Quilt-As-You-Go Christmas Stocking Tutorial – Part Two

Continued from Part One of the Quilt-As-You-Go Stocking Tutorial

To make the hanging loop:

Baste the interfacing onto the wrong side of the hanging loop.

Fold loop, right sides together and stitch along long edge using a ¼ inch seam allowance.

The photo shows a 3/8 inch seam allowance, but I ended up having to trim it down to 1/4 inch, so just use a 1/4 inch seam allowance to begin with.

To turn right side out, place safety pin in folded edge of one end of the loop.

Turn pin so that it’s inside the loop.

Push the pin through to the other end, pulling the loop right side out as you go.

Remove safety pin.  Press.

Turn quilted stocking right side out.   Pin the loop to the top back of the quilted stocking.  Baste in place.

Slip the quilted stocking inside the lining; right sides together, making sure that the seams match up.  Sew all the way around the top of the stocking using ½ inch seam allowance.

If you have a free arm sewing machine, sew on the outside.  But if you don’t, then it’s easiest to sew around the inside for this seam.

Turn stocking right side out through the opening in the lining.

Sew opening in lining closed using a blind stitch.

Push the lining down inside the quilted stocking.  Press upper edge.  Topstitch.

Admire the finished stocking.

I’ll be posting the giveaway for this stocking (filled with goodies) tomorrow.  So be sure to come back and leave a comment to be entered to win.

 

This post has been added to Sew Darn Crafty Party Week 42 over at Sew Many Ways

Quilt-As-You-Go Christmas Stocking Tutorial – Part One

Using your favourite stocking pattern, cut 2 stockings from a light weight, light coloured cotton fabric.

I used a print with a white background that was leftover from another project but if you are going to be using any light coloured fabric strips for the quilting, I would recommend a solid fabric for this.  Otherwise the print may show through.

Pin the stocking pieces to the batting and cut out; adding at least ½ inch all the way around.   Baste fabric to batting.  This forms the base on which you will quilt-as-you-go.

Make sure there are two mirror image stocking bases.  You wouldn’t want to do all the quilting only to discover that you have quilted one of the bases on the wrong side.

Also at this time, cut 2 stockings pieces from whatever fabric you wish to use for the lining.

For hanging loop, cut 1 piece 1.5 inches X 6 inches.  Cut 1 piece of light weight interfacing 1.5 X 6 inches.

Next go through your stash of Christmas fabric leftover from other projects and cut strips of varying widths and lengths.  The strips will need to be at least long enough to cover the fabric part of the stocking base.  For my stocking I needed strips that were 9 inches or longer.

Lay the first strip down right side facing up, matching one long edge with the top of the fabric part of the stocking base.   Baste across the top of stocking to hold that strip in place.

Lay the second strip down, with right side facing the right side of the first strip.  Sew along bottom of the strips using a ¼ inch seam allowance.

Flip the second strip down.  Press.

I  recommend that you press each strip well after it’s sewn in place as that will make the strips lay nice a flat; ready for the next strip to be sewn in place.

Lay a third strip right side facing the second strip.  Sew across bottom of strips.  Continue in this manner until you have covered the entire fabric part of the stocking base.

Sometimes, I angled the top strip a bit before sewing it in place, just to give the finished quilting a more varied look.

As you get closer to the heel and toe, you may also want to lay some of the strips down on a bit more of an angle to make that turn at the heel.

Repeat the above steps for the second stocking base.

Place the paper pattern piece on top of the quilted stocking base; lining it up as best you can with the fabric base.  Pin pattern piece in place and cut out.

Repeat with second quilted stocking base.

Baste along the toe to hold the fabric in place.

Pin quilted stocking bases right sides together and sew using a ½ inch seam allowance.

Trim seam allowance to ¼ inch.

Notch outside curves and clip inside curves, as pictured.

Pin lining pieces together and sew using a ½ inch seam allowance, leaving a 4 inch opening along the back for turning.  Trim seam to ¼ inch.  Notch outside curves and clip inside curves, again as pictured.

Continue to Part Two of the Quilt-As-You-Go Christmas Stocking Tutorial.

 

This post has been added to Sew Darn Crafty Party Week 42 over at Sew Many Ways

November FNSI Results – A Most Successful Evening

I am so pleased with the results of last night’s Friday Night Sew In.  I was able to complete both Christmas stockings and on Monday they’ll be mailed off to Lyanna over at Purple Panda Quilts for her Stocking Drive to provide a handmade stocking to each of the foster children served by the agency she works for.

After finishing the stockings, I even had time to cut out and baste the front of this Christmas pillow cover.

When we were down in Panama City, I (of course) had to check out the local quilt shop, Quilting by the Bay.  They had some of Laurel Burch’s new line, Holiday Celebrations.  I missed out on buying Celestial Dreams when it was available and I didn’t want to miss out again so I decided I’d treat myself to just one panel.

When Dave and I arrived back later in the day at our hosts’ place, I showed the lovely Lady L my little splurge.   She mentioned that she’d love to have a Christmas pillow made out of that fabric.

So the next day, before we left to come home, we stopped back at Quilting by the Bay and I picked up another panel plus a yard of the co-ordinating birds on black background print so that I could surprize her with a little gift to thank her and her husband for keeping us in their thoughts and prayers this past year. (I’m pretty sure that she doesn’t read my blog so the pillow will indeed be a surprize.)

I plan on doing straight line quilting around the borders of each image.   I’m hoping to have the pillow cover finished later today so that it can be mailed out on Monday as well.

For now, I’m off to check out the blogs of the other participants to see what they worked on last night.

But before I go, I’d like to mention that starting November 28th, I’ll be holding a giveaway for the Christmas stocking pictured below as part of the 2011 Stocking Giveaway (button on my sidebar) being hosted by Robin at RSIslandscrafts.

I’ve slowly been adding small gifts to the stocking; some handmade and some purchased.  So be sure to come back and enter to win.  The winner will be drawn on December 5th.

I realize that at this busy time of year it might be difficult to remember to return to enter a giveaway at the end of the month.   If you would like a reminder simply sign up to follow my blog via email.  The sign-up box is in the upper corner of the left side bar.  You’ll receive a notice each time I make a post.

In addition to the 2011 Stocking Giveaway, upcoming posts you might be interested in include:  November’s Christmas on a Budget post, a QAYG (Quilt-as-You-Go) Christmas Stocking Tutorial and two great make and freeze ahead breakfast how-tos:  How to Make Breakfast Burritos and How to Make Homemade Breakfast “McSandwiches.”

*Note:  All stockings pictured measure 19 inches from top to toe and 11 inches at their widest.

How to Sew a Patchwork Scarf

Back in August when I took our son up to Canada to get him settled into his second year of college, my rest stops along the way were quilt shops.

When I’m traveling, I have a tendency to succumb to a little impulse shopping and one of my impulse buys on that trip was a package of Moda Candy Bars.   I had no idea what I was going to make with them at the time.

When I returned home, I discovered that there really aren’t many projects designed specifically with Moda Candy Bars in mind, so they sat in the drawer while I pondered what to do with them.

Then last month, when I was working on October’s Christmas on a Budget post for One Hour Sewing Projects, I looked at those Candy Bars and realized that since they were pre-cut into 2.5” X 5” pieces, they would work great for making quick to sew patchwork fleece scarves.

I’ve been busily working away on Christmas gifts and the tutorial for the patchwork scarf got pushed to the back of the line, but yesterday I wasn’t feeling inspired to start the next Christmas gift on my list, so instead I sewed up another scarf and this time took pictures of each step.

Now today I can post the patchwork scarf tutorial, I promised.

To make the patchwork strip:

First, choose 30 pieces of fabric from the Moda Candy Bar.

Next pair those pieces up.

Sew each pair together in one long chain and then clip between the pairs to separate them.

Continue sewing pairs together until you have one long strip of 30 patchwork pieces.

Press all seams in the same direction.

Cut one piece of polar fleece 13 X 60.

Most polar fleece comes in 60 inch widths, so you should only have to trim off the selvages to get  60 inches, but measure to be sure.

Mark the center of each long side and again at each quarter with pins on both the fleece and the patchwork strip.

Match up the center and quarter mark pins.   Then pin long sides together, distributing fabric evenly.    Fleece is very stretchy, so use lots of pins.

Sew using a 1/4” seam allowance.   Repeat with other long sides to form one long tube.

Mark center of each short end of patchwork strip and of fleece strip.

Fold the tube so that the pins match.  This will position the patchwork strip in the center of the fleece.

Sew one end closed, using ¼” seam allowance.   Sew the other end, leaving an opening in the middle for turning.

Trim corners of the seam allowance on the diagonal.

Turn the tube right side out.

Sew opening closed using a blind stitch.

Pin along each side of the patchwork strip, making sure to center it on the fleece.

Notice that I have the pins all facing in the same direction but it's better to first determine which direction you'll be sewing in and then pin accordingly. Otherwise, you'll have to switch the pins around before sewing to make them easier to remove. (Don't ask me how I know)

Top stitch 1/4” from the seam and on each end.

A little over an hours worth of sewing yields a soft pretty scarf perfect for gift giving.

To make these suitable for the men on your list, simply choose more masculine fabrics for the patchwork and fleece.

This post has been added to Sew Darn Crafty Party Week #41 over at Sew Many Ways.

And it’s has also been added to Mady By You Monday at Skip to my Lou.

How to Make a One Hour Table Runner

This is my version of the 10 Minute Table Runner because as I mentioned in my FNSI post…

“…..I defy anyone to cut panels from two different fabrics, pin and sew those panels together, press the seams either open or to one side, turn right side out and press again; centering the narrower fabric over the wider fabric, pin and sew the ends, press that seam open, turn the end to form the point and then either sew that in place or sew on a button at each end to keep the point in place.  And do it all in 10 minutes.”

My version is also longer than the 10 minute table runner which is cut width of fabric; resulting in a finished table runner that is at most 40 inches long.

I like my table runners to be at least as long as the table but prefer them to hang over the end a little bit.   Here’s how I arrived at the measurements required to fit my table.

My table is 60 inches long.  I wanted an overhang of 4 inches on either end.  Add ½” seam allowance to each end.

60” + 8” + 1”= 69” long

To calculate how wide to cut the panels, I decided I wanted a 14” wide table runner, with two borders of 2 ½” and allowing for ¼” seam allowance (times 2 seams):

14” – 5” + ½” = 9 ½” width required for the feature fabric that runs down the center of the table runner.

14” + 5” + ½” = 19 ½” width required for the fabric that will form the backing and the borders of the table runner.

Most cotton fabrics come in 44/45” widths.  If I cut my fabric across the width of the fabric, I’d have to sew two pieces together to get a length of fabric long enough to make my table runners.

Instead, what I do is purchase 2 yards of fabric (72”.)   The extra inches are to allow for wonky cutting at the fabric store and any shrinkage that may occur when I pre-wash the fabric.

After the fabric is washed and pressed, measure and cut it to 69”.

Fold it in half lengthwise and then in half again.  Place it on the cutting mat and square up one side.

Make one cut 19 ½” wide and a second cut 9 ½” wide from each fabric.

This achieves two things.  First it maximizes the use of the fabric and second it provides enough panels to make two table runners with the feature fabric reversed.

Next mark the centers on the long edges of one 19 ½” wide panel and one 9 ½” panel.

Pin the panels together matching the centers and the ends and continue pinning along the entire length making sure the panels lie flat against each other.

Sew with ¼” seam allowance.

Repeat with other long side of each panel.

The result will be a tube of fabric.

Press the seams open.

Turn right side out.

Center the feature fabric over the backing fabric and pin in place.

Press.

Topstitch on either side of both long seams.

To form the point at the end of the table runner:

Fold the narrow end in half with the backing fabric to the inside.  Pin and sew with ½” seam allowance.

Clip inside corner as shown below and trim seam to ¼”.

Press seam open.

Turn point right side out.  Match the seam of the pointed end to the center of the feature fabric.  Pin in place.  Press.

Topstitch close to the edge.

If desired, a button can be added for decoration.

Repeat the above steps with the other two fabric panels.

Two completed table runners with the feature fabric reversed.

Now for a little confession… when I was taking photos for this tutorial, I missed taking ones of the steps to complete the points at the end of the table runners.   These table runners are so quick to make that it would have been easy to sew another one and take the required photos. However, I discovered that I only had about 15”X40” left of the green fabric and an 8”X72” strip of the red.  I’m still trying to figure out what I used the rest of the fabric for.

Anyway, I cut long enough pieces of what was left of each fabric and sewed them together so that I could then take pictures showing how to form the point on the table runner.

Once that was done… I was left with an odd little item that I wasn’t quite sure what to do with.  I hate wasting fabric but I also didn’t feel much like unpicking all those seams so that I could use the fabric in something else.

Then an idea occurred to me.  Why not sew another point on the unfinished end and turn it into a little mat to put candy dishes on.

It didn’t look too bad.  But it was still kind of an odd shaped little item.

Then another idea occurred to me.   I flipped it over and did a little origami style folding.

Some pinning and sewing and this is the result:

It’s even reversible.

Now I just need to decide whether to use it as a mug rug or a candle mat.

This post has been added to “Tute”-In Tuesday over at Oops, I Craft My Pants

Christmas on a Budget – One Hour Gifts to Sew

With just two months to go until Christmas Day, not only must we continue to carefully budget our dollars but if we are planning to complete handmade gifts for those on our list, we will also need to budget our time wisely.

Inspired by the one hour table runners I made during October’s Friday Night Sew In, I thought I’d share a few simple sewing projects that can be completed in approximately one hour.

One of my current favourite small gifts to give are these little sewing companions.

I've included the ruler to provide an idea of their size.

Each one takes me slightly less than an hour to complete including the time it takes to cut and fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of the main fabric and to install the snap closure.

By filling the inside pockets with different things, you can personalize the sewing companion to suit the recipient.

Add a small pair of scissors and they make great little gifts to give to friends who sew, quilt or embroider.

With the addition of the items pictured below they are transformed into travel sewing kits that can be popped into a purse or suitcase.

An extra hour of sewing will yield this matching needle book and pin cushion.

Instructions for the sewing companion and needle book can be found here.

When making these, I try to choose colours and prints that I think the recipient will like.  And so far, each sewing companion, needle book and pin cushion that I’ve given has been well received.  This set is going into the Christmas Stocking I’m giving away at the end of November.  (click on the picture in my sidebar for more details)

This next project was one I made for our son last Christmas.  After living in the south for 4 years and Maui for 4 years before that, he had a bit of a hard time adjusting to the extended cold and damp of a Southern Ontario winter, so we bought him a hot water bottle and I made a fleece cover for it.

For the pattern, I simply traced around the hot water bottle and added a seam allowance.   Now a hot water bottle cover is a fairly generic gift, so to make it uniquely his, I cut his college logo out of felt and machine stitched it on.

The final project takes slightly more than an hour to complete but the result is a scarf so sweet and soft that I’m sure you won’t mind the extra minutes of sewing.

The patch work strip is sewn using 30 pieces of a Moda candy bar from the fabric line Lovely by Sandy Gervais.   The only cutting required is for the 13”X60” piece of fleece.    Change the colour of the fleece, use more masculine fabric for the patchwork and these would make great gifts for the men on your list.

Here are some more ideas from blogs I visit regularly:

Ric-Rac is one of my favourite bloggers.  I adore her stuffed toys and her quirky sense of humour.  And I especially love her Baxter and Ernst stories.  She shares this free 1-Hour Bag Tutorial and this One Hour Softie in the sidebar of her blog.

Just this morning, retro mama posted a tutorial for tiny house ornaments.  Once you get the basic pattern drawn, the ornament would be a quick sew project.   And if you did them in assembly line fashion, you could whip up a bunch of these in an afternoon to give as gifts.

A quick search on one hour sewing projects turned up lots more ideas.  I’ve listed a few of these fun and interesting projects below:

The One Hour Pencil Case Tutorial by Kat at Ripping Out Seams

And for a no-sew fabric project:  One Hour Fleece Blanket

If you’re just learning to sew, you might also like to check out one of my first tutorials How to Sew a Basic Throw Pillow.  The pillow itself, without any embellishments, would take less than an hour to sew.    I topstitched on a redwork embroidery but that could be replaced with something else; a vintage crocheted doily for example .  Or the pillow could be left plain; allowing the fabric to take center stage.

Tutorials for the one hour table runners and the patchwork scarf will be posted over the coming week.

I hope this has given you some fun ideas for quick and easy projects to add to your gift giving list.  And I hope too that you will join me next month for another Christmas on a Budget post and for the giveaway that goes with it.

Past Christmas on a Budget posts can be accessed by clicking on the following links:

Decorating the Tree

Building Traditions

Two No-Sew Christmas Ideas

Buy Christmas Fabric Only When On Sale

Christmas Fabrics Part 2

Gifts for Less Than $2

Homemade Gift Tags

Christmas on a Budget – Post #1

 

This post has been added to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

WIP Wednesday – Stockings

There has been a lot of secret sewing and embroidery happening here.  But those will all have to remain a secret until after my parent’s 50th Wedding Anniversary, a certain December birthday and Christmas.

What I can show you are the fabrics I’ve picked out to make a stocking for the Stocking Drive being held by Lyanna from Purple Panda Quilts.

The fabrics folded at the top are going to be used to make the cuffs of the stockings.

I stopped in to Hancock Fabrics on Monday to take advantage of their holiday 50% off sale on thread, zippers, lace and trim (with an additional 10% the entire purchase coupon) and those fat quarters were temptingly displayed in a basket on the cutting counter.   Two of each print made their way into my shopping basket.

Fabric stockings, especially ones made with Christmas novelty prints, are so quick and easy to sew.   I plan to make at least one for Lyanna’s Stocking Drive and another one or two to have to hand; ready to send off if I come across other such donations opportunities between now and Christmas.

With the leftover fabric from those stockings along with some more from my stash, I also plan to make another QAYG (Quilt-As-You-Go) stocking like this one below that I made for the Stocking Giveaway I’ll be having at the end of November.

I really liked how this stocking turned out and I think a QAYG stocking would be great to add to my box of ready to give gifts.

It doesn’t show in the photo but there is a  slight bulge in that stocking above as I’ve already started to fill it with goodies for the 2011 Stocking Giveaway.  (Click on the button on the right sidebar to find out more.)

The mini mystery giveaway that Robin held when she posted the sign up link is closed but you can still add your name to the list if you would like to hold a Stocking Giveaway on your blog at the end of November.

This post has been added to WIP Wednesday #47 over at Freshly Pieced.

When Inspiration Strikes

Last week, Robin over at RSIslandcrafts posted her sign-up post for this year’s Stocking Giveaway.   The sign-ups are for any blog that wants to host a giveaway for a Christmas Stocking on their blog at the end of November.

Stockings for the giveaway can be handmade or bought.  You can fill them or not.

For more detailed information check out Robin’s post: 2011 Stocking Give Away

The next few months are going to be super busy, so I’ve been holding off signing up to host a Stocking Giveaway because I wanted to be sure I at least had the stocking part figured out.

I knew that I wanted to give away a handmade stocking but there are just so many different patterns and designs to choose from when it comes to stockings.

I also knew that I wanted to use what I had on hand to make the stocking.

Yesterday, I had one of those wake up in the middle of the night and can’t go back to sleep times, so I got up and started working on some Christmas projects.  I find embroidering to be almost a zen type experience and often when I get into the flow, inspiration will strike.

This is the result of that inspiration and a couple of hours sewing yesterday and this morning.

I’ve still got to sew the two pieces together, make the lining, etc. but I’m super pleased with the QAYG (quilt as you go) that I did for the front and back of the stocking.

If you’d like to host a Stocking Giveaway on your blog in November be sure to sign-up over on Robin’s blog.  She’s making it extra fun by having mini giveaways between now and November for those blogs that are participating.

Now for those of you who don’t have a blog or don’t want to host a giveaway, you can still join in the fun come the end of November by visiting the blogs that are hosting giveaways and entering to win.

Final Giveaway Reminder

The Giveway is Now Closed

The winners will be announced tomorrow afternoon, Sunday September 11th.

Just a quick reminder that today is the final day to enter the giveaway to win one of these handmade gift bags.

Here’s a quick recap of the rules:

1.  One comment per person on my post:

Grommet Bow Gift Bag Tutorial – Part 4 and the Giveaway

2.  I don’t do facebook or twitter and I only want you to subscribe to my blog if you choose to but if you’d like an extra entry, blog about the giveaway and come back and leave a second comment on that post for a second entry.

3.  The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world.

The giveaway will close at 11 pm Eastern DayLight Time tonight, (September 10th) at which time I will draw two names from all the comments on the above mentioned post and send one of the gift bags to each winner.    And of course, since it’s no fun giving away a gift bag without a gift inside, I will be slipping some surprizes into each bag, as well.

So far, I’ve added two fat quarters to each bag and I’ll be adding a few more small surprizes as well.

A fat quarter of the Beach Divas fabric and the co-ordinating Beach Toys fabric has been added to the gift bags.

My Trip Back to Georgia and WIP Wednesday

Bright and early Friday morning we checked out of our hotel.  A quick stop at Canadian Tire for flashlight batteries (the one thing we kept forgetting in all our trips to various stores) and then it was time to drop our son off at his new home.

Goodbyes were said.  A few tears (mine) were shed, a final long hug and I was on the road home to Dave in Georgia.

Our son’s landlady warned me not to leave so early because I’d just end up stuck in rush hour traffic but I know from experience that prolonged goodbyes just make them that much harder.

Traffic, however, was unusually light on Friday.  I think perhaps half the population of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) must have taken an extra day off for the Labour Day weekend because once I hit the express lanes, it was smooth 100 km/hr driving all the way to the border.

Along the way, I did make a quick stop to pick up Timbits for Dave and let me tell you, those were hard to resist on the trip home… but they stayed in the cooler the whole way.  I didn’t even have one.  How’s that for resisting temptation… lol.

The little tourist center outside Niagara where I stopped had the wait times of the various border crossings listed.   We usually cross on the Peace Bridge and I knew that being the start of the long weekend it would be busy but I was surprized to see that the wait time was already listed as an hour and a half.  Wait time for the Rainbow Bridge however was listed as 15 minutes.  Guess which one I decided to cross at.

And I’m so glad I did.  The I-190 from the Rainbow Bridge takes you right by the Peace Bridge and the traffic was backed up as far along the bridge as I could see.

I had my stops all planned out.  First up… the Calico Patch Quilt Shop.

As I mentioned yesterday, there was something missing from the picture of my purchases.   On my stop there on the way up, I was excited to find one of those new Lil Twister rulers that I’ve been reading so much about in blogland.   Excited that is, until I had a chance to read the instructions which included a notation that there would be approximately 1/4  to 1/3 wastage.   I don’t care how cute the resulting quilt is (and they are cute), that is more wastage than I’m willing to accept.

The lady working that day wasn’t best pleased that I was returning it, but she did process the return which I quickly ended up spending on three more fat quarters.

Fabrics for an I-Spy Quilt

About 7 pm I called Dave, told him my location (as in what mile marker on the I-71 I was at) and that I was starting to feel like it was time to stop driving for the day.  A few minutes later, he called back saying he had a hotel room in Mason, OH booked and which exit I needed to take.  I was to call him back once I got to the hotel and he’d give me the reservation confirmation number.

After a great night’s sleep and a good breakfast I was back on the road.    On the way up, I’d purchased that cute fat quarter bundle to add to my bug jar quilt fabric collection.   The ladies at The Quilt Box had actually put that bundle together to make a Yellow Brick Road quilt.  And the more I thought about the sample quilt, the more I wanted to make one.   So my first stop on Saturday was back at The Quilt Box for another bundle of those fat quarters and the pattern.

And I don’t even have to count the two fat quarter bundles as added to stash because I’ve already used them (scroll down to the end of this post to see how far I’ve gotten but come back to finish reading about my next and final quilt shop stop.)

By the middle of the afternoon, I was ready for another break.

Mammaw’s Thimble Fabric and Quilt Shop is just off the I-40/1-75 and if you’re ever traveling through Knoxville, TN, I highly recommend that you stop by and check it out.  This little shop, by far, has the largest selection of fabric in any of the quilt shops I’ve visited.

If you like novelty prints, they’ve got lots in amongst the hundred and hundreds of bolts of fabric on display.  If you find a fabric on the bolt that you like, but only need/want a fat quarter, chances are if you look in the cubbies right above you’ll find one in just that fabric.

If you prefer buying quilt kits, they are displayed on racks and shelves throughout the shop.  There were so many different ones, it was really hard to resist the urge to buy a couple.  I had to keep reminding myself that I had added a quilt to my to-do list on this trip already.

They also have a great selection of quilt patterns and the usual rulers and notions.  There’s even a selection of Moda charm packs and jelly rolls.

An hour of browsing and making difficult choices and I came away with these:

See that adorable “Beach Diva” fat quarter I’ve spread out for the photo.   I picked up two to make a beach bag for myself but they are just so much fun that I picked out two more, plus a yard of the co-ordinating Beach Toys fabric.  Half a yard of that is for me and the other half, I’ve cut into two fat quarters.

I’ve added a fat quarter of the Beach Diva fabric and the Beach Toys fabric to each of the gift bags that I’m giving away.

Speaking of which, there’s still lots of time to enter the Gift Bag Giveaway by leaving a comment on this post.  I’ll be drawing a winner September 10^th.

After that refreshing break, I was back on the road and by 7 pm was pulling into our garage.  Home Sweet Home!

Sunday, I spent just lazying around the house and enjoying the fact that I didn’t have anywhere I needed to go or anything that I needed to do.  I did however get those two fat quarter bundles washed and Monday morning I started pressing, cutting and sewing.

I just adore this fabric.  It makes me smile every time I look at it.

I did decide to “steal” a 6 ½” square from all the bug fabrics and so had to raid my stash of fat quarters plus cut into one I’d bought at Quilt a Bag in Canada to add back enough fabric so that those deletions and additions wouldn’t be glaringly noticeable.

If you’re looking for a quick easy, strip pieced quilt, Yellow Brick Road is a great one to try.  I really appreciate the time that the designer, Terry Atkinson of Atkinson Designs took to make sure that all the cuts maximized the use of the fat quarters.  There was very little wastage.

As of this morning, I have all the blocks sewn and now I’m trying to decide on the best layout.

It’s proving to be a challenge.  I’ll see a portion of the quilt with too much purple, so I rearrange squares only to discover a section with too much orange, so I rearrange those and so on.  I will eventually decide enough is enough and start sewing blocks together.

Then I’ll need to search my stash for border and binding fabric.

I do have four blocks leftover.  I would have had 5 left, but I changed the layout of 5 X 7 blocks that the pattern called for to a 6 X 6 block layout.   I might add those blocks to the quilt back or perhaps make a matching pillow out of them.

The pattern I used may be called Yellow Brick Road, but I’m calling mine Smiling Sunflowers.

This post has been added to WIP Wednesday #43 over at Freshly Pieced.