Lofty Quilt + Dream Weaver Fabrics

It's so fun for me to re-visit an old favorite pattern!  This is Lofty, and it's seriously one of my all-time favorites. It has so many things going for it:

• It's fat quarter friendly
• No background or borders
• It's a one-block-quilt...
• And that one block has just ONE seam
• No special rulers or templates needed

How can you beat that?  

For this version of Lofty I used a new fabric line called Dream Weaver.  It's designed by my friend Amanda Castor (Material Girl Quilts) for Riley Blake Designs and it's available in stores this month - ask your quilt shop if they've ordered it!

I used as many of the Dream Weaver prints as I could in this quilt - and I fell in love right away with the large floral prints!

You can see the whole line here on the Riley Blake website.

And you can find Lofty quilt patterns here in my shop.

I love the orangey-reds and butter-yellows combined with all of those pretty blues!

I wanted this to be a cozy, snugly quilt so I went with a teal-colored minky for the backing.  Don't you just love how the quilting texture looks on minky?  This longarm design is a computerized one called Fort (see it here).

The Lofty quilt pattern has instructions for four sizes of quilt: crib, throw, twin & queen.  This version is the throw size (54" x 72") and in my opinion it's the perfect size for naps on the couch :)  -- it's been tested multiple times.   

Quilt details:
54"x 72"
Pattern: Lofty (PDF and paper version available here)**
Fabric: Dream Weaver by Amanda Castor for Riley Blake Designs
Quilting: Fort (edge to edge computerized design)
Backing: Teal minky from my local quilt shop

** If you're a quilt shop, Lofty patterns are available wholesale through Checker & Brewer

If you make a Lofty quilt I'd love to see it!  Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@abrightcorner) and use the hashtags: #loftyquiltpattern and #abrightcornerpatterns

Game Night Quilt - The Christmas Version

I'm sharing my latest quilty finish with you today, and yes, yes I know, I know.......it's a CHRISTMAS quilt.  I'm sure we're all tired of seeing reds and greens.  I'm the same way.  But I decided when I started this quilt in November that I'd slow down and allow myself to enjoy the process. 

I let go of the self-imposed deadline of Christmas and as a result I was able to really enjoy every step of making this quilt - from choosing the fabrics from my stash, to picking a perfect backing (which you'll see in later photos.) 

The pattern for this quilt is called Game Night and you can find it in my book, Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts. 

Find Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts here on Amazon, or grab an autographed copy here from my shop, or tell your local quilt shop to order copies!  

The Game Night quilt pattern uses 10 fat quarters (plus background fabric).  But for my version I used red, green, and black prints from my stash and my scrap bins.  I tried to use a different red print and green print for each block, and I love the result!

(You can see the original Game Night quilt in this blog post)

Don't let the circles scare you away from trying this quilt!  In the instructions I give you two options to choose from - a more traditional applique technique, and a fusible applique method - that's what I used here.

 I used Heat n Bond Featherlite for my fusible webbing and then a machine blanket stitch (it's a setting on my machine) to secure the circles.  Easy peasy.  And I step you through it in the book.  If you prefer the more traditional method of applique I provide instructions for that as well. 

One of the really nice things about finishing a Christmas quilt AFTER Christmas is that I was able to find a cute backing fabric in a 50% off sale at my local quilt shop.  These little peppermint circles are from the Sweet Christmas fabric line by Urban Chiks (Moda fabrics). 

Now comes the hard part, folding it up and putting it away for the next 10-ish months.  Or maybe I'll just let it sit here on my ladder for a week so I can enjoy it a little :)

Quilt details:
59"x 73"
Pattern: Game Night (from Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts book)
Fabric: Red, green, and black prints from my stash & scrap bins
Quilting: Soho (edge to edge computerized design)
Backing: Peppermint Polka Dot, Marzipan color (Sweet Christmas by Urban Chiks for Moda)

If you make a Game Night quilt I'd love to see it!  Be sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook (@abrightcorner) and use the hashtags: #gamenightquilt and #abrightcornerpatterns

**This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.

Vinyl Project Bags + Homestead Life Fabrics

Well hello everyone!  I'm sharing a quick little project today - one that I've been meaning to make for over a year now - vinyl project bags.  A friend of mine has a set of these and loves them.

She uses them to store her quilt WIPs and kits, and I've also seen people use them for their cross stitch, crochet, and english paper piecing projects.

The fabrics I used for my bags all come from the new Homestead Life line by Tara Reed (Riley Blake Designs).  You can find Homestead Life in shops now, including here at the Fat Quarter Shop.

I love the sweet florals combined with the chunky gingham prints!

I made two different sized bags - the large bags are 13" x 13", and the smaller bag is 8" x 11".

I made this smaller one to hold pens and markers - perfect!

And I added hanging loops to the two larger bags so they could be stored on a hook or on a hanger in a closet.

There are a lot of different tutorials out there for making vinyl bags.  I mostly followed this one by Center Street Quilts.  After looking around at several other tutorials, I decided I liked her method the best.   She also has great photos, and clear instructions.  She pieced her bag backing but I just used a solid piece of fabric for mine.

Once you get the idea of how they're constructed, it's not hard to adjust the bag sizes to fit your needs.

This set of bags is meant as a gift for someone, but I'll definitely be making more of these for myself!

Want to see other versions of vinyl project bags?  These were some other helpful tutorials that I found:

Easy WIP Project Bag with Vinyl (YouTube video by The Fat Quarter Shop)
Vinyl Project Bag Tutorial by Thimbleanna
Vinyl Project Bag Tutorial by The Quilting Nook
Vinyl Project Pouch Tutorial by Center Street Quilts

And you can see more of the Homestead Life fabrics here on the Riley Blake Designs site, and you can find Tara Reed's blog here.

Happy sewing!

**This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission (at no additional cost to you) when purchases are made through links found in this post.

Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts Book Tour, Part 1

We're on the final few days of the book tour for Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts, but I wanted to do a recap of the wonderful projects shared for the first half of the tour.  

Each of these quilters is so talented and it's been a real treat to see them put their own spin on the projects!

We started off with Jen Van Orman (Heritage Threads) who shared her delightfully pink Stellar quilt:

I love how even her low volume prints had pink in them!  

Holly Lesue (Maker Valley, here on IG) followed that up with her take on Stellar, using low volume prints that coordinated with each color of star - so clever!

And it's cat-approved by her furry friend Jack:

Then Amy Chappell (Ameroonie Designs) shared her mini-quilt / table topper version of the Penelope pattern: 

It's so cheery in Lori Holt's Cozy Christmas fabrics, and that scrappy pieced border adds real charm!

Next up was Nadra Ridgeway (Ellis and Higgs) who took one block from the Winsome quilt pattern and turned it into this sweet pillow:

She used a linen for the background and the pretty florals are prints from her various fabric lines with Riley Blake - such a great combo!

Then Kristina Brinkerhoff (Center Street Quilts) shared her Lucky Star quilt.  These large star blocks were the perfect way for her to use the darling Little Red in the Woods prints (Riley Blake Designs):

Such an adorable baby quilt - I love how she fussy cut those pink block centers!

Amy Sinibaldi (Nana Company) then shared her oh-so-dreamy version of the Cut Glass quilt:

I used bold, bright, high-contrast colors for the original book quilt, but I'm in love with her softer color palette - so delicate!

Next was Jessica Dayon who used the Early Bird line (Bonnie & Camille / Moda Fabrics) to make her version of Sunny Day:

I love her choice of the aqua for the sashing and scallop border.  Don't you just want to cozy up with the quilt and read all afternoon?

Then Amanda Niederhauser (Jedi Craft Girl) showed us her take on the Lucky Star pattern:

I thought this was pretty clever - she took three of the blocks from the Lucky Star pattern and turned them into a Christmas table runner!

Next up was Sharon Burgess (Lilabelle Lane) and I love her version of the Penelope quilt:

And how cute are her little photo bombers in the photo above?  Sharon used her stash of Bonnie and Camille fabrics to create this lovely quilt.  That aqua floral print she used for the border makes the perfect frame!

And the last one for our round up today is this Venture Out quilt by Samantha Dorn (Aqua Paisley).   

Samantha used prints by Aneela Hoey and I LOVE the vibrant colors + the crisp white background.  This is very much my style and I could totally see this hanging on my own wall!

The quilt is marvelous, but I also can't help looking at that stack of quilts in her cabinet!

Such a wonderful variety of projects!  There are a few days left in the tour and I'll be back next week to share the last projects.  Meanwhile, you can follow along using the links below.

Have you added the Fresh Fat Quarter Quilts book to your Christmas list yet?  

Books have sold out (for now) - at Fat Quarter Shop, Target.com, and Barnes and Noble but you can still get copies on Amazon, and I also have autographed copies available in my shop with free shipping to the US.  

If you're a shop owner, you can find the books wholesale through United Notions, Checker, and Brewer.

• Nov 18:   Jen Van Orman – Heritage Threads
• Nov 19:   Holly Lesue – Maker Valley
• Nov 20:   Amy Chappell – Ameroonie Designs
• Nov 21:   Nadra Ridgeway – Ellis and Higgs
• Nov 22:   Kristina Brinkerhoff – Center Street Quilts
• Nov 23:   Amy Sinibaldi – @AmySinibaldi
• Nov 25:   Jessica Dayon – Jessica Dayon
• Nov 26:   Amy Smart – Diary of a Quilter
• Nov 27:   Amanda Niederhauser – Jedi Craft Girl
• Nov 28:   Andy Knowlton – A Bright Corner
• Nov 29:   Sharon Burgess – Lilabelle Lane Creations
• Nov 30:   Samantha Dorn – Aqua Paisley Studio
• Dec 2:   Lindsey Weight – Primrose Cottage Quilts
• Dec 3:   Bev McCullough – Flamingo Toes
• Dec 4:   Christopher Thompson – The Tattooed Quilter
• Dec 5:   Amber Johnson – Gigi’s Thimble
• Dec 6:   Melissa Corry – Happy Quilting Melissa
• Dec 7:  Amanda Castor – Material Girl Quilts