Today I went to my monthly quilting circle where we made signature blocks that will get turned into a quilt as a thank you for our past leader.

It was super easy to make this block! Here are some basic diretions: first start with one 2 1/2″ wide strip by the width of the fabric. One strip will make 2 blocks. Cut 2 rectangles that are 6 1/2″ long for the top & bottom of each block. Then cut 2 – 2 1/2″ squares for the middle.

From the background fabric cut one white 6 1/2″ long rectangle for the middle and two 2 1/2″ squares for the corners. Join each part of the strip using the flip and stitch method. Layer the square on top of the strip, sew across the diagonal and flip back to reveal the design. Then sew all 3 rows together to make the block. There’s no need to cut off the excess fabric. Then sign the block in the middle.

Here are a few of the completed blocks. We chose a polka dot fabric theme for our group. Each person made 2 blocks and signed one of them. What a fun quilt this will be!

I love fabric. I mean, don’t we all? But every now and then a really special fabric collection comes along. Now don’t get me wrong – I usually try to buy at least one to two new fabric lines each week so that I have something  to list for my on-line quilt shop. However, I usually shy away from Christmas fabrics because they are seasonal and don’t really sell well all year long. But, boy, when I listed Laurel Burch’s Holiday Celebrations, I couldn’t believe the response! Here’s a sampling of just a few of the fabrics from the line:

I bought her previous Christmas collection and it didn’t sell well. So I’m not sure if the designs are better, or if there is just more demand for her fabrics; whatever the reason, I’ll take it! Cotton prices have been increasing and I felt bad that this was the first line that I had to list at the 9.95 price point, but that hasn’t seemed to matter (especially since I’ve seen it on-line for much higher). As soon as I could tell this was going to be a hot-seller I immediately called Clothworks, the manufacturer, to order more so I can try to keep up with demand.

Here are pictures of some of the glitter basics tonals.  At first, I was a little worried because so-called “glitter” fabrics I’ve bought in the past from other fabric companies have usually been very messy. However, these are actually more like sparkling tone-on-tones where the metallic doesn’t rub off.  That was a relief! (The glitter basics are just 9.5o per yard so that helps lower the average cost a bit.)

Finally, here’s the crowning jewel of the collection, the focus panel with wonderful whimsical winter motifs and plenty of metallic gold sparkle:

I can’t wait until my customers start sending me pictures of what they make with this line!

I had my monthly quilting circle meeting today and it was “sew” much fun! I’ll tell you more about it in the next post, but for now I wanted to show you the adorable fabrics we exchanged.

Each person had to bring in three bug fabrics or fruits and veggies. These are my mine.

Then we got a variety of fabric pieces in return, one set for each participant. Here are the ones I received: Bugs and butterflies strips that I can use to make bug jar blocks.

And another group of fruits and vegetables that would be perfect for a kitchen jar quilt!

Bobbie, our guild president gave us each a pattern to make these cute bottle jar blocks. You start with a strip of fabric 5 1/2 inches wide by 9 inches long. Add small “snowball” corners to each side of the fabric and a 1 1/2 inch strip of brown at the top for the lids. Cute, huh?

One of the programs I participate in with my quilting guild is a club called “12-4-12”. We have a goal to finish one project a month for 12 straight months. Everyone that completes this goal receives an award at the end of the year – a fabric shopping spree!

Here’s my latest project that I completed just in time for last month’s deadline. It’s a ric-rac baby blankie that I finished in under an hour (on the last day of the month).

I started with 1 yard each of two different flannel baby fabrics in blue and some coordinating brown ric-rac.

I sewed the ric-rac onto two opposite sides of the backing fabric face up. Then I pinned the top fabric right sides together and stitched around all sides, leaving a small opening to turn.

When I sewed the two pieces together I stitched just outside of the stitch-basted ric-rac so I wouldn’t have to pull out any stitches. The two pieces of fabric weren’t exactly the same size, so I trimmed off the excess after sewing. Then I turned the blankie to the correct side and fluffed the corners.

Finally, I top-stitched all the way around so I wouldn’t have to close the opening by hand. I used a decorative serpentine stitch in blue. Voila-a finished baby blanket in under an hour!

As part of my local quilting guild I belong to, I attend a smaller group once a month. This “quilting circle” I go to has about 25 members and we meet at a local quilt shop. It’s quite fun as we show and tell our latest projects and find out about all that’s going on in the larger guild of about 300 members.

Another thing we do regularly is exchange quilt blocks and fabric. Yesterday we had a novelty charm square exchange. Each person brought in 5 different 6 inch squares of “Eye Spy” fabric for each of 16 people that signed up for the swap. Here are the fabrics I chose. Don’t they look nice all cut up into tidy squares?

  It was nice to use fabrics from my stash! In exchange, these are the charms I received:

We each got a total of 80 charm squares, perfect for making an I Spy quilt or two!

In our little group we also have a drawing each month for who will receive a fat quarter assortment of their choice. I got picked this time around and I needed some nice chocolate browns to round out my stash so I put in my request. These are the ones I got – aren’t they yummy??Tonight I’ll be going to the larger group meeting where we usually have a “Quilt Celebrity” who comes to visit. I’ll post more about that tomorrow!

Nancy, a recent blog subscriber of mine (and fellow Fab Shop bunny hopper) made this beautiful quilt using Paula Nadelstern’s Deja Vu fabric collection (shown with permission):

Isn’t it gorgeous? It’s Nancy’s original design and I love how the colors sparkle! Notice the detail in the center block below. The matching covered buttons add a touch of artistry to the piece. The tiny pieced squares and effective use of the border print pulls it all together.

Look at the fine workmanship and striking colors in the corner blocks. The Lemoyne Star kaleidoscope below right was made by fussy cutting the same repeat. The allover quilting adds nice texture, too. Way to go, Nancy!

Now sit right back and I’ll tell you a tale of my 3 hour quilt.. my 3 hour quilt… (I hope you get the reference!!)

A friend of mine is throwing an impromptu baby shower today.  The first thing I think of when I hear baby shower is, “How much time do I have to make a baby quilt and what fabric do I have on hand?”

Thanks to Moda Charm Packs, I can whip up an adorable baby quilt in a hurry. Here’s a recap of my fastest quilt ever, made with one Lily & Will Charm Pack from Bunny Hill:

(Just click on any of the pictures above to enlarge for details.)

Step One: Select the charm pack and lay it out in a pleasing arrangement – 15 Min.

Step Two: Sew quilt top together, cut batting to size and safety pin baste – 60 Min.

Step Three: Stitch in the ditch with serpentine stitch and along diagonals – 60 Min.

Step Four: Square up edges and trim batting, prepare binding – 15 Min.

Step Five: Add binding by machine and block edges with warm iron – 30 Min.

This quilt took one charm pack of 42 squares measuring 5 inches cut. The finished size is 27″ x 31″ – a perfect grab and go blankie ! To make a bigger quilt, just add borders 🙂