December 2023 Accessory Sew Along · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Accessory Rose Card Pattern December Sew Along Week 4 — Olivia Jane

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Oh My Goodness! It’s 4 days until Christmas Day. Wow! That’s so hard to wrap my head around. I hope you are more ready for the holidays than I am……I am so far behind now, I don’t know how everything is going to get done unless I forgo sleep until the 25th….

Happily, our December Sew Along gives me the chance to slow down a little bit and enjoy sewing something really fun. 

I am sorry, but it’s probably a little late to join in the fun of our December Sew Along at this point as we are now on Week 4 out of 5 weeks. However, you can still order the set of 5 Accessory patterns HERE and do the SAL at your own pace as I will add the December SAL along the right side of the blog so you can find the individual posts easily.

If you missed the December Sew Along projects so far, you can find them here:

Amanda Jane

Savannah Jane

Catrina Jane

Olivia Jane

VRD December Sew Along Week 4
Olivia Jane is one sassy lady! Variety is the spice of her life. She has too many interests and hobbies to count and makes these cute patchwork totes in multiples just to keep her life organized. They are quick and fun and Olivia Jane can use charm square packs, fat quarters, and even her scraps and stash to whip up these great little totes. Each bag that she makes in truly one of a kind! Olivia Jane keeps a few bags empty so she she can take them shopping, antiquing, to her quilt guild meetings, to knitting club, or to her multiple book clubs. Whew! Trying to keep up with Olivia Jane is a difficult task for all her friends. To thank her besties for everything they do for her, this year Olivia Jane is making these fun bags for everyone. Of course, she started them early in the year so she would be ready for holiday gift-giving. Just one more to go.....

Your Sew Along Challenge this week is to make your very own Olivia Jane tote bag.

That’s right — this week, for Week 4 of our December Sew Along, you need to have your pattern pack in hand. Grab your supplies and create your own one of a kind unique Charm Square Patchwork Tote Bag.

Please make sure to join us on the Villa Rosa Facebook page to share your project this week and to check out the projects of your fellow VRD enthusiasts. The “social connection” is what makes sew alongs SEW much fun! Show us your fabrics! Any tips or hints for construction? Anything you need help with or don’t understand? Did you customize your project? Maybe you’re making 10 of them for Christmas! Please share because we ALL want to see your Sew Along “sew and tells.”

Villa Rosa Designs Facebook Page — you can use this link to take you to the VRD Facebook page. Make sure you are signed into your Facebook account and on the VRD page you can “like” us to join in the fun. The more folks that join in, the more fun it will be!

Before we get to my Olivia Jane tote bag, I wanted to talk a little bit about the pattern. Olivia Jane is a great pattern to add your own touch or to use your own finishing techniques. The pattern even gives you 3 different options for sewing your squares together! The tote works up quickly and it’s fun to play around in your charm squares and stash — we all need a reason to dive back into our own stashes, right? Or, head to your local quilt shop and gather up a beautifully-coordinated collection of fabrics to use for your tote bag. Whatever you do, Olivia Jane will be right by your side.

One of the cool things about bag-making is that there are a lot of different techniques to explore as well as a lot of different ways to get to the same end results. If you’re reading between the lines here, what I’m really saying is that I don’t follow directions very well — Mea Culpa….

Tricia’s Olivia Jane Sew Along Project

Here is my finished Olivia Jane tote! I just love how it turned out. Isn’t it adorable??? This would be a great tote for carrying books to/from the library, going to quilt guild meetings, or whatever. With its open top design, though, I wouldn’t use it as a purse because my wallet and personal items wouldn’t be secure. But beyond that, anything goes!

Here are my fun and sunny fabrics! I looked through my stash of partial charm packs and this blue and yellow one begged to be used. I added the leftover floral print for the lining and the tonal yellow for the strap. Ready to go!

The first thing I did was to sew my charm squares together. I chose to alternate my blue and yellow squares. Do likewise of you want or not. It’s your tote! Don’t forget to read over the pattern because it gives 3 different variations for the charm square arrangement on the front of the tote.

Shhhh, but I deviated from the pattern a little bit. I decided that I wanted a sturdier tote that would hold up to what I usually put in my tote bags like books and sewing projects on the go. I added a layer of Pellon Decor Bond, which is my favorite fusible interfacing for bags and totes. I fused Decor Bond to the back side of my charm square bag front, my lining fabric, and the strap. I really like this product because it gives my bags and totes body so they stand up without wilting. Love that.

Another option would be to add a layer of batting in your tote to give it a little bit more body. But wait — there’s more! Other possibilities include Soft and Stable foam from byAnnie’s, Flex-Foam from Pellon, or Bosal’s In-R-Form Plus fusible foam stabilizer.

Another adaptation I made was to add an inside pocket because you can never have enough pockets! 

I sewed 4 leftover charm squares together into a Four Patch block. Then I sewed the pieced pocket front right sides together with a same-size square of leftover lining fabric. I sewed around both sides and the bottom, leaving the top open. Then I turned my pocket right sides out and pushed out the corners. I pressed it well, folded the top edge down, and folded it down again to encase the raw edges. This little trick gives you a sassy little strip of fabric at the top of your pocket. 

Next I measured about 2″ up from the center bottom of the lining fabric and centered my pocket on the lining. (Yup, that’s a friction pen I’m using to mark my lines on the lining fabric. With a quick press of my iron, the lines will disappear!) Finally, I sewed around both sides and the bottom of the pocket. Done! Now I have a place for a bottle of water or my keys or a small notebook…or whatever fits. LOL!

I also added a little fun to my strap by using one of the gazillion fancy stitches on my sewing machine. I stitched this really cute spiral design down the center of my strap. It actually helps to keep the strap from stretching; however, it looks like a fancy-shmancy embellishment. 

Adding little details like this to any bag or tote raises the bar for its uniqueness. Little details like this are also the difference between a 2nd place and a first place finish at your local fair or show. Just sayin’……

The last thing I did to change up Olivia Jane was to box the corners of the bottom of my bag. This gave my bag a flat base so it could stand up, which works better for me and my stuff.

Boxed corners aren’t hard to do. First you make sure the inside of the lining or bag is on the outside and then fold the bottom of your bag so that the side seams create a point like you see in the first photo above. I decided to use 1.5″ as my measurement for making my boxed corners because I didn’t want to make the bag much smaller in size. In the second photo you see my Frixion pen line, which is measured 1.5″ from the point. Then simply sew on the line, back-stitching at each end. Repeat for both sides of the lining fabric as well as the the corners of the charm square bag front. Some people trim away the waste triangle at each side, but I leave them there to add a little extra support to the bottom of my bag.

There are actually lots of other things you can do or add to your Olivia Jane tote to make yours individual to you. You could add a flap and magnetic snap, velcro, or a button to secure the top of the bag. You could add more pockets — even on the front and back of the tote. Make 2 straps instead of just one or use ready-made bag handles as another option. Make the strap(s) longer or shorter to suit your needs. Make the bag bigger by adding more charm squares — just remember to make the lining fabric the same size. Another idea would be to use batting on the inside of your bag and practice your free motion quilting to quilt the front of the bag and the batting together. All of these options make bag-making really fun because you can start with the same pattern and end up with totally different bags.

My sewing partner….Griffin. He’s the studio supervisor, of course!

Okay, now it’s your turn! I hope you will enjoy making your Olivia Jane tote!

Time to get your Patchwork Tote made this week (between Thursday December 21at and Thursday December 28th) and share it on the VRD Facebook page. I’ll see you there and I can’t wait to see what you make and hear your Olivia Jane sewing story! Let’s add where you’re from, too! It’s lots of fun to see where all our VRD friends hail from!

See you next Thursday for Week 5 of our December Sew Along.

(PSST! If you’re one of those work ahead kind of folks — our Week 5 project is Petula Jane which will officially begin next Thursday, December 28th. Feel free to have at it, but please don’t post any of your photos or progress on Petula Jane until after next week’s blog post. Between now and then, let’s focus on Olivia Jane. Thank you!)

See you on the VRD FB page!

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Merry Happy Jolly Holidays to You and Yours.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

December 2023 Accessory Sew Along · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Accessory Rose Card Pattern December Sew Along Week 3 — Catrina Jane

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Are you ready for another fun Accessory pattern project for Week 3 of our December Sew Along? I really hope that you are sewing along with me. These accessory Rose Card patterns are not only fun, but fast, too! Of course, I’ve only picked 5 for this Sew Along, but there are more. You can find all of our current Accessory patterns HERE. Don’t forget that we are planning to add more Accessory patterns in 2024, so you’ll have to stay tuned….

Did you order your set of 5 patterns for the December Sew Along yet? There’s still time for you to jump in (you’d better get cracking,though!) and sew along with me.

Or you can save the projects for when you’re ready to do a little fun sewing after the hustle and bustle of December. I will add the December Sew Along to the right side of the blog so you can find the posts whenever you’re ready to sew. That’s definitely one of the cool things about an online Sew Along, you can do it anytime you’re ready, even in the middle of the night wearing your pajamas and eating a bowl of ice cream.

Get your pattern set HERE.

If you missed the December Sew Along projects so far, you can find them here:

Amanda Jane

Savannah Jane

Catrina Jane

VRD December Sew Along Week 3
Catrina Jane is a scrap saver, but more importantly, she is a scrap user. Quilts are just not complete until you use at least 100 different prints in them. One background fabric??? Absolutely not -- when 57 are better! Catrina Jane dove into her stash of scraps and small pieces and whipped up a dozen of these delightful little Pattern Card Holders! Now to decide which quilty pal gets which one. Decisions....Decisions.... And of course, Catrina Jane plans to slip a few Villa Rosa Designs Rose Cards into her cute little Pattern Holders before gifting them.

Your Sew Along Challenge this week is to make your very own Catrina Jane Pattern Card Holder.

That’s right — this week, for Week 3 of our December Sew Along, you need to have your pattern pack in hand. Grab your supplies and create your own one of a kind unique 2 Pocket Pattern Holder.

Please make sure to join us on the Villa Rosa Facebook page to share your project this week and to check out the projects of your fellow VRD enthusiasts. The “social connection” is what makes sew alongs SEW much fun! Show us your fabrics! Any tips or hints for construction? Anything you need help with or don’t understand? Did you customize your project? Maybe you’re making 10 of them for Christmas! Please share because we ALL want to see your Sew Along “sew and tells.”

Villa Rosa Designs Facebook Page — you can use this link to take you to the VRD Facebook page. Make sure you are signed into your Facebook account and on the VRD page you can “like” us to join in the fun. The more folks that join in, the more fun it will be!

Tricia’s Catrina Jane Sew Along Project

Like Catrina Jane, I perused my own oversized stash and settled on these fun fabrics. The red and blue floral is an older Minnick and Simpson print. Then I added a tonal red and a creamy white to the mix. Yes, you can make a Pattern Holder out of a single fabric, but also like Catrina Jane, I love a scrappy but coordinated look. 

Now to cut out all the pieces and get sewing!

After I made my tab, I centered it on the left side of the main print. Nope, I didn’t measure a thing! My secret to finding the center of pretty much anything is to fold it in half and make a crease at the center. Then I just line up the creases and done. Easy Piezy!

Once I centered the tab on the main print, I placed the pocket fabric right sides together on top on both sides of the main print. If needed, go ahead and add a couple pins to hold things in place. Then I stitched the sides. I pressed my seams towards the main print on the back and voila! My tab ended up in the right place. Whew!

Now let’s place the lining fabric right sides together with the main print/side pockets. I learned a great little tip a while back at my quilt guild — at the corners, instead of trying to make them 90 degrees, pivot and stitch a couple stitches at the corner to gently round the corner instead of making a sharp corner. It makes a much nicer, smoother, and sharper corner than turning 90 degrees! Try it sometime. Don’t forget to leave an opening for turning your Pattern Holder right sides out.

I turned my Holder right sides out and used my handy dandy chopstick to gently push out the corners. I also like to run my chopstick along all the seams on the inside to help the seams to behave.

Time to fold over the pockets and sew. The directions called for using a zig zag stitch, but I chose to use a straight stitch on mine. Do the same if you like, or maybe you’ll explore some of the million embroidery and fancy stitches on your machine. 

Instead of velco, I decided to put a cute little red snap to secure my Pattern Holder. Fun, fun, fun!

The very last thing to do is to fill up the pockets with cards!

Wouldn’t this be a great little gift for your favorite quilting friends? Add a couple Rose Card patterns inside and instant swoon-worthy gift. The Pattern Holder takes around an hour to make, depending on your finishing options, so it truly is a great last-minute gift idea.

Some Fun Ideas to Personalize Catrina Jane:

  1. Add ric rac, buttons, or other embellishments.
  2. Add a monogram or initials to the front cover if your machine can do that.
  3. Try a fun button as a closure instead of velcro or a snap.
  4. Add a few small pockets to the front cover and/or inside to stash cash, a credit card, or even more Rose Card patterns.
  5. Make it bigger to hold more cards — with 4 pockets instead of 2. You would need to basically double the width of the lining and main fabric while keeping the length the same. Hmmm. Maybe I’ll try this idea sometime.
  6. Shrink it down and use it to hold business cards.
  7. What else could you stash inside the pockets? How about handmade note cards? Wouldn’t that be a sweet gift to yourself or someone else?
  8. Add a layer of fleece or batting to make a firmer Pattern Holder.

Okay, now it’s your turn!

Time to get your Pattern Holder made this week (between Thursday December 14th and Thursday December 21st) and share it on the VRD Facebook page. I’ll see you there and I can’t wait to see what you make and hear your Catrina Jane sewing story! Let’s add where you’re from, too! It’s lots of fun to see where all our VRD friends hail from!

See you next Thursday for Week 4 of our December Sew Along.

(PSST! If you’re one of those work ahead kind of folks — our Week 4 project is Olivia Jane which will officially begin next Thursday, December 21st. Feel free to have at it, but please don’t post any of your photos or progress on Olivia Jane until after next week’s blog post. Between now and then, let’s focus on Catrina Jane. Thank you!)

See you on the VRD FB page!

Sew. Laugh. Ho. Ho. Ho. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

December 2023 Accessory Sew Along · Quilt Stories · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Accessory Rose Card Pattern December Sew Along Week 2 — Savannah Jane and Our NEW VRD Patterns for December

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Are you ready for another fun Accessory pattern project for Week 2 of our December Sew Along? Of course, I also have the NEW December Rose Card patterns to share with you, too. Lots of great fun this week.

So, how’s your holiday shopping and preparations coming along? I am happy to say that I’ve gotten started a bit this last week. I put up the outside Christmas decorations and lights (not that I do a lot of decorating, but at least we’re not a dark house for December). I don’t have that much more Christmas shopping to do, but I do still have some Christmas sewing and makes to get done. I haven’t started decorating inside yet nor have I started baking or wrapping gifts. Guess I’d better get to it, huh?

Speaking of gift gifting, I think you’re going to love Savannah Jane, our wonderful and quick Week 2 Sew Along project.

Did you order your set of 5 patterns for the December Sew Along yet? There’s still time for you to jump in and sew along with me.

Or you can save the projects for when you’re ready to do a little fun sewing after the hustle and bustle of December. I will add the December Sew Along to the right side of the blog so you can find the posts whenever you’re ready to sew. That’s definitely one of the cool things about an online Sew Along, you can do it anytime you’re ready, even in the middle of the night wearing your pajamas and eating a bowl of ice cream.

Get your pattern set HERE.

If you missed it, you can find the December Sew Along Week 1 — Amanda Jane — HERE.

Here’s Molly’s version of Amanda Jane! Don’t you just love her mod fabric choices??? isn’t she just rockin’ this Amanda Jane apron with style?

Thanks for sharing your project, Molly!

Savannah Jane

VRD December Sew Along Week 2

Savannah Jane is a sophisticated gal with an artsy streak.  She just loves this wonderful and versatile pieced scarf -- she can add an artsy touch to her wardrobe without breaking the bank.  Savannah Jane can make this scarf in about an hour, so it's a snap to whip up a new scarf for any occasion or outfit.  Shhh!  Don't tell anyone, but she's made at least a dozen already.  And when she meets her gal pals for lunch, they ooohhh and aaahhh over her latest scarf creation.  Savannah Jane just smiles because she knows something they don't -- they are all getting their own one of a kind scarf for Christmas.

Your Sew Along Challenge this week is to make your very own Savannah Jane pieced scarf!

That’s right — this week, for Week 2 of our December Sew Along, you need to have your pattern pack in hand. Grab your supplies and create your own one of a kind totally you Savannah Jane pieced scarf. Bet you can’t make just 1 (wink, wink)….

Please make sure to join us on the Villa Rosa Facebook page to share your project this week and to check out the projects of your fellow VRD enthusiasts. The “social connection” is what makes sew alongs SEW much fun! Show us your fabrics! Any tips or hints for construction? Anything you need help with or don’t understand? Did you customize your project? Maybe you’re making 10 of them for Christmas! Please share because we ALL want to see your Sew Along “sew and tells.”

Villa Rosa Designs Facebook Page — you can use this link to take you to the VRD Facebook page. Make sure you are signed into your Facebook account and on the VRD page you can “like” us to join in the fun. The more folks that join in, the more fun it will be!

Now, I’ve never made a pieced scarf before, so I was pretty excited to give Savannah Jane a whirl. And guess what??? If you like Savannah Jane, you’re going to LOVE her sister, Inessa Jane. Inessa Jane is an Infinity scarf!

Get Inessa Jane HERE

Tricia’s Savannah Jane Sew Along Project

Let me show you my Savannah Jane pieced scarf! Or should I say scarves??? I’ve already made 2 and have plans to make a couple more for holiday gifts. And maybe even one for myself. LOL!

I chose this charm pack for my Savannah Jane scarf. Don’t you just love the yummy colors? I have a special someone in mind for this one already!

The instructions are simple to follow and Savannah Jane goes together in about an hour! Nice — my kind of project!

Here you can see my squares all sewn together into 2 long long strips! I sewed them together randomly, just making sure not to put two like colors together.

I pressed all my seams in the same direction, pressing first on the back and then also on the front so those seams would stay as flat as possible. Who wants a lumpy scarf??? I even used a little of my favorite Best Press.

Are you familiar with Best Press? My favorite scent is Peaches and Cream, it’s so yummy (No, I don’t drink it, silly you for wondering that!). Of course, if Peach isn’t your scent, there are lots to chose from, including an unscented one which is perfect if you’re sensitive to scents. I’ve personally tried most of them and found Peach to be the scent for me.

Find Best Press HERE.

Anyway, after my seams were all nice and flat, I was ready to sew my 2 long long strips together on both sides — basically making a long tube with both ends open. I layered them right sides together, offsetting the ends.

Yay! Here it is all ready to turn right side out.

Ta Da! Here’s my scarf partially turned right side out. It reminds me of a snake shedding its skin — ick — not my favorite image, I can assure you.

Whew! All turned right side out now. Time to flatten the tube with the long seams centered on the front and back of the scarf so you see the offset piecing effect. Isn’t that the coolest thing? Sew clever! Sew easy! Sew beautiful! Especially with these batik fabrics!

Let’s finish the ends now. I folded them under about 1/4″ or so and tried to make each end as straight as possible, which meant I had to do a little fiddling as I pressed the ends flat.

At this point you could hand-sew the openings closed if you didn’t want to see any stitching, but I opted for simple and quick, sewing a straight line across the ends about 1/4″ in from the edge, back-stitching at each end.

Another thought would be to try out some of the wonderful fancy stitches on your sewing machine to finish your edges — that would add a little bit extra something something to your scarves. Or maybe just a edgy modern serged effect? Bet you can come up with even more finishing ideas for your scarves!

Done! In about an hour, no less. LOVE IT!

It was such a fun and quick project, I knew I had to make another one. Like I said, bet you can’t make just one….

Hmmm…..I’m thinking I might need to make 2 or 3 more for Christmas, too. Now that I have this great go-to pattern, it’s going to be loads of fun to personalize my fabric choices for each recipient.

It’s also easy to customize if you need a shorter or longer scarf. Use a charm square pack or cut your own squares from your stash — it’s all up to you.

I’m thinking a flannel charm pack might just be the ticket for my own scarf for this winter. Now to hunt down some squares! Where did I put that flannel charm pack???

VRD NEW December Rose Card Patterns

Now that we’ve had some fun with Week 2 of our December Sew Along, it’s time to show off our newest patterns!

Aren’t they awesome! Every month just gets better and better. Our designers are simply the best! You can get the set of 5 new patterns HERE.

I promised a new table runner pattern for December, too. Sorry we didn’t have enough time to get one out for last month, but I think you’ll like my December runner. It’s fun and very fast. I chose a background fabric with metallic stars and assorted grey fabrics for the strips.

Get your own Frosted Window Panes runner HERE.

VRD NEW Project Updates

Before I close this post, I wanted to take a moment and update you on the projects we’ve been feverishly trying to get done for you.

Quilts of Honor (Quilts of Valor) Collection — this wonderful set of 12 VRD patterns sized just right for your Quilts of Valor donation quilts will be out very soon. You’re going to want this collection! And a portion of each purchase will be donated to the QOVF.

12 Quilts of Christmas — Sadly, we’re a little bit behind schedule with this one, but it should be out soon as well, just in time for Christmas. This collection features 12 brand new Christmas-themed quilts designed just for you by our talented VRD designers.

2024 Blog Hop — The 2024 Blog Hop is going to be pushed back a little bit to February/March as we’ve been working so hard on the other projects.

Okay, now it’s your turn!

Time to get your pieced scarf made this week (between Thursday December 7th and Thursday December 14th) and share it on the VRD Facebook page. I’ll see you there and I can’t wait to see what you make and hear your Savannah Jane sewing story! Let’s add where you’re from, too! It’s lots of fun to see where all our VRD friends hail from!

See you next Thursday for Week 3 of our December Sew Along.

(PSST! If you’re one of those work ahead kind of folks — our Week 3 project is Catrina Jane which will officially begin next Thursday, December 14th. Feel free to have at it, but please don’t post any of your photos or progress on Catrina Jane until after next week’s blog post. Between now and then, let’s focus on our Week 1 project Amanda Jane and our Week 2 project Savannah Jane. Thank you!)

See you on the VRD FB page!

Sew. Laugh. Get your Merry on. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

December 2023 Accessory Sew Along · Quilt Stories · Rose Cards · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Accessory Rose Card Pattern December Sew Along Week 1 — Amanda Jane

rosecards4 Comments

Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

Are you all geared up and ready for our fun December Sew Along? It’s not too late to join us if you haven’t gotten your Sew Along pattern set yet. You can get the set of 5 patterns HERE for the special price of $8.95.

This week, we are kicking off Week 1 of our December Sew Along with our Amanda Jane pattern.

Amanda Jane

VRD December Sew Along Week 1
Amanda Jane is a super busy and hard-working gal.  It's hard enough to find time in her crazy life to spend some quality time doing her favorite hobbies and interests, so losing important items like her scissors and measuring tape are totally out of the question!  Amanda Jane has it all covered in her cute and sensible work apron featuring 7 pockets!  Hello supplies!  And good bye wasted time looking for notions.  Amanda Jane loves her work apron sew much, she just might make a different one for each day of the week, just because she can!  And one for each of her crafty besties for the holidays, too!

Your Sew Along Challenge this week is to make your very own Amanda Jane work apron.

That’s right — this week, for Week 1 of our December Sew Along, you need to have your pattern pack in hand. Grab your supplies and create your own one of a kind totally you Amanda Jane apron.

Please make sure to join us on the Villa Rosa Facebook page to share your project this week and to check out the projects of your fellow VRD enthusiasts. The “social connection” is what makes sew alongs SEW much fun! Show us your fabrics! Any tips or hints for construction? Anything you need help with or don’t understand? Did you customize your project? Maybe you’re making 10 of them for Christmas! Please share because we ALL want to see your Sew Along “sew and tells.”

Villa Rosa Designs Facebook Page — you can use this link to take you to the VRD Facebook page. Make sure you are signed into your Facebook account and on the VRD page you can “like” us to join in the fun. The more folks that join in, the more fun it will be!

Tricia’s Amanda Jane Sew Along Project

I’m really excited to show off my Amanda Jane apron!

I had this adorable gnome Christmas fabric in my stash — it’s been begging to be made into something fun — and I thought it would be an awesome starting point for my apron! Not sure where it came from originally, but it is totally too cute NOT to use.

Who’s gonna rock Christmas in her apron this year, yeah??!!

Next I paired some coordinates straight outta my stash. What do you think? I wasn’t sure about the green, but I tried some other greens and this was the one that looked the best. Besides, I’m going to use the green on the back, so it really doesn’t have to be perfect. The teal was a complete no-brainer. And it had to have red polka dots, am I right here?

Hmm. I think I’ll use the red as the main fabric instead of the gnomes. And the gnomes as the big pocket so I’ll get to see more of the gnome fabric, because it really is all about the gnomes. The green definitely works as the back. Finally, the teal would make a great strap. What do you think? Oh! Then I’ll have a red pocket and a green pocket on the front. Cute. Let’s do this!

Well, I’d better stop chit chatting and starting cutting out my pieces.

Okay, I’m back. I got everything cut out, which wasn’t too hard, but I did have to dig out my really big square ruler to rotary cut my large pieces.

Here’s my gnome pocket, folded and ready to go. I’ve got the smaller pockets cut from leftovers of the red and green pinned and ready to stitch onto the gnomes.

You know, if you wanted even more color and fun, you could raid your scraps to find some coordinating fabrics for the smaller front pockets. Wink, wink. Just sayin’……

I know, I know…..I’d better get back to work. Can’t wait until I have a fun apron to use soon.

I think it would be great for wrapping gifts this holiday season. I’m always losing my scissors and tape in piles of paper…. What are you going to do with your apron?

Now I’ve got my big gnome pocket layered on my red dot fabric. I don’t know if you can see in the photo, but I’ve already got my sewing lines marked to create the large large pockets. I think it’s cool that one of the sewing lines goes right through the middle of my little red polka dot pocket to divide it into 2 smaller pockets. Nice! Now all the stuff I cram into the red pocket is less-likely to fall out when I bend over while wrapping.

Tags! Tags, anyone? I’ll know exactly where to find ’em when I need them. And I can tuck a pen or two in my handy dandy apron, too. Wow! I’m going to be the Inspector Gadget of Gift Wrapping this year!

Next I layered my apron front and back Right Sides Together (RST) and sewed along the bottom and the sides. Fingers crossed, I sewed relatively straight…. The I turned it right side out, smoothed and pressed the edges. And for a nice finish, I stitched about an 1/8″ inside the outside edge on both sides and the bottom of the apron.

Moving on to the strap — my goodness, that is a lot of strap. I think I could wrap my little house up in this strap. Wow! This step took me some time, but I nailed it!

AHA! Here I pinned my layers together with the apron sandwiched in between the long folded edges of the strap. To find the center of the apron, I folded it in half and marked the center top. Then I folded that long long strap in half and found the center, too. Finally, I matched up the centers and pinned that crazy strap into submission.

That strap seemed to have a mind of its own, though — it kept slithering away from me. Ugh! I think I need MORE PINS!

Huh! It worked! I got the apron pinned into the strap folds, sewed it, and it all worked. And it looks so so cute. Really! And it wasn’t difficult, once I got the hang of it. Take that, you crazy strap!

The final test — does it fit???

It fits! It actually fits me AND the strap wraps around my body back to the front just like in the photo on the front of the pattern — I won’t have to be a contortionist to tie it in the back, like most aprons! Awesome! I’m no skinny Minnie either — I’m a plus-size kind of gal and it fits me perfectly! I am thrilled.

Okay, now it’s your turn!

Time to get your apron made this week (between Thursday November 30th and Thursday December 7th) and share it on the VRD Facebook page. I’ll see you there and I can’t wait to see what you make and hear your Amanda Jane sewing story! Let’s add where you’re from, too! It’s lots of fun to see where all our VRD friends hail from!

See you next Thursday for Week 2 of our December Sew Along.

(PSST! If you’re one of those work ahead kind of folks — our Week 2 project is Savannah Jane which will officially begin next Thursday, December 7th. Feel free to have at it, but please don’t post any of your photos or progress on Savannah Jane until after next week’s blog post. Between now and then, let’s focus on Amanda Jane. Thank you!)

See you on the VRD FB page!

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

December 2023 Accessory Sew Along · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

December Sew Along with Villa Rosa Designs Accessory Rose Card Patterns

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

I will keep this post short and sweet so you can get back to your family and friends. And pie, don’t forget the pie. With lots and lots of whipped topping. Yum!

You can find my FREE Pieced Turkey Quilt Block Tutorial from 2022 HERE.

Let’s jump right in!

For the month of December, I thought it would be fun to do a VRD Sew Along with some of our Accessory Rose Cards. Are you familiar with our accessory patterns? They are quick and fun small projects to use up your stash…..or an excuse to head to your local quilt shop and buy more fabric just for these great little projects. You can find all of our current accessory patterns HERE.

They make great last-minute gifts you can whip up in a hurry for family and friends……or even just for yourself. Who doesn’t love an excuse to do some holiday sewing in December, when everything is so fast-paced? We all need to slow down a little bit and get a touch of sewing in, don’t you think? And you may just be seeing more smaller accessory patterns coming in 2024 — think mug rugs, bags, place mats, pillows, and more.

Speaking of 2024, we certainly have some exciting things coming for Villa Rosa Designs! Watch for our second Fast and (Even More) Fun Blog Hop coming in January/February 2024. I am still working on the dates right now, so stay tuned….

So, let’s keep this post moving!

Accessory Sew Along

What’s a Sew Along, anyway? It’s simply an opportunity for quilters and sewists to sew the same projects together from wherever they are. The magical Internet makes it so easy for us to sew together without getting together physically. We will all sew the same project each week and post our photos on the Villa Rosa Designs Facebook group. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it?

I have selected 5 patterns for us to make together for the month of December. Here are the dates and the projects along with the links to purchase the patterns at Villa Rosa Designs. Maybe you have a few already and only need certain ones. If so, just follow the individual links to the patterns you need below OR you can grab the whole set of 5 patterns for the special price of $8.95 HERE. Don’t forget — shipping is always free for patterns!

All 5 patterns for the Sew Along for $8.95!

What are you waiting for? Get your patterns now and start organizing your fabric for each of the projects so we can SEW ALONG together, starting next Thursday, December 2nd.

November 30th — Amanda Jane (7 Pocket Apron)

December 7th — Savannah Jane (Charm Square Patchwork Scarf)

December 14th — Catrina Jane (Rose Card 2 Pocket Pattern Keeper)

December 21st — Olivia Jane (Charm Square Tote Bag)

December 28th — Petula Jane (Roll and Go Place Mat and Napkin)

I hope you’ll join us for some much-needed sewing fun in December! And ask a quilting/sewing friend, so you can double your fun! If you haven’t joined our Facebook group, please do so now — that way we can all post photos of our Sew Along projects, give each other high fives, and oohh and aahh over each other’s fabric choices for each project! You can find our FB group HERE.

And don’t forget to subscribe to the blog so your weekly Villa Rosa Quilts blog posts will be delivered right to your email inbox. How easy is that???

Here’s to a December filled with sewing and giving. Love and laughter. And cookies. We must have cookies….

See you next Thursday for our first Sew Along project — Amanda Jane!

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @ VRD

Just Quilty Stuff · quilt festival · quilt market · villa rosa designs

Antique/Vintage Quilts from the American Quilt Study Group Display and My Favorite Finds at Quilt Market and Quilt Festival

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

I’m still in Quilt Market/Festival mode and boy, have I got some goodies to show you today, including another slide show of quilts! I’d like to point out that this demonstrates how far-reaching and important Quilt Market and Festival really are — it literally takes weeks to “unpack” your brain afterwards. That can include looking through literature from companies, sifting through all your goodies, contacting new contacts, making connections about orders or new projects, and so much more. I am most definitely still decompressing from Market and Festival. Whoah! Squirrel……….

American Quilt Study Group Display

One of my favorite quilt displays at Market and Festival this year was by the American Quilt Study Group (AQSG). The display had a wonderful title — “Every Quilt Tells a Story”. It was a really interesting display with quilt examples ranging from the 1850’s up to circa 1980 — that’s one really broad stroke in quilt history! Some of my favorites on display were the double knit polyester quilts, believe it or not! I’ve always wanted to adopt a double knit quilt because the whole idea of working with such fabric always fascinated me.

As many of you know, my personal roots in quilt-making began with collecting antique and vintage textiles long before I taught myself to quilt after I graduated from college. I came to quilting through the side door, so to speak. Quilting, for me, was a perfect merger of my love of the antique and vintage as well as history and textiles. And OH THE STORIES our quilts could tell us….

So, this display was very near and dear to my heart. I even managed to be in the right place at the right time and participated in a quilt walk talk. It was great to hear more about each quilt as well as the collector/owner.

And while I was there, I even joined AQSG! I’m excited to learn more about my own textile collection and to see how I can contribute to the AQSG existing body of knowledge. You can learn more about the AQSG (and how to join) HERE.

Without further ado, here’s the slide show showing the quilts I was particularly drawn to. Again, please note the quilt information is the slide after the quilt.

Pretty awesome, huh? Which one was your favorite?

Speaking of antique and vintage quilt stuff, let me show you some of my favorite finds at Market and Festival.

Favorite Market and Festival Finds

Probably my most special find was Harold the antique quilt with the opened feed bags for a backing. Did you miss my story, “The Quilt that Followed Me Home”? You can find it HERE.

Then there’s the HUGE collection of antique and vintage Orphan blocks I found at 3 different antique quilt vendors — Quilts From Mulberry Lane, Tenny Roche Vintage, and Legacy Quilts . I can’t wait to play around with these….

Speaking of antique and vintage quilty stuff, I also found this incredible piece of Hawaiian quilting at the Lavender and Old Lace Co booth. It is hand-appliqued and completely hand-quilted. Maybe it was going to be a pillow square? Who knows? There probably isn’t any way to find out how old it is because it’s a solid red on muslin, but it definitely isn’t recent. It had a wide red silky blanket binding applied with some kind of fusible product all around the edges. The blanket binding pulled right off, but it did leave some red staining here and there. Ho hum, just part of the piece’s history. I plan to square it up, bind it in a vintage red fabric, add a hanging sleeve on the back, and a label. I don’t know the name of the block yet, but I will enjoy doing some research into Hawaiian quilting.

Of course, I had loads of fun shopping in our very own VRD booth! Being that I live in PA and the VRD quilt shop is located in CA, it was kind of like visiting the shop (at least a mini mobile one). I grabbed a couple kits I’d had my eye on — Pascali and Picture Perfect.

It’s your lucky day, too — we still have kits left for both patterns!

Pascali in True Blue HERE

Or maybe you’d just like the Pascali pattern? Physical Pascali HERE, Digital Pascali HERE

Picture Perfect in California Parks (the one I bought) HERE

Picture Perfect in Dwell in Possibilities HERE

Or maybe you’d just like Molly’s Picture Perfect pattern? Physical Picture Perfect HERE, digital Picture Perfect HERE

I spent time during Festival helping Molly and Heidi to keep the half and full yards of fabric organized in the plastic bins. I had never seen (or felt) the Charley Harper fabrics up close and personal before now. The fabric was so smooth and silky and the images so colorful and crisp!

Of course, after handling it for days, I just had to take my first Charley Harper fabrics home. It was hard to decide which fabrics to start with, so I ended up putting together a winter collection, a fall collection (’tis the seasons…..), and the last photo shows 2 random prints I fell in love with. It was really fun to mix and match the prints from different collections together. I am looking forward to creating a new VRD pattern (you know, in the next 50 years or so) using my Charley Harper fabric finds.

Pat, our VRD Rose Queen, has used Charley Harper fabrics in a couple patterns already, Newsflash and Jolie. Of course, the kits are long gone, but you can still get the patterns — physical Newsflash HERE or digital Newsflash HERE and physical Jolie HERE or digital Jolie HERE. And you can shop our VRD Charley Harper fabrics HERE.

Charm Squares and Fat Quarters, oh my!!! What more can I say???

PSST! The fat quarter rolls were from our VRD booth, you can see our VRD bundles HERE.

Have you ever been to Phoenicia in Houston? It’s an amazing specialty grocery store through the park and a block away from the Convention Center. Totally worth the short walk. Specialty grocery just doesn’t do the store justice — it’s a restaurant, coffee shop, bakery, meat and fish store, fresh foods, international foods, hot foods, cold foods, salad bar, fresh fruits/vegs, wine and beer, gifts, and so much more. I haven’t been here since 2019. I had so much fun wandering the aisles upstairs and down. I found some great goodies to take home for my family and even some special stuff for myself. I LOVE Turkish Delight. Have you ever tried it? I go all the way to Houston to find my favorite Koska brand from Turkey. And there were even some new flavor combinations, too!

Here I am sitting out front at one of the little bistro tables enjoying a S’mores cappuccino ( light on the coffee, heavy on the chocolate) and an amazing chocolate eclair. Yum!

Speaking of food, I get really excited to go to Quilt Market (and now Festival) just to have one of the most amazing Texas-sized stuffed baked potatoes. Yep, you heard me right — baked potatoes. I’m talking butter, brisket, cheese, BBQ sauce, sour cream, real bacon, and chives. Yum yum yummy! You can’t beat it for the most filling lunch ever. It’s not cheap, but it’s oh so satisfying.

Here I am digging into my tater……

So grab your own ginormous potato next year at the Food Court and tell ’em Tricia from PA sent you. I think they should keep a world map and a USA map on display (and color in the countries/states) to show all the places where potato lovers come from. Just sayin’……..

When I went to Houston, I took along a little hand-sewing wool felt project for the airport and on the plane. Of course, while I was taking everything in, I was drawn into the wool booth, Yellow Creek Quilt Designs — blame it on the Gnome piece that reached out and grabbed me. Ha Ha! Of course, I bought the pattern for the Gnomes well as a few others. And at another booth, Penny Lane Primitives, I bought this adorable snowman candle mat kit.

Well, I guess that’s it for me this week. I’ve got to get back to work on our upcoming 12 Quilts of Christmas collection! Stay warm and get quilting! And get some rest so you’re ready to first eat turkey next week then shop until you literally drop.

See you next Thursday on Thanksgiving —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

Just Quilty Stuff · quilt market · Rose Cards · villa rosa designs

NEW November VRD Rose Card Quilt Patterns and International Quilt Festival Quilts

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Here I sit at the Hobby airport grabbing some lunch while I wait for my flight back to good ol’ Pennsylvania. Wow! What an awesome Quilt Market and Festival! I am so excited to get back to my studio and get to work on new projects — my head is just exploding with inspiration and ideas.

I did figure out how to get Harold the quilt home — I bought a duffel bag at WalMart since I’d only brought one suitcase and “2 bags fly free.” The only problem with the duffel is that with only Harold in it, it was kind of empty so I just had to shop for awesome cool stuff at Festival to fill it up so Harold wouldn’t be lonely on the trip home. So sad, huh? I’ll be showing you some of my favorites in next week’s post, so stay tuned……

Now let me show you our NEW VRD Rose Card patterns for November.

NEW November Villa Rosa Designs Rose Card Quilt Patterns

Yay! It’s the Thursday after the first Friday of the month and you know what that means — NEW PATTERNS!

Aren’t they great??? As always, you can get the set of 5 regular patterns for the special price of $8.95 HERE.

We’re happy to welcome our newest Villa Rosa Designs designer — Deanne Moore of Creative Sewlutions. Most of you are probably already familiar with her classic Oh Henry pattern — Deanne selected the most popular size for her Rose Card Oh Henry pattern. Find the kit, featuring fabric from Wild Wander, HERE. And Deanne’s other new pattern, Messages is just tons of fun, isn’t it?

Peking Duck is an awesome pattern by Heidi to showcase those gorgeous large prints you just cannot cut up. I’m thinking Charley Harper fabrics would look great in her pattern, what do you think?

Molly’s fast and fun pattern Underline would also look great with larger prints or novelties paired with an accent. This is a good size for a kid’s quilt. You can find the kit HERE.

And don’t forget Farmhouse Blues, my new November pattern. I was sew inspired by the blue and white Moda collection, Blueberry Delight, that I just had to design a quilt around it. I had the most fun photographing it on my Dad’s vintage tractor. I think this is one of my best cover photos ever.

Here’s the original uncropped photo for the Farmhouse Blues cover. Definitely one of my favorite covers ever!

Molly created a sample using the red, white, and blue collection, Patchwork Americana by P&B. You can find the kit HERE.

Molly’s version of Farmhouse Blues, available as a kit.

I’m sorry that we don’t have a table runner for this month — there just wasn’t enough time to get everything ready and to press before Market and Festival. We will have a runner coming for December, though, so hang in there.

Now let’s get back to Quilt Market and Festival!

Quilts of Quilt Market and Festival

During Festival, I was able to spend quite a bit of time enjoying the quilts on display. Oh my goodness, talk about amazing and inspiring! I was really blown away with the creativity and skill. Truly amazing! Pair all of the quilts with all of the shopping and you have an amazing experience. If you haven’t attended Festival, I really urge you to go to one sometime, you won’t be sorry. I do suggest that you plan for at least 2 days, although staying for the entire show would be awesome. There is absolutely no way you can see and experience everything in just one day. It really is sensory overload, so a couple days is a must so you don’t get too overwhelmed.

Anyway, I thought I’d share some of the amazing quilts on display. In the image after each quilt, I’ve included the maker information. Please enjoy my little slide show!

Well, that’s it for me this week. I hope you stop in next week for another little slide show and my favorite finds from Quilt Market and Festival. Until then, spend some quality time with your sewing machine!

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

quilt market · Quilt Stories · villa rosa designs

Villa Rosa Designs Quilt Market NEWS, Quilt Festival, and the Quilt that Followed Me Home

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

As I sit and write this post, sadly, Quilt Market is over. I must apologize that I did not pop onto the blog to talk about anything going on here at Market in Houston, TX. But it just all went so fast!

Working in the VRD booth was lots of fun! I just loved chatting with folks when they stopped by the booth and I spent a lot of time hustling to pack up patterns (we all did!). And time just zipped by. By the end of each day, I put on well over 10,000 steps and I was plumb worn out.

I also must admit that I only took maybe 2 photos during the whole of Quilt Market. Sad, sad, sad, I know. It’s okay, you can roll your eyes at me, I don’t mind….

Here’s a photo of Market looking down from the second floor back in the good ol’ days before the Pandemic.
Here’s an old photo of the VRD booth from 2018. This year’s booth was set up a little different, but still had all the same components — current quilts on display, fat quarter bundles and kits, and our patterns (of course).

One of the very best things about Quilt Market is getting out there and networking with real people. It was great meeting lots of new folks and catching up with people I work with online so we could actually meet face to face.

Of course, it’s also a great time to connect with old friends. I had lunch with my pal Cathey Laird from Cathey Marie Designs. Catherine of Running Doe Quilts (one of our VRD designers) stopped by — it was so nice to see her again. I also met our newest VRD designer, Deanne Moore of Creative Sewlutions. An old quilt guild friend, Sondra Raby of Art Quilts by Design, was here doing demos and I at least got to say hi as she was running off for her next demo. I caught up with Christa Watson of Christa Quilts, a favorite machine quilter, author, and fabric designer and Vanessa Goertzen of Lella Boutique, who is also a fabric designer and author. This is what Quilt Market is all about — meeting people and making connections. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a Quilt Market, I totally say “Go For It” — you won’t be sorry.

Although Market is over, the good news is that we’re rolling right into Quilt Festival and I promise to take lots of photos, including of the VRD booth, too. If you’re coming to Quilt Festival here in Houston, TX, don’t forget to stop and shop at our Villa Rosa Designs booth #801. You won’t believe the “dump” table which is piled sky high with fat quarter bundles. Oh. My. Goodness. It’s a quilter’s paradise.

A smiling Molly!
Kits, kits, and more kits. And quilts! Oh my!
Majestic Bundle Mountain — AKA, the “Dump” table.
Here’s our VRD Rose Queen, Pat.
Bolts just waiting for you at the booth.
Kits, kits for everyone!

One of the coolest things about Festival, besides that it’s my first one, is that I finally get to meet Villa Rosa Designs designers Molly and Heidi Cook (it’s Heidi’s first Festival too) in person! Yay! Oh, the mischief we could get into together…. Sigh…..poor Pat.

And here’s a really funny thing — my friend, Gaynel, from my neck of the woods, is coming to Festival on Friday. What a long way for us to come just to meet for lunch, huh? LOL!!!

Now, let’s move on to some awesome announcements we made at Market about what’s NEW at VRD!

Villa Rosa Designs NEWS

I am happy to share some great new stuff coming soon with Villa Rosa Designs with you!

Designer News

Kate Griffin will be returning to Villa Rosa Designs. Some of her wonderful patterns are coming out of retirement, so stay tuned for more information….

Deanne Moore, designer of Creative Sewlutions patterns, is joining the VRD Family! Check out her 2 patterns coming in November, Oh Henry and Messages. You can visit Deanne’s website HERE.

New Pattern Collections

Coming in November, we will have 2 brand new exclusive 12 pattern collections!

We are delighted to announce we are partnering with the Quilts of Valor Foundation to bring you a collection of existing VRD patterns that meet the size requirements for QOV quilts. A portion of every sale will be donated to QOVF.

We will also be offering a brand new “12 Quilts of Christmas” pattern collection just in time for the 2023 holidays! This collection will feature 12 new holiday patterns for projects ranging from table runners to place mats to throw quilts and more featuring designs of many of our wonderful VRD designers.

Coming in 2024

Back by popular demand!

Coming in January/February 2024, we will host our second Fast and Even More Fun Blog Hop. More information to follow soon!

The Quilt that Followed Me Home

You know the saying — “what happens at Quilt Market (or wherever you are), stays at Quilt Market”? Nope, not this time — this story is meant to be shared.

Every time I attend a Quilt Market, the first place I literally visit besides our Villa Rosa Designs booth is Quilts from Mulberry Lane and my friends Carolyn and Don Springer. You can visit their website HERE.

I think I met these dear folks way back at my first Market in 2010 when my first book, Orphan Block Quilts, debuted (psst — this was also when I met Pat Fryer, our VRD Rose Queen, and you know how that turned out).

As most of you know by now, I personally LOVE antique and vintage quilt and textile stuff, so of course I found my way to Mulberry Lane. Anyway, when I stopped to check in with Carolyn and Don, they couldn’t wait to tell me about this interesting quilt that had found its way to them. The quilt had opened feed bags on the back of it and one of the bags was still very easy to read. They knew of my love for feed sacks and knew I’d be interested. Sadly, there was no provenance.

It really warmed my heart that they thought of me! They are such kind people. Don showed me the quilt back first. What an interesting find, for sure. I’d heard of people using opened feed bags for utility purposes such as quilt backs, sheets, underwear, etc., but I’d never really seen it in person. Until now. Then Don finally showed me the front and it had humble Snowball blocks in plaid and stripe shirtings with a few Indigos thrown in for good measure set side by side. I’m thinking perhaps circa 1920’s-1930’s. As a reference point, I have my grandpa’s Nine Patch quilt which was made by his mother when he was a young man and it also features shirtings and such. Very similar quilts. Also as a reference, printed design feed sacks weren’t available until the late 1930’s.

It definitely needed a good bath, but Don said they were concerned about washing it because of the printing on the back feed bags and they were concerned it might fade or wash out. It’s well-loved with typical wear and tear and could use a new binding. But all in all, this quilt still has a lot of love to give.

The Springers gifted this quilt to me. I was so so touched by their desire to put this quilt into the hands of someone (me) who would love and cherish it. We named him Harold (I have a quirky habit of naming everything).

Then the weather turned chilly here in Houston and Harold fulfilled his purpose once again and warmed me during the cooler nights — I definitely did not bring any cooler weather clothing with me (by the way, Wednesday morning we had 8 inches of snow on the ground at home in Pennsylvania — way way too early). Thank you Harold! And thank you to my dear friends, the Springers, for their kind generosity.

Now to figure out how best to get Harold back home to Pennsylvania….

I did grab a few quilt blocks and feed sacks from the Springers, too. Adding to my stash, of course because one can never have enough stash. I bought the blocks because they had feed sack fabrics or other interesting vintage fabrics in them.

Here I come, Quilt Festival!

See you next Thursday right here. Same place, same time —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

Just Quilty Stuff · quilt market · villa rosa designs

Quilt Market Bound and At the Races (Jelly Roll Quilt Race, That Is)

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

As you read this post today, I am on my way to International Quilt Market in Houston, TX. Yay! I’ve been so psyched recently as well as frantic because I’m always afraid I’m going to forget something important. Whew! I will admit that I’m not an easy traveler. Most of the time I overpack and I overthink. I’d like to be more spontaneous but sadly, I don’t think that’s in my genes.

Although I’ve been to Quilt Market more times than I can count now, this year’s Fall Market is going to be a first for me because I am staying for both Market and Quilt Festival, which follows right after Market. I’ve never been to a Festival, so I am doubly excited for this trip! Houston, here I come!

International Quilt Market is the trade show part for companies, shops, and industry professionals while Quilt Festival is the retail show for everyone with tons of vendors, classes, and beaucoup shopping!

Right now I’m in the packing phase, so I packed all the clothes I thought I’d need. Well, silly me, now it’s time to cut that down by 25% or 33% if I can manage so I have room for other essentials. Thank goodness Pat, our VRD Rose Queen, rents a house with a laundry! Thanks, Pat!

I’ll be taking my laptop along for the first time on the plane, so that’s a new experience too which made it necessary for a brand new travel laptop bag on wheels with extra space for clothes and such. Sigh….by my estimation, I should be done packing sometime next week — you know, a week after I leave. LOL!

Are you headed to Quilt Market or Quilt Festival in Houston? If so, we all hope to see you there. Please stop by our Villa Rosa Designs booth and visit — we’d love to meet you in person and tell you about some exciting new things coming for Villa Rosa Designs.

Quilt Market

You can find Villa Rosa Designs at Booth #803 on the show floor.

We have a Schoolhouse Session scheduled for Session 13, 4:40-5:10 PM in Room 362D. Gosh, I hope the room is big enough — it was standing room only last year.

Quilt Festival

You can find Villa Rosa Designs at Booth #801 on the show floor.

Don’t forget to stop by the blog next week for more Quilt Market Adventures! And who knows? Maybe I’ll pop in at the blog sometime before next Thursday….

Jelly Roll Quilt Races

Have you ever participated in a Jelly Roll Race? Jenny Doan of Missouri Star Quilt Company (MSQC) did an awesome video years ago which started a massive Jelly Roll Race response. You can find Jenny’s video below if you’ve never seen it.

A couple friends and I were reminiscing about the fun Jelly Roll Races we had way back then (Jenny’s video came out in 2012). Our group actually raced another group in Chicago! Twice! So not only were we racing against each other to finish first, we were racing as a group to finish before the Chicago group! Wow! That was so awesome — I swear my sewing machine was smoking! That conversation sparked our interest in having another Jelly Roll Race (or maybe more). So I asked my local quilt shop owner here in PA, Gail, if we could do it again. She agreed, of course.

So while I’m flying from Pittsburgh to Houston, you can enjoy some great Jelly Roll quilt tops (flimsies) made recently at our super fun Jelly Roll Race events.

As you’ll see in the photos, every top looks entirely different! Individual fabric choices — choice of straight seams, angled seams, or even posts to sew the strips together — adding a border or not — horizontal strips or vertical — all of these things make each Jelly Roll quilt unique.

Drum roll please!

Here’s our newest and fastest Speed Queen, Donna, with a smokin’ hot 36 minutes to make her quilt top! She was one determined quilter!

Pretty Christmas fabrics, Donna!

Our Runner Up was Jill with a not too shabby (wink, wink) 38 minutes — Jill was our original Speed Queen from our races way back when.

Love the neutrals, Jill!

The best thing about a Jelly Roll Race, is the fact that everyone really is a winner regardless of their finishing times because each participant gets a throw-sized quilt in a short amount of time! Here are the rest of the quilts in no particular order.

Kim’s favorite colors!
Sherry went stash scrappy!
Timing is everything, isn’t it? Phyllis was one of the original Chicago ladies way back when and she just so happened to be visiting her sister, Mary Lee, when we had our first Jelly Roll Race. Coincidence???
Mary Lee added posts between her strips. Isn’t that cool?

Two quilters even participated twice. Weren’t they smart? That way they each made 2 quilt tops in record time. Good thinking, Lisa and Robin!

Great job, Lisa! And she’s a beginner!
She turned this one on its side because it had a few extra strips in the roll. Neat variation, huh?
Robin’s Autumn throw sure is cozy, isn’t it?
Another stash scrappy flimsy!

Donna added a border and even finished her flimsy and showed it off at our next gathering! Way to go, Donna!

Not only are you our current Speed Queen, Donna, you’re also the Fastest Finisher!

Phyllis (who went home to Chicago before this photo) and Mary Lee added borders onto their tops to make them larger and plan to use fleece on the backs. Great idea! (Psst! Did you miss my post about quilting with fleece? You can find it HERE.)

There you have it! Looks like a lot of fun, doesn’t it? Go ahead — I dare you to ask your local quilt shop to host a Jelly Roll Race. And don’t forget to check out the selection of Jelly Rolls while you’re there!

Did you know that Villa Rosa Designs (both the online shop and the physical shop) have a nice selection of Jelly Rolls and other precuts? You can see them HERE. We also have lots of VRD Rose Card patterns just for Jelly Rolls — you can find those HERE.

One more photo…….

Although I didn’t actually race as I was the “host”, I did complete my own Jelly Roll top, using a fun Christmas strip set. Sigh, now to get this one finished……….

Yup, that’s me grinning like a crazy quilter from behind my Jelly Roll flimsy.

Speaking of quilt tops, I hope you had the chance to read last week’s post about finishing flimsies. If you missed it, you can find it HERE (or just keep scrolling down).

Hope to see you at the Villa Rosa Designs booth at Market and Festival as well as our Schoolhouse Session at Market. Just tell ’em Tricia sent you….

Until next time —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD

Just Quilty Stuff · Tips and Tricks · villa rosa designs

16 Ideas for Getting Your Flimsies (quilt tops) DONE

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Hello Quilty Friends!

Happy Thursday to you!

I don’t know if you are like me at all but I have a bunch of quilt tops — or flimsies, as they are often called in quilt jargon — piling up and I can’t work fast enough to make a dent in them. Part of the problem is that I have NEW quilts to make, so it’s hard to work backwards to finish the stack of flimsies that I have already made, but haven’t finished yet. It’s such a vicious cycle….

Recently, I started brainstorming some ideas to power through those unfinished tops while still working on my current and future projects. Today I thought I’d share my ideas with you. Feel free to leave a comment if you have ideas, too, because I’d love to hear them. Maybe if we all brainstorm together, we can combat the universal quilting problem of too many projects and not enough time.

Ideas to Finish Your Flimsies

  • Make a Plan of Action — Maybe it’s time for all of us quilters to go through our flimsies and look at them realistically — a very important first step so we know how many flimsies we really do have. How many of them can we really finish in a lifetime? Let’s be honest with ourselves here. Maybe divide them into 2 piles — the ones we think we might finish and the ones we won’t. Let’s keep only the ones we’ll actually finish and then write down a plan to get ‘em done. Soon that teetering stack of flimsies will be a thing of the past.
Quilting Journal
  • Share them — Since you’ve decided which flimsies you are going to complete and you’ve made a written plan to accomplish that, why not share those unwanted flimsies with quilty friends, fellow quilt guild members, quilters who make charity quilts, a church quilt group, or some other charitable organization. Then you can clear away those unloved flimsies without guilt and make someone else’s heart happy.
The Giving Way to Happiness
  • Take a Class — Maybe you don’t know how to machine quilt your own quilts. Why not learn how? Check out your local quilt shops or quilt guilds to find a machine quilting class. Or maybe you’ve always wanted to learn hand-quilting? What are you waiting for? Sign up for a class and get quilting those flimsies yourself!
Yazzii Project Bag
  • Use fleece — I’ve talked about using fleece on the backs of my throw quilts before. Check out my post on quilting with fleece HERE. Using fleece on the backs of throw quilts makes them super cozy and lightweight. Fleece fabric is relatively inexpensive and batting isn’t even needed, which makes using fleece also economical. And don’t forget time-saving — you only have to layer your flimsy with a single layer of fleece, which takes less time than using both batting and backing. Just remember that fleece is very stretchy while your flimsy is not and you may need to adapt your quilting designs to manage the stretchiness.
Fabric Scissors
  • Practice makes perfect — Just get those quilts layered with batting and backing and get quilting. Hand quilter? Set time aside every day to work on your hand quilting. Machine quilting? Use your flimsies as hands-on experience as you master free motion quilting! Start with table runners and smaller projects and work yourself up to larger projects as you feel more comfortable and your machine quilting skills improve. Wiggly lines and straight lines get the job done too.
How Do I Quilt It? By Christa Watson
  • Long Arm Quilting — Find a local long arm quilter and work together to create a plan to get your large flimsies quilted. Maybe you can swing getting one done every month or every few months, or…? Do whatever works for you, just keep working towards your flimsy-free goal.
Long Arm Quilter T Shirt
  • Have a party — Enlist your friends and have a good old fashioned quilting bee, but instead of everyone working on the same quilt, ask each friend to quilt one of your smaller projects. Anything goes! Ask your friends to bring their sewing machines and you will have tables and extension cords at the ready and will provide all the munchies! When you ask your friends to help you, make sure you promise to help them finish their own flimsies.
Quilt City Cookbook by Bruce Leonard
  • Presto Change-o — Who says a quilt top has to continue its life as a quilt? Why not repurpose a flimsy (or more) into a snazzy jacket. A tote bag or purse? Pillows for the couch? Place mats? Or whatever else your little heart desires. Have some fun with your flimsies and turn them into finished projects.
Easy Patchwork Jackets
  • Mix and Match — Speaking of chopping up your flimsies to make new projects, how about mixing and matches bits and pieces from different flimsies together into a new project?
Blocks, Borders, Quilts!
  • Host a Flimsy Swap — Gather up your quilt posse and have a fun flimsy swap. You might need to set some basic rules — the most important one that comes to mind for me would be that each participant must take as many flimsies as they bring for the swap, even if it means taking some of their own back home. Or limit the swap to one flimsy per person. Agree on a future date to have your new-to-you flimsies finished and have a quilt show of the completed projects. With snacks, of course. Then……..repeat. Often.
Quilter’s Swap Tracker
  • Take Me as I Am — Maybe you don’t machine or hand quilt. Maybe you just don’t have the money to send your quilts out to a long arm quilter. So why not enjoy those flimsies just as they are? Fold them over the rungs of an old ladder. Drape them over the couch. Use them as table covers in the dining room. Fold them prettily and stack them in an old jelly cupboard. Quilts love to be admired and enjoyed, even if they aren’t quite completed. Just remember to continue to work towards getting them done, one flimsy at a time.
Quilt Ladders on Amazon
  • Tie ‘em Up — Have you ever tied a quilt? This is how I made my first five or six quilts way back when. I backed them with a sheet and used a thicker fluffier poly batting. I sewed the layers together envelope-style and then used cotton crochet thread with a long needle to tie my quilts. I tied double knots and trimmed my threads close because I really didn’t want a hairy quilt. I usually placed my knots at seam intersections to hide them a bit better. Tying worked great and I could finish a throw or bed-sized quilt in a day. This was, of course, before I taught myself to do free motion quilting. Just make sure to put in enough ties to keep the batting from shifting around.
Crochet Thread
  • Go Small — Maybe you love to make big bed quilts but can’t or won’t quilt them yourself or send them out to a long armer. My solution? Make them smaller! No one ever said you couldn’t cut up your quilt to make 2 or more smaller quilts! Maybe a big bed quilt could become a throw, a wall quilt, a table runner, a set of pillows? Bet you can manage those more easily! This is even a great way to create a new coordinated look for your space, too. Just think how fast you could whip up a stack of table runners or quilted scarves for Christmas gifts when you start with big quilt flimsies? Oh, the possibilities….
Mini Quilt Holder
  • Swap skills — You’ll need some friends to help you out with this idea. Have a friend who likes to machine quilt? Swap skills with them! If they will machine quilt one of your quilts, you will clean their house, make cookies, bathe their dog, babysit the kids, or whatever skills you can barter with. Maybe you can swap skills with more than one friend or even a local long arm quilter. Write a list of the skills you are willing to barter before you talk to people about swapping your skills for machine quilting. Just keep it legal, clean, and safe please.
To Do Planner
  • Make Toys — Why not find a brilliant collection of simple stuffed toy patterns you can make for kids and cut the pattern pieces out of your flimsies. Don’t have kids or grandkids? Donate your soft toys to a children’s hospital or other charitable institution. Lions, tigers, and bears….oh my!
Tilda’s Toy Box
  • Repurpose — Did you know you can repurpose your flimsies? This is kind of like Presto Change-o above, but with a little twist. What else can your flimsies be besides quilts? Maybe you can recover a side chair with a pieced top to create a unique one of a kind accent for your space. Or perhaps you could make dining chair seat covers? Time to think outside the quilt here — anything goes.
Spruce

I hope these ideas will inspire you to dive into your own stack of flimsies and get them done. From quilts to decor to soft toys. Upholstered foot stools and lampshades. Pillows and table runners. There are sew many projects you can create with your stack of flimsies. Sew, what are you waiting for???

Until next Thursday —

Sew. Laugh. Repeat.

Always,

Tricia @VRD