Simple Stars and Stripes

This turned out to be one of my favorite quilts!

It was inspired by this patriotic stash of fabrics I pulled together from my stash and lived with it for awhile in a vintage tool box. I had never made a red, white and blue quilt before so wanted to try it. I used creams instead of whites which gives it a vintage look.

I knew I wanted to make some kind of stars with stripes. Since I love an informal quilting process I started with a square and then I cut random sized triangles for the stars. After sewing, I trimmed to 1/4 inch.And squared up the block after both point were added.

For the stripes, I started sewing strips of reds and creams in random widths. Then trimmed to a width I liked. (Save the cut edges and piece together for small projects)

 

 I cut random sized triangles for the stars.After sewing on at an angle, I trimmed straight across the bottom. Notice the star points are larger so no matching was needed!

 On my design wall:

 

I quilted in 1/4 spaced rows for a modern look.

Cutting Instructions for each block:

Center star blocks: 
Cut 1 Blue fabric and 8 Cream fabrics 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" 
Star points cut 4 Blue fabrics 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and cut in half (trimmed after sewing)

Boarder stars along red and cream strips: 
Cut 1 Blue fabric 4" x 4" 
Star points cut 4 Blue fabrics 4 1/2" x 4 1/2" and cut in half (trimmed after sewing)

Boarder Stripes: 
Cut Reds and Creams in random widths then cut to 4 1/2" long (will be trimmed to 4" later).

For sewing follow photo steps above.This quilt is 34" x 34" so has:

• 4 center star blocks 
• 9 boarder stars (note some of them are partial for the boarder)
• 2 red and cream strip sets

Hexies made with markers and rubbing alcohol

I took a class at my art guild on making cool shapes with rubbing alcohol and permanent markers. We made a bunch of these on muslin stretched over a cup. You just draw some lines with the markers and drop on the rubbing alcohol in the middle and the colors run into cool designs. Some times the colors change in surprising ways as they blend. They dry in no time. Hexies are a great way to use these circles in projects. These are sewn on a cotton dish towel.

 This is a hot pad made with the hexies also:

I ironed them with a hot iron and steam to make sure they wouldn't run when washed. This would be a great project or young kids to make!

A few of my early quilts

I was taking a look back on some of my earliest quilts when I was teaching myself to quilt. I still love this jewel quilt and it was easy learning to machine quilt this.

This snowball quilt was really fun to make with just two colors. This one was all hand cut pieces with templates way before rotatory cutters. Then was hand quilted.

This is a flannel baby quilt with half square triangles. I like the rows of colors.

This is also one of my earliest quilts that I made for my son when he was little. He got to pick out all of the fabrics and then I just started playing with putting it together. Now I want to make more with the random width strips.

The doggies get to use this now!

QA Quilting Day Camp Class - Fun Day!

I had so much fun teaching at the QA Day Camp. All the gals were so much fun too! Here are the results of everyone's  completed zipper bags. I love the creativity and differences in each one.

Thanks for a great day ladies!

That's How I Roll Art Quilt

This was for the Quilters Anonymous Quilt Guild Challenge Quilt. It had to be 75% black, white, grays, and 25% one fabric of any color. And had to have one or more words. This is mine:

I really like how this turned out. There were so many beautiful quilts in the show from very talented quilter guild members.

Teaching at QA Day Camp

I'm sure looking forward to Quilters Anonymous Day Camp Saturday May 30th. I will be showing how to make a Modern Scrap Buster Zipper Bag with lining. I'm excited to see what everyone makes! Here is an example:

See ya soon!

Happiness is........Color Combinations

What colors sooth your soul?

Ever just have a bad day or too much stress? I found that before going to bed I'll just look at my quilt fabrics and let my eyes fall on what ever jumps out. Maybe its the pinks, or a color combination that does it.

Sometimes I pull out fabrics from my stash that jump out without thinking twice. Then I think about those colors or patterns as I'm falling asleep (and they end up being great inspiration). I found that I get to sleep quicker and have a really good nights sleep. Here are just a few of my fabric inspirations and colors that make me happy. 

This is a bundle of fabrics which was a gift from my daughter. The batik prints and colors are amazing!

This is a bundle of fabrics which was a gift from my son. It's so fun to see what he chose! I will have fun using these.

It might be fun to make a little swatch book of fabric eye candy collections!

Quilted Placemats

I wanted to make some placemats with a pop of color. I picked turquoises and greens which would also go great with my Fiestaware dishes. I pulled out lots of fabric strips and randomly made log cabin blocks until the size was just right.These are 14" x 14" with two layers of cotton batting. The quilting stitches are about 2 apart.

I decided the corners needed to be curved to go with the curve on the table. I used a small plate and chalked on a curve to cut. Then added bias binding. I find the easiest way to add bias binding so that the stitching looks good on the front and the back is to pin on the binding encasing the edge with the back side slightly wider.

 The small Clover Wonder Clips work great for holding the binding tight while sewing. Sew slowly with needle down and sort of feel through to the back part of the binding to make sure it is getting sewn also.

   These are reversible so we can use both sides.

 

As much as I don't want these to get food on them, they are meant to be used and washed easily!

How to Hang Small Quilts - Idea 2

I have been hanging lots of my little quilts with the removable 3M Picture Hanging Strips and a piece of hook and loop tape as explained in my How to Hang Small Quilts - Idea 1 blog post.

I also did a lot of searches for some type of metal and magnet system. I found these metal organizer strips by Three by Three to mount on the wall with a couple of screw. I also bought round rare earth magnets which are extremely powerful and these are actually decorative. I gave it a try and I'm so happy with this option!

It is easy to switch out quilts and even hang some larger quilts. I'm not sure how much weight they will hold yet, but I use it mostly for the small quilts anyway.

 Thanks for reading!