Firecracker Mini Quilt - 3 Block Assembly

Happy 4th of July! My Firecracker Mini Quilt tutorial is up on the Thermoweb blog. I made that version with four blocks all stitched together. I've also created a version with three blocks and sashing and border, and I'm sharing that assembly here. 

The 3 Block version:

Cutting:

From the white:

(4) 2" x 6-1/2" pieces 

(2) 2" x 24-1/2" strips

From the blues and reds:

A total of 85" of 2-1/4" wide strips for binding

Assemble the Quilt

Step 1: Lay out the 3 blocks alternating with (4) 2" x 6-1/2" white pieces. 

Step 2: Sew the blocks and white pieces together. Sew the (2) 2" x 24-1/2" lengths to the long sides of the quilt. 

Step 3: Layer the backing right side down, batting, and quilt top right side up. Baste layers together and quilt as desired. Use short sections of the (6) 2-1/4" x 21" red and blue strips to bind the quilt. 

Block close-ups: 

Wonky Spirals meets Savannah!

Hello there! I'm excited to be part of Tammy Silvers' Savannah Blog Hop today. Tammy's Savannah collection with Island Batik was inspired by the architecture and ironwork details of one of her favorite Georgia cities, and you'll love how that translates into fabric.

I fell in love with the colors and motifs in her Savannah fabric line when I first saw them, and now that I have the fabrics in hand, I can guarantee that they're even more mouth watering in person. 

Let's get right to the quilt, shall we? 

I chose to use a dark background and sew my Wonky Spirals quilt, using all the lighter, brighter colors as spirals that would pop with the contrast. 

Get the pattern here.

The Wonky Spirals pattern uses improv log cabin techniques, and each block turns out unique, which I love. Adding sashing and borders in the background color makes the spirals look like they're floating. 

This rainbow-y print is one of my favorites!

Aren't those colors vibrant?!

Just for fun, I played around with the fabrics and a few other patterns.

Here's my Ebb & Flow quilt, using a lighter background.

Frequency, with a dark background:

And Twister. This quilt feels like rainbow sherbet to me. :)

If any of these quilts shown using Savannah caught your eye, head over to my Etsy shop to grab the pattern! Save 15% using code SAVANNAH15 through Saturday, July 2nd.

Make sure you visit all the other stops on this blog hop - there's so much quilty inspiration! 

6/27
Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis
Swan Sheridan of Swanamity on 6/27/22
Jen Frost of Faith and Fabric on 6/27/22 

6/28

Andi Stanfield of True Blue Quilts on 6/28/22
Sarah Vanderburgh of Sew Joy Creations on 6/28/22
Anne Boundy of Said With Love on 6/28/22

6/29

Rebecca Lidstrom of Studio R Quilts on 6/29/22
Kathryn LeBlanc on 6/29/22
Lisa Ruble of Quilty Zest on 6/29/22 <--you're here!

6/30

Kate Colloran of Kate Colleran Designs on 6/30/22
Deb Messina of Quilt Blox on 6/30/22
Raylee of Sunflower Quilting on 6/30/22

7/1

Laura Piland of Slife of Pi on 7/1/22
Nancy Scott of Master Piece Quilting on 7/1/22
Quilters Treasure Chest on 7/1/22 

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If you're new here, welcome! I hope you'll stay and look around a bit. 

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Sign up for my newsletter in the right-hand sidebar or here. 

(You'll receive a free pattern for my Diamond Drama quilt (below) as a thank you!)

Introducing Quilty Zest!

 It's been a long time coming, and I'm so excited to share my new branding and logo with you! Love to Color My World is changing to Quilty Zest!

Creating a cohesive name and brand for my work has long been on the to-do list, but it was frequently pushed to the back burner by each new quilt idea. :) You understand, I'm sure...

When my IG and FB accounts were hacked and disabled in February, I decided that was my opportunity to finally do the rebrand. A friend helped me brainstorm what my style and I really looked like and stood for, and the name Quilty Zest was born. I wanted a name that captures the colorful, dynamic attitude of my quilts, as well as the enthusiasm I bring to both my designs and my lectures and workshops. I fell in love with Quilty Zest. 

Then I worked with a talented graphic designer (thanks, Julie!) to come up with a logo. It has two versions; one with my name and one without. I'm working on changing everything over to this new brand name, but in the meantime, make sure you're either signed up for my newsletter (see signup in the sidebar at right) and/or following me on IG (@quiltyzest) to stay informed. 

I will still be creating the same types of quilts and putting out new patterns (there's a new Strippy Improv design around the corner...), so stay tuned, and thanks for sticking with me through this name change! 

Visit my Etsy shop here.

Follow me on IG here. 

Pillow Talk: Rainbow Petal Pillow Tutorial

 

My latest Pillow Talk tutorial is up, and this is definitely the pillow I've been most excited about sharing! 
This pillow was inspired by the sequin pillows that are so popular, although thick seam allowances mean that this one doesn't "flip" directions. 

I used a 10" square pack of Cotton Shot fabrics from Benartex. It has 42 different rainbow shades in it; I selected 23 prints to use in my pillow. (If you count in the photo below, there are only 21; I added in two more as I assembled the pillow.)

The video tutorial on YouTube shows you how to make the pillow; here are the numbers to get you started:

You'll Need:
(23) 10" squares in a rainbow of colors (we'll use half of each square to make two petals, so if you're pulling from scraps, you'll need a total of (23) 4" x 8" pieces)

3/4 yard gray fabric

12"-long zipper

Download the half-circle template here. 

Cutting:

From the gray:

(1) 13" x 17" rectangle for backing
(2) 2" x 17" strips for top/bottom borders

(10) 1-1/2" x 17" strips 

Making the petals: 

The video shows two different ways to cut and sew the petals. You'll need at least 45 - but if you sew a few extra, you'll have some options when it comes to color placement to created the gradated rainbow look.

Hellooooo, rainbow!

The finished pillow:

This Rainbow Petal Pillow is my fourth tutorial in the Pillow Talk series.
Find the other tutorials here. 

If you're new here, welcome! I hope you'll stay and look around a bit. 

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Find me on Facebook here.

Sign up for my newsletter in the right-hand sidebar or here. 

(You'll receive a free pattern for my Diamond Drama quilt (below) as a thank you!)

Jungle Baby projects

Today over on Thermoweb's blog, I'm sharing my jungle animals appliques. These cuties have a long history - I originally designed a quilt for my oldest son's nursery using them, back in 2008 (scroll down to see). I've long wanted to turn that baby quilt into a pattern, and so I've created two different layouts for the appliques. (Pattern coming soon!) 

Which do you like better? 

Close-ups: 

I had a lot of fun quilting these two quilts. 

And here's the original version: 

My mom and I each stitched two patchwork animals. They are adorable and I will keep them forever, but I will probably never stitch anything like these again! I prefer 2-D sewing projects. :) 

I also used the applique shapes with a little Mod Podge on canvases to create wall art. 

All of this nursery decor has been packed away for many years, so it was fun to have this little walk down memory lane! 

Here's the bright plaid applique version I started as part of my tutorial. How do you think I should finish it? Pillow? Wall hanging? The start of a new baby quilt? 

 

Off the Rails Table Runner

Welcome to my stop on Benartex's Judy's Bloom hop! I'm the first to admit that I don't typically gravitate toward soft floral prints, but when I saw the Judy's Bloom collection by Eleanor Burns for Benartex, I knew exactly what I'd use them for. I really love the watercolor effect of these fabrics. 

 I have long admired the look of watercolor-style quilts, and I thought these fabrics would work really well in that blended type of effect. 

The result? My latest pattern, the Off the Rails Runner.
(Keep reading for details about the FQ bundle giveaway of Judy's Bloom, plus a discount code for the pattern. Mother's Day is around the corner...hint hint)

The light, medium and dark prints blend beautifully into each other. 

This pattern works well with tonal prints in varying shades as well. For this Modern Blender version, I used the Color Weave basics collection, also from Benartex. The key is to have a light, medium and dark of each color. 

Aren't these colors gorgeous?

To celebrate my pattern launch, I'm offering a 25% off discount code through 5/1. Head to my Etsy shop and use code JUDY25 at checkout. 

Purchase the pattern here.

And the giveaway! Benartex has generously offered a FQ bundle of Judy's Bloom fabrics for me to give away. To enter, leave a comment below letting me know which colorway of the fabrics you prefer. (Note: Make sure I have a way to contact you!). For a second entry, head over to my IG account (@lisaswensonruble), follow me, and leave a comment letting me know you did on the Off the Rails runner post. Giveaway ends Sunday, 5/1/22, at 11:59 pm EDT. US entries only, please. 

And don't miss the rest of the hop:

Tuesday

Carol at Just Let Me Quilt

Thursday

Sandra at MMM Quilts

Lisa at Love to Color My World

Friday 

Tammy at Tamarinis

Free Pattern

If you're new here, welcome! I hope you'll stay and look around a bit. 

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Find me on Facebook here.

Sign up for my newsletter in the right-hand sidebar or here. 

(You'll receive a free pattern for my Diamond Drama quilt (below) as a thank you!)

Trinity Rainbow Banners

This past winter, my church, Trinity Lutheran in Kalamazoo, asked me to create some new banners to hang in the sanctuary. I put together some designs, and we decided on what you see below. I'm thrilled with how they turned out!

 

This style of quilt is based on the Rainbow Cross quilt I made for Castle Church back in 2019, so I knew just how to get started: lots of improv pieced slabs in a rainbow of colors.  If you want to see a tutorial on assembly line slab piecing, click here.

Once I had slabs constructed, I started laying them out on my design wall. I assemble them into horizontal rows, and then join the rows. The random patchwork helps to "hide" the appearance of the rows so that it looks more cohesive. 

I did the same with the red, purple, blue and green section. The different here is here is that I had to make two, and I wanted them to have a fairly similar amount of each color, so I built both on the wall at the same time so I could compare them. 

The finished pieces:

When I made the Rainbow Cross quilt, I put together a time-lapse video of arranging the quilt on my design wall. You can watch it here. 

Diane Oakes machine quilted all three panels, beautifully as usual. Look at that gorgeous texture! 

The finishing touch was adding the celtic knot on the center panel. I used Thermoweb HeatnBond Lite Fusible Adhesive to apply the shape with raw edge fusible applique, and then I zigzag stitched the edges to secure them. 

I didn't want the "line" of a binding around the edge, so I used a facing technique. It had been a while since I'd done a facing, so I followed this excellent tutorial. 

The results, outside int the sun before hanging: 

The vibrancy makes my heart sing!

I was honored to create these banners and enjoy seeing them hang in the church.

If you're new here, welcome! I hope you'll stay and look around a bit. 

If you like what you've seen here, you can also find me:

To find all of my quilt patterns, visit my Etsy shop. 

Find me on IG here.

Find me on Facebook here.

Sign up for my newsletter in the right-hand sidebar or here. 

(You'll receive a free pattern for my Diamond Drama quilt (below) as a thank you!)