And to thank each of you, we are having a 

Black Friday to Cyber Monday Sale

20% off your entire order

Use coupon code givethanks at check out

Sale begins today ends Dec 1st at midnight

Words to Live By Block 10

Passion

Passion: a strong feeling of enthusiasm or excitement for something or about doing something...

  

 I think this may also be another word for work.  Except it is work you LOVE.  I think that is how many of us feel about quilting.

  I had an art teacher in college that used to say great art is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration.   He instructed us to get to know our medium until we really understood it.   

  I have learned so much with this project.  

If you are just joining us, we are making Lisa Bongean's Words to Live By Quilt  - a block each month.  Lisa is the designer of Primitive Gatherings and has hand selected all of the wool and cottons for this BOM kit.  It is not too late to join.  We still have 6 kits left!   

I take pictures of these appliques with the fusible web to help you with the placement.  I hope this is helpful since the camera doesn't always capture the difference in color and pattern.  Watch that oval - the fusible web may come apart as you are cutting the pencil pattern out.  Just re-position it when you press it to the wool.

This block has diamond leaves.  I traced the diamonds in two different patterns so that you could see how much space was left on the wool.  Either way is great.  I did like the nice little squares of wool left over on the right and left  pieces.  I thought the center diagram would be best but that just left me with a long scrap of wool.

I traced the vine lines for the embroidered vines with a sharp pencil.  

This is another block I am looking forward to embroidering - I like the larger pieces.  

Have a Wonderful Thanksgiving next week! 

Flying Geese Quilt Tutorial with Layer Cake

Ever since I spotted the Spring House Layer Cake Free Quilt Pattern by Moda Fabrics I have wanted to make this quilt. I loved that all I needed was a Layer Cake and some background yardage.   The design team at Moda Fabrics has some wonderful free patterns. You may download this pattern and use their instructions or follow the ones below.  I made my flying geese blocks a larger size and I used a different method. Here is the link to the Spring House Free Pattern

My son-in-law's sister and her husband climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro.  For a wedding gift I decided to make them a quilt with something to resemble a mountain.  I thought this pattern would be perfect.


I prefer to make my flying geese blocks with the no-waste four-at-a-time method.  The blocks sew up so much faster and more accurate. All seams are 1/4".

First grab your favorite Layer Cake.  I chose Persimmon by BasicGrey for this quilt.
Next - Decide on your finished quilt size.

I always make one block first to make sure the calculations are correct.  Please make one set of flying geese before cutting the remaining squares to make sure the calculations are correct. 

Using the chart above decide on the size you need your print square to be.   I finally decided on a finished flying geese block of 3.5"x 7".   I trimmed my print squares to 8 1/4".

(At first I wanted a larger flying geese block and first trimmed it to 9 1/4".  THEN I calculated how big the quilt would be and decided I needed a smaller finished quilt.  And yes I saved the strips for another project.) 

Also using the guide above, find out what your background squares size needs to be.  With a pencil and ruler draw a diagonal line on each of the 160 squares, from corner to corner.  Yes put on your favorite movie.

Then place 2 of background/white squares on each printed Layer Cake square.  Notice how the pencil lines match up forming one diagonal line across the Layer Cake square.  The background squares will overlap.  Repeat this for all 40 squares.  Set aside the remaining 80 background squares.

I pulled 2 squares to show you the next few steps.  Stitch a 1/4" seam alongside each drawn pencil line.  Stitch a seam line on both sides of the drawn pencil line.

Here is a close up of one of the squares.  Sew all 40 layer cake print squares in this manner.

 Using a rotary cutter, cut each square directly on the pencil line.  Press each triangle open with the seam towards the background triangles.  You will have 2 heart shaped units from each square.

On each of the two heart sections, place a background square with the pencil line running up the center of the triangle.  Stitch 1/4" seams alongside each pencil line.
Rotary cut along the pencil line.  Separate the sections.  You now have 4 flying geese blocks.  Press seams towards the top and trim of those dog ears.  Repeat this process with all 40 Layer Cake squares.  You will have a total of 160 flying geese blocks.
Remember - Your flying geese blocks will be 1/2" wider and taller than your finished block listed in the guide above.  This is for the seam allowance.  Correct any flying geese that may have been a little "wonky".  I always "true up" my blocks before sewing them in rows. 

Now the fun!  Arrange your blocks into the pattern you choose. 8 rows of 20 blocks.  I really liked alternating the direction of the flying geese.  And I liked the idea of having all four of the same prints together creating a stripe effect.  My husband preferred the random arrangement of the blocks - I liked that too.  But since I am making the quilt I get to choose.  :)

  Stitch the flying geese blocks into rows.  I pressed the seams towards the top of each block.  Since I am alternating the direction of each, the seams will nestle up nicely.  Then stitch the rows together, matching up block seams.

I added 5" borders to the sides of this quilt top. Border strip measurements are 5" x 70.5".
 Since the top was already 70" long, I just wanted to make the quilt a little wider.   You may choose to have borders on the top and bottom of the quilt.  Or you may choose arrange the blocks in a different pattern creating a different size for your quilt.

Now off to my favorite quilter Leisha.

 Be creative and have fun.  You can arrange your flying geese blocks in a square pattern.  Remember this Yankee Puzzle block from our Apple Pie Quilt Along:

This would work perfectly with the blocks you have just sewn because each square makes 4 flying geese blocks - exactly what you would need for this Yankee Puzzle Block.   You need 2 prints per block.  You could arrange them 4 rows x 5 blocks and have the same finished quilt measurement.

If you make a flying geese quilt, remember to send us pictures.  We love sharing them on our blog sharing days.

Happy sewing and have a great weekend!
Kristin

Words to Live By Block 9

Charity

If you are just joining us, we are making Lisa Bongean's Words to Live By Quilt  - a block each month.  A beautiful Heirloom Quilt.   Lisa is the designer of Primitive Gatherings and has hand selected all of the wool and cottons for this BOM kit.  It is not too late to join.  We still have a few kits just waiting for you!  This is a great project if you have never done embroidery with wool.   We are beginners too!

We have tagged all of our blocks under the Block of the Month tab if you need to catch up.

Block 9 appliques are each separate pieces - no two are the same.  So you will need to trace each one.  Good news - they are all good size pieces except one.    Lisa has all ready grouped them together for you in the pattern.  If you are not sure which pieces to group together, notice in your instructions how the pattern piece numbers are grouped together by the color of wool. 

Notice all of the beautiful texture in the wools.  I love the batik looking these red wool flowers. 

 Remember to use light strokes and then go over what you need to without letting the marker "sit" on the fabric - it will bleed.   I had just a smidgeon of  marker bleeding on my "C" - the end dot. 

This block will be fun to embroidery!

How are you coming on the embroidery?  I am waiting for some pictures!  Please send me some.

I am a little behind.  But - I did finish the Loyalty Block last month.  

I had hoped to have one block embroidered before I applique another block.  Oh well.  I am a little more than half way.  The stems and leaves all get a very light olive green Valdini thread.  It looks a little gold in the picture.  Loving these birds.

This has been a fun project for me.  I am learning so much.  Guess you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Remember to send us some pictures of your finished projects!  Did you see last weeks sharing day?  It was awesome.

Happy Sewing 

Kristin and Sandra

Customer Sharing Days Are My Favorite - With Halloween Ideas!

This wonderful Mr Chillingsworth Quilt was designed by Polly of blog Pieces by Polly. These fun Halloween fabrics were designed by Echo Park Paper Co for Andover. The pattern and instructions are free,on Pollys's blog. This is a fast and easy Halloween Project. We have the kits ready to ship.CLICK HERE

Laura Williams created this wonderful table topper - perfect for the first of Autumn through Thanksgiving.  The pattern is The Pumpkin Patch by Kimberbell Designs.  Laura added some tendrils at the stems of each of her pumpkins.  Love this!  Thank you Laura for sending this picture of your finished project.  We always like to see how our kits turned out.  Beautiful work.

We have 3 more of these kits available.  We are sold out of the Black and Tan Leaf border print but we have another Jo Morton Andover print that will be just as wonderful.  It is black with a gold leaf.  If you click on the link you can see the picture of the new border print.  Click Here to get your kit.

More Halloween Ideas Below..

 Kris Allen's Modern Plus Quilt features the fabrics Simply Style designed by V and Co.  Such a fresh palette! Kris pieces and quilts her quilts.  We love this modern Plus Quilt.  Thanks Kris for sharing this with us.  Very inspirational!  Kris has some great quilt ideas that she shares on her blog.  Here is the link

Kris Allen also created this fun Giraffe and Circus Zoo theme quilt.  What you are seeing is the front and the back of the same quilt.  Kris found two quilt ideas that she loved and made one for each side!   Amazing!  We love this idea Kris.  Great color palette again.  Thank you for send us these pictures.

Ainslie Brunt hand pieced her Hearts, Hearts, Hearts Quilt using the English Paper Piecing Method.   I had to ready that twice - yes hand pieced.  "450-odd triangles, and 10 months of work! I must be crazy" says Ainslie.  No not crazy - this is gorgeous work.  And lots of it.   Perhaps we could all  use a class in Paper Piecing.  Those triangles making up the hearts are only about 4".   Simply Amazing!

  A close up of the fun prints that Ainslie used.  This pattern was created by Sandra Farnsworth.  We have seen this made up in a few colors other than Valentines - Love it.  Ainslie made this quilt for a wedding gift.  Thank you Ainslie for sharing your amazing talents with us!

Alison Shilinsky made this lovely Sweet Sweet Emma Quilt.  Such perfect piecing!  It was made with the Emma fabric collection by Cathy Heck (Which by the way is out of print and Alison had to do some tracking to find the fabrics).   Isn't this a sweet little girl quilt!  We love the bright pink and green mix.  The pattern was designed by Kristin Andersen.  Thank you Alison for sharing this quilt with us.  A perfect quilt for that fun striped wall!

Ilze created this wonderful jacket with the Urban Zoologie lining.  Ilze is a very creative seamstress and has some great childrens clothing items for sale in her Etsy Shop called yellOkids.  You will definitely want to visit her shop and see all of her creations!  Thank you Ilze for sharing your project with us.  It is fabulous! 

One of my favorite items in her shop is a darling striped T-shirt with a fox applique.   Link to yellOkids

Amanda Blythe made sweet cheery quilt called Love Letters - a Missouri Star pattern from their magazine with Fons and Porter- Quilting Quickly.  I love all those cute envelopes.  This would be so darling as a table topper.  Thank you Amanda!  We love it!

Amanda Jo designed and created this T-Shirt Quilt.  All those fun memorable t-shirts are joined together in a random pattern with the Cherry Red Pins print from Pat Sloan's Bobbins and Bits collection.  Amanda is Sandra's daughter.

Here is a close up of some of her fun Tees.  You can also see the swirl quilting pattern done by her sister Leisha Farnsworth of Quilting It.  Great job ladies!  or should I say Sisters!  We love you both!

Leisha has been sewing  some wonderful quilt projects this summer.  This Mod Olives pattern is so striking in the Botanique fabrics by Joel Dewberry.  Isn't this gorgeous?  It was made using the Quick Curve Ruler.  The Quick Curve Ruler and fabrics can be found at Sisters & Quilters! The tutorial is on sewkindofwonderful's blog under Mod Olives.   We will post or link more of this quilt when it is quilted.  Thanks again Leisha!

Sandra finished her beautiful Home is Where the Haunt Is Halloween wall hanging.  This pattern was designed by Kimberbell Designs.  We love all the fund sayings and different textures in this quilt.  Notice the fun broom and mummy.  This quilt makes me happy.  Sandra - we love your choice of colors and fabric prints.  Great combination!

Here is the close up of Leisha's creative quilting.  You can click on the picture for a close up look at all the fun patterns in each block.  Beautiful quilting Leisha!  You can find more of Leisha's work on her facebook page Quilting It.

Scrappy Halloween table toppers are some of our favorites.  We love the mix of patterns and textures. This pattern Pumpkin Patches was a free quilt pattern designed by Renee Nanneman for Andover Fabrics.  Click Here to see the full quilt pattern.
This quilt is just 9 patch blocks but sew 9 of them together - 3 x 3 to form a larger block.  The smaller squares are just 2 1/2"  - could be made from jelly roll strips.  This quilt is made with just 4 large blocks. I love this quilt on my dining table.  So bright and fun!

And if you have even more scraps - here is another easy Halloween Table Runner idea using scraps with black. I used a fun print on the back - so I can use either side.  The printes are charm pack squares cut in half I believe.  Notice the fun spider webs quilted in the black areas by Leisha. Original charm pack friendly pattern by Sweetwater fabrics.  

Remember the Color Block Pouches from the pattern V and Co?  Well we finally made up some kits with the Pattern, Linen, and pellon.  You just need to provide the 10" fabric squares.  These little bags would be awesome for Holiday or Wedding gifts.  Click Here to see the kits

Kristin made this fun little scrappy navy Hugs quilt for Baby Charlotte.   She made just 20 blocks - 4 blocks x 5 rows for a baby size quilt (and one block was the kiss block) .   This quilt is Layer Cake friendly so it is a great way to use up those left over 10" squares.  The Hugs Quilt Pattern was designed by Fig Tree and Company. Click Here

And of course this was quilted by the amazing Leisha Farnsworth. Don't you love the little flower in the kiss block - it mimic's the larger flower in the Hugs block.

What are you sewing for Halloween?  Please send us some of your pictures!

Announcing More New Fabric Collections

Our next Bakers Dozen is ready to ship...

This month is Moose Tracks - rich caramel browns, chocolate, and cream...with a little purple. If you are new to our Bakers Dozen - this is 13 fat quarters for the price of 12!  

Our Moose Tracks Bundle was selected from the Buggy Barn Down to Earth and Harvest Home fabrics and the Kansas Troubles Quilters Pheasant Hill Fabrics.   This is a great collection for those Thanksgiving sewing projects!

Moda's Modern Building Blocks Quilt Kits.  Get the kit or just the pattern fan cards.

Just 5 kits left...get yours now before they are gone! And only 1 set of pattern cards are left.  

Fat Quarter Bundle of 8 from the Brambleberry Ridge Collection by Violet Craft for Michael Miller. Metallic Gold accents these beautiful corals and aqua.  

 Emma's Garden Fat Quarter Bundle of 10 by Patty Sloniger for Michael Miller.  This popular bundle is already flying out the door.  

Fat Quarter Bundle of 8 from the modern Brigitte Collection by Contempo Fabrics of Benartex.  We love this lime and grey combination.

Safari Playground Fat Quarter Bundle of 6 by Kanvas for Benartex.  A great baby boy collection  with Hippos, Giraffes, Elephants, Monkeys, Turtles, Zebras, and Crocs.

 Rustique Fat Quarter Bundle of 13 by Crazy Old Ladies for Michael Miller

Up Parasol Entire Collection Fat Quarter Bundle by Heather Bailey for Free Spirit.  Yes, all 24 
prints!  

Lexington Fat Quarter Bundle of 13 in gorgeous Blues, Tans, and Creams by Minick & Simpson for Moda.   Minick & Simpson always come up with wonderful traditional collections.

Snowbird Fat Quarter Bundle of 11 by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda.  This soft blue bundle is perfect for those winter or holiday quilts.  We love this blend of Batiks and Floral.  

   Pine Fresh Fat Quarter Bundle of 10 by Sandy Gervais for Moda.  Another beautiful Christmas collection by Sandy.

This Fat Quarter Bundle of Native Sun by Abi Hall is also flying out the door.   Wonderful fabrics for all of your sewing projects.  We have seen some really fun projects out of these prints on instagram.