LMS

It’s that time of year again!–Time for the  Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks blog tour. =)  This magazine is such a wealth of great block designs and I am excited to have a block featured.  It even made the cover–can you guess which one it is?

As many of you know the whole quilt/block design process is my favorite part of making a quilt–it ranks right up there with my love of fabric.  This block came to be after a fun time playing in EQ7–it combines traditional patchwork with a slightly modern spin.  The solids contribute to a modern feel–they are a mix of Moda Bella Solids and Cross Weaves, Robert Kaufman Kona Solids, and maybe a Free Spirit Solid or two).

The instructions for my block, Block #700, can be found on page 71 in the Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks Volume 7  which hits stores next week.

This block is pretty cool used just by itself in a quilt–here it is in Marmalade by Bonnie and Camille for Moda:

But, it’s even niftier when used with a 2nd block–Here I’ve used a 2nd block and Folk Tale Fabric by Natalie Lymer for Lecien Fabrics.

Or this one using Avalon by Fig Tree Quilts for Moda Fabrics:

The possibilities are endless!  You can see another take on my block in the sampler, block tester, Sheryl Patton made.  It’s pictured in the Block Tester’s Gallery on page 90.  She used Lovely by Debbie Beaves for RJR fabrics and combined my block with two others to create this lovely sampler.

You can see more peeks of the blocks in the issue, visit other blogs participating in the blog hop, and enter great giveaways over on the Quiltmaker’s Blog.

Giveaway Details:

Would you like to win a copy of  the soon to hit Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks?  Just leave me a comment here & tell me about your fave type of quilt–do you prefer modern, traditional, applique?  I’ll draw a winner on Monday.

Thanks for stopping by!

Giveaway has now ended.

Hey Folks!–Today we are enjoying day #2 of Spring Break–we kicked it off with a fun bit of snow yesterday–lots of snow & Spring Break, both events are equally as much fun for me now as they were when I was a kid.

Anyhoo, today I’m sharing my Petals Runner.

It’s in the current issue of Fons & Porters Easy Quilts.  This was another fun collaboration with RJR fabrics using fabrics from their line of Cotton Supreme Solids.

Love these colors!–And I think the back of the runner is just as cool as the front!

This is a great project if you are interested in trying out machine applique.  Gentle curves & a symmetrical template make this a breeze for a beginner.  I finished it off with a bit of straight line quilting–and voila!–a great spring project.

Happy Quilting!

I have received numerous questions recently about using Perle Cotton for quilting whether by hand or by machine.  So, I thought I’d talk a bit about the two techniques.

The Faux Sashiko pillow(pictured above) that I designed for the fall issue of Stitch magazine was machine quilted using Perle Cotton.  This is a great time saving trick, but one I would really only reccommend on smaller projects–my machine gets a bit cranky when using the heavier weight thread and I certainly wouldn’t want to attempt it on a larger quilt.

When I machine quilt using Perle, I only use the Perle for my top thread–the bobbin thread is regular thread.  I use 8 wt. Perle cotton–although 12 wt. might make my machine a bit happier with me.  I always lengthen my stitches–I usually set my stitch length as long as I can on my Bernina.  And I manually pull the thread off the Perle cotton spool so my machine doesn’t have to work so hard.  I leave my tension at the same setting I would use for regular sewing.

My Fall Petals Pillow is hand quilted using 8 wt. Perle Cotton.  Hand quilting with Perle Cotton is essentially the same thing as hand quilting with quilting weight thread.  The technique is the same, but you take longer stitches and you get to use prettier thread. =p

There are a lot of great resources for hand quilting–one of my favorites is from Mary.

Appliqued Pillow

 I almost exclusively use Finca Perle Cotton which I can now purchase locally.  Prior to purchasing locally, I purchased online from Yarn Bazaar.  I was able to purchase a color card from them which is a wonderful tool if you are unable to view the thread colors in person.

Machine Quilted Journal Cover

 Hopefully this answers some of your burning questions about quilting with Perle Cotton! =p

I am very excited to once again have gotten the opportunity to work with Stitch Craft Create Magazine. =)  My Fall Petal Pillow is featured in the Fall 2012 issue which just came out.

We all know that I’ve kinda got a “thing” for applique and hand quilting.  This pillow combines the best of both worlds.  And I always love working with fall colors–and that unexpected pop of blue just works so well in my opinion.

There are so many cute projects in this issue of SCC…paper, yarn, fabric, felt, thread…I think that’s why I like this mag so much!  It’s just got a ton of cuteness going on–and as a mama who loves crafting, with a 7 year old daughter who loves crafting, we always find cute new projects we want to try & new inspiration on every page.

Can I tell you how much I enjoy being able to use Flea Market Fancy for binding!–No fear of not being able to buy more…at least for now…which is perfect, ’cause I love that little posey as a binding.

Shannon, the editor of Stitch Craft Create Magazine, was kind enough to send along an extra Fall issue for me to give away to one of my readers!  If you haven’t checked out Stitch Craft Create Magazine yet, or if you have and you’re addicted to it (like me), just leave me a comment for a chance to win a copy of your own. =)

If you are a subscriber to Stitch Magazine, it is quite possible that you may have received your fall issue.  And, if so, it’s quite possible that you  may have seen a certain pillow, made by me, on the front cover.  Said front cover nearly caused me to fall out of my chair when it was brought to my attention by a wonderful bloggy friend.

My pillow arrived back home yesterday along with my copy of Stitch which I was so excited to see in person.  This is a fairly simple pillow–no tricky piecing, it’s all fusible applique and the quilting is done on the machine using Perle Cotton.

I love the colorful quilting and all those bright fall pops of color on the brown linen.

I haven’t seen this issue out in stores yet but it should be on it’s way before too long!

Happy Tuesday!

You may remember me waxing poetic about the premier issue of Stitch Craft Create last fall.  I was(and still am) so in love with this magazine.  The projects are so doable and there is such a great range of ideas–I think anyone could find at least one(if not more) projects that they would want to try.

I am so excited that my “Chirp” pillow is featured in the issue hitting newstands tommorrow!

I love this little shabby pillow…it has a little bit of stitchy applique, some straight line machine quilting, some stippling, some embroidery, and is chock full of fun shabby fabrics.

The new Lecien fabrics that just came out would be perfect for making one of your own!

All you’d need is a little bit of Linen and you’d be on your way.

Happy Monday!

I have had such fun playing with Pat Bravo’s new Summerlove collection.  This summer-like week was the perfect time to work with these beautiful fabrics.  I moved my sewing machine beside my porch doors and opened them wide and all that fresh warm spring air breezed on by as I was sewing….cheesy, I know, but it really was a great sewing day. =)

I received this wonderful stack of fabric to play with from–the fabrics are Summerlove, new Pure Elements, new Oval Elements–all Art Gallery Fabrics.  This fabric:

along with the fabulous way Art Gallery Displays the pictures of their fabric lines was the basis for my quilt design.

I chose 12 of my favorite prints from Summerlove and added in two Oval Elements prints to make this quilt which features {12} 16″ appliqued blocks.

I used Superior MonoPoly invisible thread for the straight stitch raw edge applique.  This was the first time I used invisible thread for applique–I am happy with the results.  I opted not to use it in my bobbin–which worked fine–I found I didn’t even need to adjust my tension.

Summerlove should be hitting stores any day now–I noticed both Fat Quarter Shop & Hawthorne Threads will be getting in yardage of this line.

Well, I’ve shared several peeks of my Organic Elements quilt and now it’s time for the big reveal. =)  The tutorial for my quilt is over on Moda Bake Shop today.  This might be my favorite quilt yet that I have made for MBS.  The Moda Bella Solids (Warm Pastels Colorway) that I used for this quilt are so pretty!

And of course Angela’s quilting is just the icing on the cake!

I also wanted to let you know that I have started up an LMS flickr group so you can share any projects made using any of my tutorials or patterns.  Hope to see you there!

Scrappy Binding

My French Roses Quilt is complete.  My goal was to finish it up over the weekend and I stitched the last of the binding on yesterday.  And got a hole in my finger from so much hand stitching–do you guys use thimbles to sew on binding?  My poor finger thinks I need to—I’m fine if I don’t stitch a lot of binding on at once–but, last week I did two pillows and a quilt so my poor finger has had it. =p

I straight line quilted about 1/8″ on either side of the seams which I think framed the roses nicely.  Since I could use the seams as my quilting guide I didn’t need to mark any quilting lines which was a real time saver.

The roses frayed up nicely in the wash & the fleece backing that I used makes this quite a cuddly quilt. (You might be interested to know that Ryan is calling this my Pig & Turtle quilt…why?, you ask….Tip your head to the right and you’ll see the pig  & if you look at the rose right above this one you can see the turtle.)…men….

Here’s a closer pic of one of the roses–it’ll fray a little bit more after a couple more washes.

Quilt Stats:

French Roses Quilt Pattern by Heather French

Finshed Quilt Size–57″ x 57″

Fabrics used–Secret Garden by Sandi Henderson for Michael Miller Fabrics

The February 2012 issue of American Patchwork and Quilting arrived in my mailbox last week & I’ve gotta admit to being quite excited to see it in my mailbox….because:

My quilt, “Butterscotch Squares” is in this issue! =)  Designed and pieced by me–and hand quilted by my mom.  I have wanted to to be published in AP&Q for quite some time–one of those bucket list things & last spring I decided to do something about that—I figured it doesn’t hurt to try!  And lo and behold, I about peed my pants when I heard back that they liked my design and wanted to publish it. =)

Butterscotch Squares features both piecing and applique.  I used Moda Bella Solids for the pieced portion of the quilt and a variety of Fig Tree Quilts fabrics for the appliqued petals.  I also think this quilt would be amazing made using white/charcoal and a variety of scrappy brights for the applique!

Happy Tuesday!