Anna Maria Horner QAYG Herringbone Quilt

Do y'all follow Maureen Cracknell on IG or read her blog? She is a "Herringbone Quilt As You Go" PRO!! When I saw her tutorial for this amazing quilt a couple years ago, I had it "pinned" before you can say Anna Maria Horner and knew I had to make one too! Her tutorial is great, y'all should definitely check it out.

When my little sis got married last year, I knew that this would be the perfect time to try my hand at making a huge QAYG (quilt as you go) quilt and I am sold on this type of quilting! The thing I hate about making a large quilt, is that it is a beast to quilt once you've pieced it. (and I usually don't have extra $ floating around to send it to a longarm quilter) So this technique was perfect for solving that problem! 

(If this isn't making sense, head over and check out Maureen's tutorial and it will explain what I am talking about.)

I used a bunch of fabrics from my stash, mostly AMH, and went for a Boho feel and love the way it turned out. I used AMH Spotted in a Crowd leopard print for the binding (one of my favorite prints) and Tula Pink Free Fall in Navy Wideback for the backing. It was my first time using 108" fabric for quilt backing and I am a fan! I loved not having to piece the back. I was also super impressed with the hand of the Tula Pink wide backing... It was ultra soft and buttery, I would definitely use it again.

I am in the process of making a voile version of this quilt for my bed... It's king size, so I don't know if I will finish it before baby comes, but that is the plan. Here is a sneak peak... You can follow my progress on IG.

Well, I hope you are all having a wonderful summer! Our family just got back from our summer trip to visit family out in Utah, which was so fun and relaxing! I'm just about 35 weeks pregnant now, so I am sticking close to home now for the duration of my pregnancy and officially entering the uncomfortable stages of the pregnancy. The humidity in the Midwest is torturing me! ;) Definitely missing that dry summer heat in Utah! 

I've been so busy with other projects that I haven't sewn a single thing for my baby! Can you believe that?! I have got to get moving... these last few weeks are going to fly by. 

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

P.S. I't s the Fat Quarter Shop's 13th Birthday and they are celebrating by offering 13% off of your order! Yay! They are also giving away 13 amazing prizes, so head over to their blog and enter the giveaway! 

La Passacaglia: Part 2

If you have been following me on Instagram, you've probably seen the long term project that I've been working on lately. It's a crazy EPP quilt called the La Passacaglia. 

The pattern can be found in the Millefiori Quilts book (#1) by Willyne Hammerstein. I picked up a copy of the book as well as the paper pieces and acrylic templates at PaperPieces.com. 

It's definitely a bit of an investment to do this project, but it's also SUPER fun and addictive. I love coming up with new color combos, fabric combos, and fussy cutting just about every single piece. 

I am just making each cog as I go along and not really giving much thought to the placement or end result, but I am having fun and love each cog that I create so I am crossing my fingers that in the end it will all work out and be a one of a kind quilt that I can treasure forever. 

 It has been so much fun to start seeing the progress once I have sewn the cogs together! It is starting to actually feel like a quilt instead of just shapes. 

I found a little organizer that is perfect for keeping all of my paper pieces in order. It's called the Divided Case by Sterilite. I found mine at Target, but have heard that they are hard to come by, so if you see one- snatch it up! Here is a link to the only case I can find online. (it's slightly different colors but looks like its the same thing as what I have.)

I plan to do a post soon with progress pictures of the full quilt (what I have done so far) and would be happy to answer any questions that anyone has- so just leave a comment below and I will answer it in my post. If you need an answer sooner, leave your email and I will answer you directly. 

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Leopard Print Spinning Stars | Tessa Basket

Seems like every couple months the new "IT" pattern pops up on Instagram. The Tessa Basket seems to be just that right now! I've seen so many fun versions of it popping up in my feed and I put it on my to-do list a few weeks ago. I knew it would be perfect for carrying around my hand stitching WIPs, so when @greenletterday had a sale on her patterns last weekend, I took advantage!

 I wanted to make my version slightly different than the ones I have seen, so I went with a different approach to my patchwork. I made half of a Spinning Star block (scaled the size down a bit) and appliqued it onto the ruler fabric and trimmed off the bottom with some  kona charcoal. I really love the way it turned out! That leopard print is so fun!

I would definitely recommend this pattern! It is so fun and super easy! 

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Mini Quilt | Kaffe Fassett Pickle Dish

Do you ever get an idea in your head, and even though you have a million other things you should/need to be doing instead, you just can't seem to shake it? THAT was totally me for the last couple weeks! I have been wanting to make a pickle dish quilt ever since I saw one in my local quilt shop {Sew to Speak} by the amazing Mary Dugan of Molly Flanders. 

My photos are courtesy of my phone and instagram... sorry they aren't the greatest! 

 Then my friend Rachel started making one. She would bring it to work on when we would get together and I fell in love with the idea of making one myself! Obviously I couldn't add another WIP {work in progress} to my growing pile, so I decided to make one block and turn it into a mini. I had package to send Rach that I had been putting together for her and figured that a pickle dish mini was the perfect thing to finish off the package. 

 There are 3 patterns for a pickle dish quilt that I am aware of. There is a fabulous {and free} tutorial with step by step pictures and templates by Aneela Hoey. Then there is one called Gypsy Kisses by Sarah Fielke in the Material Obsession 2 book. And the last one is by Kaffe Fassett in the Quilt Romance book.  

The Sarah Fielke and Kaffe Fassett pickle dish look very similar to my eye. I am sure if you had one of each quilt side by side, you would see that there are definitely differences in them, as they are assembled using different techniques, but at a glance they look the similar.

The one that I have seen by Mary, and that my friend Rachel is making is the Sarah Fielke Gypsy Kisses version. I haven't read the pattern, but I am pretty sure it involves hand applique and machine piecing. I have never done applique before so that kinda scared me! So I did a little research and found that the Kaffe Fassett one is all machine pieced. That seemed a little safer for me to try, but I have to admit- the curved piecing was kinda freaking me out! I have never sewed with curves when it comes to patchwork! So I tried to muster up the confidence needed and ordered the Kaffe Fassett book.

 I started working as soon as the book arrived. The pattern is great and very straight forward. The only changes that I made to it was I didn't add the final piece to the outside of the block to make it "square". I liked it curved around the edges since it is just a mini quilt. I also made my own center template by taping 4 of the "template B" pieces together to create one center piece of fabric instead of 4 separate pieces. 

(I cut the seam allowance off of the 2 straight edges, but left the seam allowance on the curved edge and then taped them to create one template.)

I was super excited to cut into my Liberty Bloomsbury Gardens stash and I knew they would pair perfectly with some of my Cotton + Steel and Anna Maria Horner stash. I used Kona Charcoal as the background, backing, and binding of the quilt. Then I hand quilted it with Valdani pearl cotton. I pin basted the layers together for quilting but I didn't use a hoop to stretch it out as I quilted it. I just wanted it to have a loose, soft, puckery feel to it and I really loved the result! 

(I definitely wouldn't use this method for a whole quilt, but since it's a mini and is just hanging on the wall, I figured it was ok.)

Now that I have made one block, I feel like I can go on with my other WIP's and I don't have a pickle dish quilt in the back of my mind....ok... ok... who am I kidding?! Now I want to make another pickle dish more than ever! 

I definitely need to make a mini for myself to hang on my mini wall and I'm totally adding a full pickle dish to my bucket list for sure!! I'm afraid I've awakened a pickle dish monster inside me! ha ha ;)

I hope y'all have a wonderful week!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

AMH Little Folks Voile Quilt

 Remember when I went fabric crazy 2 years ago and bought a half yard of every AMH print in voile that I could get my hands on?  It was a brief, break of insanity... But- in my defense- they were on a $6 sale! I couldn't help myself!!  They are the softest, yummiest, amazing fabrics ever! I am obsessed! 

Shortly afterwards, I joined a Fabric-aholics Anonymous program.

"Hi- My name is Ashley and it has been 1 day since I made a fabric purchase."

JUST KIDDING! 

That's only for people that can't control their fabric purchases.  I don't have a problem... Do I? ;) Mwahahahahaha!!

 Ok... In all reality- it was one of the best fabric purchases I've ever made! No regrets here! Just come snuggle this quilt, and you'll see why!

I decided to make a square patchwork quilt first. I didn't dare slice and dice those gorgeous fabrics too much! I went with a 6 inch squares to create my quilt top- 14 squares across, 14 squares down- which makes it roughly 6.5' squared. Perfect for two to snuggle on the couch with! 

Once I pieced the quilt, I decided to hand quilt it to make it extra soft and give it a good drape. I used Valdani pearl cotton in varying colors and opted for orange peel quilting. (I seriously cut a piece of cardboard and used it as my template and traced the design with a washable fabric marker- MacGuyver moment people!) 

Its backed with voile and I used Soft and Warm batting, which is pretty thin, so this quilt is super lightweight and thin. I can use it year round!

 I worked at a tortoise pace while hand quilting it, so it took forever (over a year start to finish on this quilt- which is so unlike me! ha ha) I would just pick it up every month or so and work on it while sitting on the couch in the evenings, but it was always there in the back of my mind- that looming UFO (un-finished object) project begging me to finish it. So when our family recently moved, I unpacked this beauty and worked on it for a couple weeks straight until it was complete! 

It's been in use for a few months now, and everyone in our family fights over getting to use it! If all four of us squeeze onto the love seat, we can just fit underneath it (if nobody moves! ha ha)

I love that they all love it as much as I do! :)

 Well, I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend! Mine is full of stuffing and addressing our family Christmas cards, the ward Christmas party, and a day trip to one of my new favorite cities- Charlotte! Hope I can squeeze in some sewing time too! ;)

xoxo, Ashley

P.S.- The winner of the Cotton + Steel Splash Bundle is: 

Amy Harvard

Amy HarwardDecember 8, 2014 at 1:11 AM

Love your mini! Thanks for the chance to win :). 

Congrats Amy! I will be contacting you soon!

Quilted Weekender Bag: Take 4

I finally finished my 4th weekender bag and have been so excited to share it with you all! After making my weekender #2 in two days and weekender #3 in 4 days I decided to keep to a leisurely pace and took my time with this last one. It was nice not having to rush for a deadline for once! 

I really love how funky this turned out! I knew I wanted to have leopard print velveteen handles and leopard print cotton piping. The rest of the bag just came together with lots of prints I had in my stash. Many of them are Anna Maria Horner but there are a handful of other designers thrown in there too!

Of course I have to credit the wildly talented Elizabeth of Oh, Frannson for giving me (and all of the sewing world) the idea of making a quilt as you go version of the weekender bag. I am constantly amazed at all of the versions that have come into fruition inspired by that one bag! She is definitely a trend setter! :)

I made this bag as a gift but it hasn't been gifted yet... Instead, it is on display at my very favorite brick and mortar fabric shop- Sew to Speak. So if you live in my neck of the woods you can see it in person there! :)

Although I don't have any plans to make another weekender anytime soon (never say never), I can't say that I am cured of the "Weekender Bag Addiction". Can someone start a weekender bags anonymous support group soon? I can be the treasurer! 

"Hello! My name is Ashley and it had been 1 month since I made my last weekender bag."

I hope you are all having a fun holiday weekend!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Art Student Tote

 I have had the Anna Maria Horner Art Student Tote pattern for over a year now and finally got around to make it last week. 

My sister was having a birthday and I had been wanting to make her a bag for a few months now so it was the perfect time to try out the pattern. I loved it! It was really straightforward and nothing too complicated. 

I dug into my stash and used one of my all-time favorite prints: Hello Luscious Blissful in Fashionista and paired it with another great print from my stash for the straps: Sophie Blue Fiesta Petal. I also used some fabric from my stash for the interior: Strawberry Fields Summer Picnic in Vanilla. I love the combination of fabrics... They really remind me of my sister so it was perfect for her bag!

This bag is massive! I made version A which is the middle size of the three options available in the pattern. I love that the sides can cinch in when the bag isn't super full but be let out when it needs to be filled to the brim. 

When I came across this pattern a couple years ago I totally fell in love with Stephanie's version and knew that my bag needed some fancy zipper pulls too. I got a cheap pair of earrings from Hobby Lobby and worked them over a bit to get them to work as zipper pulls.

I love the back of the bag almost as much as the front. So if you wanted to make an easier version of the bag I feel like you could totally leave off the front pockets and it would be just as cute. There is plenty of pockets on the interior that it could totally work without the front pockets... but then again, those zippers are pretty darn cute! Anna Maria Horner knows what she is doing! ;)

I spent about an hour one evening cutting out the pattern pieces and then the next day I spent about 12 hours on the bag... ironing all of the interfacing and fusible fleece took FOREVER! So if you were using thicker fabric and didn't need to add all the interfacing and fusible fleece it wouldn't take nearly as long... Like I said, the pattern was very well written and pretty straight forward. I did make a few slight alterations to mine...

1. This is actually something I wish I would have done.... All of the pattern pieces are rectangle, so I wish I would have noticed that before I actually started cutting out my pattern page- I wish I would have just measured the pieces and then cut them to be exact with a rotary cutter. I ended up having to square up my pieces after using the pattern and free handing with scissors- so it would have saved a lot of time if I had just done it all with my rotary cutter. 

2. I used fabric from my stash so I don't know exactly how much fabric I used, but I do know that I used less than the pattern called for. Especially for the straps... so if you do use a rotary cutter to cut your pieces out, you could probably get away with using less fabric.

3. I used quilting cotton for the entire bag so I used a light interfacing on everything (including the interior and interior pockets) and then used fusible fleece on all of the outer parts of the bag including the handles. (I did not use the fleece on the outer pockets or side straps however and the light interfacing seemed to be plenty for those.)

4. I used 2 layers of fusible Peltex in the bottom of my bag. I was definitely glad I did that... it helped the bottom of the bag to keeps it's shape. (I believe the pattern just calls for heavy interfacing.)

5. I made the zippers on the outer pockets go in opposite directions instead of the same direction and I think it adds a bit more interest to the zippers... Especially with the zipper pulls on them.

I really love the way the bag turned out... It was kinda hard parting with it! ha ha! But my little sis totally loved it so that made things easier! ;)

Happy Sewing!!

xoxo, Ashley

Field Study Reversible Sunday Sling

It's no secret that I am a huge fan of Anna Maria Horner fabric and Amy Butler patterns!

AMH's Field Study line has been one of my favorites this year... I used almost the entire line in my Scrappy Trip Along quilt and used up some of my leftover scraps to make a makeup bag...

Last year I made Amy Butler's infamous Weekender Bag. So I thought I would try another Amy Butler pattern... I went for the Reversible Sunday Sling. 

I love love love this bag! I made this one for my little sis and have plans to make one for myself and possibly another for a gift.

For the Exterior of the bag, I used Field Study Parenthetical in Potpourri . It is a linen/cotton blend. I love working with it. It is a gorgeous fabric! Those feathers.... ahh....swoon!

One of the things that drew me to this pattern was the cute handles. I love how they are just tied in a knot. It totally makes the bag different than any other I have seen or made.

Did I mention that it is reversible?!? Umm... Can it get any better?

For the interior of the bag I used AMH LouLouThi Clippings in Passion. I love this fabric so much! I have quite a bit of yardage in this print and am thinking it would be perfect for a summer skirt.

I wish I would have placed my pattern pieces a little different so that the huge roses weren't lined up awkwardly... Oh well- you live and you learn- right?

I am loving these big pockets! They are on both side of the bag. Lots of places to store things!

I made the small version of the bag... Which is still quite large-  It measures 18" wide x 14" tall (28" tall with handles) x 3 deep.

I pretty much stuck to the pattern when making this bag but I did make one little change- I left off the cell phone pocket. I figured with all of the pockets on it already I didn't need to make a separate one for a phone. 

My only tip when making this bag is to make sure you use a brand new heavy duty needle when putting together the bag!

This pattern was super easy to follow and very clear. I definitely recommend it! :)

(I bought my pattern here.)