We have two lucky winners for the best of McCall’s Quick Quilts: Luann and Lola. Congratulations, ladies! I know you will find a quilt that you “must” make in this magazine.
If you didn’t win this time and would like a magazine, click here to link to the Quilting Daily store. A digital copy is only $5.99.
Quilting Daily, the company that publishes many of your favorite quilting magazines, has issued a special edition of McCall’s Quick Quilts. Included are twelve of “our most popular patterns.” If you are a regular subscriber, you’ve seen and appreciated these beauties in the past few years. I was pleased to see my “Shortcut to Dresden” quilt included in the roundup. Click here to read my original blog post about this quilt.
The fabric line, “Flower Mill” by Corey Yoder for Moda Fabrics, is an all time favorite. It is so fresh and pretty, perfect for spring. I felt that the design and coloring were perfect for girls, so I gave the quilt to my niece who has three daughters.
Some insider information for you: The instructions call for adhering fusible web to the wrong side of all the wedges and machine appliqueing around all with a blanket stitch. This construction technique was my editor’s prerogative, making the quilt “quick, modern, and stress free.” When making this quilt, I actually added 1/4″ seam allowances to the sides of the wedges and sewed them together with a traditional construction method. Once the plates were assembled and seams pressed open, I machine appliqued them on the white background squares with a blanket stitch.
You can see that the “Dresden Plate” lends itself to many fabric styles. Using Civil War reproduction fabric with shirting backgrounds lends a comfortable, homey look. Whereas all twelve wedges for each Plate of the published quilt are of different fabrics, each Plate of the CW repro quilt uses just two alternating fabrics. I added seam allowances to the points of the wedges and hand appliqued the Plates on large shirting “Four Patches.” Illustrating two setting options, the blocks in the published quilt are set on point, and the blocks of the second quilt are straight set with pieced sashing and “Nine Patch” cornerstones.
My friend, Carol, says that “Dresden Plate” is on her quilt bucket list. How about you? Are you planning to make a “Dresden Plate,” or have you already made one? Leave your answer in a comment if you’d like to be in a drawing for a free issue of McCall’s Quick Quilts, June/July 2020. Two winners will be notified on May 2, 2020.
You can order a digital copy of this and any other magazine published by Quilting Daily on their website. Click here to shop for magazines.
Barb K. is the lucky winner of the May/June 2020 issue of Quiltmaker magazine. Congratulations!
Thank you to all who commented, describing their charm square packages just waiting to be made into a “Magical Squares” quilt. Several quilters suggested that this design lends itself to an “I Spy” quilt using a variety of theme prints. Great idea!
If you would like to purchase a copy of this issue, click here to link to the magazine shop for Quilting Daily. (When ordering magazines, pay attention to the description and order your preference of a print or digital edition.)
Have a lovely weekend, and I hope it includes an hour or sew of sewing/quilting!
My quilt, “Magical Squares,” is the cover quilt for the May/June 2020 issue of Quiltmaker magazine. I am sew excited! You are going to love the quilts in this issue; from cover to cover, the colorful quilts are a delight to see and to contemplate making. To encourage your purchase of this issue with the “Hip to be Square” theme, I’ll show you two pictures taken while making this charm square friendly toddler-sized quilt.
You have got to admit, it is so easy to assemble a quilt of charm squares and sashing with cornerstones. What could be simpler?
After assembling the quilt top, the magazine diagrams how to cut it apart, move pieces, sew together, cut it apart, move pieces, and sew together again. And the result (plus two borders) is . . .
This truly is a magical technique, and I hope you’ll try it! Admittedly, is it a bit unnerving to cut apart a perfectly fine quilt top, but the results are so worth it. And you don’t have to fiddle with setting triangles or assembling the quilt in diagonal rows. Some of you have made my “Prest-O, Change-O!” quilt; the technique is the same, but the addition of sashing and cornerstones jazzes up the presentation.
I have one copy of the Quiltmaker magazine to give away to a blog reader. To be entered in the drawing, leave a comment below stating the name of the charm square package you’d use for this quilt. (I bet you have a spare charm pack lying around in your sewing area!) The drawing will be April 16.
The lucky winners of the May/June 2020 issue of McCall’s Quilting magazine are Lyna W. and Connie G.! I have emailed these ladies requesting their USPS addresses.
Thanks everyone for your compliments on my “Star Baker” table runner and also for your suggestions for other colors and fabrics for the project. It really is fun to envision the runner in other fabric combinations. You suggested patriotic, Halloween, blue and silver, pastels, as well as purple and green.
If you didn’t win this time and your newsstand is sold out of the issue, you can purchase a digital copy from Quilting Daily. Click here to link to the online shop.
Guess what showed up in my mailbox this past week?! The May/June 2020 issue of McCall’s Quilting is hot off the press, and I’m excited to say that my table runner design is included.
I made the runner with a charm pack of 5″ squares of “We Whisk You a Merry Christmas” and some solid black yardage. The editors suggest that spring is the perfect time to steal a march on holiday sewing for your own decorating or gift giving. You might even have a charm pack or two lurking in your sewing room just begging to be used. “Star Baker” is a quick and easy project; I know you will love the results!
Here’s Karen showing her runner in yellow and blue florals – so popular just now.
Quilting Daily has graciously provided me with two copies to give away to blog readers. If you would like to be entered in the drawing, leave a comment below stating what colors or theme you envision making “Star Baker” with. The drawing will be March 30.
Congratulations to Judy R. for winning a copy of the March/April 2020 issue of Fons and Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine. (I have emailed Judy requesting her USPS address so I can mail the issue to her.)
Thanks to all who commented positively about my “Twisted Hexies” table runner. There were so many thoughtful suggestions on fabrics that would look great made up in this design: 1930’s reproductions, batiks, summer colors, spring florals, Easter, Christmas, Fall, red/black/white, and rainbow. I particularly like Beth’s suggestion of making an “I Spy” quilt for her nephew’s stuffed toy. She suggested cutting the center hexagons from theme prints and surrounding them with trapezoids of primary colors.
I hope you will try piecing this patchwork block; it’s easier to construct than you might think.
If you are not yet a Love of Quilting subscriber, and your newsstand is sold out of this issue, you can purchase a print or digital issue from quiltingdaily.com. Click here for a link to the website.
Have you seen the March/April 2020 issue of Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting magazine? On the cover is Scott Flanagan’s gorgeous “Fresh Grapes” (based on a “Carpenter’s Star” design) made in batiks from hundreds of diamonds. And if you flip to page 36, you’ll see my table runner design, “Twisted Hexies.” I made it from Civil War repro colored print fabrics and shirtings from my stash.
When I saw the patchwork block on Pinterest, the great quilting research tool, I thought it would be very complicated and time consuming to make. However, it is surprisingly easy to construct. Attach the first trapezoid to the center hexagon with a partial seam, and the other five trapezoids are quickly added.
I enjoyed making this project and hope you will try making some “twisted hexies.” The editors and graphic artists for Love of Quilting are awesome, writing clear directions with plenty of explanatory diagrams. You will have lots of fun making this design! I have a free magazine for one lucky blog reader. Just leave a comment below stating what style or color of fabrics you would use to make a “Twisted Hexies” table runner or quilt. The drawing will be Feb. 12. I can ship to a U.S. address only.
Don’t think, “I never win anything; why bother adding my name to the drawing?” Did you know, only 12 people entered the previous drawing for the March/April issue of McCall’s Quilting? So you have a great chance of winning. By the way, Karlene’s name was drawn as the winner. Congratulations, Karlene!
If you’re a McCall’s Quilting subscriber, as I am, you have likely already found your March/April 2020 issue in your mailbox. Turn to page 36 and you’ll see “Skip a Step,” a patriotic quilt designed and made by my daughter Trinity and me.
For several days last March we visited my mother-in-law who was quite ill. While she napped, Trinity and I put several baby and lap quilt tops together, and we worked with the Electric Quilt 8 (EQ8) computer program to design a quilt. We transformed a “Piano Key” border style into a 12″ block, and we alternated it with Trinity’s favorite “Eight Point Star” block. We created 34 different quilt designs by coloring and/or turning the blocks various ways! After much deliberation, we submitted our two favorite designs to the McCall’s editors, and this rendition was selected.
The fabrics were graciously supplied by Banyan Batiks. They are from the Newport Beach collection, the At the Pier collection, and Blenders. I pieced the quilt, and Trinity quilted it using the “Star Spangled Allover” pantograph designed by Jessica Schick and Patricia E. Ritter.
Trinity and I hope you will enjoy making our quilt. It’s 78″ x 78″ size is perfect for a Quilt of Valor.
If you would like to win a copy of the magazine, leave a comment below. The drawing will be on February 2.
Has last minute shopping for stocking stuffers taken you to your favorite newsstand? If so, I’m sure you glanced at the quilting magazine titles. And maybe you saw the January/February 2020 issue of McCall’s Quilting.
My string-pieced quilt, “Churning Along” is included in the magazine along with a tip for storing my strips and strings by color. If using your growing collection of string-y scraps is your New Year’s resolution, this is the quilt for you! I began by sewing fabric strips to squares of outdated phone book pages. Using a #90 needle and decreasing the stitch length aids in removing the paper. It is best to begin by placing a 2 1/2″ wide strip diagonally through the center of the square. Use a sew and flip method to add strips on both sides of the center diagonal strip, covering the paper square. Trim away excess bits and pieces using the paper as a guide. Cut the square diagonally through the center 2 1/2″ strip, and then remove the paper foundation.
The string piecing done, the rest of the “Churn Dash” block is quickly constructed. For the strip pieced units, I chose a random black and white polka dot rather than a stark black solid. The print softens the effect yet adds unity to all the scrappiness. More strips and strings comprise the scrappy border.
My editor and I debated between a light gray and the saturated lime green for the background color. While gray would have been a fine choice, I think lime really packs a punch! I had to be careful, though, not to place green as the center strip when piecing the blocks as it would fade into the background.
I quilted a freehand all-over spiral design with lime green thread and finished the quilt with black binding.
Are you enthused about making “Churning Along?” If so, leave a comment stating what background color you would use. Lime green, light gray, or ?? I’ll enter all comments in a drawing for a free magazine on December 31. (And don’t think, ” I don’t have a chance of winning.” Usually 25 people or less comment for a chance to win. Please throw your name in the hat!)
