Tuesday, May 30, 2023

Echo Refresh

 My Echo quilt pattern is one of my favorites - it's made of just four jumbo log cabin blocks! 

I recently remade this quilt (and updated the pattern) in the River Walk batiks by Jean Wells for Island Batik. I love the greens and teals in this color palette, and this might be my most favorite version yet! 


The quilt measures 72" square - a great size for a couch snuggle quilt. 


Diane Oakes did a beautiful job machine quilting this - here are some detail shots. 









The pattern is available as a downloadable pdf in my Etsy shop; below is a list of quilt shops carrying the Riverwalk fabric and kitting the quilt if you'd like to make this version yourself. 



Shops carrying Echo Riverwalk kits:
My Favorite Quilt Shop

A Quilter's Oasis

Mad B's Quilt & Sew

Nebraska Quilt Company

35th Ave. Sew & Vac

Topstitchery


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!)

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Summer Twilight Blog Hop


When Tammy Silvers asked me to play with the batiks in her new Summer Twilight collection from Island Batik, I was happy to! Teals, blues, greens and fuchsia - such a great color palette! I especially love the sparkly star shapes and the dotted mounds. 


I recolored four of my quilt patterns in Tammy's fabrics. Take a look: 

Sew a Garden - Nine rows of piecing fun! 


Pennant Party - Appliqued pennants with the option of creating 3D pennants that flap!


On the Go - One-seam blocks! Available in baby and lap quilt sizes



Rhombi - A variation on a log cabin block

I'm not the only one playing with the Summer Twilight fabrics - check out what these other talented designers have done as well! 
May 11 Laura Piland


Wednesday, May 3, 2023

Sea Cookies Quilt Gallery

Hello! My friend Kate Colleran has a new collection from Island Batik called Sea Cookies. She asked her friends to play with her fabrics, and I was happy to join in! Kate was inspired by her love of the beach--any beach--and the collection started with the sand dollar motif.


After the cold, gray and dreary weather we've had lately, it was a delight to play with these fabrics, even just digitally! I'm a huge teal/aqua/turquoise fan, so while those colors especially appeal to me, I love how the magentas and pinks blend right in. I had so much fun trying out these fabrics in some of my quilt designs.


Here's my Opposite Directions quilt. Since the Sea Cookies collection has a range of values in each color, I was able to create a gradated effect in the rows. 


That's a Swirl! This quilt combines applique and reverse appliqued, all raw-edge. I love how the colors pop in these batiks. 


Ebb & Flow uses two quilt blocks to create a design that yep...ebbs and flows. 


The Off the Rails runner is another pattern that works beautifully with light, medium and dark values of different colors. This runner stitches up quickly for summer-y table decor.


FrequencyChoose one background print to contrast with five different colors for this easy quilt. Each column is made from one colored strip to create a disappearing effect. 

 Kate has a blog post about today's IG hop as well. See it here.

To see what everyone else has designed for this hop, check out these IG feeds: 

@katecollerandesigns

@tamarinis

@southwind_quilts

@poorhousequilts

@swanamity

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@quiltyzest (this is me!)

@carolmoellers

@lynnwheatleyquilter

Monday, May 1, 2023

Doodle Baby Fringe Quilt Tutorial

Are you like me? Do you have the best intentions of making quilts for new babies in your life? And suddenly those babies are walking, or off to preschool, and the quilt still hasn't happened?  

When Benartex sent me the Doodle Baby flannel fabrics as part of their Ambassador program, I knew exactly what I wanted to make: a quick and easy baby quilt. 

That's what I'm sharing today - a tutorial for a flannel baby quilt that doesn't require quilting. It goes together very quickly - it took me longer to cut the fringe than to sew the quilt!  Keep reading to learn how to make this quilt yourself. And if you'd prefer a video tutorial, click here.

First, check out these Doodle Baby flannel fabrics, designed by Jessica Flick. Aren't they sweet? I love the little hand-drawn animals, the text print, the stripes...and the color palette.  

Let's get to the tutorial!

You'll Need: 
3/8 yard each of (8) medium flannel prints
5/8 yard each of (2) white and (2) gray flannel prints
That's it! 

Cutting:
Tip: Fabric yardage comes folded in half, with wrong sides together. As you cut, keep the squares paired up wrong sides together. You'll be sewing layered pairs together, and these are already matched up and ready to go!
From each of (7) medium flannel prints:
(4) 9" squares (so 2 sets of paired squares from each)

From the remaining medium flannel print:
(2) 9" squares (so 1 set of paired squares)

From each of the (2) white and (2) gray flannel prints:
(30) 5" squares (so 15 sets of paired squares from each)


Making the Quilt:
Step 1 With a matching pair of 5" squares wrong sides together, draw diagonal lines from corner to corner in both directions. 


Tip: Marking squares is fine, but a real timesaver for this quilt (and other projects) is a Vivilux laser. It attaches to your sewing machine, and then you align the laser line with the needle. As you feed squares, align the corners with the laser line. Straight sewing lines, and no marking needed! 

Step 2 Sew each pair of 5" squares diagonally in both directions, either using marked lines or a laser. I highly recommend chain piecing as you stitch these squares. Make (60) 5" square stitched pairs. Do the same with the pairs of medium print 9" squares as well to make (15) 9" square stitched pairs. 

Step 3 To make the four-patch, lay out (2) gray stitched pair squares and (2) white stitched pair squares as shown. 

Step 4 Layer the top gray and white squares back sides together and stitch using a 1/2" seam allowance. Do the same for the second set of gray and white squares. Finger press the seams (on the front side!) open.

Step 5 Layer the two gray/white units back sides together, matching center seams. Pin units together, making sure the seam allowances are folded open on both sides (this reduces bulk). Stitch using a 1/2" seam allowance. 

Step 6 Your four-patch block will look like this. Finger press the horizontal seam open. Make a total of (15) four-patch blocks, arranging the fabrics in each in the same way. Blocks measure 9" square.

Step 7 Lay out the (15) four-patch blocks and the (15) medium print blocks into (6) rows of (5) blocks each. Sew the blocks into rows using a 1/2" seam allowance on the front and making sure seams are folded open. Note orientation of the four-patch blocks.


Blocks stitched into rows

Step 8 Sew the rows together, matching seams. Stitch around the outer edge of the quilt using a 1/2" seam allowance. 

Step 9 Clip all of the seams, cutting less than 1/4" apart for maximum fringing and fraying. Cut carefully to make sure you don't cut through the stitch line. Don't forget to cut around the outer edges of the quilt. 

Step 10 After you've clipped all of the seams, wash and dry the quilt. This will change those clipped edges into a wonderful frayed fringe. That's it - you're done! 

A little close-up of the fringing effect


These quilts are so cozy and great gifts! I especially love that the backing is part of the blocks and the assembly, and no quilting is required beyond stitch across each square - it's that easy!
Don't forget - you can also find the video version of this tutorial 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.
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!)