I saw this quilt by Aneela Hoey over 9 months ago.  I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind – I just LOVE it!

So – here’s what I am proposing – a House and Tree Quilt–Along!
That’s right – a tutorial for a block with either a house or a tree (or both) in it will be posted on Tuesday’s and Thursday’s during ‘off’ weeks of Project QUILTING.  Why am I doing this to myself – I seriously LOVE this quilt and ‘house’ quilts have caught my eye for a long time.
I figure if I do this during the off weeks of Project QUILTING I should get quite a few people to join along.

To make this work I need some volunteers to design quilt blocks and make up tutorials for them.  If you have a blog – you can post your tutorial right on your own blog.  Once your post is up, I’ll link the block from my website to yours and include a mini bio about you, the designer.  If you don’t have your own blog, just send me a word file with the instructions and photo’s and I’ll post it on my blog with links to you and of course a mini bio about you, the designer.

I talked to Aneela Hooey about my idea since her quilt was my inspiration.  She thought it was a great idea but has too many obligations this year to participate.  BUT she did give me a link to a house and tree tutorial on her blog so you can always start with those and work your own design off there. 

The block you design should be 12.5” x 12.5” (so it’s a finished 12” square). 
It has to have a house, a tree, or both incorporated somehow into the block but feel free to add other elements as well (see above inspiration quilt). 

Here’s the schedule
Block 1: January 17th – Kim Lapacek - LIVE - My Home
Block 2: Januray 19th – Diane Lapacek - LIVE - Lapacek's Orchard
Block 3: January 24th - PamelaQuilts - LIVE - House by the Bay
Block 4: January 26th - Quilts By Barb - LIVE - My Tilted House
Block 5: January 31st - TerryAskeArtQuilts - LIVE - Two Trees
Block 6: February 2nd - Quilties - LIVE - Tree of Life
Block 7: February 14th - Quilt Jane - LIVE - Under the Moreton Bay Fig
Block 8: February 16th - Kim Lapacek - LIVE - A Wonky Modern House
Block 9: February 28th - CraftyMamaD - LIVE - Scrappy Trees
Block 10: March 1st - Michelle Foster from QuiltingGallery - LIVE - A Home for the Birds
Block 11: March 13th - Prairie Moon Quilts - LIVE - The Happy Tree
Block 12: March 15th - Olive and Ollie - LIVE - the little house
Block 13: March 27th - Around The Quilt Block - LIVE - three trees
Block 14: March 29th -  Melissa Stramel of  Lilac Lane - LIVE - Under the Apple Tree
Block 15: April 3rd - Samelia's Mum - LIVE - A Home for Hoot
Block 16: April 5th - Sally's Ponderings - LIVE - Branch Sweet Branch

BONUS Blocks
accuquilt home
Marcia's Crazee Patch House
Rippling Pond - Marcia's Crafty Sewing & Quilting
Acid Cottage - Love Affair with my Brother


Sashing BONUS


Bonus Sashing Tutorials

1. 1. Four Rectangles
   2. Scrappy Strips
   3. Stepping Strips
   4. Four Squares
   5. Trees in Blossom
   6. Window Trees
   7. Mosaic Tree
   8. Truffula Tree 
   9. Spinning Tree
   10. Hexagon Forest 
   11. Diamonds in the Rough
   12. Shoo Fly Sashing
   13. Geese a Flying
   14. Tall True North Tree
   15. Tall Trees
   16. Wild Trees
   17. Eight Rectangles
   18. Branches Wild
   19. Birds in the Bushes
   20. String a Flower Garden
   21. Steps
   22. Let's Strip
   23. Stripped Squares
   24. Tri-Recs Trees
   25. Hexagon Trees
   26. Strips and Mosaics
   27. Stacked Modern Pine
   28. Suburbia
   29. Tetris
   30. Spinning Pinwheels
   31. Happy Neighborhood
   32. Nine Patch Centered in Red
   33. Drunken Geese
   34. True North Mini Tree
   35. Chevron
   36. Tri Strips
   37. Twelve Rectangles
   38. Zig Zag Pathways
   39. Checkered
   40. Window Panes
   41. Bird House 
   42. Split Hexie Tree
   43. Tall Pinwheel Tree
   44. True North Tree
   45. Zig Zag Sashing
   46. Rail Fence
   47. 36 Patch
   48. Two Rectangles
   49. Stepping Strips 2

Cornerstone Ideas:
Fat Quarter Shop Fabric Finds

1/3/12 update
***So - I have 16 designers and 16 blocks!  Whoo Hoo!  If you are really wishing you would have signed up for it because you have an amazing idea in mind I'd be happy to feature *bonus* blocks that a person could make to increase the size of their quilt or in replace of a block they're just feeling.  Just contact me if you're still interested!  Thanks to everyone that signed up so far!  WOW!

Feel free to add your button to your blog as a reminder of the fun that's about to start!

Our third steady judge for Project QUILTING is going to be someone I’ve talked about a lot – Barb Raisbeck of QuiltsbyBarb. Barb is Diane’s sister, my aunt-in-law and an extremely talented long arm quilter. (oh and trust me – neither Diane or Barb will be ‘easy on me’ for scoring – if anything they are even more critical of my work!)

Flower Power Quilt

She has participated in a few of the challenges but any challenges she feels like working on will just be for ‘show’ and not eligible for any of the prizes.

Checkers Anyone?

Here’s Barb’s ‘About Me’ that I snagged from her website:

Let me tell you how I got started quilting.

Around 1990, Mom made a quilt top for my son, Cory. I was very excited when I went to WalMart and picked out a black,purple, green and gold print fabric. Then I went and selected all these plain colored polyester fabric for poor Mom to make the quilt. She didn't complain; thank goodness I selected the Rail Fence pattern, and she made Cory's quilt top.

Now it was time for me to hand quilt it. Mom was going to come to my home in Bloomington, Wisconsin, to get me started and teach me how to hand quilt. Before we got to do this, Mom suffered a massive heart attack and we lost our wonderful Mother just ten days later.

Bargello Trip Around the World

The quilt top sat in the closet until I saw a quilt that had been machine quilted. I thought, now that is what I can do with Cory's quilt and it will get finished. I sent the quilt top out and had it quilted with a polyester batting with the cloud pattern. I brought it home and put about a 4 inch wide binding on the edge, all done by machine. I think Cory still has the quilt.

My daughter, Katrina, then thought she needed a quilt. I was already a lot wiser. Katrina and I went to a local quilt shop and selected four blue fabrics of 100% cotton. I made my first quilt top, a Sunshine and Shadows quilt, all in blues. I sent it off to the machine quilter and it was quilted with a pantograph pattern. I was hooked on quilting!!

Purple Heat Resistant Mini Quilt

I continued making quilt tops and sending them out to a local machine quilter. She specialized in pantographs only and I was ready for more. It was time for me to purchase my own long arm quilting machine. My husband was very skeptical as I threatened to put the machine in our living room unless we built on to our house. I threatened for about a year and eventually we built a wonderful two story addition to our home for my new quilting studio.

Fast forward a few years to 2001 and I decided this quilting stuff was alright. I quit my full time job working for the US government and Quilts by Barb became my full time passion. It has been nothing but uphill every since!

Quilts by Barb has evolved to include Quilt Retreat Getaway Weekends and Hand Dyeing Workshops. We celebrated our fifth year anniversary of fall retreats in 2007. I have taught over 300 students in Beginning Quilting 101 and a large number of other quilt classes at local quilt shops in the area and in my studio. In 2007, I had my first opportunity to teach at the Wisconsin Quilt Expo in Madison, Wisconsin, and will be back again in 2010.

Where’s the Point – Quilt PATTERN

Around Christmas time in 2006, I decided it was time to trade up from my Gammill Classic with an IntelliStitch attachment to a Gammill Optimum with a Statler Stitcher. The Statler Stitcher is a top of the line quilting system and it helps me to continue to provide the best in custom machine quilting for my quilting customers.

There are many days when I am working on a quilt for myself or a custom quilt for a customer and I think just how much my Mother would have enjoyed helping me in my quilting business. Unfortunately, I didn't get started quilting until after I lost her but I am guessing she is watching me from above and is really glad I know better than to head to WalMart for polyester fabric as I continue to add to my quilting stash!

Check out this post to see the THREE Quilts that Barb had in the International Quilt Festival in Chicago this past April!

Barb is also the host and teacher of the Quilts By Barb Quilt Retreats each fall. 2011 looks to be just as amazing as all the past one – if not more so! Check out http://www.quiltsbybarb.com/2011quiltretreat.htm for more information on what’s going on.

I know that I’m really excited to have three permanent judges along witha fourth guest judge when possible. I love getting feedback on my work – it can only make me a stronger quilter. Thank you to my judges for helping make Project Quilting just that much more special.

My picks for today are going to have to do with what I’m all packing in preparation for the quilt retreat I’m attending this weekend. Papa is keeping the girls and Mama gets to SEW! What fun! Here are some things you’ll find in my suitcase:A cozy pair of slippers like these Earth in Sky Strap Slipper Socks from crochetbybydiana.

Some really cozy pants like these womens low hip stylish chocolate brown sweat pants cozy fluffy polar fleece fitted warm sexy from turtleshellco.

I must have some fabric for my mystery quilt. I plan to use the color scheme of

turquoise blue

Turquoise Tile Mosaic cotton quilting fabric from Lantern Bloom by Laura Gunn from iltec

pink

1 Yard Cotton Fabric...Hot Pink...Lt Pink...White... Batik from loftremnants

and grey.

Amy Butler Martini in Grey Gray Midwest Modern - 1 yd from buttercuppityfabric

I also have lots of other things packed…my sewing machine, thread, other accents, all of my completed crafts for the Holiday Sale, and a good book to wind down with at night. I can’t wait!