Monday, January 8, 2018

Let's Bake Sew Along - Bee Prepared!!


Hello cute people! 
Welcome to my annual 
"Bee Prepared"
post that happens here a few weeks 
before one of my sew alongs begin.


Today we are talking about the 
Let's Bake Sew Along
  And we are making the Let's Bake quilt!
You are all invited to bake with me:)

If this is your first time joining in...
here's some info about my 
past sew alongs of this kind:


The Let’s Bake sew along starts on
 January 22nd and will be 
just like my other sew alongs 
that I have done with 
my fabric collections 
and sew simple shapes.

How do you join? 
There is no official sign up...
simply sew along with us!

The fabric collection that we will be using is called Bake Sale 2 and has been shipping to quilt shops worldwide since last month:)



The Sew Simple Shapes 
 needed for this quilt are called

I love appliqué...
 and I love showing you 
how easy it is by  
using my super easy method.

We have had so much fun using
 Sew Simple Shapes 
to make other quilts...
This is the fifth one so far!
 The first four were:
BLOOM
COZY CHRISTMAS
SWEETIE PIE
BEE HAPPY
All were with fabric collections 
and coordinating 
Sew Simple Shapes 

All of these past sew along posts 
and weekly block tutorials 
remain on my blog and the
 Let’s Bake will remain as well.

Many of you do the sew alongs 
afterwards 
and also some of you like to 
sew at your own speed...
 so I like to keep them here 
for your convenience!

Just look on the right side bar
 here on my blog and scroll down 
until you find the Sew Along 
and the week that you want to view...
and click on it!

This is basically how it will go:

The sew along takes place here 
on my blog each week... 
where I do detailed tutorials
 for every block spaced out
over the sew along schedule.

The first week includes a video tutorial
 that I film with 
Riley Blake Designs in their studio.

Where do you get the kit? 
Many quilt shops cut the kits 
to sell in their shops and 
also online to their customers 
who are participating.
Check with your favorite shop 
to get your kit!
You can also do a google search to find a quilt shop near you that has them.
Just type in
Let's Bake Sew Along Quilt Kit


A lot of quilt shops also 
have the sew along in
 their shops as well…
starting a week or two after 
the sew along begins on my blog.

You sew together there...
 or just have a show and tell group 
and do other little projects 
from the Bake sale 2 fabric…
cutting kits for those as well.

Check with your quilt shop 
to see what they will be doing!

We also sew together on Instagram 
where we post our progress and
 blocks onto the page 
#LetsBakeSewAlong

It's super fun to visit with everyone on there who is participating as well...
lots of quilty friends are made too! 

Okay...here's even more info!
So that the quilt shops 
can be ready and cut the kits
 when the fabric comes in…
The fabric requirements and supplies
 for each kit are posted on the
 Riley Blake website with the
 Bake Sale 2 fabric page 
when they pre-order the collection at quilt market or from their Riley Blake Rep.


There is no pattern for my 
Sew Simple Shape quilts...
 because the step by step tutorials
 are on my blog during the sew along:)

HOWEVER...
 There is the all important 
free PDF Download of the 
Sew Along Guide 
that includes all of the 
fabric requirements, 
cutting, embroidery patterns etc...
 that we will use each week.


to download the 
Let's Bake 
Sew Along Guide


Some quilt shops include a copy of 
the sew along guide with the kit 
or you can simply download from my blog...
so there is never a problem 
in finding it for those participating.

A few weeks before the sew along starts ...
I do a blog post like this 
so that you can get cutting 
 if you want to
 "bee prepared" 
for when it starts.

Some like to have everything
 cut beforehand ...
and some do not...
that's totally fine!

I have posted photos of the quilt
 and some of the blocks ... 
and also the invite on my 
Instagram...
 which is where I post daily about 
all things Bee in my Bonnet.

My blog is the platform for my 
sew alongs and tutorials. 
Here I can be very detailed and 
show a lot of step by step photos.

If you would like to follow me 
on Instagram you will get 
lots of sneak peeks
 and announcements...
here is the link to my IG page:



Here is the schedule for 
each week of the sew along:)

if you would like to download:)

As I said earlier...
All of the supplies needed 
are listed inside the guide
 and I will also be going through 
them on the week one video.

But if you are a
 visual person like I am...
a close up photo of some 
of these items may help you.
Most of them we have used in 
all of the past sew alongs 
but some are brand new for this one:)

By the way...
these photos are random 
from my camera roll ...
which is why I have 
different nails each time lol




Bee in my Bonnet 



 by Clover



by Sue Daley


We are using these 3 sizes of
 bias tape makers by Clover...
1/4" - 1/2" - 3/4"

Also this 3/8" one as well.
It looks different than the others
 but will work just the same!

I suggest putting a little sticker 
with the size written on it 
onto your bias tape makers
 to keep track of 
what size they are:)




Brand new is my 
Easy Trace Light Box!!!
Above photos are the 
front and back cover of the box:)


I love it so much and it has so many uses!
It's so thin...lightweight and portable:) 
It's just the perfect size.
It works like a dream for tracing on embroidery patterns...


And for tracing on the letters
 for the Let's Bake block:





My #3 Jar of 
 is the latest...
however you could use some 
from the first two jars as well.

The three jars together match
 ALL of my fabric collections:)





Here are all of the colors



I used this set to do all of the
 embroidery...
sewing on buttons... 
 chicken scratch stitching...
 and cross stitch on the 
graph paper print in the quilt.
(recipe and 350 block)


But wait!!!...
there is chunky cross stitch flowers
 and it's on the gingham prints!

I'm over the moon happy about my new 
that we will be using.
This is the #1 Sampler Package...


And it also comes in larger skeins 
for crocheting...knitting...weaving etc...!


This sampler pack is all you
 will need for the quilt though:)



Let's talk about the thread 
for hand and machine appliqué.
This is my 
Bee Happy 45 set 
of AURIFIL thread... 



And it has every color that matches ALL 
of my fabrics including Bake Sale 2.
If you have it you can use it...



Or if you happen to have my
 it also matches Bake sale 2!


We will be using one spool of 
the large red
 Vintage Trim in the 
binding of the quilt...
it adds so much charm!

And we will be using 
small vintage trim yardage
 in 6 colors for things like 
the mixer cords... 
and embellishing the aprons etc.

Okay...
a few things about cutting:)
I like to grab a box of 
zip lock gallon bags 
and label them for 
individual blocks with a sharpie.

As I am cutting the fabric in the guide...
I place those pieces into 
the bags where they go...
easy peasy right!
You will have your own 
individual block kits 
all cut and ready to sew:)

I also like to grab a box of 
sandwich baggies and label them for each letter/number combo
 of the Sew Simple Shapes.
I precut all of my 
interfacing pieces from the guide
 and place them in the 
coordinating labeled baggie.
It's so easy and makes 
each block go faster:)

Being organized = being efficient...
YaY!


***Heads Up and FYI***
On the guide it says to cut the
 pink graph paper 9 1/2" wide but it is on the fat 1/8th panel
 so its not quite that wide...
but is long enough to cut the other pieces needed from it as well.

You can cut it wider by 
cutting the white around it
 and also cutting into the
 surrounding fabric a bit if you want.
We will be cross stitching 
the Mom's Cake Recipe on it
 and then trimming it down afterwards
 to be 8 1/2" wide x 16 1/2" tall 
after stitching so that you
can sew it into the quilt.

I have a little trick on helping with that during that weeks tutorial.
In the meantime...
 you can cut it last and 
cut out all the pieces needed from the surrounding fabrics first 
to be sure that you 
have a wide enough piece 
of the pink graph paper to work with.


Also... 
on the Layer Cake Block...
see the bottom layer with the 
yellow eggbeater print?
You will need to cut a 
2 1/2" x 6" piece 
from that fabric to use for the block.

It was left out of the guide
 but is up-dated now!


Whew!!
I feel like I just wrote a novel!!!

Relax and have fun while you
 are cutting and gathering
 for the sew along.
Enjoy each and every step 
along the way in making this quilt...
I know I did:)

Check with your favorite quilt shop 
and online for all of these supplies
(if they were not included in your kit)

I'll see you here on the 22nd...
Let's Bake!!!
xx
Lori




9 comments:

  1. So looking forward to this new Sew Along! You did a beautiful job of explaining each step so we can "bee prepared" - thank you! I've slowly been gathering extra items along the way, that you have designed or suggested to make your applique quilt patterns more fun and enjoyable. Yay - to baking along with you Lori!!

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  2. Got my kit at FQS and ready to go!!! Love this quilt.

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  3. My kit is on it”s way. Thank you for creating the sew simple shapes. I cannot wait to start. I absolutely love the fabrics and am looking forward to making this beyond adorable quilt. This one will be for me.

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  4. Sewing along in Alabama!!! Eeeee! This was a birthday gift to myself!! Hoping I have the skills to keep up:)

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  5. My kit is in and I can't wait to get started!

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  6. This is my first quilt with you, I am so excited...I am gathering all my supplies now. I will be a bit behind since I will be waiting for my kit to arrive, but i am sure I can catch up.

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  7. This is also my first sewalong and kit with you! I saw this pattern on the internet and fell in love with it! My kit arrived yesterday, and I am busy getting ready to catch up with all of you! This will stretch my skills and push me out of my comfort zone, but I love the pattern so much, I'm willing to do this! I don't have the yarns or buttons, but am pretty sure that between my stash and my friends' stashes, we can find what I need! Off to start cutting!

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  8. That is a gorgeous pattern! Thanks for sharing!

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  9. I would love to do this one! Will it be coming out again?

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