New Denim Quilt Pattern!

Introducing my newest denim quilt pattern, 

the "Denim Waves Beach Quilt."

 

I have 3 sons, and they go through lots of jeans.  So, what's more natural than saving their old jeans to make denim quilts?  This is my 4th denim quilt pattern to be published.  It will only be available as a pdf download because it's 11 pages, and the printing cost would make it not so affordable.  You can find it on Craftsy, Etsy and YouCanMakeThis.

The Denim Waves Beach Quilt was fun to make!  I'd saved this hand-dyed fabric to make a special quilt, but didn't have a quilt in mind when I bought it.  It goes so great with the denim! The pattern includes 5 wave templates, so you can mix them up and get a random wave feel.  It's done with a quilt-as-you-go method.  And I actually did most of the quilting on the Handi Quilter Avante at the store where I work.

Row By Row Experience

The Store where I work is participating in the Row By Row Experience.  Click here to find out more.  The theme is "Sew A Season."  Since I live in Utah, we would naturally choose Winter.  

Here's our row, designed by me.  It's called "Snowflake Collection," and is done with English paper piecing, hand applique, and hand embroidery.  You can click on the picture to see a larger image.

There are shops in 34 states, plus Canada, that are participating.  You can find a list of participating shops on the link above.  

When you go into a participating shop, ask for their row pattern, and they will give you the pattern for FREE.  If you make a quilt using at least 8 of the Free Row By Row Patterns, you may win a prize.  Sounds like fun for traveling quilters!  I hope to collect some patterns, myself.  The dates for this are July 1 through September 2, 2014.

The only way to get these FREE patterns is if you go to the shop in person.  That's the rule, and we want to keep the rules.  However, after October 31, it may be available for purchase. 

Now available for purchase at Craftsy and Etsy.

Last Minute Gifts

For Christmas this year, I wanted to make all of the ladies I work with, an Iron Cozy.  As I searched the patterns that are already out there, I found that they were for certain sizes.  Well, I don't know what size all the ladies irons are!  So I made my own pattern for a one-size-fits-all iron cozy.  Here's a picture...

They have a casing for an elastic cord, that gets drawn-up and is held in place by a spring cord clip.  There's a dart in the front, and 2 darts in the back corners to make them square.

 I made 7 Iron Cozies, and will take them to work to pass out today.

Chenille

A long time ago, I made some pot holders with denim and flannel.  I used 3 layers of denim and 3 layers of flannel, sewed them together with diagonal rows of stitching.  Then cut between each row with my scissors, to  make it chenille.  I loved how it turned out, but it was really hard on my hands. 

So, I've had my eye on one of those chenille cutters, 

and finally bought one.

Here's the new set of pot holders that I did with the new chenille cutter.

I also thought it would make a great rug!  I used yardage that I already had.  There's a blue denim on the bottom, with a yellow denim and a pink denim.  Then I had some dark blue flannel that went between each denim piece.

Here's the rug, and the close-up.

I love the feel, texture and weight of the rug.  But it turned out kinda wonky.  I'll have to figure out how to make it more squared.  Maybe I could do a couple sets of back-stitches at the beginning and end of each row, so I can square-up when it's finished, without the stitching coming undone.

Denim Quilt Class

Tuesday, I got to teach my Denim Quilt Class.  It was a big class (10), but the ladies were all sharp, and we had a great time!  The students had a choice of Denim Stars, Brick Work or Windows.

Denim Stars

Brick Work

Windows

These 3 quilts are done in a similar way.  We work with a small section of the quilt at a time, sewing the blocks together and finishing the raw edges.  Then the quilt is done when it's done, there's no quilting or tying to do later, and batting is optional.

Here's some of the ladies and their work...

It's fun to see everyone's fabric choices!  Beatles fabric, polka dots, a soft girly print, cute bees, pirate fabrics, old fashioned charm and manly flannels.

Memorial Day Family Picture

Today is Memorial Day, and I got the day off work.  So our family went for an easy hike up near Bear Lake on the Limber Pine Trail.  The tree we are in front of is about 560 years old.  

It was a perfect day for being out in nature.  There were a few patches of snow, so of course, we had to put some snow down everyone's back.  LOL!

We saw a couple chipmunks and a baby moose.

The wild flowers are blooming, but I only saw 3 butterflies.  We'll go again when the butterflies are gathered in thick groups.

Patriotic 3-D Banner

Here's a picture of 3 of my students in the upstairs classroom at the store.  We have 6 sturdy, metal tables that don't vibrate when you're sewing.  If the class isn't too difficult, I can have up to 12 students.  We also have 3 other tables (for cutting stations or displays), 3 ironing boards with irons, one white board wall (for Power Point presentations), a small refrigerator for water bottles, and you can see the Handi Quilter Fusion in the back.

In this class, I'm teaching my Patriotic 3-D Banner.  If the students pre-cut their fabric, they can usually get their blue "field" finished and some of the red stripes, before the class is finished.

The quilting is very minimal, so with a bit of instruction, they are ready to finish the project on their own.  

The stripes are very much like an accordion, so special instruction is needed here.  To help you get a nice squared-up banner when you're finished, it's a good idea to draw the outline of your finished banner directly on the batting.  Then as you pin baste, you have a guide to keep the banner in its proper parameters.

The Patriotic 3-D Banner is a little tricky, but a fun project to make.

Get the pattern at Craftsy or Etsy.