Seashore Splendor Filler Blocks - Signal Flags

Originally I had intended to give you these blocks in several posts, but that awful cold really knocked me for a loop.  Instead, I have decided to go ahead and send them all out at once and let you get sewing!

These are the 14 signal flag blocks I chose for the filler blocks.  You will need to make 19 blocks to fill all the empty spots, so you can make duplicates of your favorites  the colors if you would like.  If you would like to make your blocks blend in more with your sea or sky, feel free to adjust the color choices as you like. 

Why did I pick these blocks?  These are the letters that spell out Seashore Splendor Quilt!

You can see the whole alphabet of signal flags here:  Nautical Flags and their meanings  So many fun ideas I could get for quilts here.

Since I'm still working on my blocks I don't have a step by step tutorial for you, but these are all very easy blocks to make so I think you will be all right!  The first week of December I'll have the assemble instructions ready and you can get your tops put together - I am so excited for that step that I can hardly wait!

Hope you have fun making these easy blocks - they will add a lot of fun to your quilt - here is the EQ version using the traditional colors in the blocks:

And in this version I've changed up some of the colors to blend more with the quilt:

So this will give you an idea for your color decisions.  I like both, so might end up making some extra blocks to play with as I go - the extras can always piece into the backing.  Download the block by clicking on the image below:

Download Signal Flags Instructions Here!

Time to go get those blocks done!  Have fun!

Virtual Craft Fair - come join us!

I've been down with a virus, but am coming out of hibernation to participate in the virtual craft fair put on by QuiltShopGal!  I'm super glad I didn't have to go out in public to be part of this, and I'll bet you are as well - you can have fun and shop in your jammies which is exactly what I'll be doing!

 

There are lots of great giveaways, too so make sure you visit QuiltShopGal and enter each day to win some wonderful prizes.  I can't wait to visit all the other bloggers and see what they have to offer, this is a great way to shop small and buy handmade for the holidays!

In addition to the quilts I always have available in my Etsy shop, I've added these fun Log Cabin Santa ornaments to my shop for the holiday season.  They are available in this version, or I can add ric rac trim or lace to the hat.  Each one features a cute white button from my button jar and sweet little beads for his eyes - so cute!

And as a special gift for you - Use the coupon code HEART19 at checkout to save 10% off your purchase.  (This is good on all items in my Etsy shop, including patterns!)

Thanks for joining us on this virtual craft fair!

Welcome November!

Today I've been putting my seam ripper to good use - last weekend I worked on sewing up the blocks for a secret project.  Unfortunately half of them were sewn wrong and I had a whole lot of deconstruction to work on.  They've been sitting by my spot on the loveseat all week, so today was the day to get them taken care of because I need to finish up that project this week.  After that I ripped the front hem and horsehair out of the front of a wedding gown I am working on.  The hem was just a bit stretched, so I needed to address that.  It's all taken out and pinned, so I'm ready to hem it again.  And now the seam ripper can go back in the drawer and hopefully stay there for a while!

It was a good time, though for pondering what I want to work on this coming month.  I'm going to put this on my list for my One Monthly Goal.  I believe the pattern for this is called Peaks.  It's a pretty Christmas quilt, and it would be great to get it done this month.  I have the backing for it, so basting and quilting is definitely within reason to accomplish this month.  I know how I want to quilt the strip pieced triangles, but haven't decided what to do in the triangles yet.

Other projects to work on are my November Island Batik Ambassador challenge for the month of November.  Since I am not on the list for the blog hop this time, I will be making a challenge based on the theme Tool Time.  Should be fun, I am all about my quilting tools!  Don't forget to follow along with the Island Batik Blog Hop:  A Piece Of  They will be showing all the great new fabrics that are ready to ship to quilt shops!

I have three different custom quilt orders to work on as well, so there will be a lot of quilting going on this month!  Sounds good to me - it's my favorite thing to be doing after all.  And I am so very thankful that I get to do what I love for my job.

Speaking of which, I have a couple samples to work on for Threads That Bind as well.  I don't think I'll be bored in November.  And I have lots of fun things to blog about, so that will be fun, too!

Hope your November is happy, and just as busy as you want to be!  Why don't you make a goal for November and come join the party at One Monthly Goal?

One Monthly Goal - Savanna is finished!

It was a real race to the finish on this one because I left it to the last week, but I made it by the skin of my teeth!

Available for sale in my Etsy shop!

I couldn't resist throwing it out on the lawn for a finish picture - such a lovely fall day.  It's chilly here, but sunny.  Perfect night for the little ones to be out Trick or Treating!  I'm waiting here with my bucket of candy waiting for the fun to start while I write this blog post.

I had a good time quilting this, thought at 64 x 78 Savanna is by no means a petite quilt!  I'm thinking I spent close to 8 hours total on the quilting.  I used a variety of thread on this quilt, and emptied several spools of medium grays and blues for the bobbins.  I did the light parts with yellow thread, and used a blue poly thread for the dark pieces and inner border.  The outer border used up a nice part of a spool of green variegated thread also from my stash. The batik in this quilt is a mixture of various types that were on clearance several years ago when I made the top.  

Savanna is a pattern by Karla Alexander.  I made the quilt in a workshop I took from her a few years ago.  It was super fun, we used a special ruler for the curved cuts (Curves for Squares), which really made it very easy.  The hardest part was deciding how to lay out my quilt in the end!  I had a moment of panic about the binding, but it only took me a few minutes to find where I had saved the fabric.  Thank goodness, because I didn't have much time to spare!

Thanks to Elm Street Quilts for hosting One Monthly Goal and inspiring me to get this done!  I've already got a plan for what I want to finish next month, and I'm not going to wait till the last week of the month to start working on that one.  Can't wait to see what everyone else has finished this month! 

Top it Off - October Island Batik Ambassador Challenge

I'm excited to share my Island Batik Ambassador Challenge for October with you today!  Our challenge this month was to make a holiday inspired table runner or topper featuring applique. (Island Batik provided the fabric and the ambassadors provide the ideas!) I knew this would be a fun challenge.  For me this challenge was difficult because I was having a hard time figuring out what holiday to feature.  Then I remembered a comment about the fact that it would be nice to do a winter project featuring blue and white fabrics for Hanukkah!  What a great inspiration.  I think my project came out great and I hope you will enjoy it as well!

 I pulled seven blue fabrics from the Sunny Side up (oh, how I love these happy colors)  bundle of fat quarters that I received in my second Ambassador Box this summer - and I also pulled a lovely yellow to use for some stars.  I added a nice strip of solid white, which really set the blue fabrics off nicely!  I used a courthouse steps style of block for the three pieced blocks. All three blocks are the same, the center one is rotated to make the design more interesting.

Lo and behold, one of the applique blocks built into the EQ8 program is a Star of David Wreath, which was perfect for my project.  The wreath features 9 stars, which I thought was a nice reference to the 9 candles on a Menorah.  I needed to cut out and fuse 18 stars total for both sides of the runner, but that wasn't bad at all!  Arranging the stars in a perfect circle was a bit of a challenge, though.  In the end I went to the kitchen and pulled out a lid to help me get them just right!

I layered my quilt sandwich with the Hobbs Tuscany Wool and Cotton blend - it's just lovely for quilting and really shows the texture.  I used Aurifil Thread for the piecing and the quilting, three different colors of 50 wt - a yellow, a blue and white. 

Isn't the back fabulous?  I had so much fun playing with the quilting on this project, table runners are a great size for practicing new quilting ideas.  I did McTavishing on the body, wishbones in the white border, and a fun design on the final border that I picked out of "Doodle Quilting Mania" by Cheryl Malkowski.  So much inspiration - if you are struggling with ideas for free motion quilting, her books are awesome! 

I used the same blue for the binding as I used for the border.  For those of you who think this quilting looks great, it's really not so perfect, but overall, it looks awesome!  My wishbones are a bit more crooked than I wanted and my circles get a little wonky in the border - but when you look at the quilt as a whole, you don't see those imperfections at all.  So don't give up, just keep practicing.  On the right border you can see my wishbones at the beginning.  On the left you can see where I finished.  My muscle memory had kicked in by then and I was getting a lot better and more confident!  Practice on smaller quilts like table runners and place mats and before you know it you will have added a new skill to your repertoire!

Thanks to Island Batik, Aurifil Thread and Hobbs Batting for providing products for this challenge!

Would you like to make your own Hanukkah Stars table runner?  You can download an instructions sheet by clicking the link below:

Free Hanukkah Stars Table Runner Pattern

I've set the price so you can download for free or pay what you would like.  Your financial support helps me continue to design and create patterns - I appreciate it every time you purchase one of my patterns and help me to keep on doing what I love! 

I have several new quilts to show you from the Island Batik booth at Quilt Market, but I'll spread those out so they can each get their share of attention.  In the meantime, have a wonderful day and go find some time to quilt!

Seashore Splendor Block 18 - Whale's Tail

Here we are with Block 18 - this is the last of the stand alone blocks, the remaining blocks are all 6 1/2 inch filler blocks.  This is another original block, and one that I love!  Whale's tail is super easy to make, just a few triangles a mini flying geese unit and strips!  You'll have this one done in a flash!

For this block you will want a sky fabric and a darker sea fabric.  If you like, use a nice gray - it won't take much and will look great in your quilt!

Cutting is easy - you can cut the strips from one long piece, or cut them individually.  Here are the lights:

and here are the darks:

Make your half square triangles, and assemble the flying geese unit.  Press all the seams toward the dark fabric and make sure to trim off all the dog ears.

The next step is to lay out all the pieces - it can be a little tricky to get those triangles all turned the right way, so watch out for this part!

 Here they are, all turned just right!

 Sew the small triangles to the long strip, then sew the large triangles to the small strips.  Sew the Flying Geese unit to the tail rectangle. Press all these seams away from the triangles for this step.

Next sew the large triangle units to the tail rectangle unit.  You can press these seams whichever way you wish, I like them toward the center.

Add the long strip with the small triangles to the top of this unit, and press the seam toward the narrow strip.

Add the side srips, pressing the seams to the outside.  Voila!  One cute Whale's Tail for your quilt!

Check it out, all the big openings are filled, and just the filler blocks left to go.  I'll be providing patterns for some nautical flag blocks, but you can make your choice of blocks for this step, or just cut plain 6 1/2 inch squares.  I'll be sending a few each week, along with assembly directions.  Yes, it's time to start sewing the blocks together!  I am so excited!

Click the picture below to download your instructions for Block 18.  Be on the lookout for the next step heading your way next week as we get ready for putting this all together!

Download Block Pattern here!

Seashore Splendor Block 17 - Finny Fish

I am excited to say we are really close to getting all our blocks done for this quilt!  This block measures 9 1/2 inches square, and after the next block, we just have to do the filler blocks - woohoo!  I call this block Finny Fish, and it was a bit of a challenge to come up with an easy way to piece those fins - but I think I did it.  You'll have to let me know what you think when you make this one.

For this block you will be using the medium blue sea fabric and red.  There really isn't a lot of sewing in this block, so it shouldn't take you long to make your version of Finny.

First of all, cut your pieces.  Yes, I decided to make a polka dot fish, I couldn't help it! This is from the Harry and Alice Go to the Sea line from Riley Blake.  I had some leftovers from a shop sample I made and it just had to be part of my quilt!  And yes, the measurements are also weird in this block because it's set on point.  Just watch those eighth's and you'll do just fine!

You'll be making mirror image units, so make sure your pieces look like these.  You can see the line I finger pressed in to mark that seam line in the center of the block.  Remember to line up the edge of the fabric 1/4 of an inch away from where you want to sew your seam.  Also, if your fins aren't perfectly lined up, it's all right, you won't really notice it when the block is completed.

After sewing those triangles on, flip your block to the back side on your cutting board.

Trim even with your blue fabric fabric.  If you like, you can remove the blue fabric from the back, but it's also fine to leave it just like this as well.

And here are the finished fins!  Now make the tail fin using the half square triangles and you are ready to sew this fish together!

Super cute, right?  And that anchor ended up in the right spot for an eye!  Totally a happy accident, even though it's upside down...  Now add the setting triangles to complete your block.  Match the center of the long side of the triangles with the block seams for an easy as pie finish.

Cute as can be!  Here is what our quilt looks like up to this point - notice that we only have small pieces left to fill in now.

Download your pattern and get sewing today!  

Download Finny Fish Pattern Here!