When orange is a restful color

Do you ever make the exact same quilt twice? Many quilters reuse a favorite pattern over and over, trying out different fabrics or color palettes each time.

But what about a room with twin beds? Would you make the same quilt, with the same fabric, a second time? Might get boring to sew. So jazz it up a little!

Designers Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth avoided this situation when sewing quilts from Kanvas' Lili-fied collection—they used the same bold fabrics, but two different designs. The like fabrics tie the room together, but you won't get sucked into monotonous piecing!

Both ''Lily's Beach Party'' and ''Tangerine Sunrise'' are featured in the current issue of Simple Quilts & Sewing magazine, appropriately under the tagline of ''Double Duty."

We asked this designing duo to share what went on behind all that orange and fuchsia goodness:

How do you work as a team to come up with your designs?

Melanie: Joanie and I tend to scribble and doodle ideas and then scribble and doodle on each other's scribbles and doodles… in most cases the quilts we design go through both of us at one point or another…. if she figures out a layout, I figure out the color…. if I have an idea for structure, she figures out how to construct…  we are a team in every sense of the word.

Have you ever made an all-orange quilt before?

After creating the [Lili-fied-themed Kanvas] booth for Fall Quilt Market with all this fabulous color, we needed a ''rest'' for our eyes. So we made one more quilt—just with the orange—and called it ''Tangerine Sunrise."

(When bright orange (or tangerine) is called ''rest,'' you can tell Joanie and Melanie have been looking at Lili-fied too long!)

What attracted you to the fabric line?

It is just so bright and fun! The line has really great color, which shines in the simple designs.

           

Photo courtesy of Simple Quilts & Sewing

See the entire Lili-fied collection here. 

(Don't forget, it comes in green/blue/aqua too!)

Find the kits for both quilts here.

Find Quilt magazine here. 

Find the pattern for the coordinating throw pillows here.

Stripes Hard at Work

Designers Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth used the geometric motifs in Manhattan Modern to create "Side by Side," a deceptively complex looking (but easy to make!) quilt. Their quilt is featured in the Spring 2013 issue of QuiltTrends magazine.

"Side by Side" by Joanie Holton and Melanie Greseth,
featured in Quilt Trends spring 2013

How did you come up with the idea for this design?

We wanted a quilt with a stair-step look, but also wanted it to be simple. The quilt uses just one block! 

                        

What attracted you to the Manhattan Modern line?

It’s fresh and pretty, and it really reminded us of spring. (Joanie and Melanie used the more muted aqua, brown and green colorway, though the line comes in brights as well.)

           

What makes this quilt stand out in your mind? 

It’s not symmetrical – sometimes a challenge for me (Joanie), but I really like the effect it creates. (We do too!)

QuiltTrends also offered a sneak peek at another design using Manhattan Modern, called "Cubit." 

This quilt was designed by Stephanie Sheridan and Linda Leathersich of Stitched Together Studios. Visit their Facebook page to learn how to purchase this pattern and see it made in a few other Benartex fabric collections.

See the entire Manhattan Modern collection here.
Find a kit for this quilt here.
Find QuiltTrends magazine here.

Blog Hop Winners!

Thanks to everyone who checked out Wendy's tutorial and entered the Antoinette fat quarter bundle giveaway!

With the help of random number generator, our winner is Kathy H, who said:

Kathy, we've sent you an email for your mailing address.

Congratulations to all four of our winners! We hope you enjoy sewing with your new fabric! 

We'll be sending the bundles out as soon as we hear back from the last two winners to get their mailing addresses.

Nona:

Jeneta:

This Dogs Mom:

Kathy H:

Fabric Giveaway Winner and Reminder

Happy Friday, all!
We hope you enjoyed our 4-day April blog hop! We have another hop planned for May with some fantastic tutorials--we can't wait! We'll announce the May blog hop dates both on the blog and on Facebook, so stay tuned.

Now, a little housekeeping.

From the first day of the blog hop, the winner of the Cabana bundle, chosen by random number generator, is:

 Nona!

Congratulations, Nona! We are sending you an email to get your mailing address. 

If you have not yet entered to win the FQ bundle giveaways for days 2, 3 and 4, of the blog hop, 

make sure you do! 

Day 2: The Big Apple black/red/white colorway

 (open through 4/19 )

Day 3: The Big Apple (bright colorway)

 (open through 4/21)

Day 4: Antoinette 

(open through 4/23)

April Blog Hop Day 4

Welcome to the final day of our April Blog Hop! We hope you've enjoyed meeting these bloggers and seeing what they've created with our fabrics as much as we have!

Today we have a sweet pillow ornament tutorial from Wendy at Ivory Spring. We've featured Wendy here on the blog before, so you may be familiar with her work, but be sure to check out her blog. She does a beautiful job machine quilting her own work, and she's had quite a few quilts featured in magazines. To add to the eye candy, she takes incredibly appealing photos of her quilts and the quilting she does on them. She's an inspiring quilter to follow! 

After you're done looking through her tutorial, make sure to enter the giveaway for a fat quarter bundle of Antoinette at the bottom of this post.  And be sure to head over to Ivory Spring to say hello to Wendy and check out the free quilt pattern she designed using the Antoinette fabric line.! 

Hello, my name is Wendy Sheppard and I blog over at Ivory Spring.  It is an honor to be part of Benartex's April blog hop!

I am in love with pillow ornaments because they are super quick to make as gifts or decorative accents.  Today I am going to share with you a SPRING pillow ornament. 

You will need:

• Antoinette FQ's
• A piece of ribbon (or two)
• Craft stuffing
• Paper-backed fusible web
• Pressing cloth
• Basic sewing notions

The fabrics I used are from the Antoinette collection.

I selected the fabrics below for the constructing the pillow and cut them as follows.  You can definitely pick your own favorites:

a.  three 2" x 4-1/2" rectangles

b.  one 1" x 5" rectangle

c.  one 2" x 5" rectangle

d.  one 5" x 6-1/2" rectangle for pillow back

Tip:  When cutting narrow pieces, I like to press starch my fabrics before cutting.  I find that the pieces tend not to distort as much when being handled.

I sewed the 2" x 4-1/2" rectangles together.

Then, I added the 1" x 5" rectangle.

And lastly, I added the 2" x 5" rectangle to complete the pillow top.

Tip:  When sewing narrow pieces together, make sure you are getting a 1/4" seam allowance.

Next up is what I think is the fun part and further makes the project an open-ended one.  Pick and trace the silhouette of a woodland animal you like that would fit the pillow top.  I picked a bunny.

Then, I traced the silhouette in reverse on the paper side of a piece of paper-backed fusible web.

I trimmed the fusbile web inside the applique shape outline , and then peeled off the paper on the untraced side of the fusible web, and carefully placed the bunny on the WRONG side of my applique fabric.  Press with a hot iron to fuse, using a pressing cloth.

I used a pair of sharp scissors to cut out the bunny applique shape.

I then gingerly remove the remnant of the paper backing from the applique piece, and place the applique piece on the pillow top.  Once I am happy with the placement, I fuse the applique piece with a hot iron, using a pressing cloth.

The next part is totally optional. 

#1.  At this point, you may choose to finish by doing blanket stitching around the applique shape.  I didn't for the bunny because I thought the stitches would be a little distracting on the overall look.  So I made sure I fused the bunny onto the pillow top REALLY good.  Click here to read about my tips on the blanket stitches.

#2.  I added a bit of embellishment at this point using a button and bow tied with embroidery floss.

Mark 1-1/4" from the short edges of the pillow back rectangle, and anchor the ribbon ends at the markings.

Place pillow back rectangle, right sides together, on pillow top.  Pin and sew, leaving a 2" opening for stuffing.  Clip corners, and carefully turn the pillow case right side out.  Press.  Stuff with stuffing.

Hand stitch the opening shut to complete pillow ornament.

 And the finished pillow:

p.s. Here's how to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Antoinette! 

1. Sign up to follow the blog via Google Friend Connect or via email (right hand sidebar) and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so. If you're already signed up, great! Just let us know.
2. Like us on Facebook and then leave a comment here, telling us that you have done so. If you already have, great! Just let us know.

The giveaway is open through Tuesday, April 23rd at 11:59 pm EST. We'll 

announce the winner Wednesday morning. 

**If you are a no-reply blogger, either leave us a way to contact you in your comment, or be sure to check back on Friday. If you win and we don't hear from you, we can't send you your fabric!**

See the schedule for the entire April blog hop here.

April Blog Hop: Day 3

Happy Wednesday! Today's tutorial comes from Megan at Brassy Apple. Her blog's tagline is "Refashion, Revamp & Restyle Your Wardrobe & Your Life." We love Megan's blog because it branches out beyond the quilt world--she focuses on fashion, fun craft projects, and great ideas for creating with kids. Be sure to check her out--she's so prolific that we know you'll find something to love! Speaking of love, we adore her cute, crafty teacher thank you gift tutorial that she's sharing here on our blog today. After you're done here, head over to Brassy Apple for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of the brighter colorway of The Big Apple from Kanvas. 

It's Megan from BrassyApple here! The BIG APPLE fabric line is bright, fun and has so many options for use! I decided on an "apple for the teacher" approach! It's a great way to say THANK YOU at the end of the year or HELLO at the beginning of the year!

1) Container:
Supplies: 
Paper Mache/cardboard book container
fabric - The Big Apple fabric line
scissors
fabric marker
mod podge
sponge brush

Lay your fabric flat with the wrong side up, trace around the book with your fabric marker and cut out fabric to cover the outside of the book.

Apply a layer of Mod Podge in a small section and place your fabric over the top. Repeat on all the outside surfaces of the book until it is covered. Then apply a layer of Mod Podge on top of the fabric to seal it all together.

Let dry and it's ready to be filled!

You could fill it with small cookies, candies, etc or make up some fun, useful gadgets for the teacher to use.
Like making some coordinating magnets!

2) Magnets
Supplies:
Large clear crafting bubbles
magnets
E6000 glue
scissors

Place the craft bubbles on top of the fabric. Trace around them and cut out. Cover the back of the craft bubbles with E6000 glue and place the fabric on the underside right side up. Use the glue to attach the magnet to the back. Let dry.

3) Apple hot/cold pack
Supplies:
The Big Apple fabric line - 1/4 yard 
scissors
sewing machine
rice/wheat (raw & uncooked)
straight pins

Fold your fabric lengthwise in half about 5 inches wide. Cut a half shape of an apple on the fold. Think about cutting a heart shape but with more of a flat bottom to it. If you want to draw it out use a fabric marker. Open it up to see if you like the shape. Then fold, trace and cut another apple out using the one you just cut as a template.

Using a coordinating fabric cut 2 hexagon shaped pieces (or just 2 rectangles) to use as a stem for the apple.

Sew the sides and top of the stem piece. The bottom edge will be inside the apple piece so you don't need to sew it. Place the 2 apple pieces on top of each other, wrong sides together. Tuck the stem piece in the top, pin into place, and sew around all the edges leaving a 2-3" opening one 1 side so you can fill the apple.

Need a cute poem to go along with the Apple? There's one on my blog HERe!

p.s. Don't forget to head over to Megan's blog to enter a giveaway for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of The Big Apple!

See the schedule for the entire April blog hop here.