Split Stars Quilt in Love Patchwork & Quilting Magazine

I'm so excited to be able to share that I have a quilt in the latest issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting!  And to my delight...it's on the cover!  Issue 51 is available now in the UK, and will be heading to the US soon.

  My inspiration for the quilt came from this photo I found on Pinterest:

I immediately fell in love with the color combo!  I took a screen shot of the photo on my phone, and used it at the quilt shop as I chose the colors of Riley Blake Confetti Cottons I wanted to use.  Here's the stack that I pulled off the shelves in the shop:

I'm a long time fan of mixing aqua & green together (here, here and here), but I love what the purples add to the group!

You can see sneak peeks of the other projects from the issue here on the Love Patchwork & Quilting site.  And watch for issue 51 to hit your news stands.  I know I'll be stalking my local Barnes & Noble for the next couple of weeks!

A Piece of Cake!

It's really been a summer filled with Christmas quilts!  This is the third one I've worked on this month (I'll share the others soon), and I have to say it's a little strange to go out and photograph a Christmas quilt when it's 90+ degrees outside and there's plenty of green grass around!  

Today I'm sharing a quilt that I made from this fun new book:

A Piece of Cake - Sweet & Simple Quilts from Layer Cake Squares written by Peta Peace (a.k.a. She Quilts A Lot).  The book is filled with great quilt designs, lovely photos, and easy-to-follow instructions and diagrams.  

When I fall in love with a new fabric line, often I'll buy a layer cake of it.  A charm pack isn't quite enough, and I find layer cakes to be more versatile than a jelly roll.  But then the layer cake sits there until I figure out what to make.  This book will be a great resource - it has so many great quilts, all layer cake friendly! 

The quilt I chose to make is called Surprise.  It finishes at 56" x 71" and I used a layer cake of North Woods designed by Kate Spain.  The line came out last summer and I've been holding on to this layer cake since then - looking for the perfect pattern.  I love the little presents!

I backed this quilt in a soft mint flannel - it will be perfectly cozy come December!  For the quilting I used a longarm panto from Urban Elementz called Cake Walk. 

You can see more projects from the book by following along on the blog tour.  We've already seen three fun quilts from Sedef, Jemima, and Samantha - and there's plenty more to come!  You can also check out some other quilts from the book on Instagram with the hashtag #apieceofcakebook.

14 Aug Sedef - Down Grapevine Lane

15 Aug Jemima - Tied with a Ribbon

16 Aug Samantha - Aqua Paisley Studio

17 Aug Andy - A Bright Corner

18 Aug Kirsty - Bonjour Quilts

19 Aug Lisa - A Spoonful of Sugar Designs

20 Aug Alison - Cotton Factory

21 Aug Carrie - Moda Fabrics

22 Aug Nadra - Ellis and Higgs

23 Aug Angie - Gnome Angel

24 Aug Tara - Tara Sews

25 Aug Jules - The Creative Retreat

26 Aug Kristyne - Pretty by Hand

27 Aug Kimberly - Fat Quarter Shop

28 Aug Lissa - Moda Lissa

29 Aug Amy - Diary of a Quilter

30 Aug Kerry - Kid Giddy & Cat - Hello from Cat on Instagram

31 Aug Jane - Modern Makers Retreat

1 Sept Kate - Never Enough Hours

2 Sept Jodie - Vintage Ric Rac

3 Sept Sharon - Patches Indooroopilly (in store & online!)

4 Sept Amanda - Material Girl Quilts

5 Sept Amber - A Little Bit Biased

6 Sept Xanthe - Wife Made

7 Sept Rachel - Family Ever After

8 Sept Jenny - Martingale

9 Sept Amy - Nana Company

10 Sept          Peta - She Quilts A Lot

Patchwork Quilt Along Block Eight

Wow!  We're already on the eighth set of blocks for the Patchwork Quilt Along with the Fat Quarter Shop!  Just four more sets until we can start putting our quilt top together. 

This month's block pattern is called Rolling Nine Patch, and you can find a link to the free pattern here on the Jolly Jabber Blog (scroll down to find the Rolling Nine Patch block).

I started storing my blocks in these stackable wire baskets from the Container Store.  I was finding that the more I moved, arranged and touched the blocks the more they were fraying.  This way my finished blocks can stay in the basket all safe and sound until it's time to piece the quilt top.  

The list of bloggers who are sewing along is below, and you can also see what quilters from around the world are making in the Patchwork QAL Facebook group.  I'm so glad there's a place for everyone to add photos of their blocks, and ask and answer questions!  

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

Five Fat Quarter Fun - Preppy Quilt Pattern

This month I was invited to be a part of the Five Fat Quarter Fun series with Amber & Amanda (Gigi's Thimble & Jedi Craft Girl).  Boy, I tell you - it was a fun challenge to design a quilt using only five fat quarters plus a little yardage.  I went through a few different options but quickly settled on this Argyle inspired quilt, called Preppy!

This is one of those quilts that looks more complicated than it actually is!  And for those of you who haven't tried making a quilt on point before this would be a great time to try it!  

Preppy finishes at 50" x 60", and uses 5 fat quarters and some yardage for the sashing and background.  You can download the free PDF pattern HERE.  

I love these Gingham Girls prints (designed by Amy Smart for Penny Rose Fabrics) and I've been looking for just the right project to use them in.  They were the perfect choice for this Preppy quilt.  And I added in the navy swiss dot (from Riley Blake) as well.  

The quilting is a design called Diagonal Plaid which I thought worked great with all of the other diagonal lines in the quilt, and it also added some great texture! 

If you make a Preppy quilt I'd love to see it!  Be sure to tag me (@abrightcorner) as well as Amber and Amanda (@gigisthimble @jedicraftgirl) and use the hashtags #preppyquilt and #fivefatquarterfun so we'll be sure to see it! 

And if you've missed the other Five Fat Quarter Fun patterns, you can find them here on Amber's blog and here on Amanda's blog.  They do a new pattern on the first of each month and it's so fun to see what they come up with each month!  Have you made any of their 5 FQ Fun quilts??

 Don't forget to download the PDF for the Preppy quilt pattern here!

Patchwork Quilt Along Block Seven

I have to admit I'm a little sad that it is already the 15th of July!  Our kids go back to school in four short weeks and I'm just not ready for Summer break to end.  The good news about it being July 15th is that it's time for the Fat Quarter Shop to release another block pattern for the Patchwork Quilt Along!

This month's block is called Propeller, and you can find a link to the free pattern here on the Jolly Jabber Blog (scroll down to find the Propeller block.)

I thought this month's blocks were fun - and they took me a lot less time than the last set of blocks did!  Here are all of my blocks to this point.  Looks like next month I'll need to add more green and navy blocks to balance out the colors, but I love what I see so far!

Still needing to catch up?  You can find links to all the past blocks here.  And if you don't think you have time to make the full quilt, you can still make just one of each block for an adorable sampler mini quilt.  If you haven't yet made a donation to Make-A-Wish you can still do that as well.
  

The next set of blocks will be released on August 15th!  For some great inspiration, check out the Patchwork QAL Facebook group.  So much creativity!  And be sure to check out the bloggers below that are quilting 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

Simple Circles Quilt + Coming Up Roses Blog Tour

My days feel all messed up this Summer!  Today feels like a Friday, and yesterday felt like Monday.  Anyone else have this problem or is it just me?

I have a fun quilt pattern to share with you today!  This is the Simple Circles quilt, made with the Coming Up Roses fabric line designed by Jill Finley for Penny Rose Fabrics. 

I fell in love with the bright reds, purples, and greens -- and together they just felt like a party -- so bright and cheery!  Aren't they pretty together?  

 I used this 6" circle ruler from Lori Holt & Riley Blake to make my circles.  

In the pattern I give you two options for making your circles - one using the ruler and one without.  My preferred way (because it's faster!) is to fuse some Heat n Bond Featherlite onto a strip of fabric, then cut it into squares.  

Use the circle ruler, a small rotary cutter and a rotating cutting mat to cut one circle from each square.

Cut all of the circles out - the rotating mat makes this step pretty slick!

(This red paisley print from the line is my favorite!)

Peel the paper backing off of one circle.  Fold it in half twice and finger press to crease.  This helps you find the center of the circle.  Fold one background square in half twice and finger press to crease. 

 

Then place the circle on top of the square, lining up the fold marks.  This helps to center the circle in the block.  

Press the circle in place with an iron.  

Then using a coordinating thread and thin zigzag stitch, stitch the circle in place.  

Once all your circles are appliqued in place, the quilt comes together quickly!  It's just a matter of arranging the squares and then sewing them into columns.  

Click here to print the Simple Circles quilt pattern. 

If you make a Simple Circles quilt I'd love to see it!  Tag me on Instagram (@abrightcorner) or Facebook and add #simplecirclesquilt.  

If you don't yet have a 6" ruler, you can find the 6" ruler here by itself, or in a set with three other sizes here on Amazon.

The Coming Up Roses fabrics will be available in stores soon!  And the blog tour continues over the next several weeks on the following dates:

July 6:  Andy Knowlton / A Bright Corner

July 13:  Aurifil / Auribuzz

July 20:  Amy Chappell / Ameroonie Designs

July 27:  Carrie Burnett / Beri Bee Designs

Aug 3:  Kari Steiger / That's-Sew-Kari

Aug 10:  Kimberly Einmo / Kimbery Einmo Designs

Want to see more circle quilt ideas?  Check out my Curves & Circles Pinterest board!

Pinwheel Block tutorial with Tri-Recs Rulers + Ruler Giveaway!

I'd like to share with you how I used the Tri-Recs rulers to make the pinwheel blocks in the Pinwheels & Patchwork quilt  (free pattern here.)  And if you don't already have a set of these handy rulers, stay tuned to the end of the post for a chance to win a set from the Fat Quarter Shop! (giveaway has ended)

I bought these Tri-Recs rulers years ago and then they sat for a looong time because I didn't know how to use them!  Now that I know, they're super handy and you can do all sorts of fun blocks with them.  Today I'm just showing the pinwheel block, but once you get the hang of them, you can start just creating!

The pinwheel block for today is really just four triangle-in-a-square blocks that have been rotated and sewn together.  Let's get started!

First of all, cut a strip of fabric that is 6.5" x WOF (width of fabric).  You can keep it folded (the way it comes off the bolt) and that way you'll be cutting two triangles at a time.

Line up the "Tri" ruler on the strip of fabric as shown.  That nice flat edge on the top of the ruler is helpful here!  See how it lines up with the top of the fabric strip?

Use a rotary cutter to cut out one triangle, then flip the ruler over and line it up along that just-cut edge.  You're ready to cut another triangle!  Keep going along the length of the strip of fabric, cutting out as many triangles as you need.  For one block we only need 4 triangles.

Next up we'll be cutting the side triangle pieces using the "Recs" ruler.  Once again, cut a strip of fabric that is 6.5" x WOF.

See that notch on the top left of the Recs tool?  That notch will come in handy when you start piecing the block.  So make sure you trim that notch from the fabric as you cut!

  Line up the ruler as shown, and cut one triangle. 

As before, flip the ruler over and cut another one.  And then just keep flipping and cutting all the way down the length of the strip.  For our one block you'll only need 8 of these side triangles.

Time to sew!  Arrange one triangle piece with two side triangles as shown.  We'll sew one side first.  

Flip the side triangle over so the two pieces are right sides together.  Notice the bottom corner of the triangle?  

That notch you cut in the side triangle piece helps you line it up with the larger triangle.  The notch should line up with the bottom edge of the large triangle. 

Stitch along the side of the triangle with a 1/4" seam. 

Flip open the side triangle and press.  I recommend pressing open.

Now line up the second side triangle - making sure that notch at the bottom is lined up.  Sew with a 1/4" seam. 

 Flip open the second side triangle and press open.

This triangle-in-a-square (TIS) block should measure 6.5" square.  Repeat to make a total of 4 TIS blocks.  Take a minute to trim off any little dog ears on each block.

Arrange the four blocks as shown, taking note of how each one is rotated. 

 Sew the top two blocks together, and the bottom two blocks together, with a 1/4" seam.  Press seams open.

Now sew the two block halves together, being careful to line up that center seam.  Stitch and then press seam - this time press to one side.  The finished block should measure 12.5" square.  Fun block, right?  


Would you like to win a set of Tri-Recs rulers?  Just leave a comment below, telling me one thing on your Summer bucket list.  Giveaway ends Sunday July 2nd at midnight and I'll announce the winner here on Monday July 3rd.  And thank you to the Fat Quarter Shop for sponsoring the giveaway!  International entries welcome, one entry per person please.  Giveaway has ended - thank you!

Want to see what else you can make with the Tri-Recs rulers?  Check out this pinterest board - filled with different ideas on what you can make using these two rulers!

And don't forget to go here and download the free pattern for the Pinwheels & Patchwork quilt.  Now that you know how to make the pinwheel blocks, this quilt's a breeze!