Monday, July 31, 2017

OMG: Chorus Line Quilt Top!

My July One Monthly Goal, which was to finish my Chorus Line quilt top, almost didn't have a happy ending. I re-figured the quilt assembly (the original called for a separate "frame" around each row of blocks, but since my frames were all the same color, I didn't want double frames). I assembled the quilt center. And then I went to cut the borders. 

And ran into that oh-so-common tale of woe that all quilters know--not enough fabric! I'd purchased the black/gray/white stripe on a slight whim, hoping it would work for this quilt but not knowing. I just bought a yard or so, not thinking about it being directional. Oops! I didn't have enough to cut directional borders. 

I found 2 remaining yards of the fabric on Fabric.com and ordered it on July 25th. I left town on July 26th with my quilt looking like this: 


I came home today, July 31st, with a few hours to spare and a box of fabric on my front step. Borders added! Quilt top finished! Happy ending!
And the quilt is upside down in this photo. But it's done, so I can't be picky! :)
Thanks to Patty at Elm Street Quilts for hosting OMG!


Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Christmas in July Placemat Tutorial

Good morning! 

The sun is shining, today's forecast is 85 degrees, and I'm in a Christmas mood! I'm part of Benartex's Christmas in July blog hop today, and I'm sharing a placemat tutorial I made using Cherry Guidry's Mulberry Lane collection. 

These fabrics are adorable! I've always appreciated the addition of aqua into the more traditional red and green colorway because it creates such a fresh look. Here's a look at my completed placemat: 

 In these prints, I especially love all the different vehicles. I had fun quilting this as well--smaller projects are so much easier to maneuver! I followed the circles on the print below, filling in the white space with pebbles. 

Isn't this a fun stripe? 

My original plan was to make a tree using flying geese units. But it was just too straight and not quite right for the style of these fabrics. Paper piecing allowed me to create a wonky tree instead, and I'm really happy with how it turned out!

Head over to Benartex's blog to check out my tutorial. 
Leave a comment below telling me your favorite holiday decoration for a chance to win a fat quarter bundle of Mulberry Lane fabrics. This giveaway is open through Sunday, July 30th at 11:59 pm EDT. 

Thanks for stopping by! 


Follow along with Benartex's Christmas in July Blog Hop!
Wednesday: Mulberry Lane Placemats by Lisa Ruble
Thursday: Nordic Holiday Star Quilt by Debby Kratovil
Friday: A Moose for Christmas Pillow by Cynthia Brunz
Saturday: Winter Story Wall Hanging by Benartex blog design team

Friday, July 7, 2017

OMG: Assemble the quilt!

Last month, my goal was to assemble my star blocks of the A Chorus Line quilt, from a class I took with Debbie Caffrey at Quilt Festival. Now I'm ready to assemble the quilt top! 

When I started this quilt, I was drawn to the striped fabric and bought it in hopes of using it as the outer border. I honestly didn't know if it would work or not, but after auditioning it here, I'm excited to use it! I'll use black solid for the sashing around each row, and then the black/gray/white stripe for the border. So my July goal for One Monthly Goal at Elm Street Quilts is to assemble the quilt top. 


Can't wait to get started!