Fall Blog Hop: Lantern Light Quilt Tutorial

 

Welcome to my leg of the Fall blog hop hosted by SewCalGal.  Today I'm going to share with you another way to use a tumbler block.  This is also another way to make the traditional Lantern Light Quilt Block.  The difference is that instead of paper piecing lanterns onto a background, you will be interlocking the lanterns by making them with tumblers.  I made 15 rows of tumblers, each row containing 16 tumblers. I like using 1/3 yard cuts with the 3.5" tumbler die because the die is about 12" high. Perfect fit, less waste!

Requirements:

• Assortment of 10 prints or so cut in 1/3 yard increments (240 tumblers).  Most of these need to be in matching pairs (like socks!).
• 1/3 yard stop border (2"unfinished)
• 1 1/8 yard outer border (6.5" unfinished)
• 1/2 yard binding
• 3 3/4 yard backing
• Accuquilt GO! 3.5" tumbler die or any acrylic template in that size.  You can also make your own templates out of cardboard, template plastic, or even worn out cutting mats. 

Finished Size: 59"x60"

First lay out a row of 16 tumblers.

Since I had multiples of each print , I just left my row on the table for visual reference and sewed the actual pieces from all the extras still sitting in piles.  This really helped me to stay organized.

Sew the pieces side by side (fat side to skinny side, RSF).  I like how the accuquilt gives you the little flat spots for matching your tips: less bulk, easy to line up.

Press to one side (you will alternate pressing directions each row)

Now lay your sewn row down and  place a matching tumbler to each "fat" edge to create the lantern shape.

Fill in with other prints and sew that row together.  Repeat until you have all 15 rows sewn together.  I trimmed off my uneven tumbler sides.  Your pieced section should measure about 44"x 45".  I threw on a 1.5" finished stop border (1/3 yard of a chunky black/white prison stripe) and a 6" finished outer border (1 1/8 yard of my Peanuts Halloween fabric) to make this a nice 59"x60" quilt.

Yes, I did make a boo-boo on the bottom row!

My husband is not all about Halloween and really neither am I.  I just wanted to make a Great Pumpkin quilt for my Peanuts loving children.  On a whim I added some cute Eerie Alley by Michael Miller and then I started to think these lanterns looked like coffins, probably because the fabric had actual coffins on it.  Whoops!

I did a giant spiderweb with my walking foot.

 

And I tried the pumpkin patch motif from the Free Motion Quilting Project.  It was pretty easy even though you can see I didn't do a perfect job.  My kids were extremely impressed, though, which is what really matters.

I hope you liked this tutorial.  If you make one I'd love to see it in the flickr group!  Too see my other quilting tutorials (including a few accuquilt tutorials), go check out my tutorials page.

You may have seen my accuquilt tutorial for the Roly Poly Owl Block....

Well I cut out four kits of this 14"x14" wall hanging to give away to four lucky quilters.  Each kit includes eyes, beak, & mostly American Jane fabric to create the complete top for this wall hanging.  The background fabric in the kids are various American Jane navy prints instead of the light blue shown.

The giveaway is open to US residents (this is just so I can use the automated postal machine...our post office is maddening and is a minimum 30 minutes wait every time I've been there).  I will announce winners some time Monday.  If you are a no reply blogger, please leave an email with at least 1 of your comments.  If there is no want to contact you through a blog or email,  I'll pick another name (sorry, I've had my fill of redraw drama!) 

Chances to win:

1. Leave a comment on this post  telling me your favorite fall memory from your childhood (or the childhood of your kids & grand kids). 

2.Bonus Entry for new OR old followers of the Tulip Patch (just leave a comment stating you are!)

3.Bonus Entry for new OR old followers of SewCalGal (just leave a  comment under this post stating that you are).

Thanks Darlene at Sewcalgal for hosting this HOP.  Tomorrow check out the last stop, Aunt Polly's Porch ...and try not to get too jealous of her sewing area (I know I  am!).

Church Windows (lazy girl Cathedral Windows)

You may have noticed I have a slight obsession with 3 dimensional flying geese. Well a while back (last spring) I came up with something I was pretty proud of...a quickie cathedral window block.

 Then I found out someone pretty much used this same concept to make something called a 15 minute quilt?  The difference is that they made their patchwork spaces huge in comparison to the white diamonds.  There really are no new ideas...just newly discovered ones.  SIGH!

As you can see, the top is a 3d flying geese.  The bottom is the completed block where 2 of the 3d flying geese are joined at the white portion then turned over by machine.

I can't imagine doing a bed size of this...it would weigh a ton!  Then again, I think real cathedral windows probably weigh a ton, too.  I'd love to have one of these professionally quilted, but after working over those multi-layered seams I think I'd be "fired" by the professional quilter!

let's go to the hop...

least creative blog hop intro ever, no?

Sorry, the quilting has zapped 100% of my creative energies!

I'll be participating in a blog hop this week. It's hosted by Darlene at SewCalGal and the theme is Fall Projects for the Accuquilt. My project can also be made without one, but it sure makes it GO! more quickly (the puns don't stop, y'all!).

Monday, September 26th
- Darlene (SewCalGal) www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com

Tues., September 27th
- Terrie (Bits & Pieces) www.terriesandelin.blogspot.com
- Sharon (Craizee Corners) www.craizeecorner.blogspot.com

Wed., Sept 28th
- Katrina (Sunshower Quilts) www.sunshowerquilts.blogspot.com

Thurs., Sept 29th
- Connie (Quilting by the River) www.conniekresin.blogspot.com
- Mary (the Tulip Patch) http://www.tulip-patch.blogspot.com

Friday, September 30th
Polly (Polly's Porch) www.auntpollysporch.blogspot.com

See you Thursday!

out of a bind.

I was working on my next moda bake shop quilt- a twin size- when the idea struck me to use my mom's old serger to sew up the raw edges of the binding.  I'd read about  people doing it before, but it never before occurred to actually do that now that I had a serger of my very own.

So I zigzagged around the edges (avoiding the corners...not knowing how that would go over).  I didn't think much of it.  I started hand stitching to the other side.

Now a big quilt takes a while to bind by hand, and every night when I decide to call it quits, my ritual is to lay the quilt I am binding out on the floor so I can get a good luck at my progress.  This quilt was no different.  When I finished the first night of binding, I lay the quilt on the floor to revel in my own progress.  This time (much to my husband's aggravation), I left the quilt right there in the floor.  The next morning I went to tidy up and I saw it: a GIANT spot of dog pee..right there in the quilt.  My dog has some mystery disease which apparently only affects MY quality of life and he can't be bothered to pee on our very cleanable tile floor or our wood floors when the urge hits (which is frequently).  Nope, he likes a "grass texture" according to the vet (read: things that are way hard to clean). 

Anyway, what to do?  Do I wait until it dries?  Do I spot wash the pee stain only?  Do I finish binding it really quickly so I can wash it really quickly?  Then I saw my new serged binding and I ran and threw the entire quilt in the wash without so much as a care.  Stroke-of-genius.  Talk about timing.  And that's how I got out of my worst binding bind!

Have you ever had a stain disaster on your works-in-progress???

I hit the motherlode...

If you've read my blog at all, you know I harbor a deep obsession love for American Jane fabrics.  My church quilting friends introduced me to my DREAM quilt store this summer.  It is a Moda Hall of Fame.

HUNDREDS of bolts of not just old American Jane, but other hard-to-find, beloved Moda lines.  I could have spent HUNDREDS if the budget would have allowed, but I was responsible  I bought some oranges and yellows since my stash was lacking in those.  My faves, 1/3 yard cuts. 

Unfortunately, they are rippers instead of cutters as you can tell by the strings.  They were generous and made up for it, though.  I got some sweet pattern fabric from her Snippets line and some Rulers from my favorite line, Wee Play.

I got 2 of my favorite florals ever from Look & Learn.

And 5...count them FIVE charm packs of Peas and Carrots.  They were marked down to $5.xx each!  I am so excited because I missed this line the first time around. 

I plan on going back, but only with a lot of money to spend and only when cooler weather hits.  It was an in an old house in 100 degree Texas heat with NO A/C! Funny thing was, I did not even notice how hot it was until was left the building and I chugged a whole bottle of water.  I was in fabric induced haze!

What is your dream fabric find in a quilt store? & are they rippers, or cutters?

The Quilting Confessions #3: In the spirit of Charlie Brown

Today is the 3rd installment in what I hope to become a regular feature: The Quilting Confessions.  I want stories from you about really bad mess ups you've made when quilting or things you'd be embarrassed to admit at a guild meeting.  The idea is that everyone makes mistakes and hopefully we can learn from each other and be less self conscious about our quilting mistakes.  I remember once I saw a major screw up in a quilt at a quilt shop and it make me feel so relieved that awesome quilters had screw ups, too....it definitely inspired me to keep trying.  If you're new, Part 1 is here and Part 2 (my first quilt) is here.  If you'd like to be featured, just email me your story (if you don't  have a blog, that's ok, too!) and I would be happy to feature you for us all to laugh at with.

So a long time ago, I made my first twin size quilt.  Wal-mart fabric, poly batting.  I had a dream.  A dream to make a Charlie Brown quilt.  Here is said quilt.  I've made the photo Xtra Large so you can see it better. 

I was sooo proud of myself.  I ignored the fact that aesthetically, the zigzag was too tiny.  I ignored the loops on the underside of the quilting.  I miscalculated backing and had to piece some UGLY fabric  with my character fabric.  I had HUGE puckers from sewing the long seams to the zigzag.  The walmart fabric faded within a few washes. 

As my skills grew, my pride turned to shame.  I could sew better now.  I bought better materials now.  I hated looking at this quilt.  I knew I must remake the CB quilt at some point so I did.  I even did a quilt along of this quilt (the pattern is still there in my sidebar if you're interested...I mean a whopping 2 people finished...and I think one was me!)

And as well crafted as this was, I put the directional backing on upside down.  DOH!

And then I made this:

 

I made a big ol' vintage checkerboard quilt for my oldest son's bed to replace the CB quilt.  Tons of vintage fabrics.  Awesomely awesome.  I loved it.  I admired it.  I was so glad to be rid of that old ratty Charlie Brown quilt.  I hid it in my closet and hoped my son would enjoy his new quilt...and he did.  The other night, I heard "mom, what do I have to do to earn back my Charlie Brown Quilt???"  

Just like the real Charlie Brown, my first CB quilt might have been a born loser, but he was easy to love and he made my son happy.  So you know, I dragged out the old quilt and put on his bed with the new quilt.  I won't be ashamed of it any more (even when he gets his American Jane Fairy Tale Friends quilt that I'm working on).

It's easy to think of those first quilts you made when you first fell in love with quilting and be embarrassed at how they look now.  I cringe to think of a few baby quilts I made in my early days.  But you know, the people who get those quilts love them and are kept warm by them just the same.  If you've made 100 quilts, don't be embarrassed about the ones you could do better now and just shove them into the closet.  If you've never made your first, don't be worried that someone will think it looks amateurish...it probably will...but it will still keep them warm and show them you love them, and that's the whole point, right?

To enter your own quilting confession, email me at marylane_brown at yahoo dot com.  If you've previously blogged it, send me a link.  If not, send me a regular old email.

All New...The Dance Steps Pattern (& a HUGE announcement)!

 Introducing my latest pattern: Dance Steps.  I love the movement of this quilt.  If Fred Estaire were a quilt, this is what he'd look like.  I  LOVE it!  The pattern includes 3 sizes: baby (45"x54"), lap (54"x72"), and twin (72"x90").  It is charm pack friendly, scrap friendly, and beginner friendly.  Just plain FRIENDLY! No bias edges, nothing scary at all.

What if you switched the white fabrics and the prints?  What if you only used solids?  What if you used your favorite charm pack for the prints?  You'd have totally different quilts.  Bang for your buck, folks!

You know I wasn't going to go somewhere with big train caboose and not take Train Kid.  Look at those feet poised for his next move.  He totally got in the fountain while I was taking this next picture:

Now if you want to make a Dance Steps Quilt of your very own, guess what...Dance Steps along with many of my other patterns will now be sold in PDF form through the Fat Quarter Shop!  I'm so excited to have such an awesome quilter friendly fabric store carrying my patterns and taking care of one of the things I'm not great at.  More time for creating new patterns!

Tiger Tails , and Shadowboxer are all over there, too!

 I'd love to know what you think about Dance Steps!

You oughtta be in pictures...

At the urging of my best friend, Amie, I created a Tulip Patch Flickr Group.  Sometimes I got pictures and emails from people who have used my patterns or tutorials and honestly there is no bigger thrill for me.  I love seeing what you've done...most often I prefer yours to the original!

If you've made something from a pattern or tutorial or if you've just made something from inspiration you've found on this blog, post it to The Flickr Pool!  If you had free motion quilting success because of the FMQ tutorial series , post it to the flickr pool!  I'm going to leave you with the first images added to the pool.  Click the photo to learn more about the talented quilters behind them!


Amie flipped over this one.


My mother-in-law made this one...she took Houndstooth Heritage and made it her own!


This is a Road to Tennessee made with 8" blocks instead of charms...makin' it her own...!












I hope you guys add more projects.  I would LOVE to be able to feature these regularly on my blog.  I often find a pattern I wrote redone by someone else and find I like theirs better.  Thanks so much to everyone who has emailed me pictures or uploaded their photos to flickr.  It is truly a thrill for me!

Overheard while sewing...

My husband works for an oil company. An oil company that happens to share its name with our local corner gas station where we pop in for treats.

While sewing the other night, I overheard my oldest asking my husband what the "big oil conspiracy theory documentary" in our netflix recently viewed queue was.  Husband says "Oh, it's just people talking bad about where daddy works."  My son incredulously said "who has anything bad to say about slushies?"

Quilt Story

It's said that every quilt has a story. This is the premise behind the blog, Quilt Story. Today they are featuring this gal:

If you're visiting from Quilt Story, welcome!  Feel free to take a poke around. 

If you're a regular here, go visit Heather & Megan at Quilt Story...and consider submitting your own Quilt Story!

Batting Battle: Hobbs 80/20 vs Warm & White

Today I will be reviewing a (clutch the pearls) part polyester batting.  I am a cotton snob.  I'm going to admit it.  I'm from Alabama, y'all...I drove through cotton flats as a child and lived near a gin!  I love my cotton batting!  After talking to a few long arm quilters who loved their 80/20 blends, I decided I would try this batting out for y'all and report back with my findings. 

The window test...they both look very similar when held up to the light.

Warm & White on the left, Hobbs 80/20 on the right.

These actually look VERY similar to me.  The difference was in the feel.  The Warm & White felt better...less nubby.  The Hobbs was much lighter in weight, though.  This is neither good nor bad...just different.  Some people love sleeping under heavy blankets, some like sleeping under light.  The long arm quilter I spoke to claims that Hobbs keeps you cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  I have never been through a winter with my new Hobbs batting quilt, so I cannot personally attest to this.  It seems counter-intuitive since cotton breathes better than polyester.

The stretch test.  I stretched these out of square and was surprised to find the Hobbs held up well.  I don't think it regained the square shape quite as well as the warm, but it performed admirably.

The price:
Hobbs is only sold by the package at my local store.  I hate packaged batts because they have more wrinkles and crinkles and are more of a pain to baste with.

Queen Size 108x90" $19.99
I used a 40 percent coupon to make it $12, but it often goes on sale for 50 percent off.

Warm and White (12.99/yard) 90" wide at 108"=  $38.97
I would NEVER buy without a 40% coupon!  This comes out to $23.38

$12 vs $23.38.  That's almost double the price for the queen size.  It's the difference of almost $4/yard

I made a bunch of placemats...some had Warm & White, some had Hobbs.  These plates were completely inspired by Lori Holt's Vintage Dishes Pattern.  I plan on buying the pattern for myself as  Christmas gift to make a huge American Jane Dishes quilt...All I had time for now was plates, though!

 Warm on left, Hobbs on right.  The hobb's was slightly bigger after washing as you can tell.

 This is the Warm batting.

 Hobbs Frankebatting (serged together)

 Warm & Natural,  pieced frankenbatting

 Warm and Natural, unpieced (not frankenbatting)

 Warm & White, pieced frankenbatting.  It has a weird fold...I need to rewash/dry flat.

 Warm batting

As you can see, size wise and crinkle wise, these all performed well.  I am super impressed with the Hobbs for the price.  If I had my druthers, I'd quilt with Warm still.  Unfortunately, at double the price, I can make only half as many quilts.  Do you know what that means?

We have a new champ!  I can't believe it myself, but I'm switching over to Hobbs 80/20.  I just quilt too much to be able to afford the Warm and Natural any more knowing there is a good alternative.  It will be more challenging basting with the Hobbs, but I will probably save hundreds over the course of a lifetime in quilting.  

Have you quilted with Hobbs?  Do you have another favorite batting?  Is there a batting battle you'd like to suggest?  Tell me in the comments!