Hopeful Homemaker

We had rain today.  At least two dozen times I’ve heard someone say, “It’s so cold!” as they ran inside for another layer of clothing.  Fall has arrived, and I’ve been saving this quilt for months so I could pull it out and share it now.


The fabric range is Bungalow by Joel Dewberry, a collection rich in color and lovely in print.  Not necessarily an autumn collection, but to me autumn isn’t a time of just red, orange, brown, and yellow.  I feel like everything deepens in color in fall, with a wider range of color than we assume.  Somehow this collection feels like fall to me.


My favorite part of the quilt, however, is probably the background fabric.  It’s a thick, yummy vintage linen sheet that I finally had the nerve to cut into, and it totally makes the quilt.  I had it quilted by the talented Kaylene Parry (@quilterlove66 on Instagram).  The quilting looks lovely on it and the texture is fantastic.  I’m so happy with it!


I finished the quilt with a rich teal woodgrain printed flannel backing, which makes this a fairly thick and cozy quilt.  A coral print from the Bungalow collection finishes things off nicely.  I’m so excited to have this one out and in use as we welcome the cooler weather.

The pattern is Surfside, by Thimbleblossoms.  It’s a layer cake friendly pattern and comes together quickly.  Sometimes it’s nice to have quick projects to use up your stash!


This quilt is begging to be used – time for a cup of hot chocolate, a warm fire, and a good book!

Jennifer

I haven’t been so excited about a quilt top in a very long time!  Meet my Lone Star Party quilt, a lone star quilt with eight different sizes of lone star blocks.  I love this traditional quilt block, but really wanted to find a way to break it out of a traditional setting, and also to demonstrate how adaptable it is.  I feel like this improv setting of so many sizes is modern and refreshing.


One of the things I love about the lone star block is that once you learn how to make it (and it’s really quite simple) you can change one measurement and have all kinds of sizes.  The process is one that has become really enjoyable and rewarding for me, especially since the finished star has so much impact.


Making these stars was a lot of work, but totally worth the time and effort!  I decided to use a mash-up of Cotton + Steel fabrics with just a few other prints thrown in.


You can find my tutorial for making your own lone star block here .  It’s a detailed, step-by-step, full of photos tutorial that also includes a PDF that highlights the basic steps for making a lone star block.  The PDF contains a table for adjusting the size of a lone star block by changing the width of your strips. All of the sizes in the table except for one are represented in this quilt top.  Please visit my Lone Star Tutorials page for more links to my lone star projects and tips!


For my background I chose the Firefly print in Whisper by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics.  It’s from her Hello, Bear collection.  I selected it because I wanted a print that would help hide all the seams in the quilt top, and also because it continues the illusion of a star-filled sky.


This project has been in my head for years, and I’m so glad I finally made the time to bring it to life.  I keep feeling like I should choose a favorite star, but I love all of them.  I love the way the fabrics look together, and how all these stars show off and yet compliment one another too.


I am so excited and happy about this quilt!  It makes me smile.  Can’t wait to show you more!

I love fabric.  I love quilting.  I haven’t ventured much into sewing other items, but last year for Christmas I decided to undertake the making of a bunch of fabric pull-out boxes.  They were fun gifts to make and I’ve made some here and there for the past 8 months.


It’s fun to use different color and fabric combinations and see how they turn out.  I tried to make a variety of styles and it kept the project interesting.


This project is a great use for fat quarters.  The pattern is from Aneela Hoey’s shop , and comes in two different sizes.  I only made the smaller of the two, and found it’s a great size for all kinds of things, including sewing supplies, or goodies if you’re giving a gift.  They are sturdy and roomy.


I will admit that the boxes took longer to make than I hoped they would.  There are a lot of steps and the final assembly of the boxes requires hand sewing as well, which I didn’t realize when I bought the pattern.  (I kind of committed myself without really knowing what I was doing.)  The finished product, however, was a great reward for my time and effort, so I’m happy with the outcome.


I gave all of these away, and looking at the photos makes me want one of my own.  Perhaps one of these days I’ll make some more…