All week long I showed you quilts out of our newest special issue, Best Weekend Quilts 2013, which hopefully triggered the inspiration spark in many of you. With such a variety in patterns, I know there’s something for every quilter in this issue. Pick it up now at your local quilt shop, bookstore, newsstand or online at the Quilt and Sew Shop. When you visit QuiltandSewShop.com to purchase a copy of Best Weekend Quilts for yourself and a few for your friends, be sure to shop for more exciting quiltmaking supplies and publications and take advantage of the special 15% discount offer that runs through May 28.

Oh, and I almost forgot, Happy Friday! Let’s talk about weekends, shall we?

A vendor at the Santa Cruz Flea Market sells edible cactus leaves (nopales), girls' dresses and aprons

Pam Rocco of Santa Cruz, California, is a columnist for Quilters Newsletter. You may have seen her “Words to Quilt By” that has been running in every issue of QN for over a year now. Each issue we also upload a free web pattern designed by Pam, you can find them in our Web Extras. For Best Weekend Quilts, we asked Pam to describe her perfect quilting weekend and to provide us with some pictures.

A row of pashmina shawls offered for sale at the Santa Cruz Flea Market

One of Pam’s favorite things to do on a weekend is visit her local Flea Market. She loves finding the unique treasures amid all the junk – and the bargains? Well, that’s the best part. What are some of the quilting goodies you’ve discovered on your weekends? Do you like going to street markets, prefer your local quilt shop or enjoy shopping online?

Pam Rocco's sewing studio

Of course, her weekends wouldn’t be complete without some sewing. So Pam spends time in her studio playing with new fabric she found at the Flea Market, making headway on works-in-progress or planning her next project. Check out the full article in Best Weekend Quilts 2013.

What does your perfect weekend look like? Is that when you get the most of your quilting and sewing done?

Floating X by Pam Rocco

“Most of my quilts look like they’re from Flat-land, so with this one I tried to create the illusion of depth by adding a shadow to two sides of a simple pieced block,” says Pam. Known for her improvisational style, Pam likes to break the rules of quilting. She made Floating X in stages and played with the layout until it was exactly as she wanted it.

Pam Rocco's City Reflections

Using her same method of improvisation, Pam created City Reflections. The top half of the quilt is very uniform, almost each of the “buildings” is identical in size. However, as your eyes travel down toward the bottom half of the quilt, you’ll notice the irregularity amongst the strips and patches. If you’re someone who likes to go into your sewing room and play, Pam’s quilts are the patterns for you.

Paint Box by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda, the Breezy collection from P&B Textiles and Best Weekend Quilts 2013

In light of Pam’s experiment-driven style, I chose two bundles that would seem a bit unorthodox to pair together. The first is a more traditional collection in earth tones and neutrals, Paint Box by Laundry Basket Quilts for Moda. The second is a brighter fabric line that leans towards the modern side of things, Breezy from P&B Textiles.

To win these two bundles and a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013, leave a comment on this blog post telling us what your quilting plans are for the upcoming weekend! Leave your comment by midnight mountain time tonight – Friday, May 24. One comment per person, please. Open to those who haven’t won anything from QN in the last 90 days.

I hope everyone’s ready to take on the weekend challenge and finish a quilt top by Monday!

Thanks so much to everyone who has participated in our Best Weekend Quilts Giveaway all week! We appreciate your support, so make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram. Have a great weekend everyone!

What a beautiful day for another giveaway, not that I can really think of a day one wouldn’t be pleased to get a chance at free fabric. For those of you who have been keeping up with our blog posts this week, welcome back! To all newcomers, hello! We are celebrating our newest special issue, Best Weekend Quilts 2013, by having a week of giveaways and giving you a sneak peek into Best Weekend.

To get your own copy of this issue, visit your local quilt shop, bookstore, newsstand or visit the Quilt and Sew Shop. When you visit QuiltandSewShop.com to purchase a copy of Best Weekend Quilts for yourself and a few for your friends, be sure to shop for more exciting quiltmaking supplies and publications and take advantage of the special 15% discount offer that runs through May 28.

We will be selecting two more winners today, so buckle up, get ready to see some quilts and make sure you’re wearing your bibs because these fabric bundles just may make you start to drool…

Tranquility, designed by Susan Geddes

This warm wall hanging was made using various shades of Japanese taupes. Subtle yet elegant, Tranquility is the perfect way to decorate a relaxing space in your home. Follow Susan’s placement in color value to create the same movement and flow of the quilt.

Bahama Breeze by Kathryn Wagar Wright

If you’re anything like me, you love taking long, relaxing walks on the white sand next to the ocean. A cool breeze slowly stirs and you feel a bit of the sea spray tickle your cheek… Oh, you’re still here? Wait, so am I? If you’re really anything like me and don’t have time to take off for the Bahamas, this is the quilt for you! The summery beach tones will have you daydreaming in no time.

Stars for You - Bev Getschel

Using a set of Bali Crackers and a set of Bali Snaps – both from the Tiramisu collection by Hoffman California Fabrics – Bev Getschel created this sparkling throw. Saving time and effort by using precuts makes this an ideal project for a weekend. She layered it with Fairfield’s American Spirit 70/30 batting, making it the perfect quilt for stargazing on a summer night.

Oh Happy Day from Jen Daly

If you’re in need of a little sunshine to put a smile on your face, this is the project to get started on this weekend. Jen Daly created this cheery throw both for the fabrics that inspired it (California Girl by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda) and for the instant gratification she felt after finishing her top. Choose fabrics from a coordinating collection or bust into your stash for a scrappier look.

European Taupe by Kinkame for Clothworks

Dottie's Sweet Shop and Color Weave Soft Brights collections from P&B Textiles

Each winner will receive a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013 and either two bundles from Clothworks (European Taupes by Kinkame) or two bundles from P&B Textiles (Dotties Sweet Shop and Color Weave Soft Brights).

To enter to win two bundles of fabric and a copy of the magazine, leave a comment on this post. Open to those who haven’t won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days. One comment per person please.

Thanks to our loyal followers on our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram - the best ways to stay in touch with QN. See you tomorrow!

[Please note: this giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Judy and Becky, our randomly selected winners! Thanks so much to all who entered!]

Welcome to the third day of our Best Weekend Quilts Giveaway. Thanks to all who’ve been following us the past two days while we promote our newest special issue, Best Weekend Quilts 2013! Whether you’re a traditionalist or lean to the more contemporary side of things, you’ll find your perfect weekend project between the covers of Best Weekend. Pick up your copy today and get started this weekend – available now at your local quilt shop, bookstore, newsstand or online at the Quilt and Sew Shop.

There will be two winners in today’s giveaway, so pay close attention!

Chris Hoover's Oh Sew Blue

Maybe you’re more of a pink person, or perhaps your heart belongs to the color orange? Chris Hoover’s Oh Sew Blue uses various prints in a similar colorway and makes for an attractive, eye-catching quilt. Use this as a small throw or a larger wall hanging to compliment the palette in your home.

Apple Butter by Jen Daly

Using a charm pack of Friendship – Collections for a Cause by Howard Marcus Dunn for Moda, Jen Daly made this homey table runner. Jen used more traditional looking prints, but this little runner would look great using modern prints or solid fabrics as well.

Simply Stars - Swirly Girls Design

Quick-corner piecing in all the blocks will keep things moving when you make this bright quilt designed and made by Christine Van Buskirk and Susan Emory of Swirly Girls Design. Using their Poppy Love collection for Michael Miller Fabrics, these jazzy prints jump right off the quilt when they’re offset by a white background.

Please Don't Eat the Daisies, designed by QN art director Susan Geddes

If you love foundation piecing, you’ll enjoy Please Don’t Eat the Daisies designed by QN’s art director Susan Geddes. These easy-to-piece blocks and large patches make this whimsical pattern a treat and a breeze.

Moda bundles and Best Weekend 2013 issues

One lucky winner will receive a bundle of Collections for a Cause, The Mill Book Series Circa 1835, by Howard Marcus for Moda and a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013, while the other (just as lucky) winner will get a bundle of Pleasant Hill by Kansas Trouble Quilters for Moda and a copy of Best Weekend.

To enter to win one of these bundles and magazines, leave a comment on this post by midnight mountain time tonight – Wednesday, May 22nd. One comment per person please, open to those who haven’t won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days.

Never miss a giveaway or other news from QN: be sure to be following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram!

[Please note: this giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Susan C, our randomly selected winner for Day 2! Thanks to all for participating!]

Good morning loyal followers, how is your Tuesday so far? How about some free fabric to get you through the week?

Yep, free fabric. We’re promoting our newest special issue, Best Weekend Quilts 2013, and we’re having an entire week of giveaways to celebrate.

Best Weekend Quilts 2013 is filled with 30 projects designed with speed and ease in mind, without compromising style and functionality. Pick up a copy of this issue from your local quilt shop, bookstore, newsstand or online at the Quilt and Sew Shop.

Each day I’ll be featuring patterns from the magazine so you can get inspired to start working on your own weekend quilt.

Seeing Stars - Tina Curran

Using her classic, bright, scrappy style, Tina Curran created a vibrant wall hanging that’s sure to please. The large, vibrant double sawtooth star blocks contrasted against the black-and-white prints creates a dramatic look. Use your contrasting prints in your favorite palette for a similar effect that’s more your style.

Buckaroo's Dream by Carol Streif

Using charm squares from Moda’s Home on the Ranch collection, Carol Streif designed this throw with a slight variation on the snowballed block corners to reduce seams that need to match up. Use your child’s favorite juvenile prints and get started this weekend!

Rosie Glow, designed and made by Janet Jo Smith

Janet Jo Smith’s hand-dyed fabrics create a soft, feminine appeal in this large throw. With such vibrancy, it’s easy to see how this quilt landed the cover of Best Weekend. In the issue, you’ll also find the pattern for Rosie Glow’s sister quilt, Peachy Keen. Just a few changes in color placement will give you a whole new look.

Ramona Sorensen's Triangles & Diamonds

When Ramona Sorensen was designing this quilt she was fascinated by the many design possibilities that triangles and diamonds offer. Lay your triangles out on a large flat surface or design wall and play around with the different shapes that can emerge for a completely unique creation.

New Traditions collection from P&B Textiles and Best Weekend Quilts 2013

The prize for the lucky winner today is a bundle of the New Traditions collection from P&B Textiles and a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013. Inspired by vintage swatches in loosely authentic colors, this collection is both traditional and new and would be a happy addition to any quilter’s stash.

To win this bundle and magazine, leave a comment on this post by midnight mountain time tonight – Tuesday, May 21. One comment per person please. Open to those who haven’t won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days.

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Best Weekend Quilts Giveaway: Day 1, and make sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram – the best ways to stay updated on our giveaways and everything Quilters Newsletter.

Happy Monday everyone! We’re in for a rainy day, but what a nice, sunny weekend we were able to enjoy. Did anybody finish up a quilt? How many just got started?

If you’ve been following our recent blog posts, you’ve noticed that some of our staff members (Mary Kate, Gigi, Susan, Lori and Kath) took on the weekend challenge just to see how much they could get done. Each selected a pattern from our newest special issue, Best Weekend Quilts 2013, and got to work. Click on the names above to read each story.

That being said, why don’t you give the weekend challenge a try? Pick up a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013 and get started this weekend! This issue is stuffed with over 30 quick and easy projects for every quilter.

To promote Best Weekend, we’re having a week of giveaways! Each day I’ll highlight different patterns from the magazine so you can get a sneak peek at what’s waiting for you inside this issue.

In lieu of the gorgeous summer weather we’ve been finally having , I chose some summery quilts to show off today. My way of saying, “rain, rain go away…”

Garden Pathways, designed and made by ZJ Humbach

Garden Pathways was designed and made by ZJ Humbach. ZJ made this quilt for her mother’s 100^th birthday, wanting to reflect her mother’s love of gardening and sewing. Take advantage of this traditional Irish chain and combine with your own fabrics to make a scrappy personalized quilt.

Summertime Bed Runner and My Weekend Pillow by Kim Hanson

“Summertime and the living’s easy…” which is true when you whip up this adorable bed runner in just a weekend! Summertime was designed and made by Kim Hanson who embellished the runner with floral print buttons and crocheted flowers from Riley Blake. Throw it together with the Weekend pillow, also designed and made by Hanson, and you’ll have a fresh, summer look all year long.

Down the Lane by Vivian Ritter

If you’re one who tends to go for a more muted palette, you’ll love the look of Vivian Ritter’s Down the Lane. Just one block in multiple colorways makes for a tasteful throw that could work great for a gift for the college grad or keep it for yourself so you can snuggle up on those movie days inside.

Color Chips table setting from Bev Getschel

Bev Getschel’s Color Chips is a simple way to brighten any table setting. Small colored strips let you use up those scraps and it’s a great way to show off your favorite prints against a crisp, solid background. Swap out different tones to match your next party or Fourth of July barbeque.

Avalon by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda and Best Weekend Quilts 2013

To help you get started on your next weekend quilt, one lucky winner will receive a bundle of Avalon by Fig Tree & Co. for Moda and a copy of Best Weekend Quilts 2013. Leave a comment on this post by midnight mountain time tonight – Monday, May 20 – to be entered to win. One comment per person please. Open to those who have not won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the last 90 days.

Be sure you’re following us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram to stay up-to-date with Best Weekend giveaways all week long!

(P.S. You still have time to enter our Hello Sunshine Giveaway today, too!)

We seem to have skipped spring here in Colorado. Just a few weeks ago we had at least 6″ of snow on the ground, today we have clear blue skies and temperatures in the 80′s! Half of the QN staff is in Portland, Oregon, for Spring Quilt Market, and the other half is at their desks, trying not to imagine how beautiful it is outside. There’s work to be done!

Oh, would you like to have this?

So, in lieu of going outside, I am looking at this lovely stack of 19 fat quarters that makes me think of sunshine and picnics on green grass. Appropriately named ‘Hello Sunshine,’ this collection was designed by Virginia Odien, who won Connecting Threads’ first ever fabric design contest. It’s adorable. Here’s more about it from Connecting Threads themselves: The Hello Sunshine collection contains 19 fabrics in cheery shades of apricot, meadow, cashmere blue and more. Connecting Threads director, Teri Stillwell, gushed, “This is one of our most versatile collection to date. By pairing different pattern and color combinations, you can get a look that is very contemporary, a style that is kid-friendly, or simply a fresh, summery look that is great for any room.”

And if you don’t know what you’d do with all that yummy fabric, we’ve got you covered. We’ll include a wonderful pattern book too! 101 Fabulous Small Quilts (That Patchwork Place, 2013) is jam-packed with cool patterns. The best thing about it is you can make the quilts in it just as they are presented, or you can make more blocks for a bigger quilt! Or double the size of the blocks, it’s up to you. So, would you like a chance to have these prizes for yourself?

One lucky winner will randomly selected to win the fat quarter stack and the book. For a chance to win, leave a comment on this post before 11:59 p.m. on Monday, May 20th (Mountain Time). One comment per person, please. Open to those who have not won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the past 90 days. Good luck to everyone who enters!

We announce all our giveaways on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram and of course our website, so follow us to find out about them first!

I starch the fabric heavily – not as stiff as cardboard but close. I make my own starch from concentrate, mix it half and half with water and put it in a spray bottle. I spray my fabric with three or four applications and iron it dry after each. Next I mark the fabric, starting with one vertical line which will be where the rows of stitching start. My labels usually include four lines of information so I mark four equally spaced horizontal lines.

Marked Quilt Label Fabric

Then I program the machine to stitch the wording, layer the fabric over a tear-away stabilizer and stitch. I sew using the marked lines as a guide for the right edge of the presser foot.

Ready to Stitch

When the stitching is done, I remove the marked lines and the stabilizer, turn under the edges and attach it to the quilt. I do have to tell you that I usually put the label on before I bind the quilt. Then I only have to turn under the edges on two sides. The other two sides are enclosed by the binding.

Here is one of the completed labels. Thank you, Karen, for the name of this quilt.

The Red Quilts Label

And here is the other label. This is the quilt I started way back in January. The last time I talked about it was in my February 4 blog post.

Riley's Luck Quilt Label

It’s a graduation present. I couldn’t tell you it was a graduation quilt when I was working on it because this granddaughter is on Facebook and I didn’t want her to see the quilt and spoil the surprise.

Opening the Present

Riley's Luck

Now I must get busy. I’ll be leaving for the International Quilt Market in Portland, Oregon (trade only), Wednesday and have several things to clear off my desk in order to be ready to go.

Follow us online and on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest to keep up with the world of quilting.

I had mentioned that I changed the original pattern to suit my fabric, in that I doubled the size of the blocks. I encouraged others to try the same. I later realized that if someone who is new to quilting followed my advice, they might double the wrong measurement and get frustrated when it didn’t work. So I’ll explain how I went about it. For this pattern, especially, and any pattern that just uses squares and rectangles, it’s pretty straightforward. It gets trickier when diagonals are introduced, and perhaps I’ll go into that in another post, but for now I’ll just cover the very basics. This may be obvious and redundant for some, but I hope it will help some people, too.

If you want to double the size of a block, you’ll have to double the size of the patches within the block. But you cannot just look at the rotary cutting diagrams and double the measurement you see there. That would cause all kinds of problems down the line. The measurement that must be doubled is the FINISHED size, not the cut size. So, you’ll need to do some simple arithmetic. It’ll be fun!

If a patch is cut at 4”, that means it finishes at 3 ½”. Do not double 4”! You need to double 3 ½”, which of course is 7. THEN add the seam allowance, which would make your new cut size 7 ½”.  It wouldn’t matter what measurement is doubled if every patch in the quilt is the same size, but that is rarely the case.  In my example, I demonstrate what will happen to a theoretical block if you double the cut size vs. double the finished size. And since the difference between cut and finish size is relatively small, you won’t notice it’s incorrect until a fair amount of work has already been done. You don’t want that.

Sad face happens when you double the cut size.

I was going to cut and sew some patches to demonstrate, but I think the information is clearer drawn on graph paper. Each of the squares on the paper equals 1″, so you can see the exact proportions of the patches.

This first example spells out what will happen if you double the cut size. I apologize if you can’t read my handwriting, but the pictures can explain my point pretty well. The joined A’s are now 1” longer than the B they are supposed to attach to! That would make me have a frowny face, too.

Doubling the finished size, then adding seam allowance is the way to go!

Now, here’s what happens when you double the finished size and add the seam allowance to the doubled finish size. It works out perfectly! Assuming that all your 1/4″ seam allowances are perfect. I’m sure they are.

So, hopefully some of you will attempt to make an existing quilt pattern all your own using the doubling technique. You could also multiply the finished measurement by any number, like .75 or 3, as long as it’s consistently applied to each patch in the pattern.

I like the way that the large blocks I made work with my loud and large-scale print, but that’s not the only reason to double block size. It also involves less cutting, fewer patches and simpler sewing because there are less pieces of fabric to keep track of. And it looks cool!

Like I said, diagonals are another can of worms, so if there is any interest I can go into that some other day. In the meantime, let’s meet up on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter and our website to obsess over quilts. Have a great weekend!

In the What’s New section of the April/May 2013 issue of Quilters Newsletter we reported on the upcoming DAM exhibit Spun: Adventure in Textiles that officially opens May 19. However, a few of the many exhibits associated with the campus-wide exhibition were already open in late April, so I got a preview that has me itching to come back to take in the entire thing.

One gallery we passed through all-too-quickly on our way to get something to eat (because as we know, parents ignore hungry toddlers at their own peril) was one featuring textiles and garments by mid-century British designer Jacqueline Groag. Two things occurred to me as we sped past the exhibit: 1) I can’t wait to take my time in this gallery some other day, and 2) Has any current manufacturer licensed these designs for quilting cotton? Because I’d love to have some of this in my stash.

Jacqueline Groag, Untitled, about 1956. Dress fabric, printed cotton. Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III Collection. Photo from the book Jacqueline Groag: Textile and Pattern Design, published by ACC.

The “Material World” exhibit of modern art was also already open, which included No Rain, No Rainbows, a massive work made from repurposed stuffed-animal “skins”. Up close it was hard to see the pattern and placement; a little distance revealed the artist’s design.

No Rain, No Rainbows, made of stuffed-animal textiles, 16' x 9.5', 2011, by Agustina Woodgate

And then there was the interactive Transposition, which features elastic ropes illuminated by software-driven video projections and accompanied by electronic music. The empty gallery is deceptively tranquil when you first enter, but as you approach the far wall the projections and music start to respond to your movements. My preschooler cowered behind me when we first checked it out and would not go near the installation. So we left to go do something else. Later on she insisted we go back to see the “big screen.” “Are you sure?” I asked, and she was. She laughed at the antics of some teenage girls who were running along the wall to make the projections go crazy and the music swell but still wanted nothing to do with it herself. Maybe if we return she’ll be willing to take it on.

Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza, Transposition. ©Annica Cuppetelli and Cristobal Mendoza.

The centerpiece of Spun will be “Cover Story” in the new permanent textile gallery. It will also include a drop-in Quilt Studio and Weekend Artist demonstrations during the duration of the exhibit. Maybe I should have gotten that family membership after all…

Alchemy by Shell Rummell for Blend Fabrics

It seems Spring has finally made its way to Colorado and that has us in a good mood! So let’s celebrate with a fabric giveaway just for our loyal QN Blog and Facebook followers! Alchemy by Shell Rummell for Blend Fabrics was featured in Staff Picks in the April/May 2013 issue of Quilters Newsletter. In fact, we even offer a free quilt block pattern featuring this fabric on our website.

And now we’re offering you a chance to win this fat quarter bundle of Alchemy. Leave your comment below this blog post telling us how you would use the fabric. Comments must be posted by Midnight Mountain time Sunday, May 12, 2013. One comment per person. This giveaway is open only to those who have not won anything from Quilters Newsletter in the past 90 days.