Friday, December 1, 2023

Elizabeth Hartman's Legendary Pattern / Beauties Pageant 238

Back in 2017, Elizabeth Hartman released her Legendary quilt pattern, and I was dubious. It was a cool design, but was there really a market for a Sasquatch quilt pattern? 

Six years later, I realized that, with a few palette decisions, I could transform Sasquatch into a yeti, and obviously, I need a yeti quilt in my life.

Yetis, or abominable snowmen, are a running joke between me and my older son. Over the years, I have bought him yeti Christmas ornaments, yeti stuffed animals, yeti washi tape, you name it. As his 15th birthday appeared on the horizon (and by this, I mean it was just three weeks out!), I knew I had to move into high gear and get this project done.

Essex Linen

Thankfully, I had already cut out almost everything, including five different green fabrics for the forest. The dark greens are two prints from Cotton and Steel past and present, and the lighter, brighter greens include a solid, a blender, and a print from Kate Spain’s Grand Canal collection.

For the background I used Essex Linen. It was something I purchased for a different quilt, one that requires a lot of fiddly curve sewing, and I am thankful I used that cut of fabric here instead. 

Now, I am not an Essex Linen novice. I’ve used it a variety of projects, most of which are bags, not quilts (see the links at the bottom of the post). In other words, I know Essex Linen’s lovely, textured hand can be annoying to work with. It’s malleable and stretchy and not nearly as well behaved as quilting cotton. So I took precautions: I washed the Essex Linen (and all the other fabrics, for that matter) and I gave it a good press with starch.

I chain-pieced 12 of the 14 tree blocks right off the bat. As I squared the blocks, though, I realized that I would lose some points when I sewed them into the quilt top. I blamed this (ahem!) on the fact that I did not mark the diagonal seams before sewing them and instead just eyeballed everything. But then I cut and sewed the final 2 tree blocks, diligently marking every diagonal seam with my hera marker, and they were not any more accurate than the first batch I sewed. Sorry, Essex Linen, it’s not me, it’s you!

The Quilting

There was no way I was going to quilt a project with this much Essex Linen myself. On one hand, I think Essex Linen merits a good amount of quilting to stabilize it. On the other, too much quilting could result in a top without much drape.

I decided on a pantograph called Ramble, and I couldn’t like it and the scale my longarmer decided on more. I had considered different designs that played up the forest theme, but this modern geometric seemed more appropriate for its 15-year-old recipient.

I’ve been second-guessing my thread choices of late (remember this quilt?), and Legendary was no exception. My usual rule of thumb is to use the lowest value in a quilt top as the color for the quilting thread. Instead, I went with a medium gray option here, which makes the quilting recede on almost all of the blocks and the background. Don’t get me wrong: I really like it. I can’t help but wonder, however, what Ramble would look like with an off-white thread.

The Backing and Binding

A flannel from Tula’s Holiday Homies collection was the perfect foil to all that Essex Linen. And I finished everything off with a solid binding, also from Tula, in matcha.

I knew I would miss an opportunity to add another layer of texture if I machine-finished the binding, so the time required to sew these chunky stitches was well spent, even if I was still at work on it the day before I planned on gifting the quilt to my son! (For a tutorial on chunky-stitch bindings, click here.)

I divide Elizabeth Hartman’s pattern design into two phases. Her earlier work, including the designs in her two books, is mostly geometric. The ones that do have a novelty feel to them (like these cats, which are freebies on her site) are fairly simple to make. Most of what she designs now is much more complicated. I’ve heard friends talk about all the pieces required to sew her sloths or her dinosaurs, and I cringe. Legendary may be part of her later work, but despite my woes with lost points, it’s pretty easy. If you have a reason to sew a Sasquatch quilt or, like me, a yeti version, I recommend it!

Other quilts from Elizabeth Hartman’s patterns:

Other quilts made with Essex Linen:

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Wednesday, November 22, 2023

10 Quilt Patterns for $19.99 / Beauties Pageant 237

 
 
EDIT: This bundle is no longer available.
 
Calling all crafty gift givers, quilters who appreciate an easy sew, and makers who like a good deal! The Bountiful Bundle is just what you’re looking for ...

This collection from top designers includes 10 quilt patterns for $19.99 (or $2 per pattern). Many of the quilts come in multiple sizes, and all are geared toward confident beginner quilters and above.

Are you looking to ...

  • Start—and finish!—a project before the holidays?
  • Bust through your stash fast?
  • Discover new-to-you pattern designers?

Then this bundle is for you! But hurry ... It’s available now through November 27, and then it’s gone forever. Sorry, this bundle is  no longer available.

I am sure you’ll recognize some favorites in the collection. In the picture at the top of the post, you’ll see (clockwise from upper left-hand corner):

  • My own Irish Twist!
  • Cheryl Brickey’s Broken Frames
  • Yvonne Fuch’s Flight Path
  • Emily Dennis’s Quilty Trees
  • Shannon Fraser’s Etched Diamond
  • Kirsty Cleverly’s Radiant
  • Julie Cefalu’s Arrow Stone
  • Mariana Diaz’s Full House
  • Heather Briggs’s Goodnight Garden
  • Laura Piland’s Exploding Heart



Please note: This is one of the rare situations where I receive compensation when you click through this link and purchase a bundle. (Actually, it’s the only affiliate link on my site.) Thank you in advance for supporting my little pattern business.


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Friday, November 17, 2023

More Pouch Patterns for Gifting / Beauties Pageant 236

 
 
So many of you reached out to me here, on Instagram, or in person to share that last week’s post might as well have been written about you. What can I say? We like to complicate things, but our gift giving is the better for it, right? 

In my last post, I sang the praises of Jeni Baker’s Lined Drawstring Bag pattern and an accompanying sew-along that starts next week. Just to make sure you have some ideas in your back pocket, waiting for an opportunity to level up the presentation of a holiday gift (or 12), I have a few additional patterns to introduce you to. 

In true let’s-complicate-things form, you could wait until you have a gift on hand before embarking on your next pouch-making journey. There is something to be said, however, for setting up your own little production line and banging out a few at a time, so there’s always one at the ready.

Sotak Handmade’s Drawstring Bag Tutorial

I first made Sotak Handmade’s Drawstring Bag tutorial back in 2015. The casing for the drawstring is unique and is what I think makes the bag something special. The directions walk you through making a 8-inch by 9.5-inch pouch, but it’s a pattern you could easily modify for the gift on hand. I recommend using a fun contrasting fabric for the casing and finishing these beauties off with a little faux leather cording.

Tinkalong Pouch

Cheri Lehnow’s Tinkalong Pouch pattern comes in two sizes: small and large. During a past sew-along, I printed the small size at 65%, making it perfect for holding a gift card. I used OG Cotton and Steel fabric and black cotton cording in the four bags I sewed to give them a polished look.

Popcorn Pouch

I found Amista Baker’s Popcorn Pouch to be a fast and easy sew, even for zipper newbies (not that I am one, but if you wait long enough between zipper projects, it’s easy to feel as if you’re tackling zipper for the first time again). I’ve been known to make several at a time ... I’ve used my Popcorn Pouches to wrap presents. I’ve slid a card into one, presenting the pouch itself as a small token of thanks. I’ve even packed my charging cords into that blue and mustard beauty, below, as I headed out the door on a quilt retreat.

I think a call to action is in order, so go forth and sew some pouches! And when you’re done, please report back to us about your triumphs. : )

Coming Soon

I have so much to share with you before the end of the year ... my Legendary quilt (pattern by Elizabeth Hartman), my Patchwork Sky quilt (Camille Roskelley), my Sandhill Sling (Anna Graham). So. Many Projects!

I am also participating in a specially curated bundle and wanted to get that on your radar screen today. The Bountiful Bundle will be available next Wednesday, November 22, through Monday, November, 27 (that’s EST, or GMT-5). 

It includes 10 PDF patterns for $19.99 (or $2 per pattern). Each design is beginner friendly and comes from a different designer. I am sure you’ll recognize some favorites in the collection, including Laura Piland’s Exploding Heart, Emily Dennis’s Quilty Trees, and my own Irish Twist. Stop by next Wednesday (or newsletter subscribers, keep an eye on your inbox) to get your bundle!


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Friday, November 10, 2023

Let's Complicate Simple Tasks! / Beauties Pageant 235

One of my special talents is turning a simple task into a more complicated and time-consuming one. I truly excel at this, friends.

Exhibit A

Let’s consider the case of my niece’s 14th birthday gift.

I decided to get her a Crumbl Cookies gift certificate because she’s such a fan of the store’s sugary offerings.

Most people would order the gift certificate online and call it a day. But do you know what’s better than an emailed Crumbl gift card? A physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter.

And do you know what’s better than a physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter? A physical gift card and a fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter … in a handmade drawstring pouch! (Darn you, presentation—you get me every time!)

In other words, what I could have accomplished in two minutes at my computer (and what would have arrived on my niece’s actual birthday) ended up requiring a trek to Crumbl, a sewing session, and a trip to the post office … two days after her special day.

And that’s how I roll!


Project Specifics

If presented with a comparable wrapping conundrum, you may be tempted to draft a quick pouch pattern yourself. Do not bother: The Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern from Jeni Baker of In Color Order has all the math we need. It includes many different sizes, so it’s easy to home in on one for the gift at hand. 

I sewed the snack bag size, tweaking the measurements for boxing the bottom so that the fancy pink Crumbl cookie cutter would fit.

I wish I could give you information about the fabric, but all of it came from a collection of fat eighths I won through my guild, and there wasn’t a printed selvage among them. Perhaps the star of the project isn’t the fabric, though—it’s that awesome mint-colored flowery twill. My niece prefers black, gray, and white, so that twill tape adds a subtle and sweet bit of color to the project. 

If you find yourself in need of some mint-colored twill, it’s available for purchase through the designer’s website. Check out KP Creates for all the details. (All of my stash suggestions are just to enable your purchases. There is no affiliate anything on my site.)

The Lined Drawstring Bag is a well-loved pouch pattern. It was released a full 10 years ago, and I know that I am not the only sewist who considers it her go-to for making pretty pouches. It just so happens that Jeni announced a Lined Drawstring Bag Sew-Along on her blog recently. The fun begins on November 22. Both the original pattern and expansion pack are on sale through November 28. (Again ... just here, aiding and abetting your sewing purchases. You’re welcome!)

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Friday, October 27, 2023

Triangle Pouch by Sew Lux / Beauties Pageant 234


It always feels good to end the week with a finish, even a pint-size one!

I’ve long admired the pouch and pillow patterns designed by Chrissy Lux, and I finally made time in my sewing schedule to try out her Triangle Pouch

This pattern is a great way to use up a lone mini-charm pack or, in my case, the remnants of a jelly roll.

I love how this project exudes personality both inside and out. The autumnal palette on the exterior opens up to a gray and cream dot on the interior that’s punctuated by contrasting binding strips. Because if you’re going to take the time to bind raw interior edges, you might as well give them a little oomph, right?

This may be my first Triangle Pouch, but it will not be my last! I have three additional striped zippers that are begging to be transformed into something special. With one Triangle Pouch under my belt, it’s easy to plot three more.

Should you want to make your own Triangle Pouch, you can find the pattern on the Sew Lux site and view the accompanying YouTube video here. The fabrics, alas, are all out of print: I used Songbook by Fancy That Design House for the exterior and a Swiss dot by Jen Kingwell for the interior. The super awesome zipper comes in tomato (pictured), as well as aqua and black, and can be purchased at Stitch Supply Co.

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Friday, October 20, 2023

Silly Faux Roman Shades (That Took Years to Make) / Beauties Pageant 233


The usual quilting-related blog post is being preempted today by a rather annoying home dec project. The story is a boring one. The pictures? Not so great. But this has to be done! Because before this blog is a place to connect with other quilters, it is a personal journal of my sewing adventures, and it is better than any of my sewing notebooks, full of sketches and handwritten comments: I can’t misplace my blog, the posts are always legible, and I am able to search through my hundreds of past posts with ease.

Back in 2019—before Covid brought life to a standstill, before the cost of home improvement supplies soared through the roof—my husband and I redid our kitchen. The footprint worked well for us and went unchanged, but we retiled the floor, had the cabinets professionally refinished, and replaced all the appliances, which had already well outlived their projected lifespans.

As far as kitchen renos go, this one was substantial enough to disrupt our lives, and when we reached the fall of 2019, we had had enough. During the demo, we removed the window treatments throughout the first floor, figuring that we would deal with the dilemma in 2020.

None of us could have forecasted what 2020 had in store for the world, and needless to say, there was no sewing window treatments that year. Plus, my husband, boys, and I went months and months (and months!) without family or friends entering our house. Without the promise of visitors in the near future, and without the need for privacy in a house that’s surrounded by trees, the window-treatment project was not a priority. It was the albatross around my neck for years until, finally, I decided that 2023 was the year to address our bare windows.

Words of Wisdom 

Do you, too, have a curtain-less room?  Here are the words of wisdom I approach all window projects with ...

The only thing I hate more than sewing shades is paying someone else to make them. When you hire someone to make shades, the bulk of the bill is the labor, not the fabric. You can often make them for less yourself.

If you can get away with simple off-the-shelf drapery panels, however, buy them instead of sewing them yourself. First, you probably won’t save that much money making them yourself. Second, not sewing panels will free up your schedule for more quilting.

For my living and dining rooms, which function as one big room, I bought six drapery panels from Crate & Barrel. Four of those are used as curtains in the dining room. The remaining two I cut up and sewed into faux Roman shades for the living room. Using the same fabric creates cohesion between the rooms, and using panels in the dining room meant that I had to make three shades instead of five in those two rooms.

Don’t make functioning Roman shades when faux ones (that is, shades that do not raise and lower) will do. Regular Roman shades are more complicated to sew and require more fabric (and, therefore, more money). Originally, we had functioning shades in the kitchen, and they were not necessary. We never adjusted them.

If you have ridiculously large windows, look for home dec fabric that you looks good oriented lengthwise. Doing so will spare you from having to match repeats, which tends to be a cause of frustration and cursing for me. Because I used panels for the living and dining rooms window treatments, I didn’t have this luxury, but I used fabric length-wise throughout my kitchen.


Lessons Learned

The problem I have with window treatments is that I make them very infrequently yet expect my finished products to look professionally made. I know this isn’t reasonable, but it’s the truth. Here are some lessons I learned with my recent foray into home dec sewing ...

Your choice of lining matters. I mentioned that I cut up some panels for my living room. Instead of repurposing the lining from these panels, I bought a heavier product at my local big-box craft store because I think a substantial lining makes shades hang better. The problem was there was a difference in color. The panels had an ivory lining, and I bought a white lining for the coordinating shades. Sunlight makes the panels appear more ivory and the shades more off-white. (Did this mean I ripped the shades apart and remade them? Heck, no!)

Builders do not hang windows with your needs in mind. In my living room, the front two windows sit a little closer to the ceiling that the large picture window on the adjacent wall. I didn’t discover this issue until I had made all the shades the same length. My workaround was that the shade on the picture window has one fewer fold than the two smaller windows; that small tweak (unnoticeable to anyone but me) provided the extra length I needed.

Always buy extra fabric. Matching repeats (when I have to do it) requires extra fabric. So does centering a design on a shade, or in the case of my dinette area, aligning a design horizontally across adjacent windows.


Resources

There are bunches of places to buy fabric and window-related notions online. I bought my fabric here and my rings here. The YouTube videos I followed to make faux Roman shades can be found here and here.

If you have window treatments on your to-do list, godspeed to you!

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Friday, October 13, 2023

Two Postcards from Sweden / Beauties Pageant 232

I love the processing of checking things off my to-do list. Right now, I have three (digital) sticky notes on my desktop: one for life administration, one for stuff to get rid of (that oval mirror! that plastic basketball hoop!), and one for quilty projects. I can get downright giddy as I delete things from these lists. The one where items linger, however, is that third sticky note ...

The timeline for the projects I’m unveiling today was a year—a whole year to finish two easy quilts! In early October 2022, I started cutting into a huge bundle of bright and beautiful Free Spirit fat quarters, in preparation for a guild retreat, and it’s just recently that I finished binding the Postcard from Sweden quilts I sewed with that fabric.

You may be thinking, Michelle committed to two of these quilts up front? Yes! If I am going to pick out and cut 36 fabrics for a project, I might as well cut a second identical project simultaneously. My only regret is that I made the 360 half-square triangles with the two-at-a-time method. If I had to do it over again, I would have invested in an Accuquilt GO die and avoided trimming all of those HSTs. 

Both quilts are composed of HSTs that finish at 4 inches, and the completed projects measure 48 inches by 60 inches. The two have the same quilting design—straight lines that travel along diagonal seams and bisect each HST—and a combination of pale pink and orange thread.

The perfect foil to the colorful quilt tops was Tula Pink’s ladybug wideback. This sateen is so soft and smooth. I was happy to use my yardage on the back of these projects, and I look forward to doing something fun for myself with the scraps.

What will I do with two Postcards from Sweden? One may go to my little niece for Christmas or her birthday. After all, she has received just one quilt from me so far. (Her big sister was the recipient of this Jolly Bar quilt, this Penny Patch quilt, this improv quilt, and this Little Lady quilt—and she insists on piling each one on top of her at bedtime. Considering that my mom also quilts, I have been cut off from making any more for that niece!) The other will go on my Etsy site, where I recently decided to—gulp!—sell some projects.

If you want more info about the Postcard from Sweden pattern (it’s a freebie) or how I approached the fabric pull, read my original post here.

Before I sign off, here’s one more shot of those sweet ladybugs. Any suggestions on what I can do with the scraps? I was thinking of a pin cushion, but I am open to suggestions. : )


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Friday, October 6, 2023

One Quilt Four Ways / Beauties Pageant 231


I fell down the rabbit hole that is EQ7 last weekend. But can you blame me? It’s satisfying to see how different fabric collections would look in a quilt design without sewing a stitch.

What you see here is my Double-Sided Diamond Quilt, a layer cake-friendly pattern that I wrote about last week, in four different Moda collections. (Pssst ... Moda didn’t put me up to this post. I just like the company’s modern designers and consider it the OG precut manufacturer!)

Dawn on the Prairie

Designer Stephanie Sliwinski of Fancy That Design House caught my eye back in 2021 with her debut collection, Songbook. I’ve loved the floral designs and palettes in every collection of hers since then. Theres just something different about them. Check out her latest line, Dawn on the Prairie, at the top of the post. See what I mean? The color combination isn’t one I could have developed myself, and it’s so good. The earthy tones in rust, brown, and charcoal are surprisingly good companions for blush and mustard. Beautiful!

Fruit Loop

I am a big fan of Basic Grey—just check out the 40-some posts of mine that reference the design house (click here). I am especially drawn to its collections with gray undertones. (Some—like Nutmeg, Cider, and Persimmon—have more brown undertones, and they’re not my thing.)

Fruit Loop, pictured below, hasn’t been released but is circulating on social media. It’s a different kind of collection for Basic Grey, with all those bright fruit-themed prints, while remaining true to the design house’s aesthetic. And it has a black colorway, which pretty much seals the deal for me!

 

Sunflowers in My Heart

I credit some of my brightest quilt projects to Kate Spain, whose use of color often pushes me out of my comfort zone. I especially like her use of pinks and reds (check out my first Plaid-ish quilt and my first Warm and Cool Coin quilt). 

Her latest fabric line, Sunflowers in My Heart, is in my mind pretty different from her other collections, but maybe it’s just the way I mocked up this quilt design. I think of it as a blue fabric collection. Perhaps if I had used a different color on the mocked-up backing I would say otherwise? (You know I’m going to go straight to EQ7 and find out as soon as I finish this post!) Way way or another, it’s really lovely, and I’m especially smitten with the large-scale floral print.

 

Lighthearted

And then there’s Lighthearted, the collection by Camille Roskelley I included in last week’s post. Lighthearted is a throwback to when Camille designed collections with her mom and features the signature Bonnie and Camille color palette, with pink, a not-quite-red hue, aqua, and grassy green.

And that concludes my spate of precut-focused blog posts. You can click through to the previous four posts with the links below. And stop back next week, when I will unveil my two Postcard from Sweden quilts!

My latest precut posts:

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The Double-Sided Diamond Quilt is one of my Almost Free for Charity PDF patterns. 

It’s just $3 in my Etsy shop, $1 of which goes to an organization supporting the Down syndrome community.

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