Merry Christmas – in July!

25 07 2017

Welcome to the final day of “12 Days of Christmas in July” blog hop planned and hosted by Sarah Craig who blogs at confessionsofafabricaddict.blogspot.com.  Travel to Sarah’s blog for a list and description of the other bloggers on this 12th Day of Christmas (in July). Remember to comment on each of today’s featured blogs in order to be entered in a give-away.

My contribution to all the wonderful gifts, crafts, and holiday décor projects presented in the blog hop is a quilt, of course. Actually, I’m showing two quilts. One is throw or twin size, the other is baby or wall hanging size. Take advantage of your local quilt shop’s Christmas in July fabric sales and begin making one or the other of these quick and easy Star quilts.

You will find pdf (printer friendly) instructions for the quilts on the Patterns page of this blog. The throw/twin size quilt measures 72″ x 72.” The baby/wall quilt measures 40″ x 40″ and is fat quarter friendly. Both are in one document listed as “Christmas Triple Star Quilt” on the Patterns page.

For a playful finish, I quilted meandering loops in white thread all over the baby/wall quilt. Using aqua thread, I quilted a snowflake pantograph on the larger quilt. I was a little unsure about using aqua thread, but I love the results; the snowflake motifs show up nicely and add interest in the large white background triangles. You can best see this in the close-up photo below.

Yes, it is July 25th, exactly five months until Christmas! Celebrate by making at least one of the blog hop projects as a decoration or gift. I would love to see a picture of your finished project.

To re-cap, here is a list of links to all the blog hop participants.

Friday, July 14th

 Saturday, July 15th
 Sunday, July 16th
 Monday, July 17th
 Tuesday, July 18th
 Wednesday, July 19th
 Thursday, July 20th
 Friday, July 21st
 Saturday, July 22nd

If this is your first time visiting abyquilts.wordpress.com, welcome! I invite you to “follow” for lots of quiltmaking fun and encouragement. I have an on-going pre-cut challenge for 2017. The challenge for the third quarter is using a Layer Cake of 10″ squares to make a quilt. There are frequent drawings for quilt magazines, and occasionally I host a Quilt Along or Mystery Quilt project.


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“Confetti” Progress

19 07 2017

Earlier this summer I posted about being inspired to make a “Confetti” quilt designed by Augusta Cole. Click here to see the original post. I pieced Four Patches from my bin of 2″ scrappy squares; I strip-pieced some two-sies for Four Patches; I attached white rectangles as leaders/enders while piecing other projects; and I attended my guild’s Sew Days for the purpose of making a dent in the patchwork.

Here are some pictures snapped at our Sew Day in early July. Drusilla, using 30’s reproduction fabrics displays a corner of the quilt, demonstrating that it is assembled in diagonal rows. Nancy generously shared squares from her scrap bin. And my little Featherweight bravely puffed along.

    

I have decided it is time to finish this 1000+ squares project, so I’m arranging the 99 blocks on my design wall. Here we go! Looks like I need to make a few more blocks . . . Stay tuned!

Remember that the 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop is happening. Here are the list of blogs for your convenience. You’ll find all kinds of projects: overnight duffle bag, sparkly ornaments, table runners, fabric baskets, etc.

 Friday, July 14th
 Saturday, July 15th
 Sunday, July 16th
 Monday, July 17th
 Tuesday, July 18th
 Wednesday, July 19th
 Thursday, July 20th
 Friday, July 21st
 Saturday, July 22nd

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Categories : Scrap Quilts

Potpourri

16 07 2017

Blog readers have been busily sewing this summer. I’m sharing pictures of their projects for inspiration. Enjoy!

Linda shares a picture of her Jelly Roll quilt and writes, “After fussing over this for a year, I finished Jenny Doan’s “Flying Geese Log Cabin” from Missouri Star Quilt Company. It was made using Moda Batik “Breezy” jelly roll plus additional bright batiks from my stash. The outer border is Moda Edyta’s Essentials “Cherry Paisley.” I am a penpal with a very nice young lady, age 13, who picked out the fabric for this quilt. After seeing the pattern in Jenny’s quarterly “Block” book, Winter Vol 2, Issue 1, I thought it was a match made in heaven!! It is a beautiful quilt and should be a keepsake that will be treasured for many years.”

Janice writes, “I attended your ‘Get the Point’ workshop in Raleigh and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I get tired of making the same thing over and over, so when I had 30 or so blocks, this is what I came up with using some of the other jelly roll strips as dividers, a black inner border, and another outer border.  I like it and think it looks pretty good.  I wanted to show you how it turned out.  You must indulge me because one of the best picture is with Beamer, my beautiful cat, lying on it.”

   

Lori made a quilt for her daughter, Anna, with two Layer Cakes and some yardage. The pattern is one I designed, “Arcadian Garden.” Aren’t the fabrics so pretty and feminine? She plans to scallop the edges, following the cable quilting design.

Pam made a beautiful quilt to welcome her granddaughter into the world. The lovely fabrics coordinate with the nursery décor. Click the picture to zoom in; you’ll see “Lilly Kay” embroidered on the quilt. Great idea, Pam!

Just a little reminder that our pre-cut challenge for the third quarter (July-September) is Layer Cakes. If you have a Layer Cake beautifying your sewing room, why not turn it into a quilt? There’s no time like the present!

The 12 Days of Christmas in July blog hop is on-going. Here are the links to the participating blogs. Remember to comment each day to be eligible for prizes.

Friday, July 14th

 Saturday, July 15th
 Sunday, July 16th
 Monday, July 17th
 Tuesday, July 18th
 Wednesday, July 19th
 Thursday, July 20th
 Friday, July 21st
 Saturday, July 22nd

 


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12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop Begins Today!

14 07 2017

I’d like to introduce you to a fellow quilter and blogger, Sarah Craig. For the past few years, she has spear-headed a Christmas in July blog hop, calling it “12 Days of Christmas.” My day on the blog hop is July 25th when I’ll show and give instructions for a baby quilt and a large lap quilt made with holiday fabrics. I believe, however, you will enjoy seeing the 30+ other blogs/projects. In addition, Sarah has garnered fabric prizes for those who visit all the blogs on the respective dates and leave comments.

Sarah writes, “And as if great holiday ideas and a tutorial weren’t enough, this year we’ve got something extra special!  The lovely folks over at Free Spirit Fabrics have donated not just one item for a giveaway, but THIRTEEN!  And it’s pretty drool-worthy stuff, too – it’s Tula Pink’s new holiday line, Holiday Homies!!!”

Click here to link with Sarah’s blog to read the particulars about commenting for prizes.

Here is a list of the blogs on the hop. It will be fun to think about cold weather holidays and Christmas gifts/decorations in the midst of a Carolina heat wave!

 Friday, July 14th
 Saturday, July 15th
 Sunday, July 16th
 Monday, July 17th
 Tuesday, July 18th
 Wednesday, July 19th
 Thursday, July 20th
 Friday, July 21st
 Saturday, July 22nd

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“Blue Sky” Project – a Beginning

12 07 2017

I have fallen in love with Edyta Sitar’s new fabric line, “Blue Sky.” Since blue is a favorite color and I appreciate Edyta’s style, it was too easy to fall for these lovely fabrics. In addition, I have recently been attracted to blue and white Irish Chain quilts pictured on Pinterest, so I am combining the “Blue Sky” fabric with the Irish Chain quilt design in a new project. (Of course, I am justifying beginning a new project because I am ALMOST finished with the UFOs on my Summer Projects List… besides which, I need handwork for long car trips.)

After purchasing the fabric at Sew There! quilt shop in Angier, NC, I sketched a 49 block project with Electric Quilt computer software. Machine strip-piecing twenty-four 9″ Four Patches took only a couple of hours. And my hand applique test block came out nicely. I’ve prepped more “orange peel” shapes for hand stitching during our car trip north this weekend.

I’ll keep you posted as my faux Irish Chain develops.


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Ninja Turtle Quilt

10 07 2017

In late winter, a house fire tragedy occurred near Gatesville, TX, claiming all the earthly belongings of the family. The young son, a Ninja Turtles fan, attends the same country school as my granddaughter. Together we cooked up the idea of a Ninja Turtles quilt to comfort him. Once I found the licensed turtle print in JoAnns, we selected solid red, orange, blue, and purple to match the headbands of the sensational reptiles.

The patchwork design is simple — Four Patches from 5″ squares alternating with plain 9 1/2″ squares of the Ninja Turtle print. Krystine began sewing the quilt in February, but then schoolwork and sports crowded out her sewing time. She brought the unfinished project in her backpack to my house this summer for us to complete together. I pinned and pressed while she sewed the blocks and rows together. Then I loaded the quilt top on the longarm and installed the “River Run” pantograph for her to stitch. We selected green thread which blends nicely with the majority of the fabrics. Leftover turtle backing fabric became binding which we top-stitched with a machine zigzag stitch.

I am proud of Krystine for carrying on the family tradition of gifting quilts to folks in dire straits. I related to her my husband’s grandmother’s practice of making quilts and saving them in her cedar chest for the purpose of giving them to families who had lost all in house fires. We know Scott is going to love his quilt and we hope his parents will realize that folks in the community care about them in their great loss.


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“Splendid Sampler” Finished!

7 07 2017

“Splendid Sampler” is quilted, bound, and labeled! I am excited that this long term project is finally complete, and I can check it off of my Summer Projects list. You can read more about this project by clicking here.

I selected an overall feather pantograph, “Double Plume” by Keryn Emmerson. This is my go-to design for quilts with a Civil War era feel. Choosing thread color, however, was a dilemma. The brown sashing is quite dark; in contrast, the tan block backgrounds are quite light. The paisley border is a busy neutral, and the backing is a sage green calico with tiny red flowers. A dark brown thread would scream against the light backgrounds while blending with the sashing and border. Conversely a tan thread would draw attention to itself on the dark sashing while blending nicely in the blocks and border. I found a muted sage green thread to be the happy medium. It shows the texture of the quilting design unobtrusively across all the fabrics.

I am enjoying such success in whittling down my pile of UFOs this summer, I was tempted to start a new project. (Does this ever happen in your sewing room?) More about the new project in my next blog post.


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