Sunday, May 21, 2023

Introducing Porch Swing by Pat Sloan for Benartex

As a Benartex Brand Ambassador, I'm excited to share my latest project with you using the Porch Swing fabric collection designed by Pat Sloan.  In addition to Fat Quarters, the collection is available in all precut favorites - 10" squares,  2-1/2" strips as well as 5" squares. 


For my project, I opted to use fat quarters.  Don't you just love this color combination?  Purple is my favorite color and the teals really make things pop!  I love the gradation from light to dark and black is the perfect accent color. 


I think the hardest part was deciding what project that I wanted to make.  I know, we all struggle with that somedays.  When I'm designing patterns I tend to work in spurts and design a lot of patterns and then come back to them sometimes weeks, months or even years later with new fabric combinations.  These images live in a file folder on my desktop aptly named "Designs Not Accepted" meaning that haven't been accepted for magazine or book publication.  As I was looking through the images I came across this applique project that caught my eye.  In my design software (EQ8), I did some tweaking and came up with this design. 


My next step was to pull fabrics that would fit in each section of the design. 


Since I really wanted to focus on the fabrics and the quilting with this project, I chose to use raw-edge fusible applique to make the piecing part quick and easy.  I printed the motif and created template shapes to trace onto the fusible web with paper release.  For this project I used Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 from The Warm Company. 


Essentially this project is a whole cloth applique quilt since there is no piecing of the background fabric.  How about that for quick and easy?  I started with a 42" x 42" piece of Benartex Color Weave in Light Gray which compliments perfectly with the Porch Swing collection. 

To get my orientation lines for the applique, I folded the fabric square in quarters and then on the diagonal and pressed all the fold lines.   And yes, real life is happening here - my ironing board cover is looking pretty dingy!  


I then positioned all applique shapes in the appropriate places using my printed motif as a guide. The motif on the left shows how I sort the shapes into a general placement. On the right, you can see what the final placement looks like.  When satisfied with the placement, then I iron them in place.   


Next comes the fun part ... the quilting!  For this project I skipped the step of securing the appliques with a machine blanket stitch or zig zag satin stitch.  Instead I am using the longarm to stitch close to the edge of each shape while quilting.  Talk about quick and easy! 


I'm using a varigated thread in similiar colors to the collection and stitching less than 1/8" from the edge of each shape.  I'm not striving for absolutely perfect stitch placement, rather I'm looking for an organic, natural appearance. 

Next is the background fill ... something that truly makes my heart happy. I stitched a mix of swirls, echos and wavy lines to create a lot of movement all over the piece.  The stitching is less than 1/2" apart so it lies very flat.  To help with the flat look I used Warm 80/20 batting from The Warm Company.  This batting gives perfect stitch definition without being bulky.  


As I quilted around the appliques I adjusted the size of the quilting motifs to fit and balance with the shapes.  To keep a monochromatic look, I used a white thread to quilt the background. 


After the quilting was finished I trimmed the edges of the quilt, I had to make the decision whether to finish it as square or to do something special with the edges.  Well, I rarely miss and opportunity to do something special so I decided to scallop the outer edges to give it a really fun look that contrasts with the harder lines of the applique.  When I got it finished, I knew I had made the right decision. 


I absolutely love all the movement the quilting created and the Porch Swing collection provided just the right amount of contrast to really make the design pop.  I can't wait to see what you make with this collection. 

So if you have been paying attention, I've been referring to this as a "project" not a wall hanging or a table topper.  I'm undecided on how to use it.   Can you help me out?  Leave a comment and let me know if you would use it as a wall hanging or a table topper.  




Monday, February 13, 2023

Chickadee Blog Hop

I'm super excited to be part of the Chickadee Blog Hop.  This fabric line designed by Heide Pridemore of The Whimsical Workshop for Island Batik is so amazing.  I love all the bright, bold colors! 




For the blog hop, I remade my popular Stacked Deck quilt using the precut 10" squares from the Chickadee collection and paired them with a neutral for maximum contrast.  


I love how the colors pop against the drab winter grass.  Of course, Ruby, my Corgi had to get in on the action too and help with the photoshoot.   It was so cold, as you can tell by the frosted grass, on the day I took photos that I was ready to wrap up in the quilt!  



Here's the original version of Stacked Deck, also made with Island Batik fabrics, and I'm not sure which one I like better.  Patterns for Stacked Deck are available using this link.  You will need just 1 package of precut 10" squares and 3-1/2 yards of coordinating yardage for the background.  I can't wait to see the version you make. 




Be sure to check out all the amazing projects that the blog hop designers have made!  Talk about eye candy :)  Below are direct links to each post. 

https://www.sliceofpiquilts.com/2023/02/chickadee.html

https://marginet.weebly.com/chickadee

http://needleinahayesstack.blogspot.com/

https://www.devotedquilter.com/2023/02/split-4-patch-block.html

https://www.studiorquilts.com/?p=1645&preview=true

https://katiemaequilts.com/blog/chickadee

https://www.quilterstreasurechest.com/blog---raijas-bits-and-pieces

https://masterpiecequilting.blogspot.com/2023/02/chickadee-blog-hop.html

https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com/2023/02/chickadee-churn-dash-chickadee-blog-hop.html

https://tamarinis.typepad.com/tamarinis/2023/02/chickadee-the-blog-hop.html

https://heidipridemore.blogspot.com/2023/02/blog-post.html


You can purchase the Chickadee collection at your local quilt shop or favorite online retailer.  

Friday, November 18, 2022

Cue the Confetti! - I'm a Brand Ambassador for Benartex Fabrics

Sometimes it is so hard to keep the news to yourself but I am beyond excited to share that I am part of the 2023 Brand Ambassador team for Benartex Fabrics!  


What does this mean?  

It means I'll be spending 2023 designing and sharing projects with you using Benartex fabrics.  I'll have 4 featured projects that I'll be designing as well as 2 group projects.  You'll be the first to see the fabrics I'm working with when I share my unboxing videos.  

This is the first year for Benartex's Brand Ambassador program and I love being a part of the inaugural year.  I've used Benartex fabrics for a number of my magazine quilts and can't wait to continue to share more projects with you using their fabrics. 

You can meet the Ambassador Team on Benartex's website using this link. It's such an honor to be part of this talented group of international designers. 

Here is the complete list, be sure to give them a follow! 


Carol - Just Let Me Quilt



If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 

Monday, October 24, 2022

Clay's Choice Block ReMix Challenge - The Reveal

It's time for the big REVEAL of my Clay's Choice Block Re-Mix challenge! 

This was a super fun block to re-mix and the possibilities were so many that I had a hard time narrowing down the final version to share with you. 




This is a one block layout and I'm absolutely adoring the way it turned out.  The secondary patterns that emerged in the final layout just blew me away!  Stay tuned for seeing more of this design ..  I'm thinking about bringing it to life as a pattern!  :) 


I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  Each month we independently re-design the same block and it's always fun to see how each designer interprets the challenge. 

On Mondays, the participating designers share about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers. 

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@appliques.quilts.and.more

@patchworkbreeze

@masterpiecequilting

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@blueskycrafter

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@crafttowardsjoy

@megschoicepatterns

@sue_duckcreekquilting

@southwind_quilts

@quiltberryhill_designs

@sjmax105


An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:


#ClaysChoiceblockchallenge

#ClaysChoicequiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Octoberblockchallenge

#Octoberdesignerblockchallenge

#quiltblockremixchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks



I can't wait to see what everyone is sharing this week and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.


If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 


Monday, October 17, 2022

Clay's Choice Block ReMix Challenge - Sneak Peek #2

It's time for Sneak Peek #2 of my Clay's Choice Block.   

I am really like some parts of the version that I came up with last week for Sneak Peek #1.  If you missed it, here is the link.  However those elongated star blades ....  they just weren't doing anything for me so I knew I needed to re-mix them.  

Lately, I've been in a design kick about rectangle blocks.  They aren't any more difficult to make than square blocks and they add a fun design element to the quilt.  So my first step was to resize the block into a rectangle.  I liked the overall look but I knew immediately that those elongated stars were just a bit too much!

My next step was to tame down those star points.  I wanted to keep as much symmetry as possible in the center section, so I made them smaller and really liked that option.  Now there is greater balance between the oversized corner squares and the center of the block. 

I also like to go ahead and do a quilt layout as I'm designing just to see what secondary pattern emerge and this one turned out really cool - but you will have to wait til next week's reveal to see it! 




I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  Each month we independently re-design the same block and it's always fun to see how each designer interprets the challenge. 

On Mondays, the participating designers share about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers. 

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@appliques.quilts.and.more

@patchworkbreeze

@masterpiecequilting

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@blueskycrafter

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@crafttowardsjoy

@megschoicepatterns

@sue_duckcreekquilting

@southwind_quilts

@quiltberryhill_designs

@sjmax105


An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:


#ClaysChoiceblockchallenge

#ClaysChoicequiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Octoberblockchallenge

#Octoberdesignerblockchallenge

#quiltblockremixchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks



I can't wait to see what everyone is sharing this week and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.


If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 



Monday, October 10, 2022

Clay's Choice Block ReMix Challenge - Sneak Peek #1

It's time for Sneak Peek #1 of my Clay's Choice Block.   

I'll be honest, this one was a bit more challenging that some.  Maybe it's because I haven't done the challenge for a few month but it took a bit of thinking and playing to come up with some variations that I liked.  And this is a good thing - because looking outside the box is where all the really cool ideas live :) 

As I thought about the possibilities for this block, I wanted to keep the center star as the focal point so I started playing with it first.  I experimented with elongating the star and found a happy medium between a pudgy diamond and a too skinny diamond with this version.  Don't ask how I'm piecing those wedges, I honestly don't have that part figured out yet!  I'm just playing with design ideas :)   

I also adjusted the proportions of the block.  It's still essentially a nine patch but the corners are larger than the other pieces.  At first I didn't like it but now it's starting to grow on me!  


I truly love the opportunity to play and experiment with different blocks as part of the REMIX challenge.  Each month we independently re-design the same block and it's always fun to see how each designer interprets the challenge. 

On Mondays, the participating designers share about the challenge on their Instagram feeds.  Some of us are adding other social media too.   If you don't already follow me on Instagram, I'm @masterpiecequilting 

Here is the list of Instagram handles of the participating designers.  Each of us are sharing our fabric pulls this week.   

@tamarinis

@katecollerandesigns

@appliques.quilts.and.more

@patchworkbreeze

@masterpiecequilting

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@blueskycrafter

@shout4joyquilter

@deb.quiltblox

@crafttowardsjoy

@megschoicepatterns

@sue_duckcreekquilting

@southwind_quilts

@quiltberryhill_designs

@sjmax105


An easy way to find the posts is using the following hashtags.  Just type them into the search box and the posts will show up. 

Hashtags:


#ClaysChoiceblockchallenge

#ClaysChoicequiltblock

#morethanjustablockchallenge

#designerblockchallenge

#Octoberblockchallenge

#Octoberdesignerblockchallenge

#quiltblockremixchallenge

#quilt

#quilts

#quiltdesigner

#quiltblock

#quiltblocks



I can't wait to see what everyone is sharing this week and I hope that you will take a look too! Be sure to follow each of the designers so you don't miss their posts during this fun challenge.


If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me. 






Wednesday, October 5, 2022

Paisley Strip Star featuring the Paisley Got Mod collection

I am super excited to share this quilt with you.  It's been on quite the journey from original design inspiration to what you see here.   The block design started over a year ago as part of the Block Re-Mix Challenge.  Here's a link to the post from September 2021 that shows how it started. 

I liked the original version so much that I re-imaged it and submitted it to Island Batik to showcase the Paisley Got Mod collection by Kate Colleran of Kate Colleran designs.  And a year later, here is Paisley Strip Star! 




I absolutely love the way it looks and all the secondary patterns that emerge with the fabric placement. This week I'm excited to be part of the design group who is celebrating the Paisley Got Mod collection with Kate.   Each designer is sharing one of their patterns using this stunning collection. 



  

All day today (October 5, 2022) hop over to Instagram and check out the posts from these participating designers. 

@katecollerandesigns

@island_batik

@masterpiecequilting

@tamarinis

@megschoicepatterns

@southwind_quilts

@poorhousequilts

@debbiewendtquilting

@dragonflysquiltingdesignstudio

@coloradocreationsquilting



And if you are loving the Paisley Got Mod fabric collection as much as I do, be sure to head to Kate's blog post for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle.  She is giving away 2 of them and I'd love for you to be the lucky winner! 

Here is the link to her blog post for all the details. 


And yes I do have patterns for Paisley Strip Star available for your shopping pleasure. 





And if you follow me on social media, you already know that Ruby, my Corgi, has given this quilt her "paw of approval"!  :) 


If you would like to see more of my patterns, tips and techniques delivered weekly to your inbox, be sure to sign up for my weekly Masterpiece Quilting Studio News email.  It's free of charge and I promise your email is safe with me.