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News(letter) from the Nook

June 22, 2018June 22, 2018 Patty Murphy

It’s been a while since I sent out any news. A long while, actually, so I’m going to hit the high points with a revamped newsletter. I hope you like it. Many of you already know the following because social media is great. If not, enjoy.

My book, Piecing Makevoer, SOLD OUT, y’all!!! C&T printed more and you can get a personalized, signed copy on my website.

After years of people asking, I finally took the plunge and have started to release patterns. I only have a few right now, but I’ll slowly add more. You can find the patterns here.

I traveled to Denver, Colorado in March to tape and episode of The Quilt Show with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims. It was SO. MUCH. FUN!!! The episode will premier in late August. If you are a member at www.thequiltshow.com you’ll have access to the episode as soon as it airs. If not, though the site is FULL of valuable information so you should (hint, hint), don’t worry – you’ll be able to see it a few weeks later. You can read about the upcoming episode here.

Last but not least: I’m going to be participating in Gnome Angel’s 100Blocks100Days sew along. It begins July 7th and will end on October 14th. Angie has ALL the rules on her website (www.gnomeangel.com) or you can click here and get right to it.

I’ll be making block 54 and will share all my tips and tricks on August 29th. I’m excited to participate in this fun sew along and hope you will consider participating. There are a lot of talented quilters and sponsors this year, and I KNOW it’ll be great!

Happy Piecing!
Patty

make something, quilt, quilt block, quilt design, quilt patterns, quilting, quilts

What if I fly???

May 4, 2018 Patty Murphy

For a long time I have wanted to put my quilt designs into the world. Over the years I’ve had lots of people ask but I was never quite ready to take a leap of faith. I would dabble here and there, but it never went further than that. Maybe I was scared? I mean, I’ll be honest. I was scared.

The past several months I’ve been pondering taking leaps of faith. Jump and a net will appear. What if I fall? What if I fly? Will people like what I make and actually buy my designs? They’ve asked; I just haven’t listened.

Soooo, the impetus to this really happening, a sign I couldn’t ignore, was a shop in Texas reaching out to me. One of the employees made a quilt using my All Squared Up pattern from the Quilt Shop Sampler magazine in 2007. They needed patterns. Did I have any? Well, yes, and no. The pattern was written – had been for 12 years – but I didn’t have any physical patterns. So, I moved quickly, grabbed the quilt from Intown Quilters so I could snap a photo, and voila!

It began.

I’ve been gearing up for this for a while, but if I don’t take a leap, it’ll never happen. So this is me at my jumping off point. Taking a leap. It’s exciting, and scary at the same time.

I have five, YES, f-i-v-e, patterns in my shop. You can find them here. All PDF’s available for immediate download, and paper patterns/wholesale options available for shops (just email me).

A few are tried and true favorites patterns, and some are new. I have more coming down the pipeline. Take a look, leave a comment, and if you find an error, please let me know.

Happy Piecing, y’all!

book, Piecing Makeover, quilt, quilt block, quilting

Back in Business

April 8, 2018 Patty Murphy

Y’all! First of all, if you don’t follow me on social media (fact: I’m far more active on Instagram than any other platform) you may have missed my big THANK YOU! Thanks to everyone that has supported me and my book. It sold out late fall and I’m happy that it’s back IN STOCK at C&T. So if you’ve wanted to get your hands on a copy, you can do it now.

Spring break ended Friday, and I’m hopeful that I can finally knock out some items on my lengthy to-do list before school is out in May. It’s around the corner, and while I have done a lot this year, it’s not anywhere NEAR what I wanted to accomplish. So here’s to 7 weeks of insane productivity.

Speaking of, let me know if there’s something you’d like to see me demonstrate, or a tutorial and I’ll see if I can make it happen. Also contemplating a give-away of some sort, but I’m not sure yet??? Always happy to hear your suggestions.

featured, make something, quilt, quilting, quilts

Here I Come, Paducah!

February 22, 2018February 21, 2018 Patty Murphy

When I was 18, I worked part time (summers, holidays) at a local quilt shop. One of the women that worked there had a quilt hanging in the shop. It was an American flag and the words to the Pledge of Allegiance were in the white stripes. The quilt had been to Paducah and won a blue ribbon – perhaps it even won best of show?? I can’t quite recall, and it’s been (ahem) quite a few years.

Anyhow, I remember all the fuss about the quilt from women that would come into the shop. Those ladies would go on and on and on about MaryAnn and her quilt. Keep in mind that at that time I was just starting my quilting journey and I was VERY impressionable. The quilt was lovely. Really, it was, and who doesn’t like an American flag quilt? but the thing that always stuck with me was what an honor it was to have a quilt juried into the AQS Paducah show.

Because of those early experiences, I really wanted to get a quilt into Paducah one day. It’s been a goal for a very long time. 25 years later and that hasn’t left me. Actually, being juried into ANY show is a big deal and a HUGE honor, but for some reason (see above) this show has always been in the back of my mind.

I’ve thought about it over the years, and have contemplated entering a quilt. Honestly, I was scared – what if they didn’t like the quilt?? Maybe getting over the fear (kinda) is something that happens in your 40s….you realize that the worst thing that’ll happen is they say no. And no is okay. Disappointing, but okay.

So, fast forward to December 1, 2017. I entered The Bride Wore Pink to the spring AQS show, crossed my fingers, and hit the submit button.

Yesterday I received an email letting me know that my quilt, The Bride Wore Pink, was juried into the show.

Y’ALL!! I’m so excited!!!!

craft, make something, quilt, quilting, quilts, sewing

Product Review – QuiKraft Spray Glue

February 5, 2018 Patty Murphy

My friend, Charlene, recently introduced me to a new spray glue that is coming to the US later this spring. It’s called QuiKraft Tack by Siliconi.

I am telling you, people, that you want a bottle of this stuff!

Seriously. You will want this as sewing room staple. It’s fantastic, and I will use it to spray baste for a long, long time.

Here are my thoughts on the QuiKraft glue, and some rambling about machine quilting, so bear with me. I promise it’ll make sense in the end.

For many years I have sent my quilts out to my friend Regina. She’s a longarm quilter, and her work is incredible! I’ve sent my quilts out for two reasons:

The quilts actually get finished and
I wasn’t willing to put in the time to machine quilt my quilts.

Number 2 is the real doozie here in that my unwillingness to do the work meant my work didn’t improve. My quilting was okay, but I always wanted it to get significantly better. Sooooo, since this year is about me finishing projects, I decided that finishing them on my own would be part of the package. I know that won’t always happen, but it needs to happen more. It gives me a chance to work on my machine quilting, so it’s not all bad.

One of the reasons I HATE machine quilting is the basting process. It is tough on my back, and crawling around the floor is just not fun. I need a better table to baste (that’s coming soon) so I don’t have to suffer when I baste quilts on the floor….however, after using the QuiKraft I decided that I can stick to the floor for a little bit longer.

I decided to test the spray glue on Q man’s quilt. He painted the top, and I knew if I messed up he could paint another. That’s horrible, I know, but it’s also true. Like other spray glues on the market, it’s easy to use. You shake the can, spray about a foot from your project, and put the pieces together.

I started by taping my backing fabric to the floor (unlike this photo, remove threads that run across the center of your backing)

then put my (franken) batting on top of the backing fabric. Also not pictured, smoothed out batting.

Last, put your quilt on top to make the sandwich.

Once that’s was situated, I folded the top half of the quilt top and the batting onto itself. The goal here was to work on one half of the quilt at a time.

Shake the spray glue can well then spray it 10-12″ from your project. I sprayed the backing AND the batting. I sprayed about 6″ X width of quilt each time. After I sprayed, I carefully rolled/repositioned the batting that had been glued to the backing and worked my way up the quilt until I got to the top. I repeated this on the other side of the quilt to glue my batting to the backing.

After I glued down the batting, I repeated the same process to glue the quilt top to the batting to complete my quilt sandwich.

Regarding gluing the sandwich together:

It’s MUCH faster to spray baste than pin baste
This glue is VERY easy to use
Low VOC, which is nice since I’m basting this on my basement floor. There is hardly ANY odor so I didn’t have to worry about passing out from fumes.
It was very easy to clean up any over spray from my floor (truth – my kids may have done that with their socks)
The glue works.

There are many reasons I liked working with the QuiKraft glue, but I think #5 is what sticks out in my mind the most (get it? sticks? glue?). I’ve tried other spray basting glues before and never felt they worked well enough for me, or I felt the need to iron my sandwich together AFTER spray basting to make sure all the pieces were secure.

Anyhow, working in 6″ X width of quilt was manageable and allowed me to smooth out any small inconsistencies in my sandwich as I worked. I didn’t have a huge area on my quilt, backing, or batting with glue and the inability to glue it down cleanly. Smaller working space meant I could accurately spray baste my quilt and get it down securely.

I’m about halfway through quilting Q man’s quilt, and haven’t had any problems. No part of my sandwich has come unglued while I work and that’s made machine quilting significantly smoother than pin basting or having not-so-great-sandwiches come apart for one reason or another. I haven’t had any gumming on my needle, either. Another HUGE bonus.

Because my sandwich has been so secure, quilting has been a breeze.

I have 3 more rings to quilt. Knowing I’ll be able to tackle those with relative ease and no sandwich issues makes me significantly less anxious about the process. The right tools make everything enjoyable.

Close up shot. You can see where I needed to replace my stippling needle. You can also see my work on spirals. Spirals are the death of me so I’m really working to get those down. I don’t know why I have such a mental block on them.

I highly recommend this project, and I’m eager to spray baste another quilt later this week.

To keep up with news, I recommend you follow @quikraft_siliconi on Instagram. I know they have some fun plans for the spring, and this way you’ll be the first to hear!

Acrylic with fabric medium on PFD. Quilted on my Bernina 770QE with Aurifil 50wt. thread. 75/11 needles.

family, featured, holiday, make something, quilting, quilts

Let’s Talk About Big Stitch Quilting

November 2, 2017November 2, 2017 Patty Murphy

I was introduced to big stitch quilting in 1993. Maybe 1994? It’s been a while and I can’t quite remember the exact date. 25 years and all. Anyhow, I was working at a quilt shop during my summers home from school, and a woman that taught classes there used big stitch quilting for a lot of her quilts. It was new to me. I’d never seen it. I’d only seen teeny, weeny hand stitching – all very traditional (and lovely) – and I immediately fell in love! I thought it was the coolest way to quilt.

Ever.

I mean, tiny stitches are great but who needs 11 or 12 stitches an inch (and I most definitely couldn’t do that when I started!) when I can get away with 4 or 5, right? Besides it’s so much faster.

The first time I made a quilt with big stitch quilting was for a Christmas gift for my Dad. I used reproduction Smithsonian prints (very masculine and I still love those fabrics) and a 12 weight cream colored perle cotton. I probably (details are fuzzy here since it’s been a while) struggled to get the thread into the needle because I didn’t know to use a needle with a bigger eye. I have vague memories of fighting with a needle threader?? Nevertheless, I somehow managed to make it happen.

And I was so proud.

And I showed my quilt to said friend and she (very kindly) gave me a lesson.

BIG STITCH QUILTING MEANS THE STITCHES ARE BIGGER. NOT ENORMOUS.

If in an ideal world of hand quilting you get 11 or so stitches in an inch of quilting, you should have less with big stitch quilting; meaning your stitches are bigg-er.

Yeah. So that sank in for a bit. My stitches were HUGE. I ruined my Dad’s quilt. dang it!

So, while I was a little brokenhearted about that – you know, messing it all up (even though the quilt isn’t messed up it just has really. big. stitches), I took it as a lesson to learn about this new art I was exploring and went on my way. My Dad was (and still is) none the wiser, and loved his gift. He and Mom still have it over a railing in their house. I had to text mom for photos, in fact. 🙂

To be honest, I didn’t use big stitch quilting on another quilt for a while. I was afraid I’d mess it up. Again. That was DEFINITELY a mistake. Mess up. Learn. Move forward.

So, moving right along through the next decade or two, I would occasionally pick up big stitch quilting again, always careful to make my stitches bigger but not ridiculous.

The most recent (ahem, I say recent loosely) projects are baby quilts. One for my youngest son (he’s almost 8) and another for a friend that just had her first baby.

See how the stitches in the left photo are really big? They shouldn’t be quite so large. Remember, they need to be bigger than traditional hand quilting but not HUGE. You can see 25 years of progress in the right hand photo. Big stitch quilting should be closer to this. Bigg-er than traditional hand quilting stitches.

When you first start, your stitches won’t be small. Even big stitch quilting. That is okay. Keep practicing until you find your rhythm. You will get there. Promise!

Do:

•Use a 12 weight perle cotton. You can use a slightly thinner or thicker thread, but I have found it’s a good weight for big stitch quilting.
•Use a longer needle with a larger eye. I like to use a sashiko needle, but there are big stitch needles in a variety of sizes. Buy a few and experiment
•Remember that you want your thread to fill the hole in the needle (or close to it). If the opening is too large, your thread will fray and eventually break.
•Practice, practice, practice!

Don’t:
Get discouraged. My first big stitch quilt had ENORMOUS stitches. It’s okay.

Remember:

•Handmade isn’t always perfect.
•Handmade has mistakes.
•Handmade with love is better than anything you can buy. Imperfections and all.

featured, Piecing Makeover, quilt, quilt block, quilting, quilts, sewing

Mimi’s Modern Flower Garden

October 20, 2017October 20, 2017 Patty Murphy

As usual, I started this with just a concept in my head. For the most part it worked. Until I got to the borders. Then it got tricky.

And that’s saying something since the borders are just kinda borders, right?

Well, now they are.

If I actually sat down and drew out a plan (either on paper or my computer), I would have seen that extending the hexagons into the borders wasn’t going to work. At least not with this size hexie I was using. I mean, it would have been really cool, and it’s something I might use in the future.

You know, when I have the math all sorted.

After I had the center pieced, and had attached the inner border (which took much longer than expected because I had to variegate it), then I got to move on to the outer borders.

Originally my plan was to extend the hexagons from the center to the outside, but, like I said a few paragraphs ago, it didn’t work because I couldn’t make the corners fit.

See? I’d have to chop off too much of a hexie.

I also wish I’d realized that BEFORE I put on the top border.

It looked awful because I couldn’t halve the hexagons along the top – I had to have a hexagon at the corners – but I was not going to have ANY of that.

I tried a few different things like having a grey variegated border, but I wasn’t a huge fan of that either.

So, after fussing for a few days.

Daaaayyysss, y’all, daaayyysss….

I decided to get a print that reads as a solid and call it a day.

My hope is that when I (or someone else) quilts it, the borders will have some fun thread work. Perhaps I’ll have the quilting follow the color pattern of the quilt, going from red to pink to purple to blue to green.

Maybe.

I should probably make a plan for that before I start.

featured, Piecing Makeover, quilt, quilting, quilts

Little Lone Star {free pattern}

March 3, 2017September 13, 2017 Patty Murphy

I made this sweet little Lone Star quilt for my friend Sarah to hang at the Intown Quilters booth during Quilt Con 2017. She gave out the pattern during the show and I thought I’d share it here, as well.

The quilt is really quick and easy to put together. Enjoy!

Lone Star ~43-1/2” x 43-1/2”
Designed, Pieced and quilted by Patty Murphy,
based on my book Piecing Makeover

Fabrics*
16 fat eighths
1 yard background fabric (we used Essex Yarn-Dyed Linen in Flax)
1/2 yd binding

*You can buy fat eighth bundles here and Essex Yarn-Dyes Linen here

Cutting Instructions:
Fat eighths:
Cut three 2-1/2” x 21” strips from each fat eighth.

Background fabric:
First cut one 20” x 20”square.
Then cut four 12-1/2” x 12-1/2” squares.

Assembly Instructions
1. Sew 12 sets of 4 strips. Press open seams.
2. Cut strip sets on a 45° angle. You will get 3 full strips from each set, giving you a possible 36 strips to use for your Lone Star. You will have extra to use.
3. Arrange the strips on a design wall to make the Lone Star. Four strips go into each diamond section.
4. Sew each of the 8 diamond sections together, making sure you off-set the seams to create perfect points. (pg. 110, Diamonds)
5. Once you have 8 diamond sections, sew the top 4 together to make the top of your star then sew the bottom 4 together to make the bottom half of your star.
6. Sew the 2 sections together, making sure you match points in the center and furl your seams to reduce bulk. (pg. 27, Furling Busy Intersections)
7. Using a y-seam, sew each of the 12-1/2” x 12-1/2” background squares into each of the corners. (pg. 105, Hexagons)
8. Cut the 20” x 20” background square twice on the diagonal to get 4 triangles.
9. Using a y-seam, sew the triangles cut in Step 8 into the quilt along the top, bottom, and sides. (pg. 105, Hexagons)
10. Quilt, bind, and enjoy! See it on IG: #pmlonestar

book, featured, Piecing Makeover, quilt, quilting, quilts, sewing, Uncategorized

Piecing Makeover Blog Book Tour + Giveaway

September 19, 2016September 13, 2017 Patty Murphy

What a week it’s been! Wow! Thanks for all the love, y’all! The week was such a success and I couldn’t have done it without C&T Publishing, AnneMarie, Jodie, Teri at GenQ, Sandi, Mary, and Kristin. Really big thanks to each of you!

My biggest tip to share is to ask for help. I mean – How easy is that!? Seriously, though. When I first started to quilt I always asked my mom but not everyone has a mom that sews, or is near. However, if you are fortunate enough, your local quilt shop has staff on hand to help you work through your problems. Yes, it means another trip out, and you might come home with more fabric but getting inspired while getting help is fun! And I promise they LOVE to help figure out your quilting problems! If the shop can’t help, they will find someone that can. Honest.

If you don’t have a quilt shop near you, go online to see if you can find the answer to your problem, or send a message to a quilter via a blog or read a book – perhaps, mine? A little time to noodle on the issue might work for you, too. Don’t be afraid to explore possibilities. And if you are worried about messing up your favorite piece of fabric, experiment with some muslin, or old scraps until you’ve solved your problem.

Most importantly, remember it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s how we learn. I have quilts riddled with errors and almost every quilt I make throws me for a loop at some point or another – I really should plan more! But I’ve learned a lot. Some of my (ahem) older friends have been a valuable source of knowledge, too.

C&T is giving away one copy at each stop along the way and today is your last chance to win a copy of Piecing Makeover for yourself (printed copy in the U.S. and e-book outside the States). Leave a comment on the blog and we will announce the winners tomorrow.

Here’s the list again so you can check to see if you have won on another page. Winners will be chosen at random using random.org number generator.

9/12 C&T http://www.ctpub.com/blog/

9/13 AnneMarie Chany http://www.genxquilters.com/

9/14 Jodie Carleton http://vintagericrac.blogspot.com/

9/15 Teri Lucas/Gen Q Magazine http://generationqmagazine.com/

9/16 Sandi Hazlewood http://www.craftyplanner.com/

9/17 Mary Abreu http://confessionsofacraftaddict.com/

9/18 Kristin Esser https://kristinesser.com/

9/19 Me https://pattymurphyhandmade.com/

Happy piecing, everyone!

*edited on 9/20 – Congratulations to Sally for winning a copy of Piecing Makeover!

featured, quilt, quilting, quilts, Uncategorized

Warrior Quilt

March 7, 2016September 13, 2017 Patty Murphy

An old friend of mine was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer last fall. I planned to make her a quilt to have while she was going through chemotherapy but I overcommitted. Well, that’s what I thought. It turns out I was severely vitamin D deficient and had NO energy. My doctor took my concerns about being tired to a fault to heart and ran a few tests to figure that out. Mega doses of Vitamin D and I’m back in the saddle again. Fortunately for me, I had an easy fix. Unfortunately for my friend, she’s still fighting the good fight but she is truly a warrior. Chemo and a double mastectomy. No choice a young mother should make but she’s strong as an ox and I know she’ll get through this.

I’m in awe of her. I really am. You don’t realize how important your health is until you don’t have it. That point hit home over the last 6 weeks. What I’ve been dealing with pales in comparison to her battle. I mean, really, my issue is a small scratch on the surface; but when I was feeling completely and utterly exhausted all the time for no apparent reason, well, that was tough. It was beyond tough.

I finally got my act together and made her this quilt. Many months later than planned but it happened. My friend sent the sweetest note to me when she got it. Deeply touched by the gesture. Indeed it truly is better to give than receive. Unless it’s your birthday, then it’s fun to receive 😉

I used Anna Maria Horner’s Dressmaker on the back. I absolutely ADORE that fabric! I should have bought more. It wasn’t quite wide enough so a small strip of another AMH print and I was set. I quilted straight lines at angles across the quilt with my walking foot. No rhyme or reason, just random, for a fun look. The lines are (ahem) mostly straight, too.