Into the Woods Quilt

My name is Kymberly from Peas in a Pod Creations. I’m so excited to be making my debut on Moda today. I have a secret confession…I love winter. I think one of my favorite months is January when the chaos of the holidays has passed, the ground is blanketed in snow and the world is filled with a quite peace. As I was working on this quilt my husband suggested I make the inner section of the split rail block with my lights so that it looks like snowflakes. Suddenly this quilt contained everything I love about the season. I can’t wait to curl up with it and a good book on a snowy night this winter.

1 Jelly roll (For this quilt I used fabric from Kate Spain’s line In from the Cold)

1 yd green fabric (Juniper with white berries)

1 ½ yd blue fabric (Mint with snowflakes)

½ yd grey (Icicle)

4 yd backing (Mint with hot cocoa)

½ yd binding (Hearth with cookies)

Tree Blocks: 
make 32

Cut (5) 7” strips from green.  Cut strips into triangles with 9” base and point at 4.5”. (I lined my ruler up on 0 to 4.5” and then 4.5” to 9” and cut triangles as shown.)

Cut (8) 5” strips from blue. Cut each strip into 7.25” rectangles.  Keeping rectangles in pairs with wrong sides together cut rectangles in half diagonally. 

Sew blue triangle to side of green triangle. Press and repeat on other side of tree. (Your trees will look much better if you take time to press at this step.)
*Without going into complicated geometry and templates this was the best way I found to make these trees. Your edges will be a bit wonky, but this is okay. When the block is finished it gets squared up and will look great.

To create trunk cut left over blue into 2.5” x 4” strips. Cut grey into 1.5”x 2.5” pieces. Sew blue rectangles to each side of grey piece. Sew to bottom of tree and square up block to 8.5”.

Snowflake Blocks:

make 31

Divide jelly roll strips into lights and darks. (With In From the Cold I used the reds and greens as my darks and the whites, greys, and blues as my lights. I chose to remove the fabrics I used in the tree block.) Cut each jelly roll into two 18” strips.

Strip piece the lights and darks. Press towards the dark and cut into (4) 4.5” pieces. 

 Turn top piece so that the light and dark edge matches up with the light edge of bottom piece. I found it worked best to have the light edge on bottom so that the feed dogs didn’t have to worry about a seam and fed pieces through as shown. Press.
*Consistency is very important here. Make sure you lineup all of your blocks in the same way and feed them through in the same direction.

Sew with light sides facing seam and press.

Assembling the Top:

Arrange Tree and Split Rail Blocks into 9 rows of 7 blocks.

Baste, Quilt, and Bind as desired. 

One 72″x56″ quilt.

Hop over to my blog to see how I used the leftovers from the jellyroll to create a cute pieced back and a label for the quilt.

Kymberly Pease
{Peas in a Pod Creations}

Sunnyside Diamond Zig-Zag Quilt

Hi, I’m Janice Ryan and I blog about quilting and sewing at Better Off Thread.  I am really excited to be sharing my very first Bake Shop Recipe with you today. 

My sister and I both learned the joy of creating handmade items from my mom.  Whether it was doll clothing, Halloween costumes, christmas cookies or homemade playdough, I have very fond memories of crafting with my family.   I am now the family quilter and my sister, Judy, is the knitter/crocheter.  She made my children their very first blankets, and those blankies have seen their share of snuggles and tears and games of tug ‘o’ war.  I wanted to make my sister a cozy quilt for snuggling under, with a good book, on all those rainy East Coast days (and there have been a LOT this summer.).  Since I live in California, I thought I would send her a little bit of sun and Sunnyside by Kate Spain was the perfect choice.  I love how the diamonds create a sunburst and make the colors dance around the quilt.  I hope my quilt adds a little sunshine to your day, too.

1 Jelly Roll- Sunnyside by Kate Spain

2 yards background fabric- Moda Bella in White

4 yards backing fabric

Please read all instructions prior to making this quilt! All seam allowances are ¼” unless stated otherwise.

Step 1: Make Diamond Panels

Separate your jelly roll into 4 sets of 9 strips each.  You will want 5 different colors in each set:

– color 1 = 1 strip

– color 2 = 2 strips

– color 3 = 3 strips

– color 4 = 2 strips

– color 5 = 1 strip

My sets were made up of the colors listed below:

Take your first set of 9 strips and sew them together into 3 sets of 3 (arrange them in the same order as the diagram above.)  Each strip will be offset 2 1/4″ lower than the previous one. Press seams open.

Tip: lightly starch your strip sets to keep them from stretching once they are cut on the bias.

Cut your strip set every 2 1/2″ at a 45º angle. Cut 10 strips.

Tip: I use the angle lines my normal quilter’s ruler to cut the 45º angle, but there are various specialty angle rulers that can be purchased.

Repeat for your 2 other sets of strips.

Sew one strip from each set together, matching seams.

You will now have one diamond panel.  

Repeat to make 10 diamonds panels and then repeat Step 1 on your other 3 sets of 9 strips.  You will have 40 diamonds when completed.

Tip: You can find a photo tutorial for making these diamond panels on my blog.

Step 2: Cutting Background

From your background fabric cut 10 strips 6 1/2″ x WOF (about 44″).

Starting at the bottom left corner of your strip, cut a 45º angle.  Make a 45º cut every 9″.  Each strip will yield 4 diamonds (background diamonds will be the same exact size as a finished diamond panel from step one.).

Tip: if you are feeling adventurous, you can layer 3-4 strips and cut them all at the same time.

Cut all strips until you have 40 diamonds.

Cut 10 diamonds in half, as pictured in the diagram above.

Step 3: Piecing the Quilt Top

Piece diamonds vertically into 10 rows, then sew rows together.

Your top is now done! Baste, quilt and bind as desired. I used my leftover strips and a few scraps to make my binding.

One 58″ x 65″ quilt…

perfect for snuggling under on a rainy day.

If you use this pattern, be sure to send me a photo!

Janice Ryan
{www.betteroffthread.com}

Cozy Campground Quilt

Hi, I’m Stacey and I blog at The Tilted Quilt.  Today, I am sharing a Cozy Campground Quilt with you.  I have two young sons and my husband is just dying to begin taking them on camping trips.  From the moment I saw the S’more Love line by Eric and Julie Comstock, I knew I had to have it. It will be a perfect family quilt to take with us to have out in front of the campfire while we are making S’mores.  I made sure to use a dark background and backing since I know this quilt will get lots of outdoor use!

This is a great pattern if you have not foundation pieced before and you want to dip your toe into this technique. 

I am going to give away my scraps from this project (including a nice size bundle of 10 leftover fat eights) – just swing by my blog over the next week for a chance to win. 

Here is a full mock up of the quilt for planning purposes:

All fabrics in this project are from S’more Love.

•  Fat Eighth Bundle for blocks (you will use 16 for the blocks – there will be extras which can be used for binding or other projects)
• 1 yard each of three different backgrounds for the blocks – I used:
• pond (37075 17)
• pine (37075 15)
• campfire (37075 13)
• 1 1/2 yards of wood grain background for alternating blocks in grizzly bear (37079 19)
• 4 yards for backing and binding (37074 19)
• batting
• 64 sheets foundation paper

**Update** Thanks to the great feedback in the comments regarding the background fabrics – I have changed my suggested yardage from 3/4 yard to 1 yard.  I used 3/4 yard of the backgrounds plus the additional fat eighth that came in the bundle when needed.  I do tend to cut narrowly, but I should have allowed a teensy bit more wiggle room. I suggest bumping your yardage up to 1 yard for each background. Thanks!!***

• 6 inch Add-A-Quarter ruler – this is not mandatory, but I couldn’t live without mine. 

Foundations:

I use a lightweight paper called vellum for my foundations, but you can use whatever you prefer.  You will need 64 copies of the block pattern (16 blocks x 4 sheets per block). Print at 100% or “actual size” – the pattern block should measure 5 ½ inches on each edge, for a 5” finished size.  I have included a 1″ test square so you can make sure you are printing the correct size.  To be safe, you should print all 64 of your pages at one time – just in case you accidentally change the page layout between printings (I speak from experience here!).

Download the foundation pattern here.

Cutting Instructions:

1. From the brown wood print*, cut

• Nine 10 ½ inch squares 
• six 11 inch squares – cut them down the middle on the diagonal to create 12 setting triangles for row ends
• two 10 1/2 inch squares – cut them down the middle on the diagonal to create 4 setting triangles for corners 

 *If you are using a fabric with a directional print where the orientation of the design matters,  keep in mind as you cut that you will be laying these out on the diagonal. You may want to wait to cut these squares until you lay out the quilt below.

2.  Choose 16 prints from the fat eighth bundle.

From each print, cut

• 4 pieces @ 4”x 6” 

3. For each block, you will choose a background fabric – from that background:

• cut 8 pieces @ 3 ½” x 6 ¼ ”  (You will cut a total of 128 pieces this size, using your three different backgrounds)
• cut 4 pieces @ 3 ½” x 4 ½” (You will cut a total of 64 pieces this size, using your three different backgrounds)

Sewing Instructions:

Each 10” finished “X” block is made from four-5” foundation pieced blocks.  Piece 1 is the block print and Pieces 2-4 are  the block background prints. 

When sewing on a paper foundation, remember that you will be sewing directly on the printed side of the paper with the fabric on the “un printed” side.  Lower your stitch length to 1.6 or 1.8.  For some additional tips on paper piecing, check out this tips post I did earlier this year.  That post also links to a video tutorial using the Add-A-Quarter ruler for trimming.

To create the block:  Choose a piece from your cut fat eighth stack –  place piece 1 with the right side facing away from the paper so that it covers the center wedge entirely – making sure that there is at least ¼” excess around all of the lines.  You may want to hold it up to a light source to make sure the lines are covered.  I like to put in a pin to make sure this piece stays put.

Your second piece of fabric is a background piece – it will be placed with the right side of the fabric facing the right side of the first piece of fabric you pinned.  You will be sewing on the line between piece 1 and 2.  Make sure the length of the background fabric extends a full ¼” past the edge of the block on both sides and that, when flipped over, it will cover the full corner of the block, including the ¼” seam allowance.

Using an open-toe foot (or your regular piecing foot if you don’t have an open-toe foot) begin sewing the line between 1 and 2. Backstitch a few stitches at the beginning and end to lock in your stitch.

Before you flip over Piece 2, trim the excess away (leaving ¼” seam allowance) by folding back the paper.

Once you flip over Piece 2, your block should look like this:

Next, you will want to trim ahead of your next piece to keep that nice ¼” seam.  I really love using an Add-A-Quarter ruler. I will demonstrate how it works.  If you don’t have one, continue to trim as you did in the previous step, after you sew the seam.  

On the paper side, take a postcard or index card and place it on the line between 1 and 3. 

Fold the paper back over the postcard creating a stiff edge.

Place the Add-A-Quarter ruler on the postcard edge.

Trim to a perfect ¼” seam with your rotary cutter.

Fold the paper back up and flip the block over.  Now you can line up your next piece directly on the cut fabric, right sides together.

Flip the block over and sew on the line between 1 and 3. Remember to backstitch at the beginning and the end of the line.

Flip the fabric over and press.

Repeat the steps above to trim the line between 1 and 4 with the Add-A-Quarter Ruler.

Add piece 4 along the cut edge of 1, right sides together.

Flip block over and sew along the line between 1 and 4.

Flip the fabric over and press.

This is what your block should look like now.

Flip the block over and trim away excess – cut on the OUTER line (this includes a ¼” seam allowance for the blocks).

Now, you have a trimmed block.

Create 4 smaller blocks to make one larger x block.

Switch over to your ¼” foot and increase your stitch length back to 2.5.  Join the bottom two blocks and the top two blocks and then sew the top row and bottom row together for a completed X block.

Make 16 of these blocks choosing assorted prints from your fat eighth bundle and backgrounds from your three background fabric choices. 

Lay out the blocks on point, alternating a solid square between each block.  If you are using a fabric where the orientation of the design matters, keep in mind as you cut that you will be laying these out on the diagonal.

Blocks are now on the bias, so be aware of stretching.

A design wall is invaluable for a layout like this – I needed to make sure the wood grain on my brown blocks all went the same way.  Now is a good time to cut the wood blocks and setting triangles if you have a directional print that matters for these blocks.  

I like to cut these blocks a little generous to make sure there is plenty when it comes time to trim them down.

Here is the corner all trimmed up.

I embroidered our last name to the quilt – aren’t you supposed to label everything you bring with you when you go camping? 😉

Make a quilt sandwich with your favorite batting and your backing.  The back will need to be pieced since it is larger than the width of standard fabric.

Quilt and bind according to your favorite method. I opted for a simple straight line quilting design to mimic the wood grain in the background.


 

58″ x 58″ lap size quilt, perfect for snuggling up in front of the fire on your family camping trip!

Stacey Napier
{thetiltedquilt.blogspot.com}

National Book Lover’s Day

Happy National Book Lover’s Day! Moda Fabrics/United Notions is hosting a blog hop where everyone is going to tell you about the quilting book that inspired them to get started sewing. Or the first quilting book they owned. A lady never reveals her age so instead of dating myself with that kind of info first quilting book, I’m going to share a couple of titles that inspire me. (Be sure and hop over the The Cutting Table to enter the giveaway)

 Jelly rolls are one of my favorite pre-cuts so this book high on my list:

Rolling Along by Nancy J. Martin

And this book combines three great pre-cuts for a whole series of wonderful quilts:

More Layer Cake, Jelly Roll & Charm Quilts by Pam and Nicky Lintott

What’s your favorite quilting book?

 

Fancy: A Jelly Roll Lap Quilt

Hi! My name is Keera from live.love.sew., and I am so excited to be sharing my first Moda Bake Shop project with you {!!}. This lap-quilt is so quick to make up, fresh and summer-y and super-satisfying in its end result. This quilt is perfect for both beginner quilters as well as seasoned wanting a quick project. 

The story behind this quilt is very simple. I was inspired by the vintage feel of Bonnie and Camille’s Happy-Go-Lucky fabrics. The prints in this line, especially the sweet and feminine florals, remind me so much of the vintage fabrics my grandmother sewed with when I was growing up, I couldn’t resist using for them for the quilt! I do hope you love Fancy as much as I do.  

 

1 Jelly Roll {Happy-Go-Lucky by Bonnie & Camille}                 

2 ¾ yardage {Bella Solids White}

4 ½ yards backing fabric {Happy-Go-Lucky Garden Aqua 55061 12 }

½ yard binding fabric {Happy-Go-Lucky Penny Navy 55065 17 }

Cotton/Bamboo batting {at least 75″ x 80″ – I used a Queen size which allowed a bit left-over}

step one:

Separate jelly roll strips and select 40 prints.

From solid white, cut:

36 – 2 ½” x WOF {width of fabric} strips; sub-cut these strips 7 times each into 4 ½” rectangles {252 total}.

From selected binding print fabric, cut:

7 each – 2 ½” x WOF strips

step two:

Match two prints together, to make 20 strip sets, in preparation for stitching.

step three:

With right sides together, stitch the 20 strip sets along the long edge. Press towards darker 

print. 

step four:

Sub-cut these strips 13 times, into 2 ½” rectangles {diagram a}: Set aside leftovers.

step five:

Match one white rectangle with one print strip set right sides together. Stitch along the long edge

{diagram b}. Press seam towards prints. Repeat for all remaining strip sets {252 in total}.

step six:

To assemble each fan block you will need:

– Four strip set blocks {diagram c}.

step seven:

Lay out four strip set blocks in a fan formation {diagram d}. Sew the top two strip set blocks

together, taking care to ‘nest’ seams. Press seams towards one side. 

Repeat for bottom two strip set blocks {diagram e}. 

Complete the fan block, joining these two pieces together and stitching along long edge 

{diagram f}. Press seams to one side.

step eight:

Lay blocks in a 7 block by 9 block layout as desired.

step nine:

Assemble quilt top in rows. Sew blocks in each row together, repeating for each row and 

yielding 7 fan block strips, each with 9 blocks {diagram g}. 

step ten:

Join each row along the inside edge producing your 7 block by 9 block quilt top.

  

step eleven:

Layer quilt top, batting and backing and baste with safety pins.

step twelve:

Quilt as desired. Trim excess.

*fancy was machine quilted using free motion quilting in a floral/clover pattern.

step thirteen:

Sew 2 ½” binding strips together end to end to form one long strip. Press seams open. Press

strip in half with wrong sides together.

step fourteen:

Using a quarter inch {¼“} seam sew your binding strips to the front of your basted and quilted 

piece with raw edges together. Start along one side leaving a tail of about 6-10 inches. Sew 

along until you reach ¼” from the corner.

step fifteen:

Take your quilt and turn, lift your strip straight up and then bring it back down to align raw edges 

{diagram h}. Continue sewing your binding strips. Repeat for the next three corners.

step sixteen:

When you reach the beginning of your binding, stop sewing and match and trim the two tails of 

binding strip, so it will sit neatly along the quilt edge. Unfold your strips and with right sides 

together, sew your two tails together {you may need to wrangle your quilt a bit to do this!}.

step seventeen:

Re-fold sewn strip and lay flat against side of your quilt and sew in place.

step eighteen:

Turn binding strip to back-side of your quilt and hand-sew in place.

* in the case of machine binding complete all above steps, however sewing the binding strip to the BACK of the quilt in step 14, and turning to the front of the quilt, and machine stitching in step 18.

One lap quilt measuring about 60″ x 75″.
*larger quilt tops can be made by making more strip set mini-blocks in steps four to seven. 

Keera Job
{www.livelovesew.com.au}
{keera(at)livelovesew.com.au}

S’more Mountains Jelly Roll Quilt

Hello!  I’m so glad to be here with you today. Camping has a special spot in my heart.  My Dad designed camps for a living.  Yup, there is someone who gets paid to do that job….or there used to be.  Dad designed camps all over the USA for the Boy Scouts of America, the Girl Scouts, and the Presbyterian Church.  If there is a spot in our great country near and dear to your heart my dad could tell you all about it…intimately.  That was his super power!  When I introduced him to my husband, years ago before G was even my fiancé, Dad knew where his folks lived….literally.  He could describe the house and the yard.  He had been past it a hundred times on his way into the Sierra Nevada National Park…en route to one camp or another.  It tickles me pink to know that he had such a profound influence on people.  It is like having a little bit of my daddy with me every where I go.

S’more Love, by Eric and Julie Comstock is perfect for making a quilt to enjoy by the camp fire…or to enjoy in your RV… or living room long after the trip is over.  It would look great in a little boy’s bedroom.  The line is filled with whimsical characters and vibrant colors.

• 1 Jelly Roll
• I used S’more Love + 4 2 1/2″ x width of fabric (wof) strips
• 1 1/4 yards dark fabric for distant mountains and inner border
• I used Bella Chocolate #9900-41
• 1  yards light fabric for distant sky
• I used Bella Feather #9900-127
• 1/4 yard for corner stones
• I used Campfire star bursts #37075-13
• 2 yards for outer border
• Yardage is required for fussy cutting the stripes in S’more Love
• I used Multi stripe #37070-11
• If you do not fussy cut you only need 3/4 yard
•  1/2 yard for binding
• I used Campfire star bursts #37075-13
• 4 yards for backing
• I used Aspen green with cars on it #37071-14
• Various scraps for applique
• I used scraps of Home Town by Sweetwater, and Pezzy by American Jane 

Helpful tools:

• 9 1/2″ square quilting ruler.

• 6, 3/4″ diameter buttons to use as tires for applique trucks and campers.

This quilt is made from 42, 9″ finished blocks – two sets of 21 each.

Cutting Directions:

• From Dark Mountains fabric
• Cut 11, 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares (for distant mountains)
• Cut 3, 10 1/4″x width of fabric (wof) strips
• Sub cut  wof strips into 4, 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares each for 12 squares
• Cut 7, 1 1/2″x wof (for inner border)
• From Light Sky fabric
• Cut 11, 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares (for distant sky)
• Cut 3, 10 1/4″x width of fabric (wof) strips
• Sub cut wof strips into 4, 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares each for 12 squares
• From Corner Stone fabric
• Cut 4, 4″x 4″ squares (for corner stones)
• Cut 2, 2 1/2″ x wof (to supplement jelly roll strips)
• From Outer Border fabric
• If fussy cutting –
• Cut 2, 4″x 65 1/2″ strips along length of pattern
• Cut 2, 4″x 56 1/2″ strips along length of pattern
• from fussy cutting scraps
• Cut 2, 2 1/2″ x 42″ strips to supplement jelly roll
• If NOT fussy cutting –
• Cut 6, 4″ x wof strips
• cut 2, 2 1/2″ x wof strips
• From binding fabric
• Cut 7, 2 1/2″ x wof strips

• Tips for working with Jelly Rolls:
• Run a lint brush over the raw edged sides of the jelly roll before unwrapping it, otherwise you will have little fluffy lint fuzzes all over the place.
• Iron strips flat before sewing.
• GET STEAMED!!  It will help to realign the fibers is you use steam when you iron.  They will relax and loose the curl that has been forced into them by being rolled up

 

Sewing Directions:
LARGE STRIPED TRIANGLES:

• From jelly roll (+ 4, 2 1/2″ x wof strips cut from corner stone and outer border fabrics)
• Randomly sew 11 sets of 4 strips together along the long edge
• Iron seam allowances open
• To open seam allowances place the sewn strip on a hard surface (like a cutting table or desk)  Spread the larger pieces of fabric to the sides, right side down, then use your finger nail to nudge the seam allowances apart.  The  use STEAM to set the seams open.

• Each strip set should measure approximately 42″ x 8 1/2″
• Using the lines on your ruler cut 45 degrees from the corner of the first strip set.

• Turn ruler over and make second cut on strip set at 45 degrees from the last edge cut.

• Continue in this manner across set for 4 large right triangles per set
• Because you will be working with biased edges the pieces will have a tendency to stretch.  Do the best that you can to keep things square, but don’t worry too much about it.  These triangles are large enough to be squared up when you get to the final step of block construction. 
• Repeat process with remaining strip sets for a total of 44 large right triangles.
• NOTE: As you only need 42, you will have two extras.

MOUNTAIN BLOCKS:

Mountain Block, Right Facing – make 21 NOTE – This is a drawing.  In an actual block the striped pieces may be different widths.

Mountain Block, Left Facing – make 21 NOTE – This is a drawing.  In an actual block the striped pieces may be different widths.

• Gather
• 11, dark 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares
• 11, light 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ squares
• 42 large, striped right triangles
• Make 21 half square triangles (HST)
• Draw a line diagonally across the wrong side of each light 10 1/4″x 10 1/4″ square
• Align one light square atop one dark square with right sides together
• Sew 1/4″ to each side of the drawn line
• Cut on line to make 2 HST
• Iron seam allowances open.
• Cut each HST in half diagonally, perpendicular to the seam to make 2 right triangles each (mirror images of each other)
• Repeat process with remaining squares, but do not cut the last HST in half for 42 bi-colored large triangles.
• Sew one striped triangle to one bi-colored triangle
• The striped triangles will be bigger than the bi-colored triangles.  I did this on purpose so that the cutting would be easier.  I found trimming after the weird blocks were made more accurate than trimming stretchy triangles.
• Align the triangles along the hypotenuse (the side opposite the right angle), with right sides together, pin!
• Sew along the hypotenuse to make one large square-ish shape. 
• Iron seam allowances towards the striped triangle.
• Trim to 9 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ square – be sure to keep the center of the square where the hypotenuse and the seam of the bi-colored triangle meet.
• Repeat with remaining triangles for 42 blocks.

Assemble Center of Quilt:

• Gather 42 Mountain blocks
• 21 right facing
• 21 left facing
• Arrange 7 rows of 6 blocks each
• 3 rows – left, right, left, right, left, right – notice how they make 3 striped peaks

• 4 rows – right, left, right, left, right, left –  only two striped peaks here

• Sew blocks together ironing seam allowances towards the left facing block
• Sew rows together
• It will help to keep your quilt square if you
• Pin the rows together, making sure that the seams from each row line up with the seams to the next.
• Sew the rows together with the white (sky fabric) on the top.  It is cut with the weave of the fabric and will not stretch as much as the edge of the striped mountains.
• Start with a right left right row
• Alternate rows
• End with a right left right row

Add Borders:

• Gather
• Center of quilt
• 7, 1 1/2″x wof (for inner border)
• 4, 4″ x 4″ corner stones
• Outer border strips
• Inner Borders
• Sew 2 sets of 2, 1 1/2″ strips together along the short side.
• Iron seam allowance open
• Attach to long sides of quilt top.
• Iron seam allowance toward the border.
• Trim excess.
• Sew remaining strips together, along the short sides, to make 2 pieces long enough to fit short ends of your quilt top.
• Attach to the short sides of quilt top.
• Iron seam allowances towards the border.
• Trim excess.
• Outer Borders
• Measure the sides of your quilt top – record below
• ________ top (short)
• ________ bottom (short)
• ________ left (long)
• ________ right (long)
• Cut 2 strips to fit the left and right sides as recorded above.
• Attach to quilt top
• Iron seam allowances towards the outer border
• Cut remaining strips to fit the top and bottom as recorded above.  (Remember you are going to add a corner stone in the next step…your strip will be shorter than the edge of your quilt at the moment.)
• Add corner stones to the ends of each strip.
• Iron seam allowances towards the strip.
• PIN strip to top, right sides together,  matching up seam at corner stones with seam of long borders.
• Sew in place.
• Iron seam allowances towards the outer border.
• Repeat process for bottom edge.

Your top will look something like this now.

Add Applique:

This is totally optional.  The mountains do not need the applique to be a finished quilt.  Look at the picture above.  I think the quilt would be perfect just like this.  However, I wanted to play with the fun characters in S’more Love. 

I found some wonderful drawings on Moda’s swatch pages for this line.   I cut and pasted and enlarged the images until I got what I wanted, then turned them into an applique. 

I added a little bit of dimension by adding an extra piece of batting between the appliqued pieces and the core of the quilt.  (This is an old technique called Trapunto)  I like the way it makes my cars and RVs pop.



Finish Quilt:  Layer and Quilt as desired.

A perfect spot to dream about the next camping trip – 63″x 72″ big enough to cover a camping cot, or the skinny pull out bed in your RV. 

I quilted mine in Vickie Malaski’s Animal Tracks pattern.

I’d love to see your quilts.  Please share a photo of your finished quilt with my group, Tops to Treasures on Flickr.

Cindy Sharp
{topstotreasures.blogspot.com}

Quilts with Stories

There is a story behind just about every quilt. Whether it’s the basic stuff like searching for the perfect binding fabric or the big stuff like the wedding quilt you made for your sorority sister or for your cousin who was diagnosed with cancer. The month of August will be dedicated to sharing the stories behind the quilts. We’d love to hear your stories, too, so feel free to link up below. This link party will be open all month long.

Live long and sew on,

 

E-Gadgets Bed Runner

Today on the Bake Shop I will be presenting a bed runner with pockets to store all your e-gadgets, such as iPads, iPhones, Tablets, laptops and Kindles. Using the Japanese themed fabrics of Kasuri, I created this very simple runner, based on a print pattern found in the collection.

The techniques used in this project are a combination of English Paper Piecing, Applique and piecing. English Paper Piecing (EPP) is a wonderful technique to construct complex pieced blocks or blocks with many ‘Y’ seams. The hand piecing makes it a great “On the Go” project to take anywhere.

The Runner for this project is designed for a Queen Size bed.

1 Layer Cake of Kasuri
3 yards Kasuri 32686-20 for background
3/4 yd fabric for binding
2 3/4 yards of backing fabric
Paper or medium weight, non woven interfacing
Sewline Glue stick
Applique Glue

Cut from the background fabric:

3 – 18 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ squares Piece A
2 – 24 1/2″  x WOF. Cut into 4 – 12 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ piece D (pockets)
10 – 3 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangles Piece B

From the Layer Cake cut:

54 – Template A
21 – Template B
28 – 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ squares Piece C

From the binding fabric cut:
8 – 2 1/2″ x WOF. Set aside 2 strips for the pocket binding.

Make the Stars
Templates A and B can be found in the PDF version of this pattern within this post.

Step 1:
Trace Template A onto your interfacing/paper. Cut out. Make 54.
Trace Template A onto the wrong size of the fabric. Cut out piece leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance around each piece. Make 54.

Step 2:
Press seam allowance over interfacing / paper and glue.

Step 3:

To make each star segment, whipstitch 3 –  Piece A right sides together in the following order, 1, 2 and 3. Don’t worry about the little tails at the ends. They will be covered by the appliqué circles.

Whipstitch pieces with right sides together from point to point using small stitches and matching thread.

Step 4: Join 3 segments together to form a half star. Repeat.

Step 5: Join both halves of the star together.

Step 6: Starch and Press. Gently remove papers/interfacing.

Make the Circles

Step 7: Trace Template B onto the wrong size of the fabric. Cut out piece leaving a 1/4″ seam allowance around each piece. Make 21.

Step 8: Sew a running stitch at edge of fabric circle. Starch, gather fabric and press. Make sure you smooth out the pleats around the edge of the circle.

Step 9: Gently remove papers/interfacing.

Step 10: Place a dab of glue on the wrong side of three circles and position one in the centre of each star.  Applique in place.

Hint: Use glue sparingly. You only need a small drop of applique to hold the piece. Don’t glue too near to the edges that you are stitching.

Making the background blocks

Step 11: Sew Piece C on each end of Piece B. Repeat 5 more times. Make 6 units.

Step 12: Sew units to Piece A. Make 3 finished blocks.

Step 13: Fold the finished block in 4 and press to find centre. Position the star so the widest measurement from point to point of the hexagon shape is aligned top to bottom.  Glue the star to the background block. Applique the star onto the background. Glue 6 circles on points of star and appliqué in place. Position the 4 circles on the edge of the block at least 1/4″ in to allow the adjoining sashing to be sewn to the block.

Make Sashing

Step 14: Sew 2 C Pieces together. Make 8 units.

Step 15: Sew finished units to Piece B. Make 4 finished blocks.

Assemble the Runner

Step 16: Sew sashing strips to the background blocks.

Step 17: Sew 1 – Piece D to each end of runner.

Quilting the runner

At this stage the runner and pockets are quilted and trimmed.

Step 18: Layer, baste and quilt the pieced runner and 2 x Piece D. (These remaining Piece D are the outside pockets)

Step 19: Trim quilted Pieces D to 12 1/2 x 24 ” and the runner 24″ x 90 1/2″

Sewing the pockets

Step 20: Cut 2 – 2 1/2″ x 24″ strips of binding fabric and make a folded binding.

Step 21: Sew binding to top of quilted Piece D.

Step 22: Lay Piece D, right side up, on edge of runner and baste 1/8″ around 3 sides leaving the binded edge open. Repeat for other side.

Step 23: Determine the width of the e-gadgets that will sit in the pockets. Mark the vertical and horizontal lines on the pocket and sew using a matching thread.

I have an iPad and iPhone to add to my pockets. I slipped the devices in the pocket and left a good margin around each and marked with a chalk pencil. For the iphone, I made the pocket divider shorter  so I could easily find the phone. The centre pocket will contain a space for my sketch book.

If devices are small and you don’t want them to be lost in the deep pockets, stitch an horizontal line.

Finishing the runner

Step 24: Bind the raw edges of the runner.

Hint: Slow down when sewing through the double layers of the pockets.

Finished size: 24″ x 90″ (Queen Size Runner)
Finished Block size 18″ x 24″

Jane Davidson
{quiltjane.blogspot.com}

A Simple Old-Fashioned Christmas Tree Skirt

Hello!  I’m liZ from over at Simple Simon and Company and I’m super excited to be here at the Moda Bake Shop today sharing a Christmas Tree Skirt pattern. 

When it comes to Christmas I’m always looking to the past…I love anything traditional, vintage, and old fashioned.  So when I saw the Historical Blenders line by Howard Marcus I knew I would have to use it for a Christmas project and a Christmas Tree Skirt seemed to fit the bill. 

Here’s what I did:

One Fat Quarter Bundle (I used Historical Blenders by Howard Marcus)

The first thing that you will need to do make this Christmas Tree Skirt is to print out the pattern pieces. You can download them here:  An Old Fashioned Christmas Tree Skirt Pattern.

Once you have them cut out and ready to go it’s time to…..

 You will need to cut out 8 of each piece. 
(I used a different, dark fabric piece for each of the large bottom triangles and then I choose 8 different light (or golden) fabric pieces to use for the long skinny triangle pieces.)

Next you will sew piece #2 to piece #3.  (Numbers are marked on each pattern piece.)
You will do this with right sides together and make sure to sew from the top down to the bottom.  (Starting at the small point of the large triangle and sewing down the entire side.)

Now…

 I do this by laying my ruler flush with the edge of my large triangle and cutting off small excess that you will have at the top.

Then…

 Now it’s time to sew piece #1 to pieces #2 and #3 that you just stitched together.
To do this again start at the top (with your light or golden pieces) and sewing with right sides together sew down the entire side of the triangle.  (Like in the photograph below.)

After they are sewn together you will have a little piece at the top that needs to be trimmed so….

Now repeat that process with the other 7 sets of pattern pieces.
Once you are done you are ready to…

Do this with rights sides together. 
When you have all 8 pieces sewn together stop!  Do not close the circle!  (Meaning do not sew piece 1 to piece 8 and you go around the Christmas Tree Skirt.)  You will need an opening to wrap your skirt around the base of your tree.

All you have let to do now is to back and bind your skirt in which ever method you prefer.
(For mine I made my own binding from 2 of the red colored fat quarters and for the backing I pieced together 6 of the remaining fat quarters.  It was easy!)

And you’re done!

One simple, old fashioned Christmas Tree Skirt.

-liZ
{Simple Simon and Company}

Apple Cinnamon Quilt

Hello this is Crystal Hendrix from Hendrixville to present you another tutorial. Here is a fun queen size quilt that would look good in any color combinations! I hope you enjoy! This version is perfectly lovely for Christmas in July.

3 Layer Cakes – Double Chocolate by 3 Sisters
1 yard Red 3840 32 (Border)
1 1/2 yards Brown 3835 41 (Border
9 3/8 yards Blue 4092 13 (Backing and Border)
  *Approximately 1 1/2 yards is used for the Border
1 1/4 yards Cream 3840 34 (Binding)

Warning: Everyone knows that when you get pregnant your brain does funny things…thus I have a pregnant brain and if something does not make sense please let me know and I will try my best to explain and help you all that I can!

This quilt is made up of a set of 56 blocks that is then surrounded by 4 different borders. At any time you can subtract a row or column of blocks or even a layer or two, but know that it will not then coordinate with the instructions below.

While sewing make sure that you use a 1/4″ seam line through out the whole quilt. 

Here is the cutting instructions for all 56 blocks:

	# per block	# total
Red:	4 – 2″x2″	224
Cream:	4 – 2″x6″	224
Brown:	1 – 4 3/8″x4 3/8″	56
Blue:	2 – 3 7/8″x3 7/8″	112- squares
	*cut each into a diagonal	224- diagonals

Cutting Instructions for Borders: (lengths of borders will be given below)

Border #1 

With blue fabric cut 7 strips of 4.5″xWOF. 

Border #2

With your layer cake pieces you will need to cut it into 4 pieces to create a charm piece (5×5″). You will need 68 charm pieces or 17 layer cake pieces. You can choose a random pattern or you can cut according to make a color coordinated pattern. You will use two sets of 15 (top and bottom) and two sets of 19 (left and right sides).

Border #3

With the red fabric cut 9 strips of 3.25″ x WOF.

Border #4

With brown fabric cut 10 strips of 5″ x WOF.

Now lets begin assembling our blocks. You will need to make a total of 56 blocks.

I like to lay out my blocks so I know what they are going to look like, so #1 lay how your block. This will help you get the desired look of your block and will allow you to make any color patterns that you would like (I did not use any pattern but did a random pattern).

#2 Pin two of your blue triangles to each side of your block. (Tip: fold your block into 4 so you can find your center mark – this allows you to line up your points easier). #3 Sew each triangle on to the sides and then press seam.

#4 Grab your other two diagonal blue pieces and #5 pin them to your block and then #6 sew them on and then press seam.

I like at this point to trim up my newly made squares, so that the next steps go easier. #7 trim your squares to measure 6 x 6″ (Tip: when trimming make sure that you measure a 1/4″ from the point of the brown square, this will allow your points to be lined up perfecting when adding the border pieces of the block). #8 Lay your block out now and then #9 sew the top, middle and bottom pieces together and press seams. I lay them back out afterwards to make sure that I did it right (believe it or not, I do mess up in this area more often than you would think).

#10 Now pin your pieces together (I like to do it at the seam lines, this allows it so that my seams all line up and match), sew and press. #11 Now trim your blocks to a 9 x 9″ block. (Please forgive this picture, when editing I though it was a picture of the finished block I was using – so imagine that this block has the border pieces on). #12 Finish making the other 55 blocks.

Now it’s time to assemble the quilt! When assembling my quilt top I did a random order, I just grab a block and added it. If you are doing a random order, this eliminates laying it all out and then labeling rows, but do whatever you desire. #13 Sew and press your 56 blocks into a 7×8 block pattern. So this is 7 rows of 8 blocks or 8 rows of 7 blocks. I sewed all the rows together and then added all the rows together. Make sure you press all your seams as you go.

#14 Now with our first border we will now sew together our 7 strips of blue to make 2 sets of 4.5 x 60″ and 2 sets if 4.5 x 76.5″. Now the shorter sets are sewn to the top and the longer sets are sewn to the sides. Press all seams.

For the second border we are using layer cake pieces that we cut into charm pieces. I did try to do a color pattern and it does line up properly but if you are going to do a random order feel free to do so. #15 Sew two sets of 15 charm pieces. The colors shown above is the color pattern I used. Just make sure that you keep your bottom and top separate as it will make a difference.

#16 Sew together 2 sets of 19 charm pieces. Once again these are the color patterns I used and again make sure you keep your left and right sides separate and labeled if you are using a color pattern.

You don’t have to use my color pattern but can create your own.

#17 Making sure that you have your sides separated, add the top and bottom first then your sides. I like to pin my charm sets the quilt top so I can line up my seams as well and make sure that I line up the border correctly.

#18 with your third border take your strips and make 2 sets of 3.25 x 77″ and 2 sets of 3.25 x 91.5″. Sew the shorter pieces to the top and the longer pieces to the sides of your quilt top. Make sure you press your seams.

Once again you can see that my editing skills are lacking. So we will continue on with #18 – but make it part b! With your fourth and final border make 2 sets of 5 x 82.5″ and 2 sets of 5 x 100.5″. Once again sew the shorter sets to the top and bottom and the longer pieces to the sides. Press your seams.

#19 Your quilt top is now finished! Baste, quilt and bind as desired!

When you are finished you will end up with a queen size quilt approximately 91″ x 100″. I consider this to be my modern take on this type of block quilt. Some may say otherwise but to me, it is more modern.

This will look amazing on the back of your couch that you can grab when you want to snuggle while watching a good movie or read a good book. It will also look amazing on your bed!

If you have any questions please let me know! I am fully aware that I am not perfect and appreciate any pointers that I made a “goof”. Enjoy!

Crystal Hendrix
{nmommy02(at)gmail(dot)com}
{hendrixville.blogspot.com}