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 

Instagram 

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 

Sew Simple Shapes  

Bee Happy 

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

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:)

CLICK HERE

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

 Cutie Pie Flower Blocks

 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 

Sweetie Pie Sew Along

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