Jaybird Quilts

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Three in a Box

By popular request I have decided to publish my Three in a Box design as a pattern. This design originally appeared in Fons & Porter magazine back in 2010. You can get the PDF quilt pattern here.

One of the requests that came as a result of my Size Options post was Block Size Options. With this pattern I decided to give it a try! If it is received well I'll look at putting that option in more often. The pattern includes complete directions for 4 different size quilts as well as 4 different size blocks.

Quilt #1 Details

{Pattern Cover}

Fabric is Flea Market Fancy by Denyse Schmidt
Pattern - Three in a Box Lap Size
Designed by me
Quilted by Angela Walters
Started on 4/2/12
Finished on 4/27/12
Quilt measures - 83" x 83"

Quilt #2 Details{Original from magazine}Fabric is Make Life by Sweetwater
Pattern - Three in a Box Youth Size
Designed by me
Quilted by me
Started on 11/13/09
Finished on 1/27/10
Quilt measures - 54" x 54"

Quilt #3 Details{Giant 36" one block baby!}Fabric is Heaven & Helsinki by Patty Young
Pattern - Three in a Box Baby Size
Designed by me
Quilted by Angela Walters
Started on 5/2/12
Not finished yet!
Quilt measures - 46" x 46"

Here are the Youth & Lap together so you can see the size difference in the blocks. The youth has 18" blocks and the lap has 12" ones.

I had the Three in a Box quilts with me the same day I took the Ballerina Pattern cover. Once I spread them on the ground Aliyah came over and sat down. She gave me the "This is what you wanted right?" look and I just started cracking up.

She got bored after a few minutes and went to play somewhere.

It was quite entertaining to say the least!!

While I really liked my original sample, I have to say I LOVE the new one. The large 18" blocks really feature the design well. Also I arranged the blocks in a different layout. The pattern includes 3 different setting suggestions. You can really personalize your quilt!!

I need your help to finish the 3rd sample. It doesn't have binding yet.

I have 6 options and would love to know what you would do.

Choice 1 - Blue with star design

Choice 2 - Purple zig zag dot print

Choice 3 - Pink zig zag dot print

Choice 4 - Purple bias cut stripe

Choice 5 - Light colored print with white, blue & green

Choice 6 - Green print

This is the back in case you were wondering. It is the same purple as option #2.

So which one would you use? Let me know!!
--

On a side note

I have not forgotten about the 3 giveaways. I will pick the winners asap. I've just been swamped with sewing, packing patterns & getting ready for market. Thank you for understanding!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

Ballerina

Next up is Ballerina! I adore this pattern. These blocks are BIG. Each one is made from a fat quarter. Having Aliyah on the cover really helps show the scale of the blocks.

Here is the back. It has 4 sizes. All of them use fat quarters! Ballerina uses the 12" Finished Size Creative Grids 60° Triangle Ruler. It is the same ruler I used in Chopsticks & Varsity! It also includes full size templates as another option.

I have made three of this quilt already! It is really fast to put together.

Quilt #1 Details

Fabric is Night Shade by Tula Pink

Pattern - Ballerina

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 4/19/12

Finished on 4/28/12

Quilt measures - 54" x 73"

Quilt #2 Details

Fabric is Little Black Dress by BasicGrey

Pattern - Ballerina

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 4/10/12

Finished on 4/25/12

Quilt measures - 54" x 73"

Here is the Baby one hanging out with Ditto & Teacups! The Baby version will be hanging out in the BasicGrey booth at Quilt Market.

Baby Quilt #3 Details

Fabric is Little Black Dress by BasicGrey

Pattern - Ballerina

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 4/10/12

Finished on 5/5/12

Quilt measures - 36" x 42"

The cover photo shoot.

I have over 150 photos of the Ballerina quilts. Some covers come together fast, while others involve multiple shoots at many locations over a few days. This was one of those quilts. Despite all the work it took I'm really happy with the cover. Here was the journey of getting there...

I started out with the Little Black Dress Ballerina by itself. I LOVE this quilt, but I just wasn't able to get a great cover shot.

We tried adding color by photographing with flowers.

We even went to a national reserve park.

I did want to share this photo since it really shows the quilting Angela did. I know I go on & on about the work Angela does, but I do it because I am constantly impressed and surprised each time I get a quilt back from her.

Shoot day #2 occurred at my brother's house.

I took a bunch of the Night Shade quilt by itself but still wasn't getting the result I wanted. {The quilting is different in this one, but also still amazing.}

I hung them together and started to like the results.

Hanging the quilts wasn't giving me the exact look I wanted, but we did try a while.

When I put them on the grass I knew that was the answer. I took 10 or so photos on the grass but one thing was missing. It was hard from these photos to see the scale of the blocks. These are BIG blocks & I wanted to make sure the cover showed that.

Getting this cover was a team effort! At first Aliyah wasn't sure what do.

Then Brad suggested that we lure her across the quilt with her favorite babydoll. Law would put her down & toss the babydoll to Brad. Brad would hold the doll next to me and convince Aliyah to come get it. Sometimes he even tossed it to her.

This went on over & over again for a while. Her expressions were just priceless.

Near the end Aliyah sat down & gave us the "I'm done" look.

As soon as I saw this photo I knew it was the one. The only change I had to make was that her red skirt was stealing the show. A few clicks in Lightroom & Photoshop was all it took.

Aliyah just turned 2 this past weekend!! She has developed quite a personality & I enjoy spending time with her so much. Despite all the crazy Quilt Market preparations I'm taking a short break this weekend & heading up to LA for her birthday party.
--

This pattern will start shipping on May 21st.

I will have copies of it available next week at Quilt Market during Sample Spree too! Quilt Market Info - If you are attending Spring Quilt Market please visit me in Booth #730. I will also be at Sample Spree & have a schoolhouse featuring my new book "Skip the Borders" on Thursday at 11:35-12:05.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Ditto

Here is ditto! I love the movie ghost & have always wanted to name a quilt ditto. I waited for the right design & when I came up with this one I knew it was the perfect fit!

You can get the PDF quilt pattern here.

It includes 3 size options. The beauty in this pattern is that I figured out how to use the same amount of each fabric for the quilt top. That means less thinking about math for you!!

Quilt Details
Fabric is Wedding by Michael Miller
Pattern - Ditto
Designed by me

Quilted by Angela Walters
Started on 3/13/12
Finished on 4/14/12
Quilt measures - 40" x 50"

This pattern features the Lazy Angle Ruler! I've used this ruler on 6 previous patterns and keep coming up with more ideas on how to use it!

I don't have any outtakes to show you this time. Instead here is a flat shot of the front so you can see more of the design.

Angela did an AMAZING job on the quilting as usual. She quilted a different designs in each of the zig zag sections.

I actually showed a peek at the back of this quilt almost a month ago. Here is a bigger photo of the back. I used scraps from the front and a few other pieces from the fabric collection that I didn't use on the quilt top.

I'm very excited about this one & hope you are too!!

I bound the quilt in a white allover print so that it didn't distract from the quilt design.

Two weeks ago I decided to make another Ditto for Quilt Market. I started playing with Vanessa's new fabric line Simply Color. {It will be shown at Quilt Market and in stores in a few months.}

The Ombre made for a really cool addition to the zig zag sections. It should be back from Angela any day now & then I'll get it bound before market!

This pattern will start shipping on May 21st.

I will have copies of it available next week at Quilt Market during Sample Spree too!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

New Patterns for Quilt Market!

I have four more new patterns just in time for Quilt Market. Today I'm sharing the covers with you. Over the next few days I'll tell you more about each one.

Angela did all of the amazing quilting!!

I have one more cover to share with you! I ran out of Opposites Attract & needed to print more, so I updated the cover and the inside. It has more diagrams, instructions and looks similar to my more recent patterns. Also I added baby size as another option!

All of the patterns are at the printer and will be available at Quilt Market next week. They will also ship to shops & distributors as soon as I return from Quilt Market.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Angela was on the news!

Angela was filmed by her local news-station about modern quilting. It is a great segment about her journey. In the piece she is quilting a quilt... and it happens to be mine!

It is a new Baby size sample of Yummy in Kona Solids. I used the Silent Film Roll Up with Schoolbus Orange. This is the only photo I have of it at the moment. A quick cell phone picture that I took to let Angela know what quilts were headed her way! As soon as I get it back from Angela & get it bound I'll share it with you!!

--
In the next post I'm going to reveal the rest of my new quilt patterns with you!!