Feeling Loved

2 Comments / SSMQG / By

This week was the three year anniversary of the first meeting of the South Sound Modern Quilt Guild. When I started this guild 3 years ago, I have to say, I wasn’t quite sure what would happen, would anyone show up or would I be at the quilt shop with Anne for company. Little did I know that we would have a huge turn out and I would quickly find myself as president of a quilting guild for the next 2.5 years. I love this guild, and I have been so grateful for all of the wonderful women who are part of it. They are all so wonderful, caring, giving and loving.  At the end of our meeting this week, I was called up to the front of the room, now that I’m not president anymore I tend to hide in the back, and was presented with a stunning quilt made with love from the most wonderful ladies.

SSMQG Quilt - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comThese ladies know me so well. There are so many blocks that I truly adore in this quilt. I’ve been having a rough week and yesterday I truly felt as though I had been wrapped up with love. People do not understand what it means to be a quilter until they gift a quilt and see the joy in the recipients face or they receive a quilt and feel all the love that is stitched into the quilt.

Thank you South Sound Modern Quilt Guild. This gift has truly deeply touched my heart and soul.

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End of Year Sewing

5 Comments / quilt, quilting, teacher gifts / By

What’s that? End of Year?!? How can that be? I mean the end of the school year of course! This year I am making a very special quilt for Anne’s kindergarten teacher. In my life before Anne I was actually a substitute teacher working on my Master’s in Teaching, so teachers hold a special place in my heart. For the quilt for Anne’s teacher I had each of her students draw a quilt block with Crayola Crayons showing something they learned or did in Kindergarten. Each block I heat set with my iron and a Teflon pressing cloth. I even had the teacher make one!  I am going to sew the blocks together so that the quilt can hang in the classroom and the teacher can use it as a teaching tool for her future classes. Kindergartners telling kindergartners all the things they will learn. I have the banner made for it and today I am hoping to get the sashing in before I go volunteer at the school.

Kindergarten Quilt - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comI hope everyone has a happy Wednesday! Now that my secret sewing has finished for awhile I will be able to post more regularly again!

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Secret Sewing

4 Comments / Camelot Fabrics, Secret Sewing / By

It’s that time of year! The time of year when some sewing projects become secret until Quilt Market! I am so happy to be working with Camelot Fabrics again and to be sewing some beautiful children’s clothing. I have to say, I am in love with the fabrics they sent my way, but I can’t share anything until Spring Quilt Market launches next month. So this is me right now…

Have a great day!!!

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Pattern Release!

5 Comments / 2015 Finishes, Craftsy, Make Modern Magazine, Sew BitterSweet Designs Patterns / By

I am so excited to release a new pattern today! Well it isn’t really new, it actually appeared in Issue 7 of Make Modern Magazine back in September of 2015.  Allow me to introduce you to Through The Prism.

Through The Prism - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comThis pattern was originally designed for a friend in my birthday club but I fell in love with the design and decided I needed one for myself, then I ended up making a third for another swap! The pattern is fast and easy requiring small scraps for each rainbow section.

I provide a link to a basic paper piecing tutorial as well as instructions for my favorite paper piecing method that doesn’t involve sewing through the templates.

Pattern Stats:

Through The Prism

Octagon – Each side measures 7.5”

Original Quilt Design by Melissa Dunworth

Check out how beautiful it looks on my wall!

Through the prism - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comI may or may not have a thing for rainbows!

If you are obsessed with fast and easy mini quilts, then this is the pattern for you!

Also included are instructions to turn it into a square wall hanging if you so choose!

Head on over to my Craftsy shop to pick up your copy today for $7.00!

signaturePS. If you haven’t already subscribed to Make Modern Magazine, go do it now! I have a pattern coming out in the May 2016 Issue!

Anne’s Sunrise

3 Comments / 2016 Finishes, Improv, Innova, Spike, SSMQG / By

In 2015 I was the president of my local Modern Quilt Guild, South Sound MQG. One of my outgoing acts as President involved working with the outgoing Vice President to come up with a challenge for our yearly quilt show that takes place during Spring Arts Walk in Olympia, WA. The fabrics we selected were from V & Co Color Theory. I got the Navy Poppies colorway.

This color way is right up my alley, I pretty much love all things blue. The other part of the challenge, because picking out one fabric wasn’t enough for us, was that the quilt needed to be an improv quilt. Meaning that there should be no real pattern used, make it up yourself.

As I was pulling fabrics for the challenge I got in my mind this image of my daughter, Anne, standing at our upstairs window looking at the sunrise before school this winter. The sky turns these brilliant shades of blues, pinks and yellows and it always makes her so happy, mostly because when we see these colors it means it isn’t raining and in the winter in Washington we always enjoy a rare break in the rain!

I decided to make a sunrise quilt for Anne. I pieced together different width blues and grays for the sky and then I sliced the piece apart with slight improv curves and inserted curvy rays to make a sunrise.

Anne's Sunrise - https://test.sewbittersweetdesigns.comI had so much fun quilting this quilt on my new long arm! In the background I used Magnifico by Superior Threads and quilted flames, and in the rays themselves, I quilted pebbles with a yellow thread by Signature. I absolutely loved quilting this one, it is a custom design and while there is at least one pucker, which is mostly due to the nature of improv quilting and I’m still learning, I am 100% happy with how the quilt turned out, and more importantly, so is Anne!

So yet another finish f0r 2016! If you live in the Olympia/South Sound area, South Sound Modern Quilt Guild will be exhibiting at Canvas Works in downtown as part of Arts Walk on April 22nd and 23rd. Stop by and see all of the incredible improv quilts that were created by the talented members of the guild!

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