The Holly Jolly Jelly Roll Quilt

June 4, 2013July 3, 2014291 Comments

The project I am featuring today is called the Jolly Jelly Roll quilt, using Kate Spain’s In From the Cold fabric line from Moda. I came up with this design last year for my very first Quilt Along, where I show how to make a complete quilt from start to finish.

In From the Cold Jolly Jelly Roll Quilt

This is such a quick and easy quilt to make, requiring just one jelly roll and a yard of solid fabric. I hope to finish this quilt in time for Christmas. Why don’t you join me and make one of your own?

In From the Cold Jelly Roll Strips

So far I’ve sewn together all of my jelly roll strips and have cut them into pieced squares. Aren’t they pretty? Be sure to follow my blog so you can see the updates as I work on this quilt. I’ll probably do a couple of tutorials as I work on it including how to quilt it. 🙂

In From the Cold Blocks

Click here for my free pattern and step by step tutorial instructions to make this quilt.

Sew and Tell Baby French Roses #4 – FMQ Practice

April 5, 2013July 20, 201316 Comments

I am moving right along on my French Rose Buds quilt. This week I practiced some free-motion quilting designs which I will finalize shortly. I decided to enter the quilt top into the weekly Quilting Gallery contest so I’d love for you to vote for it!

Vote here and you can be entered to win the Quilting Gallery’s weekly giveaway!

French Rose Buds Quilt Top 36″ x 43.5″

Before I jump right into quilting this puppy, I decided to take some time and plan out my quilting. Since this quilt is for my brand new niece, I want to make it extra special. I also think it’s a great quilt to show off some fun free-motion quilting texture.

I started by drawing out some quilting designs on paper and then making up a few practice sandwiches to test it out. I’ve always wanted to try swirls ever since taking Angela Walters’ quilting negative space class at QuiltCon and on Craftsy. (Even though she quilts on a long-arm I was able to adapt her techniques to my domestic machine.)

Next I tried starting sketching out possible designs directly onto the quilt top.

That didn’t give me enough of an idea so I pinned my quilted practice piece onto the quilt top for a better perspective. So far so good. Now I want to try swirls and pebbles.

I really like this! I think combining two designs makes it more fun and whimsical. I stitched out a couple more practice sandwiches, cut them to size and pinned them to the top so I could see how they would really work in the quilt.

My plan is to quilt each section in matching thread so all you see is the quilting texture, not the thread. Hopefully I will have time to baste and start quilting this weekend. I will post more of my progress next week.

By slowing down and only working on this quilt a little each week, I am able to get all of my other projects accomplished without feeling overwhelmed!

You can read about my previous Baby French Roses progress here.

Christa’s Quilt Along Update and Weekly Giveaway #5.6

April 4, 2013April 4, 20135 Comments

Congratulations to Heidi from Red Letter Quilts for winning last week’s giveaway. Heidi is doing a wonderful job keeping up with her “homework” and you can see pictures of her progress on her blog. Way to go Heidi!

Here are just a few thumbnail pics of some of the quilts in progress so far. You can see full sized pictures and share some of your own at Christa’s Quilt Along on flickr.

Quilt Along Giveaway #5.6 – Win a Pair of Machingers Quilting Gloves

These will come in handy when we begin quilting in a couple of weeks!

Here’s how to enter:

Post a picture of your quilt along WIP on my flickr group: Christa’s Quilt Along.
This can be a picture of the current quilt along, or any of my previous quilt alongs.
If you don’t have a flickr account you can email me directly and I’ll post it for you.
If you’ve already shared a picture that’s great – but I still need you to leave a comment here because I will draw one of the winner’s names at random from this post only! 🙂
Comments are open through Tuesday, April 9th, at 6 PM Eastern Time (3 PM Pacific).

Now remember, it’s not a race. If all you have done so far is picked out your fabrics or just starting cutting, that’s ok. I still want to see it, and so does everyone else!

If you have just now found my Hugs ‘n Kisses Quilt Along that’s no problem – come join the fun!

You can find Step 1 of Hugs ‘n Kisses Here and the current week’s tutorial here.

You can also purchase a Hugs ‘n Kisses Quilt Kit from my shop while supplies last.

Good luck and happy sewing!

Email me: Christa@ChristaQuilts.com.

Christa’s Quilt Along Weekly Giveaway #5.5

March 29, 201312 Comments

I have decided to separate my weekly giveaways from my quilt along tutorial posts. Because the tutorials are so long, the giveaway announcements were getting buried.

Plus, the quilt along instructions will be on my blog forever, so including the giveaway in each weekly quilt along post would not make sense once it’s finished.

Click here for Step 5.5 of Hugs ‘n Kisses, posted earlier this week.

Weekly Giveaway Prize for Hugs ‘n Kisses 5.5

Thanks to all those who helped spread the word about my quilt along with my new button. (If you haven’t done so yet, please grab it from the sidebar and put it on your blog!)

For this week’s prize, one lucky quilt along participant will win a roll of fusible batting tape and a pack of Superior topstitch needles. Batting tape helps you use up all those leftover batting scraps with no mess! The needles are my favorites for both piecing and quilting.

Batting Tape

Superior Needles

How to Enter This Week’s Giveaway

Entering is easy – just post a picture of your quilt along progress on Christa’s Quilt Along flickr group. It doesn’t matter how far along you are, or even which quilt along you are doing. I just want to see your quilting awesomeness and I’m sure others do, too!

Because I’m making the giveaway change – anyone who has posted their picture on flickr so far is eligible for this week’s giveaway. Just leave a comment on this post with your flickr name so I know who you are. 🙂

Entry Deadline and a Little Housekeeping

Comments on this post will be open through Wednesday, April 3rd at 6 PM Eastern Time, (3 PM Pacific). A winner will be selected at that time and their name will be posted the next day on Thursday, along with next week’s giveaway prize announcement. I will also email the winner directly.

Because I’ve separated the giveaways from the quilt along posts, I’ve moved all of the winners’ names from the previous quilt along posts and am listing them here. (They have all received their prizes and were very excited!)

Week 5.1 Giveaway Winner – Anne C. won a ChristaQuilts.com Gift Certificate.

Week 5.2 Giveaway Winner – Diana W. won a Charm Pack of her choice.

Week 5.3 Giveaway Winner – Rose B. won a pair of Snip Eze Comfort Scissors.

Week 5.4 Giveaway Winners – Lesley C. and Clair S. each won a ChristaQuilts.com gift certificate.