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Showing posts from January, 2016

Bargain Basement Baby Quilt

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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 .

Twinkle Twinkle Quilt - AvantGarde Blog Hop

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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 ...

wish list #1

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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 Carka...

Stacked Squares Quilt - Sizing Options

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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 he...

Layers of Charm Picnic Quilt

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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...

giant single wedding ring quilt

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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....