New patterns at Quilters Warehouse include a couple of quick projects.  One of those quick projects is Lucky Charm by Lehmann Quilting.  It’s two times three! Two colors fabrics, two sizes and two layouts.  These quick to construct table runners make use of strip piecing.  Make one for your home for the holidays and them make up another as a gift.

Another quick pattern is Jelly Roll Runners & More I.  This pattern has instructions for four quick designs that you can make in a single day, all from one jelly roll.

You’ll feel like you’ve gotten so much accomplished when you finish these.  Then you might want to tackle a larger project.

Simple Blended is a queen size quilt of a fairly simple design that is fat quarter friendly.

If you want to try a new technique, Happy Villages will teach you all about fabric collage.  You can let your creativeness loose as you make a village that expresses what you want it to be.  You won’t need to worry about 1/4 inch seams or matching points. Just lay out your village, like it and sew or don’t like it and lay it out another way and then sew. 

And what collection of patterns would be complete without a few Christmas projects?  Three Stockings is so cute. . . a little piecing, a little applique, a little whimsy.  It’s a wallhanging that would make a great gift.

 Yuletide Ribbon Wreath is another wallhanging.  This one has lots of applique and lots of open spaces to showcase your quilting.  Using plaid for the ribbon really adds movement and dimension to the quilt.

As always there is something for everyone among the quilt patterns at Quilters Warehouse.  Enjoy the browsing and then enjoy the quilting.  If you can’t decide what you want or don’t have time to finish shopping, just add your selections to “Favorites” and they’ll be waiting for you when you come back.

Our new designer this week is Linda Rould from Purse-O-Nalities of Palm Harbor. She has handbag designs that will really wow you.  They are so varied and they lend themselves to YOU putting YOUR “purse-o-nal” touch on them.  Linda believes you can be YOU can be the designer too.  The sizes are many and so are the styles . . . from change purse, to small purse, to large purse, to mega bag, to back pack . . . she has it all.   Several of Linda’s designs use a “bag within a bag” technique that creates extra pockets and a really neat look.

A Tote-all Purse-O-Nality is the perfect example.  The bright yellow inside bag contracts nicely with the floral exterior bag and you get four large pockets when you sew them together. 

You could make one for each season. . .  Bright red inner bag with large scale pattern in a Christmas theme,  Soft green inner bag with soft floral pattern for Spring.  The pictured fabrics would work great for Summer . . . you get the idea.

Here’s a classic pattern, aptly named The Classic Purse-O-Nality.  It’s small enough that you don’t feel like you are hauling a tote around but it’s big enough to carry what you need.  And, as most of Linda’s patterns are, it’s easy to customize – you pick the number of pockets you want the purse to have.

And here’s a quilty tote.  A Blooming Purse-O-Nality will satisfy your urge to create a quilty project and you’ll have a great tote that has so many ways to make it suit your needs.

Check out all of the purse designs and you’ll probably find several you just have to have.

Ok, here’s the first installment of the On Point Block of the Month Showcase project.   The first month has two blocks.   Block 1 is called Hearth and Home.  There are 8 half square triangles and 17 squares.  As you can imagine, this block went together lickety-split . . . quick and easy.  What a nice beginning. 

A few tips . . .

- As you follow the instructions and cut the pieces it’s helpful to cut a  small piece of each fabric and make a chart so you can keep track of which fabric matches which number in the instructions. 

- I found my fabric stacked in order, which made it easier to figure which was which (nice job, Sandy!) but don’t assume that it will always be that way . . . it’s easy enough to get them mixed up in the packing – or in the unpacking! 

- It’s helpful also to look at the color image as you check the fabric, as the darks in the gray scale drawing are not neccessarily the darks in the actual block. 

Block 2 is called Broken Dishes. It has 8 small half square triangles and 4 larger half square triangles and 8 squares.  It went together nearly as quick and easy as the first block.

The instructions say to cut the fabric for the half square triangles (HST) into squares and then in half diagonally and then sew the resulting triangles together.  I found that there was enough fabric to cut the squares a bit larger and draw a line diagonally from corner to corner, sew just under 1/4″ away from this line on either side, and then cut down the line.  This made two HST from each pair of squares and there were no bias edges to deal with while sewing.  Just be sure to make your seams a bit less than 1/4″ ’cause there’s not much wiggle room! and then trim the HST to the correct finished size (3″ or 3 1/2″ depending on which ones they are).

Each of these blocks finished at 12 1/2″ as will the rest of the blocks with the exception of the center block. 

If you are interested in starting the On Point Block of the Month don’t worry that you are too late.  You’ll receive the same set of blocks each month that everyone else gets and then you’ll start over until you have all of the months.  You can refer back to the posts for the earlier months when you get them.  Don’t forget to sent pics of your finished blocks so we can all “oooh” and “aaaah” over them.  Send them to kbrown@quiltersshowcase.com .  Oh, and be sure to have fun, and soak up the joy of completing such pretty blocks that will be part of a beautiful large quilt.

Who doesn’t like gadgets?  They make you job easier and are fun to use. You’ll find lots of them at Quilterswarehouse.com and you’ll save money on them too!

The Color Selector color wheel will help you choose fabrics for your next quilt project. 

How handy would this SideWinder Portable Bobbin Winder be to have.  No more “un-threading” your machine to wind bobbins and then have to thread it up again.  What a time-saver! It will run with a power cord or it will run on batteries… truly portable.  The SideWinder will work with any bobbin that has a standard center hole.

Joan Hawley of Lazy Girl Designs has two gadgets that she really likes.  One is the Ultimate Scissors.  Here’s what she has to say about them: “In addition to their great cutting, they are lightweight and feel like holding nothing in my hand. I’ve had these scissors for about a year and I once again appreciated how wonderful they are while working like a fool at a weekend-long quilt retreat.”

Another of Joan’s favorites is the Bendable Bright Light. It’s so very handy AND it’s energy efficient.   Read everything Joan has to say about these two items at Lazy Girl Designs Blog.

Do you do any hand sewing? If so, this is a “must-have” gadget.  This Desk Needle Threader will save you time, save your eyesight and save you aggravation.  PLUS you’ll save money on it at Quilters Warehouse!  It doesn’t get any better than that!

There are many more quilting tools, supplies and gadgets available.  Browse through them and you’ll be sure to find something you can’t live (or quilt) without.

There are several Block of the Month choices at Quilters Warehouse.  They are a fun way to complete a large quilt.  The expense is spread out and so is the work.  This is how it works…Each month you will receive a package that includes a pattern for a portion of the quilt, plus all the fabric you need to complete that portion.  This continues each month until your quilt is nearly finished.  The last package you receive will be to complete the quilt top.  This usually means the borders.  You will then have your top finished and will need to provide the batting and backing.  The fabric that is included in your kit will be selected to match the fabrics as noted or pictured in the pattern but it will sometimes be necessary to make substitutions with similiar fabrics.

On Point is the newest Block of the Month at QuiltersWarehouse. It’s available with a pieced center:

or with an applique center:

This totally scrappy quilt is a nine month project. The first seven months will be patterns and fabric (scrappy, of course) for the pieced blocks that surround the center. There are fourteen of them so, 2 blocks per month. The eight month will be fabric and the pattern for the center, your choice of applique or pieced. The final month will be all the rest… the fabric and pattern for the sashing, pieced border, border and binding.

If you’re ready to jump on the Block of the Month bandwagon do it now and we’ll keep up here on QuiltersShowcase. We’ll “showcase” construction of this quilt, step by step, with pictures of blocks each month as they are completed. Want to participate? Email photos of your completed blocks to kbrown@quiltersshowcase.com and see them posted here. It’ll be a fun way to keep on task with your project and see how others are doing.   Month one, begin!  Watch for a post In the next few days that is all about Month one.

Have you seen the Butterfly Fling line of fabric from Moda.   Sooooo cute!   Even the name is cute.  Check these out….

There’s the main butterfly fabric with lots of colored butterflies on a white background. And a purple background with white squiggly lines running between different colored butterflies.

There are two tone on tone fabrics with marbled background and darker dots in a pink and purple.

Also, a white background with multi-colored dots.  And a striped fabric with green, pink and white stripes.
 
                                
Any (or all) of these can be ordered in quarter yard increments.  If you want only a quarter yard, a fat quarter will be shipped.  These fabrics are also available as a jelly roll. 
To get you started here’s a couple patterns that you might want to try with this fabric.
A Square Deal by Black Cat Creations – the large squares would be perfect for the focus fabric. All Patched Up would be another great pattern.  So simple, it’ll sew up in a flash. And it’s just the right size for a donation to Project Linus.

Here’s what I did with the fabric.  A little five year old with a purple bedroom (I guess you know it’s a girl!) is going to be cuddling under this quilt very soon!
                   
It’s such a creative process to wander around the quilt shop or browse through all the fabrics at Quilters Warehouse and pick just the right combinations.  But sometimes it’s hard to resist just grabbing up something that has been coordinated for you.  You’re ready to sew that much faster!