Sunday, August 30, 2009

PLUME!

tula pink is a genius.
seriously.

back in july she showed the world this sneak peek.
of PLUME



and then in mid-august she blogged a 6 step on how to draw a feather

here is pic #1 one.
go check out her blog to see more.


AND


because she just gave a HUGE PEEK at PLUME


and you have to go see it.

don't walk

run

now!!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

reason #1 to love eq - color options

sometimes it is hard for people to look at a pattern and picture it in other fabric...

and that can stop them from making it...


but it shouldn't!

and eq helps to show people a visual in other fabrics..
and it is super easy..
especially b/c companies like moda give you swatches that are easily used in eq

so now that you see more options.. go make one!


and kits over @ elkhorn quilt co.

Friday, August 28, 2009

i've been upgraded!

to eq6 that is!


thanks to my brother...
it was a "nice job painting" gift.

and a perfect one at that.
i've been playing with it all night.. but now my pillow is calling!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

wip i missed wednesday

so i missed wip wednesday
because to get home from LA...
we went LAX->PHX-> MDW -> PHL
with 7+ unplanned hrs in Chicago...
but i saw a friend i hadn't seen in a while...
so little sleep... but good times.




hexagons on a plane...
much better
than
snakes on a plane.

but that is all i will reveal for now.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

lots of giveaways going on! {ended}


Calamity Jane's Cottage is having one..

moda home mom is too..

also vanessa of v & co is by way of the benner daily

and so is

heather over @ anka's treasures

so go check them all out... good stuff!!



{i'll tell you all about my trip once i get some sleep!}

Sunday, August 23, 2009

the candy box!

...another moda bake shop project!
this is my first quilt on the bake shop and i hope you like it...


the candy box finishes at 50"x60" and is a perfect youth quilt

a special thank you goes out to allison, ivonne & peggy for helping me name it!
and for taking my "sample" class and working all the kinks in the pattern out!
your support means the world to me :-)

i made mine out of hushabye... because you all know i love tula pink!

you can get a kit in hushabye from Elkhorn Quilt Company... Debbie is a sweetheart that i met at the long beach quilt festival... stop by and say hi...


for quilting i did a loopy design and used brown thread on the top & bottom...


i also made a scrappy binding for the quilt... while it takes a bit longer it is a nice way to use scraps and looks great!



also this pattern is kinda like a 2 in 1..

the outside pieces create secondary pinwheels... by changing fabric placement you can make them the focus...

here is a sample made out of Simple Abundance...

so far i have 9 blocks cut and on my design wall.

i'm not sure if i'm going to stop here and make a table topper or keep going and make a large quilt...

leave me a comment and let me know what you think I should do!

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

wip week!


not what you were thinking you'd see.
i know.

but i'm on my way back to la
paintbrush in hand.


so wip wednesady.. is wip week..
5 rooms
1 hallway
5 pieces of furniture to build
3 quilts to hang
countess art to hang
storage to build.
and so on.

all because i love my brother, his wife, and my nephew.
a lot.
{holiday 2008.. my favorite pic of them!}



i'll share as many before and after pictures as my brother will allow!
{he didn't seem to mind them here.. so we'll see!!}


be back in a week!
but don't worry.. there will be posts..
including a new MBS one next monday.. so be ready!

Monday, August 17, 2009

mitered multiple borders tutorial - {quilting basics tutorial series}

for years i was afraid of mitered corners.
who knows why.
but i was way to afraid to try.

now that i have.
i'm kicking myself.
because i have lots of quilts that would look better if i had done it!

so i want you to try
and not be afraid like i was.


Mitered Multiple Borders Tutorial
(the multiple part actually helps.)

This is a quilt I made. The multiple refers to the small inner border and large outer border. I'm going to show you how to do both at once! Pay special attention to pressing as it is the key to how this works!


Start by figuring out your dimensions.

The top/bottom strip lengths each be calculated from this formula
Quilt width before borders + ( 2 x (border total width + 1") )

The strip lengths for the sides will each be calculated from this formula
Quilt height before borders + ( 2 x (border total width + 1") )

See this picture
Fyi they can be larger like my top/bottom ones are


Cut all 8 strips and sew them into 4 sets of two.
Press the top/bottom sets towards inner border and right/left sets towards outer border.


Start with right and left pieces.
Pin the borders to the sides and mark in at 1/4" from the end on all four corners.



Sew side borders onto the quilt starting and stopping at marks. Backstitch at the beginning and end of each of these seams.



Iron both of these borders out toward the border and away from the quilt top. It should look like this.


Next pin the extra fabric out of the way so it does not get caught when you sew the top and bottom pieces onto the quilt.


Repeat the process with top and bottom pieces and you should have this result. Press the top and bottom borders in towards the quilt.


Now here is the beauty of this process! Because you pressed the seams in opposite directions they will nest together. Two seams will nest together, the border to quilt seam and the border to border seam.


Work on one corner at a time. Fold your quilt onto itself at the corner. Nest the seams together as in previous picture and put in lots of pins.


Use a ruler to mark your stitching line. The top should line up with the fold and the 45 degree angle with the line of stitching from attaching the border to the quilt. If you can't get these both to line up take out your pins and adjust where your fold is until you can. Draw a line once it is lined up right.


This is what the result should look like.


Start sewing exactly where the stitching ends from attaching the borders to the quilt and sew slowly down the line to the outside corner of the quilt.


Open and check your seam. If it looks like this you are good to go. Iron, trim excess border and you are done!
If your seam doesn't look right take the stitches out and try again. This is why I suggest not cutting the excess border strips until after this step. As a result you'll have your fabric still there just in case.


See how easy that was!!
Things get a bit more complicated when you are trying to line up an element such as a large flower but the overall techniques are the same!


This can also work if you are doing 3+ borders as well as for mitered corners in blocks.

--

Want to link to this tutorial?
grab a button!

{144 x 144}

{250x250}



amy @ park city girl does it a different way that is worth reading as well.
enjoy!!
and show me pics if you try!


*note*
This quilt pattern is from Nancy Halvorson's book Cider Mill Road


© 2009-2022 Julie R. Herman. All rights reserved.
No part of this tutorial may be reproduced without written consent of Jaybird Quilts. 

Friday, August 14, 2009

flower table runner

i talked with the ladies of sweetwater and turned their new free pattern into an mbs tutorial..


and guess what... those same lovely ladies are having a contest!

We know you have some type of fabric in your stash that would be perfect for this pattern. To enter the contest, make the table runner in your choice of fabric, photograph it and send us the picture (e-mail to info@sweetwaterscrapbook.com). We think it would be lots of fun to see what it would look like in different colors and patterns. If you show it on your blog, give us your web address and we will link from our site.

You have until the end of August to enter. My mom told me this pattern was so easy, even I could make it. That may be stretching it a bit, but she whipped it out in just a couple of hours. If you are a beginner, this would be perfect for you.



One random winner will receive one of our authentic Jelly Rolls. We can't wait to see what you come up with! Remember, you have until August 31 to enter.


so go visit their blog and enter!

and once you make one upload it to the moda bake shop flickr group so i can see it!
I think this runner works as a perfect display for jelly rolls!
like... Mill House Inn by Fig Tree Quilts
and Authentic by Sweetwater of course..
and it would not be complete without Rouenneries by French General...

yes i tease... sorry!!

candy land.

have you ever been to candy land?

it does exist!!


i was so overwhelmed on my first trip.
it was candy overload!!

there is an entire isle of moda marbles

and what feels like endless isles of flat folds
there are cotton/poly mixes for $2 a yard .. flannels.. knits... there is a lot for under $2 too!
digging is a part of the fun.. you can't tell what things are from the ends so there is lots of pulling and digging!!
the flat folds are the back half.. this is the front.
isles and isles of fabric.. new current stuff...
see... they even have the wide bolts, wovens, and pre-quilted...
this is the checkout.. and more piles you can dig through...
i told you.. it is like it never ends...

i usually avoid putting pictures of me on here.. cause well you are here for the quilts.. and pics of me.. well.. but i decided to give in.. just to prove that its me in the top one.. circa early 2007...


so where is this place? in LA... we learned about "M&L" in a local joanns... from a local quilter.. i asked where was a good place to get fabric and she sent me here.. with a warning ..

it is not a quilt shop.
they will not cut fat quarters.
there are limited notions and barely any patterns.
they don't know about quilting and can't help you.
the staff isn't very nice
there is no website, or newsletter
she said to lower your expectations on everything but the fabric.
i almost didn't go!!

she was right.. it is not a quilt shop.. but its fabric heaven!
as for the staff... they were not so bad on my last visit... but back in 2007... well.. ya know.


so candy land. seriously.
if you are in the LA area.
you have to go.

M&L Fabrics
3430 W Ball Rd
Anaheim, CA 92804-3709

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

wip wednesday... a bit late

as you can imagine things are a bit busy over here...
between work..the blog.. mbs tutorials.. wips..
there is a lot going on!

on top of it i am working on 3 samples for the shop..
they will be kits for the booth at
Pennsylvania National Quilt Extravaganza XVI...
they have to be done.. quilted.. and at the shop by sept 5th!!

first is a kindergarten quilt...
simple and easy... made from a variety of kids/30s prints

the top is done.. i just need to piece the back and quilt it...


next is..
picnic made with a custom charm pack containing five fig tree lines..


cute but not fast... i have one block done for inspiration.. all my 1/2 sq triangles are sewn and half are pressed and trimmed...

the stack of yummyness waiting to be worked on...


and last is metro...
super sleek...
but this pattern suffers from over information...
there are cutting directions for every type of fabric.. and by block or by fabric.. its just pages and pages of information... once you sort out what you need it isn't that bad..


i've got 8 large blocks done and 10 to go..
and all 10 small blocks done..
they aren't that complicated... just time consuming with 17 pieces in the large blocks...
here is what it'll look like...
so i have a lot to do!!
and i didn't work on any of it today...

--
so what have i been working on?

a little bit of this..
and a little bit of that... something will be baking soon over at the moda bake shop!