I have some new free patterns available with the release of Tula Pink’s latest line ; Everglow!
Everglow is a neon lovers dream, with 4 new feature prints and 8 electrifying colorways. I have three patterns for the line, and I had so much fun designing to feature each of the elements in the line. Hippos, giraffes, lions and elephants take center stage in this whimsical collection. My favorite print is the Lion, and I love the orange/green colorways that go with it. My close second is the hippo. The small details, like the birds and the body shadows under the water really bring the print to life.
Now, on to the quilts!
First up is Sparkler. This quilt features fussy cutting and precision piecing to create a block exploding with color. I wanted the animal prints to really stand out. My inspiration for this quilt was fireworks. I love how bright and loud they are, and how fireworks spark joy for those who watch. I wanted the same feeling in this quilt. I love how the supporting stripes, dots, and fairy flakes bring the center star to life around the print.
Next, I wanted to use the supporting prints – pom pom, stripes and fairy flakes – as the feature, especially those stripes! They are bold and eye catching, and there’s so much you can do with them to create visual interest in a quilt. With that in mind, I went about playing with blocks and layouts to create Stained Glass. The quilt is stunning, and the construction is deceptively simple – its the same block in 8 different colors! the same print in each section of the block, and the layout does all the work. I highly recommend this quilt for any skill level-beginner to advance!
Last but not least, there is High Voltage. This IS an advanced skill level (you know me, there’s one in every collection!) I wanted a quilt that looked fast, like electricity or lightning, to match the feel of the neon prints. Like argon through a glass tube to create bright light.
You can find each of these patterns in the Projects section of the FreeSpirit Fabrics Website.
The next collection with Tula Pink is called Tiny Beasts, with a new selection of dots and stripes, also of the tiny variety. I really love the collection; not only are the prints excellent on their own, they can also be used like a blender print. The tiny dots and stripes round out the main prints, and of course solids are a quilters best freind!
First is Lend a Paw. This was such a fun quilt to design, I love making gradients and rainbows. the pieces are small, but the quilt is big, finishing up at 91″ x 91″! You’ll have no trouble fussy cutting this one if you want to, even though the cut pieces are smaller you’ll still get the full print in the pieces. I used my favorite print, the trash pandas, as a background feature. You could switch it up with whatever you wanted, from the ladybugs to solids. I used the tiny stripes/dots to complete the rainbow gradient.
Lend a Paw, 91″ x 91″, designed by Stacey Day
The next quilt is a more advanced quilt. I loved the hedgehog print, I thought it was so creative and clever and cute. Chatting with Tula about it led to an idea of dandelion fluff, which evolved into Just Dandy. This is a foundation paper pieced quilt with some bias tape applique. It is not for the faint of heart. The end result is spectacular. Its already popping up on Instagram in progress or completed, which makes my quilty heart so happy.
Just Dandy, 82″ x 82″, designed by Stacey Day
The final quilt I came up with is called Mini Menagerie. I wanted a large central block that would feature as much of the tiny print as possible. This is regular piecing, no special techniques required! I ended up hand drawing this one to make sure the the pieces all fit together as intended. it reminds me of a sunburst. I think this block will make an appearance again in the future. I want to color it for the upcoming Moon Garden collection, it would feature those large prints really well.
Today I thought I would dive right in to one of the most popular fabric designers I have the pleasure of working with; Tula Pink!
Every 6 months or so, Tula releases a new collection with FreeSpirit Fabrics, and I have so much fun taking those fabrics and turning them into quilts for you to enjoy. The entire process takes about a week per pattern, between designing, tweaking, writing, illustrating and technical editing. Myself and the tech editor at FreeSpirit do our absolute best to make sure you get a pattern that is clear, easy to read, and straightforward to make. I get to really branch out with the skill level on these ones; I aim to have a beginner friendly pattern and an advanced level pattern. The advanced level assume prior knowledge and experience in things like paper piecing, fussy cutting, templates, applique, ect. The beginner level patterns I try to make straightforward, and introduce at least one new skill for quilters to develop and start gaining confidence.
As I have about 3 releases of quilts to cover, I will take a day for each collection. I am prolific when it comes to the fabrics and designers I love 😉
Today we will dive into the glorious explosion of Tula Pink True Colors.
The release of Tula Pink’s new True Colors collection made all my wildest rainbow dreams come true. With a full spectrum of 42 hues to chose from, it is entirely possible that I may have gone overboard when designing for this one. I enjoyed every second of it, and poured so much of my love of all things color and fabric and texture into it, that True Colors will always be one of my favorite lines. The best part? It is a supporting line, so will be around for at least the next 2 years!
The first quilt for the True Colors collection was finalized while I was on my quilting cruise; Woven Radiance. I wanted to utilize every single print in the collection in a non-traditional rainbow layout. I took inspiration from my previously designed Radiance quilt. This quilts name is a nod to the previous. I assure you, the two are nothing alike and I may be the only person to see the inspiration on first glance.
The next offering for True Colors left me undecided on a background. I wasn’t the only one torn between colorways, so we went with both! A simple substitution of background hue breathes a different life into this quilt, which I called Stardust. The lighter version uses the fairy dust print from True Colors in Whisper for the background. The dark version used the Tula Pink Solid Diva. I may reimagine these with the new Tula Pink Solids, I think Legendary would make this quilt…..wait for it……LEGENDARY! haha!! See what I did there? yes? Okay! moving on….
In my mind, this quilt represents light in all it’s full prismatic glory, gently bathing the world in color as it rains from the stars.
I loved True Colors so much I needed to express it in quilt form. I also wanted a quilt that could possibly be made with a jelly roll. While the jelly roll aspect was a fail, the quilt itself was a WIN. I just can’t seem to make a quilt small enough to suit jelly rolls…….but that’s okay! More fabric for you to love!
Floating Hearts uses a combination of strip piecing and stitch and flip piecing. The best part is all the leftovers could be turned into a mini quilt or throw pillows if one was so inclined. And since I also can’t seem to do anything the easy way, the colors flow one into the next. My brain was a gooey pile of rainbow spaghetti after editing this one, but so totally worth it! The release of this pattern was delayed because of the background print. We had to wait until the announcement of the next collection before releasing this one, so it had been sitting in the ready folder for FOREVER. Okay, okay, not forever, but it really felt like it!
I don’t always remake my old patterns, but the next two quilts are updated colorings of my quilts for the previous true colors collection in 2016.
Confetti was first designed when Tule Pink All Stars released. The Stripes, Pom Poms, and Tula Pink Solids were meant to continue on into future collections, and I wanted a quilt to show off the supporting prints and carry them forward. I have an ongoing love affair with stars, and I’ll take any chance at creating one with fabric in different and exciting ways. I wrote Confetti as a beginner friendly quilt. The building blocks are HST. My whole vision was no two Confetti quilts would be the same. Cut the triangles, throw them in the air like confetti, then pick them up and start sewing them together at random. While I don’t usually encourage throwing your fabrics all over the place (who wants to recount squares or lose one behind the sofa) I do encourage letting go and grabbing at random to create the sections.
Each of Tula’s lines has an exclusive pattern that you can only get in the quilt kit released by FreeSpirit Fabrics. For True colors, my design was chosen for the kit! Solar Flare is an updated version of the original true colors quilt kit, Prism, that was Craftsy Exclusive. ALLLLLLLLL the way back in 2015. 2015!!!. I loved that quilt, and now I love it even more with the expansion of colors.
You can find the exclusive quilt kit at your local quilt shop or online.
Solar Flare Quilt Kit
This isn’t the last quilt in True Colors, but it is the last for today. The next True Colors quilts are spectacular, but both are part of different posts, and I cannot wait to introduce you to them!
As always, please tag me on Instagram when you make your quilts. I love to gush over other quilters makes from my designs!!
For day two of my pattern roundup, I will be featuring P&B Textiles. I have been working with P&B Textiles since 2014. I work mainly with panels and artist prints for P&B. It’s challenging work, and I enjoy it. The artists at P&B are indeed artists; from the realistic style of Alaska Wildlife Artist Jon Van Zyle to the whimsical styles of Teresa Ascone and Sally Walsh, the prints are vibrant, colorful, and an absolute joy to work with.
There are a good number of quilts, so I’ll be going in alphabetical order.
First up we have Animal Alphabet. They wanted a simple, beginner friendly quilt to feature the large panel. I made it baby quilt sized, perfect for gifting! The panel came in two colorways with adorable supporting prints.
Next up is a pair of quilts I designed for a collection called Sedona. The collection came in full color and monochromatic, and both quilts could be made in either. The border print was stunning and needed its own feature quilt! This collection reminds me of my mom; totally her colors!
Then we turn around and head back to another fun children’s collection, Little Critter. I adore the baby animals featured in this collection; the prints are soft and whimsical, the palette is fully neutral so you can add pops of whatever colors you want to it.
Now, may I direct your attention to Living Coastal, a bright and vibrant sea creature themed collection. I love sea life, and live near the coast. Some of my best memories were made on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I am so excited to be able to bring my children to the exact same campground this summer that my parents used to take us to as kids.
After that we welcome Magnificent Animals; a collection inspired by the wilds Alaska. Having taught on an Alaskan Quilt Cruise two years ago, I can personally recommend this collection. The bold, bright colors are exactly what you would expect to see on a sunny day in Alaska. I even had the privilege to observe some of the same creatures, from a safe distance of course! (Growing up in Northern Alberta, you know NEVER to approach bears. Or Moose. Or Canadian Geese…..)
Meadow Lane looks exactly like it sounds; soft, inviting florals in a varied palette. Perfect for cuddling up in while sipping a hot beverage and reading a book outside on a warm spring morning.
For some hot and sunny inspiration, Tropic Gardens is perfect for you! Let the deep jewel tones and high contrast prints transport you to a tropical paradise of blooming flora. I love making lone stars and variants, this quilt is definitely expert level but oh-so-gorgeous and well worth the effort required.
Finally we come to Equinox; a collection of blender prints to add a pop of color to any project. Equinox is the perfect pairing of bold patterns and monochromatic palettes.
Some of these collections released last year, and I apologize if they become difficult to find. I promise to keep on top of things from now on.
I hope you find something to inspire you, and as always I would love to see your quilts made from my patterns! Tag me on Instagram @staceyinstitches with your quilty makes.
Monkey Wrench by Tula Pink will have you going bananas and slipping all over the place to get your hands on some. Monkey Wrench includes some rare black and white Tula prints as well, though of course they have bright pops of color build, because whats a Tula collection without color? I adore the monkeys holding wrenches, and those bananas?! BANANAS!! I want to make everything out of those bananas. The wide back Bananas, aptly names ‘Don’t Slip!’ are the perfect scale for a mermaid flare skirt, so that what i’m going to do, in lime green because come on, who doesn’t love a good lime green asymmetrical mermaid skirt with bananas on it?
I have three quilt designs for Monkey Wrench.
The first is one of my favorite designs to date, Tropical Flora! Combining multiple piecing techniques, this one makes a great class for skill building! I am currently booking classes for the 2020 calendar year, and am thrilled to now offer Tropical Flora!
The second is called Nuts and Bolts. I really like the idea of gears turned by monkey with wrenches, so that’s the image in my head that inspired this design. Its a great quilt to play the coordinating Tula Solids with the prints.
Third is a quilt I affectionately call Monkey’s Lunch. It’s coming as a publication in AQ Magazine, so stay tuned for the issue and Images! It’s a fantastic project to save your FQ bundles for!
I have a lot of work ahead of my updating the pattern libraries and links. This last year has been crazy and busy and full of life and light and change, and I’m so excited to keep sewing and sharing with you all! Thank you for coming along with me on my amazing sewing journey!
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.
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.
Today I finally finished my latest pattern for Dear Stella Designs. Say hello to the Garden Path quilt pattern.
Garden Path- Featuring Garden Sanctuary by Rae Ritchie for Dear Stella Designs
I love Rae Ritchie’s artwork and design style so when I get to play with her fabrics I really enjoy myself. I have the fabrics to make this quilt as well, once it’s done I am going to gush some more about it then put it on my couch. The pattern is a basic Foundation Pieced pattern available for purchase in my Craftsy shop.
I also wrote a free pattern for this collection that is available from Dear Stella Designs called Rose Hedge. It’s a fun variant on a log cabin block. I love the little sleeping hedgehogs!
Rose Hedge – Featuring Garden Sanctuary by Rae Ritchie for Dear Stella Designs
We also reworked one of my older designs for a new collection from Dear Stella so be sure to pop over and check it out.
The Meadow quilt has been reworked for the Life’s a Beach collection. I love the flamingo print and the watermelons.
Meadow – Featuring Life’s a Beach
All of my free pattern links can also be found in the Free Patterns tab of the menu bar above.
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!
Tabby Road from Tula Pink is finally hitting the shelves at your Local Quilt Shops! I designed a couple of quilts for this one, and Twist and Shout is the last one to be released. It’s well worth the wait, as it is a free pattern!
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!