~ Quilt Border Options ~

 This may not surprise most of you when I say this....I changed the pattern.  Just a tiny bit, a few minor changes.  There was absolutely noting wrong with the pattern other than I wanted it a little larger.  So with the help of EQ8 I started playing with options.  Before showing you my changes I want to give credit the designer of this super cute quilt.  Carol Swift from Just Let Me Quilt designed this Christmas Joy quilt for ThermoWeb.  It's a FREE pattern that you can find by clicking here.

Instead of trying to recreate Carol's applique blocks I used what was already in EQ8.  Here's the first quilt I came up with as I set the blocks into place.  It's still too small but I like the look of the extra hourglass blocks around the outer edge of the quilt.  Making them in three colors instead of 2, then setting a plain block in between.

Now to find a border.  My first thought was to do a simple border with a fun bright binding to finish it off.  I like it but let's see what else I can do with a few clicks of my mouse.

This one was interesting but still doesn't WOW me.

I have to say this one I LOVE but it would require ordering more aqua gingham for the border.  I have some but I already have a plan for it in my next quilt.

At last I think this will be the one!  I might even add a little more applique to the corners. 

Carols quilt finishes at 50" x 58".  My quilt finishes at 72" x 72".  The yellow square on my quilt shows the original blocks without the sashing in Carols quilt.  Another change was every other row of hourglass blocks I turned.  In Carols quilt they are all the same direction.

Now to find the perfect red stripe.  I used a small red stripe for the candy canes in the stocking blocks.  The plan was to use the same red stripe for the border.  However it just didn't look right. So I dug deep into my stash and found this wider stripe...I love it!  I think it's going to be perfect.  What do you think?  The small stripe or the large? OH!  you know.... I could omit the applique in the corners and do a mitered border.  What do you think?  Should I ?  I'll need to think this over as I run some errands this morning.  I can't wait to get home and start adding the borders.

#christmasjoyquilt 

#freequiltpattern

#christmasquilt

#thermoweb

#heatnbondlite

Pin It

~ Get Squared Ruler Review ~

Many quilters love to make quilt blocks larger than needed then square them up.  I'm not a big fan of this technique.  To me it wastes valuable time.  In my mind it's better to take the time to learn why your blocks are not finishing at the correct size. Three things happen before a block is complete. If your blocks are not finishing at the right size then something is wrong in one or all of these three things.  

Thing 1- Cutting fabrics 

Thing 2- Piecing fabrics

Thing 3- Pressing fabrics

For the most part I believe I have mastered all three Things.  As with anything in life there are exceptions and gray areas.  The Hourglass block is the exception to my never square up rule.  I almost always make this unit larger then square it up.  Can I make this unit without squaring it up?  Who knows, I never tried.  Isn't that strange?  Well that's a challenge for another day when time is plentiful.  Right now I need to find a fast and accurate way to square up (24) 8.5" Hourglass blocks.  These are the alternating block in the Christmas Joy quilt, you can read more about it here.

Thirty years of quilting and I don't own an 8.5" square up ruler.  I could use a larger ruler but I've found it's a little tricky with the 45 degree angles.  So I decided to use the freezer paper method.  If you don't know how to do this here's a tutorial by The Crafty quilter.  It's a different block but the idea is the same.  It's also very time consuming.  I'm a woman on a mission with a self imposed deadline and wouldn't you know it I need to run some errands.  While I'm in town I'll make a quick trip to Joann's for a 8.5" square up ruler.

Joann's had about 5 different 8.5" rulers.  The June Tailor Get Squared was the only one with an X.  I'm not a big fan of this brand and I don't fussy cut very often but it has the X needed for perfect squaring up.  And if I'm going to buy a new gadget it's nice when it can do more than one job.  Joann's is also having a sale as always.  Do they ever NOT have coupons or sales?  So this ruler was about $7 with my coupon, that's a pretty good deal I think.  

Since I own a few June Tailor rulers I know the first thing I need to do is add some gripping power.  These rulers are buffed to the highest shine and are slicker than a wet noodle.  So I grab my handy dandy Nexcare tape to fix the slippery backside.

This is also a great time to use a rotating cutting mat.  If you don't have a rotating mat a smaller cutting mat works just just fine.  I bought mine on impulse without thinking things through.  It really is one of the silliest overpriced gadgets I own.  Seriously how hard is it to turn a small mat?  But if you love yours I'm not judging.  I can almost bet someone out there is thinking I could have used the X on this mat.  Yes I could have but the ruler seemed quicker and easier. 

 One down and 20 more blocks to go.  Do I like this ruler?  Yes, it was worth the $7.  I've no buyers remorse.   It saved time and has more than one use. The only real dislike is the slick backside, but it was easy to fix.  Maybe later in the year I'll try my hand at a fussy cutting quilt.  You just never know when and what will inspired your next creative adventure.

#squaringupquiltblocks 

#hourglassquiltblock

#christmasjoyquilt

#christmasquilt

#junetaylorruler

#getsquredruler

#freequiltpattern

Pin It

~ Christmas Joy by Just Let Me Quilt ~

HELLO Happy Quilters!  Friday at last!  How many of you are like me and planning a private quilting retreat in your sewing room?  I bet I'm not the only one with few Christmas sewing projects on the to-do list.  For me these are the best retreats.  I prepared for this 3 day quilting retreat by cooking ahead for Mr. Podunk.  If he doesn't want to eat Taco Soup leftovers all weekend there's frozen pizza and cold cuts in the fridge.   The only thing that could interrupt my pajama quilting retreat is unexpected company.  But to be honest, we are so far out in Podunk no one drops by without calling.  My private podunk retreat officially started late yesterday afternoon with this jolly little Santa designed by Carol over at Just Let Me Quilt.  I chose this project first just because today is National St. Nicholas Day.  Who knew there was such a thing?  You can read more about how to observe National St. Nicholas Day here.

Really it just doesn't get much cuter than this.  The finished quilt is lap or large wall hanging size.  You can get all the details on Carols blog and at the Thermoweb website.  Pssst....it's a FREE quilt pattern.  Go get it even if you don't have time to make it right now.  Save to your computer for next year.  Maybe get a jump start on next Christmas...RIGHT!....LOL!   Who does that?!

Before I could start the Christmas Joy quilt I needed to make my final pull for two other quilts from my bin of over pulled fabrics.  Below is what's left after pulling out exactly what I needed to make the blocks for the other two quilts.  Well all but the black fabric.  Black is not a color I use often so I had to dig deep in the stash cabinets.  Can you see the selvage on the black fabric?  This little scrap is from my treasured discontinued, no longer in business, Lakehouse Drygoods stash.

The other two quilts on my list for the next month are my own designs.  They will eventually be published patterns.  For now I'm focusing on getting them pieced, quilted and ready for the grand children's Christmas visit.  I'll have a little extra time to get them completed because we will be celebrating Christmas in early January on my daughters birthday.  

Both of my designs are Christmas patterns.  One is 100% pieced blocks and the other has just a tiny bit of applique.  I'll be using Lori Holt's Gingerbread Man template.   This template is a few years old, so it might be hard to find.  And if you do find it, it comes in a set of several different Christmas templates.  So when I write the pattern it will come with a similar gingerbread man paper template.

Now that all that is taken care of I can get down to business.

As you can see I cut the center out of each applique piece.  Heat N Bond Lite isn't stiff.  It's actually very light weight.  The windowing makes it even lighter and it takes very little time to do.

The applique placement sheet printed out off center.  I'm sure this was a printer error and not a pattern error.  No worries, I simply folded the page in half, matching the outlines of the block.  Then marked the center of each line.   The same process was repeated on polka dot blue background fabric.

Using a light box to line up those markings on both the paper and the fabric.  Then started adding the applique.

I knew this was going to happen....shadowing.  Shadowing is when the darker fabrics show through the lighter fabrics on top.  My solution for this is simple, just add another applique.

So I traced, cut and layered them the best I could.  It's impossible to get them exactly the same when using scissors to cut your shapes.  The fix is simple.

After removing the paper from the back of all applique pieces, layer the two exact same shapes together on an applique pressing sheet.  Then press with a medium heat iron.  Allow them to cool for a minute or two.  Carefully peel them off the pressing sheet.

Now I can trim these up to match.  Trim carefully, taking off the tiny little pieces extending out past the top fabric.

There you have it!  Trimmed and fused in place.  Most of the shadowing is gone.  There is still a little right under the nose but we'll just call it a mustache!

I'm really happy how Jolly Ole St. Nick turned out.  After making all the applique blocks in this pattern I'll machine stitch around the applique with a tiny blanket stitch and matching thread.  

#JustLetMeQuilt #ChristmasJoyQuilt #christmasquilt #christmasquiltblock #freequiltpattern #thermoweb #heatnbondlite #podunkpretties

Pin It

~ 2 Free Christmas Projects ~

Are you looking for another quick Christmas project to add to your list?  Well I have found 2 super cute and FREE projects perfect for squeezing into your holiday sewing frenzy.

Carol over at Just Let Me Quilt has designed some of the cutest little Christmas applique blocks for a Christmas Joy Sew Along.  The little Snowman block is first block.  All the block instructions have already been posted and let me tell you each one is just as cute as the snowman!   The final layout instructions will be released on December 11, 2019.  So there's plenty of time to join in this sew along.  You can find the FREE printable PDF's on the Just Let Me Quilt blog or on the ThermoWeb blog.

#thermoweb

The second project is a really cute Christmas pillow project called The Merry Little Christmas Stitch Along from Jen Daly Quilts.  This stitch along is already in progress but it's not to late to join in the fun.  Hop over to Jen's website for the free PDF's.  While your grabbing the free instruction sheets make sure you sign up for the email notifications so you don't miss a block.

#merrylittlechristmassal

#merrylittlechristmassal

#thermoweb

#podunkpretties

#dailyinspiration

Pin It

~ Laura Ashley Quilt Finish ~

It's done!  This simple Disappearing Nine patch took way to long to complete and way to long to photograph.  How long have I been working on this?  Since the beginning of July!  You can see the original post here where I discuss the pattern source and fabrics pulled.

The quilting went very smoothly.  I used a couple of different size heart templates, one made from paper and the smaller heart in the green squares was a plastic template.  Both were traced using a water soluble blue quilt marker, then free motion traced using Superior Threads 100 wt. White Micro Quilter Thread.  

It's my go to thread because it's strong, light and backtracks beautifully.  Backtracking is when a quilter stitches over the same stitches 2 or more times.  In the image below the arrows are pointing to feathers with 2 layers of stitches.  No heavy thread build up!  The light weight white thread also blends nicely with all colors of fabric.  No need to buy several colors of thread that you may never use again.  Multiple thread colors in one quilt requires changing the thread spool may times throughout the quilting process.  

As with all my quilts the quilting isn't perfect.  Picking out quilting almost never happens in my studio.  Quilt show quality they are not.  

Even with all it's little flaws I still love the feathers and hearts.

Here's one of the reason I can't seem to get anything done these days.  My baby girl, Khaleesi, she has come a long way and doing well.  I'd make her a quilt of her own but she still has a lot of puppy bad habits.  Maybe in a couple years when everything isn't a chew toy! 

#disappearing9patchqal #thecraftyquilter

Pin It

~ Searching for MOJO ~

  Today I'll start down a very unfamiliar path in search of my quilting mojo.  In my 30+ years of sewing and quilting this is the first time I've needed to push myself to do what I love.  It's the strangest feeling.  Everyday I read quilting blogs, quilting Instagram post and scroll through hours of quilting on Facebook but I just can't seem to find the gumption to get back in the studio.   Maybe a quick quilt finish will help build up my mojo.  Honestly I don't even have enough in me to design my own quick quilt.  Quilt math....UGG...not going to happen.  This lack of enthusiasm has spilled over into my entire life.  It's been quick and easy meals, very little housework and absolutely no yard work.  Sigh....time to put on my girl panties, stop the whining and buck up buttercup!  Baby steps, just do SOMETHING! So I did, I pulled fabric for a new easy project. 

I'll be using these fabrics and joining The Disappearing Nine Patch Quilt Along by Julie over at The Crafty Quilter.   Her tutorials are very well written and easy to follow and best of all I don't need to do any quilt math. 

The two Elm Park by Laura Ashley charms are leftovers from a Dresden project(UFO).  This line of fabric is a couple years old but if you do an online search you can still find some of it out there.  Normally I use a bright white background.  For this quilt I've chosen to use a cream print to match the background in the charm pack.  

The colors of the Essential Dots #8654 match the charms almost perfectly.  

The slight color difference in the green and aqua shouldn't be notice able.  And if it is.....back away from the quilt until it looks better!

Of course what's a quilt if I don't include a little Lakehouse Drygoods fabric from my stash.  The pattern in this quilt along calls for 2 consistent fabrics, one being the background and the other is the center of each nine patch.  This line has hints of green in a few of the fabrics in the charm pack.  So I thought a green fabric would work best as the center for my nine patches.

Now to choose which green?  I love them both.  I could use them both. The green below is one of my all time favorite prints from Lakehouse.  I have it in every color.  So dainty and cute.

Which green would you choose?

#disappearing9patchqal #quiltalong #freequiltpattern #lauraashleyfabric #showmethemoda #pamkittyplayswell #podunkpretties #quiltmojo

Pin It