Fletching- A free Pattern

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

It’s been a busy time here at Stacey in Stitches, so I thought I would post another free pattern for everyone! Say hello to Fletching!

Fletching is another quilt pattern from the book that never was. It was one of the first designs for the book, and my goal with it was to create a large, useable quilt that sews up quickly. I think I succeeded in Fletching. The best part is that it has an improv with intent element to the construction, so no two quilts will look the same. The pattern uses large scale simple paper piecing, so it’s perfect for anyone wanting to get their feet wet. I mocked it up in a few different colorways, and they all look spectacular, so you know whatever fabric you choose is going to look great. I used a selection of my favorite warm, rich prints and batiks from my stash to make the fletchings. Joan Nicholson of Maple Leaf Quilters did a bang up job on the quilting. I asked for simple and modern, and the straight lines in a rainbow variegated thread are perfect for this quilt.

The Fletching quilt went on a long flight recently to it’s new home with J, a childhood friend of mine in the UK. He went on a long vacation that ended up as a staycation, and finally has a proper flat in a charming little town full of old churches, hills, and bunny rabbits. He was my brothers best friend growing up, and we have known each other since I was 7 and he was 5 ( I think, it’s been a LONG time) when they moved onto our street. I have a lot of happy fond memories growing up in that neighborhood.

When J posted a picture of his room on Facebook, touting the fact that he finally had a real bed and pillows again, I realized he needed a quilt. Badly. White pillowcases and a sheet, it was screaming for some color!

Every so often, a quilt tells me where it wants to live, and in this case Fletching practically jumped out of my trunk and into a mailbox. I knew it would be the perfect quilt for J. The rich, vibrant colors and multidirectional arrows of the quilt seemed to speak to his life, in which he is a performance artist and now a traveller. His life has gone a direction he maybe didn’t plan on, but he is making the most of it. So I went out on the first actually sunny day in what seemed like forever and captured a few pictures (with the help of my little buddy) and promptly sent it away.

The quilt has been received and it goes great with his flat. I am so happy that Fletching has a forever home with J, where it will be used and appreciated as a quilt should!

You can find the free pattern in my Craftsy shop by CLICKING HERE.

Happy Stitching!

30Jan2016

New Craftsy Kit!

Posted in Finished Quilts, Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

Yahoo! Finally another finish I can share!

This particular quilt I designed back in June and made in August, using Tula Pink’s True Colors and Birds and Bees remix. FreeSpirit Fabrics launched a limited series of reprints in a new collection called the Timeless Collection. Select prints from select designers were included, and they asked me to come up with some designs. Spectrum Stars was by far my favorite, and I am so glad they chose it!

Introducing the Spectrum Stars Quilt!

Spectrum Stars Quilt Kit- Photo courtesy of Craftsy

Spectrum Stars is bright and cheerful, full of rainbow goodness. It makes me happy just to look at it! The background is my new favorite ‘not-white’ solid, FreeSpirit Designer Solid in Mist. It’s a warm ultralight ivory-grey blend, it works so well with so many different things, I use it all the time in my designs. I just love how all the colors play so well together between the different collections. Tula Pink certainly did a spectacular job with her True Colors! It plays well on its own, with her latest releases like Eden, or her vintage collections as you can see here.

The quilt is a large crib size, finishing at 48″x60″, and the kit gives you all the fabric you need to complete the quilt.

Photo courtesy of Craftsy

The pattern calls for paper piecing, the templates will fit on regular printer paper. If you want to make a bigger quilt, enlarging the paper foundations 150% will give you a double size (72″x 90″), and 200% will give you a large queen (96″x 120″) Of course, you will have to increase the amount of fabric you need, but you can find the True Colors and Birds and Bees reprint fabric on Craftsy, online, or at your local quilt shop. Craftsy also carries the FreeFall 108″ wide backing, which is what I used for the backing. I love Free Fall, its a lovely sateen weave with some good weight and a sleek soft feel. I never have tension issues when I use it to back my quilts.

Photo courtesy of Craftsy

I picked a stylized flames motif for the quilting, it added depth and texture without overwhelming the quilt. I used my favorite Glide off white thread, it has such a pretty shine when you get it under bright lights, but doesn’t overpower the fabric.

Spectrum Stars is one of my favorite finishes from last year. If you love it as much as I do, you can CLICK HERE to get your own Spectrum Stars kit from Craftsy. I can say I will be making this one again in a queen size for home!

Photo Courtesy of Craftsy

Happy Stitching!

15Nov2015

New Craftsy Kits

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

Oh MY GOSH FINALLY!!

I have been just itching to share these projects for SO LONG!

Back in June I had the pleasure of designing some quilts and a bag for FreeSpirit Fabrics using the True Colors and Eden collections by Tula Pink (TULA!) The designs were picked up by Craftsy, and turned into kits!

First up is Prism

Prism was a lot of fun to make. I love anything rainbow, and nothing is more rainbow than Tula Pink True Colors, with the sole exception of maybe an actual real life rainbow. I love the bright amber yellow in the collection, and the owl print in each color. All the prints are fun, detailed, and totally Tula.

I straight line quilted the center, following the branching pieces, and then for the outside square border I used a piano key. I love piano keys for keeping the borders straight and flat. I used all Aurifil threads in a bright fuschia and a purple. The black inner borders I went with a tight squiggle and black thread. LOTS of thead changed on this one, but TOTALLY worth it!

Next up was the Easy Market Tote. I picked my favorite selection of True Colors prints that went well together in a rainbow for the geese. I love flying geese, and the paper piecing is really straight forward. The entire bag is super easy to make! Best of all, no intricate little seams to match up, so no bulk!

And finally my personal favorite, the Hot House Quilt!

I LOVE Eden, and I was so excited to be able to work with it. It combines with True Colors beautifully. This beauty has so much quilting potential it hurts. I probably printed and filled 5 or 6 outlines with possible quilting, but in the end it came down to time limits, and I used my favorite floral pantograph. It is a hothouse after all 😉

Hot House is the largest quilt I had designed to that point, before I had always been concerned about what I could quilt at home, or have to pay for a longarm. With access to a longarm, I was finally able to make quilts in the sizes I really wanted without worrying!

I hope you all enjoy the kits, which are available by clicking the titles: Prism, Hot House, and Market Tote. They are really very affordable, Craftsy is excellent with their pricing! Whn you finish, please send me pictures, I love to see how people put them together! Send them to my email, or tag me in Instagram @staceyinstitches

Happy Stitching!

27Aug2015

Going Up- A Free Pattern Download

Posted in Finished Quilts, Gallery, Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

Its been a long busy summer, with so many things that I just cannot share at the moment. So I thought I would carve some time out and do something that I could share with you!

Meet “Going Up”

I used some of my favorite fabrics from my stash, and it was lovingly pieced by Holly Broadland @hollybroadland . The quilting is a medium grey thread, and Joan of Maple Leaf Quilters did a great job straight line quilting this on her long arm for me.

Going Up is one of the patterns from the book that never was. I finally got motivated enough to illustrate it and try to take some pictures (solo outdoor pictures with a white quilt on a sick day? Yeah, that was really smart of me) But they turned out not half bad and I was rewarded with a visit from an actual real live bumble bee. I took more pictures of him than I did the quilt!

That bumblebee was exactly what I needed today. I have been sick for a few days, and feeling overwhelmed with responsibilities at home and at work. Watching that little guy, standing in the warm summer sun, I felt a peaceful calm fall over me. I was able to relax and enjoy the moment. It has been a dry, hot summer with severe drought conditions, so its no small miracle that we have these teeny tiny flowers for him to enjoy. Some shots even show the pollen as it bursts from the flower while he works.

I feel busy as the little guy for sure!

Going up is available as a free download from my Craftsy Pattern Shop. I have some other great patterns there too, so have a look around and enjoy!

Happy Stitching

24Nov2014

Officially a Craftsy Designer!

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

Woo hoo!!

A couple months ago I submitted a design for the Red, White, and Free collection by Sandy Gervais for Moda. To my surprise and delight, it was accepted and I was able to turn it into a pattern. The nice people over at Craftsy liked it and turned it into a quilt kit! WOW!!

Presenting Celebrate Old Glory!

Celebrate Old Glory

I love how it turned out! All those stars and squares swirling around! The fabric was a lot of fun to work with too! Vibrant colors, and fun prints that didn’t overwhelm each other. I really like the flag print on the back, don’t you?

I quilted it using an all over meandering swirl. I chose a taupe thread, which blended nicely with the fabrics and let them take center stage. The binding is actually a panel that I cut on the diagonal. It made for an interesting binding that didn’t overwhelm the quilt.

I am really over the moon about this quilt! You can get your kit here. It is an intermediate quilt, but if you are a confident beginner and take your time, I think you will be just fine! Be sure to tag me on Instagram @staceyinstitches and upload a picture of your finished quilt to my Flickr group, Stacey Day Quilts!

Thank you!

Happy Stitching!