Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Lots of Finishing Going On....

 

Hi, all!

Here we are, another week gone and Friday is here!  And we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's go!

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It's been a busy week of finishes around my studio this week - I had a customer quilting job, plus a wedding gift quilt to make and a t-shirt quilt to begin working on.  Whew!  A lot on my plate, but I'm happy to say things went well.  First thing was taking care of the customer quilt, and although I don't have pictures of it, it is quilted, binding on, and washed and dried, waiting for my customer to pick it up tomorrow.  She made herself a beautiful winter-themed quilt, and I wanted to get it back to her as quickly as possible so she can enjoy it for a while!

Then I got to work on the wedding quilt.  The shower is next weekend, so I really had to get hopping!  I found a kit that had been in my stash since 2015 (oh the shame!) and whipped out this pretty top....

Didn't that turn out nice?  The fabric is Good Neighbor by Amanda Nyberg of Crazy Mom Quilts.  I bought this quilt on a fabulous sale years ago and then avoided making it because of the flying geese - but the technique it used to make them was so simple and quick, I don't know why I ever feared making them!  

Once the top was finished, I went to my stash to see if I had a piece that would work for the back.  I thought I was going to have to go shopping (oh the horror!) but then I spotted a bolt of fabric my friend Piper picked up for me when she was shopping for fabric for the quilt ministry.  She was worried that the fabric wouldn't be appropriate for the ministry - it has girls in bathing suits on beach blankets on it - but I loved the colors and told her I would take it.  Well, I took one look at it, and another one at the quilt, and knew I had found my back!

Wednesday morning, this quilt went on the frame, and about an hour later, it was ready for binding!  A little trimming, a little sewing. and voila!  It's finished!

See what I mean about that backing fabric?  It is so perfect it could have been printed with he same dyes.  Every color in the fabric on the front is present in the backing fabric!  And the recipient loves the beach, so win/win!!

Thursday saw some real progress on the t-shirt blocks.  I had done a few of the trickier blocks previously....

...but Thursday I got to work on the "easy" blocks - the ones that just have to be carefully measured, backed and trimmed.  I got a bunch of them ready to go, but there's still a lot to do!  You can see my clips on each one in this picture, with it's number so I can lay it out in the proper spot when I get ready to assemble this puzzle style quilt.

So lots of finishes this week, and a good start on the next big project!  But the very biggest whoop whoop came Thursday afternoon, when I opened up my email and found a message from someone who wants to donate her long arm machine to our quilt ministry!  God is good, and we are excited to be able to make even more quilts - but it's going to be exciting times making space for our new girl!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Make-A-List Monday - Because I Really Need a List!

 

Hi, all!

Well, it's been a while since I posted on a Monday, but that doesn't mean I haven't been working, just that I'm a lazy blogger!  But this week I feel the need to organize my mind and commit publicly, so here I am.

I'm pleased to say that I put in some time with a new skill today - I finally tried four-at-a-time flying geese, and I can't believe I've ignored this fabulous technique for all these years!  I finished these pretty blocks....

...and one of my goals for this week is to finish this quilt, which will be a wedding gift and hence has a time deadline!

I'm also working on another t-shirt quilt for a 2024 graduate, and these are a couple of the blocks I've already got up on the design wall.  I usually try to make the "tough" blocks - the ones that take more thought and effort to create - first, so the rest of the quilt is downhill after that.  But I've still got a lot of blocks to create, and this one is next on my list after the wedding gift.

So those are my goals for this week - finish the wedding quilt, and put in some serious time on the first t-shirt quilt of the season.  

And now I really need to know - - - what are YOU working on this week?

Hugs!

Sarah

Fat Quarter Frenzy Rediscovers Supernova!

 

Hi, all!

I. Am. Late.  So sorry!  And I will totally blame this on the state of my studio - it's a flipping mess, with about twelve quilt tops waiting to be quilted, a customer quilt just off the frame, a t-shirt quilt in progress, and now a new quilt started for a wedding shower gift.  My brain feels like my studio looks, and I just completely forgot what day it was yesterday when I should have been writing this post.

That being said, welcome back to Fat Quarter Frenzy, where we are exploring simple quilt designs made from fat quarters.  If you're like me, you've got a lot of fat quarters sitting around, and hopefully this will help you find a good quilt-y home for some of them!  So far I've used 30 fat quarters, 16 with Meet Me In St. Louis, and another 14 with Kaleidoscope.  

Today we're going to re-visit one of the most popular tutorials on my blog, Supernova.  I first posted this in 2017, as part of the Stunning Stars series, and it's been requested as a PDF hundreds (thousands?) of times since then.  But I'm always up for a new interpretation of this quilt, so here it is in mixed prints!

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Land, Sea and Sky

A Fat Quarter Friendly Quilt

This is a very simple one-block quilt; its secret lies in the layout.

Finished size:  approximately 60” x 60”

Materials:

18 Fat Quarters - 9 each in two different color groups

For the purposes of this tutorial, choose one that you will 

        designate as the “background” fabric.  Dark fabrics tend 

        to pop, so you may find that the lighter of your two 

        fabrics works best as background.

CUTTING DIRECTIONS:

From each fat quarter, cut six 7” squares.  Once finished, you should have 54 each in two different color groups.  

Choose four foreground squares in the same print that will become your focal star.

MAKING THE BLOCKS:

Take the squares you have designated as background squares and draw a line from one corner diagonally across the square on the back of the fabric. This can be done with pencil, chalk, or my personal favorite, Hera marker, which just leaves a visible crease on the fabric.

Pair one background square with one foreground square, right sides together.

 

Stitch a scant 1/4” from each side of the diagonal line you drew on the background square.  Cut on the diagonal line.  Press seam to one side (it doesn’t matter which side, just be consistent.)   You will have 54 sets of two matching half square triangles (HSTs).  Trim your HSTs to 6.5” square.  Don’t skip this step - it will make your quilt go together faster and look better!

 I love using a Bloc-Loc ruler for this step - it makes everything go fast and easy.  However, if you don’t have one, a regular square ruler with a diagonal line will work!  And just look at how pretty all those trimmings are!

Locate your eight focal star HSTs to start your layout.

LAYOUT:

Use this diagram to lay out your blocks.  Start with the focal point star in the lower left quadrant, (the shadowed area) and work out from the star.  (The shadowed area and the dark lines are to help you see how the blocks lay.)  Step back often and check to see that your diamonds are going the right direction!  Fill in the gaps at the upper right and lower left edges with half diamonds, splitting up some of your pairs for the purpose.  

TIP:  If you have a design wall, or use a “design floor”, take a photo of your layout (before assembly) and look at it on your phone.  The distance this provides you visually makes it easier to see errors and places where you may wish to switch some blocks.  It usually takes four or five photos before I’m happy with the layout.  

Assemble the quilt top.  Quilt as desired!

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And that's it for today's tutorial!  I'm another 18 fat quarters down in my stash after making this quilt, and it's barely made a dent!  But I'm having fun and finding all kinds of inspiration for making more quilts and diminishing that stash.  See you next week!

Hugs!

Sarah

Fat Quarter Frenzy Is Back, With Kaleidoscope!

 

Hi, all!

Time snuck up on me this week, and I almost forgot to write this week's Fat Quarter Frenzy post, but here I am!  If this is your first time stopping by, we've just started a series of tutorials for simple, quick quilts that can be made with fat quarters.  Last week we made a St. Louis 16-patch that used up sixteen fat quarters from my rather voluminous stash of them.  This week, we're moving from square to triangles as we create a beautiful top that reminds me of a kaleidoscope image.  Let's go!

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Kaleidoscope

A Fat Quarter Frenzy Quilt

Materials:

14 Fat Quarters (FQ) measuring a minimum of 17” x 20” after squaring up.  

There should be a wide range of colors in your FQs to achieve a good effect.

Cutting:

From each squared up FQ, cut 7 strips 3” wide x 17”.  When finished, you should have 98 strips.

Assembly:

Sort the strips into 32 sets of three contrasting strips.  (You will have two left over)

Sew the strip sets together, always starting your seams from the same end of the set.

Once all your strip sets are sewn together, press the seams.  (I chose to press mine open so that they would be easier to match)

More Cutting:

Now you will crosscut your strip sets into two blocks.  Measure your strip sets and see how wide they are.  Mine were 8.25” wide, so I cut my blocks 8.25” square.  After cutting your strip sets, you will have 64 strip blocks.

Now pair up the blocks that will be in each large block.  You will need two sets of two identical strip blocks for each  block. (16 sets total) 

Choose one of the sets you just prepared, and take the first identical set of strip blocks and lay them on your cutting mat with the stripes going horizontally.  (BE SURE the blocks are laid with the same color at the top!)  Cut these two on the diagonal from upper left to lower right.

Take the second identical set of strip blocks and lay them on your cutting mat with the stripes going horizontally.  (BE SURE the blocks are laid with the same color at the top!) Cut these two on the diagonal from upper right to lower left.  Keep all of these triangle sets (2 sets of four triangles) together to be assembled into one large block.

Repeat for all 16 block sets.

Back to Sewing:

I chose to use two different block designs in my quilt, because I liked the secondary patterns it created.  If you prefer, you can assemble all of your blocks using just one or the other of the designs.

 For each of the two blocks, you will assemble the same basic component block.  Do this by taking one triangle of each color set and sewing them together along the long diagonal, matching the seams.  Take care not to stretch this seam as you sew - it is cut on the bias.  Press the seam open.

Repeat until all 64 component blocks are assembled.  You should have two sets of two identical component blocks for each large block.

 Square up those blocks so that they are all the same size, using a ruler that allows you to place a diagonal line along the diagonal seam of the block.  You may not trim off much, but believe me, but will make your quilt look much nicer in the end!

Now on to assembly of the blocks.

 Block #1:

Block #1 reminds me of the old TV test patterns!  It’s easy to assemble.  Take two sets of two identical blocks and place two identical blocks in the upper right and lower left corners, with the small triangles in the center.  Take the other two and place them in the upper left and lower right corners, with the small triangles in the center.  Assemble, pressing the seams open.  

If you are making the quilt as shown, make 8 of these blocks.  If you are using only this block, make 16.

Block #2:       

To assemble this block, lay your component blocks in a pinwheel formation, with the same color strips on the outside of the block.  Having all the same colored sides in the center is what creates the hooked pinwheel.  This block is a good one for the guideline “Look Twice, Sew Once”.  Be sure it is properly laid out before you sew it, and you will save yourself a good bit of time with our little friend Jack (the Ripper)!

If you are making the quilt as shown, make 8 of these blocks.  If you are using only this block, make 16.

 Once you have completed all sixteen blocks, arrange them in your preferred layout.  I laid mine out in a checkerboard pattern alternating Block #1 and Block #2 to achieve the secondary pattern shown.

Assemble your quilt top, and quilt as desired!

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Now, I know some of you are looking at this design and thinking that it's a lot of seam matching - but while I agree there are a lot of seams to match, I didn't have any trouble achieving neat intersections.  I don't know if that's because I pressed my seams open, but being able to pin through the seams (over the threads) seemed to help make them match neatly.  And don't skip the squaring-up step - it's the most important part of making a half-square triangle quilt, and I guarantee you will be happier with your finished quilt if you do!

See you next week with another simple quilt!

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? A Bit of This and That!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to the (almost) weekend!  It's finally Friday, and we all know what that means - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  If you're new here, you should know that this doesn't have to be a finish - just something you're happy about.  We all need to celebrate the little things, don't we?  So let's go!

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It's been a busy week around my place, starting with a re-visit of the bargello process...

As I made my first version, I realized there were some things I could do differently that would make the process easier.  So I decided to give it another whirl!  I tried to work more with the size of my vertical cuts, and while I made some mistakes - this one doesn't have an easy flow to it - I learned a lot that will help me the next time I try a bargello!

But once I finished that top, it was time to put away the sewing machine and start some serious t-shirt quilt planning.  I spent most of the day Thursday putting together the to-scale paper plan for a customer quilt - whew!

And one more thing I did this week - I made my first Tres Leches cake from scratch, and it was delicious!  My husband said it was a lovely thing to eat after a bowl of spicy chicken tortilla soup - creamy and sweet, and it has to be good for you with all that milk, right??

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Fat Quarter Frenzy Begins with Meet Me In St. Louis!

 

Hi, all!

Welcome to this year's tutorial series, Fat Quarter Frenzy!  Born from the inspiration of my oldest granddaughter, who so kindly pointed out that I had a "butt-load of fat quarters", I'll be sharing six simple quilt tutorials, all using fat quarters as their source of fabric.  Of course, you can use yardage or scraps if you choose, but the tutorials are written using fat quarters.

If you're like me, you love to buy fat quarter bundles because they are such a fun way to get your hands on a full fabric line.  All those beautiful fabrics just waiting to be turned into quilts - but sometimes they just languish away on the shelf, looking pretty but not much else. So let's use them!

A word here about fat quarters!  As I've been prepping my own for use in these tutorials, I have found serious discrepancies in the sizes of fat quarters.  By definition, a fat quarter should be 18" x 20-22", but I have found many of my bundled fat quarters to be only approximately 17" wide when squared up.  So for purposes of these tutorials, I am assuming that fat quarters are 17" x 20".  Yours may be larger than that, and I trust that you will find good use for any scraps that are left over!

With that being said, let's get started with our first quilt tutorial, which I call "Meet Me In St. Louis" in honor of its classic block, the St. Louis 16-patch.  I was not familiar with this block before, but it certainly lends itself to fat quarters, as you will see that there is very little waste.

Meet Me In St. Louis

A Fat Quarter Friendly Quilt

Materials:

16 Fat Quarters (FQ) measuring (squared up) a minimum of 17” x 20”:

8 light (L) FQ, 8 dark (D) FQ *or two contrasting colors can be used*

Cutting:

Square up your FQ, using the selvage edge as your constant straight.  Line it up on the straight of your cutting mat, then trim the right and left edges to straight.

Leaving the FQ in place on the mat, cut four strips 4.25” wide by 20”+ long.  

Repeat for all 16 FQs.  You should now have 32 llght strips and 32 dark strips.

Assembly: 

Divide your strips into 16 sets, pairing two identical light (L) strips with two identical dark (D)  strips. 

Assemble strip sets, alternating the strips in a LDLD pattern.   I recommend starting sewing from the selvage ends so the sets are basically straight on that end for economy’s sake.

Press seams towards the dark strips.  (If you are using contrasting colors, press toward the same color on all strip sets)

Crosscut the strip sets in the following manner:  laying your strip set with the strips running horizontal on the mat, line up the straight bottom with the straight on your mat.  Cut off the selvage edges.  

Then cut the strip set into 4 4.25” wide block strips.  Repeat for all strip sets, being sure to keep the block strips from each strip set together.

Take the four block strips and arrange them in a checkerboard 16-patch pattern.  Your seams should nest into each other.  Assemble the block.  Repeat for all 16 blocks.

 Arrange your 16-patch blocks and  assemble your quilt!

Yields one approximately 60” square quilt.

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And there you have it - the first of six tutorials for this year's series, Fat Quarter Frenzy!  I hope you'll enjoy making these quilts as much as I have.  Most are quick and simple, perfect for comfort quilts to give away - and hopefully they'll help you use up some stray fat quarters if you also have a "butt-load" of them!

See you next Sunday with another fun quilt tutorial!

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Short Week, But Productive!

 

Hi, all!

Wow! This has been a short, fast week (we went to Phoenix for my husband's work Sunday to Tuesday) but it's finally Friday, and we all know what that means - - - it's time for us to get our whoop whoop on!  Are you ready?  Let's go!

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I wasn't sure how much I would have to share this week, but when I looked back at where things stood last Friday, I saw this picture...

...and realized that I had a finished top to share with you!   I love the way this one turned out....

I think I'll call it Woven!  And it did turn out just like I hoped it would.  I'd be interested to see what it looks like in three shades of the same color!

For the last couple of days, since returning from Phoenix, I've been working with these pretty fabrics....

...making my first attempt at a bargello quilt!  I'm learning as I go, but I like where it's going so far.

I'm hoping to finish the flimsy tomorrow, if I get some uninterrupted sewing time.  I'm thinking about taking a second go at this pattern to see if some ideas I had while working on this version would work!

And with any luck, I'm hoping to start this year's tutorial series this coming Sunday!  I hope you'll join me as we work with fat quarters this year - it's been loads of fun making the prototypes, and I've worked through a ton of fat quarters so far!

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

Let's hope he doesn't see his shadow today!

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you,

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah