Month: December 2023

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 6

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I hope you enjoyed making a Dresden plate!

I love to make them, in case you haven’t noticed.

Thanks to those of you showing your 12 Days progress & also for those that commented on yesterday’s post for the Trinkets fat 1/4 bundle.

Kathryn Merrick is the winner of the Trinkets bundle.

Kathryn, please email your snail mail info so I can send you the bundle – SuznQuilts@aol.com.

On this 6th Day of Christmas, we’re going to make the letters to go with your Dresden “O”.

I used quick fusible web appliqué, but you can choose your favorite form of appliqué.

Click below to download the appliqué instructions for “HOME”.

dresdenhomeday6homeDownload

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Comment here what is your favorite form of appliqué. Mine is freezer paper machine appliqué in general, but for small things like these letters, fusible is easier.

I’ll be drawing for a prize! 

The prize today is a 2 pack of 45 mm rotary cutter blades!

Comment here before I post Day 7 homework tomorrow & you will be entered in a drawing to win these blades for your 45 mm rotary cutter.

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 5

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Are YOU working as hard on your Dresden Home as Emma has been to show it to you?

Thanks to those of you showing your 12 Days progress & also for those that commented on yesterday’s post for the 1/2 yd. bundle of blacks & creams.

Rita Herzberger is the winner of that bundle!

Rita, I hope you’re enjoying your trip!

Please email your snail mail info so I can send you the bundle – SuznQuilts@aol.com.

On this 5th Day of Christmas, we’re going to make my favorite, a Tiny Dresden!

This is another pic where Tamara’s quilting really shows up.

As I mentioned in the fabric list,

you could make this TD with 1 red fabric,

but that’s no fun!

3 is fun!

Tip for making FLAT Dresdens – make sure you’re sewing a scant 1/4″ seam THE ENTIRE length of the seam. When your seam allowance isn’t consistent, you’ll either have a “bowl” (because the center of your plate’s seams are too big) or a “mountain” (because the center of your plate’s seams are too small). If your plate isn’t flat, turn it over & examine the seams.

Another tip – spray & iron your fabrics with Mary Ellen’s Best Press. These are all bias edges & they’re being put through your machine over & over so it’s easy to distort them.

Have fun!

Click below to download the instructions to make a Tiny Dresden plate.

dresdenhomeday5tdinstDownload

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Comment here whether you like adding as many fabrics as you can to a quilt, like I do, or if you prefer a minimal pallet.

I’ll be drawing for a prize! 

The prize today is more fabric!

16 fat 1/4s of Trinkets by Kathy Hall for Andover Fabrics.

That’s 4 yards of fabric!

Comment here before I post Day 6 homework tomorrow & you will be entered in a drawing to win this fabric for your next quilt.

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 4

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This is the perfect time of year for just a little bit of sewing each day, don’t you agree?

Are YOU sewing with us?

I see a lot of you downloading the instructions, so show us your 12 Days progress! 

Emma & I are both excited about this quilt!

Every day I’m checking things off that list from the past two months & a bit of sewing is the perfect distraction from those tasks!

For me this year it’s writing these blog post instructions, not sewing since I sewed my Dresden Home quilt a few weeks ago so you could have a chance to choose fabrics ahead of time.

How’s that going? Brenda… lol

On this 4th Day of Christmas, we’re going to raise the roof & complete the house.

I like the way Tamara’s quilting really shows up on this pic.

Click below to download the instructions for the roof, chimney & house assembly.

dresdenhomeday4roofDownload

Show us your progress on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Sometimes I like sewing within a certain fabric collection;

I’m forced to use fewer fabrics = fewer decisions!

Other times I find that to be too limiting…

For this Dreden Home quilt for instance there was no green for the trees so I had to go outside the Tradewinds Collection by Renee Nanneman for them.

As a rule of thumb, the more fabrics I can add to a quilt, the happier I am!!! Take the Dresden “O” for instance. I’ve used 3, yes 3 reds!!!

Why, you ask???

Why not???

Typically I’m in need for more background fabrics for my quilts. I like to use more than one ususally, like I did for this quilt. That’s the most common reason to add fabrics to a collection.

Comment here whether you like choosing fabrics for a quilt or if you find that to be a daunting task!

I’ll be drawing for a prize! 

The prize today is some of my treasured cream & black fabrics.

There is 1/2 yd. each, 3 yds. total!

Comment here before I post Day 5 homework tomorrow & you will be entered in a drawing to win this yardage for your next quilt.

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 3

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I hope you have the 2 Tiny Tree blocks made becuase there’s some housework to do today.

On this 3rd Day of Christmas, we’re going to sew together the main body of the house with the 2 trees you’ve already made.

Be sure to use the cream HOUSE fabric for these pieces.

dresdenhomeday3buildhouseDownload

Show us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

– Be sure to post your progress –

for a chance to win prizes!

Just Keep Sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 2

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Did you get your first Tiny Tree made?

If you’ve not made one of my trees yet, they’re ridiculosly easy!

This short video shows just how easy it is to make the tops of all 3 sizes of my trees; Tiny, Little & Mini.

You can find all 3 sizes of templates here on my website.

Just add trunks & they’re done.

Day 2 you’ll just need to make 1 more Tiny Tree!

If you made yesterday’s tree there’s no need to print the PDF below again.

12days2023tinytreeDownload

Notice the background fabric in this tree block is again the HOUSE fabric. This tree will sit to the right or left of the door too and not as part of the “2024” block.

Show us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

Rhonda was first to show us her trees yesterday (yes, she made 2!) & won a free pattern of her choice!

Rhonda has chosen my A Merry Christmas to You pattern & so will receive it very soon.

– Now post your 2 Tiny Tree blocks –

for a chance to win a Suzn Quilts/Sewing With Susan pattern of your choice for free, either printed or PDF!

This time there will be a random drawing…

Just keep sewing,

Susan

A Giveaway!, A Quilt Along

12 Days of Christmas 2023; Day 1

suznquilts

I hope your Christmas was beautiful.

We had a very nice day with lots of cheer! 

David gifted me this beautiful, somewhat rare Tan Featherweight Sewing Machine!

I’m so excited to plug it in & sew, but I have lots to do before I can do that!

If you’re like me, you’re exhausted & need a nap,

& maybe not ready for a new start, but…

As the 3 Wise Men begin their journey, these 12 Days of Christmas,

I hope that you will join me (& Emma) in making my latest little quilt,

Dresden Home.

It’s the perfect post-Christmas project with just a tiny bit of sewing each day.

Day 1 you’ll just need to make 1 Tiny Tree!

So, pull out your Tiny Tree Template Set,

or use the template provided with the instructions in the PDF below.

12days2023tinytreeDownload

Notice the background fabric in this tree block is the HOUSE fabric. This tree will sit to the right or left of the door not as part of the “2024” block.

Show your us your finished blocks on my Sewing With Susan FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SewingWithSusan

The first to post their 2023 Day 1, Tiny Tree block there will win a Suzn Quilts/Sewing With Susan pattern of their choice for free, either printed or PDF!

Just keep sewing,

Susan

My Life

12 Days of Christmas 2023, My Dresden Home Revealed

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All of my previous 12 Days of Christmas quilt-alongs have been mysteries,

so this year I decided to switch it up.

If you prefer to be surprised delete this post! Lol

But who can resist this cuteness?

I made & completed the quilt with the help of my quilter, Tamara Lynn,

& I have it here for you to see with the help of my protege Emma!

With a cute house, a few trees & some signature Tiny Dresden plates (just 1 1/2!) this little 17″ x 26″ quilt will be fun to make for you or a friend.

Won’t it look cute on your front door welcoming guests all year!

I’m envisioning some embelishments here & there,

but I want you to make your Dresden Home your own.

I’m really looking forward to seeing all the variations you come up with

so let’s all go to my Facebook group, Sewing With Susan

& show our progress there, shall we?

Between now & December 26th, when the true 12 Days of Christmas & my quilt-along starts, you can make fabric choices & collect the supplies you’ll need including the plastic templates that I’ve used in case you want to get those as well.

Paper templates will be provided but the plastic templates are more fun & accurate to use.

If you want to use the fabrics I’ve used,

they’re Renee Nanneman’s Tradewinds collection by Andover fabrics.

Unfortunately Renee’s web store has just closed until the new year so that she & her hubby can get away for a few days, but if you have your heart set on them perhaps you can find them at your local quilt shop or another online shop.

Fabrics & Supplies

You’ll need 1/4 yd. of each fabric, fat or regular, except the brown you’ll need 1/3 yd.

-Grey fabric for background & transom

-Cream fabric for house & “HOME” background

-Cream fabric for “2024” background

-Red fabric for roof & chimney

-3 Red fabrics for Tiny Dresden plate (yes you could use 1 but that’s no fun!)

-Green fabric for trees (not Tradewinds, but also one of Renee’s greens)

-Floral fabric for “lawn”

-Blue fabric for “2024”

-Brown fabric for letters, door, tree trunks & binding.

You’ll also need:

-1/3 yd. fusible web

-Freezer paper

-Threads to either match or coordinate with appliqué fabrics.

Optional:

-Tiny Dresden plate template #216

-Tiny Tree Template Set #286

Let’s prepare for some fun!

There are sure to be some give-aways too!

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan