New Pattern!! April Sweat Pea Table Runner

Finally, I have finished the sample for my next Charming Botanical quilt: April Sweet Peas!

I have had the design complete and the fabric picked out for some time. I even had the runner background done last Spring (at a retreat). Well it seams the only time I get things done anymore is at retreats, and last week I completed the quilt at my Fall retreat. At last. I am working on writing up the pattern now and should have it out to my publisher and distributor as soon as my pattern tester is done with it.This quilt was so fun to make! I just love the 1930’s reproductions, and if you have a stash of 30’s scraps you could make this quilt from stash! Of course there are so many adorable new 30’s prints out this season that you could have fun shopping for this one also. Since you need very small quantities of LOTS of different fabrics, you might want to look for charm packs or trade charms or scraps with friends or small group members to get all the different colors you need.

• There are 95 different fabrics in the center.
• There are 24 flowers, each consisting of 2 or 3 different shades of one color in each flower. I repeated some of the fabrics from the center in the flowers, but tried not to repeat any colors from flower to flower.
• There are 32 small leaves made from 3 different fabrics
• There is 130” of bias vine, which is the same fabric as the inner border and the binding.
• There is 120” of pink piping, and 84” of white/pink print piping.

I stitched in the ditch in the center of the quilt, then micro-stippled on one side of the vine and cross-hatched on the other side of the vine in the border – just for fun!

I just love the little piping in the borders and around the binding. I think it adds a sweet framing element that keeps all the chaos of fabrics contained! hehe

The pattern will be available on my Etsy site and my web site in the next week or two.

If anyone is interested in being a pattern tester for this patter, I could use one more person (with experience as a pattern tester) to make the pattern and provide feedback on the instructions before I release the pattern. Let me know if you are interested at reezehanson (at) hotmail.com. Thanks!!!

Finished Nina’s BOB

Tonight I finished the blanket stitching around the border of Nina’s BOB – that is “Bag O Blocks.” I came up with the idea of swapping BOBs a few years ago after many of the people in my swapping group had an excess of blocks accumulating in bags and tubs and not much time or incentive to get them made into tops. Ok. . . I was one of those procrastinators. I had more that 50+ bags of blocks in my sewing room and wanted to get tops made. So the idea came to me in a flash. Swap bags of blocks with someone else and get a top back out of blocks that you didn’t know what to do with. I will stop short of calling it genius, he-he, but it was a darn good idea. And since that time my group has done many of these exchanges.

• Return of BOB -- ROB
• Son of BOB -- SOB
• Bride of BOB -- BBOB
• Mother of BOB -- MOB
• BOB, Carol, Ted and Alice
• Return of the Son of BOB

well you get the idea. So the most recent BOB we hosted was this summer. I took my time finishing this BOB since I knew I would be hand delivering it to my friend in October at a retreat we both attend. Ok, so I drug my feet a bit. . .ok, a lot. But its done.

She sent me a stack of red pinwheel blocks. I set them on point, added an applique center block, some blue and white paper pieced setting triangles, and a vine and leaf appliqué border.

This shows the blocks up on my design wall with the center block in place and the first of the setting triangles. I wanted to change the tone of the quilt from being all red and white, to being red white and blue whimsical.

Here is a picture of the finished top once I got all the setting triangles made and inserted and the borders put on and stitched down.

Do you think it needs another border or is it done? Well it is going home to its Mama next weeks so I still have time to take it apart and redo it if you think it looks bad!! LOL

PS. Nina loved her BOB!!!! Yippeee

Roses in Moonlight

roses in moonlight
Originally uploaded by Morning Glory Designs

I have posted more free vintage embroidery patterns on my Flickr site. I hope you enjoy these. I would love to see projects made from this wonderful old vintage patterns.

Thanks for stopping by, Reeze

Midnight Posies Block 9 – Forget Me Not

This delicate flower is one of my favorites. My wedding china has little forget-me-nots on it and I have always loved those dishes!

So this months block of the month features this sweet little flower in a simple block. No special techniques are needed for this month’s flower, it is as simple as the flower it is inspired by.

The quarter square triangles are easy to make and the block is a simple nine-patch. After last month’s BIG triangles this one ought to seem like a snap!

Just like my wedding china, I hope you fall in love with this block and with the Midnight Posies Quilt. I can’t wait to see pictures of the blocks you are making!! Please send me pictures when you get your block made.

My friend and pattern tester Kathi, sent me this picture of her finished quilt. She used hand dyes left over from another project. She swears she hates applique and was none too happy about doing the fused applique border, but I think you will agree with me that she did a great job on it. And if a confirmed “applique hater” can do it I am sure you can as well.

Hope you enjoy this months Forget Me Not block!!

PS. The block instructions for this block call it an Aster instead of a Forget-Me-Not. I changed the name of the flower when I revised the block but forgot to change the name on the pattern. Hope that is not too confusing. :-)

Vintage Needlework Patterns – Free!

Over the years I have collected a number of beautiful needlework and embroidery designs, transfers, and patterns. I just love vintage linens and embroideries and thought I would share some of the lovely patterns I have scanned and cleaned up. This beautiful rose motif would make a great tea towel trim or a pillow case edge. It would also make a beautiful cushion in Victorian or cottage colors. I scanned the motif from the original 24” x 36” pattern sheets and cleaned it up using Photoshop. You are welcome to download a copy for your personal use. Do not duplicate or sell these patterns.

These wonderful patterns are from a mail order collection of hand embroidery patterns published in 1933 by Needlecraft Magazine. I have 10 of the original 12 sheets with more than 350 embroidery patterns! I will post more as I get them scanned and edited. I hope you enjoy these free patterns and respect my terms of use.

This Daisy motif would be so delicate done in pretty pastel colors with lazy daisy stitches and french knots. Or it could be done in all one color like redwork or bluework.

This delicate little border is a nice complement to the daisy motif. I can see it around the edge of a table cloth, a quilt border, or the edge of a pillow case. It would also look great on a pretty tea towel.

This basket design is a classic embroidery design. But I just love the graceful swooping vines and the cross hatched basket. This would be so pretty on a towel, a cushion, or a pretty quilt block. The patterns for all of these embroideries are on my Flickr site.

If you like these designs please leave a comment and let me know so I will know whether to do more of these in my blog. If you use one of these patterns please send me a pictures so I can post it!! Thanks!

Placemats oh sew easy!

I designed and made a set of four placements using the Moda Fig and Plum fabric line. It is for a class I am teaching at my local quilt shop later in November.

Here is how to make it:

Buy 3/8 of a yard of 4 coordinating fabrics and 1/4 yard of one or two contrasting solids for trim. Cut a 12 1/2” strip from each fabric.

Still folded, cut off the selvage. Then cut two 12.5” squares of each fabric. One square will form the center of the placemat and the other will be a napkin. Then cut two 3.5” x 12.5” chunks off of this same strip for the placemat sides. Open out the remaining strip and cut an 8” square. Mix and match all of these so each placemat is different but has parts of all four fabrics. How cool is this? :-)

1. Stitch a contrasting strip on two sides of the center square.
2. Layer and quilt the placemat. I crosshatched this one, but did some free motion quilting on some of the others. Use a very thin batting. I like Thermore.
3. Trim the placemat so remove excess batting and backing.
4. Cut a 12.5” square from another coordinating fabric and narrow hem the edges to make the napkin.
5. Cut an 8” square from another coordination fabric. Cut it on the diagonal. Cut a 1” strip of contrasting solid fabric (I used green from the same fabric line) and sew it to one long edge of the triangle you just cut. Stitch the other triangle to the other edge of the 1” strip. Fold down the center of the strip and press the triangles wrong sides together. Trim the 2 raw edges with a square.
6. Align the raw edges of the folded triangles with the lower left corner of the placemat. Baste with a long stitch 1/8th inch from the edge. Be sure it is flat and tight – no ripples.
7. Bind the placemat with 2 strips of 2.25” x WOF, the same color as the 1” strip in the napkin pocket. Stitch on the front, fold to the back. Stitch down by hand in the back, or stitch in the ditch from the front to secure the binding on the back.
8. Press and you are done!

I like to accordion-fold the napkin and tuck it in the pocket. Add your silverware and it makes a great holiday place setting.

I had to take them to the quilt shop as samples before I remembered to get pictures of the other three placemats. DUH! I’ll post more pictures later this week. Enjoy this free pattern with my compliments. Copyright 2009 by Morning Glory Designs. You may use it and share it. But just don’t sell it. Thanks!

And the Winner is. . . .

The winner of my pattern give-away for this month is. . . .

Peggy from Ontario, Canada!

You will receive a copy of my Charming Botanicals September pattern Morning Glory and Asters.

Congratulations. And Thanks to everyone who left a comment. I really appreciate hearing your comments about my patterns, and to show my thanks I will give away another pattern next month. Stay tuned for that freebie. I will tell you how to enter for that drawing when I post my next Midnight Posies BOM on October 1. I will give away my Charming Botanical October Cosmos pattern as the prize next month.

I have so many projects in the works that I don't know where to begin, but I am going to post some of the ideas I am tossing around so you can see what is going on in this whacky brain. Have a great day!

Down Home in Mountain Home with EQ6

I just spent a really great day as the guest of the Hill n Hollow Quilt Guild of Mountain Home, AR. I was invited to give a guild presentation on EQ6 at their guild meeting and do a workshop on EQ6 for 15 students! Whew, it was a jam packed day, but so fun to be among such talented quilters. I want to thank Mary Ann and Vicki, along with president Carol for making me feel welcome, and taking such good care of me during my visit.

Now, I have time for a nap and in the morning, on my 6 hour drive back to KS I plan to stop at LOTS of quilt shops! Whooo hooooo.

One of those shops is Thus & Sew on Hwy 5 in Mountain Home, AR. Joyce Havner, the owner was a delight and we shared quilt stories, patterns, and ideas for almost an hour. Her small but well stocked shop is a quilter's dream, and she does long-arm quilting in her "spare" time. If you are in the area I urge you to stop there and visit Joyce's unusual, fun little shop. She is also a rep for Handi Quilter and has an HQ16 machine and frame for sale for a real bargain, if anyone is shopping for one.

I stopped at 2 other great shops in Mountain Home: Sew Unique is a great shop with class room space and lots of fabric patterns. I picked up some wonderful local hand dyed fat quarters there. Remember Me is in an old house and is chock full of more bolts and patterns and books than you can shake a stick at. I never did get upstairs to her gifts and crafts! I got carried away in her sale patterns and books on the front porch! Both shops were terrific and the owners hospitable and helpful. I would recommend a stop at both of them if you are in town.

Hope you are having a quilty day!

Midnight Posies Block 8 & Pattern Give Away!

September crept up on me with all the business of getting ready for school. In my day job as a college professor I sometimes become so engrossed in the problems of the day that I forget my great stress reliever is the simple act of sitting at my sewing machine with a new block to stitch. So with that in mind, here is block 8 of the Midnight Posies Block of the Month Quilt.

This block is very different from the others in this series -- so far. This Daffodil Block is a giant Half Square Triangle! Well, one half of it is, and the other half is a pieced triangle made up of smaller pieced traingles. Ok, that sounds difficult, but it is made in rows and is very easy to do.

Anyway, we are almost ready to begin the last row of blocks, and each of these combine a series of techniques we have learned in the preceding blocks to make some really stunning flowers that are – as always in my patterns – easier to make than they appear.

I would love to have your feedback on my directions. As I am preparing to publish this pattern, it would be great to know what you think about the directions for these blocks. Was it easy to follow? Could I have explained techniques more clearly? Would additional pictures help? Was there more directions than you needed? Post a comment and I will draw a winner from among the comments to receive my September Morning Glory and Asters Table Runner Pattern –Free!

Thanks for leaving a comment and for doing this Block of the Month. I will pull a name at random from among those leaving comments on Sept 15 for the pattern winner.

Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler

I am working on a “shop sample” of the Sylvia’s Bridal Sampler quilt by Jennifer Chiaverini, inspired by the Elm Creek Quilts novels. The quilt at right is the one pictured in her book. The shop I teach at – Quilting Bits and Pieces in Eudora, KS – is doing the entire quilt, all 140 blocks, as a block of the month. Well, more like 5 blocks a month. They are doing it in 2 color ways. I am doing the “True Blue” color way, the fabric line by Benartex designed by Eleanor Burns. The other color way is Hoffman Christmas fabrics. I am not sure which I like better, but they have both been extremely popular at the shop.

Here are the first 5 blocks. I added a couple of pinks to the mix, as well as adding some additional medium greens and dark blues.

I am doing all the appliqué blocks using fusible web and will edge stitch when I quilt. They are just too darn small! The medium blue sashing fabric is not from the True Blue line, and is just a dab darker than one from the line. I am using pimatex antique white for the backgrounds.

I have redrawn each block in EQ6 so that I can calculate both rotary cutting and foundation piecing measurements. I am writing additional instructions to go with each block to help out those who are not as experienced putting together some of these blocks. You would have to buy the book to do the kits, but some of the instructions are very brief. I am keeping a notebook with my drawings and notes so I remember what I changed! :-)

Several blocks I have redesigned or changed the construction method from the directions in the book. I always try to simplify if I can, or come up with a better way to be accurate.

These are 6” blocks and they are kitting them at the shop, so I have to be very accurate in my fabric calculations. I am a bit generous, because I don’t want anyone to run out of fabric in their kit.

Here are the second set of blocks.

The Lemoyne star block was redesigned to be paper-pieced in the Carol Doak technique. She divided 8-pointed stars into 8 triangles by making seams in the corners and centers. It adds seams but is way more accurate and has no “Y” seams.

The second block down – the one with the green squares and yellow star – was rotary cut. But the measurements were given to the nearest eighth of an inch, but accurate piecing required measurements at sixteen of an inch. I remade that one twice to get it right. Didn’t quite reach the points when I added the sashing, and cut off the points on the Chinese coins block (2nd to last).

The most difficult block so far is the third one down, the spinning star with the pink center. Yipes, it was a booger! You start with a partial seam then sew on triangle segments which are very tricky to accurately align. Won’t be making THAT block again any time soon!

Here is a close-up of each block:

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Month 3 is in the album above. I redesigned the grandmother’s flower garden block in month 3. The book only had a center and six petals, so I decreased the size of the hexagons and added a third row around the yellow. The hexagons are 5/8” and really came out cute in the block. I English paper pieced the hexagons and put the block together by hand. I glued it to the background fabric with Roxanne Glue Baste and blanket stitched by machine around the block once I pulled out the cardboard templates. Then I cut out the back of the white background to decrease the bulk.

I just finished month 4. I don’t have the blocks made yet but here are the blocks and fabric selections.

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This has been a fun project so far, lets see if I am still saying that when I get to block # 139. . . .?!?!