Juniper Berry [by Basic Grey]

It's official. Next year, I am determined to have Christmas quilts on every single bed in my house. Every time I peruse through the Pottery Barn catalog and see all of the Christmas-y bedrooms, I just drool and drool. Well it's happening next year! Mark my word. 

To help get myself toward that goal, I've been designing some new Christmas quilts using this gorgeous fabric called Juniper Berry--it's Basic Grey's new Christmas line for Moda. I believe it ships in June 2016. I absolutely love the black mixed in with the traditional reds, greens, and blues.

 

The first new quilt pattern is called Checkmate. The idea was to figure out a way to piece a design that had a checker/plaid sort of look to it. To make this quilt, just choose 16 of your favorite fat quarters and you'll be finished before you know it. Hopefully I'll finish piecing it soon--I've had way too much on my plate lately and I keep getting sidetracked. 

The next new quilt is called By the Chimney. For this one you'll need 15 fat eighths for the stocking body fabric and 4 fat eighths for the stocking cuffs. I have been so swamped lately that my friend Chris is going to piece this one for me after Christmas. I hope you'll follow her along on IG @stitchingrevival. I can't wait to see it, Chris!

The patterns are available in my shop right away. PDF patterns are available instantly and the paper patterns should arrive any day now. Just use promo code JUNIPERBERRY at checkout to get 10% off your order for the rest of December.

     

Merry Christmas!

Crossroads Quilt-Along with FQS

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop

Have you heard about Fat Quarter Shop's Crossroads Quilt-Along? This is such an amazing project that Fat Quarter Shop has generously put it together to benefit the March of Dimes. Every month from February to August 2016, there will be a free pattern posted so you can make this gorgeous quilt! All we are being asked to do is make a small donation for the use of each free pattern and of course all proceeds will benefit the March of Dimes.

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop 

Fat Quarter Shop has invited me, along with several other designers to participate in this amazing project and today we are sharing a little about the crossroads of our own lives. 

The most important crossroad I have faced was during my parents' divorce. I was 10 years old and really concerned about my lack of control in the matter. I spent several weeks crying and worrying about what was in store for my life. One afternoon something changed; I had an epiphany of sorts. It may sound obvious, but I realized that if I wanted to be successful and happy, it was all up to me. What a glorious revelation! From that day forward, I decided to choose happiness and love always. It has governed my life.. 

 

My bright outlook on life has been such a boon to me in times of turmoil. I have been pretty quiet about it, but this year has actually been a really tough one for me as I went through a divorce. In my darkest moments, I have been buoyed up by a choice to be grateful for all the wonderful things that I do have in my life. We all endure difficult situations in life but we have a choice about what we will do next.

 (That's the real story behind my inspiration for Little Miss Sunshine by the way. "She always look on the bright side.")

 

Thanks for reading! I hope you'll follow along and join us in such a great cause. Thank you to Fat Quarter Shop for putting this together!

Cyber Sale

Yes, it's true. For the rest of November, all patterns in my shop are 30% off! Just use the promo code SUNSHINE at checkout! (Applies to both PDF and paper patterns.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Fat Quarter Shop's Mystery BOM 2016

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop

Have you heard the news? Fat Quarter Shop has selected my Little Miss Sunshine fabric for their 2016 Mystery Block of the Month! 

I'm truly honored to have been picked for such an amazing project! If you haven't ever participated in a block of the month program, you definitely need to sign up. Here's how it works: in June, you'll receive everything you need to make the first quilt block. Each month you'll get a new block designed by a different Moda designer. 

After you've made all 12 blocks, sew it all together into the quilt-top. It's so much fun and is especially great if you want to make a quilt but don't have a lot of time. This breaks it all up into nice, manageable pieces that most people find doable.

Here's a tiny sneak peek of the finished quilt courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop--the quilt-top design is another part of the mystery! You can sign up here to reserve your spot in the program and also make sure to reserve your finishing kit here and backing kit here. 

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop

Is it June yet?!

New Videos {with Fat Quarter Shop}

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop

I've gotten a little behind on blogging about my time visiting Fat Quarter Shop! The good news is, all the videos I filmed with them have been released so here's a recap:

VINTAGE PICNIC

This is a quilt I designed exclusively for Fat Quarter Shop. It's a fun fat quarter quilt using my Gooseberry fabric.

Here is a video showing you exactly how the quilt is made. I think you'll come to agree it's a piece of cake to make.

SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

Remember this one? It's one of my bestselling patterns.

Here is a look at how the Social Butterfly block comes together:

SHUFFLE

And then there's Shuffle--I have made this quilt several times over. This version was made for my nephew using Mixologie by Studio M for Moda.  

Here is a little bit about how that quilt comes together:

And of course, one of my most popular videos on freemotion quilting:

And then there's a little Q&A where I talk about how I got into quilting, what inspires me, etc.:

Do you have a favorite? What types of things are you interested in learning more about? I had so much fun making these videos with Fat Quarter Shop. They are a fantastic group of people and I'm so proud to call them friends.

Patterns Full of Sunshine

It's been a crazy couple of months sewing up my samples for quilt market but it sure feels good to finally show you the new patterns. I've designed 4 new quilts using Little Miss Sunshine fabric--and although the fabric doesn't ship until April, you can find all the new patterns in my shop right away!

BRIGHT SIDE 

Little Miss Sunshine seeks the good in any situation--her mama calls it "looking on the bright side." Within each BRIGHT SIDE block you'll find the image of sunshine made from negative space.

To make BRIGHT SIDE, you will need 9 half-yard cuts of your favorite Little Miss Sunshine prints.

Finished Block: 21" x 21"

Finished Quilt: 70" x 70"

 

BRIGHT SIDE was quilted by Abby Latimer (Latimer Lane Quilting) using a diagonal plaid pantograph. I am so happy Abby recommended this design, I am smitten with it! Abby always gives such great advice and her work really speaks for itself.

DO SI DO

Little Miss Sunshine loves to kick up her heels every Saturday night at her small-town dance hall. The scrappy pinwheel blocks of DO SI DO dance together in this quilt to create the illusion of a busy dance floor seen from overhead.

To make DO SI DO, you will need 8 fat quarters and 24 fat eighths.

Finished Block: 20" x 20" 

Finished Quilt: 80" x 80"

Abby quilted DO SI DO using a bread basket pantograph which just happens to be one of my favorites. Check out that beautiful quilting detail.

COTTAGE BLOSSOMS

Little Miss Sunshine spends her mornings tending to her flower garden. She cannot choose a favorite flower, can you? COTTAGE BLOSSOMS is made from 1 Moda Layer Cake® --just pick 36 of your favorite 10" x 10" squares and designate:

• 12 squares for the flower petals 
• 12 squares for the flower centers 
• 12 squares for the stem/leaves

If you don't want to use a Layer Cake®, no problem. Just pick 10 fat quarters instead--6 for the flower petals/centers, and 4 for the stem/leaves. (The quilt pattern includes instructions to make it both ways.)

FINISHED BLOCK: 17" x 23-1/2"

FINISHED QUILT: 77" x 81-1/2"

The quilting is insane. 

I dropped the quilt-top off  to Natalia Bonner (Piece N Quilt) and told her to do whatever she wanted and THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED.  (Can you believe a human being did this freehand?!)

She is the queen of custom quilting. Let's just take one more look at that quilting. 

JUNE BUG 

Little Miss Sunshine has plenty of spunk--and so does this last quilt called JUNE BUG. I designed it to be a charm pack quilt, but the blocks can actually be from a variety of options: 

• 4 charm packs OR 

•  1 Layer Cake® OR 

•  11 fat quarters

Abby quilted this one too and used a simple wave pantograph. It's just amazing how the simplicity of the quilting really makes the design pop out even more.

Finished Block: 12" x 12" 

Finished Quilt: 68-1/2" x 68-1/2"

So there you have it! All of these new patterns are in the shop in PDF or paper format. I've also given my shop a little makeover! Go check it out and save 20% using the promo code QUILTMARKET during October. (Orders with paper patterns will ship when I return from quilt market on October 27th.)

  

Photographs were taken at The Granary Cafe in the historic downtown of Santa Clara, UT. A BIG thanks to my friends Pat and Wayne for letting me photograph the quilts there. It is a charming outdoor cafe with a brunch that is to die for. (The French toast is bread pudding.)

Oh and paper pattern orders will ship as soon as I return from quilt market 10/27/15. Thank you for stopping by. 

Little Miss Sunshine

She finds bliss in the beauty of a quiet mountain meadow dotted with daises. It's the perfect day for a picnic, so she brings a basket of homemade bread, peach jam, and wild strawberries. She spreads out a quilt beneath her favorite moss-covered tree and soaks in the sunbeams that break through the leafy canopy above.

Now life isn't always a picnic--there are moments when the sun disappears behind the clouds and we are left to look for our own rays of sunshine. So many of us find joy in sewing pretty things like quilts, dresses, and decorations for our homes. It revives us like the warmth from the real sun. 

Little Miss Sunshine is a collection full of cheer and I hope it will bring all those images of happy times into your studio. 

Little Miss Sunshine is now showing at International Quilt Market in Houston and will ship to stores April 2016. 

I've also handpicked a "Sunshine" themed thread box collection for Aurifil. It contains 12 spools (50 weight thread) to coordinate perfectly with the Little Miss Sunshine fabric, but also includes a few of my favorite neutrals. (The taupe 5011 is a perfect match to Moda's Crossweave in Sand 12119 51.) 

 

Chatterbox + Sewalong Giveaway

Quilt market prep is in full swing over here but I'm taking a little break to release a new pattern. It's called Chatterbox and was made using Momo's new line, Flying Colors.

The Chatterbox quilt can be made using a Moda Layer Cake (or Jelly Roll + 1 FQ combo) and is easy and quick to piece. I haven't had a second to make up a sample yet, so digital images it is.

The pattern is in my shop and is available in PDF or paper. 

I'm a little sad I haven't been able to make this quilt up yet so I'm thinking I should offer up a special prize for those of you who can beat me to it. So here's what I'm thinking:

• THE PRIZE: 1 person will win a USPS medium flat rate box stuffed full of surprise scraps from my new line that is being revealed next month at quilt market. It is literally a box full of sunshine. I may also throw in advanced copies of the new patterns from the group...  

• HOW TO ENTER: Make a Chatterbox quilt! Or at least get started. Post a picture of your progress in Instagram and tag me (@lellaboutique) and make sure to use the hashtag #CHATTERBOXSEWALONG (NOTE: If your IG account is private, send me a DM with a screen shot.) 

• DEADLINE: Well, I don't think I'll get around to making my quilt for a few more weeks but I think I can have it done right before quilt market. So let's say October 20th. If you can post a picture of your progress before October 20th, I'll look through the hashtag #CHATTERBOXSEWALONG and randomly select a winner.

Vintage Picnic {Fresh Cut Version}

In my last post, I introduced my new Vintage Picnic quilt pattern in Gooseberry fabric. (It's an exclusive for Fat Quarter Shop and can be purchased here.) Well guess what?! I made another one. (Yes, I really did love making it that much.) This time around, however, I used Basic Grey's Fresh Cut fabric from Moda Fabrics. Early this year I found myself buying TONS of it, and decided "it made sense" to redo my daughter's room with it. So logical--any bets as to when I'll get an itch to redecorate again?

I made some nice big pillows to match and found the rest of her sheets/bedding from Target. It's a good thing most of it is pretty neutral--it will make it that much easier when I feel the urge to do some redecorating. Here is a digital image of the fabrics plugged in:

(I particularly adore the texture added by using the raindrop print for the sashing and border. It was a little extra work because of the unidirectional pattern but SO worth it.)

Of course, it was only fitting to get a picture of my girl with her quilt.

I think she likes it.

Vintage Picnic

Last month, I took a little trip to my Grandma's house up in the Colorado mountains. (As you may recall, it was my grandmother's beautiful flower garden and stories of gooseberries that inspired my newest fabric line with Moda Fabrics, Gooseberry.) I brought along my "Vintage Picnic" quilt--barely quilted the night before--and hand-stitched the binding on in the car. Once we arrived at Grandma's, I posed it in the midst of the hollyhocks so that the quilt could be at home with its source of inspiration.

The pattern was designed exclusively for Fat Quarter Shop which means you can only get it on their website. Purchase by clicking here for PDF and here for paper.

I have such romantic ideas about picnics and so it had been on my mind for some time to design a quilt inspired by picnics. As I thought about my favorite elements of picnics, a couple of important images came to my mind: 1) fresh flowers, and 2) gingham.

As you can see, the block incorporates both of those elements--a flower sort of frame with a gingham/checkered sort of design within. The checkered design is incorporated into the border as well! It takes 9 fat quarters from my Gooseberry group (ships to stores in October) and comes together quickly, thanks to strip-piecing and easy connector corners. Fat Quarter Shop is already offering kits for this quilt for pre-order here.

I hope you enjoy making this one as much as I did. (I liked it so much I made another one for my daughter in Basic Grey's Fresh Cut line. More on that later.) Here is a special video I filmed with Fat Quarter to show you how it's made:

Freemotion Quilting

Hello friends! Today I'm sharing a couple more videos with you courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop. This first is all about quilting at home. I briefly cover how to use a walking foot for straight line quilting, but the focus is on freemotion quilting. Check it out here:

The other video is all about my favorite notions. Check it out here:

Make sure to subscribe to Fat Quarter Shop's YouTube channel for some of my other upcoming videos.

Goody Goody {the Sew-Along}

 

Today is an exciting day because it's the official kickoff of the Goody Goody Sew-Along hosted by Fat Quarter Shop. Here's how to participate:

1- Check out the Goody Goody binding tutorial found on my blog here. I didn't invent the idea but was inspired by my friend Amy and her amazing Travel Sewing Kit. I've included additions like the fun zipper compartment (see above) to store binding clips.

As a fun bonus, here is a little video I filmed with Fat Quarter Shop in June! It talks a little about the Goody Goody binding kit assembly, but mainly shows just how easy it is to make the zipper compartment! If you've never sewn with a zipper, this is a great beginner project for you.

2- A bunch of my friends are sewing along too! It's so fun to see all the different fabric choices and customization going on--be sure to check them out on their blogs and instagram to get more ideas:

Kimberly of Fat Quarter Shop / IG @fatquartershop

Lori of Bee in My Bonnet / IG @beelori

April of Prairie Grass Patterns / IG @amrosenthal

Amy of Amy's Creative Side / IG @amyscreativeside 

Sherri of A Quilting Life / IG @aquiltinglife

Natalia of Piece N Quilt / IG @nataliabonner

Kailtin of Knot and Thread / IG @knotandthread

Jenn of Quilted Thimble / IG @jennthurston

Sedef of Down Grapevine Lane / IG @downgrapevinelane

Sherri of This & That Patterns / IG @sherfalls

Heather & Megan of Quilt Story / IG @quiltstory and @quiltstorymeg 

3- We want to see what you will make! Share your version on Instagram and check out what everyone else is making under the hashtags #goodygoodysewalong and #goodygoodybindingkit