Pages

10 December 2019

pop and spark !

Popping in to share the table runner I made recently for the Fat Quarter Shop's Jelly Glazed Heart Table Runner Quilt Along.

Jelly Glazed Hearts Table Runner

It's a super simple project to sew together - using just a few jelly roll strips and some yardage for the background.  I've made mine using a jelly roll in Pop by Rashida Coleman-Hale - so seventies with its vinyl records, balloon dogs, and soda pop bottles xx and the background is Spark in Lipstick from the Social range by Melody Miller - it's so luscious and dreamy too xx


To finish the table runner I stitched in the ditch around the jelly roll hearts and then stippled the background - I wanted to make sure the hearts popped and I also wanted to continue the quick and easy theme :)  The runner finishes at 19 1/2” x  68 1/2". 


I decided to go with a striped binding - even though Rashida has designed the stripe in her Pop range to run perpendicular to the selvedge.



I sewed the striped jelly roll strips together side by side and then cut them into strips and sewed those end to end - it means lots of seams all the way around but it didn't actually make much difference when sewing the binding to the quilt and I love how the binding looks :)



It's so quick you could easily make one in time for a last minute christmas gift or maybe it would finish off a gorgeous Valentine's Day table (which is just around the corner ha ha !) or using just one heart would make a really cute pillow or cushion !


The Jelly Glazed Table Runner is a free Fat Quarter Shop quilt along and there's a video tutorial too - check out the Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber blog for all the information and have a look at the other yummy table runners made using this pattern!


I'll be back soon with a plan for more making in 2020 - wow another century - wonder what it will bring !!  I know there's a pink pig somewhere in my near future :)

29 October 2019

taking a Swan Dive

I love it when I can use the pattern name as a fun post title but I have to admit I'm starting to feel like the guy in the ad who says "but wait there's more"! 



I've been playing along with the Fat Quarter Shop again for another fun paper project - this time its using Miss Rosie's Jolly Bar Cake Mix Recipe Cards




its a pack of printed foundation papers that makes two sizes of half square triangles (my mum says they're my favourite block) and they make it pretty easy to be accurate too !

You simply place your two fabrics right sides together and then place a printed paper piece on top, then hold together with a few strategically placed pins and follow the lines - there are arrows printed showing the direction and there are also numbers showing which lines to sew next - its almost like joining the dots !!

Each "recipe" paper makes a 6 inch finished block and there are six different block layout options - if you haven't played with paper they're a great option for beginners.




I used some of Amy Ellis' Wanderlust fabrics as the feature and teamed it with Moda's Natural Bella solid for the background and border - I really love that its gender neutral which is fab for a crib quilt !




The Fat Quarter Shop has this free pattern called "Swan Dive" that uses Miss Rosie's Jolly Bar Cake Mix Recipe Cards.  The pattern is in two sizes - to make the crib size quilt you will need a Jolly Bar of feature fabrics and a Jolly Bar of background - they're pre-cut 5 inch x 10 inch rectangles, easy to just sew together and you can make your seams twirl too !


I love the accuracy of using papers especially when there are so many pieces in each block and all that bias - I'm not sure if its much quicker but it does seem so :)

Make sure you check out the Fat Quarter Shop's blog - The Jolly Jabber - to download this fun free pattern and to see some other wonderful quilts using this quick and easy pattern !



28 September 2019

Ocean Waves rolling in

Are you ready for another block in the Fat Quarter Shop Classic and Vintage Series ?

This time its the Ocean Waves block and it's made with the fabulous half square triangle paper that is sold on a roll !



I really love half square triangles and the new Its So Emma HST paper rolls makes sewing them very easy - paper rolls have sewing and cutting lines already marked so you can make the triangles the exact size you need plus you can make 700 half square triangles from the one roll !!  That's a whole lot of HSTs !!




I've made my classic Ocean Waves block from Basic Grey's Grunge fabric - using Pool and Essence together and I also made a mock up block in EQ8 using a fun bundle of Grunge in sherbet colours.


When deciding on the quilt I initially thought of using the sherbet bundle to make a block from each colour but after I'd put together a few options of the design in EQ8 I decided I liked the look of the multi-coloured blocks so I'm going with the Confetti Ocean Waves quilt although I have put a sea blue/green Ocean Waves quilt on my to do list for the future - I really love the Pool and Essence together !!


I really love the multi-coloured blocks in the quilt - I think the pinwheels show a lot of movement and can't wait for the remaining fabrics to arrive so that I can make this quilt.


If you're looking for an easy way to make a lot of half square triangle blocks, then the Its Sew Emma paper rolls should be on your shopping list - no fuss and very quick and easy to use !




Pop over to the FQS Jolly Jabber blog to download your FREE Ocean Waves block pattern and also watch Kimberly’s video tutorial for a step-by-step guide on making your block!

27 June 2019

Happy Pineapple Day !!


Meet my sweet little Pineapple Fizz ...



This is the fun quilt that I made especially to celebrate Pineapple Day and the Fat Quarter Shop's Pineapple Day Quilt Along !

Using the fabulous new Pineapple Quilt Block Foundation Paper from the Fat Quarter Shop I made a wall hanging from both the 6 inch and 12 inch blocks !

The foundation paper is nice and thin and makes sewing up these blocks nice and easy.



I made both the 6 inch blocks and the larger 12 inch blocks and changed the fabric placement in half of them - I love how different the blocks look depending on the fabric placement - kinda like a shimmer and a shake !!


I used some of my favourite long hoarded Dreamin' Vintage Bloomery fabric (by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery Fabric) and a solid white for the background.

I LOVE this fabric - its such a fun happy yellow and so perfect for making pineapple blocks (even if it is hard to photograph the true gorgeous colour - the colour of the single block is probably closest !!)


I had fun with the free motion quilting and quilted all the background so that just the yellow pops out!

I also made a few more Pineapple blocks using my never-ending scraps...


Rather than using light/dark for each block I'm using warm/cool colours and I'm planning to use four 6 inch blocks to make a large one like the one above and also using the actual 12 inch blocks in a 4 x 4 row designs - I'm making a lap size quilt with a wide plain border to contain all that crazy scrappy colour in the middle!


Pop over to The Jolly Jabber to check out the other Pineapple Day quilts and projects and hashtag #pineappledayquilt on your socials. I hope you find some inspiration to make your own Pineapple Quilt!!

22 February 2019

Jolly Bar Bon Bons Quilt


I'm excited to share my finished (YES finished !!) Jolly Bar Bon Bons Quilt !!


The Jolly Bar Bon Bons Quilt is another shortcut (read quick and easy) quilt pattern for pre-cuts by the Fat Quarter Shop.

The pattern uses pre-cut Jolly Bars which are 5 inch x 10 inch rectangles in your favourite fabric ranges - you can see some of the sweet ones here !

The pattern makes a 60 inch square quilt but I made mine 40 inches as I'm planning on giving it to my Aunt who is 94 and lives in a nursing home - the smaller size will make it easier for her to manage while giving her a warm hug :)


I only just finished the binding today - as usual the quilting held me up - I just procrastinate so badly when I want to free motion quilt - eek - I had the quilt basted and the sewing machine set up ready to go for a whole day and I just couldn't bring myself to start - thank goodness for deadlines otherwise it probably would still be sitting unquilted !!

I finally sat down and quilted it with a loopy loop stitch and it only took around 1 1/2 hours to quilt and I thoroughly enjoyed it !!


I also really love the result :)  I'm not sure I'll ever get sick of the texture of free motion quilting so I just need to remember this next time I'm trying to avoid it !

As I'm trying to use my overflowing stash this year I decided to use some left over Wren and Friends by Gina Martin for Moda charm squares - it meant that my "twirl" HST blocks were a different fabric to the centre squares but I think it adds some charm to the quilt.  I can also envisage a cute baby quilt with polka dot HSTs and solid centre squares and low volume fabrics for the background :)



For the back I used one of my favourite fabrics from Summersault by Erin McMorris for Free Spirit - I so love the tone of the pink in this fabric and the colours of the raindrops match the charm squares so well !  I finished off with an aqua stripe for the binding.

You can get a copy of the FREE pattern here and make sure you check out Kimberley's tips on making the quilt at the Fat Quarter Shop's Youtube channel !!

You can also see the other quilts made with this pattern over at the FQS's Jolly Jabber blog and on social media with these hashtags #fqsquiltalong #shortcutquilt #jollybarbonbonsquilt.

If you're looking for a beginners quilt or a fast and easy quilt to sew up in a weekend, this one fits the bill :)