Firstly, my show “Eyes Wide Open” exhibits a selection of quilts I made over the last 10 years. Each quilt, in this show, was designed based on something I have seen. You will see each quilt hung with their inspiration image and a description of the where the inspiration came from. The show description:

“Have you ever thought what people miss seeing and experiencing on a daily basis? We all, too often, get stuck in a routine and distracted by our electronic, and social media-based world. What details are we missing by not taking the time to really see and experience those things around us? The artist believes that with practice and intention, we can be inspired by patterns and design elements in objects we see or events we experience, every day.

Eyes Wide Open is a visual journey in seeing design in everyday objects. Capturing everyday objects with photography and then translating those objects into textile art, quilts, for everyone to experience what the artist saw every day.“

It opened at Page-Walker Arts and History Center (in Cary NC) July 7th 2023 and closes August 19th 2023.

Above are examples of the inspiration image and the final quilt for two pieces; Manicured Gardens and Rails II. Here are their accompanied descriptions

Manicured Gardens
This one-of-a-kind quilt, Manicured Gardens, has unique shapes that were inspired by Fleur de Lis shaped shrubs found in the center walkway at Schwetzingen Palace Gardens in Germany. Each shape is hand stitched onto the backing fabrics. The vibrant colors of Alison Glass Fabrics bring the feel of garden colors against the neutral background. Completed 2019, award winning quilt and exhibited at QuiltCon.

Dimensions: 50” w x 50” h
Techniques and Materials: Needle-turn appliquéd, and machine quilted. Binding Hand Sewn. High quality quilting cottons and cotton batting.
Quilted: Suzan deSerres (Singing Stitches)

Rails II is part of a series that is inspired by the Neuostheim Railway junction. The artist and her husband lived in Mannheim, Germany and travelled through this junction almost every day. As she travelled, she thought about the number of trains and people who have also travelled through, where were they going, what connections were made, what history has this junction seen.

She explored these thoughts (paths) in making these strips connect and move away from each other. This quilt was both machine and hand quilted. The hand quilting used embroidery cross-stitch matched to the color of the fabric. The cross-stitch continues with the railway theme representing the universal road sign of a railway.

Dimensions: 52” w x 45” h
Techniques and Materials: Machine Pieced, Improvisation. Hand and Machine Quilted. Faced Binding Hand Sewn. High quality quilting cottons and cotton batting.
Photography: Daniel Kummer

The Journey to the Show Installation

Getting ready for my show was pretty smooth, since I was no longer working full-time. It was not without some bumps though. We were going on vacation June 17th to July 4th, so everything needed to be ready before June 13th. I had a plan.

By May 25th, I had my web page for the ability to purchase quilts done, the postcards had been sent to the printers (used Moo, when they had a great sale on, in case you are interested), the canvas photo prints had been delivered (used Snapfish also during one of there 75% off sales) and a list of quilts that need sleeves stitched on (6 in total), 5 quilts needed labels stitched on and lastly one series of stretched framed pieces to finish. Unfortunately, I needed to fly home (NZ) for a family emergency (my father’s fingers took on a circular saw and lost).

What did this mean? I took one quilt with me to NZ, to put faced binding on and a sleeve and label. I dropped a couple of quilts off to friends who would stitch on sleeves (all I could do was provide the fabric). The rest was finished on the 4th-5th of July when we returned from our WY->SD trip.

I couldn’t have done this show without my husband and friends who helped out (Valerie, Melissa and Patty).

Installation

On installation day I packed the car. I had the quilts organized with their hangers and rolled with acid free paper, each of their matching inspiration canvases, and each with the laminated description card. Also, I had my postcards and laminated show description and bio that also were to be hung.

Installation went really smooth with a wonderful group of women. We had it all done in 2 hours and 15 minutes. The hanging system provided by Town of Cary made it really easy. They provided the information earlier when I signed the contract so I could prepare as I went. In the end we hung 31 pieces (11 quilts, 8 framed quilted pieces and 12 photo canvases in all).

One recommendation I have, if you can, go to the place where you will be installing and take a look. I did this about two months before installation day and realized that while I had wall measurements, I needed to take into consideration the vents and fire alarms that took up some of that space. Also, I found out during that visit, I had an entrance way (hallway) where I could include another 3 works. I took video of the space and reworked my plan with these things in mind.

Meet the Artist Reception

I was so nervous leading up to the reception. Self-doubt had entered my head. What if no-one turned up? Thankfully, that was not the case and my friends reminded me that this was a celebration of my accomplishment and it didn’t matter who turned up. We would celebrate anyway.

Something to think about if you have a show…..The week before the reception I talked with the Page-Walker Director and found out what they provided (fruit and cheese plate, small cakes, and water) and checked if I alcohol was permitted if I provided it. I provided beer and wine to the guests.

Another recommendation…Have a friend who can take photographs be on photograph duty.

The reception was amazing. We had about 80 people come out. I talked to so many people in the two hours but also know I missed a lot of people too. I am so thankful to everyone that came out.

I got great feedback on including the inspiration image with the quilt. It helped people understand the final piece. Also, it was fun hearing about people’s favorite piece. It was surprisingly varied and just shows that it depends on people’s tastes.

Overall, it has been an amazing experience and one I would love to do again. If you are local or passing through, It is still open until August 19th at Page-Walker Arts and History Center, Cary NC. I would strongly suggest calling ahead making sure the exhibition is available the time you want to see it (they host wedding receptions and classes so access might be limited).

If you are not local or able to see the show in person, I have a video walk-through available on my Instagram account.

Let me know if you have questions, leave it below in comments and I will try and answer them.

A few years ago, I first started writing patterns for Sew Mama Sew, and did 5 patterns based on Quilt Design a Day designs. Sew Mama Sew blog is no longer available but I still get asked about some of the patterns.

I’ve decided to republish those free patterns here. First one, is Succulent (renamed as Succulent Star for this post).

Inspiration

Succulent Star, is inspired by the design seeds color palette and image for 30 July 2014. This is one of my favorite designs as it is simplistic in nature, but it took me out of my comfort zone. The color palette is not my typical chose of palettes – Brown, Greens and Coral. 

Fabric Requirements (40″ square quilt)

Fabric A (Kona Mint): Fat Eighth (21″ x 9″) yard
Fabric B (Kona Candy Green) : Fat Eighth (21″ x 9″) yard
Fabric C (Kona Leaf) : Fat Eighth (21″ x 9″) yard
Fabric D (Kona Peach) : Fat Quarter (21″ x 18″) yard
Fabric E (Kona Chocolate) : 2 yards
Backing fabric and Batting: 48” Square
Binding: 190” (of your desired binding width, I use 2 1/4″)

Cutting Instructions

Fabric	Cutting Instructions
A	Six (6) 4.5” squares
B	Six (6) 4.5” squares
C	Eight (8) 4.5” squares
D	Ten (10) 4.5” squares
E	Thirty (30) 4.5” squares
	One (1) 3.5” square (Center)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 3 3/4” (E7)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 6 3/4” (E6)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 9 3/4” (E5)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 12 3/4” (E4)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 15 3/4” (E3)
	Four (4) 3 1/2” x 18 3/4” (E2)
	Two (2) 40” x 3 1/2”  (E1)

Terminology

HST – Half Square Triangles
WOF – Width of Fabric
RST – Right Sides Together
Seam Allowance: 1/4” seam allowance

Creating the HST

First step, is to make the HSTs. There are many ways to do this. I like to make mine two at a time. Each HST will measure 3.5″ unfinished (3″ finished).

1. Take all the 4.5” square pieces. Match each of Fabric A, B, C, D  squares RST with a square from Fabric E. Right sides together. Make sure you line up all the corners of the two squares.
2. On the lightest fabric, draw a line with washable fabric marker across one of the diagonals. 
3. Sew a ¼ inch seam on either side of the diagonal line.
   
   
   
4. Cut on the diagonal drawn line (marked line, solid in the image above, goes from corner to corner). Press open. Repeat with all squares, until you have a total of 60 HSTs.
   
   
   
5. Using a square ruler with a 45 degree line on it, trim the HST to 3.5”, by lining up your seams with the 45 degree line on the ruler.

NOTE: I like to trim my blocks down for accuracy, so I do make them slightly larger. The equation I used to get the final HST is:

Final block size + 1” = 3.5+1 = 4.5 (others may use 3.5 + 7/8)

Assembly of the quilt top

1. Assemble the quilt row by row. I start with E1 from the bottom and work my way up. Press seams as you finish each row.
   NOTE: Pieces marked with A, B, C and D refer to the HST combination. Make sure you notice in which half the letter donation is (top or bottom) as this helps orient the block correctly. The center is a single 3.5″ square of E.
2. Once all individual rows are sewn, as depicted in the diagram above, sew each row together. Put each row RST and line up the HST starting from the center of the row, moving out each direction. Use pins to hold them in place. Stitch and press each row.
3. When all rows are joined and all seams are pressed, baste and quilt your sandwich using the technique of your choice. Square your quilt and bind it to finish your quilt.

Larger Option (76″ square)

I have also used this pattern in a larger lap-sized quilt of 76″ x 76″. I had an Alison Glass Charm pack and the HST were 5″ charm pack friendly. Below are some of the differences to consider when adapting the pattern for this 76″ squared quilt.

• The starting square size for the triangles were 5″, this meant the HST’s when trimmed measured 4.5″ and 4″ finished.
• This quilt used a different color in each spiral. From outside to inside: Green, Pink/Purple, Yellow, Blue/Teal, Orange/Red, Low Volume, Black/Gray.
• There are extra 3 spiral rows around center, making the widest row 19 squares wide instead of 13 as above in the wall hanging version of the quilt. This means the you will need 12 (yellow) , 14 (pink/purple), 16 (green) square of each color (2 extra squares for 4 extra HST per spiral).
• Measurements for the outer strips can be seen in this diagram below (which are finished sizes so add 1/2″ for seam allowance). You will need 4 of each of these measurements (except the 4″ square as the others represent a quarter). You will also need 2 pieces of 76″ finished (76.5″ strips) for the top and bottom which are not on this diagram.

Once you have the layout worked out for this larger quilt, you stitch rows together, quilt and bind as you wish.

I hope you enjoy the pattern. I would love to see the final quilts on Instagram, so feel free to share with #succulentstarquilt.