Monday, October 13, 2014

Getting ready for the holidays...with pre-cuts!

Are you planning to make a Christmas quilt this year? If so, now is the perfect time to get started! We can even offer a suggestion for a quilt to make:

We love "The Present Quilt" that Jenny Doan from Missouri Quilt Co. makes on this YouTube tutorial. 



Jenny uses Nancy Halvorsen's Christmas Pure & Simple collection to make her quilt in the video. 

Did you know this collection comes in pre-cut 10" squares and 5" charm packs? 
Either pre-cut option helps this quilt go together even faster. 
Check out Jenny's tutorial and let us know what you think! 

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Feels Like Fall Blog Hop: Day 6

Welcome back! It's the last day of our Feels Like Fall Blog Hop. We hope you've enjoyed the tutorials! Today, Erin from Why Not Sew is here with a beautiful leaf quilt--she used the entire spectrum of color in the Indian Summer collection, paired with the Burlap solids, to create this simple fall design. Erin chose the same Maple Leaf block as Kelly did on Day 1, yet the scale, layout, and fabric choices create a totally different quilt. We think you'll love them both! Enjoy Erin's tutorial and then scroll down to the bottom to find out how to win a fat quarter bundle of Indian Summer fabrics for yourself!



Hello! I am so happy to share this tutorial with you today. I made a fall themed lap quilt using the traditional Maple Leaf quilt block and fabric from Benartex's Indian Summer (the prints) and Burlap (the solids) lines. I made several blocks with different background colors to add some interest and warm it up a bit. Let's get started!



For each block you need:
 from background fabric,
1 rectangle, 4 7/8" x 9 3/4"
2 squares, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
 from printed fabric,
1 rectangle, 4 7/8" x 9 3/4"
1 rectangle, 1 3/4" x 7"
3 squares, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

For the quilt with a 4 x 5 block layout you need (20 blocks):
 from background fabric,
20 rectangle, 4 7/8" x 9 3/4"
40 squares, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"
 from printed fabric,
20 rectangle, 4 7/8" x 9 3/4"
20 rectangle, 1 3/4" x 7"
60 squares, 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"


Start by taking the 4 7/8" x 9 3/4" background and printed fabric and place them right sides together. Draw a line down the center of the rectangle at the 4 7/8" mark. Then mark a diagonal line on each side of the center line like the picture. This will make four half square triangles.











Sew 1/4" from each side of both diagonal lines.


Cut apart on the drawn lines. Set aside.


Cut one of the 4 1/2" background squares on the diagonal. Grab the 1 3/4" x 7" rectangle.


Press the two background triangles in half wrong sides together and press the rectangle in half right sides together.


Lay one of the triangles right sides together with the rectangle, lining up the creases. Sew together.


Open it up and sew the other triangle on to the rectangle, matching the creases.


Press toward the background fabric and square this up to a 4 1/2" square. Square up the half square triangles also.


Layout the squares like this above picture.


Sew the middle column to the first column.


Sew the last column to the middle.


Press the squares in the top and bottom rows away from the center and press the squares in the middle row toward the center.


Sew the rows together and press the seams open.

**For the whole quilt cut your fabric, make the half square triangles for each block, make the stem units for each block, then layout all of the squares arranged like above and stacked on top of each other. Then you can chain piece the blocks. This makes the process so much faster and you'll have a quilt top in no time at all!


Arrange the blocks in a 4 x 5 layout.


Enjoy!!!


Thanks so much to Benartex for asking me to participate in the blog hop! I love this quilt! It's such a simple and quick project I hope you make one too.

Thanks Erin! Head over to Erin's blog to enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Indian Summer fabrics!

This is the sixth of six autumn and/or Halloween themed tutorials coming your way, from Wednesday, October 1 through Wednesday, October 8. Be sure to check out all six and enter for a chance to win a fun fall fabric bundle!

Here's the line-up:
Day 1Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation featuring the Harvest Song collection
Day 2Christina from Sometimes Crafter featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 3: Melissa from My Fabric Relish featuring the Daily Zen collection
Day 4: Benartex blog design team featuring the Fall Festival collection
Day 5: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 6: Erin from Why Not Sew featuring the Indian Summer collection
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Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Feels Like Fall Blog Hop: Day 5

A spooky welcome to day 5 of the Feels Like Fall Blog Hop! Today, Debby Kratovil of Debby Kratovil Quilts puts her creative talents into a design using the haunting Spooktacular collection. From friendly spiders to potion bottles, black cats, and spider webs, Debby's design uses it all in a Halloween wall quilt for your home! Check out her tutorial and then scroll to the bottom to find out how you can enter to win a bundle of Spooktacular to create a boo-tiful Halloween project.




Spooktacular Fabrics by Benartex


BOO! Uh, I mean, welcome! Thanks for stopping by to see what I've got behind the curtain. Let's see what I've done with this fun collection of Halloween fabrics. I will be making the Snowball block to showcase these novelty prints.

First, I made a template out of freezer paper to center and view a motif. Can you believe this bottle of HELL FIRE!!? I showed it to my husband and told him that I might make a quilt out of it if he didn't shape up (ha ha; he's a minister!)

Fussy cutting a motif using freezer paper
I cut the freezer paper 6-1/2" square. Lopped off the corners at 2-1/2". Now I need to replace the corners with contrasting fabric squares. These are cut 2-1/2" with diagonal lines drawn on the back as shown below.
2-1/2" squares with diagonal sewing lines
I cut a variety of 6-1/2" squares from the other prints; but here you can see my placement of these orange print squares on the fussy cut HELL FIRE square from above. Sew on the diagonal line; trim away 1/4" as shown.

Sew on drawn line; trim 1/4" away. Discard small waste triangles
Then you need to press . . .
Press triangles outward for a neat 6-1/2" unfinished Snowball block
Some of the fabrics will use a black square . . .

Sew along diagonal line; trim and press
Just so I could keep track of where the squares will go and the orange and black triangles, I laid out my block parts before sewing. I call this auditioning.


Auditioning my color choices
Let's look at a few of the fun fabrics.
Happy spiders? Not the ones I find in my bathroom . . .
And what about bottles of funky brews?
Bottles of spiders? Essence of witch? Yikes!
So, what did I get? A happy, little Halloween quilt!
9 blocks with 1" inner border and 4" outer borders


(Follow this link for information about mitering corners like I did on my border.)

And? And? Anything else? Of course! Audrey came over and grabbed the rest of the orange and black cat fabric to make a set of diaper covers for newborn twins being born any day now to her husband's uncle. Here they are:


Boo! Twins born around Halloween need spooky bloomers!
Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks, Debby! For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Spooktacular, sign up to follow our blog (see righthand sidebar) and/or our Facebook page. Leave a comment letting us know that you are as well as telling us about the types of things you make using FABRIC at Halloween. the giveaway will be open through Friday October 10 at 11:59 pm EST. And be sure to head over to Debby's blog to say hi!

This is the fifth of six autumn and/or Halloween themed tutorials coming your way, from Wednesday, October 1 through Wednesday, October 8. Be sure to check out all six and enter for a chance to win a fun fall fabric bundle!

Here's the line-up:

Day 1Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation featuring the Harvest Song collection
Day 2Christina from Sometimes Crafter featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 3: Melissa from My Fabric Relish featuring the Daily Zen collection
Day 4: Benartex blog design team featuring the Fall Festival collection
Day 5: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 6: Erin from Why Not Sew featuring the Indian Summer


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Monday, October 6, 2014

Feels Like Fall Blog Hop: Day 4

Welcome back for Day 4 of our Feels Like Fall Blog Hop! Today we're sharing a reversible table runner made using Greta Lynn's Fall Festival collection from Kanvas. This runner is the perfect design to showcase a large focal print, and the simple pieced back is a fun way to finish it off and provide a different look for your table, simply by flipping it over. Scroll down to the bottom of the post to find out how you can enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Fall Festival.

Hello! Fall Festival is just the essence of fall--so many great prints to choose from, plus matching plaid coordinates. We used the adorable owl print as the focal print for the runner, but the fruit print, leaves, or harvest print would work equally well. 


This tutorial uses the pillowcase method of finishing. If you'd prefer to quilt the runner and use a traditional binding, we've provided alternate measurements for the backing; you'll also need (5) 2-1/4" x 42" binding strips to finish it up.

Let's get started!


Materials:
1/2 yard green plaid
1/4 yard cream plaid
1/4 yard red plaid
2/3 yard owl print
1/6 yard each apple print, leaf print and harvest print
1 yard solid black (1-1/4 yards if not using the pillowcase method)
20" x 72" batting


Cutting:
From the green plaid:
Cut (3) 2-1/2" x 42" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 12" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 8" strips
Cut (1) 3-1/2" x 42" strip (for runner back)

From the cream plaid:
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 11-1/2" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 5-1/2" strips
Cut (1) 3-1/2" x 42" strip (for runner back)

From the red plaid:
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 7-1/2" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 5-1/2" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" strips
Cut (1) 3-1/2" x 42" strip (for runner back)

From the owl print:
Cut (2) 5-1/2" x 42-1/2" strips
Cut (4) 5-1/2" x 8" pieces with owls running vertically

From the apple print, leaf print, and harvest print:
Cut (1) 3-1/2" x 42" strip from each (for runner back)

From the black solid:
Cut (1) 4-1/2" x 42-1/2" strip
Cut (2) 4-1/2" x 8" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 8" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 5-1/2" strips
Cut (2) 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" strips
Cut (3) 6-1/2" x 42" strips (for runner back)*
*Cut these strips 9" wide if not using the pillowcase method.


Make the Runner Front
1. Sew a 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" red plaid strip and black strip together. Sew a 2-1/2" x 5-1/2" red plaid strip and black strip together. Make 2 of each.

2. Sew the 4-1/2" long red plaid/black unit to the 4-1/2" x 8" black piece. Sew the 5-1/2" long red plaid/black unit to a 5-1/2" x 8" owl print piece. Make 2 of each.

3. Sew a 2-1/2" x 12" green strip between the two units from step 2. Make 2.

4. Sew a 2-1/2" x 11-1/2" cream plaid strip to the top (unit D). Make 2. 

5. Sew a 2-1/2" x 5-1/2" cream plaid strip and black strip together. Make 2.

6. Sew the cream plaid/black unit to a 4-1/2" x 42-1/2" owl print strip. Make 2.

7. Sew the (3) 2-1/2" x 42" green plaid strips short ends together into a long strip. Sew to the top long edge of the unit from step 8 and trim excess green plaid strip (unit B1). Sew the remaining green plaid strip to the second long owl strip and trim excess (unit B2).


8. Sew a 2-1/2" x 8" green plaid strip to the left side of a 5-1/2" x 8" owl piece. Make 2.

9. Sew a 2-1/2" x 7-1/2" red plaid strip to the top (unit A). Make 2.

For the following steps, refer to the diagram as you sew.
10. Sew an A unit to the B1 unit and an A unit to the B2 unit.
11. Sew the 4-1/2" x 42-1/2" black strip (unit C) to B1, starting where indicated. Stop sewing 1/4" before the end of the black strip. 
12. Sew a D unit to the end of the B1/C unit. Sew the opposite side of the C unit to B2, starting where indicated.
13. Sew the remaining D unit to the edge of C/B2 as shown in both the diagram and photo below.



Here is the remaining D unit pinned in place, ready to be attached.

This is what the runner will look like at this point. All you need to do is finish the sewing the partial seam. Fold the runner, pin, and stitch from the opening to the end of the runner.


Make the Runner Back
1. Sew the (6) 3-1/2" x 42" strips together lengthwise in an order you like. Crosscut the strip set into (4) 6-1/2" wide segments.

2. Sew the four segments short ends together to create a long pieced strip. 
3. Sew the (3) 6-1/2" x 42" black solid strips short ends together into a long strip. Sew to opposite long sides of the pieced strip and trim excess. *Note: If you are quilting and binding this rather than using the pillowcase finishing method, your black strips should be 9" x 42".


Assembling the Runner
1. Layer the runner top and back right sides together, matching raw edges on the long sides. Note: The back will be slightly longer and you'll need to trim it to match the front. Lay on top of batting and pin the three layers in place. 
2. Sew around all four sides with a 1/4" seam allowance, leaving an opening for turning. Clip corners. Turn right side out and slip stitch the opening closed. Topstitch around edge of runner if desired.


Enjoy your new reversible table runner!

For a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Fall Festival, sign up to follow the blog (see options in the right hand sidebar) and/or follow us on Facebook. Leave us a comment letting us know you do, as well as telling us if you've ever made a quilt/table runner/etc. with a pieced back. The giveaway is open through Thursday, October 9 at 11:59 pm EST.


This is the fourth of six autumn and/or Halloween themed tutorials coming your way, from Wednesday, October 1 through Wednesday, October 8. Be sure to check out all six and enter for a chance to win a fun fall fabric bundle!

Here's the line-up:
Day 1Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation featuring the Harvest Song collection
Day 2Christina from Sometimes Crafter featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 3: Melissa from My Fabric Relish featuring the Daily Zen collection
Day 4: Benartex blog design team featuring the Fall Festival collection
Day 5: Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts featuring the Spooktacular collection
Day 6: Erin from Why Not Sew featuring the Indian Summer
 collection

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