Day 4: Flower Favorites Blog Hop

Hello! We're back with Day 4 of our Flower Favorites blog hop. We're featuring blocks made with flower fabrics and/or blocks that are themselves flower-themed. We're excited to share these tutorials with you, and hope they'll inspire your next quilt, wall hanging, or table runner! 

Today, Jackie Robinson from Animas Quilts is sharing the overlapping star block that she used in her Blue Skies quilt--complete with a fussy-cut daisy in the center. These summery gold and deep blue prints are from her He Still Loves Me fabric collection--perfect for a quilt that will wrap you in sunshine (and daisies!) all year long. 

Here's Jackie:

Hi all, stars . . .  well, they are always wonderful. The star block I'm sharing today has fussy cut centers--lovely daisies from He Still Loves Me. 

While I love this block on its own, where it really shines is in my Blue Skies pattern, alternating with Courthouse Steps blocks and surrounded by the daisy border:

The star block uses these four fabrics from He Still Loves Me:

To make a block:

1. Cut a 4-1/4" square of light yellow and of navy into fourths, like an ‘X’.

 2.  Looking at the placement below, stitch a light yellow and a navy triangle together.  Make 4. Do NOT press --there's lots of bias going on and you'll stretch it.

3. Cut two 3-7/8" dark yellow squares. Cut each diagonally in half.

 4. Add a dark yellow triangle from Step 3to each of the Step 2 units. Make 4. Press gently. These units should measure 3-1/2" square from raw edge to raw edge.

5. Cut four 1" x 3-1/2" navy strips. Sew a 1" x 3-1/2" navy  strip to the navy side of the unit from Step 4. Make 4. Press gently. The units should now measure 3-1/2" x 4" from raw edge to raw edge.

6. Cut four 4" navy squares and fussy cut a daisy on one 3-1/2" square from the yellow daisy print. Using the units from Step 5 units plus these squares, assemble the block. Press gently. It measures 10-1/2" square from raw edge to raw edge.  

Here's an illustration of the block assembled:

And a photo of the actual fabric block again, this time surrounded by some Log Cabin variations and additional star blocks:

Find the kit for the full Blue Skies quilt here, and stop by Jackie's Facebook page for a sneak peek at her new collection, debuting this summer, Glorious Hummingbirds!

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of He Still Loves Me, leave a comment letting us know that you follow our blog (you can sign up via email or a blog reader in the right hand sidebar). For a second chance, follow us on Facebook and let us know that you do. Also, let us know what your favorite flower is. Giveaway is open through Wednesday, May 7 at 11:59 PM EST. 

Be sure to visit Sew in Love with Fabric each day this week for another inspiring 

flower block tutorial.

Don't miss the other tutorials featured in our Flower Favorites Blog Hop!

Day 1: Debby Kratovil from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring Fossil Ferns and Palm Springs

Day 2: Erica from Kitchen Table Quilting featuring Palm Springs

Day 3: Benartex Blog Design Team featuring Palazzo

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Blue Skies: Downloadable PDF pattern

It's March (finally!) and spring is around the corner (right?). 
We all need a little incentive to get to spring right now, and Jackie Robinson is providing it with a free pattern for Benartex blog readers--her Blue Skies quilt. 

The quilt uses her He Still Loves Me Collection (read more about it here), and those daisies and sunshine-y blue and gold hues are certainly a much-needed breath of fresh air! 

Here's Jackie!

I'm WILD about log cabin blocks, of any type.  The alternate blocks in the Blue Skies quilt are the courthouse steps variations of the traditional log cabin.
And stars . . .  well, they are always wonderful.  The larger ones have fussy cut centers of the lovely daisies from He Still Loves Me.

I had been tempted to call this quilt 'BIG SKY' as a nod to my Montana home, though I decided BLUE SKIES was a bit more generic, and they are certainly blue here! I hope you enjoy this free quilt pattern--it uses some of my favorite blocks and fabrics (including that daisy border!). 

Click here to download the pdf of Jackie's Blue Skies pattern. Printing directions: Print in landscape format, placing pages 2 and 7 on the back of 1 and 8,  and 4 and 5 on the back of 3 and 6. Fold. Instant pattern! 

I'd love to see your version of Blue Skies! Be sure to stop by my Facebook page, like it, and share a photo of your work.

Find the kit for Blue Skies here.
Learn more about Jackie here.

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Heart & Soul

 A big part of why quilters love quilting is because it's something we put a big piece of ourselves into--creativity, time, effort, and love. It's aptly fitting then, that this beauty is named "Heart & Soul," as that's exactly what goes into each quilt we make!

"Heart & Soul" designed by Mischele Hart;
featured in Quiltmaker January/February 2014

Mischele Hart designed this twin-size quilt for Quiltmaker magazine using Jackie Robinson's He Still Loves Me collection in the blue colorway. Keep reading to find out why she uses hearts in her design and how she came up with the unique border treatment!

What inspired this design?

This design idea began when I saw the artwork for the He Still Loves Me collection designed by my friend, Jackie Robinson. This collection is very appealing in a whimsical and romantic way.  The heart blocks in the design?  A natural!  Because my last name is Hart, I really have fun putting hearts in quilts in all sorts of ways.

How did you decide on the layout, working in the single hearts with the four-patch hearts?

The single heart blocks were an afterthought when I realized that I needed to fill in the spaces left after setting the large four-patch hearts on point.  They worked!  Whew.

The border is so unique! Why/how did you decide to do something like that?

I love, LOVE to design and play with Electric Quilt but usually don’t use the block library, preferring to draw my own blocks even if they are traditional blocks. I do my best thinking when drawing lines, deleting them, changing grids, trying different value combinations and so on. I try, in most quilts, to come up with a block I have never seen before.

A long time fan and student of Mary Ellen Hopkins, I like to use simple geometric shapes in new combinations to create something unique.  The simply pieced four-patch border block was devised when I was working on a way to visually create a weaving border in a diagonally set quilt. I love the border, too!

What do you like best about the He Still Loves Me fabric?

The He Still Loves Me collection is comprised of prints that can stand alone or come together in appealing ways. While the large daisies were the chosen star of my quilt, the daisies had some eye-catching supporting cast members.

It’s wonderful when an artist who is a quilter designs fabric because that artist truly understands the importance of varying the scale and activity in the prints, varying the values in the prints and so on, so that you can pull together a beautiful quilt from a single collection. Jackie hit the ball out of the park with this collection.

Why did you choose to work with the blue colorway?

I cheerfully admit that the blue colorway works best in my home.

What is you favorite part about the quilt?

The border.  I’ll be using that again!

What was most challenging about designing or making this quilt?

The border was the most challenging to design. There were LOTS of misfires!  Cutting and sewing the quilt was soothing.

Can you talk about how this was machine quilted? 

My friend Susan Scheer machine quilted this quilt and came up with the idea.  She was inspired by the daisy print in the border and used a simple single daisy design that really “bloomed” when four of them came together in the interior of the quilt. Susan is a wonderfully talented, multi-faceted artist.

See the entire He Still Loves Me collection here.

Find the February/March 2014 issue of Quiltmaker here.

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Tutorial: Star Twist Pinwheels with Jackie Robinson

Today designer Jackie Robinson of Animas Quilts is here, sharing a step-by-step tutorial for her Star Twist pattern using her "He Still Loves Me" fabrics. 
Don't miss Jackie's giveaway and special offer at the end of this post!

Have you ever admired a less traditional block and wondered exactly how it was  constructed? Or just assumed that because it looked involved, it was too difficult to make? If so, you'll love Jackie's unique pinwheel block. 

And what you'll love even more is how easy it is to assemble! It's just one unit, repeated eight times, with careful color placement! Keep reading to see how Jackie makes this block.

Hi all, it's Jackie from Animas Quilts and I'm happy to be here sharing my Star Twist design. This is a pretty - and sweet - little quilt.  I love the twisty chain effect surrounding the soft stars. You can find the entire pattern as a free download on the Benartex website, but I'll walk you through it step by step right here on the blog. I love helping quilters realize that some complicated-looking blocks are actually quite easy to make, and you'll see that's the case with this quilt.

"Star Twist" by Jackie Robinson 60” x 74”

Let's Get Started:

First, download the cutting info from the pattern sheet. (The pattern sheet will give you the whole pattern as well, but I'll walk you through the steps here.)  

Next, pre-cut all the pieces. You’ll notice the cuts are in descending order according to size.  The reason I cut this way is because IF we mess up a cut, we can always cut it down to a smaller size.  But, if I was cutting the small pieces first, that wouldn’t be an option - I'd just need more fabric. Be thrifty--cut larger pieces first!

NOTE:  I would (and did) make one change to the printed instructions.  For the star block centers, I just used fussy-cut light purple daisy squares rather than adding background colored corners. By the time you place all those diagonal corners on the star centers, the petals of the fussy-cut daisies are chopped off. 
So, follow the cutting directions on the pattern sheet, but when you are ready to cut the White on White background print, cut only (22) 2-1/2” wide strips into 

(31) 2-1/2” x 12-1/2”

(48) 2-1/2” x 6-7/8”

(48) 2-1/2” squares  (rather than 72)

Be certain to also print out the Templates. When I simply printed all four pages of the pattern, my printer cut off the top of the templates, so check your printer settings. Be sure to measure the template and be certain it is 4-1/2” tall.

You just might own a tool that will make cutting the template shapes easier.  If you have a TriRecs tool or a Half Rectangle tool or an Angle Play set of tools, dig it out.  It will make your cutting MUCH easier.

Star Blocks

1. Stitch a Right Facing Purple Multi Scroll triangle onto a Background triangle. Without pressing (because of the exposed bias edge), direct the seam toward the Purple. When you line up these pieces before sewing, make sure they are offset with ¼” ‘ears’ at each end so that when stitched everything is level. Make 24.   

2. Offset as before, sew a Left Facing Purple Multi Scroll triangle onto the Step 1 units.  Press gently toward the Purple. Make 24. They will measure 4-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.    

3. Place a 2-7/8” Background square right sides together with a 2-7/8” Green Mini Medallion square. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the Background. Stitch accurately on both sides of the drawn line. Make 24.    

4. Cut the Step 3 units apart on the drawn line. Press toward the Green Mini Medallion. There will be 48 triangle squares measuring 2-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.  

5. Use the Step 4 triangle squares and 2-1/2” Background squares to assemble Butterfly 4-patch units. They will measure 4-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge. Make 24.    

At this point, as I mentioned above, skip adding the diagonal corners on the 4-1/2” fussy cut light purple allover squares.

6. Assemble the units from Steps 2, 5 and the 4-1/2” Light Purple Daisy squares into Star Blocks. Press. Make 6. They are 12-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.   

Pinwheel Blocks - these are REALLY fun!

7. Diagonally stitch a 2-1/2” Green Scroll square onto two opposite corners of a 4-7/8” Black Scroll square.  Trim the excess from the corner and press gently toward the corner.  Make 12.    

8. Diagonally stitch a 2-1/2” Black Scroll square onto two opposite corners of 4-7/8” Green Scroll squares. Trim the excess from the corner and press gently toward the corner. Make 12.    

9. Cut the Steps 7 and 8 units diagonally through the plain centers, making 24 triangles of each. So far, so easy!   

10. Sew a 2-1/2” x 6-7/8” Background along the indicated edge of each Step 9 unit. Line it up with the square corner. It will extend about 2” beyond the diagonal corner. Without pressing (because of the exposed bias) direct the seam toward the background.   

11. Using the bias cut edge as a guide, diagonally cut the corners of the Step 10 pieces. Be gentle. The cut should extend to the corner of the Background piece.  

12. Positioned as shown, sew one of each color of the Step 11 units together to form a square. Press toward the mainly Black unit. Make 24. They will measure 6-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge. You thought this was going to be tricky . . . see how easy!   

13. Watching placement, sew four of the Step 12 units together to form a block. Press. Make 6. They measure 12-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.    

Assembly

14.  Lay out the blocks with 2-1/2” x 12-1/2” Background sashing units surrounding them. Add 2-1/2” Green Scroll squares for the cornerstones.    

15. Stitch the quilt top together. Press gently.

16. Stitch the 2-1/2” Green Scroll strips together, end to end. Cut two equal lengths for the side borders and attach. Press toward the borders. Then cut two equal lengths for the top and bottom borders, and attach. Press.

17. Attach the outer stripe borders, beginning and ending at the 1/4” seam allowance at each corner, and leaving the miter ‘tail’ extending.  

18. Place a corner to miter on your ironing board, with the border that is lying horizontal extending to the right, and the one that is vertical on top of it and extending up. Fold the top extending border diagonally under and position so it is exactly on top of the one extending to the right. Once you are satisfied that the miter is correct, smash it with the iron.   

19. Use a pin or two to hold the mitered corner in place.  From the underside, stitch in the pressed crease. Check to see that it’s correct and if it is, trim the excess from the seam to 1/4”. Press these seams open. Repeat Steps 18-19 for each of the corners to be mitered.   

20. Layer your quilt and prepare to quilt your masterpiece. I like to accentuate the diagonals by stitching diagonally through the corners. Detail the blocks. You may want to also quilt in all the seams (in the ditch). Outline the daisies in the border.

21. Bind with the strips specified, following the instructions with the Binding Miter Tool.  If you're not familiar with this terrific tool, watch a video demo here. 

You're done!

Thanks Jackie! Now for a giveaway and a special offer. "Like" Jackie's Facebook page and leave a comment below this post letting us know you did so. One commenter will receive a gift certificate for $20 worth of downloadable patterns from Animas Quilts. Giveaway ends November 9th at 11:59 EST and winner will be drawn randomly.

And make sure that you're following our blog (through a blog reader like Bloglovin' or via email; you can find sign-up options for both in the right-hand sidebar) to find more fantastic tutorials, interviews with designers, and news about Benartex's upcoming fabric lines!

Also, as a thank you for stopping by this tutorial and Jackie's Facebook page, she's got a special deal for you! For the next 5 days only, you can purchase a kit for this Star Twist pattern featuring Jackie's He Still Loves Me fabric for 15% off! Find the link for this offer here.

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We're tutorial happy!

In case you missed it last week, make sure to check out Jackie Robinson's Dizzy Geese tutorial: sewing square in a square blocks without triangles--you'll love how they turn out perfectly square every time! And the result? Some flying geese that are truly dizzy!

Jackie created the quilt and tutorial using her He Still Loves Me fabric, and is offering a discount on the kit for her Dizzy Geese quilt via a link on her Facebook page through 10/17. Start following Jackie and find out more here.

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And, on top of that, Debby Kratovil will be back tomorrow with another Technique Tuesday featuring Knitty Kitty! 

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Tutorial: Flying Geese Shortcut by Jackie Robinson

Today designer Jackie Robinson of Animas Quilts is here, sharing a step-by-step tutorial for her Dizzy Geese pattern using her "He Still Loves Me" fabrics. 
Don't miss Jackie's special offer at the end of this post!

"Dizzy Geese" designed by Jackie Robinson, 64" x 77"

What's so neat about this pattern? For starters, you won't be cutting and sewing any triangles! If you dread making square-in-a-square blocks literally be square, you'll have no problems here--the block builds out, layer by layer, with easy piecing. 

Second--"block," not "blocks." Despite the illusion you might see below, this cool design is made with just one pieced block and carefully placed colors. Simple. 

Here's Jackie!

Hello! Happy to be here today sharing my method for making the Flying Geese for this "Dizzy Geese" design!

Let's get started:

First, download the cutting info from the pattern sheet. (The pattern sheet will give you the whole pattern as well, but I'll walk you through the steps here.)  

Next, pre-cut all the pieces. You’ll notice the cuts are in descending order according to size.  The reason I cut this way is because IF we mess up a cut, we can always cut it down to a smaller size.  But, if I was cutting the small pieces first, that wouldn’t be an option - I'd just need more fabric. Be thrifty--cut larger pieces first!

1.  Stitch (3) strip sets of 2-1/2” Blue Forget Me Not Small Floral and 2-1/2” Yellow Multi Scroll.  Press toward the Navy.  It should measure 4-1/2” from edge to edge.  From these, subcut (40) 2-1/2” segments. 

2.  Stitch the Step 1 units together into (20) 4-patch units.  They should measure 4-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.   

3.  Sew a 2” x 4-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to two opposite sides of the Step 2 4-patch units.  The seam goes toward the outer edge.  Make 20.  

4.  Stitch a 2” x 7-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to the remaining two sides of the Step 3 units, totally enclosing the 4-patch.  Press toward the outer edge.  Make 20.  They should measure 7-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.   

5.  Now the FUN really begins! Perfect triangle corners are a piece of cake. Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Blue Mini Scroll across the two opposite corners near the Blue corners of the framed 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.   

6.  Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Yellow Mini Scroll across the two remaining opposite corners near the Yellow corner of the 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.  These blocks measure 7-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge, and they have a triangle on each corner.   

7. We’re back to adding straight strips around the outer edges.  Sew a 2” x 7-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to two opposite sides of the Step 6 units.  The seam goes toward the outer edge.    

8.  Stitch a 2” x 10-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to the remaining two sides of the Step 7 units.  Press toward the outer edge.  Make 20.  They should measure 10-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.    

9.  It’s time to put triangles on the corners again!  Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Blue Daisy Butterfly All Over across the two opposite corners near the Blue corner of the 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.     

10.  Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Yellow Forget-Me-Not Small Floral across the two remaining opposite corners near the Yellow corner of the 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.  These blocks measure 10-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.     

11. One more go-around--almost done! Let’s surround them again with straight strips.  Sew a 2” x 10-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to two opposite sides of the Step 10 units.  The seam goes toward the outer edge.   

12.  Stitch a 2” x 13-1/2” Blue Mini Medallion to the remaining two sides of the Step 10 units.  Press toward the outer edge.  Make 20.  They should measure 13-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.     

13.  And . . . more corner triangles.  Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Light Blue Forget-Me-Not Small Floral across the two opposite corners near the Blue corner of the 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.   

14.  Diagonally stitch a 3-1/2” square of Yellow Daisy Butterfly All Over across the two remaining opposite corners near the Yellow corner of the 4-patch.  Trim the excess fabric from the seam and gently press these seams toward the outer edge.  Make 2 corners on each of the 20 blocks.  These blocks measure 13-1/2” square from raw edge to raw edge.     

15.  Lay out the blocks and carefully stitch the quilt together in 5 rows of 4 blocks each.  Press.     

16.  Attach the borders, beginning and ending at the 1/4” seam allowance at each corner, and leaving the miter ‘tail’ extending.   

17.  Place a corner to miter on your ironing board, with the border that is lying horizontal extending to the right, and the one that is vertical on top of it and extending up.  Fold the top extending border diagonally under and position so it is exactly on top of the one extending to the right.  Once you are satisfied that the miter is correct, smash it with the iron.    

18.  Use a pin or two to hold the mitered corner in place.  From the underside, stitch in the pressed crease.  Check to see that it’s correct and if it is, trim the excess from the seam to 1/4”.  Press these seams open.  Miter the remaining corners in the same way.

19.  Layer your quilt and prepare to quilt your masterpiece.  I like to accentuate the diagonals by stitching diagonally through the corners.  You may want to also quilt in all the seams (in the ditch).  Outline the daisies in the border.

20.  Bind with the strips specified, following the instructions with the Binding Miter Tool.  If you're not familiar with this terrific tool, watch a video demo here.


Thanks Jackie! Stop by Jackie's Facebook page and "like" it to receive quilting tips, special offers, and sneak peeks at what's coming up. 

And make sure that you're following our blog (through a blog reader like Bloglovin' or via email; you can find sign-up options for both in the right-hand sidebar) to find more fantastic tutorials, interviews with designers, and news about Benartex's upcoming fabric lines!

As a thank you for stopping by this tutorial and Jackie's Facebook page, she's got a special deal for you! For the next 5 days only, you can purchase a kit for this Dizzy Geese pattern featuring Jackie's He Still Loves Me fabric for 15% off! Find the link for this offer here.

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