Fall 2011 Blogger's Quilt Festival - Hometown Charm

Here is my quilt for Amy's Blog Festival.  

It is made from Sweetwater's Hometown line of fabric. 

I got the idea for the pattern from "3 Times a Charm" by Me and My Sister Designs.

The ladies from Sweetwater wanted to involve their followers in their "Hometown" line of fabric.  So they asked everyone to send in the name of their hometown.  Here is their post about that.  They have a darling blog, with an etsy shop.

As usual, you can't go wrong with any of Sweetwater's fabric lines.

I planned on this quilt fitting a queen size bed, but with the extensive quilting, it shrank more than I expected.

quilt stats:
78 inches square
25 blocks, measuring 10 3/4 inch each.  Including a 1 3/4 inch strip around each block of Kona Stone.
1 3/4 inch square scrappy border.
I adjusted the pattern from "3 Times a Charm" to accommodate the size of the print in the fabric.
Bamboo Batting.

Comments are loved.
Thank you Amy!!  Click on picture to link back to the blog festival.

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Sunkissed binding w/ SIMPLI-EZ Bias Ruler

TRICKS/HELPS:
Have you discovered the SIMPLI-EZ Bias RULER by Susan Brown?  You will love it!  I learned about it while browsing through the tutorial videos at Missouri Quilt Star Company.  Here is their "how to" for this product.

It folds in 1/2 for easy storing.  You can adjust it to accommodate the desired width for your binding.   After cutting the strips, I stack 3 or 4 at a time to trim the edges.

TRICKS/HELPS:

My binding preferences are:

Warm and Natural cotton batting:  2 1/4 inches.

50/50 Bamboo, Organic Cotton blend:  2 inches

Bamboo batting isn't as thick as cotton, so you can handle a thinner binding. 

The ruler will give you strips 2 feet long.  Trim the edges as shown, including the flat tip.

Match up 2 strips as shown, and sew along the diagonal with a scant 1/4 inch seam.

Don't worry if they don't match up exactly.  Starch, press and add binding to your quilt.

ADVANTAGES OF BIASED BINDING:
I'm not a big fan of having a ton of tools but this one is a must for me.  A bias binding is no harder to make for me than a straight or cross grain binding.  It takes no more fabric because you don't have to square up your fabric and you can use the trianglar edges for binding as well.

A bias binding gives a little, making it easier to work into your quilt.  If your quilt has curved corners or scallops, you definitely want to use a biased binding.

It adds a diagonal interest to binding edge of your quilt.

A Bias binding will wear longer than straight binding since it has multiple rows to wear through along the edge, definitely a consideration for bed quilts or children's quilts that will get a lot of wear.

I found mine at Joann Fabrics.

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Susan Brown Bias Ruler

Sunkissed Sally

Sunkissed Sally is finally finished! 

I took a class from Carrie Nelson of Miss Rosie Quilt Co, in the spring.  You can read the post about it 

here.  She taught us how to make her pattern "Long Tall Sally".

You can purchase the pattern at the Fat Quarter Shop.

I love this interesting free motion quilting design that keeps the center of the spirals open creating a poochy circle in the middle.  I got the idea from this picture.

Carrie taught us the importance of putting historical information on the label.  You can read more about that HERE.

You just can't go wrong with the Sunkissed line by Sweetwater.

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Sunkissed binding

Lavender Sachets

Here's a fun gift idea I found here.  The lavender is available from this etsy site.  The aroma is wonderful. If you don't over stuff them, 1/2 lb. of lavender will make about 20 sachets.  

Here are the instructions and a few helpful tips:

To make 1 sachet, pick 2 coordinating fabrics, and cut 4.25 inch squares.  (I hope you're not just making 1!)

With a short stitch length (I used 2.0), stitch around all 4 sides, leaving a 2 inch opening on one side.  Back stitch at the beginning and end.

 Clip corners, turn right side out, press.

 Press seam down the unsewn seam for easy finishing.

The top of a water bottle is the perfect size to use as a funnel.  Do not over stuff, it's a sachet, not a bean bag.

Monaco Log Cabin

I love this log cabin design with white as the center, originally found here

Scrappy log cabins are fun and easy to make.  You can fine some instructions in this post.

Adding your sashing fabric as the last row going all the way around simplifies the whole sashing part.  Then you just sew your squares together and your top is finished. 

My favorite part.

I picked a big flower design for free motion quilting.

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Scrappy Log Cabin Tutorial