Save the Date- Upcoming Quilt Alongs

Recently I have caught on to the magic of a quilt along. If you're wondering what a quilt along is, according to Emily Dennis,  a quilt along is a group of quilters making the same quilt pattern at the same time either virtually or in person. 

I never really knew how fun this could be until recently. In January I was feeling overwhelmed with the year's creative commitments. It just so happened that Then Came June and Pen and Paper Patterns were hosting a quilt along for I Heart You. It captured my imagination, and the appeal of making someone else's pattern and not having to think or worry about it was very enticing.

I joined the QAL, and was surprised to find that adding a fun, no-stress project to my to-dos helped me in a number of ways. It got me into my sewing space without so much intimidation. It kept me happy and creating for joy. After that I also joined the Quilty Love quilt along by Emily Dennis. Following a timeline, sewing along with other people and being motivated by prizes made staying on track easy. It also helped that both of those patterns were relatively easy and fast. Also, I just love looking at the hashtags for quilt alongs to see all the beautiful variations and interpretations of the same pattern. It's so interesting and inspiring!

I had plans to make a few of my own patterns over again this year, since the originals were given away or sold. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to have anyone who wants to make them join the fun. I've planned out a schedule of which ones I want to make and wanted to share with you so that you also can plan, and so I will be accountable. Don't worry, I'm not going to have a baby any time soon and have terrible morning sickness and exhaustion and not finish my own quilt along like I did with Folk Stitches. That was a rough season! I STILL need to finish that quilt, I have bad associations with it, haha.

First of all, Chamomile starts April 1st as you know. I'm excited for that one! Right now we are picking and posting fabric. Olie and Evie has cute kits if you're still looking!

This summer as we will be gone for most of June (I'm coming for you Utah quilt shops!) but I'm going to do a very casual Rise quilt along. I have this block done and this pull ready to go. This one is so fun!!

Fall will be all about First Snow! I wrote that pattern to include two color placements options for the same block. For the pattern release, I made the B version with solids.

Julia @redrainbootshandmade sewed the A for me, bless her heart! I've always wanted to make an A version for my house, so that's my plan. It will be a lot like the one I planned for her, though I may add a navy block or two.

We will sew snowflakes from September to November, and hopefully have tops ready to quilt for Christmas time!

In the new year, it will be time for Where Love Is. My original quilt had a grey cross weave background.

Photos by Quilt Photography Co.

This time I'm taking inspiration from @sissybellesews and @twoheartssewing and doing scrappy background for each block. I'm actually adding scrappy FQ cutting instructions to the pattern, I'll email them if you've purchased it already! 

I was only supposed to make 2 test blocks to make sure I liked my plan, but I got a little excited! These are going in a box until January now, promise.

I also want to do  Star Kisses, but I can't decide what kind I want to make- Patriotic, Christmas, Liberty, so many good options. I'll save that one for next summer.

So, in summary, starting times are:
April 1- Chamomile
June- Rise
September- First Snow
January- Where Love Is
May- Star Kisses

Another thing I'm accountable for now is having the paper patterns ready. I tend to put off computer work but I've made great progress on this so far this year and am excited to have them all available in paper form by the time of the quilt along!

So which one would you like to join? What else is on your quilty bucket list? Do you too love quilt alongs?

Happy 3rd Birthday!

It's been 3 years this month since the birth of Woodberry Way! I began by starting this blog, and releasing my first free pattern- Baby Basket. You can get the free Baby Basket pattern here.

This guy is also 3 as it happens :)

I've made this pattern several times now, it's so easy and fast. You can read about my first two versions here. This time I used Summer Blush by Down Grapevine Lane for Riley Blake. It's a gorgeous line! I used Bonnie and Camille Smitten for the binding (a happy match don't you think?) and scraps for the backing.

I quilted it with an automated squiggle stitch on my Husqvarna Viking Opal 650.

Using the cutoffs from the front of the quilt and two leftover white strips, I pieced together this sweet little underside quilt. It was so satisfying to use up those scraps in the very same quilt to make something beautiful, even if I didn't match my whites perfectly (see a few posts back).

To celebrate the birthday, I'm giving away a kit of fabric for everything you need to make this quilt top. Backing and binding not included.  Head over to Instagram to enter!

I'm so grateful to those of you who check in here, share your thoughts about it in the comments, make my patterns, and sew with me! Thank you for being here and loving quilts with me. It is a joy!

Announcing Chamomile Quilt Along!

Welcome to the Spring 2019 Chamomile Quilt Along! Chamomile is a pattern I designed to showcase low volume prints, those happy fabrics on white that always seem to hide cute little surprises.  Each patchwork block is framed by pretty sashing and cornerstones, and every element of the quilt is strip pieced, so it comes together quickly. It's a great pattern for beginners and experienced quilters alike.

You can purchase PDF patterns or preorder a Paper copy. They will ship March 1st!

DATES: April 1 - May 13

QUILT SIZE: 69" x 84" (you can widen the border a little to make it an official Twin size, though mine is used on a Twin bed as is)

SCHEDULE:
March- choose your fabric
Week 1- cutting + 5 blocks (they are easy peasy!)
Week 2- make 10 blocks
Week 3- make 5 blocks + cornerstones
Week 4- make half sashing + assemble 2 rows
Week 5- make half sashing
Week 6- assemble quilt top

This may seem like a strange way to break up the steps, but the sashing takes about as long as the blocks in this quilt, and I myself like to mix things up so I don't get bored! All the sashing in one week would be such a snooze. I'll count any progress and posting for each week as participation though, so proceed as you'd like!

HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
Sign up to get blog updates to receive the weekly report on the sew along, or just use the hashtag #chamomilequilt on Instagram to share your progress. I will be sharing lots of tips and process photos  there. I'll be picking weekly winners from Instagram participants, and sharing photos from all of you!

Fabric Requirements:

Low volume prints- 16 fat quarters or 32 fat eighths for more variety
Sashing- 3/4 yd
Cornerstones- 1/4 yd
Background- 2 1/2 yds
Binding- 5/8 yds
Backing- 5 yds

You can read more about my original Chamomile quilt if you want more details. I used a lot of prints with red, and did some fussy cutting too. I used Moda Bella Ruby Ice for the sashing, Kona Canary for the cornerstones, and Kona Snow for the background.

This time I'm going to do more springy colors, and I'm going to mix it up and do scrappy solid colored cornerstones. That will take a lot more time than strip piecing the cornerstones like the pattern suggests, but I really want to bust some solid scraps. I have no idea how it will look, and I'm not going to mock it up because I want to live dangerously, ha!

If you're looking for low volume fabrics, you can always search low volume fabric bundle on Etsy to find some good options. Starlit Quilts has a nice assortment of low volumes right now, and you can pick your own fat quarters from her. Some people have made this pattern with non-low volumes as well. It makes a cute patchwork quilt any way you do it!     

Here are a few places selling kits or bundles:

Handmade is Heartmade

Olie and Evie

Simply Love Fabrics

Pink Castle Fabrics

The Dancing Bobbin

Stitches n Giggles

Here are some quilts from the #chamomilequilt hashtag that others have made to get you thinking. 

 @thencamejune

 @miss_jen123

 @hellomellydesigns

 @happinessinthemaking

 @thewillowmarket

 @anchoredhomesewing

@chattykatquilts

Now for the prizes!!! The following generous sponsors have provided weekly prizes:

Week 1: a surprise from me :)
Week 2: Crimson Confection bundle
Week 3: 3 free patterns of your choice from Pieced Just Sew
Week 4: 20% off edge to edge longarm quilting from One Sweet Bee Designs
Week 5: $50 credit for longarm quilting from Knot and Thread
Week 6: $75 credit for longarm quilting from Heather Alexander Handmade

Best of all, Emilee Hathaway of Paisley Print and Polka Dots is kindly offering 20% off longarm services on Chamomile quilts sent in before June 1st. Emilee has quilted lots of things for me, including my Sweet Marie, Jolly, and most recently Shiny Brights. She carries lots of really cute backings too, which makes it very convenient. Hooray!!

I am so excited to sew along with you! Let me know if you have any questions in the comments. 

Birthday Bee Block Exchange Quilt

In late 2017 I decided to start a birthday bee block exchange. I'd seen them around Instagram and thought it looked like a really fun way to make friends and create scrappy quilts together, so I put out a call on IG and gathered 11 other ladies, some I "knew" and some I didn't. Natalie @smileyannn the organization queen assigned each person a month based loosely on birthdays, made a Google Doc with addresses, and each person picked a free block pattern and colors. I put together a Pinterest board of good Birthday Bee Quilt Block Options. I love what everyone picked! Each month in 2018, the birthday queen got all sorts of happy mail, it was the best.

For my block I chose to have the ladies help me add to my red and aqua 9 patch scrap quilt. I'd started it a long time ago but was far from achieving the size and scrappiness that I'd envisioned. I wanted it to look like something grandma made, where every fabric is different and you're not sure where it came from, which makes it just so mysteriously delightful. These ladies helped make it perfect!

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

Here are some of the other blocks that I loved making.

Strawberry Quilt Block Pattern

Scrappy Cross Roads Block Tutorial

Fabric requirements:

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

Instructions:

-Blocks are 7 squares by 7 squares

-Squares are 2” finished (2.5” unfinished)

-Assemble based on the picture above

Two people chose the Fussy Cut Economy Block Pattern from Red Pepper Quilts. These were so much fun!

You can see Kristen's finished quilt here. So amazing!

My friend Sue Ellen chose the cute Modern Christmas Tree block. I didn't get a picture of the ones I sent her, but here is her finished quilt. Adorable!

Natalie chose my free hot air balloon pattern Rise. I really want to do that sew along again!

I didn't get pictures of all the blocks I sent out, and I don't think everyone has finished their tops yet, so I might have to share again another time. It was so much fun and I'm really grateful for the sweet ladies who participated with me. The even surprised me with a quilt for my baby boy born in June. It is such a treasure! It's backed in navy minky and still a very coveted quilt around here. 

Though I couldn't participate again this year, it's something I certainly hope to do again and again in the future. So much fun! It helped me to do all the things I love- try new blocks, sew for fun, finish something small and check it off, and send quilty packages!