Block Printing with Lizzy House

Thanks to Alexis for giving me the heads up, I was able to sign up for a unique opportunity, a two night block printing class with Lizzy House at Gather Here in Cambridge.  If you have been reading my blog for awhile, you know I like printmaking and have done a bit of screen printing and block printing, but, as I told Alexis, I have never printed with Lizzy House!  I picked up a few new tips too.  The best one was to print with a piece of craft foam under my fabric.  I had used dishtowels before and found that craft foam was so much better.

I had time to carve blocks and print two pieces of fabric.  Above is my feather design printed in turquoise ink.  I have had feathers on the brain ever since I first saw Anna Maria Horner's paper pieced feathers.  

Then I printed this piece with little pincushions and pins.  Cute!

Here is what Lizzy was working on.  She carved an adorable back to school block with an apple on top of a pile of math symbols.  She also worked in strips of cats-the one you see in her hand here.  It was such a neat experience to get to print along side of her.  

It just so happens that Cindy asked us to make Great Granny blocks following this tutorial for the Stash Trad Bee. She wanted them in Halloween colors and prints if we had some. I didn't have any Halloween prints but used this as an excuse to pick up a couple of Lizzy House's new Guising prints from Sew Fresh. Thanks to Peg's quick shipping, I received the fabric and was able to make the block for Cindy before my last block printing class last night.

Geek that I am, I brought my block and asked Lizzy to sign it for Cindy!  I kinda hate to send it away now but surprising Cindy with this signed block is even more fun!

The winner of the Sew Me A Song giveaway is Nati!  Congratulations.  Thank you everyone for entering!

Indie Vibrations Quilt

I'd like to share my Indie Vibrations Quilt today, pieced with Pat Bravo's Indie, Robert Kaufman's Essex and Kona, and a few shot cottons. Most of the solids were found at Marmalade Fabrics. The herringbone blocks are paper pieced using my own pattern. I decided to paper piece because I wanted the lines to be different widths and I wanted them to match up nicely. I thought I could do that best paper piecing.  

The quilt top measures 48" wide by 64" long.  I started scrappy on the left and increasingly added more linen and coordinating solids as I moved to the right. I used both color stories from Indie in this quilt-Moonlight Temple and Sunlight Bazaar.

The quilt is bound in Kona Navy with a little scrappy strip on the right side.

I love the way the quilting looks on the back!  The backing is Timeless Treasures Linen Look with a pieced Indie strip.  I quilted heavily in the linen sections and then used some straight line stitching in the other areas.  I made a free motion triangle burst sort of design in the"eyes" of the quilt.

Indie is now available! You can find it at the Fat Quarter Shop and Sew Fresh Fabrics.

Sew Me A Song Giveaway!

I love a good giveaway, don't you?  Becca from Sew Me A Song, asked if I would like to host a giveaway for her and the best part of it was that I got to put together the bundle!  

Becca just got in a bunch of Yuwa prints so I knew that I wanted to include at least one of those.  I decided to start with a half yard of Red Fashion Sewing by Suzuko Koseki for Yuwa of Japan and then added some coordinating FQs. The fat quarters are: Dictionary Sewing Guide in Black from Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater, Red and White Stripe from Color Basics by Lecien, Pinking Shears in Concrete from Sew Mama Said by Sweetwater, Small Dots in Red by Riley Blake, Black Stripe from Color Basics by Lecien and Red Small Chevron by Riley Blake.  

Becca will also be listing this bundle in her shop on Monday morning if you want to snatch one before they are gone.

To enter this generous giveaway:

entry 1:   Simply leave me a comment here telling me what Halloween costumes you have been roped into sewing this year, or your favorite fall dinner idea.  

entry 2:  Follow my blog.

entry 3:  Mark Sew Me A Song as a favorite on Etsy.

I will draw a name on Friday morning Sept. 28th.  Good luck!

Fanciful Flight Table Runner Tutorial

I was inspired to make a "Fanciful Flight" table runner by not only the Tim Holtz Fanciful Flight die but by the masses of butterflies that have been appearing in my garden in recent days. Just the other day we counted over a dozen butterflies on my ornamental oregano.

I wanted the striking design of the butterflies to take center stage so I created a low volume patchwork background.  Indie fabrics by Pat Bravo proved to be just the thing for colorful butterfly wings!  I also used one Anna Maria Horner print.

I quilted with Angela Walter's double loop pattern because I thought it looked like butterfly flight.

My tutorial is available on the Sizzix blog today.

Indie Bag-Free Pattern!

I made myself a new fall bag with Pat Bravo's beautiful Indie prints.  I love the saturated colors in this line.  They are so rich and just seem perfect for this time of year.  This bag has a natural linen band with hand stitches, a shaped top, magnetic snap closure, pleated body and two straps to be worn over your shoulder.

I thought I would share the free pattern for this bag with you! You can download the pdf file right here.  If you make one, I'd love it if you would share a picture in my During Quiet Time Flickr group.

Red Gate Stitchery

I was checking out the recent "likes" on the Seacoast Modern Quilt Guild Facebook page and clicked on a new member's name only to discover that she had an Etsy shop called Red Gate Stitchery. Moreover, I love everything in her shop! I wanted to share her work with you. 

Susan designs modern cross stitch patterns and kits, some are jewelry and some are home dec items, using fresh materials like leather, bamboo and acrylic. She sells both finished pieces and kits for those of us who like to stitch! After much deliberation, I ordered this kit. I am not normally a heart person but I liked the small size and the leather/neutral thread combo. I just finished up my necklace today! 

Susan also sells just the necklace blanks so you can design your own cross stitch design. On the back of the package, there is a diagram that you can use to create your design before you start stitching. I am going to try to come up with my own design next and when I do, I am going to stitch it up using a bamboo pendant! 

I hope you will check out Susan's shop! I am looking forward to seeing her at our meeting next month. I'm hoping we can convince her to come share her projects with us at one of our future meetings.

Flip Flop Paper Pieced Pattern

Tamiko asked us to make Hawaii themed blocks this month in the Cocorico bee.  One of her suggestions was a flip flop. I jumped on that one because I love wearing my flip flops from spring straight through the fall.    I designed this block for her, using Linen Texture from Timeless Treasures for the sole because it looks a bit like cork to me.  The straps are a great opportunity to use bright playful fabrics. I chose a dot from Robert Kaufman.  The background is Stained Glass in Aqua by Dear Stella.  It's great as a background fabric because it works without looking busy even though it is broken up by a number of seams.  I also feel like it has an Hawaiian vibe...not sure why.

In case you love your flip flops too and  find yourself missing them in the winter, I am adding this pattern to my Etsy and Craftsy shops.  So get out your sewing machine and stitch up some flip flops that you can enjoy year round!  These would look great on a beach tote or made up in different colors for a beach house quilt.

Don't Be Crabby

How could one possibly be crabby looking at these adorable, happy prints?  Laurie Wisbrun's new line, Don't be Crabby, will be available for stores to order beginning Sept. 24th and will be shipping in December.

In the meantime, thanks to Laurie, I have this fat quarter bundle to create something with to share with you in November.  I have an idea too and am looking forward to sewing it up.  When I come back with my project, I will have a fat quarter bundle to giveaway to a lucky reader as well!

There are two colorways of Don't be Crabby, the red/orange and the green/aqua.  I think I am drawn slightly more to the green/aqua colorway but eh, it probably depends on my mood on the given day. I like them both.  

I particularly like this little patterned crab.  Isn't he adorable?

This collection has some great selvages. I didn't get any selvages on my fabric (boo hoo) but there are pictures of the selvages on Laurie's blog.  Check them out!

Honeymoon Quilt Tutorial

I feel like I have been waiting forever to share this one so I am thrilled that the day has come!  I created this 52" x 60" lap quilt for BasicGrey using their Little Black Dress fabric line.  You can find Little Black Dress now at the Fat Quarter Shop.  The dots only are available at Sew Me A Song.

I'm not sure if I have mentioned it here before but one of my personal goals at the moment is to improve my free motion quilting skills.  Thanks to Angela Walter's awesome book, I am feeling more brave and determined. I used two of her quilting patterns in the center of this quilt, the square flower and the variation of sunrays and pebbles.  The rest of the quilt is done using Elizabeth Hartman's Orange Peel design. 

Full tutorial and more pictures can be found on the BasicGrey blog today.

Big Sale!

Just a quick post to call your attention to Tammy's big sale at Marmalade Fabrics!  There is some good stuff with some big mark downs!  Hurry before she sells out!

So Big

I'm working on a mini quilt tutorial for the BasicGrey blog using Kissing Booth and I just discovered these adorable selvages!  Aren't they sweet?

I'm happy to have my sewing as a distraction at the moment so I don't focus too much on all the growing up that has been happening around here lately. It can be hard on a Mommy!  My oldest has a new bike with gears and has started jumping off a ramp with it!  (Don't worry, it's only about 6" high).

My middle child just learned to ride her bike without training wheels and says that she feels "free like she could go anywhere now!"

And just this morning, my littlest started preschool.  It's all a little hard to take!

Robbing Peter to Pay Paul Pillow Cover Tutorial

I am happy to report that my sewing machine is realigned, repaired and back at home with me.  Because of that, I was able to finish this pillow for my mom. I thought I would share a little tutorial today in case you'd like to give it a try.  My pillow cover is 18" finished and I used a selection of prints, primarily Penelope and Linen Texture from Sew Me a Song, along with Ivory Essex Linen and Basic Grey Grunge Vanilla from Marmalade Fabrics. I also used the Sizzix Robbing Peter to Pay Paul 4 1/2" die.

I started out by cutting my blue and white Penelope print into 5" squares and placing them over the large section of the die.  I then cut smaller strips out of my off whites and placed them over the die to cut the smaller edge pieces.  Remember, you need to cut 4 small pieces for each of the one larger pieces.

I know that some people prefer to sew these curves without any pins. I like to use a couple.  By all means, do what works for you. I will show you what worked for me.  I placed the smaller curved section on top of the large piece, right sides together.  I put one pin in the center at the notch.  

I carefully lined up the edges, tip to tip and lowered my needle.  Note that I am using a 1/4" presser foot with an edge guide. This is very necessary for sewing these blocks.  I then stitched along slowly, adjusting the fabric as I went until I came to the pin at the center.  I always set my machine to needle down when sewing curves too.

After removing the center pin, I moved it to hold the bottom tips in place and continued sewing.

I then ironed my seam allowance toward the outside of the block.

You can see that best here, from the back.

Following the same procedure, I sewed the bottom curve and then the side curve and then the top.

Here is my completed block.  To make this pillow, I needed 16 of these blocks assembled in rows of four.

When sewing the blocks together, you need to try to match those center curves as best you can.  If you were really careful sewing all your curves earlier, they will match fairly easily.

I then added borders using the Sizzix 2 1/2" strip cutter die.  I created my quilt sandwich, basted and quilted.  When the quilting was done, I squared up the pillow cover and trimmed it down to 18 1/2".

I have been practicing my free motion quilting, totally inspired by Angela Walter's book.  I decided to quilt heavily in the wedges so that the centers would pop a bit more since my pillow is low contrast.

I finished up as I normally do with an invisible zipper closure from Zipit, this time in beige which blends nicely with the Linen Texture I used for the backing.

And here is the pillow in it's intended spot, my mom's kitchen bench beside her wood stove.  The blue and white spiderweb quilt is something I made her for Christmas a few years ago.

Stringed Star-Stash Trad Bee

For the Stash Trad Bee this month, Corey chose a stringed star with an inner ring of a solid color.  The tutorial is available here.  I enjoyed picking out fabrics in Corey's colors though I found that I had very few true yellows and more mustards in my collection (I'll have to fix that!).  She asked for a Kona Snow background and strings in  aqua, coral, green, grey/taupe, and yellow.  I threw in a little text fabric because it happened to be yellow and I know that Corey likes text fabrics too!

I have to admit that this block gave me a run for my money.  I precut triangles of Kona Snow as Corey instructed for the background but had a hard time getting them to line up just right.  I finally cut big triangles and trimmed them down and it went together easily once I did that.  I am pretty certain that the directions were not at fault-it was just me!

Rock 'n Romance

Look at what arrived in my mailbox last week!  Rock 'n Romance by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics.  There are two colorways-Heartbreaker and Dreammaker.  I love both but might like Dreammaker slightly more.  Fortunately, I didn't have to pick.  The colorways are mixed together in the picture above.  

I'm looking forward to sewing with these once my sewing machine is back. Suddenly, without warning, the hand wheel stopped turning easily on Thursday night. I am without it until at least tomorrow evening.  It's killing me!  Fortunately, my computer design work is keeping me busy and I got the fridge and freezer cleaned out!

Texting While Sewing Winners

Many thanks to Kerry and Ayumi who have spent the last few days studying the top ten blocks and making difficult decisions.  The top ten blocks were judged for their creative use of text fabrics.  Of course all of the blocks used text fabrics creatively so that's what made the decision so hard!  After much deliberation, we are pleased to announce and congratulate the three winners of the Texting while Sewing Contest:

First Place Winner

A big congratulations goes out to Laurraine who produced this amazing block called "Scalloping on the Bias Cafe."  There is such a huge range of teeny tiny text bits in this block and they are used so cleverly with humor as well.  

Laurraine will receive:

A $50 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.  

From Sew Me A Song, a bundle of eight half yard cuts of Becca's newest and greatest text fabrics for a total of 4 yards.

From Quilted Treasures, a Lucy's Crab Shack Bundle your choice of "Guy" or "Gal" (gal pictured above).

And for those who have trouble with the fine print (he, he, he) a Beam N Read hands free crafting light and magnifier.

Second Place Winner

A round of applause please for Cindy, who created an imaginary conversation between two sisters on an iPad.  She took the "texting while sewing" theme quite literally!  Clearly Cindy's years of selvage collecting has paid off in this block.

Cindy will receive:

A $40 gift certificate from Sew Fresh Fabrics to spend however you like.

A $35 gift certificate to Zipit, my all time favorite zipper shop on Etsy.

From Sew Me A Song, a fat quarter bundle of eight of Becca's newest and greatest text fabrics for a total of 2 yards.

Third Place Winner

Kristy has won third place for her Quilt Bible.  Look at the tiny piecing on those sample blocks with their names fussy cut below.  And I think that the selvage bookmark is genius.

Kristy will receive:

A $25 gift certificate to spend at Fresh Squeezed Fabrics.

From Sew Me A Song, a fat quarter bundle of eight of Becca's newest and greatest text fabrics for a total of 2 yards.

1/2 yard cuts of the three colorways of Summersville Alphabetty for a total of 1 1/2 yard from Marmalade Fabrics. 

And a charm pack of Summersville from Quilted Treasures.

For one last time, I would like to thank all the contestants for taking the time and creative energy needed to join my contest.  And thank you so much to all my sponsors who made entering this contest oh so tempting!