Alaska Quilt Shops

Morley J. Moose III

Quilted Raven

I got to meet my friend in Anchorage, Alaska for a week of fun.  We have never been to Alaska before and were exited to just be there.  She was judging a dog agility show and while it rained the whole weekend, no one seemed to mind and the dogs cared less--they ran and jumped and had tons of fun.  After the weekend of making new friends and getting to pet lots of dogs we had the next week to explore Anchorage and surrounding area.  My friend and I are both quilters so of course we looked up all the quilt shops in the area, we wanted to visit a few.  The first was downtown Anchorage.  The Quilted Raven was a feast for the eyes and while cozy, it was packed with great Alaska material and locally dyed yarns and other great things.  The pattern Morley J. Moose III was another delight for the eyes and just darn cute. Moose are after all very Alaskan!  Morley J. Moose III  - this is the link to the pattern.



We visited 3 other quilt shops  Quilt Zone, Quilt Tree and Dinas Cozy Cabin Quilts ....   and found a lot.  I bought many cuts for a quilt I am going to do for an "ugly" fabric challenge they are now in  audition status.  But another pattern that really caught our eye was the Labyrinth Maze from the April/May issue of Quilt Magazine.  I will have to order that back issue.   It was so much fun to shop, play tourist and relax.  There is still much to do and see in Alaska....next trip.

Lunch was great...Texas don't have these!  My friends all believe that I did not made Santa happy, but I do not see Santa as a vegetarian.

Owl Quilt for Baby

I love to know that I don't have to do anything with a pattern, I can just imagine the look and then start to create.  I think baby quilts are the perfect way to do this as they are a great size to work with and can be finished in a short period of time and....a baby does not judge so any booboos are never really the focus.  I know parents or others may see them, but I know they are so focused on the baby that they never really look too deeply at anything else.

This quilt was inspired by a picture of owls, so I took off from there.  I remember seeing laser cut owl appliques Hooterville Quilt Pattern by Brandywine Design  on Cabbage Rose Quilt Shop web site Cabbage Rose Fort Worth Texas, so I started there.  Yep just what I wanted to use, so off to the shop.  I purchased the laser cut pieces for the Hootervillle Quilt and was ready to go to step two.  (I now have a lot of owls and trees to use for other projects.)  

I had in my mind a modern quilt with white and a chevron pattern of some sort.  I envisioned a center panel of white with owls and tree and chevrons on either side.  To make the chevrons it only takes half square triangles and the design board to get the lay out.  Keeping the chevron in order when sewing is somewhat the hardest part of the process, but all ended well.

I love the finished results and the  quilting was simple with my Viking Diamond Deluxe machine.  I sewed a broad zig zag decorative stitch in the center of the chevron to mimic the flow of them and echo around the owls and tree.  A little detail quilting on tree and owls made it pop.

One week end and a quilt pattern that goes together very quickly is a perfect duo.  I like the results really well.

First Look on the design board and getting it together

Mini Quilt Packs Meaning

 The hot is on us and the sun is having its party in the sky with 100+.  But I love this time of year to get outside, watch some baseball and chill inside in the sewing studio.  I just completed a mini quilt with a patriotic flair and lots of symbolic meaning.  It is 12" square needle-turn applique with just a simple finish.  The quilting is simple at this point, now just thinking if I need to add some more...I made this simple mini quilt for an internet exchange I will participate in..... but then I made two others that I may use in the exchange.  I had never done a mini quilt ever~and I actually see the fun in doing them.  It has inspired me to think small when I want instant gratification.

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Flower detail

12 inch mini quilt
blue birds bring happiness
flower brings beauty
trophy brings fortune