Wednesday, October 11, 2017

Looking for a BOM?

Barb Eikmeier, designer of the Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures collection, is hosting a Block of the Month quilt on her blog.
Barb's Month 4 blocks;
the pattern for these is available for FREE during the month of October.
Find the patterns here.

Each month she posts the directions for four pieced blocks made using her Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures prints. 
The finished quilt will pair the 41 pieced blocks with 40 applique blocks made with the McKim Studios pre-printed embroidery blocks. (Ruby’s Farm Treasures and Ruby’s Flower Garden).

Barb designed the quilt to be made from a fat quarter bundle of the Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures prints and coordinating solids, plus the two pre-printed embroidery block panels. We're loving following along, and think you will too! 

New blocks are posted at the beginning of each month, and are available for free downloading during that month. After the month ends, they're available for $5 in Barb's online store.

Here's a look at the other blocks she's created so far:
Month 1:

Month 2:

Month 3:
Find the block patterns here.

A little more about her 30s Sampler BOM:
Q. What prompted you to start this BOM quilt?
BE: I wanted to do something that used both the fabric and the panels. I liked the idea of making it entirely from a fat quarter bundle of the 21 prints and 9 solids. To me, that was a fun challenge. 

Q. What resources did you use for the block designs? 
BE: Many of them came from the Electric Quilt software library, but if I found a block I liked in an antique quilt, I'd draw it myself. The embroidery blocks finish at 7-3/4", so I needed to find blocks that finished at 8" that could be trimmed down to 7-3/4" without sacrificing design elements along the edges. 

Q. Tell us about the applique blocks. 
BE: I like to do back basting applique; in fact, I wrote a book about it a few years ago. I realized that with the preprinted embroidery blocks, I could easily use them for applique. You could also embroider the blocks for this quilt if you wanted; some people are even leaving them out and putting in fabric squares instead. 

Q. What was one thing that surprised you as you made the blocks? 
BE: I finished most of the applique blocks before starting the pieced blocks. Because so many of the flower panel blocks have leaves, the applique blocks were looking pretty green. As I chose fabrics for the pieced blocks, I had to be more judicious in where I placed the greens to keep the color balance even.

Q. Can you point out a few of your favorite blocks? 
BE: Yep! I really like the upper left block in Month 2, with the blue four-patch int eh center. It's a neat block that was fun to make. The block next to it--with four V shapes, was also fun to make. It's surprisingly less complicated to make than it looks, and that's something that's true for many of these blocks. I also like the bottom left block in month 4. I really love how the fabric choices work together in that block. 

30s Sampler Quilt details:
The BOM blog posts will run through April 2018; with four blocks per month (plus one month has five). The finished quilt is 80" square. During the month a set of blocks are posted, the pattern will be free to download; after that each month's patterns are available for sale in Barb's online store. 

Follow along with the BOM here.
See the entire Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Thursday, October 5, 2017

New Season, New Pillowcase Patterns!

American Patchwork & Quilting has released its two newest pillowcase designs, and we love how they look in our fabrics! Two weeks ago, the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge held its annual Sew-a-thon, and the pillowcase count is not at 744,000+! We're proud to partner with AP&Q in their quest to provide one million pillowcases to local charities. 

Pillowcase 66: Doubled Up Triangle Square 
featuring the Building 101 collection
Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

Pillowcase 67: Owl Applique 
featuring the Woodland Friends collection by Charlie Zabarte
Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

Find all of the pillowcase patterns here.
Learn more about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge, including how you can get involved, here.

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Mayfair in Print!

The December 2017 issue of American Patchwork & Quilting just came out and as usual, it's packed full of gorgeous quilts. 

We particularly like the Color Option for the cover quilt--quilt tester Laura Boehnke created this circle stunner using the romantic florals of the Mayfair collection. 

 Based on a design by Wendy Sheppard. 
Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
 ©2017 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.

Bright and cheery and beautiful!

See the entire Mayfair collection here and the entire Classique collection here and ask for them at your local quilt shop.
Find American Patchwork & Quilting magazine here

Friday, September 29, 2017

Feels Like Fall!

October is knocking on the door!
Pumpkin spice is everywhere!
Leaves are changing!
Temperatures are dropping!

What says "fall" to you? 


Here are some things that say "fall" to us:

Find the tutorial here.



Find the tutorial here.




Find the tutorial here.


Find the free quilt pattern here.

Find the free quilt pattern here.

Check out our Feels Like Fall Pinterest board for inspiration--quilt, decor, and food related! 

Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Denim Love

Love the look of denim but don't love sewing with such a heavy-duty material? 
No problem. 
Our new Denim Blues collection has the denim look you love printed on quilting cotton. Perfect for blue jean fans!

Take two different color denims, add in some fun spirals, pebbles and leaves, and you're ready to go!


Here's a closer look at the Denim Blues prints: 




See the entire collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.

Thursday, September 21, 2017

Fall in Love: Pretty Foxy

Continuing our fall fabric theme for the week, meet the Pretty Foxy collection. 
Ro Gregg's newest fabric line features a gorgeously realistic fox panel. You won't believe the detail on it! Eight coordinating prints round out the line in sage, mellow golds, rusts, and warm reds. Ro says, "Foxes are quite clever and remarkably resourceful. They have always been dear to my heart and are quite popular and spiritual in nature. The Native Americans recognized them as messengers from beyond." 

Let's take a closer look. Here's the entire panel, which includes a patchwork square border. 

So much detail and shading in the fox's fur!

A grass print, available in three different colors:

A houndstooth print, available in two colors (it also shows up as the inner border in the panel):

A cool circle print, available in three colors: 

Wait until you see this! Pine Tree Country Quilts designed this quilt using the panel. The complicated looking design around the panel is actually quite simple--ladder blocks made in different color combinations. The quilt measures 56" x 66".
Find the free quilt pattern here

See the entire collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop. 
Find the free quilt pattern here.

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

Fall in Love: Bountiful Harvest

Is it feeling like fall in your neck of the woods? 
Are the leaves changing? 
Pumpkins growing? 
Temperatures falling?

Here's a little autumn inspiration for you to fall in love with: our Bountiful Harvest collection. Rich harvest colors, detailed prints, and gorgeous gold metallic accents. Perfect for a fall runner, door quilt, placemats...even a lap quilt! 
 


A closer look at the three focal prints: 
Leaves in different shapes and colors



Pumpkins, corn, grapes and leaves

A field of golden sunflowers

See the entire Bountiful Harvest collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.