Pages

Friday, April 28, 2017

Woodland Friends Quilt Tutorial

The Woodland Friends block panel just asks to be cut apart and sewn into a fun kids' quilt. So we did!

Each fussy-cut block is framed, Courthouse Steps style, with three different prints. Sew the nine blocks together, and the quilt top is complete! Quick, easy, and so adorable! 

Finished Quilt Size: 48-1/2" square
Finished Block Count & Size: Nine 16" square blocks

You'll Need:
2/3 yard of the panel print
1/3 yard blue print
1/2 yard dark green print
5/8 yard beige tree print
1/3 yard brown print
1/2 yard light green print
2/3 yard brown tree print
1/2 yard lime green print
2-1/4 yards backing fabric
54" square of batting

Cutting:
From the panel print:
Fussy-cut nine squares 1/4" past the printed border (approximately 7-1/2" square)

From the blue print: 
Four 2" x 42" strips

From the dark green print:
Five 2" x 42" strips

From the beige tree print:
Six 2-1/2" x 42" strips; recut into eight 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" strips and eight 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" strips
Tip: To maximize cutting efficiency, cut each of four strips into one 16-1/2" length and two 12-1/2" lengths. cut each remaining strip into two 16-1/2" lengths.

From the brown print:
Five 1-1/2" x 42" strips

From the light green print:
Six 2-1/2" x 42" strips

From the brown tree print:
Eight 2-1/2" x 42" strips; recut into ten 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" strips and ten 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" strips
Tip: To maximize cutting efficiency, cut each of five strips into one 16-1/2" length and two 12-1/2" lengths. cut each remaining strip into two 16-1/2" lengths.

From the lime print:
Five 2-1/4" x 42" strips for binding

Make the Blocks:
Note: We're using the sew and trim method here for building the blocks. This allows the greatest amount of accuracy when working with fussy-cut squares while giving you some wiggle room as you sew. 

Step 1: Position a fussy-cut square right sides together with one 2" x 42" blue strip, matching raw edges. Sew, aligning your stitches on the "line" between the checkerboard block border and the beige seam allowance print. Trim strip just beyond block edge and repeat on opposite side. (Tip: You can also chain piece these, sewing one side of all four blocks to the blue strip and then cutting between the blocks. Repeat on the opposite side with a second strip.)


Step 2: Press open so your unit looks like this. Trim the border strips even with the center square. 


Step 3: In the same way, add the top and bottom strips. Press open and square unit to measure 10" square. (Make sure that the fussy-cut design is centered!)


Step 4: In the same way, use the 2" dark green strips to add side and then top/bottom borders to the unit. Square up to measure 12-1/2" square.


Step 5: Sew 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" beige tree strips to the sides of the unit. Sew 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" beige tree strips to the top/bottom. If needed, square up to measure 16-1/2" square. Note: In this last round, the strips are cut to size before sewing to make the most efficient use of fabric. Make a total of four blue/green/beige blocks.


Step 6: In the same way, sew 1-1/2" x 42" brown strips to the sides of a fussy-cut unit. Press open and trim even with edges of the center unit. Sew 1-1/2" x 42" brown strips to the top/bottom. Square up unit to measure 9" square. 


Step 7: Add 2-1/2" light green strips to both sides and then the top and bottom. Square up to measure 12-1/2" square. 


Step 8: Add 2-1/2" x 12-1/2" and 2-1/2" x 16-1/2" brown tree print strips to the block. Make a total of five brown/green/brown blocks. 


Step 9: Lay out the blocks into three rows of three blocks each, alternating the blocks as shown. Sew the blocks into rows and join the rows. Your quilt top is done! 

We've even got the perfect backing for this sweet quilt:


See the entire Woodland Friends collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.
Get a close-up look at these whimsical prints here.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

The cutest woodland creatures you've ever seen!

Our newest collection, Woodland Friends, features the art of Charlie Zabarte. These whimsical creatures--hedgehogs, raccoons, birds, deer and rabbits, are adorable sweet in a panel of 7" squares. There's also a printed border strip! 

We love the coordinates too--playful trees, a cool modern ring print, and dots and dashes, along with an allover woodland print. 

 Check out the intricate details in the panel blocks: 

The blocks have a variety of printed borders surrounding them:

A sweet hedgehog:

A gentle fawn:

What would you make with these prints? We'll be showing you what we did later this week!

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

Friday, April 21, 2017

Essentials 2 with Color!

Recently we shared our new neutrals collection, Essentials 2. Today we're adding in a pop of color with our Painter's Palette Solids collection. We've divided up the Essentials 2 into its four different colorways: black, beige/brown, gray and taupe, and then picked some of our favorite brights and bolds to help them shine. Check out the blocks that we've stitched using these color combos! 

Blacks:
Painter's Palette Solids used:  Pencil Yellow 003, Raspberry 079, Clementine 108, Apple Green 076

Classic star blocks: 
Find a tutorial to make these here.


Beiges/Browns:
Painter's Palette Solids used: River 025, Midnight 001, Waterfall 032, Patriot 111

Monkey wrench blocks:
Find a tutorial to make these blocks here.


Grays:

Painter's Palette Solids used: Lipstick 066, Pale Aqua 062, Bright Yellow 005, Violet 149 

Plus Sign Blocks:
Find a tutorial to make these blocks here.

Taupes:
Painter's Palette Solids used:  Teal 013, Bright Aqua 040, Aruba 100, Gulf Stream 138

Jacob's Ladder Blocks:
Find a tutorial to make these blocks here.

Which combination do you like best? Which block do you like best? 

Find the entire Essentials 2 collection here and ask for them at your local quilt shop.
See all 168 colors of our Painter's Palette Solids here and ask for them at your local quilt shop.


Tuesday, April 18, 2017

The Power of a Neutral Palette

Neutrals may not be flashy and eye-catching, but they play such a huge role in a quilt! We've rolled out a new line of neutral prints, the Essentials 2 collection. It consists of five different patterns in four colors--taupe, black, beige/brown, and gray. 


Leafy vines:


Paisleys:

Square check:

Geometrics:

Dots and Rectangles:


What colors would you pair with these neutrals? Later this week, we'll show you which Painter's Palette Solids we'd match up with each of the grays, taupes, blacks, and beige/browns. 

Find the entire Essentials 2 collection here and ask for it at your local quilt shop.


Thursday, April 13, 2017

Town Square

If you love the Waddington Road fabrics and medallion-style quilts, watch for the summer issue of Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine! Barbara Eikmeier designed the "Town Square" quilt featured inside.

"Town Square" designed by Barbara J. Eikmeier; quilted by Theresa Ward;
featured in Primitive Quilts & Projects Summer 2017 issue

This gorgeous quilt was inspired by antique border medallion quilts that Barb has long admired. She talked to us about her design:



Q. Why did you decide to create a medallion quilt?
BE: I work a lot from antique quilts for inspiration. I’d been admiring some from the 1850s in similar colors to the Waddington Road prints. I decided to do a composite from several different vintage quilts.

Q. How do you go about designing a quilt like this?
BE: I knew what types of pieced borders I wanted to use, and the trick became how to make it all fit. I started with the center design and yellow triangle border and then adjusted border widths to make the math work.

Q. Do you have a favorite border in the quilt?
BE: Yes—the seventh border, which combines half-square triangles and four-patches. I saw it in one of the antique quilts and liked it. I thought it was unique. It’s a slightly wider border, too, so it gives a little punch in just the right place.



Quilt measures 80" square

Q.
 Tell us about the outer two borders and how they work together.
BE: As I was laying out the outer half-square triangle border, the corners weren’t turning out in a way I liked. I decided to put pinwheel blocks in the corners instead, which meant that I needed to join the last two borders together before adding them to the quilt.

Q. How did you add interest through the plain borders?
BE: Those are often called coping borders. I aimed for variety—I intentionally didn’t use a fabric that I’d already used in a previous coping border. Antique quilts were done that way—usually based on how much fabric was available, but I like the look.

Q. Tell us about the quilting.
BE: Theresa Ward from Always Quilts machine quilted it. I debated how we should quilt it. So many of the antique quilts have a more utilitarian design, so I didn’t want to do custom quilting in each border. The design we decided upon is called Axle, and it looks like an apple core shape that echoes. It has the feel of the Baptist Fan motif but with a different shape.

Q. What do you like best about this quilt?
BE: I just love how this quilt looks. To me, it looks really comfortable. You don’t need to have the whole quilt displayed to appreciate the design element. I also think the magazine did a beautiful job on the photograph.

Q. Why did you name this quilt Town Square?
BE: I lived in Pennsylvania for a number of years, and every small town had a square, and the streets radiated out from the center. This design creates the same feeling, so I named it Town Square.

Great news! There's a kit for this project.

Kits can be ordered from Quilt Corral in Willows, CA by calling 530-934-8116 or email quiltcorral2488@att.net Cost is $120 including postage. The magazine is extra.

See the entire Waddington Road collection here.
Visit Barb's website here.
Find Primitive Quilts & Projects magazine here.

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Classic Pattern, Updated Look!

American Patchwork & Quilting magazine is featuring a six-part series in honor of their 25th anniversary--choosing favorite projects from past issues and updating them for today's quiltmaker. 

In the June 2017 issue, the magazine features a classic log cabin quilt from 2005:

"Antique Log Cabin" from quilt collector Julie Hendricksen,
featured in 
American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
 ©2017 Meredith Corporation.

For the Staff Color Option, associate editor Lisa Schumacher chose a palette of cool blues and purples from our Painter's Palette Solids collection to create a sleek modern version of a traditional design. 


 Based on a design by Julie Hendricksen. 
Used with permission from American Patchwork & Quilting® magazine.
 ©2017 Meredith Corporation. All Rights Reserved.
See the Color Option online here


See all 168 Painter's Palette Solids colors here
Find a shop near you (or shop online!) to purchase Painter's Palette Solids. Find shops carrying the solids here
Find American Patchwork & Quilting here.













What Painter's Palette Solids colors would you choose for this quilt? 

Friday, April 7, 2017

Mad for Solids Champion!

Congratulations to Sheri Cifaldi-Morrill! 
Her bundle Kona Sunset was voted the Champion of our Mad for Solids bracket! 



Thank you again to everyone who participated in our Mad for Solids event: the designers, who curated these mouth-watering bundles, and the voters, who had the almost impossible job of choosing their favorite bundle in each game. We hope you enjoyed Mad for Solids as much as we did!

Congratulations to our two randomly selected voters, who will each win a bundle of Sheri's Kona Sunset color palette. We'll be contacting you for your full names and mailing addresses. 
Sarah Z
JMarrizzle

If you've been inspired by the colors shared in our Mad for Solids competition, see all 168 smooth and silky Painter's Palette Solids here and ask for them at your local quilt shop. 
Find a list of the quilt shops currently carrying our solids here.  
Find your favorite bundles from the Sweet Sixteen here.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Mad for Solids: Championship Game

We're down to the final game in our Mad for Solids bracket! 
Thank you so much, first of all to our sixteen designers, who curated the fabulous bundles of Painter's Palette Solids that we've drooled over the past two weeks, and second of all to everyone who has voted! 
It's been fun!




The Championship Game:
Colorado Spring
By Stephanie Ruyle of Spontaneous Threads (@spontaneousthreads)

"These are the colors that greet me every spring. The multitude of purple crocus, and the yellow green leaf buds against the vast blue Colorado sky."

Fabrics (from top): Violet 121-149, Grape 121-151, Lemon Ice 121-087, Wasabi 121-061,
Aruba 121-100, Cyan 121-098, Poseidon 121-137, Abyss 121-161



vs. 

Kona Sunset
By Sheri Cifaldi Morrill of Whole Circle Studio (@wholecirclestudio)

"Inspired by colorful sunsets over the ocean coast of the Big Island, Hawaii, I selected this tropical color palette."
Fabrics (from top): 121-028 Fuchsia, 121-068 Rosebud, 121-118 Verbena,  121-005 Bright Yellow,
121-100 Aruba, 121-062 Pale Aqua, 121-138 Gulf Stream, 121-013 Teal

How to vote:  Look at the bundles and choose your favorite. Leave a comment below with your pick. You can also vote on Instagram (@pbstudiofabrics) by leaving a comment. Please vote only once per game on each platform. Voting for these two games is open from 9 am EDT on Thursday 4/6 through 6:59 am EDT on Friday 4/7.
 Voting is now closed. We'll announce the champion on Friday afternoon. 


If you've been inspired by the colors shared in our Mad for Solids competition, see all 168 smooth and silky Painter's Palette Solids here and ask for them at your local quilt shop. 
Find a list of the quilt shops currently carrying our solids here.