Ombre Pillow

Pillows can be such a fun fast finish and are a great way to brighten up a room.

All these HSTs were leftover bits from a quilt.  The fabric is from the Moda Ombre Bloom fabric line.  I enjoyed laying them out to maximize the rainbow ombre effect.  The pillow sits on a chair in my sewing room.

Then never one to leave leftover bits just laying around, I assembled the rest of the HST into a table runner.  The placement was all about random setting!

My thinking is to hand quilt this although I may mix in some straight line quilting on my machine.

Have a wonderful day! Patty

March Temperatures

After making wall hanging sized quilts to record the daily high temperatures for the last 2 years, I knew that for 2020 I wanted a larger functional size quilt and one that recorded both high and low temperatures for each day.

Here are the first three months of the year - each month is two columns (i.e. the 1st to the 15th and then the 16th to the 29th, 30th or 31st.)

Look at those temperatures in orange (the 80s!) that popped into the last week in March.

The low temperature is the smaller rectangle - vertical for odd numbered days and horizontal for even numbered.

Figuring out the color gradation was the first challenge - I played around with some mini charm squares of Painters Palette solids to find the right sequence.  While the fabrics are different than the prior years, the basics are the same - red is in the 90s, orange for the 80s, - and a new color for every 5 degrees.

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

Book Club - Partial Seams Hand Piecing Tutorial

For the purposes of this QAL, we are defining a partial seam to  be when you can't sew a unit to its neighbor in a single seam - i.e. without knotting and tying off thread.

Our next three blocks - Penelope, Cathy, and Jo - all introduce partial seams.

Each of these blocks start with the hand piecing of the units that surround the center square. The units themselves are straight forward to sew.

For Penelope (left) and Jo (right), start by sewing two units to the center square.

When you are ready to add the next two units, your first seam will be to attach a unit to the center square.  Start and stop your stitching 1/4'' from the each edge.  Knot thread and tie off.

Fold your block to align the edges between two units.  Pin carefully, making sure to align each of the corners.    You will start your stitch at the center - right where you thread starts or ends from attaching a unit to the center square - and work your seam towards the outer edge of the block.  This will keep that corner nice and tight!

The Cathy assembly is a bit different because your very first seam of  a unit to the center square is only partially sewn.

Seams 2, 3, and 4 (see photo below) will be "normal" seams - just be sure to always start sewing from the center and move towards the outer edge, making sure to start and stop your seams 1/4'' from the edge.

When you are ready for your final seam (#5), start where the first seam ended at the point half way in the center square and sew from there to the edge.

Sewing partial seams is much easier to piece by hand than they are by machine.   Keep this in mind the next time you are machine piecing a block and hit a tricky y seam - you can also piece it by hand!

Kristin has put together a great video tutorial on partial seams - go check it out.

Looking for more hand piecing tutorials?  Check these out:

• Marking Stitching Lines
• The Running Stitch
• Dealing with Seam Allowances
• Hand Piecing Curves
• Making Templates 

Still need the pattern for Book Club for the Hand Pieced QAL - grab yours now!  Book Club is a 9 block sampler and two block setting to make either a wall hanging or a throw sized quilt.  Did you miss the QAL announcement?  You can find more information here!  If you have any trouble ordering the pattern, please don't hesitate to email us at handpiecedqal@gmail.com - we'll be happy to help!


Have a wonderful day! Patty