Piastrelle

Here's a mini Italian lesson for the day: "piastrelle" means tile in English. Piastrelle is the name of this gorgeous blue-toned quilt designed by Stephanie Sheridan and machine quilted by Linda Leathersich, featured in McCall's Quilting July-August 2014 issue. The quilt uses the blue colorway of the Venezia collection from Contempo.

"Piastrelle" designed by Stephanie Sheridan and machine quilted by Linda Leathersich;
featured in McCall's Quilting July-August 2014

What attracted you to the Venezia line, and specifically to the blue colorway?

I love the contemporary yet classic design in this line, and the blue

colorway is so clean and crisp!

Can you talk about the Italian tiles that inspired the design?

I have been thinking about an Italian floor tile inspired quilt for some time ... I loved the classic elegance, but wanted to do a more modern take on it, which is how I came up with the Piastrelle design.

Why did you decide to highlight the particular print you did in the square in a square pattern?

The print highlighted in the "diamond in a rectangle" version of the square in a square pattern was part of the inspiration for the quilt. I used the diamond motif and echoed it into the block shape which is classic, yet unique at the same time.

Can you talk about your choice to use black as sashing?

The sashing was indeed meant to mimic the grout lines in a tile floor. I tried white and light blue, but didn't love the effect - not enough drama! When I placed black in the sashing it pulled the whole concept together.

Do you have a favorite print in the collection?

My favorite print in the collection is Tapestria - I adore the design and the subtle brush of silver metallic!

Did you face any challenges in using a monochromatic collection?

I find the biggest challenge in working with a monochromatic line is finding the "zinger" ... the one fabric that gives the quilt design a punch of interest. The Occhi fabric with its dark background and linear motifs was it for me in this line.

What's your favorite thing about the quilt?

I think my favorite thing about this quilt is that it looks challenging, but is actually pretty easy to put together. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this one!

Tell us about the machine quilting.

My mom, Linda Leathersich, outdid herself in the quilting as usual. She used a lot of curved quilting to contrast against the very linear piecing – the effect is just stunning!

See the entire Venezia collection here (both blue and black colorways!)
Find the kit for the Piastrelle quilt here.
Find McCalls' Quilting magazine here.

p.s. Another Venezia sighting! Check out the Venetian Blues quilt in the spring 2014 issue of Quilt Trends magazine. This bed quilt was designed by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar of Pine Tree Country Quilts. You can find the kit here.

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Sew for Dad Tutorials: Day 2

We're back with another tutorial for a Father's Day gift idea (although this could easily be repurposed for anyone...girl or guy). We hope you enjoy this tutorial from the Benartex blog design team--so quick you can make it in an evening!--and then don't miss the fabric giveaway at the bottom of this post.

How do you give black and cream a little extra contemporary flair? Add red accents. We used the black colorway of the Venezia collection from Contempo (it comes in blue as well) to make this versatile travel case for dads--perfect for phone and iPad charging cords or even bathroom toiletries! We couldn't resist the red zipper, piping and elastic band to add a little zip to these fantastic monochromatic fabrics. Fun for dad and fun for you!

Materials:

• 1/3 yard small black circles print
• 1 fat quarter black stripe
• 1 fat quarter mottled black
• 2" x 15" red solid strip
• 11" x 17" batting piece
• 7" red zipper (or 9" zipper)
• 12" Wrap 'n Fuse Piping
• 1/2 yard red 1/8" wide elastic
• 1/4 yard black 1/4" wide elastic
• Fabric marking pen or chalk

Cutting:

From the black circles print:

Two 10" x 15-1/2" pieces

From the black stripe:

Two 5" x 12" pieces

From the mottled black:

One 10" square

One 2-1/2" x 10" strip

Two 2" x 4" pieces

From the red solid:

One 1-3/8" x 12" strip

Make the Travel Roll:

1. Following manufacturer's directions, envelop the fusible piping in the 1-3/8" x 12" red strip and press with iron to make piping.

2. Align the red piping along a long edge of one 5" x 12" black stripe piece, matching raw edges. Layer the second 5" x 12" black stripe piece on top, right sides together. Pin to secure and then stitch. Hint: Use your zipper foot to get closer to the piping. 

3. Fold so the wrong sides of the black stripe fabric are facing and the piping is peeking out the top edge. Press.

4. Layer the 11" x 17" batting piece with one 10" x 15-1/2" black circles piece on top, right side up. Measure in 4-3/4" from the right edge and draw a line with chalk or marking pen (shown in blue in the picture below). Square up one short end of the stripe pocket piece and align along the marked line on background. Trim excess from other short end. Measure and mark two lines on the stripe pocket to create multiple pockets. (We measured 2-3/4" and 5-1/4" in from the left edge...shown in blue below.) Stitch along the two marked pocket lines, backstitching at red piping to secure.

5. Fold each 3" x 4" black mottled piece in half wrong sides together so it measures 2" x 3". Position so folded edges are just past the top and bottom of the zipper as shown and stitch in place. Press pieces back to make the zipper end tabs. (Note: if you use a 9" long zipper, you don't need these tabs.)

6. Fold the 2-1/2" x 10" black mottled strip in half wrong sides together so it measures 1-1/4" x 10". Sew the folded edge to the zipper and tabs. Fold the 10" black mottled square in half wrong sides together so it measures 5" x 10" and sew the folded edge to the opposite side of the zipper and tabs. Trim sides of tabs to a 1/4" seam allowance.

7. Trim the zipper pocket width to 5-1/2". Your zipper pocket should look like this:

8. Lay the pocket right side down on the background, matching the long raw edge of the pocket to the marked line (shown in blue below). Stitch 1/4" to the left of the marked line and fold the pocket back. Trim to square up the piece and remove excess batting. Topstitch the long side of the pocket opposite the zipper if you like. 

9. Cut two 3-1/2" lengths of black elastic and fold the ends under 1/4". Measure up 2-1/2" from the red piping and center elastic over wider pocket (center area) and two narrower pockets (left area). Sew elastic ends between 2" and 2-3/4" apart to create space to tuck something into the elastic band. Backstitch ends to secure.

10. Cut a 15" length of red elastic, fold in half, and stitch ends to create a loop. Center along the right edge of the top piece with raw edges matching. Lay the 10" x 15-1/2" black circle print piece on top, right sides together. Stitch around all 4 sides, leaving an opening along the top for turning. Turn right side out, poke out corners, and topstitch around outer edge, securing the opening. You're done!

Fill with cords for electronic devices, toiletries, or whatever else might need to be packed for a trip!

Fold or roll the filled travel up and use the red elastic to secure.

You can win a fat quarter bundle of Venezia! To enter, simply sign up to follow the Benartex blog via a blog reader or follow by email (both options are in the right hand sidebar) and leave a comment telling us you did so. For a second entry, like us on Facebook and let us know you did so. Also, in your comment, tell us your favorite dad memory. This giveaway is open through Saturday, June 14 at 11:59 EST. 

Don't miss our other Sew for Dad tutorials:
Day 1: Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation with a quilt using Who's on First

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Day 5: Flower Favorites Blog Hop

Hello! We're back with Day 5 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 our Benartex Blog Design Team is working with Venezia, a Contempo line by Michele D'Amore. Shades of blue and beige with a watercolor feel...these prints are gorgeous! 
The block we're sharing uses two different techniques--paper piecing and applique. If you're not an expert at either technique--no worries--don't click away--this will be fun! Not only will we help you out, we've also included a couple easy fixes that will cover (literally!) any imperfections. 
Let's get started!

Here are the four Venezia fabrics we used.

You'll need to download this paper piecing template and this applique template. While regular printer paper will work just fine for the paper piecing template, special foundation paper makes things even easier. You'll want to print out 2 copies of the paper piecing template. One copy of the applique template, printed on regular printer paper, will be just fine. 

You'll Need:

• 1/2 yard beige print
• 1 fat quarter wavy blue print
• 1 fat quarter stripe
• 1 fat quarter blue floral
• Fusible web
• Foundation paper

Cutting:
(Note: the pieces marked with an * are for paper piecing. These are cut generously to allow for problems. If you are an experienced paper piecer, you may prefer to cut smaller pieces.
From the beige print:
Two 6" x 7" pieces* and four 5" x 7" pieces*
Two 2" x 9-1/2" strips and two 2" x 12-1/2" strips
From the wavy blue print:
Four 4" x 9" pieces (oriented so wavy stripes run the short way)*

Here's a photo of the template you'll be working with (except the pdf has numbers on it). We'll walk you through the a short tutorial paper piecing, but if you're new to this technique, you may want to supplement our instructions with a more comprehensive online tutorial or video. You'll sew on the the side you see here--with the lines printed on it, but your fabric will be on the opposite side, with wrong sides touching the back of the foundation paper. 

1. Layer the 6" x 7" beige piece face down and position the paper on top, with printed side facing up. Make sure the paper covers all of the space for the large middle triangle, plus 1/4" past the edge lines, including the dotted seam allowance. Lay the 4" x 9" wavy blue piece on top, right sides together, holding the paper and fabrics up to a window to make sure that the blue overlaps the #1/#2 line. Flip over so the paper side is facing up and stitch on the line between 1 and 2. 

2. Fold the paper back on the line and trim excess fabric 1/4" past the paper fold to remove beige excess by the seam.

Press open. If you like, fold paper on #2/#3 line and trim excess blue fabric--this will make it easier to place the next beige piece. 

Here's what your piece will look like after the first seam and trimming:

3. Add a 4" x 6" beige piece to #3. Each time, before you sew, check that your piece will cover the entire area plus 1/4" past the lines for a seam allowance, and most importantly, the line you'll be stitching on. Here's the beige piece stitched in place:

And pressed open:

4. Add pieces 4 and 5 in the same manner, trimming as you go. Here's a half block before trimming:

And after trimming on the dotted line:

5. Make a second half block. Remove the paper from the back and sew the 2 half blocks together. Don't worry if your points don't meet exactly and/or if there's a lot of bulk at the center of the block--we'll take care of both of these issues shortly!

6. Sew 2" x 9-1/2" beige strips to the sides of the block. Sew 2" x 12-1/2" beige strips to the top and bottom. 

Now it's time to applique! 

(Note: If you prefer needle turn applique, simply add a 1/4" seam allowance to the templates and do your thing!)

7. Trace the wedge shape onto the paper side of fusible web four times. Cut out each shape loosely around the drawn lines and position on the blue stripe fabric. Note how the stripes run horizontal in each wedge. Fuse in place and cut out on drawn lines.

Your wedges should look something like this:

8. Trace the hexagon shape onto fusible web. Cut out the center of the hexagon, leaving roughly 1/2" inside the drawn line (like a donut, but a hexagon shaped donut). Fuse onto the blue floral fabric. Note: We purposely centered a flower on ours.

Cut out on the drawn line. 

9. Remove papers from the back of applique shapes and position on the block. Refer to the close-up photos and instructions below as you adjust placement, and then fuse in place. 

10. Fold the block in quarters and finger press outer edges to find centers. Align the wedges so the point rests on the finger pressed line and the two side points rest on the seam line as shown. The tips of the wedges may overlap in the center of the block--don't worry--we'll take care of those!

11. After the wedges have been fused in place, position and fuse the hexagon in the center.

12. Flip the block over, gently pull the block back away from the center of the hexagon, and use a small, sharp scissors to cut away the bulk in the center where the paper pieced points meet. Be very careful not to cut through your hexagon applique on the front. (But if you do, you can always make another!) This will allow your block to lay flat without the bulk from the fabric points coming together. 

And there's your block! Use a zig zag or other decorative stitch to secure the appliques in place.

Just for fun, we've mocked up some designs showing what you can do with our flower block. Enjoy!

Table runners with two different border treatments:

A square table topper or wall hanging:

A lap quilt:

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Venezia, 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 two color combination 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

Day 4: Jackie Robinson from Animas Quilts featuring He Still Loves Me

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