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Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Tiny Little Two-Patches

My studio is humming with all kinds of new things happening.  My new BOM fabric, called Pieceful Pines, was delivered and we're starching and cutting to begin sewing the blocks and testing the pattern.  (I'll have more to show you about Pieceful Pines very soon!)

In the meantime, when I have a few minutes here and there, I am piecing tons - TONS - of these little Two Patches.  One inch squares.  I have a future quilt in mind for these babies!

Thanks to everyone who took the time to participate in my little Half Square Triangle poll.
Here are the results...

Question:  When I make Half Square Triangles, I......

13% said I use the traditional method
12% said I use triangle papers
75% said I make it larger and trim it to size

So very interesting, I think.  

Make some time for stitching....you know you want to!

Be well....

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Quilting Essentials ~ Half Square Triangles

If you're like me, you make hundreds, if not thousands, of Half Square Triangles in a year.  They are an essential block in many of my quilts.  I love them and don't mind making them at all since I began making them larger and trimming them down many, many years ago.
The truth is they are a staple of my designs, and I have future projects planned using tons of them, so I keep an ongoing flow of scrappy Half Square Triangles through my machine.  While working with the fabrics of other projects, I always cut 2 1/2 inch squares of whatever light and dark prints I'm working with and add them to the ongoing pile.
I sew them Leader and Ender style (thanks, Bonnie!) and can accumulate a big pile fairly quickly.
 
If I'm organized (and truth be told, I have not been lately!), the HST's go into this bin sorted by color.  From here, they can be trimmed to whatever size I need.  
I love, love, love blocks I can trim to perfection, and this is my tool of choice to do just that.
If you're not familiar with the Bloc Loc rulers, they are wonderful because they have a channel carved out of the ruler which accommodates the bulk of the seam allowance.  It "locks" onto the seam which makes it stable, and the ruler doesn't rock back and forth on the seam when you're trimming it!  Wonderful!
The other thing I love is how easy it is to read,  and it trims any Half Square Triangle in 1/8th inch measures to any size smaller, making it a great value.

I strive to be a precision quilter and this tool gives me great results.  I don't like a whole lot of notions and rulers, but if it really performs, is versatile and not too expensive, I'm all for it.

That said.....if you get great results you're happy with using papers or piecing the traditional way, don't change a thing!!  

I'm not affiliated in any way to Bloc Loc, and the hints I share in my Quilting Essentials posts are just my opinion.  

If you'd like to give Bloc Loc rulers a try, please ask for them at your favorite local quilt shop!  It's so very important to support your local shop.  If you can't find them there, you can find them on my website.  

Click here to read more about the Bloc Loc rulers.

And....I am curious to which method is your favorite for making Half Square Triangles?  

I have a poll on the sidebar of my blog where you can cast your vote.  If you receive my blog posts via email, click here to go to the poll and vote for your favorite method.  (Poll ends 11/26/17)  It will be so fun to see what the most popular method is for all of us (world wide!)

Hope in some way the information I have shared will help you.  Your comments are welcome and if you have something you'd like me to write about in future Quilting Essentials blog posts, I'd like to know that as well.  

I'm off to spend the rest of the day sewing!  Yay!  Hope you get some time to sew as well.  Be well...


Monday, November 13, 2017

Cleaning House Is A Good Thing!

A Prairie Gathering BOM
I received a call from the good folks at Marcus Fabrics to say they were doing some housekeeping and found some treasures!!  

They found a couple of A Prairie Gathering complete kits!!


They also found a couple of Star Spangled Liberty complete kits!!  


WOW!!!  What treasure to find!

If you missed your opportunity to participate, you now have a second chance to grab one of these rare finds for yourself.  

They are specially priced, include all of the original fabrics and also include the complete pattern set!!  

Don't wait!  

Click here to order yours today!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

Back From Fall Quilt Market

Cottonwood Creek (left) and Letters From Grace in the new Tall Grass green fabrics (right)
Quilt market was fun.  It's always great to go to see all that is new and wonderful in our world of quilting.  This is the Marcus Fabrics booth.  
I was in the next booth to the left.
L to R: Nancy Rink, Paula Barnes, MaryEllen Robison, me, Karen Styles, Sarah Maxwell and Dolores Smith
One of the most fun parts of being at market is getting together with my sister Marcus designers!  
I am so jazzed to be ale to share the news of my brand new 2018 BOM called Pieceful Pines!
Pieceful Pines made its debut and I'm happy to report was well received!  Yay!!  This new BOM program will begin March of 2018 so ask for it at your local quilt shop.  Stay tuned right here for more news on Pieceful Pines as I complete the program.  I will have fabric to show you early in December.  

I returned home for one day to repack luggage and pack the car for a guild visit in central Illinois.  I had a great time there with a truly friendly group of ladies.  Lots of fun! 

I came home only to awaken with a bad stomach flu and severe headache that kept me in bed 4 days (had flu shot 2 weeks earlier!)  YUCK!!  I hate being sick.  I lay in bed thanking my lucky stars I didn't catch it when I was away from home (that would really be horrible!), but also lay there thinking of the thousand of things I had to do.  

On the mend and back to work!!  Life happens....that's all I can say.  

Wednesday, November 1, 2017

Plantation Stars!!!

It seems like it took forever, but finally.....I'm so happy to announce that Plantation Stars is ready to ship.   And...it was SO worth the wait!! 
Plantation Stars was quilted by the fabulous Val Krueger!!  I could not be happier with all the designs she chose for this quilt.
These photos were taken just before I left for Quilt Market, and it was a very rainy day.  I didn't add any light or flash so the quilting would really show, and it does, but it makes the blues look very dark. 
i just love how the little stars create a circle around the large stars.  And...the open space was crying out for Val to work her magic!!
Plantation Stars patterns are ready to shipClick here to order the pattern.

I also have a limited number of kits, with all the same fabrics I used in my quilt.  The kit includes the pattern and all fabrics needed to make the quilt top.

Click here to order the Plantation Stars quilt kit.  

I'll post some pictures of Quilt Market in my next post.  In the meantime, enjoy your day, and make it all the more enjoyable by finding just a little time to sew.  

Be well....