disappearing nine patch

Quilting is in many ways just like magic.  It took me a couple of quilts to figure this out.  Most of the time you will see a quilt and say to yourself, "Golly, I could never make that!".  What you do not know is that a good amount of the time, quilting is just a bunch of smoke and mirrors, just like magic!  One of my favorite examples is the disappearing nine patch pattern.  It is my go-to baby quilt pattern.  Mostly because when I make baby quilts I either have limited time or I am pregnant and do not feel like sitting hunched over a machine for hours. Here are some examples of disappearing nine patch quilts I have made over the past year or so.

I like them because it appears that they have been pieced together very slowly and meticulously...not so!  See how it is done and why I think it is so easy!  Sorry about the super lame graphics, it was the best I could do with techy hubby on the road.

First piece together a block that is three squares by three squares, you can make them any size you like.  I typically make them roughly five inches.

After you have one big square you are going to cut the square into fourths.  Now, you will have four independent pieces that includes an original whole block, two halves and one quarter.  Next, flip and match those squares any way you like.  See...not hard at all.  Just some smoke and mirrors!

-melissa

rough circles quilt along...part seven

Quilt Along is finished, done, completed, all ready to snuggle!  All in time for a 30th birthday. I am pretty happy with the way it turned out...so here you go, the finished product.

Two things that you need to know, Charlotte was extremely fussy while I was trying to take some decent pictures AND after a day of beautiful 80 degree weather with perfect blue sunny skies it decided to pour down the rain as soon as I decide to take those decent pictures.

So along with some quilt, you are also going to get some runny-nosed, teething, drooling Charlotte.Here is a shot of the front, the back, wave quilting and squiggly binding.

The penny strip really ties the front to the back in my opinion.  You can also really see the very simple quilting that I did on this quilt.  Jay had the idea of just tracing some bulletin boarder from my classroom with a water dissolvable marker and then following the pattern.

All fabrics of this quilt were chosen by Jay.  I have some favorites, but one of my absolute favorites was the backing.  Jay picked out this cute little ocean print with little gray, white and yellow whales...they make me happy.

Remember the quilt back is just as important as the quilt front.  Especially when cute little baby feet are crawling all over it! 

The front all finished!

One little girl with her daddy's quilt and of course Larry the Cucumber, Larry can solve any rough times we may have.

I think she actually had a good time crawling around and I might have gotten a good one or two.

Well, I guess that is a wrap.

-melissa

quilted letters

I have had several people over the last couple of months ask how I do the quilted letters that I often put on the back of my quilts.  I have typed the process a couple times to different people into emails and Facebook messages so here is how I do my appliqué letters for anyone else that is interested in them. You need some very inexpensive supplies first:  Heat n' Bond Lite (this can be bought from JoAnn Fabrics), a chunky font that you can easily trace (I always use smiley monster) and the fabrics that you want to become letters (cottons are a must).

First print off your letters at the desired size and cut them out.  Then trace the letters upside down onto the smooth side of the Heat n' Bond.  I then cut out a square around each letter, but not the letter itself.  I then will iron (using no steam) the bumpy side of the heat n bond to the wrong side of the fabric.  Cut out your letters and you are good to go!

Your letters will fray a little, but not much and I really enjoy the slightly worn look.  I have used this technique on a number of quilts and on a turkey onesie of Charlottes this past Thanksgiving.  Charlottes baby blanket has been washed MANY times and the letters are still looking the same as they did one year ago (has it really been one year already!?)

Hope this helps. I love to appliqué and  seem to use it on almost everything I make!

rough circles quilt along...part six

A beautiful quilt front is just itching to be attached to some batting and a backing piece of fabric.  A good amount of hard work has gone into the front and research has been made on the style of quilting you wish to do. Now you are ready!

I only have one last suggestion...spend some time on your backing.  You have put hours, days and weeks into the front of that quilt.  Why just be happy with a solid piece of fabric for the back?  I am not encouarging you  to create a whole other pieced part for the back, but think about it a bit, be creative.  I am fond of penny strips.  When you make larger quilts it is necessary to attach two pieces of fabric together in the back to create enough coverage.  Might as well create it with some style sense.  For the majority of the back I have a fun whale youth print, then my penny strip comes next and I finished it off with a simple Kona solid.  For the penny strip I just sewed a bunch of very thin pieces of scrap together and then attached several together.  Easy, peasy!

After you have the front and back ready to go all you are going to do is make a simple sandwich! Here is the recipe:

Lay down your backing so the right side is facing down.  I prefer to put down another blanket first so I can easily pull it all up if need be.

Next, add your batting being sure to have extra coverage on all four sides.

Next, add your quilt top and trim off the excess batting while leaving some extra allowance on the outer edges.

Last, grab those pins!  You want to make sure that you pin everything down nice and snug while making sure all three parts of your sandwich are smooth and tight.  It helps to start from the center and work your way out!  Once you have everything pinned you can get quilting!  Next week we will finish this quilt along...maybe just in time for someone's 30th birthday and a snow storm? (keep your fingers crossed!)

-melissa