Berry Street Santa's Snippers Give-a-way w/ Missouri Star Quilt Company!

 Hey quilters..hope your weekend is fulled with sewing joy. Tis the Season when Missouri Star Quilt Company will gift the affiliates a fun item to give-a-way. One to keep and one to give-a-way to one lucky winner. All you need to do is follow Missouri Star Quilt Company and me on Instagram (my instagram link is upper right on home page). The rules are included on todays post. These scissors are 8 1/2" and feature festive images of Santa, gingerbread men, ribbons and more. The ergonomic grip is super comfortable for all your sewing/crafting/quilting needs. If you're like me...having a pair of scissors for your Holiday wrapping or crafting that are comfortable & sharp is a must. What a great gift idea too! So, pop on over to my Instagram page to enter. These scissors will definately put a little jolly in your Holiday Season. Hurry...deadline to enter is Nov. 20th...Sew fun & good luck! 

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

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

Berry Street Santa's Snippers...

Festive Wishes Christmas Scrap-a-long!

 Hey quilter's...hope all is well and the weather is being kind. Yesterday, I felt like Linus...dragging a quilt through out the house. It made me realize that I prefer warm weather. Not hot...just perfect 78* :-) Yes..I'm one of those. I guess I'll just stay in and sew! I'm excited to share "Festive Wishes Christmas Scrap-a-long" with y'all. It's a spin off the previous design "ABC Scrap-a-long Song!" that I'll be sharing in January. I love when you can create a new design just by changing the fabric. I love "Festive Wishes" by Island Barik/Lumin Fabrics so much! I've made stockings...gift bags for this Christmas season but can't put away those lovely scraps. So i designed a fun...fast and fab Christmas quilt that you can sew this coming year as desired. I'll be sharing how fun the fabric collection is and design is by "fussy cutting" the center squares within each block. The design is so versatile..one 7" block creates the secondary block design...scrap & precut friendly so you can create your own spin on the design. Easily enlarge the design just by adding more borders. Then come January we can "Scrap in the New Year Together" by incorporating the Berry Crush fabric scraps within the same design. I've already started coordinating my scraps of Festive Wishes and I'm having a blast. The Holly...Snowflakes...Ornaments...Deer are perfect for fussy cutting the center squares. I'f you're like me...I get a bit sad putting away Christmas and that's one reason why I love to sew Christmas gifts all year. Christmas fabric brings me Joy and the Festive Wishes collection has all of my favorite hues.Plus...we'll have our 2026 Christmas quilt finished a head of time & have a fun time 2gether  through out the year! I'm excited to share fun...fast and fab scrap-a-longs with y'all in 2026 and my new collection of Children's Learning Quilts. It's hard to believe that Christmas is not that far away so gather up those scraps & let's scrap in the New Year 2gether! Keep checking in 'cause I have some exciting thigs happening soon! Tis the Season for fun! Thanks 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)

Festive Wishes Christmas Scrap-a-long!

Berry Crush...ABC Scrap-a-long Song!

 Hey quilters...hope your weekend is off to a great start. I know it's November but I couldn't wait to share a "sneak peek" of what's happenning in the New Year. Y'all know I participated in the recent "Berry Crush Blog Hop" with Jennifer Thomas new collection Berry Crush for Lumin Fabrics by Jerry Khiev. This collection is stunning! Well, those tiny beautiful scraps inspired me to design my new scrap-a-long that will be starting in January. That's right...we'll be "Scrapin' in the New Year" together! I know when cutting fabrics you create more scraps & those scraps create more scraps. Right? Seriously, it gets nuts in my sewing room. I now have 2 scrap baskets (organized of course) :-) I also wanted to create a design that was easy to follow and enlarge if needed. I reently was playing in EQ8 and fell in love with this block but wanted it to be a bit more beginner friendly. So, I modified the design and I love it. The block still creates the "secondary block" and the border as well. Looks complicated but it's very beginner friendly. Would you believe it's only a 7 x 7" in square that created this design that finishes to 36 x 43. Great  size for a fast gift. As always...you can easily enlarge by adding more borders and if you want omit the letters for an adult version. The design is very versatile to personalize for any decor. The design inspiration and name "ABC Scrap-a-long Song!" is from all the memories of driving home from work and entertaining my sweet daughter in traffic. We would sing the "ABC's" together and at the end of the song, I stated "won't you sing them again with Mommy!" She would crack up and say "again." We'd laugh together so hard that I'd have tears. It's funny how something so simple can create memories to last a lifetime. I thank y'all so much for following a long on this journey with me of creating Children's Learning Quilts to pass down for generations. So... gather up your scraps 'cause I'm very excited about "Scrapin' in the New Year" with y'all. Talk soon!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

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

Berry Crush...ABC Scrap-a-long Song!

Repurpose Berry Crush Scraps 2a Design Board!

 Hey quilters...Happy Tuesday or in my world..."another fun day of sewing!" I've had so much fun this past week with the "Berry Crush Blog Hop." This stunning fabric is Jennifer Thomas new collection for Lumin Fabrics by Jerry Khiev. The prints of Berries...Flowers & Foliage in shades of purples and pinks is stunning. I loved creating with this collection. It really brought me "Joy" while sewing. The collection features 20 different prints and it's already available for you! You can still view Jennifer Thomas stunning designs on her blog a along with all of us quilt designers that participated in this fun blog hop. It's amazing how fabric inspires creativity! I loved this fabric collection "sew much" that I'm hosting some fun...fast and fab projects that would make great gifts for any Holiday. I love to use scraps....it challenges me to get creative especially if they are tiny. Sometimes you look at those tiny pieces and unfortunately we toss them away. But recently while I was 'organizing" my stash...or trying too anyway...I came across the "cardboard backing" that comes with your packaged 10" Precuts. I always thought..."one day I will use these." Well...todays the day that I'm sharing my "Berry Crush Design Board." Y'all this was such a fun and fast project that literally took me about 2 hours to finish from start to stop. You have 9 1/2 x 9 1/2 of  surface space to hold a pieced square that you are going to sew. Plus, it fits right beside your machine...just prop it on a photo frame. How convienent is that! It's portable and will fit perfectly in my "Berry Crush Tote" as well. This would be a fun project for a begiinner to learn "scrap piecing" strips. I love a "scrappy border" on a design showing the fabric prints plus your using scraps. But if you're like me...my scraps are making scraps! :-) I thank y'all so much for following and check back soon for more fun...fast n fab projects. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC affiliate

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

Berry Crush Design Board...

Here's all you need...

* Berry Crush fabric scraps 

* 10" cardboard backing from Precut pkg.

* Pellon fusible fleece (987F)

* Aurifil 50 weight #2582

* Aleen's Fabric Fusion (fabric glue)

* Basic sewing tools

Here's all you do...

* Rotary cut your scrap pieces 2" wide by desired length. Scrappier the better for me :-)

* Sew scraps together at long ends using a 1/4" seam allowance...finger pressing as you go. 

* Make 2 strips for the top/bottom of 10 x 10" Fusible fleece square.

* Position the scrappy strip with right sides together to the soft side of fucible fleece. Clip to secure.

* Sew strips to top/bottom of fusible square using a 1/4" seam allowance...removing clips as you sew.

* Finger Press strip away from center block. Do not iron.

* Square up strip even with block.

* Make 2 scrappy strips as above for the left/right sides and sew using the same method. 

Tip...no fuss of matching seams when attaching scrap border sides...they get folded back and it comes 2gether perctly. Less stress :-)

Tip...before next step make sure you trim away any "loose threads" on back that might show through the fleece. :-)

* Turn block over and position "10 inch coardboard with blog.

* Finger press scrappy boarder to back starting at top..leaving a 1/4" border on front. Clip to secure.

Note...clip on fabric only not fleece. It will leave marks.

* Fold in half again to secure raw edge...repositioning the same clips to secure.

* Repeat same method for bottom/left/right sides of block.

* On back of block...secure the folded edge with Aleen's fabric fusion along the folded edge only...adjusting clips and finger pressing as you go.

* Let dry facing up.

Design board back...

You did it! Enjoy your unique design board or make several as gifts. I'm sure you might have some more scraps to use? 

Thanks so much for following and talk soon,

Cat

Berry Crush Blog Hop day 8!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all are having a great day and enjoying the Berry Crush Blog Hop featuring curlicuecreations Jennifer Thomas new signature collection "Berry Crush" for Lumin fabrics by Jerry Khiev. Today features  Leah of quilteddelights.com. Her stunning design is posted below and talk about showing how fun & versatile the Berry Crush collection can be I'm loving all the deifferent designs by the talented quilters participating in this fun hop. Every design is so unique and inspirational and we all used the same collection "Berry Crush." I just love how fabric inspires creativity! You can view more blog hop details and Jennifer Schifano Thaomas stunning designs featuring Berry Crush on her webiste curlicuecreationscom. I've had a blast with this collection and although today is the last day please check back to see what I did with the scraps. Make sure you hop on over to curlicuecreations to enter for her Fat Quarter give-a-way of this stunning collection...Berry Crush. I thank y'all so much for following a long on this fun...creative...inspirational blog hop. Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

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

Tilted Berries from Leah of "quilteddelights.com"

Berry Crush Blog Hop inspiration!

h Hey quilters...we're having a blast with the Berry Crush Blog Hop featuring Jennifer Schifano Thomas new signature collection "Berry Crush" for Lumin Fabrics by Jerry Khiev. I'm loving all the designs inspired by this beautiful collection. The prints and color hues are sew inspiring. Today features this adorable pillow by Sandra Starley (https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com) I love this design...it's a classic and is stunning in the Berry Crush fabrics. Pop on over to Sandras blog for to view how she created this adorable and classic pillow. She definately inspired me to sit back...relax and rock a minite or two!. The Berry Crush Blog Hop is full of inspiring designs and you can view @curlicuecreations for all the events that Jennifer Thomas is hosting. It just fascinates me of how we can all use the same fabric collection and create unique designs. Such a fun blog hop and I hope you're having a great time too. Thanks so much for following a long with me!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC affiliate

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

Sandra Starley of https://utahquiltappraiser.blogspot.com

Berry Crush Blog Hop..."a Garden of ABC's" coordinating Tote!

 Hey quilters...hope y'all are having a great time following a long with the Berry Crush Blog Hop. I will admit this has been a well need and exciting week. I'm loving all the creativity using Jennifer Thomas signature collection "Berry Crush" for Lumin Fabrics by Jerry Khiev. You can view all the previous designs on @curlicuecreations site. Also, Jennifer is hosting a Fat Quarter Bundle give-a-way a long with a signature pattern design too! Wow! All the featured quilters designs are sew inspiring using the Berry Crush collection. I love this fabric so much that I made a coordinating Tote the quilt fits in for a complete perfect gift. You will be making the coordinating tote using the same technique as the "a Garden of ABC's" quilt but with some fun accent quilting. I love the "orange peel" design and quilting motif. It was perfect for this tote design. I did the quilting around the lattice X"s within each square and the back was simple...I pieced the same but marked the X's within the squares and quilting the orange peel design. I personalized the tote for the added touch. Just like the quilt all the flower petals and letter were "a-play-qued" using Aurifil 50# thread. The "initial/letter" was made using the same directions on quilt posting. Please refer back to the original quilt posting as needed. I used my "Berry Crush Scraps" for this bag and 1/2 yard of Lumin Neutrals for the lining. I thank y'all so much for following a long on this journey with me of creating a "Children's Learning Quilt & Tote that can be passed down for generations." Enjoy!

Blessed Quilting from My Home to Yours,

Cat

MSQC Affiliate

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

"a Garden of ABC's coordinating Tote"....

Here's all you need...

* Berry Crush collection scraps

* Eight 6 x 7 1/2 squares of your background fabric scraps from quilt.

* 1/2 yard of complimenting fabric for lining

* Coordinating Aurifil thread.

* HeatnBond lite (double sided fusible)

* Pellon Fusible Fleece

* Basic sewing supplies

* Piece N Quilt 4-N-1 ruler (optional but I love it)

* Brother sewing machine :-)

Here's all you do...

Note...Bag is versatile as well. you can do accent stitching on your machine instead of the fabric lattice and the bag would be super cute even if you decided not to add the flower but I would do a fun color hue of Aurifil thread when quilting the orange peel designs. I did back of bag this way but used a neeutral Aurifil color #3910 which was perfect. It's all about trying new things on my blog and having fun. Sew get creative and put your own spin on it! :-)

* Sew 4 background squares 2gether for bag front and back in a 4 Patch method...using a 1/4" seam allowance...sewing right sides 2gether pressing seams in opposite directions.Repeat for tote back. Set back aside.

* Square is 11 1/2 x 14 1/2...press and square up if needed. 

Lattice strips...

Note...you can use the same method of attaching lattice strips to center flower on quilt post if desired.. I did this method below due to adding the fusible fleece on back & working w/a smaller block.

* Rotary cut your scrap strips of Berry Crush to 1" x 19 (sew scrap pieces 2gether if needed)

* Make strips using the same method on "a Garden of ABC's" quilt.

* Place strips on tote front using making the X design. Pin to secure.

 Tip...I carefully cut the center of flower placement for less bulk when fusing flowers. Helps center of flower lay flat.

* Using your Berry Crush scraps create the center flower in same method stated on quilt. 

* Fuse following manufacturer's directions on Heatnbond lite.

* Monogram center of flower if desired using the same method stated on quilt.

* A-play-que around flower and secure lattice strips around block sides as desired. Top stitch or play with a decorative stitch on your machine :-)

* Press and square up.

Bottom band...

Tip...I do this method to stabilize bottom of bag and not interfere with the bag front design. It will hide when you do the box pleat the corners in later step.

* Rotary cut 2 strips 1 1/2 x 11 1/2 from background fabric.

* Sew to "bottom" of tote front and back with right sides 2gether using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press.

Scrappy borders...2" finished width

Note.... you can rotary cut a 2 1/2" solid strip id desired but I love a scrappy design.

* Using your Berry Crush scraps...make 4 scrappy borders in same method as quilt.

* Rotary cut strips to 2 1/2 x 15 1/2. ..press

* Sew a strip to left and right side to tote block front and back. Using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

* Press seams away from center block.

* Square up if needed.

Tip...before next step make sure you have all your seams facing flat & trim any loose threads :-) 

* Rotary cut Fusible fleece to tote front and back size and fuse to wrong side following manufacturers directions. 

Accent quilting...

* I did accent quilting around the flower center....the orange peel design around the "Lattice X's) on front using Aurifil # 3910. On back I marked a X within each square using a fusible pen then  orange peel design within the x's using PieceNQuilt 4-N-1 ruler...optional but love this ruler. 

This is where you can get creative and quilt as desired. It's a small area to quilt so have fun :-)

* Press after quilting if needed.

Attaching front/back...

* With right sides 2gether...sew tote front to back using a 1/4" seam allowance...sewing only the sides and bottom 2gether leaving the top of tote open. Reinforce at start and stop points.

* Box pleat bottom corners of bag if desired. Helps to stabilize bottom and gives that professional look.

* Turn right side out...press if needed.

Lining....

* Rotary cut from coordinating fabric 2 strips  15 3/4 x 15 3/4.

* Sew in same method as above...press box pleat bottom corners if desired.

* Place lining inside bag with "wrong sides 2gether...matching side seams...clip to secure.

Tip...you will see "right side" of fabric as you peek in :-)

* Top stitch at top to secure. 

Straps...

* Rotary cut 2 strips 2 1/4 x 27 from coordinating fabric or scraps (finished approx. 25" Length)

* Rotary cut Fusible fleece to 3/4 x 27"

* Fold over 1/4" on fabric strip to inside..fold in half...press..

* Position fusible fleece within the fold...Press to secure following manufacturer's directions.

* Repeat for both straps.

* Top stitch using coordinating thread on both sides for that professional look :-) set aside.

 Top Band...

* Meaure the inside width of your bag...rotary cut from coordinating fabric 1 1/2 " x that width plus 1/2" in length for seam allowance.

* Attach ends with wrong sides 2gether using a 1/4" seam allowance. Press seam.

* Position band to outside of bag w/right sides togehter. Matching seam.Clip to secure.

* Sew 2gether at top of bag using a 1/4" seam allowance. Sew slow and remove clips as you go.

* Finger press band to inside of bag leaving a 1/2" inch border at top of tote.

* Fold band in half again on inside to secure hem. Clip to secure.

* Position straps as desired within the inside of fold...finger press strap even with top of band. Clip to secure.

* On front of tote...top stitch all around top of tote to secure band and straps removing clips as you sew. 

Tip..I reinforced the seam at straps by back stitching a few times.

You did it! You have a super cute bag to "gift" your quilt in. I thank y'all so much following along on this journey with me...creating Children's Learning quilts/tote to pass down for generations.

Keep following a long on the "Berry Crush Blog Hop"

Talk soon,

Cat