Zip It Good Pattern Release / Beauties Pageant 262

A few years ago I had this idea to create a line of patterns that would make everyone happy ...

People who love a free PDF pattern could sign up for my newsletter to get their copy without charge. Sewists who appreciate a deal could pay just a few dollars to receive their copy. And makers who want their purchases to make a difference would be happy to hear that I would send a portion of the profits to a worthwhile organization.

Up until now, I have released two Almost Free for Charity patterns. Today I am unveiling my latest: Zip It Good!

Do you have larger cuts aging in your stash? Let those prints shine in Zip It Good! Strip sets and nesting seams will make quick work of your yardage, creating an awe-worthy quilt in one of four different sizes:

Small Throw: 53" x 55 1/2"
Medium Throw: 53" x 65 1/2"
Large Throw: 67" x 75 1/2"
Twin: 67" x 90 1/2"

Newsletter subscribers already received their link to download the pattern (a reminder will go out in the September 6 issue). For everyone else, the pattern is available here in my Etsy shop.

I thought that would be a fun way to wrap up the summer. : )

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• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

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Some Kitty Cats / Beauties Pageant 261

** I’m sick on the couch this week. Catch me next Friday, August 30, with the release of my latest Almost Free for Charity quilt pattern, Zip It Good! ** 

The summers here at From Bolt to Beauty world headquarters follow the same trajectory each year: Things start off slowly as we struggle to establish some semblance of a routine. Then things get cooking. We go from a minor simmer to full-on boil overnight, and then it’s go, go, go until school opens again. It’s fun but also a little exhausting.

Meanwhile, I’m plotting how to squeeze in some quilting time and developing unrealistic expectations for what I will be able to accomplish come fall because it’s virtually impossible to check something off my to-do list during the summer.

And yet, I just may finish something after all. Pictured here are is my Kitty Cats quilt (pattern by Cluck Cluck Sew), which I dropped off at the longarmer this week. This beauty will get the edge-to-edge panto treatment with chunky swirls that are reminiscent of cat tails.

I’ve also made great progress on my EPP project (read last week’s post here). The dozen blocks I wanted to make for my Rosemary Quilt are complete, I’ve decided on the final layout, and I started to machine-applique the EPP blocks to the background fabric.

I’ve had so much fun with these blocks—and summer commitments will create more opportunities for hand sewing this next week—that I’ve decided to make another. Rosemary #2 will feature Eden, a collection by Gabrielle Neil for Riley Black, which I used for Snapdragon Cove. There’s something nice about having an entire fabric line at the ready for those situations when you don’t have the bandwidth to curate a fabric pull yourself. This was one of those times.

Have you found time to be productive at your machine this summer? I know it’s a balancing act, especially if you’re like me, with kids out of school and at home. I’d love to see what you’re working on (a finished block is a finish in my book!). Upload your beauties to the linky below ...

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The pageant rules are simple:

• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Me and EPP / Beauties Pageant 260

These are words I thought I’d never write: I started an English paper-piecing project, and I’m really enjoying it!

But really, with multiple road trips this summer and two weeks when I’ve had to while away the mornings far from my sewing machine, it was either get on board with hand sewing or miss out on creating this summer.

My first go at EPP is the Rosemary Quilt from Jodi Godfrey’s Seedlings Quilts. I’m making a slightly larger version of the pattern that showcases 11 EPP blocks in solid fabrics. The remaining 55 blocks will all be florals and other prints from my stash.

I am pretty pleased with how things are going. I’m sewing about 16 stitches per inch with a straw needle and Gutermann 50 weight thread. Even though this project requires relatively few EPP blocks, the shapes aren’t the easiest to work with (check out those deep Y-seams!), and some of my finished blocks are more precise than others. I think the quilting will camouflage those imperfections just fine, though.

My next project will be Michelle Bartholomew’s Flower Fest pattern. I am hoping that those hexie shapes will be a little more forgiving!

Are you a fan of EPP? Truly, I never thought I would enjoy hand sewing, so it’s been a nice surprise!

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The pageant rules are simple:

• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter