Garden Sampler: Month 3 - Basil Block

 

We are already into March! That is crazy, February flew by way too fast! With it being March, it is time to pull out our samplers again. This month for the garden sampler we are making the Basil Block. This one I found nice and simple, and easy to put together which was good for me, as I looked at my week and realized I had some busy evenings and days.

For this month I made no adjustments to any cutting instructions.

This month had a lot of stitch and flip corners, so I was very thankful for my Folded Corner Clipper. Instead of having to draw the diagonal line on all of the 32 squares, I got to cut the excess off before stitching, giving me the proper 1/4" seam allowance right away, and then i could follow the line on my Diagonal Seam Tape to ensure I came out with proper points in the end. 

Using my Folded Corner Clipper

Sewing my 1/4" following the Seam Tape

Components

Once your components are finished it is a few more quick seams and you have your block complete. I needed to double check a few times to make sure I had all the corners pointing the right way to give my block the proper look in the end. 

I love the look of this block when it is finished. 

March Events

We took February pretty easy at the shop, and while the store was busy, we did not do a lot of extra events, as we were supposed to be on vacation. However even though we are just at the very start of the month, March is looking to be quite busy. 

Today we had a Facebook Sale, which is always fun. I upload a photo album of items for sale, and you shop from the comfort of your home. We will be sending out invoices tomorrow, so feel free to check it out on our Facebook Page and see if there is anything left to purchase. 

This evening we have the first session of our sold out Tabletastic Club. We will be making a Tablerunner from the book Tabletastic together via Zoom

Our weekly Facebook Lives resume tomorrow. With the first one being a PhD checkin, next week we start a new sew along called Stitch Pink. We will also be touring my Sewing Space at the end of the month. 

This week Friday we have an Open Sew Day via Zoom, and another one on March 19. You can sign up for that by sending me an email. 

Next week Friday there is a Bag Club Session taking place also via Zoom, I think there are still a couple spots left if you want to jump in on this fun class. Just click here to register 

Saturday, March 20 is Worldwide Quilting Day! We are still in the planning process of our event but we will share all the details in a newsletter, as well as on the blog next week. 

We ordered a lot of collections that were due to ship in March so we should be getting a lot of new fabric for you all to shop from as well. All of us have been sewing up a storm, so we will be hanging up lots of new quilts in the next few weeks and making new kits as well.

Happy Sewing

Kayla

Getting Inspired

Have you ever been in a rut when quilting? Where you don't feel inspired or don't feel like quilting? I think it happens to everyone, but how do you overcome it? I have a couple things that I do when I feel this way. 

One thing I have found that always helps is visiting the Quilt Shop. It is hard to walk in and not feel inspired and want to create something new and I often end up walking out with a new project to work on. 

Another thing that works for me is to make something start to finish that is really quick, for example a new mini for my wall, a table runner or a quick simple patchwork quilt. Sometimes just making something quick start to finish gives me the itch to continue working on other projects to finish them as well. 

Sewing with friends is always a great way to get out of a rut too. It may be a little more difficult to do right now, but if you can't get together physically, there are a few different ways to do this virtually. We actually have Open Sew Days twice a month virtually at the shop. Just send me an email, and I will send out the link to join in. We had our first one last Friday and it went really well. It was nice to see other people and what they were working on!

One last thing I do is clean my sewing room. My sewing space is rarely a mess, but when it is I find it hard to work on a project. Just cleaning it up and getting organized makes me want to jump in and sew again!

Do you have any tips to get out of a sewing rut? 

Kayla

What we are working on

 Happy Monday, can you believe we are already in the last week of February!

Today I want to share with you some projects that Esther, Carrie and I are working on. 

Esther has several different projects on the go at the moment. 

She is preparing for our first Bag Club Session and is almost finished with her Double Flip Shoulder Bag. 

Tabletastic starts next week and her sample for that one is ready to be quilted. 

She has a few Quilt Alongs that she is participating in: 

The Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee that I am hosting through our blog, Esther has one of the kits using the Shine On Collection by Bonnie and Camille, there is one or two left in the shop if you want to jump in on this. (click here to purchase)

Stitch Pink which we are starting on our Chicken Feed Quilts Facebook Live next month

And a Mystery Quilt Along on the Creative Grid Girls Facebook Group

She also has this fun sample ready for the longarm, it uses Snow Day by Mr. Domestic for Art Gallery and we will have some kits made up when her quilt is finished. 

Carrie has several on the go too. 

Her quilt using Maureen Cracknells collection Homebody is nearly finished, the pattern is called Trinkets and we have kits available (click here for a link to the kit and yardage)

Her Garden Sampler BOM also through this blog is going well, it's not to late to join in on this one and we have kits available here. The kit is availble with either a soft yellow background like Carrie is doing or White background

Tuesday is Carrie's day off and she hopes to get a long ways on this quilt tomorrow

I have been working on finishing off several projects, but I have several more planned. 

The Maggie Quilt using Kaikoura is nearly finished, just a small outer border and than quilting. Kits will be available soon. 

This Infinite Hearts Quilt should be finished this week, I have just a little bit of binding left. As soon as the patterns arrive we will have two kits available (thats all the fabric that was left) to purchase.

Next up on the binding pile is this Half Hexie Quilt using Hello Sunshine by Abi Hall, kits will be available for this one too, with all the half hexies precut. 

And I hope to start this one next, Joyful Stars using Ombre Fairy Dust

I hope you are getting some quilting time in, even if it just a few minutes a day 

Kayla

Favorite Products: February

 Hello again. It has been several months since I have done a favorite products post, so I thought I would do one today. Some of these items may have been mentioned in previous Favorite Products posts, but that just confirms that they really are essential in our sewing space. 

Esther has been making a lot of Table Toppers as gifts and in preparation for our Tabletastic Club that starts next month. She has been loving our little 2.5"x6.5" ruler and the 4-in-1 Half Square Triangle Ruler for making these smaller projects. The Acorn Pressing Solution, our Chicken Feed Mister Bottle and the wool mat have also been favorites of hers while making these table toppers.

 

Carrie has been loving her Purple LDH Scissors, they are sharp, cut nicely, and they are purple which makes her smile!

One of my favorite products which I don't think I have mentioned in a post before is Aurifil Thread. I love the wide range of colors for top stitching, the quality is incredible, and my machine loves it too!

The Aurifil Color Masters Club is a great way to build up a stash in 12 different colors. January and February's boxes are available now and you can still sign up to get the remainder of the boxes for the year. 

Kayla

Bag Club - Spring 2021

 In one month we are starting a new Bag Club. 

This Club will run via Zoom Video Meetings. 

We will meet on the second Friday of the month in March, April and May, from 10am-4pm. 

Each time we will be making a different bag. 

The patterns we have chosen to do are the Double Flip Shoulder Bag by Emmaline in March

The Roxy or Rozy Wallet by Serial Bag Makers in April

The Classic Market Tote by Andrie Designs in May. 

The fee for this club is $25. This fee will give you access to all 3 Zoom Meetings in which we will walk you through the pattern. You must own the patterns to participate. The patterns and supplies are not included in the price.

The patterns and hardware needed are available to purchase in our shop. We have sold out of the Double Flip Shoulder Bag patterns, but more are on order and they should be back in stock early next week. 

We can put Hardware Packs together, and assist in Fabric Choices if needed. 

You can sign up for the club by clicking here 

Have a great weekend. There will be no blog post on Monday as it is a holiday. 

Kayla

The Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee: Month 1

 Welcome to the first month our Bonnie and Camille Quilt Bee Sew Along. 

The fabric I have decided to use is Figs and Shirtings by Fig Tree. This is stepping out of my comfort zone and Carrie and Esther were both pretty surprised by my choice, but I am really excited for it.

I am using a fat quarter bundle for the blocks and I have 5 and a half meters of Bella Bleached White Solid for my background. The pattern is not written for fat quarters, but I think I can make it work, and we have yardage available of in the shop if I do run stuck. 

I posted a photo of my fabric on Facebook last week, and if you are joining in I would love to see a photo of your fabrics, post a picture in the comments section of my post from last week or send them in an email to me at the email address at the bottom of this post. 

Alright this month we are making 3 blocks, The Beehive Block on page 78, the Bee's Knees Block on page 79 and the Bliss Block on page 83. 

If you want to test out your seam allowance for this quilt, I suggest starting with the Bliss Block on page 83. It is a nice easy one to get in the swing of things and by the second seam you will know if you need to adgust your seam allowance for this quilt at all. (I don't know about you but I find some pattern designers use a scant quarter inch in their blocks while others are fairly generous)

The Bliss Block itself is quite simple to construct. Follow the black arrows in the diagrams for pressing directions and your seams will all nest really nicely. 

Going back to the Beehive Block on page 78 now. First step is to make those half square triangles. My tip here is don't skip the trimming! Sometimes it can seem tedious especially if you are only trimming a sliver off, but it is definitely worth it in the end. I like to use the Creative Grids 4-in-1 half square triangle ruler to trim my blocks. If you find your Half Square Triangles are too small to trim to the correct size, try stitching just a touch closer to your drawn line. 

The rest of the block is not hard to assemble, just follow the diagrams for color placement and press open to cut down on some bulk. 

The Bee's Knees Block. This block is a little more intense. It has a lot of pieces and some of them are pretty small. However labelling the pieces as you cut and going through step by step will make it a lot easier. One thing when cutting is to not cut G and H until the block is finished, than if your block is a little small you can get it up to the right size by making the block borders just a touch wider. 

I used Alphabitties to label my pieces as I cut them.  

The antennae unit it made up of most of the small pieces, if these intimidate you, you could always cut them a little larger, than sew together and trim down to the correct size after they are pieced and pressed. I cut them as instructed an pressed to the large square rather than pressing open. 

When making the wings, be sure to make one opposite the other so you have a left and a right and don't end up with 2 of the same. 

Piece A is a pretty large piece on the bias, so a couple pins will help to prevent stretching on this. 

When your block center is complete, measure it, if it thee size mentioned in the pattern cut your borders as instru

cted. If it is a wee bit small cut your borders wider than instructed to compensate for this. 

I can't wait to see your blocks. I will post mine to our Facebook Page, and you can put a photo of yours in the comments of that photo or email them to me. My email address is below. 

Month 2 blocks will be posted on March 8.

Have a great week,

Kayla

my email address is kayla@chickenfeedquilts.com