Adding a little WOW

Designing quilts is a passion of mine.  Sometimes the ideas flow in in like rain and I can't get them on paper fast enough.  Watching a quilt take shape is always a surprise.

The quilt design is never set in stone.   The original design is always subject to change.  The quilty wheels in my head are always in examination mode.

By my drawn pattern this quilt would be ready to quilt...but something could be done to take the pattern over the top a bit.  

Oh yes, you all know me well, we gotta add just a tad bit of applique.  Now it feels complete with a little WOW.   For now the bias strip is just pinned in place so I can figure out the placement.  Next I'll glue it in place with Roxanne's basting glue so I can stitch it in place.

The blue fabric is bias strips of fabric cut at 2.5 inches, then sewing in half.  If you youtube bias applique strips you'll find tons of videos.  Most videos call for bias pressing bars.  They don't make pressing bars wide enough for this project.  I  made mine by eyeballing pressing the seam to the back.  You can see my seam at the bottom of the picture above.  No fancy tools needed, just a little patience and time.

~ Lea Anne ~

Seeing Stars

We've had a couple of rainy days here in Podunk.  A much needed rain.  My garden is loving every drop.  And I loved every drop also.  It gave ME some much needed quality time in my Studio.   This quilt was inspired by a much more complicated design that I'll share when the quilt top is complete.  My test block below stitched up super quick using raw edge fusible applique.

As I was cutting the applique I noticed the salvage, the only words "MADE IN THE USA".  Perfect for a patriotic quilt pattern!  I love that almost all the fabric used in this quilt is American made.  Yes I'm feeling a little Betsy Ross patriotic right now.

The border will be made using several different reds.  For my thrifty quilters out there, you might recognize the Walmart fabrics.  No fabric snobbery in Podunk.

30 blocks completed, and my quilty soul is feeling recharged.  Now it's back to the garden.

Little by Little

Happy Monday Morning!  It's another beautiful spring day here in Podunk.  I love these crisp chilly mornings when the windows have been left open the night before.  The smell of sweet honeysuckle vines goes perfectly with my morning cup of coffee while snuggling on the couch with my favorite quilt.  Not even the morning news programs can shake that feeling of sweet serenity.

It's gonna be another busy day of working in the gardens so these pretties on my design wall will just have to wait.  Can you tell I love dresden quilts?  One of these days I'll count just how many I've made over the years.  Each one uniquely different.  The dresden block is such a versatile and fun pattern that works well with my love of flowers and gardening.  The bright dresdens above are part of a free block of the month by Quilt Doodle designs.<---click there for more info.    Every month a new applique for the center is released.  It's not to late to join in but you'll need to purchase the first four months at a very reasonable price.  The rest of the year is free as long as you get them the month they are released.  Cindy's pattern are very well written and easy to follow.  And for the beginner she has added some in depth online tutorials on her blog.  She much more talented than I when it comes to curved piecing, so I had to make a slight change in my version of her pattern.  If you would like to see my alteration of appliqueing the center using her template click here.

The pastel dresden blocks are from a pattern called Sugar ~n~ Spice.  You can read more about the pattern and my alterations to this pattern by clicking here.

The little yo-yo's were time consuming but add a stunning effect to the dresdens.

Hopefully there will be some time at the end of each day this week to work on both of these projects.  Plus there's a new patriotic quilt I designed that I'd like to make a test block.  If I'm going to get all this accomplished I better get moving.  Happy Stitching, See you in a few days!

Oh I almost forgot to mention Design Wall Monday Linky party has a new host.  You can find the new party hosted by Judy Hansen over at Smallquiltsanddollquilts, hop on over link up or just be inspired.

~ Lea Anne ~

Free Podunk Posy Pillow pattern from Becky and Dean

Nothing makes my little ole heart sing like pictures in my inbox of projects made using my tutorials and patterns.  It's makes all the hours spent designing and writing them worth the effort.  About a week ago Becky contacted me sharing her sweet pillows made with my Podunk Posy Tutorial.  

I knew immediately I NEEDED to make one.  They are right up my alley in cuteness and springy decor.  

Well it's my block but not my idea and not my photos so I had to ask for permission to share her and her husbands creations....yes I said her HUSBAND.  Dean you are every quilters dream husband.  Your little pillow in the front looks fabulous!

Becky graciously supplied her cutting measurements with me.  Thank you Becky it saved me from more quilty math...not my favorite thing to do.  So below is her math.  You can use this to make a few pillows of your own.  First you'll need the directions for my Podunk Posy block that can be found by clicking HERE.  Make 2 of these blocks.

 After the blocks are made, add your sides, then the top and bottom borders.  The block should finish at 17 inches square.

Here's the back of one of  Becky's finished pillow cases.  

 This is how a I made my back panes using the measurements provided.  (2) 17 x 13 backing fabrics.  I pressed a double fold on one side of each of the 17" panels.  Then used my quarter inch foot to stitch the hem.

Here's where my pattern differs a bit from Becky's.  I made my Posy Pillow top and quilted it.  Becky did not.  Her instructions suggest you do a french seam.  You can find directions for making a french seam by clicking here.  Remember use Becky's measurements, not the measurements in the link provided.

Ok, I chose to quilt my pillow top before adding the back panels.  Then I layered on my pieces wrong sides together as shown in the next two pictures.

Secure them in place with a few pins all the way around.

Stitch about 1/8 of an inch away from the edge all the way around, securing the two pieces.

Next I used (2) 2.5 X WOF strips to add a binding just like you would if you were making a quilt.  

You won't need to look to hard to see my pillow top flaw.  Those stand out squares are what happens when you miss cut your fat quarter and use another one.  Same brand, same line of fabric but it must have been a different dye lot.   I couldn't see the color difference at 11 pm.  But it shined like the north star at 7 am then next day.  Oh well I decided to just continue on like nothing was wrong.  So here's another tip.... had I not made an error in cutting, the pillow top could have been made with one fat quarter for the background fabric.  Start cutting your largest pieces first.  I cut the borders first then all the pieces for the Podunk Posy blocks, starting with the larges pieces first.  

Now if I get tired of seeing this as a pillow the pillow form can be removed and it can be hung on the wall as a mini quilt.  First I think I'm gonna wash it, maybe those two patches will fade.  

Thanks again Becky and Dean!  You've made this spring so much more special!

To everyone else, here's a reminder.  If you make something using one of my tutorials or patterns please let me know and share your pictures with me via email.  It lets me know that all my time and effort making patterns is worth it.   Since I don't sell patterns the only thing that makes it worth my time and effort is your sharing.  I won't share any pictures here on my blog without your permission.  So if your bashful for whatever reason...you're safe with me.   But you shouldn't be bashful...I mean really...just look at my big error in the picture above.  To error is human.    

~Lea Anne ~

Getting my PKM on

After spending day after day gardening and playing in the mud I needed a little time out.  There's so may projects I could work on...like the one on my design wall.  And there's always the quilt on the frame that you can see here.  Nope...I need a cute little project for a quick finish.

It's not perfect, but it was the perfect little project to use up a few one inch scrap fabric strings.  This will find a home sitting on top of my quilting machine.  Perfect for holding my self threading needle for burying threads, and my different size machine needles.   I feel so much better know that I got my PKM fix.  FYI.....  PKM = Pam Kitty Morning fabric.  

Back to the garden...this weeks plan is a new compost over flow bin and a quick compost bin.

~ Lea Anne ~