~ Making a little Joy ~

With all the black I've been working with lately this little pillow was just what I needed to pull it all together. This simple and easy pillow added a big punch of color and I promise it will only take a couple of hours of your time.  

The first thing to do was find the perfect script, print it and mark the centering lines.

Well that's what I had to do.

I made things a little easier for you!  Click here for the free printable.  It's already reversed for raw edge applique and the centering marks are in place.  OH JOY!

Tape your Joy template on a light box or window. Since mine wasn't reversed it had to be flipped over.  You will NOT need to do this.

Heat and Bond Lite is my favorite fusible webbing.  I've used many different brands and find this one works best for me.  Any brand will work as long as it's Fusible..  Trace the image to the smooth paper side of the Heat and Bond Lite.

Roughly cut out the traced image and fuse it to the fabric using the instructions from the fusible webbing.  TIP:  Since this text is so swirly with some tight inner corners a good pair of scissors is a good idea but not necessary.  Kay Buckley scissors is my favorite.  They cut all the way to the tip, stay sharp, and do not need sharpening.  I use them everyday and they are still as sharp as the day I purchased them over a year ago.  I used all three pair to cut out this applique.  But I think the aqua handles pair are the most versatile of the three.  They are the Goldilocks scissors, not to big, not to small, perfect for longer cuts but small enough to fit in the tight spaces.

For the little loopy on the "J"  I used a small razor knife(circled in blue).  This was purchased at Joann's years ago.  I've looked for them several times since with no luck.  I found something similar on Amazon, if your interested click here.   Of course you could leave the little loopy area as is without trimming.

Next you'll need (1) 15" x 15" White Background fabric.  Fold in half twice and press a crease.  Line up the creases with the black lines on the printout.  

Carefully lay your JOY onto the image.  

TIP:  Moving this to the ironing table without shifting is tricky.  Slide your long 6" x 24" ruler under the white fabric.  Once it's safely on the ironing table give her a little press using the instructions from your fusible webbing.

Layer the with (1) 16" x 16" White fabric, then a layer of batting about 17" x 17".  TIP: Quilt Basting Spray was used to hold all the layers together, but pins will work also.

I stitched 4 lines on the front of the pillow to give it a little interest.  2 lines at the bottom and another two lines at the top using the same measurements pictured below. Then trim your pillow front to 14.5" x 14.5".

To finish off the pillow I used an envelope closure on the back and bound the edges as I would a quilt.   If you need help with an envelope closure back and binding you can click here for a great tutorial on both.  Two printable charts are provided for making an envelope closure and binding on several different sized pillows.

Here's my little Joy pillow nestled all snug between two trees on a blanket of snow.  She definitely added a little joy to the spare bedroom. The quilt on the bed is called Snow on the Farm.  The pattern is available in PDF and Mailed in my Etsy shop.  It's also available in my Craftsy shop as a PDF.

I've had a couple inquires about the Tree pillows.  They are blocks from my Christmas Memories Truck quilt pattern.  I just added a 2" frame around the block to make them larger.  All the items you see below are patterns in both my Etsy and Craftsy shops.  Links to both shops are at the top of the blog.

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~ Snow on the Farm quilt is Finished! ~

It's not very often that one of my own quilts makes me squeal.  Let me tell you this whole ensemble has me just giddy and dancing a jig!  My new quilt pattern Snow on the Farm will be my the last of my black and white fetish for awhile.  But I must say I think I saved the best for last.  This simple design with the popping RED....SQUEAL!!   Not only did I make the quilt but all the pillows, red shams, headboard, pictures on the wall and the greenery is fresh from the yard.

This pattern was so quick and easy because of the strip piecing.  The straight line quilting makes this quilt look like it is made from a bunch of tiny squares but trust me it is not.  I don't have that kind of patience.   The straight lines was just an easy way to quilt it without taking away from the snowflakes. 

 Maybe another one done in Red and White is just what I need to finish off this years list of quilts.  So classic and fresh! Love it!

The four huge snowflakes come together to make a nice size lap quilt measuring 71" x 71".  It would be easy to enlarge this a quilt and keep the simple design just by adding a solid border or two.

The pattern is available in both my Etsy and Craftsy shops.  Links to the shops are at the top of this page.    I no longer sell patterns.

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~ Harvest Star Tutorial ~

Hey Quilty Friends!  Here in Indiana harvest time is rolling to a close.  Most of the crops have been harvested and the fields are bare.  However the trees are in full color.  Autumn came about 2 weeks late this year due to the crazy spring/winter weather.  It's been an very wet year so the grass is still green and all the rain has made the leaves on the trees extra bright.  To bring Autumn to a close here on the blog I thought it would be nice to share a cute little star tutorial.  Harvest Star is tiny, measuring 6.5".

It was was a test block for my Farmhouse Pumpkins quilt pattern.  The block turned out great and I really like it but I thought the colors would take away from what I originally envisioned for this quilt.

My quilty mind thinks this star block would look even cuter with orange pumpkins in the Farmhouse Pumpkins pattern.  The pattern for the quilt can be found in my Etsy and Craftsy shops.  Links are at the top of the blog.

All arrows show pressing directions

Assemble (2) 1" x 2.5" Brown with (1) 2.5" x 2.5" Orange. Press.  Assemble (2) 1" x 3" to the top and bottom.  Press.

Draw a line from corner to corner on all (4) 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" Teal.  Layer (2) Teal squares in opposite corners of (1) 4.25" x 4.25" White.  Stitch 1/4" away on both sides of the drawn line.

Cut on the drawn line.  Press.

Assemble (1) 2 3/8" x 2 3/8" Teal with each unit.  Stitch 1/4" away on both sides of the drawn line.  Cut on the drawn line.  I forgot to put pressing arrows on the this picture....so PRESS TOWARDS THE TEAL.  Then trim away the wings.  

Assemble the block in rows using (4) 2" x 2" White.

If you make these little blocks I'd love to see them!  On social media use #harveststarquiltblock  or you can send an email podunkpretties@gmail.com.

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~ My Good Fortune ~

        Well I'd love to tell you I won the recent massive lottery, or that a huge bag of money fell out of the sky into my backyard.  But my good fortune has nothing to do with daydreams of sudden wealth.

 Now that I have your attention lets talk about a new mystery quilt along called Good Fortune. 

The hostess is Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville.  Most of my followers know Bonnie but for those of you that are new to the quilting world let me tell you a little about her.  Bonnie a super talented quilt designer that breaks all the rules.  She rarely drops fabric manufacturer names, she doesn't lead you astray on new gimmicky notions or products.  She will however help you in your quest to make beautiful quilts from whatever fabric you have on hand.  Her most famous books that put her on the map with quilters all over the world were about cutting up men's shirts purchased at thrifts shops....and yes...making quilts out of them!  She also has developed a scrap saving system that makes scrap quilting easy(if you apply it).  Click here and Here to read about the best scrap system ever.

Bonnie's tutorial for cutting fabrics correctly change my quilty life, check it out here.  

After you catch the Bonnie Bug you also might want to look at her free patterns page here.  Make sure you go all the way to the bottom for clues to past mystery quilts still available for free.  It will give you an idea of how this years mystery will play out and weather or not you'd like to join the fun.

Back to the Mystery quilt along.  It's a yearly event, I say event because thousands of quilters make these quilts every year.  Quilt shops put together bundles of fabric for the mystery.  And Lowe's hardware has been known to get kinda mad at quilters taking too many paint cards.  Bonnie finds paint cards to match the colors she used in the quilt.  She even tells you what numbers are on the cards.    Quiltville's Open Studio on Facebook is where all the Bonnie stalkers hang out, waiting patiently all year for the next set of clues.  Joining the group is a must, there's so much going on all year long. 

  A couple of years ago I played along with the mystery.  It took a year or more for me to finish.  Not because it was a hard quilt to make, but because that's how I roll!  My finished En Provence Mystery quilt can be seen here.  

The introduction for this year quilt, Good Fortune, was released on Halloween.  The colors are a little more in my color pallet than in past years.   The one mystery I did make I changed the colors.

And by the looks of these oranges there may be a change this year also.  Two of my latest quilts have had orange in them.  I was looking forward to putting those orange fabrics back on the shelf.

 I'm starting to feel like my home is wrapped in orange. 

I can do this, just one more quilt with orange.  So I started pulling fabric from the yardage and fat quarters.  Plenty of orange, red and green. But lacking blues and loving the pinks with the reds.

 Since pulling from fat quarters and yardage didn't produce the needed colors I decided to pull out the scraps.  Now let me say I love Bonnie's scrap saver system.  It looks amazing and I'm sure it works well.  In order for it work you must apply it to your scraps....I do not.  Why?   Phobia #158...cutting scraps then needing a different size.   Yes that's right, I'm afraid to cut fabrics that rarely see the light of day.  Well they aired out really well a couple of days ago.  The pictures are blurry but who needs to see a mess clearly.

By 7 AM Thursday

 9 AM Thursday total chaos. The feeling came over me to throw all of my blue scraps in the trash.  What a mess! So I quickly put them all back in the scrap bins. 

9 AM Friday- all was back to normal, new fabric was ordered to make up for my lack of colors in larger more uniform pieces.  The scrap bins are a job for another day.

Are you making the Good Fortune Mystery quilt? Are you changing the colors? 

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~ Save the Bees ~ Block 4 ~ GIVEAWAY ~

Hello Sweet Friends!  Today I'm BUZZING with excitement, I can't wait to share my cute Block 4 of the FREE Save the Bees BOM by Jacquelynne Steves.  If this is the first you've heard of this BOM you can find all the details over at Jacquelynne's blog by CLICKING HERE.

The block for this month is the adorable bumble bee block in the bottom right corner of the image above.  I've been using the blocks to make small wall hangings for my mini quilts wall using only scraps from my Lakehouse Drygoods scrap bin.  Well I'm still working from those scraps but I'm adding other fabrics also.  With Jacquelynne's BOM's she always has several options for making the blocks.  Embroidery, applique or a plain block to showcase your favorite fabric.   She also encourages creativity and making the quilt your own. With each block I've tried to do something a little different.  Fussy cutting, different applique method or color placements.

So I wanted to keep the creativity going with Block 4.   Meet Baby Buzzy!

This sweet little wall hanging uses the directions from the pattern for a plain fabric block.  Then I added Baby Buzzy.  The idea came from these yellow and black 1" x 3" scraps.   

Card stock was used for my templates and a light box to trace my shapes.  A little bit of basting spray on the back of the template after is was cut held it in place while I cut the fabric.

The basting spray held my template in place while cutting and folding over the edges with starch and and iron.

The light box was used again to trace the face onto Buzzy.  He was so cute I had to make 2!  A little tip for turned edge applique:  Use applique basting glue or washable school glue to hold the pieces together before adding them to the background fabric.  I used washable school glue, just a few tiny drops and then I held them in place for about 20 seconds.  No iron is needed, unless you don't want to wait 20 seconds.

As with my previous blocks in this BOM gray thread and a small machine blanket stitch was used to hold the applique in place.  The antenna, face and flight lines were also machine stitches.

These two little Bug-gers look like they are having a good time collecting honey in Lakehouse Garden.

I'm sure you noticed the print out for Buzzy in the pictures above.   It's my FREE gift to you for visiting and following along in the fun.  Download and print it by clicking here. 

Don't forget to share your Save the Bees blocks once they are finished.  You can do that in the SewQuilty Facebook Group.  

If your posting on your own Facebook feed or other social media sites, Make sure to use #SaveTheBeesQuilt and #SaveTheBeesBOM.

This months Giveaway is sponsored by Olfa.  I only use Olfa rotary cutters. The first one I bought is still in use today even though I own 6.  What can I say...I love the new colors!  In the last year they have came out with new cutting mat colors.....SO CUTE!  Hop on over to Olfa  to view all their awesome products.   The image below shows what you COULD win.  Prizes may vary for each winner.  

Make sure you visit all the blogs participating in this blog hop for more chances to win.  

The Crafty Quilter

Podunk Pretties  

The Quilting Nook

The Sewing Loft

Flamingo Toes

Kathy's Quilts

Freemotion by the River

A Quilting Life

The rules for the giveaway are simple

1. One prize per person per month.

2.  If you are the winner you will have 72 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

3. Enter by the end of the day Sunday, November 11, 2018.

4. A winner will be chosen at Random.

5. All you need to is click the little blue button below at the bottom of this post.  It looks like this but smaller. Add your name and email address, leave all other fields blank. Then click submit.

Leaving a comment in the comments section of this post will not enter you in the giveaway but you can still comment!

 I use this method for the contest so I have a way to contact everyone who enters.  In the past winners could not be contacted.  This ensures you're entered and that your email is not out there for everyone to see.  Only I can see the email address.  I do not share them with anyone or use them for anything other than to contact you if you win.

Thank you for stopping by my little spot in Podunk....Good Luck!

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