Thursday, October 31, 2019

Rainbow Cross Quilt Complete!

My October One Monthly Goal was to finish piecing the rainbow cross quilt that I'm making for Castle Church Brewing Community. You can read my progress posts here and here.

I played around with multiple layout options, and ended up with the one below. 


I'm happy to report that not only did I finish piecing the quilt, but Diane Oakes machine quilted it. The texture is fantastic! 



I'm really happy with how the quilt turned out. I'll be finishing it this weekend with a facing rather than a traditional quilting binding. Then it will be off to Florida!

Monday, October 28, 2019

Trick-or-Treat Bag Tutorial

Halloween is right around the corner; my mom and I spent an afternoon sewing an ewok costume yesterday. Only one costume left to "make," but since kid #1 wants to be a box, it won't require a lot of work! 

One Halloween project I'm happily reusing are the t-shirt trick-or-treat bags I made for the boys six (how is it 6?!?!) years ago. These bags are quick and easy, and they're made from two t-shirts. 

A little Monday flashback: how cute are these two? 


Find the entire t-shirt trick-or-treat bag tutorial here. You still have time to make one!

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Autumn Leaves Tutorial

Fall is here and the leaves are changing--my favorite time of year! Since the gorgeous autumn hues don't last all year long, I decided to sew some colorful leaves that would stick around. 
Note: This tutorial was originally featured on the Paintbrush Studio Fabrics blog. 

It's just three blocks--it goes together pretty quickly, and you can sew the whole runner (including binding) from six fat quarters. The runner (or door hanging!) measures 14" x 42".
I made this runner using the following Paintbrush Studio Fabrics Painter's Palette Solids:


Let's get started!

You’ll Need:
Six fat quarters: Bronze, Bordeaux, Gold, Old Green, Wasabi, and Burnt Sienna
½ yard backing fabric
18" x 45" piece of batting
Printer paper or foundation paper
fabric marking pen

Cutting
From each of the background colors (Bronze, Gold, Wasabi):
One 3-1/2” x 10-1/2” strip
One 3-1/2” x 13-1/2” strip
One 1-1/2” x 13-1/2” strip
One 1-1/2” x 14-1/2” strip
One 4-1/2” square
One 4-1/4” square
(2) 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” pieces
(6) 2-1/2” squares
(2) 2-1/2” x 5-1/2” pieces (for paper piecing)

From each of the leaf colors (Bordeaux, Old Green, Burnt Sienna):
(2) 2-1/4” x 21” strips for binding (you may need one extra strip total, depending on how you add your binding)
(5) 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” pieces
(2) 4-1/2” squares
(1) 2-1/2” x 6-1/2” piece
(1) 5-1/2” square (for paper piecing)

Click here to download the paper piecing pattern. You’ll need to print three copies.

Make the Blocks
Note: Sample block made using Bronze and Bordeaux.
Step 1: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each 2-1/2” Bronze square. Noting orientation in the photo below, lay the marked squares on the five 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” Bordeaux pieces and the one 2-1/2” x 6-1/2” Bordeaux piece. Note: Direction of the diagonal line DOES matter! 



Step 2: Stitch on the drawn lines, trim seam allowance to ¼” and press open.



Step 3: Use the (1) 5-1/2” Bordeaux square and the (2) 2-1/2” x 5-1/2” Bronze pieces with the paper piecing pattern to create the paper pieced star tip unit. Trim unit ¼” past the solid line and remove paper. Tip: Don’t forget to set your stitch length shorter when you paper piece!


Step 4: To make the stem unit, draw diagonal lines on the wrong side of both 4-1/2” Bordeaux squares. Lay the first marked square on the 4-1/4” Gold square as shown, noting where the extra size of the Bordeaux square is positioned. Stitch on the drawn line, trim the excess, and press open.



Step 5: Repeat with the remaining marked square on the opposite side of the Gold square. Square up unit to measure 4-1/2” if needed. 



Step 6: Lay out the units from Step 2, the star tip unit, and stem unit, and the two 2-1/2” x 4-1/2” Gold pieces as shown to create the block. Sew the units together as shown to make three separate sections. Join the bottom two sections and then add the top section to complete the block.




Step 7: Repeat Steps 1-6 to make two additional blocks.


Making the Runner
Step 1: Lay out the one 3-1/2” x 10-1/2” Gold strip, one 3-1/2” x 13-1/2” Gold strip, one 1-1/2” x 13-1/2” Gold strip, and one 1-1/2” x 14-1/2” Gold strip around the Gold/Bordeaux block as shown. Sew each piece on, beginning with the 3-1/2” x 10-1/2” piece and working your way around the block. Repeat for the remaining two blocks.



Step 2: Lay out the three bordered blocks as shown. Sew the blocks together in a row.


Step 3: Layer the runner top with backing and batting and quilt as desired.

Step 4: Use the (6) 2-1/4” x 21” binding strips to bind the runner.




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Friday, October 18, 2019

Hello, Stripe-tacular!

Near the end of summer, I thought of the perfect scene to photograph my newest pattern,
the Stripe-tacular quilt. 

On a paddle board! 


I had my son video the photoshoot efforts just in case the quilt (or I!) fell in.
Spoiler alert: everything stayed dry. 




Balancing carefully...

The wind is not cooperating!


Still not cooperating...my paddle board has a sail!


And now we're sailing away!

Don't drop the quilt!



Obligatory swirl shot:

This pattern comes with directions to make a baby-sized version as well, measuring 36-1/4" x 45". 
Here it is in Benartex's Color Weave Pearl fabrics. Love those soft pastels!

This quilt is super easy to make and has a cool optical illusion effect to it.
Picking out the fabrics to use is the best part!
The Stripe-Tacular pattern is available in my Etsy shop.
Purchase the pattern here.

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Tulip Row in Bonnie Lane

Recently I was asked to make a quilt for Benartex's Fat Quarterly newsletter using Pat Sloan's new Bonnie Lane fabric collection (more on that quilt later). 


These two wanted in on my fabric photo shoot. They're quite the posers, aren't they?!


After I finished that quilt, I realized that I had the perfect idea for the leftovers. 

Here's my Tulip Row quilt shown in Bonnie Lane fabrics:


I didn't have enough leftovers to sew the whole quilt, so I created a single row wall hanging. I love the warm colors in this fabric line. 


Hello, tulip! 

The Bonnie Lane collection is available in precut 2-1/2"-wide strips, which is exactly what Tulip Row uses (plus additional yardage for backing, leaves, circles and binding). You can purchase the digital pattern in my Etsy shop. Ask for Bonnie Lane precuts at your local quilt shop or order it here.

Find the Tulip Row pattern here.


Monday, October 7, 2019

OMG: Hello, Rainbow!

I'm finally turning my rainbow patchwork slabs into a quilt! I'm making this quilt for Castle Church Brewing Community. I've been playing with layouts for the rainbow; below are my options so far. I started out with the horizontal and vertical rainbows and tried out the diagonal look at the last minute. I'm so glad I did--I put these out on IG, and most people voted for the diagonal layout! What do you think? 



My One Monthly Goal for October is to finish piecing this quilt top. I can't wait to see how it turns out!