Machine Pieced Clamshells

I've been busily working with a charm pack of Briar Rose by Heather Ross for Windham Fabrics and a newly introduced Sizzix die, the 4" clamshell.

I got it into my head that I was going to machine piece the clamshells rather than applique and while it was slow going and careful work, I am pleased with the results! I am turning this panel into a finished project and will be sharing it next month along with the full tutorial for sewing the clamshells together with step by step photos.

Don't you just love those little bees??

Pre Order!

I was so happy when Tacha Bruecher asked me to contribute to this book, Playful, Little Paper Pieced Projects.

So many of my paper piecing friends have projects in this book!  They include Ayumi (Pink Penguin), Kerry (Verykerryberry), Leila (Where the Orchids Grow), Penny (Sewtakeahike),Julianna (Sewing Under the Rainbow), Charise (Charise Creates)), Lynne (Lily's Quilts), Angela (Cut to Pieces), Joanna (ShapeMoth) and more.

You can read more about the book on the C&T Publishing website where the book is available for pre order. You can also find it on Amazon. The book won't be out till December of this year so there is still quite a wait! I look forward to flipping through it though!

Scoops of Love

I was contacted by the Northern Lights Quilt Guild from Lebanon, NH. One of their guild members, Sue Crate, has initiated the Scoops of Love program to cheer students entering the 1st and 2nd grade this fall.  I think it sounds like a fun and meaningful summer project for quilters. If you have any questions, please contact Sue at the email address above. 

Seahorse Skirt

 

School gets out next week and it's time to update Lily's wardrobe for summer!  I've noticed a sea horse trend in children's clothing this year.  My daughter is a big fan of sea creatures and has latched onto that trend so I decided to design this oceany summer skirt with a seahorse applique.



 

I used HeatNBond Lite for this applique which is available online right here.  I highly recommend it because the applique isn't stiff at all which makes it perfect for clothing that you want to drape. 

 

 My full tutorial is available on the Therm O Web blog today. 

X Marks the Spot

The arrangement of blocks in this finished quilt is an X so I am calling it X Marks the Spot for a lack of a better name! 

If you have been following along over the past couple of months, I have been sharing tutorials focusing on the Sizzix parallelogram die.

To see the tutorials for each block, click the links below:

Mini Series 1, Block 1 Enigma

Mini Series 1, Block 2 Bachelor's Puzzle

Mini Series 1, Block 3 Windmill Star

Mini Series 1, Block 4 Double Z

Mini Series 1, Block 5 Ribbons

When I last wrote about the quilt, I said that the blocks would be on point and in a modern layout.

 

First I decided on the placement of the 5 blocks.  I cut cornerstones using the 2 1/2" square die and sashing using the 2 1/2" strip die.  I cut the squares of background fabric to equal the finished size of the pieced blocks. 

After piecing, I turned the square on point to make an "X." (Sorry for the odd color but the sun was strong when I was working on this part!)

I added one more border with corner stones on the tips for a bit of added color.  This border finished the black sashing around each block too in order to really make the black pop.  I then free pieced the backing by cutting triangles a bit longer than each side of the square and piecing them together then squaring up the quilt top.

 

I quilted in a grid with my lines about 2" apart.

 

 

The backing is a length of black crosshatch pieced with a band of the background material in order to make it wide enough.  I used the peach colored fabric to make a scrappy binding.

 

 

My finished quilt measures 45" x 51 1/2".  The majority of fabrics used in the blocks for this quilt can be found at Sew Me A Song.  The backing fabric was from Marmalade Fabrics and the background fabric is from Fabric.com.

 

 

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this quilt along!





Saturday Sales

 

There are a couple of big sales happening this weekend that I wanted to let you know about.  Sew Me A Song is offering flat rate shipping of $2.75US/ $9.00 Canada/ $12.00 everywhere else good through Sunday June 9th. No minimum purchase required. Please put FLATRATE in Notes to Seller upon checkout. Refunds will be made to method of payment upon shipment. 



 

Above I am showing one of my favorite prints from Sew Me A Song, Carte Postale from the Live Life Collection for Yuwa of Japan.

 

Another one of my sponsors is cleaning house for new fabric deliveries.  Nearly two-thirds of the store is on sale up to 40% off at Marmalade Fabrics.  That's one big sale!

Luxe in Bloom Lone Star



I had the chance to play with another newly released Sizzix quilting die, the Sizzix Bigz XL 25" Die - Diamonds, 2 1/2" (2 3/4" x 6 1/2" Unfinished).  I've long admired Lone Star quilts so I decided to use a half yard bundle of Luxe in Bloom in the Greystone colorway as well as Kona Ash to make this lone star quilt measuring about 43 1/2" x 57." I was able to piece the star as well as the back of the quilt with the Luxe in Bloom using every scrap!  

To create a more modern variation of the lone star, I cut the right side of my star off so that the center of my star is not in the center of the quilt.

 

 

For the complete "how to" with step by step photographs, click over to the Sizzix blog.

 

I just received a new bundle of Sizzix quilting dies in the mail and can't wait to put them to use.  It's just so hard to find so much as a free minute at the end of the school year!