Amanda

Fat Quarter Shop Sew Along #2

February 15, 2017 by Amanda Leave a Comment

It’s February 15th and that means Fat Quarter Shop Sew Along Time! I had so much fun making the second block of their sewing series. You can download the block by clicking HERE.

There is even a video!

I am thrilled with my red and white idea and I hope I can keep it going with out burning out. I even bought me some new Keds to match my quilt blocks!! I love red & white!!!

I am always looking for shortcuts when sewing and so I got out my Sizzix Fabi to make the half square triangles in a snap!

This is so much fun and I hope you join us in sewing along!!!

*Psst! The designers of the quilt’s fabrics – Bonnie & Camille – are sewing along, too! How fun!

Amanda from Jedi Craft Girl (@jedicraftgirl)

Amy of Diary of a Quilter (@diaryofaquilter)

Andy of A Bright Corner (@abrightcorner)

*Bonnie of Cotton Way (@bonniecottonway)

*Camille of Thimble Blossoms (@thimbleblossoms)

Debbie of Happy Little Cottage (@happylittlecottage1)

Greg of Grey Dogwood Studio (@greydogwoodstudio)

Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies (@buttonsandbutterflies)

Melissa of Happy Quilting (@happyquiltingmc)

Melissa of Oh How Sweet (@ohhowsweet)

Pat Sloan of PatSloan.com (@quilterpatsloan)

Renee of Sewn with Grace (@sewnwithgrace)

Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane (@downgrapevinelane)

Sherri of A Quilting Life (@aquiltinglife)

Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts (@sondradavison)

Taunja of Carried Away Quilting (@taunjalynn)

Tina of Emily Ann’s Kloset (@emilyannskloset)

Carrie Nelson/Miss Rosie of Moda Cutting Table

Filed Under: fat quarter shop, FEATURED

Vintage Kitty Valentines

February 10, 2017 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I’ve had a few questions about this project so I’m reposting it just for you!

I’m excited to be sharing my tutorial for these darling Vintage Valentines! They are super fun to make and sew up quick! In fact, my 6 year old daughter even made one all by herself! All the wonderful fabrics are from Blend’s fabric lines: Equniox, Modern Lace, and Turkish Delight.

I choose some vintage cat images off the internet and printed them onto the EZ Print Transfer Sheets. You could print any image you want. The image is then ironed on to white fabric.

Supplies:

Heat n Bond® EZ Print Transfer Sheets
Heat n Bond® Fusible Fleece
Spray n Bond® Basting Adhesive Spray
Small pieces of fabric. All the fabrics I used in my projects are from Blend fabric.
Scraps of lace
Buttons
Fiber Fill

Heart Pattern

I love using the HeatnBond® EZ PRint Transfer Sheets because you can turn any image on your computer into a piece of fabric. You can easily replace the image with a different one. I searched “Vintage or Victorian Cats”, resized the images, and then printed the images in reverse on the EZ Print Transfer Sheets.

There are so many cute images to choose from. I plan to make a lot of hearts!

Cut out the images and place them face down on solid white cotton fabric. Iron as directed:

Peel off the backing paper and then cut around the images:

I trimmed all the way around the image. Using Spray n Bond®, spray the back of the image and place it on your desired background fabric.

You can use a decorative stitch to stitch around the image:

Trim the background fabric with pinking shears to add a little texture.

Prepare the heart….

Print out the heart pattern here. Cut a piece of Heat n Bond® Fusible Fleece large enough to fit 2 hearts.

Iron it to the back of your heart fabric.

Cut out 2 hearts.

Cut an accent strip of fabric 2.5″ wide. Using Spray n Bond again, spray the back of the fabric and place it on the heart. Get out your lace and let your kitten play in it then nap in it. Choose a few pieces for decorative accents on the heart.

Spray the back of the lace and place it as desired. Of course you can change up the pattern and design and really get creative. Using the Spray n Bond®, you don’t have to worry about pieces shifting while sewing. I LOVE THIS STUFF!!!Top stitch along the edges of the lace. Now we are ready to place the kitty image. I felt it needed another layer so I added a piece of lace to frame the image. Spray baste it in place and stitch along the edge to secure.

I inherited this wonderful cigar box of vintage white buttons. You can use any embellishments you like. Sew the buttons on by hand.

Use the Spray n Bond to spray the edges of the back of the heart. Place the top heart on the back heart wrong sides together. The spray keeps the heart from shifting while sewing and only spraying the edges allows you to add fiberfill easily. Cut a 10″ or so piece of lace for the hanger. Tuck in in the heart and pin to secure. Sew all the way around the heart close to the edge. Leave a little opening on a straight seam to allow for stuffing. Add a slight amount of fiberfill – overstuffing will look weird. Then finish sewing the seam.

Now, where to hang the cute little Valentine!

Here are some other color combinations I came up with:

This one is for my daughter, I love the blue & green combination. I added a little sparkly tulle for the background of the picture.
This one doesn’t have a fabric accent strip, but uses diagonally place lace as the background. Burlap acts as the frame for the kitty image.

Filed Under: FEATURED, Therm O Web, Valentine's Day

Four-Patch Heart Mini Quilt

February 10, 2017 by Amanda 2 Comments

I can’t get enough valentine sewing! I think its just the pick-me-up I need during wintertime! I created this fun mini quilt that is perfect to hang on a wall, put on a table or give to someone you love.

The finished quilt measures 26″ square and is made up of 4 quilt blocks that measure 10″.

These fabrics from Moda are sure to brighten your day! The line is called Just Another Walk in the Woods – and it’s ADORABLE!!! Don’t you just love cracking open a Jelly Roll! It’s a little bit magical!

4-Patch Heart Mini Quilt Featuring Heat n Bond Lite

Here’s what you need to get started:

1/2 a Jelly Roll (or equivalent)
1/3 yard background fabric
Aurifil Threads – 2530 &
Heat n Bond® Lite EZ print sheets
1/2 yard for backing
1/3 yard binding – or you can use left over Jelly Roll Strips

Click Here to download the heart Pattern

All seams 1/4″

Begin by cutting 15-18 of the jelly roll strips into 2 1/2″ squares.

Cut the background fabric:

(4) 6 1/2″ squares
(16) 2 1/2″ squares for block corners
(32) 2 1/2″ squares for Half Square Triangles (HST)

4-Patch Applique Hearts

Select (4) groups of (4) fabrics for the hearts. I selected like colors for each heart but you can make it scrappy if you want! Sew the group of 4 fabrics together in a 4-patch, pressing seams.

Print (or trace) 4 hearts onto Heat n Bond Lite.

Cut out 1/8″ around each heart.

Center the heart on the wrong side of each 4-patch. Heat set.

Cut out each heart and peel off the backing paper. Fuse hearts to the center of the (4) white 6 1/2″ squares. Sew 2 times around each heart with a straight stitch. Set aside.

HSTs – Half Square Triangles

You can make the HSTs however you prefer. I used my Sizzix machine for quick cutting. They need to measure 2 1/2″ when they are finished. You will need a total of 32 HST to make the 4 blocks.

(Quick HST instructions: Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of the (32) 2 1/2″ back ground squares. Pair right sides together with a 2 1/2″ square cut from the jelly roll fabric. Sew along the diagonal line. Trim 1/4″ along the seam and press toward the dark.)

Follow the chart below to construct the block:

Use the (16) background 2 1/2″ squares for the block corners and (16) low volume 2 1/2″ squares from the Jelly Roll for the center squares.

Make 4 blocks. I chose a color for each block, but you could totally mix up the colors and make them all scrappy!!

Once the blocks are finished, take the remaining 2 1/2″ squares from the Jelly Roll and piece the sashing and borders. Press all seams open.

Sew (2) strips of 5 squares for the short sashing. Press

Sew (3) strips of 11 squares for the top, middle, and bottom sashing. Press

Sew (2) strips of 13 squares for the side sashing. Press

Make sure to match each seam and pin.

Use Spray n Bond® for quick basting! I can’t live without it!!!

Quilt as desired. Bind.

I hope you love making this!!

Filed Under: FEATURED, Heat n Bond, moda, quilt, sewing, sizzix, Therm O Web, tutorial, Valentine's Day

My Favorite Baby Quilt Pattern

February 8, 2017 by Amanda 16 Comments

I love to give quilts for baby gifts! Sometime there isn’t enough time for an elaborate pattern. This is my Go-To pattern for a baby quilt. I put this Panda themed quilt top together in 1.5 hours this morning – which included choosing fabrics and cutting! I love this pattern with theme prints and these panda bears have stolen my heart! All the fabrics are from Panda-Rama by Blend Fabrics.

The panda quilt is an adaptation from my Windy Girls Quilt Tutorial.

I made 2 changes: First, I didn’t piece the centers, I omitted the first step and I cut the pandas 8 1/2″ square. This saves a step, saves time, and lets you use super large prints in the center.

Here you can see the difference in the blocks.

The Windy Girls pattern has 20 blocks – I made this Panda quilt with 16 blocks. This is plenty big for a baby quilt and it saves on fabric and time!

The second change I made was not to rotate the blocks, but keep them going all the same way. I didn’t want sideways pandas. It creates a fun little pattern. If you look close you can see a few gray strips I had to subside in because I ran out of the white. You could totally make this scrappy or keep it simple. I would love to hear how fast you can piece the top in! Can you beat me? 🙂

Filed Under: Blend Fabrics, FEATURED, quilt, Uncategorized

Chains of Love {5 Fat Quarter Fun Quilt}

February 1, 2017 by Amanda 6 Comments

Amber and I are SUPER EXCITED to bring you our 3rd 5 Fat Quarter Fun Quilt – and this one is our Valentine’s edition!!!! We can’t get enough of red and pink and hearts so we pushed the limits on our 5 fat quarters and came up with this!!!! It’s a 50″ square quilt with an Irish Chain style and pieced hearts in the center. And of course we were listening to Erasure the whole time we were sewing!!! hahahah 🙂

Here is Amber’s version, you can read all about it on her blog. I love her Moda fabric choice!!!

I am so thrilled to have a new quilt to hang in the family room! And it fits perfectly!!!

Fabric Requirements

2 red fat quarters (non directional)

3 pink fat quarters (non directional)

2 yards background fabric

3 ½ yards backing fabric

½ yard binding fabric

(4) Additional red 2 ½” squares for sashing – can cut from your binding fabric if it matches

NOTE: Make sure your fat quarter measure 21″ in length. You need every inch possible out of the fat quarters and they have to be cut a certain way.

So be sure to read all instructions first. Don’t square up the fat quarters and only cut one at a time.

You can download the pattern HERE.

We hope you join in the fun! We would love to connect with you on Instagram! Post photos of your fabric selections, progress, and finished quilt! Don’t forget to tag @jedicraftgirl and @gigis_thimble and #fivefatquarterfun #chainsoflovequilt

The fabrics I used are a selection of fat quarters from Riley Blake Designs and background fabric ‘Lil Red by Moda.
And Happy Valentine’s Day from me and Mufasa!!!

Filed Under: 5 fat quarter fun, FEATURED, Riley Blake, Valentine's Day

Preppy Plaid Tote Bag & Quilt Tutorial

January 24, 2017 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I am so totally excited to be a part of the Enchanted Blog Tour sponsored by Riley Blake Designs! You can see the entire collection designed by Dodi Poulsen of Two Sisters at Squirrel Hollow by clicking here 🙂

When I saw this new fabric line from Riley Blake Designs called Enchanted, my heart stopped. I took one look at this pink, navy and white plaid and immediately I was transported to a Cape Cod dream! Sailboats, lobsters, quaint homes and preppy boys on vacation from Harvard 🙂

Ok Ok, so I’ve never been to the Cape but a girl can dream right? I knew I wanted to design something that let this preppy plaid be the focus and something that would be perfect for my sailboat (hahaha).

I came up with a simple quilt pattern that uses plaid, navy and white. When only two prints arrived in the mail I began to panic wondering if I had made a terrible decision to make a quilt using only two prints! I decided to go with my instincts and make the quilt……and I am totally in LOVE!!!!

This quilt really lets the plaid shine in and it’s a great pattern to use if you fall in love with a single fabric print. The accent blocks are made of 4 half square triangle blocks.

…..and the quilt fits nicely inside this preppy plaid whale tote bag – made with denim, plaid, and Heat n Bond Fusible fleece. So, are you ready to set sail for the Cape? Grab your fabrics and lets get sewing!

Preppy Plaid Quilt

1/4″ seams

Supplies

2 yards plaid print

1 yard navy print

1 yard white

Begin by cutting the plaid into (40) 6.5″ squares.

Using the navy blue print and white print sew (160) half square triangles (HST) that measure 3.5″. You can use any method you like. I use my Sizzix half square triangle dies! It is super fast, super easy and no squaring up – just perfection!!

Die cut 160 navy HSTs and 160 white HSTs.

Sew the navy and white HSTs right sides together using 1/4″ seam.

Press seams open. Continue until you have 160 HSTs. It’s probably a good idea to put on a movie while doing this!

Lay out 4 HSTs to make the pattern above. Sew together as you would a 4-patch. Press seams open. Finished block will measure 6.5″. Make 40 of these blocks.

Cut 40 squares measuring 6.5″ out of the plaid.

Sew the blocks together (1/4″ seams) as you would a checkerboard, alternating each block. Make sure the pieced blocks are going the same direction. Press the seams toward the plaid. There are 8 blocks across and 10 rows down.

Baste (I always use Spray n Bond basting spray)

Quilt.

Bind.

Love.

Mufasa and I love sewing on rainy days!!

Tote Bag Instructions

I used my pattern, Quilted Tote Bag, for the measurements. I followed the pattern pretty closely with the following exceptions:

I added an appliqué to the main bag.
I used denim.
I did not quilt the bag; I stabilized it with fusible fleece.
I came up with a new way to sew the handles (continue reading)
I omitted the inside pocket
I simplified how to make the bag bottom

Supplies

Denim (2) 20″ x 10.5″

Plaid (2) 20″ x 9.5″

Lining (2) 20″ x 19.5″

Plaid for handles (2) 5″ x 28″

Heat n bond medium stabilizer (2) 5″ x 28″

Heat n Bond Fusible Fleece (2) 20″ x 19.5″

Piece of plaid for the whale

Heat n Bond Lite

Appliqué the whale Click HERE for the whale pattern.

You can print the whale directly on Heat n Bond Lite EZ print sheets, or trace the whale onto Heat n Bond Lite.

Heat set the whale to the wrong side of the plaid fabric.

Cut out the whale. Peel off the backing paper.

Press it onto one of the denim pieces, centering. Using 1/4″ seams, sew the denim piece to the plaid piece to make the bag front and back. Press seams.

Fuse the Heat n Bond Fusible fleece to the wrong side of the bag front and the bag back. Add some accent stitching along the seam.

Bag Handles

Fuse the stabilizer to the wrong side of each of the handle strips.

Press in half lengthwise. Open up and press the long ends in to meet the center. Press. Then press in half again. This makes a super sturdy handle!

Topstitch along both of the long edges of each handle.

Continue following the bag instructions from this tutorial to complete the bag. To make the bag bottom, cut a 3″ notch out of the bottom corners of the bag and the lining.

I am so in love with this tote bag! It is such a great size, and if feels sturdy and it is super preppy plaid cute!!
I’m ready for an Eastern Seaboard Vacation!!!
Together they make the Perfect Preppy Plaid Pair!!!!!

Be sure to check out these amazing designers to see what they’ve created using Riley Blake’s Enchanted Fabric!!!

Blog Tour Schedule

Monday, Jan 23rd – Little Londyn

Tuesday, Jan 24th – Jedi Craft Girl

Wednesday, Jan 25th – Loose Threads

Thursday, Jan 26th – Meags and Me

Friday, Jan 27th – Pretty by Hand

Monday, Jan 30th – Tie Dye Diva

Tuesday, Jan 31st – Two Sisters as Squirrel Hallow

Wednesday, Feb 1st – Striped Swallow Designs

Thursday, Feb 2nd – Izzy and Ivy

Friday, Feb 3rd – Ellis and Higgs

Monday, Feb 6th – Aurifil

Tuesday, Feb 7th – The Crafy Quilter

Wednesday, Feb 8th – Two Sisters at Squirrel Hallow

Thursday, Feb 9th – Jina Barney Designz

Friday, Feb 10th – Riley Blake

You could win a bundle of Enchanted fabric by visiting Dodi’s blog, Loose Threads (www.sashgals.com) and leaving a comment.

One entry per blog post, per day of the Blog Tour, there on Loose Threads.

Enter every day to increase your chance of winning!!!

Filed Under: bags, FEATURED, Heat n Bond, nautical, quilt, Riley Blake, sizzix, tutorial, Uncategorized, whale

Valentine’s Day Art

January 16, 2017 by Amanda Leave a Comment

I’m giving my daughter a little shout out today on my blog! She has just finished stocking her Etsy shop with these adorable vintage-inspired wood signs. I’m hoping she will make me a set if she’s not too busy! You can check out her art by visiting her Etsy shop, EllaSketchArt. All the items are hand painted by her and all the money she earns is going toward her first year of college next year!! Thanks for being supportive!!!!

Kiss me and Be Mine signs are 6″ x 3.5″ and stand on their own.

This gingham love sign is painted on a rustic cedar fence post and measures 10″ x 5″.

These three conversation heart pieces are cute by themselves or as a set. Each measures 5.5″ square. I love each different design!!

She also takes custom orders if you have something specific in mind 🙂

Filed Under: FEATURED, Valentine's Day

Fat Quarter Shop Quilt Along 2017 Block #1

January 16, 2017 by Amanda 1 Comment

I’m so excited to be sewing along with Fat Quarter Shop’s 2017 Charity Quilt Along!!! Today they are kicking off things with Block #1, Souvenir of Friendship. Download your free pattern today, and be sure to donate to Make-A-Wish!

Well actually Mufasa and I are both sewing along!!! I decided to go with a traditional red and white quilt theme. So all my blocks will be different prints of red and white. I hope I don’t get sick of this color palette half way through!!! But I totally love it so far!

Since all my blocks are the same, I choose to do a “cheater” method on the blocks to speed things up 🙂

I can’t wait for next month’s block!!!! I hope you join us and sew along! It’s super fun!!!

The designers of the original quilt’s fabrics – Bonnie & Camille – are sewing along, too! Fun!

And look who else is sewing along!!!!!

Amy of Diary of a Quilter (@diaryofaquilter)

Andy of A Bright Corner (@abrightcorner)

Bonnie of Cotton Way (@bonniecottonway)

Camille of Thimble Blossoms (@thimbleblossoms)

Debbie of Happy Little Cottage (@happylittlecottage1)

Greg of Grey Dogwood Studio (@greydogwoodstudio)

Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies (@buttonsandbutterflies)

Melissa of Happy Quilting (@happyquiltingmc)

Melissa of Oh How Sweet (@ohhowsweet)

Pat Sloan of PatSloan.com (@quilterpatsloan)

Renee of Sewn with Grace (@sewnwithgrace)

Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane (@downgrapevinelane)

Sherri of A Quilting Life (@aquiltinglife)

Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts (@sondradavison)

Taunja of Carried Away Quilting (@taunjalynn)

Tina of Emily Ann’s Kloset (@emilyannskloset)

Carrie Nelson/Miss Rosie of Moda Cutting Table

Filed Under: fat quarter shop, FEATURED

Five Fat Quarter Fun {Cabin Fever}

January 13, 2017 by Amanda 3 Comments

We are super excited to bring you the second edition of 5 Fat Quarter Fun!!! Amber from Gigi’s Thimble and I have been cooped up all January – she lives in the snow and it’s been raining every day here in Southern California! This quilt is the perfect quilt to snuggle with on the couch while you watch the winter weather. And best of all…..you only need 5 fat quarters and background yardage to get started!!

I love how Amber and I used the exact same pattern and our quilts have totally different looks! So fun!!!

You can download the quilt pattern over on Amber’s blog, click HERE.

I choose a mixture of wintery grays. My living room and dining room are decorated farmhouse neutral and all my quilts are bright colors – which means I have zero quilts in my living room (gasp). This quilt is going to look perfect on my couch with my fur pillows and galvanized buckets!!! I can’t sew fast enough!

This is such a fun block! It looks more complicated than it really is! You can sew them up in a snap!

After you sew the 12 blocks you are ready for sashing!!

Now I wish I had a table runner to match!!!

I quilted this myself – which is never my favorite but I did it! I chose a black and gray plaid flannel for the back and quilted meandering lines all over.

I stayed up late with my little helper binding because I am super exited to get it finished!!!!

I LOVE how it looks in my living room! I don’t think I need tons of neutral quilts in my life but this one is a perfect fit!!

Mufasa loves it too!!!

Filed Under: 5 fat quarter fun, FEATURED, quilt

Kitty Love Quilt Pattern is Here!!

January 10, 2017 by Amanda 1 Comment

It’s here! It’s here! My latest quilt pattern, Kitty Love!!! January is feeling quite dreary!!! I created this cheery Valentine pattern to brighten things up around here! It is available for purchase in my Etsy shop. The pattern is a PDF and has full color instructions and diagrams.

I made this quilt with a variety of Bonnie & Camille fabrics by Moda: Vintage Picnic, Hello Darling, Vintage Modern and Day Sail.

This quilt measures 31″ square and is perfect to hang on a wall or put on a table. What I love about this pattern is that it is super versatile! I have included instructions to sew the quilt with charm packs and background fabric! I love my friend, Tina’s version – she made 5 heart blocks and 4 heart blocks all with charm squares!!

Also included in the pattern is a pumpkin block so you can make balck cats and orange pumpkins for Halloween!!

Mufasa is totally thrilled with this fun quilt and I know you will be too!!!

Filed Under: FEATURED, moda, patterns, quilt, Valentine's Day