Bari J.

Curved Edge Dresden Plate How To

I love this quintessantial 1920s quilt block so much, and it's much easier to make than you'd think.

I made one of these as a pillow for my quilt market booth for Splendor 1920 and have just made an updated version that I'm about to turn into a pillow as well. This time, I used two Art Gallery Elements fabrics for the backgrounds to give the vintage dresden an updated look. Here's how I made my dresden and the background.

Materials Needed:

8 fabrics for the dresden petals (12" x 12" is plenty), 1 fabric (4") for the center, 2 fabrics (1/3 yard each) for the background

2/3 yard of fusible fleece (this will give you extra)

fat quarter of muslin

Washable Elmer's Glue

Needle and matching thread for applique

Thread conditioner like Thread Heaven (optional)

Download pattern:  Download Dresdenplate_templates

 

Cutting:

Cut 16 Dresden petals and 1 circle center from the attached pattern. I used Splendor 1920 in the "Elegance" colorway for all of the petals and Oval Elements Licorice for the center (note: one of the most important parts of getting the dresden to lay flat will be really accurate cutting. Too much or too little fabric will cause the plate to bow and lay all loopy-ish.)

Cut 2 - 9 1/2" Oval Elements Licorice and 2 - 9 1/2" Living Elements Ebony for the background

Cut one piece of fusible fleece 18 1/4" x 18 1/4"

 

Step by step:

1. Piece the four pieces of elements together in a square for the background. I alternated prints.

2. Lay out your dresden design. I went with a design in color order from darkest to lightest. When I'm satisfied with my layout, bring it over to the sewing machine on a small cutting mat to keep it in order. I've been known to move them around if I don't leave them just so. You can also take a quick phone photo of your layout to remember the order.

2. Place the first two petals right side together, and sew together along one edge using a 1/4" seam allowance. (Note: As I mentioned before, accurate cutting is super important. A super accurate seam allowance is also imperiative.)

3. Keep adding petals until all 16 are attached, then sew the first petal to the last petal.

4. Press all of the seams to one side.

5. Place the dresden right side down on the piece of muslin. Pin it in place.

6. Cut the muslin to the shape of the dresden.

7. With the dresden still pinned to the muslin, bring it to the sewing machine. Set your machine to a slightly shorter stitch. Mine is usually at 2.5, so I bring it to a 2.0. This helps to go around small curves. Starting at a seam, sew around one curve of a petal using a 1/4" seam allowance. When you get to the next seam, stop, pivot at sew to the next seam. Repeat until you've sewn the entire way around the dresden.

8. Press to set the stitches. Snip to but not through the seams all the way around the dresden. It will be especially important to snip at the seams between petals to avoice bulk at the points.

9. Turn the dresden right side out through the hole in the middle. Press well. I use a pin to pull each seam neatly out. It's important to really take your time doing this to avoid puckers and points.

10. Place fabric circle and the muslin circle right sides together, and sew together using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

11. Snip to but not through the seams as you did for the dresden.

12. Pull the muslin away from the fabric and snip an x through the muslin. Turn throught this hole. Press well.

13. Place the dresden exactly centered on the background. Use elmers glue to hold in place. Press to set the glue. (This washes out.) Do the same for the circle on the top.

14. Fuse the fleece to the wrong side of the base.

15. Using a blind stitch, stitch the dresden to the background. This is how you applique by hand. If you are familiar with hand sewing binding, it's like that, except that I take even smaller stitches.

    A blind stitch is just that, blind. You won't be able to see it when you are done. Here's how...

        15a. Start at the top of the fabric and bring the needle through the background taking less than a 1/4" stitch.

        15b. Exactly where the needle came up, place the needle into the dresden taking less than 1/4" stitch right in the fold (the                 edge of the fabric) of the applique (dresden).

        15c. Exactly where the needle came out of the edge of the applique fabric, place it back down into the base fabric. Continue until the entire applique is sewn in place.

Note: My Rule of thumb here is, if you can see the needle between stitches, you'll be able to see thread.

 You can see below where I've taken about five stitches along.

Once you have the entire dresden and the circle center stitched in place, you are ready to quilt as desired. I did a different design on each petal and then an all over flower for the background. Now I'm ready to make this into a pillow! The instructions for pillow making will be in a separate post. 

 

Splendor 1920 Modern Crazy Quilt    

About to send her out the door for quilting, but I thought I'd show her off a bit before she's gone for some time.

I started this quilt in early December. I decided to make a crazy quilt because the style was extremely popular in the Victorian era. And I also wanted to show how the prints can be used in small bits. To give it a modern twist, I separated the blocks with sashing (Pure Elements in Nocturnal by Art Gallery) and set the blocks on point. It is comprised of 25 - 12 1/2" blocks which are foundation pieced on muslin. I used the stitch and flip method as I did on these string block coasters. They are set on point with 2 1/2" sashing. I then added 14" borders on the left and right and 6 1/2" borders on the top and bottom to make a king size of 110" wide by 98". The fabrics are, of course, all from Splendor 1920.

Because I can never leave well enough alone (as you know, more is more in my world), I added little bits of collage here and there. I simply cut out motifs and free motion quilted them raw edged to the top of the quilt.

Additionally, I used my Aurifil 12wt set to stitch the top of several blocks. I did this using my machine and I had 28 weight in the bobbin. The muslin base stabilized the work nicely. I decided not to do the whole thing with stitching as I didn't want to ruin the modern affect I'd created by going too overboard with details.

Now to make a back and send her off to be quilted! 

 

November/December Adventures in Quilting and Sewing: Part Three

My two months of non-stop sewing continues...

I also started a crazy quilt with Splendor 1920 this month. I'll need 25 of these blocks to finish, but I'm well on my way with 15. I'm really excited.

This are constructed using muslin as a base. And sewing using the "stitch and flip
 method. I simply place a piece of scrap fabric, right side up on top of the muslin. Then a second piece is placed on top right side facing the first piece. I then sew a 1/4" seam allowance, and flip the second piece right side up, and press. I continue until I've filled the entire square. Then I trim to the original block size. Which, in this case is 12 1/2" unfinished.

Obviously each of the blocks end up looking completely different, depending on what scrap I happened to grab...

There are some in which I left the selvedges on... My mom asked me why I "left the tags on"... 

And I've decided to decoratively top stitch random blocks with my Aurifil 12 wt Splendor 1920 box of threads. I did these all on the machine! Not by hand.

And there will also be random blocks that I've free motion quilted raw edged motifs to... for little added surprises everywhere.

I plan to make this a king size quilt as I have never actually made a quilt for my own bed, believe it or not. So in the end it will be five rows of five squares set on point with 2 1/2" sashing. 

I'm using "Nocturnal" from Art Gallery Pure Elements collection for the sashing.

Still and yet... I had gifts to make this month too. All the crazy quilting and free motion quilting did lead up to that... I'm getting there... see part four for more.

 

 

November/December Adventures in Quilting and Sewing: Part Two

After I finished my sister's quilt, I moved on to that table cloth ... you know, the one that I made the mitered border video for? After we got home from our trip to Colorado for Thanksgiving I got to work quilting it. Here are some of the work in progress photos... I'll show more from the back than the front as you can see better. I ended up not using batting but just flannel on the back, because I wanted it to drape well on the table. But now that I've worked so hard quilting it, I'm not sure about that decision. Batting would make the quilting stand out more. 

I did swirls all over the center and then for the peacock feather borders, I decided I wanted to do feathers. Of course, I didn't know HOW to do feathers, so I looked it up and found instructions somewhere on the internet... I'm sorry I can't find the original link, but there are a lot of tutorials out there. Here's my practice piece. Oy. Vey.

And here, I got brave and put it on the quilt... I echoed around the feathers and then put swirls next door... to the left.

And on the floral inner borders... flowers. 

As of right now, I've got one more inner border left, then I have 4 outer borders. Quilting takes a long time, but it's SO worth it. 

I thought I'd add, since I know some will ask... I quilt on a Juki tl2010Q ... It's a straight stitch/quilting machine and I LOVE it!

And the fabric, of course, is Splendor 1920.

 

14 Days of LillyBelle... Day 6. String Block quilted coasters.

I have a party to go to later this week. So, I thought I'd make a hostess gift today. At this point, I have a ton of scraps, so I thought a string block would be perfect. Together, four coasters make one string block and I think they look fantastic on a coffee table layed out like this... Make a whole bunch and you can mix and match. 

Here's how you make them...

You will need:

a fat quarter of muslin

a fat quarter of batting or fusible fleece (I used the fleece)

Scraps

A fat quarter for the back of the coasters

Coordinating Thread (I used four Aurifil colors from the Pat Bravo Quilter's Heart box set: 2132, 2420, 5006 and 2311)

 

Cut:

4 each backing, batting/fusible fleece and muslin at 4 1/2" x 4 1/2"

Cut strips of varying sizes at least 7" long

 

Assemble:

1. Lay a strip, right side up on top of a muslin square on the diagonal.

2. Lay a second strip on top of the first piece raw edges matching and right sides together.

3. Sew a 1/4" seam along the raw edge.

4. Flip the top piece over and press in place.

5. Continue piecing in this manner until the entire square is covered.

6. Turn your finished square over on top of your cutting mat so you can see the muslin, and use your rotary cutter and ruler to trim to the size of the square.

7. Fuse the fleece to the wrong side of each of your finished squares.

8. Place the backing and front of the square right sides together and sew around three sides.

9. For the fourth side, baste the seam. 

10. Trim the corners.

11. Press all seams open.

12. With a seam ripper, open a small portion of the basted edge. (note: I had you close it and open it so that you would have a nice line to turn the edge under.) 

13. Turn the coaster through the opening.

14. Press the open edge in 1/4" toward the wrong side.

15. Edge stitch around the four sides of the coaster closing the open side.

16. Quilt as desired. I simply quilted straight lines 1/4" apart until I got to the center... That way, I didn't have to lift the needle or cut thread. i.e.: It was fast.

Happy sewing!

14 Days of LillyBelle... Day 5. Fabric Collage Embellished Skirt   

You probably already know this... I love fabric collage. I think it works on just about anything. I've done wall hangings, pillows, embellished sweaters, quilt edges, jeans and lots more. For this project, I embellished a jean skirt. If you were at quilt market you might have seen me wearing it. I actually did this in the hotel room the night before the show opened.

This is super easy to do. If you don't have experience with free motion quilting, this is also an easy way to get started practicing because it's just so forgiving. If your stitches appear too long or short, just go over them again. You are simply going to doodle. Watch me do it in the video below.

For this project you'll need about 20 or so raw edged fabric motifs. Mine are from LillyBelle in the both colorways. I used Aurifil 4651 which is a variegated thread for the quilting. And you'll need a sewng machine that has free motion quilting capability (feed dogs can go down and a quilting foot). You'll also need a piece of muslin to go underneath your motifs where they will hang off the edge. Quilting gloves are optional, but really help you grip the fabric to move it.

1. Lay the muslin on top of your jean skirt where you will be putting the motifs. It can hang off the bottom edge.

2. Lay out your motifs in a manner that is pleasing to you. Make sure that if it is going of the edge, they are on top of the muslin which you will use as a base.

3. Pin all motifs in place or use a washable glue stick to hold them down. You don't want them flapping about as you are quilting.

4. Free motion quilt/doodle them all into place.

5. Cut off the excess muslin up to the edges of the motifs.

6. Zig zag stitch the raw edges along the bottom with a tight stitch. You could go around the edge three times making each round a shorter stitch to mimic a satin stitch or you could also serge the edges.

7. Wash the skirt to give the pieces a frayed
look.

Here's a short video in which I show you how to free motion quilt for fabric collage. Happy stitching!

 

 

 14 Days of LillyBelle

Day 4.

Paper pieced Lily Mug Rug.

Apparently my boss (me) is a tyrant. First she told me that we could just do simple easy projects that would take an hour to develop. And then she told me I was just being lazy, and that I had to step it up a bit... "give people something interesting", she said. So yesterday she decided a little paper piecing project was in order. Nevermind, we don't do that very often around here so we had to brush up our paper piecing skills in order to do it... SHE decided it wouldn't be a problem. Hrrmmppff... she didn't have to execute her evil plan. Oh, wait. Yes she did. And SO, she (I) stayed up past midnight because apparently she can't resist throwing out challenges and I apparently take the bait every time... I can't resist a challenge. Yeah, that's right. Just TRY to tell me I can't do something. Sigh.

Now all that said, and despite the challenge I had in developing this pattern... it is really quite easy to actually make! My loss, your gain, you see. Ok, plus also my gain... I love how it turned out and I might officially be addicted to paper piecing. Too fun.

For this project you will need some scraps, batting and backing that is 10 x 13 plus 1/4 yard for binding. I used LillyBelle in both colorways...  to show you how nicely the colorways can be mixed and matched, don't ya' know. For piecing and quilting I used Aurifil threads from Pat Bravo's set, Quilting Heart. The blue is 4182, and I used it on the dark pieces. The pink is 2420 and I used it on the lighter pieces plus the bobbing for the quilting.

The mug rug finishes at 8 x 10 1/2" Print it out by using the link below...

Download Paperpiecedlily

 

Hexy MF ... A Fat Quarterly Quilt a long with LillyBelle

Shhhhh... do you hear that? It's a lull. It's the tiniest bit of a lull now that I'm moved into my house and the patterns are at the printer and the color corrections are done for Splendor 1920. Ahhhhh... I think I'll go take a bath... excuse me a moment.

Are you tapping your foot???

I'm back. Bathing is boring. You and I both know I can't sit still. So, I'm about to order my templates and join in on the Hexy MF fun over at Fat Quarterly. Katy is using my LillyBelle line in the Cool Sunrise to make the Hexy MF Quilt quilt (think Prince, Sexy MF, but more fabricy)!!! She knew I was in love with the quilt. I'm pretty sure that she thought if I don't make my own I'll find a way to steal hers. Which is sorta true. Except for the fact that she lives on the other side of the ocean. And the truth is, I really can't wait to make my own. And I think I'll go crazy and mix both colorways. I'm quite out of control like that. I live on the edge.

I hope that you'll join in on the fun! All the information is here.

 

 

 

 

Art Gallery Fabric's Fat Quarter Gang!

Fer-shizzle! This has to be the best gang evah! I can't wait to see what they do with LillyBelle!

Check out the details about Art Gallery Fabric's Fat Quarter Gang and get involoved here.

To Hand Quilt or Not to Hand Quilt, That is the Question.

 

First the plan was to hand quilt the hexie quilt. Then the plan was to machine quilt it myself. Then the plan was to send it to a long arm quilter. Because I have no time right now. Being that, oh, I'm selling a house (and moving), designing fabric lines and sewing patterns that are due soon, I'm throwing Thanksgiving for 30 and my daughter's bat mitzvah is two days later.

Despite all that... I've chosen to do hardest of the three which will take the longest... you know... because I have time for that  that's what this quilt was screaming for. So, my sister will have to wait until 324 hexagons are hand quilted to receive her 40th birthday present... probably right around the time of her 50th birthday.

Now, I've done a little bit of hand quilting before and tons of embroidery so in my pea brain I thought this was going to be a piece of cake. 

Ahem...

As you can see from the back of my work, It is not a piece of cake. Until you get your groove. And then, suddenly, you get it. The light bulb goes on, your stitches get more even and you realize that the center of the quilt where you started is going to suck while toward the outside, the quilt will be perfection. You consider tearing out the first stitches until you realize you don't have the stomach for that. And you decide it's not so sucky after-all...

Here's what I've learned so far:

1. Don't stab stitch. Do a rocking stitch. Your stitch length will thank you.

2. Do use a thimble of some sort. I like the ones that stick on your finger (even though I'm allergic to the adhesive... if I leave it on too long I get a blister). 

3. Stitch toward yourself.

4. Mark your lines if you expect them to be straight... I did that here with a Frixion pen.

4. Don't expect perfection.

 

You will get it... This is the latest hexie I'm on. The stitches are getting pretty dang even. By hexie 324 I'm sure I can be renamed Bari J., queen of French Knots AND hand quilting.

That will be in 2022. I'll let you know then.

Good Lord, My Sewing Machine is SMOKING!

This is not the way I planned for her to go. 

I bought my sweet and lovely Pfaff about eight years ago used and she worked extremely hard for me for those eight years. And she was well taken care of. She had yearly/bi-yearly spa dates over at the sewing machine shop. She has had her circuit board replaced. 

But despite all her tender loving care, when it's time, it's time. And you know it's time to replace your beloved sewing machine when certain things happen. One of them is she starts to smoke.

No. I'm not kidding. There was actual smoke coming from the top of my sewing machine. Now granted, I let her cool off for an hour and then sewed two king size pillowcases with her and she seemed just fine. But the truth was undeniable. She'd been on fire. Somewhere within the mechanisms of her sweet little frame, there had been an actual fire. Or was about to be a fire. 

I could no longer be in denial. I needed a new sewing machine. And considering what happened to her sister, Babylock Grace, when I opened the rear gate on my SUV (she may or may not have fallen out), I knew I needed a work horse that would not be in need of a backup for at least a little while. (Have no fear. Grace is currently undergoing a series of treatments at the spa. I will need her and all of her stitches very much.)

I ended up buying the above sewing machine, a Juki T2010. I am totally in love. Of course there are a few things I'm not totally in love with, but let me tell you, this baby is a speed demon work horse. 

Made of steel, the Juki T2010, has some incredible industrial like features. She's a straight stitching/quilting machine. No fancy schmancy stitches or functions that can break.

Here are the things I love about her:

• Has a built in cutter in the foot pedal. You just step back with your heel and the thread is cut. Love that!

• Great LED lighting.

• Doesn't make any clicking or crazy sounds when you turn her on.

• Has a handsfree knee-lifter lever for the presser foot. This is key when you are fiddling and fuddling with pieces of fabric trying to keep them straight while putting under the presser foot. In fact, I had no idea what I was missing. This thing is the bomb.

• This sucker is FAST and has three speed settings.

• I haven't witnessed it myself yet, but I hear tell she sews through multiple layers flawlessly.

• Has a needle down and feed dogs down position.

• Came with an extension table that has legs that pop up for easy storage. My last table's legs we stationary or screwed in, which made it very difficult to store.

• The stitches look impeccable.

What I don't love:

• The bobbin case is to the side, and it's a little goofy to reach in that way to put it in.

• You have to screw off the presser feet, which is inconvenient.

 

Overall, I am crazy about this machine so far.

Now, let's get sewing, right? Last night I finally finished my sister Ilisa's 40th birthday quilt using my down and dirty new sewing machine ... It is *slightly* overdue. Her birthday was in April.

But alas, the top is finished and I'm sending it out for quilting!

This quilt is made from Flower Sugar by Lecien and was started last winter. You might want to check out the post. There are links to videos on how to machine stitch a hexie quilt. 

I have to admit to procrastinating on this quilt. Once I got to the white hexies it became quite boring and tedius. I'm thrilled it's finished. And I really can't wait to give it to my sister, who I adore. Happy (um, belated) birthday, Ilisa!

 

There once was a very fickle decorator...

Not so long ago I begged Super Husband to hang a rod over the buffet in our kitchen... so I could stage a quilt for a pattern cover. 

Super Husband doesn't really take well to "knocking holes in the wall" because I need to take a photo for a single pattern cover. He also doesn't take well to rearranging furniture and stuff like that ... This is what he says, "If I knock holes in the walls every time you have take a photo there would be thousands of nail holes in every wall of this house.".

To which I say, "But how am I supposed to stage this quilt and get a beautiful pattern cover? I NEED you to hang a curtain rod over the buffet!". Or "I need you to hang this coat rail in the living room!"

The bottom line here is, the rod over the buffet in the kitchen? And the coat rail in the living room? They are "permanant". Super Husband is "Not. Moving. Them. Again.".

Which means there must always be a quilt hanging above the buffet and in the living room. And the problem with this is that not every quilt I need to take a photo of is always going to look fantabulous with my decor at any given moment. Know what I mean? 

Especially since I may or may not be prone to changing curtains and pillows every five to ten minutes... Um. I mean months. It *apparently* *seems* as though I change curtains and pillows every five to ten minutes. Apparently I am very fickle with the decor in this house.

Whatever.

When there's new fabric, there's new pillows. And there are new curtains. Duh.

The only obvious solution is I also need to keep making new quilts to go in these places that go with the curtains and pillows and all the other changes I make every five to ten minutes.

Which is a very long story to tell you the reason for my presto-chango-quilt-o-rama this weekend. Here's the latest "over the buffet" quilt rendition... I'm loving this new one. If you are wondering, the fabric is my Paris Apartment mixed with Atsuko Matusuyama's Fruit Flower Garden printed by YUMA (the seed packets and the border prints). I am thrilled with it's off-centered-ness and somewhat planned scrappy look. And you may or may not notice... I was extremely reserved with color/pattern here... Um. For me, that is.

It took every single ounce of will power I had not to add in one more print or one more color. I was like crazy uber disciplined. 

 

 

 

 

  
I prefer not to call them UFOs (unfinished objects). I prefer "Ladies In Waiting".

I finished several projects this week, not the least of which is the Beachside Holiday quilt top. Hallelujah! Now it just needs quilting and binding and it can become the pattern cover. I'm almost done with the writing and graphics on it... so that's the last task.

Next up is my sister's hexagon quilt. It was for her 40th birthday, and at the rate I'm finishing stuff it may be for her 50th. (Just kidding, Ilisa, it really is next on the list.)

 

This sure has become the land of give-aways lately. It's madness. But I promise you, you are going to want to stick around for this one.

It's time to give away a one of my Paris Apartment design cards for Slice Fabrique!

Of course, you do know that they're available from Strawberry Patches if per chance you don't win. I hear they are really popular at her store. Speaking of which, Susanne, we are passing through in July and I intend to halt the Ackerman-Mobile for a stop there. Hub and the kids will be *thrilled*, I'm sure. But Pam Kitty Morning tells me that it is a must do. And I always listen to Pam. Right, Pam? I always listen.

Wow... I digressed. Where was I?

How about a Slice Fabrique Machine to go with that card? You don't want a card without a machine, do you? That doesn't make much of a giveaway. Luckily, Making Memories has generously offered a machine as well. (No, Mom, Ilisa and Lara, you can not enter this giveaway.)

This little mint green sweetie makes the cutting fast and easy, and of course it is super accurate. As a bonus, I love the sound it makes as it's cutting. It's this low "I'm working and doing my thang" sound. I don't know. It just makes me happy. I also like to look under that clear plastic window and see the mechanism moving. (crazy town? I don't think so. I betcha' you'll do the same thing.)

 

Below are some projects I have already made. I think my next endeavor will be the dress form. I have a slight penchant for them. I should show you my little dress form collection one day.

You'll probably note that though I've machine appliqued each project I can't help myself but add little embroidered details. I think you should too. It seems only right that when machines are doing most of the other work that you should pitch in a teeny little bit.

This pillow was made for my booth at quilt market. I love that it fills up an entire 16" pillow.

Heather from House of A La Mode likes it a lot. I was watching her like a hawk 'cause I thought it might, you know, walk away. Heather loves pillows.

This is another version I did for the card's packaging. As a side note, Making Memories took this photo. I've been wondering whose bed this is because I think it needs a pretty quilt. I'm just saying. It's a nice photo and all, but I'd like to see some Paris Apartment fabric on that bed.

This tea towel comes as free project with full instructions with the card. Indeed, I have been wondering who's kitchen it is in. I'm liking the granite a lot. And I totally want to know what the cups say on the inside. I'll have to ask them about these things, huh?

I'm planning on incorporating this piece into a quilt possibly. You can embroider any message onto the banner that you'd like. This just says, "Paris". Apparently this little birdie has never been and would like to go. (That's a hint, Super Husband... read: I am the little birdie. I want to go to Paris.)

So, have I convinced you yet that this is a little device you simply can't live without? The bottom line is, the thing is too fun to pass up. The possibilities are endless. 

To enter to win... 

Leave a comment saying which applique you'll do first and what you'll put it on.

A winner will be picked on Friday the 24th using random.org.

Please visit the Slice Fabrique Blog

and the Slice Fabrique Facebook page for more information about the products.

 

And the winner is... #166, SoCalGal!

COMMENTS ARE CLOSED, A WINNER HAS BEEN PICKED. Thank you too all who participated for your wonderful comments!!!

 

(... or is it part of my evil plot to get you stitching this Summer?)

I'm so honored my friend, Natalie, asked me to be part of the blog tour for her first book, Cotton Floss. Natalie is an expert stitcher with such an unmistakeable style. I'm crazy for her work. And I know if you are not already a Cinderberry Stitches fan, you will be momentarily. You'll need to find out her other exciting news over at her blog, but here's a hint... she's has something in common with Monica, Lynette, Denise, Sarah, Meg, Brenda, Rosalie and moi.

But with out further Adieu... here it is! Do you love the owls as much as I do?

The dreamy cover leads to super fun projects that feature simple stitches and great ideas.

I particularly love the way Natalie tells a story with each of her designs. This is Lizzie. She's got a "cheeky" and charming personality like her adorable creator.

I couldn't resist diving right into this book. So I started with one of the blocks above. It is also featured as a cover you can make for your books, which is what I'm planning on doing with my block. I framed it with a little Paris Apartment ("le salle du Soleil" or "sun room" in the coral colorway).

I bet you'd love a copy of this book. Natalie generously sent one for me to give away. AND... I'm also throwing in a Paris Apartment charm pack, which by the by mixes quite nicely with our friend Monica's Happy Mochi Yum Yum. (M gave away a charm pack on her end of the tour... I totally copied her for this give-away. You can't blame me, can you? She's got some rockin' good ideas.)

Here's the dealy if you want to win... leave a comment here swearing on your life that if you don't already embroider, you'll start.

Alright. I'm just kidding. But really. Stitch, K? And leave a comment here to tell Natalie that she is the queen of stitches and you love her dearly and that if you don't win, you'll purchase the book straight away.

That's all. I'll pick a winner on Monday. Deal?

Thank you! 

Oh, and also, go to all these stops on the blog tour if you haven't already. You'll find not just the tour but a slew of incredible talent.

Sunday 6/12    Monica 
Monday 6/13    Amanda
Tuesday 6/14    Pam
Wednesday 6/15    Sarah
Thursday 6/16   Krista
Friday 6/17   Yours Truly... you are here already.
Saturday 6/18    Shari 
Sunday 6/19    Paige

 

 UPDATE: JUNE 20, 2011 -- The winner is #114

Indianna, please email me at bari at barijonline dot com to claim your prize!

 

A WINNER HAS BEEN PICKED. NO MORE ENTRIES, PLEASE.

 

 

A couple weeks ago our friend Pam (ours being yours and mine) came over to play. It was one of those mornings. She had tweeted she was unfocused or something of the sort, and I tweeted back, "come be unfocused with me" or something like that.

I had been contemplating starting a new quilt with my Paris Apartment fabric, but wasn't sure of my direction. But along came Pam and saved my day. With just a few hints and tips I was able to come up with a great new design.

Pam is not just a quilting genius, but she's also a computer whiz!

I've been working with Photoshop forever. Since the first version, I believe. But when Pam showed me how she was using it to design quilts, I wanted to bonk myself over the head! Why didn't I think of that? I've designed all of my quilts on photoshop, but not like this. On top of that, I knew how to do all of this, but never thought of it for quilt making. Seriously. It was Pam Kitty Genius! Create custom shapes and use them over and over for quilt blocks. I don't know what I was doing, but it wasn't easy, like this is. 

 

Above is the quilt I designed. (It will, of course, be a pattern shortly... as soon as I finish sewing it up and it's quilted...

...which is (ahem) what I should be doing now. Instead, I'm writing this post cause it sounded like fun.

Wanna' know how you do it?

You simply use the pen tool to create your shape.

 

The shape is a "path" that you can make a custom shape from.

Choose edit: define custom shape.

Now you have a custom shape you can choose to use however you want! 

When you chose the shape tool, this appears at the top of the screen. Just choose the blobby looking thing on the left, then you can pick your new custom shape from the drop down menu.

And voila!

This is one of my custom shapes!