These Still Point blocks are the trickiest sew in the entire quilt. They utilize y-seams to create a flurry of twists and turns. But the tradeoff to stretching your wings is the view once energies take flight. There’s a special zing of pleasure and satisfaction when you succeed at something that took pluck.
Read MoreIt can all feel a little chaotic, until you start sewing. Soon enough the tidy matched squares and pointy half square triangle blocks bring everything into focus. Ta da! These three butterflies are of the Super Scrappy variety. Aren’t they merry?
Read MoreCustom quilting a sampler quilt like this is SO much fun, especially when the maker gives me free rein to explore. When I quilt a project like this, I don’t plan everything in advance. Instead, I feel my way through the project, starting with a collection of possible designs.
Read MoreNova lives in our neighborhood just one street over. She and Elora are in the same class at school, where they became fast friends. After school and through the weekend, they catch every spare moment to play together. Now Nova is turning 6 and we’re sewing a gift for her!
Read MoreThis Pas de Deux is all about making connections between the groups. The Checkers group is an easy one for that. I decided to start with pale colors at the top of Checkers because of the pale colors in the HST blocks directly above. The idea to build an ombre blend developed as a way of working toward orange.
Read MoreThis week I turned the scraps from sewing Kismet patchwork curtains into new dining chair covers. The patchwork version is sewn with the quilt-as-you-go method, meaning that batting is already attached. That method is always nice when using string scraps.
Read MoreThis collaborative quilt was made together with my bee mates in the Comfort circle of do. Good Stitches. The peachy, pink and purple palette is sugar sweet. I hope that its simple beauty brings comfort to someone in need. My intention is to find it a home among the Ukrainian refugees who are living in our city.
Read MoreWeaving together my life as a maker and other spheres of life: Best of April, celebrating a Pas de Deux patchwork group by @Leukgemaakt, experimenting with tulips and a bit about the reason for our upcoming trip to the states.
Read MoreCan’t wait, can’t wait! In about a week’s time, Pas de Deux club members will receive the May installment in our sampler quilt. For most, this is the Wedge Cross group - one of my absolute favorites. It’s simple and satisfying to sew, plus gave rise to a very special Bonus quilt pattern.
Read MoreI brought all of my fabric and even my scraps, when I moved overseas. In the last three years, I’ve gotten to know what it’s like to shop for quilt fabrics as a European. Let’s talk about the costs, accessibility and my favorite quilt shop destinations!
Read MoreDo you remember the Monument block tutorial, a free resource that I posted earlier this year? Hurrah, all the blocks have arrived from my bee mates! It’s quite a pile and I’m excited to take in the collective effect.
Read MoreI think she will like it. I hope she will like it. Minimalist and simple is rather hard for me. I so easily stray. I think that things were going well when I created the patchwork design and chose a color palette, but it’s possible that they got out of hand when it came to quilting - - -
Read MoreOn this sunny weekend I caught a few hours in my sewing room to add to my Pas de Deux quilt. That was my Easter treat! My Evening Star blocks have a variety of background colors, but continuous (instead of scrappy) circles. I do so enjoy trying new things.
Read MoreIt’s time to make a baby quilt for my friend with a minimalist style. Luckily, I have just such a quilt in mind. It is a design related to my Transparency block. Ok, so that block didn’t turn out minimalist in my first Pas de Deux quilt, but the design can be quite understated. Pinky promise!
Read MoreOver the course of a few days, I’ve created a new group for my Pas de Deux quilt. This one turned out nothing like the original group. Instead, it was created by making color connections with surrounding blocks, and experimenting with fabrics on hand.
Read MoreBetween Pas de Deux and my longarm quilting services, you all are keeping me pleasantly busy, and for that I am grateful. Let’s catch up on some of the quilts I’ve had the opportunity to finish on my longarm quilting machine this year from.
Read MoreDreaming up a quilt color palette, choosing fabrics, even scattering fabric ideas on the design wall - all those stages of quilt planning are so easy and open and free for me. With a sampler quilt like Pas de Deux, actually choosing which block to sew first, on the other hand, can be a bit intimidating.
Read MoreFor my second version of Pas de Deux, I’m choosing a color palette for the quilt as a whole. I want a limited palette of 3 or so colors, so that the patchwork groups naturally harmonize and the edges between them can blur. Here’s how I pulled together fabrics, questioned myself and spiraled finally toward a decision.
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