Technique Tuesday: Knitty Sheep Does Crochet

We're here with Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts for Technique Tuesday! Today Debby is playing with Greta Lynn's Knitty Sheep line for Kanvas while showing how to make Hourglass blocks and offering suggestions on how to best use fussy cut sheep "stripes."

It's natural for sheep to want to knit or crochet, right?

Knitty Sheep, Knitty Sheep: can you knit with wool?

No, ma'am. No, ma'am. I never learned in school!

What! That sounds so crazy. Did you skip classes just to play?

No, ma'am, I took a class to learn how to crochet!

Whew! Now that's what I'm talking about! I can't knit and can only crochet. It's refreshing to find wool bearing sheep who know what to do with their hair!

Debby, why did you want to work with this collection?

Debby: I loved working with the Knitty Kitty collection a few months ago and made a few items for my crochet supplies (see post here). And now the fabrics are also in flannels. I can think of some cozy things to make for my little grandsons using those.

And some flannels to stay cozy and warm . . .

Knitty Sheep flannels

How long did it take for you to come up with your idea for our Technique Tuesday?
Debby: Well,  it usually only takes a day or two for the fabrics to convince me of what they want. Yes, they actually do start whispering once I rescue them from the mailing box. Then they get louder and louder until they convince me. But this time I think they were exhausted from their trip and it took over a week for them to talk to me.

And can we see what you did?
Debby: Why not? Isn't that what we're all here for?
I wanted so badly to capture the sheep in a horizontal strippy type quilt. I measured and figured that I would be able to cut 4" strips without lopping off any important sheep body parts! I allowed 1/4" from the tips of their little sheep heads.  I was given 38" (basically a yard) to work with and the strip looks like this:

4" strip, allowing for 1/4" from the tops of their heads

(Important note: the line of sheep runs parallel to the selvedge. For a longer strip you need more yardage.)

Then I dug through my files and found a tried and true pattern for an Hourglass block using my quick piecing and cutting using a 45˚ ruler (NOT a kaleidoscope ruler).

I used Judy Martin's 45 Shapemaker:

Judy Martin's 45 Shapemaker

Omnigrid side setting triangle

 I'm able to get two full blocks from two contrasting fabrics cut 2-3/4" x wof. Always press toward the "solid" reading color so the seams will nestle when units are joined together.

Two strips cut 2-3/4" x wof. Off-set them by 2-1/2" as shown

I selected 3 companion fabrics from the Knitty Sheep/Kitty Collection and the perfect blue from a Benartex batik. 

I wanted to make 12 - 16 blocks, so I cut:

** 2 strips EACH of 4 colors: 2-3/4" x wof (will yield four blocks)
** 8 strips 2-3/4" x wof of the novelty print from Knitty Kitty/Sheep as shown above

From the Knitty Sheep panel fabric, cut:
** Four strips 4" x 36/38". Take care to measure 1/4" from the tips of the sheep heads. This way you won't "intrude" on the heads in the next panel. Two strips are used for the quilt center and two are used for the side borders.
** Cut two wider borders from the two ends at the selvedges. Note that there is more of the gray background fabric on each of the ends. This makes them a natural for the top and bottom borders.

Use the ruler to cut perfect triangles, always aligning the ruler tip at the top of the strip set

Flip flop the ruler across the strip set until you get to the end. Notice that by offsetting the strips as we did at the beginning, it allows us to get ONE MORE cut, thus enough for two blocks per strip set.

Squeezing one more cut from the strip set

Let's see the block units:

8 triangle cuts from each strip set, enough for 2 blocks

And how do you arrange them?

Pretty nifty, huh?

Pair two together and sew the two block halves:

Two block halves. Always press in the same direction

You need for the seams to go in opposite directions from each other, so always press toward the same center triangle. Then you press the center seam open to reduce bulk.

Hourglass block with center seam pressed open

Now, can we see the other colors you used?

Four happy blocks in bright colors

 Now, let's see how you put the rows together. (Sorry. The lighting in my sewing studio is not good)

Rows of 4 blocks stitched together. Then joined to a horizontal sheep row.

Don't you love these two sheep from Poland? And that awesome wool with crochet hook?

Here are all the blocks and borders

Because I didn't have the length I needed to cover the entire length of the sides, I cut rectangles from the gray background companion print (like the one used in the blocks). The patches were the size of the side borders (4") and the top/bottom borders (5-1/4" - 6"). Worked perfectly!

Quilt Size: 43" x 44"

Love these colors. And aren't they such happy looking sheep?

This is a very quick -and fun - block to make. And look at those Knitty Sheep in their rows. Love them all!

Thanks Debby!

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Tour the Kanvas booth!

Without seeing the words on the floor of the booth, you can probably guess the theme of the Kanvas booth at Quilt Market. 

Hot Colors. Bright Ideas.

This booth is overflowing with both, and we're thrilled that it won the First Place Double Booth Award at Market.

On to the photos!

A look at the entire booth, which features  Bright Idea, Tango, and Candy Store collections by Maria Kalinowski

From a different angle:

Enormous popsicles stand guard over display shelves of purses and bags made from new Kanvas collections

A sample quilt showing off the bold and bright Tango collection, and in front, an apron made using the ombre border print from the Cherry Jubilee collection.

 

Continuing the enormous theme, giant lollipops sprout from the floor (say hi to Benny!) 

Bright ideas, indeed!

Delicious!

A look at the purses and bags on display:

A closer look--check out that beautiful blue 1st prize ribbon!

And another close-up...which is your favorite?

We hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of our Benartex, Contempo and Kanvas booths! Watch for the new fabric collections you've seen here both on the blog and in your local quilt shop.

Click here to tour the Benartex booth.
Click here to tour the Contempo Studio booth.

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Tour the Contempo booth!

Next up, the Contempo Studio booth! 

The booth showcases the Our Town collection by Michele D'Amore. The line drawing houses, painted bicycles and orange/coral color palette created a compelling vignette and earned a prize from the Quilt Market judges!

Here's a look at the entire booth:

And another:

Simple black and white house renderings set the scene, with 3D blooms in the flower boxes:

Larger-than-life flower cut-outs based on prints in the Our Town collection

A sample quilt featuring Our Town fabrics

Another contemporary quilt, featuring Our Town fabrics

Love how the colors pop in this vertical strip quilt featuring Our Town fabrics. See that black and white text print in the back? It's  also part of the Our Town collection. We love the painted bicycles, too!

Fabric designer Michele D'Amore (left) with booth designer Melanie Greseth, holding the "Best Creativity Award," a well-deserved win for the booth!

Click here to tour the Benartex booth.
Stay tuned for a tour of the Kanvas booth!

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Welcome to our Quilt Market Booth!

We're unpacked from Quilt Market and Benny is back at work after his harrowing kidnapping adventure; all is right in our world! And that means it's time to take you on a tour of our Quilt Market booths.

First up, the Benartex booth, featuring a wide variety of fabric collections and designers (we'll be featuring these new fabric lines over the next few months):

We'll start with Paula Nadelstern's Fabracadabra display.

The side view...kaleidoscopes in all their glory!

A close up of an intricately beaded ornament made from Paula's fabric. These are truly works of art!

Here you can see all three ornaments, with colorful quilts in the background.

A better look at two of the quilts, plus some eye-catching circle purses.

A look at Ann Lauer's Sundance and Poppy Panache display

Gorgeous bed quilt with fussy-cut appliqued poppies!

Two more quilts in Ann's booth featuring Sundance

Christmas goes bright and cheery! The Frosty Forest collection by new designer Cherry Guidry, shown in two quilts.

And two more patterns featuring this collection, part of our skinny quilt showcase. Don't you love the quilting on that light green tree?!

More Christmas with the Chickadees and Berries line by Jackie Robinson, including this quilt made with the collection's panel.

An easy tree quilt wallhanging made using half-square triangles.

A Duffle Bag and Ditty Bag, also from Jackie's line, featuring her coordinating embroidery patterns

Backing up, you can see one entire section of our booth, including Jackie's designs, a section of the skinny quilt showcase, and quilts from Cheryl Haynes' Moose on the Loose collection.

Here are some close-ups of the skinny quilts. We love these because they allow us to showcase more patterns from more collections at the show.

Left: Homespun Holiday by Bristol Bay Studio

Right: Chickadees and Berries by Jackie Robinson

Left:Calypso Balis, Rock Garden Balis and Rivermist Balis

Center:Fernwood by Jennifer Young

Right: Avignon by Michele D'Amore

Left: Rusty and Friends by Mitzi Powers (and don't miss that adorable stuffed fox on the floor!)

Center:Sundance by Ann Lauer

Right: Rock Garden Balis

Left:Calypso Balis, Rock Garden Balis and Rivermist Balis

Center: Fabracadabra by Paula Nadelstern

Right: Homespun Holiday by Bristol Bay Studio

Left: Ornamental Splendor by Allison Hayward

Middle:Sew Vintage by Bristol Bay Studio

Center: Metallic Lace by Dover Hill Studio

We hope you enjoyed this photo-filled tour through the Benartex section of our booth. Next up will be our award-winning Kanvas and Contempo booths! 

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Benny is back!!

Whew! We are relieved to announce that Benny has returned!

(If you missed the story of Benny's kidnapping, read it here.) 

While waiting for the expected ransom note, Benny's coworkers had prepared a fabric payment--after all, who but a fabric lover would kidnap this sweet, cuddly pup? Here's Benny posing with the potential ransom; scroll down to find out how Benny returned (without having to pay a ransom!).

After five days of handing out "missing" signs and searching for Benny on social media, and even in the streets of New York, there had been no word from the kidnappers. The office was bereft. Then, Monday morning, Benny mysteriously reappeared in the Benartex office, wrapped in a plastic bag. 

The accompanying note claimed that he'd been discovered in a crate from Quilt Market that had been delayed in its return to the New York offices--that no kidnapping had ever occurred. 

However...based on rumors buried in the back pages of the supermarket tabloids (we told you Benny had become famous!) and some enlightening photos on social media sites that have since been taken down, we have a different theory on why it took Benny five extra days to get home:

He sure gets around!

If only dogs could talk...

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Regardless of what really happened, we are grateful that Benny has been returned. He would have been worth every fat quarter we had collected for the ransom. Since we never had to pay it, we're sharing some of those fat quarters with one lucky person who participated in the "I found Benny" contest.

 The randomly drawn winner is:

Mary D. from St. Louis, MO

Congratulations!

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