Donation Blocks for the BMQG

When we heard about the Boston Modern Quilt Guild's relief effort, Quilts for Boston, we were happy to help. The beautiful people in the BMQG are making quilts for those directly affected but the explosion that took place during the Boston Marathon.  

This is truly an amazing effort. We're proud of the Boston guild and all their hard work. If you can contribute a block of your own please do. Read on for more information about making a donation.

image courtesy of BMQG

A few of us at the Austin Modern Quilt Guild dug through our scraps looking for gray, white, yellow and blue fabric and went to town making blocks. Plus, it was the perfect excuse to test out new block designs.

If you'd like to contribute your own block mail it to the BMQG by May 24, 2013.  Please follow these guidelines when constructing and submitting your blocks:

• To give these quilts a cohesive look chose the colors of the Boston Marathon: blue, yellow, gray and white.  Both print and solid fabrics are welcome.
• All blocks should be 12½” tall x the width of your choice. That could mean 12½” x 7”, 12½” x 12½”, or anything wider, more narrow, or in between. 
• Please machine piece your blocks in any style you would like.
• Please use only “quilt shop quality” 100% cotton or cotton/linen fabrics. 
• Use white or light gray 100% cotton thread, but any coordinating thread of good quality will do.
• Mail to: Quilts for Boston, P.O. Box 79225, Belmont, MA 02479
• Deadline May 24, 2013

In addition to donation quilt blocks the guild is also looking for yardage to help finish each quilt. Contact the guild directly (bostonmqg@gmail.com) if you are interested in sending yardage. Form & Fabric has a nice stack ready to go.

Lotta Jansdotter Glimma Now Available

Lotta Jansdotter's designs are things of simple beauty. Her work is about her life and life is her inspiration. Perhaps it's the simplicity of her organic designs we're so drawn to. They make you want to slow down and enjoy the beauty around you. 

Lotta takes the basic craft skills she learned as a child, such as potato printmaking & simple sewing, and stretches them into sophisticated tools. Lotta’s designs may be steeped in artisan traditions and a DIY spirit but the homespun aspect ends there. Her look is sleek and urban and her products are created for a busy city life. Her awareness, substance and instinctual sense of style are perfectly suited for contemporary lifestyles. As is her generosity and sharing of knowledge. She plants seeds and let others reap the benefits. Because you always reap what you sew.

Create with Glimma

With Spring here Lotta's new collection, Glimma by Windham Fabrics, is just in time for creating something fresh and new to go with the season. We fell in love with this fabulous quilt called Waterfall by Ashley at Film In The Fridge. The free style blocks match the Lotta Jansdotter aesthetic perfectly. This is the second of two quilts so head over to Ashley's post about this quilt to see the other version, as well as, the back of the quilt. 

Waterfall quilt by Film In The Fridge (http://filminthefridge.com)

If you're looking for sturdier fabric this collection also comes in canvas - perfect for upholstery, pillows, tote bags, drapes, aprons, you name it. 

Whatever project you find yourself working on this season choose a fabric that make your heart smile. If you're looking something sleek and simple give Lotta's new line a look. Or, check out her previous line, Bella, - both work well together.

Is your wardrobe ready for Spring? In my opinion there's nothing better than a skirt with pockets. We were thrilled to see what could be done with a yard and a half of our favorite Michael Miller fabrics - Stitch Circle.  Voilà, this adorable bias cut skirt, made by our own Julie, appeared at the office today. 

Made using an easy pattern, New Look pattern 6170. Who doesn't love an easy pattern? The white piping around the pockets is especially eye catching. And the drawstring is made of white twill tape. Ah-mazing! The skirt is amazing, the fabric is amazing, Julie is amazing.

If navy isn't your color - no worries. Michael Miller solved that problem by offering this beautiful fabric collection in a wide range of colors. Plus, in additions to the stitched circles pattern there is a stitched squares pattern too! We love them all and think the possibilities are endless. We think you'll love this fabric too.

A zesty bunch - citron fabric

We've had a few days of beautiful weather in lovely Austin Texas and a touch of Spring fever found its way through the office doors. Today at Form & Fabric we spent the afternoon picking out a few bright colors that make us smile, rain or shine. Citron is a long time favorite and adds a happy little punch when you want to turn up the color volume on a project. And much to our surprise we found a dozen unique citron fabrics as we wandered around the shop - funny how your eye catches something when you really start looking for it.

Condo Unit Interior Renovation by NOA Architecture  Planning Interiors image courtesy of Houzz.com

image from SF Girl by the Bay Blog

Tricky Pattern, But Worth It

About The Fit

The Anya Tunic and Shorts pattern by GreenBee Designs and Patterns is one of the best fitting patterns Julie has sewn for her daughter. Julie's daughter is narrow through the shoulders and most children's patterns are just too wide. The Anya tunic fits very well and her daughter found it comfortable which means it will be a regular part of her daughter's rotation! 

The Tricky Bit

Overall a wonderful pattern but trickier than expected. The square inset sleeves were a new experience and took a littler longer to get sewn in - but totally worth it. If this is new to you mark your seams first so you'll know where the corners meet. 

About The Fabric

To make the tunic Julie used two beautiful Michael Miller fabrics by designer Violet Craft. The collection is called Madrona Road. The main fabric used for the tunic body is Farmstead in petal and the sleeves are made from the coordinating Cotton Couture solid fabric in coral. 

The shorts are made from a Robert Kaufman stretch twill called Barcelona. This stretch twill is downright ah-maze-ing and has quickly turned into one of our favorite apparel fabrics.

The fabric possibilites are endless so whatever fabric you choose have fun with it. 

It was love at first sight when I spotted this funky set of fat quarters at Walker Hall Design, in downtown Austin, on a recent shopping trip with a friend. 

A good friend made this fab pillowcase set using the beautiful (and one of my personal favorites) Anna Mara Horner Loves Me Loves Me Not and Joel Dewberry, Marquis fabrics - what a great combo! I can't wait to see how the duvet cover turns out.  

This little project has me inspired to whip up a few sets for myself.  Check out this how-to video and learn how to make a finished pillowcase that looks as good on the inside as it does on the outside.

Sweet dreams.

Sunshine Quilt

If you haven't guessed I'm a huge fan of color.   At first I was a little timid with color arrangement but after seeing what Kaffe Fassett does with color I was determined to finally make a bold statement.  

The pattern for this wonderful quilt came from Kaffe Fassett's book Glorious Patchwork.  After looking through this book I was so inspired and I immediately  started picking out the craziest color combinations I could find.  My family is Southern and my mother and grandmother are very traditional when it comes to quilting - they weren't sure what to make of this colorful creation.  My feeling is, there's an ass for every seat.  I'll take the seat with the colorful scrappy quilt please.  

And it sure does brighten up a drab white room, doesn't it?

And it sure does brighten up a drab white room, doesn't it?

When I started making things, other than quilts, I learned how to sew purses.  I didn’t just make one or two - I made a lot of purses.  In all shapes and sizes.  

It’s the perfect way to practice different skills because a purse project can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it.  They’re fast too.  Quilting can take days, weeks, even months - or longer.  A huge sense of accomplishment comes with knocking out a smaller project.   I can start and finish a purse or tote in one afternoon and have a fun new accessory to take along to dinner that evening.

This was my first attempt to engineer a new type of handle and attach it in a way that would allow for a zipper closure. 

It turned out beautifully, if I do say so myself.

I love using a fabric I’m especially excited about – totally makes seeing the final result extra special.  For this bag I used one of my all time favorite Amy Butler fabrics.  To raise the fun factor (everything should be fun, right?) it's paired with a bright blue accent. The blue accent in the handle and the green liner are dupioni silk.  The blue zipper is the type of zipper used for a snow parka.  I love using giant colorful zippers whenever possible because they're fun and they open and close easily.  

As the Summer heats up I find myself indoors more often. Which is also an excellent excuse for finding time to sew. As much as I hate digging through clutter I hate throwing any kind of fabric out even more. So after thumbing through a wonderful modern quilting book, Quilting Line and Color: Techniques and Designs for Abstract Quilts by Yoshiko Jinzenji, I knew exactly what to do with my scraps - a baby quilt (I love it when inspiraton strikes)! 

As the Summer heats up I find myself indoors more often. Which is also an excellent excuse for finding time to sew. As much as I hate digging through clutter I hate throwing any kind of fabric out even more. So after thumbing through a wonderful modern quilting book, Quilting Line and Color: Techniques and Designs for Abstract Quilts by Yoshiko Jinzenji, I knew exactly what to do with my scraps - a baby quilt (I love it when inspiraton strikes)! 

I love the simplicity and clean aesthetic of these designs and think they perfect for the modern mom and baby. We have a friend who's about to deliver twins so I chose the brightest colors I had with splashes of white to go with the all white border. This quilt top is finished.  One down one to go. I just can't decide if the back should also be white.