Point Of View Sew-Along

Please join me in a Sew-Along. I’ll be making Point of View, a quilt which I designed featuring my latest fabric collection, The Sultan’s Garden. The finished size is a manageable 48” x 48” which will be perfect as a throw or wall hanging. You can find the instructions for the quilt as a free download on the RJR Fabrics website, here. The collection is available in two color stories, berry and apricot. I’ll be working in berry. Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be posting my progress. 

I have started by gathering the materials. Here are my fabrics, laid out and ready to go. In the next post, I’ll review cutting and piecing.    

  

Frida Kahlo, Art - Garden - Life

The exhibition, Frida Kahlo, Art - Garden - Life is underway at the New York Botanical Garden. Of course, I like to visit the Garden whenever I can and this was a great excuse. 

Located in Mexico City, Casa Azul was the home and studio where Frida Kahlo and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera lived and worked. The show’s curators and horticulturalists transformed a section of the Haupt Conservatory to a resemblance of Casa Azul. Frida’s long time home served as a connection to the beauty of the landscape as well as a source of inspiration.

 This is a re-creation of how a portion of her studio may have appeared.

The Mertz Library has a number of her drawings and paintings on display. Photography was prohibited, sorry…

As you would expect the gift shop had a beautiful homage to Frida, overflowing with fun items for sale.

The event runs through November 1^st but if you are not in the area, you may want to see the slide show at the New York Botanical Garden’s website.

The Sultan's Pillow

One thing the Sultans had were plenty of pillows! 

I love working with The Sultan's Garden fabrics. This is a quilted pillow cover I just finished using the apricot color range.   

It would have been practical to simply use a wedge shaped ruler but I used Marti Michell’s Tumbler Template. This template is nice because it gives one the option to easily create eight different size tumblers. My finished shapes are 4” high, and did not take long to create.

I decided to keep the quilting simple by echoing the seams...

...and bind the cover as if it were a quilt.

If you would like to see my work in progress, you can now follow me on Instagram:
https://instagram.com/marymcguiredesign/

Cute Coin Purses

These coin purses are fun and relatively easy to make, provided you take a deep breath while attaching the handle…

The frames are from NYC's Purl Soho but I’m sure you can find them at craft stores. The purses will be unique gifts for special occasions.

Time to Start Cutting

It's an exciting day for me! I’ve just received the first samples of my latest line from RJR Fabrics. Looking at them reminds me of my trip to Istanbul and the magical time spent there. It’s time to start cutting…

The Sultan’s Garden, available in August    

The Sultan's Garden - Sneak Peek

Here's a preview of my new collection, The Sultan’s Garden. The line, inspired by a trip to Istanbul, will be available through RJR Fabrics later this summer. It will be offered in two color palettes, Apricot and Berry. I can’t wait to see what everyone creates with the fabrics!

Winners Announced

I would especially like to thank those of you who found your way to my site even though Quiltmaker's had an incorrect link to my blog. Looking on the bright side, the broken link meant a better chance of winning for those who made the extra effort! As always, I would love to see a photo of any blocks created from the pattern. 

I randomly selected three winners from the list of comments. Each will reveive a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, volume 11. Congratulations to:

JoyceLM, Debby E, Anna Brown. 

I will send you each an email to ask for your addresses.