Snow Days, Sew Days

We've had a little bit of a cold snap here in Alberta this week, but I'm ok with that. My mom came to visit for a few days and we enjoyed sewing together. She came with a table runner that just needed a binding put on (I didn't get a picture of that one!) and a couple patterns she wanted to try. Mom had this beautiful green fabric with butterflies that was going to be made into a table runner, but she needed some coordinating fabrics. So we braved the -26C temps and headed into the city to one of my fav local quilt shops, Traditional Pastimes. The staff there are always so helpful and the store is full of great fabrics and it didn't take long to find a few so Mom could make her table runner.

Bernadette from Traditional Pastimes is also the designer of the 2013 Block of the Month, "Rubies, Diamonds, Garnets Too",  over at Kansas City Star Quilts.

I managed to finish the pillows for my daughter-in-law and she'll get them in a few days for on her sofa. The picture is a little washed out - I'm still trying to figure out settings on my camera, but these are brown with turquoise blue and tan. They are backed with the same fabric as the binding and the darker brown squares.

--Ann

WIP Wednesday - January 23

My first WIP post for 2013! Woohoo!

Here's what I've got on my sewing table today:

Red, White, Turquoise Table Runner 12"x48"

Just finished this quilted table runner for Faye in the UK - she saw something she liked in my Etsy shop and requested a different size to fit her table. This will be one of the last items I make in this colour scheme as I am almost out of the red & white fabrics.

Pillow top in progress

Pillows finished!

And I've been making pillows! For my living room and for my daughter-in-law. These were fun to make up and made me realize that a few coordinating accessories really make a difference in how a room looks!

How about you? What have you been working on this week?

--Ann

Linking up with:
Quiltsy WIP Wednesday #46
The Needle and Thread Network #74
and Freshly Pieced WIP Wednesday

Pink Chevron Quilt Tutorial

This is a little quilt I made for my newest grandbaby and I promised a tutorial for all of you.

Materials required:
50 pink charm squares (5")
50 white or cream charm squares (5")
Batting
Backing
Binding - approximately 170" length

(Here's a great place to get your charms - SewFunQuilts on Etsy - $6.85 US for a pack of 30 squares)

I used a fat eighth pack of 12 different pink fabrics and a piece of pink from my stash. It was enough for the 50 charm squares and the binding. A fat eighth is 9"x22" and you can get four 5" squares and one 2.25" binding strip from each with a 2" - 2.25" strip left over.

Match each pink charm square with a white charm square. Draw a diagonal line through the center and sew a quarter inch seam on either side of your drawn line.

Cut apart on your drawn line and press towards the pink fabric.

Take all your pink/white squares and lay them out in a chevron pattern. There will be no need to trim to size if you started with all identical squares and piece with a consistent seam allowance. You'll be making a grid of 9 blocks by 11 blocks to make a 36"x44" baby quilt.

Sew your squares together to make rows, and then your rows together to finish the top. Almost done!

Quilted & bound!

Layer your backing, batting and top together and pin. Quilt as desired & add binding! (I quilted in the ditch along the diagonal lines of the blocks to emphasize the chevron design.)

Minkee backing - so soft!

I used super soft Minkee fabric for my backing and took special care not to stretch it during the layering and pinning process. And pinned with about twice the pins as I would with a flannel back. And took my time with the quilting to keep the stretch factor down.

--Ann

PS Leave me a comment & a link if you've made something with this little tutorial! I would love to see what you make!

Edited 26 Aug 2013 to add: THANK YOU SO MUCH for the awesome response to this tutorial! I am so overwhelmed by the amount of people who have stopped by to take a look and follow along! 

Log Cabin Heart Tutorial

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here's a little tutorial on how to make this sweet little Valetine's quilt:

General Directions:

 I made mine quite a few years ago with scraps of pinks, reds and purples that were in my scrap bin. You will need a variety of strip sizes (1.5", 2" and 2.5"). You may want to cut your strips just a little longer than specified and trim after sewing. Press all seams towards the outside of the block. And if your blocks are not all the same size, trimming them down to the same size should not affect the finished results.

Block A - you will need 6 of these blocks 

For each A block you will need the following pieces:

2.5" x2.5" pink

1.5" x 2.5" background

1.5" x 3.5" background

2.5" x 3.5" pink

2.5" x 5.5" pink

1.5" x 5.5" background

1.5" x 6.5" background

2.5" x 6.5" pink

2.5" x 8.5" pink

1.5" x 8.5" background

1.5" x 9.5" background

2.5" x 9.5" pink

2.5" x 11.5" pink

Sew them together in the order shown, starting with the 2.5" pink square and the 1.5" x 2.5" background piece. Continue in a counter-clockwise direction around the center square until done.

Block B - you will need 2 of these blocks

For each B block you will need the following pieces:

2.5" x2.5" background

1.5" x 2.5" pink

1.5" x 3.5" pink

2.5" x 3.5" background

2.5" x 5.5" background

1.5" x 5.5" pink

1.5" x 6.5" pink

2.5" x 6.5" background

2.5" x 8.5" background

1.5" x 8.5" pink

1.5" x 9.5" pink

2.5" x 9.5" background

2.5" x 11.5" background

Sew them together in the order shown, starting with the 2.5" pink square and the 1.5" x 2.5" background piece. Continue in a counter-clockwise direction around the center square until done.

Block C - you will need 2 of these in your background fabric and 2 in the heart fabric

For each C block you will need the following pieces:

2.5" x 2.5" 

2" x 2.5"

2" x 4" (two)

2" x 5.5" (two)

2" x 7" (two)

2" x 8.5" (two)

2" x 10" (two)

2" x 11.5" 

Putting it all together:

Lay your blocks out on your table or design wall as shown in the diagram above. Sew together and add borders if you like and quilt as desired.

This is a great little scrappy quilt and so easy to make! Let me know if you have any troubles or if it worked for you - the instructions are based on my quick sketches, not from experience!

--Ann

Canadian Content

I love this line of fabrics from Thimbleberries. It's called "Greetings from Canada" and I still find some now and then at local quilting shops and even Fabricland. I've made a few of these little quilted table toppers for hostess gifts when I've traveled and they fit easily in a suitcase if you're limited in your luggage space.

Canadian Friendship Stars - FOR SALE

Canadian Pinwheels - FOR SALE

There's probably enough scraps left for one more project and I think it will be a longer, skinnier table runner.

And I finished them off with my new labels from spoonflower.com. I made a label on Word, choosing my font and adding the magpie picture. When I had the size I wanted, I printed it out and then used my scanner to scan it into the correct format for uploading to Spoonflower.  I have a space for the name of the quilt and room after Calgary, AB for the year. It adds a nice finished touch to my quilted items and saves me time too!

--Ann

Old Friends Pillow Cover

I've had this Nancy Halvorsen pattern for quite some time - it's from Art to Heart and the date on the package is 1997, and I love the saying "It takes a long time to grow an old friend". This is the little wallhanging I made from the kit that was included in the pattern and I've had it in my Etsy shop for a long time until it sold late in 2012.

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend" wallhanging

 Someone saw the wall hanging at one of the craft sales I was at and wanted the pattern made into a pillow for her friend. We brightened up the colours to match her home decor and changed the haircolours to match the two friends and voila!

Details!

 A little hand stitching was added to secure the fused applique and to make it a little more durable.

"It takes a long time to grow an old friend" pillow cover

It's meant to have a 16" pillow form, but all I had on hand was a 14", so the pillow looks a little flat here, but it's such a great gift for one of those forever friends and I'm so pleased to be part of this special gift!

--Ann