City Quilts Blog Tour

Welcome to the 3rd stop on the City Quilts Blog Tour!

I am very thrilled to be hosting

Cherri House, author of City Quilts

on my blog today.

 City Quilts is one of my favorite quilting books!

I have read it cover-to-cover 10 times because I

am drawn to the bold colors and clean, simple lines of her quilts.



In this book, Cherri takes you on a tour of her hometown of Houston,Texas.

This not just any tour of Houston,

but a tour as seen through the eyes of a quilter!

Many of her favorite sites from around town

(like the park, shops, or buildings)

are the inspiration for the quilts in her book.

 City Circle  is based upon the Houston road system,

which consists of a series of loops that encompass the city.

City Center represents Cherri's interpretation

of how downtown Houston would

look from a helicopter.

All of the quilts in the  book are done exclusively in solids

but they are based upon traditional piecing.

Cherri  takes you on a eye catching journey

 of different color palettes

and she shows you that "simple isn't boring".

I had the opportunity to sit with Cherri

and she shared the following insights with me.

Can you tell us how your first got started quilting?

I made my first quilt with my mom when I was 12 years old. She had cut templates out of cardboard and we cut around the fabric using them. My mom was an amazing seamstress, and the fabric for the quilt was leftovers from years of sewing.

How would you describe your quilting style?

Contemporary, minimalist, in terms of fabric and ornamentation. Traditional as far as actual quilt patterns used, like bow-ties, log cabins, and my favorite "the nine patch".

What came first: the name of the quilt, the quilt pattern, or the color choice?

It really varies from quilt to quilt, with City News (one of my quilt patterns) I was wanting to make a black/white/red quilt, then the old joke"-what is black & white, and read all over" came to mind, an the quilt developed from there. It's quite a long, mental process before the physical work ever begins.

I noticed that you machine quilted several of your quilts in the book. For those of us that are machine quilters, can you give us some tips?

Probably my best tip would be, before beginning each quilt to make a quilt sandwich with the fabric/batting/thread that you will be using and do a practice run before starting your actual quilt. This way you work out any thread/tension issues prior to starting on the real deal.

Quilt with YLI silk thread! Much to many folks surprise it seems, I quilt with it all the time. It's strong, it sinks well into the fabric and its a dream to work with. Be sure and use a smaller needle (#60 or 70) if you are using silk thread.

I absolutely love your City Lot quilt. What is your favorite quilt from the book and why?

City Lot is my favorite too! Why? I love the colors. I love the uniformed grid of it, and I love that there is a secondary pattern that you can only see from a distance, Aside from all of that, who would imagine something of beauty could be inspired by a parking lot?

Can you tell us what is on the horizon for you?

I'm thinking about another book, working on lots of new patterns using a variety of fabrics- not just solids. I'd like to design a line of fabric somewhere down the road. More cake parties-always more cake parties!

Thank you Cherri for sharing your insights with us!

To enter my drawing for a copy of  City Quilts

compliments of C & T Publishing

and a fat quarter stack of

Kona Solids compliments of Robert Kaufman fabrics,

please leave me comment on this post.

I am adding something extra of my own to the giveaway!

Become a follower of my blog

or post a link to my giveaway on your blog

and you will be entered into a

separate drawing for and EQ7 Upgrade.

(you must have EQ6 for this software).

The deadline to enter my giveaway will be

Saturday, July 24th at midnight CST.

The winners will be announced on Sunday, July 25th.

Please be sure to check out the other blog tour hosts

for more from Cherri and more chances to win .

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

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

July 17th: Allie/Robert Kaufman http://swatchandstitch.com/

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

July 19th: Emily Cier http://carolinapatchwork.com/blog

July 20th: Sarah/Josh Sewer Sewist

http://www.sewer-sewist.com/

July 21: Julie http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

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

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

July 24th: Kim Knight http://www.trueup.net/

Until Next Time ...Happy Quilting!