Happy Friday! Today I’m sharing a new fast and fun quilt pattern from Fat Quarter Shop. A couple of months ago I was asked if I’d like to make and review this new pattern. Since I’m always looking for easy patterns for a quick gift and to recommend to beginner quilters, I agreed to do […]
Editor Jill Abeloe Mead used Kaffe Fassett's shot cottons for Westminster Fabrics to make this super-simple quilt.
Photo links under construction… Finished Quilts: Road Trip Mini Just Kisses Storm at Sea Quilt Gaggle of Geese Quilt Viewmaster Block Quilt Rainbow Geese Mini Wanta Fanta Quilt Starry Night S…
Jump for joy, because we are releasing our newest Shortcut Quilt pattern: Jolly Bar Jump! This quilt is super simple and quick to make from one of our
This was supposed to end up as a very large quilt where colours flowed over to each other, but I wasn't pleased with the result after sewing this lot together and moved on to another technique (see next photos).
Modish interiors by Fran Hickman lend this smart central London spot 1970s swagger
Have you heard about the new Jolly Bar precut? The Jolly Bar is a 5” x 10” precut that is exclusive to the Fat Quarter Shop. You can see all of the Jolly Bars available here. I got the chance to play with this Boathouse (by Sweetwater) Jolly Bar last week and see what fun idea I could come up with. Before I show you the finished quilt, I want to show you these fabulous Boathouse fabrics. I’ve always loved nautical prints and colors and this line is right up my alley. The quilt I designed is called Jolly Pinwheels and I’ve created a free downloadable (and printable) pattern as well! The finished quilt measures 57” x 63.” It was fun to work with a precut that fell between the charm pack and the layer cake. Sometimes I find that the charm square is too small for what I want, and the layer cake is just too big. It's nice to have another option now! The Jolly Pinwheels pattern shows a fast and easy way to make the half square triangles (used on the top and bottom borders) at the same time you’re making the blocks. I wanted to give the appearance of wind swirling around the pinwheels so I quilted it with all over swirls. My youngest son and I went down to the lake near our house the other day to see if it was frozen yet (and to throw rocks, of course!) and I brought the quilt along to get some photos. It was such a gorgeous, clear day and the water was so perfectly calm. The harbor area was a bit frozen – the smaller rocks we threw sat on top of the ice, but larger rocks smashed right through with a very satisfying sound. We had a fun hour down at the lake and honestly if you're needing to take photos of a nautical quilt you really should head to the nearest body of water, right? You can find the free pattern here or print it right from the window below. If you make a Jolly Pinwheels quilt I’d love to see it! To see the other Jolly Bars available, click here. Would you like to win one? The Fat Quarter shop is giving away a Jolly Bar to one of my lovely readers! To enter the giveaway for a Jolly Bar of your choice, just leave a comment below. Any ol' comment at all. That's it! Giveaway will be open until Saturday, November 29th at midnight. I'll announce the winner here on Monday Dec 1st. Giveaway is now closed -thank you! Be sure to stop by and see the other Jolly Bar quilts created by some other blogging friends: Amy from Diary of a Quilter Dana from Old Red Barn Co. Denise from Pieced Brain Vickie from Spun Sugar Quilts Lorna from Sew Fresh Quilts Stephanie from The Modern Sewciety
Fall is in full swing here. The trees are turning colors, the wind and rain have picked up and the temperature is calling for sweaters. I adore all the colors, but all of the rest not so much. Is F…
Hi everyone! Happy Tuesday! We hope everyone is having a lovely day. It’s rainy and dreary here today, but you know what they say…April Showers bring May Flowers! But for now, to brighten our da
This month at Clever Chameleon: paper-piecing with the Tartankiwi and Island Batik. I road test the Sew Melodic pattern and make a music bag.
If you’ve been following my Friday color palettes since the beginning, you may have noticed that I made one major change in 2015 :: I switched from using my own photos to other people’s photos. One reason is that I simply got busier; the other is, it got easier to find gorgeous photography on the in
How to sew, Free quilt patterns
The long-awaited sequel to The Jolly Bar Book Volume 1 came out this week, and we're so proud to show it off! It's Sew Emma set the bar high for fun, fast It's Sew Emma is thrilled to introduce their first book with Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting! Charming Baby Quilts brings 10 original baby quilts to life, featuring the classic 5" square charm pack precut. Each design uses one, two or three charm packs, making this an essential book to have on hand for gifts and celebrations.With the ease of charm packs, this book is fabulous for beginners. Melissa's passion for feel-good quilts can be felt on every page and in every stitch, and we know this book will inspire a whole new generation of little quilts for little ones! Charming Baby Quilts Book is out now, so pick up your copy today!
So excited to share the original Plus Infinity quilt was featured in the latest issue of Curated Quilts Magazine. I'm sharing with you a little about how this quilt came to be!
Hot tip: read all the way to the end! How do you like your chocolate? As a chocolate bar that you can share (or not), as a hot cocoa with whipped creme on top or a as brownie that you can nibble on…
Last fall, designer Jessica Jones released her ‘Time Warp’ collection of retro inspired barkcloth patterns. It was so popular that she’s doing it again. Jessica’s ‘In Theory’ collection — due to go on sale at the end of January 2016 — includes four new retro barkcloth patterns, each available in two colorways. The colorways are related, so you…
Bar Graphs is the name I gave to the design of the pieced back I made for Colorful Chevrons. I like my backs to be just as fun and colorful as the original quilt, and many times they end up being e…
Looking for a garden-inspired quilting design? There are plenty of quilting ideas out there for flowers and leaves, but how about adding a garden path to your pattern library? This garden path desi…
Download the Poster flat coffee menu with cups, recipes and names of coffee drawing on white background 21177015 royalty-free Vector from Vecteezy for your project and explore over a million other vectors, icons and clipart graphics!
Care about domestic abuse, sexual violence, and healthcare? Struggles like these have long been part of feminist movements, and it's time to recognize that we need to fight prison injustice to take them on. With this article, learn about the appalling truth of how the prison system viciously hurts feminist causes, and get to the root of the issues you care about.
Supplement 302 - Model #253 - Autumn 2016 Trousers with Button Front Closure This will be my outfit for a casual holiday party this weekend. I'll likely pair it with a black velvet jacket or a cashmere cardigan. Despite the trouble I had figuring out the sewing sequence for this pattern it really was very well designed. Pattern Drafting Hints: Enlarging this pattern to my size was very straightforward as with most Lutterloh patterns. The pieces all fit together very nicely and they produced a nice fitting pair of slacks. The greatest challenge I encountered was with figuring out the sewing order. As you can see from the pattern pieces there are very few letters to direct you. A,B,C, and D are the only hints you get and that really only gets you through the front and back pockets. The real puzzle begins once you attach the facings and try to overlap the front legs onto the side front. I won't detail my sewing sequence here because it was fraught with pinning and sewing followed by ripping and eventually hand basting to get the layers in the right order. When you finally get to sewing the outside leg seam there are a total of 6 layers of fabric to sew together at the point of the triangular side front where all the facings meet. Make sure to pin and check before sewing this spot to be certain all the facings will be caught in the seam and stay tucked inside the leg. This is definitely not a fit as you go type of pattern. Once you get those side seams sewn you do not want to mess with them again! You will still have the center front and center back seam for minor adjustments but this is not the first Lutterloh pants you should be making. As long as you've already made some Lutterloh pants to determine the shape of your hip curve and length and depth of your crotch this pattern should fit just fine with adjustments that you've already worked out. Just draw it to your regular Lutterloh measurements, make your usual figure alterations and take your time assembling the pieces of the puzzle! Fabric Used/Suggested: Although this pattern is clearly a trouser pattern I chose to make mine in a stretch denim. This does affect the hang of the pants but I was trying to replicate my Dittos jeans that I remember from my youth. As soon as I saw the pattern I knew exactly how I wanted them to look. I think I got pretty close considering I no longer have the figure of a teenager ;). To cut down on the bulk of the many layers I used a navy broadcloth for the facings and pocket bags. I also sewed navy twill tape into the waistband to prevent stretching out of shape. Be sure to use a fabric that will take a press. This will save you frustration when lining up all those layers at the side seams. Design Changes: I only made one small design change to this pattern. I wanted to avoid any gaping at the button closure so I used 5 buttons on each side instead of 4. The look on the model was exactly what I was hoping for. Other than adding a little width at the thighs and length at the bottom I made no adjustments to this pattern. I may go back and sew the back crotch just a bit deeper but since these are actually trouser jeans now I may leave the closer fitting crotch. Closing Hints: I must admit I'm happy to be done with these pants so I can move on to some simpler sewing projects. Don't get me wrong, I love how they turned out in the end, but the puzzle of the sewing sequence does not make me want to repeat the experience. Overall I'd say this really is an excellently drafted pattern but unless you are up for a challenge I would leave this pattern to the more expert seamstresses. I hope you all make some time for sewing in the busy holiday season ahead. I'm sure glad I did. Ann in Calif.
Did you know girls in many third world countries miss a week of school each month because they lack access to feminine hygiene products? Handmade cloth feminine pads that are both washable and re-usable, can provide girls with dignity to continue their education. A quality education is one of the few hopes these girls have to rise above extreme poverty. Since the earthquake of 2010, teams of medical volunteers have been traveling to Haiti to conduct feminine hygiene education classes at the eight Christian schools sponsored by Mission Possible. For the past two years, Sew*Quilt*Share has been partnering with other churches and community organizations to sew cloth feminine pads that can be assembled into "feminine hygiene kits" for female students. Along with basic hygiene information, each kit contains: 2 bars of soap, 3 pair of underwear, 100 ibuprofen tablets, 5 safety pins, and 10 cloth feminine pads. By sharing the procedures our group uses to produce the cloth feminine pads, we hope to inspire others to sew for this wonderful cause. 100% cotton flannel is purchased and cut into one yard pieces. 100% cotton batting is purchased, usually by the roll, and cut into more manageable 8.5" strips. Flannel and batting are placed into a gallon size ziploc bag to form a "kit" that can easily be distributed. This is a great place to plug in volunteers who lack sewing skills. Several life groups in our church have met to cut pads as a service project. The pad pattern is traced onto the flannel fabric and cut out. The pattern can be found here. The lining pattern is traced onto the cotton batting and cut. A total of 20 flannel pieces and 40 cotton batting pieces (enough to make 10 pads) are placed back into the ziploc bag, along with a set of instructions. This forms a "sewing kit" which can easily be passed onto those who will sew the pads together. Once the pads are sewn together they are packed into boxes and passed along with a prayer of blessing. The boxes travel a few miles away to our friends at St. John's Mennonite Church. Pads from sewing groups like ours, are gathered throughout the year and then assembled by volunteers into the feminine hygiene kits. Here are a few of the kits ready for shipment to Haiti. Nice job ladies! Once the feminine hygiene kits arrive in Haiti teams of medical volunteers conduct classes to help educate girls about menstrual cycles and proper body care. The kits provide girls with information and supplies that will enable them to attend school 45 more days each year. In 2014, over 5,000 cloth feminine pads were donated for this project. The hope is to expand the outreach allowing more girls to receive a quality education and learn about the love of Jesus. Please visit these links to learn how You Can Make a Difference! Cloth Feminine Pad Tutorial Unexpected Blessings May you always Sew in Peace!
A new tutorial, ohhh what a great way to start off 2024! The Swirl Point design is a variation on the classic Ribbon Candy design. Let’s look at the basic Ribbon Candy first. The pattern move…
Over the millennia and different cultures, people have created labyrinth designs on walls and floors. This ancient tradition endures in new buildings, parks, computer games and from today also in q…
The garden is slowly showing the first Spring flowers. The sun is showing her face more each day, but the mornings are still frosty. The hellebores have been in bloom for over a month, the hyacinth…
Spiral-shaped spider webs are on many Halloween quilts, and they for sure are on mine! I really like quilting these little wonders of nature. I made a little fun animation where I ‘quilted…
