New Neighbors and New Baby

Somewhere in the middle of our pandemic, brand new neighbors moved in next door.  They are a fun young couple with a 2 year old little girl.  Last week, they had their second - another little girl.  I've gotten a few peeks at this sweet one - all socially distant of course - and am excited to watch her grow up.

I wanted to make a simple baby quilt and found a charm pack from Kate Spain Paradiso.  After trying out several layouts, this one was the winner!  

For the back I combined large scraps of this pretty gray fabric (also used it as binding) with a scrap of another Kate Spain line.  The colors really work with the front of the quilt and the back is pretty enough to be the front!

I use my walking foot to spiral quilt leaving a circle open in the center. Once all the quilting is done, I mark a finishing spiral and use my FMQ foot to finish things off.

I washed and dried the quilt before gifting.  Frankly, I'm always torn about this for a gift quilt.  Since the quilt is design to be used and loved and therefore washed and dried a lot, I do think it is helpful for me to do the first washing.  And I love the crinkle from the dryer look.  But I also love the crisp look of a freshly quilted quilt!

 

I am thinking about writing up a quick tutorial for this quick HST project.  Interested?

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal August Finishes Link-up

Ready to link up your August finishes?

Don't panic - this link-up is open until August 31 at 11:55 pm ET.

My goal for August was to get the binding done for my 100 day project.  I went with a pseudo flange binding and included some big stitches to tie it into the overall quilt.  You can learn more about my project here.

Now it is your turn to link-up!

There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate,  ecopeco is offering a beautiful cutting mat, and Therm O Web is offering a collections of products.

Congratulations to Sandra, Sharon, and Judy!  (updated 9/8)

Visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags. 

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month. (August Goal Setting Link-up.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can follow where you are linking.   Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal - August Finish Link-up

Sign up to receive email notifications when the One Monthly Goal linkup is open.  Think of it as a helpful reminder!  Joining the link-up from Instagram -see the tutorial.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Thanks for linking up!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Summer Slow Stitch

Just a quick update on my Summer slow-stitch project!

Pairing 2 1/2 solid squares with low volume background fabric is proving to be a winner for a slow stitch project.   I start by making a bunch of single blocks.  4 of these are then joined together.  Once I've got 4 sets of 4, I join those together for a block of 16!  (Read more about the block and it's assembly.)

Ta da!

Plus I've got a pile of more single blocks done and am about ready to start assembling them into a 16 block.   

Joining everything together brings just enough challenge because of all the partial seams.  But dong these by hand is much easier than it would be by machine.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

100 Day Project 2020

For my first 100 day project in 2018, I made hexigons and sewed them into a pillow.  For my 2nd in 2019, I hand pieced drunkard's path blocks.

Sticking with the hand work theme, I choose to do 100 days of hand quilting for 2020.

I chose Essex linen for the quilt top and used 8wt thread for the quilting.  The grid was created by sewing a 1 1/2'' grid over the linen fabric to frame out the daily areas to quilt.   Each day, I'd pull up the stitches between two of those squares and quilting in the 1 1/2 '' x 3'' rectangle.

To add a little fun, I decided on ten simple stitch combinations and used a roll of the dice to assign that day's pattern.  Double sixes gave me free choice and if I rolled the same as the previous day, I rolled again.  

I had fun trying something different each time I rolled a combo - there are a lot of ways you can combine an 'x' and a dash!

Just for kicks, I kept a tally of which pattern was chosen each day.  I only rolled a double 6 twice and choose a circle each time.  The circle was both the quickest pattern to stitch and one of my favorites.

I kept myself a bit restricted by always choosing a rectangle which bordered an area previously stitched.  I gave myself the freedom to use whatever thread color I wanted.

The back is fun to look at (but hard to get a good photo of!)  Most of the time, I did a good job burying the knots but there are still some knots on the surface that will just live there.

It took awhile to decide on binding color and I finally chose with 2 fabric colors that were really good matches to thread colors used in the quilting.  I had fun adding some extra stitching to the binding to better tie things together.   (There are several tutorials on flange binding that I considered - this is the one I used.)

Have a wonderful day! Patty

July Temperatures

Summer has arrived!   See these last 2 columns representing all 31 days in July?  Lots and lots of high temps in the 90s!

My quilt for 2019 was simpler in design and only features the high temps.  Comparing the two, July 2020 was warmer.  However, high temps in the 80s (orange) started showing up much earlier in the year in 2019.

You can read more about the design here.  The net is the 2020 quilt will be functionally sized at 48'' x 48''.   The quilt records both high and low temperatures for each day.   The block is a simple one - the low temperature is the smaller rectangle - vertical for odd numbered days and horizontal for even numbered.  

The fabrics are all Painters Palette solids and I keep the color gradient at the top of my design wall so it is always available to reference.  

I've made temperature quilts for 2018 and 2019.  Want to make your own temperature quilt - check out my tutorial!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Hipster Bag

No surprise that I love to make bags!  When I saw this pattern for a hipster wallet appear in the latest issue of Modern Monthly from the Modern Quilt Guild, I immediately lost about an hour of time rummaging through my stash to find the perfect fabric.  Pattern is design by Megan.

I liked the idea of a bit of hand work on the bag so I choose Artisan Cotton by Windham Fabrics for the outside and a print by Figo fabrics for the inside - both were samples from QuiltCon. 

Pattern called for snaps to close the bag.  I didn't have any of those but I did have some button magnets which worked well.  (The trick to using these is to pay careful attention to which side of which magnet has the strongest attachment to the other and mark which side faces the fabric so you aren't confused.)

I also had a ready made strap that I rescued from another bag that had gotten overused.

The bag has 3 pockets, one of which has a zipper.

It was a really fun make.  I will likely make another using cork now that I understand the construction process.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Stacked Improv Curves Tutorial

I needed to make some improv curve blocks for my local MQG charity quilt.

These were a lot of fun to make so I put together a quick tutorial in case you want to give it a try.

First, cut 4 squares of fabric - mine were about 8" x 8".  Stack them in any order, aligning along two edges.  With your rotary cutter, carefully cut a freehand curve.  Un-stack and shuffle so that each piece is paired with one of a different color.

Fold each in half to find center.  Align the centers and pin.  Your concave piece should be on top.

One tip - use an old cutting mat when cutting curves to avoid damaging a good cutting mat!

From the center, carefully align fabric, working from center to each edge and pin the concave piece to to convex (pie shaped piece).  Sew seam.  For a different view of pinning for curves, check out Yvonne's tip post.

Note: when working with curves cut with a template, I typically only pin at center and each edge.  Freehand cut curves will not align on edges so you need more pins.

Press each of the four pieces and the stack again - aligning the bottom right corner.  Freehand cut another curve.  And repeat steps from above to align centers and pin from center to either edge.

You'll notice that this method is going to create some wonky pieces.  Wait until you've have sewn the final curves before trimming block.  To trim, use the outer edges of the original cut square to keep those edges on the straight of grain.

Note - Blocks were not trimmed to a predetermined size but only trimmed to square them up.

Play with different arrangements - you'll see two of them in the top row of photo below.  Once you find one that you like, sew them together, press.  Tim to square up the block.

I've been enjoying exploring curves using templates (see Carnival quilt) and now I think I may try some more improv curves!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Flying Colors

I am very excited to share my quilt Flying Colors which is published in the October issue of American Patchwork & Quilting!

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING®.
©2020 MEREDITH CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

The flying geese block is my all time favorite block!

It was fun to play with Moda Ombre Bloom and Moda Bleached White fabric (affiliate link) to create a fun visual. (Moda Fabrics supplied the fabric.)  The center geese block was cut from the center of the ombre fabric and each subsequent block was cut from lighter and lighter parts of the ombre transition.  

I used my walking foot to quilt diagonal lines running across the quilt to add to the movement.  Since this quilt was for a publish (and not to be thrown on my couch!), I took my time and marked each line with a hera marker before sewing. (affiliate link)

Binding fabric was debated for awhile - I am very happy with the white binding, a first for me!

The October issues goes on sale August 7.  It has a great fall pumpkin quilt on the cover!

USED WITH PERMISSION FROM AMERICAN PATCHWORK & QUILTING®.
©2020 MEREDITH CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Have a wonderful day! Patty

One Monthly Goal August Link-up

Welcome to August!  There were 87 people who joined the link up last month - let's see what this month brings.

New to One Monthly Goal?  Welcome!  To join, share a photo of your project, some words about what you want to accomplish in a blog post, an Instagram post (tutorial) or a post on Flickr and add that photo to the link-up.  Return at the end of the month and share your results.  You can read about the event and the rules on the main event page.

We have wonderful sponsors this month - three (3) winners will be randomly chosen from those that link up in both the goal and the finish event! 

Fat Quarter Shop offers a tremendous selection of fabric, notions, books and just about anything you will need for your project. Consider their Sew Sampler box to receive a monthly surprise delivery of fabric and fun.  Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate to one lucky participant.

ecopeco has designed a 5 layer cutting mat made from food-safe plastic (no BPAs or PVCs).  The mat comes in several beautiful colors.  I use my mat every day - see my product review.  ecopeco is offering one lucky winner an ecopeco® Quetzal Blue Combo Pack (24” x 36” & 28” x 24”).  I just love my ecopeco mat and know that you will too!  (This prize can only be shipped to US addresses.)

Therm O Web offers one of the most trusted, innovative and complete lines of adhesives for both the sewing and paper crafting markets, as well as a full line of interfacings and stabilizers for sewing, quilting, embroidery and crafts.  Therm O Web is offering a collection of HeatnBond® products including EZ print Featherlite sheets and  PeelnStick ruler tape.   (This prize can only be shipped to US addresses.)


My goal for August is to put a binding on my 100 day project.  The quilt is blocked and awaiting squaring up and binding decisions!

Make sure you visit the One Monthly Goal event page for the specific requirements for links and social tags.  Your blog post (or Flickr post) must contain a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and a link back to Elm Street Quilts.  Your Instagram post must include a photo of your project, a clearly stated goal and the tag #onemonthlygoal.  (Entries which don't contain the required information may be disqualified.)

And remember, to be eligible for the prize(s) by random drawing you must linkup at both the goal setting and the accomplishment linkup in a given month.   (The One Monthly Goal accomplishment linkup will be available on August 25.)

Make sure you add a link to this OMG post so others can find the OMG link-up from your blog.  Let's make that easy -  just paste this into your post:  

Elm Street Quilts One Monthly Goal August Link-up

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Have a wonderful day! Patty