Fill Your Heart With Feathers Tutorial

I had the pleasure of quilting this beauty for Bev.  I hung on to it for far too long...secretly hoping she would forget about it!  L0L

She did not...darn!

He's a quick tutorial I shared with my followers on Instagram a couple weeks ago and thought i'd share it with you too.

Here goes....
I used a heart shaped template and stitched my outline.  Marked a vertical center line above and through the heart. I also marked side lines so I knew where to stop my outer feathers. I used a water soluble pen for these marks and tested it first to make sure those reds did not bleed... that would have been disastrous!! 

I started stitching the outside feathers first, beginning at the top of the heart in the inverted 'v' and created the feathers on the left top, down the side and to the bottom of the heart shape. Back to the top, I stitched feathers on the right side to the bottom of the heart, then added the dangled teardrop. For me, I found my feather shapes were more consistent when I started at the top each time. I know some of you could probably continue up the right side without stopping... nope, not me!

Moving inside the heart, I used the center line as my guide. Started at the top and stitched a teardrop then quilted feathers on left side, stopping each at the center line. Repeated stitching more feathers on the right side for the finish. 

Have you quilted a feather heart? How did you do it? I'm always curious to learn a new way. 

Here's more pictures of the finished quilt... Love, Love Love!

I use Hobbs 80/20 batting and So Fine thread on the top and bobbin.  The pattern is called Rolling Star and can be found by clicking on the blue link.  

Fill Your Heart With Feathers!!

And So it Crows...hangs proudly!

I'm so honored to have Renee Nanneman of Need'l Love displaying her sample of  'And So it Crows' at the Kansas City Regional Quilt Festival.  For more pictures of Renee's booth, follow her on Facebook! 

I've been seeing pictures on Instagram and Facebook....It looks like an amazing show!  If you happen to be at the quilt festival with an Instagram account, tag me! @laughyourselfintostitches  :)

Taking Flight!

My latest pattern 'Touch and Go' and its little sister 'Amelia' is now listed on Craftsy, Etsy and here on my blog.... You'll find all the purchase options by clicking My Patterns

Touch and Go measures 54" x 66"

Amelia is so super sweet!  I can't wait to finish it and show everyone!

Here's the final diagram for Amelia...it measures 36" x 56" and is sew dang sweet!  Perfect for little girls who dream of flying.

Don't be frightened by that tiny propeller piece!  

I have a tutorial showing how I piece tiny pieces! 

Here's to a great take off!  
enjoy!
~karen

Winners Announced!

Tulip Crush pattern goes to Jean Marie G   :)

And Cinderella Pumpkins pattern goes to Cindy Dallwig!

Thank you all so very much for participating with your wonderful kind comments.  :)

~karen

Last Day for a chance to win!

This is the last chance to win a copy of my Tulip Crush or Cinderella Pumpkin patterns!  

To enter, please leave a comment on my previous post~~ You'll find the post by clicking HERE  

Tulip Crush above is made by Kathy Sartain of Yakima Washington...love her 'color spin' on the pattern!

 Below are the original versions of Tulip Crush.  Both the quilt and pillow are included in the pattern.

Don't forget to visit my previous post and enter the drawing!!

One year Anniversary Give~Away!

Last month i had the honor of visiting 35+ quilters in Yakima, Washington... all busy putting their spin on my Tulip Crush quilt pattern

I can't help but share some of their progress and have a  Give~Away celebrating 

Tulip Crush's One Year Anniversary!

 Aren't they all terrific??

Give~Away Specifics!

 Leave a comment below telling me if you're a Spring Lover or a Fall Lover!  I'll pick one of each!  The Spring Lover will receive an emailed pdf copy of Tulip Crush and the Fall Lover will receive an emailed pdf copy of my Cinderella Pumpkin pattern!  

Don't forget to leave your email address too!  

Here's a look at each pattern cover, front and back

Give~Away begins today through midnight Sunday April 23rd, Pacific Standard Time.  :)

**PS...if you are looking for a Tulip Crush quilt kit, Pam of Barn Chick Quilts (former owner of the Buggy Barn) has them available on her website!  Click the blue link. :)

New quilt pattern plus tutorial: How to Piece Tiny Pieces!

Here is my latest quilt pattern for all those airplane enthusiasts! 

It's called Touch and Go.

 (see how the planes are flying in 2 circles...practicing their touch and goes?)  :)

 

I'm adding that wind blown look..

Today is blogging and binding day...

There are a couple tiny pieces in the propeller area and i thought it would be helpful to share this tutorial.

See that finished 1/2" corner triangle?  Ugh...who wants to deal with that?!

To make piecing tiny pieces easier...i size up! 

In the photo below, the completed unit measures 1" x 2" with 3/4" corner triangle squares. 
To make it easier, I cut the black rectangle 1-1/2" x 2-1/4" and the corner triangle squares are cut at 1".  That may still sound small...but there's a big manageable difference!

Next i draw a line a 1/4" in from the short end of the rectangle.

I finger press each 1" square to create a stitching line to follow.

I place my first 'corner triangle square' on the drawn line and one edge of the rectangle.

**Important!
Before sewing you can also place a tiny dot of SeamAlign behind the 1" square to keep the fabric square in place.  I don't find it necessary for my 1" square, but it definitely helps and i Love this new product!  A tiny dot plus a little heat from your iron, and the square will stay in place while you sew corner to corner!  It's also great for holding seams in place so intersections will match up perfectly! Once sewn, you hardly know SeamAlign was there!  
Where can you find this product? Visit Momma Made It Quilt Shop

See my Instagram post on SeamAlign @laughyourselfintostitches

Now I sew my corner triangle square.  I continue to sew right off the edge beyond the drawn line.

I press the first corner triangle over and sew my second one in place.  If the corner triangles look a bit kattywampus after sewing, don't worry...time to trim!

I started with a 1-1/2" x 2-1/4" rectangle and it needs to be trimmed to 1" x 2".  

Cut #1 
Trim 1/4" off one side, placing a line from my ruler directly down the middle where my corner tri's meet.  This ensures i do not trim too much off one side or the other.  The edge of my ruler is placed at 1-1/4" on my unit, allowing me to trim 1/4" off the exposed side.  

Cut #2

Flip the unit around and repeat 

Cut #3
Line the end of the rectangle at 2" mark on the ruler and trim.  I double check to make sure i have 1/4" left for a seam!  Don't want to blunt my propeller blades!

So really, piecing tiny pieces is not that hard and trimming it down is great for precision and accuracy!  :)

Here's a different colorway for Touch and Go...
This quilt will also be included in the pattern.  It is just a bit smaller and the border will be tiny bit different. 

This version is called....Amelia

awwww, so cute!

The pattern will be out soon...i need to finalize the instructions and have my test pilot take it for a spin!  :)

Hope you learned something!
Learn, Share, Quilt!
~karen