I trust you all survived Labor Day weekend? I did! Happily, I had 2 days of sewing with my sewing buddy, Robin (Hi Robin!) – yay! – and I went to Robin’s 2 year old grandson’s birthday party. It was a good weekend.
Today, I’ve got a free fun little scrappy fall leaf block pattern PDF download for you.
This block, which I’ve named Colorful Me Autumn, is adapted from one of the leaves on the throw in the background of my new September Rose Card pattern, Purrfect Pumpkin. You can see the throw on the pattern, below, over on the right side on the top of the chair.
Just the other day, I had a question asking if I had the pattern for the throw. Although I couldn’t reproduce the entire throw, I did adapt one of the blocks for you.
Here’s the Color Me Autumn block. Isn’t it fun??? You can make it totally scrappy so you can raid your own fabric stash OR use a single fabric for each block to make your quilt more organized. The block finishes at a nice 12″ x 12″.
Below is the PDF download with instructions for making the block:
I was originally planning another fun new autumn quilt tutorial, but sadly I ran out of time. Again. So, instead, I came up with a really cool idea that I hope you will enjoy!
Well, there’s no time to lose – let’s dive right into our topic for today – Autumn Colors!
Autumn in Color: 4 Palettes for Quilters
Close your eyes a minute and imagine the colors of autumn/fall. I bet at least one of the colors is orange, right? But orange isn’t the only color we associate with autumn. Reds, golds, browns, greens, and even purples represent autumn/fall. But guess what?? There are literally tons of colors that can evoke that autumn feeling.
With that in mind, today we are going to explore 4 different color palettes that you can use right now for your next autumn quilt project.
Palette #1
Classic Harvest
These are the colors that we often associate with autumn. Warm, cozy colors that wrap around you like a quilt, a pile of leaves on a warm afternoon right before you jump into them, a hayride with friends, a mug of steaming apple cider at the pumpkin farm. Autumn is more than a season, it’s a feast for your senses – colors to see, scents to smell, textures to touch, yummy things to taste, and sounds galore.
Below is our first palette, Classic Harvest. These colors make me want to wrap up in them, curl up outside on a sunny afternoon, and just watch the leaves drift lazily down from the trees in all their glorious colors.
If you haven’t guessed yet, I LOVE FALL!
PSST! The number/letter combinations under each color name are the hex numbers so you can find these exact colors in your favorite graphics program.
Now we have this gorgeous traditional palette, let’s see what happens when we pair these colors with some great VRD patterns!
WOW! Aren’t these awesome?!? Which one is your favorite? I must admit I’m leaning towards Dulcie as my favorite in this group because it reminds me of stained glass with a Midcentury Modern (MCM) feel.
This is really fun! Let’s check out the next palette.
Palette #2
Woodland Walk
Take a walk in a forest in the autumn. Can you feel the crunching leaves underfoot? Do you see the birds overhead and hear their song? Can you smell that earthy rich smell? Autumn is all around you when you walk in the woods. From little mushrooms poking their heads out of the leaves on the ground to the chattering of squirrels as they hurry to store their nuts for winter.
The colors of our Woodland Walk palette add a slight twist to the traditional autumn palette – they are a a bit earthier and rustic with just a touch of coolness. The dark blue-green really adds a deep richness to Woodland Walk.
PSST! The number/letter combinations under each color name are the hex numbers so you can find these exact colors in your favorite graphics program.
Are you ready for some awesome Woodland Walk quilts???
WOW! What do you think about the Woodland Walk palette in quilts? Don’t you just love it? Which quilt is your favorite in the group of designs? For me, it’s a toss up between Enchanted Forest and Fall Windmills.
Ready for the next palette?
Palette #3
Autumn Sunset
Have you ever noticed that the sunsets in autumn seem to be deeper, richer, and even bolder than any other season? Maybe it’s partly because the leaves are ablaze with color. Or maybe it’s Mother Nature putting on a show to rival the trees.
I love that I can literally step out into my front yard, turn to the left and I’m facing west. I get a front row seat to the sunset show each and every time. I love taking photos of the beautiful sunsets from my little corner of the world. Here’s to autumn and the amazing show Mother Nature puts on.
PSST! The number/letter combinations under each color name are the hex numbers so you can find these exact colors in your favorite graphics program.
Let’s look at some quilts starring the Autumn Sunset palette!
Awesome applesauce! These designs for the Autumn Sunset palette are wonderful and I just love the saturated colors. Which one is your favorite? Mine is Easy Does It…….I adore the little bit of tromp-l’oeil as the vertical strips play with your eyes and the horizontal rows look like different widths! It’s fun and unexpected in such a deceptively-simple quilt design!
Wanna play with one more palette? Me too! This is super fun and I’m getting really inspired. I find exploring these colors in solids instead of prints gives us a chance to really see how the colors interact together.
Okay, here’s our last palette for today.
Palette #4
Vintage Autumn
Warm and cozy but with a little bit of MCM excitement. I must admit that I’ve discovered that my design aesthetic falls within the MCM style when it comes to colors and shapes. Have you ever thought about your own style? Do you gravitate to the same colors, season, holiday? Do your friends tell you they can pick out your quilt at a quilt show or display simply based on the colors you use, the style of fabric, or the patterns you chose? I’ve always said I’m really eclectic in my style, but you know what – eclectic is a style.
The colors in Vintage Autumn are a bit timeworn and faded, yet lovely all the same. I can’t wait to create some quilt designs using this palette!
PSST! The number/letter combinations under each color name are the hex numbers so you can find these exact colors in your favorite graphics program.
Goody goody! Time to explore quilts created with the colors of Vintage Autumn.
Out of all 4 palettes, Vintage Autumn is the best fit for me and my style. My favorite quilt in this group is a toss up between 2M Junior and Escapade, but all the quilts in this group are fabulous for sure. Which one is you favorite?
This was a really fun exploration of color and I hope you enjoyed the Colors of Autumn paired with VRD quilt patterns. Maybe you were totally inspired by one of the palettes….or perhaps all of them! LOL!
If you were inspired, what are you going to make? And which palette(s) inspired you?
Take care and Happy Quilting. See you right here next week!
The sun is shining and the skies are blue! I can see this wonderful 70’s kind of late August day through the window as I sit here and write this post. If I keep my nose to the grindstone, maybe I can hang out with my dog Bailly on the back porch later. We did that yesterday in the afternoon and she loved it. So did I. She watched the cars go by and I listened to my current audiobook with the birds singing and chirping in the background. It was a lovely break.
Image by moi using AI tools
I hope you get a chance to stop and relax now and then, too. Relaxation is so underrated in our world. It’s perfectly fine to stare off into space for a few minutes to give your brain a little rest. I find that when I am relaxed, I can solve problems that I couldn’t when I was busy doing things. Taking a short break and enjoying nature (and maybe a good book) really seem to boost my creative energy. What do you do to recharge?
Happily, I completed the quilt tutorial I hadn’t quite finished last week.
Today we are doing a tutorial for the VRD Rose Card pattern, Nevermore.
I’m excited to make this project because the fabrics are pretty awesome!
VRD Quilt Tutorial Nevermore
Nevermore is a terrific 24″ panel pattern. PSST! Guess what? You can use different-sized panels with this pattern – you just need to adjust your borders to fit your panel. Keep in mind that t’s possible you might need additional fabric. Just something to consider when you are looking for a versatile pattern to showcase your favorite panels. (wink, wink)
Although the panel and companion fabric used in the quilt sample on the front of the pattern reads Autumn and even Halloween (the panel and fabric are from the Crow-Mazing collection by Henry Glass [there are still a few panels available at etsy.com]), ANY style panel and fabrics will work in this pattern. It’s a great project to use a panel along with other fabrics from the same collection. Or scrap it up and shop your stash. Either way, this pattern is sure to be one you will come back to time and again.
Of course the first thing (after the pattern) we need for making Nevermore is – you guessed it – FABRIC! Today I’m using a moody and mesmerizing collection from our friends over at Hoffman Fabrics called On the Path to Fall. This collection has both digital prints, including multiple panels, paired with Hoffman’s classic batiks.
Check out my panel, below! This one is called Nightshade. I just love it! The spooky Victorian house even reminds me of a nearby tall Queen Anne style house in the country up high on a hill overlooking town. Every time I see it, I imagine all sorts of interesting stories that might have happened there. Someday, maybe I’ll feature a house like that (and this panel) in a very fun and kind of spooky cozy mystery (FYI – writing a cozy mystery is so on my bucket list).
Here are all my fabrics for this project, the panel, the digital prints, and the batiks. They are warm and yummy and I can’t wait to put this quilt together with you!
We are now ready to get started! Yay!
First up is trimming and squaring up the panel. Have you ever noticed that panels are often very crooked and out of square? My pal Mary Lee (Hey You!) taught me to tug on opposite corners to help bring the panel back into square. You can tug on both biases multiple times until you are satisfied with the results. Try it the next time you are growling at a funky panel.
Once I get the panel squared and trimmed to the right size, I’ll cut the narrow border strips and corner squares.
This is one of those projects that I am planning to cut each section as I go instead of cutting everything all at once. You can cut everything all at once if you prefer, but I wouldn’t cut the borders to length yet in case your panel is a little different in size from the pattern.
Now that my narrow borders are cut, I’m going to measure and cut the side borders to the right length. Then we’ll pin the strips to the sides of the panel.
Off to my sewing machine to sew the side borders on before visiting my pal, Mr. Iron, to gently press (NOT iron) them open. I am pressing the seam allowances towards the borders and will do that throughout the quilt top construction.
Once I have the side borders sewn onto the framed panel, I’ll repeat the same process for the top and bottom borders.
Maybe you are wondering what happens if you – whoops – do the top and bottom borders first? They quilt police will knock on your door! Kidding! Seriously, you’ll just have to stick with that method throughout the rest of the quilt – please note, though, that if you do add the top/bottom borders first, all of the border measurements will be different from those on the pattern, so you’ll have to measure your project carefully as you add each border.
Important words to quilt by – Be Consistent!
Okay, the first border is on the panel. Woohoo!
The next border will get a little tricky because we have to keep 2 fabrics organized. The fabric on the left side will also be at the top while the fabric on the right side will also be on the bottom. And we have corner squares to deal with too! Oh bother……..who came up with this pattern anyway????? (guilty…..)
First we’ll cut the 2 different border fabrics into strips. Next let’s trim both the side borders and the top/bottom borders to the correct measurements (even though most patterns include the border lengths to cut, I still prefer measuring my borders to the size of my quilt so I know my borders will fit perfectly).
Wait – you might wonder – why are we cutting the top and bottom borders now instead of after we add the side borders like we for the first narrow border???
Don’t panic – we are cutting the top and bottom borders at the same time as the side borders because we will be adding corner squares to all 4 corners.
This is my second favorite rotary cutter,the Olfa Quick Change Cutter, you can find it HERE.
Now that we’ve cut the strips for the second border to the right size, we can pin and sew the border strips to the sides of our framed panel (remember a different fabric goes on each side). A quick stop at Mr. Iron and all of a sudden, the side borders are on. Super duper!
Before we add the top and bottom borders to our framed panel, we need to sew a corner square to each end of our top/bottom border strips. Then we can pin the top and bottom borders to the framed panel. Sew, sew, sew……..press, press, press.
Voila! Our second border is on and we even put the 2 borders in the right places, too. Yay us!
Wow! We are humming right along with Nevermore. Let’s keep moving.
Our third border is the same as our first narrow border (and the same fabric as our cornerstones, too). We are going to repeat the process from before – side borders first then top and bottom borders. Cut, measure, sew, press.
Now we are going to add our 4th and final border. This one is like our 2nd border and it uses 2 fabrics – one for the left side and top and another for the right side and bottom.
Let’s cut and then measure both the sides and the top/bottom border strips, trimming them to the correct size. Then we’ll sew the left and right strips to the sides.
Before adding the top and bottom borders, we need to add the corner squares to the each end of the top/bottom strips. Then we can add these strips to the top and bottom of the quilt. Easy peasy. Just keep your 2 fabrics in the right spots and all will be well.
Here is the finished quilt top. Unfortunately, you can’t see the whole thing because my pressing/cutting station is in the way. Rats!
Hang on while I I take the quilt top outside. I’m going to hang it on the clothesline so we can see the whole thing. It’s a little breezy, so I’m crossing my fingers (and my toes which makes it hard to walk – LOL!) that I’ll be able to get a decent photo of the entire top.
AH! There it is! Wow! LOVE IT!
I think it turned out really well and I look forward to finishing it. My plan is to machine quilt and probably do the binding by machine, too. And I never forget my label. But finishing will have to wait a little while until I have time to get it layered with a cozy fleece fabric for the backing (I don’t usually put batting in the middle when I use fleece) and the layers pinned together before I can quilt and bind it. Sigh…….maybe it’ll be finished sometime in the next ten years.
Now off to work on my next blog tutorial!
I am really having fun creating this group of fall quilt tutorials for you here on the blog. I hope you are getting lots of ideas and inspiration for your own autumn quilting adventures.
Stay tuned for next week when I hope to have another tutorial to share!
It’s Thursday again? Already??? Sheesh! Where does the time go? And it’s about a month until autumn. WHOAH!
After a busy summer, I always look forward to fall, when things tend to settle down a little bit for a while and I can get my head back into quilting. The cooler temperatures also make it more comfortable for working with fabric and batting as I am one of those sad sad souls who does not have air conditioning in Mount Cluttermore (AKA my studio). And besides, who wants to sit around when it’s summer outside with a big heavy quilt on your lap as you work on binding??? Definitely not me. Summer is a good time to work on smaller projects that finish quickly (like our recent Small Project Summer Challenge her on the blog). Who really even has time to dive into a big hot and heavy project when it’s in the 90’s anyway and the beach is calling?
I must apologize as I was planning another autumn quilt tutorial, but I didn’t quite get it finished before sitting down to write the blog. Bummer. But no worries, we’ll simply push that tutorial until next week.
As I have fall on my mind, let me show you my favorite autumn VRD Rose Card patterns. Yay! Patterns!
There was a Cidermill right up the road when I was a kid and there was nothing as good as a cup of fresh pressed cider with your favorite donut, especially after the local Halloween parade.
Have you ever Pressed Leaves? I used to do tons of leaves and then I used them for art collages in my pre k classroom years ago. We would always read the book Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert and then we’d make our very own Leaf Man.
Speaking of pumpkins – there are so so many pumpkin foods everywhere in the fall – Pumpkin Pie, roasted pumpkin seeds, pumpkin spice lattes, etc., etc.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this curated collection of autumn VRD Rose Card patterns. Perhaps you found a new-to-you pattern to make this fall. Or perhaps seeing my picks for fall will inspire you to choose a new project to begin – this list is a good place to start. And just a quick reminder — all VRD patterns ship for free.
It was fun going through our 700+ VRD patterns to find just the right patterns to share with you. Happily, many of these patterns sparked memories of my childhood or even something I did last fall. Maybe they will remind you of your fall traditions, too.
See you right here next week for a new VRD quilt tutorial.
Until then, grab as much summer as you can as it’s fading fast in fall –
Sheesh! Another week of August gone. Another one bites the dust…….. And we all have A LOT of summer to do yet. Sigh……So little time and so much to do.
As for my August to-do list from last week – here’s what I’ve done since last Thursday:
I went thrifting with my Mom.
I worked on my latest art/design projects and made some forward strides.
I sat on the back porch with my dog, Bailly, and did nothing for a while…….twice.
Not a bad start to August. Not at all. I just need to get to the other things on my list, too.
How is your August to-do list coming along? I hope you had the satisfaction of getting a few things done on your list, too. If not, you’d better get started.
Small Project Summer Challenge, One Last Time
Time to wrap up our Small Project Summer Challenge.
Let’s congratulate our Week 6 winner –
Charlotte M. in FL
Woohoo! Way to Go! Yay You!
Congrats to all of our Challenge winners. Your prizes will go out shortly.
Speaking of Challenges, our 3rd 6 Quilts in 6 Weeks Finishing Challenge will be here before you know it. I hope everyone will join us in October for this next VRD Blog Challenge.
Now let’s take a peak at this month’s new patterns!
NEW VRD Rose Card Patterns for August
Yay! It’s the Thursday after the first Friday of the month and that means – NEW PATTERNS!!!!
Alluring is Molly’s latest panel quilt pattern. It uses a 36″ wide panel, a selection of coordinating fabrics, and finishes at a nice 56″ x 63″. You can find a kit featuring the same fabrics as the pattern cover HERE or one with Rainbow Iris fabrics HERE.
Cake Me Home is Catherine of Running Doe’s newest pattern. Isn’t it really fun? It is Layer Cake friendly and finishes at 58″ x 57.5″. Sorry, kits are already sold out.
Mendota is Rachelle’s new pattern for this month. It is fat quarter (FQ) friendly and finishes at 41″ x 54″. You can find a kit for Mendota featuring Jewel Depths fabrics HERE.
Salerno is 1 of Pat’s 2 latest patterns for August. It uses FQs or half yards and finishes at 57″ x 70″. You can find a kit with the same fabrics as the pattern cover HERE.
Solstice is Pat’s 2nd quilt design for this month. It is FQ friendly and finishes at 50″ x 62″. No kit available.
But wait – there’s more! We can’t forget this month’s Accessory patterns!
This month’s seasonal pillow pattern is called Leaf Twirl. A perfect pillow for your fall decorating! Don’t you just love the pink leaf????
Instead of a fall runner this month, how about a fun new set of FQ friendly place mats, Table for Four? The place mats go together really fast and you can make them in multiples of 4.
Now let’s jump right into this week’s new quilt pattern tutorial.
VRD Quilt Tutorial – Landino
Have you ever made Landino? It’s a deceptively simple and very interesting FQ pattern. Landino finishes at 44″ x 55″, which is a nice small sized throw quilt. Want a bigger quilt? It’s easy to add more blocks (and more FQs) or borders to make the quilt the size you want it to be.
Today I’m using a warm and cozy group of batiks from our friends over at Hoffman Fabrics. I’ve been raiding some of my fall-hued fabric groupings to make some “get ready for fall” projects. Don’t be surprised if you see some of these new fall tops again during our Autumn VRD finishing Challenge coming in October. LOL!
Of course, the first thing we’re going to do is cut out all the pieces we need from our FQs.
I found I really needed to pay close attention to the cutting for Landino because different fat quarters are for different parts of the quilt blocks. To help keep myself from getting lost, I put a sticky note label on each fabric so I knew which fabric was which.
Let’s start cutting.
Here are my block centers.
These are my lighter frames.
I chose these for my darker frames.
And these 4 fabrics are for my rectangles.
Finally, this fabric is for my corners.
Okay, we’ve got everything cut out now. So next we’re going to sew our frames onto the center squares.
First we’re going to add the lighter frames.
Then we’re going to add the darker frames on the other side.
Hey – did you notice that the Landino blocks are really a Log Cabin variation? And who doesn’t love a Log Cabin block???
Now that we’ve added frames to all the center squares, things are going to get interesting for our next step – we are going to divide up the framed centers into 4 piles. Then we’re going to sew the rectangles/corners onto each group, using a different rectangle fabric for each pile.
Somehow, I guess I didn’t take any photos for the 4 different completed blocks. Oops, sorry about that. Here is a photo of about half the blocks up on the design wall to give you an idea about what the blocks look like completed.
Huh. Now I’m not sure what I think of my completed blocks. I wish I hadn’t used quite so many dark brown fabrics and had added a few more medium ones instead.
Let’s slap ’em up on the design wall and see what happens.
Here are 3 different block arrangements. Hmmm. I’m definitely not wild about any of these options. What do you think?
Now I’m wishing I’d done 2 more blocks with the lighter rectangles instead of the dark rectangles. Yes, I could rip out a few blocks and replace the dark rectangles with the lighter rectangles, but………nope. Let’s keep going, I always love a challenge.
This arrangement (below) is the obvious winner. I’m still not totally loving it, but this one looks better balanced to me than the 3 previous attempts, above. The funny thing to me is that this is the layout shown on the pattern diagram.
Wow! When all else fails, try following the pattern. Hah hah hah! (Me, rolling my eyes.)
Let’s sew the blocks together into rows.
Now the blocks are sewn into rows, I’m going to sew the rows together. Whew! This is the easy part.
VOILA! Here is my completed Landino top.
I can’t get a complete photo of the top in my studio (if you remember I’ve renamed my studio, Mount Cluttermore for very obvious reasons) because my cutting/pressing table is in front of my flannel wall, so I took the top outside so I could take a better photo. Bummer, but it was just too breezy to hang it on the clothesline as I’d planned. So, I spread it out on the grass instead. (We’ve had a lot of rain recently and the grass is so green.)
All right – it actually turned out better than I thought it would. I think the alternating dark and light horizontal rows were definitely the right way to go with this one – all those darker brown fabrics needed the lighter fabrics to break them up.
Next time I make this one, though, I am for sure going to add more medium fabrics instead of just lights and darks.
This quilt top may not be the prettiest one I’ve ever put together, but I still like it. It’s warm and cozy-looking and it taught me (and you) several new things to think about when gathering up fabrics. I may have been quilting for 30 years now, but I still learn new things all the time.
What was the last project you made that taught you the most, even if the project didn’t turn out the way you’d envisioned? Leave a comment and tell me about it.
Well, that’s it for me this week. I’m off to maybe cross a few more things off on my August list before next Thursday. Wish me luck!
Take care and squeeze every last bit out of summer.
Whoah!?! Hard to believe it’s August! YIKES! Right now I feel like I’ve lost the whole summer, so I guess I have A LOT of summer to cram into August, don’t I?
Here are some things I want to do this month:
Go to the Baldwin Reynolds Museum and see the 250th Anniversary Quilt Display
Visit some Quilt Shops with my quilty pals (FART)
Play Mini golf with my Dad
Go bowling!
Thrifting with my Mom
Do some decluttering (yeah – this always needs done)
Make a fun project just because
Keep working on my latest art and design projects (and actually finish a few of the ones I have in progress right now)
Finish my 2nd Feedsack book (this one has been waiting a really long long time)
Read a good book
Just sit on the back porch with my dog and do absolutely nothing
Let’s see if by writing them down, I will get more of them accomplished this month. What’s on your August to-do list?
Small Project Summer Challenge Update
Well, the final numbers are in! All together we participants created 108 completed projects during our 6 week Challenge. WOOHOO! I hope each of you who participated pats yourself on the back for a job well done. Did you find a new favorite small project pattern? How many of you made something for Christmas? Any other thoughts about the Challenge? Please let me know in the comments.
I am still waiting to hear back from our Week 6 winner, so I will have that info for you next week.
I also want to congratulate
Dana S. from TX
as a co-winner for Week 5.
Awesome Applesauce, Dana! Yay you!
Now let’s check out the latest VRD tutorial, Fondue!
VRD Quilt Tutorial – Fondue
I was sifting through my stack of “quilt kits” and came across one for Fondue and I thought this would be a great one for the blog because I know people are already starting to think about autumn.
Fondue is a terrific pattern for 24″ panels along with coordinating fabrics. It finishes at a nice 49″ x 63″ and goes together quickly and easily. Fondue is beginner friendly and it’s flexible – you can add an outer border (or borders) to make your quilt larger if desired.
Of course, the first thing we need to do is gather up our fabrics. Today I’m working with a Hoffman Fabrics collection called Stag & Stone. Deer fabrics aren’t my norm, but I was really drawn to the colors in this collection and I find the deer to be quite elegant. And hey – it never hurts to have a great guy quilt handy for when you might need one. I think panels are a fabulous option for guy quilts because you can find wonderful panels with coordinating fabrics and a lot of guys aren’t necessarily into a quilt with a bunch of fussy pieces.
Here are my fabrics:
Next up, time to cut all my pieces out. I go back and forth between cutting everything out first or cutting as I go. I guess it depends on each project as well as what I’m in the mood for. Which do you prefer?
Depending on the dimensions of your panel, you might need to trim it to the right size for the pattern or even add some spacer strips to make it a little bit bigger if needed.
I needed to trim my panel to the right size. When you do this, you really need to be careful lest you trim off too much. So do your math carefully. You know the old saying – measure twice and cut once? Words to live by!
Have you ever cut too much off your panel? I have and do know what I do? I sew that piece right back on and re-cut the panel correctly. It’s not perfect, but it works.
My fabrics are cut and the panel is the right size, so now I’m going to sew the inner border to the sides of the panel and press the seams towards the border. Then I’m going to sew the borders to the top and bottom. Again, I’ll press the seams towards the border. So far so good.
Now let’s work on the side pieced borders. The borders are quick to sew together because the pieces are so big. Once I get the pieces sewn together, then I’ll press them. I am going to press my seams towards the sashing strips.
One thing I really LOVE about the Fondue pattern is that you can use directional fabric because of the way the pieces for the side borders are cut. This is a great thing because it’s not unusual to have directional companion fabrics for panels.
Let’s sew the side borders onto the framed panel! I like to match the center of the border to the center of the panel and pin. Then I match up the outside edges and pin, including an extra pin at the bottom edge of the border to help keep everything square. This was a little tip given to me by an experienced quilter named Pat when I was a newbie. It really does make a difference in keeping your border strips square instead of ripply.
Finally, I add a few pins in between the middle pin and the outside pins to keep everything lined up. I must admit that I will probably go to quilt jail someday because I tend to sew over my pins instead of removing them……..
Now let’s add the left side border onto the panel. SHEESH! I sewed my border upside down to the left side of the panel. How did I miss that????
Gee whiz!
Well, directional fabric is awesome as long as you sew everything right side up. LOL!
Now to re-sew the left side border on, right side up this time. Silly me. I bet that’s never happened to you before, right?!? LOL!
Now that the trees and animals are no longer standing on their heads, I’m going to press the side borders towards my dark fabric, which is the inner border/sashing fabric.
On to the top and bottom borders….finally. Again, these are quick to stitch together because the pieces are large. After I get them sewn into strips, I’m going to press the seams towards the dark sashing pieces. Easy peasy.
Next I’m going to pin the top border to the top of the panel. Again, I will match my centers and outside corners, adding that extra pin to keep things square. That extra pin is like magic!
Then on to the sewing machine to stitch the top border to panel. After that, I need to press my top border seam towards the dark inner border/sashing fabric.
All right! The bottom border is next!
WHEW! Here is the completed Fondue top.
I took a chance and ran outside to see if I could get a decent photo, but it was a bit breezy, it was lightly raining, and there was still a rumble of thunder in the air. So, I kind of high-tailed it back inside instead of waiting for the perfect shot. Oh well. What can you do – Pennsylvania weather can sometimes be a little unpredictable.
I really like how this quilt turned out! The colors are really very soft and meditative. And it went together easily, except for me flipping the left border upside down. LOL! I totally recommend you try the Fondue pattern to showcase your favorite 24″ panels!
Well, that’s it for me today. Have a wonderful week and I hope you get the chance to cross a few things off your August list.
Hard to believe it’s Week 6 of our Small Project Summer Challenge already. Wow – it went fast! But what a fun and busy 6 weeks of super little projects – small quilts, tote bags, pillows, scarves, table runners, and snack mats.
Let’s take a look at the numbers – We had a total of 43 people sign up and 24 of them participated, which is more than 50% participation. For a sewing challenge in the middle of everyone’s busy summer, I think that is pretty incredible! Although the Week 6 deadline hasn’t happened yet as of this blog post, so far we have already made over 100 projects together in 6 weeks!
Yay us!
I’ll have the exact total for you next week once we complete Week 6.
I want to thank everyone for participating. These Challenges have really added a whole ‘nother layer to the VRD blog. I love how instead of me just writing something and you reading it, we can interact and connect with each other even though we are spread all over the USA and beyond.
I never really understood how that connection could happen on an online blog, but with the Challenges we’ve been doing here, now I do. I have been getting to know many of you simply based on the fabrics and projects you choose, your comments on the blog and on the FB page. I especially love that you comment on each other’s projects t00. We are a community of quilters and sewists!
I think it’s time to celebrate our Week 5 Winner!
Week 5 Winner
Raise your glass in toast to ……….
Donna P. in Florida
Congrats! Yay you! Awesome Applesauce!
Here is Donna’s Belle Amie table runner for Week 5 –
Donna’s runner turned out really cute and I just couldn’t help but giggle when I saw the backing of her runner! Ape fabric is definitely something I’ve never seen before – how fun!
I didn’t want another week of the Challenge to pass without me participating, so I made the Dear Heart Snack Mat duo. They were fun and I think they turned out really cute!
I used leftover fabric from my Cabin Fever quilt from Week 1 of our Challenge (you can see the tutorial for Cabin Fever HERE). I just love being able to find a project to use fabrics leftover from another project, don’t you??? And someday, when we use up all our leftovers, then we can buy more fabric……..
Wait! Nope! Whoever said we had to use up what we had before going to the quilt shop, hmmm??? LOL!
I just have to share this funny little story about making my Dear Heart Snack Mats. I knew I wanted to hand-stitch the binding on these l’il cuties, so I took them along to an eye doctor appointment. While waiting to be called back, I almost finished one of then. Then I finished the first one while waiting for the doc (I’m sure you all know how much waiting we do at appointments) and I began the second one. I needed my eyes dilated for this appointment, but I didn’t let that slow me down – well, not completely anyway. I kept right on stitching as my vision got blurrier and blurrier. Yes, I can thread a needle with dilated pupils – quite a talent I think. And I can stitch binding down too, although it goes a lot slower than when I can actually see what I am doing. LOL! I was bound and determined to get my snack mats completed before the blog post launched. WIN WIN – both snack mats almost got finished during the appointment (I finished the rest later in the day once my eyes weren’t wonky) and the appointment went well.
Even though our Small Project Summer Challenge is coming to an end, we aren’t finished challenging ourselves yet!
This fall, we’ll be jumping back into our Six Quilts in Six Weeks Challenge. Yes, you read that right: six quilts in six weeks!
Before anyone starts hyperventilating into a stack of fat quarters, let me remind you that our Fall Six Quilts in 6 Weeks will be all about finishing 6 UFOs or WIPs. Hey – if you’re one of those people who doesn’t have any unfinished projects I think this is totally a myth, though), then you can make a new project each week for the Challenge.
The Challenge is all about setting aside a little time to sew, finishing some projects, cheering each other on, and having fun along the way. After seeing more than 100 small projects come together this summer, I cannot wait to see what we finish this fall!
I’ll share all the details soon, so start thinking about which quilts might be waiting patiently in your sewing room to become your next finished projects.
I hope you’ll join me!
August
In the meantime, what should we do for August after the Small Project Summer Challenge ends?
I’m thinking some new tutorials would be nice, but that would depend on how things go for me in the next month. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments or you can email them to me directly at tricia@villarosadesigns.com.
Well, that’s it for me this week.
Take care and enjoy summer because like most fleeting things, it ends far too soon.
Now that August is closing in on us, I bet your summer is even more jam-packed than it was in June. Family vacations, reunions, trips, work, appointments, family, friends, kids, grandkids, etc. and so on. For me, this week has been crazily insane. Too much to do and not enough me.
I have 2 family reunions this weekend – Saturday and Sunday. At least they’re not on the same day. The Saturday reunion is for my Mom’s Mom’s side of the family and we help organize and make everything run smoothly the day of the reunion, so that’s added stuff this week with the prepping and then the reunion itself.
My role is pretty simple, though, I am in charge of the Family Pick a Prize table. I sell the tickets. Family members then drop the tickets into the numbered bags and hope that their ticket will be pulled out to win the item. This is how we raise money for next year’s reunion. It works great and everyone loves it. Plus I get to talk to nearly everyone who comes to the reunion, which is kind of nice, too. Maybe I’ll see you there.
Of course, I also have to plan and bring some kind of dish for the food table. This year I’m going all out – cookies from the store bakery. I just don’t have the time to make something at home this year, especially not with 2 reunions back to back. Yep, I’m taking cookies to both of the reunions. Cheating? Maybe. But low stress? For sure!
My Sunday family reunion is my Dad’s Dad’s family reunion. Luckily, all I have to do is take food – more cookies – and just go and relax. Thank goodness.
Of course, the house must be cleaned in case any relatives from out of town want to stop by for a visit, which usually happens on Saturday evening. Plus all the usual things. Yikes! I’m getting tired just writing about this week. Calgon…..take me away! LOL!
I thinkI’m ready for a winner next?????
Week 4 Challenge Winner
Let’s all stand up and cheer for our Week 4 Winner –
Brenda G. in TX
Woohoo! Yippee!Congrats!
Here’s Brenda’s Week 4 Savannah Jane scarf. What fun fabrics and the colors are sew yummy! Yay you!
Here’s the Savannah pattern links if you haven’t added it to your pattern collection yet. It’s fast and fun…….it’s Villa Rosa!
VRD Small Summer Project Challenge Week 5and My Not-So-Funny Story
This week’s Challenge is a completed table runner and I personally know for sure that you have A LOT of patterns to choose from. You can check out our VRD Rose Card table runner patterns HERE. Your finished table runner is due by midnight Friday July 24th EST.
I’ve been checking out the Challenge runners posted on Facebook so far and I must say, they are all really terrific. It never fails to amaze me how different fabrics can totally change the look of a pattern. The arrangement of lights and darks can also change the overall look of a quilt project, too. And don’t forget the quilting – hand or machine – it adds to the uniqueness of each and every project.
I must apologize again – I did not complete my table runner this week. If I had, I was going to make the Be Square runner and use fall fabrics for a quick autumn runner. Sigh…..it would have been really cute, too. I’m still planning to make it, but just not this week.
Sure, I’ve been totally swamped with family and summer events like all of you, including double family reunions this weekend. But the biggest and best excuse I’ve had for just about everything over the last few months (LOL!) is my health.
I didn’t mention it a couple of weeks ago when I wasn’t able to complete my project, but I have been fighting Lyme disease. I probably contracted it sometime in May, although who really knows for sure? I’m not a hiker and I don’t spend much time in the woods, so the likeliest place was probably my own yard, possibly while walking Bailly, gardening, or simply spending time outside.
My area of Pennsylvania is known for Lyme disease because it is rural, with lots of woods, trees, deer, and other wildlife. It’s probably surprising that I haven’t gotten it sooner, really. So now I’ve joined the ranks of the Lyme afflicted.
The hardest part is that I finished my antibiotics three weeks ago, and I am still experiencing symptoms. What are Lyme symptoms, you might ask? Well, they can be pretty nonspecific and often feel a lot like the flu.
With Lyme disease, you hear all about the classic bullseye rash. Well, guess what? Not everyone gets one. I didn’t. If I had, I probably would have been diagnosed sooner.
Instead, I had a puffy round, very itchy red spot that I honestly thought was a spider bite. I had it for weeks, perhaps even a month, before it began to fade. Then another itchy red spot appeared nearby.
Another spider bite? I wondered.
Some people do not notice a rash at all.
My other symptoms were spread out over several weeks rather than appearing all at once, so I never connected them. Then my friend Mary Lee mentioned that her great-nephew had contracted Lyme disease while camping. Thank goodness she told me about the poor kiddo, because something finally clicked.
I looked up the symptoms online (see the poster above), and I realized that I had experienced many of them, just not all at the same time. By the last week of June, before my diagnosis and treatment, I was feeling really awful.
Unfortunately, the symptoms didn’t disappear after I finished my antibiotics. Three weeks later, I am still dealing with them.
So what’s next?
I have tests and lab work that need to be completed, and then I’m off to the Infectious Disease office. I don’t know what will happen at that point. For now, the doctors are trying to rule out other possibilities before adding a new diagnosis or treatment.
In the meantime, I’m moving about as fast as a turtle who needs frequent rest breaks. The exhaustion can be overwhelming, and the lack of energy has made it difficult to accomplish everything I need to do. But I’m hanging in there, even if the Challenge host is currently moving at a slightly less-than-challenging speed.
I decided to share my diagnosis for a couple of reasons.
The first is to explain why I wasn’t able to finish another project for the Challenge I’m hosting. I’m certainly not happy about missing it, but right now I simply cannot add anything else to my plate.
The second is that sharing my Lyme journey might help someone else recognize the symptoms and seek medical care sooner.
Lyme is a squirrely disease, and it can look like many other things. Please talk to your healthcare provider if you experience symptoms like those listed above, even if they appear gradually rather than all at once, as mine did.
If it isn’t Lyme, that’s wonderful. But if it is, early diagnosis and appropriate treatment can help prevent more serious problems.
You can find more information about Lyme Disease at the following websites:
Okay, I’m jumping off my podium now. Somebody turn off the microphone and the stage lights. LOL!
Week 6 of the Challenge
Wow! Week 6? Already? Our Summer Small Project Challenge has gone by so fast – just like summertime.
Week 6’s project is a completed set of 2 snack mats (including quilting and binding). There are 12 different seasonal snack mat patterns, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find one you like. Your Week 6 project is due by midnight Friday, July 31st EST.
You can find snack mat Rose Card patterns HERE, but did you know you can get the whole set of 12 patterns?
I hope all of you are having an amazing summer filled with family, fun, sun, and maybe a little bit of quilting and sewing, too! For me, the quilting and sewing has come in little fits and spurts, but never fear – I am still getting my creative groove on very regularly. Which is a good thing because I tend to get cranky when I haven’t spent time doing creative things for a while. Are you like this too?
We are now finishing Week 4 of our Small Project Summer Challenge and I’m thrilled to say that participation has been right around 50%. That is really terrific. I wasn’t sure what people would think of our smaller projects, but folks seem to be having fun and enjoying them. I’ve had many lovely comments about how fun the projects are and if it hadn’t been for the challenge, participants might not ever have tried making a particular small project. I’m hoping that next summer, we can do this again and my fingers are crossed that we’ll have even more small project options for you. My question for everyone is:
What kind of small projects would you like to see as VRD Rose Card patterns?
Please keep in mind that our space is limited for instructions, so each project has to fit on the back of a 4″ x 6″ postcard. This is not always an easy task and sometimes we have to get creative with our allotted space, which may even include several revisions. But somehow, we always figure it out in the end. It’s definitely a special skill to write a complete project pattern on the back of a postcard along with appropriate diagrams. Big high-five to all of our VRD designers for their creativity and problem-solving skills! Yay you!
Before we get started on our Week 4 Challenge, we can’t forget our Week 3 drawing winner!
Week 3 Winner
Big giant ovation for our Week 3 Winner!
Toss some confetti!
Where are those cheerleaders at?
Oh well…..
Congrats to…..
Pat C. of NY
Yay Pat! Well done! Kudos!
Here’s Pat’s version of Louisa Jane:
She made it for her granddaughter and the pillowcase doubles as a bag to carry toys and stuffed animals to Grandma’s house! What a wonderful idea, Pat!
Should you choose to accept the Week 4 scarf challenge, your scarf is due by midnight Friday, July 17th EST.
This blog post will self destruct in 5 seconds……no, not really. I just wanted to write that. LOL!
Do you wanna see my scarf for this week???
Here it is…….I made the Inessa Jane infinity scarf. And here I am modeling it.
I’ve never really worn a lot of scarves except for in the winter here in chilly NW PA, but…..I might reconsider. This scarf turned out great and I think the colors of these Hoffman batiks are so pretty. And funny enough, my blue frames look great with the scarf. LOL!
I thought a tutorial for Inessa Jane would also be nice…….
VRD Inessa Jane Tutorial
Of course, choosing fabrics is pretty much always our first step (and maybe a favorite, too). I picked two coordinating but different batiks for the scarf so it could be worn with the blue side out, the lavender side out, or folded so you could see both sides. Lots of fun options. You could use a single fabric too.
Now I’ll have to learn how to wrap and fold my Inessa Jane Infinity Scarf. You can check out a fun video HERE for 10 different ways to wear your infinity scarf!
Next I cut my batik strips for the scarf. You can make your scarf longer by adding additional strips, just remember to increase the number of strips for both fabrics.
Off I went to my sewing machine to sew each fabric’s long strips together end to end.
Throughout the project, I back-stitched at the beginning and end of my seams so they didn’t have a chance to unravel while I handled and manipulated the scarf during the sewing process..
Next I layered the long strips of my 2 batiks together with right sides together (batiks are the same on both sides, so I had to watch to make sure that the seam sides were my “wrong sides”) and I stitched down both long sides of my scarf. I matched my seams and nestled them together.
The fun part is next – turning the scarf right sides out. Such a weird feeling thing to do, but pretty cool, too.
Now it’s time for the tricky part. I matched up the rights sides of the short scarf ends with the help of a few pins and carefully stitched around the scarf width as far as I could go. I also made sure to line up my seams and nestle them together again.
Once I sewed as far as I could, I back-stitched and stopped. There were maybe 4 inches or so left unsewn.
So, my final step was to slip-stitch the opening closed by hand. Boy, I learned something very important during this step – I’m not that great at slip-stitching especially really late at night. LOL! But I finished it. It wasn’t completely horrible but it did pucker a little bit. Oh well…..
Ta da! Here is my finished scarf….again! Pretty cool. I think I’ll make some more of these and play with different ways to wear them.
Next week is Week 5 of our VRD Small Project Summer Challenge and our project is a finished table runner due by midnight Friday July 24th EST.
See you then! Don’t forget to take a moment and smell the roses. summer is going fast.
I hope everyone enjoyed the past holiday week end. Did you do anything special? I did get to see some great fireworks – both on TV and in person. Yay! There really was a lot of very interesting content on TV for the 250th Celebration – I even learned the history of American blue jeans. LOL! I hope that the 250 celebrations aren’t over, though, and we get to enjoy more throughout the year.
This is our 3rd week of the VRD Small Project Summer Challenge and the Challenge is a VRD pillow (pillow cover). Pillows are due by midnight, Friday July 10th EST.
There are many more pattern options for the pillows than for the tote bags last week, for sure. And I’ve been having fun checking out everyone’s projects, so keep ’em coming. I just love love love seeing how everyone adapts patterns and changes things up to work for you and your needs.
If you aren’t checking out the VRD Facebook page, you are missing A LOT of wonderful inspiration and ideas. It’s also a great place to connect with other VRD quilters and sewists. You can share projects, support each other, and even ask questions. It’s such a good place to visit!
I really hope everyone is having fun with the projects. One of the many ideas behind this Challenge was that I wanted to share some of our other projects because VRD isn’t just quilts. And I can’t believe the Challenge is half over now. Golly! Time really flies!
Now, I must be honest with everyone … this week’s challenge pillow for me is still a work in progress. I’ve been under the weather recently, so my sewing machine has been getting more rest than exercise. Me, too.
The good news is – I know many of you are stitching right along through the weekly Challenges and creating some wonderful projects for yourself or for someone else. Some of you are also working on the Challenge projects with others – how awesome is that??? Sigh…..sometimes creativity means giving ourselves a little grace, particularly when we don’t feel well. Here’s to next week’s project.
And now it’s time to celebrate – yeah!
Week 2 Winner
Let’s give our Week 2 winner a big high five!
Congrats to…….
Kim C. in Washington
Woohoo! Way to go!
Here is Kim’s finished Tote Bag, Olivia Jane. Kim added another row, lined her bag/handle, and boxed the corners. And her tote turned out adorable with her fresh fabrics. It makes me want to make another tote right now!
Yay Kim!
Olivia Jane is a charm square friendly pattern or use your stash! And it’s simple to add pockets or batting/interfacing, quilt the layers together, box the corners, make it larger, etc. It’s a go-to pattern for sure!
You can stop over HERE to see a tutorial about some of the things you can adapt/add to the pattern.
Avoca is Rachelle’s newest pattern. It’s FQ friendly and you can find a kit featuring Pat’s Kalinda fabric HERE.
Bedelia is Catherine’s (Running Doe Quilts) latest star design. It’s also FQ friendly and you can find a kit featuring Tilda fabric HERE.
Dahlia is Melissa’s July pattern. This pattern is super for showcasing you large print fabrics – you know, the ones you don’t want to chop up. You can find a kit featuring the Night Garden collection HERE.
Dump Cake is Heidi’s latest pattern and it features a 36″ x 44″ panel. You can find a kit for Dump Cake HERE with the same fabrics as you see on the front of the pattern.
Horizontal Planes is Molly’s newest design and it also features a panel – a 44″ x 24″ horizontal panel this time. You can find a kit with the same fabrics as you see on the front of the pattern HERE or one with Chickadee Christmas HERE.
But wait…….of course, there’s more. This is VRD!
July’s table runner is called Liberty Cove and it’s perfect for your late summer events and excursions. The lake…….the beach……..your own backyard.
Yes, Queen Bailly finally got her summer haircut. I wish she’d let me put her hair up in a topknot with a pretty bow, but she’s just not that kind of gal. Instead, the hair on her head is usually standing on end! LOL!
You’ll notice how much lighter she is with her hair cut short than in June’s Parade Day pillow when her hair was longer. She really is a magical little Shih Tzu with mysterious hair color changing skills. When she was a baby, her hair was really really dark, then it kept lightening as she got older and now with it cut short, she almost looks blond – we practically have the same color hair now.
I wonder which pattern you are going to make first! Me, I was going to make a second Sail Away pillow so I have a set for the sofa………at least that was the plan for Week 3 of the Challenge. Oh well……life happens.
Week 4 of the VRD Small Project Summer Challenge
Looking ahead to next week, Week 4, our project is a VRD scarf which is due by midnight Friday July 17th EST. VRD has 2 different scarf patterns to choose from:
You can find a super fast and fun tutorial for Savannah Jane HERE.
I also have a third option for you if you are feeling adventurous……………………………………how about turning a VRD table runner into a scarf??? Some of the runners are pretty narrow or would be if you remove the border. Just an idea for you to explore…….
Villa Rosa Quilts 