To Boston with Love Installation

 

 

I can hardly believe it.  Just about a month ago, Berene first contacted me asking me to help her with the To Boston with Love project.  In that month, I contacted the Museum of Fine Arts and asked them to host the exhibit and they agreed.  I opened hundreds of packages and photographed flags daily, receiving approximately 1200 flags to the post office box I set up. Berene received a few hundred flags from guilds in Canada, and the MFA received more bringing our working total to somewhere around 1600 flags.  Berene spent hours communicating with modern quilt guilds.  We both logged flags on a shared spread sheet.  Berene and I got to know each other through daily emails and one Skype session.  Media interviews have been conducted and you can see some of them here:

 

http://boston.cbslocal.com/personality/lisa-hughes/

http://www.newburyportnews.com/lifestyle/x2026364269/Flagged-for-Boston

http://www.patriotledger.com/entertainment/x83397357/CHIT-CHAT-Dawn-Griffin-Museum-of-Fine-Arts#axzz2U9Gp7zz5

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2013/05/23/from-around-world-flags-honor-boston/ZsYzuIamLXUH2ZPtsXUzHM/story.html

http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/10010702416173/memorial-flags-help-boston-heal-after-bombings/

http://www.myfoxboston.com/video?clipId=8913204&topVideoCatNo=238258&autoStart=true

 

 Berene made travel arrangements, got her Passport taken care of, and traveled to Boston.  We met!  She visited with my family yesterday.  And today, we helped install the exhibit! 

 

Here is Berene hanging flags with Dave, a very patient member of the MFA staff, who allowed Berene and I to take turns helping him hang the flags.

 

 

Here is Berene being interviewed for the news tonight. I think all the local tv stations came to the museum for interviews today, plus WBZ radio.

 

 

Here is a shot of me that Berene took as I waited to hand up some more flags. 



 

 

Here are some glimpses of the flags hanging in the Shapiro courtyard.  About two thirds of them are hanging and the rest will be hung tomorrow morning.  They bring so much color and life to the room and the visitors were fascinated by them.  They complimented them and they felt so loved.

 

 

 

I'll share more pictures of the display when it is complete.  Remember, if you are local, the MFA will be free this Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  The exhibit will be hanging until July 7th.

 

Many thanks to all who sent flags.  Without your efforts, none of this would have been possible.  And thank you to the fantastic staff at the Museum of Fine Arts.



Quilt Along with ChristaQuilts

 

 

ChristaQuilts, one of my sponsors, is hosting a quilt a long and I thought I would help spread the word today in case any of you would like to join in.  It uses Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets so you can't go wrong!



This will be Christa's 6th in a series of complete quilt alongs on her blog.  String of Pearls will launch Wednesday, June 5th at ChristaQuiltsBlog.com.  Christa will have a limited number of kits available with 10% off any kit purchase through 6/30. Just use the coupon code CQA2013 at checkout. For complete details along with the quilt along schedule, visit ChristasQuiltAlong.com.

Forest Quilt Along-Free Squirrel Paper Pieced Block Pattern

Today I am bringing you block 10 in the Forest Quilt Along.  In case you haven't been sewing along, you can find links to all the previous block in the Forest Quilt Along in this Flickr group.  The blocks are intended to be fairly challenging and realistic for quilters who like a paper piecing challenge.

I designed a 12" Squirrel block.  I hope you like him!  He is made using a BasicGrey grunge and floral from the Little Black Dress line.  The background is a Bonnie and Camille aqua dot for Moda.  He has a vintage button for his beady little eye.

I decided that the easiest way to share the pattern was to list it in my Craftsy shop.  It can be downloaded for FREE though!

(Edited to add--some people told me that they didn't have a Craftsy account.  You can also download the file here.)

Remember to share your finished blocks in the Forest Quilt Along Flickr group.

Sweet Serenade Quilt Patterns at Market

 

 

I've been busy in recent weeks designing two quilt patterns for BasicGrey using their new fabric line, Sweet Serenade.  The fabrics are soft corals, blues, creams and dark brown.  Many of the prints have music notes on them, some sweet blue birds, and there is a neat postal print as well.  This first quilt was inspired by the chevron print in the fabric line and the hexagon trend that doesn't seem to grow old.  I separated rows of hexagons with chevron sashing.  I love the results and would like to make this quilt again, trying out some other fabric combinations for fun.

 

Here is the finished pattern cover for the Dowager design. In case you are curious, I didn't name the patterns.  BasicGrey names them after the prints in the collection.  Thank heavens for that because I am terrible at naming.

 

 

This is my second design, a string star quilt.  This is a time consuming quilt to make but it results in some neat optical illusions/secondary patterns.

 

 

And this is the Avalon pattern cover.  I really want that card catalog piece of furniture in the front! 

 

I look forward to sewing with these fabrics some more after a brief reprieve...especially all the neutral prints which are my favorites.

 

I hope you like them!

 



Blogger's Quilt Festival

 

If you are visiting my blog for the first time while touring the Blogger's Quilt Festival, welcome!  Those of you who are not new to my blog have already seen this quilt.  It's a fairly recently finished paper pieced quilt with an Artist Studio theme measuring 45" x 55".

 

The blocks in this quilt were made by the members of the Cocorico Bee.  I asked them to make me blocks with the Artist Studio theme and I received everything from a Fashion Designer's Studio to a Pottery Studio. I love the variety.  Somewhat unexpectedly, I also received blocks that are really cohesive!  I was surprised at how comfortably the blocks worked with each other.  They don't compete with each other as bee blocks sometimes do. I think that it helped to be a part of a group of individuals who really know each other's styles.  These blocks are all made with fabrics that are very "me." 

 

I didn't ask for blocks that were the same dimensions so I was challenged to piece them together.  As it turns out, though I feared that part of the process, I absolutely loved doing it!  A quilt wall at retreat was a major help. I used some sashing and designed a few small paper pieced blocks to fit into the sashing for added interest (the brushes and pencil).

 

 

After much hemming and hawing, I decided to finish my quilt by quilting it with an irregular grid. I really liked the quilt top without quilting and didn't want to add a lot of texture to the crisp blocks. I am happy with this solution though I did get anxious each time I stitched through lovely piecing and some mighty thick seams!

 

Here is a little close up so you can see the grid.  The lines are straight but spaced irregularly--2-4" apart.

 

 

 

I pieced the back of the quilt with light colored prints since I used a very soft grey thread for quilting. I made a label with my brayer block and stamped words that read "Blocks by members of the Cocorico Bee/assembled and quilted/by Amy Friend."  I rarely include such a label but thought it was important to document the collaborative effort.

 

I feel like it is important to give credit to each of the members of the Cocorico bee:



 

 

Top Left:  Sewing Studio by Charise

Top Center:  ART by Leila
Top Right:  Mannequin by Krista
Second Row Left:  Drafting Tools by Lauree
Second Row Center:  Paints by Tamiko
Second Row Right:  Easel by Erin
Third Row Left:  Easel by Kylie
Third Row Right:  Paint Jars by Muriel
Bottom Row Left: Calligraphy Pen by Megan
Bottom Center:  Watercolors by Kerry
Bottom Right: Pottery Studio by Melinda

 

 

 

 

I used the navy Architextures print for the binding. 

 

I'm going to treasure this quilt! 

 

Thank you so much for visiting today!  I hope you will click my "follow with Bloglovin'" button up on the top right sidebar and keep coming back!

 

 

Enjoy the rest of the Festival.



Oh What Fun! Pillow Tutorial

 

I'm so glad to hear that many of you like the Oh What Fun! quilt pattern that I designed for BasicGrey.  I thought it could use a little pillow to go with it so I made this one and am talking about it on the BasicGrey blog today.  Click over for all the details.

 

 

 

If you are looking for the Oh What Fun! quilt pattern, it's available in my Etsy shop.  Remember, you are now able to download the pdf patterns after you pay rather than waiting for an email from me. I know that some of my repeat customers have been looking for their emails with pattern attachments but those days are past!  Now you can just click download and save the pattern to your hard drive.  It's faster for you and easier for me too!  If you have any trouble though, feel free to email me and I can send you the files.

 

I'll be back on Friday to share my new quilt pattern designs for BasicGrey that will be debuting at quilt market. 



National Nonwovens New Colors

 

Oh my goodness, didn't they know that I had a quilt I was trying to finish??  These stacks of woolen distraction came in the mail today. They are National Nonwovens new colors for 2013 and they have me wanting to make something asap.  What should I make?  I'm thinking I should start a new hand project for the summer family camping trips.

 

The top stack of felt is Rustic Collection.



 

 

This collection is called Wooly Chic.

And this is the XoticFelt Urban Collection.  Unlike the other two collections that are wool, this collection is a bamboo/rayon blend; it's very soft.

 

I love that these high quality felts are all made in the USA and that the company is located right here in MA.  Click the link to National Nonwovens in my sidebar if you would like to take a look at their selection.