testing

A while back, I saw Amy's genius Bargain Basement tutorial and knew that I needed to make it. The way that it is constructed is so cool and it was an opportunity to use my not-exactly-cheap-but-totally-worth-it HRT ruler , so this quilt finally happened.   After spending lots of time searching Amy's blog for the block size she makes in her tutorial (because, of course, I didn't want to have to do any math) I decided to just go for it and make the quilt.  So let me just save you sometime: this quilt ends up about 36" square.  Quite a bit smaller than I was hoping for, but perfect for a baby quilt.  Once you wrap your head around the layout of the quilt, it is a pretty easy project and I think the design packs a lot of punch.  I think if I were going to make this quilt again I would make the half rectangle triangles quite a bit bigger and make a larger quilt. Finished size: 36" x 36" This quilt is now listed in my Etsy shop .

I have talked before about how much I love Katarina Roccella's fabrics (I have made quilts with Recollection , Wonderland , and Skopelos ) and I may have said that each of those was my favorite of her collections, but AvantGarde is my new favorite.  It is gorgeous. I had mapped out a plan for the quilt in EQ7 and then when the fabrics arrived I decided to go a completely different direction.  Sometimes you just have to go where the fabric takes you ;) I used a block that is very similar to a Kaleidoscope block (it's called a Maltese Cross block in EQ7, I don't know if there is another name for it) alternated with a block that has HSTs in the corner.  I don't know if it has a name, obviously I am fountain of knowledge here, ha ha! I really love how the bright colors pop against the background fabric.  The collection is beautiful together, but could easily be mixed with other collections.  I wanted to echo the square-ish shapes of the background fabric with the quilting

I have been doing a little sewing lately, but I would like to be doing a lot of sewing.  There are so many fabrics, notions, books, etc. so I am thinking about adding a weekly (monthly, bi-weekly?) feature of things that I would love to add to my own personal stash.  This will include products from my sponsors, but also products out there that I would just really love to have. To be honest, I think this idea kind of evolved from conversations I have had with my husband about what we would do if we won the Powerball.  Clearly I would buy a lot of fabric ;) The #1 print I would love to add to my stash right now is . . . Buck Forest Twilight by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics.  I loved this print in the original colorways and now it is available in navy.  NAVY.  Love it. Speaking of amazing blue fabrics . . . Grid Diamond Navy from Carkai by Carolyn Friedlander.   Can you tell I am really loving blues?  This is my favorite print from Carkai.  Carolyn's prints are such great

Every few weeks for the past couple years, I receive an email from someone asking me help them figure out cutting instructions for the Stacked Squares Quilt in a different size. So finally I took some time this evening and figured out cutting instructions for a few different sizes and posted them here so that they are readily accessible. I originally made this quilt for the Moda Bake Shop, so if you would like directions on piecing the quilt, all of that information can be found on this post . One caveat: these are the minimum number of squares and strips that you would need to make each size.  You might notice that the numbers I give for the lap quilt are lower than when I listed in the tutorial; that is because I made extra blocks to make sure that I had plenty of variety and layout options.  I highly recommend making a few extra blocks than what is listed below, especially for smaller quilts, but you could make it with what is listed in the table. I did not list yardage here, since

When I saw this quilt I knew that I wanted to make a picnic quilt.  Not something big enough for the whole family, but something to take out at the park for me and the kids.  It is the perfect size (57.5" x 57.5").  I apologize in advance, this post is a little verbose.   One great thing about this pattern is that it is simple and quick enough that if I take it to the park and one of my kids spills grape juice on it, I will be sad because the fabrics are gorgeous and I don't want grape juice spilled on them, but I won't be devastated that I something I spent painstaking hours putting together is now covered in grape juice.   This is probably my fourth attempt at a picnic quilt and all of the previous quilts have been repurposed because they were took bulky, not hearty enough, or somehow both, so I knew that I wanted to try a few new things this time around.     I tied this quilt with perle cotton.  I don't know about you, but I have never actually tied a quilt bef

Now that 2015 has wrapped up, the Fat Quarter Shop is doing a run through of their top 10 videos of the year.  And guess what: they are all free and they are all awesome.  Since I have already made a couple of them ( Birchen and Fractal ) I decided to make a Single Wedding Ring  quilt (and one other, stay tuned later this week!). Of course I had to mix things up a little bit and decided to supersize the block to make a baby quilt.  My finished block is 25" and is set on point.  I have seen a few of these giant block quilts floating around and I can see why they are popular.  The quilt was quick and makes this traditional block look a lot more modern. My color inspiration came from the backing fabric, which is from Alexander Henry.  I have had this in my stash for years, I just love all of the bright colors.  The solids on the front are Kona Celestial, Coral, Sunny, and Pomegranate.  The neutral is Essex yarn dyed in flax from Robert Kaufman. For the quilting I did a 1" cross