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

Tiny Houses

Last week my daughter was home on break from college and feeling crafty, so I taught her to paper piece.  It's my latest attempt to turn her into a quilter and I think it's working!

We made tiny houses, and I mean TINY, and my daughter handled the bits and pieces like a pro.

Here's my house pre-embellishment:

The colors for my little house were inspired by this beautiful house in Providence:

 

I just love this house.  Definitely going to have a yellow house someday!


Here's my daughter's house:

This color palette is so her.  She loves Halloween and all things spooky.  I never would have thought of making the sky black and the grass burgundy, but I just love it!

After we paper pieced our tiny houses, we embellished them with a bit of simple stitching and popped them into 3" frames.

Here's my finished house with window boxes, flowers, and a few seagulls—in my mind this house is on the coast, hence the seagulls.

And here's my daughter's finished house, complete with a scary tree, moon, stars and a ghost peeking out of an upstairs window.

Even the Gothic frame that she chose screams of my daughter's personality—very Haunted Mansion!

Here are the two finished houses together:

I find it amazing that, in the hands of two quilters, one little pattern can result in two very different, but equally charming quilts!  I'm also struck by what a difference a little embellishment can make.  The original houses were sweet, but the little stitched details took them to an entirely different level—food for thought!

If you'd like to try your hand at some very tiny paper piecing, here's a link to the pattern that I drafted.  

You may have noticed that the above pieces don't really look like they'll fit together into a square block.  Here's how to make it work:

1. After you piece all of the units, stitch together units E and D (these are the two sections of the first floor of the house) 
2. Stitch unit C to the top of the E/D unit
3. Join a 3/4" x 1 3/4" strip of background fabric to either side of the C/E/D unit
4. Stitch unit B to the top of the above unit.
5. Join a 1 1/4" x 2 3/8" strip of background fabric to either side of the above unit.
6. Stitch unit A to the top of the above unit.
7. Finally, join a 1 1/4" x 4 1/8" grass fabric strip to the bottom of the above unit.

Your pieced tiny house block should measure 4 1/8" (unfinished).  The excess background fabric around the house will give you enough leeway to wrap the block around the piece of glass that comes with a 3" frame before you reinsert it into the frame.

But before you frame your tiny house, don't forget to embellish it with some tiny stitching! 

Happy tiny quilting!!

Bloom Where You Are Planted

We're supposed to have a snowstorm here in New Hampshire tomorrow, and with a potential accumulation of 14-18 inches of snow, I can't think of a better time for a little spring stitching!!

These wooden buttons were the inspiration for this sweet project:

I saw them online when I was ordering some homespun fabric from Jubilee Fabric (jubileefabric.com) and I couldn't resist.  They're tiny—only 3/8"—but perfect for scattering across a background.

Back to the project!  First off, you can find the pattern for this little stitchery here.  The finished project measures about 5" square, but start with a larger background square (8" or so) so you can comfortably use an embroidery hoop.  You can trim the background square later if you like.

After tracing the pattern onto the background square using a light box and a water-soluble marking pen, I used size 8 perle cotton and a wrapped backstitch to stitch the "Bloom" and the big flower stem.  For the rest of the lettering and the little flower stems, I used two strands of embroidery floss and a backstitch—lazy daisies for the little flower leaves.  I appliquéd the felted wool flower and leaves using a single strand of embroidery floss and a whipstitch.  And finally, I used six strands of floss to stitch down the little buttons, making an "x" pattern in their centers.

I went back and forth about how to finish this project.  I thought about making it a little quilt with a loop that could be hung on a door knob or hook, kind of like this project that I made last November :

Give Thanks Mini Quilt

I also thought about adding a patchwork border and finishing it as a small pillow, but ultimately I decided to frame it.  To do so, I layered it with a thin piece of batting (flannel would also work), wrapped it around the glass that came with the frame, and inserted it into the frame.  Fast and finished!!

Happy Stitching!!

Welcome Winter

Happy New Year!  I know I'm a week late, but here's a fun little pattern to make up for it!

It's the latest and last of my framed mini quilt series.  I started the series last March with Think Spring...

Then in June came Summertime...

I posted Hello Fall in September...

And now it's time for, you guessed it, Welcome Winter!

This sweet little quilt is made with 1½" paper pieced Shoo Fly blocks and simple embroidery and it fits into a 5" x 7" frame.

To make your own Welcome Winter quilt, you'll need:

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

Blue background prints:  for the embroidery background cut (1) - 3" x 6½"; for the strips on either side of the Shoo Fly blocks cut (4) - ⅞" x 2"; and for each of the three Shoo Fly blocks, you'll need (4) - 1¼" x 1¼" (to cover the square sections) and (2) - 1¾" x 1¾" (further cut once diagonally to cover the half square triangle sections)

Cream prints:  for each of the three Shoo Fly blocks, you'll need (1) - 1¼" x 1¼" (to cover the center square) and (2) - 1¾" x 1¾" (further cut once diagonally to cover the half square triangle sections)

Batting:  9" x 11"

Also needed:

Light marking pencil, spray basting adhesive, white size 16 perle cotton (optional), white embroidery floss, and a 5" x 7" frame

To make the Shoo Fly blocks:

Because of the really small size, I paper pieced the Shoo Fly blocks.  Click here for the foundation pattern.  You'll need to print three of them and each little unit should measure ½" x 1½" from solid line to solid line (1" x 2" from dotted line to dotted line).

Make sure you start with sections A1, B1, and C1, respectively, and follow the printed numbering.  If you're concerned about color placement, it might help to use colored pencils to color the various sections of each block unit before stitching.  For each block, sections A1, A3, A5, B1, B3, B5, C1 and C3 should be covered with blue fabric and sections A2, A4, B2, B4, and C2 should be covered with ivory fabric.

After stitching units A, B, and C together for each block, press the seams toward the center section.  Remove the paper from behind the Shoo Fly blocks after stitching and before pressing.  Make three blocks.

For help with paper piecing, here's a link to a basic photo tutorial on Craftsy.  

To assemble the quilt top:

Referring to my quilt, lay out your three Shoo Fly blocks and the four ⅞" x 2" strips of blue background fabric.  Stitch them together and press the seams towards the blue strips.  Then stitch the blue 3" x 6½" rectangle to the top of the row of blocks and press towards the blue 3" x 6½".  Stitch a border print 2" x 4½" to either side of the quilt center, pressing towards the border.  Finally, stitch a border print 2" x 9½" to the top and bottom of the quilt center, pressing towards the border.  Press the finished quilt top well.


To finish the quilt top:

Here's a link to the lettering pattern.  Adjust your printing so that the box surrounding the lettering measures 2½" x 6".  Using a white marking pencil, trace the "Welcome Winter" onto the quilt top.  Lightly spray basting adhesive to the 9" x 11" piece of batting and smooth the quilt top over it, right side up.  Use one strand of white size 16 perle cotton or two strands of embroidery floss and a back stitch to embroider the lettering.  Use one strand of embroidery floss to stitch tiny snowflakes randomly above the lettering.


To insert the quilt into the frame:

After you finish stitching, trim the batting even with the edges of your quilt.  Remove the contents of your frame, center the glass behind the 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 with masking tape if necessary to keep it closed.

And there you have it -- one wonderful Welcome Winter framed quilt and some pretty great alliteration to boot!

Happy quilting!

Hello Fall!

It's hot outside now, but this morning I went for an early run while it was still cool AND before I could talk myself out of it.  Good decision -- the soft air smelled spicy, the breeze tossed about a few brightly colored leaves, and the elk were bugling in the distance.  Yes, you read that right -- elk.  I'm lucky enough to live near a trail that runs alongside Corbin Park, a 20,000 acre private game preserve (read hunting club -- this is, after all, New Hampshire) that I prefer to think of as a wildlife refuge.

Once upon a time, Corbin Park was stocked with several varieties of deer, moose, antelope, caribou, wild boar, elk, bighorn sheep, and even bison!  Sadly, most of the animals not indigenous to NH did not thrive in the park, but the park is still home to deer, wild boar, and elk.  The deer and wild boar keep mostly to themselves, but in the early mornings and evenings of September, the elk bugle.  It's an amazing, eerie sound, startling to hear in the woods, and for me, a sure sign of fall.

I came back from my run invigorated and inspired and while the official start of fall is still several days away, I decided that today was definitely the day for the latest installment in my framed mini quilt series.

If you're new to my blog, first came spring:

Then came summer:

And here is, you guessed it, fall!

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

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

Blue background print:  10" x 10" - cut (1) - 3" x 6½"; (21) - 1¼ " x 1¼ " squares to cover the blue sections of the leaf blocks; and (4) - ⅞" x 2"

Red and orange prints:  1¼" x 9" strip of each of three prints - from each, cut (7) - 1¼ " x 1¼ " squares to cover the colored sections of the leaf blocks

Brown print:  ¾" x 4" - cut (3) - ¾" x 1¼ " to cover the stem sections of the leaf blocks

Batting:  9" x 11"

Also needed:
Washout or disappearing ink marking pen, spray basting adhesive, tan embroidery floss (I used DMC's #869), three little leaf buttons, and a 5" x 7" frame


To make the leaf blocks:

Once again, I chose to paper piece the 1½" x 1½" leaf blocks.  Tiny, I know, but so worth it!  Just make sure you follow the printed numbering on the block units (i.e. start with A1, B1, and C1) and you should be all set.

You'll need to print or copy three sets of foundation patterns (and you can find the pattern here).  Each little unit should measure ½" x 1½" from solid line to solid line -- 1" x 2" from outer dotted line to outer dotted line.  If you're concerned about color placement, it might help to use colored pencils to color the various sections of each block unit before stitching.  For each block, sections A1, A3, A5, B1, C1, C3, and C6 should be covered with blue fabric; sections A2, A4, B2, B3, B4, C4, and C5 should be covered with your leaf fabric; and C2 should be covered with the brown print.

After stitching units A, B, and C together for each block, press the seams open to reduce bulk (note:  remove the paper from behind the leaf blocks after stitching and before pressing).  Make three blocks.

If you're not used to paper piecing, here's a link to a Fons and Porter tutorial that should get you started.


To assemble the quilt top:

Referring to my quilt, lay out your three leaf blocks and the four ⅞" x 2" strips of blue background fabric.  Stitch them together and press the seams towards the blue strips.  Then stitch the blue 3" x 6½" to the top of the row of leaves and press towards the blue 3" x 6½".  Stitch a border print 2" x 4½" to either side of the quilt center, pressing towards the border.  Finally, stitch a border print 2" x 9½" to the top and bottom of the quilt center, pressing towards the border.  Press the finished quilt top well.


To finish the quilt top:

Using a washout or disappearing ink pen, trace the "Hello Fall" lettering (find the template here) onto the quilt top -- the embroidery template should measure 2½" x 6".  Lightly spray basting adhesive to the 9" x 11" piece of batting and smooth the quilt top over it, right side up.  Use two strands of embroidery floss and a back stitch for the lettering.  Stitch the three leaf buttons in place and use one strand of embroidery floss or thread and a running stitch for the leaf trails.

To insert the quilt into the frame:

After you finish stitching, trim the batting even with the edges of your quilt.  Remove the contents of your frame, center the glass behind the 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 with masking tape if necessary to keep it closed.  Voila!

Happy quilting and Happy Fall!

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!