New Pattern: Doodlebug Garden

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Emily

I’m so excited to share my latest lap quilt pattern with you!

Doodlebug-Garden

This quilt sews together quickly with the Inklingo 2″ hexagon collection, or the From Marti Michell small hexagon set.  You could also use the fabric charts and full-color diagrams to English paper piece the quilt, but my instructions are for template or Inklingo piecing.

Here’s a close-up of the “lallybuds” as my daughter calls them.

dg-closeup

And because I know color makes a huge difference in design impressions, here’s the quilt again, all in 1930′s pastels.  This was a new experience for me.  I’ve never been much into these fabrics, but their iconic combination of pastel with black and red made them perfect for this design.

pastel-dgpastel-closeup

You can find Doodlebug Garden at your local quilt store (ask for it from the Pattern Peddlers), or instantly downloadable in my Craftsy store.

Be sure to check back next week for my 2 year blogiversary.  I’m putting together a tutorial and fun little quilt project for you to celebrate!

Happy Stitching!

emily

 

 

 

 

Posted in Hexagons, Inklingo | 10 Comments

A Great Use for Binding Scraps

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Emily

I have accumulated piles of scrap binding.  I’d much rather have a dozen inches left over than be half an inch short.  But the scraps are tough to use with the crease mark down the middle.  Then I realized those scraps could be used to make Kanzashi flowers.

Binding-kanzashi I used the daisy, pointed and gathered petal shapes (small and extra small sizes) on the straight grain binding scraps, and the orchid (or rounded) shapes on the bias binding.

Binding-kanzashi2

Ta Da!  Those are much more fun to see sitting around my studio than piles of binding!  Not sure what I’ll use them for, yet, but I like having a basket of Kanzashi flowers sitting around anytime I need a quick embellishment.

Check back later this week for a new pattern release, and a special post next week to celebrate my 2 year blogiversary.

Happy Mother’s Day!

emily

Posted in Kanzashi flowers | 3 Comments

Little Dresses for Africa

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Emily

I’ve finally made it through a gauntlet of deadlines.  I wanted something simple and productive as a break from “work” quilting.  My dear friend Elizabeth has been working on Little Dresses for Africa for a year now, and I’m so impressed with the project.

So I’ve pulled some fabric for my stash, and measured it out.  This yardage is going to make eight dresses!

fabric

If you’d like to sew along with me, you can find a simple pattern here.  And you can learn more about the project on the official website here.

Happy Stitching!

emily

Posted in projects | 4 Comments

Adventures in Ribbon Taming

Posted on April 25, 2013 by Emily

My one-year-old has discovered walking, and CLIMBING.  Overnight, nothing in our house is safe from his curious hands.  Granted, my studio has never been super tidy (pause here for the laughter at that understatement to subside), but now that he has started pulling ribbon out through the latched cabinet doors, my storage space morphed into a tangled ribbon monster.  I’ve looked at craft stores at the nifty plastic containers with dowels.  They’re cool, but I don’t have room to store ten of them.

unorganized

Enter this lovely tutorial from Craft Passion.  Cardboard box, recycled cardboard, and tidiness.  I even had leftover cardboard rectangles from an American Heritage Girls project.  In about an hour, my bags of tangled ribbon turned into this:

pretty!

Given another hour, I probably could have rewound all the rolls, but the kids wanted lunch.  And that one box fits easily in my cabinet.  No more stuffing bags of ribbon into cramped spaces.  No more buying three rolls of red, white and blue stripe because I couldn’t find the one I had.  Just pretty, organized, easy-to-see ribbon arranged in ways that make me happy.

So that’s one corner of my world all nice and spiffy.  Anyone have ideas on storing felt effectively?!?

Happy Stitching!

emily

 

Posted in Tutorials | 5 Comments

New Pattern: Ladybug Picnic

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Emily

Ladybug-Picnic-cover

I really, really wanted to name this pattern “Seven Silly Sisters”, since it is a variation on the classic Seven Sisters pattern.  But I was afraid people would assume the ladybugs were the sisters, and not trust a designer who couldn’t distinguish between 4 and 7. . . .

Ladybug-Picnic-detail

I can’t look at this little quilt without smiling.  I love the random arrangement of the ladybugs, almost like they were gathering for a cup of coffee and chat with good friends.  If you’ve never tried English paper piecing before, this pattern will walk you through the entire process.  If you’re a veteran piecer, you can pretty much follow the diagrams and skip the text altogether!  Of course, this pattern is also compatible with Inklingo shapes.

Regardless of your piecing preferences, the big shapes of this pattern help it go together quickly.  Start now, and you’ll have your own Ladybug Picnic ready in plenty of time for July 4th! (It’s also on special sale in my Craftsy store for a limited time!)

Happy Stitching!

emily

Posted in Hexagons, Inklingo | 8 Comments

Book Review: Looking to the Stars

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Emily

I made a quick trip to JoAnn’s this week, looking for lion cake decorating supplies (our youngest turned one on Tuesday, and I needed cake ideas.  He ended up with plain chocolate, and didn’t seem to mind the lack of decorations one bit!)  While I didn’t find lion cake pans, I did find the pearl cotton I needed, and a book on clearance. . . .

I couldn’t leave it there, so it came home to provide some visual inspiration in an otherwise hectic week.  I like several things about the book.  It addresses a variety of stars, including five and ten pointed stars.  She also gives good tips on fussy cutting fabric and border repeats.  You can see all four of the quilt patterns on the Leisure Arts blog.  For $5, the book was a great deal.

But I have to be honest.  The book fell short of inspiring me to recreate these quilts.  I’m not sure if I simply don’t resonate with the color choices, or if the idea of English paper piecing something that large and intricate just makes me twitchy.  I wish the book had included worksheets where you could play with color choices.

What about you?  Can you see past colors you wouldn’t typically quilt with when you look at a neat pattern, or is color a decisive factor in quilts that catch your attention?

Happy Stitching!

emily

Posted in Book Reviews | 4 Comments

New Pattern- Delectable Watermelon

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Emily

Delectable-Watermelon

What an exciting week!  I’m thrilled to introduce you to my latest English paper piecing pattern, Delectable Watermelon.  Like all my patterns, you’ll find step-by-step instructions for English paper piecing, lots of diagrams and graphics, a template page for photocopying your own paper pieces, and resources to simplify piecing.  This pattern is also compatible with the Inklingo .75 inch hexagon collection.

This week you have two opportunities to win a copy of Delectable Watermelon, precut papers, and lots of extra goodies provided by the lovely ladies at Paper Pieces.  Head on over to the Quilting Gallery  and submit a photo of an English paper pieced quilt you’ve made.  Then leave a comment on the Quilting Gallery blog.  Make sure you vote for your quilt this weekend!  The winning quilt and a random blog comment (on the Quilting Gallery blog page with the hexagon contest) will each win these prizes.

Delectable-Watermelon-prizes

Of course, if you don’t win, you can still get Delectable Watermelon from my Craftsy store(at a special sale price through next week!), or through your local quilt store (tell them to look for it through the Pattern Peddlers).

Good luck, and Happy Stitching!

emily

 

Posted in Hexagons, Inklingo | 7 Comments

Hexagons Everywhere!

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Emily

This week’s post will be brief, because I’m busily wrapping up a new pattern to release next week.  While I edit furiously, you should check out the latest issue of Quiltmaker.  It’s all hexies!  Also check out their blog for how to draw hexies in EQ, and a great Pinterest board of inspiration.

Thinking of Pinterest, I’m *finally* on it too!  Come follow me and see all the wonderful project ideas that never quite make it to a blog post.  I should have done this sooner.  It’s so much easier and more visually inspiring than a three-screen list of bookmarks.

And make sure you get your hexie projects ready for next week’s Show and Tell at Quilting Gallery.  I’m so excited to be sponsoring the prizes.  You can win by submitting a photograph, or just commenting on the entries.

Here’s a sneak peek of the new pattern:

detail

 

Happy Stitching!

emily

 

Posted in Hexagons | 9 Comments

Kanzashi Flower Wreath Tutorial

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Emily

first

I wanted to make something special for my daughter’s First Communion.  Headbands give her headaches, so I came up with this simple wreath instead.  If you’d like to make your own, here’s how I made it.  Enjoy!!

Supplies:

supplies*Satin fabric remnant, about half a yard
*Sparkly tulle remnant (about 4″ by width of fabric)
*Clover kanzashi makers (I used the Small Orchid, the Extra Small Orchid and the Extra Small Daisy)
*white floral wire (I used a package of 24 precut wires)
*White, pearl, or clear buttons (about 16)
*strong quilting thread, needle, thimble, scissors
*2.5 inch wide  white satin ribbon, about 4 feet

 

wire-loop1.  Take one of the floral wires and bend it into a circle.  Form little loops at the end of the wire and link them to secure.

 

 

 

flowers2. Make Kanzashi flowers according to the maker instructions.  Sew buttons to the center of the flowers.

3. Cut the remaining wires in half.  Insert a half wire through the backside of each flower, up through the center and button, then down through the center.  Twist the two ends of the wire together snugly.

lots-of-flowers

For this wreath, I used a total of sixteen flowers.

flower-on-wreath

 

 

 

 

 

4. Wrap the flower wires from step 3 around the circular wire from step 1 to secure the flower to the wreath.  Repeat with remaining wired flowers, arranging the flowers as you go.

more-flowers-on

 

 

 

 

full-wreath

 

5.  Leave a little gap at the back for the bow.

 

 

 

 

add-bow

6.  Tie on a bow with wide satin ribbon.

 

 

 

 

done

7.  Enjoy!  At this point, you may want to dab fabric glue or fray check in areas where the raw fabric edges stick out.  Pin the wreath in place with bobby pins.

 

 

Happy Stitching!

emily

Posted in Kanzashi flowers, Tutorials, Uncategorized | 7 Comments

Book Review: Quilter’s Academy Volume 4

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Emily

quilter's academyI recieved this book for Christmas, and was delighted by the wealth of information it contained relating to all quilts hexagonal.  The book includes sections on drafting hexagon designs, multiple methods of piecing hexagons (including EPP by hand and machine, and templates by hand and machine), lots of visual inspiration with named hexagon blocks, and even sections on 8-pointed stars.

I was especially intrigued by the chapter on log cabin hexagons, and the chapter on finishing methods.  Arguably, the binding on a hexagon quilt is the trickiest part of the process.  The authors took much of the mystery out of that step by providing illustrated steps for finishing with a knife edge, facing, and traditional bindings.

My only disappointment with the book was the lack of Inklingo.  The authors referenced Linda Franz and Inklingo in the small section on Storm at Sea blocks, but I think they should have included it in their “helpful tools for cutting and sewing 60 degree shapes” as well.

Overall, this book provides a wealth of information.  I know I’ll be returning to it frequently for tips and visual inspiration.

Happy Stitching!

emily

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Great products | 3 Comments