March 16th, 2014

Stars Quilt

by Julie Hirt

My nephew, Cole,  is getting his first twin size bed so I had to finish it up. This quilt has been a work in progress for a while.

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Originally I planned on making like 30 stars.  That was just not going to happen.  Adding the borders definitely helped make this a finish.

Measures: 62″ x 86″ – the length is huge for me!

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Yesterday was a bright, sunny, 70 degree day.  Today?  35, windy and snowy.  Thank you Kansas.

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I used a combo of 3 different star patterns from the Oh My Stars! QAL from Thought and Found.  This is the Quattro Stagioni.

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Chevron Star pattern is here.

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And the Dimaond-Hearted Star.  You can find an assortment of her star patterns here.

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I am soooo happy with the quilting and how it turned out.  Super crinkle love.

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This is the first time I’ve quilted circles and definitely want to do more of them. I love the look of quilted pebbles and that’s still intimidating, so this is a step in the right direction.

I used my trusty Aurifil 50 wt in white for piecing and most of the quilting, and 50 wt in medium blue for the straight line border quilting.

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The interior blocks I did a wiggle shape changing directions every 3″ or so.  I used the blocks as a grid.

I really wish you could touch the crinkly-ness through a screen.   The process is definitely worth the effort.

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Someone help me get into true free motion where I can go all over randomly.  For some reason I still need a defined area and order or it freaks me out.  Feathers? Puh-lease. Terrifying!

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The backing is WideScreen by Carolyn Friedlander. It may be the only backing I ever use again.  The pattern is fun, it comes in multiple colors, and doesn’t require piecing.

Instagram friends:  Thank you so much for putting up with all of my updates on this one!

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Has anyone finished a true Oh My Stars! quilt?  The stars take a lot more time that I thought they would.  I admire you.   Seriously, look at all of these!

I love the final look but making it could very well end my love of quilting.

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Thank you for putting up with my picture heavy post!  Today wasn’t the best day to take them but I definitely got a few.

 

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March 4th, 2014

Fun Find

by Julie Hirt

The app is called Penultimate by Evernote.   You create different notebooks with fun background papers.

Know what it’s perfect for? Storing Free Motion Quilting ideas for at a glance reference.

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How awesome is that? And it’s FREE.  Although I did purchase a couple of fun paper bundles for a dollar.

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You can insert pictures and draw over them.

Know what’s even better than that?

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Make your quilt or quilt block the background.  This will dim the image, then just finger quilt over it.

(The image background option is the + sign under the papers)

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Heck, yeah. You can also change colors, pen size, erase and undo.

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Cross stitch play!

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Choose grid or dot paper to play with block layout.  You can also zoom in.

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Quick post, but it was something I wanted to share.

I may create a little notebook for each quilt I’m working on to jot down ideas.

 

happystitching

 

 

 

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February 22nd, 2014

Triangle Quilt

by Julie Hirt

Gray and yellow baby quilt is finished!   So, hip hop hooray… ho… hey… ho…

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I’m really happy with how it turned out. This quilt is for a friend who will be gifting it at a baby shower.

 

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The colors requested were gray and yellow but we needed a pattern.  After looking through pictures for inspiration, I found this.  Perfect.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?

 

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I used a rotating mat for the first time and loved using it.  Curious to see what else I will use it for.  The mat is great for trimming up the half square triangles.

After learning about THIS*, the HST size possibilities are endless!

*TIP: Rather than dry erase, use washi tape. It stays put if you are cutting multiples.  Plus, it’s pretty and I’m always looking for reasons to bust out the washi.

 

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Fabrics:

  • Free Spirit Designer Solid in Manatee
  • Free Spirit Designer Solid in Slate Gray
  • Free Spirit Designer Solid in Winter White
  • Pat Bravo, Pure Elements, Solid in Mystic Grey
  • Hawthorne Threads, Solid in Mustard

Quilting: Straight lines, 1/4″ off each seam

Measures: 40″ x 50″

 

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I’d make a larger one for myself if I didn’t already have a dozen ‘up next’ ideas in my head.

 

happystitching

 

 

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February 12th, 2014

Gypsy Wife Quilt Along – February

by Julie Hirt

This is my first actual Quilt Along and it’s pretty exciting!  I finally got my hands on Jen Kingwell’s Gypsy Wife pattern, then I saw Michelle‘s post about a Quilt Along. It was fate. I thought I’d have to play some catch up, but January was just figuring out fabric choices.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to try and use fabric from my scrap bins only.  We’ll see.

The first 6 blocks were pinwheels, 4 with borders. Crazy luck, but I have a bunch of leftover HST’s from the Stars Quilt that are the perfect size.

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Since they are mostly blue and white I tried to throw in some more color.

The 7th block for February is a Color Wheel.

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The fabric patterns wouldn’t be my typical choice, but they were in my scraps and I dig the actual color. So it works!

I love Jen’s quilt and hope to end up with something I love half as much.

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The Quilt Along is spread out over a year and laid out in a format I can actually follow.  I think it’s around 7 blocks per month.   The pattern looks a  bit crazy to me with blocks of all sizes, and strips all over the place.  It will be nice to have a group of quilters to refer to with questions and suggestions.

If you are interested it’s definitely not too late!  Information can be found here.  The monthly schedule can be found here.  Huge thank you to Michelle at Factotum of Arts for organizing this.

Are you joining in?  If not, you totally should!

happystitching

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February 9th, 2014

Winner of The Brooksider Duffel pattern

by Julie Hirt

On Friday I released a pattern called The Brooksider: A Duffel Bag, with a pattern giveaway to celebrate.

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The winner is Judy Tucker!   Thanks everyone for playing.   Judy, you’ll be receiving an email from me with the copy of the pattern.

If you didn’t win and would like to make the pattern, you can purchase it HERE or HERE.  You *can* sell items made from this pattern. I notice some patterns don’t allow that.

In other news, I have few baby quilts I’ll be working on.  I hope to share progress pictures of those soon.

 

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February 7th, 2014

GIVEAWAY! The Brooksider: A Quilted Duffel

by Julie Hirt

My first bag pattern, if you don’t count smaller pouches. I’m pretty excited!

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I was looking for a classic duffel (duffle? hey, I looked and either way is okay!) pattern and couldn’t find one I really liked.  So I decided to make my own and make it quilty.

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There are strips running along the zipper to give it a little something.  The ribbon trim on the handles and ribbon pulls on the sides make me happy.

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The inside is quilted with raw edges hidden away.

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I have  few other bag ideas in my head and think I’ll stick to naming them with a Kansas City theme. “Brookside” is a neighborhood, which I love, in Kansas City.

All in all, I’m really happy with the bag and the pattern.   It feels solid and there is nothing flimsy about it.  Measures 22.5″ x 10″.

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The pattern is heavily detailed with a picture for everything. My goal was to make it easy for a beginner to follow.

If you need zippers (this calls for a 22″),  Zipit has the largest, most affordable selection and you can save 15% at checkout using code: 627handworks.

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To enter here:  Just leave me a comment.  For a second entry share on Facebook and comment that you shared.
Instagram: Giveaway for two patterns.  Follow me on Instagram (username is @juliehirt) and follow the directions from the image in my feed.

You can also purchase a copy of the pattern here or here.

 

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