Fall Quilt Market 2017

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.

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

6Mar2017

Twist and Shout! A free pattern

Posted in Tutorials and Patterns by StaceyinStitches

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!

A Free pattern from FreeSpirit Fabrics

This one is super fun you guys! The best part is it is all foundation pieced, and all straight lines, so no weird seams. yay!

For my American friends, Gotham Quilts has made up kits for this quilt with a backing option and they carry the entire line of Tabby Road.

For my fellow Canadians, MyFabricSpot.com has the entire line and some bundles available.

These are both shops that I frequent, and I don’t get anything for mentioning them. I just like them =)

I hope you enjoy the free pattern!

Happy Stitching!

2Nov2016

Market Quilts

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

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

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.

Until next time, Happy Stitching!

11Jul2016

The Bloom Quilt

Posted in Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

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.

Happy Stitching,

25May2016

Spring Quilt Market

Posted in Finished Quilts, Gallery by StaceyinStitches

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!

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!

29Oct2015

Back from Market!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

This year I had the immense pleasure of attending Quilt Market! I was able to go under my own credentials, but my good friend Kim, @iadorepattern, was also debuting her second line with Windham Fabrics at this Market, so I was able to tag along and lend her a hand as well.

There is so much to talk about I am going to have to write a Market Mini Series! There was so much to see and do, so many people to talk and connect with, it’s just too much for one post.

Overall, Market for me was a success. I learned SO MUCH!! And I even participated in my first Hurricane, so that was something.

On Thursday I met Kim at the airport and we whisked away to downtown Houston to our hotel.

Then we hurried over to the show floor. Windham was great, and set me up with a pass so I could come and go to help Kim set up her booth. In between set up, I hit up all the schoolhouses I wanted, from Kim to Tula Pink, to Cotton+Steel and Elizabeth Hartman. It was hard choosing, because there were so many great people booked at the same time. I missed out on Sara Lawson and Mandy Leins unfortunately, so many hard decisions to make! The Andover Little House on the Prairie was a ton of fun. Two of the actresses were there, and they were just hilarious! And while vintage reproductions fabrics aren’t usually my thing, they had some gorgeous quilts and the range of colors and prints is as true to the times as you can get. They put a lot of effort into making sure it was as accurate as possible, and it shows. And then of course there were these super cute dolls!

Doll by Kerry @kidgiddy

Kim’s schoolhouse was a lot of fun. Heather Givans, @crimsontate, was there to lend a hand and some laughs. She is absolutely delightful, and hilarious! I don’t know where she gets her energy from.

Kim with her Twice Tied Quilt, soon to be a free pattern on the Windham Website

Suprise!

Immediately following Kim was the Schoolhouse for Tula Pink! Oh man, she is so awesome to listen to! The quilts were either made by her or Julie Herman @jaybirdquilts . Chipper is probably my favorite line of hers. I love all the colors and the little chipmunk. We have a thing about chipmunks in my family, so I need to make a ton of stuff with this print!

Her new hardware is absolutely gorgeous as well. And she was super enough to sign this quilt for me, even though she is a very busy lady and had like zero time! Thank you Tula!

Then it was more set up, and then finally it was time to eat supper. But instead, I lined up for sample spree. Because why not? I sat in line with a great group of gals from Texas, and we managed to chat the 2.5 hours away until the doors opened. You might think I am crazy, but there were already people in line 3 hours before the doors opened, and I have been told to line up early becuase it gets crazy. And they weren’t kidding!

about half the line 20 min before the door opened. There were probably a couple hundred more to the left of the photo as well.

Spree was crazy! But I managed to get everything on my list thanks to a couple of super special spree angels ( who will remain nameless, but they know who they are). I completely missed the Moda booth and was a little bummed, because the new Zen Chic is so awesome, and I would have loved a bundle. But by that time my card was on fire, so I needed to stop.

All in all the first day of market was a rousing success, and the floor wasn’t even open yet! Kim’s booth was amazing and we both slept a good 8-10 hours that night, despite the blisters (note to self, bring flip flops next time!) The first aid lady was real nice though =)

Everyone deserves a Good Hair Day!

Happy Stitching!

15Oct2015

Hoffman Challenge 2015- Mariposa

Posted in Challenges and Giveaways, Finished Quilts by StaceyinStitches

Phew!

The last few months have been a whirlwind! Thank goodness for Instagram, or no one would ever see anything! (I am @staceyinstitches for those of you on IG)

Waaaaaaay back in July, I finished up and sent off my Hoffman Challenge Quilt. for the first time ever, my challenge quilt was finished and mailed more than three days before the deadline. Did you know it’s way less stressful to send things before the deadline? Cuz I do now!

Usually I mail so close to the deadline there is no time for pictures or ground shipping, its a 3-day or bust nail biting marathon of RUSH.

So this year was an immense pleasure. And, I also LOVE the quilt!

My quilt, Mariposa, is a super enlarged version of the Lillyella Stitchery “Take Wing” pattern. The original finishes at 18″x 24″, a perfect mini quilt size. My version finished at 35″x50″!

One of the biggest factors in finishing early was being able to quilt this on the longarm myself, and some excellent color and design advice/support from my friends. I agonize over color choices sometimes, and this was a doozy. There are over 32 different prints!

2015 Challenge Fabric

I knew I wanted to play up the base colors of the Challenge Fabric. I was drawn to the bright fuchsia pink the most. Then I wanted to contrast and play with the prints until I had an ombre effect, with the body the darkest and the wings the lightest. I pulled about 55 fabrics and had to start paring down from there.

The first pull

Finale, finally!

This was the last of about 15 different photos. Amy, Anne, Gillian and Kim (My QDAD peeps) were hugely patient and helpful in narrowing it down to this.

And then I started sewing. First the body, because it was small and easy for me to work my way into. I fussy cut the different textured indigo areas of the challenge fabric to create different sections of the body, and threw in some of the prints. I used and indog Hoffman 1895 batik to make the textured pieces stand out.

Next came the wings. I started with the bottom wings because there were less pieces,and the color gradient for that was a bit easier. i incorporated some more of the indigo into the wings to balance out the center.

And then the big part, the top wings. It took me a week to make each wing, because the pattern pieces were huge, and each section was very large. I don’t normally use pins when paper piecing, but I had to with these pieces. It helped keep the large pieces of fabric steady.There are a lot of bias edges, and some of the pieces were as long as 22″. I could only piece one or two sections at a time before it got too ungainly and I moved on to other things.

But finally, FINALLY! I finished the top wing sections. And. I. hated. it.

The fabric that I had pulled for the central wing focus, section 1 of 24, did not work at all. It was a print I LOVE for things ( my Rubix quilt, which I will talk more about in a few days, uses it for the background and it’s amazing)

For a split second I panicked. And then I remembered a technique taught to me at Quiltcon by Cristy Fincher, paperless paper piecing! Part of this technique involves glue baste and piecing from the outside in. So in that vein, section 1 would be the last section pieced. So with that in mind I removed some paper, firmly grasped my seam ripper, sent up a small prayer, and began some quilt surgery.

Once the offending fabric was removed, I carefully grafted in the new section. I used the main print from Tula Pink’s Foxfield collection. I have tons of it, and it had both the pink and aqua accents in it. I fussy cut the fabric to show off my favorite parts. It worked perfectly, and I couldn’t be happier! I then took my new sugical skills ot the body, where I replaced the accent fabric with more of the fussy cut challenge fabric.

Then I took the quilt off to the long arm. I froze for a bit, I knew what I wanted in the wig sections, but the background had me stymied. After a quick consultation with the amazingly talented Mandy Liens I outlined the butterfly and then used my favorite background filler from Christina Cameli’s book Step-by-Step Free Motion Quilting. This particular design is called Effervescent. Its super simple,and super effective.

Following Mandy’s advice, I made curled feathers. I love how they look like feathers, but don’t require all the back and forth outlining of real feathers.

The body I had fun with. I used contrasting thread to create patterns and used mostly straight lines. SUper effective!

I used a custom box of Aurifil Threads that I picked up at a quilt show on the Sunshine Coast, from Carola’s Quilt Shop booth. I love that you get to build the box yourself from any thread in the shop!

Then it was binding, labeling, and off to the front yard for photos. I thought in front of the rose tree would be lovely, but alas, no roses in bloom at the time. (you should see that tree now!)

I mailed it off and waited. Then in late August the winners list was published, and there was Mariposa in Third place in the Pieced Category! I couldn’t believe it! I got this lovely ribbon (new for the challenge), letter, and two boxes of Aurifil thread as well as the participant packet of fabric and a beautiful enameled pin.

I am so happy with Mariposa. She is winging her way around the USA for the next year as part of the Hoffman Challenge Trunk Show. If you spot her in the wild, snap a picture and sent it to me! or tag me on instagram @staceyinstitches #gianttakewingquilt

Happy Stitching!

7Nov2014

Introducing Bumblecomb!

Posted in Other by StaceyinStitches

Bumblecomb Baby Quilt-Photo Courtesy of Freespirit Fabrics

A few months ago I had the opportunity to design a project using Tula Pink’s new line of baby prints, Bumble. Bumble is a dreamy, sweet collection featuring bumble bees, pollen, birchwood forests and a dreamy cloudy skyland, all in the classic Tula style. What makes the collection unique is the fabric itself- a super soft, high thread count peached poplin with a gentle texture that makes it perfect for everything from quilts to clothing. It was a dream to sew with, and pictures can’t quite capture the depth of the color-subtle and vibrant at the same time.

Free motion clouds

I decided to go with a baby quilt-super easy, appliqued hexagons (because, you know, bees!) and a two tone background. The hexagons are big enough to allow fussy cutting of the feature fabrics, and the edges are left raw, because babies love texture.

The pattern is available as a free download from from the Freespirit website, as are a number of other great projects.

I love how the project turned out, and I hope you do too. I would love to see your finished version of Bumblecomb! Tag me on instagram @staceyinstitches, or add it to the Stacey Day Quilts Flickr Group.

Happy Stitching!