busy bee quilts: maureen cracknell handmade

Showing posts with label maureen cracknell handmade. Show all posts

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Wild & Free Pillows {a finished project}

My oldest daughter was lucky enough to have a student teacher for the first part of the school year. What better way to say thank you than matching pillows for her teachers?

I used the new line of fabric Wild & Free by Maureen Cracknell (+ a few scraps). I always thought the arrows would be my favorite print from the line, but once I saw it in person, Sun Tracks was clearly my fave! I bought extra after getting my preordered fat quarter bundle, and used it for the backs of these pillows.

I also quilted each pillow differently. For one I did cross-hatching, simply for the reason that the spool of thread on my machine was nearly out and I thought maybe I could eke out an entire quilted pillow from it (I couldn’t).

There is just something about straight lines that makes my heart swoon when I see them on pillows!

Quilting always seems to show up better on the back.

Then I quilted the other with a free motion pattern so they were the same but still different. Also I was a bit tired from all the straight lines. FMQ is so fast!

The quilting pattern blends in a lot of with all the different fabrics on the front.

The teachers liked the pillows and I got a message from one later that night informing me her 16 year old daughter already claimed it for her bedroom.

I promised that this would be the end of pillows for a while, but I was wrong. I already started another with the leftovers from this project and some scraps that have already overtaken my sewing room and are threatening to take over my house…

Have a wonderful weekend! Linking up with Fort Worth Fabric Studio and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

WIP Wednesday

Two projects waiting to be binded (bound?). I’ve got them quilted. All of my kids went to bed early last night. Can I hear an AMEN??? I had about four hours of sewing time to myself last night. I got through three Law & Order episodes on the Roku. It was bliss!

The sashing fabric is from Joann’s. I’m pretty sure it’s called Kona celery. I just had it in my stash and thought it worked—it’s a kind of greenish yellow. I think I’m going to use a black on black print for the binding.

This is the fabric. I borrowed this photo from the Windham Fabrics gallery from the “Tea for Two” line.

And here are the two quilt tops I’ve made in the past week or so. Interestingly, both are inspired by fabrics I’ve seen on Maureen Cracknell Handmade and both are made with hourglass blocks.

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway here. I’m heading to the DC Modern Quilt Guild meeting this Saturday. I can’t wait to meet some other modern quilters!!!

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Dots on Dots Blog Hop and Giveaway

Hourglass Star Block, finished size 11 x 11 inches. I made my block from fat quarters picked by Maureen Cracknell for The Intrepid Thread that came in this bundle (photo from Maureen Cracknell Handmade). The dots are called oval elements.

I started by separating the 10 fat quarters into 5 sets of dots/solid combos.

From the dots I cut two 5 x 5 squares and from the solids I cut five 4 x4 squares and two 5x5 squares.

Mark 1/4 lines on either side of the diagonal.

Pair up the dot/solid 5 x 5 squares and pin. Sew along each line.

Cut right down the middle into two halves.

Then subcut the triangles into two by making a right angle.

You will end up with a little pile of triangles. Press them all before opening up to set the seams.

Now, this is the most important part. Finger press the seam open before pressing flat. Finger pressing will keep your seams from getting wonky or distorted. Pressing the seams open also makes the finished block flatter.

After pressing flat, I like to give it a little spray of starch and set everything one more time with a hot iron. I don’t use steam.

Now, match up two triangles to make a square.

I pin the triangles together since the seams don’t nest.

Chain sew all your pieces.

Finger press again and flip over.

Voila! A pretty hourglass block.

Line up the diagonal on a square ruler with the seam line. Trim to 4 inches square.

Very pretty!

Now lay out all your hourglass blocks with the solid 4 x 4 squares.

Press the seams toward the solid squares and you will end up with this hourglass star block.

Now, onto the important part! I am giving away a $25 gift certificate to Quilt Taffy. I’ve ordered from Corrie’s shop tons of times and she has sweet fabric and great customer service! To enter, you must be a follower and leave a comment telling me your favorite fabric. If you are a no-reply blogger please leave your email address in the comment. Open to international entries and the winner will be announced next Monday, September 17th. Have a great week and don’t forget to check out the other stops on the blog hop today: