Rin Along ++ My Progress

Today, as part of the Rin Along co-hosted by Cindy and myself for the modern applique pattern Rin by Carolyn Friedlander, I am going to be sharing some of my progress on the blocks and Cindy is sharing some tips about applique including scissors, needles, and pins over on her blog.

I am making some blocks (as wall art and pillows) instead of a larger quilt.  My first block uses some Carolyn Friedlander fabrics:  Doe Crisscross in blue for the rings and Doe Breeze in sky for the background.  Here are some in progress pictures.

I have my first Rin block basted using wool batting (this is the first time I am using wool batting and I am enjoying how poofy it is) and I plan to hand quilt it along the lines in the background fabric.

I am enjoying seeing all of the Rin progress on Instagram #RinAlong, make sure to share yours.

Rin Along ++ Folding Tips

Welcome to the first Wednesday of the Rin Along co-hosted by Cindy and myself for the modern applique pattern Rin by Carolyn Friedlander.

Most Wednesdays during the quilt along, Cindy and I will be alternating between showing progress and giving some tips.  Today, I will be sharing some tips and you can hop over Cindy's blog to see how she is progressing in her blocks.

My tips for today focus mostly on the folding of the folding the applique and background fabrics.

1. Practice folding with paper first - The blocks are quite large and use a good amount of fabric so I suggest that you test out your folding technique first using paper.  I used a square of wrapping paper and was glad I did so because the first 2 times I tried to fold the paper, I wound up with 2 halves of a ring because I did not fold correctly.

2.  Step 3 - The step of folding that I got wrong (and from talking with some of the quilt along participants, it has stumped a number of you too) was Step 3.  When folding in step 3, make sure that the corner you are folding has a fold in it (versus the other corner which has two loose pieces).

3.  Placing the Rin Template - Make sure that once your fabric is folded you place the Rin template on the folded fabric such that the edges of the template are right on the edges of the folded fabric.  This will make for smoother curves in the applique piece.

4.  "Fixing" the applique pieces - As hard as I tried to get each fold correct and pressed well, when you are cutting through so many layers, things might shift a little.  In my case, some of the scallops on one of the rings were not as deep as others.  I simply did a little trimming on those scallops to make all of the scallops a little more uniform.

5.  Carolyn's Creativebug Class - For those that are new to needle turn applique like me, I am going to pass on a great tip that Cindy gave me.

Carolyn Friedlander has a number of video classes on Creativebug that go very detailed into the entire needle turned applique process.  It really helped me to see in a video how Carolyn pinned the applique and how she handled appliqueing curves and points. Creativebug has a free 2 week trial so you can view the class and test out Creativebug. (Disclosure - I am in no way affiliated with Creativebug and receive absolutely no compensation whatsoever from this mention.  I just found the video class helpful so I wanted to share.)

I am enjoying seeing all of the Rin progress on Instagram #RinAlong, make sure to share yours 😃

Quilt Theory ++ Arrow Point Path

I am excited to be able to share some secret sewing and a new project with you today... (and a giveaway at the end of this post :)

Photograph by Michelle Bartholomew

I would like to introduce Arrow Point Path, my quilt pattern for the 2nd pattern collection of Quilt Theory. Arrow Point Path is a lap sized, fat quarter friendly pattern that combines beginner level piecing into a strong geometric design. The cover quilt was made in solids but would look great in prints too. In fact, I have a second version in the works using some Densye Schmidt prints.

UPDATE: Arrow Point Path is now available in my pattern shop and has been updated to include baby, lap, twin, and queen sizes.  You can find the pattern here:

Digital Pattern

Printed Pattern

Photograph by Michelle Bartholomew

Many thanks to Michael Miller for providing the beautiful Cotton Couture solids and to Aurifil for supplying the thread for the piecing and quilting.

I quilted Arrow Point Path in an swirl/paisley type design using 40wt white (color 2024) Aurifil thread.  I liked the effect of using the 40wt (versus my usual go to 50wt) because it made the quilting stand out just a bit more to give the quilt some good texture.

Photograph by Michelle Bartholomew

Our goal at Quilt Theory is to create simple and modern quilt patterns, and we design collections of patterns printed on small cards and one-page PDFs. As a group, we have become a strong team as we worked through writing, testing, editing, and quilting the patterns in our collection.

For our second collection, we challenged ourselves to write patterns that utilize precut bundles of fabric. We hope you find a lot of inspiration in our collection to make quilts from your favorite bundles in your stash.

Giveaway!

To celebrate the launch of Quilt Theory, I am giving away a digital copy of my pattern, Arrow Point Path, a digital copy of Quilt Theory Coloring Pages (2nd collection), and a two Joel Dewberry charm packs!!

To enter, use the Rafflecopter widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The giveaway ends Thursday, May 25th, at 8 pm eastern time and a random number generator will select the winner. Giveaway open to participants 18 years or older and international participants are welcome. *If you purchase my pattern and then you win it, I’ll refund you or let you pick out another Quilt Theory pattern.

Be sure to visit the rest of the Quilt Theory designers this week during our blog hop.

Quilt Theory Release Blog Hop Schedule

Friday 5/12 - Quilt Theory
Saturday 5/13 - Kitty @Night Quilter
Monday 5/15 - Michelle @Michelle Bartholomew
Tuesday 5/16 - Daisy @Ants to Sugar
Wednesday 5/17- Stephanie @Late Night Quilter
Thursday 5/18 - Cheryl @Meadow Mist Designs  ← that's me
Friday 5/19 - Lorinda @Laurel Poppy and Pine
Saturday 5/20 - Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
Monday 5/22 - Quilt Theory

I am linking up to Link a Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, and Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She.

Photograph by Michelle Bartholomew

Rin Along ++ Official Start and Prizes

Welcome to the official kick off of the Rin Along 

hosted by Cindy of Hyacinth Quilt Designs and myself!

I hope that you have had a chance to purchase the pattern and pick out some fabrics to use if you decided to join in.  This is going to be a very relaxing and easy paced quilt along.

On most Wednesdays throughout the quilt along, Cindy and I will be sharing either a tip or the progress in our projects. You can share your progress on social media using the hastag #RinAlong.

The parade at the end of the quilt along will be posted on both Cindy's blog and my blog on July 5th.  To participate in the parade and be eligible for prizes:

• You will need to e-mail either Cindy or myself (MeadowMistDesigns at gmail dot com) a picture of your "finish" by July 2nd.
• You only need to have one block made (just appliqued, the block does not need to be quilted).  

Prizes

We will have 4 four winners, the winners being selected randomly from those that enter the parade.

Carolyn Friedlander - Carolyn has generously offered some of her fabric to one winner (US only).

Aurifil - Aurifil is giving away an 80wt small spool 10-piece collection by Carolyn Friedlander (US and international, no PO Boxes).

Cindy is giving away a copy of her book Simply Modern Christmas (US only).

Quilting Jetgirl - Yvonne has generously donated two (2) pdf patterns from her Etsy shop for one winner.

I will be giving out three (3) digital pdf patterns of the winner's choice from my Etsy shop (US and international).

See you next Wednesday when I will be sharing some tips on getting started with the pattern!

Rin Along ++ Announcement

Looking for a fun and very relaxed quilt along to participate in while waiting for the Magnolia Mystery Quilt-along to start?

Cindy from Hyacinth Quilt Designs and myself are hosting a Rin Along for the Rin quilt pattern by Carolyn Friedlander over the next 2 months.

Both Cindy and I fell in love with the Rin quilt design and had independently put it on our to-make list in 2017.  We decided to make the Rin quilt together and thought that maybe some of you would like to join in.  

We are going to keep this quilt along very casual and low stress, here is our tentative schedule:

Wednesday May 3rd (today) - announce quilt along  

Wednesday May 17th - official start to the quilt along

Wednesday July 5th - end to the quilt along with parade and prizes

Share your progress on social media using the hastag #RinAlong

To be part of the parade at the end of the quilt along, you only need to have one block made (just appliqued, it does not even need to be quilted).  There will be prizes!  (We are still getting them finalized and will announce them in a bit.)

You can get a copy of the Rin pattern through Carolyn Friedlander's shop and Carolyn has been generous to offer quilt along participants a discount 20% discount for the pattern using the code RinQAL.  

I have never done needle turned applique and am excited to be learning a new skill and making a quilt just for fun.  My plan is to make 3 quilt blocks, quilt them individually, and hang them on my wall in my bedroom as art. 

We hope you decide to join in!

I'm linking up with Let's Be Social at Sew Fresh Quilts.
 

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 15 - Sizzle Star - Blog Hop and Giveaways

Welcome to my stop on the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 15 Blog Tour!

I am so excited to have a block called Sizzle Star in Volume 15 of the 100 Blocks magazine by Quiltmaker (and my block even made the cover)!  This is my sixth block to appear in the 100 Blocks magazines.  You can see my previous 100 Blocks: 

Sewing Triangles in Vol 10 

Outlined Plus in Vol 11

Paper Star in Vol 12

Cloud Burst in Vol 13

Pinwheel Punch in Vol 14

Sizzle Star is a great advanced level paper-pieced block.  The 12" (finished) block does have a lot of pieces and template sections (so it is not the quickest block to sew up), but I think that the resultant block has a striking look to it.  I designed the block using Electric Quilt 7 (EQ7) by using some of the Serendipity functions and then further refining the design.

Just like my Ruby Roads quilt I shared 2 weeks ago, the Sizzle Star block has a different look and feel when placed on-point:

Horizontal                                           On-Point

To show the versatility of this block, I played around in EQ7 to see how many different quilt top designs I could make with the block.  Here are some of my favorites...

The Sizzle block in a horizontal layout (with sashing) in a variety of colors.

The Sizzle block in an on-point layout (with sashing) in a variety of colors.

A single column of blocks (great way to enlarge a quilt without having to piece so many blocks)

On-point with a dark background and some half blocks around the edges.

An on-point patriotic version, great for a 4th of July picnic or a Quilts of Valor quilt.

I hope that you have enjoyed all of these renderings of Sizzle Star being used in different quilt tops to see how versatile the block is!

One question I was asked to answer in this blog post was where is the oddest place I have hidden fabric.  The only time I have had to hide fabric was after I bought an Elsa (from the movie Frozen) quilt panel at a quilt guild meeting and was showing it to my husband when I heard my daughter come towards the living room.  I quilt hid the panel in one of my end tables so I would not ruin her surprise before I could sew it up into a full quilt for her (here is Elsa peeking out!)

Make sure you stop by Quiltmaker's blog, Quilty Pleasures, for some great prizes and a complete list of blog tour participants! 

Now on to the Giveaways (yes plural!):

Prize 1: Quiltmaker is sponsoring the giveaway of a copy of 100 Blocks Magazine Vol. 15.  This magazine drawing is open to everyone-international included.  The magazine will be shipped directly from Quiltmaker.

Prize 2:  I am also sponsoring a second prize, a copy 100 Blocks Magazine Vol. 15 plus a printed copy of On a "Jelly" Roll (my most popular pattern).  This giveaway is open to everyone-international included and will be shipped from me.

To Enter:  

1.  Leave a comment on this post, any comment.  If you would like a topic/question to answer, you can tell me how you feel about paper piecing (like, love, dislike, hate, or have never tried it).

2.  My blog followers (old and new) get a bonus entry.  Leave a second comment with how you follow the blog.  (Here are some links for following... Bloglovin, Email)

The giveaway will run for 4 days, until 8 pm EST on Friday May 5th.  I try to respond to each and every comment I get on my blog, but with giveaway posts the numbers are usually too great to do this.  PS - If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave your e-mail address so I have a way of contacting you if you win.

Thanks!

**Giveaway now closed, thanks for entering! **