Some fall quilts, past and present

10 / 11 / 1810 / 10 / 18

Don’t you love decorating for the seasons? Right now, it most likely means bringing out some of those favorite fall quilts. I still love my “elegant” Halloween quilt from last year. You can read more about it and see more pictures here.

Another favorite from several years back is this All Hallow’s Eve Silhouette wall hanging from Fig Tree Quilts. Seriously, super cute; I love bringing it out in October.

I have several tutorials for fall table runners. Most recently is my Candy Corn Flowers Table Runner. It’s easy applique and simple piecing for this one.

And from way back (2012), I have a fall table runner tutorial that incorporates some beautiful fabrics for a Thanksgiving feast.

This year, I’ve made an adorable Pumpkin Patch Wall Hanging. This is a soon-to-be released pattern available for purchase. I’m having it tested soon and I’ll let you know when it’s available.

October is a busy month. Today, I’m attending the Pacific International Quilt Festival in Santa Clara, California. I’m taking a ruler class in the morning and then I’m free to do some shopping and exploring. On Friday, I leave for Austin, TX, to babysit the granddaughters for a few days. I’m so excited to see them! At the end of the month, we’re taking a road trip to Everett, Washington to visit my daughter up there. And between all of those events I have a few classes to teach and projects to finish!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I’ll be back next week with… something. I’ll think of something (it might include pictures of two cute little girls). Happy Fall!

Save the Bees giveaway winner and a flash sale

10 / 9 / 18

We have a winner for the Save the Bees giveaway for October. The lucky number is 233, Nancy S. Congratulations! You’ll be receiving a package of Aurifil thread very soon. When asked to leave a comment telling me who taught you to quilt, Nancy said,

My husband and I were attending the annual convention of the Oregon California Trail Assn. in Gering, Nebraska, in the 1990’s. (I live in the Bay Area in California.) There is a cute, friendly quilt shop there — I still get their weekly emails. I had not done quilting before, and I loved seeing the finished products on display. Some fabrics even featured covered wagons, as they are right on the Emigrant Trail. Regardless that I was in my 60s, I bought one of the kits, followed the directions, and made the table runner. It turned out just great, and I was hooked. Now, twenty years later, I’m still following patterns and making different projects, mainly table runners.

Thanks to everyone who participated. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all of your comments. So many of you learned to quilt from a family member (such a treasure) and there are lots of us that were self-taught, including me.

My quilting journey started after I had been sewing since the 7th grade. I loved using fabric to make clothes, curtains, Halloween costumes, bags and doll accessories. My oldest sister had been quilting “forever” and always tried to nudge me into quilting. I resisted until my youngest of four children began preschool; I finally had some time to give it a try. I saw a pattern for a doll quilt in Parent magazine and thought that would be a nice way to start. By the time I made my second lap-sized quilt, I was hooked. That was 21 years ago!

Flash Sale!

Today only (10/9/18) Craftsy is having a 24-hour flash sale on supplies and DVD’s! You’ll find everything from precuts, yardage, thread and notions on sale!

There’s also a “Get Started” event going on at Bluprint (formerly Craftsy). You can enjoy all classes, plus projects, recipes, patterns and more for free until October 12. I personally love Bluprint for the latest quilting techniques, and I’ve learned a lot of new cooking skills, too. I hope you give it a try – I think you’ll love it, too!

I’ll be back soon with my latest projects in the works and a new pattern reveal! Happy quilting!

Sew Thankful Sunday, October 2018

10 / 7 / 1810 / 6 / 18

{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.}

Hello October. I love, love this time of year. I’ve been busting out the fall decorations and loving the occasional cool days (it’s supposed to be 80 degrees in the Bay Area today, but I’m ready for sweaters and cozy fires). There is sew much fun stuff to share today; it’s a beautiful and busy time of year!

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.

Let’s start October with this adorable Happy Fall Pumpkin Truck Embroidery Hoop Art from Bev at Flamingo Toes. I love the combination of applique and embroidery she uses, plus those colors!

Happy Fall Pumpkin Embroidery Hoop Art @ Flamingo Toes

2. I am forever thankful to Fave Quilts for featuring many of my tutorials. Recently they included my Soft & Striped Baby Quilt in their 21 Baby Quilts in a Day Patterns blog post. If you’re looking for a quick baby quilt project, this blog post might be your answer.

3. With the cooler weather, you’re going to need a cute Halloween Mug Rug, and Connie at Free Motion by the River has the free tutorial for you. This would make a great gift for a teacher or friend, but I think you need to make one for yourself.

4. If you have a young family and you’re looking for some activity ideas, check out this 100 Family Friendly Fall Bucket List by Heather at Moritz Fine Designs. You can download and print out the cute, free list of ideas and let the adventures begin!

5. Here’s a great way to satisfy your sweet tooth; a Candy Corn Mini Quilt from Susan at We All Sew. This easy little project will add a sweet touch to your Halloween decorations!

6. I fell in love with this No Sew Hexagon Pumpkin by Alicia at Sew What Alicia. She shares the full tutorial for her guest-post at the Polka Dot Chair. Just grab some of your favorite fabric scraps and little Mod Podge for this one!

7. If you have some tattered quilts that could use a new life, check out this adorable Cutter Quilt Snowman from Jen at Jen Reviews. She gives you excellent instructions on how to repurpose that old quilt and tells you what Cutter Quilts are all about.

8. You will be so glad to visit 100 Days of Homemade Holiday Inspiration again this year at Hoosier Homemade. Liz makes it so easy to get ready for the holidays in every way: recipes, gifts, decorations and lots more!

9. You’re going to love these adorable Mini Christmas Stockings from Carolyn at Sew Can She. Fill them up with small gifts or hang them as ornaments – either way they will be a great way to use up some favorite scraps!

10. I think pillowcases make great gifts and so does Leanne at She Can Quilt. She shares three tutorials for different styles of pillowcases and I want to make them all!

Three Pillowcase Styles and Tutorials @ She Can Quilt

11. If you’re looking for a quilt pattern for some pretty fabric, you’ll love this Four Square Quilt Tutorial by Amy at Diary of a Quilter. This throw-sized quilt is quick and easy, so it’s perfect for a beginner but also super fun for anyone!

12. Give your sewing machine a little love with the Sew Happy Sewing Machine Cover by Amanda at Jedi Craft Girl. This free tutorial is just sew cute, and I think every sewing machine should have its own quilt, don’t you?

13. Sometimes a little advice can go a long way. This is so true with Amira at The Little Mushroom Cap as she share 6 Tips to Improve Piecing Accuracy in Quilt Making. You’ll find some great information here and perhaps a new skill or two.

14. I can always count on Quilt Inspiration for new ideas and well, inspiration. Check out their recent roundup of Free Jelly Roll Patterns. There is something for everyone in this list and they are all so amazing!

15. There’s nothing cuter than these Scrappy Fish Quilt Blocks from Kirsty at Bonjour Quilts. This is another great way to use up your scraps, plus Kirsty gives you some adorable quilt ideas for all those fish blocks!

16. I know many of you love YouTube, so I thought I would share this new video from Virginia at Gingercake Patterns. She shows you how to make beautiful and balanced scrap fabric new yardage from your scraps. This I need to do!

That’s a lot of inspiration and ideas for October! You might want to make yourself a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate and do some exploring. Take your time reading, relax and enjoy the crafty goodness!

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Save the Bees Month 3 and giveaway

10 / 1 / 1810 / 8 / 18

Welcome to October and this month’s block for Jacquelynne Steves’ Save The Bees BOM. If you haven’t signed up for this block of the month yet, there’s still time; you can sign up here. This month’s block was so fun and easy to make! I have a different technique to share along with a fabulous giveaway at the end of this post (now closed).

The pattern gives you the option to make this block with traditional paper pieced hexagons or with fusible applique. I chose a hybrid technique using a foundation that is a partially water-soluble stabilizer that you can leave in your project. I used Quilter’s Select Print n Piece Fuse Lite; a few other options are Ricky Tim’s Stable Stuff Poly (non fusible), Hugs n Kisses Applique Paper or Wash Away Applique Sheets by C&T Publishing. This technique is done completely by machine, but it looks like it was done by hand.

Here is my process:

Trace and cut the hexagon shapes from the stabilizer.
With the fusible side down, iron each hexagon shape onto your fabric.
Cut out each shape leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Using water soluble glue such as a Sew Line Fabric Glue Pen, glue baste each side’s seam allowance along the edge of the stabilizer.

Arrange the hexagons as shown in the pattern.
Load your sewing machine with clear monofilament thread on top and a size 60/8 or 70/10 needle.
Set your machine for a zig zag stitch with a 1.0 width and 1.5 length. I’m sewing on a Bernina 770 and this setting gives me the look I want.
Place two hexagons snuggly together. I don’t bother pinning, I just use my hands to hold them together. Stitch with a zig zag stitch from one end to the other, catching both edges of each hexagon. Backstitch at the beginning and end.
Take the next adjacent hexagon and do the same thing. This time, you’ll be sewing two sides together.
Continue until all of the hexagons are sewn together.

Place the sewn hexagons onto the background rectangle and glue baste it in place.
Using the same machine set up as before, stitch along the outside edges of the hexagon unit. I still used a narrow zig zag stitch, but I adjusted my stitch length to 2.0.

The stabilizer remains inside the hexagons. It will soften to a very sheer lining. Your beautiful hexagon block will look like it took days to sew together, but that’s our little secret!

October Giveaway

Update 10/8/18: This giveaway is now closed.

This month’s giveaway is sponsored by the amazing Aurifil Thread Company. One lucky winner from each participating blog will receive a thread box of Aurifil thread valued at $46 dollars. I love the quality and variety of Aurifil thread and use them all the time!

For my blog, all you have to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment by Sunday, October 7, 11:59 pm PST, on THIS blog post (not from my home page) telling me WHO taught you to quilt: were you self-taught, did you take a class at a local quilt shop? Maybe it was an online class or a relative that taught you? I was self-taught. I saw an article in Parent Magazine on how to make a doll quilt. I did as the instructions told me and made my first nine-patch quilt!

To leave a comment, make sure to scroll down to the bottom of this blog post, and look for the rectangle that says “Enter your comment here”. On October 8, I’ll randomly pick one winner!

Here are the giveaway rules:

To enter, leave a comment telling me who taught you to quilt.
You must comment by ~~11:59 pm PST on Sunday, October 7, 2018~~. CLOSED.
There is ONE prize per person per month (in other words, the same person cannot win two prizes within the same month.)
Giveaway is open to everyone.
Winner will be chosen at random.

Due to the high volume of comments, I won’t be able to reply to you (unless there is a direct question), but I will read each and every one. Thank you in advance for your participation and for leaving a comment.

You can visit the other participating bloggers and enter their giveaway for another chance to win AND to see what they have done with their block. Here’s a list of the participating bloggers:

Remember that you can can post photos in the FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewQuiltyFriends.JacquelynneSteves/

Make sure to use #SaveTheBeesQuilt and #SaveTheBeesBOM for social media.

Happy Quilting!

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A photo tour of Quilting in The Garden, 2018

9 / 25 / 18

Sunday was a perfect, summery-fall kind of day at Alden Lane Nursery in Livermore, California where the Quilting in The Garden show took place. So many of my favorite things in one spot! Pumpkins, flowers, fall decorations and lots of quilts.

Quilting in the Garden has been running for over 20 years, and it’s always on the fourth weekend in September. The featured artist for 2018 was the amazing Eleanor Burns. She had more than 100 quilts on display! I was able to talk with her for a bit, and I couldn’t resist purchasing her latest book (which she autographed for me). Eleanor is one of the leaders in the quilting industry and has made a “quilt in a day” possible for anyone.

Alex Anderson is always buzzing around, especially since this show is practically down the street from her house. She had a booth of her own where she was demonstrating many of her Quilter’s Select products. I chatted with her for a while, and somehow forgot to take her picture. You can always find Alex on The Quilt Show where she co-hosts TV-quality shows with some of the most talented quilters in the industry.

I did take lots of pictures of the nursery and the quilts, so let me share the beauty of nature and art together. The early morning light gives a mix of sun and shadows, so there is a feeling of Summer giving way to Autumn. I have tried to give credit to the quilt maker when possible. My apologies if I haven’t included every quilt with the appropriate documentation.

A photo tour of Quilting in the Garden at Alden Lane Nursery in Livemore, California. Beautiful quilts hang among the majestic oaks for a fantastic, outdoor quilt show. Photos by Julie Cefalu @ The Crafty Quilter — #40 Flora, Fauna & Butterflies by Beth Butera; #34 Ashmore by Susan Mangels; #74 Fun with Flowers by Dianne Schweickert

There were two guest artists at the show, Gail Sims and Leni Levenson Wiener, who had their own beautiful quilt exhibits. Material Girlfriends had a booth (love their patterns) as well as several other vendors, and there was a Christmas section, too.

Of course there was plenty of color inspiration everywhere you looked! Splashes of bright orange were scattered throughout the nursery along with a vivid rainbow of flowers and pots.

The Garden Store at Alden Lane is a feast for the home decorator’s eyes. It was loaded with gifts, seasonal decorations and a few quilts of course.

After visiting the quilt show, we went into town for a quick shopping trip to In Between Stitches. You know it’s our duty to support the local businesses, and this is an adorable quilt shop in the heart of downtown Livermore. Definitely worth a visit!

Thanks for joining me on this little tour of Quilting in the Garden. Do you have a favorite show that you like to attend? I feel lucky to have this one close enough to make a day trip out of it. I’ll be back next year for sure!

Home from QuiltCon and a visit...