Fabric Friday – Desert Bloom Fabric from Amanda Herring

July 8, 2016July 6, 20167 Comments

It’s been awhile since I’ve shared some of the pretty fabrics we carry over at The Precut Store. But today I couldn’t resist telling you about my friend Amanda Herring’s new fabric collection called Desert Bloom, from Riley Blake.

AmandaHerring

Amanda at Spring Quilt Market. She matches the fabrics in her new line!

Desert Bloom is a pretty collection of florals and geometrics in trendy shades of red and aqua with a little gray thrown in. The thing I love about Amanda’s fabrics is that they are all so different, yet stand alone on their own. They usually sell out pretty quickly, too!

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The fat quarter bundle includes one of every print from the line, shown above.

Riley Blake recently started offering all of their new collections in full size precut bundles, which thrills me to no end. As a designer, it’s much easier to design quilt patterns using precuts when they are all a standard size. I’m pleased to say that we have all of the Desert Bloom precuts currently in stock: 21 piece fat quarter bundles, 42 piece 5 inch squares, 42 piece 10 inch squares (stackers), and 40 piece 2 1/2″ strips (Rolie Polies).

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The rest of the precuts include duplicates of each print.

Click here to view and purchase Desert Bloom Precuts, and thanks for your support!

The Splendid Sampler Block – Scrappy Happy Heart

May 22, 2016May 22, 201615 Comments

Welcome to my stop on the Splendid Sampler 100 blocks tour! Today is a very special day. Not only because I get to share my special block with you, but it is also my anniversary! 23 years ago I married my best friend and he’s supported my quilting habits ever since! Sharing my heart block with you now has extra special meaning and today I’m dedicating this block to Jason – the love of my life!

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Scrappy Happy Heart – for Jason – the love of my life who’s also my #1 fan!

I love the “structured improv” look so I chose to paper piece this block, to contain the crazy pieced chaos. I took some step by step pictures while making this block that can help you with your paper piecing efforts.

Click here for Splendid tutorials on paper piecing.

I was very lucky to get to work with the Little Miss Sunshine collection by Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique for many of the fabrics. Click here to get the precuts to make a similar block. 🙂

Step 1

Comb through your stash for pretty scraps that work well together.

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Thanks to Moda Fabrics for supplying me with such a sweet palette to work from!

Step 2

Cut the pieces according to the cutting chart given in the Splendid Sampler block pattern.

Step 3

Sew the first section of pieces starting with the white background square; press and trim after each piece. It will look somewhat like the hot mess below!

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Step 4

Add the corner triangle to the first section. Remember, all this time you are sewing onto paper following the printed lines on the front of the paper.

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Step 5

Repeat the piecing, pressing and trimming process for the second section of the block.

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This is what the front looks like – I fold each line I am going to sew next and use an add a quarter ruler to trim off the excess smoothly and neatly.

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Step 6

Add the last section of heart in the same manner. It will look so good once it’s all trimmed!

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Step 7

Add the last two background corner triangles to complete the heart shape and trim to size. Now the best part – gently remove all the paper!

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Step 8

Stop and admire your beautiful handiwork. Now is a great time to start thinking about the threads you will use to machine quilt your beautiful blocks. My favorite thread for both piecing and machine quilting is Aurifil – 50 weight cotton.

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All of that mess miraculously turns into a beautifully finished block!

Click here to go to the Splendid Sampler Block Page

Here’s my block in other colorways, made by some of the other Splendid Sampler designers. 🙂

Splendid Sampler Heart Blocks

Made by Pat Sloan, Julie Karasek, Jane Davidson, Lynette Anderson, Joan Ford, Melissa Corry

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Snuggle Saturday – Cuddle Cakes and Kits from Shannon Fabrics

December 19, 2015December 17, 20158 Comments

At the most recent quilt market, Jason and I decided to take the plunge and expand our offerings. We met with the wonderful folks from Shannon Fabrics and bought two of all their Cuddle Kits and precuts. If it sells well – we’ll stock more!

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I love this quilt kit – it comes in pink and blue!

Cuddle cloth, is Shannon Fabrics’ brand name for minky fabrics. These are super soft and plush fabrics that are softer and thicker than fleece, and they make the most adorable baby quilts and blankies!!

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All of Shannon Cuddle Kits are simply adorable!!

Right now, you can purchase Cuddle Cakes (10″ squares), Cuddle Charms (5″ squares), Scarf kits, and the most adorable baby quilt kits I’ve seen. The charms and squares come in sets of 20 and the kits include fabrics for the quilt top, applique and binding.

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When we first got these, my kids begged me to make them some quilts because they are so soft and cozy!! The nice thing about the charms and cakes is that you can easily mix and match them to make a bigger project (though one set of Cuddle Cakes will make a nice sized-patchwork throw).

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The cuddle is easy enough to sew through, especially with a walking foot and you can add some basic quilting on top with no problems. In fact, depending on how bulky or lightweight you want your project to be, you can even skip the batting if desired!

Click here to see our entire line of Cuddle precuts.

I’m curious – have you ever sewn with minky before?

Fabric Friday – The Christa Watson Designer Palette

December 4, 2015December 1, 20158 Comments

My precuts are finally here! The Christa Watson Designer palette from Robert Kaufman comes in Fat Quarters, Ten Squares, Roll Ups and Charm packs.

Click here to purchase!

Christa Watson Designer Palette

Each bundle includes 28 shades of reds, orange, yellows, and greens. I chose these fresh citrus colors because they are warm and inviting. The pops of green cool it down a bit and the whole bundle sparks excitement (at least for me)!

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Click here for a list of the color names that are included in my precut bundles.

I originally chose these colors to make Facets, my favorite quilt from my book Machine Quilting With Style. Just one fat quarter bundle will be plenty of fabric to make the quilt top. You can throw in an accent color like I did, or make all of the blocks from crazy pieced fabric. I used Kona Snow for the background, and it really sets off the bright colors!

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Facets, from Machine Quilting With Style

Of course, I couldn’t just stop there! I really had an itch to tweak my Charming Chevrons pattern and see what it would look like with the new colors! All it takes is 4 charm packs (or one set of Ten-Squares) plus background fabric. This time I went darker with the background, opting for Kona Coal to make the colors pop.

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I’m calling this version Feathered Chevrons – it’s my current WIP!

Finally, I thought it would be fun to design a quilt using nothing but roll-ups. Puzzle Box is available as a free PDF download when you sign up for my email newsletter. It uses just one roll-up of my designer palette, plus one roll up of background. Of course, it would look great in your favorite precuts, too!

Click here to join my newsletter list and get your free pattern!

Puzzle Box Pattern

Puzzle Box, a Free Pattern made from Roll Ups (Jelly Rolls)

When you purchase your precuts and start sewing with them, please share what you make in my Facebook Group: Quilt With Christa. You can also hashtag your work in progress on Instagram, using #christawatsonpalette. I love to see what you are making!

Fabric Friday – Angela Walters’ Drawn and Rhoda Ruth by Elizabeth Hartman

October 16, 2015October 12, 20158 Comments

Don’t you just love it when some of your favorite quilt designers become fabric designers, too? This week I want to share two new colorful collections from Angela Walters and Elizabeth Hartman, both of whom design fabrics for Robert Kaufman.

Drawn in Sorbet with coordinating Kona Solids.

Drawn – Water colorway with coordinating Kona Solids.

Drawn Pewter with coordinating Kona Solids.

Angela Walters’ Drawn collection features luscious bundles in warm Sorbet, cool Water, and neutral Pewter. I also think it’s genius that you can get several of her designs in extra wide fabrics, too – perfect for backings. Either use them as stand alone backings, or quilt on the lines with the quilt upside-down to add incredible texture to your quilts.

The wide bundles come in a 3 yard x 108″ wide piece – perfect for backings!

Rhoda Ruth by Elizabeth Hartman for Robert Kaufman

Rhoda Ruth is named for Elizabeth’s grandmother who must have had a great sense of color and style. I think these prints answer the call for smaller scale prints that will look perfect in modern quilts!

I know that both Angela and Elizabeth will be debuting their new lines at fall quilt market and I can hardly wait to get my hands on them!

MQWS Blog Hop Day 11 – Facets

September 25, 2015September 25, 2015224 Comments

If you love the fabrics in Facets, be sure to sign up for my weekly email newsletter, and get a free pattern showing them in a different way. (Of course you can choose your own fabrics, too!)

Facets – The Background Story

Facets 63″ x 70″ by Christa Watson. Photo courtesy of Robert Kaufman.

I love coordinated scrappy quilts and improvisational piecing, yet I’m more of a “structured improv” kind of gal. I like to randomly sew together a bunch of scrappy goodness, then create order and structure from the chaos. For Facets, I chose 28 Kona Cottons in warm reds, oranges, and yellows, with some green thrown in for good measure. The palette reminds me of crisp juicy apples!

It was such fun to cut up these fabrics into smaller chunks to play with!

It was very liberating to create my own crazy-pieced fabric to work with:

Randomly sewing bits of fabric together is very therapeutic!

I really went to town with the machine quilting on this one. I used both walking-foot quilting and free-motion techniques when quilting Facets. Whenever I quilt, I like to think about the logical sequence of steps I take before starting. That way, it doesn’t seem too overwhelming.

Using my “scrunch and smoosh” method for dealing with the bulk while quilting. There’s an extra table under there which helps hold up the weight of the quilt.

I love quilting swirls, and combining them with switchbacks really creates a lot of movement.

Photography by Brent Kane.

A Bit More – and a Bonus Giveaway!

I was stoked when Robert Kaufman decided to add this grouping to their designer palette series this fall. Coming in October, you’ll be able to get your hands on the Christa Watson Designer Palette in fat quarters, ten squares, charm squares, and roll-ups! You can create a quilt just like mine, but of course it will still be different because of the improv element. 🙂

What makes this quilt modern – offset grid layout, improvisational piecing, geometric design with high contrast and graphic impact, exclusive use of flat solids, bold, bright color palette, design goes all the way to the edges, organically quilted machine quilting.

Time for me to complete – 47 hours from start to finish, including the improv piecing.

How would you like to get your hands on a fat quarter bundle of my designer palette?

The Christa Watson Designer Palette – available at quilts shops everywhere in October!

To enter the giveaway for a 28 piece fat quarter bundle of my favorite Kona colors, just comment letting me know whether you’ve ever tried improv piecing and what you think about it. I’ll draw a winner at the end of the day on Sunday and announce their name on Monday, Sept. 28th.

And remember, don’t forget to vote for your favorite quilt for my QAL in January! Since I know you are dying to ask – yes, Facets is MY favorite quilt from the book. 🙂

Quilting Inspiration from kristy daum

I think my favorite part of this blog hop is seeing all of the amazing quilts from my talented friends! Kristy Daum from St. Louis Victorian and I have been online friends for awhile and finally got to meet up at QuiltCon earlier this year. You may remember Kristy’s amazing pixelated quilts featuring David Tennant as Dr. Who and the lovely Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock.

Now Kristy has knocked it out of the park with her version of Facets. I really love it when others really take an idea and make it their own! It was fun watching her instagram sneek peaks, and her final reveal today will take your breath away.

Pop on over to Kristy’s blog to see her version of Facets.

Teri’s Take

The amazing Teri Lucas from Terificreations shared a sneak peak of some Facets blocks on the Generation Q website earlier in the week. She chose to use solid pieces of fabric and did some killer quilting on them! Like me, she prefers to quilt on a home-sewing machine and she is one talented lady!! She’s one of those that I can talk quilting with all day long!

So far we’ve only met in person once, and I can’t wait to see her again at the next event. She’s always so thoughtful and encouraging – just the type of quilty friend you want in your corner. Teri is offering a book giveaway on her site. While you are there, be sure to browse around, and check out her amazing quilting!!

Head over to Teri’s blog to enter her giveaway.

Visit The Quilting Gallery

Michele Foster is the brilliant name and voice behind the highly popular website the Quilting Gallery. We first met online when I was an advertiser on her site, many moons ago. We have turned that business relationship into a really great friendship and I hope someday soon that we can meet up in person. I mean, if you are like me, you can always use another BQF (best quilting friend), right?

Michele blogs and shares so much inspiration about what’s happening in the quilting community, and she’s has written very nice things about my book over on her blog today. She even scored extra points with me by saying that Facets is her favorite quilt, too! In addition to being a prolific quilter, Michele is an amazing designer and hosts lots of fun clubs on her site. As part of her stop, she’s generously including a fun giveaway of her own. 🙂

Visit the Quilting Gallery blog and enter to win a membership to Michele’s mini quilting club!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

MQWS Blog Hop Day 10 – Lightning

September 24, 2015September 24, 20152 Comments

Today’s stop on the Machine Quilting With Style book tour is full of inspiration and giveaways! Be sure to stop by all of the blogs listed below to get in on the prizes. And be sure to go back and visit the earlier stops you may have missed. Many of those giveaways are still open. 🙂

Lightning – The Background Story

Lightning 72″ x 96″ by Christa Watson. Photograpy by Brent Kane.

I love taking traditional design ideas and then tweaking them with a bit of the unexpected. You may recognize Lightning as a simple rail fence variation, but with a modern twist! I’m realizing I love to do scrappy, but with more of a “controlled scrappy” look. As I have said before, why choose one fabric when 20 will do! And why cut straight strips when you can make them a bit wonky instead, right? I decided that the ziz-zag streaks looked like they were piercing through a cloudy sky, hence the name Lightning!

Have sewing machine – will travel and quilt, even while on vacation!

I actually pieced this quilt last summer while on vacation. I brought along my Singer Featherweight and was able to set up a makeshift sewing area in a small space. I used the hotel floor as a design wall and took pictures with my phone so I could keep the layout oriented correctly.

Quilting in progress – you gotta love a good stipple!

This quilt is rather large, but I had no problems quilting it on my BERNINA. In the book, I share my best tips and tricks for how to deal with the bulk of the quilt when quilting on a sit-down machine. Just remember, you only need to deal with a small amount of the quilt under the needle at any time. 🙂

A Bit More

Backing in progress – a great way to use up fat quarters!

As I love to do, I made a scrappy backing for Lightning from my fat quarter stash of black and white prints, with some pops of green. I had originally wanted this included in the book, but was sad when it had to be cut for length. However, the folks at Martingale have generously decided to include it as a free pieced backing tutorial on their site – so yay! (See more below.)

What makes this quilt modern – graphic color scheme, wonky blocks based on tradition, zig-zags create a focal point with a bright pop of color, block design goes all the way to the edges.

Time for me to complete – 44 hours from start to finish, including the pieced backing.

More from She Can Quilt, Martingale, and Riley Blake

Leanne Chahley from She Can Quilt is one of those people whose work is easy to admire! I fell in love with an award winning quilt of hers at the first QuiltCon and I’ve been her ~~stalker~~ friend ever since! I love her take on Lightning done with scrappy pinks and scrappy quilting. She used the designs from the book as sort of a sampler for machine quilting. Leanne quilted her version of Lightning on her long-arm, showing how versatile these designs can be!

Head to Leann’s site to see her fabulous version of Lightning and enter her giveaway!

Martingale/That Patchwork Place is simply the best publisher anyone could ask for! Yes, I may be a bit biased, but writing this book has been a fabulous experience from start to finish (just like making a quilt)! After writing this book, I would definitely partner with them again! When you purchase your copy of Machine Quilting With Style from the Martingale site, they’ll throw in the ebook for free. Double bonus!!

Martingale has a lot of content on their site today: you can see more quilty photos from the book, check out a little video from my quilt market demonstration last spring, and enter for your chance to visit their giveaway. (When you watch the video, you’ll get to see how fast I really talk in person!)

Go to Stitch This – the Martingale blog to get the free backing tutorial and enter their giveaway!

Riley Blake Designs has been a terrific partner. Not only did they provide me with fabrics used in some of the quilts in the book, they are offering a fantastic giveaway to go along with the hop!

Pop on over to the Riley Blake blog and enter for your chance to win!

Click here for the complete blog hop schedule.

Click here purchase your autographed copy of Machine Quilting With Style.

Fabric Friday – Michael Miller Modern Basics

September 4, 2015September 2, 2015Leave a comment

The good news today is that I’m going to share some pretty pictures of mouthwatering precuts from Michael Miller. That bad news is, these are a limited run. Back when Jason and I decided to focus on selling precuts, patterns, and thread, we knew that meant we wouldn’t be able to carry all fabric brands. So we met with all of our vendors to let them know we were eager to carry whatever precuts they had to offer.

Recently, Michael Miller produced a fabulous line of Modern Basics precuts, but then decided they weren’t going to stay in the precut business. I hope they change their mind in the future, but for now, consider these as hard to find and gobble them up while you can:

Modern Basics – Bloom includes 45 graphic prints in juicy shades of pink, purple, and orange. Precut bundles come in fat quarters, charm packs, strip rolls, and 10″ squares.

Modern Basics – Ocean, in cool shades of blues and greens, is available in 45 piece fat quarter bundles and 10″ precut squares. Aren’t they refreshing?

Modern basics – Neutral also comes in a 45 pack in your choice of fat quarters, charm packs, strip rolls, and 10″ squares. You gotta have plenty of neutrals in your stash!

Modern Basics – crayon box is just as colorful as the name implies! These graphic bundles are available as charm packs, precut strips, and 10″ squares.

Click here for more details on all Michael Miller Modern Basics.

Fabric Friday – A Little Cotton and Steel Love

August 21, 2015August 20, 20153 Comments

I’ve mentioned before that I carry Cotton and Steel bundles in my precut store. Today I’d like to give them some love and also let you know that I also decided to get the double gauze bundle, too. Now, I’m not a garment sewer so I’m not really sure what to do with double gauze, but it looked so pretty, I couldn’t resist!

Double gauze – 15 half yard cuts – what would you make?

Other luscious bundles include Kim Kight’s Cookie Book (my favorite):

And Mesa by Alexia Abegg – I just can’t resist graphic, southwest designs!

Now here’s the best news, several of the older bundles that haven’t sold out are now on sale! Be sure to scoop them up before they are gone.

Click here for all Cotton and Steel precut bundles and happy shopping!

Fabric Friday – Lecien Precuts (and a new link to share)

August 14, 2015August 11, 20157 Comments

Today I’m sharing a new-to-me brand that we just started carrying in our precut store. But before we get to that, I wanted to announce that my brilliant husband Jason has purchased the domain name The Precut Store. It will remain under the Christa Quilts brand, but instead of having to get there from my blog, or trying to remember how to find it on Amazon, you can just google The Precut Store or Precut Store, or bookmark this link in your browser: http://theprecutstore.com/

Cool, huh? He and our oldest son are also currently working on a behind the scenes project to create a storefront shell which will make it easier to browse and search for our precuts on Amazon. I don’t have a date yet on when that will be finished, but I’ll keep you all in the loop when it occurs.

And now, check out these gorgeous new precuts from Lecien:

Lecien precut strips are called Sushi Rolls – isn’t that cute? This is Child Smile, a retro 30’s group.