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...

Rustling Leaves and Pretty Pumpkins

I'm taking a short break from a sewing/piecing marathon that started early this morning and I thought I would check in with a new blog post. Things are a little crazier than usual in my studio, so I thought I while I had a brief moment, I would use it share a couple more autumn/Thanksgiving projects I recently designed/created for AccuQuilt.

The first is the GO! Quilted Leaves and Logs Wall Hanging. This project measures 40" x 40" and combines the GO! Log Cabin-12" Finished Square by Leslie Main (55349) and the GO! Rustling Leaves dies (55389, 55390, 55391, 55392)....along with beautiful digital embroidery by V-Stitch Designs. You can find these V-Stitch machine embroidery design sets (and many more) on the AccuQuilt website or visit the V-Stitch Designs Etsy shop. The fabrics I used for the Log Cabin blocks are Robert Kaufman Kona Cotton Solids and the embroidered leaves use a variety of autumn colored prints. You can find all the details included with the pattern...which for a limited time is available for FREE on the AccuQuilt website - simply visit the following link for downloading instructions:
http://www.accuquilt.com/shop/go-quilted-leaves-and-logs-wall-hanging-pattern.html

Next up - the GO! Pick of the Patch Table Runner...a lovely autumn runner featuring machine embroidery and simple borders/cornerstones. It measures 18.5" x 57" and would be perfect for a Thanksgiving table setting. The fabrics are from the Shades of Autumn collection by Dan Morris for RJR Fabrics...and although RJR Fabrics sent me a substitution fabric that was not my original choice for this design, it seemed to work okay (the wide outer border print was supposed to be a smaller print fabric with autumn leaves - I think the larger print pumpkins are too traditional with the machine embroidered pumpkins, but that is just my personal opinion - I have to work with what is supplied). Again, for this pattern, the pumpkins were machine embroidered using digitized embroidery designs by V-Stitch Designs....and as always, you can find these V-Stitch machine embroidery design sets (and many more) on the AccuQuilt website or visit the V-Stitch Designs Etsy shop. This pattern uses the following GO! Dies:

• GO! Pumpkins (55323)
• GO! Big Square-10" (9-1/2" Finished) (55451)
• GO! Square-6-1/2" (6" Finished) (55000)
• GO! Square-5" (4-1/2" Finished) (55010)
• GO! Strip Cutter-4-1/2" (4" Finished) (55054)
• GO! Strip Cutter-2-1/2" (2" Finished) (55017 or 55014)
• GO! Strip Cutter-2" (1-1/2" Finished) (55025 or 55164)
• GO! Strip Cutter-1-1/2" (1" Finished) (55024)

...and again, for a limited time, you can find the pattern for FREE on the AccuQuilt website - simply visit the following link for all the details:
http://www.accuquilt.com/shop/go-pick-of-the-patch-table-runner-pattern.html

For now, I must get back to work...today I am working on a HUGE project that includes 72 quilt blocks (yes, I said 72 quilt blocks) - I also have five large customer projects on the to-do table, three more of my GO! Talk to the Animals quilts to make, two sets of class lesson plans and presentations to write, four quilt blocks that need patterns/samples, a special upcoming project tutorial and model to prepare...and in my spare time I am finishing this year's Komen 3-Day fundraising cross stitch design (I only have one section left!)...and I am going out of town next weekend to visit my mom at the lake...it is going to be an insane, but creative week/month!

Autumn Leaf Ornaments

I managed to finish quite a few machine embroidered lace ornaments over the last couple weeks...if you have followed my blog for quite some time, then you know I make these to slip inside cards, tie on packages, and for seasonal decorations. These have been so popular, I decided to make even more to put in my Etsy shop...and not only did I make additional snowflakes (which are always in demand), but I made some autumn leaves...and a bunch of Halloween motifs. The autumn leaves and snowflakes are already listed in my Etsy shop and the Halloween ornaments will be posted very soon! These ornaments are made on my embroidery machine...and are technically called "free-standing lace"...they are made entirely of thread!

For those of you not familiar with an embroidery machine, here is a little idea of how these autumn leaves are made - using digitized designs, the machine embroiders the ornaments on water-soluble stabilizer...once the design is completely stitched, you put it in water and the stabilizer dissolves, leaving you with a beautiful piece of lace made completely of embroidery thread. I like to put a piece of ribbon through the hanger on each leaf or snowflake before placing it in a card or on a gift. Each large motif can take anywhere from 45 minutes to well over an hour to make, so I usually set up my machine and let them embroider while I am working on various other chores in my studio...the larger and more detailed the design, the longer they take to embroider. In the photos you can see a selection of my embroidered leaves...the size of the maple leaf is 3.91" x 3.93" and the size of the oak leaf is 2.82" x 3.94". Many digitizers offer freestanding lace designs for machine embroidery (just do a google search), but if you are interested in these particular leaf designs, they are designed by Criswell Embroidery & Design...you can purchase the digitized designs from this designer at your favorite quilt shop or download them from their website.

I will be back to post again soon with photos of the Halloween ornaments...they are truly spooktacular!