Featured Products Harvest Star | PDF $12.00 Etoile | PDF $12.00 Misty Mountains | PDF $12.00 Latest from the blog Using Accuquilt for the Harvest Star QuiltI was so excited when Accuquilt invited me to be part of their ambassador program. I make a ton of quilts every year as pattern samples, and I’m always looking for ways to streamline the process. Accuquilt machines are die cut machines that can cut up to 6 layers of fabric at once, which speeds up the cutting process and does it with accuracy! I was especially excited about Accuquilt’s possibility to cut half square triangles and flying geese that require no trimming. Could it be possible?! I decided a good first test for my Accuquilt was to make a Harvest Star quilt block. Harvest Star has many little pieces, half square triangles, and flying geese, so I thought it would be a great way to jump right in! The Accuquilt Ready, Set, GO! system that I received comes with the Accuquilt GO! cutter, 8″ Qube dies, GO! Strip Cutter- 2 1/2″, GO! Cutting Mat-10″ x 24″, as well as great instructions and block ideas. The Accuquilt 8″ Qube has everything you need to make the Harvest Star quilt. Don’t have the pattern yet? Find Harvest Star in my shop! My mom happened to be over when I was cutting my pieces and I invited her to take a turn. My mom really doesn’t like cutting with a rotary cutter, and it is her biggest hurdle to making quilts. She was amazed at how easy it was to cut pieces with the Accuquilt system! If you’re making Harvest Star with the Accuquilt, please note the following fabric requirement changes: For the Fat Quarter version, it is possible to cut A/B from a fat quarter but it is quite tight. A 3/8 yd cut for these fabrics is recommended.For the 3/8 yd version, you’ll need 1/2 yd of each fabric you’re using instead. Another benefit I quickly found out was that by cutting out all the pieces individually, I was able to lay out my Harvest Star block before I sewed anything together. This is great for mix-and-match patterns like Harvest Star, where you might find you have trouble visualizing which fabrics to pair together. You’re able to cut everything out, lay out all the blocks, and decide on combinations before sewing anything together. I was a bit nervous about sewing the half square triangles and flying geese on the bias edges, but I shouldn’t have worried, they came together easily and so much faster than usual! And here’s my finished block! I’m really excited to have found a way to speed up making Harvest Star, I’m going to spend some time cutting up the rest of this scrumptious fabric pull and get sewing!... Read more...Sailor Girl | FREE Quilt Pattern!Just like Dino Tracks and Summer Glow, Sailor Girl was created in partnership with Paintbrush Studio Fabrics. When they asked me to write a quilt pattern for the Sailor Mary fabric collection, I was immediately smitten. The fabrics, created by Carolyn Suzuki, reminisce old sailor tattoos with feminine flair. I immediately thought about how easy it is to get turned around on the water, and how you could go in any direction you pleased. With that idea in mind, I created a pattern of modern arrows. I enjoyed using this fabric collection, which was a treasure hunt for the eyes. Because of how this quilt is constructed, non-directional prints work best. If you don’t mind which direction your prints face, then feel free to use whatever you fancy! For the quilting, I chose to use one of the decorative stitches on my Janome, stitch #096, which creates a wavy line. It reminded me of waves on the water. I quilted it with Aurifil 50 wt thread in #2024. The quilt is hand bound with big stitches. You can find the tutorial for this type of hand binding here. I backed my Sailor Girl quilt in PBS Fabrics’ Cotton Sateen which is so soft and drapes so well. I’m looking forward to washing this quilt, I have a feeling it will make it that much softer and cozier. Plus, all that quilting will crinkle up nicely! Sailor Girl finishes at the generous throw size of 60″ x 72″, but would be easy to scale up or down by making more blocks. I really love how this quilt turned out, and I already have another bundle set aside to make a second one! See all versions of this quilt on Instagram under #sailorgirlquilt and be sure to use the hashtag when making your own! Ready to make Sailor Girl? Download the FREE pattern here!... Read more...Using Directional Prints in Flying Geese & Half Square TrianglesWhen making 4-at-a-time flying geese or 8-at-a-time half square triangles, how do you line up directional prints so that they all go the right way? I was recently asked this question and I’m here with a tutorial tackling all the variations. Buckle up, friends, here we go! This tutorial is helpful when making a sawtooth star or similar block where having the prints in all 4 flying geese going the same direction. For this example, I’m using striped fabric, but it works for any directional print. Just make sure that the print is facing the way you want it to end up. 2-at-a-time Half Square Triangles (or 8-at-a-time HSTs) For half square triangles, the easiest way to ensure that you end up with both prints going the right way is to put your first fabric down in front of you, right side up, and have the print facing the direction you want it to end up in. Line up the second fabric on top, and fold back half the top fabric on the diagonal. This shows you what a finished half square triangle will look like, and you can make sure both prints are going the same way. My example is for 2-at-a-time HSTs, but it is exactly the same for 8-at-a-time. As long as both prints line up the way you want them to at the offset, they’ll all directionally match. Flying Geese: Center is directional If the center of your flying geese is directional but your points are not, you don’t have to position the smaller squares any particular way. Just make your flying geese like you normally do, and all will be well. Hooray! Flying Geese: Points are directional If the points of your flying geese are using a directional print, but your center is not, you’ll want to position your first small square on top of the center square, and fold back half the fabric on the diagonal. Make sure that the print is going the way you want it to go. Line up the second square below the first, and fold that one back in half as well, you want the fabric of both small squares going in the same direction. Sew these squares using the 4-at-a-time flying geese method. Once you’ve sewn, cut, and pressed your seam, position the next small square so that when folded in half on the diagonal, the print direction matches the one next to it. Sew this square down using the 4-at-a-time flying geese method, and repeat the process for the remaining pieces. Flying Geese: Both center and points are directional If both the points and the center of your flying geese are using a directional print, you’ll want to start by having the center square facing up, with the directional print right side up the way you want it to end up. Position your first small square on top of the center square, and fold back half the fabric on the diagonal. Make sure that both prints are going the way you want them to go. Line up the second square below the first, and fold that one back in half as well, you want the fabric of both small squares going in the same direction. Sew these squares using the 4-at-a-time flying geese method. Once you’ve sewn, cut, and pressed your seam, position the next small square so that when folded in half on the diagonal, the print direction matches the one next to it. Sew this square down using the 4-at-a-time flying geese method, and repeat the process for the remaining pieces. Discover more tips & tricks! Matching stripes in bindingNon-slip quilting rulerInvisible backing seamFrankenbatting how-to... Read more... Follow us on Instagram Something bright and colorful š Spyglass releas Last week I published a blog post detailing how to Iāve been spending my evenings doing some hand-q Pausing from normal sewing to make some masks. Any Weāre in week 4ļøā£ of the quiltalong! š„³ Th Load More... Follow on Instagram
Harvest Star | PDF$12.00
Etoile | PDF$12.00
Misty Mountains | PDF$12.00
