Oh, My Stars! (& Garters)! + A FREE Video Class (with pattern purchase)

I love this quilt.  It's pretty wild, I know, but there are tons of reasons why it's special to me!

MSQC TUTORIAL: Log Cabin Tree ~ Quilted Tree Skirt!

At Home with Misty:  Log Cabin Tree Skirt Tutorial
Find the printed pattern at Missouri Star Quilt Company
Digital patterns are available at Quiltscapes
How fun is this?!?  Misty Doan has a new tutorial featuring my LOG CABIN TREE SKIRT pattern!  

Tsunami (A Giant "Storm at Sea")

Today, Jenny Doan and her daughter, Natalie are sharing a video tutorial to make a scrappy version of the Tsunami Quilt over at Missouri Star Quilt Company.  Have a look! Tsunami Tutorial

Oh, my goodness, they created a template!!  How fun is that?!?  Get your pattern and template HERE.

Tsunami (A Giant "Storm at Sea") Lap Quilt  
Printed Pattern and Template available at Missouri Star Quilt Company  
Digital Pattern is available at Quiltscapes  

New Pattern Release: CAT NAP!

Introducing my new pattern, "Cat Nap"!  

Shades of Summer

Here's a new version of one of my old favorites; Bloomin' Blossoms!  

Bloomin' Posies Lap Quilt, 68" x 68"

featuring Shades of Summer fabric by Heather Peterson for Riley Blake Designs.

These bold, pretty prints really lift my spirits.  

My Bloomin' Blossoms design really seemed to suit the range of fabrics.  These giant posies were designed to get the most out of a fat quarter and showcase the prints.  Partial-seam construction makes the petals blossom before your eyes in no time!  And these big, easy blocks make a good-sized lap quilt to wrap up in or have a picnic on the lawn.

I decided to add alternate applique' blocks to break up the super-sized fat quarter posies.  A couple of clever tools made quick work of the applique'.

A half-inch Clover bias tape maker was just the right tool to get nice, smooth curves.  A little spritz of starch and they held their shape until I could glue them to the quilt.

 Used my favorite technique for applique' -- blanket-stitch by machine.  It was nearly a disaster.

Made an emergency call to my friend Debbie to come and administer (socially distant) CPR to my machine.  Thank heaven for good friends who know stuff.

  Perfect.

Next, I decided to make yo-yos for the applique' flowers to give them a little dimension.  Plus they're a little softer than buttons for lounging around on a quilt.  Clover's Yo-Yo makers are another great tool!

Grandbaby helped.

Oh, that face!!  ♥♥

This quilt would have been a sample for a class I was to teach in a couple of weeks.  That retreat was postponed until next June, so I'll have plenty of time to get it quilted by then, I think.  Quilting my own quilts is a luxury these days, especially custom quilting, as my longarm business and my life is as busy as ever!  But, YAY for summer!  We had snow last week, and it seems like it has taken forever for summer to get here!

So, thanks to all my helpers who lent a hand to get this quilt top together!  And a big thanks to Riley Blake Designs for letting me showcase Heather Peterson's lovely Shades of Summer, released this month.  Search online or ask at your local quilt shop.  Many shops are now offering curbside pickup or delivery!  And you can find the Bloomin' Posies pattern at Quiltscapes' Etsy shop.



See more project ideas using these fabrics:
Jessica Dayon - Mama's Garden Quilt - Sunshine Pillow
Sunflower Seams:  Blakely Dress
Be Sew Inspired Etsy Shop Beach Day Doll Embroidery Pattern

Ch-ch-ch-changes...

So, as of December 28th, it appears that Craftsy reduced the number of quilt patterns available on their website from over 29,000 to around 2300!  With those odds, I guess I'm lucky that six of my 42 patterns were spared from the great purge; about 15%.  Here's my whole store.

What this means is, I'll probably need to ~

Craftsy Changes

Craftsy.com is making some changes!

I received notice last week that these changes may affect my Craftsy store.  Craftsy was acquired by NBC Universal back in May and they are re-vamping their website.  As a result, many patterns will be removed and stores closed.  My own daughter has a couple of sweet little patterns listed and her

Buckaroo Stars Quilt Pattern

Buckaroo Stars Quilt made by Deonn Stott, 50" x 62"
Featuring Boots & Spurs fabric by Samantha Walker for Riley Blake Designs

Yep.  It's a Horse Blanket.  Or a blanket with a horse on it, that is.  Or ahem, 'scuze me, a quilt.  The horse is based on a little line drawing my sister Janine sketches out as a signature.  And now the quilt is also a pattern, available on Quiltscapes' Etsy shop.  Big, simple blocks, quick to

Monday, Monday!

I've been playing with some fun fabric lately - the cutest little "laundry day" fabric designed by Jill Finley (Jillily Studio) for Penny Rose/Riley Blake Designs - Monday, Monday.  Love these colors and the little clothes hanging on the line.  Reminds me of when I was a little kid in the days before we had a dryer.

Sew Tiny!

Thanks to all who visited Quiltscapes on the Small, smaller, smallest blog hop, hosted by Carol @ JustLetMeQuilt!  I so enjoyed hopping from blog to blog, such creativity and inspiration!  You can find the entire collection HERE.

Congratulations to Martina @ Sunshine Quilting who was drawn as my winner of a Sew Tiny lanyard pattern + swivel hook, with an "Add-an-Eighth" ruler.  Your package is on the way to Switzerland! 

 

Also, I'm including a teensy little Swiss flag block to get you started!

Happy Quilting!

"Small, smaller, smallest"... A Blog Hop

Sew Tiny Lanyard Pattern

Hi, and welcome to Quiltscapes!  The quilts I make are becoming smaller.  Is it just me, or has this happened to you, too?  When I first dabbled in quilting, I made quilts for everyone in my family.  King size, queen size, no matter that they dragged on the floor around the kids' beds.  Once those were made and everyone's beds were all covered, I thought, what now?  I was hooked and wanted to make more!

The Road to Heber Valley, Utah! "Road Home" Row-Along

Hello, and welcome to my stop along the "Road Home" Row-Along Blog Tour!

I'm happy to join 40 other wonderful quiltmakers and bloggers to give a little glimpse of our "Road Home" and share our patterns on this hop.

Owl Always Love You

"Owl Always Love You" 44" x 54" Wall Hanging/crib size quilt.  Now available:  PATTERNS & KITS 

A Sweet Sunbonnet Sue Needle Keep with Penny Rose Wool!

Welcome to my stop on the Penny Rose Wool L♥ve Blog Tour!  I am thrilled to share my little project today!

I've been wanting to re-do a little needle-keep I found stashed behind the drawer of an old treadle sewing machine cabinet my husband purchased a couple of years ago.  It's a tiny little 4" x 5" Susie.  

Among the BEST of the BEST! (& a giveaway!)

Quiltmaker magazine just released a brand new collection of Reader Favorites, a special collector's edition of 22 patterns selected from the past 33 years of publications.  Including this sweet little baby!  

Originally published in Quiltmaker May/June 2014 (& featured on the cover), my little Sheep Shape quilt pattern makes a new appearance as one of Quiltmaker's top 5 reader favorite kids' quilts, amazing!

Fancy Finishes: Ric-Rac!

Here's a quick and fancy finish in the simplest way possible... using Ric-Rac!  

Today's tutorial is sponsored by Riley Blake Designs featuring fabrics from their new line by Zoe Pearn, Summer Song 2 and a few of my favorite notions they call Sew Together.

RBD's 1-1/2"-wide Jumbo Ric-Rac is my favorite for a quick finish - I think it resembles scallops without all the effort!  

"Simple Sadie" pattern

This "Simple Sadie" is the perfect quick quilt (8 seams, total!!)  Collect some large-print fabric that is just too cute to cut, add a border, then embellish with Ric-Rac or other notions instead of binding!  

Supplies: 

This fabric is so adorable, even the selvages are just too cute!!

1-1/4 yards main print; (Summer Song 2 collection by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Designs)
   Cut:  1 @ 34 x 42" rectangle, 4 @ 5" squares
5/8 yard border print;
   Cut:  2 @ 5" x 34" strips, 2 @ 5" x 42" strips
1-1/2 yards backing  (RBD Gingham or Swiss Dots)
1/3 yard binding (optional) OR 6 yards Jumbo Teal Ric-Rac
48" x 58" batting  
GLUE STICK!  (a few, maybe!)
Removable fabric marking pen
I also added a little Hot Pink gathered gros-grain ribbon (6 yards) at the seamlines (do that before adding the ric-rac).  Simple cuteness.  

Here are a couple of samples I made to see how much of the ric-rac I wanted to reveal.  If you line up the edge of the jumbo ric-rac with the raw edge of the quilt then take 1/4" seam, you get windows! ↓↓

I love it, but couldn't figure out how to get the corners decent.  So I opted for the scallop look.  Whatever is laid out on the quilt body, that's what will show, minus the seam allowance, once the seam is sewn.

Instructions:
Cut out fabrics as indicated.  Stitch side borders to quilt center.  Stitch 5" squares to each end of the top and bottom border.  Match seams and sew top and bottom borders to the quilt.  If adding gathered ribbon trim to the seamlines, use a glue stick to position, then machine-stitch right down the center.  It is also helpful if you have pressed your seams open.

Mark each corner of the quilt top with a removable marking instrument to indicate the 1/4" stitching lines.  I like my Frixion gel pens, with heat-removable ink.

Cut ric-rac to fit each side with a bit of overlap. Use a glue stick or pins to position the ric-rac in just the right place.  Remember, what you lay out on the body of the quilt is what will be flipped to the outside edge once the seam is sewn, so be careful to keep that inside corner free of trim.  

Careful to keep the inside corner free. 

Stitch to baste the ric-rac in place with a scant 1/4" seam allowance.

Now, to get that no-binding finish--the Knife-Edge or Envelope Finish.  This technique works best on small projects, crib-size or smaller.

1)  First, lay out the backing with quilt top right sides together and pin.

2)  Stitch all the way around the perimeter of the quilt, using 1/4" seam allowance (from the edge of the quilt top, not including the ric-rac).   Leave an 8- to 10-inch opening on one side for turning.  Trim the backing if necessary.  

3)  Next, place quilt, top side down, over a piece of batting, about 3" longer and wider than the quilt.  I like Hobbs' Polydown for a comfy baby quilt.  Gives a little extra pouf.  Pin through all three layers.

Stitch along the same stitching lines used to sew the top and backing together.  Pivot at the corners and leave the same opening.

Trim the batting to about 1" from the stitches.  Clip the corners or try turning the corners using my No-Clip Corner technique.

4)  Turn the quilt right side out through the opening.

5)  Hand-stitch the opening closed.

Now with all the outside edges completely finished, the quilt is ready to tie, tack or "quilt as desired", How do you think I should quilt it?  By machine?  Big stitch with perle cotton?  Should I tie it?  I want this to be a snuggly soft quilt, so the quilting will be minimal.  The batting label will indicate how far apart the quilting can be.

"Simple Sadie" 43" x 53" baby quilt
featuring Summer Song 2 by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake Designs,
and Sew Together notions.

Back to Ric-Rac! Looking through pictures, I realized that I've used ric-rac in quite a few of my projects!  Not just the Jumbo stuff, but others in the same family - the 3/4" small, and the 1" gathered gros-grain ribbon that gives a ric-racky appearance.  More ways to fancify!

This sweet Bloomin' Posy topper also features coordinating 3/4" ric-rac.

Tried to set my serpentine stitch (darning stitch) to apply the small ric-rac.  Worked pretty well with a stitch length of 2.5 and a width of 5.0.  Or you can just stitch a straight line down the middle.

Small ric-rac accent

Jumbo ric-rac makes a quick finish on this PJ pillow.  And more gathered ribbon for the purse handle.

Jumbo ric-rac alaso makes great flower stems!  In both the "Sheep Shape" quilt and the "Hexagarden" below, after basting in place, I used an edge-stitch to sew down each side of the stems.

.

Hope you enjoyed this little Fancy Finishes tutorial and showcase of a few of my favorite things!