Jaybird Quilts: October 2015

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

My Newest Block of the Month is Sweet Tooth!

Today is a very special day for me! Today marks 5 years since I launched my first printed patterns. Thank you SO much for all of your support over the last 5 years! I'm also super excited to introduce Sweet Tooth to you today!! Sweet Tooth is my new Block of the Month book! It will be available in January 2016. Sweet Tooth features the Hex N More and Super Sidekick Rulers.

Quilt Details

Fabric is Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman

Pattern - Sweet Tooth, JBQ 159

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 9/4/15

Finished on 10/2/15

Quilt measures - 66" x 88"

I partnered with Robert Kaufman Fabrics to offer a quilt kit that has the exact Kona colors I used. It will be available early next year online and at local quilt shops as a quilt kit OR as a block of the month club. The kit includes all of the fabric to make the Twin size quilt top and binding.

Believe it or not... this entire quilt is machine pieced and has no Y seams!!

Here are my latest posts on each block in Sweet Tooth:

Block 1 - features an image of the Queen size option to make Sweet Tooth!

One last bit of exciting news... I have included a bonus in the Sweet Tooth book for you!! Directions on how to make the quilt in Queen size!

The book is printed in full color, and it includes templates. Check out my video ruler tutorials to help you out along the way.

Here are some process photos from when I made Sweet Tooth.

This was when I made all of the blocks. Lots of chain piecing to get the blocks finished before Quilt Market!

Binding! Can you tell I love Wonder Clips??

We took over 250 photos of Sweet Tooth to get the right shot for the pattern cover. Here are a bunch of the outtakes.

We found this fence and I knew it could be a great way to get a flat shot of the quilt.

The wind, however, had other ideas & we never got the shot we wanted.

Then we found this wall with greenery, but we had no way to secure the quilt & it kept falling down.

Next we went to a local park.

I wanted to try to get a higher angle so I climbed up the ladder and sat at the top of the slide.

Then I was too high, so I started to slide down to try to get a better angle. If it wasn't for the shadows on the bottom left of the quilt I might have used this photo!!

Lawrence took this photo of me at the same time that I was taking the one above!

Eventually I slid down & took this photo of the pieced back. I love how the light makes it look like stained glass!

We tried to turn the quilt around to avoid the harsh shadows, but now you can't really see any of the quilting.

Lawrence always likes to stay close when it is windy so he can catch the quilt if it starts to fall or fly away!

This photo of the back really shows off Angela's quilting. I enjoy picking a fabric for the back that contrasts with most of the front so that the quilting will really pop. I kept my label strip and pieced quilt back pretty simple for this quilt.

Our last location of the day was a friend's front steps. I had a feeling that the big deep steps would be a great place to lay the quilt.

It worked out perfectly! I took a bunch of photos to make sure we had lots to pick from.

I know I shouldn't pick favorites, but this block is the one that started it all!

Sweet Tooth will debut in shops January 2016. Be sure to share your Sweet Tooth blocks on social media using #SweetToothQuilt. I can't wait to see what you make!

Monday, October 19, 2015

Where you can find me at Fall 2015 Quilt Market - Booth 2227

The fall International Quilt Market is coming up in Houston, TX, and once again I'll be hosting a Jaybird Quilts booth! You can find me in Booth 2227 with all things Jaybird Quilts rulers + patterns.

Shop owners and buyers are welcome to stop by to check out my latest designs and product releases. There will be demos of the Jaybird Quilts family of rulers. We'll have my brand new quilts on display and best selling patterns on hand. We'll also share with you how you can add a block of month or mini of the month program to your shop.

October 24-26, 2014

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas

*Trade show only. Not open to the general public.

Show Dates & Hours:

Saturday, October 24 — 9:30AM to 6:00PM

Sunday, October 25 — 9:30AM to 6:00PM

Monday, October 26 — 9:30AM to 4:00PM

Join me at Sample Spree for great deals on select Jaybird Quilts pattern + ruler collections!

Jaybird Quilts

Table 70

October 23, 2014

George R. Brown Convention Center

Houston, Texas

7:00PM to 9:00PM

I'll also be presenting at Schoolhouse!
Shape Up Your Shop with Jaybird Quilts - 3:30-4:00 in Room 371C

Hex N More, Sidekick, Mini Hex N More, & Super Sidekick Rulers!

Would you like to carry Jaybird Quilts patterns + rulers in your shop OR do you have them on offer already? Create your wholesale account, request to have your shop listed on my 'Where to Buy' page or request a Jaybird Quilts trunk show by contacting rachael@jaybirdquilts.com.

----

See you soon in Houston!

Friday, October 16, 2015

Boomerang

Hey! I've got another new quilt pattern to share with you today that I'm super excited about!! Boomerang is made using the Super Sidekick Ruler (click the link to the ruler to see the video tutorial on how to use it) & can be made with Fat Quarters or 1/4 Yard Cuts.

Quilt Details

Fabric is Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman

Pattern - Boomerang, JBQ 154

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 5/28/15

Finished on 6/20/15

Quilt measures - 56" x 72"

I used the fat quarter bundle of my designer palette that I put together for Robert Kaufman.

Here are the colors! I used Storm as my binding & setting fabric.

Ready for some outtakes from our cover photo shoots?

Fun Fact: My quilts generally lay around the house on railings or beds before their photo shoots so that they don't get any folds or wrinkles in them. Boomerang just happened to be hanging around on this day when I started painting my craft room. The combination of the ladder + partially painted room + finished quilt = cracks me up! (I promise the paint was far away from the quilt to avoid any possible nightmares.)

We decided to first take the quilt to our local park. It was pretty windy!

The wind calmed down a bit & we found this tree. I liked this photo, but it was just too gloomy in the background.

You probably can't tell from the first photo... but Lawrence is hiding behind the quilt! The wind kept knocking it down otherwise. He had to balance on that one rock in the bottom right & hold the quilt... all while ducking to not be seen! He is the best!!!

We were headed to Hawaii soon so we decided to take this quilt along and Arcade Game.

This is the spot! I just had to find the right angle + the right rock to stand on to get the cover!

Here is the back. I didn't have enough of the Pistachio green left so I used as much as I had & made it scrappy! Leftover strips in a gradient worked perfectly next to my label in my pieced quilt back.

Here is a detail photo of Angela's quilting. Angela quilted straight lines to frame boomerang within most of the diamonds and the boomerangs of each block. Then she alternated among straight lines, feathers and Figure 8s within the boomerangs of the blocks. The diamonds of each block were embellished with a complimenting geometric design to the design quilted within the boomerang.

The pattern is printed in full color, and it includes templates. Plus there's no Y seams!

It comes in 5 sizes: baby, lap, twin, queen, king.

Boomerang will ship to shops in early November. Be sure to share your Boomerang quilts on social media using #BoomerangQuilt. I can't wait to see what you make!

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

Arcade Game

I'm VERY excited to show you Arcade Game!

With Arcade Game you can make cubes without Y seams!! All you need are some Fat Quarters and a Sidekick Ruler (click the link to the ruler to see the video tutorial on how to use it).

Quilt Details

Fabric is Kona Solids by Robert Kaufman

Pattern - Arcade Game, JBQ 155

Quilted by Angela Walters

Started on 8/25/15

Finished on 9/6/15

Quilt measures - 48" x 65"

I know I shouldn't pick favorites... but right now this is one of my favorite quilts!

I worked with Robert Kaufman to put a FQ bundle together of the Kona Cotton fabrics I used to create Arcade Game.

Here are the colors!

Ready for some outtakes from our cover photo shoot? Lawrence & I took this quilt with us on vacation to Hawaii & ended up taking more than 200 photos!!

We battled the wind for a while.

We went in search of other locations.

The wind was calmer here, but still not just right...

Off to continue the search...

This is the spot! I needed to get closer so I balanced on of of the rocks in the middle of the stream!

Yup this is the spot!! (Check out my tutorial on how to bind quilts with 120-degree angles to finish this quilt.)

Here is the back of the quilt. I used scraps from the front to make my label strip in my pieced quilt back. The black fabric really lets Angela's quilting shine.

This photo really shows off Angela's quilting.

The pattern is printed in full color, and it includes templates. Plus there's no Y seams!

It comes in 4 sizes: baby, lap, twin & king.

Arcade Game will ship to shops in early November. Be sure to share your Arcade Game quilts on social media using #ArcadeGameQuilt. I can't wait to see what you make!