Berry Crush Blog Hop starts today!

 Hey quilters...we're going to start the week off with an exciting Blog Hop featuring Jennifer Schifano Thomas new signature collection "Berry Crush" with Island Batik Lumin Fabrics by Jerry Khiev. This fabric collection is stunning...vibrant colors and prints to inspire your next quilting project. Hop on over to @curlicuecreations.com for all the exciting details and don't forget to enter for your chance to win a fat quarter bundle! The talented Jennifer starts today so view her new designs featuring this stunning collection on her site. I'll be sharing the events all week long with the designers blog information as well. You can view all the "designers" participating on her website. Come join the fun...my day is Friday :-)

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Berry Crush Blog Hop...

Cats Tip of the Day!..."Just roll w/it" :-)

 Hey quilters....hope your week is going well. I'm enjoying the "coolish" mornings here in Florida. I'm anxiously awaiting the fall weather. I watch the National news every morning and will admit I tend to get a bit jealous seeing states that actually have fall. I love the leaves turning on the trees and just the smell of the cool freshness in the air. The fall festivities....pumpkin patches everywhere and pumpkin spice everything. I'm one of those crazy people that make pumpkin bread all year. I like to say..."it's a bit healthier." :-) Well a lot of y'all are probably on to fall quilting but I wanted to share a tip that has saved me while quilting on a domestic machine. While I was quilting the ABC Childrens Learning quilt, wall deco that I recently shared, I tried this tip. Instead of rolling up your quilt the traditional way "straight roll" for the bulk...I did a angle fold then continued rolling the bulk of the quilt away from me. It was a game changer for me. I had less bulk which made it easier to quilt...less stress under the needle and I could handle the roll to maneuver as I was quilting. It almost became a "steering wheel." I will mention that "needle down" while repositioning is the key. It's amazing how that one trick of "needle down" helps to secure your quilt for no skipped stitches. The pics below show how I used this trick while quilting on my Brother sewing machine. I hope this tip helps make your quilting adventure a bit easier. I thank y'all so much for following and check back soon for more tips and exciting projects. In the meantime pop on over to Instagram & Facebook and see the exciting projects the Lumin fabric Ambassadors are creating. Talk soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Wild about ABC's...Children's Learning Quilt...Phase 4 Quilting w/ 4-N-1 Mini Ruler

 Hey quilter's...hope y'all are having a great week and the weather is kind in your area. We've been having heavy rain showers off and on in Florida but I'll take that over a Hurricane. When it's raining I just want to make a cup of coffee and hang out with my favorite fabric and thread. I've been a-pla-queing with my Lumin Batiks and Aurifil thread on my next project that I'll be sharing soon. I love it when my thread compliments the fabrics perfectly. I'm not a fancy quilter. So if I'm quilting an area that there could be a chance of a "oopsie"...I then quilt with a neutral thread. When I a-play-que I love to enhance the design with an accent thread and play with my decorative stitches on machine. It's amazing of how you can create a different stitch just my changing up the stitch width and length. I want to share with you a quilting ruler that I'm in love with and use for marking straight and curved lines. The 4-N-1 Mini ruler by Piece N Quilt by Natalia Bonner had been a delight to use. I quilt on a domestic machine (Brother) and depending on the design I will mark the curved lines with a erasable marking tool before quilting. I will also mark accent lines if needed using this ruler too. It's a wonderful tool to have and she also has tutorials to watch to inspire your quilting skills. She is amazing and her quilting skills are so inspiring. I used this ruler to mark all the curved lines within the square-in-a-square block. I used Aurifil # 3910 and it was a perfect match with my neutral Batik background fabric. In this phase you will be quilting the wall hanging then you'll be ready to do your border and finishing. I will suggest to rotary cut your backing fabric and quilt batting a bit larger then trim after. Dependng on how your quilting the fabric might shrink up a bit. I also like to start at the top and smooth and quilt as I go. I alway's say...you do what works best for you. I'm so thankful for y'all following a long on this journey with me. I have more fun...fast-n-fab Children's Learning Quilts coming soon. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Here's all you do...

* Rotary cut your backing fabric and batting ( see tip of how I cut mine a bit larger then trim after quilting)

Tip...I rotary cut Teardrops yellow lemon batik and batting to 16 x 48...then trimmed after quilting before adding binding.

* Layer backing right side down...batting...then quilt top right side up.

* Pin or clip as desired.

* Mark your quilting lines as desired or just use your quilting foot on your machine as a guide.

* Smooth and remove pins/clips as you go.

* Once you have finished quilting...press quilt and trim away extra backing and batting...leaving a 1/4" allowance on all sides for adding your binding.

Note...I do a border/binding as I'm sure you've noticed on my previous designs but you do what works best for you. If you do my rotary cut your strips width 1 1/2 by your top/bottom...sew with right sides together...press...then add your strips to left/right side and sew using the same methode. I then press and fold back the strip leaving a 1" border on the front...fold raw edge in the back to secure and top stitch on front per my design (see original post with pic). Again,,,finish your quilt as desired and what works well for you. 

I hope you enjoyed creating a quilt that will make a great learning quilt to pass down for generations!

Talk soon,

Cat

 

Wild about ABC's...Children's Learning Quilt..Phase 3

 Hey quilters...happy Monday or Sewday! I prefer to call everyday "sewday." Just makes me have less stress. I always tell neighbors that if I don't answer the door just come around back and knock on my sewing room window. I love to grab a cup of coffee and sew until my hearts content. Yes every now and then I do take a break to cook up some food for my hubby. :-) Seriously y'all...sewing is very therapeutic for me and I love hearing others share the same stroy too. Life is stressful and if I can just veg out in my sewing room...even for a few minutes just helps me collect my thoughts and continue lifes precious moments. As I say that my daughter and I was laughing this morning about your bobbin running out. Yup...that part of sewing I will never get used too. Well...here's one better...I started sewing this weekend with my foot atachment on backwards. For me that's the ultimate in all my sewing years. Good news is that if I ever decide to sew on the back side of my sewing table I would be good. Lord!!! All was good...put the quilting foot on "properly" and no fabric was harmed due to my stupidity! Well...today's phase you'll be piecing your squares together. No stress...might look a bit complicated due to those seams that you are probably noticing by now :-) Remember that tip I shared at the beginning about using your "backing" as a design board? Well..here's one good reason why....I like to place my project by my side when piecing squares together. I will pull up my ironing board and adjust to the level of my sewing table. This helps me to keep my squares in order plus I can also press my seams as I go for better stitching. You can pin your seams together as you are sewing your squares if that's easier for you. I usually clip mine then remove the clip once I have it secured under my needle. I start at the upper part of each row...sew my squares with right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance...finger pressing as I go then once I have a row completed I then press with iron. The square in a square block is super fun but it does have points/seams to match so take your time and remember to "quilting police" on my blog :-) I then sew a few rows togehter then join rows together....this works for me to have less bulk. I know it's not the traditional way to join blocks so you do what works best. Just keep in mind to always check that you are sewing with the "alphabet" in order within your squares. Another great reason for that "portable" batting design wall :-) So enjoy this process...it's all coming together and you only have one more Phase to go! I thank y'all so much for following and talk soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Wild about ABC's...Children's Learning Quilt...

Wild about ABC's....Phase 2...Lets a-play-que!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all are having a great start to your weekend. I'm multi-tasking today. Sewing....sewing and sewing :-) Phase 2 is one of my favorite parts to a design. I love to a-play-que w/ Aurifil thread. Aurifil has so many thread hues to coordinate wtih your fabrics. I'm loving the Teardrops yellow lemon by Lumin fabrics from the Sunset Collection. The fabric is beautiful and Aurifil # 3910 is a verigated thread and it coordinates perfectly. I used this thread for the a-play-queing around the letters and pieicing/quilting. It actually is one of my "go to" hues when quilting. Today we're making and a-play-queing the letters for "Wild about Learning" I make my letters by hand. It's a bit old school but very therapeutic for me. Yes...a die cutter would be wonderful if you have one....lucky you! :-) But if you don't like me they are super easy to make. Just grab a cup of coffee and it goes quickly! I've listed the supplies needed below and you can see that I'm a huge fan of HeatnBond lite. I use this product on a lot of projects but you do what product you prefer for securing your letters. Here's a tip when you get to the stage of a-play-queing your letters on your machine. I use a small stitch length which makes pivoting easy plus I don't pull up my presser foot lever all the way. I gently raise the presser foot level just enough to pivot my fabric then continue sewing. This puts less stress on your lever.Plus it's a time saver as well. Another tip is reverse your letters on the paper side of the fusible web when tracing. I also use a very small pair of sharp scissors when cutting around the letters. I thank y'all so much for following and I hope you're enjoying creating a gift that will be passed down for generations. Talk soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat 

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Wild about ABC's....

Here's all you need...

* Teardrops yellow lemon from "Sunset Collection" by Lumin Fabrics

* HeatnBond Lite (double sided fusible adhesive)

* Aurifil 50# thread (3910)

* Small sharp scissors

* 2 1/4" letters for tracing 

Here's all you do...

* Rotary cut a 3" strips by width of fabric (more if needed) of Teardrops fabric.

* Rotary cut strips 2 3/4 wide of Heatnbond Lite and adhere to wrong side of fabric following manufacturer's directions.

Note...You will make a few cuttings of Heatnbond lite due to the width it usually comes in.

* On Paper side of HeatnBond Lite trace around letters (remember to reverse) and carefully cut out.

* Once you have your letters cut out position within the squares per design and fuse following manufacturer's directions.

Tip....a pressing sheet is wonderful to protect your iron...trust me :-)

* A-play-que around each letter as desired.

Have fun and talk soon for Phase 3.

Cat

"Wild about ABC's"... Phase 1

 Hey quilter's...hope your week is going great. I always feel that "Wednesday" is the day that I reflect on how my week is going. I always set goals to reach for the week and needless to say this week...I wish it was Monday. Ha! But that's o.k....the old phrase of burning the midnight oil comes to mind :-) Sometimes I do put too much stress on myself to stay on target but then I think "Lord I'd be a hot mess if I didn't." Well today starts Phase 1 of the "Wild about ABC's" Children's learning quilt...wall hanging. I'm very excited about this new design series that I'll be sharing with y'all. I designed the quilt in EQ8 "the electric quilt company" which gives me the opportunity to play with the fabrics plus accuracy. I love this design software...super easy to navigate through and it has endless block selections to inspire your creativity. This software come in handy especially for this design using one block "square-in-a square." I realized that my design is super easy and scrap friendly as well. The square-in-a-square has 'flippy corners"  which is great for those tiny scrap pieces that we all wonder what in the world to use for...right? I obviously would love for you to use this stunning collection "Sunset Studio" by Lumin fabrics due to the fabric hues. I fell in love with all the prints and hues and that is how the name came about as well. The wall hanging is 15 1/4 x 47 including the 1" border. The letters were created from a simple card stock package but if you are blessed to have a die cutter that would save you time. I will say cutting the letters with a morning cup of coffee is very therapeutic. The first tip that I would encourage is to take advantage of a closet door or entry door into your sewing room. This design incorporates many corners that come together for each block which is great for playing with your fabrics but can be tricky too. I found it to be easier to cut my batting larger than needed and use it as my "design wall" on my closet door. As I was piecing my squares together it gave me the opportunity to change any squares needed if the fabrics were similiar together. Although I used the Sunset Studio collection, I still wanted to achieve a scrappy flair with this design. Not all of us have a "design wall" so I hope this tip helps. I'll be sharing the instructions in phases but I totally encourage you to get creative with your fabrics and have fun. Below is a pic of the original design in EQ8 and then a pic of my progress as it was hung on my closet door. The post yesterday is also a finished pic for you to reflect on along the way as well. So todays phase is a easy one. Organize your fabrics....remember the scrappier the better...position your design wall in your area and have fun. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Wild about ABC's...

Here's all you need...

* Sunset Studio collection from Lumin fabrics ( will be stating cuts a long the way)

* 3/4 yard of Teardrops (yellow lemon) for Letters...borders...backing

* 1/4 yard each from fabric collection (precuts are great too)

Burst Multi Orange...Burst Mult Pink...Squiggle Red Paprika...Squiggle Pink Geranium...Macaroni Purple

* Neutral background for letter squares (Almond) 

* Coordinating Aurifil thread ( I used Aurifil 50# verigated #3910..blened perfectly!)

* Cardstock letters 2 1/2 " or your preferred method.

* Double sided fusible adhesive for the letters

* Small Scissors for cutting around letters

* Batting

* Basic sewing tools

Here's all you do...

* From background fabric ( 1 1/2 yrd Almond by Lumin)...rotary cut 26 ( 5 x 5 ) squares for your letter squares.

* From purple accent fabric rotary cut 4 ( 5 x 5 " squares for the accent corners.

* Lay squares per design on your accent wall or batting. ( 10 rows of 3 blocks each)

* Pin each square to secure.

* From printed fabrics...rotary cut strips 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 then subcut into 2 3/4 x 2 3/4 squares for your "flippy corners"

Tip...I cut a few squares of each accent fabrics then placed within the individual blocks before sewing to play with the color hues if needed.

* For each squre-in-a-square block...

* Place a 2 3/4" square at each opposite corner of the 5" square.(scrappier the better)

Note...Upper left...then bottom right

* Draw a diagonal line on the square and sew directly on that line.

* Cut a 1/4 seam away from sewing line and press seams out.

* Now repeat same method with Upper right then bottom left :-)

* Repeat for all squares.

* Each square will be 5" square for a finished 4 1/2" square once pieced together.

Tip....as you finish your squares...step back or take a picture to see if you want to reposition any of your squares. But don't get as O.C.D as I did....remember to have fun!

Check back soon for Phase 2,

Cat

Sneak Peek! "Wild about ABC's"..Children's Learning Quilt!

 Hey quilters...happy Tuesday! I'm thrilled to share this new adventure with y'all. I've been designing Children's Learning quilts for a while and was waiting to incorporate just the right fabric line. Well I'm thrilled to say Lumin Fabric aka Island Batiks recently shared with me this stunning collection "Sunset Studio." This fabric line is stunning and perfect for the "Wild About ABC's" Children's Learning quilt. This is the 'first" of many designs to come. I'm super excited about this journey in hopes to inspire others to create a learning quilt for a child and to pass down for many generations. We all love to create that perfect gift and to hear those words "I love it...will cherish it forever!" Well...I seriously believe that creating a quilt for a child to learn and snuggle with is the ultimat gift. I also believe the fabric makes any simple design stunning. As you can see the "Wild about ABC's" is designed with one simple block...square in a square! Yes...can you believe it? I wanted to create quilts with the simplicity of the design in mind. This learning quilt is a wall hanging which is fun for children's room decor. What child wouldn't love to learn and sing their ABC's in a fun fashion. I'll be sharing many designs soon with y'all most are "snuggle quilts" with simplistic designs for a great gift too. All designs are geared toward the beginner quilter with advanced techniques a long the way. I used Aurifil thread to a-play-que the letters on my Brother sewing machine. I also used the 4-N-1 ruler by Piece n Quilt on my brother machine for the curved accent quilting. The fun starts tomorrow!You can view the "Sunset Studio" collection at Lumin fabrics website for more inspiration. I thank y'all so much for following this fun journey with me. 

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Follow me on Instagram...Facebook & Pinterest (links upper right on home page)

Wild about ABC's...Children's Learning Quilt Wall hanging...

Sunset Studio collection by Lumin Fabrics...