This year I have a plan! I now know what needs to be done and when it needs to be done by – and so far it is working extremely well. The best part is that I am being productive – and there are some good results to show off. But… you’re going to have to wait until May to see what it is that I’m working on!

In the meantime, on January 16 and 17 I spent 2 days at the Ontario Convention Center in Ontario, CA with a group of ladies in my “Embroidered Applique for Beginners” class at Road 2 CA. This was a 2 day “retreat” where we worked on one project for the entire 2 days. The project was a GO! Bloom pillow – the 15″ one with tulips on it:

I really enjoyed the 2 day class format – and some great results were created. Everyone was working on a Bernina 580 embroidery machine with a Large Oval hoop. That meant that every design you see on the pillow (4 tulips, 4 corner motifs and the center motif) had to be stitched as a single hooping. The students were getting really creative – using the 3 different tulip designs that are found on the GO! Bloom CD – and even using artistic license when it came to which way around the tulips were placed on the pillow top.

Check out the wonderful pillows in progress from some of the students in the class.

 Tamara

 Gayle

 Audrey

 Susan

  Maureen

 Linda

 June

 Roxanne

 Sally

Which one is your favorite?

Today is the day… the day to pick a winner.

The prize… everything needed to make the GO! Bloom Quilt!

That includes:

• The GO! Bloom CD
• An AccuQuilt GO! Baby
• The three dies used for the quilt: GO! Daisy, GO! Tulip and GO! Fun Flower
• GO! Bloom Hand Dyed Fabric Collection by Ricky Tims
• AURIfil Silk Hearts Thread Collection

When I was about to pick a winner, 715 comments had been left. So… out came 3 bowls and 3 pads of Post-it Notes!

In the first bowl, 8 pink Post-It Notes with the numbers 0-7.

In the second bowl, 10 orange Post-It Notes with the numbers 0-9.

In the third bowl, 10 green Post-It Notes with the numbers 0-9.

Heather (my 9 year old daughter) picked out the first number from the pink bowl:

0

Jasmine (my 5 year old daughter) picked out the second number form the orange bowl:

3

Lauryn (my new assistant) picked out the third number from the green bowl:

0

So the winner is the person who left comment number 030

And that person is…

Leona from Menlo Park, CA!!!

Many congratulations to Leona. All the goodies will be on their way to you very soon!

Thanks again to everyone who left a comment. And thanks to those of you who pre-ordered the GO! Bloom CD. Free shipping for all pre-orders is still in effect until the end of May, so click here if you want to take advantage of that now!

Are you ready to GO! Bloom?

(By the way… make sure you read all the way to the end. I’m celebrating big time, and have LOTS of stuff to give away!)

Quilt Market happens twice a year – in the Spring, always in a different location; and in the Fall, always in Houston. It’s where people with things to sell show off all their new stuff, and store owners (and their staff and teachers) come to find out what is new in the world of quilting.

For me, Quilt Market is usually a pretty momentous occasion as I usually have a new design collection to show off. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel, usually after several weeks of hard work and a fair amount of chaos. This Quilt Market is no exception!

So… What’s new? I hear you ask!

The answer is…

GO! Bloom

GO! Bloom – 14 individual designs using 3 AccuQuilt GO! Baby dies. In addition, illustrated instructions to make the quilt shown on the cover, and the four pillow tops also shown on the cover. Let’s take a closer look!

The GO! Bloom Quilt is 40″x40″. Click on the image above (and also the images below) to see a larger photo.

The quilt is created using some very delicious hand dyed fabrics from Ricky Tims – 2 yards of Spanish Moss for the background; 1 fat quarter each of Red Hot Mama, Dragons Breath and Cotton Candy for the applique shapes; 1 fat quarter each of Carribean Queen and Coconut Snowcone for the borders. And this gorgeous fabric will be available in a kit!

Then of course there is the thread. It turned out that the AURIfil Silk Hearts Collection (12 large spools of 50 weight Cotton Mako) contained the perfect colors for the chosen fabrics. So… if you purchased the AURIfil Silk Hearts Collection to make the Silk Hearts Quilt, if you have any left over, it can be used again for this quilt!

GO! Bloom Pillow 1 is 17″ x 17″ (to fit an 18″x18″ pillow form).

GO! Bloom Pillow 2 is 17″x17″ (to fit an 18″x18″ pillow form)

GO! Bloom Pillow 3 is 15″x15″ (to fit a 16″x16″ pillow form)

GO! Bloom Pillow 4 is 15″x15″ (to fit a 16″x16″ pillow form)

The 4 pillow tops can also be created using the GO! Bloom Hand Dyed Fabric Collection from Ricky Tims. (You will need to purchase extra fabric for the backs of the pillows).

You can let your imagination have a field day when finishing the pillows. The 2 red ones in the photo above were finished with a ruffle created using my ruffle attachment!

I’m super excited about this new collection and so I’m celebrating it’s “birth”! That means I’m going to give something away!!!

How would you like to be the recipient of everything needed to make the GO! Bloom Quilt?

What exactly do you need?

• the GO! Bloom design collection of course
• the 3 AccuQuilt GO! dies used in the collection
• a GO! Baby (since they are GO! Baby dies)
• a GO! Bloom Hand Dyed Fabric Collection from Ricky Tims
• an AURIfil Silk Hearts Thread Collection.

One very lucky person will win all of these goodies. All you have to do is answer one simple question:

What are the 3 AccuQuilt GO! dies used in the GO! Bloom Collection?

It’s been really hard to not give you all the answer while writing this post! However, the answer can be found in my online store. So… go check it out, then come back and leave a comment at the bottom of this post with your answer. The winner will be chosen on Wednesday March 25 at 10am Arizona time (that’s Pacific time during the summer months). It could be you!

There’s also a little surprise in store for anyone who pre-orders the GO! Bloom CD during the month of May 2011. You’ll also find out what that is by visiting my store! (Just so you know… if you pre-order the GO! Bloom CD and then discover you are the winner of the whole kit and caboodle – I’ll refund your purchase!)

Many thanks to all of my partners for donating their products for me to give away. And many thanks also to my super faithful quilting buddies at home for helping me to get everything done in time for me to be here at International Quilt Market. Quilters really are wonderful people!

Before I go any further, if you’ve been wanting to purchase GO! Be Dazzled but it just hasn’t been the right time for you to do it, be sure to read all the way to the end. I have a special offer for you!

Each of the blocks in GO! Be Dazzled contains several applique shapes, each one placed in a very specific position within the block.

For the majority of embroidery machines, the square blocks are going to take at least 2, if not more, hoopings to complete. In order to guarantee success, even for someone completely new to Embroidered Applique, I devised an easy system for placement of not only the applique shapes on the background fabric, but also for positioning the background fabric in the hoop.

The CD contains complete illustrated instructions for each block, but sometimes there’s nothing quite like a few good photos to tell the tale, so here goes!

The photos that follow were taken while stitching out a “hearts” block (month 06) using the jumbo hoop on my Bernina 830. Your hoop may not be as big as this hoop, but the principles remain the same.

The first thing you are going to do is hoop a piece of medium/heavy weight tearaway stabilizer. The key here is “TEARAWAY”. When you are all done with the embroidery for each block, you want to get rid of as much stabilizer as possible from around the applique shapes. Tearaway makes this sooooo much easier!

The first color to stitch (after you have put the hoop in your embroidery machine) is going to be a placement line to tell you where to position the background fabric. This will be at least a cross-hair marking the center of the block. If you are using a jumbo hoop, you will also get the outline for the block – or at least for the half that you are stitching.

On the background fabric (which has been prepared with a fusible tearaway stabilizer on the back), you will mark the center as specified in the directions. For months 5, 6 and 8 (all squares) this will be the center with the fabric placed square on. For month 7 this will be the center with the fabric placed on point.

Remove the hoop from the embroidery machine and place it on an ironing board (with a padded surface). Take a pin and push it through the center marked on the background fabric. Guide the same pin through the center marked by stitching lines on the stabilizer in the hoop.

Now take a second pin, and poke it through the fabric a couple of inches above the center pin. Move the fabric as necessary (it should swivel around the center pin) until the second pin is aligned with the corresponding point on the stitching on the stabilizer. Use 4 pins to secure the fabric to the stabilizer. (If you really want to, use 505. I am just not a fan of spray adhesives.

Return the hoop to the machine.

The next thing to stitch (in most but not all cases) will be a tackdown line to hold the background fabric in place. For the smaller hoops, this will not happen but do not worry! What comes next works just as well to hold the fabric in place!

Now to get your applique shapes positioned exactly where you want them in the hoop.

The next thing to stitch is placement lines for the first layer of applique shapes.

Click on the photo to see a larger version – it’s a bit easier to see the placement lines!

Now you can go to the ironing board and fuse the first layer of applique shapes in place.

When you are done, return the hoop to the embroidery machine and stitch out the placement lines for any remaining layers of applique shapes. For the heart block, the large hearts in the center of the block have a second, smaller heart, layered over the top.

Here is the block with all layers of applique shapes fused on…

Now you can stitch straight through to the end, changing thread colors as desired.

To stitch the other half of the block (or however many hoopings are required for the hoop that you are using), remove all of the stabilizer that was in the hoop from around the applique shapes. The fusible tearaway stabilizer on the back of the background fabric should be left in place.

Hoop another (clean) piece of tearaway stabilizer. Go through the same set of steps as before. The only difference is that the block already has some stitching on it.

So what’s the special offer all about???

Have you seen the April 2011 issue of The Quilt Life with Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson? I am honored to say that GO! Be Dazzled is featured as the centerfold!

To celebrate this piece of publishing history, I am offering 20% off the price of the GO! Be Dazzled CD if you purchase it at any time in March OR April 2011, from my online store… HERE! All you need to do is enter the coupon code “GBD-20″ at the checkout. If I can get my online store to cooperate, the digital download version will be available too.

Hopefully all of this made sense to you! If not, leave me a comment with your questions, and I’ll do my best to clarify!

GO! Be Dazzled was released in May 2010, my first collection to utilize the AccuQuilt GO! cutter and the following AccuQuilt GO! dies:

• GO! Round Flower (55007)
• GO! Feathers (55008)
• GO! Circle-2″, 3″, 5″ (55012)
• GO! Star-2″, 3″, 4″ (55028)
• GO! Heart-2″, 3″, 4″ (55029)
• GO! Funky Flowers (55042)
• GO! Sparkle-Diamonds (55089)

The CD can be used in two ways.

First, it can be used to create the quilt featured on the cover as a Block of the Month program with 12 months.

Each month, 2 (identical) blocks are stitched out:

• Month 1: The 9 patch diamond blocks
• Month 2: The circle diamond blocks
• Month 3: The big diamond diamond blocks
• Month 4: The square diamond blocks
• Month 5: The Star blocks
• Month 6: The Heart blocks
• Month 7: The Funky Flower blocks
• Month 8: The Round Flower blocks
• Month 9: The top and bottom borders
• Month 10: The left and right borders
• Month 11: The corner blocks
• Month 12: Constructing the quilt

For people wanting to create a smaller quilt, a simple sashed 9-patch quilt layout has also been created, using only the square blocks and the corners:

In order to minimize the amount of fabric that ends up in your trash can (the fabric should, after all, be in your quilt!), a system has been created to allow for perfect placement on blocks that are cut 1″ bigger than the finished block size. This 1″ includes the standard 1/2″ for seam allowances, and an additional 1/2″ for shrinkage and “fudge factor”. This is how it works:

• Cut the background fabric to the size specified in the instructions. For each of the square blocks, this will be 13″ x 13″.
• Mark the center of the fabric as specified in the instructions. 3 of the square blocks are stitched with the square in a horizontal layout, the 4th is stitched with the block on-point.
• Hoop a piece of medium/heavyweight tear-away stabilizer. When you have finished stitching a block, you will need to get rid of as much of the excess stabilizer as possible (from around the applique shapes), so I have found that a non-sticky stabilizer works best in the hoop.
• Put the hoop onto your machine and stitch the first color. This will always be a placement line to show you exactly where to place the background fabric.
• Remove the hoop from the machine (but do not disturb the stabilizer in the hoop).
• Working on an ironing board (to take advantage of the padded surface), place a pin through the center point marked on the background fabric, and then guide the same pin through the center point that is now marked on the stabilizer. Push the pin all the way in. The background fabric can be swivelled around the pin.
• Use a second pin and place it through one of the center lines marked on the fabric, 2″-3″ away from the center point. Guide the pin through the corresponding point on the stabilizer. You may need to swivel the fabric around the first pin a little to get it to line up. Push the pin all the way in.
• For a double check, repeat with a third pin. You should be able to push a pin through the center line – on the other side of the first pin – and have it line up with the placement line stitched onto the stabilizer.
• Pin the fabric to the stabilizer, being careful to keep the pins away from any stitching that is going to happen. 1″ in from the edges in the corners is usually a good place.
• Return the hoop to the machine and continue stitching. The next color to stitch is usually a tackdown stitch to hold the background fabric in place. Pay attention to where the stitching is going so that you can remove the pins if necessary.

The second way the GO! Be Dazzled CD can be used is as a design library for the specified AccuQuilt GO! dies. Each of the designs used in the Block of the Month quilt is also on the CD as an individual design. These designs can be used on smaller projects, for example purses, tote bags, pillows, clothing. As an example, check out this quilted calendar:

One of the things on my to-do list this year is to create a place for people to post photos of quilts (or any other project for that matter) that have been created using my designs. Hopefully more news on that will be coming soon! I’ve seen some gorgeous renditions of GO! Be Dazzled using various different color schemes.

I nearly forgot! On November 2, 2010 in Houston, TX, at the awards ceremony for the International Quilt Associations anual World of Beauty judged show, GO! Be Dazzled won first place in the Computer Aided Machine Embroidery category!!! This is the first time that I have entered a quilt into this show, and to have the quilt win was an amazing experience. Lee, from AccuQuilt, was with me at the awards ceremony, and took a bunch of photos:

Everything you need to create your own version of this award winning quilt is on the CD!

 Are you willing to give me some feedback? If so, please leave a comment below with your thoughts. Do you have a store near to you that is offering GO! Be Dazzled as a BOM? Would you like to have? Would you be interested in participating in an on-line BOM – you’d be stitching on your own at home, but would have the option to check in online each month for moral support and to get your questions answered. I’d love to hear what you think!

The Sparkle collection was released in July 2010 at Bernina University in Orlando, FL. It has a wintery theme, with Christmas trees and snowflakes.

The Sparkle Thread Collection by AURIfil

As well as the design collection, there is also an AURIfil thread collection, containing 12 large spools of Cotton Mako 50wt in the following gorgeous, mouthwatering colors:

• 2600 – Dove
• 2535 – Magenta
• 1100 – Red Plum
• 5009 – Medium Orange
• 2870 – Green
• 5018 – Grass Green
• 1147 – Light Leaf Green
• 2135 – Yellow
• 1200 – Blue Violet
• 4093 – Jade
• 1148 – Light Jade
• 5005 – Medium Turquoise.

The Sparkle Silk Collections

There are 3 silk collections, each one to make a specific project. All 3 match the coordinating AURIfil thread collection.

The Sparkle Table Runner Silk Collection

The Sparkle Tree Skirt Silk Collection

The Sparkle Tree Quilt Silk Collection

AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Dies

To make the cutting of applique shapes much faster and more accurate, there is a set of AccuQuilt GO! dies too:

The AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Tree Die, 55095

Use this die with the following designs:

• Big Tree Leaf 1-6 (to make the Sparkle Tree Quilt)
• Big Tree Star
• Sparkle Tree 1 Large

 The AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Jumbo Tree Die, 55094

Use this die with the following designs:

• Sparkle Tree 1 Jumbo

The AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Slim Tree Die, 55096

Use this die with the following designs:

• Sparkle Tree 2 Large
• Sparkle Tree 2 Mega

This die also contains the pots used for:

• Sparkle Tree 1 Large
• Sparkle Tree 1 Jumbo
• Sparkle Tree 3 Large
• Sparkle Tree 3 Jumbo

The AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Diamonds Die, 55089

Use this die with the following designs:

• Sparkle Tree 3 Jumbo
• Sparkle Tree 3 Large

The medium and large diamonds on this die are used for Month 01 and Month 03 of GO! Be Dazzled.

The AccuQuilt GO! Sparkle Snowflakes Die, 55093

Use this die for the following designs:

• Snowflake 1-4

The Sparkle Quilts

A little over two years ago, I was a newly single Mom with 2 small children, and we were about to embark on our first Christmas in our new home. Try as I might, I could not face the thought of figuring out a Christmas tree. Not that there was any floor space to put one! But we did have empty walls, so I decided to make a Christmas Tree Quilt.

The quilt meaures 44″ x 62″. Three trees are appliqued on (basic fused machine applique, finished with a blanket stitch). A row of buttons along the bottom of the quilt allowed us to hang some tiny glass balls. Beads sewn into the sashings around the trees allowed us to hang our “annual Santa ornaments”. Not a huge amount of quilting, just enough to hold the quilt together!

Having created this first Christmas Tree Quilt, my creative juices got going, and Sparkle was born!

The Sparkle Tree Quilt

The Sparkle Tree Quilt is my substitute Christmas Tree, that I can hang on the wall. The quilt measures 54″ x 72″. The tree itself (from the top of the star to the bottom of the pot) measures 30″ x 48″.

The embroidered green triangles which make up the “leaves” in the tree are flaps, which allowed me to sew a hook to the back of each one so that a tiny ornament or a bead can be hung from the “leaf”. That explains the narrow, curved piece on the die board – a facing strip to finish the bottom edge of the leaf.

Not all of the leaves are embroidered. For my tree, 30 of the 36 leaves are embroidered, the remaining 6 are left blank. I confess that this was a decision made because of the amount of time I had to finish the quilt, rather than a major design decision. However, I really like the result! I think that the quilt could look equally stunning with only 6 out of 36 of the leaves embroidered, and 30 left blank. The tree would certainly go together a lot faster! Half and half would also work (18 leaves embroidered, 18 left blank), and it could also be done with no embroidered leaves at all, adding some interest with a patterned fabric.

The yellow triangles are in fact diamonds – with a “leaf” sitting on the top half of the diamond.

If you look at the die board and start to wonder where the star is, the die board contains a star “point”. This decision was made to keep the cost of the die down. If you wanted to use some stripey fabric for the star, some very “cool” effects could be achieved using 8 star points that could not be achieved if the star was cut as one piece.

The Sparkle Table Runner

The Sparkle Table Runner features the smaller trees that can be found in the Sparkle collection. From left to right:

• Sparkle Tree 3 Jumbo
• Sparkle Tree 1 Large
• Sparkle Tree 2 Large
• Sparkle Tree 3 Large
• Sparkle Tree 2 Mega
• Sparkle Tree 3 Large
• Sparkle Tree 2 Large
• Sparkle Tree 1 Large
• Sparkle Tree 1 Jumbo

It also features one of each of the large snowflakes (Snowflake 1-4) and multiples of each of the small snowflakes (Snowflake 1-4 Small). The small snowflakes are embroidered without an applique shape.

Each of the Sparkle Trees featured on the Sparkle Table Runner could be made into a simple, single tree wall hanging.

A slight variation in layout creates this Sparkle Wall Hanging. This quilt was made to be part of AURIfil’s travelling exhibition. If you’re in Europe at any of the major shows where AURIfiil is an exhibitor/vendor, stop by and say hello and take a close up look at the quilt!

The Sparkle Tree Skirt

The Sparkle Tree Skirt was designed in rings so that you can make it as big or as small as you want to. In it’s entirety, it measures 76″ across. At it’s smallest, with just the large trees in the center, if measures 44″ across. You can make the hole in the center as big or as small as you wish, to fit your tree. You could also keep it as a full circle to use as a table topper.

The girls had many questions for me when I was making the Sparkle quilts. One that came up frequently was “Mommy, why are you making Christmas trees in June?”. Another, my favorite, was “Mommy, where are you going to wear this Christmas tree skirt?”. Heather did a great job of showing off the Christmas Tree Skirt at Bernina University, “wearing” it as both a skirt, and a cape!

So… tell me (in a comment below), what’s your favorite design in the Sparkle collection and why? How have you used these designs (or how are you planning on using them if you have ideas that you haven’t gotten to yet!)?

So many ideas and things to do… but not always as much time as I would like to get them all done! You’re probably in the same boat, so I’ve been working on some smaller projects to showcase the designs from the Stars Collection.

Stars Table Runner

The Stars Table Runner has 3 large blocks (finished size 16″x16″) and 4 small blocks (finished size 8″x8″). The overal finished size is 22.5″ x 68″.

The table runner looks like it is “on-point”, but the absence of setting triangles on the sides and corners makes piecing really easy.

In a nutshell, here are the instructions for creating this quilt:

- Cut 3 squares, each 13″ x 13″. Embroider a large star in the center. Trim to 12.5″ x 12.5″

- Cut 4 squares, each 7″ x 7″. Embroider a medium star in the center. Trim to 6.5″ x 6.5″

From each of 3 colors, cut:

- 2 strips, 2.5″ x 12.5″ and 2 strips, 2.5″ x 16.5″

Stitch each set of strips to a large embroidered square, pressing seams away from the center square.

From each of 4 colors (or all the same), cut:

- 2 strips, 1.5″ x 6.5″ and 2 strips, 1.5″ x 8.5″

Stitch each set of strips to a small embroidered square, pressing seams away from the center square.

Layout the blocks, and then stitch together in rows.

An alternate colorway, featuring 6 point stars is shown here.

Click on any image to see a larger version of it!

It’s not highly visible in the photo, but if you ever get to see the table runners in person, you will note that the pink, 6 point, version, is finished with a piped facing, while the blue/green, 5 point, version, is finished with a simple facing. Usually I can figure most things out eventually, but how to achieve perfect inside corners for the piped facing eluded me (and still does!). So rather than have two “imperfectly” finished piped facings, I opted to eliminiate the piping on the second table runner.

Stars in a Circle

This circular quilt, 28″ diameter, was created as a traveling exhibit for AURIfil, my favorite thread company! If you are in Europe at one of the major quilt shows that AURIfil is attending, stop by to say “Ciao” to Alex and Stefano, and to see the quilt of course!

This quilt features 1 large star in the center, surrounded by various medium and small stars. The pink triangles around the center star are folded points that have been stitched into the seam. The quilt is finished with a simple binding, applied to the back of the quilt and finished from the front with a decorative blanket stitch.

Couldn’t resist showing you the back of the quilt! The backing fabric is one of Ricky Tims’ Rhapsodie Coloree fabrics, the batting is Dream Puff.

But it’s not on a quilt!

Purses and tote bags are ideal places to showcase your favorite star! This is a simple, boxy purse that I made with a large star on each side.

I don’t usually decorate my clothing, but I found a plain hoodie in Target (on the clearance rack no less!) and I couldn’t resist embellishing it with a couple of stars. Fusible water soluble stabilizer in the hoop (OESD Aquamesh Plus to be precise), and also on top of the area where the star would end up, gave me a nice firm foundation for the embroidery. Usually, I would place a fusible tearaway stabilizer on the back of the background fabric. In this case, I wanted to prevent the stitches from disappearing into the (soft and fleecy) fabric of the hoodie, so putting the fusible water soluble stabilizer on the top did the trick very nicely. I did prewash the hoodie first, and of course I washed it again after the embroidery was finished to remove all of the excess stabilizer. Then I added a few hotfix crystals to add a little extra sparkle!

Coasters, or Christmas ornaments? These stars have been quilted onto a circle of Floriani Stitch N Shape, a heavy interfacing reminiscent of Timtex. They could be used as coasters dotted around on a table, or stitch 2 together back-to-back and you have some beautiful and original Christmas ornaments – or everyday ornaments for that matter! Small and medium stars perform very nicely here.

That’s just the tip of the iceburg as far as ideas go. If you have used the designs from the Stars Collection in a project, I would love to see photos and share them with the world.

The Stars Collection was released in November 2010 as a Premier Collection Special Edition.

The collection contains 35 designs in the following formats:

• exp, art, art60, pes, pcs, dst, hus, xxx, sew, vp3, jef

• Note that due to hoop size limitations, not all designs are available in all formats.

6 small stars fit into a 3.5″ diameter circle.

19 medium stars fit into a 5″ diameter circle.

10 large stars fit into a 9″ or 10″ diameter circle. (5 of these have been split to allow them to be stitched out in a large and/or mega sized hoop)

While not shown in full on the packaging, the Collection contains instructions to make the following quilt:

Of course, there is a silk collection with a coordinating AURIfil thread collection available to allow you to make your own version of this quilt!

It has been pointed out to me that the name of the thread collection is a little misleading! The collection contains 12 large spools of my favorite thread: AURIfil Cotton Mako, 50 weight – 100% Egyptian Cotton. The silk collection contains 16 fat quarters of silk dupioni.

For the Stars collection, I also teamed up with AccuQuilt to create the following dies to assist you in achieving totally accurate cuts in a fraction of the time it would take to print templates, trace them onto fusible web and then cut. Of course, printing + tracing + cutting is still a totally valid option if you don’t have access to an AccuQuilt GO! cutter.

5 Point Medley:

For the small and medium sized 5 point stars.

5 Point Large Star

For the large, skinny 5 point stars.

6 Point Medley

For the small and medium 6 point stars.

6 Point Large Star

For the large, skinny 6 point stars.

8 Point Star

For the small, medium and large 8 point stars. The large star is created by cutting 8 of the star points. This has a couple of advantages: the cost of the die is kept down (less blade = less expense) and the star point can be used in both directions, creating 2 different 8 point star designs.

Star Points

For the large, chubby 5 and 6 point stars. The bigger star point is for the 5 point star. The small star point is for the 6 point star. The advantage of this is twofold: First, it keeps the cost of the die down (less blade = less expense). Second, it makes it much easier to split the design so that it can be stitched out with multiple hoopings in a smaller hoop.

Part 2 will feature some other (mostly smaller) quilts that have been created using the designs in the Stars Collection.

If you have a Bernina Jumbo Hoop for the 830 you are in excellent shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in two hoopings.

If you have a Mega Hoop (150mm x 400mm) or equivalent (Pfaff and Viking both have hoops that are 200mm x 360mm) you are also in great shape. The central diamond blocks will each stitch out in one hooping and the square blocks will each stitch out in 3 or 4 hoopings.

If you have a Large Oval Hoop (145mm x 255mm) or equivalent then you are in good shape – as long as you have a lot of patience. The central diamond blocks will each require two or three hoopings while some of the square blocks will require up to 9 hoopings.

Placement is super easy, with detailed instructions on the CD for how to mark the fabric for each block and align these marks with placement lines that should be stitched out directly onto the stabilizer in the hoop. Be sure to read the instructions before you start stitching!

Placement of applique shapes is also super easy! Once your background fabric has been put in place in the hoop, the next thing to stitch out is placement lines for each applique shape. Remove the hoop from your embroidery module while you fuse the prepared applique shapes in place. Some of the designs have layered appliques, so you will need to do 2 or 3 sets of placement lines each followed by fusing shapes in place.

Another question that came in today was about the thread colors used. Here’s the scoop on that!

Isacord thread was used for GO! Be Dazzled, in the following colors:

• 0811 Candlelight
• 2508 Hot Pink
• 2715 Pansy
• 4620 Jade
• 1010 Toast
• 2506 Cerise
• 2810 Orchid
• 4423 Marine Aqua
• 2550 Soft Pink
• 2510 Roseate
• 2830 Wild Iris
• 6011 Tamarack

If you want to do your own colors, here’s a formula I have been using with the students in my Block of the Month classes:

Choose 3 different fabrics – in the case of GO! Be Dazzled there are Regal Purple, Cerise and Daffodil from the Crystals collection by Benartex. For GO! Be Dazzled Too the fabrics used are Hunter, Sage and Cream from the Crystals collection by Benartex.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads to match each of the 3 fabrics, e.g. 2 or 3 different shades of yellow to match the Daffodil. This will give you 6-9 thread colors.

Now choose 2 or 3 threads that contrast with the fabrics. For GO! Be Dazzled, these were two shades of turquoise, and a bright lime green. If your 3 fabrics are different shades of the same color, then choose 2 or 3 threads of the complementary color. Check your color wheel if in doubt!

Hope this helps to answer some of the questions you may have. More coming on GO! Be Dazzled in the months to come. Feel free to drop me a line if you have more questions.

Three weeks ago today I moved into a new home – twice as much space, with a dedicated studio which has really opened up the flow. Still a few boxes left to unpack and lots of sorting still to be done, plenty of room to dance, and I could even lay a king size quilt out on the floor – if I really wanted to!

The project that has taken up most of my time in recent weeks is my new design collection – GO! Be Dazzled – which was introduced to the world at large today in my School House at Quilt Market.

Do you recognize the GO! logo used on the cover? GO! as in AccuQuilt GO! the fabric cutter.

This quilt was created as a Block of the Month to specifically use the dies for the AccuQuilt GO! Each month 2 blocks are created – they can be identical or use diferent fabrics and/or thread colors.

Each month one or more of the following dies is used:

• GO! Circle 2″, 3″, 5″
• GO! Stars 2″, 3″, 4″
• GO! Hearts 2″, 3″, 4″
• GO! Funky Flower
• GO! Round Flower
• GO! Feathers

The title of my School House was:

Embroidered Applique Meets AccuQuilt GO!

Subtitle: A Match Made in Heaven.

It really is a match made in heaven! The biggest challenge that most people have with any applique project is creating the applique shapes. Using the GO! cutter and dies ALL of the challenges go away. No printing of templates, no tracing temlplates and no cutting on the line with a pair of scissors. Simply apply fusible webbing to your applique fabric, place the fabric on the die and crank the handle. Finished in seconds!

I’m pretty excited about my new collection – and I hope you will be too!

Here are some close-ups of the embroidery.