Making a Heartfelt Holiday

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, we wanted to share a few heart-themed patterns that have caught our eye. Some are free downloads; some are available for purchase; we think you'll {heart} them all! 

Heart's Desire pillow by Jen Kingwell 

featured in American Patchwork & Quilting magazine, February 2014

Find it here

Puzzle Hearts

originally featured in Quilter's World magazine, February 2011

Now available at Annie's e-Patterns Central

Have a Heart quilt by Nina Lise;

Free download available here

Valentine Throw Pillow by Amy Smart from Diary of a Quilter

Tutorial can be found here

Valentine Hearts from Bunny Hill Designs

Free download available here

Scrappy Sweethearts by Susan Mayer

Available through Quiltwoman.com

Roses are Red by Sue Harvey and Sandy Boobar

Free download available here

Hope you're feeling inspired by more than just chocolate as February 14 approaches! 

And, if you're looking for some fun red, pink or white print fabrics for a valentine project, we can help with that too!

Batiks 

Roses Are Red

Marblehead Pleasing Pastels

Marblehead Venetian Glass

Black Tie Affair

Marblehead Global Brights

Transform a bedroom...easy as 1, 2, 3!

As quilters, we're often asked "just how many bed quilts do you have?" It's fun to make a variety of bed quilts, and fun to have a variety of looks to change up a room. 

But what if there was an easier way? What about a bed runner? Less work, less storage space, all the impact! Terry Albers of Hedgehog Quilts designed this beautiful bed runner using the Summer Breeze  collection for Easy Quilts magazine.

Blue on Blue by Terry Albers; machine quilted by Sandy Schilawski;featured in Easy Quilts Spring 2014 

Q. What makes bed runners so great?
Terry: A bed runner can make a quick change for your room.  It lets you dress up
your bed without the time, expense and storage issues of a big quilt.

Q. What attracted you to the Summer Breeze fabric collection?
Terry: Color...it's always about the color for me. I'm a fan of watercolors and
that's the feeling I got when I saw this fabric. The unexpected hint of
purple really makes the line pop. It's subtle but makes an impression.

Q. Love the coordinating pillows! What can you tell us about them? 
Terry: I love the way the throw pillows accent and enhance the runner. They help
give the room a more pulled-together feel.  I used 20" pillow forms and make
all my "coordinating" pillow covers the same size. Quick change without
storage issues. When I want to change out the room, I just pull off the
pillow covers and keep them with the runner.

Q. Can you talk about how you came up with the design?
Terry: I knew I wanted to make a bed runner for my guest room. I played with some
of my favorite table runner designs, enlarged the blocks and tweaked the
borders.

Q. Favorite fabric in the collection?
Terry: My favorite fabric is the large floral on the light background...it looks so
airy.

Q.  What are the challenge/benefits of working with a fairly monochromatic collection?
Terry: While this line is fairly monochromatic, working within the group helps me
make sure the tints and values complement each other. The challenge lies in
arranging the design elements with enough contrast (in color and scale) to
keep the fabrics from mushing together. Also, the light purple accent draws
out the color differently in each fabric, helping the eye separate the
elements.

Q. Your bed runner seems wider than most traditional ones. How come? 
Terry: This bed runner is definitely wider than most.  It has a bigger presence on
the bed than a runner just at the foot. I love the layered look I get by
starting with the off-white matelasse bedspread, the turned back sheets and the
regular pillow cases in the same off-white and then the wide runner with the
accent pillows. It all looks luxurious and welcoming.

Q. Can you talk about the machine quilting?
Terry:I brought the runner and the pillow tops to Sandy Schilawski so that she could use the

same quilt design on everything. We chose an all-over design for the runner
and then enlarged the same design for the pillow covers. It wasn't so much
about matching the design as it was about keeping the flow smooth from the
runner to the pillows. I was looking for a peaceful feel to the whole
project.

See the entire Summer Breeze collection here.
Learn more about Terry and her work here.
Find Easy Quilts magazine here.
Find the kit for the Blue on Blue runner here.

2-1/2" Strip Tutorial!

Hello! My name is Connie Kresin Campbell and I blog at Freemotion by the River. I'm excited to share  a tutorial here at Inspired by Fabric using these beautiful Marblehead Pleasing Pastel fabrics.

I always enjoy taking my quilts outside if the weather and wind cooperate. I live right along the Mississippi River in Iowa and haven't lost a quilt yet.

I put the quilt up on a window before I quilted it and it looks like stained glass.

The block has quite a few pieces but is very easy to put together. I used my Tri Rec rulers, if you don't have them the AccuQuilt die Triangles in Square 2" will work, or you can download my templates here.

I used a bundle of 2-1/2" pre-cut strips plus some additional yardage of Marblehead Pleasing Pastels by Ro Gregg.

 

Fabric requirements for this 42" x 54" quilt:

Each block is 12-1/2" square unfinished

Quilt uses 12 blocks

• 1 jelly roll of Marblehead Pleasing Pastels
• 1-5/8 yd of #120-42924 Creme
• 1-1/4 yd of #120-42921 Pink
• 1-3/4 yd Backing piece, I used muslin
• Batting, I used Warm & Natural

You will use two 2-1/2" strips in colors of your choice to make your block. You can get 2 blocks out of these 2 strips if you use the cutting info below for one and then switch the colors for the next.
For example this block shows a pink center, cut all the pieces and then cut another, reversing the colors to a teal center. If you want more variety there are enough strips to make blocks by just choosing 2 colors.

For each block cut the following: I am going to use pink and teal as an example.

•  Pink - one 2-1/2" x 8-1/2"  and 6 - triangles
• Teal - two 2-1/2" x 4-1/2" and 4 - triangles
• Creme - four 2-1/2" squares, four 2-1/2" x 4-1/2", two 1-1/2" x 12-1/2" and 20 side triangles

Cut your triangles with the Tri-Rec tools at the 2 1/2 inch line or use my templates.

When you cut the side triangles, be sure and keep the strip doubled with wrong sides together so you will get mirrored images....one for each side of the pink triangle. Use the 2-1/2" line on the template.

If you use the Tri-Rec be sure and cut the little corner piece, it will help you match your pieces.

Here is a photo to show you how to line up the side triangle pieces.

I like to make all the pieces using the triangles and side triangles first. I used a 1/4" seam allowance while making the entire quilt.

Here are all the triangle pieces for one block.

Start sewing your sections of the block together.

Add a 1-1/2" x 12" strip to 2 sides of the block as shown.

Here is a diagram showing the sizes of the pieces in each section.

Here is your block all pieced! Now just make 11 more for your quilt.

Here are my blocks all pieced together.

Follow the diagram below to put your blocks in rows.
I used the pink for a 3" border and the binding, which I cut 2-1/2" wide.

You can really see on this diagram where I reversed the order of the color of fabrics....for example see the green/yellow block? One has the yellow in the center and the other has the green in the center.

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial! Now, how about a giveaway?!?

One lucky person will receive this beautiful strip set of Marblehead Pleasing Pastels by Ro Gregg that Fabri-Quilt is giving away. Head over to Connie's blog to help her name her quilt and see how you can enter to win the bundle!

Super Bowl Party Ideas

The big game--the Super Bowl--is on Sunday, and even if you're not a football fan, it's a fantastic excuse to invite some friends over. Between the game, the commercials, and the food, there's something for everyone! 

First, we love this food stadium:

Source
A guacamole field surrounded by "stands" filled with pigs in a blanket, chips, sub sandwiches..so fun! In fact, food stadiums seem to be the year's big trend. We've got about 5 different versions pinned on our Super Bowl Pinterest Board.

This is healthy and fits nicely with the day's theme:

Source

Some fun decorating ideas:

Source

For entertainment, try Super Bowl Commercial Bingo:

Source

Or check out this printable, with fun bets on the game, such as what color gatorade will be dumped on the winning coach and what song Red Hot Chili Peppers will sing first.

Be sure to check out our Super Bowl Party Ideas board on Pinterest for more recipes and decorating ideas. 

And, if the Super Bowl is just really not your thing, be sure to check out this site--a completely party guide for hosting a super-feminine, non-football-themed party during the big game!

Whether you're a fan of the Broncos, Seahawks, or just the commercials, enjoy the great American tradition of Super Bowl Sunday! 

New Year, New Pillowcases

We are proud to once again be a sponsor in 2014 for American Patchwork & Quilting's 

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge! The official tally of donated pillowcases for the Challenge currently sits at 533,156--making great strides toward the 1,000,000 goal. 

Here are the two latest pillowcases designed by All People Quilt for the Challenge featuring our fabrics:

Diamond Band pillowcase made using Judy Hansen's Nite Owls

Photo: Allpeoplequilt.com

Find the free pattern for the Diamond Band pillowcase here.

Bar Code Band pillowcase made using Ro Gregg's Marblehead Venetian Glass fabrics

Photo: Allpeoplequilt.com

Find the free pattern for Bar Code Band pillowcase here.

American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge now has 39 different pillowcase patterns on its website, ready for you to use. You can find them here.

Feelin' the Winter Blues

weather.com

weather.com

Polar vortex.
Arctic blast.
Harsh temperatures.
Frigid air.
Looking at the maps above, it's no surprise that one of the main conversation topics this January has been the weather. For much of the country, it's been a chilly month! (And if you live somewhere warm, please don't make the rest of us jealous by sharing those temperature numbers in the 60s and 70s!)

This chilly backdrop is the perfect introduction for our new collection, Winter Blues:

Blue lovers, these fabrics are for you! If you like anything in the blue family, we're pretty sure you'll find at least one or two prints to love in this collection. 

And look no further for inspiration; Pine Tree Country Quilts designed this free pattern, Winter Blues, using these icy cool prints. 

Find the pattern here. 

Take advantage of the cold weather and spend some time quilting!

Hannah fabric bundle winner!

Thanks to everyone who checked out Marilyn's puff pillow tutorial and left a comment for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of the fun Hannah prints. 
Our winner:

Congratulations, Debbie!

Please email us at fabriquiltblog (at) gmail.com with your mailing address.