Fort Firefly Patchwork Quilt

When Fabricworm offered to send me a fat quarter bundle of Fort Firefly before it was released, let's just say I was pretty darn excited! If you read my last post, you probably gathered that I have a huge fabric crush on the entire line!

I took about 2 days before I dared cut into it. 

Do you get nervous cutting into really pretty fabric?? I am always worried about being totally sure that I know what I am doing before cutting into something special. Plus- with this fabric, I was so torn on what sort of quilt to make because I didn't want to cut up the prints too much because I love them in their entirety! I was debating on a small Swoon quilt, On a Whim, and even thought about using my Victory Garden quilt pattern, but in the end  I finally decided that I had better do a large 8 inch square patchwork so that the prints weren't all sliced and diced up.

 I did 7 x 9 quilt blocks and the quilt ended up being 52.5 x 67.5 inches so it is not too big, but not too small- the perfect size quilt that will fit my daughter for a long time. 

From the fat quarter bundle of 13 prints, I was able to get 4 blocks of each print cut out and still have a large scrap of each fabric left over to make a smaller project (yay!). In edition to the 52 blocks of the Fort Firefly, I threw in a handful of printed linen and a couple other coordinating fabrics that I had lying around to make the quilt a bit larger. I really love the look and texture that the printed linen gave to the quilt! It was a perfect pairing for the prints. (I got my linen here.)

I also bound the quilt in linen as well. I have never done that before and it was kinda a love hate relationship as I was hand stitching the binding to the back of the quilt. The linen was just bulky enough that my fingers and hands were pretty sore once I was finished- but I really love the way it turned out! It definitely added to the "woodlandy" feel of the quilt. 

As for quilting, I did something I had never done before. I am always pretty basic in my quilting because I don't know how to fmq (free motion quilt) yet- well let's rephrase that... it simply just freaks me out! I really need to try it sometime because I would love to be able to do it! Anyways... I wanted to figure out a way to "cheat" and make it look like my quilt was sort of free motion quilted, so I looked at the stitches on my machine and found this one....

A wavy stitch! I did a little practice run on a scrap of fabric to make sure it was going to look ok and went for it! I bumped my stitch length as high as my machine would let me (which wasn't very high 2.5) and got to stitching. I just used a seam in the middle of my quilt for a reference and then after that first line of stitches worked my way out to the edge of the quilt by stitching rows of vertical wavy lines next to each other until the quilt was all filled up. I used my walking foot and I lined up the edge of my walking foot to the outermost wave of the line next to it and repeated until it was all quilted. I loved quilting it because there was seriously no way to mess up the design as long as I went in a straight line! Perfect for the way I normally quilt things- straight lines!

 I used some fabric I had on hand for the back of the quilt. (Riley Blake Verona Rouge Stripe)

I would have really loved to back it in this darling print:

but when I got the bundle from Fabricworm, extra yardage was not available yet.

BUT- There is super good news for anyone that has a huge crush on this fabric like I do though....I just got an email notice that I signed up for that

IT'S AVAILABLE NOW!

I know this darling collection is going to go fast so be sure to head over to Fabricworm and snag some of it before it is all gone! You will not be disappointed! :)

Happy sewing!! 

xoxo, Ashley

Fireflies and Fabric Crushes

 Ever heard of a fabric crush? Let me introduce you to mine...

Fort Firefly by Teagan White for Birch Fabrics

I follow Fabric Worm on instagram and saw a sneak peek of this line about 5 months ago and I have been crushing on it ever since!

 The colors totally caught my eye because it was a combo I hadn't really seen before and when I looked closer at the prints, there was no hope for me, I was in love!! The fireflies, moths, deer, and darling strawberry blonde haired girl are just plain perfect!

I could have just hugged and kissed the Fabric Worm team when they offered to send me a fat quarter bundle off the sample bolts... It's probably a good thing I don't live in California because I really would have done just that! ;)

 The fabrics are even prettier in person and it is pretty rare that I love each print in a fabric line, but I really do love every single one of the 13 prints. They are manufactured by Birch Fabrics and they are printed on organic cotton. So soft!

Annnnd... as if the collection couldn't get any cuter they have the most darling cheater print that I have ever seen... hexagons filled with darling little snippets of each of the prints... Birch Fabrics- Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!? I think I need a whole bolt of this one!

 Fort Firefly will not be available until September, but you can sign up to be emailed as soon as it is available at Fabric Worm... just click on the bubble of fabric that you are crushing on and then enter your email... Awesome right?!

Well, enough of my crushing and gushing about how much I love Fort Firefly... I am off to start a new quilt with these pretties!!! These colors are the perfect thing to help ease me out of summer and into fall! Happy Sewing!!

Going Coastal Quilt

As soon as I learned to quilt I knew that I wanted to make a quilt for each of my brothers and sisters. This beach quilt was the last of the quilts I finished for my siblings. 

(I made these quilts for my other siblings: Hello Luscious Quilt, Scrappy Spools Quilt, and Hot Wheels Pow-Wow Quilt)

My little brother lives in Hawaii so I figured it was only fitting that he have a beach quilt. When I saw this fabric I thought it would be perfect. I used a handful of prints from the Going Coastal Collection and tossed in some orange and red Marmalade stripes and a couple other prints I had lying around in my stash.

I find it really hard to make a quilt for an adult guy... I have made 2 attempts so far (this one and the hot wheels quilt I made for my other brother) and I am in the process of making my hubby a Buckeye quilt (his favorite college team). 

I feel like it is hard to come by masculine fabric that I think is cute at the same time- so my quilts tend to read more boy-ish but my brothers are pretty young at heart so it works for them. 

For this quilt I used 9 inch squares (not sure why the odd size) and it turned out great. It came together very quickly! My brother about 6 ft. tall so once I pieced the squares and measured, I realized that it needed to be longer so he could over up with it, so it ended up being a slightly odd shape of quilt once I added borders to the two sides. Long and skinny. I think it was roughly 55" x 84". 

I did straight line quilting with my walking foot and quilted 1/4 inch from each seam of the quilt. I was very much inspired by the quilting style of Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts. She does such a neat job and I love the simple straight lines she is famous for in her quilts.

My little brother loved the quilt. I was so glad! I am always nervous to give something I make to someone because of course I usually like the things that I make but that doesn't mean that everyone else does too- but my brother really did appreciate the birthday gift! He's the best! :)  

The Perfect Summer Bag

I really love a good, big bag for summer time. I have been on the look out for one that was just right, so when I made the Field Study Reversible Sunday Sling for my sister, I knew that with a couple changes it would be just perfect for my needs! 

I need a summer bag that has a wide opening without a closure so I can fill it to the brim with beach towels, sun screen, snacks, etc when we are headed to the pool, park, or wherever- which is why I loved this bag pattern so much. It is so easy to throw stuff in and go.

I think it is pretty safe to say I have a mild obsession with anchors and all things nautical. When I saw this anchor fabric by Premier Prints, my heart skipped a beat. I ordered 2 yards of it before you could say "Ahoy Matey" and waited with baited breath for it to arrive on my doorstep!

It did not disappoint! I LOVE it!

(I got my anchor fabric from fabric.com and with a coupon code I got it for just under $8 per yard but when they get a shipment you have to jump on it because it sells out so fast!)

I paired it with the Premier Prints Stripe in Salmon and I absolutely love it.   

I made my bag without the pockets inside the bag that it calls for and it really feels big and roomy- which is what I was hoping for. 

I absolutely love it!! It's totally the perfect summer bag!

Camera Cozy Tutorial

I originally shared this tutorial over at U Create.

I love my DSLR camera, but sometimes it's nice to  carry something smaller when I am out and about and don't want to add too much weight to my purse or worry about my gear getting snatched if I set it down at a park. So I decided to invest in an inexpensive point and shoot camera that I can throw into a bag when I am running out the door. 

Instead of buying a case for my camera, I decided to make one.

This project is really simple- I made mine in about an hour (but I made my own bias tape so that took up a bit of the time).

What you will need is:

1-2 fat quarters (depending on if you want your interior fabric to be different that your exterior fabric)

1 yard of 1/2 wide double fold bias tape (store bought or homemade)

fusible fleece

1 large snap (velcro could be used as well)

*Optional: 1 button (I used a 1/2 fabric covered button)

Ok... to start you will need to measure your camera. For the purpose of keeping things clear and understandable- here is a picture of how I got the measurements of my camera and calculated for my pattern.

The width of my camera is 3 3/4 inches.

The height of my camera is 2 1/4 inches.

The depth of my camera is 3/4 inch.

To create my pattern, for the front panel, I made mine 4 1/2 inches by 3 1/4 inches. So to calculate yours, you will take your width measurement and add 3/4 inch and then take your height measurement and add 1 inch.

For the back panel, I made mine 8 inches by 3 1/4 inches. This accounts for the back and also the flap that wraps over to the front and snaps. So to calculate yours, you will take the width measurement and add 4 1/4 inch to it and then take your height measurement and add 1 inch to it. (it will be the same measurement as the height in your front panel.)

For the side panel, I made mine 1 1/2 inches by 12 inches. So to calculate yours, you will will take your depth measurement and add 3/4 inch to it and then you will take the measurements you used in your front panel and add them together and then subtract 1/2 inch. (ex: width+width+height-1/2 inch).

I hope that makes sense! It kind of helps to draw a picture to keep it straight! :)

If your camera is pretty close to the size of mine you may not need to change any measurements for your camera cozy. My cozy doesn't fit like a glove- there is a bit of extra room- so if you want yours smaller or bigger for your camera, just make the necessary adjustments in your measurements.

Step 1: Once you have your measurements, you will need to cut 2 front panels, 2 side panels, and then 2 back panels. In my case I cut one of each in the blue floral fabric and then one of each in the red polka dot for contrast, but like I said, this project can totally be done with one fat quarter.

When you have your panels cut out, you will need to apply fusible fleece to each panel you have cut (you should have 6 panels total).

I opted for a rounded flap but you could totally keep it square if you would like. If you want it rounded, use a bowl as a guide and cut the top on both back panels so that they are uniformly round.

Step 2: Take your two back panels and put them wrong side together and baste them together with a 1/4 inch seam allowance and your machines longest stitch length. Set aside.

Step 3: Take the interior side panel and front panel and pin them together starting at the top and working the fabric down and around the two bottom corners. Repeat with the exterior side panel and front panel.

When you are finished they should look like this. Sew along the pins on each panel with a generous 1/4 seam allowance.

Step 4: Take your inside panel and put it into your outside panel and line up the raw edges and pin in place. I didn't choose to trim the seam allowances after sewing in step 3- just to give it that extra padding, but I did have to kinda cram the lining in to get them to match up, so do whatever works best for your needs.

Step 5: Set your stitch length to the longest your machine has and baste along the top, sides, and bottom of the case with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 6: Apply bias tape to the top of the case by pinning it to the interior and sewing and then folding it over to the exterior and sewing in place. If you need a good tutorial on how to apply bias tape- here is a fabulous one! 

Step 7: Pin the front of the case onto the back panel. Baste with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

Step 8: Apply bias tape to the front of the case, joining your ends of tape at the base of the case.

Step 9: Fold bias tape over to the back and stitch. Be sure to be extra tidy when stitching because your stitches will be visible on the front of the case.

Step 10: Sew on your large snap for the closure.

Step 11: Sew your button to the front of the flap.

That's it! Easy peasy right?!?