Three Pretty Projects for Spring

 Happy Spring!  It's the first day of spring here in the Northern Hemisphere and as I write this email, I'm admiring a flock of blue jays munching on acorns in our front yard.  It feels like a harbinger of all the good things we have to look forward to with the return of spring—songbirds, chartreuse leaves, spring flowers, sunshiny days, warmer weather, open windows... ahhh.

To celebrate the loveliest season, I've got three pretty projects to share with you.  First up is Scrap Basket, a charming lap quilt made with a precut stack of 10" squares.  Simply pieced blocks make this 70" square throw quilt a great project for a beginning quilter.

I made my Scrap Basket quilt with fabric from The Seamstress collection by Edyta Sitar for Andover Fabrics and while I LOVE the soft vintage look, I think this quilt would be fabulous in virtually any fabric collection or made with scrappy fabrics from a stash.  You can find the downloadable pattern for Scrap Basket in my Etsy shop:  

My Bloomerie quilt is also made with a layer cake of 10" squares, in this case, Strawberry Lemonade by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda Fabrics.  This 58" x 66" throw quilt features two different flower blocks—the bigger flowers are a great way to showcase your favorite prints!  The Bloomerie quilt pattern is appropriate for a confident beginning quilter.

You can find the pattern for Bloomerie in the Late Spring 2024 special interest issue of Quilter's World magazine—Bright & Colorful Quilts—available on newsstands now.  You can also purchase a digital copy of the issue online.  

And finally here's another precut friendly quilt pattern that's a celebration of pollinators and pretty flowers.  It's my Butterfly Ballet quilt and it's made with a charm pack of Bee Dots fabric by Lori Holt for Riley Blake Designs.

You can find the pattern for Butterfly Ballet in the current issue of Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting magazine, on newsstands now, or online at the Quilting Daily website.  Butterfly Ballet finishes at 30" square and it's appropriate for confident beginning quilters.

I don't know if it's the lift of spring or the color in these pretty projects, but I am feeling INSPIRED—I hope you feel the same.  Happy quilting ahead! 🌷🌷🌷

—jen

February Freebie and a Bundle Up Lap Quilt!

Happy February!  It's hard to believe how quickly this month is flying by!

Here's a quick little project that you can stitch up this weekend, just in time for Valentine's Day.

This sweet mini charm pack friendly quilt made its first appearance as a Moda Bake Shop tutorial.  It was originally called Christmas Candy and featured pretty embroidered poinsettias and vines.

It was such a fast and easy project, not to mention a great way to use a mini charm pack, that I decided to make a Halloween version, this time finished as a pillow.

Not content to stop there, I made another mini quilt version —this time for spring.

And now at long last, I've made a Valentine's Day version.  Don't have a mini charm pack on hand for this weekend?  No worries!  I made this little quilt with 2½" squares that I cut from my stash—no shopping required.  I'm not sure that's a good thing, but it is possible. 😂

I've written up a quick pattern that applies to all of the "Candy" projects.  The pattern includes instructions for finishing the project either as a mini quilt or as a pillow.  Here's the link:  

Valentine's Day Candy free pattern

And if you'd like to make the Spring, Halloween and/or Christmas versions, here are links to all of the embroidery patterns:

Spring Candy embroidery
Halloween Candy embroidery
Christmas candy embroidery


It's been a bit, but I had so much fun making the cozy blocks for the Bundle Up Quilt-Along, that after the holidays I kept on making them!  I turned all of those extra blocks into a row style oversized lap quilt—call it Bundle Up 2.0.  This quilt was so much fun to make with lots of opportunity to incorporate more color (pink!) and extra prints—and at 69" x 74", it's the perfect size to actually bundle up with!

The updated Bundle Up pattern, including fabric requirements, cutting instructions and directions for both the Quilt-Along wall hanging and the lap quilt version, is available for download in my Etsy shop.  And don't worry, if you've already purchased the original Bundle Up pattern, I'll be emailing the updated version directly to you at no extra cost.  Woohoo!

Phew!  After several months, I think I've finally gotten the winter quilts out of my system.  Time to move on to spring!  I'll be back here in March with a new project and I promise, no chambray!

Thank you so much for your continued support!  🩷🩷🩷

—jen

Two New Projects for Valentine's Day

 Happy 2024!!  I hope your new year is off to a good start! 

It's been a beautiful day here in New Hampshire—a bluebird day—cold but with cloudless bright blue skies. And between the sun and the new Valentine's Day projects I've got to share with you today, I'm feeling fine! 

First up is Change of Heart.  It's a 63½" x 75½" throw quilt featuring striped heart blocks and pretty pink and cream sashing.  Here's a picture of Change of Heart on another bluebird day.  Just look at that blue sky—and, of course, the quilt! :)

Change of Heart is a scrappy, fat quarter friendly quilt—ideal for giving your stash a little love or as an excuse to treat yourself to a fat-quarter bundle.

Change of Heart is a fun quilt to make with lots of opportunity for variety in pattern and color, and with time-saving strip piecing and stitch-and-flip corners it comes together quickly.  It's a great quilt for Valentine's Day, but also a perfect year-round gift for the heart lover in your life.

Next up is the Big Love Pillow Sham—my first finish of 2024!  This simple but striking pillow finishes at 12" x 20".  If you've made my Boo Pillow, you'll be happy to know that you can use the same pillow form for both pillows!

Big Love features scrappy letter blocks paired with twin hearts.  I made mine with leftover chambray and pink scraps from my stash and I LOVE the combination, but here's a peek at what Big Love might look like with a lighter, low volume background.

The twin hearts are made with a few smaller pieces, but even so, this pillow is a fast finish—make one for yourself and one for someone you love!  And if you don't want to bother with the little hearts, the pattern also includes brief instructions for a simple alternate "L" block.

The patterns for Change of Heart and Big Love are both available for download in my Etsy shop, just click on the image below.

    

🩷🩷🩷

—jen