Cherry House Quilts

City Scapes

Quilt
Originally uploaded by Lua Patch

Check this out!!! City Scapes in Japanese fabrics...I love it!

How incredible that each person's interpretation of a pattern will create something that is so new and fresh.  Mine, done in blues, greens, black, white, and a little splash of yellow looks completely different in these wonderful taupes.

Have you made City Scapes?  What colors did you use? 

I'd love to see your version of any of our Cherry House Quilts patterns!  Feel free to add them to my Flickr group here.

Happy Wednesday!

Cherri

P.S. New patterns coming in the next few days!!!

 

Making City Banks

Teaching this past Friday and Saturday at It's A Stitch couldn't have gone better.  The class was 'City Banks' from City Quilts, and it was amazing how different each quilt was, all so unique!

We began with fabric shopping, gotta love that!  There was one version, much like my original, but everyone else chose a different colorway.  We completely took over the store, and made quite a spectacle of ourselves.  Stacks and stacks of fabric, 12 to 15 bolts high for each person.  Every time we started a new colorway, I said to myself, "Hey, I want to make that quilt!".  That is the wonderful thing about the patterns from City Quilts, with the change of fabrics, and color choices, each composition becomes something completely different.  Take a look at the various directions everyone went...do you have a favorite?  The fabric swatches on the wall were late additions, holes in colors that couldn't be determined until we started putting blocks on the wall.  The importance of a design wall cannot be underestimated with these quilts. 

There was a fabric that was used in every single students quilt, and that was a near solid from Moda called Grunge...oh my gosh, really amazing, with great colors! 

A special welcome to all the new readers from Canton Village, thank you for visiting!!!

Have a great week sweet friends!

Cherri

Some thing free & something fun!

Thank you so much for having a good laugh with me over my unscheduled dip in Lake Houston!  Many of you said it sounded like something you too might do, and that made me feel better.  I survived, the quilt is safe, and I've received many offers from friends in the area who have volunteered to protect me from myself for future photo shoots, so that's great!  Best of all,  I have set a new benchmark for ridiculousness, so if you ever do something stupid, just say, "Was this more stupid than what Cherri did?  No, not that stupid".  You will feel so much better about yourself, then merrily go on with your life! 

Would you like a free quilt pattern?  I'm cleaning out my mail, and found this pattern called Soda Shop that I created for my cousins over at Cosmo Cricket for their first fabric line Jitterbug.  Now, the fabric isn't available any longer, but the pattern is still fun & fast, perfect for a quick summer quilt! 

Download SODA SHOP QUILT PATTERN  What current fabric line would you use to create this quilt?  I think it would be perfect in Castle Peeps!  How you seen how popular Lizzy's new fabric is?  Flying off shelves I hear!

 I'll be visiting with Jackie over at Canton Village Quilt Works on Sunday, June 27th doing a guest post.  Be sure and come check it out, and enter to win two fabulous prizes!  Jackie will be giving away a Hot & Spicy Fat Quarter bundle of Kona Cotton Solids, and I will be giving away a signed copy of City Quilts.

You can find the contest rules on Jackie's blog, while you are there, check out her online store.  Jackie has a great selection of Kona Cotton Solids, plus lots of other goodies!

Okay sweet friends, I've got to get ready for my book signing tonight and classes tomorrow...very exciting!  If you are in the Houston area, come to It's A Stitch in Humble, Texas tonight between 7 & 9...Lizzy & I would love to meet you!

Cherri

The photo shoot to end all photo shoots

Where to start...I have a new pattern called The Tempest, it was suppose to release in May, but due to many circumstances; it wasn't.  I needed to get a cover photo, and had been trying to get it done for several weeks, but again, it didn't happen.  Lizzy & Melissa are out town, my BFF is out of town; I obviously am in town, and decided to get it myself...never, never again (I swear Mom, I'll call you next time).  So I went to Lake Houston, to take a photo on the new pier over the lake.  The photo was okay, but the time of day was wrong, and the photo was too bright.  Brilliant thinker that I am, decided to go back closer to sunset.  I go back to the lake, down the pier, lay down my quilt trying for the perfect shot.  The problem was, I kept cutting off the corners of the quilt, if I could just back up a little more, I would have the PERFECT photo.  So I'm backing up, backing up, until I was backing up in the air, and straight into the water I went!  Do you know the first thought that went through my head, "Oh my gosh, I've fallen in the lake".  Nothing like stating the obvious, right!  The lake is really deep, and I haven't been swimming in years...holy crap, I have just fallen backwards into the water...what an idiot.  I swim to the pier, grab the edge which is about 2 feet above the water, and there is no way that I am going to be able to pull myself out.  Fortunately there are people at the restaurant that have witnessed this crazy event, and they come to see if they can help.  Someone says, "Hey, your blanket is blowing around up here".  I start screaming, "Grab that quilt, don't let it fall in the water!!!".  I have my priorities straight you can see.  Someone with a boat comes to see what all the commotion is about, they all determine the best way to get out of the lake is to climb into the boat, and climb onto the pier.  I have to swim under the pier to get to the boat - in case anyone is interested there is a large bird nest under the pier.  I get to the boat, scramble onto the boat, and onto the pier.  Then I realize that my keys are in the water, my glasses are in the water, and my camera is in the water...I just wanted to die.  Two heaven sent angles from the boat, started diving into the water, where I made my graceful entrance, and fished out my keys (thank heaven), my dead camera, and my glasses.  I have never been so grateful for two strangers. 

I thanked them, I thank the people whose dinner I interrupted, and I thank God that I hadn't drowned, and that my keys had been found, and then I started laughing...uncontrollable laughing.  I was so grateful to be alive, and grateful to be walking away.  If anyone had seen me (and I was hard to miss), a crazy, dripping wet women, carrying a purple quilt laughing her head off...I'm still dumbfounded by the whole event.  I was so grateful that the car keys still worked, that the camera card wasn't ruined, and most of all, I was grateful to be alive.

Here's the photo...worth it?

Next quilt pattern - maybe I'll tackle Lady of the Lake??? 

with lots of love, and a slightly bruised ego,

Cherri 

Mark your calendars!!!

First, if you are in the Houston area, Lizzy and I cordially invite you to a three day event at It's a Stitch in Humble, Texas on June 24, 25, and 26.  Come join us if you are able!

Next...blog tour 2010...if we had t-shirts that is what the tour would be called.  But, we wouldn't just have t-shirts, we'd have a rock band, because these bloggers are rock stars in the quilt blogging world.  Ready for the blog tour 2010 schedule???

 

 Here we go!!!

July 12th - Cheryl Arkison http://naptimequilter.blogspot.com/

July 13th - Amy Lobsiger ttp://mrsschmenkmanquilts.wordpress.com/

July 14th - Stefanie Roman http://littleladypatchwork.blogspot.com/

July 15th - Pat Sloan http://patsloan.typepad.com/

July 16th - Spool http://www.spoolsewing.com/blog/

July 17th - Robert Kaufman http://www.swatchandstitch.com/

July 18th - John/Fat Quarterly http://blog.fatquarterly.com/

July 19th - Emily Cier http://carolinapatchworks.com/blog/

July 20th - Sarah/Josh Sewer Sewist http://www.sewer-sewist.com/

July 21st - Julie / Jaybird http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

July 22nd - Vickie Eapen http://www.spunsugarquilt.com/

July 23rd - Jessica Levitt http://juicy-bits.typepad.com/

 

At each stop you will have the opportunity to win a copy of City Quilts (ebook), plus a fat quarter bundle of Kona Cotton Solids ...I'll never get over the colors of these fabrics...glorious!!!

 

Are you on twitter?  All of the quilters on the blog tour are all connected on twitter, and during the tour we will be announcing more prizes unique to each stop.  You can follow me on twitter here!

 

Any more questions for the tour??? 

 

 

A special thanks to each of you who have written, or left comments, and reviews about City Quilts! I'm so happy that you are lovin' it!!!

 

xoxo,

 

Cherri

 

P.S. Happy Birthday Lizzy - I love you!

 

   

A note to you, and a winner!

Dearest friends,

Thank you so much for your kindest wishes for the three year anniversary of Cherry House Quilts!  Your sweet sentiments were gratefully received, and we look forward to many, many more years together.

Victoria is the winner of our quilt giveaway...congratulations Victoria!!!

Would you like a peek at what we did yesterday?  A trip to the Houston Aquarium with my two precious grandsons...here's a photo with Lizzy, Melissa and Benjamin...isn't he a doll?

 
You have been leaving some wonderful questions in regards to the blog tour, do you have anymore???  If so, leave them here, and I will pass them on to the blog hosts.

Thank you again sweet friends!

Cherri

Questions, Answers, Blog Tour and a Quilt Giveaway

Happy Friday sweet friends!

Starting on July 12th through the 23rd I will be having a blog tour for City Quilts with some of the coolest bloggers around!  Not only will there be cool places to visit, but we will also be having some awesome prizes!!!  Fat quarter packs of Kona Cotton Solids from Robert Kaufman, an ebook of City Quilts from C&T Publishing, and possibly some presents from your blog hosts!  How many chances will you have to win...12...12 stops, 12 opportunities, pretty sweet! 

In preparation for the blog tour I'm wondering if there is anything you lovelies would like to know...questions about solids, questions about quilting, questions about me, questions about City Quilts, questions about whatever you would like our blog tour hosts to ask!  I'll introduce all of the hosts next week, though really they won't need any introduction at all...I'm telling you, they are the coolest, of the cool!

Do you know I'm giving away a free quilt?  I am, I really, really am...check it out here, and enter.  Then after the enter there, come back here, and ask away! 

While you are pondering the questions you would like to ask, I'll leave you with the a little something to look at, CITY AVIATION!  (too many exclamation points in this post, I know...what can I say, I am so excited about the blog tour!)

Cheers,

Cherri

Happy Anniversary to us, and a present for you!

Cherry House Quilts is officially 3 years old!!!  Lizzy and I have been busy girls these last three years, and we love it; and we love all of you too!  Thank you for taking this journey with us!

If we were together we could sit, and have cake...everyone knows how much we love cake in this family!  But you are there, and we are here, so the cake will have to wait...but I can do something better.

How about giving away a quilt?  A sweet little quilt, made by me, Cherri House!  This is the first quilt in my Little Bouquet Quilt Series 12" x 12" made with cotton, and silk.  How to enter, leave a comment...piece of cake right (ha ha)!  Enter now through 6/12/10.  The winner will be picked randomly, and notified by email (so be sure and leave one).  All entries welcome! 

Here's to many more years, many more adventures, many more quilts, much more fabric, and many many friends!!!

much love,

Cherri

A confession, quilt bees and long division

Here's a confession, I've never participated in a bee before...never!  I'm just not much a joiner I'm afraid, but I'm trying to do something new, I am trying to spread my social wings, and do some participating kind of stuff.  Recently I was asked to join a bee on Flickr, and I said yes!  Well, somewhat embarassingly, I said "yes", but I wasn't exactly sure what I said yes to (insert embarrased Charlie Brown face here).   I thought, somewhat like 3rd grade math class, if I listened closely enough; I could pay attention, catch on, and never have to confess that I had no idea how to do long division.  Well my plan worked as well this time, as it did in 3rd grade math...a humble confession was in order, and a fessing up was due.  Fortunately, everyone in the Flickr group was much kinder than that nasty old bat of a teacher, and catching on was much easier. 

My first envelope arrived full of Katie Jump Rope pieces, and some lovely Kona Cotton...the request was for a 12.5" square block using triangles...easy right?  I had freaking nightmares about messing it up, and not creating something quilt worthy...maybe that's why I don't join stuff, too much pressure on myself.  Well, the block is done, and tomorrow morning it will be on it's way back to Angela, the leader of our little group.   

Fortunately, I'm a quick learner, I applied to be the in the DS9 bee, and I'm in...I got a space.  I'm so excited to get started, I promise to make something lovely for whomever I'm assigned. 

Here's my block...it's a modified Evergreen Tree quilt block...I hope she likes it :-)

Have a wonderful week sweet friends,

Cherri

Some City Quilts love!

Photos from Robert Kaufman's Kona Cotton dispay @ Spring Market...thank you Allie!

 
Check out something cool thing on Robert Kaufman's website here, and to listen to a really, really nice podcast reviewing City Quilts go here, episode 150 at 27 minutes in. 

I have to tell you that my heart is over following with gratitude for your warm reception of my book!!!  I've received the kindest emails and comments, and I thank you so sincerely!  The very best part has been being told that you love the part on inspiration, or that you are seeing your city and surroundings in a new light, or that some quilters are considering solids for their quilts, when they never have before.  It's all good, and I am so so happy! 

thank you thank you thank you times a million!

Cherri