adapted from a painting by David King who is from Halifax, Nova Scotia on Canada's Atlantic coast. His art business is called Pugcasso. http://www.pugcasso.com/ I am a huge fan of his work.

I just finished making three Sebastian quilts for the Bigfork Bay Trunk Shows. He really is even more adorable than in the photo and the fabric really does look like that in Bigfork Bay's kits. The fabric is all from Batik Textiles http://www.batiktextiles.com/ . You can get the Aurifil thread pack as well as the kit from Bigfork Bay. Aurifil thread is the ONLY thread I quilt with. Why, you ask? Well, let me tell you. It is made from long staple Egyptian cotton which gives the thread the strength needed for high-speed quilting. Because of the longer fibers in the Egyptian cotton the thread is tighter and smoother than other brands. This means that if I wind a bobbin with Aurifil thread I actually have more thread on my bobbin than with other brands and so I change bobbins less often. Machine quilting can be hard on a sewing machine and I take exceptionally good care of my machine. Aurifil thread has less lent than other brands which means my machine stays cleaner and runs more efficiently. In the long run I spend less money on thread since Aurifil thread goes farther, I change bobbins less often and I spend less time cleaning my machine, but the biggest and most important reason is that it has a more luxurious finish.

Wild Horse Canyon Re-Do

This is what I am working on today. I will have it ironed down and ready to quilt for tomorrow. If it looks a little familiar you are right. Wild Horse Canyon is a pattern designed by Toni Whitney for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. that has been changed a little. They changed the colors and they made it easier to make. I LOVE the changes, however I LOVED the first one too.

Although this quilt looks hard I want to assure you that it really isn't. It is time consuming to a point and using a pressing sheet is so important. I use the pressing sheet by Bear Threads that measures 27"x30". With this pressing sheet you can do fusible applique on just about any size quilt. I can use it for ALL the quilts from Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. Even the big American Icon! Using this size pressing sheet has made my life so much easier. You can order one directly from Veronica Cox, the owner at http://www.bearthreaddesigns.com/ if your local quilt shop doesn't have one, or you can ask your local shop to carry it. They won't be sorry. It does come in smaller sizes too. Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. carries them too at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/.

For those who don't know, I make trunk shows for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. It's my dream job. There is such a wide variety of patterns and kits available. There are the most amazing wildlife quilts by Toni Whitney, a baby quilt by Katie Bramante, frogs, dancing chickens, and Italian series from Debi Hubbs...the list goes on and on! Wait until I show you the newest artist Ty Livingston. I will be making his quilts next! You can see them right now at http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/ too.

I guess I should get to work instead of playing on my blog so you can see all the new quilts too!
Did I mention how much I love my job?

Gondola, Vino, and Autumn Ride,By Bigfork Bay Cotton Company

I just finished these great new quilts for Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. by Debi Hubbs. They were such delight to make. I just LOVE the little dog in all of them. Something about Debi's designs make me smile. I could look at them all day.

These quilts are so simple to make. Traci and Lynn will be at Market with all the new designs next week. The patterns and kits are, as always, available at Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. http://www.bigforkbaycottonco.com/. They aren't up on the website so just call and ask for them by name at 866-245-5718 . I'm sure my favorite shops will be carrying them after market, so check them out too. The websites are on my sidebar.

I am so very excited about all the quilts from Bigfork Bay Cotton Co. I thank God every day that I have the opportunity to make trunk shows for such an amazing group of people. Just wait until you see the other new quilts. They have added even more new artists this time!

STAY TUNED......