Patchwork Quilt Along Block Six!

Wow!  We're halfway through the Patchwork Quilt Along with the Fat Quarter Shop!

This month's blocks are called "Round the Corner" and boy are there lots of tiny pieces to work with!
(Download block pattern here)

I have a confession... I used a technique called Fusible Patchwork to make my blocks.  You can read more about it here.  The first time I did fusible patchwork, I drew my own squares on the interfacing.  But I recently found a pre-printed panel at my local quilt shop so all I had to do was cut out a 5 square x 5 square section (7.5" x 7.5") and it was ready to go!  (Panel is from Quiltsmart, 1" finished squares)

 

Is that cheating?  Or just using a helpful technique?


I was going to just make one block with this method - just to try it out...and then follow the pattern instructions for the others.  But the first one was so quick and the points were so pretty, I just did all six blocks with this method!


Once I got the main part of the block done, I then realized I still had to deal with the corners.  So I used four 1.5" squares, drew a diagonal line and sewed right on the line.  I trimmed the seam allowance and then flipped the corners open and pressed.  It looks a little different than the block pictures in the pattern, but it will work!    (Read more about the fusible patchwork technique here.)

You can find the pattern for this month's blocks here.  And don't forget to make a donation to the Make-A-Wish Foundation here.

The next set of blocks will be released on July 15th!  For some great inspiration, check out the Patchwork QAL facebook group.  There's some quilters that are making bigger blocks, and some that are only making one small block each month to make a mini quilt.  So much creativity!  And check out the bloggers below that are quilting along as well!

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl (@jedicraftgirl)

Amy of Diary of a Quilter (@diaryofaquilter)

Andy of A Bright Corner (@abrightcorner)

*Bonnie of Cotton Way (@bonniecottonway)

*Camille of Thimble Blossoms (@thimbleblossoms)

Debbie of Happy Little Cottage (@happylittlecottage1)

Greg of Grey Dogwood Studio (@greydogwoodstudio)

Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies (@buttonsandbutterflies)

Melissa of Happy Quilting (@happyquiltingmc)

Melissa of Oh How Sweet (@ohhowsweet)

Pat Sloan of PatSloan.com (@quilterpatsloan)

Renee of Sewn with Grace (@sewnwithgrace)

Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane (@downgrapevinelane)

Sherri of A Quilting Life (@aquiltinglife)

Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts (@sondradavison)

Taunja of Carried Away Quilting (@taunjalynn)

Tina of Emily Ann's Kloset (@emilyannskloset)

Carrie Nelson/Miss Rosie of Moda Cutting Table

Breezy Quilt in American Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

I'm so excited to be able to finally share!  I have a quilt included in the August 2017 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting magazine!  

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved.

This is Breezy - a scrappy looking, yet fat quarter friendly quilt.  (I love when I can make a quilt that has a scrappy feel, but doesn't require all the work of finding and cutting scraps!)

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved

The trick?  I mixed and matched fabrics from many designers and different collections to help give it that scrappy feel.  Melissa Kelley (Sew Shabby Quilting) did the quilting for me (Harbour Wave design) and I love how the swirls and waves in the quilting help to give the pinwheels some movement.  

Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting magazine  ©2017 Meredith Corporation.  All rights reserved

You can see my project as well as the other featured projects from this issue here on the American Patchwork & Quilting website.  And this issue is now available in stores!

Comfort and Joy + Free PDF Pattern

I'm getting our Christmas quilting done early this year (and that's SO not like me)!  This last month I've been sewing with the new Christmas line from Riley Blake called Comfort and Joy.  It has the classic reds and greens, but also some great black prints that really make all the other colors pop.  (See all the prints here.)

When I first chose my fabrics for this project, I was on the fence about adding in that black plaid, but I'm so glad I did now!  I just love what it adds.  And aren't those snow globes charming? 

The quilt I designed to go with these prints uses a set of rulers I've had for awhile now - the Tri-Recs rulers from EZ Quilting.  Have you heard of them?  They're handy to have, and there are some great tutorials and patterns out there that use the Tri-Recs rulers.  Never used the Tri-Recs rulers before?  Or maybe you own them but aren't sure how to use them?  I'll be back on Friday with a photo tutorial showing how I made these pinwheel blocks.  

I'm calling this quilt Pinwheels & Patchwork.  It finishes at 60" x 69", and you can find a free PDF pattern to make your own Pinwheels & Patchwork here!  

And you can find the Comfort and Joy fabrics in stores now - although they were going fast at my local quilt shop, so don't wait too long or you'll miss out.  You can also find them online here at: Olie & Evie, Fat Quarter Shop, and Lou Lou's Fabric Shop.  

The swirly quilting design I did is a panto called Party Streamers from Urban Elementz. 

 Thanks for stopping by!  You can see more projects made with Comfort and Joy on the blogs (and dates) below:

May 22:  Julia @ Riley Blake Designs

May 30:  Deonn @ Quiltscapes 

June 5:  Andy @ A Bright Corner

Juen 17:  Amy @ Ameroonie Designs

June 19:  Amanda @ Material Girl Quilts

And don't forget to grab the free PDF quilt pattern for Pinwheels & Patchwork.  If you make one I'd love to see!  Tag me on Instagram (@abrightcorner) and use the hashtag #pinwheelsandpatchwork.

Stars and Stripes table runner -Free PDF Pattern!

Can I just tell you how happy I am that we've finally reached the season of sunscreen, flip flops and popsicles?  School is out, we've made our summer bucket list and we've already reached our maximum allotted hours of video games for the year hahaha!  

How about celebrating summer with a free PDF pattern for this Stars & Stripes table runner?  I designed this one a few years ago to sell as kits in a local quilt shop and realized I never shared the pattern here with all of you!  

You can download and print the free PDF pattern here.

This table runner comes together pretty quickly - I promise!  The stripe blocks are made with strip piecing, and the stars are raw edge appliqued with the help of your favorite fusible web product (I love Heat n Bond Lite.)

The table runner finishes at 12" x 36", and if you'd prefer a wall hanging, make three of the table runners and sew them together to make a 36" x 36" wall hanging.   

Now get outside and enjoy that sunshine!  But don't forget to grab the free PDF pattern here!

Looking for more table runner ideas?  Check out my table runner Pinterest board:

Or how about some patriotic quilts and crafts?  Follow my patriotic Pinterest board:

Sewing Away

I realized the other day that most of my recent blog posts have just been about finished quilts.  So today I wanted to show you a couple of things that I'm just now starting.

I recently found the justserve.org site, and I'm already a big fan!  You enter your zip code and it generates a list of service opportunities in your area.  Pretty cool!  With school ending soon, I've been looking for ways to include my boys in doing some service and I'm happy to have found some good ideas on justserve.org.

When I entered my zip code, I found information about making quilts for children that are in foster care.  I emailed the coordinator and I was given the first name, age, and favorite colors of a girl who is in need of a quilt all her own.  When I finish the quilt, I'll deliver it to the coordinator and she will then give it to the child.  How great is that?  

This girl's favorite color is blue and she loves nautical things - so these are the fabrics I'll be using on her quilt.  I'm going with a simple patchwork quilt and all of the squares are cut at 4" square. 

So that's one of my current WIPs (works in progress)! 

I also have this fat quarter bundle of Gingham Girls fabric (designed by Amy Smart for Penny Rose Fabrics) and I'm currently debating on what to make with it.  I've been seeing some really cute Gingham Girls projects start to pop up on Instagram.  But I'm still thinking.  I really love this quilt, and this one too!

 

Thanks for stopping by A Bright Corner, and happy quilting!  

Oh and don't forget...you can still get 10% off your total pattern order from my pattern shop - use the promo code MAYFLOWERS.  It includes both PDF and paper patterns, and the sale goes until the end of May - so don't wait too much longer!

Patchwork Quilt Along Block Five

Time to add another block to our Patchwork Quilt Along with the Fat Quarter Shop!  On the 15th of each month a new block pattern is released.  And if you're not sewing along with us yet, it's not too late to join!  

This month's block is called Homestead, and you can find the free block pattern here!

As with some of the previous months, I cut the pieces for the half square triangles a little bigger (3.25" square) and then trimmed them down with my Bloc Loc ruler.  It adds a step, but it helps the blocks be more accurate in the end.  Aren't they cute?  I love this month's blocks!  

Want to see what others are creating each month?  You can follow along with the list of bloggers below, and also join the Patchwork Quilt Along facebook group.  It's so fun to see the blocks done in a variety of fabrics!

The quilt along benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and you can make a donation here at this link.  Now grab your pattern, your favorite prints (or a full kit here) and get sewing along!  

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl (@jedicraftgirl)

Amy of Diary of a Quilter (@diaryofaquilter)

Andy of A Bright Corner (@abrightcorner)

*Bonnie of Cotton Way (@bonniecottonway)

*Camille of Thimble Blossoms (@thimbleblossoms)

Debbie of Happy Little Cottage (@happylittlecottage1)

Greg of Grey Dogwood Studio (@greydogwoodstudio)

Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies (@buttonsandbutterflies)

Melissa of Happy Quilting (@happyquiltingmc)

Melissa of Oh How Sweet (@ohhowsweet)

Pat Sloan of PatSloan.com (@quilterpatsloan)

Renee of Sewn with Grace (@sewnwithgrace)

Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane (@downgrapevinelane)

Sherri of A Quilting Life (@aquiltinglife)

Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts (@sondradavison)

Taunja of Carried Away Quilting (@taunjalynn)

Tina of Emily Ann's Kloset (@emilyannskloset)

Carrie Nelson/Miss Rosie of Moda Cutting Table

Spot On! A new layer cake quilt pattern

I'm so excited to be able to share this with you!  This is my newest quilt pattern:  Spot On!   

Spot On is a fun, layer cake friendly quilt.  The pattern has instructions for four different sizes of quilts - crib, throw, twin & queen.  The size you're seeing here is the throw size (51" x 63") and it was made using a layer cake of Olive's Flower Market (fabric designed by Lella Boutique for Moda Fabrics).    Aren't those colors SO lovely?   

Spot On is now for sale in my online shop here

Some helpful strip piecing techniques makes the quilt blocks sew up fairly quickly!    

  

And guess what?  The throw size uses only 15 layer cake squares!  Which means that you can get two throw sized quilts from one layer cake.  Or you could make a throw sized Spot On AND a throw size Hello Washi quilt from ONE layer cake.  Pretty cool, right?  

The lovely quilting was done by Melissa Kelley (Sew Shabby Quilting) and the design is called Marmalade - one of my current favorites!  

You can find Spot On here in my online shop as either a PDF instant download, or a paper pattern.  And for the entire month of May, get 10% off your entire order when you enter the promo code MAYFLOWERS!

Want to see your favorite A Bright Corner patterns in your local quilt shop?  Let them know they can order my patterns through Checker or Brewer distributors!  

You can also find Spot On here in my Etsy shop, and here on Craftsy.

I have one more version of Spot On that I'll share with you next time!  Happy quilting everyone!