Floating Squares Quilt Pattern

Introducing my newest pattern...Floating Squares

71" x 80 

You will need:

4 yards brown fabric
1 ¾ yards orange fabric
1 ¼ yards cream fabric
4 yards backing fabric

Cutting Directions:

All strips are cut WOF (Width of fabric)
14 - 5" strips brown, sub cut 7 strips into 56 - 5" squares
4 - 2 ½" strips brown, sub cut into 56 - 2.5" squares
8 - 3 ½" strips brown for the border
7 - 5" strips cream, sub cut into 56 - 5" squares
7 - 5" strips orange
8 - 1 ½" strips orange for the border
9 - 2 ¼ strips brown for the binding 


Making the 4 patch blocks:
With 7 brown strips and 7 orange strips sew a 5" strip of brown to a 5" strip of orange along the long side.
Press towards the brown.
Sub cut the strips into 5" pieces making each piece 5" x 9 ½".
Repeat with the other 6 strips to make 56 pieces.

Sew the 56 pieces together to make 28 brown and orange 4 patches

Making the Bowtie blocks:

First you need to get your machine ready. Do you have a marked line or a piece of tape along your 1/4" line? Just about everyone I know around here does. What you do is put your needle in the down position and raise your presser foot. Insert a ruler against the needle and lower your presser foot. Line up a line on your ruler perpendicular to a line on your machine table so you know your ruler is straight, ie. the 4" line on the ruler. Then with a fine point sharpie draw a line against the ruler or place a 1/4" piece of tape in the same spot. I didn't have any 1/4" tape when I did this so I used a piece of painters tape that I cut with my rotary cutter to 1/4". And don't worry about the sharpie, you can always remove it with denatured alcohol.

With the 56 cream 5" squares and the 56 brown 2 ½" squares:

Place the brown 2 ½" squares on the top right corner of a cream 5" square. Make sure they edges are even.

Start sewing at the place where the top left corner of the brown square begins. Keep the bottom right part of the brown square even with the tape line on your machine and continue sewing till you reach the bottom right point of the brown square.

Make 56 of these

Trim the brown triangle piece that is closest to the cream point off. In other words the part you will not see. This will keep the integrity of the square in case your points are a little wonky

  

Press the points over and you will have 56 connector squares

 

Sew a connector square to a brown 5" square. Be sure they are sewn together like the picture below. Make 56 sets.

Sew 2 sets into a 4 patch to make the bowtie blocks. Make 28 blocks.

Putting it all together:

Using the diagram below sew 4 rows like this, pressing towards the left

and 4 rows like this, pressing towards the right.

Then sew the rows together

 
Adding the borders:

Sew 2 orange 1 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets of these. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and borders on.

Sew 2 brown 3 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and bottom borders on.

Baste. Quilt and Bind as you would like.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Little Red House

If you are looking for the Nifty Notions Ruler giveaway click here.

I don't know about you but as soon as I made my first Dresden fan point I knew I had to make a Dresden house.

I have been thinking about it all week and today I had some time to make one.

I used 2 - 10" squares or layer cake pieces.

1. Cut 1 - 10" wedge out of the house fabric.

2. Fold the wedge in half along the length and sew a 1/4" seam along the bottom seam.

3. Flip the part you just sewed right side out to make a point. Use something pointy to make sure the point is crisp and press. Use Best Press or Starch .

4. Trim the house to be 6". Measure from the top point 6" and trim the rest off. I used the Nifty Notions 4" x 14" ruler which was perfect for this project.

5. Turn a 1/4" under towards the back to make a smooth edge on both sides and the bottom. Press. I used some Best Press to make the folds crisp.

6. Trace the shape of the house into some double sided fusible web and then cut the shape out 1/4" in from the line. This will make the web a little smaller than the fabric so it doesn't show. (I used Steam-A-Seam). Follow the manufacturers directions to affix the web to the house and then the house to the background.

7. Now either machine or hand applique the house onto the background. There you go...a little red house!

I am going to add some grass, trees and some flowers to finish this off. I used the blanket stitch on my machine to sew on the house and had fun with some other decorative stitches that my machine has.

Remember to enter the giveaway for 2 Nifty Notions rulers! Click here to find out how. 

Tumblers

If you are looking for the Nifty Notions Ruler Giveaway click here.

Have you ever made a tumbler quilt? A tumbler is just another name for a wedge of some kind. The wedge pieces are alternated like pictured below.

Most tumbler patterns use a template, but in my world that's a dirty word. And why would I make more work for myself when I can have tons of these great wedge shapes cut in a matter of minutes.

The tumbler pieces are cut the same way as the other 2 blocks I showed you this week. If you missed the tutorial click here.

You can make these tumbler pieces any size you want. I have to make a few more Valentines mug rugs so I decided to use the tumblers as a frame for some embroidery or applique I plan on doing.

For this mug rug I used 4" tumblers. If you trim a charm square to be 4 x 5 then you can get 2 - 4" tumblers from each charm. I had some leftover charms from a quilt I am working on and used them. Once the tumblers are cut, arrange them in a pleasing manner. Remember to turn every other one upside down or you will end up with a Dresden fan instead of a straight line. 

To sew these together simply put them right sides together with the top points lining up. Sew down the right side diagonal. Then press the seams open.

Continue sewing tumbler pieces until you have enough. I used 7 pieces. Then I trimmed them slightly to even it all up.

Now cut the whole piece in half. I wanted the effect of the tumblers continuing from the top to bottom and visa versa. For the center I used a piece of white cut to 6" x 9". 

Make sure the top part of the tumbler strip is on the top of the center fabric and the other is on the bottom.

Now comes the tricky part...getting the pieces to be even. I was taught to line up the centers when using sashing and this is basically the same thing. Fold the white in half along the 9" part and mark the center. Then fold the 2 tumbler parts and mark them. I find it helpful to make a sharp fold where the center is. Start pinning at the marked center line and go out from there.

Sew the top and bottom on and press towards the center. Then even out the sides using the center piece as a guide. There will be a little overhand on each side.

Now I just have to figure out what to put on the white piece.

So are you sold on this technique yet? I don't know where I would be without these special rulers. I personally will do anything not to have to draw on the back of a square, especially along the bias.

If you are looking for any of these Nifty Notions Cut For The Cure Rulers you can order them directly from Kaye England who is the designer of the rulers or from The Berry Patch (tell them Sharon sent you). 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway to win one of these rulers!

    

Butterscotch and Roses

The first part of the Blog Hop Party Giveaway can be found here and the second part can be found here. Don't miss out on the $50 gift certificate prize from the Fat Quarter Shop and keep reading because the pot might have just been sweetened a little **hint hint**.

Today's Designer Select Fat Quarter Club Kit is Fig Tree's. It's made with the newest Fig Tree & Co line, Butterscotch and Roses. Now I have to be honest, I personally usually go for the bright colors and wasn't sure how I would like these more muted tones, but once I got the fabric I realized how wrong I was.

The color combinations make for such interesting quilts. The dark brown in this piece reminds me of hot cocoa and the texture added to it gives it such depth and interest.

The yellow in this piece reminds me of honeycombs and the green in the kit is wonderful. Those of you who know me well, know that I have a problems with greens sometimes. I can't tell you how many times my friends have had to talk me into using the green with the line, and they are usually right that it ended up looking great. I'm not sure what it is about green and me, and I know my friends don't either. But I really like this green.

So once I can get back to quilting I plan on working on my first Fig Tree & Co project and I found the perfect pattern. It's called Stems Quilt Pattern by Fig Tree and Co. Isn't it beautiful? To me the bigger pictured quilt looks like apples. I might actually make placemats, they would match my dining room perfectly and the apples are very appropriate since my kitchen is done in apples. And yes, I know my 2012 list of things to make is getting long :) 

Wait till you see what's coming next from Fig Tree...I have a mini charm pack of California Girl that I got at Fall Market and from what I can see in the 2 1/2" squares it looks wonderful. The colors are a bit brighter, I especially love the dark blues and yellows. Here's a sneak peak.

I already know what quilt I will be making with it when I get my hands on it, but you will have to wait and see.

Speaking on things to make, my friend Katy who blogs at Monkey Do sent me this adorable pic to show you of some dolls she made with Fig Tree fabric. Are these not the most adorable things you have ever seen? I just hope when I am a grown up sewist that I can make such beautiful things.

Here's a  marvelous quilt that Tammy Blackburn who blogs at Karamat Designs made. It's made with another Fig Tree & Co line called Fresh Cottons out of a Honey Bun. At one of the LQSs here they call this a wrapping paper quilt. I haven't tried one yet, but this is so inspirational that I might have to someday.

And here's a special treat for you... Joanna from Fig Tree & Co is sending me some patterns to giveaway. This will just sweeten the prize package a bit...not only will the winner get a $50 gift certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop, but they will also get the Fig Tree Patterns!

I hope that you have entered already. There's 2 way's to enter:
The first one is here and the second is here.

Thanks to Tammy and Katy for sharing their Fig Tree & Co projects! Please be sure to check out their blogs and tell them Sha sent you :)

Come back tomorrow for Bunny Hills Designer Select FQ Kit.

Ruby Table Runner

If you are looking for the Ruby giveaway please click here.

Today Tracey from The Peony Teacup has an adorable table runner made with Ruby. It uses one of my favorite patterns.

Hi, I'm Tracey from The Peony Teacup and I'm super excited to be blogging with you here on Sha's Craizee Corners! This is my first time guest posting, so be gentle with me ;)

Just like Melissa did on Monday, I will be showcasing a project that I made using Bonnie & Camille's Ruby. How gorgeous is that fabric? I love the aqua/red combination, it's just so happy.. you know?

I'd originally planned a different project with my Ruby fabric, but a girlfriend managed to convince me that she *really needed* my other Ruby charm pack to make some dresden plate cushions, so I had to come up with a new idea.

Fortunately for me, Sha's Bonnie & Camille week coincides with another girlfriend's 30th birthday. What better gift to give than.... a Ruby table runner?!

Do you think my friend will like it? I sure hope so!

I used a "Disappearing 9 Patch" pattern to make the table runner, and will post a tutorial on my blog in case anyone is interested. It only used 27 charm squares (3 x 9 patch blocks), so while I decided to "turn & top stitch" my table runner, you could easily bind it with the remaining charm squares. I used some white/blue dot fabric from my stash to back my table runner, but I also think it would look gorgeous if you used 2x charm packs and made it reversible - perhaps an aqua side and a red side? Or maybe Ruby on one side and Kate Spain's Good Fortune on the other.. (I plan to make a Disappearing 9 Patch Quilt with that combo!)

The problem is that now I've made my table runner, I'm even more in love with Ruby and I wish I hadn't declared a fabric buying ban for the rest of 2011 because I *really* want to make my girlfriends some Ruby mug rugs as a part of their Christmas gifts! Fabric buying bans don't include Christmas presents do they?

Thanks for sticking with me through to the end of the post, and thank you to Sha for having me. :) I really enjoyed making my Ruby table runner (and it was super-fast too!) and being able to share it with you! I'll be showcasing it at my local quilting friendship day later today, and then I'll wrap it up and gift it to my girlfriend at her Mad Hatter's Tea Party on Sunday!

What a great table runner! I say to get some more for your other friends' gifts. You have to get something for them so buying the fabric to make something for them is no different than buying them fabric for a gift.

Don't forget to check out Tracey's blog The Peony Teacup. She just did a tutorial on sashing tumblers that I can not wait to try.