Fat Quarter Shop

Quilter’s Patch – the finished quilt!

/ lifesloosethreads / 4 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

My Quilter’s Patch block-of-the-month quilt is back from being custom quilted. Now that the binding and the patch on the back is sewn on, I can finally blog about it. Thanks to Sally for using her awesome embroidery skills for the patch on the back!

Cindy Gravely did a FANATASTIC JOB custom quilting this quilt! When I dropped off the quilt top and backing several months back, I also included the Quilter’s Patch book, so Cindy would have an idea of the way the quilt could look. With so much going on in this quilt, I let Cindy just go for it! I am so happy with the results.

A little history … the quilt was designed by Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts. The Fat Quarter Shop provided the monthly kits for sale and distribution in 2017. This is not a beginner quilt. I even had a love/hate relationship with some of the blocks … as in the greenhouse roof tiles. Those clamshell tiles nearly did me in. Then there was the bachelor button block. I never could get the blooms to lie flat. But Edyta Sitar’s directions were amazing. Even if you have never worked with hexagons (dahlia block), the directions were so clear, it gave me all the encouragement I needed to be successful.

The quilt as presented in book is quite large quilt … 75″ by 78″ with wide borders. I made a few changes in block order and left off the wide borders. Instead, I added a simple four-inch border which made the quilt more manageable for me to hang. I also left off the little bird on the greenhouse. No reason … just because.

A look back – 2017 quilting projects

/ lifesloosethreads / Leave a comment


2017 wasn’t a banner year for completing quilt projects. I count only two quilts that were actually completed! That means binding sewn down and patch on the back! One was a charity quilt donated to the Village Learning Center, the day center my Mimi attends. A lovely lady named Clare won it in their silent auction. I always love it when someone is excited to have one of my quilts. Hildy won the charity quilt last year for the Village and reminds me whenever I see her how much she enjoys it.

The other quilt completed was the 2015 Row-by-Row quilt which was a lot of fun. Eight rows make an official row-by-row quilt which is a very LONG quilt. It is the reason I put three rows on the back. That way the quilt fits perfect hung in my quilt room. I worked on the rows whenever there was a little extra time between the month-by-month mailings and finally sent it off for quilting. I actually have all my rows for 2016 still in their little plastic pouches untouched. As for 2017, I also have all my eight rows and actually worked on a few of them. I’ll let you peek at them later.

I believe it was that block-of-the-month Quilter’s Patch quilt through Fat Quarter Shop that ate my lunch this year. But as a result of the monthly project, I also grew and stretched as a quilter. The things you can do by manipulating fabric. Who knew? The top is now complete and pictured above. I did not make the large borders and switched a couple of the flowers around by accident. This quilt will be added to my meager supply of seasonal quilts that I hang around the house. I’ve been wanting a spring quilt in my quilt menagerie for some time. This quilt is it! Please excuse the wrinkle-ness of the quilt top photo. I was running off to take it to the long-arm lady and realized I didn’t have a photo. Whenever it is finished later this year, you will be the first to see it up close and personal! It is going to be awesome!

2018 is going to be fun!

So what is up for 2018? Want a little peek? Working on another baby quilt! Due in May, my lovely daughter-in-law, Kate, and son, Ricky, are having a little bundle of joy. It’s a GIRL. Kate and I collaborated and I think we have a winning baby quilt in the wings.

I am also taking a collage class at Painted Pony in mid-February. Can’t wait. I’ve had this Elephant quilt pattern named “Lulu” for about two years and could probably figure it out myself. But then this class popped up and I thought, let’s do it! My only dilemma … I’m torn whether to make the elephant hot pinks and greens, or use my stash of colorful Kaffe Fassett fabrics and go wild. Any suggestions?

Quilter’s Patch – November fence and blocks together

/ lifesloosethreads / Leave a comment


The November fence block with heart-shaped garden gate is finished! OK … so I know it is December … but only by a few days. Did I mention December is my favorite month of the year from a blog perspective? It’s the snow falling across the blog. I love that WordPress adds the snow in December!

The fence was an easy and fast block to piece! November’s block-of-the-month assignment also included several butterfly blocks, but I am not using them in the quilt top. I had so much time on my hands after the fence was finished, I put all the flower blocks together. Just for fun, I switched the order on two of the flower blocks. I’ll post a completed quilt top once the border is on. Decided to use a plain narrow border as this quilt will be hung. I anticipate the dimensions will be around 65″ by 65″. Can’t wait for this one to be machine quilted!

Quilter’s Patch – October block finished!

/ lifesloosethreads / Leave a comment

October’s Quilter’s Block-of-the-Month is finally history … two weeks late! There was only one oversized Sunflower block this month using Dresden units with points. A little bit of machine-piecing for the stems and leaves … and a little bit of applique for the sunflower blooms. This block was actually fun.

On to the November block. I’m skipping the Butterfly blocks that is a part of this month. Not putting them in the quilt. They would make this quilt much larger than I wanted. My plan is to make this quilt smaller than the original size of 75″ by 78-1/2″. The Fence Block is my last one before putting the blocks together with narrow borders.

Quilter’s Patch – September block finished on time!

/ lifesloosethreads / 6 Comments


September’s Quilter’s Patch block-of-the-month assignment, the Greenhouse Block, was finished in plenty of time before the October block hits my mailbox. Geez … I haven’t been this “caught up” since January! It was the perfect block to work on when horrible Hurricane Harvey decided to pay our Texas Gulf Coast a visit. Plenty of hand applique was involved attaching each clamshell shingle bottom edge to the roof. If you have yet to work on this block, Edyta’s tip to use interfacing as a stabilizer made my life so much easier. I found a lightweight black interfacing which really worked well with the dark fabric used for the shingles.

Looking ahead to the finished quilt top … I’ve decided not to add the borders on my quilt top. I like to hang my quilts and change them out seasonally. The quilt, as featured, will be just too large to hang in my house. I’ll add narrow borders … perhaps piece the watering can … it is adorable … and add it to the back with a butterfly.

Next month … a sunflower block!

Quilter’s Patch – August block was tough!

/ lifesloosethreads / 1 Comment


The Hollyhock Block was the only block assigned for August. Thank you Edyta! It is also oversized at 12-1/2″ by 24-1/2″ length-wise … twice as large in length as the previous blocks for January through July. The tricky part about this block was making the three full circle blooms of the block meet at the seams. In a couple of spots, I was off. I have to admit one of the circles looked more like a blob than a circle. So it came to me in a dream on how to make the blooms appear to meet. After the block was pieced, I zigzagged with a generous zigzag around the block and managed to create the illusion of the seams meeting. At least my blooms don’t look like a monster from a horror movie.

September’s block arrived a few days after Hurricane Harvey departed our area. It is the Greenhouse Block. I’ve read the directions on how to piece the clamshell roof. Geez! If I can make it past September, I will be home free!

Thank you Edyta Sitar, designer of this beautiful quilt for challenging me.

P.S. – excuse the poor quality of some of my photographs. The “darkish” photos are taken with my Stone Age camera. I used hubby’s cell phone camera when I could catch him home. Our cell phones take the best photos. Unfortunately, mine won’t let me email them to myself. I know … it is probably something I am doing … or not doing! This morning I am off to the Genius Bar to see if they can sort it all out.

Quilter’s Patch – July blocks are history!

/ lifesloosethreads / 2 Comments


The two July blocks are history and clearly ate my lunch! First was the Sweet Pea block which contained over 70 pieces for the 12-1/2″ block. The “leaves” were paper pieced and easy peasy. I love the accuracy of paper piecing. The only thing that bothered me about this block is the top blooms do not meet with the stem. I thought it was me but when I checked the photo in the book … yep … those top blooms do not meet either. I thought about taking the top row apart and re-doing it … not gonna happen … at least not now. Maybe before I put all the blocks together.

The second was the Bachelor Button block which contained lots of set-in seams in the blossom part of the block. This was a first for me. Even with great directions, it was not a pleasant experience. I have to say my third blossom looks so much better than the first … so I have that going for me. Also, it was difficult to get the blooms to lie flat. As a result, the blooms want to crinkle. Not sure that is the look the author was going for … but I am. The whole time I was piecing this one block, I kept telling myself … no way I’d do a whole quilt with set-in seams. Not me. The “leaves” on this block were super easy since half square triangle paper was provided to copy from the book. For most of us, piecing triangles are to be avoided at all costs. Thankfully, the triangle paper provided made the work so easy to an accurate little 2-1/4″ block.

Looking ahead to the current month … we have just one block for August. Do I hear an “amen?” It is the Hollyhock block and is the largest so far … 12-1/2″ by 24-1/2″. Pretty pink blooms dominate this block. Looks tedious with lots of curves. Prediction … this one is destined to be finished well in September.

Quilter’s Patch – June blocks are done!

/ lifesloosethreads / Leave a comment


The two June blocks for the Quilter’s Patch Block of the Month quilt … the Coneflower and Moon Flower blocks … were a bit of a challenge.

Now that there are twelve completed blocks in this block-of-the-month quilt, I am noticing my most glaring mishaps were made in these two. I cut the bottom of the flower bloom just a tad too short on the Coneflower block. I hate when that happens. Not a happy camper … but not re-doing this block. I will be considering this block a teachable moment in not being too quick to slice off a bit of fabric. Chances are good this block will be my favorite when the quilt is finished. I really love the color choices.

Then on the Moon Flower, I had to adjust the template on the petals since I was not doing needle-turn applique. The first flower took the longest getting the ending dimensions to cooperate. Didn’t want my petals to overhang past the seam allowance. That would have been tragic. Once the first flower blossom was complete, the other two were a piece of chocolate cake.

Looking ahead to the blocks in July … the Sweet Pea block sure has a bunch of pieces. Then there is the Bachelor Button block. Everyone is complaining about this one. I will have to step up my game as I just received August’s block in the mail.

Quilter’s Patch – May blocks finally finished!

/ lifesloosethreads / Leave a comment


I didn’t mean to get behind on May’s Quilter’s Patch block of the month. I confess to walking by my cutting table re-reading the directions about 10 times and just dreading these two blocks. I did take a break to make a quilt top for a charity event. Finished it about a week ago and it is off to the long-arm lady. Now on to the challenging blocks for May!

I have to say these two blocks were the most difficult for me so far. The Dahlia block has hexagon units … something I have never made before in my life … and hope to never make ever again! Thankfully, the directions were wonderful. I felt the designer, Edyta Sitar, sitting on my shoulder egging me on with words like “you can do this” in her cute little accent. She really knows how to challenge a quilter!

Then there was the Honeysuckle block. Geez! I counted 122 little fabric pieces in the 12-inch block. Triangles are also typically not my thing. These were 60 degree triangles and if you didn’t get them positioned correctly with the straight of grain horizontally in the block you are burnt toast. Bias edges will not lay flat if you get them positioned incorrectly. This block was tedious but it is now history.

Ready to move on! I’ve got some catching up to do with June and July blocks!

Quilter’s Patch – Block of the Month – April blocks are finished!

/ lifesloosethreads / 2 Comments


This month I asked my special needs daughter, Mimi, to model the finished Day Lilly block. Both April blocks for the Quilter’s Patch Block-of-the-Month are done! The Tulip and Day Lilly blocks were easier than last month. I didn’t have to take out my seam ripper one time this month.

However, I started to sweat looking ahead to May’s blocks. The Dahlia block has lots of hexagons … and I’ve never gone near a hexagon in my life! The Honey Suckle block doesn’t look any easier … full of 60 degree triangles and bias edges. Looks like I will have to step-up my game!