Dots on Dots Blog Hop and Tutorial

Hi everyone, I am participating in the "Dots on Dots Blog Hop", sponsored by Quilt Taffy.  

The challenge was to make a 12" block, but you had to use one or more polka dot fabrics. 

I went to my fabric stash and learned something about myself, I love polka dots!!!

 I wanted to try something new, so I went to Pinterest and looked at my Quilt Blocks board.

I really liked the Rocky Road to Kansas quilt block.

It is paper pieced, and I have never tried that technique before.

There was a great tutorial by Fresh Lemon Quilts.

Here is the photo tutorial of my block.

I printed the template from Fresh Lemon Quilts, very easy!

I wanted a scrappy star, so I cut all my polka dots strips to sew together.

I arranged the polka dot fabrics strips in the order I liked them best.

Then I sewed each stack together.

You set your stitch length to a low number so that the stitches are really small, and the paper will rip away from the stitches really easily.  You just sew along the line on the pattern.

This is what it looks like on the back.

The yellow fabric is pressed back, all while keeping the paper pattern intact.

The paper pattern is meant to put on a light box so that you can place the fabric with a l/4" seam allowance.

You sew the fabric pieces on in order, starting with attaching 2 to 1 and 3 to 1, and so on.

This is sewing piece number 3 to piece number 1, while watching the tutorial on my ipad.

After the piece is sewn on, you trim the seam allowance to l/4".

Finally, piece number 4 is sewn onto piece number 1.

All the pieces are sewn together and pressed, now it is time to trim.

Trimming is so easy, you just cut along the outside lines.

It is so easy!  The inner line is the sewing line.

My square is complete, just need to make 3 more.  For each square, you will need a paper pattern.

Since the square is complete, it is time to rip off the paper pattern.

I am thrilled, my square looks perfect!

Here is my unfinished 12 l/2" square.  

Paper piecing was fun, I am going to make some more projects using this method!

I added a l l/2" border to my square.

I tried "pebble" quilting, and it looks like polka dots!

Since this block was so little, it was perfect to try a new quilting design.

A scrappy Road to Kansas Star looks great with a scrappy binding.

It's all finished, do you like it?  It is a 14" decoration for my tabletop.

Even the back is dotty :)

These are the rest of the blogs who are on the blog hop today.

Thanks for visiting mine, now if you want to be dotty, take a look at all the others.

September 12th

It's Sew Kiki

VroomansQuilts 

Kathy's Quilts

Quilt Doodle Designs

A Quilting Sheep

selinaquilts

Jane's Quilting

The Peach Patch

If you want to visit all of the blogs on their respective days, just click on my dots to dots button on the right of my blog.

Baby Brit Quilt Along, week #6

Hi everyone, this is the sixth and last of my blocks to show you.

This is Lindsay's block. Sorry about the side view, I wasn't able to change it.  I really like this block, the prints are each so different and the yellow really stands out!

This is Rebecca's block, I love the vintage look with her repurposed clothing.  Notice the pintucks she left in the white with blue flowers?

Rebecca had her baby boy 8 weeks early, so I am helping her as much as I can.  I won't be able to post about the sashing next week, will have to postpone that one.  I will get it done when I return home.  The baby is healthy, but has to stay in the NICU so he can develop a little more.  I will keep you updated :)

Paperdoll Block

REBECCA goes to stay

at GRAMMY'S house

for two weeks....she

learns how to do

EMBROIDERY...make

YO-YO's...and to

stitch a hexagon

QUILT BLOCK...

We lived in Arkansas, and my mother wanted Rebecca to fly to Montreal to visit her for a couple of weeks.  I was just too nervous to let Rebecca fly by herself when she was only 9 years old.  Consequently, she never went by herself but still had lots of good visits with her grandmother.
Rebecca has her grandmother's drawing and painting talent :)
Isn't the little hexagon adorable?  It's a l/2" size.  The little yoyo's are the "extra small" size.  The skeins of embroidery floss is really floss, embroidered to look like real skeins!  The little embroidery of the dog was very difficult, because it was so teeny.....Don't you love the red tomato pincushion?  The pins with the different colored heads are so real looking, they are french knots.  I love the red mary jane shoes, too.  Don't they bring back memories?

Row Along and the Farmer's Wife Quilt

I am participating in the Bee in my Bonnet Row Along.  You can read about it here.  Anything Lori does is just too good to pass up!

She told us to choose 7 colors, about 9 prints in each color. I went to my stash and began pulling out colors and prints.  I made a discovery....I have so many polka dots!  I am going to make a conscious effort to choose more ginghams, plaids and little flowers. I have been caught up in the big, modern designs, and had forgotten about keeping my stash replenished with little prints.

These are the colors and prints I chose.

I am really excited with my choices :)

I cut out my squares as instructed, and Lori had the coolest method of sewing and cutting the squares.  You will have to take a look at how she did it.

Two squares out of each color, times two.

Here is my first row, I love the colors!!!

It's scrap happy :)

Over a year and a half ago, I began the Farmer's Wife Quilt Along. 

I showed you my blocks in a former post, here.

I finally finished sewing the sashing between the blocks.  I have never sewn blocks on point before, and had to redo quite a few of the yellow triangles.  I had cut off the seam allowances and it would have looked terrible so I bit my lip, ripped out the yellow triangles I had sewn, cut larger yellow rectangles, and had enough fabric for seam allowances.  I attached the border and now I just need to find some fabric for the back.

The border is red with what else, teeny little white polka dots! 

Remember that I said I have a lot of polka dots!!! 

I can hardly believe that the top is finished :)

Baby Brit Quilt Along week #5

By now you should definately be thinking about what fabric you want for your sashing and your border.  Solid, print, stripe, polka dots, the choices are yours :)  I have chosen my sashing but I am stumped as to what I will choose for the posts in between the blocks.  Everything I have tried seems too bold.  

This is my fifth block.  I really like it!

This is Rebecca's block.  I like the way the stripes are all on the diagonal in different directions.

Have fun with your blocks and don't forget to post them to the "Baby Brit" flickr account :)

Paperdoll Block

LINDSAY gets ready for her flute solo...

she likes to paint her TOENAILS while she

sits under the HAIRDRYER!

Don't the bobby pins look real, like you could reach out and pick them off the fabric?  The curlers were really hard to applique, because the pieces were so little, and every single pink pin is embroidered.  The green comb is embroidered.  The red nail polish is appliqued, and outline embroidered in gray.  I love all the detail!

 Lori Holt from Bee in my Bonnet designed this pattern.  

Wall Hangings

I made these quilt wall hangings about two years ago.

The pattern is "Two Peas in a Pod" by Sweet Shoppe.

I made this one for my grand daughter Maisie.

Rebecca chose the fabric for this quilt. I was with her at Material Girls, she kept loading up her husband's arms with bolts of fabric!   I love the aquas and pinks with touches of orange. 

 The flower stems are made of rick rack.

I put Roxanne's glue baste glue under the rick rack and make sure it is positioned correctly.  Then I stitched each rick and each rack (lol!) with a needle and thread to secure it.

I appliqued the flowers with fusible web and a little machine blanket stitch.  It worked really well!  Do you notice the scallop border on the top?  I did needle turn that by hand.  

I love pinwheels!

This is the wall hanging I made for my grand daughter Neo.

I had a lot of fun choosing the colors myself.  I wanted it to look "sunshiny"!

Lots of yellow, orange and pink with touches of aqua.

I kept imagining Neo lying in her crib, looking at the quilt while she was waiting for her Mom or Dad to get her up.  What would she be thinking while she looked at the quilt........what colors would inspire her......what colors would make her happy?  It's funny what you think while you sew.....

I backed the quilt with my favorite....."Sew Cherry".

Did you notice that I snuck in some pink and aqua rick rack for the flower stems?  My favorite way of attaching a quilt to the quilt rod, is to gently safety pin some ribbon to the back of the quilt.  I tie the ribbon in pretty bows and the quilt is hung.  It is really easy to just remove the safety pins and you can put the quilt on a table, behind the couch or on a bed.

This is a quilt I could make over and over again.

My friend Cindy Paulson, machine quilted both quilts.  She always does a fabulous job!