Thursday, April 27, 2017

Pumpkin Patch

With summer just around the corner, it's the perfect time to start a quilt for fall. That way, when the leaves begin to change and the temperatures cool, your quilt will be finished and ready to enjoy! Cheryl Haynes' new collection, Pumpkin Patch, has just the right fall flavors.

It starts with the panel, full of favorite fall motifs: pumpkins, sunflowers, leaves...


And moves into harvest-color coodinates:


 We asked Cheryl to tell us more about the Pumpkin Patch fabrics.

You do so many seasonally themed collections. How did you decide what to include in Pumpkin Patch?
Fall is my favorite time of the year. It begins right after the kids go back to school, and then the nights get cool and the mornings have that crisp, chilly air about them. For fall motifs, I really like pumpkins. I love the orange color on black, so we decided to go with the black background this time, which really makes the pumpkins pop out. I added in the blackbirds—you see so many in the fall, probably because of the sunflower and corn.

Tell us about how you designed the collection.
First I do the panel and then we pull the other fabrics from the panel itself. I started doing some sketches—I actually used colored pencils on this one—to get an idea of what color goes where. I really wanted to include the sunflowers—worked really hard to make them look good and they just turned out so well on this fabric. I love the sunflowers in the pumpkin bowl in the panel.

How did you branch out the color palette?
Pumpkins come in all different colors and so do leaves—I balanced the design by adding in gold tones. I love all the colors in here—the pumpkin and the honey—the greens. I try to use a lot of tan in my lines. Because I use a lot of tan in my quilts, I try to have at least four or five shades of tan in a line. They make such great backgrounds and fillers.

Tell us about a few of your favorite prints.
The paisley is a new design, and I absolutely love it.


I dearly love my pumpkin leaf stripe. It’s so great to use as a sashing. 


One of the new tonals we did for this line is called Whispering Sunflowers. I love tonals. You can create a piece of art with different shades of fabric that barely have a pattern to them.


What do you especially like about this collection?
You can create totally different looks depending on which fabrics you use. You can choose to feature pumpkins, sunflowers, or just blenders and the paisleys. I like to use the tonal fabrics in a pattern, and then use on of the prints, like the crow and sunflower print, as a border.


What patterns are you working on with the Pumpkin Patch fabrics?
I have three different patterns: Autumn in New England, Harvest Song, and Midnight Pumpkins. They’ll be available on my website. Here’s a sneak peek at Midnight Pumpkins.



Cheryl's "Four Pumpkins" free quilt pattern uses the tonals from Pumpkin Patch. 
Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

"Harvest Pumpkins" by Benartex Studio features the panel surrounded by pieced borders.
Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

Cheryl also shows you how to cut up the panel to make these sweet wall hangings and table topper.

Click here to download the free patterns.

Click here to see the entire Pumpkin Patch collection. 
Click here to find the free quilt patterns. 
Click here to visit Cheryl's website.
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Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Sun Valley

Sun Valley--feel the golden shine of these gorgeous prints! 
A glowing palette of golden yellow, rust, and brown is enhanced with layers of metallic gold. These warm prints are summery and perfect for you next quilt! 

Huge sunflower blooms in three colorways:

A cool dragonfly design:

Two styles of stripes--large and painterly, and small and dotted:

Elegant coordinates--lacy medallions and scrolls, all featuring metallic accents:

Smaller flowers and leaf prints: 

Those large stripes make great setting triangles in the Golden Valley free quilt pattern, designed by Stephanie Sheridan and Linda Leathersich of Stitched Together Studios.
Click here to download the free quilt pattern.

Click here to see the entire Sun Valley collection.
Click here to find the free quilt pattern.
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Monday, April 24, 2017

Living Lodge

Woodsy prints are perfect for a quilt that can be used in a cabin or for your favorite woodsy guy! 
The Living Lodge collection by Bristol Bay Studio features majestic moose. Coordinates include a couple cool wood grain prints, woven textile prints, and snowflakes. The rich color palette of greens, dark reds, beiges and black creates a gorgeous cabin feel. 


Here's a closer look at a few of our favorite prints:





Use the Living Lodge prints to create the "Woodland Star" quilt designed by Benartex Studio.
Click here to find the free quilt pattern.
Click here to see the entire Living Lodge collection.
Click here to find the free quilt pattern.
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Friday, April 21, 2017

Free Pattern Friday! Kids' Quilts

Happy Friday! We're sharing a round-up of our favorite baby and kids' quilt free patterns today. Use the links below to download these pdfs to your computer and start sewing! 

Friendly Little Dinosaurs by Heidi Pridemore
Click here to download the pattern.

Dino Block Party by Heidi Pridemore
Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the Dino Age collection by Matthew Pridemore and its free patterns.


At the Ballet by Benartex Studios
Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the entire City Ballet collection and its free pattern.



Day at the Zoo by Benartex Studios

Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the entire Zoo Baby collection and its free pattern.



Spring Bunnies by Benartex Studios
Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the entire Funny Bunnies collection and its free pattern.



We Love Joey by Benartex Studios
Click here to download the pattern.

Click here to see the Joey the Shop Dog collection by Rose Ann Cook and its free pattern.
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Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Pinwheel Play

Baby quilts are so much fun to make! This simple pinwheel design from designer Cathey Marie Laird uses two tonal prints by Amanda Murphy in a popular teal and green color combination. You can find the pattern for this "Pinwheel Play" quilt in the summer issue of Quilter's World magazine; keep reading to learn more about Cathey's quilt.

"Pinwheel Play" by Cathey Marie Laird;
featured in Quilter's World Summer 2017


How did you choose your color palette?
Green and turquoise are popular nursery colors and are used for both boys and girls these days.

What attracted you to the fabrics you chose?
I am always attracted to Benartex fabrics. They have great designers and beautiful, quality fabrics! I chose these fabrics because they have subtle prints and soft colors.

What’s the trick for choosing tonal prints that work well together?
When picking fabric designs that work well together without having a focal fabric, I try to choose fabrics with smaller prints and add in a blender or solid where it's needed. This quilt has 3 fabrics; 2 prints and 1 blender for the background.
 
Sparkle Vines Lime from Amanda Murphy's Sparkle collection

Diamonds Teal from Amanda Murphy's Carina collection

Tell us about your design.
Pinwheels are always in style. They're fun to make and go together quickly. This design can be made quickly and with the busy schedules we all have, sometimes quick projects are just what we're looking for!

What do you like best about this quilt?
I love the soft colors of the fabrics and the size is perfect for a crib or just snuggling a baby.

What can you tell us about the quilting?
I had a chance to use a Janome Artistic SD16 sit-down quilter, so I decided to quilt it myself with a large stipple.  Love that machine!

What do you envision this quilt being used for?

My hope is that every quilt made from this pattern is used to love and comfort a sweet little baby.

Click here to see Amanda Murphy's Carina collection and here to see her Sparkle collection. 
Click here to learn more about designer Cathey Marie Laird
Click here to find Quilter's World magazine.

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Monday, April 17, 2017

Owl & Friends

What makes a kids' quilt sew much fun? The fabrics you choose! 
Maggie & Flo's new Owl and Pals collection for Contempo is perfect for your next quilt for a little one. The colors? A soothing sherbet palette--teals, limes and sky blues, or corals and tangerines. A couple sweet owl prints are enhanced with great coordinates--medium-sized dots, tiles, and a dot weave. And don't forget the panel! Each panel includes the pieces for cuddly stuffed owls in two different sizes. Such a cute add-on gift to go with a quilt.

The panel:





 Teal/lime/blue colorway: 

Coral/tangerine colorway:

Click here to see the entire Owl and Pals collection.
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Friday, April 14, 2017

We Love Our Pets Week: Furry Friday + Pet Quilt Tutorial!

As part of We Love Our Pets Week and our sponsorship of the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative, we're doing a Furry Fridays post! We're sharing the photos and stories of two wonderfully adopt-able pets, and then Rose Ann Cook, our favorite shelter pet mom/fabric designer, is sharing a tutorial to make a Dog Nap Mat. (It's Joey approved!) Enjoy!




Meet our two featured shelter pets:

Caesar:
Spunky senior Caesar is 10 years young and, no matter what conventional wisdom holds, he loves learning new tricks! (Although he already knows sit, down, shake and high five!) Caesar gets along with other dogs, walks nicely on the leash and loves to play with toys and cuddle with his person. Meet him at the Humane Society of Summit County in Twinsburg, Ohio. Find out more about Caesar here.


Chester:

Chester may look tough, but that's because he's a natural-born leader. Chester lives in a cage-less facility and uses his alpha personality to make sure all the free-roaming cats get along. In addition, he LOVES dogs, and makes sure his fellow felines are nice to them too. Still, Chester longs for a forever home where he can snuggle in your lap and help with the laundry (really!). Meet him at Animal Refuge Center, Inc., in Vine Grove, Kentucky. Find out more about Chester here.

These pets may not be in your area, but if you are looking for a new furry friend, you can go to Petfinder.com to search locally.

Tutorial: Joey's Nap Mat 
Designed by Joey's Mama, Rose Ann Cook




FABRICS REQUIRED
All fabrics from the Joey the Shop Dog collection by Rose Ann Cook 
Fat eighth of Paws - Blue  #1449-50
1/2 yard of Curls - Green #1448-40
1/4 yard of Happy Joey  #Yellow 1447-33
1/4 yard of Curls - Aqua #1448-24
1/3 yard of Toys - Orange #1446-32
1 yard of backing fabric
(4) 25” x 35” thin batting pieces

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS
From the Blue Paws print:
(4) 4" squares
(1) 4" x 18" strip

From the Green Curls print:
(2) 2-1/4" x 18" strips
(12) 1-1/4" squares
(2) 2-1/4" x 14-1/2" strips
(2) 4" x 25" strips

From the Happy Joey Yellow print:
(2) 2-1/2" x WOF strips
(2) 2” x 22-1/2” strips

From the Aqua Curls print:
(2) 2-1/2" x WOF strips

From the Orange Toys print:
(2) 2” x 32-1/2” strips
(2) 2” x 25-1/2” strips

From the backing fabric:
(1) 25-1/2” x 35-1/2” piece (or measure your finished quilt top and cut to size)

Make the Quilt:
1. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of each of the (12) 1-1/4" green swirl squares. This is your sew line. With right sides together, position a small green square to three corners of each of the (4) 4” blue paws squares, as shown. Sew on the diagonal line. Trim 1/4" from the sewn line and press triangles open. Make four.

2. Sew two of these squares together as shown and press the seam open. Make two. These are the two ends of the dog bone.


3. Sew 2-1/4” x 18” green curls strips on each of the long edges of the 4” x 18” blue paws strip. Press the seam to either side. This creates the center of the dog bone.



4. Sew the two dog bone ends to the dog bone center. 

5. Sew 4” x 25” green curls strips to the top and bottom of the bone center. Sew 2-1/4” x 14-1/2” green curls strips to the opposite sides.

6. Sew (1) 2-1/2” x WOF aqua curl strip lengthwise to (1) 2-1/2” x WOF happy joey yellow strip. Press seam allowance toward the aqua strip. Make two. Subcut into (28) 2-1/2” wide units.


7. Sew the units together into four-patches. Sew together (7) four-patches to make a row. Make two.


8. Sew to the top and bottom of the center section. Sew 2-1/2” x 22-1/2” happy joey yellow strips to opposite sides.
9. Sew 2” x 32-1/2” orange toy strips to the top and bottom. Sew 2” x 25-1/2” orange toy strips to the sides.


10. To finish this quilt, I used 4 layers of thin batting. I measured the size of the quilt, subtracted 1" from the height and width. Use long hand basting stitches, sew the stack of batting to the back of the quilt top. Hand stitch all around the edges and then a large "X" from corner to corner. This is just to stabilize the project; the stitches will be removed shortly. With right sides together, lay the backing on top of the quilt top. Stitch around the edge of the project, leaving a 10" opening so you can turn it right side out, carefully straightening the batting on the inside as you go. Press the edges flat. Slip stitch the opening. Remove your basting stitches. Quilt as desired and let your fur-baby enjoy their new nap mat!





More about the Petfinder Foundation and the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative:
The Piece for Shelter Pets (PFSP) initiative grew from the relationship started in 2012 between The Quilt Pattern Magazine and the Petfinder Foundation after Hurricane Sandy. The goal: to help animal shelters affected by the hurricane by making Kennel Quilts! Much like quilts are to us humans, Kennel Quilts offered rescued or displaced pets a warm, soft place to nap. They were such a big hit that The TQPM Kennel Quilt Team was officially started and since its beginning, has seen over 10,200 Kennel Quilts made and distributed to shelters across the United States and Canada! WOW!
Aurifil joined the cause in 2015 with the release of the Small Kennel Quilt Thread Kit. The cover features Pretty Girl, the TQPM Kennel Quilt “SpokesKitty” and HSPPR (The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region) adoptee, photographed on her Kennel Quilt during the 2013 Colorado fires.
smallkennelquiltthreadkit
Aurifil introduced Fifi & Fido and Happy Hounds at Fall Quilt Market last year in partner with Island Batik, another one of our treasured Piece for Shelter Pets PartnersA portion of the sales of each will go to the Petfinder Foundation.
blog-fififido
blog-happyhounds
Quilty Box launched a special TQPM Kennel Quilt box this past January that includes the fabric and thread needed to make two kennel quilts. 100% of proceeds go to the Petfinder Foundation!! How amazing is that??
Benartex introduced a brand new fabric collection at International Quilt Market this past Fall featuring Joey the Shop Dog. The line was designed by Joey’s rescue mom, Rose Ann Cook. 10% of sales for Joey’s fabrics are donated to Petfinder Foundation.
Bernina of America created a special edition Best Friends sewing machine in 2015 featuring paw prints. They donated $30,000 to the Petfinder Foundation from the sales of the machine.
best-friend-machine
And finally, Hancock’s of Paducah is our newest partner in the cause. They are supporting the initiative by helping us all increase awareness of the program and the furry friends the program aims to support.
We want to thank all of the sponsors, partners, & quilters joining us in the Piece for Shelter Pets initiative. 

To take a peek at the other posts and check out all of our featured pets, please follow the links below:
3/10: Quilty Box
3/17: TQPM
3/24: Island Batik
3/31: Aurifil 
4/7: Hancock’s of Paducah
4/14: Benartex (You're here!)
4/21: Petfinder Foundation
We are animal lovers and have come together to support shelter animals and perhaps bring a little joy into their lives. Creating a Kennel Quilt is a way to join a larger effort to help our furry friends in times of need by doing what we love. We hope that you’ve been inspired to get involved. If you’d like to join the Small Kennel Quilt Team, please click here. We’d love for you to join us in this effort!
Remember… Adopt, don’t shop!
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