November update

11 / 21 / 1911 / 21 / 19

Hey all! This month is ticking away so I thought I’d give you a November update. There are so many things going on this time of year! I’m making a pre-Thanksgiving vegetarian dinner this weekend for my daughter and her partner who are visiting for the weekend. It sounded like a good idea at the time, but I’m also hosting Thanksgiving next week, so it’s crazy busy! I’m not complaining, though. I’ll get to spend some quality time with our kids who are nearby. The grandchildren will be staying in Austin for the holidays since baby brother is due in one month today!

November update at The Crafty Quilter. These two pumpkins are the cutest of them all! — Amelia & Clara, October 2019

I was recently contacted by Benartex and asked to participate in their “Last Minute Gift Ideas” Project Hop. Of course, I said “yes”! I requested some fabric from their Celestial Lights Fabric Line and I just received it a few days ago. It’s gorgeous, and I am so excited to come up with a new project for it.

Celestial Lights Fabric by Amanda Murphy for Benartex.

These blues are perfect for winter. They have a pearlescent shimmer to them that looks like glistening snow. I’m thinking of making some kind of table mat with them. It needs to be a quick project, so fast and easy is the key. The project hop is schedule for mid-December.

Starry Sky from Celestial Lights by Amanda Murphy for Benartex

I recently finished a cute little fabric book for my granddaughter, Clara. I forgot to take pictures before I put it in the mail, so I photographed the shop sample made by Pam at The Granary Quilt Shop (thanks, Pam!).

November update: Snowman Fun made by Pam for The Granary Quilt Shop.

This was made from a panel – Snow Day by Stacy Iest Hsu for Moda. I put it together in two days. I like that it’s interactive and something that is perfect for a toddler or preschooler.

I’m still working on my new pattern. I’m determined to have it finished by the end of this month. That’s my November UFO & WIP Challenge goal. While I was at my parent’s house last weekend, I took a picture of the quilt on their wood pile. It was a perfect Fall day for photography.

Quilt designed and made by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter. Pattern coming soon.

Now it’s time for some housecleaning and then a walk for Cooper. I’ll be back soon with some ideas for Christmas gift-making. I hope you’re having a great week!

Happy Little Things giveaway winner & your favorite size quilt to make

11 / 13 / 1911 / 13 / 19

First up is the Happy Little Things giveaway winner for month 4 of Jacquelnne Steves’ free BOM. Out of 96 comments, #96 is the winner! I use the true random number generator and I was so surprised when it came up with the last comment number which belongs to Georgiana B. Congratulations!

To be entered into the giveaway, I asked you to tell me your favorite size quilt to make. Georgiana replied, “I like to make small thin quilts that grandchildren can use as play quilts. Sometimes just a panel with borders. I also make covers for public changing tables – just the two layers of fabric, 2 half yard by WOF pieces. Just the right size and thin enough to be folded into a diaper bag. Now 80 years old and sewing for great grandchildren.”

I enjoyed reading all of the responses. It’s almost like taking an informal survey. The majority of comments were in favor of lap (or throw) size quilts. The reasons are:

easy enough to quilt yourself
a good size to snuggle under
they provide instant gratification
not too expensive to make
useful

Lap-size quilt: Plain & Fancy made by Julie Cefalu. Pattern by Coriander Quilts

The next favorite quilt size is wall hangings and baby quilts. Smaller quilts means more finishes! I understand that rationale too well. Table toppers is a good one, too. My Summer Fun Wall Hanging is a favorite of mine.

Summer Fun Wall Hanging made and designed by Julie Cefalu

Mini quilts are also popular – I think we’re still going through a mini phase and I am part of that for sure! I’ve made an Amish Mini Quilt (my free tutorial is here), Sew Happy Mini Quilt (free tutorial here), Hot Air Balloon Mini Quilt (free tutorial here) and a Nordic Mini Quilt (free tutorial here).

Sew Happy Mini Quilt Tutorial @ The Crafty Quilter — SEW HAPPY MINI QUILT

I’m glad to see that there are a few of you out there still making large quilts for beds. It’s a favorite way to decorate a bedroom and a wonderful gift to give. I hope to make all of my kids (and grandkids) a large quilt some day.

“Paris at Christmas Time” made by Julie Cefalu, Pattern by This ‘n That

Thanks for all of the comments and participation in the giveaways. I hope you’re having a great day!

Sew Thankful Sunday, November 2019

11 / 10 / 1911 / 10 / 19

{I love the idea of “paying it forward”. I think the world would be a better place if we could spread some joy and acknowledgement of good deeds done by others. I try to do that once a month for my Sew Thankful Sunday posts. I highlight some great content that I’ve found on other people’s blogs that I hope will inspire you and reward the originator by bringing traffic to their site. If your blog has been mentioned without your consent, please let me know and I will take you off the current list of featured bloggers.}

Sew Thankful Sunday November 2019 is full of inspiration for the holidays and beyond!

It’s just beginning to feel like Fall here in Northern California, but it’s definitely looking like it inside my home. The month of November is also time to gear up for Christmas, so you’ll find lots of inspiration for the holidays in today’s Sew Thankful Sunday November post.

Note: If you use Pinterest, please pin from the original source and not this blog post. Remember, you can click on any of the images in this post and it will open up a new tab to the associated link.

Tis the season! Check out 100 Days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration at Hoosier Homemade. I guarantee you’ll find something worth pinning and creating for the holidays!

Caroline at Sew Can She is gearing up for the holidays too with her 10 NEW Holiday Gifts To Make From Free Sewing Tutorials. You’ll love this video full of great sewing ideas for your favorite people!

It’s time to start thinking about block of the month (BOM) programs for 2020. You can’t go wrong with Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville’s new Frolic, A Quiltville Mystery BOM. This is a great way to learn to techniques while making a beautiful, 82″ square quilt.

You may find yourself needing a Casserole Carrier this month, and Pat Bravo for We All Sew has the perfect tutorial for you to make one. It’s cute and functional!

Nothing makes decorating easier than these free Printable Vintage Christmas Vehicles from Krista at The Happy Housie. You can print them in 5″x7″ or 8″x10″ formats. While you’re there, she has links to 23 other free holiday printables!

I fell in love with this Desert Flower Block tutorial from Quilt Jane. She does a wonderful job of showing you how easy it is to make two quilt blocks from two fat quarters. Jane’s finished Desert Flower quilt is beautiful, too!

Desert Flower Quilt Block Tutorial @ Quilt Jane

The Jolly Jabber recently released another free block pattern in their Classic & Vintage Series: Broken Dishes. You can download the broken dishes block pattern for free or purchase a quilt pattern to make an entire quilt.

I absolutely love using wool batting in my quilts, and you can learn a little bit more about why at Suzy Quilts. She explains so well Why Wool Batting Makes the Warmest Quilts along with its other great qualities.

I hope your creative juices are flowing this beautiful Sunday. There is sew much to be thankful for – especially with the help of today’s featured bloggers and designers. Happy November!

November UFO & WIP Challenge prize and a new favorite tool

11 / 8 / 1911 / 8 / 19

I have put together a nice little package for the November UFO & WIP Challenge prize. If you’re new to my blog, you can find out all of the details for this monthly challenge here.

November UFO & WIP Challenge prize

The prize package for this month includes a fat quarter of black and white pre-printed quilt labels (I don’t know the manufacturer), a Rainy Day Sewing pattern by Thimble Blossoms, Alex Anderson’s Essential 4 in 1 Sewing Tool and my new favorite notion: Diagonal Seam Tape by Cluck Cluck Sew. I’ll tell you more about that in a minute. The total value of this prize is $40 and it is donated by me and my stash!

My new favorite sewing tool

I have discovered a new favorite sewing tool and it’s so genius and simple and wonderful. It’s Diagonal Seam Tape by Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew and it is sure to make your quilting life so much easier. It’s washi tape that has center and 1/4″ markings on it that will help you sew diagonal seams without the need to mark them. I tried it out today and it’s fabulous!

My new favorite tool for sewing s Diagonal Seam Tape by Cluck Cluck Sew.

You can use it for making half-square triangles, stitch and flip seams or anything that requires a diagonal guideline. You can even use it for your 1/4″ piecing guide. Allison has a great web page that tells you all about it here. I think it’s such a clever design and really easy to use! It attaches to the bed of your sewing machine and it peels off easily when you need to replace it. One roll should last you a long, long time.

Other news

I’m still numb that it’s November already and Thanksgiving is in a few weeks and Christmas right behind that. I’ve had some exciting things going on in my sewing room. I recently purchased two new sewing machines (Baby Lock) and parted with three sewing machines (so I’m consolidating). I’ll give you all of the details in a separate blog post. But, I give you that information because it takes time to set up and learn how to use a new sewing machine. It’s been fun playing with new toys, but it requires patience and time. Yesterday, I made a little stitch sampler with my favorite applique stitches as a reference guide for my new machine. You can read about how I make them and why here.

I’m almost finished with my sample for a new pattern that I’m designing and it’s wonderful to see it go from a computerized image in EQ8 to a full fledged quilt. I appreciate all of the feed back you gave me in the comments last week about the two quilt options. I went with your top choice which was design number 2 (no sashing). Working on the pattern will be my WIP project for November.

A new pattern designed by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter is coming soon. — A new quilt pattern coming soon!

I also realized that I blew right by Sew Thankful Sunday for November! Oh my gosh. I’ll have it ready this Sunday and it will be full of holiday goodness. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend!

How to line up sashing on a quilt so your blocks stay straight

11 / 6 / 1911 / 6 / 19

I just finished making Cardinals, a quilt pattern by The Pattern Basket. Because this quilt had sashing around each block, it seemed like an opportune time to give you some tips on how to line up sashing so your blocks stay straight.

How to line up sashing strips so your blocks stay straight and even @ The Crafty Quilter.

Cardinals quilt made by Julie Cefalu, pattern by The Pattern Basket — Cardinals quilt made by Julie Cefalu
Pattern by The Pattern Basket

Quick refresher: Sashing refers to strips of fabric that are sewn between blocks and rows.

The first time I added sashing to a quilt, I had no idea that it mattered how they were sewn on. What could possibly go wrong? Well, if you’re not careful, your quilt blocks will not line up from row to row and you’ll get a slightly topsy turvy effect (without the wine).

You can see in my Sew Happy quilt below (free tutorial here), that the last two blocks on the bottom right have shifted slightly to the right compared to the row above it. I wasn’t paying attention when I sewed the sashed rows together, but I didn’t think it was a big enough error to go back and fix (aka lazy quilter).

Sew Happy Mini Quilt Tutorial by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter

Back to the Cardinals quilt. It was really important that I match the sashing strips from each row so that my blocks lined up neatly. This quilt is a sample for The Granary Quilt Shop so it had to look “professional” (and no more lazy quilter). It’s an easy process, though, and doesn’t require a lot of extra fussing.

How to line up sashing so your blocks stay straight

Once you’ve sewn your short sashing strips to the sides of each block and formed a row, you will join the rows together with a long sashing strip. This is when you need to pay attention.

After you sew a long sashing strip to the top or bottom of a row, draw registration lines on the unsewn edge of the long sashing strip.
Using a small ruler, position its edge along the short sashing strip (between the blocks) and mark the edge of the long sashing strip on both seams.
Repeat for each set of sashing seams.
Join the rows together by matching registration marks to the short sashing seams of the next row.
Pin well and stitch.

Your blocks should line up perfectly, and be stacked neatly. Easy peasy!

Cardinals quilt made by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter. Pattern by The Pattern Basket. — Cardinals quilt made by Julie Cefalu
Pattern by The Pattern Basket

Many patterns use sashing and cornerstones between the blocks. This extra square piece (the cornerstone) is its own little gate keeper. You’ll have a seam to match where the cornerstone is instead of a long piece of sashing. You can see an example of that in my Franklin Star pattern.

Franklin Star Pattern designed and made by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter. Pattern available on Etsy. — Franklin Star Pattern, designed by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter

I’m sure there are other ways to line up sashing strips, but I hope this gives you a little direction the next time you make a quilt that has them. Until next time, happy quilting!