a little sewing for baby…

I haven’t really done any sewing for the baby yet, since we don’t know if it will be a boy or a girl. But of course, I’m itching to start sewing teeny tiny baby things! I decided washcloths would be a pretty safe option…because even if the baby doesn’t need all of these, they’ll make great gifts!

These washcloths are so quick and easy to make. If I hadn’t run out of the terry cloth backing, I’d probably have a much taller stack!

It was fun to pull out some of my favorite fabrics to combine for the patchwork top of each washcloth — some Heather Ross, a little Munki Munki, and some of Laurie Wisbrun’s Urban Circus, all backed with a really great organic cotton terry cloth by Michael Miller.

I’m not typically a washcloth-user, but these are so soft (and fun to look at!) that I now find myself trying to find reasons to need a washcloth! Sad, right?!

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On an unrelated note, I’m thrilled to share that I have a little something in each of these wonderful magazines!

A big thank you to Alissa for including my interview in her wonderful article about modern quilting for Stitch magazine! (and thank you to all of you who have already written to congratulate me – it took me a long time to actually find a copy of Stitch!)

And another thank you to the wonderful folks at Interweave for including my Unfurnished quilt in the latest issue of International Quilt Festival: Quilt Scene. It’s so fun to see it in print!

Posted in baby, General | 42 Comments

simple pleasures…

A lovely Fall day

paired with a lovely little quilt top

Hope you’re having a happy Friday!

(and yes, I couldn’t resist a second baby FMF quilt…) I think the baby may need one of these too!

Posted in Fabric, Posts about Quilts | 21 Comments

rectangle squared – a quilt block tutorial

Thanks for all the comments about my latest Innocent Crush quilt. I had several requests for measurements, so I’ve put together a quick tutorial showing how to make up the block that makes up this quilt.

First, a quick drawing showing the unfinished measurements (for those of you who want to skip the rest of the tutorial!) –

This block is a great one for using fat quarters, and I think it works best with non-directional prints, since the blocks end up turned in many different directions when you put together the quilt top. For my Innocent Crush quilt, I used fat quarters of 11 different prints (all the prints from the Charmed palette).

To start, square up the long edge of one of your fat quarters and cut a strip 3.25″ wide. You’ll want to cut this strip along the long side of the fat quarter, which means you’ll have a length of approximately 22″. Cut a strip of solid white (or your solid of choice) that’s 1.5″ wide and the same length as your printed strip (in this case, about 22″).

Sew the white strip to the long side of the printed fabric and iron.

Cut this strip into 7″ pieces. You’ll get 3 pieces from each strip.

Repeat with your other printed fabrics. Additionally, cut a second strip from each printed fabric that’s also 3.25″ wide (3.25″ x 22″). Subcut into 3.25″ squares. While you’re at it, cut additional strips of white fabric 1.5″ wide by 3.25″ in length.

Select two printed squares and sew together with a white strip separating them. Iron seams.

Sew this section to your rectangular section and iron your seam. Your block will measure 7″ square.

Make as many additional blocks as you’d like for your desired quilt size and lay them out to your liking, alternating the block orientation to create your desired design. Add sashing between the blocks and admire your lovely new quilt top! (sashing between my blocks measures 1.5″ in width)

As always, let me know if you have any questions, and if you make a quilt or quilt blocks from this tutorial, please consider adding your photos to the FITF Flickr group!

Posted in Tutorials | Tagged , , , , , | 129 Comments