Fabrics Used: Riley Blake + scraps Ok, so I *know* Lola is not Leila, but I’ve been singing the Eric Clapton song pretty much the *entire time* that I’ve been working on this quilt block! In terms of the block, my favorite cuts might be those deep teal flowers which, when cut, actually look like two suns. Love the impact…
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Charity Quilt: The Emperor’s Garden Block 5
It’s a “May Gray” today on the coast, as is normal for this time of year. I love the gray…it’s like this soft blanket that inspires soup and tea. The gray of May inspired this block a bit; I used a low-vol solid as the break between the hourglass center and the brightly colored outside fabrics. I’m pretty happy with…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 36 Geneva
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake Happy Farmer’s Tuesday! Here’s this week’s block, and isn’t she pretty? I’ve been avoiding this pink fabric for so long, and I’m not sure why. It’s part of the fabric line, and provides such a great contrast to the cooler tones. Plus, it’s not a super directional fabric, which makes it ideal to work with as…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 23 Charlotte
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake Happy Farmer’s Tuesday – here’s my OOPS block! I was making this lovely little block at our last MQG meeting, chatting away with some of the sweet women at my table. I was so busy chatting, that I didn’t even notice that I sewed the block together incorrectly! I tried to pick the seams and sew them…
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Fabric Scraps Storage & Scrappy Quilt Block
Let’s talk fabric scraps! If you sew, you have them. I’m excited to join in with a great group today to share our ideas on how to store and use fabric scraps. That means you’ll pick up a ton of great ideas here; after seeing how I store and use my scraps, you’ll see links to their posts at the…
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Tutorial: Sewing Improv Fabric Scrap Charm Blocks
I love my fabric scraps, mostly because they come from such beautiful larger pieces of fabric! I keep fabric scraps in lovely little mason jars in my sewing room, and enjoy the burst of color they add. While most scraps get used for projects (like these adorable sand crabs), there *are* times a jar gets especially full. Not wanting to waste…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 74 Mrs Thomas
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake, unknown scraps Happy Farmer’s Tuesday – and gosh, this block had a ton of tiny pieces! I was brought back to childhood puzzle days when, after cutting the small pieces and setting them on the cutting table, a gentle breeze came through and blew the pieces to the floor. Since each of the pink waves pieces…
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English Paper Piecing History
English paper piecing is one of my favorite ways to sew slow. Whether it’s at the beach, while watching a show, or gathered with friends over a glass of wine, there’s something so lovely about the feel of hand stitching that brings a sense of peace. A true mosaic patchwork of color, these quilts bring a different feel both during…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 61 May
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake + on hand stash Ugh…the dreaded y-seams! I thought we were done with these when we made the Jewel block, but they made a return here. I have to say…while I’m getting better, I’m still far from feeling confident in creating y-seams and am giving myself 50% on this block (as in 50% of them came…
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Charity Quilt: The Emperor’s Garden Block 4
I finished up April’s block in the Emperor’s Garden series, and this might be my favorite one so far! If you remember March’s block, I struggled a bit to work with these lovely fabrics. They’re a larger pattern print, whereas my usual style is to move towards small, cute prints (mermaids, anyone?). This month, I really spent upfront time trying…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 59 Mary
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake + on hand stash Ooh…new favorite block! Mary turned out to be one of my favorite blocks so far. I think it’s the crisp white fabric – I really like how clean it is, and how it highlights the prints against the white background. In making this block, I used up the little bits of random…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 05 Anne
Fabrics Used: Riley Blake + on hand stash Happy Farmer’s Tuesday! This week’s block was such a feminine block to me…it looked like a beautiful flower, so I played up the shape of the flower by using deep pinks for the center and greens surrounding it. Yes, I grant you the greens have waves in them, but this is, after…
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Under the Sea: Farmer’s Wife Block 04 Ann
Block Completed: 3/21/17 Fabrics Used: Riley Blake, unknown scraps Ann was a lovely block to make. I switched modes a tad on this one, and incorporated some soft yellow fabric I had on hand; since both fish – and the hair of both mermaids – was yellow, the pale yellow fabric fit nicely into this piece. As I’ve been cutting into…
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Charity Quilt: The Emperor’s Garden Block 3
Finished up the third block in the charity quilt…that makes it a quarter of the way done. Time flies. This block turned out…ok. As mentioned, the fabric line is one I’m having a challenge working with – and that’s a good thing! It’s different from what I normally work with, which makes this a learning experience. In this months…
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Mini Quilt: For the Birds
It was such a pleasure to make this mini quilt for a friend! Sara (@thekeenbean) painted these adorable bird house paintings that were the inspiration behind the birdhouse quilt pattern. I wanted to make her something special using the pattern, so I created this little mini quilt! She and her husband have three children, so I added three little birds to the…
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