Christmas bed runner welcomes overnight guests

My Christmas bed runner is finished! I did a “decorating test-run” to see how it will look in our guest room with a few other holiday items, and I think the end result is warm and inviting. Now I’m torn, though. Do I put the Christmas décor away until after Thanksgiving, or leave it out and watch my husband shake his head and roll his eyes?

As I mentioned in my post a few weeks ago, a bed runner is a great solution if you don’t have time to make a full quilt, but you want to dress your bed for the holidays. The bed runner I have made is actually just one row taken from my Star Crossed Pines quilt pattern. It measures 62” x 24” and is perfect for the foot of a queen bed.

I was able to finish the top in a short weekend of sewing and send it off to my long-arm quilting friend Barb, who is the owner of Quilts on Broadway in Foley, MN.  Barb was kind enough to slip this project into her busy quilting schedule and turn it around to me quickly. I just love the jingle bell quilting motif we selected.

If you read my earlier post, you’ll know that I sewed from my stash for this project, pulling prints from Sweetwater, Janet Clare, Fig Tree, and Kate & Birdie (all Moda designers). Smaller projects like this are a great way to use up your stash and scraps!

My Star Crossed Pines quilt pattern is a fun and easy make. The full quilt finishes at 74 1/2" x 80 1/2" and the pattern is available in both PDF and print format on my Etsy shop. Remember, if you don't have time to make the full quilt this year, you can always whip up a single block wall hanging or a multi-block runner! 

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to tag me on Instagram or shoot me an email if you make your own Star Crossed Pines project!

~Taunja

Summer Moon QAL: November Blocks

An early cold front has settled over my home state of Minnesota, and we even experienced some light snow this weekend. Rather than venture outside, I did a whole lot of sewing. I even stitched up my November blocks for the Summer Moon Quilt Along with Fat Quarter Shop. I added a warm, sunny yellow print to each block ~ take that Mother Nature!

This month’s assignment includes these three blocks: Four X’s, Log Cabin and Memory. I’m sewing from my stash using a mix of prints by Lella Boutique and Corey Yoder. In these three blocks, the blues, pinks and greens are from Lella Boutique, while the yellow and white fabrics are from Corey Yoder.

The Four X’s block is an excellent opportunity to fussy cut a favorite print, as I did here with the center blue floral from Lella Boutique’s Nest collection.

The Log Cabin block was really fun to put together. Someday I hope to dig deep into my stash and create a whole quilt of these cheery (and easy) blocks.

The Memory block is a beauty. There are several little pieces in this block, so I used my Alphabitties to keep them organized. Don’t be afraid of this block. If you maintain a strict 1/4” seam allowance and follow the pressing instructions, your block will turn out great!

Summer Moon is a sampler quilt designed by Carrie Nelson and It’s Sew Emma (the pattern company of Fat Quarter Shop). The quilt along began in May and runs through February 2020. Although the quilt along wraps up soon, I still highly recommend this book. There are 24 blocks you could mix and match to your sewing heart’s delight!

Thanks for stopping by to see my progress.  Here are links to my previous posts:

Summer Moon QAL: October Blocks

Summer Moon QAL: September Blocks

Summer Moon QAL: August Blocks

Sumer Moon QAL: July Blocks

Sumer Moon QAL: June Blocks

Summer Moon QAL: May Blocks

Summer Moon Quilt Along: Will you join me?

~Taunja

Bloom-Topia quilt along with Fat Quarter Shop: Will you join me?

Hello quilting friends! I’m excited and honored to share that I will be one of the bloggers sewing along with Fat Quarter Shop for their 2020 charity quilt along, Bloom-Topia! This wonderful program benefits Make-A-Wish of Central & South Texas. This is the 7th year that Fat Quarter Shop has hosted a charity quilt along.

This quilt along is special in that it binds us (pun intended) together in an event that makes a positive difference in the lives of children. We quilters will be called upon to offer participation donations, which will in turn be matched by Fat Quarter Shop and Moda Fabrics, up to $20,000.  Isn’t that amazing? 

The quilt along begins in February and ends in July. This year's quilt, called Bloom-Topia, is an absolute stunner! The front features a glorious mix of blocks of different sizes, and the back features a fun pieced area which documents the year made. 

Pattern instructions are released as FREE PDF downloads twice per month, via the the Jolly Jabber (the Fat Quarter Shop blog).  We quilters are simply asked to make a donation toward the patterns we download.  (A suggested amount is $5 for each pattern downloaded, or a one-time lump sum donation.  All donations will go to the Make-A-Wish Central & South Texas campaign.)

As a blogger, I will be sewing along with you, and I’ll share my progress every couple weeks on my own blog.  There will also be updates on the Jolly Jabber, as well as on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. I hope you’ll consider joining us in the fun!

Now you might be wondering, “Do I have to choose my own fabrics, or is there a kit?” The answer is yes OR yes!  You can sew along with your own stash of fabrics, or you can purchase a beautiful Bloom-Topia kit from Fat Quarter Shop! 

If you’d like to make one that looks just like the gorgeous photos I’ve shared above, then you’ll want to order the exclusive kit, which includes 11.75 yards of Summer Sweet fabric designed by Sherri and Chelsi for Moda Fabrics and Bella Solids fabric. This kit includes all fabric to complete the quilt blocks along with background, borders and binding for the 64.5″ x 82.5″ Bloom-Topia quilt. The kit also includes the patterns (you won't need to download the PDFs each month), a specialty template notion and a roll of Triangles on a Roll 3″ Half Square Triangle Paper. As a bonus, it comes packaged in an exclusive keepsake box with magnetic closure.

FQS also has an exclusive backing set kit, which includes 7.5 yards of Summer Sweet fabric, backing pattern, as well as an exclusive mousepad that will only be available with the backing set.

If you’d like to sew from your stash, then you’ll be joining me in an adventure!  I will be sewing an autumn version of Bloom-Topia featuring the lovely Harvest Road collection by Lella Boutique for Moda (which is in stock at Fat Quarter Shop). I plan to add a few soft butterscotch-oranges here and there for a pop of warm color. Most of my stash oranges are by Fig Tree & Company, but the diagonal gingham in the photograph is by Patrick Lose. For my neutral, I’ve selected Vanilla Grunge (30150 91).  

If you want to sew from your own fabrics, you’ll need to check out the fabric requirements to make sure you are ready to go come February when the first pattern is made available on the Jolly Jabber!  After that, patterns will be released every two weeks. 

Here’s a link to the fabric requirements: Bloom-Topia Fabric Requirements

Here's the Jolly Jabber page with all the details: Bloom-Topia Quilt Along

Here’s where to make your donation: Make-A-Wish

I hope to see you quilting along in 2020.   If “scheduled sewing” scares you, don’t worry about the timeline.  Just join the fun and sew what you can, when you can!

Have a wonderful week! 

~Taunja

Summer Moon QAL: October Blocks

This past weekend I stitched up my October blocks for the Summer Moon Quilt Along with Fat Quarter Shop. This month’s assignment includes three pretty blocks: Checkerboard, Darting Birds and Nonsense. I’m sewing from my stash, and my blocks feature a mix of prints by Lella Boutique and Corey Yoder, who are two of my favorite Moda designers.

I went rogue and broke the rules on the Checkerboard block, but I had a good reason. I wanted to use the alphabet script from Corey’s Yoder’s Strawberry Jam collection as my neutral for this block. The problem was that the pattern called for the on-point checkerboard squares to be made using a method which would create seams in the neutral areas. This would would have disrupted the alphabet script I wanted to use. So, after a bit of math and testing on my part, I figured out that if I cut the colored and neutral squares at 1 7/8”, I could lay them out and join them in a Granny Square fashion and then trim the block to size. (Remember, I am only sewing the 6 1/2” blocks, so I do not have the math figured out for the smaller and larger blocks. You certainly don’t need to break the rules as I did. There is nothing wrong with the directions as written in the book!)

I have never made a Darting Birds block before, but I really love it.  It is so sweet and whimsical, and it was a snap to make. As I was sewing, I imagined how darling this block would be repeated in a baby boy quilt, with many shades of blue birds. (An idea to keep in the hopper for “someday.”)

The Nonsense block is another very pretty block which should have been easy to construct.  However, I admit that I was tired and not paying close attention to the pattern. I had to dig out the old seam ripper twice to correct my mistakes. Oh well, we all have sewing days like that. Once I got it sewn correctly, I was so happy with the end result!

Summer Moon is a sampler quilt designed by Carrie Nelson and It’s Sew Emma (the pattern company of Fat Quarter Shop). The quilt along began in May and runs through February 2020. You can jump in at any time.  If you don’t feel like sewing along, I still highly recommend this book. There are 24 blocks you could mix and match to your sewing heart’s delight!

Thanks for stopping by to see my progress.  Here are links to my previous posts:

Summer Moon QAL: September Blocks

Summer Moon QAL: August Blocks

Sumer Moon QAL: July Blocks

Sumer Moon QAL: June Blocks

Summer Moon QAL: May Blocks

Summer Moon Quilt Along: Will you join me?

~Taunja

Christmas bed runner with Star Crossed Pines

Just the other day I was walking by our guest room and thought, “I wish I had a Christmas quilt to lay across the foot of the guest bed this winter.” You may be surprised to hear that I don’t have enough Christmas quilts for every bed and sofa in the house, but I don’t! Since Christmas is less than two months away (eeek!), I decided to make a bed runner instead. Here’s my first block.

Do you recognize the block? It’s from my Star Crossed Pines quilt pattern!  Doesn’t it have a cozy, homespun holiday feeling? My plan is to make five blocks and create one row from the pattern. One row (with sashing and corner stones) finishes at 62” x 24”, which will be an excellent size for a bed runner. Once I’ve finished the row, if I feel like it needs to be bigger, I may add an outer border.

I have been hoarding a little stockpile of winter and holiday fabrics. Some are left over from other projects. Some are fat quarters I’ve collected just because I loved the color or print. You'll see older fabrics from Sweetwater, Janet Clare, Fig Tree, Kate & Birdie and Lella Boutique in my pile below. The moral to this story is, if you love it, hang onto it.  It will probably blend nicely with other things you love!

It gives me great joy to sew from my stash and mix fabric designers’ collections together. In fact, working on this project gave me ideas for other Christmas quilts I would like to sew from my stash. What a great feeling!

Here are links to my other Star Crossed Pines quilts:

Star Crossed Pines quilt

Star Crossed Pines single block wall hanging

I hope this post inspires you to look at your own pattern collection and fabric stash and ponder what you can make with what you have. Of course, I also hope it inspires you to make your own Star Crossed Pines project! The pattern is available in both PDF and print format on my Etsy shop.

Oh, and I wanted to remind you that LouLou's Fabric shop has kits for two of my newest patterns, Star Watch and 9-Patch Pivot.  Both quilts feature the lovely Harvest Road collection by Lella Boutique for Moda.  Kits are going fast, so zip on over to LouLou's while she still has some in store!

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today. Now go and get carried away quilting, my friends!

~Taunja

Kits available: Star Watch & 9-Patch Pivot, featuring Harvest Road

Hello quilting friends. Fabric kits are now available for my two newest patterns: 9-Patch Pivot and Star Watch. The long-awaited Harvest Road fabric is in stock at LouLou’s Fabric shop, and the kits are ready! Will one of these pretty quilts become your next project?

9-Patch Pivot is a fat quarter friendly quilt that finishes at 66” x 77”.  My favorite thing about this pattern is how all the prints in the fabric line have a chance to shine. And the Harvest Road collection by Lella Boutique for Moda is totally shine-worthy!

Star Watch is a jelly roll friendly quilt that finishes at 64” x 74”. The jelly roll is used for block construction and also for a scrappy binding, which adds a charming finishing touch to the quilt! And don’t you just love the bold row of navy stars?

How do you get your hands on a kit?

First, you'll need to purchase the pattern directly from my Etsy Shop. It is available as a PDF/digital pattern only.

Then, zip over to LouLou's Fabric Shop to purchase the fabric kits. I’ve teamed up with LouLou’s on several project offerings over the years. I am so thankful to work with a shop so devoted to their quilting customers.

Thank you all for your interest in both of these new patterns, and your patience while we waited for the fabric to arrive. Time to get carried away quilting!

~Taunja

Cloth book giveaway winners

It's time to announce our cloth book panel giveaway winners! Many thanks to the kind folks at Quilt Girls who provided the panels for this giveaway!

I have a love-hate relationship with giveaways.  I love to make someone’s day by declaring them a prize winner, but I hate the fact that I don’t have a prize for everyone. Please just know that my drawings are always a random draw, and if I could, I would send you each a prize!

Today we have two lucky ladies who will each receive a “Five Little Pumpkins on Halloween Night” cloth panel: Carol Spence and Mary (Hibob2). I will be in touch with you both! 

Please visit the Quilt Girls website and check out their terrific selection of book panels, quilt panels and novelty fabrics! Thanks again, Quilt Girls!

~Taunja