Jaybird Quilts: August 2013

Friday, August 23, 2013

Hashtags 101

A hashtag is a word or a phrase that begins with the # symbol. They are commonly used throughout Social Media to group & search common items.

For example you can use the hashtag #JaybirdQuilts on Instagram whenever you post a photo of a project you are working on from one of my patterns or rulers.

Hashtags can also be used on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Flickr & more!

Each of my patterns will now have its own hashtag printed on the back of the pattern.

For example here is the back of my Seaside pattern. You can see that the hashtag is #SeasideQuilt

Capitalization does not matter with hashtags. #JaybirdQuilts is the same as #jaybirdquilts or #JAYBIRDQUILTS and so on.

Each of my new patterns has a bubble of info containing its hashtag now printed on the back of the pattern. As I go back to print with each of my older patterns I'll add the appropriate hashtag as well. At the bottom of this page you'll find a list of all the hashtags for my patterns.

With Instagram you have to put the hashtag in the caption or a comment on your own photo.

For example: If I write "I love what you did with the #sidekickruler & those fabrics!" on your photo it will not show up in the search of #sidekickruler. The hashtag in my comment will become a link, but it will only show up in the searches if you add it to a comment.

Below you can see the caption I put on this photo. All of the hashtags are blue because they are now links to searches for that hashtag. @annkelle is also blue because it links to her profile.

Here are some screen shots from Instagram on my iPhone of my hashtags. I love seeing what you make & hashtags make it so easy to follow along!

Toes in the Sand has the hashtag #ToesInTheSandQAL because we started the hashtag as a Quilt Along. Feel free to join in at any time or post photos of your finished quilt!

Pattern Name	Hashtag
Opposites Attract	#OppositesAttractQuilt
Dance Floor	#DanceFloorQuilt
Dot Party	#DotPartyQuilt
Unwind	#UnwindQuilt
Firecracker	#FirecrackerQuilt
Hugs & Kisses	#HugsandKissesQuilt
Fast Forward	#FastForwardQuilt
Carnival	#CarnivalQuilt
Plaid Parade	#PlaidParadeQuilt
Off the Rail	#OffTheRailQuilt
Chopsticks	#ChopsticksQuilt
Taffy	#TaffyQuilt
Jawbreaker Pillow	#JawbreakerPillow
Biscuit	#BiscuitPincusion
Come What May	#ComeWhatMayQuilt
Radio Way	#RadioWayQuilt
Varsity	#VarsityQuilt
Yummy	#YummyQuilt
Ditto	#DittoQuilt
Ballerina	#BallerinaQuilt
Three in a Box	#ThreeInABoxQuilt
Teacups	#TeacupsQuilt
Northern Lights	#NorthernLightsQuilt
Wonton	#WontonQuilt
Candy Dish Pillows	#CandyDishPillow
Tasty Table Runner	#TastyQuilt
Traffic	#TrafficQuilt
Lotus	#LotusQuilt
Science Fair	#ScienceFairQuilt
Toes in the Sand	#ToesInTheSandQAL
Snack Time	#SnackTimeQuilt
Tiny Dancer	#TinyDancerQuilt
Giggles Baby Quilt	#GigglesQuilt
Seaside Table Runner	#SeasideQuilt
Rock Candy Table Topper	#RockCandyQuilt
Hex N More	#HexNMore
Sidekick	#SidekickRuler
Skip the Borders	#SkipTheBorders

For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

GE Designs - Giveaway Winner

It's time to announce the winners of the GE Designs Giveaway!

One lucky reader has won a copy of Big Blocks, Big Style and a Fat Quarter pack of Gudrun's newest fabric line, Nordic Visions. The winner is...

Barb!!

Barb please send me your address so we can get your prize sent to you.

Thank you to everyone who entered.

Monday, August 19, 2013

Million Pillowcase Challenge

One pillowcase can bring a smile, can bring comfort, it can bring so much more to one child that we remember sometimes.

4 years ago American Patchwork & Quilting started the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.

Their plan is simple!

1. Make a pillowcase (or more)

2. Donate it to a local charity in your area

3. Add the number of pillowcases you donated to their online counter.

Image from APQ - allpeoplequilt.com

I learned about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge when it started, but it really had an impact on me when my nephew Elijah was in the hospital. It was very difficult for him to be away from all the simple things at home he loved. His clothes, his bed, and his pillows. I made him another quilt & some "fun" shirts where the doctor could access his lines. Then I started thinking about the pillowcase challenge.

I made a Elijah a few new pillowcases and I also made one for the girl in the room next door to him at the hospital.

-- Recently the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge hit the half way point of their goal!

APQ hosted a Pinterest contest & asked people to vote for their favorite pillowcase. This train pillowcase won the contest.

Image from APQ - allpeoplequilt.com

For my pillowcase I decided to make the train a bit shorter & have it all on the band of the pillow. I fused the pieces in place and then appliqued them in place with a small zig zag. After that I folded the band in half to enclose all of the stitching inside the band.

Then I used the "Roll it up" technique to make the rest of the pillowcase. I decided to use a train print from Ann Kelle's Ready, Set, Go! collection for Robert Kaufman.

Fabrics:
Ready, Set, Go! by Ann Kelle for Robert Kaufman Pure Organic Solids by Robert Kaufman
I'll be donating my pillow to a local charity in hopes that it can bring a smile to another child in treatment.

--
There are over 35 free pillow patterns available from 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. Find a shop or group that is sewing them in your area and join a great cause!

Image from APQ - allpeoplequilt.com

Elijah Update

Thank you for all of your support for Elijah over the last few years. Elijah was Diagnosed with Pre-B ALL (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia) on Dec 1st 2010.

Elijah is doing well with treatment and will be starting 1st grade this fall. He recently participated in Course of the Force to help raise awareness & funds for Make-A-Wish. He has under 200 days of Chemo left in his 3+ years course of treatment.

Aliyah, Brad & Elijah at 2013 Course of the Force.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

GE Designs - 10 year anniversary party

disclosure: this is a sponsored giveaway by Gudrun of GE Designs

My good friend Gudrun Erla of GE Designs is celebrating 10 years of designing quilts, fabric & more! She is having 10 days of giveaways to celebrate this great accomplishment.

One of my favorite books by Gudrun is Big Blocks, Big Style.

Gudrun is also a fan of 60° Triangles like I am. You could use the Hex N More or the Sidekick to make some of the quilts in her book. For projects that require a larger 60° Triangle I suggest the Creative Grids 12" Finished 60° Triangle Ruler.

Here are a few quilts from Big Blocks, Big Style.

This first quilt is Easy Hex. Gudrun taught this as a class when we in Portland together back in March. Some of her students had been in my Hex N More class the day before & figured out a way to use the Hex N More for this quilt!

Another great hexagon project is Easy Hex Split.

And of course I love Kite Runner since it features Prince Charming by Tula Pink!

Gudrun's newest fabric line, Nordic Visions.

Ready for the giveaway??

One lucky reader will win a copy of Big Blocks, Big Style and a Fat Quarter pack of Gudrun's newest fabric line, Nordic Visions.

The Rules

1. Leave ONE comment to enter. Make sure your contact info is in your profile or that you leave it in the comment.

2. In your comment tell us what you will make with the fabric if you win.

Example Comment:

I would use the Nordic Visions fabric to make Easy Hex from the book.

3. Comment entries must be left on this blog, www.jaybirdquilts.com, to be valid. Comments sent via E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media will not be counted.

4. Simple as that!!

~~You have till 9PM PST on Friday the 16th to enter.~~

Giveaway now closed. Winner announced soon.

Winner will be selected by

True Random Number Generator.

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Rock Candy Table Topper

The 3rd new pattern that features the Sidekick Ruler is Rock Candy.

The Rock Candy Table Topper features two shapes, diamonds and triangles. It is a fast & fun project with no Y seams!

Table Topper Details

Fabric is Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman

Pattern - Rock Candy, JBQ 135

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 7/1/13

Finished on 7/15/13

Table Topper measures - 20 1/2" x 23"

Here is the back of the pattern cover. Each pattern has its own hashtag! #RockCandyQuilt

I filmed a couple of videos on Rock Candy as a part of the Journey 2 Nebula. You can sign up for the Journey self paced as well as watch the videos on YouTube.

The pattern uses my new Sidekick Ruler. It also includes the option of full size templates just like my other patterns.

Rock Candy is made from a Charm Pack. I used the Sunset Kona Solids charm pack by Robert Kaufman.

I also decided to make a Rock Candy from print fabrics. This fabric is Collage by Carrie of Such Designs.

I just finished binding it yesterday. Check out my tutorial on how to bind quilts with 120-degree angles to finish this table topper.

Table Topper Details

Fabric is Collage by Carrie of Such Designs

Pattern - Rock Candy, JBQ 135

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 7/22/13

Finished on 8/7/13

Table Topper measures - 20 1/2" x 23"

-- Cover photo shoot outtakes!

I photographed the Table Toppers on my sewing table for the pattern cover.

I couldn't use my dining room table because the black blended in with dark wood.

Detail photo of the pastel Rock Candy.

A few days ago I started making another Rock Candy table topper. I used the same Sunset Kona Solids charm pack by Robert Kaufman & used white as my background fabric.

I love how different the white & black Rock Candy table toppers look even though they have the same feature fabrics!

This pattern & all of the new patterns are available now!

UPDATE 3/2/15: If you need some assistance aligning the diamond pieces to assemble your Rock Candy table topper, check out my tutorial on how to do that here.