Rainblow Flowers Mini Block -Free Pattern

I finally got to testing my Rainbow Flowers mini block pattern yesterday, and am pleased to say that it all works and is now available for free download at my Payhip Pattern Store. 

For my test piece I sorted through my Bonnie & Camille scrap jar, which is full of Marmalade offcuts from my ZigZag Love quilt, as well as a few pieces of Ruby from another project.

I love the way the finished block looks with the stripes and spots. Actually, this has me wanting to make a whole mini quit in just spots and stripes. Wouldn't that be cute?

I hope you'll have a look at the pattern and give it a go. It really is a fun little block!

Happy Sewing x

Evening Star

Good afternoon, and happy Tuesday to you. I'm back to share another Farmer's Wife Sampler block. This time it's block 31, Evening Star.

This block went together so nicely. I used the templates provided on the CD for the triangles, and cut the squares using my quilting ruler and rotary cutter. That's my usual way of doing these blocks, unless the squares will be funny sizes like 1.7 inches or something - then I use the templates for the lot.

I was very organised last night and printed off three pages of templates. I find that if I don't have the right template printed it will put me off sewing these Farmer's Wife blocks. When I want to sew I just can't be bothered with turning the computer on, finding the right template, printing, etc... Now, I will have no excuse not to dive right in to the cutting!

Bye for now x

Hovering Hawks

Hello, and Happy New Year! Once again I've been absent from my blog for a long time... Things get busy and I forget about my blog. Maybe I can make more of an effort in 2014, make it one of those dreaded 'new year's resolutions'. :)

I made a Farmer's Wife Sampler quilt block today, my first one in a long time. It's called Hovering Hawks:

My Farmer's Wife quilt is another thing I've been neglecting. I have done a total of 46 blocks now, out of the 111 in the book. I would love to get it finished in 2014. I'm not yet certain what size I'm going for, but will probably aim to make all the blocks regardless. They're fun!

I have a new mini pattern just about ready for the 1.5 inch Rainbow Flowers block. I just need to proof read it and then I'll put it up on Craftsy for free download. Soon!

Have a lovely day, bye for now. x

Mini Blocks - and a Free Pattern

Hello! Though things have not been as active on the sewing front around here lately as I would like, I have had the chance to do a little sewing - and I do mean little. Two little miniaturised Farmers Wife Sampler blocks actually. Each one is two inches square and will finish at 1.5 inches.

Here we have Block 80 - Single Wedding Star (also known as Rolling Stone):

And this is Block 73 - Rainbow Flowers: 

I find these so much fun to make, and they're so quick compared with their bigger cousins. Having given away the mini sampler I made with my first mini blocks (you can see that here) I thought I'd make myself one. No rush, just the odd block now and then.

After posting my first mini sampler last year I was asked for a tutorial on some mini blocks, so I thought I'd do up a free instruction sheet for each of these, and for more as I make them. If you're interested, the Rolling Stone Mini Block pattern is now available for (free) download at my Payhip Pattern Store. :) There are step-by-step instructions and diagrams, as well as a few "Tips for Success". It only takes the smallest of scraps to make these blocks, so why not have a go? There's nothing to lose really :)

Bye for now, and happy sewing!

Hope x

Pattern Sale!

Sale now over. Thank you :)

Hello! Long time no see. I've just looked at the calendar and realised it's only 6 weeks till Christmas, thereabouts. So, just because, I thought I'd have a little pattern sale. For a limited time both my patterns will be $6 instead of the usual $8 - that's 25% off. Sale ends Sunday 24 November 2013.

Thats ZigZag Love:

And Zigzag Run:

Both patterns are available through my Payhip Pattern Store or through hopesquiltdesigns.com.

It's the perfect time to buy and start making some Christmas presents, don't you think? Or either one would look great in Christmas fabrics... :)

Happy sewing!

Bye for now x

Zigzag Run - a New Pattern

Hello, and Happy Wednesday! I have a little sewing project to share with you today, something that started as a sketch in my journal and ended up a touchable, usable item - love that. And another thing to love: it's also my newest pattern! I've called it Zigzag Run.

I have written the pattern with beginners in mind, including lots of diagrams and detailed step-by-step instructions. I am always available if you have any questions - the email address is in the pattern. This would be a great project for more experienced sewers too, the scope for colour play and the smaller pieces keep it interesting. :)

The pattern neatly uses a 42 piece charm pack, but I had a definite colour scheme in mind for this table runner so used charms from a few different ranges as well as a few fabrics from my stash. I love the bold colours and the way they look in our dining room. See the aqua/blue colour in there? That's pretty much the colour of our dining room walls. 

The greens are mostly Hello Luscious by Basic Grey for Moda. There is a lot of Domestic Bliss in there, and the blacks are from Half Moon - both also from Moda. I also used a couple of purple solids left over from the first quilt I ever made. 

The backing and the binding are both from my local quilt shop. The binding fabric is one I'm using for a lot of my Farmers Wife Sampler quilt blocks. I should probably get more actually, just in case I use it all up before I finish the sampler. ;)

I've listed the Zigzag Run pattern for sale at my pattern store at hopesquiltdesigns.com, or for EU members, on Etsy or my Pattern Store. You'll be able to download the pattern after payment at either site.

So, what do you think? Could you see yourself making your own Zigzag Run? I would love to see one in fresh Spring colours, or a graduating rainbow of colours marching from one end of the runner to the other. Alternating dark and light fabrics would be fun too... so many options.

Thanks so much for stopping by.

Bye for now x 

Nature's Chorus

Hello! Goodness time flies, doesn't it? I knew I'd been away from my blog for a while (again) but hadn't realised just how long. Well, I thought it high time I shared a quilt that has been finished since my birthday at the end of April:

This fabric is Nature's Chorus by April Cornell for Moda. The brown is something I bought from my local fabric shop that I thought went rather nicely with the fabrics.

The quilting is all free-motion, even the straight 'in-the-ditch' quilting. I wobbled off course now and then but I would have to search to find where. I quilted it with a few different designs. This on the centre section:

This on the borders (you can see where I wobbled off course into the brown slightly here):

And this flower design on the corners:

As you can see, I decided on a pale binding, and I really like how it looks.

So, there you have it. I am so pleased with the quilting, even with those wobbles. I think the texture is lovely and so different to the straight line quilting I've mainly used in the past. I am dying to quilt another quilt, so I guess I should get on with some WIPs and get something ready to go!

Bye for now x

Back Again - with Star Gardener

I'm back! Back after an extended period of no blogging and no sewing. I had a hand operation in May, a month earlier than I was scheduled to have it, on my right (dominant) hand. Consequently I had to resist using it for a long while. It is almost back to normal - well, almost almost - so I am happily back into my sewing.

Among other things, I've sewn a Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt block. This is block 87, Star Gardener.

I have mainly been sewing rectangles to rectangles lately, so it was really fun to do something a bit more intricate. The cutting took me a long time, but the block went together quite quickly. There are a couple of points I'm itching to re-do, but I'm letting it sit for a bit to see how I feel about it later.

I was planning to do the centre square in the same fabric as the star points, but I cut it too small and didn't have enough left to re-cut. So, after trialling a few different options, I ended up with a rose centre.

Of course, having done this block I'm dying to more. They will have to wait for another weekend though.

Bye for now x

A Little Online Shop

I have just finished setting up a little online store where I will be selling my patterns. The address is hopesquiltdesigns.bigcartel.com 

At the moment there is just the one pattern, ZigZag Love, but as I do more patterns they will be added.

I decided to do this because it seems you have to create or sign in to your PayPal account when buying patterns through Craftsy. I have had someone let me know that this is not ideal for them, and thought it might also be inconvenient for others. With this new bigcartel site, you should be able to pay by credit card without having to have or create a PayPal account.

Bye for now x

Quilting, quilting, quilting...

Hello, and happy Tuesday! I have been absent from my blog longer than I realised... I have not been idle though. Among other things, I've been free-motion quilting! I signed up for Leah Day's Craftsy class a while back, Free Motion Quilting a Sampler, and it gave me the confidence to have a go.

I have just one photo to show for the moment, a little corner of the back of the quilt, but I hope to have it bound soon and then I will share more. 

I am so pleased with it, and with the fact that I refrained from unpicking when I 'wobbled' off course. Those mistakes just melt into the background when you step away from it. 

Anyway, that's it for now. Hopefully I'll be back soon with a finished quilt!

Bye for now :)

Flock - A Farmers Wife Sampler Block

Good afternoon!

I actually made another Farmers Wife Sampler block today. It has been SUCH a long time since the last ones.

This is block 33, Flock:

This was quite quick to make - not many pieces compared to a lot of the other blocks - and went together pretty well. I started cutting it out last night, and finished it up today. I do so love these Rose Parade fabrics from Moda. LOVE them.

I am sort of considering putting the blocks I've made together into a quilt top now... I don't know if I want to make a queen size any more. There are a couple of reasons. One, I feel like it will be a million years from now before all the blocks are done for it. Two, I can't help but feel the blocks will get a bit lost in the crowd with a big quilt, and a smaller quilt will make it easier to see each block - and can be used more often. Still, no need to rush into a decision, I've got plenty of other projects to keep me busy!

I would also like to say, if any of you lovely people are reading, thank you to those who have purchased my pattern. It is such a thrill, and I can't wait to see some heart quilts made from it.

Bye for now :)

Hatchlings

Hello, and Happy Monday!

My sister-in-law brought this little quilt over for some minor repairs today, so I thought I'd take a couple of photos and post them on here. I made this quilt for her when she was pregnant with her first child. It was a Christmas present, and I remember sewing the binding on on Christmas Eve.... Nothing like the last minute for getting things done.

This is the third quilt top I ever made, but my second fully-complete quilt. It was my first ever appliqué, my first time following a pattern and my second attempt at binding.

The original pattern was from a magazine, I can't remember which at the moment, and was in country colours with little bunny rabbits popping out of the hearts. I had bought the purple dragon print (click on the pic to hopefully see that better) to make the quilt so decided to turn the rabbits into dragons to go with it.

Unlike the talented Suzitee, who does a lot of blanket stitch by hand and does it very well, it really is not my forte. There was no way I was doing all that blanket stitch by hand, so I used my machine blanket stitch, which I was really pleased with. I remember I didn't have any fusible web like the pattern called for, so I used a light-weight fusible interfacing on the back of each shape, and the odd bit of hemming tape here and there to hold it in place while I stitched.

I did try a bit of free-motion quilting on it, aiming for some spirals, but only managed really tight little spirals which were no good at all, so in the end I quilted it in the ditch.

I kind of muddled my way through the binding, which I wasn't really sure how to do at all. I decided to do it all by machine, mainly because I was in a hurry to get it done! I stitched in the ditch along the binding at the front, catching it at the back a couple of millimetres from the edge.

The backing fabric I picked with the help of my hubby. It seemed to go well with dragons, and we thought it would be sure to keep bub warm, being all flames. :)

The best thing about this quilt is that nearly six years later it's being used for baby number three, and I'm sure that in four or five months when baby number four comes, it will be used by her too. The repair is just a little one - I didn't poke one of the dragon bodies far enough under the heart, so it's come out from behind. Just need to sew it down to stop it fraying really. :)

Gosh, lots of writing today, I must be feeling talkative. Thanks for bearing with me, if you did. :)

Bye for now.

Pattern Update :)

Just a quick note to say that the pattern for my little heart quilt is done, and in the process of being tested!

Getting there... :)

Spots, Project Life, and Patterns

So, a few things to talk about today. First up, here is a quilt top I finished on Thursday:

The two spots with low contrast bug me a little, but I'll get over it. The pattern is Spot On, from the book Simplify by Camille Roskelley. I changed a few things... First, I trimmed all the layer cake squares down to 9.875 inches, because they were not square straight from the pack, which makes it hard to sew an accurate quilt. Second, I made the sashing a little narrower, and third, I made the outside border wider. 

The fabric is all Etchings by 3 Sisters. I love their fabrics, wish I could buy them all! I ordered a 108" wide fabric for the backing, but ended up using a lot of it for the sashing and outside border, so will have to piece the back. The outside border is actually the back of the fabric. I just love the way it looks. 

Next up, some more Project Life. I tried something different this week, just one photo, some stamping and a freebie printable from Prima. The background is glimmer-misted too...

No days specified this time, no lengthy write-ups, just a list. I think I like doing it this way.

And finally, I am writing a pattern for my little Marmalade heart quilt. I'm calling it ZigZag Love. I have had some requests for a pattern, and started writing something by hand quite some time ago. That proved too laborious, so now I've done it all on computer. Nearly finished, just a little bit more to go then it is ready for testing and proof-reading.

Oh, I haven't actually blogged the quilt yet, so here it is:

I'll keep you posted, and be sure to tell you all about it when the pattern is ready. I want it to be just right, so bear with me. :)

Edit: ZigZag Love Pattern now available here or here. 

Liquorice Allsort - A Miniature Sampler

A couple of weeks ago, I made one more miniature Farmers Wife Sampler block, and finally assembled all nine I'd made into a very tiny quilt for a very lovely friend. 

And here it is, with the book that started it all: 

This little quilt is roughly 20cm square, or about 8 inches. It was so much fun to put together, and I definitely have plans for more! I already have two more blocks made, so I have to make more, right? 

The small blocks are a little fiddly, but surprisingly quick to put together. I suppose that when the longest seam in a block is 2 inches, with a finished block size of 1.5 inches, it isn't all that surprising it should go together quickly. 

Having made these tiny blocks I feel like the regular size blocks made as per instruction are not that small at all. See, they're quite big really, almost covering the little quilt:

I ended up calling the quilt Liquorice Allsort, because that's what Susan was reminded of with the stripes, the black and the bright colours. I think of fizzy drink and lollies when I look at it. :)

I am very pleased with this little quilt, and if I hadn't been making it for the express purpose of giving it away, I think it would have been very hard to part with. 

As it happens though, after I'd dropped it at the post office I was on a high that lasted till it arrived at its destination, at which point I was on a SUPER high because it was received with such excitement and heartfelt thanks. 

It's true what they say, that the joy is in the giving. ;)

Farmer's Daughter

This weekend just gone, I managed to make two Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks, and I love both of them. :)

First up was Farmer's Daughter:

This is so similar to another block I've already done, Butterfly at the Crossroads, that I had to keep checking to make sure I hadn't done it before. :) I actually had this one mostly cut out for a week, but didn't get a chance to finish cutting and sew it together till the weekend. 

Next up was Farmer's Puzzle: 

I am very much in love with the yellow and aqua combination. It is so sunshiney and lovely. This was a nice quick block to make, with not many pieces to cut out. Hooray to that!

Darting Birds

One more Farmers Wife Sampler block complete, Darting Birds. This one was going very well, until it came to attaching the 'birds' to each other. I had trouble with one point in particular, and ended up calling  it done after several unpicking sessions, though I was not 100% thrilled with it.

Here is the block:

It is a bit wonky in places, but oddly ended up nice and square...  

And because I hadn't laid them out in a while, here are all my blocks to date:

Having them all laid out like this makes me wonder about doing a couple of smaller quilts, rather than the queen size I was planning. Still plenty of time to decide. :)

Hello Blog

Long time no post! I have not been idle, I just have not taken proper photos. Instagram photos, yes, but not photos with a decent camera of a decent size.

Today I quickly snapped these two Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks.

Here is Block 29, Economy:

And Block 28, Duck and Ducklings:

I've noticed recently that I seem to have a lot of the blue Rose Parade fabrics left, so have been using those. I am currently working on Darting Birds, again using blue and the black/white spot. Lots of little pieces in that one, so I'm taking it slowly.

I must take some photos of what I've been up to. Poor blog has been very neglected.

Just a couple of things...

I have been a busy bee and finished a couple of quilts, as well as making progress on a couple. For now though, here are just a couple of blocks I've done. The finished quilts still need a proper photo shoot. :)

First of all, here is a block called Dutch Rose. I have made it with Ruby by Bonnie and Camille for Moda. It's one of (probably) three I will be making for a table runner.

Next up is another block in the Farmer's Wife Sampler, called Wild Goose Chase:

It was a breeze to put together. Instead of making the individual flying geese units and joining them, I made one unit, then added the big triangle, then each of the small triangles, then the next big triangle and so on. It makes for a nice flat block and pointy points.

That's it for now. Hopefully I will be back soon with some Marmalade.

End of Day

Last week was not the best of weeks, and though I had made it my goal to get a couple of cushion covers made last week, I decided that yesterday I needed a bit of escape sewing. So, I went for a couple of the quicker Farmers Wife Sampler Quilt blocks. The cushion covers will wait.

The first one was as desired, nice and quick. It's called End of Day:

It came together nice and easily, and I just undid the last seam once to get those points in the centre right. Or right enough, anyway.

The next block is called Homeward Bound (and each time I think that name I get the Simon and Garfunkel song in my head):

It came together easily enough, but I undid it because I didn't like the fabric choices. I didn't take a photo of the original. This remake was finished this morning. I think I like it. I think. It is nice and yellow anyhow.

I have missed doing these blocks, and really ought to start doing them regularly again.