Fabric Stack Friday: Late Bloomer

Just a hint of fall is in the air today.  We have finally gotten some rain, the first of the college football games began (yay Cougars!) and I can hear the elementary school kids playing out at recess.  Time for a change of colors in my sewing room. 

I have had this Late Bloomers charm pack in my closet all summer but just didn’t feel like sewing with browns.  I do today though!  This morning I sketched up an idea for a quilt that uses two charm packs and just under 2 yards of solid fabric.  I can’t wait to get started!

What are you working on this weekend?

Oh and don't forget -you still have three days to enter the giveaway!

Jumble Quilt Block pattern

It’s once again my month to be the quilter for our IMAGINE at do. Good Stitches bee.  It’s always tough to choose which block we’ll do and then once I do that, choosing the colors is a whole other problem.  What’s the problem you ask?  Well, there are so many gorgeous color combinations – it’s tough to choose just one. 

For our block this month I finally decided on these colors:



Aqua and orange – one of my current favorite combos!  Here is the block we’ll be doing:





I’m calling this block “Jumble” because of how all of the scrappy corner squares will look when the quilt top is complete:

[printable version of these instructions are available here] 

To make this 12.5” block you need:

1 (white) 3.5” square
4 (white) 2” x 6.5”
8 (white) 2” x 2.5”
8 (white) 2” x 5.5”
2 (fabric A) 2” x 3.5”
2 (fabric A) 3.5” x 6.5”
2 (fabric A) 2” x 6.5”
4 (fabric B,C,D,E) 2.5” square

Step 1:
To each of the 2.5” squares (fabric B,C,D,E) sew white (2” x 2.5”) strips to the top and bottom.  Press.  Add the white (2” x 5.5”) strips to the sides.  Press. Cut this square down to 3.5” (rotate a little or none at all - you choose!)




Step 2
Sew 2 (fabric A) 2” x 3.5” rectangles to the top and bottom of the (white) 3.5” square.  Press seams away from center.

Next, sew  two (fabric A) 3.5” x 6.5” rectangles to the sides.  Press seams away from center.  Then sew two (white) 2” x 6.5” strips to the sides.  Press seams toward the center.



Step 3
Sew the two remaining (white) 2” x 6.5” strips to the two (fabric A) 2” x 6.5” strips.  Press seams toward fabric A.  To each end of these strips sew one of the squares from step 1.  Press seams toward end squares. 


Step 4
Assemble block as shown below.  Press seams.  Trim to 12.5” if necessary.

There you go-  One Jumble block completed!  To print the instructions for the Jumble quilt block, click here.

Organizer Giveaway

Last week we were browsing through a bookstore and my husband spotted this:



He flipped through it and instantly knew I would be interested.  He handed it to me and literally within two page-turns I knew it was perfect for our family and I bought it immediately.

As some of you may know, I have been keeping a weekly menu for years.  I also usually have in my kitchen somewhere a moleskine that I lovingly refer to as my “magic notebook.”  Inside that book goes all of my to-do lists, appointments, reminders and grocery list.   It worked for me, mostly.  I still found myself checking the calendar on my phone and using a separate note pad for my menus. 

When I first saw this Home Executive organizer I instantly loved that all of those separate things that I used daily were now in one place.  Let me show you.

First of all, I love the design, the colors and the protective plastic cover on the front and back. (see photo above)

Each month has a two page layout like this: 



It includes a recipe, a note section and holidays for that month.  Then if you flip the page, each week of that month has it’s own two-page layout:



The dates are listed on the left, and there are columns for a menu, grocery list and whatever else you can think of.  At first I thought I would use the three sections on the left page for “Mom” “Dad” and “kids.”  But after using the planner for just a day I decided to do “morning” “afternoon” and “evening.”  My to-do list I put on the right side, next to the grocery list.

This is what last week looked like (I blurred all names): 



I’m on week two of using the organizer and I’m still a huge fan.  HUGE.

Here are some other features of the organizer -

• There are pages to help you with your plans for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years
• The planner goes from August 2012 to Aug 2013 (with additional month calendars for Sept – Dec 2013
• There are five pages open for “notes” in the back
• Additional pages included in the back are “babysitter notes,” “emergency plan,” “important people and places,” a “year at a glance” page, a master list of all holidays, and a birthday list organized by month. 
• My kids’ favorite feature are the three pages of stickers at the back.  (They already added several stickers to the calendar.) 

This Home Executive planner was designed by Jen Boss of Picket Fence Publications.  You can see more of the planner here.  Would you like one of your own??  Jen has generously offered one of her Home Executive planners for me to give away to a lucky reader!  Thank you Jen! 

To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment on this post telling me what feature of the Home Executive planner you think you would like the most or would use the most.  The giveaway is open until Monday, September 3rd at midnight (MST).  The winner will be randomly selected and announced here on my blog on Tuesday (Sept 4th). 

Now off I go to finish some of those "to-do" items!

Jack’s Blocks

A friend of mine made this Jack’s Blocks quilt as a new-baby gift for her friend and co-worker.  I did the quilting for her and then took a minute to do a quick photo-shoot!



I love that she chose to use black for the sashing.  It’s perfect!


Most of these fabrics are from the Rescue 911 line of fabric from Northcott. The blue print is my favorite! (You can find these fabrics locally at The Fabric Mill, The Cotton Shop and online at the Fat Quarter Shop.)



I’ve had several requests for a throw-size version of Jack’s Blocks so I’m starting to work on that.  I’ll let you know when it’s finished!  If you have previously purchased a Jack’s Blocks pattern I’ll give you the throw size pattern for free.

Marmalade Wall Hanging

(photo courtesy of Deborah @ Simply Miss Luella)

 Look how cute!  Deborah (who blogs at Simply Miss Luella) made this wall hanging for a friend of hers using my Charming Lucy pattern.  I love the posts she added along with the sashing, but I ADORE her straight-line quilting.  Thanks for sharing Deborah!

Wall Hanging Tutorial

Thought you’d like to see what this stack of Halloween fabrics became:



I wrote a tutorial for this cute Boo Wall Hanging and it can be found over on the Fabric Mill Blog – go and check it out!

Fabric Stack Friday

This vibrant stack is for my August bee blocks for IMAGINE at do. Good Stitches group.  Not my normal colors, are they? 


Jessica has created a fun block for us this month.  If you go here you can see a sketch of what the finished quilt will look like (as well as her block tutorial.)  It’s going to be gorgeous!

July Bee Blocks

For our IMAGINE at do. Good Stitches group we did these “ET Phone Home” blocks for July.  (The tutorial and template can be found here.)

I’ve done paper piecing in the past, but never one this complex.  It took me about 5 hours to make the two blocks.  Yes.  5 hours.  The first couple of segments took me the longest but by the end I had a system down and I was flying through them.  I do admit that the afternoon I was working on these I was not on my A-game so to speak.  I ended up having to rip out 3 seams.  Paper piecing and seam ripping don’t really go together.

The finished quilt is going to be stunning though!

A New Pattern

Remember this quilt?  Since completing it, I’ve had several requests for my measurements and fabric requirements so I decided to just create a pattern for it.


The quilt is a fun one to make.  If you've never attempted a star quilt I have to tell you that the sawtooth stars are not nearly as difficult as one would think.  If you watch your 1/4" seams then your points will turn out just fine!

The quilt finishes at 56” x 72”

The fabric requirements for this quilt are:
1/6 yard each of 8 prints
1/4 yard each of 2 prints
white/background: 3-1/2 yards
binding:  1/2 yard
backing 3-1/3 yard



 The pattern can be purchased as a pdf from here.  If you’re interested in a printed copy send me an email:  abrightcorner (at) gmail (dot) com  or you can convo me through my etsy shop as well.


If you're crazy about star quilts and want to try some fun variations, check out this star quilt-a-long that Amanda Jean hosted waaaayyy back in 2008.  She walks you through the cutting and piecing of each unique star block.