I Spy Quilt with Low Volume Fabrics- free pattern!

I'm so happy to share this free, simple pattern today for a I Spy quilt with low volume fabrics. This is one of my favorite quilts ever!

I wanted to make a low volume quilt, but with a little more zing than just simple squares. Don't get me wrong, I love simple squares, and they work great for this I spy quilt pattern. But for this I wanted an element that brought a bit of order to the craziness of 304 different prints. (I actually do have a few repeats, but you get the point.) I love the touch of the little solid triangles on each corner, and I tried to match them to their low volume squares individually. (By the way, if you're wondering what "low volume" means, there's a definition in this post.) 

Fabric requirements:

(304) 5" low volume squares

(304) 1.75" solid squares

5/8 yd binding fabric

5 yds backing fabric

Start by sewing corner triangles. Mark a diagonal line across a solid 1.75" square and place it in the top right corner of a LV 5" square. Sew along the line, trim away 1/4" from the sewn line, and press out. 

Do this 304 times! I love this kind of repetitive, therapeutic sewing, especially when each square is something fun and new to look at!

Sew the squares into rows of 16 blocks (19 rows total).

Press row seams alternately, sew rows together, and press. Baste, quilt, and bind as you like!

This makes a 72" x 85" finished quilt, a really excellent snuggle size for several people, which is my plan :) 

If you're on the hunt for good low volumes, I found a few places to shop:

Low volume custom charm pack (already cut out!)

Maker Valley has quilt kits that come with 5" strips, perfect to subcut for this project. Holly is the queen of funky, spunky fabrics!

These are sweet and simple low volumes. 

I really like these colorful ones, they've got come cute birdies and boats. 

Not all of these are low volume, but there are some fantastic "I Spy" fabrics in there, already cut!

When I say "I Spy", I just mean anything fun little thing that's fun for kids to spot. Anything from critters and creatures, to foods and places, to cartoon and literary characters. This is a favorite section of mine, with the little Paris scene, the tea party, precious neighborhood, and Peter Pan characters. 

For my quilt, I started with a pack from Maker Valley, added lots of my own fabrics that I've collected over the years, and then my sweet friend @sewsabrina offered to send some when she saw what I was up to. So kind! She said she wanted to help the quilt reach it's full potential, and boy did she ever do that! I died over the fun prints she sent. I sent her some of mine in return, but they weren't nearly as cool to be honest. I do have lots of squares in mine that aren't necessarily "I Spy", they're just a calm low volume print meant to cool down the crazy!

Here's a dog pile of little boys who have loved looking at this quilt since I first started putting blocks on the wall. There are so many fun little details to find! It's a fun kind of memory quilt for me too, as it uses almost every low volume I've ever put in other quilts. 

I had mine quilted by @emileehathaway in this cheerful bubbly design. I don't know the name of it, but I know she got it through intelligentquilting.com. I love the little soft puffy pillows that each circle creates. I knew this would be a heavily used kid quilt, so I had her put minky on the back since they love that. I bound it in Kona Bonsai from my local quilt shop, but they ship too! And they have every Kona, which is awesome. 

"Especially for you" is especially for my boys. It's hard to describe the delight of this quilt in photos and words. It's just so squishy, and interesting to look at up close, and colorful! We all love it so much. 

If you're wondering about QUILT LABELS, I got my personalized woven labels here. The one pictured here is a Tasha Noel label (and looks like those are on sale!), and I also have some of these cute labels. All kept in my Caboodle, which I love so much! I also have this bigger Caboodle, which I keep buttons and other knick knacks in. 

For this post, it was my first time using my new updated version of Electric Quilt 8 to make the mockups. I love it so much! I've used 7 for years, but it wasn't the best when I switched to a Mac. This new version runs like a dream, has amazing color options, and is really easy to use. It makes quilt ideas a reality in such a snap. I'm so happy to have it! Not sponsored in any way. Since I had version 7 before, it only cost $100 to upgrade, and I found the code HELLO2021 which should work for you too. Love this program!

Sew Along Update

Hello! Welcome back to the High Tide Remix quilt along. It has been so fun to see what kinds of colors and prints you guys are putting together in your quilts. So far we have cut out the pieces and made 4 blocks! I'm sure you've found that these blocks are quick and so satisfying to make! 

It's not too late to join, the pattern is still on sale for $5. 

Today's giveaway is for free edge to edge quilting from Barbara at One Sweet Bee Quilts and @lantanalanetx is the winner!! Thank you to all of the sponsors who have donated prizes to make it fun. 

If you're interested, there are a few copycat bundles for sale that have popped up and they are super cute! This "Citrus" one from Simply Love Fabrics:

And "Sherbet" from Stitches n Giggles: 

There are a few other copycat bundles too- a Halloween one, and pink and green!

Also, finally- my book is officially in stores and shipping to you! I have loved getting message from those of you that have received it already. Thank you! You can find it on Etsy, Amazon, Fat Quarter Shop, or quilt shops. The patterns are all fairly simple, but with enough fun for anyone!

This next week we will be adding 8 new blocks to our stack. Have fun and see you next Monday with another prize over on IG (no blog post next week).

Sew Along Announcement- High Tide Remix

It's time you guys. It's time! We are going to sew along together. I am SO excited. We are going to do High Tide Remix, which is just $5 for the rest of the month (PDFs only, my printing situation is still iffy). Go snag the pattern if you don't have it already and take a look. It's super simple, fast, and easy! A perfect way to ease back into sewing. 

Schedule:

Week of-

Aug. 9: Choose fabric! 20 FQs for the standard size is what we'll be doing, but go bigger if you please! Instructions are in the pattern for bigger sizes, you'll need to adjust the schedule accordingly.  

Aug. 16: Cutting and first 4 blocks

Aug. 23: 8 blocks

Aug. 30 8 blocks

Sep. 6: sew top together! 

This is a pretty low time commitment as we're spreading it out over 5 weeks, and it's really such an easy quilt. 

I'm still debating which bundle to use- either this Halloween one, or something with PINK! Pink and orange or pink and green. You can vote on this post if you want to!

I need to make a choice by next week! One thing I learned the first time I made this quilt was that since there's no background, it turns out really dark and saturated if you don't have some low volume prints in there. I started with this bundle:

Once I made all the blocks it was feeling so dark and saturated with yellow, so I made 5 more blocks with lots of white in them, and a couple more cool blues. So this is the 25 FQ 80" square version.

This time I'll just do the 20 FQ version, and I might try a different layout! I've got coloring pages for all the different layouts on this post if you want to go print one and play around.

High Tide Remix Coloring Pages

Now for PRIZES! The prizes are still getting organized, but we already have some really fun ones set up. 

12 Lilliput FQs from April Grace Quilts

Free edge to edge computerized quilting from Barbara at One Sweet Bee Quilts- 

Another free edge to edge computerized quilting from Lori Kinzie!

Don't die of shock- ANOTHER free quilting :) This is the best kind of prize in my opinion. Yay! From Denise Hone at Happy Valley Quilting. 

There will also be some prizes from me. Probably a bundle of all my paper patterns, and some fabric too! 

I'm so excited to be doing this again. Somewhere in the last 18 months of distant learning/quarantine, I got the idea in my head that I don't get to sew until EVERYTHING is done. Dishes, laundry, you name it. So of course, I never get to it. And the house still has messes! Even after the kids started school, I felt like I couldn't catch up. But I decided today to go back to my old train of thought, which is- no matter what the state of the house/world is, I'm going to take a little bit of time each day in my sewing room. It brings me great joy, and that joy spills over into all other areas of my life, and blesses those around me. 

Let me know if you have any questions about this. Make sure to use the hashtag #hightideremixquilt- that is how winners will be chosen, and we want to see what you're making! I think you'll be so happy with how easily this comes together, it's so satisfying! I've had several people tell me how much they enjoyed making this pattern. See you on IG where all the fun happens!

Recent Happenings

It has been so long since I've checked in here! So much has happened at our house- mostly, the boys started school!!! That deserves like 10 more exclamation points. After the world's longest summer (1.5 yrs) they are finally back in-person! We are almost 2 weeks in to a year-round schedule, and it's going really well. The boys are tired, but so happy to be with peers and doing new things. I am slowly digging out of the pit of overwhelm that was homeschooling them (so much admiration for people who choose to do that!) and getting through some house projects and to-dos. I even finished the boys' bedrooms! The summer garden is happy and full of flowers, and I have done a bit of sewing, and fabric purchasing, which I'll share with you :) 

Last week I sent 4 different quilts to longarm, 2 to Knot and Thread and 2 to Paisley, Prints and Polka Dots. I have several lined up to longarm at home, and a couple of these I would have loved to straight-line or squiggle stitch myself on my domestic machine, but I still haven't figured out the spray baste dilemma. I shared on IG that my favorite spray baste changed formulas, and I think it's downright terrible now. It smells strong and awful, it's way too sticky, and causes all sorts of puckers. And I've never pin basted and don't intend to start now, ha! So while I figure that out, I've sent these to the professionals. 

The two on the left are High Tide and Pink Lemonade, both patterns in my shop. The two on the right will be free patterns in a few weeks!

I'm nearly done stitching around all the stars on my Star Kisses quilt, I can't wait to finish that one! I've got a blog post from a few years ago about adding big stitch hand quilting after machine quilting, if you have questions about that process. 

I changed the $5 pattern of the month for August, and this time I did TWO! Summer Blossoms and High Tide Remix PDFs are both almost half off this month, so go grab them! 

Here are some things that I've purchased on Etsy in the last few months. 

Kitty Corn Charm Packs with Moda Bella Ruby Ice. You know I love Urban Chiks lines and I loved the soft colors combined with black in this one. Ruby Ice goes really well with the colors in Kitty Corn, and is the same background in the original First Snow quilt for reference. I drafted up a Charm Pack bat pattern for it which I'm hoping to get to soon! As a side note, this shop is owned by Sterling Quilt Co.'s mom, if you know her. If you don't, you should totally follow her, she's one of my favorites!

Halloween prints! There are some fantastic Halloween lines out this year. I made my bundle even more fun by adding some overtly Halloween prints from this shop that I know my kids will love. Really great selection here! 

I'm itching to make another solids quilts and these Kona Solids (Nectarine, Ice Frappe, Kale, Petal, Lipstick, Wasabi, Gumdrop, Bellini, Delft) seemed summery and fun!

It's so rare for me to buy an entire FQ bundle of one line, but when I do it's usually Bonnie and Camille :) I had to have all of Sunday Stroll! As much as I love navy, I have adored the addition of black to B&C lines, and I thought this one was so classic. 

A lot of people have been messaging me about my quilt pattern book Welcome to Woodberry Way, which was supposed to be out on Jul. 1. Martingale Publishing has experienced some shipping delays from Hong Kong. Amazon says it will be here tomorrow, finally! I don't know if that's true, but I do know that it will be here in the next month for absolutely sure. The books are in the US and being processed! Thank you for your patience on that. I hope it's work the wait, ha! If you really can't wait, the Kindle version is available now!

In September I will be teaching in person at a very exciting event in Utah called Garden of Quilts. It's hosted at a gorgeous facility and I will be teaching two classes. My First Snow class is full, but there are still a couple of spots open in my Big Stitch Pillow class. Come join me, it's going to be so fun! We will be sewing with Lori Holt's new fabric line and learning hand stitching and zipper installation. You'll go home with a super cute pillow cover, and my new book!

I have been doing Zoom trunk shows and Fabric Pull Classes here and there with guilds all over the country. It is always so fun to get an inside look at the sweet friendships within guilds and talk about quilts with quilt lovers. If you are interested in having me speak to your guild, send me an email! Woodberrywayblog@gmail.com. 

Lastly, if you have any questions about products I've shared in stories on IG, you can probably find them in my Amazon Favorites. These are things that I've purchased and loved, from kids activities to home decor. I adore all of them. I have so much fun making our house colorful, comfortable, and fun. 

I think that covers everything as of late. I'm excited about this new chapter of (hopefully) more sewing and sharing here. Thank you for stopping by!

New Patterns! High Tide and Pink Lemonade

I'm thrilled to announce 3 new patterns today, as well as a sale! 25% off with the code SPRING!

Let's start with my favorite- 

High Tide Remix! This pattern was an afterthought while finishing the High Tide pattern. I doubled the block size, which fit perfectly from a fat quarter, and omitted the background and accent fabrics, so it's print on print fun with big impact. The pattern includes different layout options, which have printable coloring pages below! I love the simplicity of this one, as well as the satisfaction of using fat quarters only. And the layout options make it super fun! I can't wait to try version E or F in a Halloween color way. 

This one was quilted by Sterling Quilt Co. in 60s Mod Butterfly.

We discovered that even the littler guys can be quilt holders in this spot. Win!

Planning Blocks

This was my original fabric pull. After I made all the blocks I decided I wanted more white and blue in it, so I added another row. The pattern tells how many FQs you need for different sizes. 

A

B (the seams won't all nest on this one, so if that bugs you, pick another!)

C

D

E

F

G

Next up is High Tide, which is the block I designed first. I was so pleased with the efficient way the pieces cut out of a 10" sure- so satisfying! This one uses background (white) and accent corners (I used navy). I actually haven't finished my sample of this one, which is super sleazy, but that's where I'm at these days. It has been tested and it's good to go!

The last pattern has been out for a while, but I've failed to announce it here. Pink Lemonade first appeared in Love Patchwork and Quilting, and is now available in my shop. The fun part about this one is that Fabric Bubb and I chose kits for it! Here is the original color way that was in the magazine:

Image via Love Patchwork and Quilting, quilted by The House of Elle by Lindsay in Rainbow Hearts.

My sample quilt is actually still stuck in the UK. Their offices closed for Covid and the shutdowns there continue to affect when they are able to ship quilts home, so I don't have any other photos of mine to show you, but I did start another one in the Garden Terrace color way from Fabric Bubb!

I used the sticker labels from the kits to keep this all organized. 

Here's the last color way we chose for the kits. Pure Sunshine!

Lastly I just wanted to express a big thank you collectively for the kind messages I receive from you. These past few weeks several of you have gone out of your way to leave kind notes on orders, DMs, and emails that are supportive, friendly, and just so kind. At a phase of life that still often feels heavy and overwhelming, your words are powerful and give me such a boost. I so appreciate you taking the time to do that. You are an example to me! 

Happy weekend and don't forget about the SPRING sale! 

Heart Block Tutorial and a NEW pattern!

It has been ages since I released a new pattern but the day is finally here! Simply Charming, a precut friendly quilt, is now live in my shop. 

Image via Love Patchwork & Quilting

This one is made with 3 Charm Packs or a Layer Cake, and coordinating solids. I used 3 Corey Yoder (Moda) Charm Packs, and Kona solids. The solids are listed on the back of the pattern, but I'll share them here too: Gumdrop, Carnation, Shell, Salmon, Peach, Melon, Lemon, Cactus, Peapod, Aruba, and Candy Green.

This one was beautifully quilted by Sterling Quilt Co. Miss Sterling is amazing! I love her spunky spirit and beautiful quilting work. The quilt was featured on the cover of Love Patchwork & Quilting last fall. They named the pattern and I decided to keep it to avoid confusion. Since it's now out of print, I can publish my own copy of the pattern as the designer. You can check out more posts about this quilt on IG at #simplycharmingquiltww. 

I actually have several more patterns in various stages of production that I have somehow found the motivation to finish! So stay tuned for several more over the next few months. I'm really excited about it!

In other news, I've got a quick Valentine project for you. Some of you may have been around on IG with me since my early quilting days when I made a heart mini for my family in 2014. My next door neighbor friend expressed interest in having a mini quilt just like it. She recently experienced a loss and I try to jump at any chance to make her heart happy! Plus is doesn't take a lot of convincing to talk me into a mini quilt anyway:) So she picked some fabrics and I sewed up this top for her this week. I have yet to quilt it and finish, but so many of you are asking for a reader friendly version of this tutorial. 

For a detailed process video on this block, check out my Scrappy Heart highlight on IG.

Fabric requirements-

(6) light 3" squares

(6) dark 3" squares

(56) light 2.5" squares

(30) dark 2.5" squares

For "light" prints I used low volumes (on white) and very pale pinks. For the "dark" prints I used saturated reds and pinks. 

Sewing Instructions-

Step 1: Make HSTs (half square triangles) using the light and dark 3" squares. Trim to 2.5" square. You should end up with 12 HSTs that are half light/half dark. See videos if you need more detail on this.  

Step 2: Lay out 2.5" squares into following rows in a 10 by 10 grid. Sew into 10 rows. 

    Row 1- 10 light

    Row 2- 10 light

    Row 3- 2 light, 4 dark, and 4 HST

    Row 4- 2 light, and 8 dark

    Row 5- 2 light, and 8 dark

    Row 6- 2 light, 6 dark, and 2 HST

    Row 7- 4 light, 4 dark, and 2 HST

    Row 8- 6 light, 2 dark, and 2 HST

    Row 9- 8 light, 2 HST

    Row 10- 10 light

Step 3: Press rows alternate directions. Sew rows together and press. 

I embroidered the names of all my family members inside the heart and the kids love getting it out every year and finding their names. I hope you enjoy this little project and have a wonderful Valentine week next week! I'm excited to do heart pizzas with the kids and give them a little gift that I'll share on IG :) 

Don't for get to check out my new pattern and stay tuned for more, and as always, thank you so much for being here!

P. S. I'll share more pictures of my quilt when I get it back from the magazine company! They are stuck in a major lock down in the UK and I'm not sure when I'll get it back, but I'll be sure to share more when I do. The backing on this one is super cute.