Layer Cake Crepe

In April, I shared that I was working with the Fat Quarter Shop again on one of their short cut Quilt patterns.  This time the pattern calls for a Layer Cake.

I decided to go with this lovely yellow and blue floral fabric.  It is called Sunshine and Blue Skies.  The free shortcut pattern is called Layer Cake Crepe.

You start by making these giant 9-patches.  

I put a 9" block there to show you how big they actually are.

Here is the finished quilt.  This is a great pattern for these large print fabrics that you hate to cut into small pieces.

The back is lovely too.

 

A big thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop for letting Many Hands and Many Hearts be a part of this project.  We still have another layer cake of the same fabrics to turn into another quilt or two and donate.  I think in the next version, I am going to make the blocks per the pattern but rather than set the blocks vertically, I am going to set them horizontally.  

I think it will be easier to control the size of the quilt better.

Fat Quarter Shop's shortcut quilt patterns are some of my favorite precut pattens out there.

Which one's have you tried?

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Something New

I am working with the Fat Quarter Shop on another project.

This one uses a Layercake.  

I chose this lovely one with yellows and blues called Sunshine and Blue Skies.  My background will be that spring green solid.  This pattern is one of their Shortcut Quilt Series.  I love this free pattern series exclusively at Fat Quarter Shop.  They are still finalizing the pattern but it should be released soon!

First thing you have to do is make some 9-patches.  

These are the biggest 9-patches I have ever made!  Here is one compared to a 9" block.

Crazy huh!?!

A huge thanks to Fat Quarter Shop for their generosity.  I was able to get two layer cakes so I am hoping to get two or three quilts out of them for Many Hands and Many Hearts.

Hopefully you will see some finishes in a few months!

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Mini Cakes Mint Quilt

 

Back in June of this year, I shared a photo of some precuts I received to start a new quilt.  I joined up with the Fat Quarter Shop again to sew up one of their free shortcut patterns.  

I am finally able to share my finished quilt!

I used the Bee Grateful collection by Deb Strain (for Moda Fabrics).  I thought some pretty photos in my garden was perfect for this bee inspired collection.

This was a photo shot in front of my succulent garden taken back in July.  Right now the tall sedums are in bloom and the honey bees are loving it!

This shortcut pattern is called Mini Cake Mints and the pattern is available for free from the Fat Quarter Shop  And they have lots of precuts to make the quilt.  In fact, they have a quilt kit you can purchased..

This pattern was super easy to make.  Great for beginners - there is very little cutting required.

I quilted it with a serpentine stitch in a 2.5" grid pattern.

And I used one of my favorite wide backings in a dark gray on the back.

You can download the pattern here. If you want to buy the kit, they have one available featuring the Red Barn Christmas collection.

I recently spoke at a local guild and one of my blog readers said she wanted to see more of my garden.  I thought I would include this photo of my shade area.  I love to create pathways that one must follow to see what is hidden around the corner.

Now that the weather has cooled, the plants are greening back up.  

Autumn is such a wonderful season!

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Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

From Bolt to Beauty (Brag about your Beauties)
Alycia Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

BTW - if you are ready to finish a quilt, Connecting Threads is having a sale to help with that!

A Forgotten Finish

 I decided to get into the cabinet where I store my personal quilt collection and refold my quilts.  I try and do this at least annually.

I pulled out this quilt and realized I have never shared this one on my blog. 

 I finished it back in 2016!

It is a design I came up with that used a layercake (I think).  I had always planned on submitting it to a magazine or releasing the pattern myself.  And somehow it got set aside and forgotten for over 4 years.

I might have to make another one of these days.  I am really not a fan of the white background.

But I do really like the red plaid I put on the back!

(Another fabric I wish I had bought more of...)

The custom quilting I did on this quilt looks so cool on the back.

(Okay, it looks cool on the front but white quilting never photographs well.)

So now it is refolded and stacked back in the cupboard.  Maybe seeing it again will inspire me to dig out a colorful background....or maybe I won't think about it again for another few years!

Am I the only one who has so many quilts around my house I forget what I have ?

Have a great weekend!

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Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

From Bolt to Beauty (Brag about your Beauties)
Alycia Quilts (Finished or not Friday)

If you are a fan of Block of the Month programs, I thought this one for Connecting Threads was really pretty!  The quilt finishes at 100" square.  It would be beautiful on a bed!

TGIFF - Modern Neutrals Layers of Charm

Welcome all you quilty people to TGIFF!

First off, I want to share what I have been working on.  In July, I spent quite a bit of time concentrating on cleaning up my sewing room and fabric stash .  Too many items no longer fit into my fabric closet so I was faced with some "What should I do with this?" moments.

One of the items was this Modern Neutrals layercake and backing that has been kicking around for quite some time.  I have been holding on to these thinking I would come across the perfect pattern.    I quickly realized that using the Layers of Charm pattern by the Fat Quarter Shop would work beautifully for this collection.

 At first, I was going to use a gray solid from my stash....

 But then I found this wonderful pumpkin orange and I had just enough for what I needed!

I am so glad I went with it rather than the gray.

I love that this pattern keeps the pieces large so you can really enjoy the prints.  This is the second quilt I have made with this pattern.  The first quilt I used the Mimosa collection by Windham Fabrics.

I kept the quilting simple.  Swirls in the background and spent a wee bit more time putting something special in the solid bits.

I don't often have backings that match the fabric collection in the top.  

I really planned ahead for this one!

 

So now it is time to share your Friday finish.  This TGIFF hostess and the TGIFF coordinator both had busy weeks and well, what can I say.  We just didn't get a chance to touch base.  The good news is there are two places to link up your finish this week!

Once you link your finish up here, hop over to the TGIFF site and link up there as well.  And remember to visit some of the quilters that link up their finishes.  

It is a great way to be inspired and maybe make a new friend!  :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking Up:

My Quilt Infatuation (Needle & Thread)
Free Motion Mavericks (Free Motion Mavericks)

Confessions of a Fabric Addict (Can I get a Whoop! Whoop!)

TGIFF (Thank Goodness it is Friday Finish)

Fabric Frenzy Friday
Busy Hands Quilts (Finished or Not Friday)

A Bit of Housekeeping

First off, I want to thank everyone who participated in the Quilty Orphan Adoption Event.  It was great to see that about 14 unfinished and unloved projects found new homes and many are once again being made for various charities across the US.  I have plans to hold the event again next March so keep that in mind if you become uninspired with a project you are working on.

I have been quite remiss sharing the new items that have entered my stash.  Some have been from giveaways or prizes for participating in a blogging event and I always like to recognize the wonderful bloggers and generous sponsors. So here goes....

Back in July, I won this Airmail layercake from Melissa at Happy Quilting.   Melissa was one of the first bloggers I started to follow and I still enjoy reading her blog.  This layercake was a prize on her Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Days.  It was sponsored by The Scarlet Thread Quilt Company.

I have already sewn this up into a quilt that is waiting to be quilted.  I am hoping to get it published either in a magazine or as a pattern so I can't share it quite yet.  But maybe I will try and share a sneak peek soon!

Also in July, I found out I was one of the winners of this Mixology Fat Quarter Bundles sponsored by Massdrop for the Scraptastic Tuesday link up.  Leanne at SheCanQuilt hosts this event every second Tuesday of the month.  I still haven't broken into this one yet but ideas have certainly been percolating.

Very recently, these two items came in the mail.  The Modern Neutrals layercake I picked up on sale from Craftsy.  I love the mid-century feel of the collection by Amy Ellis.  And I was just notified that my name was drawn for a gift certificate from Gotcha Covered Quilting.  I thought I would use it to get a backing to go with the layercake.  Now I just need a plan.

Thanks to SewBitterSweet Designs and Fiber of All Sorts for hosting A Lovely Year of Finishes.  I was one of the August winners.

September is my birthday month so I bought myself a little present in the form of this big stack of fabric from the Good Neighbors collection (designed by Amanda Jean at crazy mom quilts).

I have no idea what I am going to make but I am very tempted by all of the pincushions I am seeing in the Good Neighbors Pincushion Party Blog Hop going on right now.

...and there are giveaways so go check it out!

Another big giveaway going on right now is the Craftsy School Supplies Giveaway where a lucky winner will receive a mystery box full of supplies from the category of their choice (art, cake/baking, sewing, quilting, knitting or crocheting) and a class of their choice.  Wouldn't that be nice to win!

In my sewing room, I have been having a hard time focusing on one project.  Right now there are pieces for about a half dozen quilts scattered around my machine, all being worked on at once.

 And this Bear Claw quilt is what has me a bit stuck.  I can't decide between a light or dark gray solid for the sashing and the pieced border.  I am leaning toward dark...

 Off to go sew and ponder a bit more!

Linking Up:

Sew Fresh Quilts

My Quilt Infatuation

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