Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Amy Butler Weekender Bag!

On this day before Thanksgiving - there are many things that I'm thankful for. One of them is that I finished my Weekender Bag, the popular pattern by Amy Butler.

I've had the pattern for over a year and the fabric for many, many months. I'm not normally a procrastinator, except when it comes to bags. They're not my favorite things to make - but I've loved this bag for so long. And it almost seems a rite of passage in the modern sewing world to make a Weekender Bag. So armed with tons of advice from those who have gone before me, I made a plan several weeks ago to tackle a few steps per week. Breaking it down into chunks seems less overwhelming and time consuming.

And here you go!


And you know what? It wasn't so bad after all. Between my friend, Bonnie {with lots of experience I kept her on speed dial} and some cheerleaders on Instagram I muddled through one step at a time.


Per Bonnie's suggestion, I used Soft and Stable which seems to be much easier to sew than Peltex. And I'm 100% happy with how nicely it feels and stands up. There is one piece of Peltex in the bottom along with the Soft and Stable. I also used several of the suggestions from Mary Claire, who was nice enough to compile many of the recommendations found on the internet.


Now I just need a weekend trip, so I can go in style!

I also wanted to share with you the Snowball Games quilt from my book Simply Modern Christmas that my sister-in-law made. It's her first quilt! She used Scrumptious to make a nice feminine quilt for her niece who is having some health challenges. As another of 5 young boys, I'm sure she appreciates this pretty feminine quilt. It's filled with love and healing wishes!


Sunday, November 24, 2013

On Point Pieces

See the square in the center of this block? It's sitting on it's point. In the past, to rotary cut this square I would have taken the diagonal measurement {which is 3"}, divided it by 1.414 to find the length of the square's side and added 1/2" for seam allowance. My answer would be 2.6216407. Try to find that number on your ruler!


But now I have a brand new ruler -{ingenious it is} - to cut on point shapes.


Don't mix this up with your regular rulers, because the 1" mark is not 1", but will cut a square that is 1" on the diagonal {seam allowance included}. Super easy! The ruler comes with a sheet of instructions for many uses and you can even catch a Youtube video here, where it's designer walks you through the process. Here's a little example:

With a sketch on paper, I can see that I need a center square that measures 3" finished across the diagonal.


Using the 3" line on the On Point ruler, I cut my square. The seam allowance is built in - see the clear area around the edge of the ruler? - that's the seam allowance.


You'll notice in my block drawing that the rectangles are on point also. I knew that the diagonal measurement of the short side was 1 1/2", so I cut a strip using the 1 1/2" mark on the On Point ruler. The instructions suggest laying the ruler on top of a drafted rectangle to determine your markings. Then use the indicated marks for cutting.

I did a bit of thinking and realized my long edge of the smaller rectangle had to be the same size as the square. I trimmed it using the 3" marking.

The long side of my larger rectangle was the same as the side of a square with a 6" diagonal measurement {my finished block size}. I used the 6" marking and voila!

They fit perfectly! 
The instructions also explain how to cut half square triangles that sit diagonally in a block. Haven't tried that one yet!


Here's my finished block...


Part of a series of 6" blocks. More to come on that project!


For more information about the ruler visit Donna Lynn Thompson's website!

All in all, I'm super excited about this ruler. I think it will improve accuracy tremendously for on point shapes. I just hope I don't forget how to cut 2.6216407" squares!

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

My Tumbler Quilt

My Tumbler quilt is quilted, bound and ready for snuggling. I couldn't be happier with this fun quilt!


You may remember I used Carrie's "Crumbler" ruler to cut out the shape. The cutting and the piecing were super easy.


I also did easy quilting... straight line stitching on either side of each seam.


The colors came from this large funky floral print, which also ended up on the back. It's from Lori Holt's newest line Gracie Girl.


I added lots of fabrics from the stash and I love just looking at the mix. 


I think the granddaughters will want to snuggle under this one when they're here... that is if they can get it away from me!

Friday, November 15, 2013

100 Blocks winner!

The winner of the latest issue of 100 Blocks is Michele who commented on November 13th at 8:59. Congrats, Michele.

I've been sewing this week and posting some of my progress on Instagram!

Here are some of this week's photos:

Weekender progress...


My Round and Round...


And the quilting has started for On A Whim...


Enjoy your weekend!

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour



Today is the day I get to share my block in Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 8! It's always such a great resource for beautiful and unusual quilt blocks, from traditional to modern. My block is called Watermark.


I wanted to create a layered look - where one shape appeared to be sitting on top of another. I think the effect is truly visible when the blocks are set block to block. The corners inter-mingle creating Four-patches and you really lose sight of exactly where the block is. I love when that happens!


And I had to find out how the block would look in a completely different fabric line, so I made a four-block quilt using a layer cake of Scrumptious.



Now it's on my list of quilts to make! How about yours?



Now for the fun news! Quiltmaker is offering a giveaway of this latest issue to one of you! Leave a comment here and I'll choose a winner Friday afternoon, November 15th. Be sure I have a way to reach you!

And for more blog tour stops and more giveaways, hop on over to Quiltmaker's Quilty Pleasures blog. Hope you win!

Friday, November 8, 2013

Bangles...

When I flipped through Sarah Fielke's book,  Hand Quilted With Love, the first time, the gorgeous "Bangles" quilt caught my eye immediately. Oh no, Y-seams. Yes, every seam is a Y-seam. I decided I'd just enjoy the picture in her book. No curling up with this quilt on the sofa. But then I saw this one and this one. Armed with some encouragement and inspiration, I set out to make my own Bangles quilt!

I started with the beautiful prints from Blythe, some coordinating stash fabrics, and the pattern. The quilt uses templates and I decided it could be rotary cut with my hexagon ruler {I added painter's tape to mark the exact lines I needed} and a freezer paper template.



And to my surprise, I found that I rather enjoyed all those Y-seams. It was a slow process, but not a difficult one. Actually a rather relaxing one.


And I so love the result. The colors, the intricate-looking design, the play of pattern...
Love it all...



I'm always a bit afraid to start quilting on a quilt that I love so much. I ended up doing a back and forth wave on the print fabrics using a yellow Aurifil thread which seemed to blend nicely with all of the colors. I was able to stitch from edge to edge across the quilt by quilting half a "bangle" and moving on to the next one. Starting again on the edge, the second halves were quilted.


In the white hexagons, I quilted a flower motif. I drew this freehand with a disappearing marker. You could easily do this without marking, but I like having a line to follow.


The back is several pieces from the inspiration line. I hadn't planned on using the darker floral piece, but found it on my recent trip to Virginia and couldn't resist adding a bit. It's so beautiful...





We're enjoying an amazingly colorful Fall this year. I couldn't resist sharing how nicely the berries on my Beautyberry bush compliment my quilt. Every Fall I'm in awe of them. Living proof that we can make beautiful quilts, but only God can make the beauty found in nature.


Enjoy the season!

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

WIP Wednesday...

It's been over a week since my last blog post! Doesn't mean I haven't been busy! It's Wednesday - the perfect day for catching up and linking up to Lee at Freshly Pieced!


The Weekender Travel Bag... I've had the pattern and fabric for over 6 months. My plan was to find a chunk of time and power through it. Obviously that's not working, so I've come up with a new plan. Do a few steps each week with the goal of completing it by Christmas. Hold me to it - please! So this week, I'm cutting it out and making the piping.


Camille started a quilt along on Instagram of her Round and Round pattern. It's one I've had on my list, so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get started. I'm doing something a little different from my typical white background ~ Moda Bella solid in Breeze. It's kind of a minty, green/blue, aqua-y color. One block down...


I'm on a Thimble Blossoms roll and also started Starlight. I thought it would be a nice stash quilt...


and I'm enjoying the scrappiness of it!


And I finally finished my Bangles quilt. This one deserves it's own post and I'll share more when our weather improves so I can get some better shots. I'm so happy with how it turned out ~ the fabrics, the Y-seam piecing, the backing and the quilting. More details to come!


Be sure to check out all the other WIPs over at Freshly Pieced!