Ann Landers-type question and Diamond Traditions

Happy Monday!  We are starting to get hot in the midwest and it seems like it goes from winter to summer without much spring.  The temperature is in the 80's today and has been for quite a few days.  I am enjoying the sunshine and Tillie and I have been going for her daily walks.  She LOVES it!!

My next "Ann Landers" type question comes from Cindi and she asks:

 

I'm just getting back into quilting and am wondering, What is the difference between a jelly roll, a dessert roll, a layer cake, hexagons and a charm pack?

Cindi,

Jelly rolls, dessert rolls, layer cakes, hexagons and charm packs are all pre-cut fabrics from a line of fabric.  Moda fabrics is the main company that makes these pre-cuts and will take one line and include them in the cuts.  

It all seemed to start with Charm Packs and they are 5" squares of one line of fabric.  Here is a Charm Pack of Midwinter Reds by Minnick & Simpson for Moda:

 A jelly roll is a 2 1/2" x width of fabric strip of each fabric in a line.  With a jelly roll, to keep the price consistent, the company will put in 40 strips whether there are 40 in a line or not.  If there are more, they leave some out and if there are less, they double up on a few.  Here is a jelly roll of Barcelona by Zen Chic from Moda:

Layer Cakes are 10" squares of a line of fabric.  Again, to keep the cost consistent, there are 40 pieces in each Layer Cake.  Here is Esprit de Noel by French General for Moda:

Dessert rolls are 20 strips - 5" x width of fabric.  Here is a Dessert Roll of Honey Honey by Kate Spain for Moda:

As for a Honeycomb, it contains 40 laser cut 6" hexagon.  This is a Honeycomb from Chloe's Closet for Moda, 30's Playtime. 

To learn more about pre-cuts and to get some ideas of what to do with them, visit Moda Bake Shop. 

Thanks for the question Cindi!

How about another quilt from Diamond Traditions?  Don't forget, until June 1st, I have Diamond Traditions on sale for $14.95!  Plus you get a free pattern sent to you with it! 

Here is Diamond Eyes:

Diamond Eyes was designed by me, pieced and quilted by my good friend, Sue Glorch.


Have a great week and keep those questions coming!

Diamond Traditions book is here!

It's out!  I received my copies of my latest book, Diamond Traditions!  I am so excited! 


 

For those of you who were wondering, I am planning on running a blog hop for the book with my favorite bloggers.  It will be held June 17th - 21st and there will be lots of giveaways and great quilts to see. Mark your calendars!

For the debut of my book, I am giving you a special deal.  Until June 1st, 2013, I will discount Diamond Traditions to $14.95, regular $19.95!  Also, I will include a free pattern for the following quilt:

It is called Get to the Point and is another wonderful fat quarter quilt. 

I appreciate everyone and wanted to thank you for supporting me and my patterns!

Here is another quilt that is featured in my book.  Brilliance is a smaller quilt and is perfect for those fabrics that you want to highlight.  It has some bigger spaces to fussy cut your prints or even put photos in.  It looks like framed prints or old fashioned photos.  To continue the diamond theme, you can really see the black diamonds stand out.

Hope everyone enjoys seeing some of the quilts in my book and have a great week! 

100 Block Blog Post Winners

Happy Monday to everyone!  Especially to these lucky winners!



First to Pat for her comment:

"I really like how your block sets into a quilt. I search everywhere for good designs that I can integrate into my quilting. I find inspiration in nature and landscapes; anything, really. Thanks sew much for this chance to win. :-D

She wins the Quiltmaker's 100 Block magazine



Second to PJB for her comment: 

"I love your block, especially after seeing it in a layout!"

She wins a copy of my newest book, Diamond Traditions.



I was so excited about all the comments that everyone made and the amount of people that commented!  This is the most I've ever had comment so I am thrilled.  Because of this, I am going to add 2 more giveaways.  I had over 300 comments so I thought I'd pick another winner and there would be 3 giveaways for 300 people, that way you had a better chance to win, so, the third winner is:



Stephanie for her comment:

"I get my inspiration from all kinds of things! My daughter is a big one for sure! Thanks for the chance!"

She is getting a signed copy of the magazine directly from me.   (Stephanie, please email me so I can get your address to send you copy info@opengatequilts.com)



For the special creative category winner, I chose Karen for her blog post:

"The road to the Open Gate palace is paved with 100 blocks. A purple colorway leads to the Royal Garden where the princess sits admiring her quilted garden. She is beautiful with her Tiara of Diamonds, Traditional and Block." 

She had me giggling and for this she gets a signed copy of my new book!  (Karen, please email me so I can get your address to send your book, info@opengatequilts.com)



Thanks for everyone for participating and hope to see everyone again soon!

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour

Happy Friday!  Today is my day to join in the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour.  Yes, that means that I have a block included in the magazine!  The tour has been going on all week so make sure that you check out the other designers that are involved in the tour. 

 Here is the cover of the magazine:

It's so great that they have printed 7 - 100 Block Magazines!  I am also so proud to say that I have been in all 7 issues! 

My block is called Tiara...do you sense a theme these days?  I have a book coming up next week (squee!) called Diamond Traditions and I called this block Tiara...do you think I'm a princess?!  My husband sure thinks so!  Anyway, here is my block:

I used the purple colorway of my fabric with Maywood Studio, Royal Gardens.  I love the way this block has a center that you can fussy-cut or use an interested print inside.  It was fun to make and there are so many possibilities to make a quilt with it.  Here are some ideas:

Simple on point with setting squares and triangles

With sashing and corner stones



Now for the fun part, my giveaways!  Quiltmaker has so generously offered to send a free copy to one lucky winner! 

I am also going to draw for another person to win a copy of my new book that comes out next week, Diamond Traditions.  Here is the cover: 

I will receive my copies on Tuesday so once that comes in, I will mail one out to the winner.  So, there will be two winners, one for the magazine and one for my book.  You don't need to enter twice, just leave a comment on this blog and I will pick my 2 winners.  Please include your email address so that I can contact you if you win.  Comment until Sunday night and I will announce the winners on Monday.  Here is the question that I want you to answer in your comment:  What inspires you to quilt?

For those of you new to my blog, check out my last few blogs, I have started a free Block of the Month and the instructions are included in my last blog.  Also, I am starting a new article called: Ask Monique, Ann Landers Type Quilting Questions.  I am super excited about doing this and if you send me a question and I answer it on my blog, I will send you a free pattern!

Thanks for joining me and enjoy the blog tour!!



Blogger Girls Block of the Month Block #5

Happy May Day!  It's May 1st so now it's time for block #5. 

Blogger Girls BOM Block #5 Version #1

Blogger Girls BOM Block #5 Version #2

Here is a refresh of how the Blogger Girls Block of the Month works:

To get the information link to: Blogger Girls Block of the Month and it will take you to my website page that has all the instructions. It has the supply list, picture of the finished quilt and blocks #1 - #5 instructions. Also, on the front page of my website www.opengatequilts.com, there is a link to go to this page.

Here are the additional information for those who are new:

Here are the my friends who just happen to be bloggers that are making the block along with me:

Sherri from A Quilting Life - aquiltinglife.blogspot.com
Thelma from Cupcakes ‘n Daisies ~ cupcakesndaisies.blogspot.com
Lissa from Moda Lissa ~ ModaLissa.blogspot.com
Denise from Quilter’s Window ~ Quilterswindow.com/blog/
Nicole from Sister’s Choice ~ sisterschoice.typepad.com
Lisa from Stashmaster ~ The-Stashmaster.blogspot.com

Here's how it works:

Starting January 1st, 2013, I will have a block along with instructions posted on my blog. You can download the block instructions and sew along with us.

I will post one block a month on the first day of the month from January to June. There will be 6 blocks posted and you can make the 6 block quilt or make 2 of each block and make the 12 block quilt.

Each participating blogger is using different fabrics so that you can see how beautiful and different each quilt will be.

At the end of the 6 months, you will be able to download the finishing instructions. (Actually, I will be posting the finishing instructions in March so that you can start working on them.)

The best part: It's FREE!!!

After July, 2013, the instructions will be taken off of my blog and the Block of the Month will be over. Make sure that you download all the instructions before then! 

Block #5

Make the square in a square blocks using the Fit to be Quarter 6.5 & Companion.  In this picture, I used a red for the center and brown for the flip corners.  Make 4 of these for the block.

 

 

Now, make 8 - 2" x 3 1/2" flying geese.  You can use the Fit to be Geese ruler to trim them up or you can use the Mini Fit to be Geese ruler to trim.  The cool thing about the Mini Fit to be Geese ruler is that if you are trimming 2" x 3 1/2" flying geese, you can trim two sides at once because the ruler is actually 3 1/2" square.  Line up your roof top, trim, rotate the flying geese and trim the last 2 sides. 

It makes it go twice as quick!

Here is the finished block using Chocolat Deux.

Notice that instead of using the same fabric for the star points and the star centers, I used another fabric, just to change things up!
Good luck with Block #5 and don't forget to check out the Flickr group.

One more thing, Friday, May 3rd, I will be involved in a blog hop with Quiltmaker for their 7th issue of Quiltermaker's 100 Blocks.  Come visit and see all the great giveaways and blocks!

Until then, have a great week!

Ask Monique - Quitling Ann Landers

Happy Monday!

Sorry that I didn't blog last week but it was a busy week.  I lectured in Decatur, Illinois at the Decatur County Quilt Guild.  Everyone was so wonderful and I had a great time.

On Friday, I left for New Hampton, IA to demo my rulers at my friend, Denise's quilt shop, Quilter's Window.  She was involved in a 9 bus tour and we had over 400 ladies come through her shop.  It was a great turnout and it looked like everyone had a blast!  They got to travel to different shops in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa on a 2 day bus tour.  Everyone that came through seemed to enjoy the experience.  I know that I enjoyed meeting everyone!  I'm sure she will do it again so look for a bus tour at your local shop.

I had every intention of writing my new Ask Monique column last Monday but as you see it was a crazy week.  So, I decided to do it this Monday.  My first question comes from Tracey and she asks:

Most patterns say 1/4 inch seam, some say scant 1/4 inch seam.  What is the difference?  How do I achieve the perfect 1/4 inch or scant 1/4?  and why 1/4 inch?

 

ok maybe thats 3 ?'s

 

Dear Tracey:

 

What is the difference between a scant 1/4" seam and a 1/4" seam and what do you use?

 

It is actually a scant 1/4" seam.  The full 1/4" is measured from the side of your thread to the edge of the fabric.  If you sew a scant 1/4", you measure your 1/4" and include your threads.  The reason that you need to use a scant 1/4" seam is if you use a full 1/4" seam, then the fold from pressing and thread width will make up a little bit of bulk and your 1/4" becomes a fat 1/4".  

 

How do you achieve the perfect scant 1/4"?    

 

First, it depends on the type of foot you are using.  If you use a 1/4" foot, you will need to be just inside the foot, not where you can see your fabric.  If you are using a regular foot and move your needle to the correct position, then you need to make sure that you sew several test pieces to make sure that you are achieving your 1/4".  How you do this is, sew a piece in different positions of your needle, measure and ascertain which is the correct scant 1/4".  It's a great idea to do this for any foot that you use.  

 

Second, there is a really great tool by Perkins Dry Goods that helps you achieve the perfect 1/4" seam.  It is called the Perfect Piecing Seam Guide.  Check it out.

 

Why 1/4"?

 

That is a good question, Tracey!  I don't really know but it seems that it's always been a 1/4" in quilting.  Maybe to reduce the bulk for smaller pieces?  That makes sense to me.

 

Thanks for the great question and continue to write in with them!

 

See you Wednesday for Block #5 of the Blogger Girls Block of the Month!

Marquis

Coming up with diamond names for the quilts in my book was fun!  I looked up names on the web because I don't have a lot of diamonds in my jewelry collection to pull from :)

I think my favorite in the book is Marquis.  It is a combination of 1/4 square triangles and courthouse steps blocks.  I love the way the blocks sewed together and the interesting effect when you pieced the quilt top.  Here is Marquis:

For this quilt, I used a French General fabric line, Rouenneries Deux and is all fat quarters except for the border and the binding.  This is done in pinks, reds and creams but can be made in any colors.

If you are interested in taking a class from me and live in or want to travel to either the Michigan or Missouri areas, I will be teaching this quilt in those areas. 

On June 7-8, I will be in Elkton, MI (The Thumb), teaching two quilts from Diamond Traditions.  Marquis is one of them and Diamonds & Pearls is the other.  The retreat is organized by Gail Brown and you can get further information through her website.  During the weekend, we have special gifts, great food, show & tell, games and Sue and I bring a mini shop with Open Gate items and fabric.  I have taught at Gail's retreat for the past 5 years and we have so much fun each and every time! 

On July 19-21, I will be in Brunswick, MO for a retreat with Sew Sweet Quilt Shop.  I will be teaching two classes, Marques and Victoria Rose.  On Saturday night, I will also be speaking at the retreat.  So, a whole weekend of yours truly!  You can get more information from their website.  This is the first time that I have taught at the Sweet Sewfull Event but I am very much looking forward to it.  It promises to be lots of fun and I'm sure there will be a few surprises too!

I am thinking about doing a "Dear Ann Landers" type column on my blog.  I wouldn't answer question on lifestyle but about quilting.  If I didn't know the answers to the questions, I would do my best to find them.  What do you think?

Here is an example of a question: 

Dear Monique,

When I am piecing quilts, I find that the thread on my machine comes out of the needle, how do I stop this?

Needled


Dear Needled,

There are a couple ways to prevent this, but first, always make sure that your needle and the race are in the top position on your machine.  If it is, your thread shouldn't pull out.  If you have a machine that has a needle up feature, you shouldn't have to touch your wheel at the side to move your needle.  Get used to using your foot and not your hand wheel and it will help a lot. 

First, when you start sewing, grab both your bobbin thread and your top thread and hold onto them.  This is actually how I do it.  It takes a bit to get used to but once you do, it will make sewing less frustrating!    

Second, many people use leaders and enders.  This is a piece of fabric that you can re-use to start and end sewing.  Some people use 2-4 layers of a small piece of fabric and feed it when they start, cut it off and then again feed it in when they end.  Other people, like Bonnie Hunter of Quiltville, actual sew 1/2 squares, 4-patches, or smaller pieces for their leaders and enders.  They have a pile of them at the ready at all times and they actually get some piecing done while they are preventing their machine from jamming up.

Leader

Ender

Let me know what you think of this column idea and if you have questions that you want answered, email me:  info@opengatequilts.com.  If I choose your question, I will send you a free pattern to enjoy!

See you next week!