Tag: Moda Fabrics

A Giveaway!, Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt-Along

Are You Gathering Supplies For Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt-Along Challenge?

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It’s less than 3 weeks until the start of my

Dresden Quilt Workshop Quilt-Along

…..Challenge…..

Are you getting ready?

I have some friends that are anxious to start.

Are you?

If you already have your fabrics you could start now by spraying

& ironing all of them with Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

If you look in Dresden Quilt Workshop, pages 9 & 12,

you’ll see why I love it & how I use it.

Next, if you’re using the same fabrics as I did, Jen Kingwell’s Circulus & Lollies Sweet,

(I still have a limited number of fabric kits available on my website)

I suggest you cut a 3″ strip of each of the stripe fabrics.

I did this when I started my quilt and then hung each of them by a tiny hanger so that I could see each of the stripe prints.

I didn’t want to keep using the same print over & over and neglect others.

There are 48 different stripes!

I just happen to have these tiny hangers on the notions page of my website.

I’m all about having fun while I quilt… and a little bit of organization goes a long way!

That should keep you busy for a while

& you’ll become more familiar with all of your fabrics too.

And, you’ll be able to use the 3″ strips in your final border,

so don’t think it’s a waste of fabric.

It’s a win-win!!! Trust me!

And now, would you like to participate in a give-away?

A fabric give-away?

A Moda Fabric give-away?

These are fat 1/8’s (9″ x  22″).

The very talented Lissa Alexander of Moda sent these for me to share with you!

It’s Jen Kingwell’s newest line, Looking Forward, by Moda Fabrics.

Perhaps you’d like to add to this bundle & make a Dresden Quilt Workshop sampler with us?

To be eligible for a chance to win the fat 1/8 bundle,

go to the top of this page

& leave a comment answering one of the reasons or ways that I use Mary Ellen’s Best Press.

(Remember I mentioned above that the info is on pages 9 & 12 in Dresden Quilt Workshop.)

If you don’t have a copy of the book, go get one!

They’re on my website if you local shop doesn’t have them.

I will give you time to comment

at the top of this page!

The drawing will be next week, Wednesday morning.

Go gather!

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

A Quilt Along, Dresden Plate Quilt, new fabric collection, New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

Coming Soon… Dresden Quilt Workshop Sampler…Quilt-Along!

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For months I’ve been harboring these.

Patiently they’ve been waiting since early December of last year.

Life even gets in the way of bolts & bolts of beautiful fabric sometimes.

But now they’ve been opened

& united with their intended.

Hanging out in good company.

They’ve been cut, readying to find new homes

in hope to also one day be sewn into pretty little Dresden plate quilts.

Meet Dresden Quilt Workshop Sampler:

My very first Quilt-Along!

I designed this quilt using a bit of

each of the 13 quilts featured in my new book,

Dresden Quilt Workshop.

Do you have yours yet?

If not, it’s time to head to your favorite quilt shop & get your copy today

(or tomorrow).

Stay posted for all the details right here.

If your local shop isn’t selling the books you can find them

along with my Tiny & Mini Dresden Templates

& now the exclusive Dresden Quilt Workshop Sampler fabric kits too

all right here on my website!

Get ready to

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

 

 

Dresden Plate Quilt, New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #13

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New Pattern #13

is God Bless This HOME.

I started with some green fabric, some perle cotton thread & a Tiny Dresden plate.

With so many options though

come so many opportunities to second guess myself!

& third guess…

When photographing a finished quilt for a pattern cover it makes all the difference in the world sometimes.

As I started stitching I knew the thread color wasn’t right.

What looks good in person, doesn’t always show well in a photograph,

that’s why I’m constantly taking pics to discern my progress.

But maybe the addition of the fused letters would help?

I finished the embroidery even though I was pretty sure this wasn’t “it”.

Maybe changing the Tiny Dresden plate fabric would help.

Or not.

The letters needed to be darker, so I started with my pigma pen.

It helped the letters, but not enough to suit me.

Perhaps another Tiny Dresden plate color would help?

Nope!

I started over using black perle cotton thread.

Much better!

At this point I wasn’t sure if the orphaned Tiny Dresden plate was “it”

or if I just thought it was so I wouldn’t have to make another…

It was “it”.

This one is just too dark.

I don’t remember why, but I made a new plate.

I think I toyed with the idea of making the center dark instead of cream.

And then there were half-square triangles.

Just right!

Meet God Bless This HOME.

Such a long story for not so big a quilt

which by the way is available on my website.

Just 1 more new quilt pattern to show you.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dresden Plate Quilt, new quilt patterns

New Patterns Spring 2018, #12

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New Pattern #12

is BOO.

It’s another (even smaller) little quilt that I made 2 years ago

& has been hanging out in my sewing room among other stuff I was working on or pondering…

It’s so small that I don’t have a lot of “in progress” photos of it either.

Make a “B”, make 2 Tiny Dresden plates & you’re almost done!

Fetch your Thangles & make a handful of little half-square triangles & that’s pretty much it.

Next, pin it onto your dress form & let it collect dust for a couple of years while you work on lots of other stuff.

It was pretty content there, but once I decided it was being made into a pattern this spring

it got moved to a more prominent place.

Just not terribly well photographed…

Meet BOO!

1 B, 2 TD’s & a handful of hst’s & you’re done!

& guess what?

It’s on my website too!

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

 

New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #11

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New Pattern #11

is My Little Dresden Garden.

It’s another product of the Tiny Dresden/Jelly Roll experiment of January 2018.

Scientific, no. Fun, yes!

After I finished the original intent of the Tiny Dresden plates, Dresden Sundaes,

I had many more half Dresden plates left over.

For the first quilt (there are 3 quilts in this pattern)

I chose some of the red half plates with at least 2 pairs left and used them for the flowers.

These were drying on my kitchen table under the ceiling fan

after I wet them to remove the center paper templates.

Now what background fabric?

Cream withe dots? Black?

Then which green?

Too blue, too dark…

I had to go shopping for “greens”.

Better!

And now which cream background???

I think I got it.

Now to add leaves.

Looking good…

Do I need some grass too?

Nope!

They’re cute just as they are (which is exactly how I designed them).

Why do I waste so much time second guessing myself???

Quilt #2…

Need something in the middle?

Nope! But a cute thought…

With the help of my little pony (LOL.. not sure why Jody had a horse in her quilt shop),

but she ordered the whole New Hope collection,

so, lucky me I was able to go there & choose between all of the reds for my bindings.

BTW, she still had quite a bit of New Hope left when I was there last week, 40%off!

Finally I decided to make the last quilt that was in my head

& in my computer that I designed for the pattern.

It’s soooo little, just 6″ wide,

but soooo cute!

Meet My Little Dresden Garden.

3 quilts, 1 pattern.

All with Tiny Dresden plates.

All on my website.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

 

 

 

 

Dresden Plate Quilt, New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #8

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New Pattern #8

is Dresden Sundaes.

It’s my favorite new pattern.

It uses my Tiny Dresden Template.

You’ve seen bits of it here & there on my blog.

It uses Jo Morton’s New Hope Collection by Moda.

It started with my challenge to cut & sew as many Tiny Dresden petals as possible from a jelly roll.

That was fun, but not necessary for the pattern!

After I made all of the petals, I sewed them into half plates

I worked on a lot of this quilt while on a quilt retreat.

Aren’t these scrumdiddlyumptious?

Who knew that was a real word??? Look it up!

Next, I went to work to design the bottom of the blocks.

First I needed to decide on a background fabric.

Ultimately the decision was made to go outside the collection to use a lighter fabric so the baskets would show up much better.

Choosing a center for each half plate was fun.

I have even more fun photographing them.

Can you tell?

I called these baskets from the start of the design.

HOWEVER… my sewing “Friends” (they look in-the-know, huh?)

told me they weren’t baskets, but instead sundae cups.

I got a lot done that weekend.

And so my sundaes grew…

Soon all of the “sundae” blocks were complete.

At this point I thought it needed one more element.

Since there were a few leftover petals…

I put a little bazinga in the corner.

I sewed the rows together.

If you’ve never pieced a quilt “on point”,

it’s just as easy to sew blocks together on point as in horizontal rows.

You just sew the triangles on like they’re another block.

And I always over-size the triangles a bit

so that you can trim them down after they’re sew onto the quilt.

When I finished the top I took if for show & tell at my guild.

Everyone there also saw sundaes so I named it Dresden Sundaes.

Meet Dresden Sundaes.

I’ll have you know that this was my best-selling pattern at spring market.

I’ll also have you know that almost every quilt shop owner that bought the pattern called it my “basket” quilt! Peer pressure…

There are instructions for scalloping the edge of the quilt

& also how to make and sew the bias binding.

Don’t let that scare you.

You can make the edges straight if you prefer.

I also designed this smaller, 8 block version for my pattern tester, Chris.

Perhaps it’s more appealing to you?

All the same pieces to cut & sew, just a lot fewer of them!

 Dresden Sundaes is available on my website.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

 

New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #7

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New Pattern #7

Love & Dresden Kisses.

This is a fun quilt to make!

Of course you can use just 1 red fabric, I however cannot!

Where is the fun in that?

Once I decided on the reds I needed a background.

It looks like at this point some straightening up was necessary.

I guess I couldn’t find a suitable background in my mess.

It must have been so bad that I needed to photograph it?

I do see shiny wood floor there…

It may or may not look the same today.

 

This little red star print by Minick & Simpson for Moda was the perfect choice.

It’s from their Snowfall Christmas collection last year.

Next I needed to decide if the reds would actually work.

And would the red plate show up on the charcoal background?

This red one will do.

And now that all the pieces are cut it’s time to sew.

At some point I decided it didn’t need the piano key inner border.

Probably when I decided I’d prefer to start working on Dresden petals instead.

Of course I took a pic of the petal pile!

This reminds me of a line from Madagascar, Lol..

A bit of pressing, turning, pressing and voila!
This is where according to my phone’s camera I took a hiatus
& we bought a new van.
12 1/2 years & 251,000 miles later.
It was time!
Notice it’s in the red family too.
Come to think if it, it’s the second “red” van that we’ve bought in February!
Weird!
I also took in an antique mall,
where I often tend to find my entertainment:
But then got back to work.
These quilts don’t design or sew themselves!
The cream dot in the center of the “O” makes me smile.
Meet Dresden Love & Kisses.
My friend, Loraine tested this pattern for me.
(if you find any mistakes that she didn’t it’s her fault.)
She also helped name it for me.
Thanks, Loraine!
A little bit of fusible web applique, a few X’s and a few O’s, but a lot of fun!
You guessed it, it’s on my website.
Just Keep Sewing…
Susan

 

 

 

New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #6

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New pattern #6

Star Bright.

I used the new Grunge Seeing Stars collection by Basic Grey for Moda on this quilt.

I showed you many of the steps of its creation back in March.

Tiny Dresden petals, yada, yada, yada…

The pretty petal pile…

Changing out a plate because of the lack of contrast with the center fabric…

Drying the plates…

Choosing just the right Sulky thread colors…

& the magical tiny blind hem stitch.

Then the stars…

& the leftovers of making the stars for the awesome “bonus” border!

The hardest part for me a lot of times is deciding a name for each quilt.

Meet Star Bright!

It’s like a rainbow in itself.

Yup, it’s on my website.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

Mini Dresden Patterns, New quilt pattern, Tiny Dresden quilts

New Patterns Spring 2018, #5

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New pattern #5 is

“Dresden Daisies”.

This is the only new pattern that uses both my Tiny Dresden and Mini Dresden templates.

I designed this quilt a while back.

I guess was waiting for just the right fabrics to put it together with.

The darker green fabric is from Jo Morton’s “New Hope” collection by Moda.

I’ve used plenty of half Dresden plates in my quilts, but for this one, since it’s going to be appliqued on top of the border and not sewn into it, I had to first press and glue the seam allowances under before adding the center.

To do this, I drew intersecting straight lines on my ironing board cover with an ultra fine Sharpie marker.

This allowed me to place the seam allowance on the vertical line, then press the seam allowances up to the horizontal line.

I’ve done this before with another quilt I was working on that had a lot of 6 1/2″ blocks. It’s a good way to quickly check accuracy before moving on.
Ironing board covers are not permanent.

For instance the one pictured is long gone!

Next I made the centers.

I only appliqued the full plates’ centers.

Since the edge of the half plates’ centers overhang the petals,

they would need to be appliqued down after they were on the border.

Before long, my daisy garden was complete!

Aren’t they sweet???

This is why I quilt.

I love the process!

Next step was to double check my green fabrics.

Then see if my piano key borders were working…

I noticed shadowing of the darker green fabric coming though my daisy petals, so I had to fix that by making a lining for each one.

That was easily done with my Olfa circle cutter and some plain white fabric.

(Instructions in the pattern)

Shadowing all gone!

Now to assemble the quilt.

Positioning, gluing & stitching the half Dresden plate daisies.

Adding the last border.

Putting it on the “to be quilted” pile I noticed how it lined up with the edge of “With All My Heart” and wondered if it needed another border…

“No!” I’m going small & less complicated!!!

But I liked that idea…

Meet Dresden Daisies.

Just 31 1/2″ x 31 1/2″!

Uncomplicated & cute…

They’re now available on my website.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan

My Life, New Pattern Sample

More Rainbow Progress

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Since I last posted,

I’ve spent more hours at my sewing machine

with my Grunge Seeing Stars fabric.

Remember the Tiny Dresden blocks?

They’re each now the center of a star block.

How appropriate that the fabric collection I chose for this design also has stars?

The sewing went quickly since I did all of the cutting at the beginning,

as shown to you earlier this week:

Here are all of the tiny Dresden blocks sewn into star blocks:

Do you like my colorful new rug (& cute booties)?

I couldn’t resist leaving them in the pic!

Next, I quickly added the pre-cut sashing.

Originally I designed a simple white border,

but while I sewed the star blocks,

the colorful stack of leftover corners

trimmed from the flying geese blocks

kept speaking to me!

I couldn’t resist using the leftover rainbow…

So, back to the computer I went

to see what kind of border I could make using the

8 half square triangles of each of the 16 star fabrics………….

This is what I decided on,

and quickly sewed BEFORE I CHANGED MY MIND!!!

The possibilities are practically endless, right?

This was a quick, painless & pretty clever addition to the quilt

(if I must say so myself, Lol)

and I feel good about using most all of those triangles!

I next cut the backing & batting,

then took it to my quilter, Tamara, yesterday so she can do her magic.

On to the next thing!

(which has been cooking for my family’s Easter breakfast & dinner)

I hope you’ve enjoyed my rainbow journey this week.

Hopefully the pattern (which remains nameless at this time) will be ready mid-May.

Just Keep Sewing…

Susan