Tall Tales Baby Quilt

I had intended to make more of these adorable foundation pieced blocks, but I cut things a bit short when I realized they would be perfect for my book loving friend's new baby. Using 20 blocks (8" square unfinished), I staggered the placement and added a quick border to make a 37 x 49 baby quilt.

The blocks, which use adorable Heather Ross prints, are just so cute for tummy time and story time - they would be great for any baby - but I know my friend is going to love making up silly tales about each one with her kids.

The background is a lovely, soft peppered cotton, and the backing fabric is a Alexander Henry print I have been hoarding for a while. A great black and white print goes with anything! I chose the texty binding print by Carolyn Friedlander which is a bit on the nose for the quilt theme. It made me chuckle anyway.

You can find the Tall Tales Quilt blocks by Quilt with Kate on Etsy. 

Solid Scraps - Chevron Blocks

I keep my scraps of solid colored fabrics in their own bin, and it is out of control. I pulled these to create a block I've had my eye on - a paper pieced chevron from Molly (applecydermill).

After my recent experience with indiscriminate scrap use, I limited my palette to a select number of colors which means that at 22 blocks in, I'm running out of scraps. But it is a good problem to have. I'll augment with stash fabrics to fill it out to throw size because the blocks look best in larger numbers.

Prisms and Fireworks

Ronnie Thompson from British Columbia was kind enough to send me this photo of a Floating Prisms quilt she longarm quilted. It was pieced by Marven Ecker. He asked her to create fireworks with the quilting, and I think the bursts are a stunning design in the negative space.

You can find my post about the Floating Prisms pattern here, as well as the whole pattern as a free download on the Robert Kaufman site. The design is foundation pieced.

Flying Geese Pillow

I drafted the elongated flying geese in this pillow as a foundation pieced pattern to create really crisp points. The high contrast of the black and white makes the simple design quite bold, which I like.

I quilted the flying geese minimally with an outline in black thread, while I filled in the white with a free motion swirl in white thread to keep the emphasis on the triangles.

I finished this 16 x 24 pillow with a lapped zipper back, and I think this quilted pillow cover will be an even better fit once it's washed.

Hexie Zip Bag

English paper piecing is probably my favorite type of hand sewing. It's just so portable, perfect for scraps, and cute. Of course it stops being portable when you try to make something large, so the two panels necessary for this sweet zip bag were just right to my way of thinking.

The pattern I used to make the bag is the Perfect Zip Bag by Elizabeth Hartman. You can make it with a pieced panel or without. It is my go-to pattern for zip bags because of the method she uses for inserting the zipper and covering the zipper ends. Perfect every time.

I was trying to decide who would appreciate this sort of gift, and I think it has to be a quilter, don't you? I'm going to surprise a special woman via post this week.

Ketchikan Quilt Pattern Release

I am pleased to share with you the Ketchikan Quilt pattern today. It has been a long time in the making! This queen sized quilt is the largest I have ever created, and the pattern, while easy to make, was quite involved to write. Each foundation pieced block is 22 inches, with a couple of setting blocks to make the sashing more distinctive. The thirteen page pattern includes fabric requirements, cutting and piecing instructions, printable foundation templates, a construction diagram, and a coloring sheet of the block to play with your own color placement.

Paper pieced blocks are perfect for scraps, as the pieces are generally small. They are also great for fussy cuts. I included some cute fussy cut centers for the stars. I made each block with different scraps but kept my palette to black, white, and grey. The large expanse of white background is meant to invoke the snowy expanse of the northern frontier, which was the inspiration for the quilt. It makes me think of stars and arrows, two critical means of survival.

I love how the feel of the quilt completely changes with different uses of fabric and color. My pattern tester, Kelly, chose a colorful print for the background and coordinating prints for the stars, arrows, chevrons, and stripes. It is so fun and cheerful.

Alissa worked with a woven background and an ombre solid. This gives the block a lot of depth and subtlety. Love it.

You can find the pattern in my Craftsy store, and I would love to see your version of the #ketchikanquilt

Paper Boat Mini

When my friend told me her nursery has a nautical theme, I was all too happy to revisit this paper boat pattern. I love the pastel fabrics for a baby's room, and it looks so sweet in the snow we got just in time for Christmas.

This mini just needed a couple of triangles on either corner to hold a small dowel rod for hanging, and it's on its way to little Lewis.

Jewel Stars Quilt

This quilt proves that it's never too late to finish a long term project. I first blogged about these jewel stars as a new English paper piecing shape back in 2011! It seems I started  joining the stars to diamonds and wrote about assembling thee quilt top in 2014. Ironically I ended the post with a joke that surely it wouldn't be another three years before I finished the quilt. Ha! Guess what time it is, folks? Yup, three years later, but it is finally done.

My favorite part of the process by far was making each little star. Finding just the right fabric combinations and fussy cutting the jewel and hexagon shapes was a delight. I spent many a gymnastics and taekwondo lesson happily cutting, gluing, and sewing those gems. What bogged me down was the assembly of the stars into the background and to each other. That was not quite as fun, and the larger it got, the more awkward it was to hand piece. I'm happy I soldiered through it though, as the final 44 x 50 quilt is a fun I-spy game and snugly cover in one. Can you spot the annoyed owl? Cute frog? Cotton candy stand? Terrified terrier in a teacup?

I backed the quilt in scraps of flannel, making it extra cozy, and continued the scrap theme with several different leftover yellow binding strips.

Hopefully I've made everyone feel between about the WIPs or UFOs languishing in your sewing areas. They may get finished one day!

New Paper Pieced Block

 

Inspired by an ikat fabric I saw on instagram, this new paper pieced block has captivated my imagination. I used grey scraps on a pure white background to evoke a wintery, Nordic feel. The block motif reminds me of arrows and stars, which fit the theme perfectly. You can purchase the pattern in my etsy shop.

I made a second block using more scraps, this time in black and white, but I think I'll look to my stash next to make each block unique with no repeating fabrics and to achieve a subtle twinkle from different values of grey and black prints.

I'm thinking of calling it the Ketchikan quilt and making it my next pattern. What do you think?

Introducing the Chromascope Quilt

I'm excited to share a new quilt design and pattern with you today. The Chromascope Quilt is a modern variation on a kaleidoscope block, featuring a rainbow of stars set against a trellised grey and white background. Careful color placement creates a diagonal gradation of color and value. The best part about this quilt, aside from the opportunity for color play and use of scraps, is that it can be pieced from a single foundation template.

The eight page, full color, pattern includes fabric requirements, cutting instructions, piecing directions, foundation template, construction diagram, and coloring page. You can find the pattern for the 50" x 60" Chromascope Quilt for sale in my Craftsy shop.

Nervous about paper piecing or creating all those points? I've created a detailed tutorial for piecing the 10" Chromascope block, with step by step photos. You can find the free tutorial over on one of my favorite sewing sites, Sew Mama Sew. I walk you through the process, give you rough cut sizes for each fabric piece, and share tips for precision piecing.

 

The design is such a fun opportunity to play with scraps and think about color. I used some of my favorite prints. I'd love to see your Chromascope blocks and quilts. Tag your photos #chromascopequilt or #chromascopeblock to share yours with the online sewing community.

The gorgeous cover and pattern layout were put together by my friend and fellow quilter, Trish Koch, a photographer and graphic designer. Local peeps, she's a genius at portrait photography, and fellow quilters, she's available for graphic design work.



Free Pumpkin Patterns

To celebrate fall, I'm giving away my pumpkin block pattern in my Craftsy shop. The free pattern includes the paper piecing templates for both the 6 x 6 single pumpkin block, and this cute 12 x 12 block featuring a group of three pumpkins.

The single pumpkin block is perfect for beginners. Those more confident with paper piecing will have fun making the more challenging block with three pumpkins.

The pattern includes the templates alone. For detailed instructions and tutorials on paper piecing, check out some of the following links:

Beginning Paper Piecing by Ellison Lane or her video
How to Paper Piece on the Craftsy blog
Paper piecing video by Crafty Gemini

Paper Pieced Pumpkin Placemats

I'm teaching Beginning Paper Piecing next month at KC Modern Makers, and I created this super easy pumpkin block for the class.

 

After learning the basics, we'll move on to a more challenging block, or students may just want to make a few more of these cute pumpkins like I did. 

I made my blocks into a set of seasonal placemats for my family. My boys are still at the age to get really excited about changing seasons, so they had each claimed their own placemat before I even got them quilted.

This is a great project for scraps. Each pumpkin, stalk, and binding is made from a different fabric from my scrap bins. I even used scraps from a friend to make a simple improv back. It was great to find the perfect project for those jack-o-lanterns, candy corn, and ghosts. Happy Fall!