Congratulations! The winner of the 3 Lori Holt autographed books is Christina Johnson! She shared this giveaway with Janet Goins and Janet will win one of Lori Holt’s book of her choice!
Thank you everyone to participating in the giveaway!!!! To purchase
Three signed Quilting Books by the author Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet. The books include Farm Girl Vintage, Quilty Fun and Great Granny Squared. Each of one of these books has Lori Holt’s signature in it!!
Red Wire Basket and Happy Colors Fabric Bundle not part of the giveaway but using to make the picture look great!!! If u would like a Happy Colors 18, 24 or 36 Fat Quarter Bundle it is on sale for $29.85, $39.84 or $59.76 click here to purchase.
Can’t wait to share these 3 autographed books with the lucky winner. I have more of Lori Holt’s signed books to giveaway too … I just have to keep doing these fun giveaways!!! Giveaway ends Wednesday, June 29, 2016 at midnight mountain standard time.
To enter the giveaway, comment below what you favorite summer time activity is. You can also join in on the fun over at Instagram or Facebook.
The giveaway closes at midnight MST. I want everyone to be a winner though!!!! 👏
So I am offering these HAPPY COLORS 18, 24 or 36 fat quarter bundles at the following prices:
$29.95 for 18 HAPPY COLORS Fat Quarters ($1.66 each fat quarter)$39.84 for 24 HAPPY COLORS Fat Quarters ($1.66 each fat quarter)
$59.76 for 36 HAPPY COLORS Fat Quarters ($1.66 each fat quarter)
I have lots of bundles and won’t sell out! . USPS Priority Flat Rate Shipping is $8.95. (I’m even giving a discount on the shipping because my cost is $11.95) Each bundle is unique but has some of Lori Holt’s fat quarters in it along with bright HAPPY COLORS in small print of gingham, plaid, polka dots, floral, marble, geometric, vintage, etc. I custom make each bundle so if you have a request for extra red, orange, blue, etc… Or need more gingham, polka dot, etc… Just let me know. I’ve been studying these HAPPY COLORS for a while now and think I have a good feel for it! You will even get a free gift in your package because Happy Mail isn’t Stitches Quilting Happy Mail if there isn’t a free Quilty item included.
Tomorrow I’ll declare the winner of the books. If you randomly happen to win the books then of course there would be no cost for shipping with a purchase of HAPPY COLORS Fat Quarter Bundle.
If you live outside the US, let me know where you live and I will get you the shipping cost. This week I have shipped these Happy Colors to Germany, Hungary and Brazil. Pretty fun eh? Shipping seems to be about $30 as long as it is under 4 pounds.
👩❤️👩 Let’s make lots of bright happy colored quilts to spread around the world with LOVE!
Lots of Quilty Love and Best Wishes for Happy Stitches!
Lori Holt’s Recommended Notions of Bee in My Bonnet
Are you working on a Lori Holt block, project or quilt? Make life easier by understanding the notions she recommends. This list is Lori Holt’s recommended notions that she uses to create the bright happy items we all admire – I’ve included videos, images and descriptions with links to help you! Any of these notions can be purchased on sale at Stitches Quilting just tap the picture or blue header.
Aurifil Thread White Large Spool Sale $9.25 instead of $12.99 100% cotton 50 weight Popular with quilters and sewists for use in your domestic machine. Thin fine strong quality Aurifil thread used on your domestic sewing machines. Stitches smoothly like butter from your machine and into your fabric. The Aurifil Thread is hardly felt in the seam giving a flat finished look. Aurifil Thread may cost a bit more but your sewing machine is not something you need to replace. With Aurifil Thread you will have less lint and don’t have to clean your sewing machine as much. This large White Aurifil Thread spool with 1422 yards of thread is perfect to purchase to stitch together most items. Designer Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet recommends this thread and uses it herself to piece all of her quilts together.
Cute Cuts Cutting Mats designed by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet has designed this 24 x 36 inch Cutting Mat, perfect for quilting and general use. Double sided cutting mat with blue on one side and green on the other. These high quality cuttings mats are triple layer, self healing, with grids on both sides for a longer life. Perfect happy colors to adorn your cutting needs. STCM-4100
Cute Cuts Cutting Mats designed by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet has designed this 18 x 24 inch Cutting Mat, perfect for quilting and general use. Double sided cutting mat with red on one side and green on the other. These high quality cuttings mats are triple layer, self healing, with grids on both sides for a longer life. Perfect happy colors to adorn your cutting needs. STCM-4099
Cute Cuts Cutting Mats designed by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet has designed this 12 x 18 inch Cutting Mat, perfect for quilting and general use. Double sided cutting mat with green on one side and blue on the other. These cuttings mats are triple layer, self healing, with grids on both sides for a longer life. Perfect happy colors to adorn your cutting needs. STCM-4098
18 x 18 inch design board
Design Boards by Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet Used as a quilting tool for placement for cutting and sewing your blocks. Two sizes available 10 x 10 inches or 18 x 18 inches in a variety of colors. Size 10 x 10 inches available in the colors of aqua, green and red. Size 18 x 18 inches available in the colors of blue yellow and red. Lay out blocks to piece so they don’t move. Has 6 of them stack on top of each other to set aside to sew for later.
Circle Ruler Kit Sale $20.94 instead of $34.90
K2045-MULTI – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together” Kit. Lots of Dots Circle Rulers. Both the Quilt shown and the rulers were designed specifically for Riley Blake Designs by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet. Fabric featured on cover is from Polka Dot Stitches also by Lori Holt. Circle Rulers included: 10″, 7″, 5″, and 2.5″ sizes. Free Lots of Dots Quilt Pattern download with purchase.
Lori Holt uses her circle rulers to cut fabric or use as template to mark circles on fabric. When Lori uses the circles as a template, she marks the fabric using a mechanical pencil. Then stitches pellon light weight interfacing stiching along her marked line. Lori cuts the center of the interfacing side and turns the circle inside out and presses. Perfect ruler set to use with 10″ and 5″ precut fabric stackers
Demonstrates how to use circle rulers with pellon interfacing and crochet hook
Sew in Interfacing Pellon Sale $2.59 instead of $2.80 Lightweight and easy sew
sew, easy trim, snip on the pellon side with x, then turn right side out
Video demonstration in the Hexie Half Rulers
crochet hook to poke out corners. press it and then applique either hand applique or machine it with a small zig zag stitch. 1 inch width and 1.5 for length. Needle down position. Start with back stitching. Half way into shape and background zig zagged around. N010-PLS36
PLS36-PACKAGED SEW-IN 15″x3 yards
Lightweight and easy sew in interfacting
Thimble Rulers With 10″ and 5″ Sizes with Retail Packaging Sale $16.95 instead of $19.95 STRULER-4195 Thimble Rulers With 10″ and 5″ Sizes with Retail Packaging. Also included is a link to download the free quilt pattern pictured on the package header. Rulers are designed by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet. Created for use with 10″ and 5″ precuts. Rulers are made from clear acrylic. STRULER-4195 Package includes: 1- 10″ Ruler & 1- 5″ Ruler
Use with 10 inch square and 5 inch square precut fabric stackers
free pattern jump ropes quilt
Use 10 inch fabric stacker squares and 5 inch squares
use Stick Its Glue Dots ACTUALLY sticks instead of “grip”
Clover Bias Tape Maker 1/4″ Sale $5.99 instead of $6.99 CLOVER 464/06 BIAS TAPE MAKER 1/4″ (6MM)
N039-464-06 Bias Tape Maker. 1/4″ (6 mm) Create your own bias tapes in minutes.
Clover Bias Tape Maker 1/2″ Sale $5.59 instead of $6.59
CLOVER #464/12 BIAS TAPE MAKER 1/2″ (12mm)
N039-464-12 Bias Tape Maker. 1/2″ (12 mm) Create your own bias tapes in minutes.
Lori Holt Christmas Buttons
COMING SOON at STITCHES QUILTING!!!! STB-LH-2742 “Cute Little Buttons” by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet. Approximately 400 buttons are included in the jar! Lori Holt has forever collected buttons and displays them in her studio.
Busy Fingers Rotating Mat Round Cutting Board 10 Inches Wide Sale $28.95 instead of $32.00 N093-CBSR 10″ Rotating cutting mat in Busyfingers’ PINK. Product fits neatly inside Project Travel Case.
10 inch circle cut and rotate while keeping fingers on ruler without slipping to use with small rulers. Not too large on sewing project table.
Clover Wonder Clips Sale $19.80 instead of $32.98 Use for my binding so it stays in place as I am stitching. Clear side has measuring marks to keep fold the exact width you need. Helps with fussy projects to hold things into place
Sew Together Glue Dots 1″ Sale $3.21 instead of $3.49 to put on back of rulers to place on fabric to rotary cut so the ruler doesn’t shift. The Sticky Dots don’t leave a residue on the fabric. Peal off and use over and over again.
Sew Together Glue Dots 1″
STST-MEDIUM – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together”Stickits (Glue Dots) – Package contains 24 – 1” round glue dots. The glue dots are a double adhesive application for trims, embellishments, flowers, and buttons to help attach and adorn to any sewing, craft, or hobby project you have in mind.
Use Happy Color Fabrics – buys a fat quarter at a time. Sale $29.95 instead of $44.12
Mini Ric Rac 1/8 Inch Color Red $.30 Sale $.23 per yard
STR-18-RED – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together” 1/8″ Ric-Rac – Approximate width 1/8″ x 25 yard long spool. Ric-Rac is custom colored and designed to match perfectly with Riley Blake Fabrics and Sew Together buttons, and trims. 100% polyester
Sold by the spool of 25 yards.
Mini Ric Rac 1/8 Inch 1/8 Inch Color SWEETMINT $.30 Sale $.23 per yard
STR-18-SWEETMINT – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together” 1/8″ Ric-Rac – Approximate width 1/8″. Ric-Rac is custom colored and designed to match perfectly with Riley Blake Fabrics and Sew Together buttons, and trims. 100% polyester
Mini Ric Rac 1/8 Inch Color SUGARPINK $.30 Sale $.23 per yard
STR-18-SUGARPINK – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together” 1/8″ Ric-Rac – Approximate width 1/8″. Ric-Rac is custom colored and designed to match perfectly with Riley Blake Fabrics and Sew Together buttons, and trims. 100% polyester
Mini Ric Rac 1/8 Inch Color WHITE $.30 Sale $.23 per yard
STR-18-WHITE – Riley Blake Designs Brand “Sew Together” 1/8″ Ric-Rac – Approximate width 1/8″. Ric-Rac is custom colored and designed to match perfectly with Riley Blake Fabrics and Sew Together buttons, and trims. 100% polyester
Seams Sew Easy Seam Guide $6.50 each Sale $4.95
Seams Sew Easy Seam Guide by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet Seam Guide Color
Colors available aqua, red, pink and green
don’t use 1/4 inch foot so she can see what she is doing General Notion Video
Stitches Quiting also carries Lori Holt Fabrics on sale too!
Other Items Lori Holt uses:
Freezer Paper – Iron onto fabric to trace patterns onto fabric.
Walking Foot – When sewing several layers of fabric like binding. It goes faster and smoother. Feeds fabric
Open Toe Sewing Foot used instead of 1/4 inch seam foot to see what she is sewing and measures her 1/4 inch seam wide with the Seam Sew Easy Guide.
Colorful Pin Cushions
Pins – Long and sharp
Best Press
Don’t use steam in iron to shrink the fabric. Need a little bit of starch to press things out and available in different scents
Graph Paper
To Design her blocks and quilts.
Organizing Ideas:
dishwasher sink strainer
Use a water spray bottle
Vintage Muffin Tins – Use to sort things after spray painting a happy color
Paper Scizzors
Cover table as ironing board…. thick plywood ironing board fabric use home dec fabric
IKEA roll around cart
Use space wisely
Are you preparing a Quilt for Machine Quilting? Let’s use plywood! Are you tired of bending over, taping to the floor to prepare a quilt for domestic machine quilting? Do you dread preparing your quilt for machine quilting that you have a stack of nicely folded unfinished quilt tops laying around? Would you rather spend more money on fabric than on paying a long arm quilter to machine quilt your unfinished quilt tops? Do you have a quilt that needs to immediately get quilted because your long arm quilter can’t quilt it for several months and the gifting of the quilt needs to happen now?
Well I have a fast, non back breaking alternative for YOU!
What you will need to get started
You may already have all of the supplies listed laying around your home and can get to layering that quilt right now!
1. Plywood Thin 1/4″ thick (ideal if pre-sanded)
Get yourself a thin piece of plywood from your local hardware store! I promise it will fit in your vehicle and if not then take some old blankets and tie it to the top of your car! I have done it so many times! A standard piece of plywood is 4 by 8 feet. I get it thin because it is easier to manage within your home and pick up and move around without you breaking your back.
Now you are probably going to say where do I keep a piece of plywood in my home! I have had the same piece of plywood for many years and no one ever sees it. I have stored mine under a rug, behind a large piece of furniture or under a bed. Sometimes it even has been in the garage. Your plywood can be multipurpose, for example my kids have painted on it, used it as a dance floor and more!
2. Painter’s Tape approximate 2 inches wide
I like to use Painter’s Tape that is almost 2 inches wide. With 2 inches wide you can get a good grip on the fabric and the plywood without tape residue sticking to your fabric. You can purchase quality painters tape below from my Amazon Affliate Link.
3. Binder Clips 1 1/4″ wide
I actually get Binder Clips that are medium sized 1 1/4″ Wide, 5/8″ Capacity. They usually come in black and can be purchased in a pack of 24. You can purchase them below from my Amazon Affliate Link.
4. Small table of any kind
Now any small table can work, but this is the one I use. First of all, I love this table because it is light and made of plastic. The table legs are adjustable in height. Maybe you want to sit in a chair and pin your quilt layers together while watching a favorite movie or evening news. Perhaps you want to stand up and pin. This table is very affordable, the last time I looked on Amazon it was only $34.00 and if you have an Amazon Prime account not only do you get free movies… but this item comes with free shipping! Just think you can order this table with my Amazon Affliate Link and not have to load it into your car to get it to your home. I also use this table to sew in different places around my home such as in front of the TV while my family is watching a movie together. My husband and kids use the table all the time and is perfect if entertaining in your home; we constantly vary the height of the table with the adjustable legs based on its usage.
5. Safety Pins
You will pin together your quilt with safety pins. To purchase your pins from Stitches Quilting click the images below.
I used to tape it to the floor but sometimes I didn’t feel like my floor was clean enough and put off the preparation? I got tired of asking my kids not to walk on my quilt taped to the floor. My back and knees ached after pinning a quilt that was taped to a floor. I got tired of finding a place to tape the quilt on the floor that wouldn’t be in the way as we use our home. I used to do this technique on my dining room table but I got tired of clearing the dining room table and then not being about to use the dining room table until my quilt was completely pinned.
What’s nice about this method is if you need to go prepare dinner and serve it then you just get to it. I can set it all up and start pinning, then pick up kids from school, run errands and come back to it a day later with my quilt preparation untouched or dirty. One time when we had company over, I picked up the piece of plywood with the quilt attached and put it into another room, took down the folding table and everything was back to normal. You might have a surprise quilt gift for a family member and this method gives you a chance to prepare the quilt without them seeing or knowing what you are doing.
What do you think about this technique to prepare a quilt for domestic quilting? How do you prepare your quilt for domestic machine quilting? What do you think about this method?
To understand which sections we are referring to in the tutorial, below is a friendly diagram of the quilt block.
ConstructWomen'sSectionEE - Bottom Section of the Women's Bathing Suit
Cut 1 - Women's Bathing Suit Bottom from the Bordeaux Fabric
Cut - 13 Peach Sand templates provided in the Women's Bathing Suit printable. The 13 Peach Sand Pattern Pieces are labeled WOMEN-L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X, to reference where to stitch them.
Stitch the Peach Sand WOMEN-M & N triangle pieces to the lower left and right edges of the Bordeaux Women's Bathing Suit Bottom.
Stitch the Peach Sand WOMEN-O & P triangle pieces to the upper left and right edges of the Bordeaux Women's Bathing Suit Bottom.
That completes Women's Bathing Suit Section FF. Carefully press and Set Aside.
ConstructWomen'sSectionFF - White Belt Section of the Women's Bathing Suit
Cut 1 - 1.5 inches x 4.5 inches White Fabric for Waist White Belt
Stitch Peach Sand Women- Q & R Square pieces (2 Peach Sand cut 1.5 inches by 1/5 inches) to either side of the White Women's Bathing Suit Waist Belt.
Section FF is complete. This section needs to be squared up prior to attaching the white belt. In this example I only square the top on the bottom piece before attaching the white belt. Carefully press.
Join Women's Section EE to section FF. Carefully press and set aside.
ConstructWomen'sSectionGG - Bodice Section of the Women's Bathing Suit
Cut 1 - Lower Bodice from pattern piece out of the Daydream Blue Fabric
Cut 1 - Upper Bodice from pattern piece out of the White Fabric
Stitch Peach Sand Triangles S & T to the left and right lower corners of the Lower Bodice Daydream Blue.
Stitch the Upper White and Lower Daydream Blue Bodice pieces together.
Stitch the Peach Sand Triangles U & V to the left and right top corners of the Upper Bodice of White Fabric and part of the Lower Bodice of Daydream Blue Fabric.
Section Bodice GG is complete. Carefully press and set aside
ConstructWomen'sSectionHH - Straps Section of the Women's Bathing Suit
Cut 2 - 1.5 inches x 3 inches for left and right Women's Straps from White Fabric
Cut 1 - 2 7/8 inches x 3 inches for the center square between the two white straps from Peach Sand Fabric
Cut 2 - 2 inches x 3 inches for the left and right rectangles of either side of the two white straps from Peach Sand Fabric
Cut 1 - 3 inch x 3 inch square of Peach Sand Fabric to represent template @
Stitch the Peach Sand Square Women's W (3 inch x 3 inch square of Peach Sand Fabric) to the center of the two straps
Stitch the Peach Sand Rectangles Women's W & X to the left and right sides of the straps.
Section Swimming Suit Straps HH is complete. Carefully press and set aside.
Finish Joining the Women's sections together in the following order
Join Women's Section FF to section GG. Carefully press
Join Women's Section GG to section HH. Carefully press.
The Women's Bathing Suit part of the block is now complete and will need to be carefully squared up to 6.5 inches by 12.5 inches.
Final Step:
Join the Women's Bathing Suit to the Men's Bathing Suit by stitching together after carefully pinning using a 1/4 inch seam.
Quilt Block Vintage Swimming Men & Womens Suits attached together 12.5 inches x 12.5 inches
Carefully press block. Sit back and admire. You have done a great job!
Please comment below, I can't wait to hear from all of you! Where have you enjoyed an ocean sunrise or sunset. All of the blocks from the entire group are AMAZING! Can't you imagine one of these blocks extra large size as one quilt? Want to see more Vintage Bathing Suits and Ocean Quilt Blocks? I will be posting more - sign up for Stitches Quilting email list to have them delivered to your inbox! Which blocks from the entire 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop do you think would pair up great with the Vintage Bathing Suits? Can you image this block with other colors or fabric selection? I can't wait to hear your creative ideas?
Now don't stop here.... there are many more innovative Ocean Sunrise quilt blocks and full tutorials to see on the 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop! . To view the blocks visually and quickly you can use the Stitches Quilting Pinterest Board I created below for the Blog Hop.
When watching an ocean sunrise, we relish and hopefully memorize every moment! It’s intoxicating to feel the cool breeze with your toes in the sand, while deeply breathing the salty air. It is mind boggling to reflect on how the land, sea and sky can be both powerful and peaceful at the same time. We can only quietly watch as the evolving timed colorful masterpiece quietly disappears as quickly as it appeared. Don’t you just love to quietly sit there enjoying the live beauty and allow our minds to break from the hustle of worldly needs?
We don’t all have the privilege to live by the ocean, but when I am by the ocean, I try to memorize these moments in my heart. Ever since there have been people on the earth by the sea, I am certain that the ritual we enjoy and feel from ocean sunrises and sunsets are similar. It is mystifying to think we are relishing things that have been experienced by many different civilizations, cultures, people and times. That quiet private therapeutic moment with nature can make us realize how small we are in scale to the civilizations that came before us.
Paintbrush Studio is sharing an Ocean Sunrise color palette from their new line Painters Palette solids for us to use our imagination to celebrate these moments. As you surf the World Wide Web, you will notice over 30 quilt bloggers creating new quilt blocks to try to express their joy through fabric providing full tutorials to inspire you.
I can picture generations and different eras dressed in their ever evolving clothing styles enjoying these moments. The one item consistent with people enjoying a sunset or sunrise is clothing and the fabric they are wearing. Don’t we just love fabric? Some of the fashions, style, fabric come and go with the ebb and flo of our cultures.
I love modern twists on vintage items. For my block, I thought I would celebrate the modest vintage swimsuits that perhaps people were dressed in ready to leisurely enjoy the day along the sandy beaches. I designed a modest man and woman’s swimsuit sitting next to each other on the sandy beach. Perhaps watching the early morning sunrise or evening sunset, they would not only have their swimsuits but also a quilt to stay warm. (wink)
As stitching this block together we can think about and appreciate the civilizations before us that have enjoyed ocean sunrises and sunsets during daily life, times of war, contemplation, anticipation and peace.
To create this block I used the Painters Palette Midnight Blue, Daydream Blue, White, Peach Sand and Bordeaux Solids. The methods used to create this block are piecing and strip piecing with a consistent 1/4 inch seam. I love the striped vintage men’s swimsuit in Midnight Navy Blue and Daydream Blue. The women’s swimsuit gives a nautical feel with the Bordeaux, White and Daydream Blue along with the white buttons to embellish the suit.
Part One Tutorial – Men’s Vintage Swimming Suit for an Ocean Sunrise
1. Read through the entire tutorial and instructions. Stitch everything together with a 1/4 inch seam.
2. Here is a friendly layout of the Vintage Bathing Suits and the sections we will be working on.
3. Cut the fabric carefully according to the instructions and specifications provided in the tutorial.
4 . To create this 12.5 inch block we are going to break the block into manageable pieces working on Part One: Men's vintage bathing suit section and Part Two: Women's vintage bathing suit.
Part 1: Men's Vintage Bathing Suit
ConstructMen'sSectionBB - Center Section of Men's Bathing Suit
Cut 3 - Midnight Navy Blue strips 1.5 inches by 7 inches
Cut 4 - Daydream Blue strips 1.5 inches by 7 inches
Sew 7 strips together alternating the Daydream Blue Strips with the Midnight Navy Blue strips. Since you are working with 4 Daydream Blue strips and 3 Midnight Navy Blue strips each section will begin and start with a Daydream Blue strip.
Square up this section so it is 6.5 inches wide and 7.5 inches tall. This will be the center body portion of the men's vintage bathing suit section MEN-BB. Carefully Press and set aside.
ConstructMen'sSectionAA - Men's Bottom Section for legs
Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Strip 1.5 inches by 3.5 inches
Cut - the 8 Peach Sand templates provided in the Men's Bathing Suit printable. The 8 Peach Sand Pieces are labeled MEN-A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J to reference where to stitch them. Use the 8 templates to cut pattern pieces from the Peach Sand fabric.
To ensure that the sizing is just right there is a special pattern piece labeled Men's Swimsuit Polygon Pattern Piece. Be sure to trim the fabric of this connected section to the size of the Men's Swimsuit Polygon Pattern Piece.
Arrange the 2 - 1.5 inch by 3.5 inch Midnight Navy Blue side by side lengthwise.
Stitch the Men's Peach Sand A & B small triangle pattern pieces individually to each center ends of the 2 - 1.5 inch by 3.5 inch Midnight Navy Blue pieces. Stitch the two pieces together lengthwise. Carefully Press and set aside.
Join Men's Sections AA to BB
Join Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section AA to Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section BB. This is the lower portion of the Men's Vintage Swimming Suit with the center Peach Sand triangle as the bottom.
Stitch Men's Peach Sand C & D long triangle pattern pieces to the bottom left and right sections of the lower portion of the Men's Vintage Swimming Suit (Combined sections just stitched together of Section MEN-AA and MEN-BB). Carefully Press and set aside.
ConstructMen'sSectionCC - Men's V Neckline
Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Strips 1.25 inches by 7 inches
Cut 1 - Daydream Blue Strip 1.25 inches by 7 inches.
Alternating 3 of the 1.25 inch by 7 inch blue strips, stitch together 2 Midnight Navy Blue Strips with 1 Daydream Blue Strip in the center.
Cut this set of strips in half and stitch Peach Sand Pattern Piece E & F
Sew the set of strips back together along the long side of the triangles E & F. Attach the Men's V Neck Line section to the Men's Main Swim Suit Section.
Stitch the Peach Sand Pattern pieces G & H to the left and right edges of the Polygon Pattern Piece.
Men's Vintage Swimming Suit Section CC is now complete. Carefully Press and set aside.
JoinMen'sSectionCCtoBBtogether.
Complete shape of Men's Swimming Suit Section by sewing both Peach Sand Pattern Pieces F & G to the left and right top sides of Section CC combined with Section BB. Carefully Press and set aside.
ConstructMen'sSectionDD - Men's Upper Straps to Suit
Cut 2 - Midnight Navy Blue Squares 1.25 inches by 1.5 inches
Cut 4 - Daydream Blue Squares 1.25 inches by 1.5 inches
The 2 bathing suit straps are constructed by sewing 2 Daydream Blue Squares with 1 Midnight Navy Blue Square in the center. The final size of the bathing suit straps will be 3.25 tall by 1.5 inches wide. Be careful on this step to stitch the bathing suit straps so the stripes when finished will be 1.5 inches wide and 3.25 tall.
Join the two Upper Straps of Suit with Peach Sand Pattern Square Piece H (2.5 inches x 2 7/8 inches) to either side of the 3.25 strap length.
Stitch Peach Sand Pattern Pieces of I & J (1.5 inches by 2.5 inches)to either side of the bathing suit straps. Carefully Press and set aside.
JoinMen'sSectionCC & DDtogether.
Finishing the Men's Bathing Suit Block Section
Now that the Men's Bathing Suit is constructed, carefully press. The block needs to be carefully squared to the dimensions of 6.5 inches by 12.5 inches.
Please comment below, I can't wait to hear from all of you! Where have you enjoyed an ocean sunrise or sunset. All of the blocks from the entire group are AMAZING! Can't you imagine one a these blocks extra large size as one quilt? Want to see more Vintage Bathing Suits and Ocean Quilt Blocks? I will be posting more - sign up for Stitches Quilting email list to have them delivered to your inbox! Which blocks from the entire 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop do you think would pair up great with the Vintage Bathing Suits?
Now don't stop here.... there are many more innovative quilt blocks and full tutorials to see on the 2016 Paintbrush Studio Blog Hop! To view the blocks visually and quickly you can use the Stitches Quilting Pinterest Board I created below for the Blog Hop.
Its that time of the year welcoming guests into your home for the holidays. Are you starting to get your home ready and planning food? We are and enjoying the process. I have lots of recipes that I would like to share along with simple Fall décor and easy sewing quilting projects to fit in before the holiday comes.
These are very simple table runners that I made just out of scraps of fabric. I used a strip quilting method and how it went together so very fast. I enjoy setting these around during the fall months to bring a bit of Thanksgiving and Fall décor without making too strong of a statement. Here you will see the shorter table runner on my cedar chest. This is a special little spot in the dining room for us to reflect upon those things that we are most grateful for. Making your home ready for Thanksgiving or Fall Festivities doesn’t need to be stressful just lay out some simple items to celebrate the season.
Simple Fall Table Runner
This is our narrow long farm house dining room table, that I made this table runner extra long for. Gathering together just a few items with the table runner is just enough to set the tone. I tend to purchase through the years metal holiday décor and one thing that I really love about it is that it just doesn’t break! I gathered clumps of sunflowers to brighten up the table with a couple acorn salt and pepper shakers and I am certain you probably have a fantastic turkey or holiday platter that rarely comes out of the closet that you can use on a metal easel to make that Fall Thanksgiving mood. When I pieced this table runner together by strip quilting, I just didn’t fuss about what fabric was touching which one and there are a couple of the same fabrics touching each other. I like to not have to spend so much time thinking through something, get a project done and enjoy it! What do you think?
Fall Dining Room Table Decor with Quilted Table Runner
These quilted fall Thanksgiving Pillows are perfect to toss around for your family and guests, especially after eating that turkey dinner! These pillows are so fun to make with just four cream squares in the center, leaves blanket stitched appliqued after a couple borders. What another great way to use scrappy fabrics laying around just begging to be used. I am going to make some more pillows this week with feathers reminding of the First Thanksgiving and the generosity of the Indians! May those pillows remind us to always be accepting of those around us and know that by uniting we have much that we can share and enrich each others lives. The feather pillows will be a full tutorial with downloadable pattern for you.
Toss around some Fall Thanksgiving Quilted Pillows for people to nap with
For anyone that has been entertained at our home they know that I love to make guests feel welcome. One of the things I do is having inviting places for people to sit and visit. Our backyard patio is really an extension of our home with pillows, tablecloths and holiday décor to greet all. We spend lots of time on the back patio entertaining, so I keep the table cloths and decorative table squares always on the tables. The couches and chairs are full of bright pillows to cozy up to and of course there are quilts to wrap up in to stay warm if it is a little breezy. I love pops of color! You will notice that I have used Riley Blake’s home dec fabric to create matching fabric squares and table runners for the tables. I just used a 1 1/2 yards of fabrics for a table square and then just hemmed the edge. They are outside all year long and wash very well! I throw placemats to add color for the different seasons. Easy way to create warmth for you and your guests. The fabric is available in the online store to ship immediately.
Outdoor Patio Fall Table Squares to invite your guests to
I’ll even stitch together a quick table runner for the coffee table of the coordinating Riley Blake Home Dec fabric with a bit of their extra wide ric rac stitched down the center. I just love the yellow fall aspen tree leaves that are falling everywhere.
Riley Blake Home Dec Fabric used for Table Squares and Table Runner
Our family loves to separate our pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin to bake and nibble on. It is a tradition that goes back a long way, that my great nieces and nephews along with my own children look forward too. Notice the fabric I’m planning to use for the feather fall pillow tutorial later this week! I can’t wait!
Fun in the Kitchen with Pumpkin Seeds and cooking up plans for those new quilted pillows!
Now remember that the pumpkins we buy are not just for decoration or pumpkin carving. We always buy small pumpkins that we slice open the top and then microwave until the sides are soft and then use that raw pumpkin for real homemade pumpkin pies. The challenge is worth it along with the full your children and family members will have watching a small pumpkin become a pumpkin pie. I don’t save these pumpkins for Thanksgiving Day but cook these up so the kids can do it with me and marvel at how simple it is to make pumpkin pie! When we make ours this week, I will take lots of pictures and post our recipe with complete instructions online!
Don’t forget to cook up your small pumpkins for pumpkin pie
We have a very wide fireplace mantle. This is just some simple classy decorating of the fireplace mantle. Dried gourds that I have kept through the years, our two small pumpkins for pumpkin pie, sunflowers, metal pumpkin and a cornucopia basket. These are the things that have lasted through the years. After I set it up and thought – I didn’t use any burlap that I have so much of but I think it looks simple and clean. I think I might just use that burlap to create a fresh wreath for the front door that can be versatile from holiday to holiday. I’ll keep you updated. I would love to see all of your fantastic ideas and thoughts. What have you used this holiday season?
Thanksgiving Fall Fireplace Mantle Ideas
One thing our family does enjoy is lighting the fireplace and feeling that cozy feeling. There are lots of quilts folded on the edges of the couches and chairs waiting for people to get comfortable and cozy! Enjoy your family and focus on your blessings this season. Remembering our bounty can take away the feeling that we just don’t have enough!
Before cutting out the paper pattern completely for Rosie’s body front and back, I cut out the pattern construction markings and taped them to the front of the pattern within the cutting line. Cut the Body Front and Back out of a gray fabric.
Cut 2 pieces each of the arm and leg following the fabric grainline on a gray fabric. Here I used Riley Blake’s Gray marble. Set the legs aside because you are going to stitch on the legs with black thread the “scratches”.
Cut out Rosie’s Front of Hair and Back of Hair in a black fabric. At the same time of cutting out the hair, I also cut out batting to match and set these aside.
For the Pink Main Zombie Love Fat Quarter, cut out the Front of blouse A, Back of Blouse and cut 1 Sleeve because the sleeves will be two different fabrics. Please note, we are laying the pattern pieces with the grain line of the Fat Quarter which is parallel to the selvedge. I also tried to lay out the pattern pieces to capture the Zombie scenes on the fabric.
We are now cutting out Rosie’s shirt accent color pieces with a contrasting sleeve and shirt front.
I thought the orange skeleton hands with hearts would be perfect for Rosie’s skirt. If you are making Rosie more for a Valentine project perhaps you would like the pink skeleton hands fabric. A fat quarter is the perfect size to cut the skirt front and back. Be certain to line of the top and bottom of the skirt with the pattern of “lines/stripes” of the fabric while cutting with the grain line.
Notice that I am now cutting a lining for Rosie’s skirt from the black flower pattern in the Zombie Love Fat Quarter Collection. You can see a bit of the orange skeleton fabric peeking out below.
Here are all the pieces of Rosie laid out so you can get an idea of how the pieces work together. Notice the accent stitches along the sleeves and that the homemade bias is not yet sewn to the skirt back.
Here are the clothing pieces sewn together for Rosie the Zombie. Can you see it starting to come together? Here Rosie’s clothing is now pinned to the body pieces getting ready to be stitched together.
You can notice that I layered Rosie’s Hair with batting and quilted hair designs to give Rosie more texture.
Notice the stitching on Rosie’s face. First I transferred the face pattern to the gray fabric with a disappearing fabric pen. Then we stitched away with a variety of satin and zig zap stitches. I also added 2 pink heart for her eyes.
Now you assemble the Rosie the Zombie according to the pattern instructions by Emily Taylor Designs. A couple tips would include to be sure to match up certain points like her head, neck, bias tap for skirt front and back etc.. I also customized the pattern by added some bloomers sewn into her using the extra fat quarter pieces.
Rosie is almost three feet tall including her skinny legs. She isn’t too big but definitely a fun accent piece to have in your home to bring some delight!
I am attaching some video that I did when periscoping this tutorial and you might find it helpful but video from Periscoping isn’t ideal because you are filming live and just awkward things happen. To follow me on periscope my handle is @stitchesquiltin
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Do you happen to pick up just fantastic fabric panels from time to time but somehow don’t seem to get them done? Sometimes I am disappointed with the end result that doesn’t look quite like I had imagined! I have to say that this Zoe Zombie Doll and Bones her Immortal Dog did not disappoint me! What do you think?
The trick for me on this panel was that before I even cut the panel apart I long armed the pieces giving each one structure and form with the 80/20 Warm and Natural Batting and muslin backing. The tutorial for How to Quilt a Fabric Panel and particularly the ideas to accentuate Zoe and Bones. I have lots of thoughts, pictures and actual video of the tutorial for Zombie Apocalypse Fabric Panel by Emily Taylor for Riley Blake Designs. If you are interested in purchasing this fabric panel it come free when you purchase a Zombie Love Fat Quarter Kit by Emily Taylor Designs for Riley Blake Fabric
I have to tell you that my family and I really enjoyed making Zoe and Bones come to life for our Fall Festivities!
Zoe the Zombie Doll body part pieces that you will need.
Bones the Immortal Dog body pieces that you will need.
Additional Supplies Needed: a NEW Demin Jean Needle for your sewing machine, Gray Thread and Stuffing
Let’s Get Started to Bring to Life Zoe the Zombie Doll:
Cut out the quilted body part pieces for Zoe. For the arms and legs, I left about a 1/4 inch seam allowance around them but with the Zoe Front and Back Body pieces I cut them along the outer edge of the doll. Be sure to mark where the location of the arms are on the doll front and back pieces.
The arms and legs are constructed in a tubular manner. Fold one arm piece in half with right sides together and sew around the arm starting at point A and ending at point B. Turn inside out and stuff until firm. Repeat with the second arm. Set aside arms.
Fold one of Zoe’s legs in half with right sides together. Sew around the leg, leaving the straight edge open. Turn inside out, stuff until firm. Repeat with other leg.
Use a fat knitting needle or other blunt object to push the seams of the arms and legs all the way out after turning them inside out.
I did not close the openings of the arms or legs and did not allow the stuffing to poof out where I was going to attach the arms and legs to the body of Zoe. We already have a lot of layers to sew through with the batting and fabric. You can see in the picture that I have positioned Zoe’s Arms and stitched them to her body.
Now attach the legs to the body bottom. (Refer to photo)
Match up the front and back body pieces of Zoe the Zombie Doll. It is important to notice that you want to make sure that her hair, neck, dress white stripe are matched up on the body as those will be noticeable pieces to not have accurately matched when turned inside out – see photos and video for additional help on this.
First stitch her head together first matching her collar and hair on each side.
Leave the legs hanging out with the arms tucked in, stitch the front and back of the Zoe the Zombie bodies together Leaving the bottom of her dress open to turn her inside out.
Stuff Zoe the Zombie doll firm and hand stitch her dress bottom completely closed.
There she is! Embellish her with some of your own home elements or leave her just exactly as she is! Sweet isn’t she?
Let’s Get Started to Bring to Life Bone’s the Immortal Zombie Dog:
Cut out all of Bone’s Quilted body part pieces of the left body side, right body side, underbelly, front ear piece and back ear pieces.
Sew together Bone’s front and back left and right ear pieces. The back side is polka dotted and the right side is black. Turn the ears inside out and finger press the quilted ears. No stuffing is needed as they have great structure to them.
Fold the underbelly of Bones along the dotted line. Pin the underbelly to match “E” and “F” side of the left quilted body then stitch together. Next pin the underbelly to match along with the “D” and “C” sides of the right quilted body finish stitching the underbelly to the right side of the quilted body. Bone’s is starting to take shape eh?
Line up the ears on the left side of the Bones body and stitch into place.
If needed, trim some of the batting from the ear seam when you are attaching them to the body to have less fabric to sew through. I decided to offset the ears when stitching the top of the body together so my sewing machine needle would smoothly go across all layers. (See photo)
It is important to make sure the Bone’s green collar is matching under Bone’s chin and the back of his neck. These would be obvious places that one would notice if his body was not stitched together right.
Start stitching the top part of Bone’s right and left side of the body together starting at Bone’s neck to ensure the matching of his green color and then leaving open a 2 to 3 inch space at the back of his body below his tail.
Turn Bone’s body inside out from the opening. Use a long blunt knitting needle or object to ensure that all seams are pushed all the way out.
Stuff Bone’s the Immortal Zombie Dog and hand stitch his opening completely closed
There he is! Embellish Bones with some of your home element or leave him just exactly as he is! Darling isn’t he?
I would just love if you emailed me a photo of own created versions of Zoe and Bone’s! I would love to see how they turned out. If you get stumped anywhere do not hesitate to email me!
What extra ideas do you have to embellish Zoe or Bones and share your ideas or tips to construct them. Post your photos and #ZoeZombieBonesDog so all can search them and see your fantastic ideas! YEA! It sure feels great to share!
Have you purchased a fabric panel and don’t know what to do with it? Have you used panels before and then disappointed with your effort and money spent?
We have some ideas for YOU! I am going to break down how to take a panel and figure out how to embellish it so it takes form into something that is unique and loved! You will feel great about the efforts you spend and the new skills you learned. I have purchased several panels through the years and rarely turn back to actually do anything with them. In the spirit of Halloween Fun, let’s break down this darling panel created by Emily Taylor Designs for Riley Blake. This panel was a coordinate with Emily Taylor’s Zombie Apocalypse 2014 Fabric Collection.
Zombie Apocalypse by Emily Taylor Designs for Riley Blake Fabrics
For Fall 2015, Emily Taylor designs with her talented skills created the Zombie Love collection for all of us to play with!
Zombie Love by Emily Taylor Design for Riley Blake
Zombie Love is just beyond adorable! I love studying her whimsical artwork and sweet loving Zombie story lines on her fabric! Darling! We will get to more of that in another post!
Let’s go back and focus on the 2014 Zombie Apocalypse panel we are going to break apart today.
Zombie Apolcalypse Panel Zoe Zombie Doll and Bones Dog Pattern
You can see here there is a darling doubled sided Zoe the Zombie doll that has one side featuring her loveliness and the other side featuring her zombiness. Zoe the Zombie has cute tubular arms and legss to attach. Emily Taylor just couldn’t stop with her talent with a Zoe Zombie Doll, but Emily’s imagination gave Zoe a companion of “Bones”, the Zombie Dog! How darling is that? Bones the Zombie Dog has two body sides, an underbelly along with darling floppy ears to attach!
There have been times that I will create something from a panel but it lacks any shape or form to make the sewable item look like what I imagine it should be. Well to solve that issue in sewing you use interfacing right! This time we are going to quilt this panel with Warm and Natural 80/20 Batting and 100% cotton muslin fabric backing. This type of panel would be fun to learn and experiment how to quilt on a domestic sewing machine. Challenge yourself and play with a panel to learn quilting techniques on your sewing machine. I have a long arm quilting machine and going to load this sweet panel on that machine and doodle away.
I brainstormed what might look good for this Zombie panel and thought of things associated with Zombies while not being morbid. I’m more of a playful Zombie Halloween person not the scary kind run away from. Being the conservative person that I am, I do not find enjoyment in watching scary movies; life is already a bit to scary to add more to it. I do have immediate family members that enjoy scary movies. We do have Walking Dead fans in our family and I thought they might appreciate me “entering their world” making some fun Zombie items for them. Back to brainstorming… I find that Zombie culture has plaid in it, flowers, humor, and more.
When I was long arm quilting this panel, I felt like I was doodling with Emily Taylor and just simply embellishing her darling drawings! I used shiny black thread with on the hair and eyes. I used a metallic light green thread that worked great on all the various colors in the panel and made the quilting simpler by not have to change threads for the rest of the parts.
I decided to put flowers on Zoe the Zombie’s dress, accent her hair with waves, accentuate her eyes with more eyelashes, give the collar a bit of a lacey look and finally give her skirt some swirls. On the other hand, Zoe the Zombie’s scary side I quilted her eyes to look more zombieish, accented her hair with zig zags, scratched up the tares in her dress, and more. You can study the images to see more.
Zoe’s legs and arms are sewn in a tubular fashion so there wasn’t a zombie and non-zombie side but the panel seemed to have a zombie arm/leg and regular arm/leg. After making this observation, I decided to quilt the zombie arm/leg a bit scary and the non-zombie arm/leg a bit friendly.
Zoe’s Zombie dog Bones is already darling but I decided to quilt him with abstract non-descript “bones” on his body. I accented his eyes and features along with quilting a plaid pattern on his nose.
On the outside of Bone’s ears, I quilted lines between the polka dots and the inside of his ears did a circular pattern.
Videos of the long arm quilting of the panel are included in the post if you want to watch it in action. Remember I am trying to be lose with my quilting of the panel to give it a whimsical look. If you are new to quilting it is best to not try for perfection but instead be “consistently inconsistent” and you really end up with a great result. It pains me to think of the unpicking going on with quilting. Remember quilting is a fluid art with each person having their own fingerprint and style. Find your style and let it flow throughout your work. This video was filmed as a live Periscope Video with people asking questions during the video. After watching it I can’t believe the number of times I said “um” YUCK! I promise my next live video will NOT have that going on! The first person to watch the entire video and count the number of “um”s that I said and be the first to make a remark in the comments of this blog post, will have a quilting Halloween surprise mailed to them! The video was also a bit shakey and I will improve upon my video set up while long arm quilting and not have the video camera attached to the machine.
Tomorrows post will be on assembling and stitching together Zoe the Zombie Doll with her companion dog Bones which will be a written photographed and video post from streaming live on Periscope. If you are new to Periscope then it is an app you download on your phone, you can follow me at stitchesquiltin for live broadcasts and inspiring chats. You can watch the video and interact with me live by making comments and I can answer your questions. Let’s have some creative fun together.
Zoe and Bones are definitely going to bring smiles to my family members! You can still purchase this Zombie Apocalypse Panel at Stitches Quilting with either the Zombie Love or Zombie Apocalypse Fat Quarter Kit. So pull out fabric panels that you may already own and let’s get them put together for possible holiday gifts this season! I am a firm believer in using up what you have and put it to good use! Maybe this tutorial will motivate you to pull out some panels laying around transforming them into something unique! Please share comments below if you have been disappointed with panel results yourself and any tips you have used to make them come to life. I would also LOVE your comment of other ideas you have for quilting Zoe the Zombie and her dog Bones along with use of the fabric collections!
2015 Fabri-Quilt Challenge – Ball of Summer Love² – Block Hop & Quilt Tutorials
Fabri-Quilt challenged as a group of Quilt Bloggers to each create an unique quilt block with Fabri-Quilt’s Prairie Cloth Solids. The Prairie Cloth Solid Colors by Fabric-Quilt were selected from the Watermelon Summer Palette to include these colors:
Fabric Quilt Prairie Solids of Aqua, Chartreuse, Lapis Blue, Pale Aqua and Coral. The colors themselves say Summer!
I wanted to create something playful bringing back memories of Summer Love and the Ball of Fun we had in our younger years. These simple quilt blocks with colors, arrangement, design and placement express this! I love the “plus” + sign quilts with the different meanings they can have. Summer is a time of daydreaming and doodling our name + summer love written everywhere.
Let’s break the Ball of Summer Love² Quilt into patterns:
Ball of Summer Love²
Ball of Summer Love² with Chartreuse & Lapis Blue to Represent the GuysBall of Summer Love² with Turquoise & Coral to Represent the Gals
Do you remember the songs we would sing with our friends of “Two Love Birds Sitting in A Tree, K – I – S – ….”, when learning of someone’s summer crush? Wasn’t our summer daydreaming simple and narrow? We didn’t know it then, but later in life, our thoughts would never be as simple as the daydreaming of a young summer crushes. I love this quilt because it represents those simple, strong, playfulness with summer colors, the “plus sign” gently swooping into form and a center square with memories solidly put. I feel many memories fading away but memories and feelings of summer love are so vivid. Why is that?
Notice that this 12 1/2 inch block pattern is really only four 6 1/2 inch blocks rearranged. Do you recognize the basic design of the block now?
Guy Basic Block Ball of Summer Love² with Chartreuse & Lapis BlueGal Basic Block Ball of Summer Love² with Turquoise & Coral
The block is very similar to a drunken path quilt block. This classic block updated in this pattern with modern fabrics, colors and a triangle sewn in the corner. Now if you look carefully you will see that the Pale Aqua triangles differ in size between the blocks with the Fabric-Quilt Prairie Solids of Coral and Lapis Blue. I didn’t want to be difficult and you can choose to make the triangles all the same but I love how the different sized squares in the Coral and Lapis Blue Plus Signs are more pronounced.
Ball of Summer Love² Notice the Colorful Summer Balls Bouncing on the Quilt
Don’t forget to notice the bright summer balls playfully bouncing on the quilt separating those plus signs. You will notice their formation when looking at the quilt in the alternating blocks constructed by the design. Some of us might recognize the summer balls pattern from a Snowball Quilt Block.
Summer Bouncing Balls form by the alternating contrasting pattern created when combining the blocks
Now let’s get down to learning how to build the quilt block. I have all the patterns included in this tutorial for you to complete the block at home.
Instructions
Download and review the PDF file for the Ball of Summer Love² Quilt Blocks. We will use Guy Block Sheets and Gal Block Sheets for these instructions. Print on regular paper or a light cardstock.
1 pattern sheets of the Guy Block Sheet 1 Paper Piecing
1 pattern sheets of the Gal Block Sheet 1 Paper Piecing
Fabric Needed:
Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Turquoise
Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Chartreuse
Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Lapis Blue
Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Pale Aqua
Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Coral
Remember we will construct two different blocks: Guy Block with Lapis Blue and Chartreuse with the larger Pale Aqua triangle. Gal Block with coral and turquoise with the smaller Pale Aqua triangle. Don’t forget that the triangles that make the center square in the Lapis Blue Block are larger than in the Coral Block. Cut and piece your fabrics keeping this in mind.
Lets Get Started – Get Out All Your Supplies
Cutting the Fabric
Cut the fabric as outlined below keeping the Guy Block Fabric separated from the Gal Block Fabric
Guy Block Group:
Cut 5 inch strip of Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Chartreuse
Cut the ¼ circle pattern – You will need 4 – ¼ circles for each block you want to make.
Cut 5 inch strip of Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Lapis Blue
Cut the Guy Block Main Pattern – You will need 4 Block Main pieces for each block you want to make.
Cut 4 inch strip Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Pale Aqua
Cut the 4 inch strip into 4″ squares. Cut square on the diagonal to create 2 triangle. – You will need 4 triangles for every block you want to make.
Gal Block Group:
Cut a 4.5 inch strip of Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Turquoise
Cut the ¼ circle pattern – You will need 4 – ¼ circles for each block you want to make.
Cut a 5 inch strip of Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Coral
Cut the Gal Main Pattern – You will need 4 Block Main pieces for each block you want to make.
Cut a 3 inch strip of Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids – Pale Aqua
Cut the 4 inch strip into 4 inch squares. Cut square on the diagonal to create 2 triangle. – You will need 4 triangles for every block you want to make.
Cut Pieces Organized and Set Aside
Now let’s get to stitching…. if you have never done curved piecing then are going to absolutely LOVE trying out this method! I have photographs and video along with helpful instructions to get you going at it!
Here are our cut pieces ready to stitch the first block.
There isn’t a right or wrong side to the Fabri-Quilt Prairie Solids so that will make our piecing easier.
Let’s start with the Guy Block:
Please refer to the pictures.
I am sewing with a blue Aurifil 50 weight 100% cotton thread to piece this block together from the Happy Colors by Bee in My Bonnet Collection color number 2725 available at the Stitches Quilting Shoppe.
If you are new to curved piecing, set your stitch length to 3.5 or 4.0 for the first couple times piecing these curved pieces together. That way if you don’t get it right then you can unstitch it and try it again. The Fabri-Quilt Prairie Cloth Solids hold up really well so it can take a few different times of unpicking a block and restitching it back together again. You need to get the rhythm of it and then you will be string feeding them together. You will be surprised at how fast you can put these together.
Carefully snip the seam allowance on ¼ circle rounded side, this will allow the fabric to naturally follow with the reverse curvature of the main block.
You will start stitching the curved pieces together like this.Keep pulling the lime green fabric to match the curved blue fabric.Here we are almost finished stitching the curved pieces.For those of you that have sewed sleeves doesn’t this look like a sleeve just stitched?
Press open the two fabrics folding the Chartreuse fabric open. Isn’t it just beautiful! If you didn’t get it just right you can try again if this is your first time piecing curves together. You may find that the fabric will lay flatter with the curve if you add a few more snips in the seam allowance so it can stretch to match the curvature of the seam. Lovely isn’t it!
Now stitch the Pale Aqua large Guy Triangle onto the Main Guy Block Pieces with a ¼” seam. Press the basic block and set aside.
Continue to piece three more Guy Blocks exactly as instructed above.
Square up each of your basic blocks before sewing together
Square up the 4 Guy Blocks to 6.5 inches square using your mat board, rotary cutter and ruler. You can use a square ruler or just your regular ruler. Keep in mind while squaring up the block that you want proportion around the entire block. This is a very important step to insure that you are going to match your seams as you piece the 4 blocks together to make the 12.5 finished square block. If the blocks are less than a 6.5 inch block then mark the block with a safety pin, pin, sticky note in the corner or edge that is falling short to compensate for it as you are stitching the 4 blocks together to form the larger 12.5 inch block. Don’t get discouraged just move forward with any mistake as you can work with it and spin out a fantastic project. The key is to stay consistent with your ¼ inch seam when putting any block piece together.
Let’s piece the four blocks into one large block rotating them in the position we want with the Light Agua triangles in the center to create a square. Make certain to match your seams to make each design in the block to work. It is better to stretch the cotton fabric a bit than to not match a seam. You will be surprised at how stretchy cotton fabric really is.
First start with stitching the top two blocks A and B in the first row together while matching your seams. Second stitch the blocks A & B of the second row together while matching your seams. After stitching press the blocks assembled. Stitch the top row and the bottom row together to get the complete Guy Block constructed and press once again.
Look back and enjoy your block. Isn’t it just beautiful! Don’t forget to square your block up once again making the final Guy or Gal block to be 12 1/2 inches square.
Refer to the pictures and video instruction for anything that isn’t quite clear and please let me know where the pattern instructions might need clarification so I can improve the pattern and become a better pattern writer. Please include feedback, tips for other or inspiration in the comments below.
Next Let’s create the Gal Block with Coral & Turquoise colors
Follow the same instructions for the Guy Block to complete the Gal Block keeping in mind that you are using Carol and Turquoise Fabrics instead of the Lapis Blue and Chartreuse. Create the four coral basic blocks to make the large Gal Block of 12 1/2 inch square block.
Look at our finished blocks! Marveling that it all came from one simple block design.
EXTRA
To complete the quilt as designed above build 6 total 12 1/2 inch Guy blocks and 6 total 12 1/2 inch Gal blocks. Piece the blocks as arranged in the quilt image.
I’m planning on making a summer tote bag by constructing four of the blocks together and will do a tutorial next week for the summer tote bag construction.
THOUGHTS
This therapeutic quilting activity is another way than “luminosity” to rustle old memories from the cob webs in your brain to the forefront. Journal these thoughts of summer memories to take you back to those careless days. Take time while you are quilting to jot down those old memories or even look around for old photographs; your children and grandchildren will love it!
Comment below and let me know the memories that come back to you and what you think of the simple design and construction of the quilts. How would you construct it differently?
I’m very grateful to the gals that organized this Fabri-Quilt Blog Hop! The blocks designed for this Blog Hop are utterly incredible! You will find yourself mindlessly surfing the world wide web reviewing the unique modern quilting blocks with free tutorials from the talented group of 60+Quilt Bloggers coming to you literally from around the world.
Below are the organizers of this Blog Hop that worked extremely hard to bring you the best! These creative blocks are mailed off to our fearless hosts constructed into charity quilts.
You will be able to find Quilt Bloggers that participated in this Fabri-Quilt Challenge and their blocks along with free instruction on the four hosts pages:
