It seems this time of year we are reflecting a lot on what we are thankful for and the joys and trials of the year coming to a close. One of the things I am most thankful for is all of you! Without every single one of you I wouldn’t be able to do what I do. My business has grown so much over the last year and so much of it is due to my wonderful customers that spread my name, support my designs, and trust me with their quilts. My heartfelt thanks to all of you!
With this in mind I wanted to take December and spoil you all a little bit. Instead of doing my monthly sale item I decided to switch it up! Hopefully there will be something to bring a smile to everyone’s face!
Enjoy 10% off storewide for the entire month! Use coupon code DECEMBER10 to get your discount. (This does not apply to sale items.)
Every weekend I will be featuring one of my big sets for 40% off! I’ll be reminding you weekly, but make sure to check back every weekend! (Don’t forget to grab your add on pieces while they are also on sale!)
Schedule an E2E Quilt to be quilted and receive 10% off! Contact me to discuss your quilt! (10% off applies to all E2E quilts scheduled in December even if quilted in other months.)
Have a wonderful Holiday Season with your loved ones! I look forward to seeing where our quilting journey takes us all in the new year!
Enjoy 25% off the Arizona Cactus complete set for the month of August. Stop by the Design Store to take advantage of the sale! Keep reading for pattern details, tips and tricks!
The Design:
Many of you know that I worked for Judy Niemeyer for several years. I was working for her during the time frame the Cactus designs were being produced and I fell hard for this little block! I have two table runners and a bed quilt from this pattern. I immediately set to dreaming up designs for this set and produced some of my first and most favorite designs!
When I got this little sweet little table topper from CI Sue Wilson to quilt it gave me a chance to work with a new layout. Her beautiful RJR Fabrics were so feminine and immediately had me thinking of delicate pretty designs to enhance them!
As we all do, I have grown and enhanced my techniques over time. This is one of my early creations so the style is a little different than my current flavor but I hope you all still enjoy it just as much!
***Note: All Peak to Prairie Quilting pattern sets come with Placement Layout sheets to help you navigate the pattern names. There can also be additional information on these sheets so please look them over before starting your quilt! ***
I start almost every Quiltworx quilt with Stitch in the Ditch. I use monopoly thread and work my SID through the WHOLE quilt, getting it into one piece. Then I go back and work each color of thread through the whole quilt.
Arizona Cactus, Pieced by Sue Wilson. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt Pattern by Quiltworx.com
Spikes, Spikes, Spikes!
If you watch my current work you all know that 99% of the time I leave my spikes to POP. I love the varying density this gives to my quilting, I love how it emphasizes the spikes and makes them a focal point, and I love the clean look this gives to a quilt. However, there are times when you just want to quilt those little buggers down . . .and not do all that SID! This set of flames gives some nice texture to these spikes without overpowering them. Easy to place, manipulate or divide as needed you can fit them to the craziest piecing!
Left End
Continuous
Right End
Most of the time when you are working on small projects like a table topper time is a factor. Who wants to pay their quilter hundreds of dollars for a small piece like this? And we all know some of these small projects can take just as long as the big ones. This little swirl design places nicely over the little spikes and saves a ton of time!
The spike background swirl is also easy to place and manipulate. If needed you can easily divide close to where a new curl comes out from the previous one. There is only one line of stitching at these points and makes for the easiest manipulation.
Arizona Cactus, Pieced by Sue Wilson. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt Pattern by Quiltworx.com
Feather Fun:
Now that we have those pesky spikes out of the way lets have some fun! Oh how I love me some feathers and these whimsical little designs have a special place in my heart! Both are easy to place, and fun to look at! While this might be the set they are designed for I have used them over and over in different quilts!
There is no better finish to a quilt than a feather border! This simple swooping feather with curl accents is fun and artistic. Originally designed for a 4″ border, it will come in handy over and over. Make sure you SID along the outer and inner border to give a nice straight finish to your quilt.
The End Result:
Arizona Cactus, Pieced by Sue Wilson. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt Pattern by Quiltworx.com
Arizona Cactus, Pieced by Sue Wilson. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt Pattern by Quiltworx.com
Enjoy 25% off the Diamond Wedding Star complete set for the month of July. Stop by the Design Store to take advantage of the sale! Keep reading for pattern details, tips and tricks!
The Design:
Who doesn’t love the beautiful Diamond Wedding Star design by Quiltworx.com? The beautiful arcs, the star accents, the circular layout and all that negative space keep your eyes moving and soaking up intricate details!
However, when it came to quilting this beauty lovingly pieced by CI Kelly Grant, oh my gosh! What to do in all that asymmetrical negative space? What is the best way to break down those blocks into repetitive manageable patterns? And how do you do all that and create a beautiful, impressive design? The good news is you don’t have to worry about it. I spent the hours agonizing and deliberating and designing so you didn’t have to! Here’s some tips and tricks to make using my patterns a breeze!
***Note: All Peak to Prairie Quilting pattern sets come with Placement Layout sheets to help you navigate the pattern names. There can also be additional information on these sheets so please look them over before starting your quilt! ***
I start almost every Quiltworx quilt with Stitch in the Ditch. I use monopoly thread and work my SID through the WHOLE quilt, getting it into one piece. Then I go back and work each color of thread through the whole quilt.
Lets start with those beautiful blocks!
The Simple things:
The Arcs: Beautiful ribbon feathers flow down each arc and are simple to place.
Star Points: Simple designs with dense fill to provide a varying density to the design. The star tip pieces are designed to have 1/8-1/4″ boundary around them. The center star small points are designed to have 1/8-1/4″ space at the top and have the base of the design touch the bottom edge. A simple P2P arc completes the center star (not included in set. Use your P2P curve included with your Statler)
Feather Unit: Simple base with dense fill included. These are also designed to have a 1/8-1/4″ space around the outside. The feather spike units are so small I found the most effective treatment was SID and then 1/4″ stitching along the points. Keep it simple in this small space.
Melons: Simple and elegant pearl melon easily places in these spaces. Also keep that 1/8-1/4″ space around the outside of these pieces.
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
The Pearl Ring and Feathers:
When I first looked at this stunning quilt laid out before me, I could see this elegant pearl ring around the star units. I knew the effect would be stunning! As I began digitizing and laying out the design on the screen it occurred to me . . . If I don’t have these perfectly angled as they go around the circle it is going to ruin the effect. How do I make this happen easily??? And how do I help my fellow quilters make this happen??? What to do . . .
If you knew me at all in highschool . . or were my mother . . you know that I was abysmal at geometry. It wasn’t the shapes and angles, but all those darn rules that stumped me. The irony of a universe that took a girl that was terrible at geometry and continually steered her towards quilting is not lost on me. So while one of you other mathematically gifted people could look at this and figure out some complex equation or give me the exact degree this needed to be situated at , that was never going to happen for me. . .and I knew many other quilters would also glaze over at the idea.
Well, where there’s a will there’s a way and I did come up with a simple solution! I included a circle template in the design set. This will NEVER be stitched. It is simply used to place the designs.
Mark out your boundaries for your stitchable background areas and place the circle template (at its original size of 28.80″) so that it intersects several of the star tips as shown. Use the template circle to line up the pearl background. It does not need to be exactly on the template line to create the desired effect, it just needs to be at the same angle as the template. Make sure to toggle the template as sewn before starting to stitch!
Do your best to have the pearl background hit those diamond points for another lovely effect. Less than perfect piecing on your quilt? The straightline sections at the bottom of the pearl unit are designed to be 1/8-1/4″ away from the seamline and can easily be adjusted to accommodate the piecing.
What about the feathers you ask? Easy, easy to place. If possible, work on the sections that mirror each other at the same time, to ensure they are as symmetrical as possible.
The Borders:
While I was so excited to have all of this negative space to work with, the more I played with it the more I realized the asymmetrical nature of it was going to prove a challenge. I wanted something ‘different’ and ‘outside the box’ and I absolutely love what I came up with! What’s more? It was really easy to place and stitch!
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
Note: The borders where the last thing I stitched on this quilt. If you are doing them first I’d stabilize your blocks in some way first. Either with SID or basting.
Start by placing the outside pearl hoops. Make sure to check the size of the hoops against the Placement Layout Sheet. Start stitching these from the corner out. Next place the crosshatch piece. Line up the outside edge so it continues the line/angle from the block. Now it’s time to place the feathers. Do Not use the already stitched patterns as your boundaries. This is a big area with dense quilting and there will have been shrinkage. Trust me! You will thank me later! Instead, draw a brand new boundary along your stitched patterns and place the feathers. You may even want to double check your last feather or two before you stitch them. Always safer to double check than to pull out your seam ripper.
The side border will done the same way. Hoops first then the feathers!
The End Result:
I hope this has helped break down the process of quilting the Diamond Wedding Star. Does this quilt take time? Absolutely! Is it a hard quilt to quilt? I hope you now realize that no, it’s not. I love how easily you can get great results with this set without stressing over every stitch. The space built in around several of the designs as a ‘design element’, make them easy to place, start stitching, and walk away.
Another bonus for my JNQ junkies is that several of the patterns from the star unit will also fit in the Autumn Pines wall hanging!
Diamond Wedding Star. Quilting and Digital Designs by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com
This June I am featuring the Bali Wedding Star set as the monthly special! We all know that wedding ring quilts hold a special place in our hearts. We also know that they can provide all sorts of challenges not only when piecing but also when quilting. Here are a few features of my patterns and how they can make your quilting experience a little easier!
Bali Wedding Star – Sharon Ralph. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com.
Bali Wedding Star – Sharon Ralph. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com.
Bali Wedding Star – Sharon Ralph. Designs and Quilting by Peak to Prairie Quilting. Quilt pattern by Quiltworx.com.
Believe it or not this quilt didn’t have a single stitch of SID quilting in it. I designed these patterns to provide a beautiful finish without all the hastle of SID. Does your quilt have less than perfect piecing? If needed you can easily divide the arc patterns and adjust to better fit your piecing.
Where you hoping to let the rings pop a little more? Does your customer want a more traditional look of simple rings with pretty background quilting? Simply pair the melon and background design with p2p arc, SID or a simple crisscross in the arcs!
Thank you so much to everyone that participated in our Memorial day sale! Watch the video to see whats happening at Peak to Prairie Quilting and for more sales and specials coming up!
