Quilty Pleasures Blog

Growing a Garden…

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Denise Starck

…Quiltmaker’s Garden that is! In our March/April ’12 issue on newsstands and at quiltandsewshop.com now, we unveiled our 30th anniversary quilt.

Quiltmaker’s Garden

It’s a beauty and we just love it! QM’s editor-in-chief, June Dudley wanted something special to commemorate this milestone, so we decided to design a quilt that highlighted patterns from our past 30 years. Mind you, we work way ahead of when an issue actually arrives in your mailbox – we started this design in August 2011!

It was time to research! Each staff member has a full set of Quiltmaker issues for reference. Here’s the set that lives on my bookcase. You’d be surprised at how often we pull out old issues to look for something!

Quiltmaker Magazine Issues

Carolyn Beam, QM’s Creative Editor, and I combed through all of the old Quiltmaker issues to gather ideas for blocks that we could include in our yet-to-be-determined design. Here is a sampling of all the blocks we marked as possibilities.

Ideas! Ideas! Ideas!

One thing became clear: we definitely had a floral theme going on! The idea of a gazebo with all of these flower blocks growing up around it was our starting point. So with a simple sketch and a collection of blocks, I set off to start designing!

Preliminary Sketch

First, I drew up a gazebo design and began to fill in the spaces with the blocks we’d selected, making sure everything was based on the same grid size so that blocks and patches would fit together. This is an early version with a plain background and a lot fewer flowers.

Preliminary Design

There were many versions as I continued to rearrange, re-size, add, and delete elements to get to the finished design. A lot of input from fellow staff helped along the way. Finally, I also had to be sure you could actually sew what I had drawn on the computer – minor detail, you know!

Multiple renditions!

Once we had a final design, it was time to find some fabric. Carolyn and I dug into our scrap bins and sample fabrics to find just the right ones. See, our sewing room looks just as messy as yours at home!

Carolyn and Denise play with fabrics

We called upon our longtime home sewer, Peg Spradlin, who herself has been with Quiltmaker for over 20 years, to put together this quilt. She was the obvious choice given her history with us and the fact that she had sewn quite a few of the original quilts that this one was based on!

The March/April ’12 issue contains all of the materials needed, as well as instructions for the first of the five parts. We are very proud and excited about this series quilt and we hope that you enjoy sewing your own version.

Posted in 30th Anniversary, Carolyn Beam, Denise Starck, inspiration, June Dudley, Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Quilt Tops for Giveaway!

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Diane Harris

Our March/April issue features some beautiful color options, and today we’re hosting a giveaway for three of them. A new quilt top could be on its way to you shortly.

In case you’re not familiar with the idea of color options, for many patterns we create a second quilt top using completely different fabrics and colors. We hope this invites you to imagine the possibilities for that pattern—to consider how it would look if you chose a different color recipe. We show the color option in print, near the end of the pattern.

Here are some examples. The original quilt Around the Town is shown below.

Around the Town designed and made by Dawna Baker.

And here’s the color option made in fabrics from Everything But the Kitchen Sink by RJR Fabrics. We’ll give this one away!

Around Town color option in Everything But the Kitchen Sink fabrics from RJR fabrics.

Here’s the quilt from March/April called Calico Clockworks, made in Timeless Treasures fabrics.

Calico Clockworks designed by Susie Ennis and made by Donna Benham. Fabric: The Pixie Pops by Katie Plitt for Timeless Treasures.

And here’s the beautiful color option made from Covent Garden fabrics from Benartex. This one’s up for grabs too!

Calico Clothworks color option in Covent Garden fabrics from Benartex.

Kay Mackenzie‘s Petal Path is shown below in Memories of Provence fabrics by Monique Dillard for Maywood Studio.

Petal Path designed and made by Kay Mackenzie. Fabric: Memories of Provence by Monique Dillard for Maywood Studio.

And here’s the very different color option in Petal Pushers by Windham Fabrics. You could own this quilt top soon!

Petal Path color option in Petal Pushers fabrics from Windham Fabrics.

We’ll drawn for random winners from people who answer this question by midnight Friday, February 24: What’s your favorite project from the March/April ’12 issue of Quiltmaker and why? You can page through your issue or view the online table of contents. We’re anxious to hear your answers!

Posted in Giveaways, inspiration, Uncategorized | Tagged color options, giveaway, Giveaways, march/april '12, march/april 2012 | 801 Comments

QM Scrap Squad: Cathy’s Chain Reaction

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Diane Harris

The QM Scrap Squad is a select group of seven QM readers. They take one pattern from each regular issue of Quiltmaker and make their own scrappy versions to inspire you. QM scrap squadB3 QM Scrap Squad: Cathys Chain Reaction The featured quilt from the March/April issue is Chain Reaction, a design by Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced. Here’s the original quilt made in Pear Tree fabrics by Thomas Knauer for Andover.

downsizedchain QM Scrap Squad: Cathys Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction designed by Lee Heinrich. Fabric: Pear Tree by Thomas Knauer for Andover Fabrics. Appears in Quiltmaker March/April '12, No. 144.

Today’s featured Scrap Squad member is Cathy Buel from Clinton Township, Michigan. You’ll hear from Cathy in her own words below.

Cathy Buel

* * * * *

Is this cool or what? That is me in print below…Cathy Buel, part of the 2012 QM Scrap Squad. (Editor’s note: Can you tell this gal is excited to be part of the Scrap Squad?! We love it.)

When I first saw Chain Reaction, I thought “no way”…but as I read the directions I found it was going to be easier than I thought. You just need to pay close attention to your measurements.

I started by cutting out strips of 66 different red prints and 66 different blue prints. I found a background print I liked and cut patches for 66 blocks.

I made a few practice blocks. I learned a lot.

My measurements were off and the blocks didn’t match up.

I found I had to be very careful on my 30 degree cuts.

Once I got the hang of it my blocks were looking good and the quilt was coming together quickly. My rows were growing and it was time to choose my backing and binding fabrics.

I chose a floral for the backing and planned to use my background fabric for the binding.

After marking, I pin basted and quilted it on my domestic sewing machine.

I stitched in the ditch around the chains and then did a zig zag down the background in between the chains.

Here is my completed quilt. And BTW…my husband has already called dibs on this one.

The last thing I did was make the quilt label. I used my Hallmark Greeting Card software. I used a blank recipe card format, added a frame and inserted text. I ironed muslin onto freezer paper, cut it to 8 1/2″ x 11″ and put it in my inkjet printer. After printing, I set the ink with a hot dry iron. I’ve done this many times—the labels come out of the washing machine looking the same as when I first printed them.

For someone who first thought “no way,” she came through with flying colors, don’t you think?! I see a couple of smart things Cathy did.

• She made practice blocks. Great idea, especially on a technique you’re not completely familiar with. She worked out the kinks beforehand. Simple idea but brilliant!

• She used plenty of pins to baste. I often try to skimp on pins and the result is not good. Use enough safety pins and you’ll avoid lump, bumps, puffs and pains. If you don’t have enough pins, invest in another bag of them at the quilt shop. Well worth the money!

* * * * *

More Scrap Squad versions of Chain Reaction in the days to come!

Posted in Scrap Squad, Uncategorized | Tagged cathy buel, chain reaction, qm scrap squad, Scrap Squad | 7 Comments

Still More March/April Highlights

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Diane Harris

We focused on Sewing Beautiful Borders in the March/April ’12 issue of Quiltmaker. Hidden Treasure is a design by Carolyn Beam, QM’s Creative Editor, featuring an idea she’s been playing with for a long time.

treasureopt Still More March/April Highlights

Hidden Treasure designed and made by Carolyn Beam

She takes elements from the quilt center and uses them to create a border.

The result is a feeling of integration and continuity—Carolyn’s borders never look like an afterthought.

(By the way, this is one of the ideas Carolyn will touch on in her classes during Quiltmaker’s Block Party in Williamsburg, August 2–4. She’s a great teacher and you’ll learn a lot!)

QMMP 120400 SPETH 350 Still More March/April Highlights

Minnesota Homewarming, designed by Pat Speth

Another quilt featuring interesting borders in this issue is Minnesota Homewarming by Pat Speth. This quilt is actually made of mostly borders.

It’s an opportunity to enrich your piecing skills because each border must fit precisely with its neighbors.Wouldn’t that be a great project?!

If you have trouble making pieced borders work, you’ll want to read “A Perfect Fit,” an article I wrote for this issue. It gives helpful info on how to be sure your borders are the right size to fit your quilt center perfectly.

QMMP 120400 CALICO 350 Still More March/April Highlights

Calico Clothworks has been updated for this issue in Timeless Treasures fabrics.

Calico Clockworks is a classic QM pattern we’ve updated for this issue in fresh fabrics from Timeless Treasures. This quilt was presented in our very first issue, Spring/Summer ’82. Like all the quilts in that issue, the original quilt and piecing diagram were hand drawn.

The instructions gave templates for cutting out all of the patches with scissors and also called for set-in seams. Now we’ve simplified the block to use rotary cut patches; we’ve eliminated the set-in seams, too.

This quilt is a good example of extending a block design out into the borders.

* * * * *

I hope you’ll pick up this issue and spend some time looking over all it has to offer!

Posted in Diane Harris | Tagged borders, march/april '12, pat speth, quilt borders, Timeless Treasures | 4 Comments

QM Scrap Squad: Jackie’s Chain Reaction

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Diane Harris

The QM Scrap Squad is a select group of seven QM readers. They take one pattern from each regular issue of Quiltmaker and make their own scrappy versions to inspire you.

QM scrap squadB3 QM Scrap Squad: Jackies Chain Reaction The featured quilt from the March/April issue is Chain Reaction, a design by Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced. Here’s the original quilt made in Pear Tree fabrics by Thomas Knauer for Andover.

downsizedchain QM Scrap Squad: Jackies Chain Reaction

Chain Reaction designed by Lee Heinrich. Fabric: Pear Tree by Thomas Knauer for Andover Fabrics. Appears in Quiltmaker March/April '12, No. 144.

Today’s featured Scrap Squad member is Jackie Hughes from Spirit Lake, Idaho.

Jackie Hughes

You’ll hear from Jackie in her own words below.

I was a little nervous about the first scrap squad quilt. What if I hated the pattern? I needn’t have worried. I loved the design the moment I saw it.

The hardest part for me is deciding on a color scheme. I had several ideas and it was hard to narrow it down. I looked at my stash of 2 1/2″ strips. There was a definite majority of red and black and that’s how I made my final color choice. The two-color background was a fun accident. My original idea was a black background, but I considered white too. As I had both colors pulled out I tried them side by side and discovered I liked that effect.

I tried to make my fabrics varied. My reds were brighter and darker, some pinkish and some orangeish. My whites were small and large prints.

I found it awkward to cut the block, measuring in 1/2″ and then aligning the 30-degree mark on my ruler with the edge of my block, without moving from that 1/2″ mark. I don’t often use all those lines on my cutting mat but I discovered a great use for them this time.

I lined my block up with the markings on my mat so the corner of the block was 1/2″ away from the 30-degree line on my cutting mat. Then I knew exactly where my 1/2″ was and I could easily make sure my ruler was at the right angle, too.

When I had it sewn together and on my design wall for a final photo, it just didn’t seem complete to me. I felt it needed a border to finish it off.

I auditioned blue and yellow for an inner border but decided on a checked fabric. I fussy cut it to show exactly two squares in the border.

I had scraps left from making the quilt and wondered if I could somehow incorporate them into the border. I pinned them around to get an idea of my design and the spacing between them.I had 41 of these scraps and I didn’t really want to cut more. I figured nine on the top and bottom and 11 on the sides equals 40. Since these scraps were cut on an angle it was hard to figure out exactly where to measure and cut in order to piece them together.

I determined how far apart they should be and laid two on my cutting board that distance apart. Where the strips overlapped, I aligned my ruler with the edge of the top one, moved it over 1/2″ to allow for a seam allowance, pulled the top strip away and cut the bottom one.

I sewed these pieces together and added a 2″ strip of black on either side with a black square in each corner.

I made the top border and was nervous—would it be the right size? It was just a little large so I went back and resewed an extra one-eighth inch on each seam, then spaced them a tad closer for the bottom border.

Jackie's finished Chain Reaction

Quilting was a simple stipple in the background/border areas and outlining of the chains.

* * * * *

Another beautiful job by a new Scrap Squad member! Stay tuned for more reveals in the days to come.

Posted in Scrap Squad, Uncategorized | Tagged chain reaction, jackie hughes, Scrap Squad | 11 Comments

Be the Next Timeless Stitch Star

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Diane Harris

Our preferred fabric partner Timeless Treasures is running a design contest called Timeless Stitch Star. Could that Star be you?

1st Prize: $5,000 and a Horizon Memory Craft 7700QCP Sewing Machine by Janome, a $2,999.00 value.

2nd Prize: $1,000 and 20 yards of the newest fabric from Timeless Treasures.
3rd Prize: $750 and 20 yards of the newest fabric from Timeless Treasures.
People’s Choice Award: 20 yards of the newest fabric from Timeless Treasures.

That’s a lot of cash, a lot of sewing machine and a whole lot of Timeless Treasures fabric!

Categories include Quilts (max size 40″ x 40″, all styles welcome) and Lifestyle/Sewing Items such as garments, lamps, handbags and dolls. Let creativity be your guide!

One entry will be accepted per participant. Your entry must be an original design, not adapted from a published pattern.

Your project must by entirely made from fabrics from the Plume and/or Orange Crush collections plus coordinates from the Timeless Stitch Star Complements. Only a few are shown here—there are many more and they’re luscious! Follow the links to see the complete collections and the complements.

You must use at least two pieces of fabric from Plume or Orange Crush or one fabric from each collection. You may add as many other pieces from these two collections and the Stitch Star Complements as you wish. You may add embellishments.

Applications are due April 30. View complete rules and Stitch Star details.

We know that Quilty Pleasures readers have amazing design skills, so we hope many of you will enter. Good luck!

Posted in Contests | Tagged contest, contests, timeless stitch star, Timeless Treasures | Leave a comment

I Drank the Kool-Aid

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Diane Harris

To drink the Kool-Aid: a metaphor commonly used in the United States and Canada that refers to a person or group’s unquestioning belief in an ideology, argument, or philosophy without critical examination.

Rose Star block seen at mollyflanders.blogspot.com (used with permission)

It seemed harmless enough.

I wanted to start a new project to be sewn by hand.

And another from mollyflanders.blogspot.com (used with permission)

Plenty of people are doing the same thing—just look around the internet and you’ll see dozens of Rose Star Blocks.

Be still my heart! (used with permission from mollyflanders.blogspot.com)

I first saw them at mollyflanders.blogspot.com. Her color choices are fabulous!! All of the blocks above are by the blog author there. I think they’re amazing.

Clare, also known as selfsewn, who blogs at summerfete.blogspot.com, wrote a tutorial on the block and started a Rose Star Block Party on flickr, and from there it seems to have really taken off.

Three blocks by Frederick at orangeexplainsitall.blogspot.com (used with permission)

I was so attracted to their shapes and colors, the interplay of transparency and luminosity. I looked and looked at these blocks and I was completely seduced. Frederick at orangeexplainsitall.blogspot.com has posted many lovely blocks.

Another block by Frederick—the fussy cutting is wonderful! (used with permission)

I poked around on Flickr and found a generous quilter (Kreatives von mir) who was sharing a pdf of her draft. Perfect! I hit “print.”

This is a 3″ hexagon, not bad at all! Fits nicely on a letter-size sheet of cardstock. I’m getting excited. Let’s label and cut out the templates for English paper piecing.

Not bad at all, except…I push a pesky thought aside and pick out some fabrics. Oh so cute!! This is going to be great!

I pull together the supplies—not much is needed! Just neutral thread, a thimble (Clover’s are wonderful), a needle and scissors. This is going to be so portable!

Let’s get started. I pick up the center hexagon which is 3″ from tip to tip. Very user friendly.

View from the back

It turns out great!

View from the front

Now let’s start on the little kite shapes. I cover one with fabric. It’s a bit of a struggle. I hesitate.

I try again.

I sigh.

Third try.

Whimper.

I spread out all the little shapes and I am…overwhelmed!

There are so many of them!

They mated and multiplied while I was busy sewing.

Oh my gosh, there seem to be millions!

And they’re so tiny. Egads, my thumb practically covers one patch! Who thought of this? Am I nuts? Why would any sane person agree to do this?!

Seen on summerfete.blogspot.com, where you'll also find the tutorial (used with permission)

But then…I go back to those luscious photos, colors spilling all over themselves, fabrics playing tag, and polka dots singing the song of a siren, I tell you.

I take a deep breath and pick up my needle again. Because yes, I’m afraid I have already drunk the blessed patchwork Kool-Aid! Stay tuned!

Posted in Diane Harris, Uncategorized | Tagged rose star, rose star blocks | 6 Comments

QM Shorts: No-Mark Stitch & Flip

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Diane Harris

Today’s QM Short comes courtesy of Donna Amos, a member of the 2011 QM Scrap Squad. It’s a great tip and a real time saver! Donna lives in Decatur, Arkansas and blogged about her Scrap Squad experience.

Recently I had a large stack of rectangles (over 100) that called for using stitch-and-flip. I dislike marking all those squares and thought there had to be a faster way than drawing a line on each one. Here is what I came up with. (This will work with half-square triangles also.)

Here’s the rectangle with a square to be added. Cut a narrow strip of paper, lightweight cardboard (cereal box weight or file folder) or lightweight sandpaper like you see on the right above. I used cardboard.

Place the square on top of the rectangle, right sides together.

Lay the cardboard strip across the square, corner to corner. Cardboard should be a little longer than the distance from corner to corner.

Sew along the straight edge of the cardboard, holding the cardboard in place while sewing. Chain as many as you wish.

You’ll get a perfect diagonal seam.

Trim the seam allowance to ¼”.

Set the seam by pressing over the stitching and then flip the smaller patch open and press.

A perfect diagonal line without marking each square!

Many thanks to Donna Amos for sharing her photos and text with Quilty Pleasures. We really appreciate the great job she did.

Posted in Diane Harris, How-to, Uncategorized | Tagged donna amos, how to, stitch-and-flip | 35 Comments

Quiltmaker’s Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Peg

Peg Spradlin is responsible for making many of the quilts you see in QM’s pages. Peg has sewn for us and our sister publications for many years. She’s a master.

Homesewer Peg Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

Peg Spradlin

We asked Peg to share tips she found helpful as she created Quiltmaker’s Garden, the 30th anniversary commemorative quilt seen on the March/April ’12 cover.

Partial seams sound much worse than they are. I think people confuse them with set-in seams. You can sew partial seams, I promise. Follow Peg’s step-by-step below.

* * * * *

Petunia block

The Petunia and Sky blocks in Quiltmaker’s Garden feature partial seams, which can be tricky. If you make the partial seams too long or too short, sewing the final seam can be difficult.

Sky block

I found that the first partial seam in these blocks should end 1/2″ away from the edge of block A as shown in photo 1 below.

anniversary partial seam 1 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

partial seam 1- photo 1

Piece the next 2 units as regular length seams and press the seams away from block A (photo 2 below).

anniversary partial seam step2 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

photo 2

To attach the fourth and final unit, fold the first unit down as shown in photo 3 below.

anniversary partial seam step 3 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

photo 3

Then position unit 4 and sew a full seam (photo 4 below).

anniversary partial seam step 4 jpg 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

photo 4

The last seam can be the most difficult to position and sew because of the first partial seam, but following these steps and looking at the next pictures should help.

Align the edges of sections 1 and 4 and pin (photo 5 below).

anniversary partial seam step 5 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

photo 5

Sew the last seam, joining it with the first partial seam taken in step 1 (photo 6 below).

anniversary partial seam step 6 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

photo 6

The back of the block should look like this:

anniversary partial seam step 7 300x225 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

back of Petunia block

Remove the foundation papers before incorporating these blocks into the quilt.

* * * * *

QMMP 120400 garden 350 Quiltmakers Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

Quiltmaker's Garden, designed by Denise Starck and QM staff, made by Peg Spradlin. Part 1 of 5 appears in the March/April issue of Quiltmaker.

Posted in How-to, Uncategorized | Tagged how-to, partial seams, peg spradlin, quiltmaker's garden | 7 Comments

Quiltmaker March/April Highlights

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Diane Harris

We’re very excited about the March/April issue of Quiltmaker, in mailboxes, at shops and on newsstands now! With this issue we kick off our year-long 30th Anniversary Celebration. A few highlights you’ll want to see in this issue:

gardenoptimized1 Quiltmaker March/April Highlights

Quiltmaker's Garden is a 5-part series in celebration of our 30th anniversary.

• Quiltmaker’s Garden is a beautiful new series quilt featuring classic blocks from many past issues. Graphic Designer Denise Starck combed the QM archives for ideas and has put together a wonderful design. You can keep up easily since the quilt will be presented in five manageable parts! This quilt would be great for scraps.

• Quiltmaker’s Timeline and a feature called 30 Years of Fabric put quilty things in perspective. You may not remember a time before rotary cutting, foundation piecing, design software and blogging, but many of us do!

QMMP 120400 MEDALLION 350 Quiltmaker March/April Highlights

Around Town, designed and made by Dawna Baker from Graham, Washington

• “Sew Beautiful Borders” is this issue’s theme, and we have the quilts to prove it. Around Town (above) is one of three quilts featuring pieced borders. A Perfect Fit is a Skillbuilder article with 12 tips to help make pieced borders fit. This is part of our ongoing effort to help you build your quilting skills.

• Bunny Patch continues the adorable Patch Pals Collection. Wouldn’t this make a fun gift in the spring? It’s easy with just squares, half- and quarter-square triangles.

* * * * *

We’ll save the rest of this issue’s highlights for another post. See you then!

Posted in Diane Harris, Uncategorized | Tagged 144, march/april '12 | 2 Comments

Quilty Pleasures Blog

Growing a Garden…

Quilt Tops for Giveaway!

QM Scrap Squad: Cathy’s Chain Reaction

Still More March/April Highlights

QM Scrap Squad: Jackie’s Chain Reaction

Be the Next Timeless Stitch Star

I Drank the Kool-Aid

QM Shorts: No-Mark Stitch & Flip

Quiltmaker’s Garden: Partial Seams Made Easy

Quiltmaker March/April Highlights

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