I feel like I’m becoming a quilt reporter instead of a quilt maker, but I’m glad to be able to share the quilt-y news findings that are popping up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
There is a HUGE movement to make face masks for the health community and for those in high risk situations. These masks are not meant to substitute for the N95 masks, but they’re better than nothing. I’m going to do a separate blog post on this, but I wanted to let you know I’m aware of it and I think it’s a great way to pitch in.
I saw a wonderful, new project that is starting today called The Kindness Project. It’s being hosted by Terri at Sweet Treasures Quilts and it’s a mystery-style sew-along with the end result being a 50″ x 60″ lap quilt that you can gift to someone else. I’m sure we can all think of someone who could use a kind offering of a cozy quilt right now. You can keep up with all of the latest information by following Sweet Treasures Quilts on Facebook or Instagram. This sew-along will last for two weeks and it’s free.
You’re going to love this new embroidery collection from Bev at Flamingo Toes. She has made this Singing in the Rain Embroidery collection to compliment her new fabric line of the same name. For a limited time, Bev is offering these patterns for free as a way to help out during these crazy times.
Singing in the Rain Embroidery Collection @ Flamingo Toes
Bluprint has stepped up and is offering a FREE Creativity Care Package designed to help families make the most of their time together. This might be a wonderful complement to homeschooling and/or keeping your creativity fueled while staying at home.
During the 14 day event, Bluprint will provide free access to their full slate of content; including more than 1300 classes and series and hundreds of step by step project tutorials and patterns. While no credit card is required to take part, people are asked to create a registration to view content. Offer available 3/26/20 – 4/9/20.
That’s all for now. I’ll be in my sewing room for the rest of the day testing out a face mask pattern and hopefully getting a tutorial up and running. Keep breathing deep friends and stay healthy!
Want more? You can find my most recent Quilt-y News here and here.
Hi everyone! I wanted to let you know that the Carolina Lily Quilt Along is now live at Fat Quarter Shop’s blog, The Jolly Jabber. Welcome to my stop on this Quilt Along!
I’m one of the participating bloggers and I loved making this sweet block. Fat Quarter Shop has a free pattern available here for the 14.5″ quilt block and a full pattern to purchase that includes four different sizes available for purchase here. You can also purchase a quilt kit for the 44.5″ square quilt featuring Bonnie & Camille’s At Home fabrics here.
If you’ve been following me, you’ll know that I published my Carolina Lily blog post on March 10, the original launch date. But, Fat Quarter Shop did not receive their material to make kits on time, so they had to push it back after I had already hit the publish button. I’m re-posting my content here so it’s easy to find and all of the information in one place. Sorry for the confusion!
Carolina Lily Quilt Block
I love this version of the classic Carolina Lily block and it was super fun to make. The block is 14 1/2″ square (unfinished) and it’s pieced with a little bit of applique for the stems. I used some of my favorite colors and fabrics from my stash: the flower contains Spotted by Zen Chic for Moda in Tea Rose and Essential Dots by Moda in Peony; the stems contain Strawberry Jam by Corey Yoder for Moda in Seedling Canning Day and Seedling Plus. The background fabric is Painter’s Canvas by Michael Miller Fabrics.
Carolina Lily block tips
As always, I like to pass along a few helpful tips that worked for me while making this block. The piecing is straight forward, but you need to pay attention when joining the diagonal seams together for the lily and stem sections. I pinned these together right where the diagonal seams cross each other at the 1/4″ seam allowance and then machine basted (stitch length 4.0) just at the intersection. Then I checked to see if it lined up. Once I was sure it was good, I stitched the complete seam at my normal stitch length of 2.0.
Pin and baste diagonal seam section first. If it’s lined up correctly, sew complete seam.
The stems for the Carolina Lily were made with a Clover 1/2″ bias tape maker (my favorite way to make bias vines and stems). This creates a stem that has both long edges folded under and on the bias so that it’s easy to curve naturally.
Making bias vines with Clover Bias Tape Maker
I wanted my stems to have a folded point at the top of each one, so I folded one side and then the other over at a 45 degree angle and added a little glue to hold it in place. Then I snipped off the excess “tail”.
How to create a folded point at the end of a bias stem @ The Crafty Quilter
Once my vines were made, I glued them in place with Roxanne’s Glue Baste It. Then I stitched them in place, invisibly, using clear monofilament thread (Monopoly by Superior Threads) and a tiny blanket stitch. The settings on my Babylock Crescendo are 1.0 stitch width and 1.8 stitch length; I’m using a size 70/10 Microtex Sharp needle. You can see the holes left by the needle, but you can’t see the thread or the stitch. Once this block is basted and quilted, the holes will become very faint and you’ll think it was appliqued by hand. Objective achieved!
Invisible machine applique detail @ The Crafty Quilter
The Carolina Lily quilt block is a classic and one that I’ve admired from afar. Now I have one that I can make into a pillow or add to a sampler quilt. Maybe I’ll make a quilt full of them, we’ll see!
Thanks for joining me for my stop on the Carolina Lily Quilt Along at Fat Quarter Shop. Make sure to visit their blog, the Jolly Jabber, and see the other versions of the Carolina Lily block.
And always check out their daily Flash Sale for some great deals on fabric and notions!
Hi friends. I have finished my BALANCE wall hanging which portrays my 2020 Word of the Year in a creative way. I’m really happy with the way it turned out.
I have been working on this, off and on, since January. It was the free motion quilting around the letters that had me stalled for a while. Once I dug my heels in, it only took me two days to finish it.
I made this wall hanging to represent my Word of the Year in a way that is near and dear to my heart. I’ve been dabbling in modern calligraphy over the past year and I really enjoy the creative expression of it. It ties in really well with free motion quilting, too. I practiced the letters on paper until I was happy with them and then I drew the letters onto my fabric with a Frixion pen. For more information on marking, you can read Are Frixion Pens Safe to Use for Quilting here.
I went over the letters several times to fatten up certain areas. I’m using my Babylock Crescendo sewing machine to do all of the free motion quilting and stitching. I know I need to talk more about my sewing machine and why I chose this one. I will get to it one of these days.
The filler stitching around the letters are two different designs that I learned from Diane Gaudynski in her book, Guide to Machine Quilting, which is no longer in print. Diane is one of the early pioneer’s of FMQ and has since retired. The first design is called Bouncing Bananas. It is so appropriately named. I had to practice this one first to get the hang of it.
The second design is grid-based and it’s an orange peel pattern. This one is definitely not perfect but I like the overall texture it gives. I had to first draw a 1/2″ grid on the quilt top (again with a Frixion pen) and that was my guide for the orange peel stitching. I didn’t take pictures of this one, but here’s a close up.
Now I just need to practice the word BALANCE! I am enrolled in Ali Edwards class, One Little Word, so I get monthly prompts in my inbox. This was not one of those prompts, but my own way of making my word visible to me.
I hope you’re all staying healthy and finding your way through the COVID 19 restrictions. It’s a very strange and unsettling time for all of us. You may have seen the requests for homemade face masks going around the internet along with many different patterns and tutorials. I’ve been testing out a few and I’ll do a separate blog post with my own recommendations.
In light of the current world events, it’s so nice to see how our community is responding with generosity and kindness. I’m happy to share more quilt-y good news that has popped up in my social media circle.
Many of you are spending all of your time at home and self-isolating. That might include young children or grandchildren that require extra attention. In my geographic location (northern California), we are on mandatory quarantine unless there’s an essential need.
I’m fortunate that I don’t have young children to care for and I have plenty of fun projects in my sewing room to keep me very busy. This morning I got up at 5:30 a.m., packed breakfast and lunch for Mr. Crafty Quilter, walked the dog, did a 30 minute exercise video, and ate breakfast all by 8:00 in the morning! That gives me lots of time for crafting and blogging (and cooking and cleaning…).
Resources for quilters
The Quilt Show is an online quilting website and show that I am honored to be a part of. You can become a member for free and get limited access to their content, or they offer a paid membership where you get all the things. TQS is celebrating International Quilting Weekend (which starts tomorrow) with “over 25FREE shows from March 20, 2020 through March 22, 2020. These shows run the gamut from traditional to modern and everything in between. Featuring TQS favorites like Susan Cleveland, Edyta Sitar, Victoria Findlay Wolfe, Gyleen Fitzgerald and many more, it is a weekend of shows not to be missed.” You can also find my TQS classroom of tips and tricks here.
I love seeing everyone and spending time with you, since most shows and events have been postponed or cancelled this Spring, I thought this would be fun and keep us close to each other. This project is free for you to participate and can be enjoyed by any level quilter.
I have been working on this project for a while and I would love for you to join me. Let’s quilt together!
Mystery Quilt Along @ Laundry Basket Quilts
The Quilt Pattern Magazine is starting a free, virtual block of the month all about baskets. It starts tomorrow, March 20 and continues until October 30, 2020.
This patchwork BOM is a lovely assortment of baskets. Each basket has the same general shape. However, each one is unique in the way the basket and the flower are pieced together. Cindy designed this BOM so that you can test and refine your piecing skills! With each installment, the number of pieces per basket and the difficulty level will increase. If you are a novice quilter, this is the perfect project to expand your skills. If you are an experienced quilter, you will appreciate the increasing complexity of the blocks.
Baskets & More Baskets @ TQPM
Resources for kids
The girls at On Williams Street are offering a week-long Kids Can Quilt series where they will post a new video each day to walk kids through the process of creating their own quilt. This started on Monday, March 16, but you can still join in! Just sign up to receive their emails and start when you’re ready.
We All Sew is full of good content for quilters and sewists. They just posted a round-up of ideas for sewing projects that are perfect for kids:
Schools are closed across the USA, leaving parents and caretakers looking for meaningful activities to keep kids busy, engaged, and learning. This is the perfect opportunity for sewing with kids! You’ll find all kinds of tutorials and free projects in this post to help teach a kid to start to sew and keep on sewing.
Image source: We All Sew
Krista from The Happy Housie is a wonderful blogger and also a mother and elementary school teacher. She’s sharing Teacher Recommended Strategies & Websites for At-home Learning. This is a wonderful resource for those that find themselves homeschooling their children for the first time.
I hope you’re enjoying this refreshing mix of good, quilt-y news. If you hear of anything else taking place, please leave a comment and share. I’ll keep gathering information as I see it. I don’t have a Facebook account so I feel like I’m probably missing out on a lot of resources there. If you missed it, you can read my last Quilt-y Good News post here.
I’ll be back soon to show you my latest finished project. Thanks for being here and stay healthy!
Amidst all of the anxious and uncertain feelings we’re experiencing currently when we watch the news or social media, I thought I would share some good, Quilt-y news with you. If I had to guess, 95% of Quilt-y news is good news!
Note: Glass Half Full Mug Rug pattern is available here for free.
Quilt-y News
I’ve run into a few quilt alongs and BOM’s that are coming up soon that I had to share with you. First is the Willow Quilt Along hosted by Amber at Gigi’s Thimble and Jessica Dayon. This is a free QAL that starts March 26 and continues for 7 weeks with weekly instructions given for three different 6″ quilt blocks, sashing, cornerstones and finishing. There’s no sign up required, just follow their blogs!
I just discovered Kimie and Missy – two sisters who share a passion for quilting and a blog, On Williams Street, where they share tutorials, inspiration and patterns. This year they’ve started an Online Quilting Bee Skill Builder which is a free quilt along that is designed to focus on a different skill each month. I love learning new techniques! It can also be set up as a quilting bee for those that want to work as a group.
Online Quilting Bee Skill Builder @ On Williams Street
If you have an Instagram account, you should check out the hashtag #IGQuiltFest2020 hosted by Amy Ellis of Amy’s Creative Side. Each day she posts a different prompt and you can learn so much by everyone’s response!
#IGQuiltFest2020
I received a special gift in the mail a few weeks ago. It was a 2021 Contemporary Quilts of Hawaii calendar given to me by a blog follower, Estie Inn. Her Summer Fun Aloha quilt, was chosen to be included in the calendar. This is a free quilt tutorial from my Summer Fun Quilt Along of 2018 and Estie made her own tropical version of it. That makes me so happy and flattered to be mentioned in the calendar. Thanks Estie for including me in your creative success!
If you saw my recent Carolina Lily QAL blog post, you would have noticed that the links to Fat Quarter Shop’s free pattern and blog post didn’t work. That’s still the case and I apologize for it. Fat Quarter Shop gave us a publication date and time for our blog post to be published, but failed to inform us that they had to postpone it. So, I’m more frustrated than anybody, but I will keep you updated when it’s available. Thanks for your patience!
I’m co-teaching the Timeless Tradition Block of the Month at my local quilt shop, The Granary. The blocks for March are finished and I love them, I really do. Piecing blocks is my creative happy place! These blocks have a common element, the friendship star and were fun to put together.
The newest additions to my stash are these beautiful porcelain blue fabrics from the Danbury collection at QT Fabrics. I don’t know what I’ll do with them yet, but I’m envisioning a basket block or two.
I can’t wait for Corey Yoder’s next fabric collection, Apricot & Ash, to hit stores in August. My favorite colors in one bundle!
Other News
In my email this morning, I found something wonderful to share for those of you with children or grandchildren at home. Kenneth and Sarah Jane Wright, the Author/Illustrator Team behind the Lola Dutch Books (and Sarah is a fabric designer for Michael Miller Fabrics) and the creators of the website, Raising Wonder, will be providing free, daily printables and videos for the next three weeks (or more). You can sign up on their main, front page. I think this is an amazing resource and generous gift to families. Here is an excerpt from the email:
So many of us are scrambling to figure out what life looks like without schools, workplaces, community places and the routines we are used to. We are each dealing with very personal situations, and the stress of how to keep our kids happy and thriving while we are navigating this global shift is very real.
More than ever, we want to keep our homes a place of peace and fun and love for our kids. We’ve got to keep up creativity and learning and let our children feel encouraged!
On the home front, I have three of my children home for the weekend and I love having them here. My daughter and grandchildren were supposed to fly home but they cancelled their flight as a precaution (which was a wise decision). For dinner Thursday night, I made falafels and naan bread from scratch from this recipe at Half Baked Harvest and the bread turned out fantastic. I think I forgot to add the cumin to the falafels, so they were good but not great. No one at the table was complaining, that’s for sure!
And who doesn’t love a picture of a baby on a quilt? This is Benjamin on his baby quilt at two months old. I can’t wait to see him once things calm down. The quilt pattern is Glacier Modern Quilt by QLT Studio.
The Granary Quilt Shop (my LQS) is closing for the next two weeks and has cancelled classes until they reassess in April. Not an easy decision for them, but very understandable. It’s a strange world right now.
I’m sure we’ve all been impacted by the coronavirus at some level, and I hope you’re all staying healthy and positive. I will keep busy in my sewing room and continue to keep you updated on Quilt-y news. I have some organizing to do first and then I can get to the fun stuff.
Thanks for reading this and allowing me space in your inbox. Stay happy, healthy and positive, friends!
