Christmas in July Blog Hop: Day 3

Christmas in July continues with a week of holiday-themed tutorials! Stop by each day this week to see the featured tutorial and find out how you can enter to win the fabric line being used!

Alison from Little Bunny Quilts chose the Sparkle collection by Amanda Murphy and stitched a festive tree skirt ringed with star blocks.

Here's Alison:
Hello! I'm Alison from Little Bunny Quilts and I'm sharing a fun tutorial for a tree skirt using Amanda Murphy's Sparkle line! Let's get started!

You will need:

2 yards of a background fabric
Various print fabrics (I used parts of fat quarters, but you could use scraps!)
2.5 yards backing fabric
0.5 yards for binding

It is also helpful to have a larger 30 degree ruler. I own and used this ruler, which I highly recommend (NOT an affiliate link!).

From your background cut:

Twelve (12) 30 degree wedges 13 inches long

Three (3) 12 inch squares -- cut each in half diagonally twice for twelve (12) triangles
Twenty four (24) 3 inch by 6.5 inch rectangles
Forty Eight (48) 2.5 inch squares
Twelve (12) 3.5 inch squares

From your print fabrics cut:

Twelve (12) 2.5 inch squares total (can be all different fabrics!)
Thirty six (36) 3.5 inch squares total -- you will need twelve pairs of matching squares (see below)

Making your Ohio Star blocks (Make 12 Ohio star blocks)

For each star you will need:
Four (4) 2.5 inch background squares
One (1) 3.5 inch background square
Two (2) matching 3.5 inch print squares
One (1) contrasting 3.5 inch print square
One (1) 2.5 inch print square

Draw a diagonal line on each of your matching 3.5 inch squares.

Pair one with a background fabric square, pair the other with your contrasting 3.5 inch square. Sew on each side of the line, cut apart on the line, and press towards your matching square fabric.

Cut each HST unit in half diagonally perpendicular to the seam you just sewed.

Pair half units together so that each QST unit has two matching side triangle, one background triangle, and one contrasting triangle. Trim each unit to 2.5 inch squares.

Lay out your star as shown below, sew into an Ohio star block -- make sure that your points are all pointing in the correct directions.

Making your wedges

Now that your stars are completed, sew the following to each star:
-- sew a 3 x 6.5 inch rectangle to the right and left of the star block
-- sew a 30 degree wedge piece to the top of the star block
-- sew a 12 inch triangle piece to the bottom of the star block

Using the lines of your 30 degree wedge piece, trim the sides of your wedge unit so that the entire unit is a large 30 degree wedge with a point at the outer edge as shown below.

Putting it all together

Lay out your twelve wedges in the order that you desire them. Sew wedges together in sets of 3 to begin. You now have four "quadrants" to easily sew into pairs, and then finally sew two halves together.

NOTE: You do not need to worry about all of your points lining up in the center since we will be cutting a hole in this area! Whew!

Once your top is all together, quilt as desired. I quilted mine with loops in each wedge. At this point, you can choose to trim your tree skirt into a circle as I have or you can choose to leave your wedges with points. Trace around a circular object (I used a can of vegetables) to define your inner circle opening for your tree trunk. Choose one of your wedge seams and cut up the length of the seam to your drawn circle and cut the circle out. If trimming into a circle, make marks 20 inches from your center around the edge of your quilt and cut along those marks.

Now you are ready to bind and add your choice of ribbons, buttons, or hooks-and-eyes to keep the opening of your tree skirt shut during the Christmas season!

Thanks for letting me share this tutorial with you today and don't forget to stop by Little Bunny Quilts for your chance to win!

Thanks, Alison! Head over to Alison's blog to enter for a chance to win a FQ bundle of Sparkle fabric! 

Don't miss our Christmas in July tutorials all this week!

Monday: Chris from made by ChrissieD, featuring Jolly Penguin and Friends

Tuesday: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts, featuring My Little Chickadee

Wednesday: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts, featuring Sparkle

Thursday: Cynthia from Quilting is more fun than Housework, featuring Holiday Cheer

Friday: Benartex blog design team featuring Joyful

Love It? Share It!

Chickadees & Berries in action

Yesterday we shared Jackie Robinson's wintry Chickadees & Berries collection, as well as a few quilts she's made using it. Today we're back with three more projects featuring these bird-friendly prints. 

First, Carol Hansen used the panel and a few coordinates to create this seasonal wall hanging featured in McCall's Quick Quilts December/January 2016 issue. The quilt uses fussy-cut panel pieces plus pinwheel blocks and two simple borders for a result that's simply stunning. Then, because she's a "user upper," Carol designed a mini quilt that uses up the remaining fabric (and the pattern for this mini quilt is available for free from the McCall's website). Keep reading to learn more about Carol's projects.

"Chickadees" by Carol Hansen;
featured in McCall's Quick Quilts December/January 2016

What do you like best about the Chickadees fabric?

I like that it looks Christmas-y but it’s not just for Christmas. It’s wintry. It’s not one of those things that you feel like you have to take down the day after Christmas. And I love chickadees. Sometimes in the NW corner of Montana, chickadees are the only bird we see all winter. I’m a photographer and I like to take pictures of them. They’re sweet and cute. 

How did you decide on the patchwork border for the center panel piece?

I wanted to use the small pieces that came with the panel and I incorporated as many as I could because I like using things up. I added some pinwheels in because they can be made any size—so I could make them to fit the size of the little squares. 

How did you machine quilt this piece?

My best free motion quilting tends to be a swirly, design, which worked out really well here. I also outline quilted the birds, just enough to give some dimension. 

What do you like best about the wall hanging?

I love it because it’s got a lot of green in it. My kitchen cupboards are a soft green, so it’s going to fit in really well color-wise. I like things that are woodsy, and it gives me that look, and since it’s wintry, it can stay up longer.

Tell us about the mini quilt.

I made this because of my compulsion to use up the extra fabric—I’m a user upper. It’s a cute little wall hanging or table topper. I love log cabin blocks, so that’s why I chose to use them around the fussy-cut panel pieces. I actually just hung it on the wall next to my Christmas tree. Click here to download the free mini quilt pattern.

Coordinating mini quilt; free pattern available here .

Click here to find the kit for this wall quilt.
Click here to find the December/January 2016 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts magazine.

Next up, Diane Tomlinson used Chickadee & Berries coordinates to create this gorgeous tree skirt. We love the fabric combinations--so different from the other Chickadee quilts we've featured so far--it shows how versatile this collection is! The quilt features a LeMoyne Star design and Deb Tucker's Rapid Fire LeMoyne Star tool. Put this tree skirt on your to-do list for 2016--you'll be glad you did when December rolls around and you have a beautiful new tree skirt ready to use! 

"Under the Tree" by Diane Tomlinson;
featured in Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting November/December 2015

Click here to purchase and download this pattern.
Click here to find the kit for this tree skirt.
Click here to find the November/December 2015 Love of Quilting magazine.

Click here to see the entire Chickadees & Berries collection by Jackie Robinson.
Click here to read Jackie's interview about this fabric line and see additional quilts featuring it.

Love It? Share It!

Christmas in July: Tree Skirt

Welcome to Benartex's Christmas in July Blog Hop here at Sew in Love with Fabric! We'll be sharing holiday-themed tutorials this week and beyond, so be sure to stop by each day to see a new tutorial and have a chance to win some fabric to get your own holiday sewing started!

Today Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts is here sharing a tree skirt she made using the Homespun Holiday collection by Bristol Bay Studios (with a few blenders mixed in!). Check out Debby's tutorial and then head over to her blog to find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of Homespun Holiday.

Here's Debby!

I love all things traditional about Christmas. I've been married for 37 years and have been gathering holiday trimmings, decorations, textiles, lights, etc all that time. Throw in 3 daughters and now 3 grandchildren, you know I'm swimming in all things Christmas. I have a little secret: in my last move or two I've misplaced my tree skirt. Gone!

I chose the Homespun Holiday Collection from Benartex for the purpose of making a traditional tree skirt using one of my new templates. It's a super-sized Dresden Plate ruler (I call it the "Vortex") which is multi-sized. You won't need my ruler to make our tree skirt (I offer the pdf of the template at the end of this post), so don't worry.

Well, let me first show you the fabrics, right? I didn't ask for all of them and I also asked for some of the Burlap Fabrics (blenders) which will work with Homespun Holiday.

Homespun Holiday Collection by Benartex

I also pulled out a few Fossil Ferns to see if they could fill in should I need them:

Fossil Ferns, still faithful after 15+ years

I was working with fat quarters, so this is perfect for those wonderful bundles you buy with no idea for a project in mind!

From each of the prints and the blenders I cut the following:
-- One 3-1/2" x 22" strip
-- One 9-1/2" x 22" strip
Pair one 3-1/2" strip and one 9-1/2" strip as you wish, taking care to have good contrast. Don't agonize over this step or get all "matchey-matchey." Sew with 1/4" seam. Press. Make 10 sets.

Ten sets of narrow and wide strips sewn and pressed

Now it's time to cut. Notice my template can flip-flop back and forth with no waste. Cut two wedges from each two-strip set. 

Cut two wedges from each set

Cut 10 wedges with the short strip at the widest end:

10 wedges with narrow strip unit at the widest

 Cut 10 wedges with the wide strip at the widest end of the shape:

10 wedges with the wide strip at the widest end of the shape

Now to sew and join the wedges in groups of fives. Notice that two sets begin and end with the wide fabric at the narrow end of the wedge; two sets begin and end with the short fabric strip on the narrow end of the wedge. Press seams open between the wedges as shown in one section below.

Four sections with 5 wedges in each

Decide where you want the opening and leave that edge unseamed. Select fabric for your lining (I found a Benartex Christmas print from a few years ago, about a yard), place tree skirt right sides together with lining and pin in place.

Pinning to lining

Now trim around entire skirt:

Tree skirt and lining pinned

First sew the two straight sides of the opening and trim excess wedge fabric:

Sew straight sides of skirt opening

Now we sew all around the outer curved edge and turn right side out. Press well

Tree skirt with lining, turned and pressed

Time for binding that center opening. It looked too small for me and so I trimmed away 1" from the curved edge:

Trim away 1" to enlarge opening

Trimmed:

Enlarged opening

I cut BIAS binding from a wonderful stripe from last year, Season's Greetings by Benartex - just enough to surround the opening and give me a tie. I cut 2" wide strips.

Bias strips for binding

And, the final tree skirt!

Holiday Tree Skirt: 27" diameter

Here is the pattern for that wedge. Just print and transfer to template material. I suggest freezer paper. Since you will have more than enough fabric in your pieced units (from the first step), you might be inspired to make one or two more tree skirts!

Free Pattern: Tree Skirt Wedge Template

Thanks Debby!

Head over to Debby's blog to find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of Homespun Holiday to play with!

And be sure to stop back each day of our blog hop for a different Christmas in July tutorial featuring our holiday fabrics!

Here's our schedule:

Monday: Santa Sack by Chris from Made by Chrissie D using Happy Holidays Snowmen

Tuesday: Tree Skirt by Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts using Homespun Holiday

Wednesday: Throw Pillow by Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation using Ornamental Splendor

Thursday: Wonky Star Placemats by Kristen from KD Quilts using Santa's Here

Friday: Christmas Card Organizer by Melissa from My Fabric Relish using Frosty Forest

Monday: Table Runner and Napkins by Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts using Frosty Forest

Tuesday: Wintry Wall Banner by Wendy from Ivory Spring using Shades of Winter

Love It? Share It!