Sunday, March 30, 2014

Sunday Stash #223 - Confetti Dots and Mochi Linen Dots

Confettie Dots by Dear Stell in a rainbow of colors.
Confetti Dots by Dear Stella
I am a huge fan of fabric stash basics - dots, stripes, checks/gingham - and Confetti Dots by Dear Stella are the perfect basic stash addition. The small speckled confetti dots come in a rainbow of colors so there is bound to be a color just right for your project - not all of the colors available are shown here.

Confetti Dots fabric by Dear stella - in a rainbow of colors

Confetti Dots by Dear Stella ~ available from:
Fabric Bubb (Etsy)
The Fat Quarter Shop
Pink Castle Fabrics

Mochi Linen Dots by MoMo for Moda Fabrics
Mochi Linen Dots by MoMo for Moda Fabrics
More dots! These are Linen Mochi Dots by MoMo for Moda Fabrics ~ gorgeous linen blends (70% cotton/ 30% linen) and heavier than quilting cotton but with a lovely linen texture and suitable for all kinds of crafting (think bags and zippered pouches) including quilting.

Linen Mochi Dots by MoMo for Moda Fabrics ~ linen blend

Linen Mochi Dots by MoMo for Moda are available from:

Floral Fabrics - medium and small scale retro feel

I also stopped by a local store this week on a mission for brown and/or medium to large scale floral fabric. I was rewarded with these fabulous fabrics ~ mission accomplished. Often these fabrics have no details on the selvage however this time I can tell you that the fabric second from the top is from the Feedsack III Collection by Sara Morgan and the bottom fabric is from the Bungalow collection by Joel Dewberry.

Dainty Daisies in Emerald from the Bungalow Collection by Joel Dewberry
Dainty Daisies in Emerald - Bungalow Collection by Joel Dewberry
I like to think that I can look at a particular fabric/print outside of the collection that it is featured in, however this Dainty Daisies print went right under my fabric radar. It is part of the Bungalow collection by Joel Dewberry, a range that wasn't for me - because let's face it, we can't ALL like ALL of the fabric collections and share the same taste in colors/designs because that would be boring. This print alone is wonderful though and has a great retro feel that we perhaps don't see often in quilting cotton fabrics. Yardage is needed.

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

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Friday, March 28, 2014

A Great Granny Square Quilt

A finished quilt.
Great Granny Square Quilt - all the details
Great Granny Square Quilt 
This quilt was so much fun to make!  The Granny Square blocks came together really well considering I had chosen to work with 1.5 inch squares - fiddly but definitely workable - and the fabric play was oh so satisfying. 

patchwork granny square block
patchwork block - granny square quilt

Once the the nine Granny Square blocks were finished I had set my mind to making a large pillow cover. However, my eye caught the leftover pieces of Melange Yarn Dyed fabric from a previous project, and I couldn't resist the winning combination of these traditional blocks with a linen look wide border. 


Then the quilting began ... I quilted the patchwork blocks by first stitching edge to edge lines (running through the center of each block) both horizontally and vertically, and then I ditch stitched around the center panel and individual blocks, stopping and starting as required, and burying all thread ends into the batting by hand.

quilting detail for the Great Granny Square patchwork blocks

For the back of the quilt I have used a single fabric from the Briar Rose collection by Heather Ross. This Stawberry print is darling and a perfect match for this quilt (and a great quality fabric to boot).

Briar Rose by Heather Ross - Strawberries quilt back fabric
Briar Rose by Heather Ross - Strawberries - Quilt back fabric

Once quilted I rounded the corners of the quilt. I used a dinner plate to mark the curves on the quilt with a permanent marker (not so smart - note to self, use a fabric pen instead), then followed the marked lines with my rotary cutter.  

Quilt with rounded curved corners - and bias quilt binding machine stitched

Rounded quilt edges means that there are no corners to mitre. Bonus! But it does mean having to make bias binding - made from fabric strips cut across the diagonal of a square of fabric - which gives the fabric sufficient ease to hug the curves. It's so much easier than it looks or sounds. 

Granny Square quilt - linen border, rounded corners, bias binding

This quilt is for sale and it listed in my Etsy Store.

The listing details are here: Granny Square Quilt

Granny Square quilt - linen border and rounded corners

Thank you for stopping by and enjoy the weekend!
Rita

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Monday, March 24, 2014

Great Granny Squared Book by Lori Holt - A Giveaway!

A sponsored giveaway.
Lori Holt's latest pattern book Great Granny Squared arrived last week with compliments from the team at the Fat Quarter Shop.

Great Granny Squared by Lori Holt
Great Granny Pillow/Mini Quilts
Images used with permission.
Vintage Happy Fabric by Lori Holt
Granny Squared Pillow
They know me well - I love everything about this book. There are complete instructions for four projects: two quilts, a table runner and a pillow cover. The instructions are detailed and easy to follow, and all of the handmade items are beautifully photographed in style with the vintage feel of the projects. Flicking through the pages makes you want to immediately start a new project ... and so I did:


GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

The team at the Fat Quarter Shop are in fact giving away TEN Great Granny Squared books to ten lucky RPQ readers.

To be in the draw for this giveaway please leave a comment on this blog post. Only one comment per person/per email address - email me if you are not able to leave a comment (redpepperquilts at gmail dot com) and I will leave a comment on your behalf. International entries welcome. The draw will take place at 12 noon on Wednesday 26 March 2014 (Australia EDT).

The ten winners will be announced by edit to this blog post and will also be contacted by email.

Great Granny Squared ~ work in progress
Good luck everyone and thank you for supporting my sponsors.

Thank you for all of your entries!
ENTRY HAS NOW CLOSED

10 Winners:
Cathy Treadaway
Margaret Sherwood
Michelle Cain
Tracy Hudson
Mary Kolb
Jamie Cooley
Rene Sharp
Jeannette Bruce
Kelly Crosby
Kate O

Congratulations!  All winners have been notified by email.

RELEVANT LINKS:
Great Granny Squared by Lori Holt is available from The Fat Quarter Shop

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Sunday Stash #222 - Retro 30's Child Smile Collection

Retro 30's Child Smile Collection by Lecien
Just lately my eye has been drawn to the many vintage style and reproduction collections that are available. I don't think that this is a change of direction for me, but rather an expansion of my fabric stash. Like I really need to expand my stash ... 

Retro 30's Child Smile - Daisies
But ... these colors and small scale prints do work well with the fabrics that I usually go for and I intend to mix and match at my whimsy. The Daisies (pictured above) are my favorite from this collection - and I have seen images of these (as well as some of the prints) in other colorways - pretty pink, blue and yellow - that I haven't been able to get my hands on. Yet.

Retro 30's Child Smile - Cherries
My internet research(!) has not assisted me in identifying the designer of this collection - perhaps it is an in-house collection - nor am I able to find images of the full collection and there are definitely more colorways than pictured here and perhaps even other designs. I am always curious ... and need to see and know all.
Retro 30's Child Smile - Florals

RETRO 30'S CHILD SMILE COLLECTION is available from:
GJ's Discount Fabrics (in store)


 Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

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Friday, March 21, 2014

Scrappy Ohio Star Quilt - A Finished Quilt

And a picture post.
It has been a busy and productive week - busy in a good way with fun fabrics, no pressure sewing and scheduled knitting and coffee breaks. I allowed myself a whole day to baste this quilt (it takes hours of procrastinating) and then another day to quilt and bind. It was the small hours of the morning when I finally finished the quilt, and by then the house was all quite. There was even a slight chill in the air. At last. Welcome Autumn! 


This quilt is all about the fabrics so I have kept the quilting functional rather than decorative. I have quilted (ditch-stitched) all seam lines and then added an additional set of diagonal lines through all of the squares (cross-hatched). Very simple. The quilt feels so soft and drapes beautifully. You can't but run your hand over the fabrics. 


For the back of the quilt I have used a single cheerful yellow, floral fabric by Yuwa Fabrics (Simple Bouquet in Yellow) - a Japanese Import fabric of such fine quality. I've had this fabric in my quilt-back stash for a few months and have been holding onto it for just the right project, and this was the one!


I was indecisive about the binding fabric - my original plan was to use a pink binding fabric - but in the end I went with a classic black/white stripe fabric which complements both the quilt back as well as the front.  


This quilt is for sale and is now listed in my Etsy Store.

You'll find the listing and all the details here: Modern Patchwork Quilt.

As always thank you for stopping by,
Rita

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Ohio Star Quilt ~ Work in Progress


Traditional patchwork and simple piecing really is my "thing" ~ where I am in my element and can spend hours cutting fabric, sewing and pressing (and trimming) and not at all be bored by the repetitive tasks. Sometimes I watch a movie, or listen to music, sometimes it all happens in quiet contemplation. Every block is different and the variety in fabric combinations alone is enough to hold my interest.


This quilt is based on traditional patchwork units and the Ohio Star Block with variation (I've marked the Ohio Star Block block as it tends to get lost in the design if you are not sure what you're looking for) and is inspired by the Bee (Swap) Quilt by Karen from Blueberry Park. In effect, this quilt is created by alternating a square with an Hourglass Block. It is super simple but really effective and it is the perfect scrap project.


I've made up my own block sizes (which can easily be adjusted to whatever block size you prefer to work with) and  started cutting fabric late last week generally from stash, although I like to think I have used up some of my scraps. It doesn't look like it when I look at my scrap bins.

Cutting instructions:

4.5 inch squares (for the simple square blocks)
5.5 inch squares for the Hourglass units

Piecing Hourglass Units:

I have used an easy piecing method for my Hourglass units (making 2 Hourglass units at once) in the same way that I have documented in my Hourglass Block Tutorial (when working your way through the tutorial please remember that you're making 4.5 inch square Hourglass units - from 5.5 inch squares of fabric - and that as always it is worthwhile to make a practice block before cutting all of your fabric


The Layout:

Too easy. Alternate a Square with an Hourglass unit and sew together in (horizontal) rows. 

My quilt is 17 rows of 14 units = total of 238 blocks 
(119 Squares + 119 Hourglass Units) 
and the quilt top measures 56.5 inches x 68.5 inches.


Happy sewing.
Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Hourglass Block Tutorial
The Finished Ohio Star Quilt

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COPYRIGHT: Do not copy or use any content or photos from my blog without my written permission. This is original content from www.redpepperquilts.com.

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Sunday Stash #221 - Vintage Happy by Lori Holt

Vintage Happy by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs
There was much excitement this week when Lori Holt's latest collection Vintage Happy was delivered by my postie. Lori's design style is mix of vintage and "happy", featuring classic vintage designs and a cheerful, modern color palette; perfect for vintage inspired projects but also for modern and scrap happy projects.

Vintage Leaf
I especially like both of the small scale floral designs ~ Vintage Leave and Vintage Petals ~ (above and below) that are part of the collection. These are such versatile prints that I know I will be able to work into my projects, and they have already noted for additional yardage required.

Vintage Petals
I quite adore the Vintage Cloth design with vintage pattern pieces, sewing and style advice as well as gratuitous relationship tips - very much vintage style.
Vintage Cloth
Vintage Hangers

VINTAGE HAPPY BY LORI HOLT is now available from:


I have already cut into several of these prints. You can expect to see them make an appearance in my next project.

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

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