Summer Breeze Quilt

Welcome to the Summer Breeze blog hop! I have a beauty of a finish to share with you today.

My version of the Fat Quarter Shop's Summer Breeze pattern by It's So Emma uses predominately batik and print fat quarters from Pat Sloan's Hometown Girl collection for Moda. I also used Kona Navy and Lizzy House's Pearl Bracelets for the red.

The downloadable pattern for this 56.5" x 64.5" kaleidoscope-style stunner is available for purchase from Fat Quarter Shop.

The Creative Grids 8 1/2" Square Ruler and Creative Grids Kaleidoscope Ruler were must-have notions for this quilt. They allow for quick and accurate cutting, and squaring up the blocks. I recommend ordering these along with the pattern so you're all ready to go. You'll also need 40 fat quarters, 2 1/4 yards of background fabric, 5/8 yard for binding, and 3 3/4 for backing. Or better yet, you could just get the backing set and kit featuring Kate Spain's Latitude batiks.

Just to make sure you're feeling confident with the project, Kimberly even has a video tutorial to walk you through the process.

I do have a few pointers of my own. First, when step one says, "Strip Set should measure...", actually measure it. Had I done this, I would have known my cutting had gone awry. Secondly, cut the strip sets in the same manner as the background units (just don't fold it in half first), so the leftover portion is more useable. After all, "discard" is not a word I enjoy using in reference to my precious fabrics. While I'm in conservationist mode, I'm also going to suggest that you make 16 background strips instead of 18, and 75 strip sets instead of 80, which will still result in a sufficient number of Summer Breeze units.

Tisha Cavanaugh of Quilt Icing completed the long-arm quilting for me using 50 wt Aurifil in Ermine (2312). She played off the designs in the prints and did geometric curves in the areas with less patterning.

To see Summer Breeze in other iterations, stop by the talented participating bloggers.
Nicole from Modern Handcraft

Sherri N. from Rebecca Mae Designs

Sherri M. from A Quilting Life

Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts

Jessica from Quilty Habit

Leanne from She Can Quilt

Kathryn from Kathryn Jones Quilts
Stephanie from The Modern Sewciety
Melissa from Happy Quilting

Thanks for joining me, and happy stitching!
I'm linking up with:

Free Motion Mavericks

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Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 ABC-123 Review + Giveaway

Since Lite Steam-A-Seam 2 is my fusible of choice for appliqué, I was excited to try their new ABC-123 product, compliments of the fine folks at The Warm Company. Like Lite Steam-A-Seam 2, the fusible is sandwiched between two sheets of release paper, sticking to one of the sides. It has a tackiness that holds pieces conveniently in place, while being repositionable, before permanent fusing.

I decided to make our Blue Moon Quilt Group (Renee of Quilts of a Feather, Sara of Blue Quail Studio, Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl, and I) mascot, who also happens to be my youngest son, a shirt featuring his nickname, "The Cuteness".

Now that you've seen the finished product modeled, let's take a look at the process. Each package contains 8 sheets with numbers, letters, punctuation, and a few shapes. They are already reversed, and have multiple cutting sizes. I got a blank t-shirt and a mini charm pack of solids.

 I cut roughly around each letter, peeled away the extra layer of release paper, made sure the fusible was still sticking to the side with printing, and fused the printed pieces to my mini charms. Each letter fit perfectly on a 2 1/2" square.

After cutting out each letter (I used the lines for the smaller letters.), I used a ruler to guide my spacing and alignment as I placed the slightly tacky letters. When I was satisfied with the arrangement, I fused it for a permanent hold. I didn't bother stitching the letters down because that seemed like way too much work, and I trust the Lite Steam-A-Seam to hold through the wash.

 I have since washed the shirt, and all the letters are intact and looking good. I swear, I don't know where he gets his weirdness from!

Because The Warm Company is super generous, I have some more samples for some of you to try. If you'd like a chance to try LSAS 2 ABC-123, leave a comment below letting me know what clever phrase you'd produce. By my completely subjective determination, and in two weeks time, five lucky recipients will be sent a package of their very own to try. To double your odds, follow my blog and let me know in a separate comment. If you are anxious to see about it before then, it can be purchased at Connecting Threads.

 Thanks for visiting, and good luck!

Quilting Mod Challenge #1: The Competitors

In case you are late to the party, I issued a challenge. Here's the general synopsis. Those accepting the challenge must include Art Gallery Round Elements in a finished project of their choice. Additional fabrics from any manufacturer or collection are allowed. Participants must write a blog post featuring their completed creation and join the linky party at Quilting Mod Oct.1-7.  Challengers must follow the Quilting Mod blog. Progress shots are encouraged, and should be tagged @quiltingmod and #QMChallenge on social media. Let me know if you'd like to join in the fun in the comments below. You can acquire the challenge fabric at Fat Quarter Shop, Hawthorne Threads, Pink Castle Fabrics, and The Intrepid Thread. There will be prizes too (more on that later)!

Now, let me introduce the roster of challengers to date.
Susan Flemming of Super Mom No Cape @supermomnocape
Melanie Call of Mostly Crafty @mellierc
Connie Campbell of Free Motion by The River @freemotionbytheriver
Betty Cruikshank of Sew What Now
Sharon Parcel of Yellow Cat Quilt Designs @punkydoodle53
Jayne Willis of Twiggy & Opal @twiggyandopal
Renee of Quilts of a Feather
I can't wait to see what these talented ladies devise for their fabrics!

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