Monday, September 28, 2020

Pebble Pop Workshop

Once upon a time, my guild was hosting Daisy @warmfolk for a class at our LQS.  Since an in-person class was no longer an option, we turned the class virtual!

There were about 23 quilters in the class, each tucked away in our own sewing spaces.


Daisy is an awesome teacher.   She walked us through the steps of creating these fun blocks


I am thinking I'll make 9 blocks in total (although not sure my gold/gray block fits with the other 2).

The blocks were a lot of fun to create and even thought they are improv, I am still amazed how different each one looks!



I broke out my oldest and yuckiest cutting mat to cut the curves on so I didn't mess up my new mat.

There were lots of advantages to a virtual quilt class.  For starters, you didn't need to carry your heavy machine into a classroom nor did you have to carry extra fabric in case you hadn't made a decision what you wanted to use.  There was plenty of opportunity for chatter as we worked too.  The biggest disadvantage was that it was harder for Daisy to walk around and check on everyone's progress.

Everyone seemed to make at least 2 blocks by the time we were done.


Have you tried a virtual quilt class yet?


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Thursday, September 24, 2020

One Monthly Goal September Finish LInk-up

Ready to link up your September finishes?
Don't panic - this link-up is open until September 30 at 11:55 pm ET.


My goal for September was to make a blue Hipster Bag.  (For more information, see this post.)


Now it is your turn to link-up!

There will be three winners this month - Fat Quarter Shop is offering a $25 gift certificate,  Make Modern is offering a 6 month subscription and Therm O Web is offering a collection of Heat n Bond products. 




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. (September
 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:  


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


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Friday, September 18, 2020

Instagram Takeover on All People Quilt

I'm doing an Instagram takeover this weekend at @allpeoplequilt!  

My quilt Flying Colors is in the October issue of the magazine (!) and I was invited to share more about me and my quilts on their IG account.   


For those visiting my block from the All People Quilt account - welcome!  Make sure you read more about the monthly One Monthly Goal link-up - a chance to win some prizes as incentive for setting quilting goals and making progress on your project. 


To read more about the quilts and projects I've shared, you can find links to various blog posts below.  I will be updating this post regularly throughout the weekend.  


























Check back for updates!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

More Hipster Bags

A month or so ago, I made this Hipster Bag.  The pattern was offered to MQG members and it was a really fun make.


I enjoyed making it so much that I decide to make a second one out of similar fabric but with the required interfacing (Pellon SF101) plus a snap magnet (tutorial) instead of a hidden magnet.


While these snap magnets look good on the bag, they are very, VERY strong.  If you take the time to align them, it is almost impossible to pull them apart.  I hope to figure out a way to 'lessen' the magnet but if not, I don't feel comfortable gifting this bag.


I really loved the fabric I used inside - it is a Zen Chic line.

At the same time I was making the blue bag, I decided to try the pattern in cork.  I am a bit of a cork novice - made 3 small items so far.  The hidden magnet didn't work for the cork so I went with the same snap magnets.

The bag looks good (colors are more true in photo on the left) although my top-stitching isn't ideal on the flap.   I also instead to use a different kind of interfacing for the lining if I make a cork bag again.


My final touch on the light blue bag was to sew on the metal tag.  I got a package of 8 of these in QuiltCon vendor area earlier this year and it was fun to use them.


I do want to make more of these bags as gifts.  Now to choose the fabrics!


Have a wonderful day! Patty

Monday, September 14, 2020

Improv Stack Curves Quilt

After making some improv blocks for my quilt guild's charity quilt and writing a tutorial how could I not make more blocks for my very own quilt?


9 blocks in, I am still having fun.  Once I assembled these together I decided I wanted it to make it throw sized so I restocked on some solids and have been making more blocks.


These are all Moda solids - black, pool, pistachio, geranium, buttercup and (I think) royal. There are also scraps of a light gray and off white in there as well.

I hope I don't need to take apart anything I've done so far - except maybe that thin strip of pistachio.  Off to make 7 more blocks and then to decide!

Have a wonderful day! Patty

Thursday, September 10, 2020

August Temperatures

September is here and so far, cooler temperatures and lower humidity are sneaking in.  August was a warm one - many days in the upper 80s or 90s.   No days over 100 degrees yet - last year we saw only 1 and it happened in October!


My quilt for 2019 was simpler in design and only featured the high temps.  Comparing the two, August 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

Monday, September 7, 2020

HST Diamond Baby Quilt (Tutorial)

Have a charm pack in your stash and a baby in your life?  Add in about a yard of background fabric and you'll have a fun quilt top!

There are a lot of fun layouts you can do with HSTs and after playing with a bunch of them, I really liked this one, inspired by a layout shared to me by my friend Kristin.


You will need:
  • A charm pack or at least 42 squares of fabric each 5'' x 5''
  • 1 yard of background fabric, cut into 42 squares each 5" x 5"
  • 1 1/4 yard of backing fabric
  • 1/3 yard of binding fabric
Pair each charm square with a background fabric square.  Draw a diagonal line and make two HSTs.  (Two-at-a-time HST TutorialMake a total of 84 HSTs.

Press and trim your HST all to the same size.  I was able to trim mine to 4 1/4'' but, sadly, not all charm squares are true to size so yours might only trim to 4''.  You will now have 84 HST.   (Note, the quilt only needs 81 so 3 of these are extra.)




Now the fun begins!   Sort your HSTs into 6 piles, keeping like colors together.   You will need:

  • 28 HSTs for the large diamond shape (shown in red)
  • 12 HSTs for the small diamond shape (show in light blue)
  • 15 HSTs for the lower right (show in gray)
  • 10 HSTs for the top right (shown in yellow)
  • 10 HSTs for the lower left (shown in dark blue)
  • 6 HSTs for the top left (shown in green)

 And remember, there will be 3 extra HSTs.


Once the HST are sorted, place the HSTs on your design wall (or floor), following the diagram.

Since it is very easy to twist placement as you carry your blocks from your design wall to your sewing machine, I recommend you assemble the quilt in quadrants.  For example, grab the 16 HSTs that make up the top left.  Then use a webbing technique (tutorial) to help keep everything in place.



Once each quadrant is complete, place it back on the design wall to ensure your pattern is correct and no HSTs were flipped.  Then get started on your next quadrant.

I often sew large quilts this way to avoid lots of long rows of blocks.



To enhance the design, I chose to quilt using my walking foot in a spiral pattern.  (See my spiral quilting tutorial.)  To start, I traced a large thread spool to give me a reasonably sized starting circle and then slowly and carefully started sewing.  

I adjusted the needle position and used the edge of my walking foot to keep things relatively consistent.  The lines of the spiral are about 1/2'' apart.

Once the walking foot quilting is all done, I switch to my FMQ foot and finish the spiral.  If you look carefully at the photo above, you'll notice the blue marking that shows where my FMQ foot was used.



I hope the tutorial was helpful! I've got some fall themed charm packs in my stash and am considering a lap top quilt with this pattern.

Tuesday, September 1, 2020

One Monthly Goal September Link-up

Welcome to September!  There were 76 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.

Make Modern is a digital magazine launched by a collaboration of quilters based in Australia. Their magazine is filled with modern quilt designs and a wonderful source of inspiration. Make Modern is offering a 6 month subscription to one lucky participant.

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 September is to make another Hipster Bag - this one in blue!



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 September 24.)

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: 
 





You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enter

Thanks for linking up!




Have a wonderful day! Patty