Introducing “Blocks on the Move”

For the last few years, I’ve been designing quilts made from one block that can be arranged in a number of different settings. These quilts are quick and easy to make thanks to chain piecing. The real fun begins when you arrange the blocks on your design wall to see which setting suits you and your fabric. I’ve named this series of patterns “Blocks on the Move”. It seemed like an appropriate name since that’s what you do with the blocks. . . .move them around on your design wall until you come up with a setting you like. Over the next couple of weeks, I’ll show you other quilts from the series. First up is “Frame of Mind”. The pattern gives directions for Crib, Lap and Queen sizes.

Quilt image on front cover of pattern. Fabrics shown are from Gerri Robinson’s new collection “The Steel Collection” by Red Rooster Fabrics. (I love these fabrics!!)

                        This is the block: 

Here are a few photos of Crib size quilts in progress from a recent class:

Blocks for Crib quilt in progress:

Final setting chosen by student:

Kaffe Fassett fabrics were chosen by this student. Sometimes the fabrics dictate the setting.

This student tried a number of different settings. They all looked good, but she chose. . . . . . .

 

. . . . . .this setting. I made this quilt made from the same fabrics she used.

The pattern shows different setting for each size quilt. Here are two settings shown in Lap size.

                  

To see more patterns from the “Blocks on the Move” series, go to my website: http://www.plumtreequilts.com. Look for the patterns with the “Blocks on the Move” logo:

Leave a comment and you’ll be entered into a drawing for a free copy of “Frame of Mind”. I’ll draw the winning name on Saturday, September 12th.

Until next time,

Laura

Advertisement

Exciting news!!

When I first started quilting, I never imagined all of the opportunities that would open up to me. Once I began working at Quilter’s Corner in Virginia things started to happen. . . . .teaching, designing patterns for the shop and then for fabric companies, starting my own pattern company and not to mention, all of the wonderful quilters I’ve met along the way. And now. . . . . . . .I’ll be teaching on a quilting cruise!!! Teaching is my passion and to teach on a cruise will be the best!

I’ve signed on with Quilt Retreat at Sea for a 9-day cruise on the new Royal Caribbean ship, Anthem of the Seas, departing from Newark, NJ on June 2, 2016. Just imagine, nine days at sea, two or three of those days in class with me making a brand new project designed just for the cruise. Stops in Bermuda, San Juan, Phillipsburg, St. Maarten and Labadee, Haiti will round out the adventure. Click on the link to the flyer (Caribbean Adventure Flyer) and go to www.quiltretreatatsea.com/caribbeanadventure to register online if you’d like to join me on a cruise to Bermuda and the Caribbean. I hope you’ll join me!

Keep stitching!

Laura

And the winners are. . . . . . .

Congratulations to Sharon Work and Linda Webster! They are the lucky winners of the Sew Red Glasses/Clip-On Lenses from the Notion Commotion Blog Hop. They will also be receiving the two Plum Tree Quilts patterns shown below. Thank you to everyone who participated. I hope you enjoyed learning about all of the new tools that my fellow designers presented to you.

Two by Two

Luminous

I’ve not been sewing on anything new these days as our house is on the Market and I am a very messy sewer. So I’ve been spending a few days this week sewing at one of the local quilt shops finishing a few UFO’s. I’ll post photos when I get the quilts back from the longarmer. I sent her 4 lap size quilts this week. It feels so good to get them finished! Here’s a photo of my very neat sewing room. I should have taken a “before” photo so that you could see the dramatic change.

Have a fun week and happy quilting!

Laura

 

Notion Commotion Blog Hop – Day 8

I hope you’ve been enjoying the Notion Commotion Blog Hop so far. Today it’s my turn to share a new tool I found to make your quilting experience a little easier. It’s the Sew Red Glasses. These  eyeglasses have red lenses that help you determine the color value of fabrics you plan to use in a quilt. It can be challenging choosing fabrics with enough contrasting value so that the finished quilt does not end up dull and uninteresting. The Sew Red Glasses are a great help in selecting fabrics with good contrasting value so that your finished quilt will pop.

There have been similar products on the market over the years, but the fact that the red lenses are made into eyeglasses is genius! It leaves your hands free to work with the fabrics as you make your final selections. AND, if you already wear glasses, this product is available as Clip-On Lenses. More genius!!

If you’d like to read more about the Sew Red Glasses, go to http://www.sewredglasses.com.

Leave a comment and you will be entered into a drawing for a pair of Sew Red Glasses and two of my patterns: Two by Two and Luminous. You can see the patterns on my website, http://www.plumtreequilts.com. I’ll draw two winners on Friday, July 18th after the end of the blog hop. One winner will receive two patterns with the regular Sew Red Glasses and the second winner will receive two patterns and the Clip-On Lenses. So be sure to let me know if you want the regular glasses or the clip-ons in your comment.

The next blogger is Susan Emory of Swirly Girls Design on Tuesday, July 15. She will tell you about the Creative Grids Kite Plus Ruler.

 

Notion Commotion Blog Hop – Day 3

Today is Day 3 of the Notion Commotion Blog Hop. Click on the link below to see the tool that Joanne from the Fat Quarter Gypsy wants to share with you.

 

Schedule of the hop:

 

June 17th: Kris Poor of Poorhouse Quilt Designs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 19th: Janice Pope of Anything but Boring

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 24th: Joanne Harrison Hillestad of Fat Quarter Gypsy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

June 26th: Us! Kate Colleran and Elizabeth Balderrama of Seams Like a Dream Quilt Designs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 1st: Debbie Wendt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 3rd: Brenda Miller of Among Brenda’s Quilts and Bags

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 8th: Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods

 

 

 

 

 

 

July 10th: Laura Blanchard of Plum Tree Quilts 

 

 

 

 

 

July 15th: Susan Emory of Swirly Girls

 

 

 

 

July 17th: Annette Ornelas of  Southwind Designs

 

 

Notion Commotion Blog Hop – Day 2

Today is Day 2 of the Blog Hop. Let’s see what nifty notion Janice Pope has for us.

http://anythingbutboring.com/blog/

Notion Commotion Blog Hop

Today’s Notion Commotion Blogger is Kris Poor of Poor House Quilts!

Let’s hop on over to her blog, to find out what the commotion is about!

Here’s the schedule:

6/17/14	Kris Poor	Poor House Quilts
6/19/14	Janice Pope	Anything But Boring
6/24/14	Joanne H	Fat Quarter Gypsy
6/26/14	Kate Colleran	Seams Like A Dream
7/1/14	Debbie Wendt	Wendt Quilting
7/3/14	Brenda Miller	Among Brenda’s Quilts
7/8/14	Celine Perkins	Perkins Dry Goods
7/10/14	Laura Blanchard	Plum Tree Quilts
7/15/14	Susan Emory	Swirly Girls Design
7/17/14	Annette Ornelas	Southwind Designs

Time flies!!

Well, I haven’t posted in a year. Where does the time go? I have no excuses except that as I get older, time whizzes by. So what have I been doing in the last year? My neighbors think I am never home. So I guess I’ve been traveling a lot. . . . . . . visiting out of town family, doing programs for Guilds, vending at retail shows and Quilt Market and finding time for a few pleasure trips. Sometimes it’s difficult to find that balance that allows me to do everything I want to do and all that I have to do. Luckily I love what I do, so I make it work.

Of course I’ve been designing over the last year. Some designs for my pattern company and some for magazines and fabric companies. My designs seem to be going in a more modern direction, which I love . . . . .sort of a bridge between traditional and modern. Here are a few of my newer designs. Let me know what you think. The Confetti table runner below is made from leftover pieces from the quilt.

Check back in a few days for another post . . . . I promise!

Laura

Confetti

Confetti Table Runner

Stepping Up

Counterpoint

 

Square Deal

 

 

 

Notion Commotion Blog Hop

Notion Commotion Blog Hop

Want to hear about the fun tools and stuff we found at Quilt Market?   Stay tuned- our Notion Commotion Blog Hop starts June 17th- July 17th, 2014- Details coming soon!

Home from Quilt Market

I returned home from Quilt Market in Portland, OR last Monday night. I thought things would settle down once I got home, but I am in full swing with work to do and lots of deadlines. I guess that is a good thing. Lots of new collections arriving from fabric companies (digital images to use with EQ) so I’m already gearing up for Fall Quilt Market in October. In case you don’t know what Quilt Market is, it’s a trade show with all things quilt related. There are fabric companies, pattern designers, notions, batting, threads, web designers, sewing machine companies, distributors, book and magazine publishers and lots of well-known quilters. Quilt Market is not open to the public, but you can attend the retail show – Quilt Festival – that is held in a number of cities. Go to http://www.quilts.com for information on dates and classes offered. What a great vacation for you and your best quilting buddy.

I took a lot of photos at Market and have posted some of them below. Some are of friends and acquaintances and some are of things I thought you might like to see. Here goes:

Moda’s booth – always colorful

Dear Stella booth

Angela Walter’s booth with her new fabric line “Legacy” by Art Gallery Fabrics

Tula Pink’s fabulous quilts!

 

            Red Rooster booth

Edyta Sita’s quilt – one of my favorites at Market.

 

Whimsicals by Terri Degenkolb – always creative

 

 

              Princess Mira batiks

    

Susan Emory and Christine Van Buskirk of Swirly Girls Design

 

Karen Dumont of Karie Patch Designs

       Kathy Brown of Teacher’s Pet

 

Gerri Robinson showing her new fabric collection “Attic Treasures” by Red Rooster Fabrics.

Joan Ford of Hummingbird Highway – author of the Scrap Therapy books.

Penny Sturgis of Quilts Illustrated – is there anyone who hasn’t made one of her bags?

Susan Knapp of The Quilt Branch

Elizabeth Balderrama – half of the design team of Seams Like a Dream – Kate Colleran is the other half of the talented duo.

Celine Perkins of Perkins Dry Goods

Mary Jane Carey of Holly Hill Quilt Designs

Gudrun Erla’s booth – GE Designs

Beth Helfter of EvaPaige Quilt Designs – this was her first time with a booth at Market.

Here’s my booth – Plum Tree Quilts,  and two other views follow. . . . .

Plum Tree Quilts booth

Plum Tree Quilts booth

Have a great Memorial Day weekend and remember why we celebrate!

Laura