Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along — Day 5: Tree Blocks

Happy Monday!  I hope you had a festive weekend and found some time to sew.  Our QAL blocks are starting to pile up!

Today is Day 5 of the Homespun Holiday QAL and we're moving on to one of my favorite blocks of the quilt-along — trees!

Pine trees, Christmas trees, whatever you want to call them, I love these graphic blocks and I think they're especially charming made with plaids.  In fact, one of my favorite finishes of the year was made entirely of plaid trees. 

 

If it looks familiar, you're right!  This cozy quilt was a big part of the inspiration for our Homespun Holiday project.  North Woods is a 60½" x 64½" lap quilt made with one bundle of 42 - 10" squares and background fabric.  I made my quilt for fall using a layer cake of Homemade Homespun fabrics by Kansas Troubles Quilters for Moda, but I think it would be amazing made with Christmas prints.  You can find the downloadable pattern for North Woods in my Etsy shop.

And now back to the QAL!  Here's the link to today's pattern sheet.  Please note that today's pattern is two pages long.

Have fun making your tree blocks and have a great week!

—jen

Helpful QAL links:

• QAL Page
• Materials Page
• Day 1 - Cutting
• Day 2 - Star Blocks
• Day 3 - Holly Blocks
• Day 4 - Poinsettia Star Blocks

Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along — Day 4: Poinsettia Star Blocks

I cannot believe how quickly December flies by!  December 10th already, and to be honest, I have lights on the tree, but no ornaments, and the Thanksgiving quilts are still out.  Maybe I need to spend less time working on Christmas quilts and more time on Christmas decorating.... nah!!

It's Day 4 of the Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along and today we're making Poinsettia Star blocks!

These cute little 5" blocks are a variation on a Sawtooth Star, one of my all-time favorite quilt blocks.  By substituting a pieced center square with a gold diamond, I was hoping to achieve an abstract poinsettia look.  I realize it's a stretch, but I love how the block looks anyway!

Here's the link to today's pattern sheet:

Have fun making your Poinsettia Star Blocks and have a great weekend.  Next week we'll be moving on to my favorite blocks of the QAL, can't wait!

—jen

Helpful QAL links:

• QAL Page
• Materials Page
• Day 1 - Cutting
• Day 2 - Star Blocks
• Day 3 - Holly Blocks

Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along — Day 3: Holly Blocks

I hope you had a great weekend filled with holiday cheer and, of course, some time to sew!

Today is Day 3 of the Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along and we're moving on to holly blocks.

These little 3" x 5" (finished) blocks are simple to make, but so festive!  We'll be making eight holly blocks total, two from each green homespun/print.

Ready to start piecing?  Here's the link to today's pattern sheet:

And just in case, here are some helpful QAL links:

• QAL Page
• Materials Page
• Day 1 - Cutting
• Day 2 - Star Blocks

Later this week I'll be hosting a giveaway on Instagram.  I'll be giving away a copy of the January/February '22 issue of Quiltmaker magazine.  Inside you'll find patterns for ten colorful quilts—including a scrappy Valentine's Day lap quilt designed by me—as well as part 1 of a 6-part mystery quilt-along called "Ruby Jubilee."  Designed by Denise Starck to celebrate Quiltmaker's 40th anniversary, Ruby Jubilee features blocks from Bonnie Hunter's Addicted to Scraps column.  If you'd like a chance to win this copy of Quiltmaker, look for the contest post this week on Instagram.

In the meantime, enjoy your week and have fun making your jolly holly blocks!

—jen

Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along — Day 2: Star Blocks

Happy Friday and welcome back for Day 2 of the Homespun Holiday QAL!

I hope you're still with me after that big cutting session!  Just think how much fun it will be to be able to focus on piecing from now on. 😉

Today we're starting small and making six Friendship Star blocks — three from each of your gold homespuns or prints.

These are fast and fun little blocks to make.  The only complication is that you'll need to make sure that three of the stars (made with one gold homespun/print) spin in one direction, and that the remaining three stars (made with the other gold homespun/print) spin in the reverse direction.  Not too tricky!

Ready to jump in?  Here's the link to the pattern sheet for today's blocks:

If you're just joining us, you can find links to the materials page and Day 1 - Cutting page on the QAL page on my website.

And if you'd like to share your work on Instagram or Facebook, please consider tagging me @jendalyquilts and using the hashtags #homespunholiday and/or #homespunholidayqal—I'd love to see what you're up to!

In the meantime, have fun making your star blocks and have a great weekend!

—jen

2021 Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along Starts Today — Day 1: Cutting

 The 2021 Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along starts today!  

We'll be making this cozy 22" x 52½" table runner, and every Monday and Friday, from now until December 20th, we'll be tackling one component of the project.  As we move through the QAL, I'll make each set of instructions available on the quilt-along page and here on my blog.  The instruction sheets will remain available throughout the month of December, and in January I’ll make a complete pattern available in my Etsy shop.  

Our task for Day 1 will be cutting.  This year, we'll be doing the cutting for the entire project in one session, but never fear, you have until Friday (Day 2 of the QAL) to finish. 

Because cutting for an entire project means a lot of moving parts, I made sure to indicate the use for each patch, after its measurement, on the cutting instruction sheet.  To stay organized, you may want to sort your patches by use.  Here's how I sorted my patches:

• star blocks
• poinsettia star blocks
• holly blocks
• tree blocks
• house blocks
• sashing

Ready to get started?  Here's the link to the Day 1 cutting instruction sheet.

If you haven't yet had a chance to gather materials for the QAL, here's the link to the Materials List.  We won't start piecing until Friday, December 3rd, so there's plenty of time to catch up.  And remember, there's no sign up required for this QAL—you can jump in and join us at anytime!  Still on the fence?  Be sure to check out my last blog post for ideas for color palette and size variations for the project.

Good luck with your cutting :).  I'll be back here on Friday for Day 2 of the QAL—when the fun really starts!  Can't wait!

—jen

2021 Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along Coming Soon!

 I’m so excited to announce that the 7^th annual Jen Daly Quilts Christmas Quilt-Along is right around the corner!

This year’s project, “Homespun Holiday," was inspired by both the word “homespun” and homespun fabrics themselves.  For me, “homespun” denotes something simple, handmade, made at home and made with love.  Homespun fabrics are made of woven cotton, sometimes with a brushed or softer side, and typically patterned in plaids or stripes.  I often use homespuns in quilting projects, both on their own and paired with traditional cottons.  They give my quilts a charming, handmade look and a warm, cozy feel that I love—perfect for the holidays!

Homespun Holiday is a 22” x 52½” row-style table runner, featuring five simple (and fun!) Christmas blocks.  For my runner, I’ll be pairing a variety of homespuns with charcoal-gray chambray for a casual, almost primitive look, but definitely feel free to make the project your own.  Here’s what the Homespun Holiday runner might look like made with a lighter background or without homespuns:

lighter background



shown in "Christmas Morning"
by Lella Boutique for Moda

And if you don’t feel like you have the time to commit to an entire runner, you can also halve the blocks and make a charming 22” x 28” wall hanging:

 

The Homespun Holiday Quilt-Along will begin on Monday, November 29th and continue every Monday and Friday until December 20th.  There's no need to sign up for the quilt-along—as we progress, I’ll make each set of instructions available on the quilt-along page.  If you're on my mailing list, you'll receive emails containing links to each day’s instructions (sign up for email updates on the quilt-along page).  The instruction sheets will remain available throughout the month of December, and in January I’ll make a complete pattern available in my Etsy shop.  I'll also do regular posts on Instagram and Facebook using the hashtag #homespunholiday.  If you post pictures of your progress, be sure to tag me @jendalyquilts and use the hashtag #homespunholiday—I'd love to see what you come up with!

To help you get started, here’s a link for the materials page for the quilt-along:

 
Have fun gathering materials for the project and if you have any questions, feel free to email me at jendalyquilts@gmail.com.  I'll be back here on Monday, November 29th for Day 1—can't wait!  

—jen

New Scrappy Pillow and More for Halloween!

Happy October!

Don't you just love October? It's one of my favorite months of the year—crisp air, colorful foliage, everything pumpkin spice, and, of course, Halloween!

To help celebrate the spookiest season, I've got a brand new pattern to tell you about. It's my Boo Pillow Sham and it's an absolute treat to make!

 

The Boo Pillow Sham is designed to be made with a mini charm pack of 2½" squares. I made mine with All Hallow's Eve by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda, paired with a solid black background fabric. There are a lot of fun Halloween fabrics out there right now, but you can also use scraps of your favorite Halloween prints from your stash—whatever suits your taste. Just make sure that your background fabric contrasts sufficiently with your prints so your letters will pop! The pattern for the Boo Pillow Sham is now available in my Etsy shop.

If you've got little ones in your life, or if you're young at heart, I've got two fun projects that are a little bit spooky, but oh so sweet.

First up is The Boo Crew, a mini quilt featuring four charming ghosts surrounded by a zig zag border. At 16" square, it's also a great size to be made into a pillow.
 

Second, is Monster Mash, a 19" square fusible appliqué quilt that is fast and fun to make and perfect for beginning quilters.
 

And if you're looking for a quilt that's more of a challenge, but so worth it, here's Glow in the Dark—my all-time favorite Halloween project!
 

 

Glow in the Dark measures 30" square and features small scale Pinwheel, Flying Geese, Friendship Star, and Shoo Fly blocks in scrappy shades of orange, purple, and black.  Love to piece?  Then this quilt is for you!

The patterns for the Boo Pillow Sham, The Boo Crew, Monster Mash, and Glow in the Dark are all currently available for download in my Etsy shop. 

Enjoy your October and if you have time for some holiday stitching, Happy Quilting!

—jen