A Twisted Path Quilt Tutorial

I received several requests for a pattern tutorial. This is the first time I've ever done this, so I welcome some friendly tips for better pattern tutorials in the future.  Enjoy!

Quilt Size:
40" x 44"

Materials:
14 fat quarters
1 yard neutral solid

Cutting Material:
Cut 4 - 5 in. squares from each fat quarter.
Cut 56 - 5 in. squares from the neutral solid.

Half-Square Triangles:
Here is a great tutorial on making HST from Connecting Threads.
Your 112 HSTs should measure 4 1/2 inches once they have been trimmed up.  You'll have 2 HSTs left over.

Laying Out Pattern:
Start out by laying out the pinwheel in the lower right corner.

Add the next layer of HST around the pinwheel.  Notice the twisting effect starts here.

Add the next layer, again.  Follow the pattern.

This is now the completed lower right corner of the quilt.  You will be adding 4 more columns on the left side and 5 more rows on top.

Here is the original quilt displayed on the design wall.

Sew the HSTs in each row together and then sew the rows together.  Make sure to keep your HSTs and your rows in the right order, or the pattern will be distorted.

Lap Quilt Size Alternatives:

Lap Quilt (60" x 66"):
Keeping the same number of HSTs, cut 7-inch squares from your fat quarters and your neutral solid.  You'll need 2 yards of the neutral solid.

or

Lap Quilt (56" x 60"):
Add an additional 4 columns to the left side and 4 rows to the top.

Cut 8 - 5 in. squares from each fat quarter.
Cut 112 - 5 in. squares from the neutral solid.  You'll need 2 yards of this fabric.

Quilt Project Tracker Tutorial

I used to have this piece of paper laying around my sewing room where I kept track of all my quilt projects.  It would always get lost under piles of fabric or I would misplace my pen to update it.  It was kinda a pain to keep up with and I knew there was a better way to keep track of my quilt progress for multiple projects.  This is what I came up with.

I went to Walmart and collected all the supplies I would need to put this together.

You'll need:

• A magnetic dry-erase board w/ dry-erase marker
• Washi tape
• A sheet of paper of your color choice
• Self-seal laminating sheets
• Adhesive magnetic strips
• Magnet Balls
• Scissors/Rotary Cutter for paper
• Ruler

Start with your magnetic dry-erase board and your washi tape.

Measure out your first column based on the width of your magnetic strips.  My strips are 4 inches long, so I marked 4 1/4 inches to allow for some room.

Lay your washi tape along the right edge of your mark.  Continue this process to create all your columns.  My magnetic strips were 1/2 in wide so I left 3/4 inch between the edges of the tape for the remainder of the columns.  Repeat steps for the rows.

Now it's time to laminate your color of choice piece of paper.  Follow the directions on the package for best results.

After you're finished laminating, Cut your paper to the appropriate size to create your labels.  Since my magnetic strips were 4 inches long, I cut my paper 4 inches long.  I cut the width of my labels just slightly larger than 1/2 in.

Once your labels are cut and your magnets are in place, you are ready to start writing your label titles.

My column headings are as follows:

• Design:  The quilt design is ready to make the quilt
• Fabric:  All the fabric is purchased and cut
• Piecing:  The piecing is completed
• Basting:  The basting is completed
• Quilting:  The quilting is completed
• Binding:  The binding is completed
• Blog:  The quilt has been photographed and blogged

My rows indicate the quilting projects I currently have on my list.  If my list is currently full, I try to not take on any other quilts to keep things more manageable.

Use the magnetic balls, or any magnets of your choice, to keep track of your progress on your chart.

This tracker was fairly easy to put together and it didn't take up very much time.  I've really enjoyed having it and better organization always makes my life a little bit easier.  Of course, this can be easily altered to meet your needs. 

Worldwide Quilting Day 2014!

 

What better way to celebrate Worldwide Quilting Day than to invite some of my favorite quilting friends over to my house to quilt.  We had such a blast sewing, sharing stories, and laughing.  I can't wait to do this again.

Kelly @ My Quilt Infatuation finished the binding on her Candy Dish quilt and pieced together a beautiful quilt for her mother.  Lori @ Crossquilt worked on a disappearing 9-patch using Sunnyside by Kate Spain.  I also got to see the beautiful hexagaon quilt pinned behind us in our picture come together by the talented Jenny.  (She doesn't have a blog...yet.)

These lovely ladies represent about half of our local modern quilting guild.  I hope next time we can get more friends to come by and quilt!

Parson Gray's Twisted Snowball

These next two quilts have been a labor of love.  I don't mean that they were challenging...I'm emphasizing the LOVE!  I love this fabric and I love how these two quilts turned out. 

These two quilts are for brothers.  One is just over a year old and the other will be born in April.  They will be sharing a room, and the mother wants quilts that complimented each other.  The mother also picked the designs, and I'm so glad I was able to make them a reality.

This post is picture happy.  My husband and I had an enjoyable day at a local art museum, the Dixon Gallery and Gardens.  I took advantage of the landscape for these pictures.  ENJOY!

Quilt #1:  A Twisted Path

 

Back of Quilt #1

 

Quilt #2:  A Snowball Fight

 

Back of Quilt #2

Remember that mini-quilt I made with the scraps from the snowballs?  I turned it into a pillow for the nursery.

It was such a lovely day, and I'm so glad I took the quilts along.  

 

I'll be delivering these quilts to the mother next week.  I can't wait to see them in the nursery!  :)

Spreading a Little Cheer

I spent my weekend working on two different quilts.  The first is for a Quilt of Valor.  The Memphis-Area Modern Quilting Guild is working together to create a quilt to honor a serviceman in our area.  Each member is responsible for making three different blocks for this quilt and these are the three I chose.

 

Can anyone tell me where I goofed on this last one?  I got in too much of a hurry and totally skipped a step.  I had the block completely put together before I even recognized my error.

I'm also creating a quilt for my daughter for her birthday.  She is turning 5 in a couple of months and I thought a big girl quilt was in order.  I finished piecing the top using a jelly roll of Marmalade from Bonnie and Camille and some Riley Blake polka-dots. 

 

My daughter has watched me piece this one together and has told me several times how pretty it is.  She doesn't know it's for her and I don't plan on telling her until she finds it in a box she unwraps on her birthday.  Of course, the best way to keep a secret is to tell the world wide web.  :)  Shhhh....don't tell her!!!