Brenda Riddle's "Sophie" collection ships to stores

Brenda Riddle’s new “Sophie” fabric collection has finally shipped to quilt stores! Sophie is the sweet pink and green collection that I used for my newest quilt pattern, By the Hours. With delicate florals and cheerful gingham prints, "Sophie" is perfect for a baby quilt or any spring sewing project you may have in mind.

My By the Hours pattern is a two-for-one, as it includes instructions to make both the baby quilt and the coordinating nursery pillow. The quilt finishes at 38 1/2” x 44 1/2” and the pillow finishes at 16 1/2” square.

Fabric selection is fairly easy. Begin with 8 coordinating fat quarters and then select a green for the vine, a neutral for the background, and of course the binding and backing. The material list will make both projects!  By the Hours is available as digital PDF pattern on my Etsy Shop.

You may remember that one of my Instagram friends, Sigi, was kind enough to do the pattern testing on By the Hours. She used a combination of Brenda Riddle and Lella Boutique pastels for her test samples. Sigi's generous spirit also extended to taking some pictures of her finished samples so that I could share them with you.  Thank you so much Sigi! You are a gem!

Thank you for stopping by today. Have a wonderful week, quilting friends!

~Taunja

Star Crossed Pines: A finished quilt featuring Christmas Morning

Spring is slowly arriving in Minnesota. It’s a joy to hear the robins tweeting in the evergreen outside my window. I am so excited for my grass to green, the perennials to peek out from the soil, and the trees to bud. But we quilters also know that in a month or two, several wonderful Christmas and winter fabric collections will be hitting the stores, and we have to be prepared! As crazy as it sounds, now is the time to plan any quilts you may want to have completed by next Christmas. I hope that my Star Crossed Pines pattern might be one on your list!

When I shipped my Star Crossed Pines top to be machine quilted, I was already in love with it. But when it came back from the quilter, I was overwhelmed with happiness. Star of Starlit Quilts selected the perfect pantograph to make my quilt twinkle! Now the white spaces in my quilt are filled with magical wintery stars and swirls. Star always seems to know what a quilt needs to turn it from pretty to beautiful, and I can’t thank her enough.

The fabric you see in this quilt is Christmas Morning by Lella Boutique for Moda, and it is scheduled to ship to quilt shops in June. This beautiful collection features a wonderful range of cranberry, sage and silvery gray prints. Click here for Moda's brochure of Christmas Morning, with SKUs.)

If you would like to start scheming your own Star Crossed Pines quilt, the pattern is available in paper and PDF format on my Etsy Shop. Maybe you could even encourage your favorite quilt shop to pull together a kit when the fabric arrives! Sometimes all it takes is a nudge from customers and a quilt shop will kit a particular pattern.  (Quilts shops can contact me directly for wholesale pattern offerings.)

Thanks so much for stopping by.  I hope you all are enjoying good weather, good health and lots of time at your sewing machines!

~Taunja

Update: Fat Quarter Lattice Quilt is back from the quilter

Hello quilting friends! I haven’t posted on my blog in about a month, and a few of you have noticed. I’ve received some sweet emails and messages, just checking in to see if everything is okay in the Carried Away Quilting sewing room. All is well here, I’ve just been busy behind the scenes.  I do have some fun things to show you in the coming weeks, including a new pattern.

Today I thought I’d share progress on a winter project that I just got back from the machine quilter, my Fat Quarter Lattice quilt. I’m so pleased with the texture. Many thanks to Star of Starlit Quilts who did the machine quilting. We chose a panto called Swirling Feathers, which softens all the angles wonderfully. I have a few evenings of hand binding ahead of me, but thankfully I enjoy that job.

Fat Quarter Lattice is a free tutorial on my blog. Have you been collecting some pretty fat quarters? Maybe today is the day to put them to good use! You’ll find all the details on how to make your own Fat Quarter Lattice quilt here.  You just need 16 fat quarters (top and scrappy binding), 3 1/4 yards neutral, and 5 yards backing.

Have a wonderful week! And thank you so much for checking in on me. Our quilting community is a blessing!

~Taunja

A classic sailboat pillow

Over the years I have collected a small library of quilt patterns and books. On evenings when I am too tired to sew but have quilting on my mind, I enjoy perusing them and pondering future projects. My husband approves of this pastime as well, because it means he gets to control the clicker and can watch golf, or fishing or some other sporting event on TV without me complaining.

Recently, we shared just such an evening of marital bliss . . . Brad watching “Wicked Tuna” and Taunja thumbing through her pattern collection . . . when I came across “Boat Day” by the Pattern Basket. I purchased that pattern a while ago, thinking someday I will have a grandchild who wants a sailboat quilt. Rather than wait for that wonderful someday, I decided to sew up a single “Boat Day” quilt block and make a pillow for our house by the lake.

I kept the palette classic and understated for my “Boat Day” pillow, so that it would look pretty sitting in the corner of my dining room. The background fabric is Moda’s Indigo Chambray (#12051 13), which has nice texture and depth. The navy print is from the Sweet Tea collection by Sweetwater, and the stripes you see on the sails and binding are from Lella Boutique collections.

I hope someday to make the full “Boat Day” quilt featuring a regatta of vibrant, happy sailboats. But for now, I’m quite happy with my grown up sailboat pillow. And I’m thankful for quiet evenings spent with my sidekick, where we can both enjoy life’s simple pleasures.

Wishing you all sunny days ahead, and plenty of time to get carried away quilting!

~Taunja

Crossing Petals kits available at Sweet Treasures Quilts

It’s the first week of March, and we are finally experiencing seasonally appropriate weather in Minnesota. The polar vortex is gone! High temps are in the 40s (F), the sun is shining and the bird are chirping. Although we still have some snow on the ground, it is melting slowly. Spring is just around the corner. Halleluiah!

If you are looking for a quick spring sewing project, then the team at Sweet Treasures Quilts has the perfect idea for you! They have kitted up a lovely version of my Crossing Petals pattern, featuring a collection of prints by Lella Boutique for Moda. Shop owner Terri has photographed her sample with a pot of gorgeous blush tulips. That certainly makes me long for spring!

Crossing Petals finishes at 20” square.  It is easy to sew and easy to quilt, making it an ideal project for a beginning sewist. It’s also the perfect project for those of us who want to quickly jump-start our spring decorating with a new table topper.

Hop on over to Sweet Treasures Quilts to grab your kit today. It includes my pattern, as well as all the fabric for the front, back and binding.

Have a great week, everyone!

~Taunja

Photos courtesy of Sweet Treasures Quilts.

Star Crossed Pines shines with Christmas Morning

How many of you talk to yourself when sewing?  Do you praise the pretty fabric you are pressing? Do you let out hoots of laughter or even exclaim, “YES!” when a block comes together just right? Do you repeat the cutting instructions to yourself aloud to make sure you’re slicing in the correct spot?

I’m not embarrassed to say that I do all of those things. (I also chew myself out when I make a mistake, but let’s not dwell on that.) This past weekend I was chatting up a storm to my own best sewing friend, me, because I was so thrilled to be cutting and sewing with Lella Boutique’s upcoming collection, Christmas Morning. Here’s a little peek at my progress:

Do you recognize that block?  It’s from my Star Crossed Pines pattern, which I originally released in Fig Tree fabrics a few years ago.  I have been waiting for just the right collection to sew a new Star Crossed Pines quilt, and Christmas Morning ticked all of the boxes for me. This beautiful collection features a wonderous array of cranberry, sage and silvery gray prints that somehow feel both traditional and contemporary. You will find delicate holly, gorgeous florals, flirty polka dots, festive text and coordinating stripes. The collection is scheduled to ship to stores in May. (Click here for Moda's brochure of Christmas Morning, with SKUs.)

As I was stitching in my warm and cozy sewing room, my home state of Minnesota (like much of the country) was experiencing frigid outdoor temperatures well below zero. Can you imagine my giggle when I noticed that my fabric was also complaining about the weather? BRRRR! What a hoot!

I’ll be sure to update you when I finish my quilt top. In the meantime, if you would like to start scheming your own Star Crossed Pines quilt featuring Christmas Morning, the pattern is available in paper and PDF format on my Etsy Shop. Maybe you could even encourage your favorite quilt shop to pull together a kit when the fabric arrives! Sometimes all it takes is a nudge from customers and a quilt shop will kit a particular pattern.  (Quilts shops can contact me directly for wholesale pattern offerings.)

Thanks for stopping by. I’d better get back to sewing . . . and talking to myself.  This fun project has made me understandably chatty!

~Taunja

Harmony fat quarter quilt featuring Farmhouse Flannels II

Our nephew Adam will graduate from high school this May, and I’ve completed his flannel quilt with a few months to spare.  Last fall I asked Adam if he had any special requests for his graduation quilt, or if he would trust me to select the pattern and colors. He texted back, “I trust you Aunt Taunja. Go for it!”  He’s such a great kid. I hope he loves his quilt!

This past year I’ve made three quilts featuring the Farmhouse Flannels II collection by Primitive Gatherings for Moda: one for my husband, one for my son, and one for Haley’s boyfriend. Because all of these men gave rave reviews of their quilts, I also chose Farmhouse Flannels II for Adam’s quilt.  (Click here for Moda's brochure of Farmhouse Flannels II, with SKUs.)

The pattern I used was my Harmony pattern, which is fat quarter friendly and a breeze to stitch up.  My previous Harmony quilts have been decidedly feminine, so I'm happy to see that Harmony is also a great pattern for the guys in my life!

The awesome machine quilting on Adam’s Harmony quilt was done by Katy of Woods Edge Quilting.  We selected a motif called “Fort” which has an angular, masculine feeling that is perfect for this quilt. Katy suggested a warm gray thread that looks great with all of the flannel colors. Thanks so much, Katy and team! Once again you knocked it out of the park!

Adam’s quilt has been tucked away until his graduation celebration. He is the youngest grandchild on my husband’s side of the family, so we’ll all feel a bit nostalgic watching the baby of the family head off into the world.  I know I’ll be comforted with the thought that our quilt will go with him on his journeys, reminding him of home and family.

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

~Taunja

Other versions of Harmony:

Harmony in Coney Island by Fig Tree & Co.

Harmony in a mix of prints by Fig Tree and Bonnie & Camille

Harmony in Flower Mill by Corey Yoder for Moda

And Sweet Treasures Quilts still has 2 kits available of their version of Harmony, featuring Canning Day by Corey Yoder