Quilt the Rainbow

Rainbow Mini - https://www.sewbittersweetdesigns.comI had so much fun making this little rainbow mini quilt. It measures 18″ x 18″ and was a great opportunity to use up some of my solid charms that I have collected through swaps over the years.  This is the last project I will quilt on my Janome before my new Innova long arm arrives. I am heading to pick it up this weekend and it will be built on the 23rd. In the meantime, I will be starting on a king size quilt today that will be my first quilt on the long arm. Good thing I got a 12 foot table!

Happy Friday!

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Posted in 2016 Finishes, Mini Quilt | 7 Comments

Innova Test Drive

So…..Last week I did it! I quilted an entire quilt on the long arm. Check out the video of me quilting! I look super angry, but I swear I’m not! I am just concentrating really really hard!

I am going for another test drive today and then…I’m going to place my order!!!

Wish me luck!

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Posted in Innova, Long Arm Quilting | 6 Comments

Long Arm Day

Well…wish me luck! Today is the day I am off to try out the Innova Long Arm.

I am bringing a gorgeous Do Good Stitches quilt to work on and I’m hoping that this will tell me if it is the right machine for me.

Do Good Stitches Starlight Quilt - https://www.sewbittersweetdesigns.comBy the end of the day this beauty will be quilted!

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Posted in Innova, Long Arm Quilting | 6 Comments

Sewing Weekend With Mom

I feel so blessed! Last Wednesday a very special visitor came to Washington, my mom! On Thursday we went to the Sew Expo in Puyallup, WA and had a lot of fun shopping and playing with long arm quilt machines. On Friday and Saturday we sewed! It was fantastic!

 Sewing with mom - https://www.sewbittersweetdesigns.com

We are working on our first quilt together. We have sewn in the past and she taught me how to quilt and sew, but this is the first project that is a 50/50 creative effort together. The nice thing about owning as many sewing machines as I do, is that I had an extra one I could set up and we could sew at the same time. We only had to share the iron. And speaking of ironing, she pressed all the fabrics – a task that I can’t stand, and I did all the cutting – a task that she can’t stand. It really was a great partnership.

By the time she had to leave, we finished 12 whales for our quilt. She took some of the fabric home to finish more and I kept the rest. She will eventually mail me her whales and I will piece the top and quilt it. Then I will ship it back to her and she will do the binding, because I can’t stand hand work.

preppy the whale - https://www.sewbittersweetdesigns.comThe pattern is Preppy the Whale by Elizabeth Hartman.

I hope you all had a great weekend and are having a very happy Leap Day! Enjoy today, it only comes around once every four years!

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Posted in Personal Post, quilting | 7 Comments

Stacked HSTs Block Tutorial

Hello! And welcome to #QuiltNon2016 – for those of us who are not able to go to QuiltCon in sunny Southern California, we are getting together and making the best of things! Julie from The Intrepid Thread has pulled together some awesome bloggers and shops for this fun event! I have a quick 6″ finished block tutorial for you. This block would make a great pillow sewn with 4 of them and a nice border. I’m 100% certain that I’m not the first to come up with this block but I since I have no idea what it was originally named I’m going with “Stacked HSTs”.

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coFor this block you need:

12 squares – 2″ x 2″

4 rectangles – 1.5″ x 4.5″
4 rectangles – 1.5″ x 2.5″

Make 12 HSTs:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPair up your fabrics and draw a diagonal line across your fabrics:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coSew 1/4″ from either side of the line.

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coCut them apart on the drawn line, then press open and trim to 1.5″ x 1.5″

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coStacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coLayout the block as pictured below:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPiece the center first:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coNext piece the first two white rectangles:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coThen piece the middle HSTs to either side of the two remaining 1.5″ x 2.5″ rectangles:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPiece these to the center block, making a 4.5″ x 4.5″ square:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPiece the middle section rectangles next:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPiece the 4 remaining HSTs to the 2 remaining rectangles as pictured below:

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coPiece the top and bottom sections on and your block is complete!

Stacked HSTs Tutorial - http://staging.sewbittersweetdesigns.coI hope you enjoyed this quickie block tutorial, using some super time pieces, but hey, precision piecing can be very rewarding! If you want to jazz this block up a little try some low volume prints in place of the white and go with high contrast for your HSTs.

Make sure to check out all of block tutorials, if you make all six you will be eligible to win a fabulous fabric prize!  Be sure to visit Julie’s blog for full details!

Happy Quilt-Non 2016!

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Posted in block tutorials, tutorial | 7 Comments