11 Amsterdam Quilt.

I had the opportunity to stitch up this springy tulip quilt for Cloud 9 Fabrics to hang in their booth at Quilt Market.  It's called the Amsterdam Quilt, and you can find the free pattern for the quilt on the Cloud 9 website now!

 

I can't take credit for the cute tulip design, Michelle Engel Bencsko designed it, I just figured out the math and sewed it all together.   I got to use the beautiful new fabric line from Eloise Renouf, called Shape of Spring, which is shipping to stores this month!  I love the colors and patterns in this line!

I used my favorite wavy quilting method for the quilting, which took forever since I quilted the lines so close together, but it is always worth the extra time in the end.

My dog is funny and loves modeling with quilts, even though he usually avoids the camera at all costs.  This one was no exception!  

Thanks Cloud 9 Fabrics for the opportunity, I had fun making this quilt!  Can't wait to see the other Amsterdam Quilts made with this pattern!

23 Confetti Quilt Tutorial.

Also known as the Circle Quilt Tutorial revamp :)  I wanted to update this tutorial since I wrote the old one before I knew very much about quilting.  You are still welcome to follow the old one if you want, but this new version is a little quicker and a little larger (finishes at about 45 x 52").

You will need:
Fat eighths of at least 14 different prints (I used 28 Dear Stella Confetti Dot prints here, 2 circles from each)
1 roll of fusible web (such as Heat 'n Bond Steam a Seam Lite or Pellon Wonder Under)
2 yds background fabric
3 yds backing fabric (or pieced 50 x 58" backing)
1/2 yd binding
Small rotary cutter and 5" circle template (download here)
OR
Fabric cutting machine (such as Accuquilt Go! Baby) and 5" circle die

Cutting Instructions:
1.  Cut a 7" x WOF strip from your background fabric.  While still folded in half, cut 3 7x7" squares (for a total of 6).  Continue until you have 56 - 7x7" squares.

2.  Cut 5.5" strips from the roll of fusible web.  Press interfacing to the wrong side of your fat eighths.

3a.  If you are using a rotary cutter and circle template, place circle template on top of the fabric and cut around the template.  You'll need 4 circles from each print if you are using 14 fabrics, or 2 circles from each print if you're using 28 fabrics.

3b.  If you are using a fabric cutting machine, cut out the interfaced 5-1/2" strip from each fat eighth.  Cut into 5-1/2" squares (4 squares if using 14 fabrics, 2 squares if using 28 fabrics).  Use fabric cutting machine to cut out circles from the squares you just cut.

Assembly Instructions:
4.  Fold background fabric squares in half and press.  Unfold, and fold in the other direction and press again to find the center of each block where the lines intersect.  Repeat this process on your circles (with the backing still applied to the fusible web) to find the center of each circle.  Peel off the paper backing from each circle, and align the center of the circle to the center of the background fabric.  Press to fuse the circle to the background fabric.  Repeat for all blocks.

5.  Use an applique stitch on your sewing machine to stitch the circles to the background fabric. Pull the thread tails to the back of the block and knot to secure.  Repeat for all blocks.

6.  Lay out your blocks in a 7 x 8 grid.  Label each block to keep them in order if you aren't using a design wall (A1, A2, B1, B2, etc).

7.  Piece each row of blocks together.  To do this, take two adjacent blocks (A1 and A2 for example), and place them right sides together.  A1 should be placed first, right side up.  A2 will be placed on top of A1, right side down.  Pin along the right edge of the blocks.  Sew blocks together along pinned edge using a 1/4" seam allowance.

8.  Open the blocks you just joined and place the next block in the row (A3 in this example) on top of the A2 block.  Pin along the right edge and sew blocks together using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Repeat until the entire row is joined, and then press the seams open.  Repeat for each row.
9.  Piece columns together.  To do this, take two adjacent rows (A and B for example) and place them right sides together.  A should be placed right side up, and B will be placed on top of A, right side down.  Pin along the bottom edge of the blocks, making sure that the seam intersections match up by pinning those in place.  Sew rows together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

10.  Open the rows you just joined and place the next row of blocks (C in this example) on top of the B row.  Pin along the right edge and sew rows together using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Repeat until all rows are joined, and then press the seams open.  You have a finished quilt top!

11.  Piece together a backing that is at least 50 x 58".
12.  Baste the quilt layers together.  Place backing on a large flat surface, right side down.  Then place quilt batting on top of the backing, making sure the layers are smooth.  Place quilt top on top of the batting, right side up.  Again, smooth out the layers as well as possible.  Place basting pins all over the quilt top to baste the layers together.  Start in the middle of the quilt and work your way out, smoothing the layers as you go.  I placed my pins in the center of each circle to avoid having to move them during the quilting process.

13.  Now it's time to quilt the layers together.  I like to quilt a grid that follows the outlines of the blocks.  Using a walking foot, and with your machine set to a straight stitch, sew a line about 1/4" from each of seam on both sides.  Continue along each seam.

14.  This part is optional, but you can also quilt around each circle as well.  This part takes awhile!
15.  Trim along the edges of the quilt to square it up.

16.  Cut five 2-1/2" binding strips.  Make binding and attach it to the quilt using you desired method (find my tutorial here).  Handstitch binding to the back of the quilt.

17.  Snuggle up with your new quilt!

4 Patchwork Pouf Tutorial.

Happy Friday friends!  Just wanted to share this patchwork pouf that I made recently.  You can find the tutorial for the pouf on the Liberty Craft Blog today!

The top of the pouf features a patchwork Dresden plate made out of the Liberty Lifestyle Stile collection!  I used Essex yarn dyed linen in black for the base and the center of the Dresden.

This pouf is big, at about 20" in diameter and 15" high.  Perfect to use as an ottoman or extra seating!

Jackson is a fan!

Head over to the Liberty Craft Blog to find out how to make your own.

If you make a patchwork pouf, I'd love to see it!  You can upload it to the Bijou Lovely flickr group or use the hashtag #patchworkpouf on Instagram!

10 clementine quilt progress and pin basting.

I finished my Clementine quilt top yesterday!  It's the Must Stash quilt pattern from Modern Designs for Classic Quilts.  After sewing the top together I decided I had to baste it before I went to sleep last night.  I set these silly rules for myself all the time, do you do that too?  I suppose it does help me get things done when I need to.

Anyway, I finally bought a Kwik Klip the last time I was at Joann's so I tried that out for the first time while basting.  I really like it!  Basting is so hard on my fingers, so it's nice to have a tool to help me do the job.  My manicures will probably last longer now too, although my nails weren't painted this time.

If you're wondering how the Kwik Klip works, basically it grips and pushes against the open side of the pin so you can close it with minimal effort.  You hold it in one hand and use your other hand to grab the latch part and close the pin.  You can use it for removing the pins as well.

I've had a few questions on how I baste my quilts, so this might be a good time to talk about that a bit.  I almost exclusively use pins to baste!  That is unless it's a tiny mini quilt and I'm feeling lazy, then I'll break out the spray baste and an old cutting mat to catch the overspray.  My preference for pin basting mostly comes from the fact that I don't want any spray residue getting all over the carpeted floor in my sewing room.  Plus I just feel like pins are more secure for me.

I baste on top of my sewing table, laying the backing down first and smoothing it out, then the batting and smoothing again, and finally the quilt top, smoothing out the layers one last time before I begin pinning.  I have a big table so I can baste a large portion of the quilt at one time, and I always start in the center.  If there is excess draping over the sides of the table, I just pull it up onto the table surface after the center is basted and smooth the layers out again before basting the sides.

This is a much easier method for me than getting down on my hands and knees on the floor.  My back hurts after doing it that way!  I've never had issues with fabric shifting or anything using this method.  The hardest part is making sure the layers are aligned properly if they are hanging off the edge of the table, but I think that's the hardest part of basting in general.

I use a lot of pins while basting (placing them at least every 4 inches or so), and try to be mindful of how I'm going to quilt when placing them.  In this quilt, I've basted only in the sashing since I plan to straight line quilt through the blocks first.  I will remove them after the blocks have been quilted so I can then free motion quilt the sashing without them getting in the way. 

I store my pins in a milkglass jar when I'm not using them, and just stick the jar near my sewing machine so I can easily throw the pins back in when I take remove them during quilting.  Functional and pretty is always a good combination!

I hope this helps those of you who have been confused by my table basting method!  Maybe someday I'll do a more in depth tutorial on the process, but since I usually baste late at night it's hard to get good pictures!

13 New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop & Block Tutorial.

I am thrilled to be a part of Daisy Janie's Bee Block Blog Hop today, showing off her newest collection, New Leaf.  It's a gorgeous collection made of 100% GOTS certified organic cotton.  The colors in this line are really beautiful, saturated jewel tones.  I really love the purples!  It's hard to find good purple fabric!

Jan asked us to make a block using "turning over a new leaf" as inspiration.  I decided to make my block quite literal, I made a leaf!  I wanted to see if I could use foundation paper piecing to piece the curves of a leaf shape. I wanted to somehow portray the veins in the leaf without really making a bunch of veins, so I added the triangles in the center of the block for that purpose.  Plus I just really like pieced triangles :)

Would you like to make your own New Leaf block?  Here are the steps:

1.  Download the templates.  You can find them here.  Print two copies of Templates A1, A2, B1, and B2, and one of Templates C1 and C2.  Make sure to print at 100% scale if you want a 12.5" unfinished block!  Cut out the templates, lay them out and mark which color fabrics go in each spot if you're alternating the background fabric like I did.  Set the extra set of templates for A1 - B2 aside after labeling them.  These will be your cutting templates in Step 5.

2.  Piece your center strip of triangles.  I used 2.5" 60 degree triangles, cut with a Hex N More Ruler.  If you do this, you'll need 28 triangles to fill the middle of the leaf.  Lay out your triangles the way you want them to look in your block and stitch them together with a 1/4" seam allowance.

You'll need to piece two rows to do this, then sew the two rows together.

3.  Next we'll piece the inner curves of our leaf block (labeled #1 in templates A1 - B2.  Cut two pieces of fabric for A1 and A2 that are at least 6" x 5-1/2".  Cut two pieces for B1 and B2 that are at least 5" x 5-1/2".  For each template, place the fabric with the right side facing away from the back of the paper template, filling in the #1 spot.  Hold it up to the light to make sure you have at least 1/4" seam allowance along the curve and the edges.

4.  Now we're going to baste along the curve.  This will accomplish two things: it will keep your fabric in place while we sew the next fabric on, and it will serve as a marker for your seam allowance when we pin the next fabric to the template.  Make sure to use a large stitch length for this part.  Repeat this process for templates A1, A2, B1 and B2.

5.  Now we're going to cut our fabric for the #2 sections.  Cut two pieces of fabric that are at least 6" x 8-1/2" for A1 and A2.  Cut two pieces of fabric that are at least 6" x 6-1/2 for B1 and B2.  Take your extra templates for A1 - B2 that we had set aside in Step 1 and lay your fabrics behind them with the right side of the fabric facing away from the back of the paper.  Cut along the side labeled #1, about 1/4" away from the curve, as shown.  Repeat for templates A1 - B2.

6.  Pin your fabric around the curve of your sewing templates (the ones with fabric already basted to #1).  You'll want to pin the fabric with about a 1/4" overhang on top of the line you had stitched through the paper to your #1 fabric, as shown.  Note you are covering up the stitched line as you pin!

7.  Sew along the curve to attach the fabric.  Go slow and be mindful of puckers as you go.  I leave the pins in and slowly sew over them so the needle can go around them.

Press the fabric to set the curve and trim your templates down to size by cutting along the dashed line.  Repeat for A1 - B2.

8.  Pin your pieced triangles to the back of the C template with the right side facing away from the paper.  You can baste it in place if that's easier too.

9.  Continue using normal paper piecing technique to add fabrics 2 - 5 to the template.

Trim up the block by cutting along the dashed line when finished piecing the template.

10.  Match up the Side A Top and Side and Bottom pieces, and pin them right sides together along the center seam.  Stitch together along the solid line.  Press seam open.  Repeat for Side B Top and Side B Bottom pieces.

11.  Pin the Side A templates to Template C, with the fabrics facing right sides together and the bottoms of Side A and Template C aligned (there will be a little overhang on template C on the top, that's okay, we'll trim it off later.  Sew along the solid line to connect the blocks.  Attach Side B templates to Template C in the same manner.   Press seams open.

12.  Trim your block to 12.5", with the center of the triangles centered within the block and 1/2" excess along the tip of the leaf.

13.  Admire your pretty leaf block!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!  Thanks so much Jan for letting me play with your pretty fabric!

Make sure to check out the other stops along the blog hop.
New Leaf Bee Block Blog Hop Schedule

Mon, 1/14 - Becky Moyer, My Fabric Obsession
Tues, 1/15 - Lynn Harris, The Little Red Hen
Wed, 1/16 - Candy Glendening, Candied Fabrics
Thurs, 1/17 - Holly DeGroot, Bijou Lovely
Fri, 1/18 - Melanie Thornton, Melanie Dramatic

Mon, 1/21 - Emily Cier, Carolina Patchworks
Tues, 1/22 - Rachael Gander, Imagine Gnats
Wed, 1/23 - Maureen Cracknell, Maureen Cracknell Handmade
Thurs, 1/24 - Leanne, She Can Quilt
Fri, 1/25 - Cindy Wiens, Live a Colorful Life

Mon 1/28 - Cheryl Arkison, Dining Room Empire
Tues, 1/29 - Jacquie Gering, Tallgrass Prairie Studio
Wed, 1/30 - Shanna Bailey, Fiber of All Sorts
Thurs, 1/31 - Katy Jones, Monkey Do

If you're participating in the Fat Quarter Word Scramble, my secret letter is I!