Sneaky Peak
Coming soon to a couple of blogs near you!
2012
Completed Bee Blocks
I didn’t post the last day of June, I was busy finishing up bee blocks and dealing with some shocking family news. My Uncle was in a horrific motorcycle accident. He is going to be ok, but it will be a long and ugly road to recovery. Please send up a prayer of Thanksgiving because it could have been so much worse.
On a cheerier note…here are the last of my bee blocks for the 3×6 Bee.
I designed this block in Electric Quilt 7 and I truly love how they turned out. What I love the most about this type of bee is working with color combinations that I would not normally use, gives me a chance stretch my creativity. It also gives me a chance to see how versatile one of my designs really is.
I am going to take the next quarter off from the 3×6 Bee. I will still be sewing for Do.Good Stitches and my friend Shana asked me to sew for her this month, but other than that I will be sewing for my family and friends for the next several months. I miss working on projects that are near and dear to my heart and that is truly important to me. You can expect to see at least 2 pairs of shorts this month for the Hopeful Threads July Project and I also have a little something special in the planning stages with Jenna from Sew Happy Geek, so stay tuned!
Do you all have anything special planned for the Fourth?
Don’t forget to go enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Battle Over Gotham from Fat Quarter Shop – giveaway open until July 3rd!
4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler Review & Tutorial
Do Half Square Triangles send you into near palpitations? Do they make you sweat and say, nope, I can find a different block? Well, do I have a ruler for you! The Easy Angle 4.5″ Ruler by EZ Quilting available at Fat Quarter Shop.
I started out with some amazing Batman Fabric by Camelot Fabrics and a vague idea to make a quilt for my nephew (I hope he isn’t reading my blog!). The idea is still vague but it involves mixing solids with the prints for Half Square Triangles and interspersing these with fussy cuts of the panels and larger prints. I am hoping to tell a story with the quilt, you will get to watch it evolve here because I’m not using EQ7 to draw this quilt out! I’m quilting without a net!
Always on the look out for a new and hopefully easier method for Half Square Triangles, I asked Fat Quarter Shop if I could do a review of the 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler. Before I give you my thoughts on this ruler, I thought I would do a quick tutorial.
When using this ruler cut your fabric strips 0.5″ wider than the finished size you want your HSTs to be. I wanted 4″ finished Half Square Triangles so I cut my strips to 4.5″ wide.
Line up the ruler and cut along the diagonal.
Next sew along the diagonal with a 1/4″ seam.
I created 4 PERFECT half square triangles in less than 10 minutes – my fastest time yet!
(and yes, I do time how long it takes to make my HSTs with different methods – you have to remember, I sew during nap time and being able to sew fast is important to me!)
Things I Like:
- The included instructions are easy to follow and written in 3 different languages – which is normal for all EZ Quilting products
- This method is fast, as I said, 4 perfect HSTs in less than 10 minutes
- This method is PRECISE. I didn’t have to trim my HSTs down to size at all.
- Designed to make HSTs sized 1″ to 4.5″ – wonderful for projects with super small HSTs like Feathered Star
- Truth in advertising – Easy to Use
Areas for Improvement:
- I usually have something here, but this time I have nothing. I think the product is great. I will say there is no pattern, but there really doesn’t need to be. A half square triangle can be a finished block, so there is no need for a pattern.
Final Thoughts:
The 4.5″ Easy Angle Ruler is absolutely worth every penny. If only because it will save you the time of having to trim down your blocks. There are only one set of dog ears that will need to be clipped off, which to me is a bonus.
Have you used the Easy Angle Ruler? What do you think of it? Do you have a favorite HST method?
Don’t forget to go enter to win a fat quarter bundle of Battle Over Gotham from Fat Quarter Shop – giveaway open until July 3rd!
Purse Palooza
Hi Everyone! Today I am guest posting over at Sew Sweetness as part of the Purse Palooza 2012. I have written a review of the Boutique Shoulder Bag by Bella Nonna.
Head on over and check it out! I hope you all have a great weekend!
Fat Quarter Shop Highlight and Giveaway
Happy Wednesday Everyone! Today I am wanted to share with you some of my favorite fat quarter bundles from Fat Quarter Shop. You may notice that these are all kid prints…well, there are 5 special kids in my life all of whom will receive quilts in 2012 and Anne’s God Mother is pregnant, which means there is a 6th on the way who will also receive a special quilt. Kid fabrics are so much fun and Fat Quarter Shop has the most kid lines I have seen at any one shop!
Because all little girls could use a little “girl power”
The challenge for me this year is creating a quilt for my oldest nephew. He is going to be 10. Girls are easy, it helps that I am a girl and that the three girls in my life all love pink. Can’t get much simpler. Boys though…it is hard to find fabric geared towards boys, especially not quite teen boys. Check out what Fat Quarter Shop had:
I can’t tell you how excited I was to find the Batman Fabrics on Fat Quarter Shop. I just knew they would be perfect for my nephew. Would the be perfect for a little boy in your life too? Well, guess what, one lucky reader will win the fat quarter bundle above!
Enter Via the Rafflecopter Below!
I will leave this giveaway open until 9 pm Pacific July 3nd and will announce the winner Wednesday July 4rd. Good luck!