Coins in the Fountain Quilt

45″ x 66″

Pat Sloan here!  If we are just meeting… I’m the host of American Patchwork & Quilting Radio, a Moda fabric designer, an author, lecturer, and teacher. You can find all I do at my site patsloan.com. Be sure to sign up for my email newsletter and join me daily at my blog for quilt chat!

I’m delighted to be here to share my quilt, “Coins in the Fountain”.  The name is a play on the honey bun being cut into stacked “coins,” coins I’d throw into a fabulous fountain in Paris. If I were in Paris, but I’m in Virginia where I am practicing how to say “Papillon’ with a French Accent…wink!

There is nothing I like better than being able to make a fast quilt with amazing fabrics. I love to let the fabrics do the talking.  I started with a delicious “Papillon” honeybun and I added two fabrics to the mix.  One is a beautiful butterfly print from the “Papillon” line.  The other fabric I selected  is a medium blue “Cross Weaves Woven” from Moda.  I love the cross weaves as they have a slight texture and there is no right or wrong side to them.

Once you pick the fabrics you are good to go on this journey to Paris with me… now to find the best fountain….mmmm

 

•    Honey bun of Papillon by 3 Sisters
•    22″ of blue Cross Weaves Wovens
•    21″ x 67″ of Butterfly fabric from Papillon line
•    3 yds backing

TIP – I got this tip from my friend Kimberly Einmo, take a sticky roller and run it over both sides of your honeybun to remove the lint .. it works perfectly! Now unroll your Honey bun…

The honeybuns and jelly roll are usually rolled by color. I want to mix up the colors for sewing them together into coin strips.

Instead of sorting the strips ahead of time into sewing order, I just separate the colors to piles next to my  sewing machine. Often there will be more of one color than another. As I sew I judge when to skip over the smaller pile so they are spaced out more.

Tip 1 – Be sure your precut ‘points’ are even as they feed under the needle.  Mine are even under the foot and I am adjusting them as I sew.

Tip 2 –  I sewed 10 strips together at a time. To avoid them ‘warping’ to one side, I alternated the ends I sewed from. 

I found a 10 strip unit was easiest to handle. After you have those sewn, sew two units of 10″ to each other. Or move onto sub-cutting.

There are 66 strips sewn to make one unit. I left a few unsewn so that I was able to vary color if I need to when I get to sewing the long unit.

•    Sub-cut the strips into 7.5″ units.
•    Sew 66 ‘coins’ to make a strip panel

Make 3 coin units of 66 strips.

You can see how my colors are varied… and there were not as many red fabrics in this collection, so I scattered them about.

Now onto your beautiful wide strip!  I am working with an ‘unseamed’ strip. The butterflies are also directional on the length, so it worked perfect for this quilt. If you select a fabric that is directional the other way, you will need to sew a seam to make the needed length.

Cut 2 wide strips 10.5″ x 66.5″

•    Now cut 7 blue strips 1.5″ x width of fabric.
•    Sew those all together end to end.
•    Cut 4 units 66.5″ long.
•    Sew the blue strips to each side of the butterfly fabric
•    Sew the top alternating coins and butterflies
•    The rest of the blue weave was used for binding.

Here we are all quilted!

I love a side shot to show the quilting.. want a closer look?

I did very simple ‘wavy’ quilting to mimic water… remember the fountain?
Vertical over the blue butterflies.

and Horizontal on the coins with a loops in the blue sashing
Want to see the back?

I had some left over coins, so I pieced them into the backing by adding the blue backing dot to the top and bottom of the coins. 

You can see the horizontal and vertical quilting on the back!

I do my bindings by machine, if you want some tips on that visit my free pattern page for a {step-by-step photo tutorial} with a printable PDF.

 
All ready to cuddle up! If you want to make your own, I have a few kits {here}.

Pat Sloan

{www.creativetalknetwork.com}
{www.Patsloan.com}
{blog.patsloan.com}

Funky Monkey Children’s Personal Journal

 


Monkey Business by Erin Michael, or any Moda jelly roll or honey bun  (this is a great stash buster!)
lightweight fusible interfacing
white or ivory Moda Bella solid
composition notebook
crayons in various colors
white thread, brown thread, grey thread
Invisible marker

Cut varied sizes of strips of fabric 1.5 to 2.5 inches x 7.5
1 print 11×2.5 ( binding)
2 print 11×5.25 ( inner flaps)
1 print 11x 7.5 ( back)
1 print 5.0×7.5  ( crayon pocket)
1 lightweight fusable interfacing 2.5×7.5
1 solid 2.0 x7.5  ( nameplate)
1 solid 11×25 ( inner )

optional fusible interfacing for nameplate 2.0×7.5

To make the nameplate, you can either just have the child write his or her name freestyle or you can make a  school paper look by drawing lines on the nameplate piece of fabric. I found this made it easier for my little guy.

To make the nameplate measure up from the bottom 1 inch up and draw a solid line, the freehanded dotted line is .5 up from the first solid line and the second solid line is .5 from the dotted line.

1 inch up from bottom

.5 inch from bottom line

.5 inch up from mid line

Find your resident cutie pie to add the best part of the whole journal!

Thanks Adam :o)

After the lines are drawn, you can sew over them.  I used a light gray so his name will really show up!

I recommend adding a little fusible interfacing; it makes the nameplate sturdier. This is an optional step but I think it makes for a more finished look.

Sew over the name. I used a heavier stitch with added bumps :o) If you use a straight stitch, make sure to go over it a few times so it will look bold and stay put.

To put the journal cover together, pick some of your patterned strips and line up how you would like them to look. The dimensions will be 11×7.5.

Using 1/4 inch seams, sew the strips together

Press the seams

Fold crayon pocket fabric in half over the fusible interfacing and press

Place the crayon pocket on the front and check for proper visibility. Pin the pocket in place. Do not measure for the crayons yet.

With the right sides of fabric together, sew the binding onto the front of the journal

From the binding edge, mark the crayon edge 1 inch in and continue marking every 1 inch with an invisible marker or a light pencil.

Sew over the drawn lines. I made sure to reverse back over the top since there will be heavy use where the crayons go in.

Right sides of fabric facing, sew the journal back on

This is how the cover will look at this stage

Topstitch along the inner binding edge

For the sleeve (inner), place rights sides facing and sew

With right sides facing, sew the two pieces together all the way around. Leave an opening to pull the fabric through.

The opening does not have to be huge.

Before turning, snip the corners.

After turning, topstitch the entire journal.

Lay the journal flat and fold inner flaps in.

Sew the inner flaps to make a pocket for the journal to slip into. I sewed the flaps on from the opposite side following the topstitched seam so it would not show.

The journal cover is completed and ready for action!!!!!

One really cute and personalized journal for a little or big person. You can always embroider the name for an older friend or loved one. This makes a great birthday, Christmas, or Hanukkah gift. Or a perfect little book for quiet time in church or a just because I love ya gift!

Kim Niedzwiecki
{gogokim.blogspot.com}

Doggie Do Bag

Hello…I’m Jo from Jo’s Country Junction. My beagle, Gracie, and I are here to share with you a pattern we put together for a Doggie Do Bag. You may wonder what a doggie do bag is…Well, Gracie needed to go to dog obedience class and the instructor required all owners to have plastic bags (to pick up any messes) and treats with us at all times. So I made this little bag to carry my keys, wallet, and all the necessities Gracie needed.

Don’t have a dog? Don’t worry. This cute little bag can be use for anything: makeup, a crayon case…whatever you like.

1 honey bun of Charlevoix
2 fat quarters
zipper
fusible fleece
Deco Bond
black thread

Mini ricrac
Black scrap of felt



From the fat quarter, cut two 7.5″ x 8″ pieces for the lining.

Cut 2 pieces of fusible fleece 7.5″ x 8″.

Fuse the fleece to the lining pieces.

Select 9-10 fabric strips from your honey bun. Layer two of the pieces right side together diagonally on the fusible fleece. Sew them diagonally onto the fleece, using a quilt as you go method.

Press open.

Continue adding pieces until the whole piece is covered.

Do this for both pieces.

Trim both pieces to 6.5″ x 7.5″. Set aside.

For the front pocket, take the other fat quarter and cut a 7.5″ x 8.5″ piece. Cut a piece of Deco Bond 7.5″ x 4.25″. Iron the fabric in half. Open up. Place the deco bond on the fabric. Fold over.


Position a piece of mini ricrac 1/2″ from the fold. Using matching thread, sew in place.

Using the dog pattern included in the Printer Friendly Version, cut a dog from the scrap of black felt. Cut a 1/4″ x 6″ strip of fabric from one of the fat quarters. Tie in a knot around the dog’s neck. Position the dog 1.25″ from the side and .75″ from the top of the right hand side of the pocket piece.


Sew in place using black thread.

Cut 4- 1.5″ x 2″ pieces of fabric from one of the fat quarters. Take two of the pieces and put them right sides facing. Slide the zipper pull down. Sandwich the zipper in the middle of the two pieces. Sew over the top using a 1/2″ seam. Press the fabric open. Trim to 3/4″.

Cut the zipper so it is 7.5″ long including the fabric piece. Take two of the fabric pieces and put them wrong sides facing.

Sandwich the opposite end of the zipper in the middle of two of the pieces. Sew over the top using a 1/2″ seam. Press the fabric open.

Trim to 3/4″.

Trim the sides so they are the same width as the zipper.

For the handle, cut 2- 12″ x 1.5″ pieces of fabric from the fat quarter. Cut one piece of Deco Bond 12″ x 1.5″.


Put the pieces right sides together and lay on top of the Deco Bond piece. Sew 1/4″ from each of the sides to make a tube. Turn right side out.

Press. Top stitch along both edges.

Lay the zipper along the 7.5″ side of the bag piece with the right side together. Stitch in place.

Layer the other bag piece along the other zipper side with right side together and stitch in place. Press the seam away from the zipper. Top stitch along the zipper on both sides.

Lay the pocket along the edge of the bag piece. Pin in place. Baste in place.

Pin the handle in place just above the pocket matching the seams. Tack in place.

Open the zipper 3/4 of the way. Fold in half with right sides together. Sew around the edge, pivoting at the corners. Trim near the zipper and at the corners.

Fold the corners in as shown. Pin. Measure in 3/4″. Draw a line. Sew along the line.

Cut away excess. Do this for both corners.

Turn right side out. Poke the corners out and your clutch is finished.

Your bag will be about 5.5″ x 7″…not including the handle. You can easily leave off or shorten the handle, depending on the intended purpose of your bag. I made my handle long so it could hook over my wrist when I was walking Gracie.

You will have plenty honey bun strips left over to make a few more bags.

I’d love to hear what you will use your “Doggie Do” bag for….and don’t forget to stop over and visit Gracie and me over at Jo’s Country Junction.


Jo Kramer
{Jo’s Country Junction}

Counting By Fives

Hi!  I’m Polly from Aunt Polly’s Porch, and this is my first Moda Bake Shop recipe!  I’m an elementary teacher by trade so when I designed this quilt last August, I had going back to school on my mind… so when it came time to name the quilt, “Counting By Fives” seemed just right!  I hope you enjoy the clean lines and overall simplicity of it!

From the Charlevoix collection–

1 honey bun

2 yards     # 14696 15 for sashing

1/2 yard   # 14697 14 for binding

4 yards    #  14694 13 for backing

batting of your choice- I used Warm and Natural

Open up the honey bun, caress the strips but keep the drool off!! I mean, how could I NOT love this line…every selvage calls my name!  🙂

OK, nuff said!  Time to cook!!  🙂

Sort the strips into sets of five with a variety of colors, texture and value.

Stitch the strips together along the long sides, pressing the seams open as you add each of the five strips. 

Repeat this with all eight sets of 5 strips.

These are my eight strip sets ready to cut into blocks!

Sub-cut each sewn strip set into 5 1/2″ pieces. 

You will get 7 blocks from each strip set, giving you 56 blocks total. 

Layout the blocks in eight rows of seven blocks per row, alternating the direction of the strip orientation- horizontal then vertical then horizontal, and so on.

Next, tear or cut eleven 3″ wide strips of the sashing fabric lengthwise along the 72″ yardage.  

Take 9 of these strips and cut down to 52″ long.  These will be used for the horizontal sashing strips between rows.  Save the leftover pieces. 

Take the last 2 long sashing strips and cut them down to 63″. These will be used for the vertical sashing pieces on each side.

Next we need to cut the small vertical sashing pieces for between the blocks in each row.  Using all the sashing leftover pieces, sub cut them into as many 3″ X  5 1/2″ rectangles as you can. We need a total of 48, so you will need to tear or cut more 3″ wide strips from the sashing fabric. 

You can get thirteen  3″ X 5 1/2″ pices from each long strip, so you will need to tear or cut 2 or 3 more long sashing strips to get a total of 48 small sashing pieces for between each block in all eight rows.

Next, using the 3″ X 5 1/2″ sashing rectangles, sew one in between each block in all eight rows, pressing the seams toward the sashing pieces.

Next, sew the 52″ long sashing pieces between each row, as well as one on the top and one at the bottom. Press the seams towards the sashing pieces.

 

Almost done!  Lastly add the 63″ sashing pieces to each side!

Press the seams toward the sashing. 

TAAAAAA DAAAAAAA!! The top is all done! Easy peasy, right?

Cut the yardage for the backing in half, cut off the selvages, then sew the two 72″ sides together.  Press the seam open and continue to make your quilt “sandwich” as you usually do… then quilt as desired!  I free-motion quilted leaves and vines on mine. 

Cut six 2 1/2″ strips selvage to selvage (42″) for the binding. Sew them short end-to-end, press in half then sew onto the quilt edge as usual. Don’t forget to add a label!

one 56″ X  63″ quilt ready for a nap on the porch!  🙂

Please come visit me on my blog {auntpollysporch.blogspot.com}.My Westie, Yogi and I would love to see you there!!

Hope to see you again soon!  Ciao!  Polly 🙂

P.S.  If you’d like to make a cool scrappy Messenger Bag with these leftover scraps from this quilt- come to my blog to see what I cooked up!! I LOVE leftovers  🙂

Polly Monica

{auntpollysporch.blogspot.com}

Make Life Shower Curtain

Hey everybody! I’m Tam from Sew Dang Cute, and I’m excited to be back here on the Moda Bake Shop to share another project with you – a shower curtain!

If you like free fabric, hurry over to my blog to enter a HUGE giveaway I’m having right now. Let’s get started on that shower curtain, shall we?

*All seams 1/4″ unless otherwise noted.

– 1 honey bun
– 1/2 yd fabric
– 3 yds fabric
– Coordinating thread

1. We are going to start with our diagonal stripwork. Randomly cut some pieces from your honey bun strips. Go ahead, just cut whatever sizes makes you happy. You’ll end up using the entire honey bun. I laid mine out on my cutting board and started in the corner. Once you’ve determined your angle, start laying pieces down like so, until you’ve reached 17″, which is as tall as we will go. Sew your cut pieces RST (right sides together) along the 1 1/2″ sides to form a strip. Finish the seams by either serging or zig-zag stitching. From here you just keep cutting pieces to form strips, then we need to sew all the strips together. As you sew the strips together, start the next strip about a 1/4″ down like so. They should look something like this. Finish the seams. Continue until your you have one big piece that is 74″ long. Press the seams all in one direction. Topstitch all the seams down. Trim the piece so you have one big rectangle measuring 17″ x 74″, then cut it into two pieces – 4 1/2″ x 74″ and 12 1/2″ x 74″.

2. From here I thought a pattern/diagram would be easiest to refer to instead of pictures. If needed, click on image to enlarge.
*Note: We are going to assume the width of the fabric is 42″.

Take your 1/2 yd of fabric (green), and cut (2) 5″ pieces and (2) 2″ pieces. From those cut them so you have the following pieces:

– (2) 18″ x 5″
– (1) 42″ x 5″
– (2) 18″ x 2″
– (1) 42″ x 2″

Sew the three 5″ pieces together to along the 5″ edge to form a row with the 42″ piece in the middle. (Refer to the diagram above). Finish seams and press. Repeat with the 2″ pieces.

3. Take your 3 yds of fabric (blue), and cut (2) 50″ pieces and (1) 7″ piece. From those cut the following:

– (2) 18″ x 50″ (You will need to get this first, then unfold to get the 18″ x 7″ pieces below)
– (1) 42″ x 50″
– (2) 18″ x 7″
– (1) 42″ x 7″

Sew the 7″ pieces together the same way as used in step 3. Finish seams and press. Repeat on the 50″ pieces. After pressing the 50″ seams, topstitch the seams down. (The other rows are so short that I didn’t bother topstitching them, however if you would like to, feel free to do so).

4. As a reminder, here’s the pattern again. 5. Now we are going to sew all our rows together as follows:

1. 7″ blue
2. 4 1/2″ diagonal strips
3. 2″ green
4. 50″ blue
5. 5″ green
6. 12 1/2″ diagonal strips

Finish seams. Press and topstitch. Trim all your sides up if necessary.

6. Let’s hem those sides and bottom edge. Fold a side edge 1/2″ towards the wrong side of the fabric. Press. Fold another 1/2″ and press. Stitch down. Repeat on the other side and the bottom.

7. Now for the top edge. I serged the top raw edge and folded it down 3″ and pressed. If you don’t have a serger, fold 1/4″ down and press, then fold another 2 3/4″ down and press. Stitch that hem down. You should now have something that looks like this. 8. The last thing we need to do is make some buttonholes for our curtain rings to go through. Lay your curtain out flat on the ground and mark where you want your buttonholes. I grabbed a shower curtain and laid it on top to mark mine. You should have 12 marks now, each about 1″ long and 6″ apart. Set your sewing machine to its buttonhole settings. Attach your buttonhole foot. **Check your machine’s manual for specific sewing instructions, because each machine can be different. My machine won’t sew buttonholes. In theory, you are supposed to be able to place a button of the desired size in the foot, then push down on the pedal and it should sew the buttonhole. I have yet to get my machine to do this. I used my mom’s. On hers you sew down as far as you need to go, then push the buttonhole button located by the stitch selection buttons and it sews the rest. You’ll end up with 12 marks that look like this. Grab your seam ripper and place it between the stitchings and rip about halfway up. Then switch to the other end and rip the rest of the way. You can just rip all the way with that first rip, but I like to switch so you can prevent accidentally ripping too much and going through the stitching. Repeat on all 12 buttonholes and it’s all done! Place your curtain rings through those buttonholes and hang up your new shower curtain!
One shower curtain measuring 72″ x 72″.

Tamarynn Bennet
Sew Dang Cute

Pinwheels in the House Quilt

Hello! I’m Kaye from Miss Print and I am so happy to be here! This is my first project at the Bake Shop, but hopefully it won’t be my last! 

This quilt was inspired by my love of mixing different quilt blocks and techniques together. I thought to myself, hey wouldn’t it be fun to mix a pinwheel block with a log cabin block? And so Pinwheels in the House was born…get it? Pinwheels inside of a log cabin block…Pinwheels in the House? Gosh, I kill myself sometimes…okay, on to the tutorial!

1 charm pack – I’m using Verna by Kate Spain
1 honey bun – Also Verna by Kate Spain
4 jelly roll strips
1 1/4 yard for backing
1/2 yard for binding

We’ll begin by creating the pinwheel centres for each block:

Select 13 charm squares and cut each into four 2.5″ x 2.5″ squares. Divide into 25 sets of 2 matching squares (since you only need 25 sets you will have one set extra).

Cut your jelly roll strips into 2.5″ x 2.5″ squares. You will need 50 squares and each jelly roll strip will yield 16 squares. Pair up two of these squares with each of the sets that you cut above – each pinwheel will require two solid squares and two matching print squares.

On the back of each solid square draw a line down the middle.

Pair up one solid square and one print square right sides together. Sew a 1/4″ seam on either of the line you drew.

Cut down the middle of the block along your pencil line.

Press seams away from the solid half of the block and snip off the little pointed seam ends so that the block is square. Repeat with the other solid square and the matching print square. You should now have four matching half-square triangles measuring 2″ square.

Line up the squares as shown in the photo above.
 

Sew the two top squares together and the two bottom squares together. Once again, press your seams away from the solid side.

Sew the top and bottom pieces together along the long side and press your seams open. You now have a pinwheel centre for your block! Repeat with your remaining 24 sets of solids and prints.

Now it’s time to add our log cabin borders to the pinwheel centre:

Here are the cutting directions for your honey bun strips:

Cut 2 honey bun strips into 3.5″ pieces. Each strip will yield 12 pieces.
Cut 5 honey bun strips into 4.5″ pieces. Each strip will yield 9 pieces.
Cut 7 honey bun strips into 5.5″ pieces. Each Strip will yield 7 pieces.
Cut 8 honey bun strips into 6.5″ pieces. Each strip will yield 6 pieces.
Cut 5 honey bun strips into 7.5″ pieces. Each strip will yield 5 pieces.
Cut 1 honey bun strip into five 4.5″ pieces, one 5.5″ piece, and two 6.5″ pieces.
From one of the leftover pieces from cutting the 7.5″ pieces, cut one 3.5″ piece.

Separate the pieces into corresponding size piles. You should have 25 pieces each of the 3.5″ and 7.5″ pieces; and 50 pieces each of the 4.5″, 5.5″, and 6.5″ pieces.

Arrange the honey bun pieces around your pinwheel as shown above. I chose to match up the honey bun pieces with each pinwheel before I began sewing the log cabin borders to ensure the colour variation was nice from block to block.

Sew your 3.5″ piece on first to the top of the block. Press seam out from the centre.

Sew a 4.5″ piece to the right-hand side of the pinwheel. Press seam out from the centre.

Sew your second 4.5″ piece to the bottom of the pinwheel. Press seam out from the centre.

Sew a 5.5″ piece to the left-hand side of your block. Press seam out from the centre. You’re inner border is now done!

For the outer border, begin with your 5.5″ piece at the top and work in the same clockwise fashion as you did for the inner border. Press all seams out from the centre.

Look at that – your block is done! Repeat the above steps with the rest of your 24 pinwheels and honey bun pieces.

Layout your blocks in a 5×5 grid and sew together to create your quilt top!

Sandwich it up, baste, quilt, bind… and you’re finished!

One 35×35″ quilt perfect for cuddling a new baby, using as a play mat for a toddler, or draping as a stroller quilt.

Kaye Prince

{http://miss-print.blogspot.com}

Summer Fresh Pillowcases

Have you heard about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge?  This challenge intrigued me.  Pillowcases are so easy to make that I wondered if they could really make a difference.  Then I made my kids some new pillowcases.  I noticed that they loved them!  Sometimes they would take them and fill them with toys and drag them around the house.  Here’s my contribution to the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!  Make a pillowcase for yourself or to donate! 

Come visit my blog!  We’re just finishing up a Jelly Roll Sampler Quilt-Along and plans for another quilt- along are in the works.

1 Fresh Cottons Honey Bun
3/4 yard each of 4 different Fresh Cotton prints

That’s enough to make 4 pillowcases!

1)  This step is optional.  You only need to do this if you are making 4 pillowcases with your Honey Bun. Take yardage and cut one 1 1/2″ strip off one end.  Cut a clean edge from the other end of the yardage.  Your yardage should be between 25″ and 27.”  The exact size doesn’t matter.  Just make sure you have a piece that is nice and square (not square as in all sides even – square as in 90 degree corners).

2)  Pick 1 Honey Bun strip or one of the 1 1/2″ strips that were just cut from the yardage to use as the accent trim for the pillowcase. 

Note: 

I took this picture and then changed my mind several times.  I ended up making two pillowcases with trim and two without trim just for fun. 

3)  Take all the Honey Bun strips and cut them in half.  Now there are 80 strips that are about 1 1/2″ x 20″ long.

4)  Separate these half strips so that each pillowcase has 20 half strips.  I originally wanted to sew mine randomly together, but I couldn’t do it. 

5)  Sew the half strips together into 2 sets of 10 strips.  Press.

6)  Cut each of these strip sets into 2 sets 9″ wide.  The length of the strip set should technically be 10 1/2.”  I found that because of variables in sewing and pressing this many seams that this length varied slightly.  I have made allowances for this in the pattern. 

7)  Sew 4 of the 9″ strip sets together into a circle as shown below:

8)  Press it in half with WRONG sides together as shown below:

9)  Here’s where we account for how big your strips end up being.  Measure the length of your pillowcase band folded.  It should be around 20.”  Add 1/2″ for the seam allowance.  This is how wide to cut the folded body of your pillowcase.   In the picture below, the fold of your yardage and accent strip are on the left out of the picture.  Measure from the fold and cut 20 1/2″ or what your band measured.

10)  Turn your yardage (shown in green) right sides together and sew along two sides.  Then sew the same seam again, this time with a zig zag stitch.  (A serger would be great instead if you have one.)   Turn your accent strip (shown in red) right sides together and sew along the narrow edge and zig zag as well.

11)  Press the accent strip in half lengthwise with WRONG sides together. 

12)  Sew the accent strip onto the pillowcase band with a 1/8″ stitch.  You are basting the accent onto the band and don’t want the stitching line showing in the finished product. 

13)  With a 1/4″ seam, sew the band onto the body of the pillowcase with the RIGHT side of the pillowcase body next to the ACCENT strip as shown below: 

14)  Zig zag this seam as well.  (A serger would be great here too.)

15)  Turn it inside out and find a pillow!

4 Pillowcases — here’s a picture of the bands. 

These pillowcases are quick enough that you can finish them in the few dog days of summer that are left!

Konda Luckau
Moose on the Porch Quilts

Life Cycles Quilt

this quilt is for my niece aliyah… who was born less than a week ago!

my mom often refers to big events as “life cycle” moments

& since making quilts for big moments like this is a favorite thing of mine… i knew i wanted to make a new quilt as soon as i found out that i had a niece on the way!

this quilt would be great for births… weddings… anniversaries… or even holidays like mother’s day!

come check out my blog to see the original quilt i made for my nephew that inspired this quilt!

1 Jelly Roll Basics in Milk
1 Make Life Honey Bun
1/4 yd Bias Cut Binding – Make Life Fun – Ocean 5425 23
Scrap or FQ – { I used  Earth Texture SKU# 5427-15 }
Scrap or FQ –  { I used Grass Shine SKU# 5424-21 }
1 1/8 yard backing
Scrap of fusible web

Note:
HB = Honey Bun
JR = Jelly Roll

1. Open HB.  Start with any colored strips that are in the HB twice.  If you are using make life you’ll have 5.
Sew them as shown below on the right
HB strip – JR strip – HB strip
These will yield 9 blocks each

2. Take the rest of the colored HB strips and cut them in half.
Sew them as shown below on the left
HB strip – JR strip – HB strip
{ you can cut the JR strips in half… I just did it as shown below to save on cutting time }
These will yield 4 blocks of each color

3. Sub-cut strips into 4.5″ blocks.  As noted above the full strips will yield 9 blocks and the half strips will yield 4 blocks.

4.  I used all of the strips in the HB that were colored and got about 97 blocks… which is enough for 2 quilts.

5. You’ll need 46 blocks for one quilt.  I made more anticipating that people would make mistakes in signing them!  I had people start to sign them before the quilt was made.  Most people wanted to sign them horizontal, so I had to make it a point to ask some people to sign them vertical.  {thanks mom for all your help organizing this part!}

6. The next step is making the center block.
Print this PDF file and trace the letters needed onto fusible web.  Iron them onto the grey fabric & cut them out.

7.  Cut your background for the name at 12.5″ x 4.5″
If your name is longer or shorter, you can have it take up more than 3 blocks of space or make the letters smaller or larger.  Iron the letters in place.  I sewed mine down with a machine blanket stitch to finish them.

8.  Lay out your blocks.
Sew blocks into rows.  Press towards the colored part of the blocks.
Sew rows together.

9. Add Border #1
Border #1 is made from 4 HB strips.  Add 2 to sides and then top & bottom.  I used the white strips with small stars.

10. Add Border #2

Border #2 is made from 4 JR strips.  Add 2 to sides and then top & bottom.  

11. Layer…Quilt…and Bind.
I quilted in the ditch to avoid the signatures & messages.

I also cut my binding on the bias to get this effect.  Binding instructions can be found here.

Lastly I added a sleeve to the back so that this can hang on the wall.

34″ x 34″ Quilt

happy mother’s day!

all three generations!

just hours after aliyah was born!!

Enjoy!
by Julie of jaybirdquilts!

Fabric Candy Dishes

1 jelly roll OR honey bun. {hunky dory featured.}
1/4 – 1/2 yard fabric.
cellophane or plastic wrap.
2″ foam brush.
mod podge or elmer’s glue all.
glass bowl.

pick out your favorite bowl.
{or a bowl you like the size & shape of.}

take some jelly roll strips and cut them in half.
{i cut right on the fold.}

flip your bowl so the bottom is up.
cover the outside of your bowl in cellophane.
{make sure you get all the air out.}

dump your mod podge or glue into a bowl.
{this will ensure a much easier work environment. trust me.}

paint a thin layer of glue all over the cellophane.

lay a jelly roll strip, right side down, across your bowl.
paint another thin layer of glue over your strip.

keep layering strips and gluing until the bottom is completely covered.

take your piece of fabric, right side up, and drape it over your bowl.

start pressing the fabric against the bowl.
remember: pleats are good. they add character.

trim your excess fabric off.

paint another coat of glue all over your fabric.

set your bowl out in the sun to dry.
make sure you check on it periodically.
{you’d hate to find debris dried on your fabric.}

note: i placed my bowl on aluminum foil.
it attracts the sun and helps it dry faster.

when your bowl is completely dry, take it out of it’s mold.
your fabric bowl should look something like mine.
bad hair day & all.

trim those stragglers.

and add the good stuff.
*drool*

now stand back and check out your easy, peasy homemade candy dishes.
yayyy!!!

note: to reverse the look of the bowl, like i did with the smaller one, let the jelly roll strips show on the outside with the whole cloth on the inside.
it’s fun to mix & match.

this is a great craft to do with kids.
my kiddos love making these.

& they’re perfect for every holiday.
gotta love all those holiday fabrics & candies.
yum.

hope yall enjoy!!!

rachel of p.s. i quilt

Spring T-Shirt Tutorial

White t-shirt
3 – different strips of fabric from a Honey Bun
3 – different 3 x 3″ fabrics
3 – buttons
needle and thread

From your three honey bun strips, iron in half length wise.

Pick three coordinating pieces of fabric.

Cut 1 – 3 x 3″ square out of each fabric. (This really does not need to be out of matching fabric, because you wont see it.)

Draw 3 different size circles on each of them. The sizes of the circles are 1 1/2″, 1 1/4″ and 1″. I found that the tops and bottoms of medicine bottles worked great.

Fold the edge of your fabric over onto the back about 1/4″ and start sewing. It’s hard to tell from the picture but the stitching is on the very edge of the fabric, only about 1/8″ in. Note – the raw edges of the fabric are on the inside touching the circle, and the fold is on the outside.

Sew a little less than 1/2″ and then stop. Raise your presser foot and do a 1/4″ pleat as close to the front of the presser foot as you can get. Sew until you’ve done 2 or 3 stitches in the pleat and then repeat, keeping fabric on the outside of the circle.

It should start looking like this.

Keep repeating until you’ve gone completely around the circle and about 1/2″ over the start of the circle. Now start working your way inwards. Start moving the fabric in about 1/4″ or less and keep repeating the pleats. Do this until you reach the inside of the circle and the majority or all of the background fabric is covered.

When you reach the inside of the circle and you’re ready to finish cut the fabric about 1/4″ from the end and tuck if under and stitch. Remember the middle doesn’t need to look perfect because it will have a button, and that button can be as big as you want it. 🙂

Not the greatest picture, but your flower should resemble this.

Now cut the excess fabric off of the back, around the stitching.

Sew a button onto the front of the flower. Place the flowers where you want them on the t-shirt and pin. With a needle and matching thread start sewing the flowers onto the t-shirt. Note – at first I did this with the knots on the inside of the shirt, but on the others I made I put the knots on the flowers, and tried to cover them by stitching them in between the rows. I was worried the knots would bother my daughter when they rubbed against her skin.

One super cute Spring / Easter T-shirt for your favorite little girl!
Come over and visit me at my blog – Our Cozy Nest, I’m having a little giveaway!