New Pattern

Crossroad Squares is my latest pattern. This quilt uses Island Batik fabrics; it would be great in other fabrics too. Choose 1 large scale 'theme' fabric and select 2 coordinates and a background.

Buy the pattern here.

Here are some other ideas for this design:

Order your pattern TODAY and support the Spread the Net Challenge!

Sneak Peek - New Quilt

I have been quilting a new quilt for Island Batik this week. Almost finished!

This pattern won't be 'public' until the Fall but they need to photograph my quilt for their Fall Catalog.

It may seem strange to you that I work so far in advance but it makes all the patterns I publish 'current'. That means you can find the fabrics in your local quilt shops at the same time the patterns are available. Makes it easier for you when you want to make the quilt I designed.

New Patterns - it was a Busy Fall 2016

I have just added 5 new patterns to my website.  Most of them were designed in the summer last year and the final pattern development was completed just before the holidays. This brings me to 22 new patterns published in 2016!


Dancing Orchids combines piecing and appliqué - but you don't need to make the orchids! They are 'fussy cut' from the orchid print in the Artisan Spirit Sandscapes Orchids collection by Northcott and then fused in place.

This pattern includes 2 sizes: you can add the asymmetrical border for the large quilt (46" x 58") or make the smaller quilt (35" x 47") without the border. 

I have included one of my favourite appliqué shapes in the quilt too - the Monstera leaf. I have used this design for my Machine Quilting with Decorative Stitches workshop and as a quilting design.

Buy this pattern.


On the Move: I have wanted to make this pattern for a couple of years. It is based on the wedding quilt I made for my daughter and son-in-law in 2014.  I just had to wait for the perfect fabric.  Hipster on the Go by Northcott was just what I was looking for!

This pattern has 2 sizes and 2 colourways. 

The large quilt is 56" x 65" and the small quilt is 39" x 44" (perfect for a baby quilt).





Order the pattern HERE.

The next design uses Island Batik fabrics and is a
Give & Take Appliqué pattern (one fused design equals TWO blocks).  

This Holiday Bells table runner is 18½" x 48".  It's NOT too early to get started on a holiday project for 2017!


Order the pattern HERE.

I had a lot of fun working with panels for the next pattern. Yes....this quilt uses 2 of the same panel so you don't need to do all that amazing piecing! 

I cut the panels into sections and recombined the pieces with 3 coordinating fabrics to make this 59" x 67" quilt.  

The Psychedelic panels are from the ColorWorks Concepts 2 collection by Northcott. I called this design Galaxy Twist.








And the last pattern is one for the golfers in your life. A great collection of prints called On the Green make this quilt lots of fun. There is a golf course scene, golf balls on the grass and golf clubs and golf bags and shoes. There is a fun allover print with 'tees' as well. 

Two sizes are included in this pattern - large quilt 56" x 72" and small quilt 48" x 60".  Piecing is very easy for these quilts and they make a perfect gift. 

What else could I call it? Tee Time!

Order your patterns HERE.

Want to see larger pictures of these quilts - 'click' the small quilt image in the store when you follow the links above.

Product Review - Bloc_Loc Ruler

Here is a 'sneak peak' of an in-progress quilt on my design wall. 

I want to make a 'scrap' quilt with Island Batik fabrics and solid white. I am working diagonally through the colour wheel.  

I just started making a few yellow blocks and liked how they looked. I have sorted my fabrics and continued making blocks and arranging them on my design wall.

Then it hit me! I will need 800 Half Square Triangles for this quilt! The quilt will be 10 blocks x 10 blocks = 100 blocks; and there are 8 Half Square Triangles in each block.

I don't think I would have started if I had done that math at the beginning but I'm moving along well with the Bloc_Loc ruler!

The helpful assistant at one my local quilt shops told me the Bloc_Loc ruler was great for squaring up half square triangles.

I always make these by using squares that are cut slightly larger than the size I need and I 'square them up' so they are perfect every time. I usually use my 6" square ruler to trim them square.

The Bloc_Loc has a diagonal groove on the underside, designed to 'lock' into place along the seam line. When I first put the ruler on my half square triangle I knew something was wrong. 

If I had trimmed with the ruler in that spot I would definitely be trimming too much!

I had to turn the ruler around, be sure that it was 'locked' and that the block size I wanted was inside the fabric edges.

I trimmed the right side and the top,

then I turned the block around and lined up the cut edges with the measurements on the ruler and made my final two cuts. These are perfectly trimmed.

The only drawback I see with this ruler is that there are no instructions with the tool. If you go to their website (www.blocloc.com) you can see exactly how to trim the blocks. 

The key part that I didn't know until I watched the video is that the Bloc_Loc logo on the ruler should always be placed on the lower side. That is the one that does not have the seam allowances underneath. Once I knew that it was very easy to position the ruler and trim my blocks. 

The video also shows how to trim quarter-square triangles accurately. This is definitely my new 'go to ruler' for trimming half square triangles. I used the 6-1/2" ruler but they even have a 12-1/2" BlocLoc ruler for larger blocks.

New pattern for Fall 2016

My work days are usually filled with 2 sorts of tasks - computer work (mainly designing and writing patterns) and studio time. The studio time often takes a 'back seat' to the design and writing time unfortunately. I tell myself each Spring that 'this will be the summer to sew' but progress is often slow. Don't you sometimes wish there were more hours in a day.

I have made progress on a new pattern to be released this fall. I was asked by Island Batik to create a pattern using their upcoming fabrics. I selected a holiday red and green collection (Holly Jolly) and a winter blue collection (Frost) to make an updated version of a Give & Take Applique pattern.

Here's a sneak peak at the banners for the Holiday Bells pattern that will be available in October. They are on their way to California to be photographed for the Island Batik Fall wholesale catalog.

I always announce publication of new patterns first in my FREE newsletter (and newsletter subscribers always get 10% off all pattern orders).
So....why not subscribe to the newsletter while you are here. The place to subscribe is on the right, at the top of this page.  I never share your email address with anyone and you won't be flooded with emails from me. Just once every couple of weeks you'll get a brief note about what's happening in my studio and my life. I often include product reviews and other informative information.


As a BONUS, you'll receive a free pattern as my thank you right away.

What are you working on for the summer?  Any large projects or some of your UFOs?  Have you made a quilt using a Patchworks Studio pattern or a project in a workshop with me?  I'd love to share your photos so email your pictures to me.

Happy Summer Sewing everyone!

Three New Patterns!

I have just put the finishing touches on 3 new patterns and they are available to order now.

	Tweet & Greet Welcome the new addition with a quilt that starts with a 36" panel. Complement the woodland theme with easy half square triangles in Cuddle Comfort flannel, because only the best will do for your little ones! Quilt size: 48" x 55" Skill Level: Beginner Fabric: A Little Birdie Told Me, Cuddle Comfort Flannel by Northcott, in stores July, 2016. Order this pattern here.
	Christmas Elegance Make a holiday heirloom with this elegant panel illustrated in a classic painterly style by Richard Macneil.  The addition of glitter adds a touch of glamour to this quilt. Quilt sizes: 2 sizes: Large quilt (39" x 57") and                             Small quilt (29" x 47") Skill Level: Confident Beginner Fabric: White Christmas by Northcott, in stores July 2016. Order this pattern here.
	Go! Fish This quilt is an abstract undersea picture, with fish darting to and fro above a bed of coral.  Using an Island Batik stack gives you the wide variety of fabrics to make this quilt. Quilt size: 60" x 72" Skill Level: Intermediate Fabric: Red Tide stack (40 - 10" squares) by Island Batik. Order this pattern here.

Binding Design

I finished a quilt for a new pattern last week. Go! Fish will be a pattern for Island Batik. I used an upcoming Island Stack (10" squares) plus a turquoise background for this design. My original plan was to use the turquoise fabric for the binding. As I arranged the parts on my design wall I realized I wanted a 'bottom' for the quilt so the fish weren't just swimming in 'space'. This isn't a true pictorial quilt; it is more abstract. But what I was seeing in my mind had a 'bottom'. I decided to use some of the darkest squares for half-square triangles and pinwheels for the bottom area. I then realized that turquoise binding around the entire quilt wouldn't work well. I needed to change the colour of the binding along that darker area. The bottom area of Go! Fish - quilt is 60" wide (and 72" high - the part you can't see yet) Here are the steps I used to accomplish this:  Measure along the bottom of the quilt and up the left and right side to the spot where I wanted the binding colour to change. This told me the length of dark binding I would need. I added 18" to that measurement to allow for joining the turquoise binding. I divided the measurement by 38". I always use 38" as a strip length when calculating binding. It allows for joining the strips diagonally and for mitered corners.   Then I cut my dark fabric strips, prepared the binding and sewed it onto the quilt. I didn't sew right to the spot where I wanted the turquoise binding to start. I stopped about 4" before that point on each side and allowed an additional 5" of binding beyond that spot.   Then I measured the remaining perimeter of the quilt (for the turquoise binding). Again I divided by 38" to determine how many turquoise strips I would need.   I prepared the turquoise binding. To join it to the dark binding on the left side I marked the spot on the dark binding where I wanted the binding colour to change. Then I joined the turquoise binding at that spot. I used a diagonal seam for this join, just as I do for all binding seams.   Then I sewed the last bit of dark binding and the turquoise binding to the quilt, stopping 10" from the spot where I stopped sewing the right edge dark binding. I determined the spot where I wanted the dark binding to end and then joined the two binding edges at that spot and sewed the last part of the binding to the quilt.  I am very happy with the result!  The pattern for this quilt will be available in a few months.  Sign up for my e-Zine and you'll be the first to know! Here is a great video tutorial for joining the ends of your binding strips with Sherri Bain Driver from McCall's Quilting.

Another 'Creative Curve' Workshop

Last weekend I started another class sample using Sew Kind of Wonderful's Creative Curve Ruler.

This one is for my workshop at Kaleidoscope Quilt Company in Mill Bay.

  

I selected some Island Batik fabrics and Northcott's ColorWorks navy for the blocks. The high contrast makes the flowers 'pop' - just what I wanted. For the setting triangles I auditioned a lot of different colours but most of them seemed to eliminate the impact of the blocks. My final choice was white Toscana which has high contrast with the navy. Just the look I was going for. 

The workshop is on Saturday, March 12, 10 am - 3 pm.

  Contact the store at 778-455-4715 for more details.

I am working on the quilting and finishing. I have been referring to Amanda Murphy's new book, free-motion Quilting Idea Book. I will do a review of the book soon.

Sneak Peak - Go! Fish

I have been spending part of each day for the last few weeks working on a new project. No....I'm not taking part in one of those 365-block-a-day projects. Though it did cross my mind to do one. It would use up some of the stash, right. How hard would it be to do JUST ONE BLOCK every day? 

Then I came back to reality.....I have enough PRIORITY tasks; I don't need even one more. No 365 blocks on my TO DO list....

So, back to MY project.  It is a new design using upcoming Island Batik fabrics. I love working with these bright colours............

Strips for some of the alternate blocks - cut and joined end to end.

I also love my Bloc-Loc ruler for squaring up Half Square Triangles - these ones are 1-1/2" finished and they are PERFECT.

Squaring up the blocks on the kitchen counter while watching the hockey game.

 



One last seam to join the rows together....

Can't wait to see the entire top put together.

 

Test-fitting the backing fabric so I can load it onto the Avante and start quilting.  Now...decisions, decisions.....how will I quilt it?  Suggestions welcomed!

Hurray! The backing is plenty big enough!

 I'll let you know when the pattern for this quilt is ready.

Coming soon.....another new design.

You haven't heard from me for quite a while.....because I have been creating a LOT of new quilts.  I'll be telling you about them over the next few weeks.

First up is a quilt for my friend Jill. She has been away from Victoria for 14 years since her husband was stationed in Italy, Belgium and the US. This is a 'Welcome Home' for Jill and a reminder of her travels in Italy.

I also made a smaller version of this design for my granddaughter. 

This one uses super cuddly flannel from Northcott.

I don't often make a quilt more than a couple of times but I just loved how this design went together and so I just had to make one more!  

This full size quilt uses an upcoming collection from Island Batik. The quilt is on display in their booth at International Quilt Market in Houston this week.

I have named my upcoming pattern Gemstone and it will include all 3 sizes.  Stay tuned for the release later this fall!