Thursday, August 31, 2017

Labor Day Sale in my Etsy Shop!

I'm celebrating Labor day with a 25% off sale on many of the quilts in my Etsy shop.

 My inventory of finished quilts is getting a little out of hand, so I would be more than happy to send some of them off to new homes.  They are all in great condition, from my smoke free home and carefully stored to keep them out of range of my furry helper, Scamper.

  Many of them are former shop samples so the fabric is no longer available.  Some of them are even the cover models for my patterns.

Many of them I made just for the fun of it!

If you are looking for a lap quilt, baby quilt, or a table runner at a great price, now is a good time to shop!  Sale goes through Monday, September 4.  All of these quilts and many more are available at 25% off the regular price.

Shop PamelaQuilts on Etsy


Thanks for looking!

Tuesday, August 29, 2017

Christmas Caroling Row Along coming in September

Remember when I mentioned on Monday that I had some announcements?  Today I want to tell you about the Christmas Caroling Row Along.  Marian at SeamsToBeSew has put this together and you do not want to miss it!  She has put together a great group of bloggers and a truly amazing set of prizes.  You can find the list of bloggers and prizes on this blog post.


This is my second year of participating in the Row Along and I am sure that you will really enjoy all the rows that we are preparing for you.  I am really excited about the variety and quality of all the patterns.  Each blogger will have a free pattern for the row they have designed for you to download,  their story of the inspiration, and a prize to give away.


There are eleven days to this event, each Tuesday and Thursday of each week between September 5 and October 10th, you can come and visit each blog, read about their inspiration for choosing the song they did and there row, and then download the pattern from the featured blogs of the day.  I won't be sharing my row until October, but I'll be making sure to share the other posts as we go along.
So mark your calendar for next week - it's going to be great!

Monday, August 28, 2017

Fields of Green - Butterfly Unit - Quilter's Recipe Box

The sky has been hazy from the fires in Oregon the past two days, and it made me think of how much I love the green fields and trees of our state.  I hope and pray that those fires will be under control soon - so many losses already.  They say that it will be hard to contain until we get a good rain, and we are just not seeing any of that in the near future.  So sad.

I was inspired to use pretty greens for this week's block and I named this one Fields of Green.

To make this block you will need three shades of green -

  • From the light green you will need:  Four 2 3/8 squares cut in half diagonally to make 8 triangles, four 2 inch squares and four 2 x 3 1/2 inch rectangles.
  • From the medium green you will need eight 2 inch squares (four for the butterfly units and four for the square in a square center unit)
  • From the dark green you will need four 2 3/8 inch squares cut in half diagonally to make 8 triangles, four 2 x 3 1/3 inch rectangles and one 3 1/2 inch square.

Sew eight half square units from the 2 3/8 inch triangles.  Make four butterfly units using these and four medum and four light 2 inch squares.  Also make one one square in a square unit using the remaining medium 2 inch squares and dark 3 1/2 square.
Make four split square units with the dark and light 2 x 3 1/2 inch rectangles.
Sew together to complete your block:
Very pretty!

I also caught up on last weeks block - Butterfly flight.  Just so you don't think I'm perfect - I had one of my butterfly units come out not so great:
Oops.  Those point were definitely off enough to warrant picking it out and re-sewing it!

And here is the finished block:
So pretty!

Stay tuned this week - I have a lot of announcements about upcoming events that you will not want to miss out on.  I am a crazy woman and am participating in two blog hops in September.  Plus taking a trip to Colorado.  Yikes!  But it should be fun and lots of great stuff to blog about!  Make sure you come back next week for a new unit and a new block pattern - only four more months to go.

Have a great day, and have fun quilting!

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Allietare - Finally finished and gifted!

I was super busy last week trying to finish up a long overdue project as well as my other sewing.  When I finished my top for Bonnie Hunter's Allietare Mystery I decided that it would be a perfect gift for my oldest daughter.  But somehow I could never find the time to actually quilt it! I finally started basting it earlier this year, only to find out that my backing was about 9 inches too short!

I made a plan to sew a strip on, then finish basting it.  Of course that made the process way to intimidating and the quilt sat for many more months.  Earlier this month I decided that since my daughter was going to be visiting for a few days I might as well finish it up so I could gift it to her while she was here (and then I wouldn't have to procrastinate mailing it out...).

Adding the strip to the backing wasn't terribly difficult, just pretty awkward.  Then, my strip was too short and didn't go all the way to the side, so I had to hand stitch another small strip to that.  After that it was smooth sailing and I got it quilted up over the course of a week!

It took 9 bobbins to complete the quilting.  I have a bit left on my 50 wt spool of Aurifil 2555 (Dark Red Orange), and of course the quilting went perfectly.  Lots of seams in this quilt, and I only had a couple thread breaks and about not a whole lot of skipping either!  I got a little stumped when I got to the binding because I didn't remember what I had planned to use.  But I found a great piece of black with gold on it that was the perfect frame for this quilt.

Since there is so much red and so many different fabrics I decided to give it a wash and dry before I gifted it.  It came out great, but there was quite a bit of red in the color catcher sheet!

Before washing, my quilt inspector had to check it out.  He definitely approved of it!  I used Warm and Plush for the batting, making this one heavy quilt!  My daughter lives in Cambridge, so I know the warmth will be appreciated this winter.

There were lots of oohs and aahs when I gave it to her.  I was so happy that she loves it, she says the quilt I made for her to take to college 18 years ago is in embarrassing condition so she was definitely due for a new one!
Here's the strip I had to add to the back.  (I love this wild backing - it's so much fun to add something a little different to the back of a quilt.)

I have my next big quilt basted and ready to quilt now - I figure if I get busy, I might be able to cross that one off my list by the end of the month as well.  Three cheers for getting these tops turned into quilts!

Monday, August 21, 2017

Butterfly Flight - Quilter's Recipe Box

Happy Monday!  I totally meant to get my block sewn up before we left for the weekend, but time got a way from  me - but I am going to write up the directions up for you, then I can make my block when I get back home.  This block is inspired by the Jacob's ladder setting and uses the butterfly unit diagonally through the center of the block.

I'm using three colors and the background unit for this block plus my background.

To make this you will need three 2 3/8 squares of color 1, two 3 7/8 squares of color 2, and one 3 7/8 inch square of color 3 (cut all in half diagonally).  From the background you will need three 2 3/8 inch squares, three 3 7/8 inch squares (cut these in half diagonally), and six 2 inch squares of the background fabric.

Use the color 1 and matching background triangles to make six 2 inch half square triangles.  Use the 6 background 2 inch squares to make six butterfly units:

Use color 2 and matching background triangle to make four 3 1/2 inch half square triangles.

Use color 3 and matching background triangles to make two 3 1/2 inch half square triangles.


Arrange and sew into a block:

When I get back I will make my block and post it - I'm excited to see how it will turn out!  

Monday, August 14, 2017

Quilter's Recipe Box - Butterfly Unit - Eclipse Block

Technically it's still Monday here on the Pacific Coast, so I'm not late yet with my block for this week's post!  I am later than I planned because I had a sudden change of mind and decided to switch my plan up.  I don't know about where you are, but here in Oregon the Eclipse that will be taking place next week is THE topic of conversation everywhere!  I originally planned to have this block next week, but then I thought it might be more fun to do it beforehand in case anyone would enjoy making it before the event.  So...here is my Eclipse 2017 block:


It's not your typical quilt block, but it's a fun way to commemorate this uncommon event, and  it uses the butterfly unit in a fun way!  You need three fabrics - sun, sky, and moon.

To make this block you will need three 2 3/8 squares (cut in half diagonally) and three 2 inch squares each of your sky fabric and sun fabric for our butterfly units.  You will also need two 2 x 3 1/2 rectangles each of your sky and sun fabrics for the split square units.  We will be making four modified lozenge units.  Cut four 3 1/2 squares of your moon fabric, three 2 inch squares of your sky fabric and one 2 inch square of your sun fabric.

First we'll make three Butterfly units with the sky and sun fabrics.  Sew 6 half square triangles with the 2 3/8 inch squares.  Press seams toward the dark fabric.  Arrange in three sets as below and sew together.
Sew two split square units using the sky and sun rectangles, then add one of the remaining 2 inch squares to one corner of each of the 3 1/2 inch moon fabric squares.  I was excited to make these, as I recently acquired a laser to attach to my sewing machine so I don't have to mark my squares!  I've used sticky velcro for the moment to attach it - I'll let you know how it holds up!
Easy as can be to sew on the line!  I made sure to put the soft part of the velcro on my machine so it won't catch on anything.

I also pried the magnets out of the base of the laser light just in case - I'm a little nervous about those kind of things and figured it wouldn't hurt to get rid of them!  Anyway - back to my block.  Lay out as below:
And sew together...


One more week until the big day - let's hope the weather cooperates and we get to enjoy a real eclipse!  No matter what, I will enjoy this block in my finished quilt and it will be a great reminder of this rare occurrence this year - maybe you will, too.  


Saturday, August 12, 2017

Weekly Progress - August 12, 2017

This week sure went by in a flash.  My poor husband has been down with a very sore back - we've been to the Chiropractor several times, and even to Urgent Care one morning when the pain was so severe he wasn't even sure he could make it down the stairs from our bedroom!  Needless to say, I've been busy taking care of him and making sure he is comfortable (lots of back rubs with muscle cream seam to be the best therapy!).  I did get the weekly alterations finished up, plus managed to make progress on one of the projects on my master list.

This is a sample of my Big Surf quilt that I am making for the quilt shop.  I pieced all 12 blocks, assembled them together into a top and actually have it basted and ready to quilt.

And I finally added a strip to the backing for this quilt and am ready to start quilting it as well.  It wasn't part of my original list, but I've added it because I want to get it finished up this week.  I also made my first block for the I Wish you a Merry Quilt Along.  At first I was going to do a plain red and white block, but I saw so many cute fussy cut blocks that I decided I wanted to go that way.  So this morning I pulled out my Christmas bins and chose fabrics.  Most of my choices were the precious last pieces of the Kate Spain "In From The Cold" line, and I found some fun things that went well with that - including the kittens in mittens I used for my block:

The background is some cute snowmen - this is a BasicGrey print I've had for a while as well.  I think this will be a fun wintery quilt when it's finished!  The next block debuts on Tuesday - if you want to see more blocks, and join in you should join the facebook group:  I Wish You a Merry Quilt-A-Long.  So far it's been a blast and I can't wait to see the next block!

So - for next week I want to set a few goals.  I won't bore you with the alteration projects, they are pretty mundane, but for quilting my goals are:

Quilt and Bind Allietere.
Quilt and Bind Bug Surf.
Make 5 Farmer's Wife blocks (this is a Christmas quilt and I would love to finish it this year!)
Make 5 Dear Jane blocks (my forever project)
Work on writing pattern for Twinkle Star.
Cut out and start sewing my Quilt as You Go project for the Island Batik Challenge this month.

That should keep me quite busy!  I'll let you know next week how I do with it - I'm hoping that by setting some specific goals I can start making progress on some of my long term projects as well as finishing up other short term projects.  Hopefully DH's back will continue to improve and my schedule will be a little easier this week.  I can't complain, because I know it's no fun to be in that kind of pain day after day!

Wishing you a good weekend, and some time to quilt as well!


Monday, August 07, 2017

Quilter's Recipe Box Unit for August - Butterfly

It's been a busy day already, and it's still not noon yet!  We had to pick up a rental car and take our regular car into the shop to get some damage repaired, stop at the bank, pick up some items from the store and tried to make a payment at the dermatologist office.  Can you believe that they could not take a payment because the person who does that was not working today?  That was really strange to me.  Anyway - I'm sure you would rather read about the new block and unit for the Quilter's Recipe Box than hear about my trials and tribulations!

This month's block is Crown of Thorns and the unit is what I call a Butterfly.  It is the corner unit with two triangles and two squares.  This unit goes back to our half square triangle, but in a smaller size.

To make this block you will need:

Focus Fabric:  Cut one square 3 ½ x 3 ½.
Color 3:  Cut four squares 2 3/8  inches (cut in half diagonally for butterfly units)
Color 2:  Cut four squares 2 x 2 (butterfly units)
Color 1:  Cut two squares 4 ¼ inches (quarter square triangle units)

Background Fabric:  Cut four squares 2 3/8 (butterfly units) four squares 2 x 2 (butterfly units) and two squares 4 ¼ inches (quarter square triangle units)

We'll start off by sewing the butterfly units.  Cut each of the Color 3 and background 2 3/8 inch squares in half to make 8 triangles.  
 Sew them together as in the lesson from the Half Square Triangle Unit.
And trim those dog ears:

They should measure 2 inches after sewing.  Next, arrange two triangles, one color 2 square and one background square as I show below -
Sew together, press and repeat to make four matching units:

They should measure 3 1/2 inches square when complete.  These will be the corners of your block.

Next, make the four Quarter Square Triangle Units using the 4 1/4 inch Color 3 and Background squares.  (See the post on that method here)
Place these on the sides of the block:
Then add the center block of your focus fabric:
Sew together and press to make your completed Crown of Thorns block!

Isn't it pretty?  This has been one of my favorite blocks for many years.  The first time I used it was to make an insulated window shade for a drafty living room window.  It was the first quilt I ever made using fabric purchased from an actual quilt shop!  Sadly it was so long ago that I don't have any good pictures of it on my computer, so I'll have to find a print one to scan and post later.



Purchase the set of Quilter's Recipe Box patterns here in my Etsy Shop.

Enjoy your day and go do some quilting!

Tuesday, August 01, 2017

Cobblestones Table Runner Pattern

Several years ago I had a goal of writing a different pattern for each month of the year using charm packs (5 inch squares).  Several of them are still in draft form, but one of my favorites was the one I designed for March, which I named Cobblestones.
It's a wonderful pattern to use for romantic florals as the piecing allows the fabrics to mix without the pattern of the piecing taking over.  I decided I needed to come up with some new samples for my pattern, so dug through my stash of charm packs and pulled out a few to see how they would work for it.

The first one I made was from Sweet Blend by Moda - so pretty!  I really love the way it came out and realized I had totally forgotten how fun and fast this pattern is - the cutting and sewing is simple and satisfying.

Charm square table runner by PamelaQuilts
Next I decided to try an old set of gorgeous florals by April Cornell - I've had these for years, but it was hard to use them for a project because I liked petting them so much.  I finally decided that they should be used because I actually have another set in my drawer :)

Very soft and sweet!  I just love the aqua in this line with the pink.  After this one I decided to be a little wild and try using one of the Kiss, Kiss charm packs I had on hand.  Now this line is definitely a little crazier with the color, so it's not as soft looking, but is very vibrant and lively looking!

Last, but not least, I found a charm pack of PureBred.  The colors in this are soft, and the prints are very different, but lend themselves well to this project:
So there you have it!  All four were pieced and quilted this month (July), so you can see that it's a project that you can finish quickly.  I've listed all the finished table runners in my Etsy shop - just click on the pictures to see the listings.  You can also purchase my pattern in my Etsy shop

My favorite thing about these table runners is that each one can be made from one charm pack!  At least I've made a dent in my collection, plus I enjoyed doing some simple piecing and quilting.  My goal for next month is to use another one of my patterns to make a few new samples - plus maybe get busy and finish up one or two of those patterns that are still drafts - there is a really cute butterfly that I'd really love to get done up in fabric!  

If you would like to see more of my Charm Square patterns you can find them here.