New Pattern ... Pumpkin Eve

Pumpkin Eve Table Runner 12 1/2'' x 38 1/2''

I wanted to use a cute new spiderweb pattern on my HQ Amara last year so I made up this quick little table runner really fast so I would have something to quilt. Some of you might recognize these pumpkins. I originally designed them for Craftsy when I was designing a block of the month for them in 2015. Then I turned them into this fun pattern...

Pumpkins In The Patch

You will notice that the pumpkins are now resized and come in 2 sizes. One tall pumpkin with four short little friends. I also changed some of them from orange to white/cream combos.

Longarm Quilting Services

If you love this little spiderweb pattern, I can put it on your quilt as well. Go HERE for more information on my longarm quilting services. I also have pumpkins and fall leaves as well as lots of fun holiday designs available as well.

And they can be turned into apples! Just change the color strips you use.

Pattern Sale

Don't forget that all DOWNLOAD PATTERNS  in my shop are HALF OFF for the rest of SEPTEMBER if you use the coupon code HAPPYBIRTHDAY (all caps no spaces).

Enjoy every stitch!

Diane

Home from Mobile

I drove home last night from a wonderful visit to Mobile, AL. I visited the Azalea City Quilters Guild. They are a fun group of women and I completely enjoyed every minute of my time there. This is the group as they were just arriving. By the time I took the stage, it was standing room only, and I swear every single one of them was grinning at me! So many beautiful smiling faces!

As part of the show and tell section of the meeting (always my favorite!) one quilter had 'rescued' these vintage tops and repaired then quilted them. They were so stunning! I fell in love with the butterflies, and she somehow managed to remove them from their original backgrounds (of questionable fabric content) and turned them into this gorgeous quilt!

She also pointed out that this quilt top had never been quilted because the top two rows were sewn to the bottom three at the wrong place. Notice how they are shifted to the right? She just removed the last row from the right and added it to the left. I ADORE this quilt. I love it's quirkiness and all of it's humble non-perfection. To me, this quilt IS perfect. It's so much more interesting than if it had been executed exactly as intended. LOL

And my heart skipped a beat when I saw this quilt. I think we all know how I feel about scrappy quilts and this one has so much scrappy happiness I can hardly stand it. I love that the blocks are going different directions, and that some of them are pieced 'incorrectly' and that the fabrics in each block are often 'substituted' in portions of the blocks. All of that, combined with stripes going different directions and prints mixed with plaids, this quilt made me fall in love.

And then after the meeting, my lovely hosts drove me out to the west end beach on Dauphin Island. The beach is truly my happy place! I wiggled my toes in the sand and stood in the surf and felt my whole body relax. It was wonderful.

Even though it was a hot and sunny day, the breeze felt so good. We walked along the beach and asked some snorkelers what they found (not much according to them because the waves were churning up lots of sand apparently.) But it was a beautiful day to be above water for sure!

And if that wasn't enough, this is the view I woke up to. I could lay in bed and enjoy this gorgeous view of the Fowl River. The marsh area and docks were home to lots of wildlife.

In the evening I went down and sat at the end of the dock and enjoyed watching the fish jumping and brown pelicans and seagulls diving for their dinner. It was so entertaining and peaceful. I'm pretty sure this view and the visit to the beach lowered my blood pressure.

The next day we had a fun QUILTING WITH RULERS workshop. I had an amazing group of women who brought some fantastic quilt tops to share. We explored different options for quilting them and spent a lot of time discussing how to divide quilts into quilting spaces, how to fill those spaces, and using rulers along with free motion to create 'pathways' to fill the quilt with quilting and reduce over-stitching and tie offs.

I was so busy teaching that I forgot to take any photos at all. But we laughed and shared and learned and I know these amazing quilters are going to have fun trying their new skills in future quilts.

Thanks for inviting me to Mobile, I enjoyed every minute of it!

Enjoy every stitch,
Diane

PS, if you would like me to visit your guild or group, get more information HERE.

Free Quilt Pattern...Spin Cycle

Spin Cycle 

64'' x 80''

Here's a fast, fun and free quilt pattern to use up some 2 1/2'' strips in a hurry! I had my bin of strips sitting out and I needed a quick quilt to gift, so I made this up as I went. It's super fun and couldn't be easier!



Spin Cycle

Materials Needed

80 Light Strips 2 1/2'' x 18''
80 Dark Strips 2 1/2'' x 18''
3/4 yard binding
72'' x 88'' batting
5 yards backing (pieced vertically)

Sewing Instructions

1. Layer 1 light and 1 dark strip RST (right sides together). Sew a 1/4'' seam lengthwise.          (Do not open the strips, and do not press the strips yet.)
2. Fold the strip set in half and cut along the fold to create two strip sets that are 9'' long.          (Do not open the strips, and do not press the strips yet.)
3. Fold both strip sets in half again and cut along the fold to create four strip sets that are 4 1/2'' long.
4. Press each strip set open with the seams toward the darker strip.
5. Arrange the four units as shown (spinning). Sew the top two together and sew the bottom two together.
6. Nest the center seams, and sew the top and bottom units together.
7. Pinwheel press the seams from the back. 

Make 80 blocks for a twin size quilt that measures 64'' x 80''. (shown above)

 Any size option:
It only takes 2 strips 2 1/2'' x 18'' to make each block. One dark strip and one light strip.
OR
Make 48 blocks (set 6 x 8) for a throw quilt that measures 48'' x 64''.
Make 100 blocks (set 10 x 10) for a queen size that measures 80'' x 80''.
Make 169 blocks (set 13 x 13) for a king size that measures 102'' x 104''.


Go HERE for a free printout of the pattern with step by step diagrams.

Enjoy every stitch!
Diane

Seeing Stars Sew Along Step 1

Step 1

6’’ square on point block

Block as it appears in the quilt.

Cutting:

Background fabric- cut 2 squares 4'' x 4'', then cut each square on the diagonal once

Center fabric- cut one square 4 3/4'' x 4 3/4''

Block with seam allowances shown.

Sewing:

Finger press the triangles in half to find the center of the long side.

Finger press the square in half both direction to find the center of the sides.

Match the folds before sewing to center the triangle on the square.

Sew a background triangle to opposite sides of the center square.

Press seams toward the triangles.

Sew a background triangle to the remaining sides of the center square.

Press seams toward the triangles.

Trim to 6 ½ ’’ x 6 ½ ’’ as needed.

The square corners should be 1/4'' away from the edge of the block as shown.

Make 1 block for each panel.

Options:

Use focus fabric for center square.

Swap center square and background fabrics.

Use a four patch or nine patch for the center square.

Add a small applique to the center square.

Additional Cutting: If using a focus fabric, cut 3 ½ ’’ x 12 ½ ’’ filler strips (I used my background fabric for these filler strips) and cut 6 ½ ’’ x 6 ½ ’’ squares (perfect for fussy cutting) for 12’’ star centers and set aside for future steps. Cut one of each per panel needed.

Please post a photo of your blocks to the group Facebook page (link) and tag it with #seeingstarssewalong and #butterflythreadsquilting

or send a photo to me at

Butterflythreadsquilting (at) gmail.com and I will post it for you!

Go here for a printable version of Sew Along Intro Information

Go here for a printable version of Step 1 

Enjoy every stitch!
Diane

Ready, Set, Go!

Are you ready for the Seeing Stars Sew Along that begins this Thursday? See all the information about it HERE. And see what fabrics other quilters are choosing by following the #seeingstarssewalong on Instagram HERE. Please share your progress so we can see what you are choosing!

I'm so excited to have so many folks following along! We are going to have a wonderful time.

And THANK YOU SO MUCH for the amazing response to my birthday pattern sale! I am thrilled that so many of you are taking advantage of the 50% off all download patterns during my birthday month. Go HERE to read all about it and get the coupon code to save.

Can't wait to see you all here on Thursday for STEP 1 of the sew along!

Diane

HAPPY BIRTHDAY Quilt Pattern Sale

September is my birthday month, and to celebrate, I'm offering HALF OFF all PDF download patterns in my online shop. All you need to do is type in HAPPYBIRTHDAY (all caps and no spaces) in the discount box at checkout. You will save 50% so you can treat yourself to twice as many!

There are 20 patterns to choose from and they are formatted specifically for download. In other words, they won't use a whole ink cartridge to print! They are the exact same content as the printed patterns I sell, but the covers have a bit less color, to save you ink (and money). You will still get a full color photo of the quilt, along with all of the step by step instructions and diagrams. Many of the quilts include 2 options or several sizes to choose from.

Please let me know if you have any questions!

Happy Birthday to all of us!
Diane

August Reading List

Get the book HERE.

When I saw this book on the shelf at the library I snapped it up as fast as I could! I had heard so many good things about it and it lived up to all of my expectations. I loved the characters, the story, the magic, the mystery, and the fairy tale woven into the real life of this book. It was fun to read and the humor at times made me laugh out loud. It was charming and funny and sad and hopeful. You need to read this book!

Get the book HERE.

Wow, this book was really disturbing on so many levels and yet I really liked it! I find story lines of childhood trauma difficult to read and this book was filled with trauma! Yet, the way it was told and the descriptions were not too much for me. I wasn't overwhelmed but I was surprised and a little creeped out at times. While I enjoyed this book, I might suggest you read at your own risk! LOL

Get the book HERE.

Gail Tsukiyama is one of my all time favorite authors. I have loved every book I've read written by her and I think I've read them all! The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, The Samurai's Garden, and Women of the Silk are all books I would gladly read again. The characters and relationships are so well developed that I have clear pictures in my imagination of each of them. I love that she never over explains anything but leaves you satisfied. Her characters are also very easy to feel empathy for.

This book took place in China in 1946-47 during the Hundred Flowers Campaign and the repercussions that resulted for one family. It's no secret I love historical fiction, and this story had me cheering for and wanting to hug some of these characters. If you haven't read any books by this author please do yourself a favor and add one to your reading list.

Get the book HERE.

When looking for a book on CD to listen to in the car, I saw this book by Alice Hoffman. Another all time favorite author of mine manages to weave magic and mystery into every story she tells. Sometimes I just want a book that I know I'm going to get absorbed by and forget about everything else for a while. That is just the kind of book Alice Hoffman writes. Never predictable, always enjoyable. This book didn't disappoint.

I loved the setting in St. Thomas and then in Paris. I loved the characters and the relationships and how intertwined the lives of people become over the years. It was not only a story of love and heartbreak, but also of betrayal and forgiveness. It shows how families can love and hurt one another with every decision they make. Please read this book. And then go read every other book Alice Hoffman has written. I promise you will be so glad you did!

Get the book HERE.

This book made me laugh out loud several times. The stories and descriptions of the main character as he travels through remote villages in a mostly 'never before seen' automobile is a rollicking misadventure. He manages to get into and out of more trouble than you can possibly imagine. He's a lovable, if somewhat pitiful, fellow who decides that he needs to go on this journey after he suffers terrible losses in his life. I couldn't help root for him while I was rolling my eyes at him. I kept looking for symbolism and hidden messages, but ultimately, I just don't know what to think of this book. Glad I experienced it, but not sure I could recommend it. I would love to hear comments from anyone who has read this book!

Enjoy every story!

Diane

The fine print: As always, this post contains affiliate links. For each click and purchase through these links, I receive a tiny reward. I appreciate your support and as always, the opinions are entirely my own. I have not been sponsored or paid for this content. I'm just a girl who loves to read and share!