Quilt by numbers FREE editable, printable

Good Monday Morning quilting friends!  I'm excited to share my newest freebie with you this morning.  This weekend while cutting the pieces for the Vintage Christmas quilt I realized I needed to label the many pieces.   So why not make the labels cute.  Sure I could have quickly written them out by hand but they would have been tossed in the trash.  By making them cute they would always be on hand when I needed them.  It took very little time to work up a cute design.

Well why not share them with my friends!  If you would like to print out your own Quilt by Numbers sheet click RIGHT HERE.  This is a Microsoft Word 10 document.  It should open in all Microsoft Word 10 and newer.  When you open it this is what you'll see.

You can add more numbers and letters or change the font.  Just click inside the little scalloped circle.

I printed mine onto card stock.  You know the cheap stuff from Walmart.  I keep it on hand for making quilt templates.  And because my black ink cartridge was low I changed my font color to green.

After printing out your letters you'll need to cut them apart.  

*TIP....change out the blade on your rotary cutter with an old one so you don't dull your new blade on the paper.

  

After I cut them vertically I skooched the rows back together to make the horizontal cuts.

An empty pin box is their new home. 

 ~ Lea Anne ~

Vintage Christmas Quilt

Since the very first quilt I  made I've always drafted my own patterns.  Occasionally buying magazines or books for inspiration.  Since my quilting time has become so limited, drafting quilt patterns and quilty math is not something I want to waste precious time doing.  Well when I saw this little cutie on Instagram I knew it was a must make. Below is the fabric pull(purchase) for this adorable quilt.

Of course I can't help but see so many different options for this quilt.  My quilters eye is seeing several different changes I could make.  Maybe a snowman or two, a little reindeer hiding in the trees, Christmas packages in the back of one of the trucks or some Christmas tree decor.  Fussy cutting little elf or Santa driving the truck.  The possibilities are endless!

Vintage Christmas was designed my Erica Arndt.  Not a well known quilter but I see a bright quilt future for this amazing Home Schooling mom.  

Below is her Vintage Christmas quilt.  You can find the pattern and fabric requirements on her blog Confessionsofahomeschooler.   Hop on over and give her some quilty love!

~  Lea Anne ~

Applique Love and a quilty tip

Who doesn't love the quick and easy quilt pattern that gives us the instant gratification of a finished project?  I know I do.  I've several go to quilt patterns that will stitch up in an day and be ready for use in within 48 hrs.  But my all time favorite quilts are appliqued.  Just the tiniest of applique gives a quilt an extra kick and WOW factor.   Some say they are out of style and way to much work but I think every quilter needs to make at least one FABULOUS quilt in their lifetime.  Even though it may take a lifetime to make it!...LOL!  

So far my determination for finishing this quilt UFO hasn't diminished.  Stealing a few minutes here and there to make a few more applique pieces.

Many quilters say it's too time consuming to make applique.   True, it does take a bit of time.  So this week I decided to time how long it took to make one orange flower below.  From plain fabric to one finished flower it took 30 minutes.  Now you need understand that is three applique pieces for one flower.  This process could be sped up by using a Go Cutter or fusible applique.  You can even find some kits out there that the applique pieces are already cut for you.  All you have to do is stitch them in place. 

Applique is also very messy.  I cleaned up a little bit in the picture below so you wouldn't know just how messy I really can be.  The picture below was taken to show you my tip of the day.  See the rug under my table? That's a bath mat.  It's one of those really soft one's that has foam inside.  It also has a rubber backing that stops it from sliding across my tile floor.  The fluffiness of this mat keeps my sewing machine foot petal from sliding when in use.  And the number one reason for using this mat is...It keeps my bare feet off the cold tile floors. 

If you're interested in the quilt pattern I'm making you can find  it in the previous blog post.

~ Lea Anne ~

Something to Tweet about

 In 2011 Erin Russek of One Piece at a time shared her My Tweets BOM patterns for free.  During 2011 the monthly blocks were free for the entire year but to finish the quilt quilters needed to purchase the center block at a very reasonable price.  How could I not make this quilt, it was love at first sight.  I quickly gathered my fabrics and began the My Tweets journey.   Well here we are 5 years later and I just finished hand stitching my center block. 

Each block is unique and with a few repeat applique pieces in the blocks.  Erin made my first attempt at hand applique so much easier with her helpful tips along the way.  You can find her applique lessons here.  

 For those of you that have followed me for a long time you know how much I dislike the color purple.  In this quilt it just works, I couldn't change Erin's choice in colors.

But in true Lea Anne style I CAN NOT stick with a pattern.   Block 10 was changed to suit me.  It's top right in the picture below.

Below is Erin's Block 10.   Absolutely adorable.  

Now I need to get started on the borders.  This is half of one side.  Another 5 years?  Lets hope not!

If you'd like to make the My Tweets quilt you can find the pattern here, it's no longer free but it's still a really good price for an applique pattern.   Erin is also working on a current block of the month Chocolate Bon Bons.  Below is the current free block.   You can find out more information on her blog One Piece at a Time.  Take a look around her blog she's giving some sneak peaks about next years BOM, it going to be pieced blocks with some applique, and you never know when she'll throw in some embroidery.

Take a look at this cutie below called Be Happy.  All of the the blocks below are still available for free on her blog here and here for the borders.  All but the center block, you'll need to purchase it here.   

Erin started out as a quilt blogger and quickly caught the eye of the quilt world.  She now works for Mcalls quilting.  I'm sure you've seen some of her patterns in there magazine.  Below is one of my favorite magazine quilt patterns, Miss Kyra.

Hope you found something today to Tweet about or make you do Happy Dance!

~Lea Anne~