Charm Pack Table Runners

August 6, 2011August 9, 20112 Comments

A fellow guild-member named Judy sent me a picture of two table runners that she recently made from charm packs. Here’s what she had to say about them, “They are from the book ‘Fast & Furious quilting as you go’ by Gudrun Erla. The runner is called Lucky Charms. It only takes 5 light and 17 medium to dark charms (backing, binding and batting extra). The size is 8 1/2″ X 26 1/2″. A really quick and easy runner that can be made for all occasions. Everyone that has made this has said it is very addicting and lots of fun!”

I met Judy recently when I took an all-day sewing class sponsored by my guild. (You can read about that in an earlier post). During the class we chatted about how fun charm packs are to work with and the possibilities are almost endless.

We also took a break with a few other sewing buddies to go visit a fun little quilt shop in the area that had just opened up. You know you are having fun while attending a quilting class and a shop hop breaks out! Isn’t this place cute? The owner is super friendly and is a mom with young kids, just like me!! This is exactly the type of shop I would want to run if I owned a “brick and mortar” store rather than my on-line shop.

Charm Pack Quilts – Sew Easy Even a Child Can Do It!

July 14, 2011March 19, 20137 Comments

Jenna completed her Charm Pack quilt top!

By Wednesday she was comfortable putting the squares together and sewing the rows all by herself. She had to watch out for those sticky pins and I helped guide her to keep accurate quarter-inch seam allowances.

Each time she finished a row, it reminded me of my own excitement when I finished my first quilt.

The key to success I believe was choosing a pre-cut charm pack so we didn’t even have to worry about sharp rotary cutters or scissors. Jenna chose City Weekend by Oliver + S for her first masterpiece. Isn’t it beautiful?

Watch for part 2 of our mother/daughter sew-in where we’ll baste, quilt and bind!

Happy New (Quilt) Year!

January 1, 2011March 3, 20143 Comments

For 2011 I resolve NOT to make any new resolutions! I will however, try to sew more, hang with my kids more, and stress less.

Here are some pictures of a couple of quilts I finished recently using charm squares, embellished with some alphabet applique.

I made this quilt using very boyish plaids, tiny 1 inch setting squares and fusible applique for the letters. It’s about 36″ x 46″.

I just let the letters lie casually on each fabric square so I didn’t have to be too precise on placement.

I used my favorite moon stencil for the border – check out earlier posts for a closeup look using the same quilt design.

I used one Moda Charm Pack in girl colors for this cute quilt:

Just like the blue quilt above, I enlarged a computer font and made my own stencils for the lettering, placing them haphazardly on the background charms to give it a more whimsical look.

This quilt measures about 32″ x 36″ – perfect for a snuggly baby on the go!

My local quilting guild has encouraged its members to complete 12 projects this year – one for every month. These won’t count for 2011 but just looking at them is getting me excited to start my new projects. If I complete my goal, I’ll be rewarded with a gift certificate to a local quilt shop.

Hey – even though I run my own quilt store, it’s still fun to go shopping somewhere else!