Sunday, May 19, 2013

FREE Little Boys Sailboat PATTERN

I just designed a little boys sailboat quilt and thought I would share it with everyone. Email me if you're confused about any part of it. ENJOY!!

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Little Sailor SAILBOAT QUILT  

 Finished size approx. 60”x60”


Fabric:

16 assorted scraps for sails

Hull & Mast Brown: 3/8 yard

Sky Blue: 1-3/8 yards

Water Blue & binding: 1 yard

Border 1 + 4 sails, White: 1/2  yard

Border 2, Red: 1-3/4 yards

Backing: 3-1/2 yards


Make 20 Sailboat blocks using the attached block pattern.

Make 4 rows as follows:

Cut (24) 2-1/2”x 8-1/2” SIDE sashing pieces of sky blue. Use these between sailboats and to start and end a row. Use 5 sailboats and 6 sashing pieces per row.

Cut (4) 2-1/2” x 42-1/2” strips of water blue and (1) 2-1/2” x 42-1/2” strip of sky blue. Attach water strips between rows and to the bottom of row 4. Add the sky blue strip to the TOP of row 1.

 Borders #1:

Cut (2) 1-1/2” x 42-1/2” WHITE border strips. Add to top and bottom.

Cut (2) 1-1/2” x 44-1/2” WHITE border strips (you may have to piece two strips to get the length you need). Add to each side.

Border #2:

Cut (2) 8-1/2” x 44-1/2” RED DOT strips. Add to top and bottom.

Cut (2) 8-1/2” x 60-1/2” RED DOT strips. Add to each side.

Quilt as desired.

Bind with Blue Water fabric.

©2013 NorthernDeb.  Email with comments or questions to northerndeb@ymail.com

SAILBOAT Block Pattern:

There are 2 ways to make this block... one uses a foundation sheet and the other uses the TRI REC acrylic tools. I'll be doing the latter below. If you would like the paper pieced (foundation) pattern, email me and I'll let you know how to get it. Personally, I think it's easiest to use the TRI REC tools.
1.The sail/sky elongated triangle block is made first. Using the REC part of the TRI REC set, cut a 6-1/2" REC triangle (full size of the template) out of one of your SAIL fabric and the same of the sky. Both fabrics should be right side up so that your sail is facing the right direction.
2. Out of sky blue, cut a rectangle, 1" x 3-1/2". Attach this to the bottom of the sail square.
 
3. Cut a "mast" out of brown, 3/4" x 7". Attach this to the side of the sail block.
4. Out of sky blue again, cut a rectangle 3-1/4"x7. Attach this to the brown mast.
5. Cut a strip 2" x WOF out of brown for the hull. Lay the TRI tool on top of the strip (the large bottom end of the tool) lining up the long edge of the strip with the bottom edge of the TRI tool. Cut off the right and left angle to form the hull.
 
6. Cut a 2" x WOF strip of sky blue. Fold it in half and cut two REC triangles (top point of tool lines up with top edge of strip). Add these to each end of the hull to form a rectangle. Attach this to the bottom of the sail square. Your block should measure 6-1/2" x 8-1/2".
For the quilt above, you need to make 20 blocks. Want it longer, just add rows of sailboats and water. Don't forget to buy and cut extra border fabric also.

Pin basting SAILING AWAY lap quilt

This is the "Sailing Away" shop sample that I've been working on this past week. It's ready for quilting which, with any luck, I'll get to later today. Don't you just love that bottom row? This would be a nice quilt to make for a guy... Al loves it. One of his favorites that I've made.

Today the weather is SO warm... over 80 degrees! Word around here is that it won't last but what's new. Sure am enjoying it!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Baking, Cooking and Stitching...

This past weekend was Al's 60th birthday. We had a party for him and his good friend, Joe, who also turned 60 the day after Al. Instead of a cake, we brought cupcakes to the resturant. I think we ended up making about 130. Turned out to be a wonderful party... lots of good friends, some family from downstate and lots of good food.
So today I'm back to working on projects and also cooking some pasta sauce. Daughter Jenns hubby, Jon, is having a birthday this weekend but they won't be in town. So we're celebrating with them this evening...we're bringing spagetti and meatballs, she's making the rolls and salad. While the sauce cooks, this Sail Away shop sample is getting worked on. Right now I'm trying to get all the sailboats appliqued on.... then a couple of clouds need to be added and it'll be ready to quilt. It's not a large quilt, probably a wall hanging size. Don't you just love the last row? That's perfect for this scene.

 And this is the other thing I was working on lately. This is the MONDO bag done in fall tone batiks. This one is for mom... it'll be a good size for her to pack up supplies when she needs to go to the hospital.
 The other day I showed almost all my UFOs... but I couldn't find a few... so here are the last three. The black and white with lime is a finished top, needs me to pick out a backing and get it quilted. The redwork has a way to go. It needs 12 blocks of redwork, there are 7 done. And the blue blocks in the upper right corner are a WIN from Hearts to Holly, block frenzy. Cassidy and I each won some blocks. These are just waiting for inspiration and sashing.

Monday, May 13, 2013

My UFOs are out of the closet!

Here's a thought... Once in a while on Monday mornings, I'm going to look through my sewing room to see how many UFOs are still lurking in boxes and bags and on hangers and containers in my sewing room closet. I'm going to pull them out and COUNT. These are what I SHOULD be working on...
 
So to get started today, I took pictures of my UFOs... most of them anyways. I'm going to REALLY REALLY try to work on these throughout the rest of the year (and next year) and get them out the door. Maybe by organizing them and prioritizing, it'll get done.
 
 The first three in the picture above are really ALMOST done. The top left is a round robin from 3 or so years ago... just needs a couple more borders and to be quilted. It will be Al's. The bottom left is a round robin from the year before the first... it needs borders and blocks and to be quilted. The Amish with a twist quilt top is finished. Just have to decide on a backing and get it to a quilter (too large for me to do on my home machine).
 Now these.... well, they're getting pretty old. The halloween quilt is going to the top of the list so that it's ready for October. That's doable, right?
The snowflake quilt needs a few more blocks but I don't think I'll work on that till winter.
And cute little Blue Sue? ... well, maybe if my daughter gets pregnant and finds out it's a girl, I'll get going on that one. I enjoy working on it but there are more pressing things to get done first.
 Okay... Top left is my "ME" quilt. That one is a round robin I'm doing myself for myself. It's a very selfish quilt ..haha... it'll be just for me and I'm being very fussy about the work in it. Of course that means it might NEVER BE FINISHED.
Below it is something I started as a sample to show how to do dresdens. That one might be worked on soon. It's bright and fun and enjoyable to play with.
The maple leaf quilt in the back is my OLDEST UFO. It's from the 1980's and is being hand quilted.... so someday that will be finished but probably not in this century.
The little doll quilt should be done soon... just needs a little quilting and binding.
AND THAT DARN aqua and black quilt... have any you're really tired of looking at? Well, my brother John likes this one so I need to finish it up quick, get it in the mail to him and never have to look at it again...
 A few of my favorites are in this pile. The blue and white is a joy to work on... just need the time.
The red and white crown of thorns is another that I really enjoy and cant wait to own... same problem.. too many quilts, not enough hours in the day.
Just peeking out at the top is a 30's Repro dresden on aqua. This will probably be for a grandchild someday so no rush on that. All the blocks are done. Just needs sashing and borders.
Top right corner is my Charlevoix quilt. It's another quilt top that is almost done... blocks are made, just have to stitch them all together.
The bottom left is the Judie Rothemal challenge quilt (no cutting yet)... just fabrics. I've designed a quilt and am ready to start cutting and sewing. This is TOP of my list (after I finish a sample for the shop, a repair job, a gift and a row robin)... that shouldn't take too long... (AHHHHH!!!! )
In the middle bottom is a UFO from, oh gosh, maybe 5 or 6 years ago? Some of the block central ladies might know. I won some Happy Blocks then made a bunch more to work with them and started adding the 1/2 square triangles around. This is another that I really like but, again, TIME... No TIME!
And the last one in the picture is Farmer's Wife. The Farmer's Wife blocks are done and will be set alternately with the white and aqua blocks. Think this one will have to be put on hold for awhile.
 The left most quilt is my SEVEN SISTERS STARS being done for my daughter Lisa... a someday quilt for her someday wedding (you just never know). It's five years in the making and the top is half done. Since she's not in a hurry to marry, I just might get it done in time (needs to be hand quilted after I'm done hand piecing it).
The stars in the background (civil war lone stars) are another project that I enjoy working on but it takes time and concentration. Maybe this winter? I have four of the 12 (or 9) blocks done.
On the floor is a strippy 30's coverlet. This just needs a few more aqua strips added to the back to cover up the seams and then to be bound... still... it might take years to finish this.
Now these three have been worked on lately and two of them might get finished this year. The top left is another Block Central block swap quilt...it's from 2009 and right now, I'm quilting it. This goes to Jennifer. I was going to keep it but she loves it and that's all I need to hear to give a quilt up.
The one on the top right is my civil war medallion quilt. At the last retreat I went to, I started adding the flying geese. Probably take till the next retreat to work on it again... but that's ok... it's not going to anyone as of yet.
The Christmas quilt top is ALMOST pieced. I need one more 12" Christmas block from someone to finish it up. These blocks are all from different quilters that I met through forums. We've done block trades at Christmas. This is three years of trades. Hoping to finish this one up this summer so I have it for Christmas.

OH THAT FEELS GOOD.... all my quilting UFOs (well most) have come out of the closet. Now to get to work on something else ;)

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Summer Breeze.. My newest pattern


 This is SUMMER BREEZE, my newest quilt pattern.

I wanted to use a new fabric that came into the shop that spoke to me. The line is called Colorwash from Timeless Treasures. You could use any combo of colors to make this, but blues are my favorites. The quilt takes 12 FQs (fat quarters) plus 3 additional fabrics to add into the blocks and to make the borders. It's very quick! The blocks took me a day to piece together, took a day to add borders and then I machine quilted it... that took another couple of days.