Archive for the ‘Patchwork Sassaman Style’ Category

Magic Carpet for Spring Sprouts

Tuesday, March 31st, 2015

Magic Carpet Page 1Howdy, everyone. Well, it appears that I am still struggling to come out of my winter hibernation. There are so many new ideas percolating in my brain and I am anxious to have some time to play and experiment. But there seems to be so much to do and so little time to do it! Yes, I need an assistant or some elves to take up some of the cutting, packing, typing and even some basic stitching. Anyone interested?

On the brighter side, I think the snow has finished and we are on to the next phase. Now the energy and color of Spring is just beginning. Here in the Midwest we are preparing for the inevitable surge of growth that will soon dominate our days. So I have chosen this colorful project to get us in a blooming mood.

This garden fresh quilt is a made from the Prairie Chic collection for FreeSpirit. Each of the three colorways in this line have a distinctly different temperament. These fabrics are from the Cardinal colorway, bright and spirited. The quilt design is based on a traditional log cabin block, except in this case one block makes the whole top. We are letting the fabric do the work, a necessity when you are using “personality” prints. Here is a Prairie Chic Magic Carpet diagram with yardage that you can print. Remember that all the measurements are finished sizes, so don’t forget to add your seam allowance. For quilting basics and guidance for making other simple quilts with big prints check out Patchwork Sassaman Style. Enjoy!

New produce from Gregory’s Garden

Tuesday, August 12th, 2014

Sassaman Flowers

This week we have plucked some new produce from Gregory’s Garden! In Patchwork Sassaman Style I listed some principles for using “personality” prints and this graphic quilt exemplifies several of them:

Gregory's Garden Quilt

Keep it simple!

The bigger the print, the bigger the block.

Use simple fabrics as supporting players.

Contrast creates drama!

Symmetrical fabrics yearn to be fussy cut.

One print can be used in several colors.

Let the fabric do the work!

Gregory's Garden Color Diagram

As you can see this is a very easy quilt to construct, it’s the fabric that make it look sophisticated! In fact, this would be a very good quilt for beginners to learn the basics of sewing and quilt making. And it is large enough to be used as a family lap blanket. Feel free to print out the pattern and FreeSpirit fabric yardage, which is shown below.

GREG'S GARDEN YARDAGE

Garden Glories Quilt

Sunday, August 4th, 2013

Sassaman Garden Glories Quilt

This week has been a heavenly string of beautiful summer days, both mild and sunny. In the yard the day lilies are in bloom and the dahlias are standing proud. In the garden the corn is over my head and the tomatoes are beginning to blush red.

So it seems like the perfect time to share this pretty little quilt that I call Garden Glories. The one above is made from the Pink colorway of the Wild Child collection of FreeSpirit Fabrics. It is made according to the Fancy 9 Patch recipe from the Patchwork Sassaman Style book.

Sassaman Morning Glorie Quilts

It can also be made in the Red and Blue colorways. It is 46″ square, so it is a nice size for a baby’s blanket or for hanging on the wall. The sawtooth border really adds the final punch and it was made with the diamond fabric which I have shown in previous posts…  “cheater cloth”. This is a very easy pattern to make. As always, it is the fabric that make it look complicated. Here is a PDF with the yardage and sewing directions so you can make one of your own. It will take a few minutes to download. Jane Sassaman- Garden Glories-1

Styl'n Sheep

Since it was such pleasant weather we took time out to visit the animals at the McHenry County Fair. Here is a surprising scene from the sheep pavilion. Perhaps this is what they mean when they refer to “sheep’s clothing”. A new use for Sassaman fabric?

Wild Child in the Garden

Thursday, July 11th, 2013

Wild Child Petunia Garden

After a week of sticky summer weather, it is now quite comfortable outside. The garden enjoys the hot days more than I do. This year we have an abundant crop of raspberries which are best plucked warm with sunshine and eaten right in the garden. The bee balm has just opened and the clematis are very happy. In the evenings the fireflies are like golden stars floating above the cornfields. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes are plentiful, too.

Sassaman Wild Child Petunia Quilt

So this week we are featuring a perfect little summer quilt project. It is constructed in the broderie perse technique. This simply means that you are fussy cutting characters from printed fabrics and rearranging then into your own creation. In this case we are using the Pink colorway of the Petunia fabric from the new Wild Child collection for FreeSpirit.

I especially designed this fabric so that each flower is whole… without overlapping any of its neighbors. This way each flower can be fussy cut and applied to any number of crafting projects. In this quilt the entire bouquet is a single section of fabric. Here you can see the design in the Blue and Pink colorways as well.

Wild Child Petunia Blue & Red Fabric

The frame (Gaillardia in the Pink colorway), background and flowerpot were constructed first and then the bouquet was appliqued on top. The black background square matches the floral background so they blend easily together. I also added some extra leaves for interest. There is a detailed description of this technique in Patchwork Sassaman Style.

Sassaman Wild Child Petunia Quilt 2

The black background was quilted with a decorative stitch to suggest wallpaper, thus putting the flowers in a domestic location.Sassaman Wild Child Petunia Quilt 3

This is also a nice project to practice your free-motion quilting skills. The finished piece is 24″ X 26″, a perfect scale for home display.

So until next week… don’t forget to take some time to fondle your fabric.

President’s Day

Monday, February 18th, 2013

Happy President’s Day! To celebrate this holiday we are revisiting the most patriotic project I’ve ever done… the Folk Art Flag. I usually shy away from such overt patriotism, but I just couldn’t resist once I realized that the Early Birds collection contained such an obvious combination of colors and graphics.

It’s nice to see all that greenery! It is the opposite to how it looks on this gray winter day. But it’s encouraging to know this opulence is a few months down the road. If you are feeling a twinge of patriotism you can order a kit for the quilt and the pillowcases in our online store.

This has been a week of making final decisions and tying loose ends for the autumn fabric line. Now the designs are all labeled, printed and packaged and ready to mail to Westminster. Phew!

But the nicest surprise this week was the announcement of SewCalGal’s nominations for the Golden Quilter’s Awards. It is an honor to be named among this prestigious group of the quilt worlds finest designers, stitchers and writers. Many of the nominees are personal friends and nicely represent the talent, devotion and enthusiasm in our industry.

Any one can vote, so to add your voice just go to the SewCalGal blog. The voting deadline is Feb. 28.

PS… The Patchwork Sassaman Style quilt top contest is Feb. 25. Go to the Dragon Threads Open Book blog for details.

Weather Rules the Week

Monday, February 11th, 2013

It was an exciting weather week! Ice, rain sleet and SNOW! Our plowing service dug us out four times. This is when I’m so happy to be home and able to enjoy it all. I was prepared with a nice stack of “books on tape” for studio listening… I’m revisiting some of my favorite vintage English mysteries.

We have a small heart collection in our house all year round. But they look especially grand against this snowy landscape and very appropriate for Valentines Day. You can spy the studio in the background.

One of the other exciting events was the arrival of my next fabric line For FreeSpirit. These are always memorable days. After becoming so familiar with the designs on paper, there is always a period of adjustment as you get to know them on fabric, as well. But there are already some FABULOUS projects in the works. I wish I could show them to you now!!!! But they are top-secret until Spring Quilt Market. I will tell you it is called Wild Child and that the designs and colors may take you back in time.

The other landmark event is the finalizing of my collection for autumn!! The designs (very feminine) have been decided and the colorways (very pretty) chosen. Now I must come up with an appropriate title for the line and names for each individual pattern, then label and print all the artwork. Just in the nick of time!

PS… are you working on your Patchwork Sassaman Style Challenge? This is a short month, so you’d better get busy! To see the rules and the fabric prize visit the Dragon Thread Blog.

Red to the Rescue

Monday, February 4th, 2013

As you may know, this is fabric designing time for me. I always look forward to a couple of months of divine isolation in to studio as the ideas incubate. Once the theme of a line becomes apparent everything starts to fall into place. It is hard, often frustrating, work!! I tell my students that no one just sits down and “barfs art”! There are so many options, trial and errors, doubts and rejections, not to mention all the sleepless nights during this period of slow progress. But hopefully all the viewer sees is a glorious end result.

This is the period I am dwelling in at the moment… the doubting, sorting and concentration.This season it has been particularly challenging, especially since the March 1st deadline is a month sooner than usual. Everyday I tell myself, “today is the day that the muse will beat me mercilessly over the head and all the answers will come!” HA! I’m still waiting for it all to gel… maybe today?

But it is also the deep heart of winter and this week we have finally had enough snow to make it really look and feel like the winter season. I love February because the Valentines shot of red is a traditional reminder that spring will be with us shortly. I’ve always felt that Valentine’s Day was brilliantly placed in the calendar year. February also happens to be our wedding anniversary, another excuse to celebrate.

So this week we have whipped up some crafty Valentine ideas. If you are suffering from cabin fever these projects could provide a little distraction and a lot of exhilarating color. We started with some plain brown cardboard boxes from Hobby Lobby and covered them with fabrics from the Early Birds collection.

The oval box makes a cheerful container for Jaci’s pretty Valentine cookies. Jaci is “The Cookie Lady” in town and keeps the citizens of Woodstock well sweetened all year round. There’s nothing happier than Valentine cookies! The oval lid suits the motif nicely.

Wine and champagne are also traditional treats for heartfelt celebrations. This is my all time favorite label on a bottle of wine. In fact, this now empty bottle holds pride of place in our “cabinet of wonders”. Wouldn’t that  design make a fabulous applique? The wine caddy, too, is decoupaged with the same fabric, but with a coordinating pink cap. I’m hoping these projects and colors have helped to buoy your sagging winter spirits .

PS… The winner of the January Patchwork Sassaman Style challenge is Mrs. Bonnie Butler from Ontario, Canada. She used Paula Nadelstern’s exciting Benartex fabrics for her version of the One Plus Four Patch recipe. Go to the Dragon Threads Open Book Blog to see all the entries and check out the new challenge for February.

Baby, it’s cold outside!!

Monday, January 21st, 2013

There is a dusting of snow and it’s shockingly cold outside! That’s fine if you get to stay inside and cozy, but if you have things to do it’s time to get serious!! Being a Midwesterner I know the adage, “there’s no such thing as cold weather, only inappropriate clothing”. But I would add… If you have to dress for warmth you may as well look good at the same time!  So we whipped up some warm but wild chapeaux in celebration of the season.

All of these hats were made with Vogue Accessories pattern V7981, Early Birds fabric and modeled by my young friend, Elizabeth. In the photo above she is wearing the classic hunters hat, we call it the Elmer Fudd model. First she has her ear flaps tied up, but then happily lowered her fleece lined flaps to keep snug.

Here is a sassy little beanie lined with peachy pink fleece, a perfect color to liven up a winter day. I think the combination of pink and black is both fun and elegant.

This red wrap-around hood is a romantic way to fend off the winter blues. Again, it is fleece lined inside and around the face. It is simply quilted and fastens with two dots of Velcro under the chin. What fun to have such sunny fabrics to fondle on a cold winter day!

PS… are you working on your Patchwork Sassaman Style challenge quilt top? There’s still time to stitch one up… the deadline for photos is this Friday , January 25. You could win a stack of Early Birds fabric!! For more details go to the Dragon Threads Blog.

British Isles Tour and on to the Festival of Quilts

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

This year I have an opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do! Patt Blair, another nature loving quilter, and I have been invited to teach on a cruise of the British Isles. This tour was specially designed with fabric lovers in mind. We will have a chance to see the Bayeux tapestry and visit the Paisley Museum in Glasgow.

Then there will also be a post tour to
the city of Bath to visit the American Museum which has the largest collection of American quilts outside the US. Then on to Europe’s (many say the worlds) greatest quilting event, The Festival of Quilts.

I am so excited about this trip and am hoping that I will be able to share the experience with some of you! Since we are limited to handwork on the ship, I am teaching a pattern design class and a new class called “Not your Grandmother’s Flower Garden”, based on a quilt from my new book Patchwork Sassaman Style. I will be making 5″ hexagon kits with Sassaman fabrics that we can play with and arrange into a unique composition and eventually hand stitch the pieces together.

Please visit the Cruise site for the complete itinerary. I think you will be as excited as we are! Hope to see you there!

British Isles Tour and on to the Festival of Quilts

Sunday, April 15th, 2012

This year I have an opportunity to do something I’ve always wanted to do! Patt Blair, another nature loving quilter, and I have been invited to teach on a cruise of the British Isles. This tour was specially designed with fabric lovers in mind. We will have a chance to see the Bayeux tapestry and visit the Paisley Museum in Glasgow.

Then there will also be a post tour to
the city of Bath to visit the American Museum which has the largest collection of American quilts outside the US. Then on to Europe’s (many say the worlds) greatest quilting event, The Festival of Quilts.

I am so excited about this trip and am hoping that I will be able to share the experience with some of you! Since we are limited to handwork on the ship, I am teaching a pattern design class and a new class called “Not your Grandmother’s Flower Garden”, based on a quilt from my new book Patchwork Sassaman Style. I will be making 5″ hexagon kits with Sassaman fabrics that we can play with and arrange into a unique composition and eventually hand stitch the pieces together.

Please visit the Cruise site for the complete itinerary. I think you will be as excited as we are! Hope to see you there!