The Row by Row experience

I have only recently become aware of a program that is run over summer here in the USA called the Row by Row Experience.  From June 21st thru to September 8th over two thousand quilt shops around the USA and Canada give away a free pattern, based on a theme.  All you have to do is visit the store to get the pattern.

This years theme was H2O (water) and I was excited to work with my local quilt store, Modern Domestic, to design their Row by Row experience….Glass Half Full.

table runnerThe remit was to design a block that was 8 inches high by 36 inches wide.  I worked with Michelle Freedman to design a paper piecing block based on the idea of a glass of water.

block layoutsMy original block was 6 different paper piecing patterns for the water (you can see the my original test run above).  Michelle then streamlined the idea into just one pattern sheet, which still gives you variety in the water but is easier to distribute.

MD patternYou can pick up this pattern for free from Modern Domestic over the next couple of months.  Most of the stores also have kits available for their blocks, which is helpful if your stash is somewhat lacking in blues!  I turned my row into a table runner by simply adding a border strip…

glass half full blocksIf you are not able to make it to make it to Portland you can check out the Row by Row website to see if your local quilt store is participating… I know there are quite a few stores that have paper pieced their row… including Fabric Depot whose very cool paper pieced block I will definitely be hunting down.

quilting detailAnd if you are outside the USA, don’t fret, at the end of the September many of the stores will make their patterns available digitally.  I will let you know when Modern Domestic’s pattern becomes available.

Designing a paper piecing pattern….

This week I have been playing with a paper piece block that I have designed for a friend’s quilt.  She is a big fox fan and seeing she is getting married in August I thought a quilt was in order.

There are some great fox patterns out there…I  love Elizabeth Hartman’s “Fancy Fox“….but I wanted to make Miss Katie something very special.  Inspired by a print I saw at a local Market Stall, I came up with this block…

Miss K Fox blockI initially sketched the idea in a my gridded notebook, then transferred the idea into the quilting program EQ.  I tweaked a little and then did a test run.

sewing piecesI never print out numbers on the blocks in this initial phase, because part of the pattern testing process is to work out which pieces should be numbered in which order.  In particular the decision of the first piece glued down is important (I select the most awkward shaped piece to start with if possible).

block piecesWhen all the pieces are made I then look at how to make sure that the proportions are right and that all the pieces are okay.  With this pattern I went in and tweaked a few bits … I made the nose bigger and got rid of some extra lines that were not needed.

amending patternI will now go back into EQ and make the changes and finally add the numbers and do another test run.  Then when I am happy I will launch into full-blown fox production mode…. an August deadline is looming and I have a lot of foxes to make!

So before I sign off the winner of the fabric bundle is….

Kirsten who wrote…”I am following along with your progress on this beautiful quilt as green is my favourite colour – all of your stars are just gorgeous and I love the LV backgroundl!”.

So the fabric will be winging its way to Kirsten.  Thanks to everyone who entered.  There was such a great response that I will definitely be doing this again…and soon.

A little miscalculation…

This week I finally decided on the layout for my green star quilt….and in doing so realised I was one block short!    So it was back to the drawing board…literally…and a new block was designed…

outlined starThis is my Outlined star…a fun little star with 32 lovely little pieces.  I designed this star after staring at the other blocks on my design wall for a week or so and it seems to fit nicely into the Green star mix.

quilt block piecesIf you would like to add this star to your collection you can find a free PDF of an 8 inch  pattern here….Outlined star pattern.

And here is a glimpse of what I am planning for these blocks…

quilt block layoutI hope to have a finished quilt top to share with you on Friday…

A flurry of butterflies….

Yesterday was a public holiday here in the US and I fully embraced the good weather and took the day off…. so no paper piecing Monday this week.  Instead I wanted to share one of the paper piecing projects I have been working on for the last week or so…

lizzy house butterflyI have been making butterfly blocks using Lizzy House fabric and tone-on-tone white scraps.   My obsession with making these blocks took seed when Lizzy’s new fabric line, Natural Histories came out and included this wonderful print…lovely hunt tiff makerI had purchased a fabulous butterfly pattern a year or so ago from Juliet at Tartan Kiwi so I went to work making blocks.  The pattern, if you are interested, is only $2.50 and can be bought HERE.

butterflies 1The pattern is for a 5 inch butterfly and it takes four parts to make one block….

butterfly pattern piecesThe more of these I have made the quicker the process has become.  There are some small bits to the pattern but nothing to complex… and I love the end result.

butterfly sizesFor my butterfly collection I also enlarged the pattern a little.  The yellow butterfly above is the 5 inch block and the green butterfly is what I got when I enlarged the pattern to take up the whole of a 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper.

lizzy house butterfliesMy finished butterfly collection will have both block sizes and a fun array of colours.  I am using just Lizzy House fabric and trying not to repeat any fabric…and I love how they all look.

Orange butterfly

The last green star….

Welcome to Paper Piecing Monday….the final edition of the Green Star series…

fractured starThere is no rhyme or reason for my colour placement on this star… I just had fun and put scraps where ever they fitted.  Some how it seemed the thing to do with this the 20th star in the series.  Yep you read that right, I made 20 green stars and shared 20 patterns.

block partsI had a change of heart this week about how I wanted to layout of the stars in the final quilt, and so do not want to share anything yet.  I hope to play some more this week and have a WIP (work in progress) shot for you next week.

The last 8 inch star pattern can be found here…fractured star pattern.

Do not fret, paper piecing Monday will be back next week, but with something NON star related.