Summer Crush - Mosaic Contest Entries

A couple of days ago, I saw on my Bloglovin feed that Stitched in Color was having a another fabric mosaic contest.  For each mosaic contest, Rachel gives a theme and some inspirational photographs and then you get to go play, creating different fabric bundles from the fabrics at Quilt Sandwich Fabrics. I think that making digital fabric combinations (almost) satisfies my fabric tooth as much as buying actual fabric!

The theme this time was Summer Crush and Rachel pulled together some beautiful inspirational photographs.

To make my bundles, I usually go through all of the shop's fabrics, coping any fabrics that catch my eye and I think might work into PowerPoint.  I usually start with a focus fabric in the center of the mosaic and then play around with the other fabric thumb nail images, arranging them around the center fabric.

For both of my bundles this time I started with Anna Maria Horner prints, their aquas, yellows, and pinks spoke summer to me.

Bundle #1 - Summer Pop

Bundle #2 - Social Summer

 I hope you enjoyed my interpretations of Summer Crush and will hop over to Stitched in Color's blog to see the other gorgeous entries.

OIfa Endurance Review and Giveaway

As August's instructions for the Magnolia Mystery quilt have been for cutting our fabric, I thought it would be very timely for a review of the Olfa Endurance rotary blades and a giveaway!

This giveaway came about because Olfa commented on an older post of mine on Instagram where I had a bunch of HSTs and an Olfa cutter in the picture.  I replied to their comment that I love my Olfa cutter and that I have tried so many different types and brands of cutters and it is the only one I use.  They asked if I had tried their Endurance rotary blades and when I told them I had not, they offered to send me one to try and if I liked it they offered to sponsor a giveaway so you could have a chance to try one too! (So long story short, this giveaway is sponsored by Olfa but all opinions are 100% mine.)

I was wondering if I would be able to really tell if my blade stayed sharper longer, but after cutting all of the fabrics for three complete quilts I can say that I really could tell a difference.  The blade was still sharp after all of that cutting.

In addition, Olfa also sent me a folding cutting mat.  This is going to be perfect to bring to classes or retreats and when unfolded is a very usable 12" x 17" size.

You can find the Olfa Endurance blades and mat on Amazon or your local quilt shop. (affiliate links)

Would you like a chance to win an Olfa Endurance rotary blade and folding mat?  There will be two winners, each winning a blade and mat.  Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is limited to only the US and the prizes will be shipped directly from Olfa.

To enter, simply use the rafflecopter: (if you are reading this post via e-mail, you may need to click over to the blog for the rafflecopter box to appear below).

(If you do not have an Instagram account, you can type in "no IG" into the box for an entry)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Diamonds in the Sky ++ Pattern Release

I am excited to announce that my pattern, Diamonds in the Sky is now available as a stand along digital quilt pattern in three sizes! 

You can now find the pattern in my pattern shop in both digital and print versions.

Diamonds in the Sky is a fully paper pieced quilt pattern and was originally published in the Winter 2016 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited magazine with instructions for a lap sized quilt.  The stand alone pattern now contains baby, lap, and large lap sizes.

Diamonds in the Sky is a very geometric, paper pieced pattern with a diamond pattern that emerges as the quilt top is assembled.

This quilt is an advanced beginner to intermediate level pattern and assumes basic paper piecing skills. Detailed instructions for paper piecing may be found on many blogs and YouTube.  The cover version of the quilt was made from Kona Cotton Solids and Science Fair, both collections by Robert Kaufman.

Many, many thanks to Paige of Quilted Blooms and Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl for their awesome tech editing and reviewing!!

Just a reminder, you can find Diamonds in the Sky in my pattern shop in both digital and print versions.

Flock of Geese Quilt and Quilter's Planner 2018

As you probably have seen around the internet and social media, the Quilter's Planner 2018 (affiliate link), is now available for pre-order!

I have been involved since the first planner (back in 2016) and have enjoyed seeing it grow and improve each year.  New this year:

1. Shipping costs will be included in the pricing.
2. The planner will include 4 pages of stickers!
3. Quilt patterns will be in a separate magazine.

Speaking of patterns, I actually have two contributions to the Quilter's Planner this year; a quilt pattern called Flock of Geese and a monthly sampler quilt pattern (I will be posting about the sampler quilt next week).

Flock of Geese is a modern take on the traditional Birds in the Air quilt block.  I had an idea for a teal, green, blue, and yellow color palette and started pulling fabric options from my stash.  

I assembled the quilt top with the blocks on-point, giving a different look to the traditional Birds in the Air design.  I quilted Flock of Geese with randomly spaced diagonal lines to form a cross-hatch pattern using Aurifil 50 wt in white (color 2024). The diagonal lines are in a variety of spaciongs from about 3/8" to 1".  I like the texture the quilting gives, but I must admit that it was very time consuming.

Photograph by Kitty Wilkin @nightquilter, taken for The Quilter's Planner 2018 @thequiltersplanner

 Photograph by Kitty Wilkin @nightquilter, taken for The Quilter's Planner 2018 @thequiltersplanner

Photograph by Kitty Wilkin @nightquilter, taken for The Quilter's Planner 2018 @thequiltersplanner

I use my 2017 planner to schedule my blog posts, organize my to-do lists, and manage my work, home, and quilting calendar. It really is an indispensable tool for managing my life (and pretty stylish too)!

The Quilter’s Planner (8″ x 10″) features:

• 8″ x 10″ planner, 240 pages
• Weekly and monthly calendar pages
• Project planning pages and project at-a-glance pages
• 12 monthly blocks featured in a new Quilter’s Planner Sampler Quilt pattern by Cheryl Brickey NEW!
• A companion full-color glossy magazine with 13 quilting and sewing patterns by top designers NEW!
• 4 pages of planner stickers by 2018 Featured Artist Alison Glass  NEW!
• Laminated cover and colorful tabs designed by Alison Glass  NEW!
• 15 coloring pages designed by Alison Glass  NEW!
• To-do lists galore
• Photography of the 14 included patterns by Kitty Wilkin
• Deadline planning pages
• Bee block & swap projects planner
• Yearly goals planning Page
• In-depth reference section with cutting measurements and yardage planner
• Fabric chart from Andover Fabrics featuring Alison Glass fabrics  NEW!
• Measurement chart for personal garment sewing  NEW!
• Lots of graph paper and blank drawing paper
• Pocket on the inside back cover

QP Mini (5″ x 7″) features:

• Small 5″ x 7″ 80-page book that fits nicely in your bag
• Undated daily planning pages with to-do lists, appointments and shopping lists is the perfect companion to the full-sized Quilter’s Planner
• Meal planning and grocery lists to take on-the-go  NEW!!
• Graph paper and blank pages for sketching or jotting down notes
• Projects-at-a-glance pages so you can keep your full list of ongoing projects with you
• Project planning pages so you can easily keep notes on your project and what you need to buy, to bring with you to the quilt shop

 

For U.S. pre-orders, you can pre-order the 2018 Quilter’s Planner or 2018 Quilter’s Planner bundle now! If you are an international reader, the Fat Quarter Shop has pre-orders with international shipping.

I'm linking up with Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts linky party Let's Bee Social:

Magnolia Mystery Quilt ++ Cutting Instructions

Welcome to the August Instructions for the Magnolia Mystery Quilt, we will be cutting a majority of our fabric this month! We are just getting started so please join us!

You can find the fabric requirements and some helpful fabric picking tips right here (and all of the Magnolia Mystery Quilt information and posts can be found here).

Now that the Magnolia Mystery Quilt Along has been completed, you can get the instructions as part of the instruction blog posts or you can go to Etsy for a full set of easy to print pdf instructions for sale:

Magnolia Mystery Quilt - Full pdf Instructions on Etsy

The Magnolia Mystery Quilt contains instructions for both Lap and Queen sizes which are both included in this post:

Lap Size Cutting Instructions




If you like to oversize and then trim down your half square triangles (HSTs), then oversize the pieces indicated with a * by about ¼”.

1. Cut 3 strips* 3" x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut the strips into 36 squares* 3” x 3” (each strip can yield 13 squares).

If starting with yardage...
1. Cut 9 strips 2 ½" x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut the strips into 72 rectangles 2 ½” x 4 ½” (each strip can yield 8 rectangles).

If starting with layer cake slices (10” x 10”) or a jelly roll strips (2 ½” x WOF)...
1. Cut 7 of the slices/strips each into 8 rectangles 2 ½” x 4 ½”.
2. Cut 4 of the slices/strips each into 4 rectangles 2 ½” x 4 ½”.

Keep all matching pieces from each slice/strip grouped together within the fabric pile.

1. Cut 6 strips 2 ½” x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut the strips into 91 squares 2 ½” x 2 ½” (each strip can yield 16 squares).

1. Cut 3 strips* 3” x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut the strips into 36 squares* 3” x 3” (each strip can yield 13 squares).
2. Cut 13 strips 2 ½" x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut 6 strips into 36 rectangles 2 ½” x 6 ½” (each strip can yield 6 rectangles).
     b. Sub-cut 7 strips into 112 squares 2 ½” x 2 ½” (each strip can yield 16 squares).

The majority of Fabric D will be left uncut for now, the remainder will be cut in a future month.

Queen Size Cutting Instructions




If you like to oversize and then trim down your half square triangles (HSTs), then oversize the pieces indicated with a * by about 1/4”.

1. Cut 4 strips* 4" x WOF.
     a.   Sub-cut the strips into 36 squares* 4” x 4” (each strip can yield 10 squares).

If starting with yardage...
1. Cut 12 strips 3 ½" x WOF.
     a.   Sub-cut the strips into 72 rectangles 3 ½” x 6 ½” (each strip can yield 6 rectangles).

If starting with fat quarters (18” x 20”)...
1. Cut 7 of the fat quarters each into 8 rectangles 3 ½” x 6 ½”.
2. Cut 4 of the fat quarters each into 4 rectangles 3 ½” x 6 ½”.

Keep all matching pieces from each fat quarter grouped together within the fabric pile.

1. Cut 9 strips 3 ½” x WOF.
     a.   Sub-cut the strips into 91 squares 3 ½” x 3 ½” (each strip can yield 11 squares).

1. Cut 4 strips* 4” x WOF.
     a.   Sub-cut the strips into 36 squares* 4” x 4” (each strip can yield 10 squares).
2. Cut 20 strips 3 ½" x WOF.
     a. Sub-cut 9 strips into 36 rectangles 3 ½” x 9 ½” (each strip can yield 4 rectangles).
     b. Sub-cut 11 strips into 112 squares 3 ½” x 3 ½” (each strip can yield 11 squares).

The majority of Fabric D will be left uncut for now, the remainder will be cut in a future month.

Many thanks to our generous sponsors!

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