Spring Sew Along- Jane's Ladder

I'm feeling excited to create with you all! For the next Woodberry Way sew along we will be making Jane's Ladder, a free pattern I did for the Moda Bake Shop several years ago. 

The pattern has instructions for 2 sizes- crib size (shown above), and throw size (64" x 80"). I'll be making the bigger size this time, in the same fabric with the newer lines mixed in, just like I showed in the pattern post. It's a super easy sew, and I'm excited to do something fast and simple. 

Here's the schedule-

March 6: Pick fabric (it's precuts, but you can use scraps or yardage if you want!)

March 13: Sew half the blocks

March 20: Sew the other half of the blocks

March 27: Assemble quilt top

April 3: final winner announced

At the start of each week I'll post the goal, share some tips and tricks, and announce a winner from the week before. Prizes will all come from my house this time, so there will be paper patterns, books, bundles, and fun notions. You can enter to win each week by posting your progress on Instagram with a @woodberry_way tag so I can see it, and the hashtag #janesladderquilt. I will sort the hashtag by recent posts and choose from the appropriate week. Probably Jake will choose so there's no bias!

This blog post is going to count for Monday so let's talk about fabric selection! You'll use 2 Charm Packs for the smaller version, or a Layer Cake for the throw size (or 4 Charm Packs like I'm doing). You can use the same line of fabric for the whole thing, or mix and match! Combining two lines from the same designer in a similar colorway is always a great choice, and will give you a scrappy but cohesive quilt. 

Keep in mind that if you want each block to have all the same fabric like in this sample, you'll need matching charm packs, so 2 of the same for the smaller one, and 2 pairs for the bigger one. 

For example, you could do:

Good Life + One Fine Day

Country Rose + Love Note

Curio + Elixir

You get the idea! If you want me to find more good combos from designers let me know! I love nothing more than fabric shopping :) It doesn't matter if you use Moda Charm Packs, or Riley Blake 5" stackers, or even cut 5" squares from your stash or scrap bin. I'll have some tips for those pesky pinked edges on precuts though. 

Fabric Requirements:

Crib size- 2 Charm Packs (matching, if you want same prints within blocks like the sample), and 1 2/3 yds background fabric.

Throw size- 1 Layer Cake or 4 Charm Packs (pairs of Charm packs if you want same prints in blocks like the sample), and 3 1/2 yds background fabric.

I'm so thrilled that we are healthy and peaceful at this time and I'm able to do this with you! We should be able to get it all done before the kids go off school in April :) If you have questions ask me on IG or email me at woodberrywayblog@gmail.com, the comments here don't work well for responding. 

See you soon!

Liberty of London Union Jack quilt

Today is a red letter day as I've mailed off the last of the "Leavitt quilts", which are the Union Jack quilts I've been making each year for my mom and her 7 siblings. This is the 8th and final quilt and it feels great to have it sent off! You can visit #leavittquilts on IG to see the other 7, which date back to 2014!

The pattern is Jumping Jacks by Fig Tree and Co. It is traditionally pieced and not too tricky. The first year I made it I was still quite a beginner, and the trimming step took some getting used to, but it's easy now. 

The fabric I used was largely a bundle by Maker Valley, which unfortunately sold out last year. The blues are all from the Carnaby Collection by Liberty of London, so you could start there and add your own pinks and reds. You need FQs for the main prints and small amounts of yardage for the stripes.  I mixed in a few of my own, mostly from Bonnie and Camille and Lori Holt. 

One fun thing about this year's quilt is that it was the first time I used different low volume prints for the white parts of every block, as well as a printed sashing. It was super scrappy!

The tags shown here are Tasha Noel quilt labels for Riley Blake. I have the older version, but the new version is just as cute! The bottom label I had made by Wunderlabel, I've used them for years and have a few different colors. 

This one was beautifully quilted by Emilee Hathaway of Paisley, Prints, and Polka Dots. She chose the design so you'll have to ask her what it's called!

The backing is a simple Navy Swiss Dot, and the binding seems to me like it's an American Jane print, though I'm not exactly sure- it came with the Maker Valley kit. 

I will miss seeing this one around my sewing room, but I'm so happy to have it checked off and hopefully it is used and loved for years to come! Now I feel like I need to make quilts for my Hawkins aunts (another 8, haha). If you're one of those and you're seeing this, let me know in the comments which patterns you would like!

Fat Quarter Patterns for Soft Autumn

Here are my top ten pattern suggestions for my upcoming Soft Autumn bundle, in order of what I'd most like to make! I made sure they are fat quarter friendly, so the hardest part will be picking which prints to use :)

1. Swoon Sixteen by Thimble Blossoms- I'd do Kona Sea Foam, Parchment, or Shell for the Sashing. You'll have to omit some of the FQs from the bundle, I recommend taking the lighter ones out. You can always use more prints than 16, just split up the cutting! The more the merrier I say.

2. Fall Leaves by Cluck Cluck Sew in just the Topaz and Sunstone color ways. Amazing!

3. Star Pop 2 Emily Dennis. I so want to make this!

4. Cheese Platter from Stash Busting Weekend Quilts also in one or two colorways.

Photo via @ivory_spring IG

5. The Penny Quilt by Kitchen Table Quilting

6. Or Violet, or Hazel, or Ivory from Erica. They are all FQ friendly and amazing! Here's the Taylor pattern, which would be great with these fabrics in color order. 

7. Hexie Framed by Emily Dennis

8. High Tide Remix by me is a solid choice for FQs, it uses them up efficiently and is a fast finish. 

9. Sweet Marie by me was the sample quilt for last year's fall bundle, really a great choice! Can't go wrong with Kona Lingerie for the sashing and Kitchen Window Woven (also in Lingerie color) for the corners. Kona Curry for cornerstones! Sooo pretty. 

10. Scrappy Trip is a solid choice almost always, and would definitely work here. 

One last thing I wanted to address was background fabric for this bundle:

Kona Parchment is the stone colored solid from the bundle, and would be a great background for the prints. It appears pretty dark in digital swatches but you can see in this photo how it relates to other colors, it's the top color. I think it would be pretty in the Fall Leaves pattern especially, or as the stems on a white background. 

Another option is Kona Shell! (The bottom fabric.) You know I love a soft pink background.

If you're wanting a white background for Hexie Framed or Sweet Marie, Kona Snow is a classic creamy white, and Kona Bone is a true cream. Either one would work for this fabric, depending on your preference. The white in the wovens is going to match more with Snow, but the prints would be really lovely against Bone. You can see more examples of these two colors in my background fabric post. 

If you're wanting a low volume background, or something with a subtle print, Rad Plaid is a brighter white with a really fun pattern. Daisy Days is a richer cream and would be lovely as well. 

Hope that helps! See you next week with the bundle release (Tuesday 11/2 at 9:30 AM PST). Don't forget to enter the giveaway!

Pumpkin Quilts! and our favorite muffins

Hello friends! Is it fall where you live? My sister in North Carolina told me that the leaves are starting to turn there. We're still in the 100s, but that's normal for us until about Halloween. Our fall leaves come at Thanksgiving! That won't stop me from buying some pumpkins very soon though, ha!

I'm currently helping a friend plan for her first quilt, she's making Pumpkins by Cluck Cluck Sew. (I found that one on sale but if it sells out here's another.) Allison's patterns are well-written and simple to piece together, perfect for a beginner!

Image via Cluck Cluck Sew

Here are few good links I found as I was shopping around, wishing I were making the quilt myself :)

First of all, this lady has full Pumpkin kits! Several drop down options there. 

Here are some shops that had cute assortments of oranges. 

Orange fat quarters

Other orange fat quarters

And another!

Squirrelly Girl FQ options

Oranges by Starlit Quilts (make sure you check out page 2!)

The background I'm pretty sure Allison used is this Moda Crossweave in Graphite. I've used it before on other projects and I love the texture it adds to a quilt. 

These backings are all cute too!

Bad to the Bone

Spooky Hollow

Midnight Magic

Image via Cluck Cluck Sew

My favorite kit of all that I found in my shopping adventures today was actually for the mini version of this quilt. Look how cute!

Image via Plain Janes and Co.

Here's another lovely pumpkin quilt by the same designer called Pumpkin Patches.

Image via Cluck Cluck Sew

If you're looking for fall patterns from this Allison (great name, ha) I've got this pumpkin mini/pillow free tutorial.

I also recently had this display quilt published with Quilts and More. You can get the Fall PDF pattern for just $3!

Used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

In looking through my old photos, I found some fabric pulls and other projects from years past. Look at this pretty fabric pull! Every year I've chickened out on making a Halloween quilt for my kids, but I actually started one this year by golly (Chamomile with my own kit). They are going to be so happy. 

And here's a cute mini quilt/hot pad duo that I made for my house in 2016! We still get them out every year. No pattern for these ones (yet?). Sorry!

Finally, a cute reversible pillow! You can find a pattern for this exact thing but in Christmas colors in my book Welcome to Woodberry Way. It even teaches you how to put a zipper in the pillow with step by step diagrams. 

I also just wanted to share a small joyful find with you. Fall is baking season for me and recently I discovered the magical power of using tulip cupcake liners. They are a little more expensive than the regular zig zaggy ones, but the results are worth it! The muffins come out taller and puffier, and the kids loved using the fancy liners. Here's our favorite muffin recipe, we've made this for years and they are a hit with young and old. Click to make it larger and feel free to print it or share!

Thanks for stopping by today. Sometimes I like to sneak coupon codes on the bottom of my posts for the people who make it to the end :) Use the code HAPPYFALL for 30% off anything in my shop through the end of the month!

Halloween Low Volume Fabric Bundles

EEeeeeeekkkkk! seems like the only appropriate response for my excitement level. I am seriously pumped about these kits! 

SHOP NOW

I'm not usually one for early decorating, but in the world of quilting one has to have a certain amount of time to get the quilt done in order to do the proper decorating, am I right? Well I've got you! 

Make sure you add a paper or PDF copy of Chamomile to your cart if you don't have it, it's not included in the kit!

We have FOUR Chamomile kit options, with binding choices too. The binding add-on and sashing are interchangeable, so feel free to switch those around and have fun! I'm so excited to finally make a Halloween quilt for my kids, they have been begging for years. I'm making the Taffy version, you can watch my progress on IG @woodberry_way.

Here's the color breakdown for the sashing/binding options:

I have very limited number of black gingham backings this time too, which I think is going be soooo cute on the back! I personally ordered this Spooky n Sweeter print for my backing because it worked with the purple and I knew the kids would think it was fun. I don't think they sell bolts of it any more or I would have gotten it as an option too.

Image via Art Gallery Fabrics

I thought these lines had some good options for backings as well. I like the mums, ginghams and spiderwebs.

Bad to the Bone

Spooky Hollow

Midnight Magic

If you can wait until April, Riley Blake has quite a few Halloween lines coming up that would make make super darling backings! Really, I wish they were out now, there are some verrry cute ones.

There are also some FQ bundles available if you're not wanting to make a Chamomile, or if you want to create your own kit! It doesn't have as many prints as the kit, FYI.

I was worried about getting this round done with my next door neighbor/friend/quilt buddy Kim being gone to Utah now, since she did a lot of folding with me. We did ok though, my Dad actually came up to take the boys on a hike and then he and my husband did a speed folding challenge after, ha! They really helped me out. Have some mercy on their manly folding efforts this time :) In the future I'll have to find a more meticulous person to hire I think. Thanks anyway Dan and Dad!

Thanks for stopping by today, I hope you have so much fun with these and I can't wait to see what you make! Be sure to tag me with #chamomilequilt on IG, I love to see!

Mariposas Quilt- offset block instructions

Good afternoon! Here is the promised offset block instructions for the Mariposas quilt pattern. Click the link, print it off, and add it to your pattern so you have both! 

Free printable pattern

I also wanted to share a link for where you can get the Quilts and More magazine that has my sailboat pattern in it. Unfortunately this is for digital copies only, physical copies are at most craft or book stores. It is out of stock at Fat Quarter Shop. 

Quilts and More- Summer 2022 edition

Used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2022 Meredith Operations Corporation. All rights reserved.

Mariposas- a new Butterfly quilt pattern

Today is a big day in these parts! New pattern, new bundles, and kits too! So exciting. 

The pattern is called Mariposas (butterflies in Spanish) and it's a fast and easy sew, made with fat quarters and a bit of yardage. The pattern has instructions for a straight-grid setting of the blocks, but you'll find instructions for off-set blocks in an upcoming blog post. I have kits for everything except the backing!

These two fabrics aren't a part of the kit, I just had to make a pillow so I could embroider the antennae! So cute!

I didn't originally plan on releasing a pattern with this bundle, but when I was trying to think of patterns that would complement these large-scale, gorgeous fabrics, I thought butterfly wings would be just the ticket. I'm grateful for testers who helped me get this one ship shape for you. 

If you don't plan on making the butterfly quilt, I also have fat quarter and half yard bundles of just the beautiful, silky, floral Art Gallery prints. I love the vibrant colors and bold florals. They would be great for a Swoon quilt, or a High Tide Remix!

If you'll indulge me in a few personal stories today, I'll tell you why I named this one "Siena Spring". 

When I was 12 or so my parents gave me a calendar for Christmas that was full of photos of Italy. Little did they know this would start a life-long obsession in my young heart. As soon as I got to college I enrolled in Italian classes and after 2 years I had the remarkable opportunity to go on a study abroad trip based in Siena, Italy. Located right in the middle of the country, Siena is one of the best preserved Medieval cities in Italy. I took language, history, and cooking classes at a small local university and worked (for free) as a waitress in an adorable family restaurant. The dad cooked, the mom managed, and the son was the main waiter. The town is as precious and charming as they come. What a dream!

Via: Alamy Stock Photo

The big church in Siena has pillars inside that are black and white striped, just like the binding on the Mariposa quilt. This is where I fell in love with red geraniums that are the specific shade of orangey-red in these fabric bundles too. On the weekends we'd travel to other cities and tour around. Probably my favorite part of the entire experience was the cooking class where we'd make 3 course meals from scratch and eat them all together in a room with an adjoining rooftop terrace, as the swallows swooped in and out of the sunset. You can't make this stuff up you guys, I get teary eyed when I talk about it out loud. I love that place!

Gelato!

Quilting by Emilee Hathaway of Paisley, Prints, and Polka Dots

Alright back to the matter at hand. I absolutely adore the luxurious black minky that I used to back my quilt, but I did find some other backing suggestions that I really like for this quilt too. It was a hard choice! The kids always want minky though :) My local quilt shop Cali Quilt Co. specializes in minky, they must have every imaginable color and texture! That's where I got this simple black one. Here are some more great options. 

Spotted Butterflies in Black 

Old Made Wallflower in White would be a wonderful choice. You also couldn't go wrong with classic black Swiss Dots. If you can wait until October, this upcoming Ruby Star would be an amazing option:

I'll be back in a few days with instructions for this off-set layout of blocks. See you soon!