September 29, 2017

Folk Stitches- Blocks 13, 14, and 15

Today we get to start to work on my favorite portion of the quilt- that cute little flower row. This row doesn't repeat, it's a mirror image. Here we go!

Block 13
Color A- 7
Color B- 4
Color C- 4
Color D- 1
Color E- 6
Color F- 7
Color H- 1
Background- 34
Classic

Buttercup

 Pansy

Block 14
Color A- 7
Color B- 8
Color C- 1
Color D- 2
Color E- 2
Color F- 4
Color H- 1
Background- 39
 Classic

 Buttercup

 Pansy
Block 15
Color A- 6
Color B- 6
Color C- 3
Color D- 1
Color E- 4
Color F- 9
Color H- 1
Background- 34
Classic

Buttercup

Pansy

I'm not going to lie, I fell behind this week and don't have these ones done. But I'm going to catch up! I'll show you mine when we finish these flowers :)

Folk Stitches- Blocks 10, 11, and 12

Hello hello, and welcome back. It's at this point in a project when I usually think to myself- "What have I begun!?!?" It seems so much lies ahead. But, experience has taught that she who keeps plugging along finishes before she knows it, and the result is so rewarding. Carry on, tiny square sewers!

Block 10
Color A- 9
Color C- 1
Color D- 10
Color E- 4
Color F- 5
Background- 35
Classic

Buttercup

Pansy


Block 11
Color A- 9
Color C- 3
Color D- 10
Color F- 4
Color H- 4
Background- 34

 Classic

Buttercup

Pansy


Block 12
Color A- 10
Color D- 8
Color F- 4
Color G- 7
Background- 35 
 Classic

Buttercup

Pansy

Once again, if you make doubles of each, you'll have the whole row done! (But remember, that won't always be the case.) See you next time!

September 15, 2017

Folk Stitches- Blocks 7, 8, 9

Hello and happy weekend to you! Today's blocks have lots of color and we get to complete some of the tulips- hooray! Once again, the remainder of this row is identical to these three blocks, so if you make 2 each of 7, 8, and 9, you'll already have 28, 29, and 30 ready to go when it's time.

I may have mentioned before that my husband has an alternate title for all my quilt patterns. Some of them crack me up, and some of them I don't understand at all. He calls Folk Stitches "Fire Flower" in reference to a video game. I had all sisters, we didn't play video games, and I have no idea what he's talking about! He says it's the tulips that we're finishing up today. 

 
Block 7
Color B- 12
Color D- 18
Color G- 3
Color H- 2
Background- 29
 Classic

Buttercup

Pansy

Block 8
Color B- 8
Color C- 11
Color G- 15
Color H- 10
Background- 20
Classic

Buttercup

Pansy


Block 9
Color B- 4
Color C- 7
Color E- 18
Color H- 12
Background- 23
Classic

Buttercup

Pansy

September 13, 2017

Sweet Prairie Blog Tour- Great Granny Square Pillow Tutorial


Today I have the pleasure of kicking off the blog tour for Sweet Prairie by Riley Blake. I love this fabric and was delighted to work with it.

For a while I'd been itching to make some great-granny square pillows, so when Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane asked if I would make something for her newest line, I knew it was the perfect opportunity! Sweet Prairie is an irresistible mix of sweet and sophisticated.



I made the same pillow in two colorways because I couldn't pick between them. I have been crushing on the pink/yellow combination this year (remember this quilt?) and adding red, aqua, and grey to the mix is just heaven. Fabric dreams, people!


My very favorite prints are the small florals, the check/grid print, and the dots.



Here is a quick pattern for how to make a great granny square if you've never made one before. It's one of my all-time favorite blocks to make. This will give you an 18" block (including borders).

Fabric requirements:


Sew pieces into diagonal rows, with 2.5" x 3" rectangles on the ends. Center the two end rectangles.

Press seams alternate directions, and sew into rows, using nesting seams as a guide.
 Press rows away from center and trim off outer triangles 1/2" away from Row 4 points to 15" square.


Sew 15" x 2.25" borders to each side, press out. 
Sew the 18.5" x 2.25" borders to top and bottom, press out again. 


Baste and quilt as desired. You can see how I sew zippers into the back of pillows here. I only do it this way when I plan on adding binding, otherwise, I sew in into the bottom seam between the two panels like this. Using the 2.5" strips, bind as you would a quilt.


I quilted the pink one on my Husqvarna Opal with a scallop stitch, and the yellow one with straight lines on my Juki TL 2010Q. I love both machines for different reasons. 


If you're looking to add some of this beautiful fabric to your stash, StarlitQuilts is one of my favorite places to shop. This is not sponsored, I just always love her selection, prices, quick shipping, and extra treats! She's the best.

Also, I buy 20" pillow inserts at IKEA and try to make all my pillow covers around 18" square like these ones. With this size and insert, you'll have the perfect amount of squishiness to your pillow. Plus, the price is right!


Thank you Sedef and Riley Blake for letting me create with your beautiful fabric. It is wonderful as always! Be sure to check back each Thursday to see what other people made with this line. These gals are amazing and I'm so excited to find out!

14 September - Allison Jensen - Woodberry Way - @woodberry_way
21 September - Minki Kim - Minki's Work Table - @zeriano
28 September - Keera Job - Live.Love.Sew Pattern Co - @keera.job
5 October - Alexis Wright - My Sweet Sunshine Studio - @mysweetsunshine
12 October - Emily Dennis - Quilty Love - @emily_dennis_

September 11, 2017

Rise Quilt Along Donation Quilt

Last fall I hosted a quilt along for my original pattern Rise. I made this top as a part of that, but didn't get around to quilting it until this summer. Such is life! Here she is all finished. 


I went with a lighter, softer color scheme than my original Rise quilt, using an assortment of color prints and solids from my stash and Kona Bone- my go-to cream background choice. I always use it with Fig Tree fabrics too.


The backing is a long-hoarded bird print from Heather Bailey. I love birds and collect bird things in all forms, so it was hard to part with this quilt (more on that later), but I think it found the perfect home here. It's such a gorgeous print.


I ended up having to wash this quilt before I sent it off, hence the crinkle. My boys got some sort of mark on it, but luckily it came out! It's quilted with a scallop stitch on my Husqvarna Opal.


This quilt has been donated to QuiltAnthropy, a non-profit that uses money from quilt auctions to help refugees. The founder is a wonderful woman who is the mother of two of my college roommates. She is truly an inspiration. If you are interested in donating a quilt to QuiltAnthropy, you can contact her at Patricia@quiltanthropy.org, or visit their site which is soon to be fully launched. If you are in northern Utah, you may be able to attend the auction and purchase a beautiful quilt! Last year they raised over $22,000 for refugees. Amazing.


Here is one of the blocks from the quilt along last year. You can still find the individual block pattern downloads for free here, or purchase the full consolidated pattern PDF in my shop here.

September 8, 2017

Folk Stitches- Blocks 4, 5, and 6

Welcome back fabric lovers! We are getting ready for a fun crazy day tomorrow so I figured I get this one up early. There's an air show at the airport right behind our back yard so we'll have friends, food and front row seats to some amazing aircraft doing tricks! One of my favorite days of the year.

Here are the next 3 block design for the week. You'll notice they are almost exactly the same as each other like last week. Only the bottom row differs- the tips of the tulips.

Block 4
Color A- 8
Color B- 6
Color D- 3
Color G- 3
Background- 44
Classic


Buttercup


Pansy

Block 5
Color A- 8
Color B- 6
Color C-  2
Color G- 4
Background- 44
Classic


Buttercup


Pansy


Block 6
Color A- 8
Color B- 6
Color C- 1
Color E- 3
Color G- 2
Background- 44
 Classic


Buttercup


Pansy


Here's my Block 6 (upside down). I try to make one block every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning while my two big kids are at school. So far so good! It's good for me to have to do a steady, consistent project like this. Usually I'm an all or nothing binge sewer!


I know I mentioned this earlier, but I don't count, for example, 44 background squares each time I sit down to sew. I just look at the diagram and start making pairs as I go. Does that make sense? I try to avoid counting when possible, ha!

See you next time for the tulips, it's a fun one :)