Designer Sampler: Block #5

We're celebrating National Quilting Month with a Sampler Quilt created using blocks by many of our fabric designers. Throughout the month, we'll share a block made by each of the designers listed below and featuring their newest fabric line, along with directions to sew that block. Come sew with us!

Block #5
Today we're featuring Nancy Halvorsen's applique "Home" block using her Home Grown collection. Click here to download the templates. 

Cutting

6802-24 Aqua Floral

(2) 1-1/2” x 12-1/2” strips

(2) 1-1/2” x 10-1/2” strips

(4) 1-1/2” squares

6806-24 Circle Dot Aqua

(1) 10-1/2” square

6805-10 Medallion Red

(1) heart

6803-40 Swirl Green

(1) nest

6805-84 Medallion Teal

(1) small bird

6803-24 Swirl Aqua

(1) small bird wing

6803-03 Swirl Yellow

(1) small bird beak

6805-11 Medallion Navy

(1) large bird

6806-84 Floret Teal

(1) large bird wing

6805-33 Medallion Gold

(1) large bird beak

(1) pair of legs

6804-24 Stripe Aqua

(1) egg

Circle Dot Gray 6808-08

(1) branch

6808-11 Circle Dot Navy

“HOME” text

Make the Block

1. Trace all templates onto the paper side of fusible web. Cut out loosely around each shape and fuse to the wrong side of the indicated fabric. Cut out on the drawn lines.

2. Fuse the branch onto the 10-1/2” Circle Dot Aqua square.

3. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of (4) 1-1/2” Aqua Floral squares. Place a marked square on each corner, sew on the drawn line, and trim seam allowance to ¼”. Press corners open.

4. Sew 1-1/2” x 10-1/2” Aqua Floral strips to opposite sides of the square. Sew 1-1/2” x 12-1/2” Aqua Floral strips to the top and bottom.

5. Referring to the block image, fuse the remaining shapes to the quilt block. Use a decorative stitch to secure shapes in place. Add a button or French knot for bird eyes.

 Nancy finished her block into a small wall hanging. isn't it sweet? 

Click here to see Nancy's Home Grown collection
Click here to visit Nancy's website.

Follow along with our National Quilting Month Designer Sampler!
Introduction
Block #1: Jackie Robinson - A Festival of Roses
Block #2: Paula Nadelstern - Piece & Joy
Block #3: Amanda Murphy - Thankful
Block #4: Christa Watson - Abstract Garden
Block #5: Nancy Halvorsen - Home Grown
Block #6: Ann Lauer - Cat-I-Tude Christmas

Block #7: Cheryl Haynes - Harvest Berry

Block #8: Cherry Guidry - Hearty the Snowman

Block #9: Modern Quilt Studio - Warp & Weft
Assembly

Love It? Share It!

Celebrate National Quilting Month with Us!

We're celebrating National Quilting Month with a Sampler Quilt created using blocks by many of our fabric designers. Throughout the month, we'll share a block made by each of the designers listed below and featuring their newest fabric line, along with directions to sew that block. 

Follow along as we reveal the blocks to make a sampler quilt, or make a quilt using just one or a few favorites. 

Featured Designers:
Jackie Robinson - A Festival of Roses
Paula Nadelstern - Piece and Joy
Amanda Murphy - Thankful
Christa Watson - Abstract Garden
Nancy Halvorsen - Home Grown
Ann Lauer - Cat-I-Tude 2: PurrFect Together
Cheryl Haynes - Harvest Berry
Cherry Guidry - Hearty the Snowman
Modern Quilt Studio - Warp & Weft

We hope you'll enjoy following along! Watch for a few fabric giveaways as well!

Love It? Share It!

Home Grown Virtual Trunk Show

Today we're going to take you on a virtual trunk show of Nancy Halvorsen's Home Grown projects. 

Nancy has shared them all in her book, Home Grown. Take a peek:

In Our House

The book is based on this quilt--nine different applique scenes, each featuring a positive message. 

In addition to the quilt, Nancy shows how the blocks can be used in smaller formats--quicker to sew, easier to make, and fun to give as gifts. 

Nancy says, "I haven't done applique on a dark background before and I love how the colors pop on the gray. The center block is one of my favorites. I love how it turned out. Love Lives Here is another one of my favorites, and Believe In yourself." 

The center block as a pillow: 

The center block becomes a table topper with fun scalloped edges:

 A mini quilt with the bee skep:

The bright sunshine of Choose Happy on a pillow:

Dream Big: perfect for a baby's room:

Three blocks in a vertical wall hanging: 

Nancy also used many of the motifs from the quilt on tea towels--so sweet! 

Sweet mother-daughter aprons:

Chef aprons too!

The book also includes two additional quilts.

Home Grown

This quilt features the blocks from the panels, as well as pieced letters, houses, and hearts. 

Trellis Garden

This pieced quilt is made up of scrappy flowers. I love all the colors in it!

And don't forget the free quilt pattern, available on the Benartex website:
Our Nest is Best designed by Heidi Pridemore

Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the entire Home Grown collection.
Click here to download the Our Nest is Best free quilt pattern. 

Click here to visit Nancy's Art to Heart website and click here to find her Home Grown book. 

Follow along with our week of Home Grown fun! We'll be sharing inspiring projects featuring the fabric all week long.
Monday
Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday
Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday
Jennie @ Clover and Violet
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday
Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Love It? Share It!

Home Grown Blog Hop: Day 3

What would you make with Nancy Halvorsen's Home Grown fabrics? We've asked six designers that question, and we'll be showing you their answers. Follow along on our blog hop Tuesday through Thursday, including chances to win some fabric for yourself, and then make sure to come back Friday for a virtual trunk show of Nancy's projects! 

Jennie @ Clover and Violet
"I loved the fresh, whimsical flowers in Nancy's fabrics, they make me think of spring! I loved how the cute prints lend themselves so well to making accessories, which are my favorite things to make. For this blog hop I made fat quarter friendly book sleeves, which will bring some spring cheer wherever I go."

Head over to the Clover and Violet blog to see more about Jennie's book sleeves. and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 



Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts
"I enjoyed working with this line to make a baby quilt because the fabrics are just so happy! I love the different blender prints -- the plaid and the stripe are my favorites -- and the large floral prints are gorgeous!"

Head over to Alison's blog to see the whole baby quilt made from these Bear Paw blocks and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 

Click here to see the entire Home Grown collection. 

Click here to visit Nancy's Art to Heart website. 

Follow along with our week of Home Grown fun! We'll be sharing inspiring projects featuring the fabric all week long.
Monday
Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday
Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday
Jennie @ Clover and Violet
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday
Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Love It? Share It!

Home Grown Blog Hop: Day 2

What would you make with Nancy Halvorsen's Home Grown fabrics? We've asked six designers that question, and we'll be showing you their answers. Follow along on our blog hop Tuesday through Thursday, including chances to win some fabric for yourself, and then make sure to come back Friday for a virtual trunk show of Nancy's projects! 

Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
"I feel so lucky to have been able to join this blog hop and sew with Home Grown! It has a panel with the cutest designs and sayings on them, too.  I used four of the sections of the panel in my quilt, 20 fat quarters, and two different fabrics for borders and binding."

Head over to Carol's blog to see more of her quilt and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 



Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

"I LOVE panels - in fact, I'm a self-proclaimed panel hoarder!  Panels are so versatile. You can create so many fun and unique projects from them. The colors in this line bring joy, freshness and brightness after a long winter with lots of gray. The designs are scaled so they work beautifully as either a blender or a focal fabric."

Head over to Nancy's blog to find her quilt (and a pillow!) and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 

Click here to see the entire Home Grown collection. 

Click here to visit Nancy's Art to Heart website. 

Follow along with our week of Home Grown fun! We'll be sharing inspiring projects featuring the fabric all week long.
Monday
Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday
Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday
Jennie @ Clover and Violet
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday
Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Love It? Share It!

Home Grown Blog Hop: Day 1

What would you make with Nancy Halvorsen's Home Grown fabrics? We've asked six designers that question, and we'll be showing you their answers. Follow along on our blog hop Tuesday through Thursday, including chances to win some fabric for yourself, and then make sure to come back Friday for a virtual trunk show of Nancy's projects! 

Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts

"Nancy's fabrics and quilts have always appealed to me because I love happy, bright, cheerful patterns and colors and these did not disappoint. I asked for a bundle of fat quarters and a half yard of the main print. But what I loved the best are the FOUR 10” squares on the panel!”

Head over to Debby's blog to see the birdhouses up close and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 



Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

"When I first saw the colors and prints in this collection, I just knew that I had to use them to make something fun.  The colors are so happy, and the prints are versatile enough to use just about anywhere.  It's a perfect bundle of cheer to help fight the winter doldrums!  This is the Hopscotch quilt, and it's a twist on a classic block.  This one is perfect if you need a quick quilt.  Head over to my blog for a full tutorial, as well as the opportunity to win this pretty bundle for yourself!"

Head over to Kelly's blog to find her tutorial and enter to win a FQ bundle of Home Grown prints. 

Click here to see the entire Home Grown collection. 

Click here to visit Nancy's website. 

Follow along with our week of Home Grown fun! We'll be sharing inspiring projects featuring the fabric all week long.
Monday
Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday
Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday
Jennie @ Clover and Violet
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday
Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Love It? Share It!

Introducing Home Grown by Nancy Halvorsen

Nancy Halvorsen's newest collection, Home Grown, is filled with the everything you love about her fabrics. It's all about family--celebrating the love that fills a home in classic Nancy style. The fabric line includes a sweet panel with positive messages, pretty florals, and unique tonals--stripes, swirls, dots, plaids and more. We asked Nancy to talk to us about Home Grown below. 

What inspired the Home Grown collection?

To me, family is very important. I’ve never done anything that was home and family themed before. While I was thinking about home, I thought of homegrown flowers, and the idea went from there.

Tell us about the panel.

I always like to include a cheery and uplifting message in my panels. The panel features messages that you want your family to know and to internalize. For each block, I came up with the message and then figured out how to illustrate it in a fun way. The prints in the frames around each block are also standalone prints in the collection. The prints also show up on different items in the panel—like the bee skep and the house.

Panel measures 42" x 24"

How do you select your palette?

When I start a fabric line, in the back of my mind I have an idea of what projects I’m going to be making with it. That dictates what the palette is going to be. Because this line has a floral theme, I wanted to make sure I pulled flower colors into the line.

How do you come up with the small print coordinates for the collection?

Having been a quilter and designer for so long, I know that I need some small patterns for texture and then some stripes and bigger prints. I do this for all my lines—it adds more interest to have different sized prints. To me, texture is as important as color to add interest.

Click here to see the entire Home Grown collection. 

Click here to visit Nancy's website. 

Follow along with our week of Home Grown fun! We'll be sharing inspiring projects featuring the fabric all week long.
Monday
Introducing Home Grown @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Tuesday
Debby @ Debby Kratovil Quilts
Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation

Wednesday
Carol @ Just Let Me Quilt
Nancy @Masterpiece Quilting

Thursday
Jennie @ Clover and Violet
Alison @ Little Bunny Quilts

Friday
Nancy's Virtual Trunk Show @ Sew in Love with Fabric

Love It? Share It!