Magpie Quilts

Look what came back from being quilted by Marie of Blueberry Hill Quilts in Chestermere, Alberta? Moda Love Quilt - FOR SALE HERE This baby! I just couldn't wait to see how it looked on a bed, so I threw it on our bed as soon as I could! Moda Love Quilt - FOR SALE HERE Marie is a genius in picking out quilting patterns and this one is just perfect for this quilt. Moda Love Quilt - FOR SALE HERE Every. Single. Time. I am blown away by the way a perfect quilting job turns a quilt from being just ok to being fabulous! Moda Love Quilt - FOR SALE HERE This one is backed with a pink print cotton backing. The binding and label are on and I'm just waiting for the weather to dry up a bit and then it will get a full on photo shoot.  Moda Love Quilt - FOR SALE HERE I've been seeing so many different color combos for this quilt pattern on Instagram and I know I will be making another one of these soon! --Ann

Since I purchased an embroidery machine a year and a half ago, I've been looking for projects that mix the beautiful designs available and the quilting that I love. 80188-Beloved Dogs by Kathleen Keil Hill I know so many people whose dogs are an integral part of their families. When I saw this design package 80188-Beloved Dogs by Kathleen Keil Hill from Embroidery Online , I began to think about how I could incorporate these beautiful dog embroideries into a usable quilt.  To begin with, I needed to make sure I had all the colours needed for the machine embroidery. I now have a really great selection of earthy brown and black shades for embroidery that I didn't have before. The designer did a great job of finding shades that reflect the dog breeds and digitizing the stitches that show the details. I mean, look at those puppy dog eyes!  I went through my stash collection of fabrics to find the perfect backdrop and didn't find what I was looking for. And th...

Although most of my projects are made with my own fabric collection, sometimes I fall in love with an entire fabric line and buy pre-cuts. That's what happened a while back in my local quilt shop " My Sewing Room ". They had just put out an entire line of fabric from Moda called Wild and Free by Abi Hall . I was there to find something for another project and knew that this sweet fabric would be sold out by the time I had a project in mind. So I scooped up a jelly roll and 2 metres of the feathers on a blue background. The fabrics have been on my shelf for a year or so and I've finally decided on the project. The prints are really cute and I didn't want to cut them too small or those details would disappear. I decided on a square in a square block. It's pretty simple and straight forward. For each block, cut one 2.5" square of background (white) and two 2.5" squares and two 2.5"x6.5" rectangles of each fabric (prints) for each bl...

A little over a year ago, my quilt guild had a workshop on making these hexagon table runners.  Hexagon Table Runner These are made from striped fabrics. This one is a beautiful red and silver gray print. Hexagon Table Runner I didn't take any in progress photos, but these runners aren't complicated to make. Fabric is cut in strips parallel to the stripes in the fabric. Then wedges are cut from those strips with a 60 degree ruler. Hexagon Table Runner You need 6 pieces from each strip with the identical placement of the strips. Hexagon Table Runner Then each set of 6 pieces is sewn together. 60 degree wedges of coordinating fabric are sewn to join the wedges together. Matching the stripe lines is not difficult and the end result looks like an advanced sewing technique. Hexagon Table Runner  I finished them with either 5 or 3 hexagons per runner as the odd number seems to just look better. Hexagon Table Runner Some fabrics are more interesting th...

I've had a 1/2 yard bundle of Edyta Sitar's Blue Sky fabrics (Andover) for a while now, just waiting for the right project.  Blue Sky fabric bundle from Fat Quarter Shop And this is the Libby's Log Cabin quilt I made a few years ago with a different bundle of fabrics. The pattern is from Fons and Porter and is easy to follow. Libby's Log Cabin in pastels Blue is my favourite colour and these blocks were so much fun to put together. I planned the placement of the strips more in this blue version than I did in the green and pink version which was more scrappy. Libby's Log Cabin in Blue Sky fabrics  As each block went on the design wall, the more I fell in love with this verion. Libby's Log Cabin on the design wall  This quilt top is now off to Marie of Blueberry Hill Quilt in Chestermere for quilting and I can't wait to see it all finished! Look for this one to be finished later this summer! Libby's Log Cabin ready for quilting ...

A while back I had a stack of 5" charm squares from this great line of Xanadu Batik fabrics from Moda. I cut each charm square in half to make two pieces 2.5" x 5".   I then sewed them together in pairs and trimmed them to 4.5"x4.5".  After arranging them on my design wall, I sewed them together into a couple table runners. I quilted them with straight lines as shown and sold one from my Etsy shop and the other at a market just before Christmas. That person took her runner home and loved it so much she wanted a bed quilt made from the same fabrics.  As this bundle of fabrics was discontinued, I had to do a little searching to find enough fabrics for a queen size quilt. Eventually I found a fat quarter bundle and a jelly roll from Sisters and Quilters on Etsy . Sandra was very kind to get me an actual shipping quote so I didn't have to overpay postage. Definitely worth it to ask if you see high postage rates for something you are interested in ...

If you've followed me for any length of time, you will know that I love to made small quilts in between my larger projects. I love small quilts for lots of reasons; they challenge my piecing ability, they don't take a lot of fabric, they are finished quickly, and they are great for trying out new techniques. Square Table Runner  I purchased my Brother embroidery machine, not just for the ability to embroidery some of the fabulous designs out there, but also to try to add some more advanced quilting designs to my smaller projects. This little quilt is just over 18" square. I scaled down one of my favourite 12" blocks, a friendship star and I substituted some four-patch squares for some plain squares. Layout #1 Originally, I was going to make a longer skinny runner with the blocks, but after playing around with them on my design wall, I changed my mind and made it square. Layout #2 If you don't have a design wall, use the floor or the top of a bed. S...

I collect the selvedge from my bought fabrics so I can make these pretty mug rugs. Normally, this piece of the fabric ends up in the trash, but I will cut them off both sides of a piece of yardage. When fabric is pressed and squared and ready to be cut, I line up my ruler and cut about 1" off the edges. This gives me the white strip with the fabric details like designer, manufacturer and colors plus about 1/2" of the actual printed fabric. Some people prefer to sew and not see any of the fabric, but I like the pop of color that I get with this width. Selvedge Mug Rug These are simple, quilt as you go pieces. Cut your backing and batting about 1/2" larger all around than your desired finished size. Lay a single piece of selvedge from one corner to the opposite corner. Line up a second piece over the raw edge (the colorful fabric edge), overlapping about 1/4". Sew close to the selvedge edge of the second piece, through both fabrics, the batting and the backin...