Planting Bulbs Pattern

I know I am a little bit off season here, at least for New England.  Our bulbs finished blooming about a month ago and we won't be planting bulbs till October.  But inspiration strikes and I don't fight with it.  Bulb planting it is! 

This is the eighth block in my paper pieced gardening series.  There is one free block in my side bar (Picking Violets) and the rest of the patterns can be found in my Etsy shop or for immediate download on Craftsy. 

This block features a bulb planter on the left....I recently discovered that this tool was a mystery to some so I thought I had better explain!  It is a metal cylinder with sharp edges at the bottom and a handle at the top.  You push it into the ground to make a hole to plant your bulb.  You have a little bulb in the center, with shoots.  And then there is a bag. I labeled mine "Bone Meal" aka bulb food.  You could use the name of your favorite bulb instead or bulb distributor even.

The version above uses a print from my LQS for the background (no selvage), Basic Grey grunge for the bulb planter, Basic Grey Little Black Dress for the uprights on the bulb handle and for the bulb, a Pat Sloan print for the shoots, and Vintage Modern for the bulb handle and the label border.

This version uses Elizabeth's Letters by Jill Finley for the background, again Basic Grey grunge for the bulb planter, Basic Grey Blitzen for the planter uprights, Basic Grey Little Black Dress for the bulb, the same Pat Sloan print for the shoots, Basic Grey Hello Luscious for the bulb planter handle and bag, and Hometown for the label border.

Now that I have an even number of blocks, I think it is mosaic time again!

I have learned that some customers can see the seam allowances lines on their screen but when they print the PDF file, the seam allowances do not all print out.  I am darkening the lines in future patterns because Adobe Reader has trouble with them as well as some printers.  A couple of solutions that you can try are downloading a different PDF reader, and/or changing your printer setting so that the dpi is 600 or greater.  Some combination of those things seems to work for everyone.

Art Gallery Fabrics Fat Quarter Gang

Have you heard about the new gang in town? It's the Art Gallery Fabrics Fat Quarter Gang! I was so excited to be invited to join.  I was first introduced to Art Gallery Fabrics when I was making my yellow and grey Lady of the Lake quilt. I was searching high and low for yellow prints that I liked and found a couple of great AGF prints.
If it were not for the lure of working with these beautiful fabrics, the hazing period might have sent me packing! They take the "Fat Quarter Gang" name quite seriously and decided that we needed gang names...and gangsta pictures! Oh my.

Watch out, we are one bad gang! I am now Amy "Stitch Rippa" Friend.  Hop over to the Art Gallery Blog to meet the rest of my gang.  They are all equally hysterical terrifying gangstas.
Many thanks to my husband who helped me make my temporary tat, picked up chain at Home Depot for my necklace, and of course crafted all those seam rippers in the first place. I think he was highly amused by the whole ordeal.

Fresh Squeezed Fabrics Anniversary Celebration

Help Randi celebrate the 4th anniversary of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics this week! Tuesday through Thursday, she will have giveaways on her blog. And you can get 20% off your purchase in her shop with the code 4thbirthday20. She has lots of great new fabrics like Vintage Modern, Lucy's Crab Shack, Savanna Bop, and Summersville.  Happy shopping!

A Hoover for Leila

This block is for Leila in the Cocorico Bee. I love her theme. She asked us for "blocks about the everyday tasks a proper 50's housewife would perform. Doing the dishes, laundry, dusting, cooking, mopping floors, I'd love a hoover or carpet beater block. Vintage kitchen appliances, aprons, food molds, well anything really." I jumped on the Hoover idea and asked what color she'd like. Apparently her grandmother had a mustard colored Hoover so that was her request.

I started out with this 1950s advertisement for inspiration but the woman looked a bit too challenging to paper piece. With Leila's blessing, I was going to just stamp the words (which I think are hysterical), and piece a vacuum. When I sketched that out though, the vacuum seemed to be floating in space.

Then I found this image. I thought I could manage a woman's skirt and single leg/shoe so I combined the two images into the design of my block.

I completely enjoyed every moment of making this block even though I think I ripped two seams for every one I sewed. I have a few slight Y seams/curves thrown in here because the number of seams would have been crazy otherwise.  Some of them took a second try to get just right.

Fabrics used here are:
Kona aqua for the background
Kona Pale Flesh for the woman's leg
Urban Cowgirl Lucky in Grass for the skirt
Urban Cowgirl Lace in Cornbread, Ruby Cotton Cream and Grey Dot and a charcoal crossweave for the Hoover
Etchings Script in Red for the high heel

Have fun turning it into something to decorate your kitchen Leila!

Mega Grandmother's Garden Quilt Tutorial

I'd like to invite you to join me over at the Sizzix blog today to read about this "Mega" Grandmother's Garden quilt I designed using their Isosceles and Right Triangle Die.

I love all the colors in this quilt. I used bits of many of my favorite fabrics. It's a great stash buster for those in need of that!  The tutorial is for a baby/small lap size but you could easily keep the pattern going by cutting more triangles. 

Enjoy!

If you are here for the Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway day, there is still time to enter!  Scroll down to the previous post.

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway time!

It's Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day again!  If you happened to visit my blog last time, you will remember that I was giving away a hand turned seam ripper, made by my husband.  It was such a big hit even though it was being given away due to the fact that it had a slight flaw that didn't make it by quality control inspector #2 (me).  Well this time, I have another seam ripper that didn't make it past the first step of quality control (my husband).  The hardware has a dull spot on the cap end.  Really I say?  It probably would have passed by me to be honest so this is a steal!

The winner will receive this gorgeous purple and white swirl seam ripper.  It has a hand turned acrylic handle.  The hardware on the pointy end can be pulled out flipped over and reinserted for safety when not in use.
For those of you still waiting for your custom seam rippers, they are coming, promise.  The hardware kits have been out of stock but are shipping at the end of this week.  You have not been forgotten.

I am also giving away this needlebook that I designed for Sizzix.  If you'd like to make one of your own, I have a tutorial here.  The needlebook has wool felt pages inside for needle storage (the scissors, seam ripper and thread above are not included).

Thanks for visiting During Quiet Time.  If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd love it if you joined my blog as a follower (scroll to the bottom of the sidebar) or poked around in my Etsy shop for a bit.  There just so happens to be one seam ripper left for sale there too.

The giveaway will be open until May 25 at 5 PST.  International entries are welcome.  To enter, simply leave me a comment here telling me about the one flower or vegetable that you most look forward to blooming/growing each year.  I just experienced mine. 

I look forward to the blooms of this tree peony each year. The blooms are gorgeous and huge but so short lived. Thankfully, I am anticipating the blooms of many more flowers right through fall so I am not too sad!

Enjoy Sew Mama Sew Giveaway day! Click here to return to the lists.

The giveaway is now closed.  The winner is Margaret!  Congratulations. I have emailed you for your address.

Seed Packets Pattern Available

Thanks for all the nice compliments on my Seed Packets design. I am so glad that you all like it too. I had so much fun designing it and then sewing it as well.  I am anxious to get my buttons in that pea pod but in the meantime, it's cute as is!

I have the pattern completed now and it is available both in my Etsy shop and on Craftsy. If you use Craftsy, it is an instant download.

Seed Packets Block

I've been planning to make a Seed Packet block for my paper pieced garden block series from the start but was having a hard time working it out in my mind.  Things finally clicked and I made some decisions and I am happy with it!  I am calling this block simply "Seed Packets."  As you can see, I chose Early Peas and Heirloom Tomato.  If the piecing looks too complicated, you could easily modify this pattern by replacing the paper pieced vegetables with a large flower or vegetable from a fabric print and modifying the seed name accordingly.

I looked at lots of images of vintage seed packages to arrive at my design.  I made the two packets a little bit different just because it is more fun that way.  For my blocks, I stamped the seed names on BasicGrey grunge print from the Little Black Dress line.  They could also be embroidered or fussy cut.  The tomato is pieced with a green grunge for the leaves and stem and the red is an Etchings Script that I got from the Fat Quarter Shop originally but it appears to be out of stock now.  The little dot around the outside edges is a sweet print from Ayumi.

Truthfully, I chose peas for one packet because I love an excuse to use buttons. I thought I might line 4-5 buttons up in a row to be the peas in the pod.  I think it looks fine without it but it might be even more fun with the buttons.  Sadly, I only have one button that is the perfect color match. I am working on rectifying that!

The pea packet has a little corner block in the lower left where you can fussy cut, stamp or embroider the price of the seeds. I used Annie's Farmstand by Lakehouse. I have another Lakehouse print in my stash that has a circular design that reads "Guaranteed to Grow" and it would be the perfect fussy cut too.  See it in the picture above?  I thought about using it but I was using the Annie's Farm Stand print in white for the packets and it is more ivory.  The pea pod is a green Heath print by Alexander Henry.

The background fabric for this block is of course the new Vintage Modern Cottage Pebble that I cut up as soon as I got it into my hot little hands.

I am working on getting this pattern ready for sale soon.  If you are interested in the other patterns from this series, "Pick Violets" is a free download from my sidebar and the others are in my Etsy shop as well as Craftsy where you can download them instantly.

Bloggers' Quilt Festival

Welcome to During Quiet Time!  I would like to share my favorite quilt of this year.  I am not very good at naming quilts so it has no real name beyond "my courthouse steps quilt".  It's a lap sized quilt measuring 60" square.

I took the traditional courthouse steps block and varied the width of each strip rather than making them uniform. 

I tried to use as many different fabrics as I could for each color group, and lots of texture too.  Many of the solids are linens and shot cotton, along with some Kona.  I stuck to aqua, mustard, coral and grey.  The colors just feel peaceful to me and they naturally merge together, in a favorable way, I think. 

I love this shot of the quilt on the steps of our local State Park.  I appreciate my husband's help holding it that day because it was frigid out!  He removed his gloves so his fingers would be less obvious too.

The quilt back is a mixture of Echo and an improve solid strip down the side.  The quilting is straightline in varying intervals.

I hope you will come back again!  I really enjoy visiting as many blogs as I can during the festival.  It's always so much fun.

If you care to read my original post on this quilt, you can find it here.

Click here to go back to the quilt festival!

Flutter Blossom Dresden Pillow Tutorial

Gosh, I love this pillow. It seems to me that Basic Grey's Hello Luscious line and Dresdens are meant to be together. You add one of their wool flowers and it is just perfect! My tutorial for this Flutter Blossom Dresden Pillow is on the Basic Grey blog today. I hope you will check it out.

I did a bit of hand stitching around the outer edge of the Dresden with Cosmo floss. This was my second project using their floss and I still can't say enough good things about it. It has such a wonderful sheen, the colors are gorgeous, and it seems less tangly to me too! 
I used my favorite invisible zipper closure so that I could have an equally decorative back (you will have to go to the Basic Grey blog to see!).

Sewing Room Journal Tutorial

Today I am sharing a tutorial for a journal/composition book cover that I made using a new technique that I came up with for fabric embossing!

Let me explain about the embossing first.  I was smitten by the Sizzix embossing folders and have been seeing so many neat paper projects made with them by the other design team members that I wanted in.  I thought I would see if I could emboss fabric. 

I brushed Stiffy Fabric Stiffener onto both sides of my fabric and allowed it to dry completely (overnight). 

I then cut a straight edge using my rotary cutter so that I could slide the fabric into the embossing folder completely, flush with the fold in the embossing folder.  Then I ran the fabric though my Big Shot.

The result is wonderful!  The fabric embosses quite crisply. I found that shot cottons and Kona solids worked really well.  Linen, since it is thicker, isn't quite as crisp but lovely just the same.

I sampled all the different sewing and measuring themed embossing folders made by Sizzix.  You can find them here:

Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Sewing & Measuring Tape Set

Sizzix Texture Fades Embossing Folders 4PK - Pattern & Stitches Set

Sizzix Textured Impressions Embossing Folders 2PK - Vintage Buttons Set

I had a hard time deciding which pieces of embossed fabric to use for my project but settled on the Kona Mustard with the scissors and "hope" because it coordinated so nicely with Penelope Gold Scissors fabric, don't you think?  They really couldn't be a more perfect pair.  I decided to make a journal cover because I needed a project that wouldn't be washed since the embossed fabric isn't washable.

To create the quilted cover, measure your composition book and add 1/2" to the length and width. 

Once I did that, I pieced the cover so that the embossed fabric would land nearly centered on the cover.  I placed a layer of batting below and embellished with a jagged stitch in charcoal thread.

Then I used the Sewing Room die to create an applique. I first applied Steam a Seam 2 to the back and then cut the fabric. I stitched a band of lace across the lower edge of the journal cover and then ironed the applique on top of it.

I used pinking shears to trim down another bit of embossed fabric and stitched it on using contrasting thread and a long stitch length.

Here's just another detail shot of that embossed cover!

Next, I created pockets to hold the journal cover.  They are cut 4 1/4" wide by the height of your cover (plus the 1/2").  I hemmed either side and stitched them in place with a 1/4" seam. 

I then cut 2 1/4" binding strips and bound the journal cover just as you would a quilt.

Stitching Binding

I'm spending "quiet time" this afternoon stitching binding.  It's one of my favorite parts of quilting.  I am sitting crosslegged in a spot of sunshine on my sunroom/sewing room floor.  This is a quilt that I am making for Sizzix and will get to show you this month along with a free tutorial! 

Sew Me a Song

I am so excited to announce the opening of a new Etsy shop, Sew me a Song! Recently, my friends Becca and Peg told me that they were no longer going to be co owners of Sew Fresh Fabrics due to some life changes (good things--not a friendship gone bad!). You can read more about that on the Sew Fresh Fabrics Blog. But then, just shortly after that, Becca launched her own fabric shop called Sew me a Song. How great is that? We lose nothing, we only gain. Now there are two wonderful shops with owners we already know and trust.

Becca has been drawn into the paper piecing madness lately too and is stocking her shop with fabrics that are just perfect for paper piecing (as well as other projects too of course). She will be carrying Japanese fabrics and text fabrics as well as small scale fabrics. Can I tell you just how excited I am about this shop? She just got in some new things yesterday that I adore.

This is a panel called Beauty is You by Cori Dantini for Blend Fabrics.  I am thinking that it might be incorporated into the back of my paper pieced garden quilt. Isn't it sweet and quirky?  I love it!

This is another fabric from the same line called Dancing Meadow in Orange. I can see using it as a background fabric in one of my gardening blocks.

And how about this fabric called Vintage Summer by Little Yellow Bicycle for Blend Fabrics? It would be so cute for a kitchen block wouldn't it? How about using it in one of the new Sew-Ichigo patterns?

There are lots of wonderful prints available in her shop already (formerly Sew Fresh Fabric offerings) but these Blend prints are new acquisitions and others are coming. She has ordered some Lecien basics (a few stripes and dots, some ginghams and some florals), the complete Bella collection from Lotta, the new bark prints from Birch's Camp Modern, some Dear Stella prints, a few bolts from the NRockwell collection from Timeless, most of Mama Said Sew from Sweetwater, a new smaller chevron stripe from Riley Blake and some smaller dots as well, and an assortment of Penelope from Lakehouse Dry Goods. I want it all! It's going to be really hard to be good--be careful when you click over.

*And I have to mention that her adorable little shop logo was designed by my friend Sally Doherty, who also helped me with my blog design and made my watermark logo. 

Garden Tote

Over the weekend, I finished up this Garden Tote bag as a donation to my childrens' school's PTO (parent teacher organization).  It will be part of a garden themed basket that will be up for auction as a fundraiser.
I used my Watering Can paper pieced pattern (a 10" finished block). Shortly after I designed this pattern, I bought some of BasicGrey's Curio and knew I wanted to use it for a watering can so this was my chance. I also wanted to use the DS Quilts floral for the bag so I used a coordinating solid, Kona Artichoke from Marmalade Fabrics, for the background of the block. The handles are a DS Quilts dot. The inside is also lined in the Kona. I think that that bag is fun and I hope someone bids a lot for it!

I am definitely a fan of Denyse Schmidt prints (like the ones used in this project) and was recently contacted by Jill who is running a DS charm swap asking if I could spread the word. If you are interested in joining, check it out here.

In other news, have you heard about the "Why Quilts Matter" project? They are looking for funding to pursue their project. You can read more about it and donate here.

Garden Blocks Mosaic

Well, who knew it would take me two days to get around to making the mosaic?  Here is it!  I like how they are working together so far. I am so anxious to work on the next pattern designs that I have planned but it isn't going to happen this week.  It's a busy week.  We have entered t-ball season and end of the year field trips, concerts, plays and other events.  Tomorrow I will show you another watering can that I pieced over the weekend as a part of an item I made to donate to our PTO.
My patterns can be found here.

Seed Tray

Do  you love the feeling of possibilities that comes along with planting seeds?  I know I do.  That was the inspiration behind this, the latest block in my gardening series.  This is block number 6.  Five of the blocks are for sale in my shop and the other is a free download from my sidebar.

I have to admit to being as excited to see these little seedlings burst forth as I am about the real thing.

Whenever I plant seeds, I always include Basil because I love homemade pesto.  That's why I chose to label these seedlings as such.

I toiled over the fabric choices for this block. I even begged my mom to come over and look at fabrics with me.  It was hard but I really love the choices that we settled on.

Fabrics:
Flea Market Fancy Pink Eyelet available at the Fat Quarter Shop and Sew Fresh Fabrics
Moda Etchings Script also at the Fat Quarter Shop
BasicGrey grunge prints: one in black for the soil and the other in cream for the label
Heath in Chocolate by Alexander Henry Fabrics from Sew Fresh Fabrics
Assorted green prints from Ayumi's shop

I hope you like it!  I am anxious to make another mosaic now that I have six blocks, to see how they all look together.  I will come back to share that soon.

Work in Progress

The month of March was my month in the Stash Trad bee. It's a bee where we choose a traditional block and our bee members make that block from their stash. We specify the background color. I chose the Winged Square block and asked that Essex Natural Linen be used for the background. The center print should be primarily two colors and then each wing should be a scrappy mix of one of those colors. I have received 11 of my blocks and I made two more so far.

These are the two additional blocks that I made this week.  My camera is giving me trouble at the moment so the colors are off on this one. I used a Flea Market Fancy print in the middle in mustardy yellow and coral pink.

This one is a Jennifer Paganelli print in aqua and green with like colored wings.

This is my first bee (well this one and Cocorico--I started them at the same time). I am not sure that bees are meant for uptight people like me. I am finding it frustrating that the linen in a number of the blocks is much too light. How much does it jump out at you? I am enjoying the social aspect of the bees at least.  It's a nice way to get to meet people.  What's your experience with bees?