America...Sew Beautiful "Sweet Land of Liberty" Phase 4

 Hey quilter's...hope your day is off to a great start. It's a bit crazy already here in Florida. But I don't have my "floaties" on so I'll hush...sew & be thankful. I'm praying for a calm Hurricane season for everyone. I'm doing a lot of "stress sewing." Helps me especially during this crazy weather we're having. My design brain is on 2 other projects that I'll be sharing next week but my "smart brain" is saying stay focused woman! So this morning as I woke super early due to not sleeping w/my back pain I did what I call my "early fiber feeding." Yes...I will sew early to take my mind off pain. I preach 'thread and fiber therapy" for a reason...it does help me...even if it's for a few minutes taking your mind off pain. Due to this I was able to piece/finish all the border strips. I will admit designing in EQ8 helps tremendously with cutting accurately when joining borders and blocks together. But my O.C.D. (only Cat does) kicked in then I remembered what sweet Jenny Doan says..."finished is better than perfect." It's really true y'all. We quilt because we love it...we make gifts for others from our hearts...so I had to tell myself line up those points as good as you can and be happy with your outcome. Yes...I used my seam ripper a few times ....started again matching points and then said her quote again. I ten put my seam ripper far away so I wouldn't use it :-) It's not that I'm trying to be perfect it's my Construction/Design brain going everything has to be perfect. The percs of being a designer but then I told myself my quilt wont be standing like a house it will be used to snuggle with so let it go! :-) So litterally on that note I'll be sharing piecing the borders with you along with a few tips that I feel will help you when joing the corner blocks to the borders. Again...don't stress enjoy this process especially if this is a new technique that you are learning. Remember...there's no quilting police in my sewing room...thank God :-) Enjoy this step...you're getting closer to the finishing so you should be very proud. I hope y'all entered for the Cuddle Fabric Give-a-way on my Instagram or Facebook Page. Pop over to Missouri Star Quilt Comapny to view all the color hues...textures & prints. They are having a fun special all week on Cuddle Fabric :-) My link above right will take you there and applies discount of 20% off $50. or more on most items at checkout for the month of June. Talk soon!

Blessed Quilting,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

Here's all you do...

* Sew top/bottom borders to panel with right sides 2gether using a 1/4" seam allowance.

* Press & square up if needed.

Tip...I sew w/the dark border side facing me when sewing the 1/4" seam...It helps me control the line due to the "dark color border" does show around the panel as a beuatiful accent. 

Plus...I sew slow...this is not the time to act like me and do "speed sewing."....:-)

And....keep making sure your border strips and panel are aligned together as you sew :-)

* Measure your left/right side of panel.

* Cut your border strips to that length PLUS a 1/4" seam allowance on each end.

* Join your corner blocks to strip per design w/right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

* Repeat for both sides.

* Join your corner/border strips to panel per design w/ Right sides togther using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

Note...Just remember...take your time...it will be a tad bit bulky so make sure you have an area to lay the quilt on beside you to help ease the weight for you as you sew :-)

Tip...I will use my "ironing board" & position it near my sewing table to lay the quilt on when sewing boarders. It's great...you can 'adjust" the ironing board height to your sewing table...dining table...whatever you use. 

Remember..you're doing great & getting closer to the finishing stage of quilting!

Talk soon,

Cat

Cats Tip of the Day...Great gift idea..."Cozy Cuddle Robe"

 Hey quilter's...hope your week is going great. I had to share this gift idea with y'all. It's that time of year when Graduations are happening and kiddos off to college. What better way to send them off w/a homemade gift. They will definately think of you when wrapped up in the cozy fabric. You can download the "free pattern" on Missouri Star Quilt Comapany's website. My link on upper right will take you there. View all the stunning fabrics to make all your gift-giving easy. The pattern is versatile for all sizes...just change the fabric per your needs. Plus...don't forget to follow me on Instagram or Facebook as we're giving away "2 yards" of Cuddle fabric w/MSQC. Come join the "Cuddle Craze"...make as a gift or spoil yourself :-) Pic below of Cuddle Fabric "Sea Turtles" is just one of the super cute Cuddle prints. Make a robe...throw...pool wrap...sew many possibilities! The Cuddle fabric is on sale this week at Missouri Star Quilt Company. Thanks so much for following & don't forget my discount link to MSQC w/save you 20% off $50. or more on most products for all your sewing/crafting/quilting needs. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

"Cuddle Fabric Give-a-way!"

 Hey quilter's...hope you're having a great day. I'm excited to share some exciting news....first it's Jenny Doans Birthday so pop on over to Instagram and wish her a Happy birthday....2cnd....we're giving away 2 yards of Cuddle Fabric to a lucky winner. All the rules are on my Instagram Post & Facebook. The entries are accepted until June 16th and I will draw a lucky winner and announce on June 17th. I love cuddle fabric. It's super snuggly & you have sew many variety & textures...pile hights...colors...prints...embossed designs...and sew much more! You can view the "Cuddle Craze" that's happening this week on Missouri Star Quilt Company's webiste. My link is on home page and you can save 20% off $50. or more on most products for the month of June. Come join the "Cuddle Craze" and get a kick-start to your holiday gift making. Check back soon for my next Phase of my "America...Sew Beautiful" quilt. Thanks so much for following & talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC 

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

America...Sew Beautiful.."Sweet Land of Liberty" Phase 3

 Hey quilter's...hope y'all are having a great weekend. I'm getting ready to quilt this beautiful quilt and piecing together a "Spooky" design as well. I always try to have one design I'm piecing and one design I'm quilting on my BabyLock Jazz II. It's kinda funny in my sewing room right now because I have Patriotic fabric on my side and spooky on the other. Well least I can't get the fabrics confused :-) Trust me...I've done that before...one reason why I always put my "scraps" in ziplock bags while I'm piecing together a design. I also use the Missouri Star Quilt Company's plastic project organizers they offer...super cute plus helps me keep my projects organized. I just feel better when I'm organized...helps my design brain for some reason. Speaking of Missouri Star Quilt Co...tomorrow I'm excited to share a special promotion with y'all so please follow me on Instagram for all the exciting details. I love it when they have us doing promotions for y'all...super exciting :-) Today's phase we'll be piecing together the borders using the beautiful 2.5" strips from the Jelly Roll. I am loving how easy these strips come together. The fabrics are super cute and they coordinate great together. I did mine more of a "scrappy look" but still keeping with the same color theme on all sides. My design pic below shows how I kept the color theme on borders...use the pic as a "guide" if you wish. This is such a fun & easy design so get creative....and you know me...have fun...there's no quilting police in my sewing room :-) But...I will say "Pressing is the key when piecing long strips together." I hope y'all enjoyed making the corner star blocks. I love how fast and easy they come together. If you still need supplies my link to MSQC w/save you 20% off $50. or more for the month of June. Talk soon & have fun!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

Borders...

* Here's all you do for all four border sides...

Tip...Lay your corner blocks as desired...then select your borders stips to have a different "print" joining the "star points" to create a more interesting star design if desired :-) 

* Select four 2 1/2" strips for each border side.

* Sew strips w/ right sides 2gether using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

* Repeat for all four Borders.

Tip...sew slow to keep your strips straight due to the length. Sometimes I sew like a "racecar" then regreat it later. 

* Set your border sets aside...label the position of sides if desired. No trimming to lengh at this time we will do in next phase.

* I coordinated mine...red...grey...white...blue but you get creative and have fun :-) 

Talk soon,

Cat

America...Sew Beautiful.."Sweet Land of Liberty" Phase 2

 Hey quilter's...it's finally Friday! I don't know about y'all but this week flew by for me. I alway's tell "youngster's" when talking with them..."don't get old..it's a trap." Funny Story...it is! Yesterday I seriously thought it was Wednesday then my hubby this morning thought today was Thursday. Seriously! Mind blowing but ya just need to laugh. Well today I'll be sharing Phaase 2 of the design where you'll be making the corner star blocks. Please do not let those stars intimidate you. Some clever quilter (not me) came up with a genious was to make them. I've enjoyed making stars more once I learned this clever technique. The center of the starts will be pieced due to using 2 1/2 in strips but you could do a solid square from scraps if desired. I've really enjoyed coordinating the fabrics within the collection together. I love it when they do all the hard work for me. I hope your enjoying using a "Jelly Roll & Panel" especially if it's your first time too. I'm really having a blast this year challenging myself...learning new techniques & thankful y'all are learning a long with me. Remember there's no quilting police on my blog so just take your time matching points/seams when piecing the stars. I try not to pin...just "scooch" the seams together when sewing the seams. Most quilter's call it "nesting the seams" but for me it seems that I do a lot of "scooching." :-) I made 2 each of the same design then I'll be placing in opposite corners within the borders. The prints are so stunning so you can't go wrong :-) By now you've got an idea of how you want to lay out your stips for the borders so keep that in mind when choosing the fabrics for the stars if desired. Don't be as O,C,D. (only Cat does) as I was,,,just enjoy creating your design and most of all....have fun! If you still need supplies my link to Missouri Star Quilt Company will save 20% off $50. or more for the month of June. I thank y'all so much for following and talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

Here's all you do...

( Directions for Four... 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 blocks...finished 8")

* For center....rotary cut 4 squares in desired fabric 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 ...

* Per design...sew 2 squares w/right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance for row 1. Press.

* Repeat for row 2 then join the rows together to form a 4 patch block. Press.

* Repeat for all 4 Corner Blocks.

Tip...if you press your seams in opposite directions before joining the rows together they will "scooch/nestle" together better :-)

Red Points of Star...

* From desired background fabric...rotary cut 4 strips 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 

* From desired accent fabric (red) rotary cut 8 squares 2 1/2 x 2 1/2/

* From desired accent fabric for corner squares...rotary cut Four squares 2 1/2 x 2 1/2.

*Per design...place one square along top edge of white 2 1/2 x 4 1/2 strip and draw a line from corner to corner...sew directly on that line & press open. Trim away access fabric on back.

* Repeat for opposite corner. Press.

Tip...follow direction of points on block design when drawing line corner to corner. This helps me so I don't get my directional lines confused :-)

* Repeat for all for sides of block.

* Place on each side of center square per design. 

* Place corner blocks per design.

* Sew Row 1 sqaures  w/right sides together using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

* Repeat for Row 2...matching center seams.

* Then Row 3...press

* Per design...Join rows togher using the same method...Press.

* Repeat for all four corner blocks.

You did it! They are sew much fun to make :-)

Check back soon for Phase 3,

Cat

America...Sew Beautiful. "Sweet Land of Liberty" Phase 1

 Hey quilter's...hope all is going well. I don't know about y'all but it's already hot here in Florida. Oh my gosh...it's gonna be a long hot summer. But with the bad you need to think of the positive....staying inside and sharing summer projects. I am thrilled on this 2nd Part of "America...Sew Beautiful." The panel by Moda Fabrics is stunning. The "jelly roll" designed by Lella boutique for Moda is great. The collection of the fabrics are beautiful and you get a part of the whole collection in the strips. This is the first time "ever" that I've used a "jelly roll." I always thought it would be difficult to design with due to the 2.5" strips. Y'all I've discovered how wrong I've been all these years. The strips worked perfectly to incorporate into my "Stars" and it gives the borders more of a scrappy look that I love. I wanted to challenge myself this year as I've previously stated and will admit a "Jelly Roll" made me think out of my "Quilting Box." Sometimes I get stuck in my "creative box" & get intimidated by certain blocks but I've recently discovered even in my 'late years" it's good to challenge myself. Well y'all part of challenging myself is sharing fun-ctional Scrap-a-longs w/you. This 2nd Part of the Series is featuring a "lap quilt" w/the stunning panel. I'll be sharing easy techniques that would be great for a beginner quilter and inspire kiddos to learn to sew/quilt this summer. This is also the first time that I am using a "Panel" and I'm loving how easy this quilt is coming together. So don't be a bit suprised if you see some more panel designs coming. It is the new crave in the quilting world. People are sewing/quilting more with panels. Plus it makes a fast easy gift too. I've designed the quiltin EQ8 for accuracy but always make sure my directions are working with yours. My size will be approximately 51 x 59 but you could easily enlarge if desired. You would need to "join" strips together to make a longer border if you do so please keep that in mind. Oh, if you still need supplies my link to Missouri Star Quilt Co. w/save you 20% off $50. or more for the month of June. I love it when they extend a great discount plus their website always features "daily deals." Well lets get started on making this super cute quilt! 

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

* Supplies are listed in previous post :-)

Here's all you do...

* Press your panel.

* Square up your "dark blue border" to 3/4" ,,,this includes a 1/4" seam allowance for a half-inch finished border.

* Set aside.

Tip...Clip/hang as desired so you don't need to press again. 

* Lay out your "Jelly Roll" strips to see all the stunning cuts of the fabric collection. 

* Press if needed.

Tip...I like to "coordinate my strips" to get a visual of how I'd like to combine the fabrics 2gether.

In the next Phase I will be showing how I coordinated the fabrics strips within the design but let your creativity flow. Refer to the design for inspiration. This is a fast & easy project so remember to enjoy and have fun. There's no quilting police in my "sewing room." It's all about "less-stress-quilting." :-) 

Talk soon,

Cat

America...Sew Beautiful "Sweet Land of Liberty" Quilt!

 Hey quilter's...hope y'all had a great weekend. I was able to do some designing in my favorite quilt software (EQ8) for this next project. I'll be featuring this stunning Panel by Moda Fabrics along w/ Jelly Roll "Old Glory". We'll be making a "throw size quilt" together but you can easily enlarge if desired. This is also a fun & easy project to teach the kiddos to sew and quilt this summer. I'll be quilting with Aurifil thread with basic straight line stitching along w/ accent quilting within the design. Sometimes the little things do enhance the design. I quilt on a domestic machine my "Jazz II..Babylock" but can you imagine how stunning this quilt would look being quilted by a 'long armer." Funny story...years ago I told my sweet grandson that I would love a "long arm" from Santa. He looked at me real strange and said "Gege I think your arms are long enough." I see his face and hear his words everytime I hear the words quilted on a "longarm." Memories I'll cherish forever. :-) Anyway....as promised this is the 2nd Part of the 3 Part Series "America...Sew Beautiful" to Celebrate and Honor our Country. I've been having a blast with this panel. It's stunng plus the quality is amazing. The design made it very easy to "square up" the center to add decorative borders using the 2.5 inch Jelly Rolls strips. It's a sweet design to give as a gift or keep for yourself. So come join me on this fun tribute & all supplies are from Missouri Star Quilt Company. They extended the discount so you can save 20% off $50. or more for the month of June on supplies. My link upper right goes stragiht to their website along with discount. I excited to share upcoming projects with you this summer. So no worries about entertaining the kiddos this summer...I got you covered! :-) As always I thank y'all so much for following! Talk soon.

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

Paid Partnership w/MSQC

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

Here's all you need...

* Sweet Land of Liberty Panel by Moda Fabrics

* "Old Glory" Jelly Roll by Moda Fabrics (designed by LellaBoutique)

* 1 yard of Missouri Star Tossed Star Medium Gray 110" Wide Backing

* Low loft quilt batting

* Aurifil 50# thread (2260, 2710, 2780) 

* Rotary cutter is highly reccommended for this project due to precise squaring up the panel. Well for me anyway :-)

Looking forward to a fun Summer 2gether!

Talk soon,

Cat