On the Design Wall This Week

Something a little more modern - just a few more rows to sew on & then find a fabric for backing.

Chevrons

A couple table runners from a charm pack of "Little Black Dress" by Moda - stunning fabrics, I wish I had some yardage of these!

Table runners

A iPad mini case for my landscaper son. I don't like the placement of the magnetic snap and the case is a little tight for use with the cover that comes with the iPad mini, but it should loosen up with use. I will try again as these little covers aren't that difficult to make!

iPad mini case

Sewing is probably going to take a bit of a backseat over the next couple weeks as we clean up from the winter and get the yard ready for spring and summer!

--Ann

Dresden Star Sunflower finished!

I finished my sunflower! And I didn't go to the fabric store, but used the piece of brown I had in my fabric stash!

Dresden Star Sunflower - FOR SALE

I quilted the brown centre with a pebble pattern in brown thread to resemble the seeds in the sunflower head. Then I changed to a yellow variegated thread and quilted the yellow petals, leaving the orange pieces to pop up off the quilted surface.

Swirling leaves in green thread finish the piece off and I quilted it more densely than I usually quilt, just to keep the amount of quilting fairly uniform throughout!

This was a fun little project to make - I will likely make it in a few more colorways in the future! What colors do you think I should try?

--Ann

Linking up here:
Quiltsy WIP and Whatnots
Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesday #88

Sunday Morning update

I love blogging and sharing my quilting adventures with all of you. When I get notified that someone has made a comment or when I check my stats and they've gone through the roof, I am thankful that my voice is not getting lost out there in cyberspace!

Image from http://holliinthewilds.blogspot.com

This morning I woke up to a comment from Holli. She linked up to her blogpost here about making a baby quilt from my tutorial. Her quilt looks awesome! She's a teacher and tells such great stories about her students.

Americanna Doll Quilt

And yesterday, I checked my blog stats (I only check once or twice a week) and they were through the roof! Favequilts.com has featured another one of my tutorials here. Thank you Favequilts!

--Ann

WIP Wednesday - April 17

I have this Dresden Star pattern from Laundry Basket Quilts along with the templates that go along with it and I've made the block once before here:

Dresden Star Mini Quilt

And when I first showed it, my cousin said something about it looking like a sunflower and so I thought I would try making it in some bright yellow, sunflowery colors!

Bright yellow and orange

I have a few more yellows and oranges in my fabric stash than I had a few short years ago. The bright colors are growing on me and I'm making more from them all the time.

Adding the star points

The star points are just a folded triangle, set into the seams of the more traditional Dresden plate.

Machine applique with decorative stitching

 The first time I made this pattern, I hand-stitched the Dresden plate onto the background. This time, I turned to my sewing machine, chose a decorative stitch, and stitched it on by machine.

So colorful!

 I love this muted green background - it really makes the yellow and orange pop!

Auditioning brown fabric for the center

I still don't have many browns in my stash of fabric, this was one I had that I like the best, but I think I may need to make a visit to a fabric store to find the exact piece I have in my mind.

Dresden Star Pattern

If you're looking for the pattern & templates, you can find them here at Laundry Basket Quilts.

Piecefully yours,
--Ann 

Linking up with:
Quiltsy WIP and Whatnots
The Needle and Thread Network WIP Wednesday #86

Double Four Patch Table Runner Tutorial

I've been making a few of these little quilted table runners in the last few weeks. They are quick, easy and you can use your scraps if you like!

You will need:
2 contrasting fabrics for the center small four-patches (each 1 strip 2.5" x WOF)
1 main feature fabric for the larger squares (one fat quarter)
and 1 contrasting fabric for the side triangles (one fat eighth)

Cut your fabrics

For your small center four patches, cut 12x light and 12x med-dark 2.5" squares from your 2.5" strips.
From your main feature fabric, cut 10x 4.5" squares.
From your contrasting fabric, cut 2x 7" squares.

7" squares cut twice on the diagonal

 Take your 7" squares and cut twice on the diagonals so you will have 8 triangles with the straight of grain along the long edge.

Arrange your pieces

 Arrange all your pieces and lay them out so you can see how it will look all together. Piece your four patches and press seams toward the darker fabric.

Sew your four patches

Sew blocks into rows

 Sew blocks together into rows (they will be diagonal) and press seams towards the main feature fabric. Put rows back in place as you finish them so you keep the layout the way you planned.

Sew rows together and press

And sew the rows together and press all seams in the same direction.

Layer with a thin, light-weight batting and quilt as desired!

--Ann