Tag Archives: sun prints 2016

Make Earth Day Every Day: Grow Pillow

April 22, 2016 kittywilkin 13 Comments

Earth Day has always been one of my favorites days. I strive to fully embody the “Earth Day is Every Day” ideal with my day to day life, from adopting a whale in third grade and frequent stream clean ups as a child, to majoring in environmental science in college, to aiming to instill a love and respect for the earth and all its creatures and functions in my children. The earth is our home, and it is our responsibility to help nurture and care for it. Today seemed like the perfect day to share my newly finished pillow featuring my bean sprout foundation paper pieced pattern.

I’m calling this pillow “Grow” and it will be donated to a fundraiser auction/raffle at our local school. The theme for the fundraiser is “Growth & Gardening” so it fits perfectly!

I used my coveted Carolyn Friedlander bright green Architextures fabric (Robert Kaufman) for the sprout, with little leaves of lime linen leftover from a previous project and a dotty dark green that was in my stash, but has no selvedge. A light turquoise modern Indah batik by Me + You (Hoffman Fabrics) makes a perfect summer sky for the background. Alison Glass Sun Prints 2016 Sphere (Andover) as the border rounded out the pillow nicely. It’s bound in the remainder of the lime linen blend and backed in that same mystery, beautiful dark green fabric. I quilted the pillow front with coordinating 50wt Aurifil thread in 2800-Mint Ice, since it blends right in with both the background and the green bean sprout.

I was hoping to release the Bean Sprout Pattern today, too, but lo… life got in the way and it’s not quite ready yet. Soon, hopefully. The pattern finishes at 12″ square so I added 2″ borders all around to bring the pillow to 16″ square.

I also inserted my very first hidden zipper in the back of this pillow, which is SO exciting! I used a fabulous tutorial by S.O.T.A.K. handmade and it worked like a charm. I am definitely installing hidden zippers in the backs of all of my pillows from now on.

Now that this pillow is finished and photographed, it will be delivered to my daughter’s school for their annual fundraising auction/raffle. Last year’s donated project taught me a lot about the art of giving, and this year’s gift seems no less serendipitous. A quilted item was needed for a growth-themed fundraiser, right as I had tested my bean sprout pattern–perfect! I’m curious to see what next year brings, and I hope this pillow is able to raise some money for our local school!

I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts, Needle and Thread Thursday, and TGIFF, since a finish ALWAYS warrants celebration! Now, off I go on a hike to celebrate this gorgeous Earth Day! Head on outside and love your mama!

Quilting, Tutorials

Riot of Color: Quilter’s Planner Cover Tutorial

February 16, 2016 kittywilkin 5 Comments

Today I’m sharing the tutorial for how to make the outer panel of a Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover like the one I made. I’m calling it Riot of Color and it’s a tribute to Alison Glass and her consistently bold and beautiful fabrics. A full color pdf of this tutorial is available on the Quilter’s Planner website, so head on over there to download it!

This tutorial is for creating the outer panel for the Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover pattern customized by Stephanie (Late Night Quilter) and Amanda (What the Bobbin) for the Quilter’s Planner. This tutorial will provide cutting and piecing instructions for the outer panel (11”x19 1/2”). From there, follow the instructions in the Quilter’s Planner cover pattern found at http://quiltersplanner.com to make the full zippy planner cover, using this 11”x19 1/2” panel as the “exterior fabric”.

The secret to this cover’s creation is the fabric choices. The dark grey of the Essex linen in Charcoal (Robert Kaufman Fabrics) lets the bright bold colors of Alison Glass’s Sun Prints 2016 and Art Theory panel in Charcoal (from Ex Libris – Andover Fabrics) shine. This could also be made using a favorite large scale print for the feature fabric and fussy cut bits for the squares, but be sure to use a contrasting solid or reads-as-solid background fabric so that the construction shines.

General Notes: Seam allowances are 1/4” throughout unless indicated otherwise. I like to press seams open, but in some cases I pressed to the side for this project. I will note those places in this tutorial.

Cutting

First, cut all of your fabric pieces according to the Cutting Requirements chart and diagram above.

A Note About the E Pieces

Here’s where I’m going to be real with you. The DE strips have a lot of seams. This means that if your 1/4” seam allowance is off by even a little bit, your strip may be slightly the wrong size. In the cutting chart above, I’ve accounted for this human error. (You’re welcome!)

*IF* your seams are an absolute perfect 1/4” and your cutting is precise, the top and bottom E pieces on both strips (four E pieces total) only need to measure 1 1/2” x 3/4”.

This tutorial allows you to trim the excess at the end so that you don’t have to worry as much about the precision of your 1/4” seam. That said, focus on straight, consistent seams and we will adjust for scant or generous seams during the process! If you feel like you want to be a Perfect Seams Superhero and save yourself some math and cutting, use 1 1/2” x 3/4” E pieces on the top and bottom of each strip. Go ahead and cut your pieces.

Ready? Lay it all out how you want it and then start assembling!

Assembly

Pair each D piece right sides together with an E piece and sew with a 1/4” seam allowance.

I like to get them all ready and then chain piece to save time.

Organization Tip
Be sure to take a photo of your layout before sewing so that you have a visual reference along the way!

Set seams and press open. Lay them out again and check your reference photo. There should be one E that has not yet been paired and sewn. Pair and sew components of the DE strips until they are completely assembled. Press seams open.

If you are being a Perfect Seams Superhero today and used 1 1/2” x 3/4” E pieces on the tops and bottoms of your strips, confirm that your fully assembled strip now measures 1 1/2” x 11”, pat yourself on the back and skip ahead to the full panel piecing.

If you are being merely human today, give your strips a good press and lay them on your cutting mat. It’s time to measure how much excess you have and take care of it.

We want the finished strips to measure 11” long, but we want to be sure our colorful bits stay centered. To do this, take the following steps (the example shown is in parenthesis):

Measure each strip to the nearest 1/8” being sure to press it flat so that it extends to its full length. (My strips shown measured 11 1/2” when I held them flat.)
Take the difference of 11” from the length of your strip. (11 1/2 – 11 = 1/2”)
Divide the difference by 2. (1/2” / 2 = 1/4”)
That’s how much you should trim from each end of your strip. (I trimmed 1/4” from each end)

Now, measure your strips again. Each strip should measure 1 1/2” x 11”. Don’t worry about a little wobble or wonk at this point. Everything will be smoothed out during the final assembly!

Next, we will piece the rest of the panel.

Lay out all of your pieces again as shown (left to right): C, DE strip, B, A, B, DE strip, C.

Sew them together!

Here’s the order in which I assembled it, but do what works logically for you.

Right sides together, sew B pieces to A. Press seams open. This is the BAB unit.
Right sides together and double-checking the orientation of the DE strips, sew C outer pieces to DE strips. Press toward C. These are your DEC units.
Sew DEC units to the BAB unit, pressing seams toward BAB.

Give your panel a good press, check that it measures 11” x 19 1/2” and trim if needed.

From here, head over to the Zippy Quilter’s Planner Cover tutorial by Amanda and Stephanie to complete your planner cover! Use this Riot of Color panel as the “exterior fabric”.

Have fun creating your own versions of this cover, and please tag me @nightquilter if you post pictures on social media. I always love to see what you create!

I’m linking up with Stephanie’s Tips and Tutorials Tuesday. I love collaborating with that girl! Can you tell?

Quilting, Stash Building

Christmas in February

February 7, 2016 kittywilkin 12 Comments

Sure, it’s February and the silly groundhog just predicted an early spring, but as far as I’m concerned, Christmas has finally arrived! In the past few days we not only got our first solid snow of the year, but I also received my Christmas gift from Santa–fat quarter bundles of Alison Glass‘s full Sun Prints 2016 collection for Andover. I’m so glad I had the foresight (and patience) to preorder these Sun Prints, since even though I didn’t have them to unwrap under the tree, they are well worth the wait.

The Sun Prints 2016 collection includes new lines Sphere, Grow, and Endpaper. It probably comes as no surprise that I love them all.

I took them all out into the fresh snow for a photo shoot with a new camera lens, a 50mm 1.8f lens that was a Christmas present from my awesome husband. While I love this lens, I definitely should have taken these photos with a deeper depth of field. I’m still getting a feel for it. For now, here are the way up close, pinpoint focal point photos of these gorgeous fabrics.

I’m not typically a polka dot fan, but there’s something about Sphere that grabs me. Perhaps it’s the fact that these dynamic little bulbs remind me of the earth with latitude and longitudinal lines. Perhaps it’s the fact that the sphere colors help blend the fabric lines together subtly and flawlessly. Either way, it joined the ranks in my AG stash.

Grow is a design that also appears in Abacus, with charcoal on white. It was one of the first Abacus prints I bought and I cannot wait to embroider on it. The Grow Sun Prints let us use the gorgeously sketched botanical design in a full spectrum of colors.

Endpaper is the epitome of my favorite types of fabrics. I love tone on tone blenders, and endpaper nails those categories. The colors are rich and deep, and include my favorite tertiary colors.

These three new collections blend beautifully together when combined. I love the subtle flow that emerges between fabrics and colors. Every time I finish another rainbow project, I think maybe it’s time I explored other color combinations. But really, how could I not create with these? I have a feeling you will be seeing quite a few more rainbows in the not too distant future!

I also recently saw that my local quilt shop Fiddlehead Artisan Supply is stocking the full Sun Prints 2016 collection, and has it all shelved with some of Alison’s older Sun Prints and other fabric lines. It’s glorious! If you’re local (or an online shopper), you can get your rainbow fill, too! I’m sharing a screenshot I took of Fiddlehead’s Instagram feed so that you can revel in the rainbow gradient beauty, too. Sooo good.

I’m linking up with Molli’s Sunday Stash. It’s been a while, but I have a lot of stash additions to share. It seemed only right to begin with the newest and most gorgeous fabrics!