Sunflowers

The leaves are just beginning to change here in New Hampshire — hints of red, orange and yellow are peeking out of fading green.  But because I'm not quite ready for fall, and because these beauties are still in bloom...

 

 

 

... I think I'll keep my Sunflowers table runner out a little while longer.

You can find the pattern for Sunflowers in the current issue (Fall 2017) of Primitive Quilts and Projects magazine.  It's a great one for beginning quilters and perfect for late summer!  Happy quilting and enjoy the last days of summer!

Flutter by, Butterfly

The landscape is finally in full bloom here in New Hampshire, and just the other day, I saw my first butterfly of the season.  To celebrate, I thought I'd share a sweet little project that I stitched up over the weekend.

This quick little project fits into a 5" x 7" frame and couldn't be easier!  I made the little butterfly by fusing two pieces of fabric together.  After cutting it out, I stitched it onto the background using a few long straight stitches that do double duty as the butterfly's body.  I did the rest of the stitching using two strands of embroidery floss—using a backstitch for the lettering and flower stems, lazy daisies for the flower petals and leaves, and French Knots for the flower centers.

You can find the pattern for Flutter by, Butterfly here.  Before beginning, make sure that the box of the printed pattern measures 5'' x 7''.  Using a water soluble marking pen, transfer the pattern to a 7'' x 9'' rectangle of background fabric and layer with a 7'' x 9'' piece of batting before stitching.  This step gives a bit of dimension to your stitching and prevents the floss ends from showing through.

After stitching your project, remove the contents of a 5'' x 7'' frame, wrap both layers of the project around the glass, pop it back into the frame and voilà!

By the way, I'm always on the lookout for great frames and I actually found this beauty at Kohl's.  The frame cost only $5 on sale, it comes in several great colors and best of all, it's deep enough to accommodate the extra layers of fabric and batting without having to tape the back.  I bought two and I'll probably go back for more!

Before I go, I just wanted to let you know that I'm hard at work on a big project that I hope to be able to share with you soon.  In order to be able to focus on the project, I've decided to take a month off from blogging.  In the meantime, I wish you all happy quilting and I'll see you back here in July!

Jen

It's Summer! - Free Pattern

It's officially summer!  And to celebrate the season, I'm sharing a pattern for a quick little framed quilt AND my favorite pie recipe.  It's a twofer (and by the way, I looked it up: "twofer" is actually a word!).

Remember my " Think Spring" quilt:

Well it's obviously time to put it away, but I think my kitchen windowsill would look pretty naked without a framed quilt on it now, so I decided to make a summer version:

Once again, the quilt fits into a 5" x 7" frame and the unfinished quilt top dimensions are 7½" x 9½"- seems a little big for a 5" x 7" frame, but the extra size is to help you wrap the quilt around the frame's glass insert.

To make your own little quilt, you'll need:

Border (stripe) print:  10" x 10" - cut (2) - 2" x 4½" and (2) - 2" x 9½"

Muslin (I used a primitive muslin):  10" x 10" - cut (1) 3" x 6½" and (24) - 1¼" x 1¼" squares to cover the muslin sections of the star blocks

Red and blue prints:  1¼" x 6½" strip of each of four prints

Batting: 9" x 11"

Also needed:

Washout or disappearing marking pen, spray basting adhesive, blue embroidery floss, metallic gray floss (I used DMC's E317), black embroidery floss, and a 5" x 7" frame

To make the star blocks:

I chose to paper piece the 1½" x 1½" star blocks.  When I'm working on a miniature scale, I find paper piecing to be easier and more accurate.  The star block has three units, but if you make sure to follow the printed numbering (ie. start with A1, B1, and C1 for each unit), the units nest together nicely.

Print out or copy four sets of foundation patterns (find the template here) and make sure that each little unit measures ½" x 1½" from solid line to solid line -- 1" x 2" from outer dotted line to outer dotted line.  Make four blocks.  Note:  when stitching units A, B, and C together for each block, press the seams open -- to do this, you'll want to remove the paper from behind the star blocks before pressing.

Once again, here's a link to a great Fons and Porter paper piecing tutorial if you need a little brushing up on how to paper piece.

To assemble the quilt top:

After making the four star blocks, stitch them together horizontally and press the seams open.  Then stitch the muslin 3" x 6½" to the top of the row of stars and press towards the muslin 3" x 6½".  Stitch a striped 2" x 4½" to either side of the center unit, pressing towards the stripe.  Finally, stitch a striped 2" x 9½" to the top and bottom of the center unit, pressing towards the stripe.  Press the finished quilt top well.

To finish the quilt top:

Referring to my framed quilt and using a washout or disappearing pen, trace the "Summertime," dragonfly, and dragonfly trail onto the quilt top.  Then lightly spray basting adhesive to the 9" x 11" piece of batting and smooth the quilt top over it, right side up.  I embroidered with the batting in place to give the stitching some dimension and to keep the floss ends from showing through the quilt.  Note:  if you decide to use a vanishing ink pen, just remember that the summer humidity may cause the ink to disappear quickly so you may want to embroider the quilt immediately after marking it and in one sitting.

FYI, the above embroidery template should measure 2½" x 6" (find the template here).  Use two strands of floss and a back stitch for the lettering.  The dot above the "i" is a french knot.  I used one strand of black floss and a running stitch for the dragonfly's trail, two strands of black floss and a back stitch for his body, and two strands of metallic floss and a lazy daisy stitch for his wings.  Here's a close-up of the dragonfly to help you out:

To insert the quilt into the frame:

After you finish embroidering, trim the batting even with the edges of your quilt.  Remove the contents of the frame.  Center the glass behind your quilt top and wrap the edges of the quilt around it.  Reinsert the glass and quilt into the frame, fold down the quilt's corners and put the back of the frame in place, taping if necessary to keep it closed.  Done!

I chose to make my quilt using a patriotic color palette, but I've been thinking that it would also be really cute in beachy colors with a weathered white frame:

Your choice!

And now for the pie recipe:  it's a Strawberry-Rhubarb-Raspberry pie that I found in an old issue of "O" magazine and it is amazing!!  I love traditional strawberry-rhubarb pie, but the addition of the raspberries really elevates this pie to an entirely different level.  I made this one yesterday and, despite wanting to consume it entirely by myself, I served it to my family with vanilla ice cream.  Bliss.

Summer quilts, summer pies!  Don't you just love summer!