Quilts! Sewing! Books! Life!
I finished the last fourteen squares for my denim crazy quilt! I have the backing fabric - now I just need to figure out how to put the squares together. Happy Creating! Deborah
Welcome to the future of puff quilts- “The Puff-N-Stuff” quilt! Get all of this amazing snuggly goodness in a fraction of time with my new pattern!
A free pattern for a Squash Blossom Quilt. A tutorial to make a simple southwest style quilt. A great quilt pattern for a beginning quilter. Free quilting patterns and tutorials
COUNTRY CHARMER QUILT ALONG POST #1 Hello Everyone, I'm going to try to do a post every other Thursday to help you with your Country Charmer quilt. I'll also start a new section at the top of the blog just for the Country Charmer QAL so those of you that are making the quilt can go directly there for reference and inspiration. First of all, I'm so excited to see how many of you expressed an interest in making this quilt with Lesely The Cuddle Quilter, QuiltSue and me. The Country Charmer pattern has been flying off the shelf at In Between Stitches and mailed out around the globe. This first tutorial will cover how I approach the quilt and the block itself and will concentrate on Section A, the area here with the red circle. When in doubt read, READ the directions, look at the graphics. More often than not, the answer to your question is right in front of you. I'm always just an email away if you need help. Send all emails to [email protected] and I'll get back to you just as soon as I can. First, I'll start by selecting my fabrics. You know me, this is going to be a very scrappy quilt. Each of my blocks will be different. I'll incorporate every color from the spectrum into a pleasing combination of eye candy. After rummaging, I mean browsing through my fabric bins, I decided my first block is going to be along these lines. I start with an interesting center and key on those colors throughout the rest of the block. There are many keys to becoming an excellent piecer. The first key is the cutting! Cut carefully and accurately. The shapes on your Country Charmer Layout chart are the exact size of the piece. If your pieces don't fit within the designated shape, then back to the cutting board you go. Put all of the pieces on your layout sheet. Are you pleased with the look? Is there anything you want to change? If you do change your mind, start little baggies to hold the pieces that may work just perfectly in another block. Label each bag with the appropriate letter, F, G, etc. I start stitching in a clockwise direction around the sheet. Start with pieces A & E. Chain piece them together. Always press in the direction of the arrows on page 2 of your pattern. Place the sewn piece back onto the block layout sheet. Next, sew B to H. A LITTLE TIPSY - When sewing a triangle to a square, trim the corners first at a 90 degree angle. I LOVE using the Perfect Patchwork Corner Trimmer by Marti Michell. The trimmer has both a 90 and a 45 degree cutting angle. Piece B should look like this before you begin sewing. See how it fits perfectly to piece H. Chain piece them together. Press in the direction of the arrows. Put the pieces back on your sheet. Again, work clockwise around your sheet and you will be able to keep your wits about you. (At my age I need all the help I can get!) Stitch the green triangle E to H. You know how to do this. A LITTLE TIPSY - When stitching a triangle to a section with an angle, trim the corners at a 45 degree angle with a corner trimmer. Like this. Then chain piece them together. Stitch the whole unit together, locking the seams together, and you will have (4) perfect 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" sections. Take a big sigh of relief, the hardest part is done! The rest of the block is a piece of cake. Trust me, you will get to the point where you will be working your way around the block in no time at all. I will do a tutorial on SECTION B soon. Here are two more examples of my fabric selections and the resulting block. Note in the first two versions of this quilt, I used background fabric in the little triangles around the center square. In my new version, I'm filling them with color......and I'm loving the addition of one more color to the block. I'm enjoying the complexity and depth that one more color adds. I also used the same background fabric throughout the whole quilt.....but not in my new version. You have to think a little more about what looks good together with the addition of one more color. YOU CAN DO IT! I know you can. My goal for this quilt along is to help us all become better quilters. You are virtually attending one of my classes for free! Ladies pay big bucks to come to my classes.....but not you my faithful readers! You can attend this class in your PJ's.....I won't tell! Soon, Lynn P.S. If anyone else wants to join in, the pattern is available HERE at In Between Stitches. This is a slow-paced QAL. Finish what you can. Send me pictures and I'll post them. Send me questions and I'll answer them. I'll be posting more details along the way, so stay tuned. COUNTRY CHARMER QUILT ALONG POST #2 Hello Everyone, I've been reading blogs and emails about what colors and fabrics to select for Country Charmer. I'm feeling your quandary. Don't be afraid of using a lot of different colors. Embrace the beauty that it brings to the blocks. Start by selecting an interesting center and pull those colors out into the rest of the block. You probably wouldn't wear a polka dot blouse with a check or plaid skirt. (Well I might!) But it's okay to put those combinations together in a block or in a quilt. Each of my blocks sings their own song. Collectively they make a beautiful chorus. Don't forget they will be separated by a fairly wide sashing (even though I do like the secondary pattern they create.) Here's an example of my decision making process when planning out fabrics for my block. I started with this combination. Whenever I remove any of the pieces, I save them in little baggies so I can use them in another block. Then I changed the background fabric to something a little plainer. I like this background better for this block. Then I changed out the 12 dark little squares from green to a dark red. These 12 little squares weren't working for me either. To plain. Now this is more like it. Polka dots, checks, pleasing background This selection works for me. It is a combination of Civil War meets Thimbleberries meets checks. It works. A finished block that makes me happy. Work with your colors on the block layout sheet. This is the place to just play. Another bonus of the block layout sheet is that grandchildren think it's a great puzzle. My little 5-year-old grandson had a ball placing the pieces on the chart for me. It's a fabulous introduction to geometry. I hope this helps when it comes to fabric selection. You will know it when you "nailed" the block. Not all of them will be a masterpiece, but they can make beautiful music together. Soon, Lynn P.S. An extra big thank you to Quilt Sue for designing the County Charmer Quilt Along button for me. I absolutely love it! Another extra big thank you to Lesley the Cuddle Quilter for setting up the Flickr Country Charmer page HERE. I couldn't have done this without your help. You girls rock! COUNTRY CHARMER QUILT ALONG POST #3 Hello Everyone, .....and then there were nine......nine blocks filled with wonderful color.....well on my way to a Country Charmer quilt. I try to have each and every block different than the rest, all with an interesting and unique story to tell. I want my blocks to be reading a different page in the same book. And, I want that book to be a real page turner. Whenever I want to be able to see my fabrics and strips together, I always put them on my pasta dryer. Everything is right at my fingertips and doesn't take up much room. I load this up with the colors that I want to incorporate again and again for continuity throughout the quilt. I'm incorporating four different fabrics for the backgrounds. Always start with an interesting center. P-U-L-L the center colors all the way through the entire block. Line your fabrics up to see who is touching who or is it whom? Do they play well together? Do any of them jump out and say me, me, me.....or are they a nice, cohesive grouping? Notice that most of my prints are small-scale prints. My centers usually have the largest scale. When I shop for fabric, I always look for "different" colors, like the teals you see here. I try to find fabrics that have more than three colors too. Since I usually make scrappy quilts, fabrics with three colors make it easier for me to match them up with something else. Lay them out on your block layout chart. Don't stitch the corner sections on like this. Have the 4-patch in the center with the beige background rectangles along the outside of the block. On my first Country Charmer, I didn't realize I had one section turned around until the quilt was on the long-arm and half quilted. Oh well, no one knows but me.....and now you and the rest of the planet! Except for the waviness of the herringbone fabric, I like this block a lot. It looks wonky here but not in the grand scheme of things. Move on to another grouping. If they look good here..... ....they will look good here. Get lots of movement going just like the fabric in the star around the center square. Play with your fabrics. Play until you are tired of playing. Swap out one fabric for another until you are happy. Wait a minute.....wait just one minute. Why did I put that red fabric in there? It's not in the center square. I put it there because I like it and think it looks good. It has just a hint of the gold and works with the blues. The blocks become addictive. You eat, sleep and dream Country Charmer blocks and you can't wait until you can get back to your sewing room to put some more blocks together. Right? (Please tell me I'm right or else I'll sound like an idiot!) I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and your Country Charmer journey. Enjoy the process, the whole experience. You are honing your skills from fabric selection to piecing 53 little pieces of fabric together into an 8-1/2" block along with lots and lots of other quilters around the world. In a word, AMAZING! Be amazed......I am. You can't hit every block out of the park, but you can have fun trying. I'm cheering for you. Remember if you don't have a blog and would like everyone to see your blocks, you can email them to me at [email protected] and I'll post them for you. Or you can post them to Flickr HERE. Please check out Lesley The Cuddle Quilter. Lesley is going to post a Linky tomorrow, Feb 1st on her blog. You can see who's making Country Charmer around the globe. Soon, Lynn P.S. There are lots of Country Charmer patterns available at the shop if you want to jump on the Country Charmer Quilt Along. This is a no stress, no designated quilting day, low-key event, just work on it when you can quilt along. The goal is to have a quilt finished by the end of November.
Our Striped Tumbling Blocks Quilt is a story of seeming simplicity coming from seeming complexity.…
Easy quilts to make in a day. A lot of beautiful patterns, designs, and quilt ideas for you to make in one day only and the tips to finish it
Explore Canton Village Quilt Works ~ Jackie's 2670 photos on Flickr!
Sewing With Nancy viewers and blog readers have been busy at work with the Trace 'n Create Quilt Templates—Dresden Collection.The Dresden quilt block is so
This quilt seemed to name itself...... While I was working on it, I thought of this fun 'play-on' words, and it stuck! The backing was lurking in the back of the fabric cupboard I spent some of my recent fourteen day quarantine making this quilt. I think it took me three weeks from start to finish. Today I was released from 14 days quarantine.... and with the promise of a sunny morning, I set off for a short drive to take some photos! Boy, it felt good to be out! The bush setting was perfect, I think! And a little water.... As I was heading home, I saw a pretty children's playground, and took a couple of photos there! I love finding great backdrops, especially when I don't have an agreeable quilt holder around! Quilt #8 for 2021 Quilt size 47" square Lifetime Quilt #137 Happy days! SUZ
blogged here
Below is a link to some tutorials/hints/shortcuts I have written over the years. 1. Scrappy Sandwiches here 2. My Small World shortcuts and hints- here and here 3. Scrappy Stepping Stones here 4. Rocky Mountain Puzzle block here 5. Scrappy Star blocks here 6. Polaroid Calendar Instructions The basic polaroid block construction is well documented on the internet but I like this tutorial here I got this picture from there. I have written some simple directions, should anyone want to make their own Polaroid Calendar. 20cm of solid fabric is enough for each calendar page. Each Polaroid block is surrounded by 2" strips, two 4" long for each side and two 6.5" long for the top and bottom. Trim each one to a 5" square, angling your ruler for some if you like. Piece them together in pairs, and then into one group of four. Add a 1" by 9.5" strip to the top, And a 1" by 10" strip to either side. Add a 1.5" by 10.5" strip to the main body of the calendar, Embroider the chosen month onto a white 2.5" by 10.5" strip, Add this strip, followed by the last one, cut at 2.5" by 10.5" The final dimensions should be 10.5" by 15". 7. How to mitre the corners of the binding You Will Need (if making a table runner) o 50 in main Cotton fabric o Matching Thread o 20 in contrast Cotton Fabric o 55 in Cotton Batting o 55 in backing Cotton Fabric o 2 ¼ in Quilt Binding enough to edge your runner · 1. Begin sewing your binding as normal, with a 1/4" seam. When the needle is within 1/4" of the corner, stop sewing, with the needle in the down position if possible. Pivot the binding 45 degrees and sew to the very edge. Do a few reverse stitches and cut. 2. Fold your binding at right angles to continue sewing on the next side. · 3. Start stitching 1/4" from the edge. Complete all four corners as per step one. · 4. Your corners should be square and clean when you hand sew your binding to the back. 8. Christmas Tree Skirt- tutorial here 9. Under Southern Skies quilt - here
FABRIC: 26 fat eighths of Purl Soho's Spectrum Cotton, available in our Prism Quilt Fat Eighth Bundle, 2¾ yards Purl Soho's Spectrum Cotton, and 1¾ yards of Moda’s 200-count Muslin SIZE: 52 inches wide x 60 inches tall
The Pixelated Rose Quilt takes a beloved rose and increases the size for a large impact quilt design. The pixelated effect gives a slightly modern look to the vintage rose pattern. The Pixelated Rose Quilt is a free pattern by Riley Blake Designs and finishes at 66″ x 78″. Working in 12″ blocks keeps the […]
Bring attitude to your bedroom! Hells Blankets are for the badass babes and rockin' daddy-o! They're designed for the wild at heart. Whether you're a Rock n Roll Psycho, a Pinup Vixen or anywhere in between these are just perfect for that rock n' roll heart of yours! This Candy Le...
It’s Gorgeous in Any Color! This beautiful rose is big, bold and absolutely stunning. The quilt is gorgeous in whatever colors you want your rose to be. The pixelated look is produced with 2 1/2″ squares of solid fabrics. Choose color variations that create depth and shading within the flower and leaves. Quilt from Miss …
I admit it... I just can't throw my scraps away. Knowing your problem is the first step to solving it, right? In addition to scraps of fabric, I have a bunch of fat quarters I collected back in the '90's when I didn't have time to sew. Of course they are still taking up a big chunk of space in my sewing room, space that could be used to store new, fun interesting fabrics. So, time to purge. This is my tub of scraps. After I cut out a quilt or an apron or table runner, anything really, all of the scraps go in a big tub.... because I might need them for something later, right. My tub is now full to over flowing and of course there are those pesky fat quarters that aren't even in this tub. My husband bought me this wonderful tool for Christmas last year. It's called an Acuquilt. There are lots of cutting dies you can get to use with this contraption. It's really wonderful. The hardest thing about using it, is using it. After 30 years of rotary cutters and rulers, getting used to taking this out of the cupboard is just another habit I have to learn. I've been practicing this habit. The cutting die I will use for this project cuts 2-1/2" strips. Of course you can use your rotary cutter to make your strips but this is kind of fun and I think it's lots faster and more accurate. I also have a lot of fabric to cut, I'm in production mode. The iron is on...everything that comes out of the tub has to be ironed before it's put on the cutter. I put the little pieces on first to make sure I'm getting as much usable fabric out of each piece. I stack the larger pieces on top of the small ones. I put about 4 or 5 layers of fabric on the cutting die. Look...isn't this nice. A couple of cranks of the handle and I have perfect 2-1/2" strips. And, a basket full of scraps I don't feel guilty about throwing away. When I am done cutting, I put my scraps into bags according to their general color. So your saying, you had a big tub of scraps, now you have a bunch of little bags of scraps....hmmmm. Stay with me, it really does get better;) There are a million and one things that you can do with 2-1/2" strips, many more than what you can do with a big tub of random fabric. One of my favorite things to do with random strips is to just sew them together and make a random sheet of fabric, a canvas. I have a general idea about what I'm going to do with my random canvas when I start sewing my strips together, usually, however the plan changes. That's my life. For this project, I pull out blue, green and purple strips from those white bags. The only criteria for the strip is that it doesn't have flowers on it. I need light, medium and dark strips for this project. My initial idea had something to do with the ocean. So, blue, purple and green=ocean... The first step in this project is to bring some order to my mess of strips. I need some sort of system before I begin. So, I sorted my strips into random piles. Believe me, these piles are random so no color theme, no length limit, and there is also a random number of strips in each pile. I set these piles in a row next to my sewing machine. It looks organized doesn't it. I will sew these strips together end to end. I want movement in the piece because I am thinking ocean, so I sew the ends together on the diagonal. I could just match the ends together and sew a 1/4" seam but for this canvas, movement is what I'm thinking. To sew your strips together on the diagonal, you place one strip with right side up, long end away from the machine. Place the next strip face down with the long end toward your lap. I have a center line on my sewing tray that I can use as a guide for a straight seam. I don't have to draw a diagonal line on each and every strip. You can draw a line, however, I would recommend practicing a straight line using a center line on your tray, you can make your own with a piece of colored tape. Sew your two strips together with as straight a line as you can manage. I just feed one strip in after the other chain piecing until all strips are sewn together end to end. Here are my strips all sewn together. I once had random stacks of individual strips and now I have a random pile of sewn together strips. Doesn't this look like the initial picture of my tub of scraps. I have a really long string of strips when I'm done. This really is a pile and you will have to straighten it out a little so you can cut the threads and stretch the long strip of strips out. Now the hard part.... find the two ends of your really, super long strip. This is the part that takes the longest in the process. You need to cut off all of that excess fabric where your strips are sewn together. You also need to press all those little seams...aarrgg. Have a cup of coffee, take a break, put it away until tomorrow-no don't you might not pick it back up. This strip was so long, and I wanted to keep the ends together so I started at the strip ends and worked my way to the middle cutting the seam excess along the way. I used my ruler to measure 1/4" from the seam and cut. You don't need to have a precise 1/4" seam for this, you can just whack the excess off with your scissors, but for me, order out of chaos and systems....right. After the excess fabric is cut, press your seams, up or down, doesn't matter. Now the fun begins.... This part starts slow, but goes pretty fast. Take both ends of your really, super long strip and match them, right sides together. You should follow the entire strip to the end to be sure it's not twisted, but for the first seam, I sometimes just sew and cut the twist off at the end. It depends upon how long the strip is. Starting at the top, sew the two ends of the strip together, using a 1/4" seam. This first seam is really long and it seems like you are sewing forever, but when your done, your super long strip is only half as long and it's two strips wide. Press your seam to one side. The next step is exactly like the first step, bring the two ends of your long strip together. Now you have to make sure the strip isn't twisted. Now, again, you will match the two ends, right sides together and sew another long seam down the side of the two strips. You have now turned your 2 strip wide strip into a 4 strip wide strip. When you sew these strips together, you will have a closed end. Move your long strip to your cutting table and cut this end off. Be sure to use the ruler to line up your cut to make this cut straight. So, to recap the process.... you sewed a seam along the long side of your super long strip to make a really, really long two strip wide, strip. You matched the two ends of this two strip strip together and sewed another really long seam. You had to cut the end so you could open the strip into a pretty darn long 4 strip wide strip. Then you matched the two ends of this long strip together and you sewed a long seam and you cut the end and had an 8 strip wide sheet of fabric. Then, the final seam... you sewed the ends two 8 strip wide sheet together and cut the end AND WOW Here it is, your-well, whatever you want it to be. What will this be? This sheet of strips turned out bigger that I thought it would be. I have a feeling the end product is going to be much different than what my initial plan was. Will I lay a pattern on this and make an apron? Put a border on it and add sew large flowers cut from another piece of fabric to make a quilt? Use 'Wonder Under' and some patterns and a border for a quilt? Or use it for the back of a quilt. If you look closely at these pieces, you will see that some have the ends sewn together using a 1/4" seam and some are sewn on the diagonal. Notice how random the fabric is. Can you find the criteria I used to select the fabric for the strips for each piece? I don't know what I will do with this sheet of fabric yet but when I figure it out, I will post it. If you have an idea, I'd love to know it.
Learn How to Make an Easy and Quick Puff or Puffy Quilt Pattern easy and fun quilt patterns for baby and adults to cuddle up with
I've been away for a few days.... Enjoying the tranquility of a beautiful B&B... Yes, this IS a bathroom.... This is the view out the front window.... Although the weather was cool, there were signs of Spring... We've had lots of Spring rain... so the Trentham Falls were flowing! We travelled up to Mt Macedon... with its Memorial Cross soaring skywards. My father was station master here, back in the 1940's. There was much needed refreshment... and some retail therapy too! A new knitting pattern and a hand knitted scarf Now I am itching to getting back to some stitching.. Happy days! SUZ
Explore marcie carr's 223 photos on Flickr!
Learn how to hand quilt with this expert guide from Sarah Fielke.
365 Free-Motion Quilting Designs is a treasure trove of free-motion quilting inspiration, with a unique design for every single day of the year! The author, Leah Day, suggests preparing fabric sandwiches to practice the new design on each day. To get you started, we've included the first seven designs from the book. Quilt along, and once you're hooked, get yourself a copy of the book, and head to www.LeahDay.com/365 for video tutorials! Day 1: Shadow Waves Day 2: Etch n' Sketch Day 3: Gentle Flames Day 4: Swirling Flames Day 5: Basic Spiral Day 6: Echo Shell Day 7: Echo RainbowStart your quilting journey today! Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Everyone needs something to keep them warm at night. Geeks might want one or more of these totally nerdastic quilts.
Every other Friday I've been posting a free "Block Rock'n" paper piecing template. The blocks are named after bands, singers or maybe even a song title. This week brings you Global Concepts: &nbs...
Make a scrappy granny squares quilt with this free tutorial. Free quilt pattern for your jelly rolls. Easy beginner friendly jelly roll quit pattern.
Hello Everyone, Have you seen the latest recipe craze on Facebook and Pinterest called Swineapple? Since I'm going to be gone for a ...
Explore CB Handmade's 334 photos on Flickr!
Ready for a music heavy post today? Block Rock'n Week 9 brings you Penny Lane. (don't look too closely at that center point. My two halves weren't perfectly aligned... argh.) You know, I couldn'...
This beautiful bargello quilt is designed in two sizes - the larger a bed quilt and the smaller for a wall hanging. It is ideal for any color combination to suit your decor whether it is in soft quiet colors of a bedroom or bright and vibrant for a noisy rumpus room. It is great as extra warmth on a bed or used to cuddle up under on the sofa.
