Announcing June's Jelly Roll Sew Along

Hello everyone!
Next week I am starting another FREE sew along project!
The Pre-cut of choice we will use this time is a Jelly Roll.
(40 strips of assorted prints 2.5" wide x WOF)

Or..for all of you savvy STASH BUSTERS out there - haul out your fabric bins and stay tuned, this is also a great Scrap Quilt project.

This month's project is not a real Mystery Quilt.
The Quilt we are making is called Willow Weave.
I created a beautiful "updated" basket weave design
based on an old traditional pattern.
It's super fast & simple with a lovely surprise twist.
The finished size is 60" x 72" but you can certainly make this smaller or larger.

The Sew along for June is Beginner Friendly.
Just one easy block with no matching seams in it.
Arrangement tricks make this a quick yet complex looking quilt.
Seriously, how is this for an easy block layout....

And the material list is simple too here is what you need:
* 1 Jelly Roll
* 1-3/4 yards of background fabric
* 1/2 yard of binding fabric

Instructions will be posted once a week on Wednesdays - beginning next week on June 5th. I will add a weekly Link UP at the bottom of each post for participants. If you'd like us to visit - add your blog link once you post your progress.

I've provided a Sew Along button and my blog link if you'd like to grab them from my sidebar for your blog. (additionally you will need batting and backing appropriate to the finished size of your quilt top)

every quilt tells a story....

May's Mystery Quilt Finish

Happy to share my finished quilt top! I had to lay it in my foyer and stand at the top of the stairs to get the whole top in the picture. I would like to thank everyone that participated in my little Mystery sew-along as well as those that cheered us on!

I called this quilt Easy Summer Breeze because the pattern I created reminded me of Box Kites darting in the sky on a Summer Breeze.

If you didn't participate in the sew-along but wish to make the quilt later on - please share pictures on your blog. I'd love to see them. I only ask that you do not copy my pattern instructions to distribute them without my consent.

I am hosting another FREE sew-along in June however it won't exactly be a Mystery quilt.
The Pre-cut of choice we will use this time is a Jelly Roll. (40 strips of assorted prints 2.5" wide x WOF) The quilt is perfect for a first time quilter. (it's much easier to make than May's Mystery project)

Here is the Jelly roll I'll be using called Cornucopia by Artisan Batiks.

Stay tuned.... I'll have ALL the details for you on Friday!
Meanwhile - if you have finished your Mystery Quilt (or made further progress on it) and would like to share, please add your blog link below:

Scrap Basket Sunday

I decided to post my Scrap Basket Sunday progress a day early due to the holiday weekend!
Here is my completed Hexi Star for this week:

I created it using the pink fabric scraps left over from my civil war Jane block K-13 Brandon's Star.

Wishing you all safe travels if you are out and about this weekend and a Happy Memorial Day!

every quilt tells a story...

Dear Jane news - Prayers & Love for Brenda

As a quilter I can honestly say that NO quilt has ever affected me as profoundly as the Jane Stickle quilt - completed back in 1863.
And I have Brenda Papadakis to thank for introducing me to this amazing quilt and it's skillfully talented quilter.
Completing this quilt was not just a feat of accomplishment for me - it was also a journey of discipline and self discovery.

All this made possible thru a book of patterns that Brenda published 17 years ago titled DEAR JANE.
Since it's origination - Dear Jane has been embraced by quilters around the world and this year there have been numerous global celebrations and events honoring the 150th Anniversary of the original Jane Stickle quilt.

Last night, Brenda's beloved husband passed away. It is with much love and admiration for Brenda and appreciation to her selfless dedication to preserving our quilting past that I ask you to please keep her and her family in your hearts and prayers during this very difficult time of loss!

every quilt tells a story....

Layer Cake Mystery Quilt - week 4

This week our pattern will be revealed as we sew our blocks into rows.
Next week our quilt tops will be completed!

By now you should have 2 piles of blocks.... 21 4patches and 21 sets of flying geese.

I would like for you to choose 9 more sets of geese and turn those into 4 patch blocks like the ones you made last week.

Now you should have a total of 12 sets of geese and 30 4patch blocks to make your quilt.

There are LOTS of pictures attached to this weeks instructions.
(click on any of the pictures if you wish to enlarge them).
The design is created by sewing 4 simple row patterns... A,B,C and D.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN SEWING YOUR ROWS TOGETHER - arrange/audition them first in an order that is pleasing to you.
Once you have the quilt laid out to your liking - then begin sewing.

You will need a total of (3) A rows and (2) each of rows B,C and D.

Let's begin with the assembly instructions for each of the rows.

Now Row B:

And here are rows A + B together:

Row C assembly:

Row D assembly:

Here are rows C + D together:

Once you have each of your ROW units sewn you will begin assembling your quilt by sewing your A+B rows together and your C+D rows together. You will have (1) row A section left over. This will be the final row of your quilt.

Continue assembling your row units into pairs following this order:
* row 1 = row units A+B
* row 2 = row units C+D
* row 3 = row units A+B
* row 4 = row units C+D
* row 5 = row unit A

It's important to keep your row units paired in this order to create the secondary background design of "Waves or Streaks of lightning" that emerge as you sew this top together. Here is an example of all 5 row units laid out on my flannel wall:

Next week you will sew your 5 final rows together and we will share picture links of our finished quilt tops.

If you are sewing this quilt and would like to share your progress this week, please link up your blog below.

every quilt tells a story...

How to use Linky....once you click the blue link below you will enter your blog name in the first box (title) enter your blog address code in the html link box. enter your name in the last box

Scrap Basket Sunday

Another rainy Spring weekend here in northern Va. A perfect opportunity for me to sit and work on another hexie star block for Scrap Basket Sunday. I love the pink civil war reproduction fabric I used to make this one.

This hexie star was sewn using the scraps left over from a Dear Jane block I made called Old Windmill. It's one of my favorite little Dear Jane blocks.

I'm looking forward to the long holiday weekend starting next Friday. It will give me time to work on several more of these sweet little stars.

May all of your scraps be Treasures!

every quilt tells a story...

Layer Cake Mystery Quilt - week #3

Here are the instructions for this weeks Mystery Quilt assignment.
First, you will pull out one of your SETS of triangle squares.
You will have 4 EACH of 2 different fabric squares.

Lay them out as shown in the picture below.
2 pairs will have the layer cake prints in the center forming the shape of an arrow head or giant flying geese design. The darker fabric is on the LEFT....the lighter fabric is on the RIGHT. (this will be a positive goose)

The next 2 pairs will have the background fabric in the center creating the arrowhead or flying geese design. Now the fabrics are reversed... dark is on RIGHT, light is on LEFT. (this will be a negative goose)
Sew these pairs pressing toward the darker fabric (or fabric #1)

Next you will create a 4 Patch block using 1 each of the positive and negative flying geese you made.

Stack the other 2 geese from the set and put them aside.

Repeat the steps above with the rest of your triangle block sets.
As you sew, stack your finished 4 Patch blocks together in one pile and your flying geese pairs in another.

That's all for this week!
Next week we will have 9 quick blocks to sew and begin assembling our rows. Finally the pattern will be revealed!

Think you already know how this quilt turns out ????
I hope my pattern finds you pleasantly surprised!

If you plan on sharing your Mystery Quilt progress on your blog this week please click on the blog link below

How to use Linky....once you click the blue link below you will enter your blog name in the first box (title) enter your blog address code in the html link box. enter your name in the last box

Scrap Basket Sunday - Happy Mother's Day

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
I hope all the Mom's out there are enjoying this special day.
I have 3 completed hexie stars to share this week for Scrap Basket Sunday.

Made from scraps I had left over from these Dear Jane blocks:

Here is my progress to date on these:

Wishing you all a Happy & Productive week!

every quilt tells a story...

Mystery Quilt for May - week #2

Each Wednesday during the month of May I will post another step in creating our 1,2,3 Layer Cake Mystery quilt. If you missed my first post with all the details you can find it HERE.

This is the assignment for week #2: You will be cutting, pressing and squaring all of your block pieces for the quilt.

Place one of your sewn layer cake pairs onto your cutting mat. Using a long ruler or other straight edge as a guide - cut the square set across the diagonal. Without moving your pieces - align your ruler to the opposite side and cut once again on the diagonal.

You will now have 4 subcut Half Square Triangle sections from this square set.

Keep all 4 of these grouped together - this will now become a SET of HST units. Continue to cut and stack your sets of HST units.

Once you are finished cutting your sets from the layer cake pairs you will press them open.

Here you can see all of my HST sets pressed open.

I would like you to pull out one or 2 of your Sets.
Measure each of the HST squares.
OK...in a perfect world, these squares should measure 6-3/4".
But I don't quilt in a perfect world.... and I obsessively steam press all of my blocks. Because the fabrics are not prewashed the steam tends to shrink the fabrics up a tiny bit. The majority of my blocks measure 6-5/8". And one measured closer to 6-1/2".

What ever the smallest average measure is - that is what you will want to square ALL of your HST blocks to. So I went ahead and squared up each of my HST's to 6-1/2".

As you trim your squares down - remember to keep them stacked together in those important Sets.

Once you've squared up your HST units you will begin to group all of your SETS into pairs. You should have 8 HST squares in each of these new PAIR SETS. (4 each of 2 fabric prints)

I started grouping mine - (1)light and (1)dark set into pairs. After I ran out of light fabrics I grouped the rest into sets of contrasting pairs. If your layer cake is all in medium tones, dark tones, all blues etc. then just choose to pair sets together that have nice contrast between them.

TIP: If you are using 6 or less fabric prints - you should keep all fabric #1 sets grouped with fabric #2 sets and all fabric #3 sets grouped with fabric #4 sets, etc. This will be important later on to keep a consistent scrappy look to your quilt.

That's All Folk's!
Next week you will begin sewing your block units together.

If you plan on sharing your Mystery Quilt progress on your blog this week please click on the blog link below. This way we can loop everyone together for Show & Tell.

If you don't have a blog, but would like to share a weekly photo - please send them to me via email with "Mystery quilt" in the subject heading.

every quilt tells a story...

How to use Linky....once you click the blue link below you will enter your blog name in the first box (title)
enter your blog address code in the html link box.
enter your name in the last box