Lots of Dots Tutorial and a Big Announcement!...

Good morning cute people!

Today's post is all about circles. 

This week I have been sewing for a new pattern called

"Lots of Dots"

so I thought it would fit right in with the blog hop!

So I made lots of small circles....

And lots of medium circles...

And lots of larger circles...

And lots of even larger 4 patch circles!

And guess what I used to make all of them?

Introducing the 

"Circle Ruler"

by Lori Holt of Bee in my Bonnet

Yay!

I am finally able to announce that I am now designing my own collection of quilting rulers and templates!

They will have a worldwide distribution  through the fabulous

 Riley Blake Designs

wooohooo!

My first three rulers shapes 

(I will announce the other 2 shapes at a later date)

are designed to fit precut fabrics...

 and the first shape to be released at is the "Circle Ruler".

These rulers come in 4 different sizes and are sold together as a set.

The circles can be used with a rotary cutter but for the project I am doing today...I used them as templates.

The smallest works perfectly with a 2 1/2" square...making it easy to use with a 2 1/2" strip of fabric.

Or you can also use the smallest circle ruler to get 4 circles from a 5" square precut. 

The next size up fits the 5" square precut too!

The next size fits a 7" square of fabric...

And the largest size in the set fits a 10" square!

For my new pattern I sewed four 5" squares together into a 4 patch and then laid my large circle ruler on the back of the block and lined up the marked lines on the ruler with the seam...

And traced around the edge with a mechanical pencil.

I cut a square of lightweight non-fusible Pellon interfacing....

And pinned my marked 4 patch with the right side onto the Pellon.

I took it over to my machine and stitched directly onto my marked line...completely around the circle and making sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end.

*It helps to use an open toe foot for this so that you can see exactly where your needle is going into the fabric.

After sewing the circle...I trimmed an approximate 1/4" seam allowance all the way around...

like this.

Then I lifted the Pellon away from the circle and cut a slit for turning.

I used scissors for this because they were right there and handy...but a seam ripper works great also.

The slit does not have to be very long...

Just long enough to turn right side out like this.

Smooth the edges and then press flat...

And you have a completed perfectly shaped circle the exact size of the ruler!

I machine appliqued a prepared smaller circle onto the center of the 4 patch.

Then I pressed a white background square in half both ways to mark the center...

and centered my 4 patch circle on top and pinned it into place...

and machine appliqued the large 4 patch circle to the white square.

I continued making lots of dots...

Using all 4 sizes of the Circle Rulers...

and using my machine to appliqué.

And here is the "Lots of Dots" quilt!

I'm happy to say that I designed this new quilt pattern...

(free download here)

specifically to go with the 

"Circle Rulers" 

I have also designed a new quilt pattern to go with each of my other rulers too!

The Lots of Dots quilt was made using my newest fabric collection...

Polka Dot Stitches

I hope you like my new rulers and new patterns...I've been having so much fun with them:)

xx

Lori

Granny's Garden Sew Along - Week Ten!!

Hi there and welcome to my blog:)

This is Week Ten in our

Granny's Garden Sew Along

We are using Granny Chic Fabric...

And Granny's Garden

 Sew Simple Shapes

To make the Granny's Garden Quilt

This week's focus is on 

Flower Blocks 37 thru 40:)

Time to "sow"!!

Sew Simple Shapes for Block 37:

2 - I 3

2 - I 5

1 - I 17

1 - I 19

Cut the stem 5" long 

and press one end under

After sewing and trimming you will

 need to clip between the flower petals.

Shaped and pressed:)

Use the 10 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 

to center it while glue basting.

Flower Block 37 is ready for applique

Sew Simple Shapes for Block 38:

4 - I 9

1 - I 21

4 - I 26

Use the 2" Circle Ruler 

from the set for the flower centers.

Cut 4 stems 1 1/2" long

Shapes that need to be clipped 

in this block are the four flowers:)

Shaped and pressed and 

ready for pins and glue:)

Take advantage of all the lines on

 the ruler and center all of your shapes.

Flower Block 38 ready for applique

Sew Simple Shapes for Block 39:

4 - I 2

4 - I 15

1 - I 28

Use the 6" Circle Ruler from

 the set to make the Shabby Cloud Circle.

Cut 2 stems 2" long

(for some reason I cut 4 but only need 2)

You will need to clip the 

large scalloped circle and

 the tulips before turning:)

Shaped up and ready to go!

I did the tulips...leaves and stems

 on the smaller circle first...

Then added that to the scallop.

I used the 10 1/2" Trim-It Ruler 

to center onto the larger circle.

Flower Block 39 is ready for applique:)

Sew Simple Shapes for Block 40:

6 - I 20

1 - I 22

Use the 4" Circle Ruler from

 the set for the smaller circle

The only shape that needs clipping is the small flower on the center:)

Shaped and ready to go.

I used the ruler to line everything up

 and I cut the end off each petal 

to reduce bulk underneath the center circle.

Flower Block 40 is ready for applique.

After quilting I'm going to add some

 Cute Little Buttons

to this cute little block:)

After you have appliqued

 all of the circles...

applique them onto 

their background squares.

Whew!!

We are almost finished planting...

next week we will do the 

last two flower blocks

 and the border pieces.

Meet you right back here next week:)

xx

Lori

Click on the links below 

to view each week of this sew along!!

1. Bee Prepared

2. Week One

3. Week Two

4. Week Three

5. Week Four

6. Week Five

7. Week Six

8. Week Seven

9. Week Eight

10. Week Nine