oops! Between everything happening around here I completely forgot to announce Team Timeless, and introduce my first tutorial with them!!
Team Timeless is a group of 4 designers chosen by Timeless Treasures. Each month, a new designer will showcase a Timeless Treasures collection and present a tutorial for it.
My month was May (again, oops!)
I got to play with these bright, colorful prints from Crayon Party collection. So of course, I had to make myself some big bold crayons!
I called this quilt Scribble, inspired by my littlest kidlet. He loves to color anything with everything! Scribble is made using half yard cuts of both prints and backgrounds.
My best friend’s farm was the perfect setting for photos. and afterwards, I donated this quilt to her school fundraiser. She holds a lot of quilts for me whenever I ask, it was the least I could do!
I quilted it with all over swirls and scribbles, like a doodling pencil line.
Zip on over to the Timeless Treasures blog to find the free tutorial to make your own Scribbles quilt. Perfect for the little ones starting school this month! It goes together quick and easy. And while you are there, check out what the other designers are up to as well.
I want to show off a couple new quilts for everyone =)
First up are a pair that went back-to-back in AQ Magazine. Meet Leafy and Stars of the Show!
Leafy
Leafy is a super fun paper pieced project, perfect for a beginner who wants to try it out. I used yardage to cut my leaves, but it would be lovely in scrappy. rainbow leaves anyone?
I used straight lines to quilt the background and a fancy swirl for the leaves. I backed it in flannel, to add some warmth and weight. This quilt was gifted to my babysitter’s son.
Stars of the Show was created specifically to showcase the All Stars collection from Tula Pink. I adore this quilt. I have a major thing for rainbows, and the colors in All Stars hit all the right buttons for me.
Quitting Detail-Stars of the Show
I spent a lot of time custom quilting this quilt. I really wanted to have fun in the negative spaced. For me, this quilt is circus themed, with the striped and dotted star points looking like big top tents, and the animals starring in the center ring of each, so some fun curves were in order.
I fussy cut each animal to fit in the center of each block. I machine pieced my quilt, but it would also lend itself to EPP as well!
My little helper also loves this quilt! Rainbows for the win!
And of course who could forget this stunner, Heat Wave! featured in the RJR What Shade Are You blog hop, American Quilter picked up the pattern. It can be found in the January issue of AQ Magazine.
Heat Wave – American Quilter Magazine
I’ve got so many more updates and quilts to share, as well as a brand new website that will be launching in the summer, so stay tuned for all the quilting goodness. You can still pick up a signed copy of my book, Child’s Play Quilts, on my Etsy site. and keep posted for my teaching and lecture schedule. I am speaking at least once a month for the next year, and I can’t wait to share my quilting cruise experience in August!
There is so much to say and so little time to say it in! As always, September and most of October was a time of writing and sewing in preparation for Fall Quilt Market in Houston, TX.
This year I had a number of new designs with FreeSpirit Fabrics. Since quilters are mostly visual, this is going to be a picture heavy post.
Let’s begin shall we?
Flock Together- Featuring All Stars by Tula Pink
Flock Together is a 100% Stacey Day design. From digital design to the final stitch in the binding, this quilt was my favorite to put together. It utilizes a jelly roll and is super fast to whip up. The pattern is a free one and available by clicking here.
Center Stage- Featuring All Stars by Tula Pink
Center Stage was a collaboration with Tula. I had a much lighter hand than usual with this one, but the instructions were all me =) It’s a stunner and I love it! I believe this will be a free pattern from FreeSpirit.
Pom Pom – featuring All Stars by Tula Pink
Finally, there is the Pom Pom quilt for All Stars. This one is a stunner. Check out that quilting by Angela Walters! This one is another collaboration with Tula, and the pattern will be exclusive to the quilt kit.
Then we mosy on over to Joel Dewberry’s new collection, Avalon.
Arise! Featuring Avalon by Joel Dewberry. *Made by someone else, mine hung elsewhere*
Arise! was inspired by the legend of Excalibur, how it rose from the depths in the hands of the Lady of the Lake. I wanted simple pieces to show off the prints to their best. There were two Arise quilts made for Market, this one by an unknown-to-me quilter who did a lovely job, hanging in the gallery. Mine hung in the main booth where all the ordering took place. I quilted mine in straight lines and swirls.I am really enjoying the ribbon candy these days. I used my new favorite Designer Solid, Mineral. It’s a gorgeous green-blue hue and it goes with everything! And of course I had a little helper taking photos.
ribbon candy goodness
swirls and straight lines make a stunning combination
peek! Checking out Mommy’s work.
Art Deco- Featuring Roaring Twenties by Snow Leopard Designs
For Art Deco I wanted to channel some classic architecture but add a bit of modern flair. I added the inserts into the clamshell, and the written pattern has optional bias tape around the top curve of each clam. This really makes the individual clamshells pop. The collection is gorgeous. Shout out to the same unknown maker for this one.
Oasis – Featuring Sugar Beach by Jennifer Paganelli
Sugar Beach is a bright and vibrant collection. it was a ton of fun to design with. I wanted to give the feeling of floating on the water, fruity drink in hand, on a hot summers day. I’m pretty sure it comes through in this one.
Fashion Show – Featuring The Dress by Laura Heine
Finally there is Fashion Show. The Dress is based on her very popular class by the same name. You can’t see it very well in this picture, but I quilted each wedge with a trio of feathers. I did a meander and outlined each dress panel, and the sashes are quilted with – you guessed it – ribbon candy and straight lines. This quilt didn’t hang at market, it was being used elsewhere.
Caroles Log Cabin- featuring Boston Commons by FreeSpirit Fabrics
I also had the pleasure of designing a retro quilt for FreeSpirit’s house designed collection, Boston Commons. It is a gorgeous, deeply vibrant hued reproduction collection. That golden yellow is perfect! I quilt is a modern take on the classic log cabin block, and very easy for a beginner.
Thank you to my friend Lindsay who walked the show floor and took all the photos for me.
I will update the pattern links as they become available under the FreeSpirit tab in my Free Patterns dropdown menu. All but Pom Pom will be a free pattern available as the collections come out.
This past Quilt Market in St. Louis looked like a fun one. I wasn’t able to attend in person but I did have a plethora of quiltings hanging throughout.
Today I want to show you my latest for Timeless Treasures and Dear Stella. Each quilt has a free pattern attached to it.
First up, and probably my favorite, is the Space Station Quilt for Supernova by Rae Ritchie. I love Rae’s design style and it is always a pleasure to work with her prints.
My older son helped me pick the fabric placement for this one. He loves space and one days he wants to be an astronaut/karate kid/hockey player. This quilt gets to live at home with us. HE was absolutely thrilled when “his” design was picked for the collection, and doubly so when he saw the finished quilt. The pattern is available HERE from Dear Stella.
Next is the pattern CHOMP! for the Dark and Stormy Collection I just LOVED the sea theme and immediately thought of sharks popping out of the water. During the process I am pretty sure my family managed to come up with more than a dozen unique shark puns as name suggestions for the pattern.
The shark teeth can be made 3D or pieced. I thought it was clever to use the pirate head print for the teeth. Tee hee! You can find the pattern HERE.
For Timeless Treasures I got to play with a more traditional collection, Zephyr by Alice Kennedy. There are 22 neutral and greyscale hues in 15 unique prints. I loved how they all played together, and the varying levels of contrast meant I could create a lot of depth and texture without adding color.
The first quilt, Halo, is my favorite. I grew up in northern Alberta and at night, with the moon shining brightly, you could often see (what we called) “moon dogs” haloing the moon. The shimmering ice crystals were my inspiration for this quilt. You can find the pattern HERE.
I probably overquilted it, but I don’t care! The black spaces were calling to me. I used a deep navy thread for a subtle glow against the black fabric, and to prevent eye strain while I was quilting. I quilted a series of loops, swirls, straight lines, and circles. This quilt gets to live at Timeless headquarters in New York. (Does that mean I get to say I have art hanging in New York? I’m going to say YES!)
The second quilt, Marbled, I wanted to play with simple shapes that make a complex texture. I wanted a tile wall-inspired flow and form to the quilt. Pretty sure I succeeded with that. You can find the pattern HERE.
A few months ago I got to play with some gorgeous new prints from a brand new FreeSpirit designer, Amy Reber. Her debut line, Posy, is a visual wonderland of bright bold prints and colors.
The three individual pallets are perfectly balanced and work well individually together or in a group quilt.
I wrote a free pattern for the line called Blossom. You can find it here. Blossom uses the Rosa color group, but you could easily swap out for Julep or Abelia, the other two color groups (aren’t those names just delicious?) There is a shop as well that is carrying the pattern as a premade kit!
I had a hard time trying to narrow down my favorite prints, they are all pretty great!
At the very top of my list is the main print – Bunches. It contains many of the individual elements in a gorgeous collage setting. This is the print I designed teh entire Blossom quilt around.
Then there is Perfect Petal. I love the purple hue, and the black and white is so striking!Â
Then of course is the Sunglow Stripe. All three colorways make perfect blenders.
With my bundle of Posy, I decided to make something quick and simple that would show off all the prints to their finest. I decided to use Half Rectangle Triangles. I feel like HRT are an underrepresented quilt block. They are super fun to make and showcase large prints to great effect.
Say hello to Terrace Garden!
The prints are showcased perfectly, and to soften the hard edges of the block shapes I used an all over swirling design for the quilting.
I used a dusty teal thread for the quilting that matched the prints.
Terrace Garden
A Stacey in Stitches Tutorial
Materials
1 F8 bundle of Posy by Amy Reber (24 prints) for HRT
3 yards Gray (FreeSpirit Designer Solid in Manatee) for background and binding
Cutting
From each print cut:
(1) 6 3/4″ x 11 1/8″ rectangle (24 total)
From the gray solid cut:
(24) 6 3/4″ x 11 1/8″ rectangle
(1) 10 1/2″ x 36 1/2″ rectangle
(1) 10 1/2″ x 30 1/2″ rectangle
(1) 10 1/2″ x 24 1/2″ rectangle
(1) 10 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ rectangle
(1) 10 1/2″ x 12 1/2″ rectangle
(2) 6 1/2″ x 10″ rectangles
(7) 2 1/4″ x WOF strips for binding *to use a print binding you need 1/2 yard of fabric
Instruction
All seam allowances are 1/4″. Press seams open.
1. Stack the print 6 3/4″ x 11 1/8″ rectangles right side up in groups of 6. Cut the rectangles in half on the diagonal as shown. Repeat with the gray solid.
2. Sew a gray HRT to a print HRT right sides together as shown. Press. Repeat for all gray and print HRT.
3. Using the layout diagram as a guide, sew the HRT and all gray rectangles together into rows. Press, then sew the rows together into the finished quilt top, matching seam allowances carefully.
 4. Cut a backing approx 68″ x 78″. Layer the backing, batting, and top. Quilt as desired.
Giveaway time!
I am offering up a pair of precut Posy bundles that you can use to make your own Terrace Garden. Just add your own background fabric! I will be giving away one here, and the other on my Instagram account @staceyinstitches. You can earn up to FOUR chances to win!
To Enter on the Blog:
Follow me here or on Instagram, and leave a comment on this post telling me where.
Leave a second comment telling me your favorite Posy print.
Follow Amy Reber @amyreberdesigns on Instagram and leave a third comment letting me know you’ve done so!
Share this post! Then leave a comment telling me where for a bonus entry!
If you follow me on Instagram you can enter on my IG post for a chance to win the second bundle.
That’s it! I will run the giveaway until Friday at 4pm PST. Winning fabric is a great way to kick off a summer weekend, don’t you think!
Congratulations
My favorite print is Posy Bunches – Abelia because oh.those.colors!
Today is my turn for the RJR What Shade Are You blog hop! I love participating in blogs hops, it gives me a chance to create something just for me, and have a little fun with all of my wonderful followers (Hint: FABRIC!) This is my second appearance in the blog hop. My first was back in 2015 with my Lanterns quilt Tutorial. It felt like only yesterday, and the ways my life has changed in such a short time, from there to here, is truly amazing. From a new house, to a new baby, to new opportunities within the quilting world, the last 2 years have been busy and scary and WONDERFUL.
RJR makes Cotton Supreme Solids. They are a dream to sew with. The fabric is the perfect weight to mix with anything, and you have 197 rich, delicious hues to choose from.
Now let me introduce my newest creation, Heat Wave!
I LOVE everything about this quilt. The colors, the layout, the quilting, everything. I’m sure somewhere there is a grouchy quilt police officer wagging a finger and chanting “Stacey, you are being prideful. You can’t just TELL PEOPLE you LOVE your own work.” But you know what? The hashtag for RJR is #quiltwithlove . So I just threw this quilt over their head, because I LOVE IT! I want to shout that love from the rooftops!
I picked an analogous gradient of my favorite warm colors and went to town. Each color is a color I love individually, and together they make a perfect sunset inspired palette.
Heat Wave is the perfect example of how a small change can make a huge difference. I had mocked up a different layout for these blocks, something eclectic and busy and kinda neat, but in my near-coma-like sleep deprived state I sewed half the blocks as a mirror image of the first. And I didn’t notice until I started laying the blocks out. After a little head scratching (because I STILL hadn’t noticed what I’d done) I turned the blocks around and VOILA!  Heat Wave was born! I still had to take a picture so I could purposefully do what I just did accidentally (and then FINALLY realized what had happened), but the top came together quickly after that and it couldn’t have turned out better.
The next step was quilting, and I had Heat Wave hanging over the bars of Penny(my Tin Lizzie Apprentice) for almost a week while I pondered. Then I realized it was Wednesday (again, I blame the sleep deprivation). Now I know some blogs are really good at showcasing just a top. Me, not so much. So she needed to be quilted, and quilted now. The funny thing is once I had her loaded on the frame, the quilting just fell into place. I recently returned from a family vacation, where I was able to meet up with a quilting friend. She once told me an anecdote from a famous longarm quilter (don’t ask who, I really can’t remember) and it always stuck with me. The moral of the story is when it comes to thread choice, always take the risk. So I did. I matched the yellow and violet fabrics in my quilt, and then used each color exclusively with the motif. Violet with the straight lines and yellow with the curled meander. The contrasting thread and patterns really worked well to highlight the secondary patterns in the quilt, and reigned in the pre-quilted color chaos.
To top off the perfection of this quilt, I chose to face it instead of binding to keep the colors flowing. Paired with the first really nice sunny day we’ve had in weeks, it felt like magic taking her outside to photograph. Even H wanted his turn with the camera! (We now have a lovely montage of grass growing.)
Now for the fun part (and the reward for reading to the end)! One lucky follower gets to win a bundle of the gorgeous Sunset Palette I curated for my quilt.
To enter, follow me here or on Instagram @staceyinstitches, and leave a single comment telling me 2 things: Where you follow me, and what your favorite color is! Easy peasy! I will draw a winner at 4pm PST Tuesday.
Congratulations to number 82, Deborah! I will be in touch soon!
There is also a second giveaway on the RJR Instagram Account. Log on and follow RJR Fabrics instructions to enter.
A few months ago American Quilter Magazine reached out to see if I wanted to create a quilt using the new We Are All Stars collection from Cloud 9. Stars have a special meaning for me, and I really liked the color palette, so of course I immediately said yes. I had a lot of fun trying out different combinations with these fabrics. Ultimately I wanted to make something that looked more complex than it actually was. I’ve been on an on-point layout kick lately, and after trying out a few blocks I settled on a simple HST square block.
In my minds eye, as I was playing with shape and color, I kept seeing a skyline at night. The colors of the lights in the city blending and blurring together. I kept circling back to that, and started adding in some negative space using a deep indigo solid. the warm contrast of the indigo pulled new life out of the colors, and it meshed perfectly with my mental image.
the colors are chameleons. in warm sunlight the quilt pulls a very retro photo vibe. in cool cloudy light the colors are sharp and deep.
I quilted it in a combination of straight lines, chevrons, and swirling loops,because I was on a tight schedule and why not? I am so happy with how it turned out. and of course Cloud 9 is organic so the fabrics are soft and supple, much like sleeping on a cloud.
Night Lights can be found on newsstands now in the May issue of American Quilter Magazine.
Its that time of year again, the annual QuiltCon Reject letters are arriving in inboxes everywhere. FOr me it’s the same thing over and over. I swear I am too busy to make stuff to enter, then last minute I see a challenge that looks interesting, and then boom I make quilts for it and enter on the last day possible. I just can’t resist a good challenge. It’s almost an addiction at this point. Like walking past the cupcake place in the mall and you SWEAR you aren’t going to spend another penny on cupcakes, they are bad for you and go right to your butt and are way overpriced, but OH! Look! Three for the price of one? Well, I’d be stupid not to buy three! nom nom nom….well, you get the picture =)
I really need to work on my photography, but last minute entries means that 9 out of 10 days are torrential rain and there are no good places to take indoor photos. That, I think, is a contributing factor as to why I have never had a quilt juried into the show. I can assure you, they are fantastic in person!
Exponential- It got out of hand pretty quickly, so I just rolled with it. My most intricate quilting to date. See what I mean about those indoor photos? Half bound, half faced, all awesome.Â
Those feathers though! Fabulous!! I LOVE feathers!
Warp Speed- Inspired by the Star Trek reboot- I merged nine patches like Spock coming through that worm hole, and stretched them in to infinity at warp speed. Also, the dreamy blue of Kirks eyes.
And I am fine with having rejects. Rejection means you tried. I’m not sorry I tried, I’m not sorry I didn’t get any quilts in. I am sorry that people are going to miss out on all the fabulous that is a Stacey Day quilt!
And of course I write all this with a touch of snark and sass and a smile.
Happy Stitching!
P.S. I do have a quilt that was an auto acceptance into the show, it will be a pattern in Quiltcon Magazine, which I am super stoked for!
Sudoku is the second quilt I made with Urban Scandinavian by Kirstyn Cogan for P&B Textiles. This quilt uses all of the color prints from the line, where Silent Film used all of the black and white prints. Sudoku was featured in the Fall 2016 issue of Scrap Quilts from Fons and Porter and features a star-in-a-star block that I just love.
I chose the Star-in-star block in order to use as much of the line as possible. Each print has a light and dark counterpart in each motif, which made the block so successful. Its not overwhelming or jarring, the prints flow harmoniously, there is visual interest and movement. The quilt is perfect for a baby quilt, and the pattern can easily be brightened up with a selection of colorful prints or solids. Imagine an ombre solid, with the light in the center and the dark in the outer star? Yum! It’s in the Scraps Quilts issue because each star is made from small amounts of different fabrics. The prints cycle through, and then repeat on the bottom row. You could bust out a whole lotta scraps and leftover pieces with this one! Got a Fat Eighth bundle hanging about that you don’t know what to do with? Sudoku to the rescue!
I quilted it all over in a swirly pantograph called Brittany from Anne Bright Designs. It is one of my favorites, lots of movement and interest, works well with almost anything.
The sample quilt finally made it home after an extended stay in customs, and just in time. Isn’t it perfect with our Christmas tree? I foresee lots of snuggles and hot chocolate in front of the fireplace with this one!
Quilt Market wrapped up this past Monday, and in between basement reno’s and Halloween prep and a family visit, I found some time to follow along on Instagram and check out all the new awesomeness that was released. I was also stalking patiently to see pictures of the quilts I made for Market.
I have been sitting on my hands waiting patiently for the official release so that I can show off my new designs. I LOVE the new collections, and and super excited and happy with how everything turned out. My sewing room is finally set up the way I want it, and that includes the home for my new longarm!
That’s correct, I am now the proud owner of a Tin Lizzie Apprentice. I love my machine! She still needs a name (if I go that route, which IÂ likely will). She stitched beautifully and works with my favorite threads – Glide and Aurifil – without issue. The best part is now I don’t have to get a quilt done all in one sitting! I have been getting more creative with my quilting as a result and I am seriously excited as all heck about the future. I can see it getting a lot more productive around here!
Now it’s time for quilts!
Fleur-de-Lis is an applique quilt using Joel Dewberry True Colors. It was a gloomy rainy day when I finished this one up, but @freespiritfabrics has a great picture on their IG account. I quilted it with the extended piano key on the outside borders, and an all over stipple in white Glide between the applique pieces. I outlined each piece in a matching Aurifil thread to quilt. This is going to be a free pattern from FreeSpirit Fabrics.
Fleur De Lis
Fleur de Lis
Next up is another True Colors quilt using Tula Pinks collection of prints. This one is going to be a Craftsy kit. It was hanging front and center in the FreeSpirit Gallery at market, what an honor! I quilted it with an all over swirl in a pretty aqua thread. The aqua pretty well went with everything.
Rainbow Bargello
And then there were two quilts for Amy Butler’s new collection, Splendor. Zen Garden was designed by myself and sewn by Kerri Thomson. Clematis was quilted on my Lizzie, and I am so proud of it! I was able to take mytime over a couple evenings and really get creative with my quilting. Clematis and Zen Garden are both going to be free patterns. These are the mini versions of the quilts, just wait until you see the full size! I haven’t shown a full size of Clematis because it wasn’t actually pictured yet, but once it’s been released, I will. But sneak peeks of the fabric have been posted to Amy Butler’s IG feed, so I can share the quilting details. These are slated to be free patterns as far as I know. A big thank you to Amy Butler for choosing my designs!
Zen Garden – image from @freespiritfabrics on instagram Sewn and quilted by Kerri Thomson
Clematis-Details
Clematis-Details
Clematis-Details
Finally, I am super pleased to share the Catnip quilt, which is a collaborative design between myself and Tula Pink for her new collection, Tabby Road. I am not entirely sure who did the quilting on it, either Angela Walters or Tula herself, but it is fantastic! Tula pieced the quilt. This quilt is the new exclusive quilt kit, which will be available from your local quilt shops and online retailers in March 2017, which is when the collection hits the stores. I already have a full yard bundle on pre-order!
Thh Catnip Quilt- Image from @tulapink
The Catnip Quilt- Image from @tulapink
There are going to be a couple more quilts for this collection eventually, so I will keep you posted.
The prints are showcased perfectly, and to soften the hard edges of the block shapes I used an all over swirling design for the quilting.
My favorite print is Posy Bunches – Abelia because oh.those.colors!