Hometown Quilt Along by Quiltmania

 

Quiltmania has released the 5th installment of my quilt HOMETOWN for the 2023 Quilt Along. I'm so honored to be sharing this quilt with them all year long. Tag your photos on social media with

#QuiltmaniaHOMETOWNquiltalong2023 and #QuiltmaniaHOMETOWN

I am thrilled to see all the wonderful versions of quilt!

Thank you so much Quiltmania!

Find the information HERE.

Diane

Hometown Quilt Along 2023 presented by Quiltmania

 

Go HERE for the instructions!

Quiltmania has released the 4th installment of my quilt HOMETOWN for the 2023 Quilt Along. I'm so honored to be sharing this quilt with them all year long. Tag your photos on social media with

#QuiltmaniaHOMETOWNquiltalong2023 and #QuiltmaniaHOMETOWN

I am thrilled to see all the wonderful versions of quilt!

Thank you so much Quiltmania!

Diane

Quiltmania HOMETOWN 2023 Quilt Along FEBRUARY

 

February Sew Along Steps are HERE!

The wait is over! The second step in the year long Quilt Along with QUILTMANIA has been released! I am so excited to share this step with you. Go to the link above to download your copy of the instructions and templates. Lucky for you, this month is the same units as last month! But don't get too relaxed, because every month from here on out will be something new and different!

Have you chosen your theme or colors for your hometown yet? Are you adding a holiday or season? Or will you be choosing your hometown team colors? Going totally scrappy or using one line of fabric? The fun thing about this quilt is that any option will work! I am so enjoying your feedback and comments about the quilt. It makes my heart so happy that quilting friends from California to Paris and even  Australia are sewing along with us this year!

Be sure to share the fun using hashtag #quiltmaniaHOMETOWN2023 on Instagram or Facebook. 

Enjoy every stitch!

Diane

QUILTCON Book Signing booth 2221

10 am Thursday Feb 22 

As soon as the show opens, I'll be signing copies of my latest book STRIP QUILT SECRETS in the C&T booth. Please come say HI! I would love to see you there!

You will also get to see the quilt that will be featured in my upcoming CREATIVE SPARK class hanging in the booth! Let's get a selfie in front of it! 

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along final reveal...

I know this is a little late in being revealed but as you know so many other things are going on at the moment! Besides writing and filming my first online class for Creative Spark, and traveling and teaching to quilt guilds, and designing and presenting the Quiltmania HOMETOWN quilt along, and longarming for customers, there's the tiny matter of planning my wedding and my daughter's wedding. So there are way too many distractions on any given day around here, and I love every single one of them!

I finally decided on a setting that is a variation on this one...

I hope you enjoy this pattern and all of the other free patterns offered HERE. 

If you see something you plan to make, I encourage you to download it now, as it may be removed at any given time if requested for publication or if it becomes a  pattern for sale. As always, I appreciate your support so much!

•  Introduction
• Let's Begin
• Step 1
• Step 2
• Step 3
• Step 4
• Step 5

Remember kits can be found HERE.

Enjoy every stitch!

Diane

Quiltmania HOMETOWN 2023 Quilt Along

I was so thrilled to be asked to design the 2023 Quilt Along for Quiltmania! I can finally present the first step and share some information about it with you. 

To read the Quiltmania introduction to the Quilt Along click HERE.

This is final version of the quilt.

This is the dark background option.

This is the light background option.

This is the first step that is from the finished quilt.

These are the fabrics I started with and added plenty of scraps as well!

                         

And this is my final version! I have added some fun details that I will share more about as we go along. Here is what I shared with Quiltmania...

This quilt has been in my imagination for over a year now. I want to make a series of these “Hometown” quilts, one representing each season, with variations and embellishments to celebrate the unique beauty of each season.
I would encourage you to make any changes or additions to make this “Hometown” uniquely yours. I’ve added doggies to many of the house windows because I feel that home is where the dog is! Perhaps you prefer kitties? Or children? Or all kinds of fun surprises can find their way into your homes.
I have also created a diagram showing a dark background if that is what you prefer.
My wish is that you will enjoy every step of the year long adventure together and I can’t wait to see what you share! Please share on social media using the #hometownquiltalong at Quiltmania or at Butterflythreadsquilting.com.

Refer to the Quiltmania sight HERE to find the instructions for cutting and sewing!

I can't wait to see the progress you share online. If you don't share online, 

send the photos to me at 

Diane @ butterflythreadsquilting . com

and I will share them for you!

Enjoy every stitch!
Diane

2022 Review and Looking Ahead to 2023

 

What a wild and wonderful year 2022 was! (read all about 20-21 here for comparison!)

Last year saw so many fun events and amazing surprises and I feel like 2023 is going to be even better.  The highlight of the year was obviously saying YES to the most amazing man! We are planning a beach wedding in the fall with our kids and their families. It will be so good to combine this family of 5 kids and all their people. Truly the biggest blessing of all is the love we have for each other and every minute we get to spend together.

We also got to celebrate the marriage of Chris's oldest daughter and the engagement of my daughter. Love was truly in the air in 2022! We also spent loads of time on the road going to see the grandbaby and visiting my mom. 

There were teaching trips to Florida (x 3) and South Carolina and New York and Alabama. There were fun trips to Savannah and a cruise! There were lots of weekend adventures including hiking and exploring parts of Georgia and Tennessee. 

There was a new fabric line and lots of longarming and a sew along and some fun quilty events and exchanges with friends. There were even some new techniques to explore that turned out to be so fun I'm adding them to the classes I teach.

Speaking of teaching...

2023 will see trips to Arkansas and Indiana as well as South Carolina and several parts of Georgia. I have plenty of dates available to add your guild or group to my travel schedule. Please contact me if you have any questions!

There will also be a big exciting reveal in just a few days! If you want to hear all the latest news, be sure to sign up for my newsletter HERE. I never share your information, so you can be certain your contact information is safe with me. 

Check my Instagram and Facebook pages for the latest information as well. I can't wait to share the secret sewing and big news very soon!

Enjoy every stitch and happy 2023 friends!

Diane

Feeling Thankful

Feeling thankful for each of you who has followed, commented, purchased, supported, sewn along and just made this whole journey so rewarding for me. Please visit my online shop for a 25% discount on all items (including kits, fabric, books, templates and patterns) by using the code THANKS at checkout.

If you are reading this, I'm THANKFUL for you!

Have a wonderful holiday and enjoy shopping. Your support means more to me than I can express.

Diane

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 5

  

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 5

It's time to put all the steps together into blocks! All the units for the blocks have been made and now we just need to sew them into 4 patches.

No Cutting needed for this step!

Arrange the units so that you can see what your blocks will look like, you can lay out the units from Steps 1-3. Play with the arrangement and see if there is something different you would like to try. Perhaps you want your darker squares running diagonally through the middle? Maybe you like the look of the small triangles facing the opposite direction? Take photos of each arrangement so you can flip through them and see what looks most interesting to you.

Sewing

For each block you will need the following:

Two units from Step 3 and two units from Step 4

Arrange the four patch/HST units and the squares with triangle units as shown above. Take care that every set is arranged the exact same way so that the chain is created in the final block.

1. Sew a 4 patch /HST to a square with triangles, repeat with 2 matching units.
2. Twirl one unit and sew it to the matching one, creating a four patch.
3. Note that the seams will pinwheel press on the back the same way they did for the four patches in Step 1 and the 4 patch/ HST units.
4. Press the block from the right side and repeat with the remaining two pairs.

Here is the number of block you will need to make for each size of the quilt:

Throw- make 24 

Twin- make 42 

Queen- make 64 

King- make 80 

Now snap some photos and share on social media using #2022amazedQAL #butterflythreadsquilting

Congratulations! You are ready for the next step when we will start arranging our blocks for the final layout!

Diane

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 4

 

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 4

After an unexpected delay due to technical issues both real and imagined, we are back on track to continue these cute blocks! In Step 1 we made the four little four patches that run diagonally through the block. In Step 2 we made the HST (half square triangles)  that will get paired with the tiny four patches from step 1 in this step so that they will be ready to add to the units from Step 3 next time!

No Cutting needed for this step!

If you want a sneak peek at what your blocks will look like, you can lay out the units from Steps 1-3. Play with the arrangement and see if there is something different you would like to try. Perhaps you want your darker squares running diagonally through the middle? Maybe you like the look of the small triangles facing the opposite direction? Take photos of each arrangement so you can flip through them and see what looks most interesting to you.

Sewing

For each block you will need the following:

Four units of tiny four patches and four HST units.

Arrange the four patches and HST units as shown above. Take care that every set is arranged the exact same way so that the chain is created in the final block.

1. Sew a 4 patch to a HST, repeat with the other three 4 patches and HST.
2. Twirl one unit and sew it to the matching one, creating a four patch.
3. Note that the seams will pinwheel press on the back the same way they did for the four patches in Step 1.
4. Press the block from the right side and repeat with the remaining two pairs.

Here is the number of units you will need to make for each size of the quilt:

Throw- make 24 sets of 2.

Twin- make 42 sets of 2.

Queen- make 64 sets of 2.

King- make 80 sets of 2.

Now snap some photos and share on social media using #2022amazedQAL #butterflythreadsquilting

Congratulations! You are ready for the next step when we will start assembling our blocks!

Diane

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 3

 

A'MAZE'D Quilt Along STEP 3

After an unexpected delay due to technical issues both real and imagined, we are back on track to continue these cute blocks! In Step 1 we made the four little four patches that run diagonally through the block. In Step 2 we made the HST (half square triangles)  that will eventually get paired with the tiny four patches. Now we need to make the other two square units in the block. 

Cutting

For each block you will need to cut the following:

Background- cut 2 squares 6 1/2" 

Corner triangles- cut 4 squares 3 1/2''

Sewing

For each block you will need to sew the following:

1. Layer two small squares on opposite corners of a background square.
2. Mark the diagonal line from corner to corner by drawing or pressing.
3. Sew on the marked line of each corner square.
4. Press the squares away from the center of the block, checking the edges line up.
5. Trim away to two extra layers from under the pressed corner triangles.

Here is the number of units you will need to make for each size of the quilt:

Throw- make 24 sets of 2.

Twin- make 42 sets of 2.

Queen- make 64 sets of 2.

King- make 80 sets of 2.

NOTE: If you are making a scrappy version, you can make all of your units different or you can make sets of 2, or you can make sets of 2 that are all the same color combo but different fabrics. Make a few and arrange them different ways to see what you prefer.

Now snap some photos and share on social media using #2022amazedQAL #butterflythreadsquilting

Congratulations! You are ready for the next step when we will start assembling our blocks!

Diane

Niagara Falls Road Trip

We had a wonderful time on our road trip through TN, WV, PA, NY, MD, VA, NC and SC. Our first stop was to see family in TN. We never miss a chance to visit with this cutie!

Then we headed north on our way to NY and were stunned by the gorgeous fall color in WV and PA.

We stopped at Falling Water in PA to explore the woods and visit the iconic house built on the waterfall. The architecture and nature were both inspiring and we really enjoyed our visit.

The further north we headed the more spectacular the color got. It was hard to believe it could get prettier and then around every curve in the road, it somehow did.

We finally reached East Aurora NY and decided we couldn't be that close to Niagara Falls and NOT visit. So we spent a day enjoying both the NY and the Canadian side of the falls. The weather was sunny and cool and the leaves were putting on a show but the water was just so amazing. I can not describe how powerful and impressive the falls are. Nature sure is amazing. 

Then I spent two days teaching and visiting with the quilters of both the quilt guilds in East Aurora. I am always blown away by how kind and talented the quilters I meet truly are. I had a lovely visit and sold out of both books and fabric! Thanks so much for the support Morningstar Quilt Guild and Southtown Piecemakers Quilt Guild. 

I especially love it when quilters bring quilts made from my designs or sew alongs as show and tell. It's so fun to see them up close and hear the stories that go with them!

After a couple of days of teaching we headed down to Gettysburg, PA for some sight seeing. Chris and I both love history and enjoyed the presentations at the visitors center and then we did our own car tour of the battlefields following the recorded stories on the national parks app. What a wonderful way to experience such an emotional and somber location while learning some history! The weather was dark and gloomy and the clouds were ominous, it all seemed very fitting for learning about the devastating events that took place there.

Then we headed to Richmond, VA to visit my son! I miss him so much but it's always good to see his smiling face and spend some time enjoying each other. We had a amazing brunch with him and his sweetheart. And yes that is a cinnamon roll the size of a CAKE. And it was super delicious!

And then it was time for the last long leg of the trip home. I got lots of hand sewing hexies while we listened to books on tape and watched the miles pass by. We saw a bit more fall color coming home but autumn is just starting here in the south. 

It's good to be home and unpacking and getting settled in again. No more travel for us this year and that's just fine with me! It will give me time to start longarming the customer quilts that need to be ready for Christmas (I still have plenty of room on schedule if you want to send a quilt or two my way!)

I will also get the sew along back on track in the next couple of days so stay tuned for that!

Enjoy every stitch!

Diane

Still Confused...

Those of you that know me will not be surprised at all, but I'm still completely confused as to why Googly sent me all those warnings about setting up my 'workspace' account and paying a monthly fee for this blog that I've been using for free for a decade. The deadline came and went and there was no change. So it looks as though I'm safe for now and you will still find my ramblings and thoughts and quilts and whatever else seems worthy of sharing! So it's great big WHEW for now.

(photo source)

So the quilt along has obviously been interrupted due to the technical confusions. I will start back up with it in 2 weeks when I'm back from my trip to Buffalo! I'll be teaching at a couple of guilds in the area and we are making it a week long adventure with some stops to see kids and do a few tourist things along the way. I will be sharing our adventures on my Instagram and Facebook feeds as usual. 

Thanks so much for your patience and attempts to help me with all the online issues. Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated!

Diane