Autumn In Iowa

Can you believe autumn is upon us already?? - I feel like the months are rushing by...pretty soon it will be Halloween...then Thanksgiving...and then (dare I say) Christmas...whew - where does the time go?! Signs of fall are everywhere here in Iowa - the tree leaves are turning lovely colors (I've already had to rake my front yard) and I am hoping sweatshirt weather is here to stay for a while...plus, there have been a plethora of autumn projects on my to-do table lately - which is perfect, as I really like working with fall fabrics. One of my most recent projects is a quilted table runner tutorial (titled "Autumn in Iowa") that I designed and created for the AccuQuilt Blog...you can find my guest post/tutorial with all the details here:
https://www.accuquilt.com/blog/education/go-tutorials/autumn-in-iowa-table-runner-quilting-tutorial/

For this project, I used my AccuQuilt GO! Fabric Cutter and these four AccuQuilt GO! cutting dies:

• GO! Rustling Leaves #1- Sweetgum and Poplar (Large) (55389)
• GO! Rustling Leaves #2- Maple and Oak (Large) (55390)
• GO! Square-6 1/2″ (6″ Finished) (55000)
• GO! Strip Cutter-2″ (1½” Finished) (55025 or 55164) or your favorite width for binding

After using a blanket stitch to machine appliqué each of the leaves on a base block, I used a straight stitch on my machine to create all the leaf veins and stems....you can read about this step on the AccuQuilt Blog and see close-ups and the backs of my leaf blocks. I stitched them freely and organically (it was quite enjoyable) or you could draw lines to follow...or you may choose not to have stems and veins.

My runner is 24″ x 48″, but you could easily be adapt the size to your needs by changing the number of blocks per row…or simply by adjusting the number of rows.

The tutorial for my design includes fabric amounts, instructions, and additional photos...that way, you can make one of your very own! Stop by the AccuQuilt Blog and check out my guest blog post for all the specifics: https://www.accuquilt.com/blog/education/go-tutorials/autumn-in-iowa-table-runner-quilting-tutorial/

...and be sure to check out all the guest blogger tutorials happening this month - each one is full of creativity! For a list of contributors and links to their blogs, see my earlier post here:
http://blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com/2015/09/meet-team.html
My next AccuQuilt guest blogger post and tutorial will be in November...and it will be another holiday tutorial...it is already in the works!

For now, it's back to my daily to-do list - I finished up 72 quilt blocks this week (a very large project, which is why today's post is a couple days later than anticipated) and I am on to three more GO! Talk to the Animals quilts and a pile of custom projects, plus some model stitching and designing...you know me - there is always something creative happening in the Blue Ribbon Designs studio!

Meet the Team

Things have been humming along in the Blue Ribbon Designs studio and as usual I have a plethora of projects in the works...including one HUGE job that includes 72 quilt blocks (yes, I said 72...and yes, my work space looks like complete *organized* chaos!). Last week I finished a seasonal project and tutorial for the AccuQuilt Blog, which will be posted on September 30th...and I will be back to share more with you on Wednesday (it will be worth the wait)...

Recently, AccuQuilt assembled a group of 12 bloggers for their official AccuQuilt Guest Blogger Team and I made the list, along with 11 other amazingly talented sewists/quilters/designers. This month, our assignment was a holiday project tutorial...and the creative posts will start this week. I chose to work on an autumn/Thanksgiving piece using the large Rustling Leaves dies...and the photo in the upper left gives you just a hint...

I wanted to give you a chance to get familiar with the other 11 members of the AccuQuilt Guest Blogger Team - their impressive blogs are all full of fabulous inspiration (I follow each and every one of them)....so take a few minutes and visit these links - you won't be disappointed....

• House on Hill Road (Erin Harris): http://www.houseonhillroad.com/
• Avery Lane Designs (Erin Hentzel): http://averylanesewing.com/the-blog/
• Beaquilter (Bea Lee): http://www.beaquilter.com/
• Freemotion by the River (Connie Kresin Campbell): http://www.conniekresin.com/
• Gem Hill Quilts (Gina Gempesaw): http://gemhillquilts.blogspot.com/
• Ray's Sew Crafty (Diana Ray): http://rayssewcrafty.com/
• Samplings from a Blue Ribbon Girl (Belinda Karls-Nace) http://blueribbondesigns.blogspot.com/ (that's me!)
• Sew Fresh Quilts (Lorna McMahon): http://sewfreshquilts.blogspot.com/
• The Whimsical Workshop Studio (Heidi Pridemore): http://heidipridemore.blogspot.com/
• A Quilting Life (Sherri McConnell): http://www.aquiltinglife.com/
• Simple Simon and Company (Elizabeth Evans and LiZ Evans): http://www.simplesimonandco.com/
• Blue Feather Quilt Studio (Marjorie Busby): http://b-quilts.com/blog/

Be sure to watch the AccuQuilt Blog in the coming weeks for all 12 project tutorials!

For now, I leave you with a little sneak peek of a photo from my upcoming post...