Paper Piecing

So I tried my hand at paper piecing the other day and while I am no where near the level of fabulousness that is my sweet friend Ayumi, I am pleased with my results.

My tiny ice cream cone- This block is 5.5" x 7" 

I used this tutorial and my handy-dandy Add-a-Quarter ruler. (Thanks Courtney!)

Source: addaquarter.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

That ruler is super as it adds your seam allowance and makes it much easier to paper piece. There are lots of tips and tutorials for using the Add-A-Quarter on their website.  I've actually spoken to Carolyn, the lady that designed the Add-a-Quarter ruler, and she is super helpful.

She also recommended using the add-a-quarter ruler when you sew with a template by cutting on the stitching line then you can use the add-a-quarter ruler to add a seam allowance without cutting your template. This might work great for all of you farmer's wives out there!

OK, so back to paper piecing:

Gail, a fellow CLTMQG member, taught a workshop on paper piecing recently and she recommends using a fabric glue stick to dab a little on your first piece of fabric to adhere it to the paper. Don't forget to shorten your stitch length too.

Gail's a big fan of Carol Doak's paper and her website. There are lots of free paper piecing patterns on there too, including one on designing your own blocks.

Hopefully I'll have some time after the Sewing Summit to give paper piecing another try. I think it might be something that gets easier with practice...

What are your thoughts about paper piecing? Have you made your own patterns?

Across the Sea Quilt-Along: Binding Your Quilt

You've done the hard part and now it's a race to the finish line! Congrats to all of you for working so hard on your Across the Sea Quilt.

So, let's talk binding.

For our quilt-along you will need 1/2 yard of fabric to make your binding. I cut my pieces 2.5" wide x WOF.

Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts has a fantastic tutorial on binding that takes you through the whole process. Rita of Red Pepper Quilts also has some great info on binding too.

Image from Red Pepper Quilts

Source: redpepperquilts.com via Cheryl on Pinterest

All binding is first applied by machine then you have two options for finishing your binding. You can hand sew it on or machine sew it. Sarah has some great tips for machine finishing your binding- be sure to pop over and check out her suggestions.

Craft Apple Image

Source: craftapple.wordpress.com via Angie on Pinterest

I usually hand sew my binding as I did for this quilt.  I've found this tutorial to be really helpful. I use the ladder stitch which makes an invisible stitch and leaves a clean finish for the back of your quilt. Craft Apple has another great tutorial for the ladder stitch.

That being said, I really like Rachel's tip for machine finishing your binding with a zig-zag stitch.

So, whichever way you choose, binding is the final step. All that's left (after a quick wash and a dry) is taking it out of the drier and seeing the fabulous finished result of a snuggly, crinkly, well-loved quilt all ready to go. That is the BEST part!

Can't wait to see your quilts! 5 days to go (by Oct. 3) to upload your pics to the ATS Flickr group to be entered to win the gift certificate to Sew Fresh Fabrics!

Don't stop now, you can do it!

In the Zone

Last Night I was in the zone!

Improv piecing, colors flying, machine humming, iPod in,  zipping right along with Gavin DeGraw singing in my ears.


I think I listened to this song 20 times- no lie. Please tell me I am not the only one that does this with a new song...

Sewing with music- highly recommended!

Across the Sea Quilt-Along: Quilting

So, we've made it to the quilting! Yea! You are almost done.

Sarah has some great tips today about Free Motion Quilting.

For my quilt, I straight-line quilted a 1/4" along the seams of the rows and blocks and along the scrappy border.  Then I hand quilted around each of the crosses.  I like the combination of both kinds of quilting in this quilt. (The weather has been so rainy this weekend, I hope to get some good pics for you this week.) 

There are some great quilting links in our ATS Flickr group.

There are tons of possibilities for quilting yours: Here are some ideas (the links will give you more info)
from Megan at Canoe Ridge Creations,

Source: sewsweetness.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

and some examples from Elizabeth Hartman for you:

Source: ohfransson.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: ohfransson.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

I can't wait to see what you choose!

Be sure to upload pics of your finished quilt by October 3 to the ATS Flickr group to be considered for the Sew Fresh Fabrics drawing.

Even if you don't finish by the 3rd, we want to see your quilts whenever you finish. You've done all the hard work; be sure you post pics so we can share in your success!

Happy Sewing!

Sunday Special: Pinterest, the Fall edition 2

Still dreaming of fall. The weather here is still warm and has been rainy for days.

Let's bring on Fall!

Source: pinterest.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: None via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: realsimple.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Source: marthastewart.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Hope you have a great day!

Saturday Spotlight: Meet Felicity!

So today y'all get to meet my friend and fellow Pinterest addict, Felicity. She's another friend I need a joint style pin board with!

She's crazy talented (see her a-ma-zing word quilt below) and super sweet. Her blog is filled with good stuff including a very clever shoe wallet for all of you runners out there!

Get to know her and be sure to pop over to her blog and say hello. (She's got a giveaway going on over there this weekend!)

Stats:
Name: Felicity Ronaghan
Family:  1 husband of 11 years, 1 daughter, nearly 4.
Location: Vancouver, Canada
Blog:  felicityquilts.blogspot.com
Flickr:  felicity.quilts
What is your favorite:
place:  home, followed closely by Italy
sound:  ocean waves or rain
movie: The Sound of Music
book:  too many to choose from! I just read - and thoroughly enjoyed - Divergent by Veronica Roth (if you liked The Hunger Games, you’ll love it)
word: Mama (when said by my daughter - we waited a long time to become parents)
article of clothing: a jaunty scarf
food: lasagna
dessert: pumpkin pie
album:  Adele, 21

non quilting/sewing website: gofugyourself.com or pinterest.com
fabric line: I don’t tend to sew from full lines but I will say that I adore Wonderland by MoMo.
sewing tool:  besides Bernie my machine? my  personalized pincushion/threadcatcher.
color: too many to choose from!

completed sewing project: They’re *all* my favourites!! I am still really happy with the quilt I made for the Kona Solids Challenge.

quick finish sewing project:  Mugrugs are fabulous little projects that work up quickly, and they make nice gifts.

coffee or tea: both but  mostly coffee. Always hot, never iced.
coke or pepsi: when I drink bubbly things, it’s usually soda water, but of these two I am a Coke girl.
chocolate or vanilla: chocolate
mountains or beach: mountains for the cool weather, beach for the sound of the water.
football or baseball: hockey
dog or cat: neither
minivan or suv: neither! We currently drive a car, but we’re thinking of going with the car coop. Could we BE more insufferably “west-coast”? :)

What is your day job? Banker/Commercial lender

What is your dream job? independently wealthy maker of quilts

What is your favorite time waster? The internet

You win the lottery, what is the first thing you buy? The townhouse adjacent to ours so we  can knock out the wall and double our space.


I so hope you enjoyed getting to know Felicity. Don't forget to jump over and enter her giveaway!


Happy Saturday!

Christmas Fabric Charm Swap

Thinking about adding to your Christmas fabric stash? Angie at Summerfield Quilts is hosting a Christmas Fabric Charm Swap. Pop over to her blog and check it out.

Source: etsy.com via Jennifer Mathis on Pinterest

Each participant will receive 112 assorted Christmas fabric charms which is plenty to make a festive holiday quilt, a table runner, or lots of mug rugs! 

So, go on, check it out!

Across the Sea Quilt-Along: Progress and Basting

First of all, a really BIG WELCOME to all of my new followers that came over from Madame Samm. SO happy to have you here!

I'm co-hosting the Across the Sea Quilt-Along (I designed the front, Sarah, the back) and I have finished up the back this week.

Sarah put together great directions for the back and after cutting my fabric and sewing my blocks, I thought I would share a few tips with you that helped me when putting the back together for the lap size.

1. Measure and tag all of your pieces for the back with their sizes.

2. Sew the 3" strips you cut last week onto the 43" pieces to get a 45.5" piece (repeat.)
Sew the 9.5" x 24" pieces to 9.5" x 42" piece to get a 9.5" x 66.5" piece (repeat.)

3. Put your cross blocks in order in a stack so you can pull them easily.

4. Lay out your long pieces in order to be sewn.

So now, on to basting.

1. Press your quilt top and quilt back. Wrinkles are not your friends!

2.  I spray baste. Sarah is posting today about basting with pins so be sure to check out her tutorial too.

There are lots of great tutorials out there about spray basting. My favorite and the one I use is this one from Quilt Class 101 at Chasing Cottons. It's Kristie's tutorial and the only thing I do differently is tape my batting to the floor with masking tape instead of using dumbbells.

3. Some key points to remember here are to put pins in the batting at the corners of your quilt, at the center of your quilt and along the seams of each row. This will help you line up your quilt back with your quilt top.

4. Once your quilt back is laid on the batting, use the pins to help you line up your seams.

Now you are all set! Hope these tips are helpful. On Monday we'll go over some quilting tips.

Be sure to add your pics of your quilt backs to the Flickr group. I can't wait to see your progress.

Now go sew! :)

Mug Rug Madness, and TWO GIVEAWAYS!

Wow, today is a BIG day! First of all, you can find me over at Sew We Quilt today. Pop over and check out my tutorial and enter to win the great GIVEAWAY! Not registered yet or unsure of how things work in the Wantobe Quilter campaign? You can find out all you need to know right HERE.

Today is my turn for MUG RUG MADNESS: The Holiday Edition!

When do you get your Christmas tree? We always get ours the first weekend of December but I start thinking about the holidays as soon as fall arrives.

Fall is my favorite season, and I don't like to rush it, but it also makes me think of Christmas.  I like to do my holiday shopping (or at least planning) early.

When Erin from Two More Seconds asked me to be a part of the Mug Rug Madness Holiday Edition, I was so flattered and immediately said yes. Honored to be among such a talented group!

The Fat Quarter Shop graciously provided festive holiday fabric for us to use while creating our mug rugs. You know I love them (they are an ELQ sponsor) and appreciate their wonderful selection of fabrics, great FQ bundles and super fast shipping. They also have a new pattern line that you should check out.

So it was a lot of fun working with the jolly Ready, Set, Snow! fabric from Moda. I wasn't sure what I was going to make until I laid all my fabric out on my table and the graphic prints of the stripes and squares jumped out at me. A quick sketch and wha-la, I knew what I had my idea.

It's simple but effective and showcases the holiday fabric without being over the top. If you would like to make one too, here's how:

Supplies Needed:
4 Fat Quarters of Ready, Set, Snow!

The top piece is an example.

1. Cut out 3 red squares, .25" on the outside of the red border. Your squares should be 2.5" x 2.5".

2. Cut 3 strips of green stripe fabric, 3.25" wide x WOF (using a FQ).

3. Cut a 3" strip off the end of the green stripe pieces. From your reserved green stripe fabric, cut 6 pieces 1" x 2.5." Pay attention to the direction of the stripes!

4. Sew the small green stripe strips to 2 sides of the red squares. Press seams open.

5. Center and sew on your red square strip onto the long green striped strips. Then reattach the 3" strip you removed previously.

6. Press seams open.

7. Trim up the sides of your strips so they are 3.25" wide.

8. Line up your strips in a layout you like, pin and sew them together (right sides facing.)

9. Press your seams open and trim your mug rug to 7.5" x 8.5."

10. I spray basted my mug rug and then quilted it in straight lines outlining the red squares.

Then I bound it as I would a regular quilt.

I hope you enjoyed my little holiday mug rug tutorial. Be sure to pop over the the Mug Rug Madness Giveaway page at Two More Seconds to enter to win holiday charm packs and this little mug rug.

If you missed any of the previous installments of Mug Rug Madness the Holiday Edition, you can find all the posts here.

If you make a holiday mug rug or a mug rug for any occasion, we would love to see them! Post pics in the Mug Rug Madness Flickr Group and the Ellison Lane Flickr Group.

Now hurry over to Erin's and enter to win then be sure to head over to Madame Samm's at Sew We Quilt for that giveaway too!

The Sincerest Form of Flattery

I so hope Kaelin feels the same way I do about imitation and flattery.

I saw her beautiful bag on Flickr the other day and fell in love with it. I've been dying to make a bag/purse and have been wanting to use my Echino for it and wha-la, this was it! (Kaelin, you were my inspiration-I hope you don't mind!!)

So here it is-my first purse/tote bag!

The pattern is the Nikki tote bag pattern by my friend Michelle of I Like Orange, Too!

Nice and roomy inside

This was my first purse and the pattern was great-easy to follow, clear and concise and plenty of pictures.  I highly recommend it.

That zipper pocket was so easy!

Inside there are four pockets, and I added a snap closure and a zipper pocket.  (You can find great tutorials for those here and here.)

Echino patchwork fabric and chocolate brown corduroy

I just love how it turned out and have to say I am really proud of myself. :) The only thing I might change would be to topstitch with dark brown thread instead of pink because you can see it on the inside so well. But this is not a big deal.

I'm most excited that I'll be traveling handmade to the Sewing Summit- Yippie!

Speaking of the Sewing Summit- it is less than 3 weeks away! I can hardly wait. Don't you want to come too?

In addition to the Across the Sea Quilt-Along, I've also been working on a few behind the scenes projects that I can't show you quite yet. There is a BIG FUN event coming in October that I am excited about. I have a feeling you will love it too.

I can show you these little pouches I've been making.

They are super fun, really quick, and make great little gifts.

BTW, I ordered my little labels from Inked Papers on Etsy.

I'll leave you with a sneak peak of tomorrow's post.

Be sure to check back because there's a giveaway involved!
BTW, I'm linking up to Megan and Sew Modern Monday today.