Sunday, April 30, 2017

New Fabrics and a Bee Happy Sew Along Update!


I'm so looking forward 
to my next sew along...
Bee Happy!
And I hope you will join us!



I'm excited to announce that 
we have been able to
 move up the date by 2 weeks!

We will be starting on 
Monday, August 28th 
and the sew along will 
go until we are finished 
with the quilt in October:)



This sew along will be 
celebrating the 
8 year anniversary 
that I have been designing 
fabric for 
Riley Blake Designs!

My very first collection was 
Sew Cherry that released in the very beginning. 
This summer there will be a total of
 3 Bee in my Bonnet collections...
YaY!

I'd love to tell you
 all about them!


This is my Bee Happy Quilt 
that 
we will be making
 during the sew along.

I designed it to use 
all 3 of my new collections
 that will be shipping to 
quilt shops everywhere this June!



First up...all about
Bee Basics


There are 31 prints total
 in this collection.
I have used all my
 happy colors!

I created this collection 
with a mix of 
vintage and modern ...
my favorite:)

In the photo above you sew
 30 of the prints...



And here is 31!
This fabric is made up of 
two color ginghams:)
I'm excited to sew up 
some fun projects with this print...
pillowcases...bags...curtains ...etc.

You know that I love gingham 
and I super love this print:)




Next up is about my 
Bee Backgrounds

I have always been obsessed 
with finding the perfect background 
for every quilt that I 
make and I especially love
 mixing a lot of backgrounds 
into one quilt.
That always adds the
 perfect vintage flair:) 




So I did an 
entire collection of
 24 backgrounds!

In this collection...
I also did a sweet mix of 
vintage and modern 
style together:)



I also added this 
gingham on white print
to my Bee Backgrounds collection:)
This one says aprons...bed ruffles...
pillowcases and or 
sewing room or kitchen curtains!



The third collection is my 
Bee Backings and Borders


There are 12 prints total
 in this collection 
and all are 108" wide.

Yes...
I said 108" wide!

YaY!

It will be so nice to
 have wide fabrics
 for quilt backings and 
borders without seams:)

I'll be using them 
for bindings too 
and best of all...
for piecing blocks!



Here you sew 
all three collections together...
ready for me to make the
 Bee Happy Quilt 
so that it can be displayed in the
 Riley Blake Designs booth at
 Spring Quilt Market next month.


If you are going to market...
stop by the booth to see it!!!


Sew Along Info
For those of you who are new and 
will be joining us for the
 Bee Happy Sew Along...
here is the information 
that you need to know at this point.

The sew along will 
work like all of my others...
it will take place 
here on my blog 
starting in August.

There is no "official" sign up list.
You simply follow my blog and
 tune in every Monday to see the block tutorials and instructions
  for that week.

Typically those who are
 doing the quilt
 post about it on 
or their blogs and 
show their blocks
 and progress along the way.

It's super fun and a 
great way to meet others 
as well as awesome 
quilty inspiration:) 

I always have a tutorial
 for each and every block 
and will have
complete and detailed 
cutting instruction  
for each and every
 piece of fabric in the kit 
so that you can 
"Bee Prepared" 
 when the time comes:)

You can pre-order/purchase 
a kit for the
 Bee Happy quilt 
from your favorite 
local or online quilt shop.
Just ask them if they 
will be participating.

If you can't find a kit...
no worries!
Simply get on 
Instagram and ask 
if anyone knows where you 
can find a source.
Chances are...that will help!

The Bee Happy Sew Along Guide
 will be a
 free download 
for those who are participating.
It will not be available
 until the first of August when
 we are closer to the sew along.


There is a new set of 
to make the quilt.


As the time gets closer...
(on August 1st)
as usual I will do 
a blog post with a 
complete list of supplies 
needed for the quilt.

You will always find 
all of the info needed 
right here on my blog:)


I really cannot even say
 how excited I am about 
finally doing this quilt!

When designing it..
I tried to fit in 
as many things as I could 
that represents me
and what makes me happy...
in hopes that you find things 
in my quilt that
 make you happy too!
xx
Lori













Monday, April 24, 2017

Cutie Pie Flower Quilt Tutorial!



Good Morning! 
I hope y'all had a 
great weekend:)

Today I'm going to 
show you how to make my
 Cutie Pie Flower Quilt

I had so much fun
 making this quilt 
using the leftover 
cute little pies 
from our sew along...
I hope you love it 
as much as I do!


This was a fun tutorial to do 
and I think its the first time
 I've showed you how 
to set blocks on point:)

If you have never made a quilt
 with the blocks on 
the diagonal like this...
No worries!
I promise that I will walk you 
through it every step of the way:)

Let's get started!


So...
Last week I showed you how 
to make these 
Cutie Pie Flowers 
using Sew Cherry 2 fabric:)
to go to that tutorial.


Now that your flower blocks
 are finished...
let's make the quilt top!


***NOTE***
After appliqué...
I trimmed the stems even with the 
corners at the bottom of each block.


First up is the sashing and squares:)

Cut 36 - 2" x  8 1/2" strips
I used 1/2 yards Yellow 

Cut 24 - 2" squares
I used 3/4 yards of the red daisy
 because I'm also using
 this print for the binding:)



Lay out your blocks, sashing, squares and 
sew together like this.

Then sew the sashing between
 the blocks as well...
Press towards the sashing strips.

Make sure that when you
lay your blocks out ...
you lay them on their
 side going the same direction:)


Now to cut the side triangles!

From the background fabric: 
(I used about 1/2 yards for the triangles)

Cut 2 - 15" squares
Cut them twice from corner to corner
 like this for a total of 8 side triangles.

***Cutting this way is super important 
so that the sides of the quilt 
will not end up on the bias.


Now cut 2 - 9" squares
 and cut in half from corner to corner
 like this for a total of 
4 triangles for each corner.


I sewed the sashing 
and squares strips
 on the top and the bottom
 of the 
center row first. 

 I did the top section first.
 I took a photo of the 
bottom section layout
 before I sewed it together
 to show you how I did it.

Keep in mind
 that you add the side triangles
 last just like you see in the photo:)

Press seams towards the sashing and triangles.
The triangles are cut 
just a little larger
 than needed so that we can
 trim them down:)



Now that the side triangles 
are on the bottom two rows...
you can sew that section together
 just like the top section:)


Now sew the top and bottom 
sections to the center row...


And turn it so that the 
flowers are right side up.
YaY!
That wasn't as hard as you
 thought it was going to be 
...right?

I'm so proud of you:)


I love the way that these
 look on the diagonal:)


Before we add the corner triangles...
trim the excess even 
with the sashing like this.

Repeat on the remaining 3 corners.


Now pin the corner
 triangles on like this...


Start by lining up the centers first.

Keep in mind that all
 seam allowances are
 1/4" just like always:)


Press towards the triangles.
Now to trim a bit off to square it up!


Use the 16 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 
that we used for the Pie Blocks 
during the 

We will trim the corners first.
Simply lay the ruler 
so that the aqua 1/4" 
is almost touching the 
corners of the red squares
 on both the right side...


like this...


and along the top like this.


First...just trim the
 corner of the quilt
 just past the 
red squares like this.

Repeat this step for the 
remaining 3 corners.


Now you can trim the sides 
of the quilt by laying the ruler 


So that again...
the aqua 1/4"on the side 
almost touches the 
corners of the red squares.

Continue all the way 
around the quilt.


All trimmed up and ready for borders!

Sometimes knowing how long to
 cut borders
 for a quilt set on the diagonal
 can be a little tricky. 

You can easily measure 
the length of your quilt
 from the center both ways to see
 how long to cut your borders.

Add 1/2" to your measurement. 
(keep in mind it will be square)

If you followed all of my step exactly
 and used an accurate 1/4" seam allowance...
you will be just fine to cut
 your borders the same as mine:)


For the borders...
I auditioned different bolts
 of Sew Cherry 2 fabrics.

 I realized that literally any of the 
prints will be great...
 but I ended up going with my
 very first choice 
that I already
 had in mind 
when I drew up the quilt:)

The red gingham!


I cut my borders lengthwise
 because I didn't want to piece them.
I cut 2 - 6 1/2" x 42 1/2"...


and sewed to the sides like this.


The other 2 borders are
 6 1/2" x 54 1/2" 
for the top and the bottom.


#CutiePieFlowerQuilt 
 54" x 54"

As you probably know by now...
I love square quilts:) 
This is a great size
 to hang on the wall...
use as a table topper...
over the back of a sofa or chair...
or a super cute crib quilt!

I'll be sending my top
 to the quilters this week 
and I'll show you
 when its finished:)
xx
Lori