Christmas Tree Skirt

As we are moving into Summer, there is not much 

use for Christmas quilts, 

although I do have a couple that I bring out for six 

weeks or so.

And I've made my share of Christmas stockings

over the years....

But I felt my Christmas tree could use a skirt.

I decided it would be quicker to make my own 

pattern.


First I measured from the base of my tree out to 

give me a diameter of 18 inches.

(You may want to make yours larger, of course.)

Then I cut a piece of brown paper 18" square and 

rounded off the outer edge.

(I also cut a semi-circle out of the centre, but you 

could probably do this at the end.)

I folded the paper on the diagonal a few times 

to accommodate the fabric I had on hand.

I used one of these wedges for my pattern.

I made one from freezer paper and ironed it onto the 

back of my fabric, adding a 1/4" seam when cutting.

Then I simply sewed the 32 wedges together, 

leaving the last seam open.

Ignore that lump, everything flattened once it was cut away!

One metre of Christmas fabric was enough for the 

backing,

and about 4m of binding!

Some simple quilting...

and VOILA...

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Scrappy Stepping Stones

I thought I'd do a follow-up of my latest quilt!

I found a photo of a scrappy quilt on Pinterest that 

sparked my interest, which lead me here.

But as there were no measurements, I worked out 

my own.

Maybe you'd like to make a Scrappy Stepping Stones 

quilt of your own....

I started with 2.5" squares,

making fifty 16-patch blocks...

I cut 49 white pieces from 1.3 metres of white, 

tone-on-tone fabric

and you need another 8 side pieces, of 4 squares 

each.

This will make a quilt that measures 68" by 72"

I may still put a white border around the outside....?

If you have any further questions please don't 

hesitate to add a comment to this blogpost!


Happy sewing!

SUZ

Running out of steam...

for my Polaroid Calendar Series!

Ideas for November were scarce, especially as

 Halloween or Thanksgiving are not really celebrated 

in the Southern Hemisphere.

So for the last in the series, 

this is the best I could do!

More Spring flowers....

I have written some simple instructions, 

should anyone want to make their own 

Polaroid Calendar;

its now on a separate page at the top of my blog.

To make it up to you

 I couldn't resist a mini quilt show 

of the whole series....

This makes me smile!

Summer & Autumn

Winter & Spring

and the backs....

and them all stacked up!

Happy sewing!

SUZ

Making Sand...wiches!

From fabric hamburger....

to rainbow sandwiches.....

to Scrappy Sandwich blocks!

Here's how I make them.....

STEP 1: Making the scrappy strips

The scrappy strips are 

made from a variety of scraps....

Each scrap is at least 3 and 1/2" long, and any width from 3/4" to about 2".

Try for a variety of widths to give the blocks interest.

Continue adding strips until each set is 3 and 1/2" in width 

and 10 and 1/2 " in length, 

trimming if necessary.

Then. white strips- 1 and 1/2" by 10 1/2"   are sewn to either side,

Make another 79!

I finger pressed across the centre of the white strip...

(I want the length of this edge to measure 5" when the corners are cut off. It will become obvious at the next stage)

then lined up my ruler at either end,

to give me the diagonal cutting line,

marking each point if required.

(You will notice the centre line of my ruler is parallel with the edge of block)

Cut triangles off each corner.

I'm using these for another fun project!-link here

My sewing machine cover is here

There! 

The distance across the top of the white strip 

should now measure 5"

(see below)

STEP 2:

The solid contrast fabric is cut next.

I used about a yard and a quarter of this fabric

Cut 4 and 1/2" squares of the coloured solid fabric, in this case the sandy colour,

and cross cut them....

and attach the bias edge to either side of the white strips....

Press carefully 

Square this block to measure

7 and 3/8 inches 

STEP 3:

Join four together, giving the block I call....

Scrappy 'Sand'wiches!

I hope you enjoyed my little tutorial.

Happy sewing!

SUZ

PS If there are any questions please contact me at my email. Many of you are no-reply bloggers and I have no way of helping you!

It's my turn...

....as Queen for the Modern Stitching Bee!

I had seen a block I really liked, 

called Rocky Mountain Puzzle...

The ones on the left have centres cut at 4.5"         The ones on the right have centres cut at 4"
Borders are cut at 1.5"                                  Borders are 1.75" 

and decided to make this my block for June!

There is a slight variation in the samples (above)....

Choose the size to match the fabric you have chosen 

to fussy cut.

So here's a cutting and piecing guide.

CUTTING: 

*Fussy cut a 4.5" square for centre (sewing machine print)
cut 1.5" X 22" strip (blue floral) 
cross cut into 
2 X 1.5" X 4.5"
&
2 X 1.5" X 6.5"

cut 5 X 4" squares (yellow)

cut 5 X 4" squares (Kona white)

[ if your 1/4" seam is accurate these squares can be cut to 3.75"]

and cut 2 X 3.5 " squares (Kona white)

( *alternately Fussy cut a 4" square and 1.75" X 21" strip
cross cut into
2 X 4"
&
2 X 6.5")

PIECING:

1. Add 1.5" ( or 1.75") strip to top and bottom,

then sides.

This centre square should now measure 6.5"

2. Draw a diagonal line on each white square and pair 

with coloured one

3. Chain piece each square .25" on either side...

and cut to yield 10 HSTs, trim to measure 3.5"

4. Join as shown below...

This is sideways- the white squares should be in the top right and bottom left corners
 to suit your fussy cut centre!

adding the white corner squares to the each side.

* Careful pressing will get the seams nesting nicely....

And there it is....

Larger centre square, narrower border

Smaller centre square, wider border.

I have asked for blocks in the soft colours shown-

 lemon, lime, light aqua/blue, pink

with touches of grey or soft tan. 

I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!



Happy  Sewing!


SUZ

My Tutorial Debut!

Here it is.....

My first tutorial.....

(A number of followers asked for a tutorial, I just hope you can understand what I have written and that I have included enough photos!)

This is a slightly different version of my Vintage Pink Scrappy Stars Mini Quilt 

I have chosen not to use scraps for this mini and to also fussy cut some of the fabric.

I think you will agree it has a different feel to it!

Enjoy!

      Scrappy Star Tutorial      

Please read all instructions before beginning!

Instructions and yardages are given for a 19” ‘fussy cut’ Scrappy Star Quilt as pictured below:

            

3 fabrics used each requiring approx. 20cm each

CUTTING:

From Fabric 1 (Eiffel Tower in this example) cut:

4  X  5” squares (piece A)

8  X  5” x 2.5” rectangles (B)

4  X  2.5” squares (C)

From Fabric 2 (solid) cut:

12 X 5” x 2.5” rectangles (D)

12 X 2.5” squares (E)

From Fabric 3 (spot) cut:

9 X 2.5” squares (F)

72 X 1.5” squares (G)

·      Before beginning to piece, rule a diagonal sewing line on each of the 72 – 1.5” squares, (as shown)

PIECING:

1.         a. Take D piece and place G piece on one corner; sew along the diagonal

(as shown)

b. Repeat for all D pieces before adding to the opposite corner on the long side.

c. Trim each corner and press the G pieces open.

d. Repeat a. on the other side.

These become piece H

2.         a. Take E and sew G piece on one corner as with previous rectangular pieces.

b. Trim and press open before adding 2^nd G piece.

c. Repeat for all E pieces

            These become piece I

 You now have the points of each star-

3.         Assemble rows- There are 7 in total:

ROWS 1  &  7- 

Piece C , I, B, I, B, I, C


(Make sure you have the star point squares facing the correct way)

ROWS 2, 4 & 6-

Piece I, F, H, F, H, F, I

ROWS 3 & 5-

Piece B, H, A, H, A, H, B

(If you have fussy cut your fabric and have used directional prints like I have, make sure they are all facing the correct way too)

4.         Pressing seams correctly at this point will assist in getting them lined up neatly (butted up is the correct term, I believe).

Even numbered rows press first piece with seam allowance IN, etc across the row

On odd numbered rows press first piece with seam allowance OUT, etc across the row.

5.  Join rows together to complete your quilt top!

And to honour my new quilt I have named this one


"Stars Over Paris"....

Should anyone out there 


a) like a PDF of this, leave me a comment and I will email you a copy...


b) make a mini Scrappy Star Quilt from my tutorial, please share it!

Happy sewing!

SUZ