Dear Stella Designs has a beautiful new collection hitting shops this month- Luna. Sleepy crescents and shooting stars dot the twinkling night sky. I have two new quilt patterns written exclusively for Luna available as PDF instant downloads in my Craftsy shop. Paper patterns are available wholesale, please email me for more information and to order.
Phase Shift is a beginner friendly applique pattern, with full color illustrations and easy to follow instructions. Perfect for a beginner class. 50″ x 50″ finished.
North Star is an intermediate pieced quilt. It comes with full color illustrations and detailed instructions. 48″ x 56″ finished.
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.
First up- the Splendor quilts for Amy Butler! Splendor was an amazing collection to work with. With her signature style and use of color, Splendor definitely inspired more than just two quilts, but these two were the favorites right from the start!
Zen Garden is an orange peel style quilt with some gentle curves that make it an intermediate level project that confident beginners could take on to learn a new skill. The main print can be fussy cut as shown in the picture, or you can just cut willy-nilly and see what happens =)
Zen Garden – photo courtesy of Amy Butler Designs
Also with Splendor is the full size Clematis Quilt. You all saw the mini that I made for Quilt Market, but the pattern is for the full size. I might have forgotten to take detailed pictures of the quilting for this one in my baby-brain addled state, but I assure you its fantastic. The center star is feathered like the mini, with an added border of zigzags and a row of pebbles. The border is done in swirls and a piano key border.
Clematis – Photo Courtesy of Amy Butler Designs
You can see some detailed shots of both quilts, as well as the other lovely projects made with Splendor, on Amy Butlers Instagram account @amybulterdesign. I am currently working on her next collection, and I can guarantee you are going to LOVE them! I know I do!
Next up are the Cool Cats projects for P&B Textiles. I love the funky colorful cats, and the second main print is a black and white outline print intended for coloring with fabric markers. How great is that? I came up with a fun, easy quilt and an artist apron. I ended up using my tester apron during my pottery stint a few months back (that I totally forgot to blog about, but you can find my pots on my IG account @staceyinstitches. Pottery is fun!) The quilt has a pair of set in 3D strips in the border for a unique look.
Clowder – a group of cats is called a clowder, did you know?
The apron has adjustable straps to be a one -size fits most.
Next is a soft and sweet flannel collection called Beaux Bebe. I designed a simple rag quilt that is beginner friendly, and a set of bonus burp cloths. This one will make the perfect baby shower gift set!
Sweet Dreams Rag Quilt
Lastly there is this fun project for Dear Stella- Meadow Quilt featuring Pine Grove, a collection of super cute woodland creatures. The owl print is my favorite!
Meadow- Featuring Pine Grove by Dear Stella
Soon I am also going to be publishing the next pattern from the book that never was. It is going to be a free tutorial here on the blog, so stay tuned!
Each pattern can be found by following the link in the drop down menu in the Free Patterns section. Enjoy!
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 I 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.
I am happy that I finally remembered to share this with everyone! As you know the last few months have been super busy preparing for the new house and baby. Now that things are settled down, I realized I still had quilts floating around out in the world that were ready to share.
Silent Film is one of the quilts featured in the December issue of American Patchwork and Quilting. I sewed this up ages ago, mailed it off, and then promptly forgot about it until the lovely editor emailed me with pictures and a release date.
I designed Silent Film as part of the Urban Scandinavian collection by Kirstyn Cogan for P&B Textiles. Black and white collections are always a challenge for me. I love color, so B&W is right out of my safe box. Designing with it always comes down to value. I used different variations of black on white and grey on black to create subtle changes in value, and the striped print for visual interest in the blocks and border. The resulting quilt reminded me of an old-time movie theater, playing a black and white movie.
Silent film is the perfect sofa quilt. Back it in a soft flannel or minky, and you have a cuddly yet elegant quilt to snuggle up with and watch your favorite movie. And when guests come over, Silent Film can be left folded over the couch as a sophisticated party guest!
I used the following fabrics from Urban Scandinavian B&W
Funny story about this quilt- this was quilted on my friends longarm, back when we had a small quilting co-op running. I was on a tight deadline, and I was SURE that I had black thread in my cubby at the space. I got the quilt loaded and wouldn’t you know, NO black thread! I almost panicked, and then started auditioning other colors. This is actually quilted with Navy Aurifil 50 wt. The thread was very fine, and it blends in into the quilt so well you cannot even tell. It was a close tie between this and a beautiful warm violet 40 wt Aurifil I had at the space.
Of course, we also love color, so the good people over at American Patchwork and Quilting made up this lovely mini version using color prints from Alexander Henry.
As you can see, it makes a fun statement and would be perfect for gifting to a new baby! You could also use black and white and a touch of color. The possibilities go on and on with this one!
The December issue of American Patchwork and Quilting goes on sale October 4. You can pick up a copy on newsstands or download a digital copy directly from All People Quilt. Please tag me when you make your version on Instagram @staceyinstitches or send me an email with pictures of the finished quilt (or top) and I will feature it here. I love to see what others make from my patterns =)
It’s been a long, exhausting month here at Stacey In Stitches. Not only did we buy a house and move, we also welcomed a new addition to the family! Nothing like cramming everything into two weeks *I’m not crazy I swear*
I haven’t had time or energy to unpack my sewing room, everything is just sitting in boxes, and I haven’t sewn a stitch since June 20th (I’m not counting or anything) so it’s nice to have a fantastic finish to share with everyone!
This is the Bloom Quilt that I designed back in January for Tula PInk’s Chipper Collection. I forgot to take actual pictures of it, I was a little crunched for time, but the man at the FedEx office was nice enough to hold it for me while I snapped some photos with my phone ( and then promptly packed it back up in the box)
Thankfully it is a kit available on Craftsy, and they take some GORGEOUS pictures, so I can share some of those! Woot!
Image Courtesy of Craftsy
Image Courtesy of Craftsy
Image courtesy of Craftsy
I quilted this pretty heavily, but as you can see, the prints absorb it really well, so it creates a nice suprise when you get up close. I used all Aurifil 40wt for my quilting. A light lavender for the star points, a light teal for the chipmunk squares, and light mint for the background. I did an all-over triple paisley motif in the background that I really liked, and it worked well with the print. The chipmunks were all pebbles, and the star points were an orange peel motif. That took a little bit of thinking to avoid too much backtracking but I finally got it worked out. I especially LOVE the bias binding, I love bias striped binding!
I am super happy with how this quilt came out! You can get your own Bloom Kit from Craftsy by Clicking HERE.
So, I didn’t make it to quilt market this spring, but a few of my designs did! I have been sitting on these quilt design for months, and its been driving me crazy because I love them SOOO MUCH! When FreeSpirit asked me to design with Tula’s upcoming Slow and Steady line I of course said (in a calm and professional manner) YESSSSS! I submitted a handful of designs, and they were given to Tula herself for approval. She liked them a lot, and made a tweak or two with color placement in the approved designs. She really is a genius of color, and I found the collaboration to be eye opening and inspiring. She is also a genuinely super nice person. I would buy her fabric based on that alone if I didn’t also love it so much. Then the good news came that they wanted one of the designs for a kit. I didn’t clue in until the market photos started popping up that it was one of the amazing pre-cut box kits! HOLY COW!
Seriously, thank goodness for social media, otherwise when would you ever find pictures of stuff! Yay for Instagram and a huge thanks to @swimbikequilt, @angelafmq, and @tulapink for posting photos.
Fandango, pieced by Tula Pink, Quilted by Angela Walters
Then there is the lovely Wall of Fame Quilt. This quilt is to be a free pattern download from FreeSpirit Fabrics. I will link to it in my patterns section once it goes live.
Pieced by myself, before Angela got her talented magical hands on it…..
…and after! Gorgeous quilting!
Hanging in the FreeSpirit booth. So many gorgeous projects. Check out those Umbrellas!
There is one more project that I made for this collection, but it is heading someplace else. I cannot wait to share it with you!
I am pleased to announce that the second colorway of my Anemone Quilt is available now exclusively from Craft of Quilting! My friend Anne sent me a picture today of the paper catalogue in her mailbox. Which is super cool. How many people get the mailer? I didn’t even know I could! And it’s an entire page!
Thanks Anne!
The blue/orange colorway looks amazing in person. Of course in my addled brain I once again forgot to take my own photos (boo!) of the finished quilt, but I can assure everyone that it looks spectacular.
You can get both the wall quilt pattern and a pillow pattern. The pillow is super fun and will sew up in an evening. It makes a great gift!
I love the Anemone Quilt and I plan on making myself a larger version in the future.
Thank you Craft of Quilting for loving the quilt as much as I do! To get your own Anemone Quilt Kit, click on the link here.
Stay tuned for some more super fun stuff happening at the end of the month (squee!)
Happy Stitching,
p.s. I have been receiving a lot of questions as to the availability of the pattern itself. First off, let me thank you for your support and enthusiasm for this quilt, it blows me away! Windham Fabrics is the official distributor for this pattern, and they will be releasing it sometime in the future, though the format (paper or PDF) has yet to be determined. If you have questions or concerns regarding the pattern or quilt kits, kindly email Windham =)
I am so excited to share a tutorial with you all for my newest quilt using Shannon’s line, Dryad! I met Shannon at Quilt Market last October, and I fell in love with Dryad. The colors are bold and vibrant and earthy, and some of the prints have some subtle metallic details. Shannon is also super awesome and so easy to chat with! When she asked me if I wanted to make a project with Dryad for her blog hop, of course I said yes! Fabri-Quilt sent me a Snack Pack, which contains 42-2 1/2″ wide strips of fabric. It also has a handy swatch chart on the back so you can preview the fabrics and know how many of each print are included in the pack.
I have four favorite prints (because I couldn’t pick just one). First is the main print in the cool greens, which contains bits and pieces of each prints in that colorway. The print is reminiscent of Shannon’s Scrappy Bits Applique style, which I think works really really well with the collection. It adds a lot of visual interest and pops of color to the pieces.
Next is the bright orange print I nicknamed branchlers, because they look like branches and antlers. The orange in person is the PERFECT hue of orange. Orange can be a hard color to pull off, and Shannon nailed it. NAILED IT. Also, kiddo loves it too!
The next is the text print. The text is a Robert Frost poem “Into My Own” written in Shannon’s own handwriting. At first glance the fabric looks black, but it’s really a rich deep indigo blue that sets off perfectly with the other fabrics in the line and would compliment a lot of what’s already in my stash.
Next is the leaf print with metallic accents. I couldn’t pick between the gold and green at first, but the gold won out. It makes good almost neutral compliment to all of the other fabrics and I can see myself using it in other projects as well.
Now, I am always trying to stretch my creativity when it comes to precut fabrics. I wanted to make something simple, but that so did not happen. I had a brainstorm and ran with it, and the result is a full tutorial that uses almost all of the fabrics included in the Snack Pack. The quilt can be made by either a very patient, confident beginner, or an intermediate/advanced quilter. There are two options and you can just continue with whichever option you choose, it’s very streamlined! I added a metallic ivory print from my stash, and a blue binding fabric that looked like water ripples.
Greeting from ~Enchanted Forest~
I really wanted to have the idea of leaves, and at first I was just going to cut out leaf shapes from my strip sets. Then I started thinking more about the name, Dryad, and how they are mythical creatures that you would probably find in an enchanted forest full of sunlight and unicorns. I thought to myself “If I were in an enchanted forest, I would expect it to sparkle and shine” and the idea of the 3D curved diamonds came to life. The curve of the diamonds create the leafy shape I wanted, but with an added level of sparkle. They are the magic in the forest, the sunshine through the trees, and a perfect skill builder!
I just love how Enchanted Forest turned out, and once I got going I finished in a single day. The top anyways. For quilting, I chose to double up a polycotton blend that was much too thin on its own, and then quilted it in simple straight lines that paralleled the direction of the strips. The result is a lofty warm toddler size quilt. Kiddo simple ADORES the color orange and has already confiscated this quilt. Wish me luck getting this one back to show off at Guild!
Now, before the tutorial begins, here is all the information you need to follow along with the rest of the hop and enter to win some great prizes!
For a chance to win a bundle of Dryad, sign up to follow Fabri-Quilt’s blog, Inspired by Fabric. Then leave a comment here letting me know that you are signed up! The giveaway is open until Feb 15th at 10pm Pacific Time! Winners will be randomly chosen after the blog hop ends. You can enter to win from each blog too! Isn’t that awesome! Make sure to go check them out, there are a ton of great tutorials and projects to be had. Also, Angela Walters is offering 10% off of Dryad fabrics from her shop, Quilting is My Therapy, during the hop using the promo code DRYAD. Fabri-Quilt just launched an Instagram account, so be sure to share your own Dryad posts with them! C&T is giving one lucky hopper a copy of Shannon’s book, Scrappy Bits Appliqué, and Aurifil will also be promoting Shannon’s coordinating thread line. So much great stuff happening!
And the winner is Comment #65!
chanzy01 who said”This has got to be my favorite stop on the hop so far. I’ve saved, bookmarked and pinned it so there is no chance I can loose it. I already follow Fabric Quilt and their Inspired By Fabric Blog.” Thank you chanzy01, and enjoy your fabric
Note: To see a photo or illustration larger or in more detail, click on the image and it will open that image full screen.
1. Remove and discard (2) strips from the Dryad Snack pack. Take the remaining (40) strips and randomly sew them together into pairs. Press the seams to one side, and then sew the pairs together to make (10) strip sets 8 1/2″ wide. Press in the same direction.
2. Cut the strip sets into (48) 8 1/2″ squares. You will be able to get (5) squares from a strip set.
3. Lay out the 8 1/2″ pieced squares into sets of (4), rotating the squares as shown so that the strips travel in two different directions. These pieced squares will be sewn together to make a large block with the 3-D shape in the center.
4. Take an 8 1/2″ ivory square and fold it in half wrong sides together (WST). Pin it to the right side of the first pieced square as shown, so that the raw edges match in the corner of the pieces square, and the fold is to the inside of the block. Place the second pieces square right sides together (RST) on top. Sew the pieces together down the side with the fold. Do not press yet.
5. Fold the block out of the way along the seam, so that the folded ivory piece is free. Pin and sew the other side of the folded ivory piece to a second set of pieced squares, in the same manner as before, making sure that the pieced squares are oriented as shown. Do not press yet.
6. Open the block and lay it flat, to check that the strips of the pieced squares are oriented correctly.
7. Place the two pairs of blocks right sides together, matching the side of the seam allowance with the folded ivory piece together. Finger press the seam allowances in opposite directions so that the seam nests together carefully. Make sure that the fold of the ivory piece is not caught up in the square. CLICK HERE for a handy video tutorial for this step! When you open the block it will look like this:
8. From the wrong side, gently open the seam allowance of the first two seams at the center of the block, so that the seams all spin in the same direction. Press the block flat.
9. Repeat steps 4- 8 with the remaining 8 1/2″ pieced squares, to make (12) diamond blocks total. Trim and square the blocks to 16 1/2″.
10. Take one of the 16 1/2″ diamond blocks and place it right side up on your ironing board. Gently fold one the side of the diamond in towards the center, until the side form a concave curve, usually about 1/4″-3/8″ fold will achieve this. Press the side to set the curve. Repeat for the remaining sides and the remaining diamond blocks.
11. Using a matching thread for each block, topstitch right next to the fold as shown, on the inside of the diamond, backstitching at the start and stop of the seam. Trim the threads or pull them to the back of the block to hide them.
Assembling the Quilt Top -Beginner Quilt
This section is for the beginner quilt. After completing Beginner step 10, scroll down to “Finishing the Quilt”. Skip this section if you wish to complete the Advanced quilt.
10. Sew the finished blocks together into (4) rows with (3) blocks in each row, matching the seam allowances. Press the even rows left and the odd rows right.
11. Sew the rows together, matching the seam allowances. Press the entire quilt top. The finished top will look like this:
Assembling the Quilt Top – Advanced Quilt
Alrighty folks, this is where the steps get a bit strange, but stay with me! You can already make the 3D Diamonds, so adding them into the rows just takes a little patience and longer seams. The corner curves are super easy, and the 3D geese are simple as well. Also, lots of pictures!
10. Take one of the 4 1/2″ ivory squares and fold it in WST. Pin it to the right side in the corner of a diamond block and then baste in in place. Turn the fold back like you did for the diamonds, and topstitch in place. Repeat for the remaining 4 1/2″ ivory squares and three more diamond blocks. This makes (4) corner blocks.
11. Take one of the 4 1/2″x 8 1/2″ ivory rectangles and fold it in half lengthwise WST. Pin it as shown on the right side of a corner block. Take an 8 1/2″ ivory square and fold it WST. Pin it in place as shown in the opposite corner of the same corner block.
12. Place a regular diamond block RST on top of the corner block and sew them together down the side with the folded rectangles. Press the seam allowance right and open the blocks flat.
13. Place a folded ivory rectangle and square on the regular diamond block the same as you did for the corner block, and pin them in place. Place a corner block RST on top, so that the curved square of the corner block is aligned as shown. Sew down the side. Open and press the seam allowance to the right. This is the top row.
14. Take (2) regular diamond blocks and pin a folded ivory rectangles in the top corner of each as shown. These will be the side blocks of the next row.
So far so good! This is where we will construct the 3D blocks that are between the rows. The technique is exactly the same as creating the regular diamond blocks, there is just some prep that needs to be done for each before sewing to set up the next set of 3D pieces in the rows below. The pieces tend to get a bit bulky as each diamond block is added and the rows are constructed, so take your time and use pins.
15. Take the left side block and place a folded ivory square in the bottom corner as shown. Using a pin or a removable marking pen, mark the opposite corner with the X. This is the corner that will be lined up with the other side of the first folded ivory square in the first row.
16. Take the first row and fold it back along the first seam allowance, like you did when constructing the diamond blocks. This will free up the folded ivory square and make it easier to sew the second set of blocks to it.
17. Match the raw edges of the left side block with the raw edges of the first folded ivory square in the first row. Pin, and then place a regular diamond block, now referred to as the center block, on the other side of the folded ivory square, RST with the side block. Sew down the side with the folded ivory square, as you did when constructing the diamond blocks. Open and press the seam allowance to the right.
18. Take the right side block and and place a folded ivory square in the bottom corner as shown. Using a pin or a removable marking pen, mark the opposite corner with the X. This is the corner that will be lined up with the other side of the second folded ivory square in the first row.
19. Match the raw edges of the right side block with the raw edges of the second folded ivory square in the first row. Pin, and then line up the center block on top of the other side of the folded ivory square, RST with the side block. Sew down the side with the folded ivory square. Open and press the seam allowance to the right.
Open the piece, and it will look something like this:
20. Place the two rows right sides together and pin at the seam allowances, adjusting and pinning the ivory pieces the same as when you made the diamond blocks. Sew the two rows together, open, and press towards the second row. It should look like this when you are finished:
21. Prep a second set of side blocks. Sew the blocks of the third row EXACTLY the same as you did for the second row.
23. Take the last two corner blocks and pin the final folded ivory rectangles to them as shown.
24. Using the prepped corner blocks and the remaining diamond block, sew the last row the same as the second and third rows. Press the top well, then baste the open raw edges down to the edges of the quilt top. Fold and press all of the newly formed 3D diamond and geese shapes. Topstitch them down the exact same way you did with the original diamond blocks.
Did you make it through? Then give yourselves a pat on the pack and a chocolate bar, you earned it! It’s smooth sailing from this point!
Finishing the Quilt- Both Skill Levels
Give your quilt top a final press. Piece together the backing so that it measures about 56″x 72″ (you can make it smaller, but since I work on a longarm I like to have the extra wiggle room just in case) and then layer and baste the top, batting and backing. Quilt as desired! I used parallel straight lines and left the centers black, but there is a ton of potential for custom quilting in the strips and in the 3D shapes as well. Piece together the binding strips using a diagonal seam, and then attach the binding to the quilt. Sew on a label, take lots of pretty pictures, and enjoy!
Phew! We made it through! I hope you enjoyed my stop on the hop, and if you have any questions when making your own Enchanted Forest quilt, email me or pop a question in the comments and I will help out as best I can.
When you’re done, tag me on Instagram @staceyinstitches or email me a picture of the finished quilt, I love to see what you make!
Welcome to the Stacey In Stitches stop on the Good Hair Day Fabric Blog Hop! Today I will be gushing all about Kim’s new line of fabric, Good Hair Day.
When Kim showed me the line and asked if I would make something for her booth at Market, I immediately said yes! I love the sweet, sophisticated, retro look of the prints and the colors. Kim’s signature hand drawn style is so fresh and classic, and really takes the prints to the next level. Her attention to detail with color and print means that every individual pattern stands out, and all work together in a group. Paired with some of the Windham Artisan Cottons (a supple, tightly woven group of crossweaves), Good hair day is sure to make a splash in whatever project you choose to make. I couldn’t decide what to make and what prints to use, so of course I just HAD to make a little bit of everything!
First up is the quilt Baubles. This design has been hanging around in my EQ files forever, and just needed the right line to match up with it. Good Hair Day fit the bill! It reminds me of the beach, and getting your hair braided and beaded while on vacation. I quilted the background using one of my favorite fillers, which perfectly complimented the lines and baubles. The baubles themselves are made using slice and turn applique, a super simple technique suitable for beginner quilters. I even included my quilting motif in the pattern in case you get stuck for ideas.
Then, I wanted to try and capture the feeling of freshly cut and styled hair, that fresh from the salon feeling. Using faux cathedral windows to create the curved diamonds shapes , Sparkle perfectly visualizes that salon day feel. I quilted it using a large all over swirl that gives the impression of big, beautiful locks of freshly curled hair. I used a solid white background to make the diamonds pop, but using the blonde braid print instead of a solid white would work as well and give the quilt some warm depth.
When the quilts were done and bound, I found myself with a few more days before I absolutely HAD to send out the projects, so I pulled out one of my favorite retro dress patterns and got to work. I used McCalls M7081 pattern and a pair of high contrasting prints. The dress turned out amazing, and I definitely need a crinoline to go underneath.
Then I decided that a couple of bags were in order. I pulled out my copy of Sara Lawsons Big City Bags, and picked my two favorites- a the Go Go Bag and a retro style Fireside Bowl Bag. Again, I paired some contrasting and complimentary prints, and used the low volume accessories print for the lining. I love the swivel closure, and even managed to find a matching zipper for the gorgeous cherry bobby pins!
The fabric is hitting stores this month, and of COURSE I just love every little bit of it.
Each blog is giving away a Good Hair Day charm pack, and there will be two Fat Quarter Bundles up for grabs as well, on on Kim’s Blog, and one on the Windham Blog. Be sure to pop by the other participants and see what awesome projects they have to offer.
Now for the giveaway! One lucky reader will be taking home a Good Hair Day charm pack, thanks to Windham Fabrics. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post! Easy peasy! To win a second bonus entry, share this post with your friends and tell me in a SECOND comment! Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or however else you can think of to share Kim’s wonderful collection and possibly win yourself some fabric! I will leave the comment section open until the end of the blog hop- Tuesday, January the 19th, when I will draw the winner. Good luck and happy sharing!
And the Winner is: Comment #29! Janie, who said “Everything you have created with this fabric line is beautiful. Thank you for the free patterns and the giveaway.”
Thank you Janie, and thank you everyone for the wonderful compliments!
