Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I am really running out of cute blog post titles for when I am announcing winners, if you have any cute ones please let me know :)

The winners of the Nifty Notions Cut For The Cure rulers are

Here are your random numbers:

4 5

Timestamp: 2012-02-17 23:19:47 UTC

Congrats to Richard and Lisa! I have emailed you!

Till next time

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

I am really running out of cute blog post titles for when I am announcing winners, if you have any cute ones please let me know :)

The winners of the Nifty Notions Cut For The Cure rulers are

Here are your random numbers:

4 5

Timestamp: 2012-02-17 23:19:47 UTC

Congrats to Richard and Lisa! I have emailed you!

Till next time

Go! Ahead & Show Some Love

Have you seen the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop? Paulette from Sweet Pea Quilting and Creations is hosting it in conjunction with the Quilters With Modern Tools group. This months blog hop is all about the color red, Valentine Day and the Accuquilt cutting system. And today it's my turn on the hop!







The project I made for this blog hop is my Dresden Love hot pad. It's kinda big for a mug rug, but kinda small for a table topper, but is the perfect size for a hot pad.

This is a simple dresden fan using a 22.5 degree ruler. For those of you that are new to my blog, I do a monthly series on Nifty Notions rulers and the ruler of the month in January was the 22.5 degree wedge. Check out all the ruler tutorials I have done for you here.

You will need
1 - 2.5" x WOF red fabric
1 - 2.5" x WOF pink fabric
1 - 5" square red fabric
1 - 8" square white fabric for background
Steam-a-Seam
1 - 1.5" x WOF pink fabric for border
2 - 2.25" x WOF red for binding
1 - 12" square red fabric for backing
1 - 12" square batting


To make this hot pad you will first need to figure out what size fan pieces to cut. 


1. Decide on the size of the fan/plate you want. For this project I wanted the fan to measure 7" across the diameter. For those of you who failed HS geometry the diameter is the size of the line drawn thru the center of a circle. 

2. Once you know how big of a fan/plate you want you can figure out what size pieces you will need. It's a pretty easy formula:

Take the diameter and subtract 2 and then divide by 2. So if you want a 7" plate/fan it works this way... 7 - 2 = 5/2 = 2.5. So the strip you cut your wedges from need to be 2.5".

3. Now that we know what size strips to use it's time to cut the strips. If you are using 2 different fabrics for the plate/fan cut your strips the desired size and then lay them out one on top of the other with right sides together. Place the ruler on the strip with the Logo face up (so you can read it). Line up the top edge with the line that corresponds to the size of the strip. Trim the left side and cut along the right side to make your first wedge.

4. Then flip the ruler over so the small edge is at the top. Line the left edge of the ruler with the left edge of the strip and cut along the right side of the ruler.

5. To figure out how many pieces to cut divide 360 by the degree of the ruler. In this case
360 ÷ 22.5 = 16. So you will need to cut 16 pieces or 8 sets of wedges. This formula applies to any wedge you are using.

You will now have 16 cut pieces like this. 

6. Once you have all your wedge pieces cut you will be sewing them to make a point at the top. Here's how:

Fold the wedge in half like so.

7. Then sew using a quarter inch seam along the larger straight line

 8. Then turn the piece right side out to form a point. You can use a stiletto or other pointy object to push the point out. Here's what you will have now

9. Then sew the pieces together. Start at the part closest part to the point and sew using a quarter inch seam to the bottom. Sew them in 2's, making sure the same fabric is always on the top.

10. Continue sewing pieces together, pressing the seams open as you go till you have a full circle (made with 16 wedges).

11. Now it's time to put it all together. You will need the 3" circle die, some double sided web interfacing (I use Steam-a-Seam). Following the directions affix the Steam-a-Seam to the back of the piece of fabric you will be making your circle with. In this case the red fabric.

12. Using your Accuquilt cut a 3" circle out. Also cut a 5" circle out of the Steam-a-Seam alone.

13. Affix the 5" circle to the back of the dresden fan. Then take the paper backing off press the dresden fan onto your background fabric.

14. Peel the paper off the back of the 3" red circle and affix it to the center of the fan.

15. Cut the border fabric into 2 - 1.5" x 8" and 2 - 1.5" x 10" rectangles.

16. Sew the 8" strips to the top and bottom sides of the background fabric and the 10" strips to the sides of the background.

17. Make a quilt sandwich with the backing face down, the batting and the top face up. Pin to keep it together.

18. Using a blanket stitch on your machine sew around the circle to finish the edges. Or you can hand sew a blanket stitch if you prefer.

19. Quilt and bind. I quilted in the ditch between the background and the border until I got to the corners. I marked 1" in from each side and used painters tape to show the line to sew on. This gave it a slightly framed look.

There you go a Dresden Love Hot Pad.

I hope you like this tutorial. Be sure to check out all the other blog hop stops in the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop.

If you are looking for the Accuquilt cutting system and dies they can be found here.

Till Next Time

Go! Ahead & Show Some Love

Have you seen the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop? Paulette from Sweet Pea Quilting and Creations is hosting it in conjunction with the Quilters With Modern Tools group. This months blog hop is all about the color red, Valentine Day and the Accuquilt cutting system. And today it's my turn on the hop!







The project I made for this blog hop is my Dresden Love hot pad. It's kinda big for a mug rug, but kinda small for a table topper, but is the perfect size for a hot pad.

This is a simple dresden fan using a 22.5 degree ruler. For those of you that are new to my blog, I do a monthly series on Nifty Notions rulers and the ruler of the month in January was the 22.5 degree wedge. Check out all the ruler tutorials I have done for you here.

You will need
1 - 2.5" x WOF red fabric
1 - 2.5" x WOF pink fabric
1 - 5" square red fabric
1 - 8" square white fabric for background
Steam-a-Seam
1 - 1.5" x WOF pink fabric for border
2 - 2.25" x WOF red for binding
1 - 12" square red fabric for backing
1 - 12" square batting


To make this hot pad you will first need to figure out what size fan pieces to cut. 


1. Decide on the size of the fan/plate you want. For this project I wanted the fan to measure 7" across the diameter. For those of you who failed HS geometry the diameter is the size of the line drawn thru the center of a circle. 

2. Once you know how big of a fan/plate you want you can figure out what size pieces you will need. It's a pretty easy formula:

Take the diameter and subtract 2 and then divide by 2. So if you want a 7" plate/fan it works this way... 7 - 2 = 5/2 = 2.5. So the strip you cut your wedges from need to be 2.5".

3. Now that we know what size strips to use it's time to cut the strips. If you are using 2 different fabrics for the plate/fan cut your strips the desired size and then lay them out one on top of the other with right sides together. Place the ruler on the strip with the Logo face up (so you can read it). Line up the top edge with the line that corresponds to the size of the strip. Trim the left side and cut along the right side to make your first wedge.

4. Then flip the ruler over so the small edge is at the top. Line the left edge of the ruler with the left edge of the strip and cut along the right side of the ruler.

5. To figure out how many pieces to cut divide 360 by the degree of the ruler. In this case
360 ÷ 22.5 = 16. So you will need to cut 16 pieces or 8 sets of wedges. This formula applies to any wedge you are using.

You will now have 16 cut pieces like this. 

6. Once you have all your wedge pieces cut you will be sewing them to make a point at the top. Here's how:

Fold the wedge in half like so.

7. Then sew using a quarter inch seam along the larger straight line

 8. Then turn the piece right side out to form a point. You can use a stiletto or other pointy object to push the point out. Here's what you will have now

9. Then sew the pieces together. Start at the part closest part to the point and sew using a quarter inch seam to the bottom. Sew them in 2's, making sure the same fabric is always on the top.

10. Continue sewing pieces together, pressing the seams open as you go till you have a full circle (made with 16 wedges).

11. Now it's time to put it all together. You will need the 3" circle die, some double sided web interfacing (I use Steam-a-Seam). Following the directions affix the Steam-a-Seam to the back of the piece of fabric you will be making your circle with. In this case the red fabric.

12. Using your Accuquilt cut a 3" circle out. Also cut a 5" circle out of the Steam-a-Seam alone.

13. Affix the 5" circle to the back of the dresden fan. Then take the paper backing off press the dresden fan onto your background fabric.

14. Peel the paper off the back of the 3" red circle and affix it to the center of the fan.

15. Cut the border fabric into 2 - 1.5" x 8" and 2 - 1.5" x 10" rectangles.

16. Sew the 8" strips to the top and bottom sides of the background fabric and the 10" strips to the sides of the background.

17. Make a quilt sandwich with the backing face down, the batting and the top face up. Pin to keep it together.

18. Using a blanket stitch on your machine sew around the circle to finish the edges. Or you can hand sew a blanket stitch if you prefer.

19. Quilt and bind. I quilted in the ditch between the background and the border until I got to the corners. I marked 1" in from each side and used painters tape to show the line to sew on. This gave it a slightly framed look.

There you go a Dresden Love Hot Pad.

I hope you like this tutorial. Be sure to check out all the other blog hop stops in the Go! Ahead and Show Some Love Blog Hop.

If you are looking for the Accuquilt cutting system and dies they can be found here.

Till Next Time

2 QSTs + 1 HST = Turnstile Block

Do you know what this is called? I didn't until I checked on EQ7 and saw its called a Turnstile Block. I always called it a Double Pinwheel, which it might also be called. If you know of any other names for this block please let me know.

This block uses 2 QSTs and 1 HST and is very simple if you follow all these directions.

1. You need to know what size your finished squares will be. A square in this instance looks like this.

I want to use these squares on the next border on my Swoon quilt. Since it's currently 64.5" x 64.5" I decided that I want the blocks to be 4" once sewed together and onto the quilt. This is your finished square size.

Once you know the size you want to make these squares you can figure out what size strips you need.

For the HST add .5" to the finished size, which is 4.5".
For the QSTs divide the finished square size in half, 4/2 = 2. Then add .5" to that number, which is 2.5" 

So you will need a 4.5" strip of the fabric for the HST (purple) and a 2.5" strip of each of the 2 QST fabric (pink and orange).

Cut the HST's and QSTs by following the tutorials I have already posted. If you missed them you can find them on the Ruler Series Tutorial page here.

2. I find it helpful to layout the pieces so I know what part to sew. 

3. Sew the 2 QST's together along the short sides as shown above. Press open. You have just made a HST out of 2 QSTs.

4. Place the 2 HST's next to each other before you sew to make sure your sewing on the correct line.

5. Sew along the long diagonal line, as you would any HST. Be sure not to pull the fabric or it will come out wonky. Press towards the purple.

6. These can be used to make a Turnstile block or as a border (like I am planning on doing).

There you go another way to make this block without drawing on the back of the fabric or having to square anything up.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for 2 Nifty Notions Rulers. Click here to enter.
Note - you can link anything up, but leaving a comment isn't an entry so please link up.

Till next time,

2 QSTs + 1 HST = Turnstile Block

Do you know what this is called? I didn't until I checked on EQ7 and saw its called a Turnstile Block. I always called it a Double Pinwheel, which it might also be called. If you know of any other names for this block please let me know.

This block uses 2 QSTs and 1 HST and is very simple if you follow all these directions.

1. You need to know what size your finished squares will be. A square in this instance looks like this.

I want to use these squares on the next border on my Swoon quilt. Since it's currently 64.5" x 64.5" I decided that I want the blocks to be 4" once sewed together and onto the quilt. This is your finished square size.

Once you know the size you want to make these squares you can figure out what size strips you need.

For the HST add .5" to the finished size, which is 4.5".
For the QSTs divide the finished square size in half, 4/2 = 2. Then add .5" to that number, which is 2.5" 

So you will need a 4.5" strip of the fabric for the HST (purple) and a 2.5" strip of each of the 2 QST fabric (pink and orange).

Cut the HST's and QSTs by following the tutorials I have already posted. If you missed them you can find them on the Ruler Series Tutorial page here.

2. I find it helpful to layout the pieces so I know what part to sew. 

3. Sew the 2 QST's together along the short sides as shown above. Press open. You have just made a HST out of 2 QSTs.

4. Place the 2 HST's next to each other before you sew to make sure your sewing on the correct line.

5. Sew along the long diagonal line, as you would any HST. Be sure not to pull the fabric or it will come out wonky. Press towards the purple.

6. These can be used to make a Turnstile block or as a border (like I am planning on doing).

There you go another way to make this block without drawing on the back of the fabric or having to square anything up.

Don't forget to enter the giveaway for 2 Nifty Notions Rulers. Click here to enter.
Note - you can link anything up, but leaving a comment isn't an entry so please link up.

Till next time,