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sorbet fabric...

happy new year everyone! i hope this post finds your year off to a great start!

today i'm sharing my love for leonie bateman and her new collection for penny rose fabrics (a division of riley blake designs) named sorbet. the collection is just as delicious as it sounds. featuring a range of soft, yet bright colors, it's perfect for just about any project. the main print is one my favorites!

i had the pleasure of meeting leonie last may at quilt market. she's honestly one of the most genuine people in the industry. her laugh is infectious and she's just as personable as she is talented (check out her works with wool...drool!). she might disagree (haha!) but i think we're long distant relatives now.

branching out from my typical clean and simple designs, i decided to create a mini medallion quilt (inspired by my friend erin's new book). i chose to create with the red and pink prints from the collection and mixed them with my favorite confetti cotton solids, which are my main go-to basics from riley blake designs.

like most of my designs, i never know what i'm going to make until i'm making it. i started with a sawtooth block as my center, added foundation paper pieced flying geese-like rows next and for one short minute thought i'd make this a much larger quilt, I ended with a solid border. i always have the greatest intentions of making larger quilts, but for some reason my mind freaks out around the 24-30'' mark and i stop. ahhhh...one day.

reminiscent of my traditional roots, i learned a lot making this mini quilt. its by no means perfect, but it was the best exercise for me to stretch my quilting muscles.

i hope you'll check out leonie's awesome work and pick up a bundle of her collection that's available in stores and online now. she's really a gem and if you dig through the world wide web, you might find a video of us singing and dancing to Abba at Missouri Star Quilt Company.

cut, sew, repeat...

the tattooed quilter

utility style quilts...book tour

happy holiday's everyone!

today i'm excited to share my thoughts on, "utility style quilts: quilts for everyday living."

i've known the author, sharon holland for some time now, meeting her, like many others on social media. sharon is one of the most genuine artists in our industry and is just as you imagine in person: kind, warm, and uber talented. her work can be seen in several magazines and in quilt shops across the globe. her fabric collections for art gallery fabrics are stunning.

her new book, "utility style quilts: quilts for everyday living," published by landauer publishing features 12 beginner-friendly quilt projects that honestly, after reading through the book, could be completed in a weekend. i'm in love with her modern-traditional style and the photography is gorgeous!

sharon also walks you through how to chose the right fabrics, piecing techniques, and one of my favorite features: how to finish your quilt project where she beautifully describes one technique called tying, which i learned from my great grandmother and grandmother.

the main theme of the book is using our quilts everyday: loving, laundering, and repeating. i couldn't agree with her more! i don't think i've had one quilt that hasn't been well loved.

one of my favorite quilt projects is "tracery" and i decided to make two holiday themed pillows. i adjusted the measurements on the last two rows to get the perfect 18 1/2'' square i needed for my pillow forms. i really love how versatile this block is. one of my other favorites is "bobbin." i can totally seeing myself making a mini version in the near future. 

i hope you consider picking up a copy of sharon's new book. it's a great gift for someone starting out in quilting and is the perfect refresher for those a little more advanced. i also hope you enjoyed my "tracery" pillows as much i enjoyed making them.

i wish you and yours the best in the new year. xo!

the tattooed quilter

dessert first...

hi y'all and happy almost turkey day!

i don't know about you, but dessert is my weakness and whenever possible, dessert first! so today, i'm sharing how i made this chic, modern table runner, perfect for your turkey day tablescape.

materials needed:

finished size 13'' x 49 1/2'' and is totally adjustable depending on your table size.

i used the cricut maker to cut my flying geese pieces. you need (2) 6 3/4'' inch background squares and (1) 6 3/4'' x 13'' printed rectangle. when using your cricut maker, you'll need to use the 12x24 fabricgrip mat. for those of you without the circut maker (not sure what you're waiting for, haha!) you'll need to cut your squares and rectangles to the sizes above.

this project was sewn together using 1/4'' seam allowances.

sew together 6 flying geese blocks, use this simple method. sew (2) flying geese blocks together to create (1) 13'' x 13'' block. repeat to make (3) 13'' x 13'' blocks. sew the (3) 13'' x 13'' blocks together. sew (1) 6 3/4'' x 13'' rectangle to each end of the runner. for the backing, cut (1) 13'' x 49 1/2'' backing piece.

with right sides together, sew the backing to the table runner top, leaving a 3'' opening. trim each corner piece and turn the table runner right side out, gently poking out your corners with a chop stick. sew your 3'' opening closed by hand or by machine, which ever method you prefer.

tad-da! isn't this table runner fab?

using your cricut standardgrip cutting mat and foil iron-on, create the dessert first saying in cricut design space. you can customize your new table runner with any font you'd like! i made mine with a final size of 4'' tall by 10'' wide. refer to my circut sewing post when working with iron-on and design space.

your new, snazzy table runner is perfect for turkey day or any occasion requiring dessert to be served first. but wait, isn't that any occasion.

and those napkins, cute, right? i'll be sharing a tutorial with those soon. stay tuned.

hope you enjoyed this fun, easy afternoon project as much as i enjoyed making it.

cut, sew, repeat..

the tattooed quilter

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Cricut. The opinions and text are all mine.