Quilting my way through life!

Applique quilt projects, Hot Tips, My Life, New Pattern Sample, Suzn Quilts Patterns

Applique for the really lazy quilter…

September 19, 2013 suznquilts

I’m curious, when you make fusible applique and the pattern tells you to trace 3 or 6 or 15 of an applique shape, do you really do that???

Do you trace any shape more than once?

If so, my next question is “Why?”

It occurred to me several years ago that I’m lazy & I like to get things done quickly so I can move onto the next project.

What occurred to me later is that not everyone thinks like I do. (Thank goodness!!!)

I never, never, NEVER trace a shape more than once, and I really don’t like to trace it even once.

How slow, boring and a waste of time!

When I have more than one of the same shape to cut out,

I fetch my bolt of Wonder Under.

Next, I calculate what I need.

If the object is about 6″ square (I’ve added about 1/4″ all around the object) and I need 6 of them, I will cut a 6″ x 36″ piece(s) of fusible web.

Since Wonder Under is only about 17″ wide, I need more than 1.

I also cut a 6″ strip of the fabric I’m going to use.

Next, I fuse the Wonder Under to the back of the fabric aligning the edges.

If I need to piece the Wonder Under, I just butt the edges together.

It doesn’t show if you have nice straight lines cut of the Wonder Under.

Let the piece cool,

then remove the paper backing by scoring it with a pin & pulling it off.

Next, cut the “fused slab” into however many of the size shapes you need.

It is CRITICAL that you stack up the pieces all the same way, fabric to fusible web

NOT fusible web to fusible web.

If you cut out your shape that way,

you will have one nice double-sided object.

You will most probably NEVER get those two shapes apart again.

Ask me how I know!!!

On the other hand, if you need a right and a left (reversed) object,

I recommend leaving the paper on and stacking paper to paper

then cut out the shape and you’ll have mirror objects, both cut at once!

Voila!

6 jacks with one fast cutting with my rotary cutter and rotating mat!

One more tidbit of info…

If your pattern is already reversed for you as in my

Suzn Quilts’ Patterns,

you will need to pay attention to which side you lay the pattern on before you cut it.

You don’t want to accidentally cut out the shape in reverse.

When I’m working on a new pattern like this one,

I don’t reverse the shape until I put it into pattern form,

so I put the shape on the fabric side of the stack.

If the shape is reversed for you, just put the pattern on the fusible web side of the stack, then cut.

By the way, this new design that I’m working on also has 7 big circles.

You may say I can’t cut out circles with my rotary cutter…

but I just did!

The key,

hold the ruler tightly down on the stack,

holding it right at the edge where you need to cut.

You’ll need to keep all the layers tightly held together and cut smoothly.

When you stop to re-grip, leave the cutter in place.

Yes, I have a circle cutter, but for this instance, this is quicker.

Steady hand and close to the ruler!

Any questions?

Until next time,

Susan

new fabric collection, New ideas, Suzn Quilts Vintage Play fabric collection, Vintage Play quilts by Susan Marth

New Bed, New Quilt…of course!

August 20, 2013 suznquilts

I moseyed over to my favorite flea market last week to mark the first day of school.

It’s usually what I do when there’s a ringing in my ears because the house is just too darn quiet!

Ever get that?

I know, I had lots to catch up on and lots more to do, but…

some things just can’t be helped!

I hadn’t been there in over a month, not exactly sure just how long really.

Well, I came out with just a few treasures, least of which a new bed!

I didn’t even know I needed a bed.

That’s my favorite part of going to flea markets, and tag sales.

I never know what I need until I see it!!!

Well this bed could practically fit into my back pocket.

Instantly I knew I would have to make a quilt for it.

Actually as soon as I saw it on the shelf I knew that I had the perfect idea of a quilt for it.

I already had these:

Ordinarily these would go right to the trash as soon as I trimmed them from the flying geese units, but for some reason after I had a neat little pile of them I got the idea that maybe this is the quilt that I will actually make something with those snippets.

The eternal optimist.

So, as I trimmed each flying geese unit for this particular quilt last week, I put all the little pairs of triangles into a baggie.

Last night I emptied that baggie and started sewing.

Girl on a mission.

Some of them could have been trimmed a bit straighter, a bit larger…

That’s an inch grid marked there, so they’re pretty small to say the least!

This morning I cut them apart then pressed them open.

It was hard to do, but I ignored the inconsistencies of sizes.

I did not square them up.

That was tough, but I knew if they were trimmed perfectly square I would have to throw a lot of them away.

I wanted this to be as large as possible

and literally scraps from making the original quilt.

I next sewed all the tiny half square triangles together,

added a border,

did some quilting,

then slipped a selvage tag into the edge before finishing the binding.

At 8″ x 10″ I’m pretty sure it’s the quickest I’ve ever hand stitched a binding in place.

Now I must get back to work!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Susan Marth fabric collection, Suzn Quilts Vintage Play fabric collection, Vintage Children quilt fabrics collection

Introducing “Vintage Play.” My first Fabric Collection!

August 13, 2013August 13, 2013 suznquilts

At the beginning of the year I told you here that 2013 was going to be a fun year for me

and not just because 13 is my favorite number!

Along with new patterns & books and traveling to new & exciting places,

I’ve designed my first fabric collection!

It’s called “Vintage Play” and it is being produced by Red Rooster Fabrics.

(cute little handmade truck was found in an antique store while we were in Astoria, OR this spring after quilt market)

It has taken a year to get where we are with the collection.

The folks at Red Rooster have been great to work with!

My yardage to create samples came a couple of weeks ago.

It’s not every day that I receive packages from Korea.

Pretty exciting happening…

This is where they first landed on my garage floor.

I called my mom and told her she needed to come down. She hopped in her car without even knowing why she should come…better than Christmas morning!

I made the first sample in record time,

These are all the pieces for the top.

My quilter stayed up all night to quilt it so it could be shipped to New York for photography. Tamara, you’re awesome, thanks!!!

The collection has 19 pieces and I used all but one for the quilt.

Fun!

The free pattern will be available to shops later this month.

I can’t wait for you to see it.

This is where they now reside as I take turns cutting pieces off of each one to make my new pattern samples.

Neat & tidy, just like soldiers.

Wait until I get pressed for time, they won’t look so neat & tidy then…

These are the pieces for sample #2.

The blocks are sewn, and waiting for borders to appear,

but for now they must wait.

School starts Thursday and I have more important things to attend to.

Come Thursday morning when the bus pulls away though,

I’m all about “Vintage Play!”

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Rocky Mountain Sew Expo Denver, Suzn Quilts Patterns, Vendor at trade show

Where have I been and what have I been doing?

August 5, 2013 suznquilts

Well, let me tell you…

First of all it’s summer.

Need I say more?

Our house seems to have a revolving door.

As one leaves another is coming home. I never know how many to cook for. If I cook for three, there will be five, and vice versa.

I’m constantly shopping for food, yet there’s “never anything to eat around here.”

David’s garden is supplying lots of tomatoes, my personal favorite! There are also cucumbers, black berries, green beans, zucchini (yuk!) and we’ll eventually have pumpkins, cantaloupe & watermelon.

Our trip to the Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo in Colorado was fantastic.

We met so many nice people.

If you’re one of them, thanks for coming out to see us!

My Cobblestone Courtyard class was great.

Liz, Joan, Birdie, Opal & Nancy,

thanks for being so prepared for the class and for being such good participants.

It’s been almost four weeks. Are those quilts done yet?

Don’t make me come back there!!!

(Actually I’d love to!)

Booth set-up was a breeze with my helpers…

OK, it took all afternoon & most of the evening.

By the end of the night all we wanted was Chinese food delivered to our room,

but I think the booth looked great!

We were able to display so many quilts.

The Merchandise Mart in Denver was very nice & so was the staff of Rusty Barn Shows.

Daisy Baby Buggy captured many hearts..

Pumpkins in the Patch & Bunnies in the Grass were popular too.

We sold lots of my Ginger Bliss pattern.

I explained my Quilt-as-you-go technique at least a million times!

And of course, my “A Pretty Package” quilt pattern was our best-seller for the week!

Have you made one yet?

If you haven’t, you should. Everyone else is making one!

We met so many nice people offering advice of where we should go and what we should see while we were in Colorado.

One evening we drove to St. Mary’s glacier

then ate at Beau Jo’s Pizza in Idaho Springs.

Fantastic pizza!

The next night we drove to Mount Evans.

At 14,265 feet, it is the highest paved road in North America.

Also, according to Clare, one of the scariest roads in North America..

It was getting pretty late for dinner that night so we decided if we could make it to Beau Jo’s in time we would eat there again.

We ended up eating there three times!!!

We weren’t sure with the wildfires & then mud slides what might hinder the rest of our sightseeing.

We were able to go up Pike’s Peak on the cog Railway.

That was fun and interesting too.

I used the panoramic option on my phone for this photo. How cool is that? I’m impressed that I remembered to use that setting while we were there and not a couple of days later…

Spectacular view from 14, 110 ft.

We also saw the Garden of the gods close by.

The last day we ventured over to Breckenridge to eat at Daylight Donuts!

Have you had their donuts?

Worth the trip!

I found this in a vintage shop.

Can’t wait to show you my next post & what’s in store for this little gem…

Something pretty exciting there!

I’ll end with this,

hanging at McDonald’s in Hayes, Kansas on our way home.

I don’t think I’ve seen any quilts at McDonald’s previous to this…

How smart of them to encase it in glass.

It would not look good with ketchup or mustard on it!

I hope you enjoyed seeing our Rocky Mountain Sewing Expo & side adventures.

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, Preemie Charity Quilts, Suzn Quilts for Charity

Do you sew for Charities?

June 28, 2013June 28, 2013 suznquilts

Once in a while I slow down enough to realize I should sew a quilt for someone in need.

There are so many good causes to sew for.

Our guild has a regular list for charities and what size quilts they have a need for.

While going through my stash a couple of weeks ago for a guild yard sale,

I came across a panel that was too cute,

but the reason that I bought it had expired and I no longer “needed” it.

When I examined it, I determined that the four individual squares that made up the panel would make very cute preemie quilt centers.

I put it into a pile for future sewing adventures…

Last night I was in between projects and I decided to cut those cute panel squares apart and start to work.

My daughter, Chloe, was home and not doing much, so I asked her if she wanted to join the fun.

She said, “Sure.”

I gave her the opportunity to cut or sew and she chose to sew, so I began to cut…

They went together quickly and turned out so cute (if I must say so myself!).

I didn’t go to sleep until the last stitch of the last binding was complete.

They’re each 18″ square.

(I called our charity chairperson to get the exact measurement requirements.)

They will go to our next guild meeting and from there to one of the St. Louis children’s hospitals where hopefully each one will give a preemie’s parent a little comfort knowing their tiny baby is covered in a quilt we made with love!

Got scraps?

That’s all you need to make a quilt!

Until next time,

Susan

My Life, New Christmas Quilt Patterns, Quilt Market

International Quilt Market – Portland, OR

June 26, 2013 suznquilts

I’ve finally made time to show you a bit of Spring International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon last month.

This is Chloe & me in our booth.

Our neighbors were

Celine of Perkins Dry goods.

Susan & Karen of The Quilt Branch,

and Robin of Nestlings by Robin.

Portland is beautiful.This is a view from the Portland City Grill where we were having dinner one evening after market.

Here is Robin with Chloe and me.

It was literally cloudy/rainy every day we were there until

Monday after market closed and we stayed to do a bit of sight-seeing.

Talk about good fortune!

In Astoria, we ate at Pig ‘n Pancake (cute name huh?),

crossed into Washington on a really tall bridge,

then did some antiquing and vintage shopping.

I bought a few things for fall market that I could pack into our suitcases.

I’ll show you those another day.

Good thing we sold most all the patterns & books we brought!

This is a cool old tile floor in the huge antique store that appeared to be a hotel among other things in its previous lives.

We had lunch at Baked Alaska out on a pier, not something we can do everyday back in the Midwest…

Then we ventured down the coast to the beach.

It was sunny, but not warm enough to swim…

We shopped for souvenirs and found the quilt shop that I remembered from a previous visit to Oregon with my brother, David.

We had a beautiful trip back to Portland through two national forests.

The next morning we got up early and headed to Multnoma Falls before our flight.

I love how the smoke was wafting out of the gift shop.

It reminded me of the story of Hansel & Gretel!

More than once Chloe thanked me for making her pack a jacket!

Always a mom…

I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of our travels.

Oregon is beautiful!

If you get the opportunity to visit, I highly recommend it.

Until next time,

Susan

Finishing up a quilt project, New Pattern Sample, New Quilt Book, New Quilt pattern sample, Quilt Market, Suzn Quilts Patterns

New book, A Christmas Sampler

June 15, 2013June 11, 2013 suznquilts

Now for my new book!

This is my new Christmas Sampler that is written as a 12 step block-of-the-month.

I love this pattern and it is only $20!

I sold out of these at market last month!

Do I need to tell you that it is made with Deb Strain’s Christmas Countdown by Moda?

There is applique and piecing and the instructions are broken down into 12 steps so you won’t be overwhelmed.

If you’re like me you’ll just want to jump right in & stitch this sampler as quickly as humanly possible,

but I know there are a lot of quilters out there that like the option for quilt shops to cut kits for them in the block-of-the-month fashion.

Each step is printed on its own page(s) that are perforated for easy tearing out and each applique step has full-size, reversed templates ready to trace.

The last step has detailed illustrations and instructions for sewing all of the completed segments together to make the finished top

and the last page is devoted to kitting instructions for quilt shops.

The back cover features another version of the quilt.

I chose the fabrics for this sample from my stash.

It has a more primitive or country feel.

I also left off the outer border; partly so you could see how it still looks good smaller,

but most importantly because I want to hang it in my kitchen for Christmas on the hanger my late father-in-law built for me

and this is the perfect size!

The quilt features more holly buttons by Just Another Button Company on the mints like on my Peppermint Pizzazz pattern

and the holly berries and snowflakes are actually more Hillcreek buttons.

Have I enticed you yet???

I hope that I have.

If your local quilt shop doesn’t have them, all my books and patterns are available on my website.

I had a lot of fun piecing both color versions

and I enjoyed going back the last couple of months with you remembering my sewing journey!

Thanks for following.

Until next time,

Susan

New Pattern Sample, New quilt pattern, Quilt Market, Suzn Quilts Patterns

New pattern #4, Cobblestone Courtyard

June 14, 2013June 11, 2013 suznquilts

Today’s new pattern is Cobblestone Courtyard.

It is made with exactly 1 jelly roll (40, 2-1/2″ strips) and

1/2 yard of binding fabric plus the backing & batting.

I’m always challenged to create ways to use those clever pre-cuts.

It is just so much fun!

You can of course cut your own 2-1/2″ strips,

but who doesn’t have one of those luscious jelly rolls sitting in their sewing room that was just too tempting to pass up?

The beauty of this quilt is

if you make it with that precious jelly roll, you’ll be able to display this quilt anywhere and be able to enjoy it forever!

Another fun tidbit about using a jelly roll is that most of the cutting is done for you.

You truly can make this quilt in 1 day including the hand work on the binding.

The jelly roll that I bought for this quilt is the new PB&J collection.

It’s not too bright and not too dark either.

Below is another version, with guess what fabrics???

It coordinated with my market booth.

You can purchase the pattern on my website.

I’m scheduled to teach this quilt in Denver on July 10, 2013

at the Rocky Mountain Sew Expo.

Think about those jelly rolls that you might have stacked up in your sewing room and come join the class.

My new book is next.

Until next time,

Susan

New Pattern Sample, New quilt pattern, New Quilt pattern sample, Quilt Market, Suzn Quilts Patterns

Yes, another post & another new pattern!

June 13, 2013June 11, 2013 suznquilts

Today’s new pattern is Peppermint Stripes.

A bit redundant, I know…

It’s made with Deb Strain’s Christmas Countdown…

It’s a quilt-as-you-go lap quilt…

It has more cute peppermints…

The pattern includes not only the lap quilt, but also a table runner…

What more can I say???

I’m a creature of habit, I know already!

It is however the first time that I’ve added a flange to a quilt.

In case it’s hard to tell,

I added the flange (piping without the cording) of green before adding the binding.

This is because I wanted to use black binding, but I didn’t want the black binding to fade into the black fabric of the quilt.

Pretty clever, huh?

I know, not that clever.

Two more patterns,

then my new favorite book!

Until next time,

Susan

New quilt pattern, New Quilt pattern sample, Quick Little Projects, Quilt Market, Suzn Quilts Patterns

Another new Pattern, Peppermint Pizzazz

June 12, 2013June 11, 2013 suznquilts

I know, you don’t hear from me in 2 months, and now it’s 2 posts in 2 days!

Well, I have 4 new patterns and a new book, so I plan to show you all of them here before I get too busy again.

So, this is new pattern #2, Peppermint Pizzazz.

It is also made with Deb Strain’s Christmas Countdown fabrics by Moda.

I didn’t think to add that info in yesterday’s post, sorry.

The fabrics should be shipping to your local quilt shop any day.

I love this pattern.

It includes a 30″ square quilt & a 13″ octagonal quilt.

The holly on the 4 peppermints are actually buttons by Just Another Button Company.

They’re perfect for setting off the mints I think.

Once all the pieces are cut it’s just fun sewing, like building a puzzle.

These will look great on a table top, lining a Christmas basket or hanging on a wall & they’re small enough to make as gifts.

More to come tomorrow!

Until next time,

Susan