Patchwork Picnic- Dragonfly quilt block

Today I am happy to take part in the blog hop for Gracey Larson's new book Patchwork Picnic. It's an adorable book of 6" or 12" block patterns. They are all so cute,  I wish I could make the whole quilt!

The book is published by Martingale and features outdoor themed blocks. I am sharing the Dragonfly block today. I made the 12" version, put it on point, and turned it into a pillow! Surprise surprise :)

I had such a good time with this block. I love Gracey's patterns, they are easy to follow and so whimsical. After I sewed the block and put in on point (simply cut two 10" squares, cut in half diagonally, sew long edges to outside edges of 12" block to put on point!) I quilted it up in straight lines, then added some hand quilting detail by drawing some swirls and stitching over them. If you're interested in more details about this process you can check out my hand quilting tips and supplies post. 

I also have a very helpful post about how to put zippers into pillows easily! I really, really love to make pillows, which you probably already knew. You can always check out more pillows at #wwpillows.

For my block I used all Riley Blake Basics- black and white gingham, green Swiss Dots, and cotton solid. The back is a Stacy Iest Hsu tiny heart print for Moda. 

I planned this pillow so that it would go in the boys' reading corner in the playroom in the new house. We are moving in one month! One thing that we will really miss about this house is the big backyard with sunset views. Often there is a whole group of dragonflies around that time that swoop and dive and circle overhead. I have become rather attached to those little guys! They remind me of many happy evenings spent in that yard playing, gardening, jumping on the tramp and working and playing together. I know when I look back on my life those will be some of the happiest times! 

This isn't the first time I've made one of Gracey's adorable patterns into a pillow. A year ago I made her cute owl pattern and I can't recommend it enough. Adorable, easy to follow, and you can't beat the price! I made two of the 6" blocks and turned them into a lumbar pillow. 

Anyway, back to the book. Make sure you check out Patchwork Picnic by Gracey, you won't regret it. Look at the cuteness! There's a sew along happening right now with different blocks being shared every Friday on Instagram.

See you Monday for a First Snow update. Have a wonderful weekend!

Red and Aqua Nine Patch Quilt- Birthday Bee!!

 

Some quilts rate way higher on the special scale than others, and this is one of those for me- the main reason being, it was a group project with friends! A birthday bee quilt to be exact.

In late 2017 I decided I wanted to do a birthday bee, and since I didn't know how to get into one, I started my own. I messaged a few quilters that I liked and knew through IG to see who would be interested. They talked to their friends until we ended up with 12 ladies for the swap. Angel Natalie Smith @smileyannn was the brains of the outfit and organized a schedule for us, aligning birthdays as closely as she could, each month having a Birthday Queen. We all chose blocks and colors at the beginning of the year and Natalie shared them on a Google Doc. Then when it was each person's month to be queen (somewhere on or near their birthday), they received blocks in the mail from each of the 11 other people in their chosen colors and design.*

Some blocks were more complicated than others. If they were small and simple, we each made several. For larger or more complicated ones we only did one each. I chose to have them help me with this scrap project I'd already started, so each friend made 2 reds and 2 aquas. The math for mine was very simple:

Block: Simple 9-patch, finished size 6”

Fabric requirements: 

(9) 2.5” cut squares for each block-

Block A: 4 red and 5 white

Block B: 4 white and 5 aqua

(always press toward the color for nesting seams)

I had it quilted in a design I believe is called Abacus by Knot and Thread. I love it so much! Kaitlyn's work is always lovely. The white is Moda Bella 98. I backed it in an Elea Lutz Strawberry Biscuit print I've been keeping forever, and bound it in a Bonnie and Camille Smitten aqua heart print. I put two tags on it, one by Riley Blake, and personal quilt label that I ordered on Etsy.

There's something special about having a quilt made by so many hands, and from so many many different fabrics. Most of the quilts in my house are made from fabric that I purchased and therefore know all about, but many of the fabrics in this quilt I've never seen or heard of before, so that makes it extra fun for me to look at.

If you're interested in what other blocks we used in the swap, I scrounged up some photos from my Instagram of some of the ones I made for others. 

Two people in the group- Kristen Olson @HeartfullyHandmade and  JaNae Johnson @jjsews chose the Economy Quilt Block by Red Pepper Sews. It was really a delight make these ones! I took lots of pictures because the fussy cut center details are just so cute. 

@JessicaDayon came up with this cute heart block with low volume background. I always love making heart blocks!

Hers had:

28- 2.5” low volume squares

17- 2.5” pink or red squares

4- 2.5” half square triangles-- half red/pink and half low volume

Sue Ellen Hafen @sweetsueellen chose Diary of a Quilter's Patchwork Christmas Tree and I failed to get a photo of mine before I mailed them.

Cami Groethe @littleyellowbicycle chose the adorable Scrappy Crossroads Block by Lori Holt in navy, green, and grey. 

Susan Vaughan @thefeltedpear chose free strawberry block pattern. I can't find my picture of that one, bummer!

Cristina Anderson @jbcmom3 found a very striking free block on the Art Gallery site. 

Natalie Smith @smileyannn chose my Rise pattern!

Jessica Feddema @jfeddema1 chose A Quilting Life's string block in pink, green, aqua, and low volume. 

Ginger Parker @wifeoferp chose similar colors in a log cabin design that she figured out herself.

Fabric requirements:

Center block: (A) 3”

(B) 2”x3”        (C,D) 2”x4.5”

(E,F) 2”x6”     (G,H) 2”x7.5”

(I,J) 2”x9”       (K,L) 2”x10.5”

(M,N) 2”x12”  (O) 2”x13.5”

(P) 2.5x13.5    (Q) 2.5”x15.5”

I'm looking at the old Google Doc for reference and there's one that has been erased, so I can't remember the last one!

*Disclaimer: I do have to say that it's not always sunshine and roses with these swaps. I don't think I got blocks from every person (though I didn't keep track so I can't say for sure), some of them were done inversely and couldn't be used for this design, and after I had the whole thing quilted I noticed some of the whites were wrong. None of that bothered me or made me love the quilt or the swap any less, but I felt it would be dishonest not to mention. It's not perfect, life's not perfect, and that's perfectly fine :) It's very possible that I did some of the blocks I made for others wrong, who's to say!? We are all busy people trying our very best. 

Overall it was a great experience and one that I hope to repeat, I already have several ideas for ones I want to do! Many of the friends carried on and did another this year, but I had to many commitments in 2019 and needed to sit it out. Maybe next year! It is so fun to be able to have a very small, quick, fun project to make for someone else every month, I really loved it. 

First Snow Quilt Along Week 2- Blocks

Hello and welcome back! Hopefully you have your fabric all cut and ready and are prepared to start sewing your First Snow blocks! I love it when the cutting is done and it's time to start stitching away. I am excited about some of the fabric pulls you guys have shared on #firstsnowquilt, there are going to be some good ones!

This week we are sewing 2 blocks! I added some video highlights about pressing on Instagram. (Highlights are the circles below my information on Instagram, if you click on them it will take you to the videos, which you can skip through or return to by tapping on the right of left sides of the screen. You can also hold a finger down anywhere to pause it!) Basically, pressing is more of a personal preference on this one. 

This week's winner is Amy @eamylove! Please send me your address to claim your package of Riley Blake goodies.

Remember that the only way to enter to win participation prizes is to post your progress photos on Instagram with the hashtag #firstsnowquilt. If you're unsure how to do that, you can always use Google or YouTube to watch how-to videos, or ask any person you know between the ages of 15 and 30. They will be able to help you out for sure :)

Next week is the same assignment- two more blocks! I'll see you back here on the blog in two weeks with 4 blocks total, and another prize (fabric bundle from Starlit Quilts!) and update.

If you have any questions let me know. I had some trouble last week with Blogger not letting me respond to comments, but I will do my best!

First Snow Quilt Along Week 1- Cutting

Hello hello! Welcome to the official start of the First Snow Quilt Along! I am thrilled that you are here. This week we are going to be cutting out the project.

Don't panic if you don't have fabric yet. You can still get kits from Simple Stitches Fabric shop or Jewel's Fabric Stash. Or you can still design your own using this First Snow coloring page that Alissa Strouse so kindly made for me. (This is only for Variation B.) Thanks Alissa!

I am using fat quarters from my stash in red, green, navy, and teal, and a lovely peach background from Riley Blake called Just Peachy. I like to keep my pieces all together in a drink/serving tray. I don't know what its intended purpose is actually, I bought it for keeping quilt pieces, haha! I think I got this one from Target a while back, I'm not sure. This keeps it all safe from little hands, mostly. The rascaliest hands aren't tall enough to see over the lip at table height!



Though I've made Variation A before, this is my first time making a large version of Variation B. I was a very new quilter at the time, and still learning, a lot! (Really.) While the cutting instructions were all correct, I found that I wished I had a little more information about how many strips to use to cut each size, so I've added to the instructions here. These don't include fat quarter cutting instructions, just background and sashing (if applicable).


Variation A

Variation B

I realize I'm giving away all the cutting instructions for the pattern here, but if you're dedicated enough to figure out how all those pieces go together, you're a dedicated free pattern finder! :) If you have any questions about that let me know in the comments or over on IG.

To enter to win this week's prize, a cute bundle of fabric and notions from Riley Blake, post either a picture of your fabric pull or your cut fabric and use the hashtag #firstsnowquilt.

Here's a reminder of the timeline for you. I will only be doing blog posts on prize winner days. All other updates will be on Instagram!

Timeline:

Sept 2- cutting

Sept 9- 2 blocks (Riley Blake notions & fabric bundle)

Sept 16- 2 blocks

Sept 23- 2 blocks (20% off quilting card from One Sweet Bee)

Sept 30- 2 blocks

Oct 7- 2 blocks (Starlit Quilts fabric bundle)

Oct 14- 2 blocks

Oct 21- sashing and borders (free longarming by House of Elle)

Oct 28- catch up week

Nov 4- wrap up (free longarming by Quilting by Amanda)

Pastel Rainbow Chamomile Quilt

Hello friends, happy Friday to you. I'm checking in today for two reasons- first, to share my freshly finished Chamomile quilt! This is my second version, with scrappy cornerstones in pastel rainbow.

This is the one that I sewed for our quilt along last spring. I used a mix of low volumes from my stash, bright white background (Riley White), and solids from my scrap bin. It takes a lot longer to do the scrappy cornerstones than it does the strip piecing way as outlined in the pattern, but I'm happy with the look, and the use of scraps!

I used a Little Dolly print by Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics for the backing. I found it at Quilters Lodge, and they have a little bit left, on sale!! The binding is Chasing Rainbows by Andie Hanna for Robert Kaufman. I found some in this Etsy shop, also on sale!! I can't believe this luck :)

I had it quilted in Chantilly Lace edge to edge design by Emilee Hathaway. She is having a longarm sale right now by the way!

The sashing is Kona Silver from KiwiFabrics. It was just the perfect amount of contrast that I was going for. This is by far the brightest white quilt I've ever made, and its airiness makes me so happy. 

If you're on the lookout for a quilt kit for this one, I really love the one Handmade is Heartmade has in her shop. Her kits have swallows and teal and yellow, and I really want one! Olie and Evie also has a Christmas Chamomile quilt kit that is completely lovely!

I added a few little fussy cuts from my long-hoarded Posy by Aneela Hoey, just like last time. It is the sweetest fabric ever. Very hard to find these days or I'd link it for you!

One more shot of the rainbow binding because it is just so delightful. 

The other thing I wanted to remind you about today is that First Snow sew along starts Monday!!!!

I am beyond excited about this one. You can find all the info you need for that one in my First Snow Quilt Along blog post. The signup, the pattern links, kits, the fabric I'm using, all of it! I have some of the best prizes ever lined up for this one, it's going to be so much fun!

See you Monday!

First Snow Quilt Along

The most requested Woodberry Way quilt along is here! We will be sewing First Snow quilt tops in plenty of time for quilting before the holidays. Even those of us who don't get snow where we live can enjoy beautiful snowflakes come Christmas!

You can sign up for the First Snow Quilt Along here, that way you'll get the email updates. There's also a link to the pattern if you still need it. 

As you probably know by now, this pattern has two versions, plus a mini! At the pattern release in 2016, I sewed variation A, shown above. I did mine in solids with a stripey binding and it lives on the end of my bed in winter. I love it so much! I think this one would be so cute in prints too, with a dark background, or as a 4th of July quilt! You can find paper patterns for First Snow A here.

Julia of Red Rainboots Handmade (maker of the darling barn quilts) sewed and photographed Variation B for me. Isn't it so gorgeous! She used a mix of fat quarters from my stash and Moda Bella Ruby Ice background. Most people love to sew this variation, and I'm going to make it this time around too. You can get a paper pattern for First Snow Variation B here. 

Here's my fabric pull this time around, with fat quarters from my stash and Peaches and Cream background from Riley Blake Confetti Cottons. I am excited to start cutting!!

If you want, you can also buy a PDF copy of First Snow A and B together! Both variations have 20" blocks and finish with a 66" x 88" quilt, perfect for a Twin bed or large throw. The blocks are all traditionally pieced with corner triangles and half square triangles. There are lots of pieces, but they go together smoothly in quadrants. I would not consider it tricky!

There's also a First Snow Mini Pattern if you don't have time to commit to a large quilt right now. It comes with both block variations and finishes at 12". I've seen some pretty cute pillows and table runners made from this one!

Timeline:

Sept 2- cutting

Sept 9- 2 blocks

Sept 16- 2 blocks

Sept 23- 2 blocks

Sept 30- 2 blocks

Oct 7- 2 blocks

Oct 14- 2 blocks

Oct 21- sashing and borders

Oct 28- catch up week

Nov 4- wrap up

Kaitlyn of Knot and Thread Design will be our designated longarmer for this one, she will be offering 20% off all edge to edge quilting for First Snow tops! Woo hoo! You have until Jan. 31st to get them to her for the discount. 

We will have some great prizes this time around from Starlit Quilts, Riley Blake, One Sweet Bee Designs, Five on Sunny, and myself. Longarm gift cards, notions, fabric bundles...it's going to be fun!

You are entered to win weekly prizes by posting your progress with the hashtag #firstsnowquilt. 

Some fun news is that Jewel's Fabric Stash in Bountiful, Utah will be carrying kits! When I visited their shop this summer and told them about the sew along, they asked if I would choose a kit from their shop and I had such a fun time meeting with them and looking through their fabric selection. I can't wait to see their shop sample!

Lastly I just want to show you some of my favorites from the last few years. This will help you get thinking what kind you want to make! You can see even more at #firstsnowquilt on Instagram.

I'm crazy about this ombre version by @corinna_maycreations!

A pink and navy cutie from Hello Melly Designs. 

I love this gorgeous custom quilting by Natalia Bonner on @thelmacupcake's sweet quilt. 

Carola's (@idaroellchen) aqua version is so beautiful on this bed!

This magical pink version by @shashalaruequilts and quilted by @ladybellefabric is what convinced me on the pink background for mine this time.

 I think it would also look great with a navy or dark green background like this one by @pinsandpens. 

I hope you can join us! I am really excited to make this one again, and can't wait to see all of yours!

Here's a Pinterest pin to lead you back to this post, and make sure to check in on my Instagram for updates!