A Pillowcase Party!

Sewing pillowcases is ALWAYS a party! 

And when those pillowcases benefit a charity as part of AllPeopleQuilt.com's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge, it's even better. 

Last week the lovely ladies of the Miriam Circle at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan transformed some of our favorite prints into 15 pillowcases to donate. 

For some of the group, this was their first experience with rotary cutters and rulers; others already knew how to sew. Regardless, they were all hooked on the simple burrito method of pillowcase making by the end of the evening! 

First, a demonstration of cutting fabric using a rotary cutter and ruler

Getting right to work!

One of the fabric groupings--from the Briarcliff collection.

Pressing the flange

Pinning the "burritos."
(If you aren't familiar with the burrito (or "roll it up" method of making pillowcases, check it out here--it's so quick and easy--just 2 seams!)

Time to stitch!

One seam done--flange and cuff added (with no exposed seams!) All that's left is to press it and sew it into the pillowcase shape.

Pressing the cuff

A finished pillowcase! Ta da!

The pillowcases will be donated to the Gospel Mission, serving the homeless in the Kalamazoo area.

Thank you, ladies, for using our fabric and for helping the Pillowcase Challenge get 15 cases closer to 1 million!

Have you sewn a pillowcase for the Challenge? Let us know!

Find out more about how you can get involved in the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge here.

See the fabric lines used in these pillowcases:

A Walk in the Park

Bear Hugs

Briarcliff

Morriston

Vera Cruz

Pre-cut Party Blog Hop - Day 4

Welcome to the last day of our Pre-cut Party! blog hop.

This week's blog hop features four different projects using...you guessed it...pre-cuts! 

We're all busy, we love the time that pre-cut fabric saves, and we can never have enough ideas of ways to use them! Stop by each day to find a different tutorial and have a chance to win the featured pre-cut bundle. 

Hi, I'm Wendy and I blog at Tamarinis. Ro Gregg’s fabric line, A Walk in the Park, is so charming! As I was working with it,  the fabric practically demanded traditional blocks that echo the sentiment of the prints - and then of course, working with those blocks and wonderful fabric made me think of Sunday brunch at Grandma’s house.  I love modern and intricate as much as the next person, but sometimes it’s nice to have a sweet, simple project that pays homage to the traditional roots of quilting.  I hope others agree!

Head over to Tammy's blog to see her table runner tutorial, learn more about the coordinating placemat pattern, and enter to win A Walk in the Park snack pack! This giveaway is now closed.

Don't miss the other pre-cut fabric tutorials this week!

Day 1: Connie from Freemotion by the River using a Marblehead Global Brights snack pack
Day 2: Fabri-Quilt team using a Shadows charm pack

Day 3: Dawn Stewart of Spring Water Designs using a Baby Talk snack pack

The Quilter's Ultimate Wish List - part 2

Yesterday we shared a generic version of the quilter's ultimate wish list. However, for a non-quilter, heading into a quilt shop to buy fabric can be intimidating. So today we have a more targeted version of a wish list which will make it a piece of cake for your family and friends to get you exactly what you'd love for the holidays!

Download the printable pdf version of the wish list here.

See all of the fabrics in the featured collections by clicking on the links below.

Who's Who

Cassandra

Bella

Windsor Woods

Lauren

A Walk in the Park

Asian Fanfare

Tweet

A Walk in the Park

We happen to think that the best floral fabric collections have both traditional and contemporary appeal--a little something for everyone, if you will. 

That's probably why we love Ro Gregg's new A Walk in the Park collection so much--it's full of big-bloom florals in varying sizes and soft tonal coordinates with doses of damask. But it also has a stripe with a twist--a pinstripe-type look with vines and flowers "climbing" up it. And don't forget the oh-so-appealing geometric print that looks like it came straight from a retro tile floor!

We asked Ro to talk to us about her new collection.

Q. What inspired A Walk in the Park?

Ro: The best things in life are free, like enjoying nature! There is nothing like sensory pleasure we get from natural beauty—observing flowers, butterflies and birds. Our desire to connect with the Earth and its beautiful elements served as design inspiration for this line.

Q. Tell us about a few of your favorite prints.

Ro: The main floral is a masterpiece of my favorite flowers: roses, poppies, primroses, and hydrangea. You'll also find butterflies and birds among the flowers.

I think the bird floral stripe is very sweet, too.

I love the park with all its architectural elements and the scrolls and bird cages.

And the geometric print emulates the tile-like blocks of the park's path.

Q. Can you describe your color palette?

Ro: I chose fresh new trend shades directly from Pantone, including antique moss, robin's egg blue, soft café au lait, rock ridge grey that all intertwine with alluring shades of pinks and roses. The two colorways cross over and work well together.

Q. Anything else you'd like to point out about this collection?

Ro: The multi-tonal textured backgrounds of the damask park scene and small foulard adds dimension and continuity to the patterns.

We've even got two different free patterns you can download and make using the A Walk in the Park collection: A quilt and a table setting.

"A Walk in the Park" by Pine Tree Country Quilts

Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

Click here to find these free quilt patterns.

See the entire A Walk in the Park collection here.

Tour our booth!

If your Facebook feed for the last few days has been filled with mentions of Quilt Market* and so-and-so's booth, and you're wishing that you could have attended the show, we can help! We've just returned from Houston and we're ready to share!

Your tour today: A look at our Fall Quilt Market booth in Houston, as well as the fabric lines and quilts/projects showcased in it.

A view of one side of the booth:

And the other:

And now the close-ups!

Left: "Indigo Stars" quilt designed by Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis using Bella Casa (download the free pattern here)

Right: "Bella Rosa" quilt designed by Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts using Bella by Ro Gregg (pattern available for purchase on Hedgehog Quilts website)

On the table in front, left: "Circles and Squares" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using Cosmopolitan (download the free pattern here)

On the table in front, right: "Fabulous Frames" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Elemental Lines collection (download the free pattern here)

"A Walk in the Park" quilt designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts using Ro Gregg's A Walk in the Park collection (download the free pattern here)

"Mesmerize" quilt embroidery design by Jayme Crow of Bella Nona using Fabri-Quilt batiks and Magnifico threads by Superior Threads (quilted by Marlene Oddie of KISSed Quilts) 

"Flags Forever" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Bella Casa snack pack (download the free quilt pattern here). 

(Notice the jersey displayed by this quilt--displaying some hometown baseball pride as our Kansas City Royals played in the World Series during Quilt Market!)

"Bella Garden Stroll" quilt by Mara Quilt Designs using Ro Gregg's Bella collection (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Romance in Flight" designed by Larene Smith of the Quilted Button using the Who's Who collection by Ro Gregg (Check our website soon to download this free pattern!) 

"Windsor Woods Block of the Month" quilt designed by Pine Tree Country Quilts using Ro Gregg's Windsor Woods collection (ask for it at your local quilt shop)

"Monkey Wrenches" quilt designed by Airborne Heirlooms using the Shadows snack pack (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Asian Fans" quilt designed by Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts using Ro Gregg's Asian Fanfare collection (download the free quilt pattern here)

"Stonewall" designed by Donna Lynn Thomas using Marblehead by Ro Gregg (pattern available for purchase on Donna Lynn Thomas' website)

 A booth sample quilt made by our own Sue Linam using our Cuddle Prints Flannel, chenille style!

Birds in a nest! (Download the patterns here)

Meet our Magic Trees!
We wanted to create an organic, softly whimsical, magical garden feeling with these trees, so we had tiny birds and lights adorning the branches. We even had one nest with eggs in one of the trees. The idea continued through the booth with hanging birdhouses and stuffed birds in nests on the table (see below). The tree bases are wrapped with tubes covered in ruffles, and then we used ruffles on the thicker branches of the trees as well, and wrapped thinner branches with strips of fabric. 

And there's our booth! Thanks for coming along on the tour; keep an eye on the blog for more information about our new fabrics and patterns that debuted at Quilt Market!

*If you're wondering what Market is, twice a year Quilts Inc. holds industry-only shows for all things quilt related, and quilt shop owners see what's new and make purchases for their stores. The show floor is full of peeks at new fabric lines, quilting tools and machines, patterns, samples, and more...and don't forget a gallery section of show-stopping quilts on display!