The Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee: Month 4

 We are on Month 4 of our Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee. I hope you are having fun making the blocks! Several of you have sent me pictures of your progress and I love seeing them so please keep sending them to me. There is also draw for a prize in a couple months for those that have been sewing along, so be sure to send me photos so I can add your names to that draw. 

I found this month's blocks to be quick and easy. We are making the Cross Stitch Block which can be found on page 96, and we have to make a total of 7 of them, and that is it for this month.

 I love how these blocks were constructed and than trimmed. So much easier than using triangles to make them sit on point! 

I went through my fabrics and chose several that I hadn't used much of yet for my 7 blocks. 

The cutting is quick and I followed the pattern for that. 

The construction is quick too. I chain pieced all my blocks to make it go even faster. 

For the trimming it is very helpful to have a 6 1/2" ruler for this block. 

It may seem odd but I trimmed my block with the wrong side facing up. Using an iron away pen I made marks where my two creases intersected and at the edge of the print and used those marks for trimming. I put the center of my ruler on the intersection dot and made sure the diagonal line matched up with the creases running through my block and the markings on the edge of the print, after checking that I had a quarter inch seam allowance left around the 8 points of my print, I trimmed around all 4 sides of the block. 

I did it wrong side up so that if the marking lines didn't go away completely it wouldn't be a problem. 

I love these blocks and how they are made and I am thinking I may have to make enough blocks for a twin size quilt for one of my boys.

I probably say it every month, but I am having a lot of fun making these blocks, and it is really hard to stop working on it when I have completed the work for the month. 

Please send me an email with your progress or post a photo in the comments of my photo on our Facebook Page.  

Have a great week, 

Kayla

Garden Sampler BOM: Month 5

 It is the beginning of May. That seems crazy, these months are flying by, and personally I hope they continue to do so. In my mind September can't come fast enough. 😂 I've been busy wedding planning, enjoying the warmer weather and off course doing a bit of waterskiing. With the warmer weather we have been having I'm sure everyone has been outside enjoying the weather, but it is time to pull out all of the block of the months and get those blocks done.

We are working on the fifth block of our Garden Sampler. This block was fun, and I tried a new technique which I would've avoided if it wasn't for this block. 

So for cutting I didn't like the way the pattern asked us to make the quarter square triangles, so I adjusted the cutting and rounded up to the nearest half inch. 

I then sewed 1/4" on either side of the center of my squares, cut, pressed, and put them on right sides together having a background triangle on each side. Then I sewed on either side of the center on both of these sets. 

I used my 4-in-1 HST tool to square these blocks. I pressed them open, then put the 2" marking through the center and trimmed, I then flipped my square, lined up all the 2" markings and trimmed again. 

To do the flip and stitch corners I didn't even use my Folded Corner Clipper, shocking I know. 

I lined my squares up on my rectangles and used my Diagonal seam tape, ensuring the corner of the squares followed the red line on the tape.

The petal component I constructed exactly as the pattern shows us, just make sure that quarter square triangle is flipped the right way when you begin. 

Since we have to start stitching 1/4" away from the edge of the center square to construct the block, I drew a line 1/4" away from the edge of all 4 sides, this helped me make sure I stopped at the right point.

These partial seams are the part where I normally would've looked at the pattern and put it away, but since it was just one block, and I need it for the quilt I figured I better try it, and it wasn't as scary as I thought.

My finished block is below, and I love how it turned out!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend, and if the weather is looking like they forecast I hope everyone makes it into their sewing rooms for a little bit. 

I think we plan on going suit shopping for my fiance and my dad for the wedding so that will be exciting for us. 

Have a wonderful weekend everyone.

May Events

 Can you believe it is already May! With Summer right around the corner, classes at the shop will be winding down until fall again but we do have a couple events planned for this month. 

Our last sessions of the spring Tabletastic and Bag Club are taking place this month. Both went really well, and I am sure we will try do something like it in the fall again. 

We originally had planned on a Sewing Retreat to make some Sallie Tomato Bags, but have changed it to some Live Facebook Videos showing off each bag, as well as a Trunk Show next week Monday in the shop. 

You can sign up for the Trunk Show by clicking here. There are 4 different time slots available, each with limited spots. There is  $10 registration fee, but it will be given back to you as Chicken Feed Quilts Cash when you show up that you can use during your time slot. If you do not show up or don't spend it in your time slot you will forfeit your $10. 

To celebrate our 5th Anniversary, this month we are focussing on Charm Packs. If you were unaware, Charm Packs are little packages of squares that are each 5". There is either 40 or 42 in the package depending on the manufacturer. We will have some fun quilts and projects to show off, using our favorite Books and Patterns. 

Sneak Peek of a Quilt I am working on right now that uses Charm Packs

Carrie will share the next block in her Garden Sampler on Thursday and I will have the next set of blocks for our Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee quilt next Monday. 

Aside from our Sallie Tomato Tour of bags on Facebook Live, we also have PhD and Carries Sewing Room Tomorrow as well as Moda Stitch Pink Blocks 11-15 next week. These videos will take place at 10:30 am on our Facebook Page - Chicken Feed Quilts. 

We have lots more fabric collections scheduled to arrive this month, so check out our Social Media Pages, our website or come in store to see what is new. 

Have a great week, 

Kayla

Recent Finshes

 Happy Monday. 

It has been quite awhile since I have shared some finished projects on here, so I have decided to show some off this evening. 

Esther has several new quilts hanging in the shop. 

THe first is using Day Dream Fabrics from Art Gallery. This was the free pattern designed for the collection and we have Kits available as well. 

The second is using Hello Sunshine by Abi Hall and the pattern is Over the Rainbow by Chelsi Stratton. We will be making a couple kits up for this quilt this week. 

She also made this quilt using Deb Strains collection Bee Grateful. This one is a Moda Box Kit ,meaning it comes in a really cute box. There are just a few left so if you like it don't wait too long. 

She has also made a lot of the bags in the last few weeks! 

Audrey by Sallie Tomato

Myrna by Sallie Tomato

Luci by Sallie Tomato

Carrie has been busy too. She Made this Moda Love Quilt using a charm pack of Boudoir by Basic Grey. 

She also made this quilt using Abby Rose Fabric by Robin Pickens and the pattern is called Hopscotch and is also by Robin. There are a couple kits left for this quilt. 

How fun and bright is this quilt swirl using Pollinate!?!? The pattern is called Nightingale by Lo and Behold Stitchery. We have kits made up for this quilt too, and a full photo will be on our website soon. 

She also made a Myrna Crossbody Zippered bag

I too have finished several quilts recently. 

This one uses Timberland from Riley Blake and a Missouri Star Pattern called Jelly Basket. I think there is one kit left. 

I have loved the colors and prints in Bloom and Grow since it arrived and made this Teacup also a Missouri Star Pattern, and kits are coming soon. 

This is Joyful Stars a Cotton and Joy Pattern and I used V and Co's Fariydust Ombre to make it. We made kits for this one too. 

Finally this one is available in a kit too. This one is made with Art Gallery's Flower Society Collection and another Missouri Star Pattern named Hopscotch. 

Have you finished up any quilts lately? We would love to see, tag us on Facebook or Instagram @chickenfeedquilts or send us a photo via email, or come in to the shop and show it off in person!

Have a Great Week, Kayla

Ruler Demos

 Happy Monday! 

This year is our 5th anniversary as owners of Chicken Feed Quilts and we are planning to celebrate for 5 months. Last month we held our big Clearance Sale as a kickoff. It was our biggest sale ever and we thank everyone that came out and shopped. 

This month we have 5 ruler demos planned. We love our Creative Grids Rulers and so this week we will be posting videos to our Facebook Page showing how to use 5 different Creative Grids Specialty Tools. We have shown some of them at retreats but we have only featured one in our Facebook Live Videos, and that one only briefly as part of a quilt along.

The five rulers we will be doing Demos on are

Kitty Cornered

10" Log Cabin Duo

Strippy Stars

Turbo 4-Patch

Square on a Square

All 5 of these rulers are available in our shop and they can be used to make some very fun projects either by themselves or combined with other rulers! They are designed to make traditional blocks come together much easier and with most of them involving some trimming, they come out really nice each time. For most of these  rulers we have either individual patterns or pattern books for some great inspiration and we will share them in the videos as well. 

Quilt made with Strippy Stars Tool

Be sure to check out our Facebook Page every day this week to see video tutorial. 

Runner made using 8" Square on a Square Tool 

We are getting a better (we are currently using our phones and a starter microphone) videoing system set up in the next few weeks, and than we will start our own Youtube channel and start posting our videos there as well for those that like that platform better than Social Media. 

Runner made using the Turbo 4 Patch Tool 

Have a fantastic week, remember I am going down to one post per week now as our family is about to get busy with Soccer, Golf, yardwork and other spring and summer activities.

Kayla

New Fabric: April

 Happy Thursday! Today I want to share with you just a few of the new collections that arrived in our shop over the last couple weeks. I have been showing them all on our Social Media so if you follow us there this may not be new to you, but if you don't have Social Media this is a quick way to see what is new. 

We have 3 new Riley Blake collections. 

Gingham Gardens by My Mind's Eye. This collection is so soft and has such pretty prints. Esther is working on a sample for this fabric. 

Rocky Mountain Wild by Corinne Wells. I love this collection and that it was inspired by the Wildflowers of the Rocky Mountains which are so close to home! 

Timberland. This collection is selling really quick and several bolts are already gone. We have a kit put together and I just need to get the sample quilted and bound, but here is a sneak peek. 

 

We have a couple new Robert Kaufman collections in the shop 

Warehouse District by Leslie Tucker Jenison has also been flying out the door. I made a fun Duffel bag from one of the prints and some bright green cork!

Bright Side by Vanessa Lillrose and Linda Fitch, is bright and makes me think of summer. It has some fantastic pieces to add to your collection!

I made a Roxy Wallet with Irridiescent Hardware and I love how "Summery" it turned out. 

From Moda we have a few new collections too!

Happy Days by Sherri and Chelsi is very springy.The quilt in the photo is called Stella from the Stripology Mixology book and just takes a layer cake. It goes together really fast and there is no waste. 

I have another quilt planned but there are a few other samples ahead of it. 

Sunday Stroll by Bonnie and Camille is available as well. We didn't get all the prints in the line, but we did get precuts that have each piece of the collection. 

Spring Brook by Corey Yoder is here too. Several bolts of this collection are sold out already but there is still lots to choose from. Esther is working on a quilt with this fabric right now, so we should have a sample hanging in the shop soon. 

Sunshine Soul by Create Joy. I love the watercolor effect in these pieces and have a fun Butterfly Quilt planned that I hope to start on this evening. 

I hope some of these collections catch your eye! You can shop on our website and instore. Curbside pickup is still an option and we ship all over the world. 

With spring and summer activities starting up right away, I am going to go down to 1 post per week for the foreseeable future. I will be posting each Monday. Carrie will still post her block of the month on the first Thursday. 

Have a fantastic weekend, the weather for Coaldale is looking fantastic, so I am sure we will be going to my in-laws to visit them on their patio and maybe making a trip to the park. 

Kayla

The Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee: Month 3

 Welcome to the 3rd month of our quilt along. This month we are making another 3 blocks, and all of them are fairly quick and straightforward to make. 

We are going to making Checkerboard on page 90, Cheerful on page 92 and Criss Cross on page 94. 

For Checkerboard you need 11 different fabrics, but just a small piece of each. 

Once I had my pieces cut I laid them out beside my machine exactly how it would look when it was finished. Then I sewed the first two blocks in each row together, rather than cutting threads I chain stitched them. Next I added the third block in each row, I kept my threads between rows intact, that way I always knew which row was which. I did this until all the rows were assembled. Than I pressed each row in an alternate direction, still keeping the threads between the rows together. When I did the final assembly it went really smoothly and because the rows were pressed in different directions the seams nested neatly. 

Cheerful. I used 2 different prints and some background fabric. 

 For this block I used my Ultimate Flying Geese Ruler from Creative Grids. I used the heart method for this which requires 1 large square and four small squares to make 4 flying geese at a time.  I needed to cut one large square of each the dark prints and 8 total small squares of the white. I drew a line on the diagonal of all8 white squares, put two on the large print squares and sewed 1/4" on each side of the line. Cut them apart on the drawn line, pressed, than added the final square, sewed, cut and pressed again. Once all 8 geese were trimmed using the Flying Geese Ruler I assembled the block as shown on page 93. 

Criss Cross, for this block I used 6 different prints and some background fabric. 

This block I did exactly as shown in the book. It is made up of 5 four patch blocks and 4 fillers to make one large 9 patch. Laying the pieces out on my table helped to keep each piece in the correct place.

I am having so much fun making these blocks each month, and they look so fun all together! I am using Figs and Shirtings by Fig Tree for my blocks. How are your blocks coming along? 

Kayla