Floating Squares Quilt Pattern

Introducing my newest pattern...Floating Squares

71" x 80 

You will need:

4 yards brown fabric
1 ¾ yards orange fabric
1 ¼ yards cream fabric
4 yards backing fabric

Cutting Directions:

All strips are cut WOF (Width of fabric)
14 - 5" strips brown, sub cut 7 strips into 56 - 5" squares
4 - 2 ½" strips brown, sub cut into 56 - 2.5" squares
8 - 3 ½" strips brown for the border
7 - 5" strips cream, sub cut into 56 - 5" squares
7 - 5" strips orange
8 - 1 ½" strips orange for the border
9 - 2 ¼ strips brown for the binding 


Making the 4 patch blocks:
With 7 brown strips and 7 orange strips sew a 5" strip of brown to a 5" strip of orange along the long side.
Press towards the brown.
Sub cut the strips into 5" pieces making each piece 5" x 9 ½".
Repeat with the other 6 strips to make 56 pieces.

Sew the 56 pieces together to make 28 brown and orange 4 patches

Making the Bowtie blocks:

First you need to get your machine ready. Do you have a marked line or a piece of tape along your 1/4" line? Just about everyone I know around here does. What you do is put your needle in the down position and raise your presser foot. Insert a ruler against the needle and lower your presser foot. Line up a line on your ruler perpendicular to a line on your machine table so you know your ruler is straight, ie. the 4" line on the ruler. Then with a fine point sharpie draw a line against the ruler or place a 1/4" piece of tape in the same spot. I didn't have any 1/4" tape when I did this so I used a piece of painters tape that I cut with my rotary cutter to 1/4". And don't worry about the sharpie, you can always remove it with denatured alcohol.

With the 56 cream 5" squares and the 56 brown 2 ½" squares:

Place the brown 2 ½" squares on the top right corner of a cream 5" square. Make sure they edges are even.

Start sewing at the place where the top left corner of the brown square begins. Keep the bottom right part of the brown square even with the tape line on your machine and continue sewing till you reach the bottom right point of the brown square.

Make 56 of these

Trim the brown triangle piece that is closest to the cream point off. In other words the part you will not see. This will keep the integrity of the square in case your points are a little wonky

  

Press the points over and you will have 56 connector squares

 

Sew a connector square to a brown 5" square. Be sure they are sewn together like the picture below. Make 56 sets.

Sew 2 sets into a 4 patch to make the bowtie blocks. Make 28 blocks.

Putting it all together:

Using the diagram below sew 4 rows like this, pressing towards the left

and 4 rows like this, pressing towards the right.

Then sew the rows together

 
Adding the borders:

Sew 2 orange 1 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets of these. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and borders on.

Sew 2 brown 3 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and bottom borders on.

Baste. Quilt and Bind as you would like.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Floating Squares Quilt Pattern

Introducing my newest pattern...Floating Squares

71" x 80 

You will need:

4 yards brown fabric
1 ¾ yards orange fabric
1 ¼ yards cream fabric
4 yards backing fabric

Cutting Directions:

All strips are cut WOF (Width of fabric)
14 - 5" strips brown, sub cut 7 strips into 56 - 5" squares
4 - 2 ½" strips brown, sub cut into 56 - 2.5" squares
8 - 3 ½" strips brown for the border
7 - 5" strips cream, sub cut into 56 - 5" squares
7 - 5" strips orange
8 - 1 ½" strips orange for the border
9 - 2 ¼ strips brown for the binding 


Making the 4 patch blocks:
With 7 brown strips and 7 orange strips sew a 5" strip of brown to a 5" strip of orange along the long side.
Press towards the brown.
Sub cut the strips into 5" pieces making each piece 5" x 9 ½".
Repeat with the other 6 strips to make 56 pieces.

Sew the 56 pieces together to make 28 brown and orange 4 patches

Making the Bowtie blocks:

First you need to get your machine ready. Do you have a marked line or a piece of tape along your 1/4" line? Just about everyone I know around here does. What you do is put your needle in the down position and raise your presser foot. Insert a ruler against the needle and lower your presser foot. Line up a line on your ruler perpendicular to a line on your machine table so you know your ruler is straight, ie. the 4" line on the ruler. Then with a fine point sharpie draw a line against the ruler or place a 1/4" piece of tape in the same spot. I didn't have any 1/4" tape when I did this so I used a piece of painters tape that I cut with my rotary cutter to 1/4". And don't worry about the sharpie, you can always remove it with denatured alcohol.

With the 56 cream 5" squares and the 56 brown 2 ½" squares:

Place the brown 2 ½" squares on the top right corner of a cream 5" square. Make sure they edges are even.

Start sewing at the place where the top left corner of the brown square begins. Keep the bottom right part of the brown square even with the tape line on your machine and continue sewing till you reach the bottom right point of the brown square.

Make 56 of these

Trim the brown triangle piece that is closest to the cream point off. In other words the part you will not see. This will keep the integrity of the square in case your points are a little wonky

  

Press the points over and you will have 56 connector squares

 

Sew a connector square to a brown 5" square. Be sure they are sewn together like the picture below. Make 56 sets.

Sew 2 sets into a 4 patch to make the bowtie blocks. Make 28 blocks.

Putting it all together:

Using the diagram below sew 4 rows like this, pressing towards the left

and 4 rows like this, pressing towards the right.

Then sew the rows together

 
Adding the borders:

Sew 2 orange 1 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets of these. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and borders on.

Sew 2 brown 3 ½" strips together along the short side. Make 4 sets. Sew the 2 side borders on and then the top and bottom borders on.

Baste. Quilt and Bind as you would like.

I hope you enjoy this pattern!

Valentines Day Showcase

Today I am kicking off the Valentines Day Showcase at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs!

The tutorial I am doing for the Showcase is the Love Braids table runner that I showed you during V-Week.

Be sure to hop on over to the Sew Bitter Sweet Blog, Michelle has an awesome giveaway starting today!

Here's the rest of the Valentines Day Showcase Bloggers:

February 2nd – Connie from Quilting by the River
February 3rd – Vicki from Sassy Blog
February 6th – Kris from I don’t have a problem, I have a well-rounded fabric stash!
February 7th – Melissa from Sew BitterSweet Designs
February 8th – Debbe from Pieces to Love
February 9th – Lyanna from Purple Panda Quilts
February 10th – Jenna from SewHappyGeek
February 13th – Lisa – future food and craft blogger
February 14th – Michele from Quilting Gallery

Be sure to visit their blogs everyday too and tell them Sha sent you!

And speaking of Valentines projects I took part in a Valentines Day Craft from And Sew We Craft. Here's a pic of the mug rug I made for my swapee. To find out how I made this check back in February during the Twist Along!

Valentines Day Showcase

Today I am kicking off the Valentines Day Showcase at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs!

The tutorial I am doing for the Showcase is the Love Braids table runner that I showed you during V-Week.

Be sure to hop on over to the Sew Bitter Sweet Blog, Michelle has an awesome giveaway starting today!

Here's the rest of the Valentines Day Showcase Bloggers:

February 2nd – Connie from Quilting by the River
February 3rd – Vicki from Sassy Blog
February 6th – Kris from I don’t have a problem, I have a well-rounded fabric stash!
February 7th – Melissa from Sew BitterSweet Designs
February 8th – Debbe from Pieces to Love
February 9th – Lyanna from Purple Panda Quilts
February 10th – Jenna from SewHappyGeek
February 13th – Lisa – future food and craft blogger
February 14th – Michele from Quilting Gallery

Be sure to visit their blogs everyday too and tell them Sha sent you!

And speaking of Valentines projects I took part in a Valentines Day Craft from And Sew We Craft. Here's a pic of the mug rug I made for my swapee. To find out how I made this check back in February during the Twist Along!

Valentine Table Runner & Where I'll Be

If you are looking for the Darling Heart Garden FQ bundle giveaway click here.

Do you cook for your someone special on Valentines day? I do. I plan the menu for days and make a big deal of it. We eat at the grown ups table with real plates and silverware and everything :)

I don't know how this happened, but with all the table runners I have made I've never made a V-Day one. Well that has changed. I now have this table runner to use every year!

It's made the same way as the Mug Rug from Monday.

I can't give you the tutorial just yet, that has to wait till February 1st when I kick off the Valentines Day Showcase at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs. 

Another guest blog post I have coming up is on February 8th. I'll be sharing another tutorial for a fun Valentines project at Sew Sweetness' Blog.

And my Valentines projects will end with a Red/White project as part of the Quilters With Modern Tools blog hop. If you are not familiar with this group head on over the Insights From SewCalGal blog and check it out.

But if you just can't wait for the tutorial here's a hint...
The center is 8.5" and the strips are from a jelly roll.

I hope you are enjoying this series, I know it makes me happy to work on these projects with all this great fabric filled with hearts and stuff.

Valentine Table Runner & Where I'll Be

If you are looking for the Darling Heart Garden FQ bundle giveaway click here.

Do you cook for your someone special on Valentines day? I do. I plan the menu for days and make a big deal of it. We eat at the grown ups table with real plates and silverware and everything :)

I don't know how this happened, but with all the table runners I have made I've never made a V-Day one. Well that has changed. I now have this table runner to use every year!

It's made the same way as the Mug Rug from Monday.

I can't give you the tutorial just yet, that has to wait till February 1st when I kick off the Valentines Day Showcase at Sew Bitter Sweet Designs. 

Another guest blog post I have coming up is on February 8th. I'll be sharing another tutorial for a fun Valentines project at Sew Sweetness' Blog.

And my Valentines projects will end with a Red/White project as part of the Quilters With Modern Tools blog hop. If you are not familiar with this group head on over the Insights From SewCalGal blog and check it out.

But if you just can't wait for the tutorial here's a hint...
The center is 8.5" and the strips are from a jelly roll.

I hope you are enjoying this series, I know it makes me happy to work on these projects with all this great fabric filled with hearts and stuff.

PamKitty Morning

The first part of the Blog Hop Party Giveaway can be found here and the second part can be found here. Don't miss out on the $50 gift certificate prize from the Fat Quarter Shop.


Today's Designer Select FQ kit is by PamKitty Morning. Pam Vieira-McGinnis is the designer of all this wonderful fabric. She has an adorable blog called PamKitty Morning with some really cute free patterns. Be sure to check it out.

1 reason I just adore this fabric line is that there are so many different types of fabric in it, not to mention its bright which is what I am all about. And there's so many different prints...letters, flowers, berries, dots, stripes, plaids, checks...so many different combinations, you could make several quilts with it and not have any repeating fabric.

Here's some things Pam has made with her fabric.

.

What do you think? Adorable right? Pam was a new designer to me, which is one reason why I love the Designer Select FQ Club, you get FQ kits of different designers and might just find a new favorite. I know I have. I haven't used the FQ kits yet, but I plan on making a cute bag for the spring time with it.

There's even a Pam Kitty Pinwheels Quilt Kit, available only at The Fat Quarter Shop.

Now that you have seen some of her adorable fabric and projects do you want to know a little bit about Pam? She was happy to answer my craizee quiz. And while we're on the subject of the quizzes...they are usually just guessing games, you will find the answers out at the end of the week, but it's always fun to see what y'all guess.

1. What is Pam's favorite holiday?
A. Christmas
B. New Years
C. 4th of July
D. Easter

2. What was Pam's favorite food the day she answered this question?
A. Chips and Salsa
B. Turkey
C. Pumpkin Pie
D. Pizza

3. What color is not among Pam's favorites?
A. Pink
B. Purple
C. Green
D. Blue

4. What is Pam's favorite sports team?
A. The New York Giants
B. The San Francisco 49ers
C. The Baltimore Ravens
D. Whats Football???

So how well do you think you did? I'd love to hear your answers. Check back next weekend for the answers to all the quizzes this week.

And don't forget to remember to enter the giveaway I am having.
There's 2 ways to enter it...
Part 1 can be found here and Part 2 can be found here.