Today is an exciting day! My Sew Tiny Sampler pattern, a foundation paper piecing pattern that includes foundation templates for 16 of the most-oft used blocks from my 100 Days of Sew Smaller project, is now available for purchase from my Payhip shop.
During my 100 Days of Sew Smaller project, quite a few people asked about the patterns I was using to make my tiny blocks. Many of my blocks were based upon well-loved traditional blocks, but I created foundation paper piecing templates in Inkscape as I went along. After many requests, I’m happy to finally be able to make the templates and pattern available publicly.
The pattern includes foundation templates for the 16 blocks shown on the cover, plus assembly instructions for putting them all together into a mini mini sampler that finishes at a whopping 7 1/2″ square. Each block measures 1 1/4″ square finished, and 1 3/4″ unfinished. The pattern includes tips on tiny piecing in general, links to resources on foundation paper piecing (FPP) basics and using fussy cutting in your FPP blocks, as well as a long list of project ideas for your tiny blocks. To help conserve paper when making LOTS of blocks, I also included bulk printing pages for each block design.
I had fun playing with Quantum fabric by Giucy Giuce for Andover Fabrics for my cover blocks, and of course used meticulous cutting in every possible location. I stitched all of the blocks using 50wt Aurifil thread in 2600-Dove, which is pretty much always in my machine for piecing.
I highly recommend reading my tutorial HERE and using the fussy cutting FPP tips in your tiny blocks. As you can see, it really adds a special touch!
I’m looking forward to seeing all of the tiny blocks created by all of you, and will be sharing some of the blocks some of my friends are making to help celebrate the pattern release soon. In the meantime, you can head over and read about Yvonne’s blocks and what she made out of them here, or check out the hashtag #sewtinysampler on Instagram to witness the miniaturization of March.
Head over and get your Sew Tiny Sampler pattern here to join the fun. I can’t wait to see what block you make first!!
I headed off to QuiltCon with an English Paper Piecing (EPP) project–the Mandolin Quilt Block by Jodi at Tales of Cloth. I had gotten a bit further than 
While I was traveling, the mending on my most-worn jeans began to wear through, but fortunately I was able to pick up a mending kit from the 
I used the 12wt 
My long flight back to NJ after QuiltCon allowed me to finish both of these hand stitching projects, which felt pretty amazing since I typically make progress at a snail’s pace.
Selecting fabric combinations and color arrangements is one of my favorite stages in the quilting process. So a few months ago, when my friend Bernie asked if I would be interested in putting together a Blogger Bundle of fabric for her Etsy store 
While this bundle is versatile enough that any one of the fabrics could shine, there is definitely a star of the show in my mind, and that’s the Tartan Field in 
The other fabrics have all been carefully selected from Bernie’s shop to coordinate and complement Sharon’s print, and I love how the colors of all of the other fabrics mesh so well with it.
The bundle includes (from top down in the photo above):
Just for fun, these tulips had to join the fun since spring is not even close to appearing here in midcoast Maine yet, and I was in dire need of some cheer. Aren’t they luscious?!
Now, for the giveaway! Today I’m flying across the country to Pasadena for QuiltCon, but I thought it would be fun to kick off my QuiltCon adventures with a blog giveaway. Bernie has generously offered this bundle of five (5) fat quarters to one of my lucky readers.
Love this bundle and don’t want to wait? You can get yours 
I’m using *gasp* 
I have a highly technical approach to selecting fabrics when it comes to a project like this. I place my center on the floor, surround it with all of the Alison Glass fabrics I can find, and then play.
I audition fabrics not only in person, but also through the screen of my phone’s camera, since oddly, some fabric arrangements look different from afar. Alison makes it pretty easy since her fabrics are such a vibrant spectrum of tone on tone color that already transition so well through the rainbow. It’s still fun to decide where to put each bright little bit, and mixing fabrics from new and old fabric lines.
I love English Paper Pieced patterns that have acrylic templates, since I’m a big fan of meticulous cutting (aka 
Even with a project focused on the color flow and not so much the individual pieces, I still fit meticulous cutting in where I can. You *might* notice that the squares around the center are all meticulously cut from Compass from Sun Print 2018, alternating designs since I only had fat eighths of the fabric, which didn’t include a full repeat of the design. The triangles are also meticulously cut, alternating between Latitude from Diving Board and Link from Sun Print 2017.
I’ve been using 
Feast your eyes upon this! Can you blame me!? I mean, seriously…. is there anyone who doesn’t love a rainbow? Here’s a quick introduction to the line, with attention drawn to a few details I especially love, and far too many photos, as is my style.
Diatom reminds me a bit of Insignia, with its large solid portions, only a bit softer. I love how the colors play wonderfully together, yet you can get different value play within each color.
Compass is definitely the boldest in color, and I love the addition of complementary colored details on some of the fabrics.
With the dense white sketch-like pattern on Depths, it reads the lightest in color.
The designs are reminiscent of Alison’s most recent fabric line 
Together, these fabrics make a rainbow that fits in wonderfully with the rest of my rainbowtized stash (let’s be honest, it’s probably 90% Alison Glass fabrics anyway), and I can’t wait to work them into my projects. I already have two new rainbow project ideas in the works, even though I really could do with some project finishing before I begin more new ones (shhh).
I also love that Alison includes white and grey versions of each print, since both act as the perfect neutral to help the rainbow truly pop. She’s thought of everything.
Soooooo so pretty! I’m thinking I’ll use these in an EPP project or two, and I’m planning on using mostly this line (with a few other Alison Glass fabrics of old) in my 
In the spirit of setting myself up for success, I opted to make four (4) blocks to make a pillow rather than a full sized quilt, and I dove into my bright Alison Glass stash to put together a fully saturated, smooth rainbow gradient. You know how I feel about rainbows. Alison Glass fabric rainbow + Giucy Giuce EPP project = heaven on a summer’s day!
I used mostly 50wt Aurifil thread, with a few 80wts thrown in, using coordinating colors so that the stitches blend right in with the blocks. The threads shown here are (from top left clockwise): 2535-Magenta, 1154-Dusty Orange, 5015-Gold Yellow, 5017-Shining Green, and 1125-Medium Teal, all 50wt. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as matching the perfect thread to your fabric!
Alison’s Art Theory print from her Ex Libris line (still my ultimate favorite fabric ever) was my color inspiration, so I planned my 4-block panel around the color flow in the center octagon. Throughout the course of the summer, I finished the four blocks and completely stitched them together!
Now I am at the point in the game where this could lounge in the works in progress pile for a while, but instead, I am going to use my excitement to forge ahead and aim to finish this beauty, which is sure to be my most favorite pillow of all time.
My next step is to choose background fabric, press the pieced panel thoroughly, remove the template papers (so that I can use them again!!), and then hand stitch the panel down onto the background fabric. Just last week, I visited my local quilt shop 
After looking at those options, I still felt like I needed to see the Insignia before deciding, and with the encouragement of a few friends on Instagram, especially Erin who said, “I’m a strong believer in first instinct=best instinct!”, I ordered a yard of Insignia in Charcoal from Alison Glass’s shop. (Thank you Erin!). Clearly, my first gut choice is the winning choice!
Next I will hand stitch this epic panel to the perfect Insignia background using Aurifil’s monofilament thread in Smoke. I plan to quilt this with the Smoke monofilament thread, too, and I’m so excited just thinking about how amazing this pillow will be. This will be my first time sewing with monofilament thread, either by hand or machine, so I’ll be sure to share how it goes.
As for me, I’m nearly finished piecing my next rendition of a Moonstone block, going with the Gems layout and a more nautical theme. I plan to make only one block and top stitch it to a large zippered pouch for a friend to whom I owe a quilt. I’m hoping the consolation diaper pouch/zipped pouch will hold her (and her nearly 1 year old baby) over until I manage to make the quilt!
As you can see, I’ve been absolutely struck with Moonstone Madness and it doesn’t appear to be tapering off just yet. I’ve had a wonderful time piecing together these blocks, and the portable nature of English Paper Piecing ensures that it is still very much on the top of my “summer stitching” projects list!
My husband has been requesting a pillow made with 
I made 16 quick blocks using the white heavy fabrics and black-heavy fabrics from 
I quilted it with straight lines on my Bernina 560 using my walking foot and 50wt 
I threw in a few sharp angles to help keep the edge, and staggered the distances between lines for some fun.
I used the large scale Wound Up in Bright for the pillow backing, and closed it with my first ever side-seam zipper.
I love how this magenta zipper I had on hand coordinates with the pink from the Wound Up print. Perrrrfect. I do need quite a bit of practice with sewing zippers, but we won’t focus on the wobbles and such. The pillow was well received and lives happily on our couch. Now I just need to make about 5 more to cover the rest of our *cough-cough-ugly-cough* couch pillows, and then redo our living room decor to match our more modern design aesthetic. All in good time, right? (haha laugh with me here).
I did enjoy making this pillow, though, and I’m happy I can finally say I’ve sewn something for my husband. Today is our 10th wedding anniversary, too, so it seems fitting that I share this true love pillow gift!
The first spot that seemed like it could potentially work was the shaded side of a cafe. The dark blue-grey surface first attracted my attention, and the fact that it was in full shade was a big plus. However, it seemed flat. Above you can see try #1. I did a full photo shoot here, just in case I didn’t find anything better. Fortunately my nearly 5 year old son was asleep in the car, and my 2 year old was content to watch from his carseat. After the shoot, I drove around a bit more seeing if I could find a better spot.
The second spot I tried was a rusted metal shed in a back parking lot, which I spied while turning around to get back to the main road after my first attempt. This was a bit more of the urban feel I was looking for, but still a bit flat. A bit of graffiti or added interest would have made this potentially a winner, but still, I felt there had to be a better spot. While running back and forth from the shed to the trunk of my car, I spotted the back of a red brick building. The big concrete slabs and tall seeded dandelions are what attracted my attention most. Rather than move my car again, I simply carried everything the extra 50 feet to this next, winning location and had at it!
Staggered also includes a link to instructions for a bonus rainbow binding, since I couldn’t help but extend that rainbow off the edge of the quilt. So much fun!
This quilt got its name after it was nearly completed, as I sat hand stitching the binding to the back. A mini quilt made at the request of 
With freestyle embroidery fresh on my mind and 
I had a lot of fun with the 
I knew I wanted to incorporate both hand and machine quilting, and I knew that I wanted the machine quilting to be dense. It took me a while to decide between using 50wt Aurifil 2600-Dove or 5015-Gold Yellow for the quilting, and finally I opted for the Gold Yellow to pull out the gold of the centrally stitched bee. I quilted a diagonal grid approx 1/2″ apart on all of the colored sections of the quilt and I love the texture it created. I wanted the white star and central diamond to pop, so I let them be, patiently awaiting hand quilting.
I used a rainbow of 12wt Aurifil thread to help pull the rainbow from the gorgeous fabrics into the white sections, and I love the outcome! I decided to switch to 12wt 2600-Dove for the center so that the bee would stand out.
The back shows that my hand quilting still has plenty of room for improvement (especially when trying to maneuver around the bee), but it’s still fun to see the back, too!
I used Seventy Six fabrics Rising in Graphite and Numbered in Duck Egg for the back, with an Insignia in Chartreuse label.
Labeling is one of my favorite parts–maybe because it helps me know that my name is on my work, or maybe because it means I’m finished with a project!!
This quilt is currently in Andover headquarters in NYC for photography and other fun fabric adventuring before it returns to me, but it was super fun to see it hanging in the booth at QuiltCon (see it, top right??). You can see a photo of me proudly standing next to it in my 
I made this 
I used my all time favorite 
Of course I had to plan it so that the rainbow star from Artifact was visible right on the top. I should have given myself a tiny bit more space in that seam, but I’m not losing sleep over it. It’s gorgeous anyway!
Now instead of having a purse filled with diapers and wipes floating every which way, I can have a beautiful and function space to store them compactly, not only making the inside of my purse a bit more organized, but also making it easy for me to visually check that I have a diaper for my little one before I head out!
Since pens are another item I’m often digging for in the chaos within my gorgeous bag, I decided to store two of my favorite micron pens tucked in the corner of the diaper pouch, so that they are easily found when I think of something to add to my 
This pouch also perfectly coordinates with the amazing Alison Glass fabric bag my husband bought me for my birthday last year, made by the ever talented 
Night Quilter 