I'm doing a flash sale today over on my facebook page.  I really want to buy some exciting new fabrics for my etsy shop soon and need a little capitol.  So I'm selling off some charm packs, fat quarters, and yardage that have been sitting on my shelves for a little bit.  Fabric collections include Shelburne Falls, Avignon, Flutter, Riley Blake Dots, Miscellany, and High Society just to name a few.

Don't miss out!

Marcelle Medallion Quilt Border 3... I need Your Opinion!

My Marcelle Medallion quilt is coming right along.  I easily added the first border without much contemplation on fabric choice.

I took this picture with my phone so it's a little blurry.

 I struggled a little bit with what fabrics to use for the triangle border though.  I needed to decide if i wanted a total scrappy look and dive into my fabric scraps or more of a unified look.

Since i just loved the color scheme so far, i went with the unified look.  Sadly :( i don't have many low volume (light colored) fabrics so i went with the lighter colors of Pearl Bracelet fabric line and hoped they wouldn't turn out too bright.  Shelburne Falls turned out to have the perfect colors for what i had so far.

 I stayed up too late to finish piecing.  And even though it was late (i started late to begin with) it went really fast.

And i LOVE how it turned out!  

Now on to the next border and this is where i need some help.  I'm auditioning borders.  The further you get along on this quilt the more fabric is required.  Most of my stash is fat quarters and i need at least a 24" length. I had to find some longer pieces.  Here is what i came up with...

1.

 

2.

3.

4.

I have two that i'm leaning towards but would love some opinions on this!

  PLEASE comment on which you would pick if it were yours. 

What I learned... Sewing Y-seams

First of all, thanks to everyone who left nice words of encouragement on my last post about sewing Y-seams.  After the number of times i took out seams, my fabric was pretty much in tatters.  I decided i needed to start over from the beginning so before I started cutting out new pieces i scoured the web for any advice i could find.

So here is what I learned...

1. Starch your fabric beforehand.  Spray your fabric wet with starch and let it air dry.  Once dry give it a simple press with a hot iron.

  2. Mark your quarter inch seam allowance with a fabric pen.  Also, mark with a dot the intersection of the Y-seam.  (This is is the instructions for the quilt but it really helps if you actually do it!)

  3.  Finger press (or iron) your seams open after each piece is attached.  This is where i was really messing up last time.  My seams wouldn't lay flat because they were attached where they shouldn't be.  See where the red arrow is pointing?  You need to fold the fabric seam allowance back out of the way before sewing on the next piece!

  4. Sew down the side and stop at the dot or rather 1 stitch past the dot.  I didn't backstitch here.  I cut the threads longish and then looked to see if i hit the seam.  If i went one stitch too far i just pulled that stitch out.  It's easier to pull 1 stitch rather than adding 1 stitch.

 5.  Instead of keeping the needle down to attach the next side, i cut the threads, checked my seams and smoothed them open.  Then I repositioned the pieces to sew my last seam.  Everything should lay nice and flat.  If the intersection of the Y-seam seems a little loose I just gave my threads that I left long a little tug and all the seams should snug up together.

See how great this looks so far!

Just by taking my time and some deep breaths

 i was able to get it all pieced together without any cussing.

I can't tell you how much it helped to have the fabric starched this time around.

In fact, i may start starching all of my fabric before ever cutting it.

How Not to Sew a Y-Seam

I finally decided to join the Marcelle Medallion Quilt bandwagon.

I got  Alexia Marcelle Abegg's book Liberty Love at Quiltcon
 and was lucky enough to get tho meet her and have you sign the book as well.

After seeing a ton of variations of this quilt in the blog-o-sphere
 I decided it would be my first project to do from the book.

I started by pulling the fabrics i wanted to use just for the center block...

I'll figure out the rest as i go along.

All was going well...

until i got to the first Y-Seam.

I've never done one before.

Can you tell?

I don't think this is the way it's suppose to look.

and to make matters worse it turns out i pieced some of it wrong too...

Those edges are suppose to be square.  Oops!

After several seam ripping sessions and resewing to still get a bad result 

i have put it aside for now.  

I think i need to practice on some easier block with Y-seams first.

Have you tried this block?  Any tips for a Y-Seam newbie?

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Happy Worldwide Quilting Day!

In honor of Worldwide Quilting Day

 i thought i'd share photos of some of the quilts i've made.

My 1st Finished Quilt (the 1st, 1st quilt is still a UFO)

Coin Quilt, Domestic Diva Fabric

For my Sweet Niece

Made for my Favorite Sister

Tic Tac Toe - For Sale Here

Razzel Dazzel Quilt - For Sale Here

I never got a pic of this one finished - Sold

Salt Air Quilt - Sold

Sold

Christmas Gift - Nursery Versery & Stash fabrics

Gift for my brother and sister-in-law

Gift!  Can you tell it's loved?

Gift - Seville Quilt Pattern, Joel Dewberry Fabric

Those are most of the quilts I've made but not all.  Some are on sale in my Etsy Shop.

Not bad for only quilting for only about a year and a half, huh?

Happy Quilting Day!

Little Red

Over the weekend I started making this cute little doll "Little Red" a pattern by Larissa Holland.
  

This of course is my version,
 "Little Bell Blue"

I picked Shelburne Falls fabric by Denyse Schmidt.  

I think the retro feel of the fabric is perfect for a handmade doll.  

I also used some scraps of Essex in flax.  

The yarn dyed weave gives the face and arms great texture.

On my next one, and yes I will  make more,

 i think I need to work on her facial expression. 

 She seems well...

 a little blue

 or scared?

But she was tons of fun to make and the pattern was written well.  

You can find the pattern here on Craftsy.

I do have a suggestion that will make things a little faster. 

 In the instructions it tells you to mark stitching lines on the fabric with a fabric pen.  

I skipped this step. 

 Instead i used a fabric glue stick to hold the pattern on the fabric.

Then i just stitched over the lines...

 much like you would when paper piecing.

 And then just ripped the paper off when i was finished. 

No marking! 

I can't wait to make more.

The fabric combinations are endless...

Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt

I was so amped when i found out that Denyse Schmidt was going to be the keynote speaker at QuiltCon.  I was lucky enough to get to attend in person.  Learning about how she got started in the quilting industry and her art background was really interesting. If you would like to see her presentation you can watch it for free on Craftsy.  One of the things she talked about was how she named her fabric collections after towns in the area that she grew up.  Her latest is Shelburne Falls.

Pussy Willow Colorway

Lilac Colorway

Maple Colorway

I love the bold colors, geometric prints, and of coarse the plaids!!!  I have a few fabric bundles of this collection listed in my Etsy shop.  Scoop up a bundle or two before they're gone.

Swoon Block Pillows

It has been so hard for me to find time sewing. And when i make time i feel guilty because there are so many other things with deadlines that i should be doing.  However, i did take a little time to work on the Swoon block pillows that i promised to my sister-in-law when i gave her the Swoon quilt.  I've actually had the blocks put together for quit awhile but i ran out of the flax yarn dyed linen and it was very hard to come by.  I finally just ordered a full bolt so i'll have some for my projects and some to sell.  So if you've been looking to get your hands on some Essex Yarn Dyed Flax, Denim, or Black you can get it here, here, and here!

I decided to do these a little different than the Quilt and deviated from the directions that called for just 2 fabric prints and went with 3.  I ran out of the fabrics used in the quilt so i wanted to find a way to make the pillows look different but still cohesive with the quilt.  I had scraps from the quilt back left (the blue/white dot) so i used it in both of the pillows to tie them together. And by using the blue for the flying geese i was able to save enough of the small flower fabric to use in both of the blocks.

This one is my favorite!

I think it will look pretty good when it's all done.  Now I just have to figure out how i want to do the pillow part.  Zipper?  Envelope?  Will see...

Get back to WIP Wenesday click here

~alician

Making Pixel Quilts

 I am totally fascinated with the pixel quilts i saw at QuiltCon.  When i was driving home that night an idea popped into my head for my own pixel quilt.  Never before have i been so inspired  by a quilt technique.  I've already started the process of selecting the image and making a pattern for it.  I've even worked out how i'm going to quilt it (at least in my head).  For this quilt to come out the way i envision it, i will need to really practice my free motion skills.  Maybe even take a class or two.  I'm getting some help from this FREE online class on Craftsy.  

The class is called Pixels To Pictures Quilt by Caro Sheridan.  

She shows you how she made her Blink Quilt (pictured below) and how to use your own image.

Come and join me.  If you never used Craftsy before this free class is a great way to see if you like the format.  They also have put many of the lectures that were given at Quiltcon, also for free!