Monday, March 30, 2020

Make New Quilting Friends! (+ a free pattern offer)

Happy Monday!
Need a little distraction from daily life? Want to make a few new online quilting friends while you're staying home? Today is the last official post from Stay at Home and Hop. 

This group of 40 designers want to share their quilts, inspiration, and maybe even special deals with you, so have fun browsing! 


If you're vising me for the first time, welcome!

A little about me:

If this is your first time visiting my blog, I'm so glad you're here! I'm a mom of three boys, and my family lives in southwest Michigan. I've been quilting since I graduated from college, and working in the quilting industry since 2005. I spent eight years as a quilting magazine editor and have spent the last seven working as a freelance quilt designer, pattern writer, illustrator, and proofer. Quilting is part of my daily life, whether it's designing quilts digitally or sewing with my boys (yep, they're quilters in training). I'd describe myself as a modern quilter, and improv is one of my favorite techniques. 

I hope you'll browse around my blog while you're here and come back often! 

Virtual Designer Shop Hop Special Offers
1. Sign up for my newsletter here and as a thank you, I'll send you a free copy of my quilt pattern Diamond Drama. (Tip: If you sign up and don't see the newsletter email, check your junk mail--or promotions folder if you have a gmail address--just in case.)





2. Head over to my Etsy shop to browse the rest of my patterns; use the code STAYATHOME for 20% off your purchase.

Here are the remaining designers to meet:

Bequilter

Presto Avenue Designs

Cheryl Lynch Quilts

Hissyfitz Designs

Canton Village Quilt Works

Anjeanette Klinder Designs

Pat Sloan – The Voice of Quilting

Said With Love

Orange Blossom Quilt Design

If you missed the first 30, find them here.


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If you're still reading, I'm currently hosting a Quilt Along and it's not too late to join! Find details here


Find me on Facebook
Find me on IG @lisaerin1121

Sunday, March 29, 2020

Zipped Up

I'm excited to have a project featured in Benartex's free e-zine, Modern by the Yard. I used Christa Watson's Gridwork collection (yes, I've used this a lot lately--it's so fun!). I wanted to come up with a design that would showcase those big prints in larger chunks, rather than cutting them up small. Here's what I came up with:

Photo by Erin Sutherland Photography

The name came naturally after finishing the design--I think the center looks like a zipper. I played around with several color palettes but really wanted to use the blue and citron to create a bold, spring-like feel. The Arches print (the stripe) was perfect to tie the two side colors together. Visit the e-zine to see some of the other color variations I tried. 

Diane Oakes quilted the quilt. We decided on lines of pebbles in the center blocks and a simple wavy line in the frames. There's so much going on in the fabric, and the pebbles echoed the circular feel in the prints. 


It's hard to see the machine quilting in the background--if you enlarge the photo, you can see it a little better. Diane quilted spiral boxes that would provide texture without overpowering the design. 

Fun fact: Diane told me that she had to quilt the citron using a black light because she couldn't see the thread on the fabric! 

I love this view down the center of the quilt!

Make sure you page through the entire issue of Modern by the Yard--it's FREE! There are four projects and other fun features, including Modern with a Twist and Mix & Match. You'll also find the pattern to make Zipped Up. 

Find the magazine here.

See the entire Gridwork collection here. Ask for it at your local quilt shop, or visit Christa's website to order what you need.

Saturday, March 28, 2020

Star Crossing QAL: Week 3 Extras

Today I'm sharing some advice on using directional fabric and sharing a video showing how to speed up making your flying geese units. If you're using directional fabric for your star tips and you care about them all facing the same way, keep reading! Otherwise scroll down to find the video.



The key to orienting your fabric correctly is to double check before doing any line drawing, sewing or cutting, though you can also just refer to the photos below and make sure yours match! :)

Align your first directional fabric square on the background piece. Fold the piece back, as if you've sewn it, and see if the stripes (we'll call them stripes, though yours may be different) are pointing the way you'd like. If so, draw your diagonal line and sew. If not, rotate your square 90 degrees and check again. 
Tip: If you want your strips pointing up and down in each star point, you need the "stripe" to run horizontal as shown below.

Repeat on the second side. It's always best to double check your direction is correct again, just in case. 


Finished stripe star blocks! 



In the Week 3 post, I briefly described how to avoid marking all your squares with diagonal lines for making flying geese units. Here, I'll show you exactly how to do it.




Finished your small and medium stars? Have a question?
Leave a comment below or post on IG using:
 @lisaerin1121
 #starcrossingquiltalong 
#starcrossingweek3

Quilt Along schedule:
March 12: Fabric selection
March 18: Cutting
March 25: Small and medium stars
April 2: Center star and assembly (I can't promise there won't be some April Fool's jokes...)
April 9: Machine quilting
April 22: Binding


The downloadable version of the Star Crossing pattern is on sale in my Etsy shop, so grab your copy today!


Purchase the pattern (currently 20% off!) here.

*Bring a friend deal: Get a friend to sign up for the QAL and purchase the pattern, and you'll receive 20% off an additional pattern of your choice! 
Simply email me your friend's name and I'll email you the coupon.

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In addition, Pam and Diane, the lovely ladies at Piece, Love and Quilting, are offering a special deal to QAL participants:
25% off computerized edge to edge long arm quilting 
(including batting) for Star Crossing quilts

Contact them via FB or IG to take advantage of this discount!


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Over the Rainbow fabrics
If you'd like to use the same fabrics, here are some shops carrying them (please contact me if you know of any others and I'll add them in!):

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Stay at Home and Hop With Us!



No doubt like me, all of your upcoming quilty events have been postponed or  cancelled and you find yourself now stitchin’ up a storm at home!  Why not take a break and join me on a virtual pattern designer shop hop?

Come join the fun and virtually hop on over to some of my favorite friends in the quilting industry!!

Starting on Saturday, March 21st, I’ll invite you to explore the newest offerings, patterns and notions from my fellow colleagues.  You’ll meet new pattern designers, explore new quilting websites, and perhaps make a purchase or two along the way. All of them have something unique to offer to you – our virtual shop hoppers !

With new and exciting sites to explore throughout the week, you’ll be happy you took and break and virtually hopped and shopped with all of our new friends!

Friday, March 27, 2020

Precut Project Hop: Ebb & Flow


Hello and welcome to the last day of Benartex's Precut Project Hop! The full schedule is at the bottom of this post, so if you missed any days, you can check them all out. 

I designed the Ebb & Flow quilt about a year ago and have been waiting patiently to remake it in a new fabric line. Imagine my delight when I saw Christa Watson's Gridwork collection! The fabrics feature bright and bold geometric designs that pop, even in precut 2-1/2"-wide strips (Benartex calls the packs Strip-pies). And by using precut strips, I reduced the cutting time for making this quilt in half! 




Here's what I used to make the quilt. I chose the Black Grid for the background so that the brights would stand out even more. The hourglass-style blocks use two print strips each; the diamond-shaped blocks use one. You'll have plenty of strips leftover to play with! Find Christa's Gridwork fabric (including Strip-pie packs) in her shop.



I love the ripple effect this quilt design has.



I quilted it using wavy horizontal lines. And I was worried about running out of black thread before I finished, so just for fun, I used a variety of colors in the bobbin: purple, fuchsia, turquoise. The quilting was a little rocky, so I'm not showing a photo--you'll just have to imagine the color on the back!



Great texture!

If you'd like to make Ebb & Flow, you can purchase the pattern in my Etsy shop. For 20% off the pattern, use the code STAYATHOME. (And while you're add it, check out another hop I'm involved in, Stay at Home and Hop.)
Purchase this pattern in my Etsy shop.


Did you catch the rest of the Precut Project Hop? Visit everyone below.


Monday 3/16: 

Tuesday 3/17: 

Wednesday 3/18: 

Thursday 3/19: 

Friday 3/20: 

Saturday 3/21:

Sunday 3/22: 

Monday 3/23: 

Tuesday 3/24: 

Wednesday 3/25: 

Thursday 3/26: 

Friday 3/27: