Free Project: Green Thumb Tea Towels

Hello everyone! I have a great little project to share today. A sweet raw edge, free-motion stitched tea towel featuring some of my favorite things: houseplants!! Using by the yard toweling, this is a quick project to freshen your home!

I am so thrilled to hang these in my new kitchen. The little scraps just make me smile (of course, because I love scraps)

Download the pattern here (I did this video at the request of National Sewing Circle, they will ask for your email address to download the pattern.)

You can see a recording of my demo of how to make the towels here: Watch on Facebook

I'd love to see if you make one! Happy stitching!

Firework: National Quilt Museum free block pattern

 Hello again!

I'm happy to share a pretty little block I designed for the National Quilt Museum's Block of the Month Program. The free pattern is available starting today at: https://quiltmuseum.org/blockofthemonth/. 

The pattern includes a printable wedge template and is complicated but not too complicated. And you know me: I designed it to work with smaller scraps of fabric!

This year the NQM BOM is being done with each block quilted individually, and they will be pieced together at the end. So I also posted a little video of how I quilted mine: https://youtu.be/iub58_roahQ

We recently had a snowstorm in Portland, which only happens once a year or so, and I couldn't resist trying to get a "quilt in the snow" photo. But it was so icy I couldn't make it farther than my front yard! I'm including this questionable photo anyway. 

I have enjoyed seeing how creative the NQM group on Facebook have been with each month's block and I can't wait to see how they approach this one. 

Baby Vista Quilt, Reflected Variation

I recently finished a baby quilt for a special baby!

This quilt was made with half a strip roll of Moongate Fabric following the baby-size version of my pattern Vista. I used the pattern a different way than originally written, though. Below is the original baby quilt layout in the pattern, a mountain-inspired design. 

I switched up which rows I used in this variation, and how I used them. 

I kind of like that you can mix and match the rows in this pattern to get something totally unique. If you'd like to make this version, I've written notes below so you can do it too!

Vista Baby Quilt Reflected Variation

Start the pattern as written, through the "Make Strip Pairs" step. 

Then, rotate each of the top 5 strip pairs, so that the strip that was on the top of each pair is now on the bottom of the pair.

Then, use the instructions in the "Make Rows" section to turn your strip pairs into rows. 

Follow the list below to learn which instructions to follow for each strip pair. (Also shown in illustration below)

Strip set 1 (top): Row A

Strip set 2: Row B

Strip set 3: Row C

Strip set 4: Row B

Strip set 5: Row D

Strip set 6: Row D

Strip set 7: Row B

Strip set 8: Row C

Strip set 9: Row B

Strip set 10 (bottom): Row A

After the Rows are complete, rotate each of the top 5 rows again, so that the original top strip is back on top again and the triangles for these rows are pointing down. Join the rows as in the original pattern. 

I quilted my version with this fluid textural design that I really love right now. It's a variation of the design I teach in my new Pathway Pillow class. I really had fun quilting this and it's already in the hands of the new parents!! I'd love to see your version if you make a Vista Quilt!

Listen in on the Quilt and Tell Podcast!

I had the good fortune of being invited to the Quilt and Tell podcast with Tracy, Ginger and Lori last week. I've been on a few podcasts and the interview was always 1-on-1, but I have to say, I love the sweet format of the group discussion! It felt natural and friendly to chat with them. If you want a little quilty company in a quiet moment, listen in!!

Oh also, good news that QuiltCon 2021, next February, will be held online! I think this was a wise decision and I'm glad they made it early. I'm teaching a few classes and giving a lecture during the event. The organizers at the MQG seem to be doing a great job planning ahead to make this a thoughtful and enriching experience. The classes will be recorded, and some in-person sessions available too. You can see the course catalog here. Maybe you'll find one you like! Registration opens next month for MQG members and then in September for non-members. 

If you prefer smaller, real-time classes I am teaching a few classes a month on Zoom, generally limited to 8 students each. I'm having fun teaching this way and my students seem to be enjoying it too. We universally agree that it is very convenient to not have to pack up your machine and all your sewing tools for a class! It's also pretty great that ANYone can join in. So far I've taught students from Ireland, Canada, Singapore and London! What an unexpected joy!

However we do or don't cross paths, I hope you're doing well and getting some time for making these days. 

I guess I'm an editor now

So...some big things went down with Bluprint. Most of you know already but for those who haven't: NBC decided to shut down the craft instruction streaming service. Not only does this make me worried for the many wonderful people I've worked with in my years of making quilting videos with the Denver-based team, it was a big snafu for me. Bluprint is a big chunk of my business income and they own the footage for the 6 video classes that I've poured my heart into making with them. It'll be hard to watch all that disappear. 

The closure felt extra complicated to me when it was announced, because I was less than a week from shooting a class with Bluprint, in my home, about making these improvisational style quilted pillows. They were going to send me equipment and guide me through the lighting and filming over a web conference and then I would send them the footage so they could work their editing magic. After preparing for the class for a month, watching it go down the drain was a big disappointment. 

I spent a day feeling cranky and stuck, and then the next day I decided to just go ahead and shoot the class anyway. The worst thing that would happen would be no one would want to watch it!

So that's what I've been working on for the last few weeks.  I did not have "video editing" on my 2020 bingo card, that's for sure. Life is full of surprises! Not only did I learn how to edit, but my 11 year old daughter was my cameraperson! And she did great. 

So the big news is that the class launched today. I named it "The Pathway Pillow". I've spent a lot of time figuring out where to host the class, writing the pattern and cleaning up the music in the videos. It feels so good to be able to say the class is ready!! I really hope you love it if you decide to join in. And I'm open to suggestions about what sort of class I should record next! I'd like to think the next one might be a little smoother now that we've made it through the first one. If you do check it out, I've created a discount code for 25% off that will be good for the next week: LEMONADE. 

Happy stitching everyone!

Drawing Together

Hello all! Checking in with a few quick updates. Hoping you are healthy and have what you need right now. Life in lockdown is busy and weird and exhausting! First off, I am home from work, like so many of you. And helping my kids with school from home, like so many others are. Creativity is not coming easy but I'm of the mind that that's normal for times like this. I've been through times of less creativity and it always comes back.

I really miss teaching, and have had to cancel several classes. In replacement for that particular joy I've started doing a daily quilt design video. I'm calling this project "Drawing Together". You can see previous days' videos at : https://www.instagram.com/afewscraps/channel/ and I also post them on my Facebook page.

One benefit of being home is I have a little time to focus on my business. I've restocked fabric in my shop for those of you who are looking to buy fabrics right now. What an awkward time to release a first fabric collection, eh?! I've also added my pretty little enamel pins to the store.

Wishing for little moments of peace and color and joy for you!

Splashdown: Free Pattern for charm packs!

When Maywood Studio asked me to design fabric they let me know they usually offered a free pattern to go along with the fabric. They told me I could design it or they could. I decided I wanted to design it, because the whole collection felt like my baby, and this is what I came up with: a baby quilt that can be made with a charm pack!

The quilt measures 40" x 40". I called it Splashdown and it is a tribute to the way astronauts returned safely to earth in early space travel: their capsule would descend through the atmosphere, deploy parachutes and then land in the ocean. In the quilt, the center plus sign indicates the intended landing site, and the outward echoing half-square triangles represent the landing "splash"!

To see a PDF of the pattern, click here. You can then save the file to your computer if you wish.

Hot tip: the pattern is written for a single charm pack, BUT, if you have four charm packs (or a layer cake - a collection of 10" squares) you could make the pattern four times, for a larger, 80" x 80" quilt! Check out how that might look!

The thing I'm most proud of is making those diagonal geese in the corners easy to piece, without paper piecing. I'm sure other quilters have figured that one out before me, but all the same I was delighted when it turned out!

If you end up using the pattern I'd love to see how it turns out! Those of you who ordered fabric from me should be receiving it this week! Thanks for all the Moongate love!

There were a couple of non-critical errors in the originally published pattern but the link has been updated now.