Cobblestone Quilt

I'm so glad that today's the day I can show you what I've been working on!

The Cobblestone Quilt!

It's part of the Fat Quarter Shop's Cobblestone Quilt Along.

I did the fabric layout and the cutting for this quilt during our power outage due to Hurricane Irma.

Knowing that because of our location we weren't in any danger from the storm, but we would probably lose power for an extended period of time, I made sure to iron my fabrics the night before the storm hit so I would be all ready to start rotary cutting in the morning when we would surely have no power.

I planned to layout my fabrics later in the day, since I wouldn't need any electricity to do that either.

  It all worked out pretty well until it started getting dark, the power was out, and I wasn't quite finished deciding where everything was going to go.  With the help of my husband and his super powered flash light that he normally uses at work, I was able to get my Cobblestone Quilt layout finished that evening.

Because there's no background fabric with this quilt, the layout was pretty simple.  Just move the fabrics around a little bit until you're happy with the arrangement and you're finished.  Perfect for a project partially done by flashlight!

Before a hurricane I usually have a project planned that doesn't require electricity, and during Irma I decided to cut and layout this quilt.  It's nice to have something to do to keep your mind off of the storm outside and the mess that will be left behind. 

Usually I go for binding in a hurricane, but just recently I've been trying my hand at machine binding, with great success I might add.  But machine binding obviously won't work for a hurricane project.

Forty five hours later, our power was back on, the yard was cleaned up and the sewing began!  Our phone line was still out, but you don't need a phone line to run a sewing machine, so it didn't bother me.

After the piecing I was on to the quilting.

I've been trying to work on my free motion quilting some recently, so I did some flowers and swirls on this quilt.  I've done them in the past and I like how they turn out.  This quilt seemed to call for flowers, since there are so many pretty flowers in the cute LuLu Lane fat quarter bundle by Corey Yoder of Coriander Quilts that I used.

Using the darks and the lights in the Lulu Lane bundle was so nice. Patterns that require just a fat quarter bundle are great! No background fabric to choose!  I have a few fabric bundles in my sewing room that are waiting for a pattern that includes the dark and the light fabrics from a bundle, just like this one!

 Then it was binding. 

Did I tell you that I've been doing some machine binding lately?  I tried it once many, many, I won't say how many, years ago and it did not go well. Not. Well. At. All. I said I'd never do it again. Never.  

Never say never, right? Now so many people are binding that way I thought I'd eat my words and try it again.  After a little trial and error, I thought it was a great success!  What a difference! I won't say that it's really easy to do, but I do love how it looks and I definitely think it's worth the effort so I can get more quilts finished and in use!

The Cobblestone Quilt was a great quilt for machine binding since there were no pesky points to worry about anywhere near the binding.  In fact, there weren't even any points on the whole quilt, which made it a breeze to piece.

While I was making it, I was thinking that this is the perfect quilt for that fat quarter bundle that draws you in with its gorgeous dark and light fabrics.

Using both the darks and the lights in the Lulu Lane fat quarter bundle was so nice.  The Cobblestone Quilt has several different size options so you can make it big or you can make it small. The interlocking blocks are created with simple strips so the piecing is quick and easy.

I'm glad I could share my latest finish with you today.

If you go over and visit The Fat Quarter Shop at the Jolly Jabber you can get the free pattern, view the video tutorial, and find the other stops on the Cobblestone Quilt Along.

You can also see more versions of the Cobblestone Quilt!   

It's October!

Happy fall y'all!

Welcome to October and the Minis and More Parade!

First, I'd like to announce the pattern for next month.

Corey Yoder's Mini Dashing Pattern caught our attention this time around, so it will be our featured pattern for the November Parade.

You just need a charm pack, a little background, a border and of course your binding and you are on your way to making this cute mini quilt.

Photo from Corey Yoder's shop. Used with permission.  Thanks Corey!

I love the fun secondary pattern that you see here!

You can find the Mini Dashing pattern in Corey's Etsy shop or in the Fat Quarter Shop.

I'm happy to show you Mindy's Berry Baskets Mini Quilt!  The Berry Baskets Mini pattern was designed by our cohost of the Minis and More Parade Sherri McConnell.  This adorable basket pattern is so cute in mini form and Sherri has made a pattern for a large version that is just as beautiful.  Mindy's cheery mini quit was made with a mix of Bonnie and Camille's fabrics and it just says 'happy' to me!  Thanks so much for sharing it with us Mindy! 

Cathy, from the blog Sew Pieceful, has been busy lately but she couldn't pass up the chance to make this Berry Baskets Mini. She had a great time pulling fabrics from her stash for this cute quilt.  The Fat Quarter Shop's YouTube video on mitered borders helped her through the process of adding her own spin on the quilt and I think she did an amazing job!

Sherri has some more Mini Berry Baskets from the Parade on her blog, A Quilting Life, so don't forget to go over and visit.

Enjoy pumpkin spice everything this month, make your Mini Dashing quilts, send us those photos, then be sure to meet us back here and watch the Parade on November first!

See you then!