1, 2, 3 Quilt is now available in stores and online! See the eight quilts above, plus scroll through the other projects like totes, placemats and pillows here. Hope you like it!
Etsy Finds Friday
Animal Hat Pattern from Blue Bird Patterns.
Jersey Cowl from Bark Decor.
Black Paper Bags from Thatch & Thistle.
Waxed Canvas Cross Body Bag from Cloth & Ink.
Folk Modern Citrus Trees Fabric from JAQS Fabric.
Stamped Triangle Earrings from Lunahoo.
Blanket Pattern Cutting Mat from Roddy & Ginger.
The Watering Can Mixed Media from Fric de Mentol.
Woodland Wings from Savage Seeds.
Flower Path Quilt Sew-Along
Head over to Sew, Mama, Sew to learn how to make my Flower Path Quilt! Comment for a chance to win a copy of 1, 2, 3 Quilt!
Have you ever wanted to sew circles, but were afraid to try? Now’s your chance. Sewing around curves isn’t as difficult as it looks. Slow and steady is the best way to start. You can see below that I’ve started the quilt with four 12″ blocks here, but the finished quilt will have nine of these sections for a completed size of 72″ square. This week, I’ll show you how I make quarter-circles, then next week we’ll complete the block and sew it all together.
In 1, 2, 3 Quilt, I have a chapter about sewing with circles, but there wasn’t room to include a Drunkard’s Path pattern, so for this quilt I wanted to do a variation on the traditional block. Below you can see the Quarter-Circle Coasters, Clamshell Pillow Sham, and Cluster Dots Quilt that are included in the book. If you sew them in order, you’ll gradually shape up your skills. And really, once you’ve made clamshells, you’ll be a master at curves! Then I used a freezer paper method to get accurate circles on the appliqué quilt for the third project.
The traditional Drunkard’s Path block has a fascinating history. I created a Pinterest board with some modern and traditional examples. I’m always amazed at the infinite number of ways a quilt can be made. From color and fabric decisions to layout and design, there are many choices in the process that can change the end result.
My method for sewing quarter-circles requires lots of pins because I find it gives me greater accuracy, but there are other methods that use glue or no pins. Plus, you can check out this method for making the entire circle, then slicing it into quarters. And this method uses a special presser foot. I always say that there are as many methods as there are quilters and the only right way is the one that works best for you.
For the Flower Path quilt, I am using a solid background with both solid and patterned fabrics for the circles and triangles. I’ve used all three of my Kokka fabric collections here, plus other favorites. You can see some peeks of my upcoming Garden collection, which will be available at Fall Market from Seven Islands. Over on the Sew, Mama, Sew site you can also see a digital two-color version of this quilt, which I’d love to try.
Hope you’ll join me on this sew-along!
Book Winners and Acknowledgments
Congratulations to #93 Emily, #154 Michelle and #160 Mary! You are the winners of the 1, 2, 3 Quilt giveaway! And Mary was one of my pattern testers, so she can see her name in the acknowledgments. While I’m here, I’ll list all of the amazing folks who tested patterns for me:
Rebecca Policastro Aranyi, Brooke Crook, Mary Emmens, Cristy Fincher, Sarah Jackson, Heather Loney, Katie Loney, Rebecca Makas, Cindy McCamant, Kellie King Morgan, Deb Robertson, Mandie Segura, Emily Sposetta, Jennifer Sylvia, and Kerry Wilkinson. I don’t seem to have all of your blogs/websites, so send me the links and I will post them here. Thanks for all your help!
I also wanted to talk a bit about the top quilting of the quilts I made for 1, 2, 3 Quilt. I had help from some amazingly talented people.
Tia Curtis quilted the Random Rectangles Quilt using her beautiful free-motion technique, the Honeycomb Quilt with echo quilted lines, and the Cluster Dots Quilt with pebble quilting (all pictured in detail on the top row above). Lisa Sipes did some amazing line work on the Triangles Quilt at bottom left. A local quilter, Regina Carter, added some organic shapes to the Stars Quilt (bottom right). And as I mentioned in a previous post, Diana Taylor did the hand quilting on the Lopsided Squares Quilt (bottom row, center). And Jessie Edens helped me out by finishing the binding on most of these quilts. Thanks to everyone!
Chronicle Eye Candy
Chronicle Books is celebrating Sewing Month in September with special prices on some their crafty e-books, including 1, 2, 3 Sew. See all the deals at Chronicle Eye Candy or head directly over to amazon and pick up a digital copy for only $2.99! When you buy the book, you’ll find a link to download and print all of the patterns you’ll need to make the projects. Happy sewing! Look for the follow-up 1, 2, 3 Quilt in digital and spiral-bound format in just a few days!
