Foot Pocket tutorial

Have you ever snuggled into your recliner, only to have your quilt slip off your feet?  Or get all tangled in the mechanism when you put the footrest back down?  Try making a long, skinny quilt with a pocket!  It works!  For REAL!

Making a pocket is easy.   For THIS quilt, I made 15″ blocks.   This is it after quilting, but before binding/pocket.

Bind the bottom edge ONLY.  I sew to the back, flip to the front, and sew it down. 

Now flip up your pocket and pin.  The depth of your pocket is up to you.   This one is about 15 inches. 

Open up your binding, fold under the end, and then refold.  This encases the raw edges.

Lay it on the edge of the underside of your quilt.  Let it hang over just a tiny bit……about 1/4 – 1/8th inch.  Sew all the way around, folding over the end on the other side of the pocket. 

Another view.

Flip the binding to the front.  Pin tightly.  See that little overhang?   You will sew across that FIRST. 

Then turn the corner, and keep going.  

Doesn’t that make a nice little end??

Do the same when you reach the opposite end, and you’re done!! 

WildChild demonstrates how simple the foot pocket is to use!!!!

If you have any questions, please either leave a comment, or email me at squeegeatc at aol dot com.

peace and pieces,
amy

Magnolia Blossom Tutorial

Here in the south, we LOVE the Magnolia.

The huge glossy leaves, the creamy petals.  They are just stunning.

But I looked everywhere and couldn’t find a fabric version.   So, I made my own!

I started by quilting a large portion of white fabric, and smaller portion of green.  Because this is for a special person, I quilted words.  However, plain ole meander quilting will work just fine.

Cut the pieces using the pattern here—->  magnolia pattern

Fold each petal in half, right sides together.

Mark 3 inches down.

 

Sew a small pleat.

This gives it more support and structure.

Do the same for the leaves, only sew a larger pleat—-I didn’t mark, but I think mine was close to 6 inches.

Now go find some wooden skewers.  Hot glue three together so you have something solid as a base.

I folded and wrapped a piece of scrap fabric for the center, and jammed the skewers in there.

I wish I could show you how I did this part but I only have two hands and the kids were in school.

Now hot glue a small petal to the center.

Add a 2nd directly across from the first.

Then the other 2.

Then hot glue the large petals around the outside.

Last, the leaves.

I cleaned up the bottom by chopping off the skewers and hot gluing more fabric around the base.

OH!   I forgot—-after I cut the petals, I washed them to get them raveled and crinkly.   I did NOT do that with the leaves.  I’m not sure it made much of a difference.

I sure hope you enjoyed this tutorial.  If you create your own magnolia, PLEASE let me see it!   You can share a link to your blog, or upload to the flicker page.  http://www.flickr.com/groups/butterflyangelsquilting/

peace and pieces,
amy

 

 

EasyPeasy Patchwork Quilt Tutorial

I’ve done several patterns, but this will be my first on-site tutorial.   This will probably get long, but hang in there!

The quilt, with 32 Fat quarters, finishes at 6′ x 7′.   Feel free to use more or less as you see fit.

Supplies are easy.  32 Fat Quarter’s and a Wonder Cut Ruler.   This is not a paid or sanctioned post—I just LOVE the ruler.

Cut the Fat Quarters (FQ) as follows.  I stacked 4 at a time, short side facing you.   Cut a 2.5″ strip, a 3.5″ strip, and 2 strips matching the 6 1/2″ line on your WonderCut Ruler.  Note—there will be a decent strip about an inch wide left over.   DON”T THROW IT AWAY!!  More on that later.

Grab the 3.5″ strips and head to the machine.   Mix and match in as random an order as possible.  Lay them right sides together, and stitch up one long side.   Iron the seams toward the darker fabric.

3.5″ strips sewn together

iron toward a darker fabric

Cut into 3.5″ sections.   You will get 6 per strip

Pair up again, being careful to butt the seams up nice and tight.

paired up…

Sew into 4 patches, and iron the seams to one side.  48 blocks are done, JUST LIKE THAT!

pretty 4 patches

Now grab the wide strips that we cut with the Wonder Cut Ruler.   Mix and match as randomly as possible, and lay right sides to right sides.  Sew up BOTH sides.

sewn on both sides

Use the Wonder Cut ruler, on the 6.5″ line, to create your Half Square Triangles.  

By being VERY careful, I was able to get 4 HST’s out of almost every strip.  If you can only get 3 per strips, it’s OK.  Those corners??   DON’T THROW AWAY!  Put them with the thin strips from the first step.

Now you should have 48 4 patches, and 128 HST’s.   There were several HST’s that I couldn’t use—wonky corners from that 4th cut.

wonky corner—toss this aside for now.

As long as you don’t loose more than 8, you’re all good.  If you feel the need to square up these blocks, please do so.   The WonderCut does a marvelous job, and there is rarely a need to trim anything.

Iron toward the darker fabric

Now go find your top-of-the-line randomizer.   Yes,  have one!  You don’t?   Ok, it’s a diaper box.   But it works!!   Throw all the useable blocks in and start tossing.  Make a big giant mess of them.   The more random the better.

random blocks

Grab 2 blocks and sew together.  Grab another 2.   And another 2.  Don’t think too much.  This is supposed to be fun!

a pair

When you’re all done you should have at least 84 pairs.  Match them up again, and sew.

42 12.5″ unfinished blocks.

Now you have 42 12.5″ unfinished blocks!   At this point, I iron everything.

Lay out the blocks.

a helper always makes this step easier

If you have 42, a 6×7 grid makes a great sized quilt.   36 block are a 6×6 quilt.

the layout

If you have more or less, just do what you can.  Once you get the pattern the way you like it, head to the machine and start sewing!  Eventually, you have this!

DONE

 

Those 2.5″ strips?

2.5 inch strips

Sew them all together into a long chain.   Fold in half and iron.  You just made your binding!!!  Now go find a gorgeous fabric(s) for the back and have fun quilting!  And all those scraps I told you to save?  Don’t worry…….I’m working on it!!  Stay tuned!

note—while sewing, don’t stress over putting 2 fabrics together.  It adds a visual interest.

this is OK

this is OK, too!

I sure hope you enjoyed my tutorial.   I will be back soon with a matching project using the scraps.  Until then,

peace and pieces,
amy

Glorious Autumn Block Party!

The Giveaway is closed.  But please enjoy the free pattern!!

 

The wonderful Michelle at Quilting Gallery has been giving us a walkthrough to these amazing blocks!  In her words…

“Over 15 weeks, 45 designers will create 12″ blocks for the Glorious Autumn Block Party. These blocks will be featured, three per week, on the Quilting Gallery site starting September 4th. In addition to the blocks, there will be Super Deals for Quilters from our favourite online retailers. Be sure to check each designer’s post, as many will be offering give-aways on their own site that everyone can participate in.”

My bio with some cute pics is on The Quilting Gallery‘s main page.

And now it is MY turn!!   Here in SW Louisiana, teal season has already opened.  Duck and goose seasons will open shortly.  The hunters around here get up before the sun, and sit in their blinds (usually freezing their patooties off) and wait for the sun to rise.  This is my representation of a goose in front of the sunrise.

The base of the block is easy, but tedious.  I used 1 inch squares to make a bargello-ish block.   Took me a WHILE, but they all came from the scrap bin.  Leftovers from strips sets, bits from squaring up quilts, etc.  I sat down and picked out 14 shades.   This was what I had the first time.There was WAY too much pattern.   Soooo, I flipped most of them over!!!!   Yes folks, you ARE allowed to use the backside!  Doesn’t this look MUCH better?

You will need 1.5 inch strips.  I could have used the bargello method-long skinny strips, sewn with strip piecing, etc but I had several pieces that weren’t going to work.   Sooooo, bunches of tiny, 1.5 inch squares!!!

I STRONGLY recommend some sort of labeling system.   I did not, and the cat decided it made a great resting place.   And when she skeddadled, the pieces went everywhere.  Thankfully, I had the above picture to reference!  Darn cat.

This will take concentration.   I recommend a glass of wine, and nobody to interrupt you.  LOL  I used the EQ mockup to keep my rows in order.  You can do one row at a time, or several, or all.   That part is up to you.  Once you have the 12 rows (sorry-forgot the picture) sew them into pairs.

Then put all the rows together and press VERY well!

The take the template plain duck and create your applique.   (Yes, I know it’s a goose.   Not sure why I named it duck)  I used raw edge with a blanket stitch to hold it down.  The pattern is already reversed.

In this picture, I have already added a 2inch border in the darkest blue.

Finish it whichever way you’d like!  I added 3 rows of Flying Geese, and a panel for a Welcome sign.

Next order of business, a GIVEAWAY!!   I hand picked, especially for YOU, 10 Fat 1/8s. 

I visited my local quilt shop, Quilts Bayou, so these are all good, quality quilter’s cottons.   Aren’t these yummy?  I see another wall hanging, or a bag.  Perfect colors for fall!!  To win this bundle, tell me what your favorite fall food is.  That’s it!   No hoops.   I’d LOVE if you’d subscribe to my blog, or visit me on FaceBook, or even Twitter.   I have Flicker too.  And Pinterest!  But the ONLY requirements are that you comment below, AND that I have a way to contact you.   (I have to re-give away a set of mugrugs from 2 weeks ago, because the person who won hasn’t gotten in touch with me.)  A name will be selected no earlier than Friday, October 6, 2012.   For those of you who are NOT quilters/sewers/crafters, I offer you this—if you win, I’ll make a table runner or small wall hanging with these fabrics instead.  Deal??

It would also be awesome if you’d at least check out the 2 other designers this week.  We all worked very hard on our blocks.   Sew Joy creations  and Harding Hill join me this week.  And for the entire list, head to the Glorious Autumn page!

Thank you again for visiting.   I really hope you enjoy my block.

peace and pieces,
amy

The Unbinding tutorial-aka pillowcase method

I love making place mats, table runners, and mug rugs.   Small stuff.  But that small stuff can be a pain to bind.  Enter the “pillowcase” method.  Honestly, I don’t know why it’s called that, but I DO know it works.  I like to call it “The Un Binding.”

This is a set of place mats that I just finished.  The client has a round dinette table and prefers a more streamline look.  (She has a table runner to match for her dining table, but more on that in another post.)  She sent a newspaper pattern.

I traced the pattern onto the back side of the block.  If you’re doing normal squares/rectangles, this step can be skipped.

Cut a piece of binding and a piece of batting the exact size of your top block.   Lay the batting down.   Then the backing goes down, RIGHT SIDE UP.   Last, the top goes RIGHT SIDE DOWN on top of the rest.   This is your quilt sandwich.

Stitch 1/4 inch around the edge.   I sewed on the markings.  If you’re doing normal squares/rectangles, sew 1/4 inch from the edge of the sandwich.  Leave open a 3-4 inch hole on one of the sides, so you can turn it inside out.

If necessary, trim the edges and snip the corners to reduce bulk.  Even on rectangles, sometimes the batting will shift.

Now reach in, between the 2 fabric layers, and pull the sandwich right side out.

Use a knitting needle or other Poker Thingy  (yes, that IS a technical term!   Why do you ask??) and make your corners nice and neat.  Wiggle the seams all around to get them neat as well.  Tuck in the edge on top.   I usually stick a pin in there, just to hold it together nicely.  Then press.  I use a LOT of steam on the corners and edges.  It makes everything lay nice and flat.

Next step is to top stitch.  I set my needle to the right 2 notches, and then I can still use the 1/4 inch marks on my walking foot.  You need the stitching to be about 1/8 an inch from the edge.   This way it catches the open area, without the need for hand sewing!!  It also makes the whole thing looks crisp and clean.

And you are done!  Well, mostly.  You COULD be done.  Place mats and mug rugs are small enough that they don’t need to be quilted.  I LIKE to quilt mine, though. So…….how about straight line quilting in the leaf?

You like even more quiting?   I do too!

Free motion “wind” seems to work really well! 

And that is Pillowcasing!   It can technically be used for any size quilt, although I prefer anything larger than this to be bound with traditional double fold binding.  If there are any questions, please let me know!

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Please don’t forget to come back on September 27th, 2012!   My Autum Splendor block will go LIVE!   I’m so excited.   I’ll have a bio/profile on The Quilting Gallery‘s site, too.   There are LOADS of free block patterns and giveaways going on.   Take a peak at what everyone else has to offer.  I’ll have a goody to hand out as well!!!!