Scrappy Project Planner Sew Along: Flirt Quilt

Today I'm joining in with the Fat Quarter Shop's Scrappy Planner Sew Along.  I received one of Lori Holt's Scrappy Project Planner a few months back and it's a mix of project planner, weekly planner with space for you to write your own planning, and it's also an instructional book with a tips/organising section and six full size scrappy quilt pattern at the back.  You can see inside it here, its 1" thick so you get an idea of how full it is!   

I chose to have a go at the Fat Quarter Flirt quilt which is a flexible scrappy quilt pattern which gives the look of randomness but the comfort of some blocks to follow.  it is of course a great scrap buster- Lori is the queen of scraps!  I have lots of feedback and vintage scraps, many are fro friends and are precious small pieces, so I thought I'd use them for this with an eye to a keepsake, fabric memento quilt.

There are six blocks.  Instructions are given for either using fat quarters and efficient economical cutting, or you can just make each block from whatever scraps you have to hand.  It could not be more flexible.   I made five blocks; the sixth had quite a large piece on and I'm looking to use smaller pieces so I going to stick with 1-5.

Flirt #1

Flirt #2

Flirt #3

Flirt#4 

Flirt #5

I'm going to have this as an ongoing quilt, something that I turn to for time to time, especially in between other projects as an easy, low effort sew.  You could easily substitute in extra strips and squares if you want to make blocks fit together differently from the suggested layout and I think its going to make a delightful, vintage hotch potch of prints!

You can see related quilts, sewalongs etc on this hashtag #scrappyprojectplanner and check in with the Jolly Jabber to see other's who have been playing with this block.
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Birthday Block Banner

To celebrate a year since the publication of her Farm Girl Vintage book, Lori Holt has designed a 'Farm Girl Layer Cake' Anniversary block and she and the Fat Quarter Shop are sharing versions of the blocks made by lots of sewing bloggers (full list in the FQ shop blog post) and I am taking part.  Check out the link here for the free Layer Cake pattern download from Lori.   The block can be made in two sizes, I opted for the smaller 6" size and added some wider sashing to make the block suitable for a birthday banner flag.

July is a busy month for birthdays in our house and I thought a banner flag that came out for family birthdays would be a cute bit of decor.  It's easy to do and the method could be applied to any size quilt block.

How to Make a Birthday Block Banner

In addition to the usual materials to make the smaller block you will need:

• 12" square backing material
• Some extra background fabric
• ribbon, twine or ric rac for hanging
• a stick- I used a gardening bamboo cane cut to size

1.  Complete the block following the instructions up to adding piece R- we will cut these a little larger!  Cut the following replacement pieces for R to enlarge the block slightly:

• One 3" x 8 ½ rectangle for top
• One 3 ½"x 8 ½" rectangle for the bottom

Sew these to the top and bottom of the block.  Press the block, starch if that's your preference!

Fold the block in half lengthways.  Cut the block to make a banner shape using a quilting ruler with a 45 degree line, line up with the fold and the edge of the block as in the photo below.  Trim excess fabric with a rotary cutter to create the banner point.  You can always mark with pencil or chalk first on the reverse to check your shape.

2.  Cut the backing fabric by placing the banner front on to the backing fabric, right sides together.  Use the banner front as a template, cut around it using quilt ruler and rotary cutter.    Mark ¼" seam intersections in pencil at the lower corners and point on the front banner.  Whilst banner front and back are still right sides together, pin around the edge.

Leaving a 3" space along the centre of the top edge, sew a ¼" seam all around the banner edge.   Trim corners and points.   Press the top seam open, including the gap to create a fold in the opening fabric.  Turn the banner through the gap, right side out.  Poke out corners carefully and press.  Use slip stitch to close the opening. 

3.  Fold your fabric over at the top creating enough room for your stick to slide through comfortably- it should not be too sung.  Pin and baste into place making sure your basting stitches are parallel to the top edge as you will be using these as a guideline for your top stitching.

4.  With a contrast thread- maybe even something thicker, I used Aufil 12 wt, stitch along the top of the banner, following the basting stitched and creating the hanging stick casing sleeve,  then continue the stitches around the edge of the banner.   With thicker threads it is often neater to finish the loose thread ends by hand.  Thread the hanging stick through.  Tie twine or ribbon or ric rac to the stick ends to hang the banner, tuck the ends into the casing sleeve.

Hang and enjoy on every birthday occasion!

Fabrics Used:

• Background: vintage fabric
• Cake: Lecien small gingham
• Cake filling Atsuko Matsuyama floral
• Cake Heart: Ayumi Takahashi for Kokka, Lighthearted  Swedish Kitchen text print
• Cake Stand: Denyse Schmidt Sweet Ruby floral, tiny Japanese strawberry print and Cosmo cricket sketch print.
• Backing fabric: Lecien Od New 30s Deer print by Atsuko Matsuyama 
• Top Stitch Thread: 12wt Aurifil 1231 Spring Green

Check out the other bloggers taking part here:

Vickie from Spun Sugar Quilts

Sedef from Down Grapevine Lane

Kelly from Kelbysews

Pam from Pam Kitty Morning

Debbie from Happy Little Cottage

Greg from Grey Dogwood Studios

Renee from Sewn with Grace

Sinta from Pink Pin Cushion

Lisa from In the Boondocks

Connie from Free Motion by the River

Dana from Old Red Barn Co.

Barb from Me & My Sister Designs

Melissa from Happy Quilting

Sharla from Thistle Thicket Studios

Kim from Persimon Dreams

Marni from Haberdashery Fun

Jacque from Lily Pad Quilting

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#farmgirlfridays Week Nine: Feed and Seed

Hi, welcome to the week nine in the Farm Girl Vintage Sew Along #farmgirlfridays that the Fat Quarter Shop and Lori Holt are running for Lori's new Farm Girl Vintage book. The pace is gentle; one block a week, each Friday feature's two guest bloggers and you can either drop in and make a single block, small project or go for the whole quilt!  I chose to make the 'Feed and Seed' block.  It's a classic quilt block and I am a sucker for blocks like this one that feature a square on point within a square, I like the way they look like they are blooming!

You can find Sew Along schedule here.  The Feed and Seed block is on page 30 of the Farm Girl Vintage book.  Jessie has another block on her blog today and Lori posts on her blog each week.   This link will take you to a big picture post by Lori so you can get an in depth look inside the book. The hashtags will helps you find other's taking part and insertion for your block- try these! #feedandseedblock #farmgirlvintage

As with Lori's other books published by It's Sew Emma, the book making arm of The Fat Quarter Shop, Farm Girl Vintage is spiral bound with great photography and clear diagrams and instructions.  There are tables, diagrams for each part of the block making process and lots of sizing options.   There is a grand real of fourteen projects which includes ten quilts, two table runners, a table topper and a potholder.  There are forty five sampler blocks, all featured in the sew along.  I chose to make a 6" block and extend the sides and edges with extra pieces to make a mat for our table.

My fabric choices came out of a block I did for My Small World Quilt Along.  I liked the colour palette so much I wanted to repeat it!  The fabrics are a mix of Lori Holt's (the text prints,) Ayumi Takahashi's Lighthearted, Pam Kitty Morning's dots and a Sevenberry pink floral.  

The binding is Michael Miller Painter's canvas in Mermaid.  It is bias cut to curve round the corners but otherwise 2.25" wide, double folded quilt binding, machined to the front and hand finished on the reverse.   If you are making a square cornered pot holder,  Fat Quarter shop have put together a helpful video  on using the backing fabric as binding.

Farm Girl Vintage Stockists:

USA Fat Quarter Shop

UK Sew and Quilt, Sew Hot, Hulu Crafts, Kaleidoscope Books, Poppies and Polka Dots

Many of these shops will send elsewhere in the world.

Quilty Fun Birthday Block

Lori Holt of Bee in My Bonnet and Fat Quarter shop are celebrating a year since the publication of Lori's Quilty Fun book with cutting instructions for a free birthday block which you may have seen popping up on Instagram, blogs etc.  This is my version- I added a little flame to the candle too!

I went for saturated colours and a bright background- Michael Miller cotton couture in turquoise.  The little flame addition was a mix of a little Y seam and then paper pieced, fiddly but I like the effect.

The download is cutting instructions only- its easy to assemble if you are familiar with Lori's easy techniques like easy corner triangle which she covers in Quilty Fun and in her blog tutorials. 

For UK and non USA people looking for the book, it is available here at Kaleidoscope quilting and books.  Its an easy block to make, I cut mine out and laid it as the diagram on a tray and then worked my way through the main sections of the cake.   It would make a lovely block for a first birthday baby quilt too!

Great Granny Giveaway

Hot on the heels of Quilty Fun, the lovely Lori Holt has also managed to produce Great Granny Squared, published by Sew Emma, the publishing arm of the Fat Quarter shop.

Kimberly has been kind enough to send me two copies so here are some of my favourite pics from the booklet and I have another copy right next to me now waiting to be claimed- see the giveaway at the bottom.  Beatiful pictures, clear instructions and diagrams and as ever, wherever Lori is involved, there is quilt and vintage eye candy.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED. WINNER DRAWN

It is a lovely booklet, Granny blocks in a range of sizes and instructions for two quilts, a table runner, a pillow and two embroidered label designs.  This booklet is only available through Sew Emma.  For the giveaway, here's how to enter with three possible entries- make a separate comment for each:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Share the giveaway on a social media place of your choice- Facebook/Instagram/Twitter and leave a comment saying which you did

3. Extra entry if you are in a country UK or Europe  outside USA  as these books cost a lot to order from USA so I wanted to up your chances! Comment and mention your country.

Make sure  that I can contact you or leave your email like this - kerrykit (at) yahoo (dot) co (dot) uk - to prevent spam problems.  Open to all wherever you are.

I will draw an entry randomly next this time next week- good luck!

Quilty Fun Blog Tour

Welcome to the first stop right at the beginning of the Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour: Apples!

I am a huge fan of Lori Holt's work, she is such  a sweet person and she shares so many tips and ideas  at her blog Bee in My Bonnet so I jumped at the change to take part.   Her new book is a collaboration between Lori and the Fat Quarter Shop. You can see detailed photos of Quilty Fun book here- the photos, taken in Lori's home are to die for, all the retro styling and colours which I just know is not just for the cameras but how Lori lives her life.  The Sew Along is to make a quilty sampler from many of the blocks in the book and each stop on the hop comes with its own companion PDF that works alongside the book so you can make this quilt- Download 1 Apples is here

The book is well laid out and the spiral binding allows it to lay flat and makes it great to work alongside.  The instructions are displayed in a checklist style as is the download so you can cut exactly what you need for the sampler apples.  I did all my prep in order of the list and labelled and lined the pieces ready to use. 

 ***Edited to add***

Additional Yardage 

You will need 3 yards of background fabric in total for this quilt top

½ yard for red postage stamp border

1 ¼ yards outer border

All the blocks in this quilt are rotary cut and simple to make. Lori has such a systematic, efficient approach with tips along the way.  You can put the time into chosing your fabrics as the construction is very straightforward.  

This block took me 15 mins to prep and 1 hour to sew together.  

I love her graphic picture style, and the book is packed with ideas like these apples.  Other favourites in the book include the Town Square quilt the Apple-licious quilt- obviously.

Each stop on the tour comes with a giveaway and for this stop you will find two 3.5" Rolie Polies of Lori's new fabric line, Gracie Girl up for grabs.  To enter,  you must make the apple block using the tip sheet and page 22 of the book and post it to the Quilty Fun Flickr Group and the winner will be announced on the Jolly Jabber 11th Nov.   Enjoy!