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My First Longarm Project For A Guild Member

5/27/2023

So how brave are you to work on another quilter's quilt? It is intimidating for sure! I have been working very hard to learn about my Handi Quilter Amara and Pro-Stitcher software since I bought it last summer. I have made several quilts for myself, family members and donation quilts. So it was time to get adventurous. My guild has requests to make several Quilts Of Valor this year and one member asked me to finish hers.

So here it sat with the top, batting and the backing ready to become a masterpiece.

I laid it out with the backing and measured everything to make sure I had enough fabric. I also needed to know what to put in the Pro Stitcher software as far as quilting area size. This was a good time to check for any areas that the stitching might be coming loose and look for potential problems. I did find one and I repaired it so it wouldn't get caught while quilting.

I doubled checked the backing to make sure I had it turned the right way several times. I was so nervous that I would stitch something wrong. Isn't that funny how nerves can play with your mind?

The quilting design is perfect for a Quilt Of Valor with the stars and swirls. Her piecing was beautiful and a pleasure to watch stitch out.

Here she is trimming away the extra backing and batting so she can bind the quilt. That smile on her face really made me feel good. By the way, she hand binds her quilts.

She was so happy with the quilt that she asked me to do a table runner as well. I was very proud that they both turned out like expected. I filmed a video that you can watch showing them being quilted. Maybe it will inspire you to be brave and do some longarm quilting for others. I am sure I will have more in my future. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.

Free Patriotic Wall Hanging Project From Oh, Kaye Quilting

5/24/2023

Don't you love a free pattern that is quick and fun? This Patriotic Wall Hanging designed by Kaye Collins from Oh, Kaye Quilting is perfect for this time of year. We have several patriotic holidays coming up and if you like to decorate I think this might become a new favorite. I took a longarm class with Kaye at the Sewing And Quilt Expo In Atlanta. She is a Handi Quilter educator. I really enjoyed the class and now receive her newsletter emails. This project was in one of the emails and I printed it off thinking I really want to make that.

I like the pattern because it doesn't require much fabric and you have lots of options. The fabric requirements are easy especially if you have scraps. She has two different finishing options. One has a binding and the other is envelope style. I chose the latter because I didn't want to fuss with a binding. I also altered the stars a bit. On the pattern, she has you do raw edge applique.

Instead, I used some wash away stabilizer and traced the included pattern with a heat away Frixion pen. Then I layered the stabilizer on top of the right side up fabric, sewed around the traced star and trimmed away the excess. I cut a small hole in the stabilizer and turned the star right side out carefully poking out all of the corners. This is an easy way to get a hem finish around those edges. I used a zig zag seam to attach the stars on the pieced panel. A small amount of fiberfill made the stars puffy. I finished with some hand sewing.

I did the quilting on my domestic machine with variegated patriotic thread. I used one of my specialty stitches and the edge of my presser foot to guide me around each star.

All of the other quilting was simple straight lines. I matched the bobbin to my back fabric.

Here is a close up of my other fabrics. Stars everywhere! You could really make this wall hanging your own by using different fabrics. How about using camo or subdued military fabric? Maybe the Army prints for one strip and a solid khaki grunge with black stars? I see your creative wheels turning now.

Look how pretty my front porch looks with my wall hanging. I love the size of the finished project because you can really see it from the road. Those dimensional stars pop! Are you inspired to make your own wall hanging? You have time before Memorial Day and then use your hanging to decorate through the Fourth Of July! Check out Kaye's website here. She has lots of great content. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.

Free Quilt Of Valor One Block Picket Pattern

5/17/2023

This is the time of year for all things patriotic and I have a brand new FREE Quilt Of Valor Pattern. I am calling this a One Block Picket because the angled pieces remind me of picket fences. Every block is sewn exactly the same way and when they are rotated, a star will show up from the light fabrics.

Here is a view of the block and how they are rotated. See the beautiful star along with a secondary pattern that is formed. The best part is you can use light colored prints or solids for those star areas. You can also use medium to medium dark prints for the other end of the pieced block.

Much like my last Quilt Of Valor Free Pattern, we grabbed leftover fabrics from our Quilt Guild stash and designed this pattern around what was available. We did also have a sweet fabric donation that arrived in our mailbox from Texas. Some of those were used in this quilt also.

Here is a view of some of the many different scraps we used. Our long strips were blue and we used what we had so they are two slightly different colors. This was a fun project to sew together. There is not much to match up when sewing the blocks.

The top has two borders and finishes to 70x78 inches. A nice size for a Quilt Of Valor. The free pattern is available here. It's easy to add to your cart and then you will receive an emailed link to download the PDF. I did film an instruction video that will show you how the block is sewn together along with the quilting I chose on my longarm. Download, sew and donate one today! I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.

Free Bowl Cozy Sewing Pattern

5/6/2023

I love bowl cozies and I have been sewing up some for my quilt guild. These are great sew and sell items. When we trim off the batting and fabric from quilts, there is a lot of usable materials. If the batting isn't wide enough, you can use a zig zag stitch and piece it together. Make sure it is 100% cotton batting if you want to use the cozies in the microwave. In fact all materials, fabric and thread need to be 100%cotton if you want to heat them in the microwave.

I actually did another blog post on bowl cozies several years ago about sewing them from Dollar Tree Towels. You can check it out here. Those are so cute for kids birthday themed parties. I made an instruction video, but I never actually wrote a pattern. One of the guild members asked me for it so here it is. Just add it to your cart as a FREE Download

These go together really quickly once you have them cut out. There is just a little bit of marking for the darts. After you have made the first one, you will want to make many more. A large needle like a 90/14 will be necessary through all of the thick layers and a longer stitch length like a 3 - 3.5 mm.

Are you ready to get sewing? Download the FREE BOWL COZY PATTERN HERE and watch the video below. I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work.

My First Longarm Project For A Guild Member

Free Patriotic Wall Hanging Project From Oh, Kaye Quilting

Free Quilt Of Valor One Block Picket Pattern

Free Bowl Cozy Sewing Pattern

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