Its Free Pattern day!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Happy day to you all!

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.

Which would you make?

1Sep2022

Sample Sale Announcement

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Good Morning my Stitching friends!

I have a big announcement today; I am officially having a sample sale! AKA: Stacey Ran Out Of Room And Has More Quilts To Make So Needs To Make Room Quilt Adoption Sale!

I will be listing quilts this week, and the sale will go live Sunday morning. There will be Finished quilts from my book, Child’s Play Quilts, quilts I have made just for fun, and some from the first unpublished book. There will also be a small selection of Work In Progress (WIP) quilts. Some WIPs may be flimsy tops only, some might be quilted but need binding.

The prices will vary. I thought long and hard about the pricing models for these. Some take a lot more time, some take a lot more fabric. I have taken many things into account, and have settled on only charging for the cost of materials. For many of these samples my labor has been paid already, and I really want my quilts to find their forever homes. I am one of those maybe-not-so-strange-after-all people that tends to personify their art, and I know that each quilt has its perfect home, and have been ready to find them for a while. I have a hard time letting go.

I started off small in one of my Facebook groups, and I am feeling ready to start the quilt adoptions! I know that my own mental health and creativity is tied in with my stash of fabrics and quilts, and the sheer number has gotten overwhelming, to the point that I feel it affecting my sewing.

Thank you to everyone who has been following along and supporting me over the years. I am excited to me moving forward and making room for new quilts.

12Jul2022

You asked, I answered. PDF patterns now available!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

That’s right! All of my patterns will now be available as a PDF download.

Additionally, the Kaleidoscope pattern now has optional PDF templates and foundations to download. The kaleidoscope templates are quite large, and having them enlarged is a bit of a hassle. That’s not what I want for my patterns at all! So, so address the enlargement issues, the paper version of the pattern will have the option to download the templates in larger format paper to print at home. For those who have already purchased the pattern, I will add the download option to your order.

If you purchased from me at Heritage Festival of Quilts, please contact me directly.

Thank you everyone for your support. I have some new patterns coming this month that I cannot wait to share with you!

14Jun2017

Terrace Garden Quilt Tutorial and giveaway *winner announced!

Posted in Finished Quilts, Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

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!

Kit available from Village Fabric Shop

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!

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!

Until then,

Happy Stitching!

6Feb2016

Will You Be You?

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

I am so excited about this quilt! This is a QDAD to reality quilt from the summer. I love it for a number of reasons.

I made it at my Grandma’s house, so it will always bring back good memories of sewing with her
STARS! WOO!
I was able to use batiks in a modern way, and I LOVE batiks!
It is just so colorful and fun, that it can be enjoyed even without the social commentary
It’s been published in Modern Quilts Unlimited, along with a pattern from my good friend Amy Garro of 13 Spools, who just happens to be that issues covergirl

Will You Be You

What’s that? Social Commentary you say? What could that possibly be?

Well, in QDAD we often have themed design weeks. Kim Andersson of I Adore Pattern was in charge for this theme: Song Lyrics! It was a ton of fun, and an interesting challenge. on May 27th, Kim posted this beauty of a lyric and palette:

We have all heard the song, and know it’s about a breakup. But when you take just those first five lines of the song out of context, it dramatically changes. If you had never heard the song before, you might think this was a song about being discovered, but at the same time having everything about you changed to fit the ideal of someone else without much control. Which really struck me. How often to people change themselves, or have themselves changed, in order to fit in? To make others happy? To become something or someone else entirely in order to please someone else? And when you change everything about yourself, what do you lose in the process? How much of the real you is left?

The design started off a whole conversation that was a lot of fun, and people had such a positive response to it that I decided to submit it to MQU. Happily they accepted it, and I changed a couple of colors to work with what I had in my stash (that light lavender is gorgeous but so hard to find in a batik). The color change did lighten the mood of the quilt, but the message remained the same.

The original QDAD design

Recolored

It was a lot of fun, and a challenge to put together in a cohesive manner. Eventually I realized that one star at a time was the way to go, and used a combination of quarter and half square triangles to keep things interesting (also less seams). I quilted it using a pantograph, mostly because of time constraints, but there is a TON of potential there for custom quilting. I think some radiating straight lines from the yellow star out to the far borders would be an appropriate subcontext to the quilt. In yellow thread, it would read as the superstar overshadowing the original pieces. Also, it would look really really pretty!

I have been trying to use colored or contrasting threads for my quilting lately. I get to hang out with some awesome quilters and longarmers, and one thing that has stayed with me since my last conversation with Miriam, who owns Whispering Pines and is an incredible longarm quilter, is that it’s hard to go wrong with a bold thread choice. Yes, it’s a risk, but it tends to pay off. For example, I have a black and white quilt that I quilted with navy (almost purple, but it was more plum than violet and wasn’t quite as effective)

I hope you all pick up the Winter 2016 issue of Modern Quilts Unlimited. The issue has a great assortments of quilts and projects, and most of them are pretty spectacular (especially mine and Amy’s, wink wink!)

If you do make your own version, I would love to see it! I love to see what people make from my patterns! Tag me on instagram @staceyinstitches or email me a picture so I can ooh and aah over it and post it here!

Also, a huge special thank you to my neighbor Debbie and my friend Anne! Today was the first sunny afternoon in ages, so I had to try and take pictures like NOW. My little H (who isn’t so little anymore) tried his best to hold up the quilt but it was just a little too long and heavy for him, but Deb pulled up just in time and totally volunteered a hand to hold. Then Anne took my twilight photos and made them colorful again! Thanks both of you! <3

Stay tuned for my stop on the Dryad Blog Hop next week, and, as always,

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

22Jan2013

Starburst QAL Week 2

Posted in Quilt-A-Longs, Starburst QAL, Works In Progress by StaceyinStitches

QAL Update! Week two was making the Goose in the Corner and the Half Square Triangles. A nice easy week, I actually managed to finish early. OKay, okay, I have a couple more HST to square off. But I am super happy with my background choice. The Pure Elements is super nice to work with and it feeds through beautifully. Its also making the colors pop. I can’t wait to get onto the next step. I might even try to work ahead!

QAL week 2- Finished!

24Nov2012

Fabric Gift Bag/Scrap Bin Tutorial

Posted in Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

After making the toy bins for my little guy’s toy ( and saving my feet from the inevitable midnight toy stomp), one very smart commenter thought that a smaller version would make a great scrap bin! I thought that was a great idea, and took it a step further. Presenting the Fabric Gift Bag……

Fabric Gift Bag

…that turns into a scrap bin!!

Scrap bin!

The bin finishes at 5″x5″x5″ ( who doesn’t like perfect squares!)

Supplies

An 8″x20 1/2″ rectangle of the outer fabric and heavy weight woven fusible interfacing

An 11 3/4″x20 1/2″ rectangle for the lining

A square ruler ( no larger than 6 1/2″) or a hard piece of template material 2″x2″ square.

Your various sewing paraphernalia ( scissors, needles, thread, band-aids, coffee…)

Supplies

Instructions

1. Fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the outer fabric.

2. Match the shot raw edges and stitch a 1/4″ seam across, backstitching at either end. ( all seams will be 1/4″)

3. Sew the bottom raw edge from the fold to the seam, backstitching at either end. Trim your seams to 1/8″ and set aside.

4. On the short side of the lining make a mark 3/4″ and 1 1/2″ from the top. Stitch from the top to the first mark and stop. Move to the second mark and resume stitching your seam to the bottom. Press this seam open.

Leave this open. This is the TOP

5. Stitch the bottom seam of the lining ( furthest from the opening in the seam), backstitching at both ends.

NOW THE FUN PART

6. Take your outer fabric with the interfacing side out. line up the 2″ square line with the stitched seams as shown and mark a line around. If using the template line up the corner of the template to the stitching lines on the inside. Mark your lines. Repeat for the opposite side, lining up the fold and the stitched line with the 2″ line.

Lined up for marking

Marked Lines

7. Cut on the marked lines. Repeat the steps for the lining. It should look like the picture below

Cut out

8. Bring the raw edges of the cut out squares together on either side, matching the center fold and bottom seam on one side and the bottom seam and side seam on the other. Sew the raw edges and trim the seam allowances. Repeat for the lining.

Match the raw edges of the square

Match the bottom seam to either the fold or the side seam and pin.

Sew a 1/4″ seam along the raw edges

9. Turn the outer bin right sides out and place right sides together inside the lining bin, matching the raw edges and the side seam. Sew all the way around the top, leaving a 2″ gap for turning.

Turn right side out

Place inside the lining, matching seams, and sew 1/4″ seam, leaving a 2″ gap for turning.

10. Turn the bin right side out through the opening. Use your favorite stitch to hand sew the opening closed.

Close the gap

11. Push the lining into the main body of the bin snugly and finger press into the seams. You will have 2″ extra of the lining folded overto the main body of the bin. Press the top fold of the lining and the inside of the bin.

Extra fabric. Press the top fold all the way around

12. Edgestitch around the seam connecting the lining to the main bin.

13. Insert a ribbon or cording through the opening you left in the seam of the lining. I used a hook to push the ribbon as far in as i could, wrangled it off, then inserted the hook in the other direction, hooked the ribbon and pulled it the rest of the way through. It seemed like a good idea at 11:30 at night. Your best bet is to use a tapestry or cross stitch needle ( one with a dull end), and use it to pull a ribbon through, or thread it and knot the thread, pull the thread through the cording or ribbon, and then feed it through using the needle.

Find the opening

Feed the ribbon through.

14. Tie the ends together in a slipknot close to the opening, leaving about a 1″ tail. This will ensure the ribbon is hidden when in Scrap Bin mode.

Voila! You are finished your Gift Bag/Scrap Bin!!

Gift Bag Mode

Scrap Bin Mode

Gift Bag Mode: Pull on the end of the ribbon and draw up the band of fabric. Tie a bow!

Scrap Bin Mode: Release the bow and pull the edged of the band taught. Fold down over the main body of the bin.

I hope you enjoy making a bunch of these for your friends and yourself! They come together very quickly and the possibilities are endless! You could always fill one with cookies and send it my way! Yum Yum!
As always,

Happy Sewing!!

19Oct2012

Modern Mystery-The Big Reveal

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

Wow, the last 6 weeks sure have flown by! Keeping up with the Modern Mystery Quilt A Long sure kept me on my toes. It was so much fun watching it all come together. Lat week all the pieces were finished and assembled into strips, but I couldn’t picture how it was all going to go together for the life of me! Turns out three of the strips I made were for the binding, so that would explain it =)

Without Further ado, here is my Modern Mystery Quilt!

Taa-daa!

I can’t wait to see how each quilt turned out. It is amazing how different they can look with the same pattern. Remember, send me a picture of your finished quilt and we will have a small giveaway! The deadline is November 15th. The top must be pieced but does not need to be quilted. I will upload the quilts into a Flickr Group and post the link here on the blog. The quilt with the most votes will win =)

Until next time, Happy Quilting!

15Oct2012

Phew, what a week! Lots to share!

Posted in Cathedral Window QAL, Other, Quilt-A-Longs, Tutorials and Patterns, Works In Progress by StaceyinStitches

Hello everyone! It has been a very busy week here, so I haven’t had time to do much blogging. I say week but in reality the last 15 days have been go go go!Between play-dates and appointments and pick ups and drop off I have had time to finish up all my 3×6 bee blocks and get them in the mail, catch up on my Modern Mystery Quilt, keep up with the Cathedral Window QAL, and make/hunt down some props for my little man’s 6 month photo session today. Throw in some grocery shopping and a sudden change in the weather read: from Indian Summer to torrential rain overnight and voila! Lots of excuses not to vacuum….. =)

I realize that this is the west coast, and normally by the start of October the rain has moved in, but it was so beautiful for so long. Thanksgiving weekend was so warm people were still out in shorts. We were going to go to the Pumpkin Patch and have ourselves a grand old time yesterday, but record rainfall coupled with a rainfall warning quashed that faster than you can say “eh?” I did get to try Harry’s snowsuit. I don’t think it fits quite right yet……but it sure is warm!

Do I look impressed?

Can you tell I don’t like the rain? I’m from Northern Alberta. It may be -40, but at least the sun is shining and your not soaked! Anywho….onwards!

It seems lately that everything I make heads out the door. I feel like I have been sewing like a madwoman but have nothing to show at the guild meeting tonight.

Here, this is my stack of finished blocks that need more to complete whatever I was going to do with them, 1/2 of the checkerboard for a show quilt, and all the pieces to a mystery quilt that I can’t for the life of me figure out how the end result will look….*chirp chirp*

However, I do have a cute little project that I whipped up last night as a photo prop that I can take with me. If Harry is going to be a dragon for Halloween, he needs a Princess to kidnap (and probably try to eat).

She looks so happy, just wait until the dragon starts gumming her head =)

The dress fabric is my favorite colorway from Treasures of the East by Hoffman. The teal/aqua colorway was the challenge fabric in 2010. I also picked some up in the fuchsia and sunset colorways. I can’t seem to find them anymore, so If anyone comes across either colorway, please let me know! Poppins Quilt Parlour in Penticton, BC still has the challenge fabric for anyone looking to nab some. They do phone orders!

I drew her face on with Sharpie markers. I think she looks suitably princessy!

You can find the pattern here as well as the tutorial. I just winged it with mine.

I was also doing some pinning while watching TV the other night. This is why you don’t leave your pin box where the cat can get to it!

Luckily I found them all (magnets are wonderful wonderful wonderful!) and I have yet to be stuck with a pin! It did inspire a pincushion design however, but more on that to come!

Tomorrow I will be posting my Scrappy Star block pattern, no tutorial yet though, so please be patient with me! I start a temporary job as a nanny for my friend who just welcomes their little boy yesterday morning. I have all the fabrics for her new baby quilt, I just need to get to it!
Happy Quilting!