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Fat Quarterly an ezine bursting with inspiration
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new quilt patterns
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new bag patterns
Fall Inspired - 2011
5
other patterns
Ability level – 2 (beginner friendly)
by Michelle Freedman
What you will need Scraps of four different prints for diamonds 14” square of natural linen 16” square of batting 16” square of scrap fabric or muslin Fat quarter for pillow backing 14” length of premade or handmade double fold bias tape Hand sewing needle Perle cotton in two colours Hand quilting or embroidery needle 1 1/2” diamond paper templates 14” pillow form Finished Size: 13 1/2” square Note: My 14” pillow form is rather flat, not puffy, so I crafted the pillow cover to finish at 13 1/2” square so my pillow form would plump up as I squished it in. If you have a puffier pillow form you may need to cut your linen piece and backing pieces bigger to increase the finished pillow cover to 14” square. Use your best judgement.
Hey there! It’s Michelle Freedman from Design Camp in fabulous Portland, Oregon.
abbreviated version of the phrase “a game of cat and mouse.”
My quilt project, Cat’s Game, was inspired by a tied game of tic-tac-toe (noughts and crosses to some of you folks!) What I love about quilting is that anything can spark an idea for a new design. Playing tic-tactoe on a restaurant napkin inspired Cat’s Game. No one is sure why a tied game is called a Cat’s Game, but there are several fun theories I’ve heard, such as “tac” spelled backwards is cat or that it is an
Mathematically there are 46,080 combinations for Xs and Os in a Cat’s Game (I didn’t do the math; I Googled it!) Therefore I don’t feel too bad that this pattern took me a few tries to get right. The first time I pieced the top the Xs won. It took a savvy 12-year-old to help me get the layout right. A big shout out to Lili, who never lets me win!
Paper pieced hexagons have been all the rage for awhile now, but let’s mix it up a bit folks - I bring you the paper pieced diamond! Faster than the hexagon, and more versatile, the diamond can be used to create all kinds of fun and interesting shapes. Here the diamond is used to create a simple starburst shape whose beautiful simplicity is heightened by the use of Fall inspired fabric choices. Kaye Prince
By Kaye Prince
http://miss-print.blogspot.com/
Fall is my favourite time of the year - Thanksgiving, my birthday, halloween, crisp cool breezes, amazing colours, pumpkin everything, and hot apple cider! What's not to love? My fall inspired pillow pattern aims to reflect the natural and simple - but glorious - beauty of fall with a mix of hand piecing, hand quilting, and natural linen.
Step 1 - Prepare the Diamonds Cut 6 diamonds 1/4” larger on each side than the diamond template, from each of your 4 scraps. Simply pin a diamond template to the fabric and then cut 1/4” all the way around it to create each fabric diamond. Pin and centre a template onto the wrong side of the diamond fabric that you’ve cut. Fold in the edges of the fabric and crease so that they sit snugly all the way around. You will end up with a bit of fabric jutting out from folded-in tips of the diamond which can simply be cut off once the diamond is completed. Baste all the way around the diamond. I prefer to not tack through the paper template and just move my way around the piece looping the thread through the fold created at each point or tip and pulling taut (this is also the way I paper piece hexagons) but if you like to tack through the template go for it! Repeat to make 24 diamonds.
Scrappy Pouch
Summer is over (for those of us in the Northern hemisphere at least) and it’s time to go back to school. This little pouch is perfect for a pack of tissues, and those essential items that always seem to get lost at the bottom of your child’s schoolbag. It also makes a really cute pencil case! It’s such a simple pouch that you could get the kids to help make their own! Don’t have children? Make one for yourself and use it for on the go sewing supplies. By Katy Jones
By Amanda Jennings and Ashleigh Gilberson www.thefrostedpumpkinstitchery.com
We would love to see your version of Sneaky Candy Corn Friends! You can upload photos of your creation to our Flickr group here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/fatquarterly
Candy Corn Made Modern
Slipcovered Vases and Votives By Mo Bedell
by Mary Claire Allen http://splendorfallsmc.blogspot.com/
Ability level – 3 (beginner - intermediate)
Autumm Library Tote by Elena Rodríguez
What you will need
Anni Quilt By Heather Jones
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenarod/
Fabric 3/8 yd of single width tweed or wool fabric 3/8 yd of 44” wide med. weight fusible interfacing 3/8 yd fleece interlining 1/2 yd of 44” wide cotton fabric for lining 5 1/2” x 6 1/2” double side fusible interfacing (for tree and mushrooms) 8” x 13” piece of leather or faux leather Brown and red fabric remnants Other 2 Metal wire-formed D-rings (mine are 1 1/2” x 1 1/4”, but it depends on cotton belt width) 1 Metal wire-formed slide (1 1/2” x 1 1/4”) 1 spool of coordinating thread 1 spool of contrasting thread 1 1/4” x 52” brown cotton belt webbing Felt leaves. Pins Fabric spray adhesive Sewing machine needle for heavy weight fabrics Finished size: 11 3/8” x 13 3/4” (strap not included) or 11 3/8” x 33” (including strap)
As a librarian I’m always carrying books and magazines with me. I go to work by train; so a novel, a comic or a magazine are my essentials. With this in mind I thought it would be great to make a new library tote for this Autumm. It had to be fashionable but also functional, and not too difficult to make! I hope you like it and have fun making your own.
The original version of the Anni quilt was my entry for the Modern Quilt Guild’s Project Modern: Challenge 2--Monochromatic; and to my surprise, it was chosen one of the three winners as well! The pattern was inspired by the work of Modernist designer Josef Albers, in particular his series of works titled Homage to the Square. As an Art History major in college and grad school, I briefly studied the work of Albers, but my husband Jeff, who is a painter, really opened my eyes to his magnificent studies of how colors relate to each other, in relation to a simple square shape.
Albers’ wife Anni was a fibers artist who worked as a weaver and also designed textiles. She believed that fabrics should be considered as an art form in and of themselves, in both their functional use day to day, and also in their use as hanging works of art. So, I felt it was fitting to name my quilt after her. My first version of this quilt was made with four shades of pink. In this version, I wanted to use colors that were inspired by fall, so I chose various shades of ochre and cream with grey sashing and borders. These colors reminded me of the changing leaves on a tree.
Autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the way the light is changing outside and how there is suddenly a crispness in the air. There is just something so magical about pumpkins to me, from simple to carved, to all the recipes you can make from them, so it's no wonder when I think of this time of year my designs always seem to be of pumpkins.
Three Little Pumpkins Wall Hanging
Scavenger Rucksack
By Christina Lane
I love that these pumpkins have a finished edge that is not fussy to arrive at. The eye not only notices three little pumpkins, but the great fabrics chosen to be displayed.
By Tacha Bruecher
Ability level – 2 (beginner friendly)
By Terri Harlan
http://sew-fantastic.blogspot.com/ What you will need Various Halloween Fabrics 1/2 yard of solid fabric 1/2 yard of light fusible interfacing 1/2 yard of medium weight Fusible Fleece Fat Quarter of canvas or duck cloth
TIP: I bought a layer cake to get a good variety of fabrics for my patchwork but you can use yardage as well. I used a light fusible interfacing that had squares already printed on it. You do not need to have printed squares on the interfacing, I just like having the lines there to keep me straight and even.
I always say there is never enough time in the day to get too creative during the holidays. If you came to my house you would almost never know that I sew, because everything is usually a gift or for a project of some kind. My daughter was not having that this year. With hopes to sew something cool that my daughter would say, “Thanks Mom,” this little halloween bag came to be. It worked, and she loved it.
Step 1 - Cutting Instructions From your printed halloween fabrics cut: 40 squares 3”
From your light fusible interfacing cut: 2 pieces 15” x 17”
You will need 20 squares for each side of the bag.
This will give you some working room to play with.
Step 2 - Piece Front and Back of Bag
Pond Ripples Quilt By Michelle Engel Bencsko and Kristen Danis
With fusible side facing up, place your 3” squares together 5 up and 4 across. Do not overlap the squares just set them side by side. Pay attention to the orientation of directional fabrics.
Ability level – 3 (beginner / intermediate)
All Hallow’s Moon by Belinda Shreeve
http://www.flickr.com/people/61760396@N02/
What you will need I used 2 strands of DMC variegated threads. To be honest, I just used those I had on hand that were, green, yellow, orange, silver, etc. Go on, I challenge you to use whatever you have. Finished size: 6” x 6 1/4” approx.
My name is Belinda Shreeve, I live in Claremont, Tasmania. I have two sons, aged 17 and 12. I enjoy all types of sewing, knitting, embroidery, and crafts. I love to cook and read. Belinda Shreeve
http://pinterest.com/belinda_ shreeve/ on Flickr as AusBelle http://www.flickr.com/ people/61760396@N02/ and Twitter as @AusBelle.
I wanted to show the iconic halloween cat, jack-olantern, and spiders as seen through a window, so obviously the moon would be there. I originally chose a plain white background with a black cat. My youngest son chose the glow in the dark starry fabric, so I changed the moon slightly to use a variegated thread and made the web silver/ white. I also changed the cat to a silver/gray to show his shiny coat reflecting the moonlight and jack’s features to bright yellow to reflect the burning candles inside him.
Step 1 - Stitching Instructions Transfer the design to fabric using your preferred transfer method. Chalk pencil works best on dark fabric. Moon: Outline the moon in stem stitch, and fill with chain stitch moving back and forth across the moon. Variegated thread will give the appearance of luminescence in the moon.