Friday, September 29, 2017

Modern Antiques: Virtual Trunk Show

Boy do we have a Friday treat for you! 
Check out all of Rose Ann's quilt designs featuring her new collection, Modern Antiques. 

We'll let Rose Ann introduce you to her patterns: 

First up is County Fair. Originally designed as a Saturday Sampler pattern at Rose Ann's shop, Quilter's Emporium, this design is beautiful in Modern Antiques. This isn't your typical block sampler--they're not blocks that you see every day. These blocks are helpful for quilters looking to expand their skills. I especially like Striped Star (3rd row, left) Cross My Heart (2nd row, right), Double Star (top row, middle), and Wonky Star (3rd row, middle). I also love the sashing, incorporating the engineered border stripe. The pieced border uses up the scraps from making the blocks.
 Click here to purchase the pattern.

Rose Ann has designed a series of patterns - Sisters Patterns. Any two of the Sisters Patterns can be made from a fat quarter bundle of the collection. 

Here's Cracker Jack: So fun and fast, and bright and colorful. It's wonderful with these fabrics because you see the whole pattern of each fabric in the half-square triangles. 
Click here to find the pattern.

Churn Dash Candy is a vintage style quilt that incorporates everybody's favorite block--the Churn Dash. It's fast and easy, and you don't have to worry about points. This uses 26% of a FQ bundle, plus background. 
Click here to find the pattern.


 Antique 4 Corners: Remade in Modern Antiques, this is the pattern that started the fabric collection! A quilt just like Grandma would have made--lots of piecing!
Click here to find the pattern.

Our remake uses the engineered stripe from the Modern Antiques collection--look how similar it is to the original pieced border from the antique quilt:
Can you tell which is which? 



Can I Have Your Autograph? is a brand new pattern. It brings back the autograph quilts that we saw in the 30s and 40s. It's perfect for a wedding or baby quilt, and you can lay it out in several different ways, which are shown below. 
Click here to find the pattern.
Layout variations:



Hidden ShooFly: This pattern is a free download on the Benartex website. It's a twenty-block pattern and the corners make hidden Shoofly blocks.
Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

We even featured a Modern Antiques project in the fall issue of the Fat Quarterly newsletter:

Sign up for the Fat Quarterly here.


Click here to read Rose Ann's interview about her Modern Antiques fabrics. 
Click here to see the entire Modern Antiques collection.
Click here to visit the Quilter's Emporium website.
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Thursday, September 28, 2017

Modern Antiques: Table Topper Tutorial - Borders

Welcome back to the border (and finishing) day of our Modern Antiques Fall Table Topper. 
There's so much color variety in Rose Ann Cook's Modern Antiques collection! Since it's September, we've selected prints with an autumn feel to make a pieced table topper.

Yesterday, we ended with the quilt center looking like this:
(Click here to see the first day's tutorial, showing how to make these Jacob's Ladder blocks)

Today we're adding two rounds of borders with colored cornerstones. The squares in each corner should be the same color as the corresponding block, which extends the chain pattern out. It's a simple border treatment, but it enhances the block design, and finishes up a great table topper at just 21-1/2" square.


Additional Yardage Needed:
1/4 yard of a medium blue print
1/3 yard of a cream print
1/4 yard of a brown print (for binding)
3/4 yard for backing
27" square of batting

Cutting: 
From each of the dark prints you used for the blocks:
(2) 2" squares


From the medium blue print: 
(4) 2" x 18-1/2" strips


From the cream print: 
(4) 2" x 21-1/2" strips


From the brown print:
(3) 2-1/4" x 42" strips for binding

Adding the Borders:
1. Sew 2" x 18-1/2" medium blue strips to opposite sides of the quilt center. 
2. Sew (1) 2" dark square to each end of (2) 2" x 18-1/2" medium blue strips. Before sewing the squares, lay out the strips and squares around the quilt to make sure you have each corner square in the correct position. 



3. Sew the pieced strips to the top and bottom of the quilt, again double checking that the square colors match up. 

4. Sew 2" x 21-1/2" cream print strips to opposite sides of the quilt center. 

5. Sew 2" dark print squares to opposite ends of the remaining cream strips, again checking to make sure colors are positioned correctly.


6. Sew these strips to the top and bottom of the quilt. 

Finishing:
1. Layer the quilt backing right side down, batting, and quilt top right side up. Baste layers together and quilt as desired (we used an allover loop-de-loop design. 

2. Use the (3) 2-1/4" x 42" brown print strips to bind the quilt. 


Enjoy!

Missed the first day of our Table Topper Tutorial? Click here.

Click here to read Rose Ann's interview about her Modern Antiques fabrics. 

Click here to see the entire Modern Antiques collection.
Click here to visit the Quilter's Emporium website.
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Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Modern Antiques: Table Topper Tutorial - Blocks

There's so much color variety in Rose Ann Cook's Modern Antiques collection! Since it's September, we've selected prints with an autumn feel to make a pieced table topper. Follow along today to learn how to make the blocks, and then come back tomorrow to see how to finish the topper. 



You'll Need: 
(for the blocks)
1/4 yard each of 3 dark prints and 3 medium prints
1/4 yard of a light print

Cutting:
From each dark print: 
(1) 2" x 21" strip
(2) 4" squares

From each medium print:
(2) 4" squares

From the light print:
(4) 2" x 21" strips

Make the Blocks:
1. Sew (1) 2" x 21" dark print strip lengthwise to (1) 2" x 21" light print strip. Crosscut into (10) 2"-wide segments. 

2. Sew (2) segments together to make a four-patch. Make (5) four-patches. 

3. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of a 4" medium print square. Pair it right sides together with a 4" dark print square. 

4. Sew 1/4" on either side of the drawn line. Cut on the line. 

5. Press both units open. Trim to measure 3-1/2" square. Make a total of (4) half-square triangles. 

6. Lay out the (5) four-patches and (4) half-square triangles units into (3) rows of (3) units each. 

7. Sew the units into rows and join the rows to complete a Jacob's Ladder block measuring 9-1/2" square. 

8. Repeat steps 1-7 to make a total of (4) Jacob's Ladder blocks. 

9. Lay out the blocks into (2) rows of (2) blocks each. Sew the blocks into rows and join the rows. 

Tomorrow we'll be back with a second tutorial, adding borders! 

Click here to read Rose Ann's interview about her Modern Antiques fabrics. 
Click here to see the entire Modern Antiques collection.
Click here to visit the Quilter's Emporium website.
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Tuesday, September 26, 2017

Rose Ann Cook's Modern Antiques

Rose Ann Cook's Modern Antiques collection is such a breath of fresh air. Comprised of many small prints in a range from the super light to very dark, these fabrics have so much potential! The idea for this collection came from a worn antique quilt that Rose Ann purchased many years ago--a quilt that she has remade in her fabrics! 

Today we're sharing an interview with Rose Ann about the fabrics themselves; the rest of the week will be filled with more Modern Antiques inspiration! 

Where did the inspiration for Modern Antiques come from?
Years ago, when I was working on my book, “Czecherboard Quilts”, I visited a quilt shop in Galveston, TX, owned by Robyn Pandolph.  When I walked in the door, I spied an antique quilt carefully folded in a basket across the room.  I made a beeline over to it and pulled it out to get a closer look.  It had the most lovely, time worn colored 25 patches throughout and I knew I had to have it.  The condition was/is terrible but I didn’t care.  I bought it on the spot and knew I had a treasure!  I knew that when the quilt was new (estimated to be 1870), the colors would have been very, very different…much brighter and, for me, not as appealing.  But “Old Man Time” aged these colors to the softest hues that are so appealing!


My staff and I spent weeks trying to locate fabrics so that we could recreate it as the bonus project in my book, which we eventually did.  The kit for this reproduction quilt is still the best selling kit we have ever had.  Sadly though I realized that I was playing WackAMole in trying to re-source the same fabrics.  Over time the collections were discontinued and I finally gave up.  I am thankful to Benartex because Modern Antiques is THE collection for this quilt.  The small prints and colors are spot-on perfect for recreating this quilt.  When we made the new reproduction from the Modern Antiques quilt, it felt like “coming home.” 

So many different prints!








Can you talk about the border stripe? 
That engineered borders stripe makes me seriously happy!  Back to the original quilt…there is a border strip that looked like it was a pieced checkerboard on point, cut into skinny strips.  In much of the quilt, the center pink square in the strip fabric is totally gone.  But we found small sections of the quilt where the pink fabric was still visible.  The checkerboard was NOT pieced, but printed.  The dyes must have been unstable because the pink square fabric disintegrated.  We couldn’t find any fabric that could even come close to that, so we ended up sewing our own, very tiny, checkerboard panel and cutting it into long strips to create that border.  Pam, the sample maker, loves to work with tiny pieces, so thankfully, this was right up her alley!


But many customers who purchased the kit were not looking forward to making that border.  This border print looks very similar to what is in the original quilt.  It is offered it in two different colorways, pink and blue.  I love working with that border strip.  In my new quilt patterns, you can see it used in borders, blocks and sashes.


How did you develop the color palette? 
The color palette is really the palette from the original quilt.  The colors do have a nice variety to them, from the very, very pale Spinnings in Coral, to the darkest piece, Leaves in Navy.  Even in the original quilt, there was this wide range in color.  The prints are inspired and updated to include stripes, checks, leaves, Dots, Buds, Spinnings and the very lovely Blooms prints.


Tell us about some of your favorite prints in the collection.  
The background fabric, Blooms--Cream 2149-07--I believe is going to be one of the best-selling pieces in the collection.  The color is cream…just as what you would see in a kitten’s bowl.  And the soft, barely-there texture of the bloom in that print gives it just enough pattern to make it interesting.  I’ve used it exclusively as the background fabric in over a dozen quilt designs now and I love it just as much now as I did in the first quilt. 


The Spinnings print is also very charming.  Spinnings are available in 5 colors and I think they are as sweet as a baby’s quilt.





How did the line get its name? 
It was easy!  Because the collection was inspired from this one antique quilt, the word “antique” just had to be a part of its’ name.  But we did update these prints and colors just a touch to make them applicable and useful to modern quilters. Bing! Modern  Antiques!   

You’ve designed three very different collections for Benartex: Glass House, Joey the Shop Dog, and now Modern Antiques. Can you talk about how that came to be?
As a former actress, I know staging.  I can see colors and hues and the emotions that they evoke.  I love to collect antique textiles, vintage glass windows, Depression Glass, etc.  My husband, playwright Pat Cook, and I have filled our home with old treasures that we found on our travels.  Since I also own a quilt shop, Quilter’s Emporium, I know what I need and want to sell in my shop.  I recognized that there was a need for this type of collection and I filled it!  I still have a lot of ideas…and all of them just as different.  “Emporium,” to me, indicates variety…something for everyone.  That is what I strive to provide within my store.

My first collection, Glass House, was inspired by the movement and color that I see in stained glass.  I adore that collection!  The textures are amazing and the strength of the colors find their way into a variety of quilts.  As a shop owner, I’ve seen these prints look right at home in everything from a simple first quilt project to a Judy Neimeyer quilt.  That collection earned space in my shop as a staple.  You don’t see it everywhere and I’m delighted that Benartex keeps all 20 pieces in stock!


Joey the Shop Dog has a special place in my heart because it was designed for my sweet dog, Joey.  (Click here to read more about Joey and the fabric collection.)




How do you see these fabrics appealing to a wide range of quilters? 
There is a timeless feel to this collection that I think is versatile.  The prints are small but interesting.  When you see them in quilts, the viewer basically sees the color and the pattern of the quilt design itself.  I think this collection is a must-have for every quilter.  

What excites you most about the collection?  

The versatility of the collection is going to be valuable for any quilter’s stash.  It isn’t the type of collection where there is a focus print, a large border print, 3 or 4 blenders, etc.  That type of collection can be very beautiful but it is also limiting.  Those pieces are rarely seen outside of their groupings and once the focus piece is sold out, the left over fabrics are danglers: leftover bits in the sales bin or in the back of a closet.  Modern Antiques is not that type of collection.  It is a range where each piece can work its way in almost any quilt:  traditional, modern, baby, shabby chic, Reproduction-Civil War, Reproduction-30’s, 50’s, etc. 

Click here to see the entire Modern Antiques collection.
Click here to visit the Quilter's Emporium website.

We'll be sharing more about Rose Ann's Modern Antiques collection this week--come back for a project tutorial and a virtual quilt show!
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