Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Finishing Edyta's quilts with a bang!




We have lots of samples in the shop, so we often have to layer them up!  Here's our Eldon quilt, covered with a Tree Farm quilt, then topped off with Jolene's Star.  The Tree Farm quilt was made after we hosted a Triangle exchange based on Edyta's Friendship Triangles book premise:  we had people get our fabric strips or use their own, then everyone used Edyta's newsprint Triangle Exchange paper to make all the triangles exactly the same size.  You received back the same number that you brought in, and we ended up exchanging over 22,000 half-square triangles!

Jolene's Star pattern includes the templates, and you can make the table topper shown, or expand it into a large quilt.  We used the same tan fabric for the center trianges, and similar shirting fabrics for the stars.  This helps keep the quilt from being too busy.  We used traditional and reproduction fabrics, but it would look great in brights for a birthday celebration, or thirties or daiwabos for a completely different look.

Now that you've seen our week of Edyta's quilts, BECOME A FOLLOWER ON THIS BLOG to be eligible to win one of one of Edyta's patterns!  We'll draw a name from the list of followers on Monday.

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Edyta's quilts, day 6



Are you ready for more of Edyta Sitar's quilts?  Feathered Star is a traditional quilt that uses both printed cottons and batiks.  All the fabrics were designed by Edyta for Moda, and we still have some kits available that look just like the sample.  You can see a closeup of the combination at the bottom.  Edyta uses her own Half Square Triangle papers to make the little feathers easy to make.  The newsprint she uses for her papers is also easy to tear away when you're done.

Laundry Basket Quilts, Day 5

This is Edyta Sitar's design, Dresden Star.  Like the Shooting Star, it uses traditional pieces with an inserted "glow" that is three dimensional. Our kits for this quilt are soft blue and tan, warm and cozy.  Come see us this week, in Bloomington IN at the quilt show, or at the shop!  We'll have Edyta quilts both places!

Day 4 of Edyta


Here are two of Edyta's Quilts that we've had almost since the beginning of her pattern making days.  The Broken Star at the top is a traditional log cabin design with tiny strips.  On Eagles' Wings is also a traditional design, made special by alternating the dark and light geese. 

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Lollipops--Edyta Day 3

This is another of Edyta's Dresden variations called Lollipops.  Our pattern includes the template, and you make the size circle you want for the center.  We've made the batik version similar to the pattern front, and here we're working on a polka dot version with polka dot backgrounds!  We'll have fabric bundles in Bloomington at the show--come see us, and Edyta too!

Friday, February 24, 2012

Bright Arrivals

Yesterday we received this terrific batch of bright fabrics.  We were immediately trying to choose a project that they would look great in.  But we didn't need to worry--they were being cut for customers almost as fast as we could unwrap them!

They're perfect with this Ricky Tims fabric that recently arrived.  I'm thinking dorm quilt!

Day two of Edyta

 This is one of our favorite Edyta quilts.  It's called Shooting Star and is like a Dresden Plate design, but it has an inserted "glow" that is dimensional and adds interest and texture to the finished quilt.  We have templates included in our pattern.  We no longer have a kit, but we do have batiks and lots of them!

Thursday, February 23, 2012

A week of Edyta!

 
We're going to see Edyta Sitar from Laundry Basket Quilts next week at the Indiana Heritage Quilt Show http://www.ihqs.org/ in Bloomington, so we thought we'd feature a week of her quilts!  Of course, the first one has to be Eldon, my all time favorite.  We had a class and here are some of the student's quilts.  First one is Darlene's, second is Mary's--they both work at the shop.  Third is Tami's, who is a nurse, and makes very good use of her days off!  Tami pulled pinks and greens from her stash, and got nore as need (at Back Door Quilts!).  Her quilt looks like a rose garden!
Here's a picture of our quilt before we put the borders on, and the quilting.  If you look back in the blogs here, you'll see some step by step pictures.

 




Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Double Feathered Star

Linda thought she'd take a break from the larger Judy Niemeyer quilts and whip out this 36" quilt from our friend Cindi Edgerton of A Very Special Collection.  The technique is the same, but Cindi's paper piecing patterns feature tissue that is also easy to tear away, but strong to sew on.  We love batiks for these kinds of quilts--we have two more that are cut out and ready to sew!

Kits will be available soon on our web site.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Just Spooling Around

We've received all the fabrics from the new collection by Indiana designer Terri Degenkolb.  The fabric is called Heartstrings, and the new book is Just Spooling Around.  Come check it out while we have lots, and if you would like a kit from the book, let us know.  WE HAVE THE BOOK IN STOCK NOW!  We love all the whimsicals books and fabrics!

Monday, February 13, 2012


Cabin Fever Shop Hop starts this week!  The picture at right is for our bonus project, featuring our block in miniature, which is the Ohio Star.  Shop Hop is February 17-25 (most shops closed Sun. Feb. 19).  Each shop is open at least 10-5 everyday, unless the shops hours are normally longer

Passports are available for $5, which includes a label for your finished quilt.

Visit all 10 shops during the Hop. Get your passport stamped at each shop to qualify for one of the ten prizes to be awarded.  Each prize is a gift basket valued at $250.

These are the participating shops:

Ady's Fabric and Notions, Morgantown
http://www.adysfabrics.com/

Back Door Quilts, Greenwood
http://www.backdoorquilts.com/

Fussy Cut Quilt Shop, Beech Grove
http://www.thefussycut.com/

In Stitches, Rushville
http://www.institchesquiltshop.com/

Pohlar Fabrics, Liberty
http://www.pohlarfabrics.com/

Quilt Shoppe, Anderson
http://www.thequiltshoppeonline.com/

River's Edge, Shelbyville
http://www.riversedgefabric.com/

Sew Much More, Wanamaker
http://www.sewmuchmoredb.com/

Stitching Nook, Richmond
http://www.stitchingnook.com/

Tree City Stitches, Greensburg
http://www.treecitystitches.com/

Monday, February 6, 2012

Bali Fever Contest

Judy Niemeyer is having a contest and the winner gets a $300 gift certificate to his or her favorite quilt shop!  Just submit a picture of your Bali Fever quilt top by September 30, and you could be a winner!  E-mail me at teribackdoor@indy.rr.com for complete rules.  We have patterns available at our web site under What's New. http://www.backdoorquilts.com/

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Three Ducks in a Row

I've been working on another Judy Niemeyer quilt, and the top is finally done.  Here are some pictures in progress.

I started the border at light and dark corners and worked toward medium values.

This shows the shading of the fabrics a little better.  No wonder you need 20 light and 20 dark!

Ready for the borders to be sewn on.

Friday, February 3, 2012

Preemie Caps

Linda and I did a presentation on choosing color for quilts at the Nimble Thimbles guild in Franklin, IN.  Besides the wonderful projects and show and tells the guild members were working on, our eye was caught by these Preemie caps intended for St. Francis.

Member Theora Webb has crocheted hundreds of these tiny caps to help preemie babies hold their body heat.  Before she runs out of yarn, we want to get her more!  So if you have any fine baby yarn sitting around your house, bring it to Back Door Quilts and we'll make sure that Theora gets it for her caps.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Bali Bedrunner in progress

Linda has been working hard, making arcs from 2-1/2" strips.  She's taking advantage of Judy Niemeyer's paper foundation techniques to make every seam perfect.  The sections just need to be sewn together and the top will be finished!  We have kits for this project, which is the featured project for our class with Fran Sargent, a Judy Niemeyer certified teacher.

Year of Judy Niemeyer

This is our year of Judy Niemeyer quilts!  We've always loved them, and now we're making them!  We have a class for those who want to learn her method of paper piecing in February, and a Judy Niemeyer certified teacher is coming in March.

We are also getting a new quilt from Judy every 6 weeks or so.  Here's the one we got in December, Cattails in the Meadow.


This is our current trunk show quilt, Flowers for my Wedding Garden.  The pattern shows two different colorways, and we've ordered the fabrics and Bali Pops for both.  Yes, Judy uses 2-1/2" strips for the rings!