Wish Upon a Quilt Blog

In order to make room for all of the fabulous fabric that I just ordered at Spring Quilt Market, we are having an online BLOWOUT sale at Wish Upon A quilt! Now through May 22, take 10% off any order with the coupon code MAYSALE. Here is a sneak peek of some of the new fabric that was ordered at market…this one is Whimsy by Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller, what do you think of it?

I love finding great new fabrics at Quilt Market. I’m on my way back to Raleigh from the Spring Quilt market and couldn’t wait to share pictures of Laura Gunn’s Lantern Bloom. The fabric was created from Laura’s original artwork and is stunning. This is Laura’s debut fabric line from Michael Miller.  Laura was a delight to meet in person and I’m looking forward to more great fabric designs from her in the future. Lantern Bloom will be arriving at Wish Upon A Quilt in June…what do you think?

Cathy has been getting some beautiful new batiks in. I’ve been surprised that she has found some very unusual border prints that are being produced by Bali Textiles. I hadn’t seen a border print in a batik until I saw this one navy print. But she had four more come in! A couple are subtle and it’s hard to see the border in the online images, like the blue, green and pink ones. The black/rainbow print also has a leafy/vine like border on it too. The navy border print pairs nicely with a coordinating vine. Batik lovers should definitely check these out.

In an earlier post, Wendy offered some suggestions on what to do with pre-cut fabrics. One of our great customers, Teresa Mayse sent us pictures of this beautiful quilt of her own design using Tranquility by Sandy Gervais for Moda fabrics that she put together with a panel, a charm pack and a little bit of yardage. Great job Teresa! What are you working on today? Send pictures!

Precuts are getting more and more attention as those pretty Jelly Rolls, Layer Cakes, Charm Packs, Sweet Boxes and Honeybuns catch our eyes. Wish recently received new orders of Bali Pops, Neptune, and Fresh pre-cuts. Most quilters recognize the convenience of the pre-cuts but some wonder what to do with them. So we are all searching for the great patterns that are labeled for those beautiful Jelly Rolls, Charm Packs, and Layer Cakes. Moda has  several “cheat sheets” that can show you some common ways to cut Layer Cakes and Charm Packs. They also are very good about offering free quilt patterns for their various fabric lines. Don’t feel like you have to be limited to that fabric line. There is nothing to say that you can’t use a different line.

Moda’s Basic Measurements sheet gives estimates on the size of quilt based on the number of Layer Cakes, Jelly Rolls, or Charm packs.

Loose Change by Claudia Plett and Lee Ann Weaver has some great patterns that are adapted to Charm Packs (referred to as nickels in the book), Layer Cakes (referred to as dimes), and Fat Quarters. Some can be completed with Jelly Rolls too. It’s a fun book. More Nickel Quilts by Pat Speth has twenty patterns for quilts made with Charm Packs.

Today, I’ve been playing with the Neptune and Fresh fabric lines in EQ6. Moda is very good about providing down loadable image files that can be imported into EQ5 and EQ6. You can find their latest swatch samples here. I like to play with new fabric lines in EQ because it helps me get a better feel for the different values and texures in the line.

I tried to pick blocks that would be pre-cut freindly. Here’s a selection of some patterns I explored.

Moda has also provided a braided easter basket project sheet. The sample is done in Swank and stitched by hand. I’m thinking you could acheive a similiar look by machine using the Bali Bowl pattern. This would be a great project for the sweet Honeybuns Cathy has in the shop now. Check out Moda’s Bakeshop for more cool projects with pre-cuts.

 So do you EQ? and what are your favorite precut friendly patterns/projects?

Quilters will often come into the store asking for help to calculate yardage for a quilt back. We love to help but that is often a loaded question. It depends on how you intend to construct or piece your back. There are multiple ways to do this and none are more right or wrong than the other.

It is important to note in all cases that you should measure the center length and center width of your quilt top to determine the actual length and width.

Sometimes you want to piece the back with lengthwise seams. In this case you would buy the yardage the length of your quilt. You may have to double or triple the yardage if the quilt is wider than 40 inches or 80 inches.

Other times it is more efficient to piece the back crosswise. In this case you would buy the yardage the width of your quilt and double or triple the measurement if the length is longer than 40 or 80 inches.

I’ve become a big fan of piecing my backs from scraps. I get two quilts in one this way. So I would determine yardage based on the quilt pattern. I always design the border to accommodate the fact it’s going to be lopped off after quilting.

You can get similiar dual purpose out of your backs using cheater fabrics and crosswise and lengthwise seams. Some great “cheater” fabrics at Wish right now are Winter Log Cabin (in the sale room!), and In Love With Nature’s Pinwheels by Susan Branch. I used the Winter Log cabin on the back of Cheery Cherry Pie, the Sew Sweet Shop Scrap club sample quilt hanging in the front of the store.

Another, less known way, of piecing a back is John Flynn’s biased seam method. It’s a very smart technique. If you are going to put your quilt on a frame this is the best way to distribute the back seam. It’s also the most effiecent use of yardage. John has posted his method on his website. If memory serves me correctly he has a great demonstration on how to fold and cut that long bias edge with your 6 inch by 24 inch ruler on his instruction video that he packs with his frame. The basic formula is:

Length of fabric to buy = length of quilt top + length of quilt top( width of quilt top – width of fabric)/ 2 x width of fabric – width of quilt top

For those who get confused by equations:

Record the width and length of your quilt top (add any desired overhanging for the back to these measurements before you begin any other calculations). Record the width of the fabric you are considering (usually 40-44 inches. I’d recommend using 40 if you are unsure).

Multiply 2 times the width of the fabric you are considering (if you are using the safe bet of 40 then this will always be 80 inches). Subtract the recorded width of the quilt top. Save this first number.

Take the recorded width of the quilt and subtract the width of the fabric being considered (40). Multiply by the recorded length of the quilt. Add the recorded length of the quilt. Now divide by the first saved number.

Voila! You have the recomended length of fabric in inches. Divide by 36 if you want yards.

Or you can just come into Wish and we’ll put two heads on the calculations and help you out.

 Do you have another method of calculating yardage for a quilt back?

Do you ever wonder who comes up with all of the great fabric designs that are in quilt shops today? I did and I thought it would be fun to start a series that highlights some of the different fabric designers. First up is Sandra Banava who designs for Robert Kaufman.

At market last Fall in Houston, I was looking for a design that really “wowed” me. I found Sandra’s latest collection Citronella and fell in love with the fabric colors and designs. I contacted Sandra with my idea of featuring designers on my blog and she was thrilled to be our debut designer. Here are some of the great projects that Sandra has created using Citronella.

 

Sandra Banava was introduced to the beauty of fabric at an early age. Her mother was a fabric lover, who kept her collection lovingly wrapped up in a couple of huge bundles filled with cuts of fabric that she had received as gifts or hand-picked for her sewing projects. From time to time, Sandra’s mother would say, “Let’s get the fabric bundles out and look at fabric.” To Sandra, this was always as exciting as opening a treasure box.

Sandra feels that creating is a way of responding to her surroundings. Whether she sees traces of the past in a city’s aging buildings, layers of patina and rusty surfaces or the wonder of nature such as the beautiful growth movement of plants or the iridescent wing of an insect, she seeks to create a fresh look at the familiar with her art.Sandra finds designing for quilters exciting. She likes to visualize how quilters can “compose,” “paint” or “choreograph” their quilts using each colorful pattern as “notes,” “paints” and “movements” to tell their stories. To see more of Sandra’s great work, visit her blog at www.sandrabanava.com. What do you think?

 Ok, I confess I begged Cathy to buy this line of fabric that was designed by Tina Givens.  I’m new to the area and was curious when a few local quilters where talking about a local fabric designer. So I looked her up online and found her blog. I fell in love with Fairy Tip Toes.

Close up on pink panel – cute shoes

It reminds me of scrap booking paper. (It doesn’t hurt that my three year old girlie girl daughter has me brianwashed to love pink.)

I could envision so many projects for this fabric for my daughter – a fabric covered frame with a picture of her and her cousins in it, a large piece stretched like canvas to hang on her wall for artwork, a quilt, pillows, an apron, a skirt, a purse, appliqued accents for shirts and jumpers …. the possibilities are endless. When images where available online at Free Spirit I started playing with the swatches in EQ.

I had a hard time coming up with _The Design_ for this fabric. The swatches did not give an accurate enough sense of scale. I didn’t even realize until I went back into Wish to cut some of the larger scaled motifs that it was a panel! So back to the drawing board I go.

 

I’m very excited about the new Sew Sweet Shoppe Scrap program that Cathy has published. This is a brand new scrap program that was introduced at the fall Quilt Market. I love scrap quilts. Scrap quilts just sort of found me. I couldn’t afford to buy all the fabric I wanted but I was usually happy with just a fat quarter of it, especially if I didn’t have a specific project in mind for it.  So a typical scenario at the quilt shop would be I went to buy fabric for a  specific project and I’d fall in love with a new fabric that didn’t fit that project at all. So I’d grab a fat quarter and sneak it home. It was the fat quarters sitting off to the side that would inspire the next projects. (And encourage me to finish the one that was in progress.) The thing was that when I started planning the next project I’d realize that a fat quarter wouldn’t do.   I needed more. Sound familiar? I became a fan of scrap quilts because they allowed me to use the fabrics I loved with out the agony or worry over how much to get. I don’t have to worry if I’ll have enough for a project because I can just use it as an excuse to go get more lovely fabric.  And there are so many lovely fabrics calling to me – scrap quilts are definitely the solution.

But it’s not just the need to use up fat quarter and half yard cuts that make scrap quilts appealing. I often get to reuse fabrics left over from other projects like my brother’s wedding quilt, a friends baby quilt, a baby quilt for my own children, a purse, or tote project. Those scraps have sweet memories and are still a joy to handle and use.  Scrap quilts can also be a journal of sorts of all the quilts I’ve made and given away.

Scrap quilts often have a deep richness of pattern and design because it’s the piecers use of value and color that is noticed not the fabric designers art. All of those pretty pieces of fabric come together to make a beautiful new whole. Whenever I find myself thinking a piece of fabric is too pretty to cut I just remind myself the joy it will bring me when I find it again in my scrap bin.

I also have a sweet tooth and love bakeries and baking. The sweet shop theme of the program just tickles me pink. (Which happens to be the colorway of the first quilt.)  The first session of the Sew Sweet Shoppe is Thursday, Feb 12 at 6pm. The second session will be Saturday, Feb. 14 at 8:30am. Both sessions will be the same. There will be a $15 charge to reserve a slot, and you will receive a free quilt pattern, a demonstration of the how to construct the quilt presented, a yummy treat and recipe to take home! I will also give tips on how to adjust the pattern to accommodate jelly roll strips, charm squares, and/or layer cakes.

If you would like to exchange scraps please bring precut strips of 3 1/2 inch width or 2 1/2 inch width, 5 inch charm squares, or fat quarters. We will trade like for like. Looking forward to seeing you on the 12th! What will your scrap quilt look like?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a quilt design sampling the fabric line.