Block 1, Kansas Star - piecing instructions posted!

This is a 12-inch block that uses a total of nine diamond-in-a-square blocks. My current plan is for a 13-block sampler. At the end, I will make 12 Irish chain blocks for a quilt of about 72 inches.

Click below for a PDF of the cutting and piecing instructions for Kansas Star. All of the blocks in this series will also be available by clicking on the Red & White Sampler tab above.

Piecing instructions for final round of Medallion Quilt now available!

I spent today preparing the instructions for the final round of the medallion quilt. The instructions includes yardage information, piecing instructions for the Summer Winds block, and finishing instructions for the final round. You can click on the picture above for the PDF of the instructions, or click on the tab above for the Medallion Quilt home page, which will include all the information you will need for the entire 72" quilt. Enjoy!

Finished Quilt - Four & Eight Grid Sampler

Here are the finished quilt photos -- lots of them!

The quilting took me SO SO long to do on my domestic. But the Janome is a workhorse and was up to the task. I finally cleaned it yesterday, and, wow, there were some giganto pieces of dust in there.

Old grey goose:

Border detail:

Hour glass II:

X-quartet:

As you can see, I tried to carry some of the quilting motifs over several blocks to provide continuity. There were many times when I almost quit, ready to put the project away. But I stuck with it, and about 1/3 of the way through, it started coming together, and I started getting excited. So glad I did, because I think it turned out rather well!

Full instructions for quilt can be found here, or under the tab at the top of the page.

Friendship Star Border Piecing Instructions

Here you go, as promised! Click on the Friendship Star block for a copy of the piecing instructions. For this round, you will need 3/4 yard for the background, and 1/2 yard for the stars. For more information on this round, go to my original blog post here.

Round 2: Friendship Star - Make 24

A New Project: The Medallion Quilt

Having been homebound this past week on account of my knee surgery, what better way to spend my time than starting a new quilt project? Although the design for my medallion quilt is pretty much set, I am still struggling with fabric choices. Thus, the final quilt will look different than the EQ7 schematic I initially posted. Here is what I came up with for the center block:

Medallion Quilt - Center Block, Wyoming Valley

This block is called Wyoming Valley and finishes at 24 inches. I am very pleased with how it came together, kinda earthy and dry, based on my memories of my brief visit to Caspar, Wyoming, but with just a pop of color. Fabrics in this block are Art Gallery collections by Katy Jones (Priory Square, background and green) and April Rhodes (Wanderer, mustard and brown).

The PDF of the piecing instructions can be downloaded by clicking on the block at left. I also created a home page for this project, which I will update as new rounds are finished. The home page can be accessed by clicking on the tab at top, or through this link: Medallion Quilt.

Four & Eight Grid Sampler - Finished Quilt Top!

I finished piecing the quilt top on July 1st, and had a plan to spend a couple of vacation days from work over this Fourth of July week at a local longarm shop, quilting this top and the Memory quilt. Alas, life got in the way in the form of an unfortunate event on Father's Day, resulting in knee surgery this past Tuesday.

BUT, I didn't want to wait to at least post the finished quilt top! I was so excited to finish this and post all the instructions.

I started this project in 2013, worked on it very sporadically. I only started dedicating some time to it this past June, as I made it a point to get a little more familiar with EQ7 and Adobe Illustrator, which have made the writing-up portion much easier.

Everything came together smoothly in the end. All the information on this quilt, in addition to downloadable PDFs instructions for each block and the quilt finishing instructions, can be found by clicking on the quilt image below, or clicking on the "Four & Eight Grid Sampler" tab at the top of the blog.

PS. I didn't do a separate post for the last block in the center of the quilt (Square Surrounded), but you can find the PDF instructions by clicking on the image below as well.

Finally, I have a project to link up to the 2018 Finish-A-Long!

Arrow Crown: Block 8 of the Four & Eight Grid Sampler

Love, love, love this block! There are a lot of pieces, but with a 16-inch block, pretty easy peasy. Enjoy!

Block 8 - Arrow Crown

Click on the image to the left for the printable PDF of the piecing instructions. Click here for the rest of the blocks for this quilt: Four & Eight Grid Sampler.

Memory Quilt - Finished!

Here is the finished top! That's my husband and 14-year-old behind the quilt holding it up. It was a beautiful day, but a bit windy so it was difficult to get a still picture. This will do, however.

Download PDF here.

So many fabrics in this baby, each using just about 1/4 yard of fabric (plus 1/4 yard Kona white, of course). There's Joel Dewberry, some Cotton + Steel, Tula Pink, Amy Butler, Art Gallery, Pearl Bracelets. Each a little something to add.

I was able to put together PDF instructions for piecing the block, as well as yardage requirement for the entire quilt. I'm kinda proud of myself, because it's been so long so I've had the time or inclination to do something like this. In any case, here it is -- click on the link under the block!

Goose in the Pond blocks and PDF instructions

Here they are! These are my first two blocks from the instructions I drafted for a 15-inch block. Each block requires not quite 1/4 yard each of a main print and a solid/neutral. I turned the instructions into a PDF for you to download -- just click here.

The top block uses a print from Alison Glass's Handcrafted collection, and the fabric from the bottom block is Priory Square by Katy Jones. The solid is a great go-to neutral, White Linen from Art Gallery's Pure Elements collection. The weights of these fabrics match perfectly.

I'm going to have to put these blocks away for a bit to concentrate on other projects, namely a couple of Super Totes that I've committed to making for upcoming fundraising auctions.

Printable Monthly and Weekly Planners for 2015

It's very old fashioned of  me, I know, but I'm a visual person so I like to keep a paper calendar/planner. As I'm keeping track of activities and appointments for three other people in addition to myself, there are certain features I like in a calendar/planner. Each year, I struggle with finding The Perfect Calendar.

So this year, I got proactive and made my own planner! I had so much fun creating these planners, I thought I would share them with you all.  Here are the links to the Monthly Planner and the Weekly Planner for you to download.

The two-page monthly spread is meant to be used in a three-ring binder (or a Circa notebook, as I use). There are 25 pages for the monthly calendar, which should be printed front and back. I also print the weekly planner (with space for daily tasks, meals, shopping list, and errands) front and back, so that I can take the single page with me when I'm out and about.

It's still a work in progress, and I will likely tweak or add features as I go along. If you have any feedback or suggestions, feel free to shoot me an email at elvycrafts(at)gmail(dot)com, and let me know.

Over-Sized Four/Eight Grid Sampler Blocks

Fabric: Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt

X-Quartet

I started working on a new sampler quilt. The blocks are based on blocks from Judy Hopkin's 501 Rotary-Cut Quilt Blocks. My plan is to make between 12 to 16 blocks and end up with a queen-sized sampler quilt.  In order to make a quilt this large with a relatively modest number of blocks, I'm super-sizing the blocks I'm using to 16 inches. Anything beyond simple math befuddles me, so I stuck to 4 and 8-grid blocks, because they translate easily into 16-inch blocks.

So this is the first block, X-Quartet. I'm using Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls, and I've roughly calculated needing 10-12 fat quarters, plus about 2.5-3 yards of a background solid, for all the blocks. I haven't decided about the sashing and border(s) yet, but I have a rough idea of what I want to do. But I still need to do the math (ugh) to figure out yardages. 

If you are interested in directions for the block, I've created a PDF with fabric requirements and cutting and piecing instructions.  You can download the PDF here.