Introducing CHRISTMAS FIGS!

Hello My Friends!

I know that's in well past Christmas and not yet Christmas in July but in case you haven't already heard about this... we have a Christmas collection due out this year and I'm so excited!! Introducing... CHRISTMAS FIGS, due out in stores in June 2018 just in time for all of those wonderful projects that all of you organized ladies and gentlemen start on in July! 

The collection is filled with fabulous red, green and ivory blender prints with a few Christmas prints thrown in. But the rest of them are perfect for those not so "in your face" Christmas projects that I prefer. The red is a wonderful cherry, Christmas red, saturated and full of warm red goodness. The greens are good strong grass and apple greens with a bit more blue in it than our standard greens. There are two tones, one a bit warmer and one stronger... both are perfect with that red! And the ivory... well it is a wonderful soft creamy color that is the perfect background to everything else!

With this lovely fabric that is coming in June, we are featuring 5 PATTERNS which are now all ready in our shop. We are still finishing some of them up so more official pictures will have to come later!

 

CHRISTMAS MANOR

INFORMATION

Name: Christmas Manor

Size: 76" x 771/2"

Available: PDF now, paper shipping in a week/order now to get yours as soon as it comes in. Click HERE.

Other Info: Fabulous, graphic, classic manor houses that feature the classic red, white and green fabric combo. A must have in everyone's Christmas quilt collection.
 

CHRISTMAS FLOWERS

 

 

 

INFORMATION

Name: Christmas Flowers

Size: 63" x 63"

Available: PDF now, paper shipping in a week/order now to get yours as soon as it comes in. Click HERE.

Other Info: You will need a variety of red prints so start collecting now or wait for the Christmas Figs collection to come out. This is a fun one to add to the red and cream collection!

 

YULETIDE SNOWFLAKE

... the snowflake part is optional but does add a lot of beauty!

INFORMATION

Name: Yuletide Snowflake 

Size: 80" x 80", optional "snowflake" applique or simple star

Available: PDF now, paper shipping in a week/order now to get yours as soon as it comes in. Click HERE.

Other Info: This is a new edition of one of our standard, classic Fig Tree patterns that has been one of our all time best sellers. This version has dozens of new hints and special tips on how to successfully work with strip sets, bias and angles. Even if you have worked with angles before we have packed this pattern with all the info we could think of to make it simple and straight forward! 

 

TWINKLE

 

INFORMATION

Name: Twinkle Booklet

Size: 60" x 72"

Available: in the shop now,  paper format only. Click HERE.

Other Info: These are the Christmas feeling quilts in a booklet that has 7 different versions of this pattern. Its amazing that just by changing placement and color you can create completely different blocks and different quilts. The whole book shows you how to use the same 2 blocks and simply with fabric placement create dozens of totally different looking projects. Its so much fun. If you don't already own this one, you really need to add it to your collection. 

 

ALL WRAPPED UP

 ... these below are shown in different fabrics from the Christmas Figs but shown here so you can see the pattern.

 

 

 

INFORMATION 

Name: All Wrapped Up

Sizes:  43" x 43" topper or 61" x 73" quilt

Available: paper and PDF available anytime in the shop.  Click HERE.

Other Info:  Pattern was released last fall as a part of one of our LITTLE BOX projects. We have redone it here with the new Christmas Figs fabrics for those of you who missed and would like to work on a fun simple Christmas project this year.

 

PRE ORDER KITS

Several of those above patterns are available for A LITTLE BIT LONGER  as PRE-ORDER KITS that will ship when the fabric arrives in June. They are basically like a lay-away program that you start now and pay on monthly until the kits ship! THE TIME TO ORDER THE PRE-ORDER KITS IS ALMOST DONE. So if you haven't ordered and are interested, please do so right away!  

PRE-ORDERS include: Christmas Flowers, Christmas Manor, Yuletide Snowflake and Christmas Figs Fat Quarter Bundle. 

CLICK HERE for more info on those kits.

 

AND THE GOODNESS CONTINUES...

THE CHRISTMAS FIGS BOOK

We have partnered with the lovely ladies at the Fat Quarter Shop and published our popular Classic Yuletide block of the month program as a book entitled Christmas Figs BOM  [ just like the fabric that it is created with]. The book is due out in May to coincide as closely as possible with the fabric. The book consists of the full sampler quilt as well as 10 extra projects with some of the individual blocks from the book. Wow... we are loving how it is coming together! 

 

 

 

 

 

 And I do believe that the Fat Quarter Shop is also running this book as a BLOCK OF THE MONTH through their store with the Christmas Figs book and fabric... What could possibly be better???... check it out HERE if you are interested. Or to PRE ORDER the book, click HERE.

 

SPEAKING OF BLOCK OF THE MONTHS...

We are also running a different block of the month with the CHRISTMAS FIGS fabric and its called WOODLAND WONDERLAND. It is a mystery and all we know is that it features the fabric shown below and that it will certainly contain some woodland critters such as a hedgehog and some yummies such as mushrooms! We couldn't pass up the opportunity to work with the new Christmas Figs fabric and our favorite charcoal cross weave background...

However the program is already full at this time. If you would like to be added to the wait list, we would be happy to add you... just email [email protected] to be added to the wait list.

••••  ALL THE INFO  ••••

Okay so that is a lot of information. In summary...

CHRISTMAS FIGS fabric coming in June 2018.

CHRISTMAS FIGS related patterns available now in our shop through links above.

CHRISTMAS FIGS PRE ORDER KITS available now in our shop for a few more days before they close. Will ship in June.

CHRISTMAS FIGS book produced by It's Sew Emma and available in May. Pre orders available now through FQS.

2 DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS FIGS block of the months available through FQS and through Fig Tree but ours is full so add yourself to wait list.

As soon as we have more photos of the quilts, we will share those too!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Block of the Month Sign Ups are Here!

Hello My Fig Tree Loving Friends-

Its that time of the year where we present our new BLOCK OF THE MONTH programs for 2018. This year we are doing 2 new ones and a redo of this year's RED & CREAM due to popular request... because who doesn't love a good red & cream quilt to add to their collection!

For those of you die hard Fig Tree fans, you know the drill... sign up as soon as you can while they are still available. For those of you new around here, here is some info about our BOM[Block-of-the-Month] programs:

• We run a few each year. Most of them are 12 month long, a few [like the Red & Cream] are 10 month. Each month you get a package of fabrics and directions for the blocks you need to make that month. If you keep up, by the end of the year, you will have an amazing sampler that you will be very, very happy with! 
• Why do a BOM you might ask? Most people do it for one of 3 reasons.. 1- Its fun to follow along with your Quilty friends via social media and work on the program together. We do a lot of posting on Instagram and now have a special Facebook group for everyone in one of the BOM programs. 2- Its a great way to make a more complicated quilt, a little bit at a time and it keeps you on pace all year, basically a way to be motivated to finish one month before the next one arrives and 3- You don't have to purchase all of the fabrics up front and get to do it a little bit at at time.
• Our programs are one of a kind and are usually not redone, unless we have a huge wait list for the original.

So here are some photos to wet your appetite... and all the info you might need is in the shop under each program.  

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER FOR 2018: AUTUMN SPLENDOR

 

WOOL BOM FOR 2018: FARMHOUSE ON CREAM

 

 

 

RED & CREAM SAMPLER 2018: REPEAT OF THIS YEAR'S WITH A WHOLE NEW ASSORTMENT OF YUMMY CREAMS AND REDS

 

If you want to shop, HERE is the link to our shop page.

Happy BOM's everyone!

 

2016 Mystery Fig Tree Sampler

As I write this, I should be finishing up the binding on this lovely 2016 project. My Instagram friends urged me to finish up the binding so that I could consider it a February finish and that is just the cheering section I need right about now to get this one done!

UPDATE: BINDING DONE [see last photo] !!

Sometimes I absolutely love binding and sometimes... well sometimes not so much [usually depending on what else I have to do at the same time]!

These annual samplers have surely become my favorite projects of all time. The one from 2015 was based a little bit more around a sherbet palette with navy as the darkest element [I will share some comparison photos in a few days]. This sampler from 2016 went a bit more retro and was based around my Farmhouse and Strawberry Fields collections and used a chalkboard black as the "grounding color" of the grouping. That might be one of my favorite elements this time around.

I chose the black gingham rose as the binding and I am just a little smitten with how it all turned out. Enjoy....

 

 

 

 

 

 

When we get a bit of warm weather and dry grass enough for a full photo shoot, I will include some more photos of the entire project!

If you joined us for this year long project, I really hope you are nearing completion on yours too. Would love to see your finished pics on Instagram!!

Joanna

Mystery Sampler Updates

Well hello everyone!

We are now starting to prepare month #3 packages for all of our 2016 Block of the Month programs and so it seemed like a perfect time for some updates here on the blog.

For more regular updates, follow me on Instagram as I post there much more often there! I am figtreeandco  !!

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM

Can I say that I am already in love with this sampler and I don't even know how its going to turn out in the end?

… month #1 blocks above.

 

If you are signed up for our Mystery Sampler Block of the Month program, you just received your second month last week and hopefully you are working away at some of those fun blocks… see below.

 

I can't wait to add some orange and grey into next month's block selection!

Here are a few hints and tips on BLOCK OF THE MONTH SUCESS [this is true for any BOM you are participating in anytime]:

1. Stay current. Really. Do whatever you can in the beginning to stay current. This year we started off with more simple blocks and less of them at the beginning so that we wouldn't lose too many of you to…. well to the stuff of life! I know that life can definitely get in the way of our sewing. As it should. But that is the great thing about the block of the month programs…. you only have to do a few blocks a month and if you stay caught up, you will have something amazing at the end of the year. 
2. Set aside some special BOM time. This is especially true if you are doing several different ones. For many of us that would be on the weekend or in the evening after all the other needs and duties have been met. Find a special time that you block off and set aside for BOM time. This is good advice even just for sewing in general but certain works for BOMs especially.
3. Be organized. I can't stress this enough but i find that I fall prey to the same disorganization as everyone else. Make little baggies. Label your fabric. Keep all your scraps. Put your directions in a folder. Before that… go and find yourself a beautiful folder from a place like Staples or Target. Use this is an excuse to buy that lovely little folder that you wouldn't have any real need for before. You have a need now. So go and get one…. and then use it! You would be surprised at how many emails I get about lost and missing instructions!
4. Share. It is very motivating to share your progress on these monthly programs with others who are working alongside you… well, at least alongside you on the world wide web LOL! We share on Instagram and if you have a smart phone…. IG is very easy to get started and is highly fun, addictive and does not take too much time if you don't want it to. I highly recommend it. If you decide to join and you want to find me, I am figtreeandco .  Facebook is a bit more of an enigma to me. If any of you in the program are interested in starting a Facebook group for the BOM, contact me. I post on Facebook through Instagram but am never quite sure how best to share everything there.
5. Have fun and don't stress! We give you lots of directions and lots of fabrics but if you want to vary something, add something, make something more scrappy or make 2 versions of something… go for it. Just don't forget to share because we want to see what you are doing!!
6. A few specific tips for those of you in the program: #1- When working on the BEAR CLAW blocks, the intention of the instructions was to make 2 identical blocks, both the same color combos. If you decided to mix up the colors in a different way or did so unintentionally… great! Don't worry about it!  #2- Don't stress about the appliqué center of the Daisy block. It is not too hard, a fairly easy shape to turn and you can wait until the end if you don't want to do it now. Or you can do it with fusible web if you prefer. Just don't stress! #3- Take your time on the Sweet Sugar Swirls block. Any time angles are involved, people get a bit nervous. My best tip to you is that if you slow down, sew and cut accurately then you will most likely be fine. Remember to check if your angle is still at a 45º angle after 2 diamond cuts. Checking might be a pain but it is well worth it to catch any slipping of your ruler. If you have really never worked with angles, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you take my Craftsy class on angles. I know that this might sound like a shameless plug, but I have had hundreds of people tell me that they would freeze when it came to angles until they took my class. This is not necessarily because it or I am so greatl…. LOL… but because it really, really helps to see someone else do it first and then try it! Here is the link if you are interested.

 Happy Sewing My Friends!

 

Joanna

 

Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II

UPDATE: The program is sold out as of now. We are so very sorry that it went so fast. We are trying to see if we can add any more spots but it all depends on fabric availability and how many more bolts we can find. If you are interested in a spot, please email us and we will add you to the wait list. Please understand that we are just not set up as as a standard quilt store and don't have the capability to cut, prepare and ship an unlimited amount of kits. We started these programs as a way of reaching customers that don't have a good local quilt store near them and their popularity has grown so tremendously each time that there is simply no way for us to keep up! We have already doubled and then tripled our initial BOM spots and we just can't keep up with the demand. Please don't be upset and know and understand that we are doing all we can to add more spots but we can only do so many.

I know that our new Retro Farmhouse Wool Sampler came and went so quickly on social media that I didn't even get a chance to post about it here so this time around I figured I would post here first!

Join us for our second annual Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II. A perfect project to work along on for 2016, this sampler will be just that… a wonderful sampler filled with more of our favorite blocks in sizes from 6" to 18". The sampler will have our signature "Fig Tree" feel and so even though it is a mystery… you know that you will love it!

This time around we will incorporate a few of our more "modern" or fresh blocks including some letters of the alphabet and our very popular Daisy block.

The blocks will still have our classic vintage feel, as many of them will indeed by vintage blocks… those are always our favorites!

Each month you will receive instructions for several blocks and many of the months will also include stand alone Fig Tree patterns to add to your collection. Its a fabulous deal all the way around!

The project will start in January and continue through to December. The fabrics will be mostly the ones shown from our newest collections, Farmhouse and Strawberry Fields, with a few additions. There will easily be over 17 yards of fabric!

There is just nothing better than working on a project piece by piece each month and having an amazing heirloom project to show for it when the year comes to a close. The first Mystery Sampler is potentially my favorite quilt that we have ever made and so of course we had to do it again! I sure hope you will join us. Click HERE for more info or to sign up.

Looking forward to a fabulous 2016!!

Finally… MODA'S MODERN BUILDING BLOCKS FIG TREE STYLE FINISH!

I know that this one was a really long time in coming!

First it took us a while to get the finished blocks put together into 2 lap size quilts [that was what we decided to do instead of the one really large quilt that was a little bit too much for us]. We decided to redo a few of the pink blocks once I decided that the quilts were going to be for my boys. One can "hang with" a bit of pink. The other one… not so much :-)!

Then it took a while to get it on Diana's long list of quilts to quilt. Then it took a while to decide what to quilt on it. Baptist Fan seemed like the perfect choice as soon as we thought of it!

Then it took quite a while for me to get it to the top of the list of TO DO'S and bind them both. The week I got back from THE EPIC ADVENTURE when I was waking up at 3:00 am with jet lag… that seemed like a perfect time to finally get binding!

But now they are both done, quilted and bound. The back is yummy SNUGGLE and each one is for one of my boys. The oldest will take tone with him to college next year and the next one, well we still have a few more years for him to wear it in!

Quilt #1

 

 

 

 

 

Quilt #2

 

 

 

 

So happy with these!! Hope you are all done with yours or at least I hope it is on the top of your TO DO list. It really is a wonderful grouping of blocks… even if some of them are a bit large!

Classic Yuletide BOM Updates...

We are well under way on our latest Block-of-the-Month program and have just sent out Month 4 last week so hopefully all of you have received it by now. We are really enjoying the various combinations of red, green and cream that we are getting to play with and hope that you are too!

We are tracking many of you via your emails and photos and your Instagram posts and it looks like many of you are keeping on track and current! I am so proud of you! This program is only two 16" blocks each month so it is totally "keepupable". I think that should be word, don't you?

Here are some photos of the each month's blocks so far...

 

  

… this photo shamelessly borrowed from Greg at greydogwoodstudio on Instagram because our second block for that first month seems to be MIA at the time of these photos. I guess it is time to clean up the studio again!

 

 

Many of you have asked for some of the official block names for some of these and I don't know much about them. If you have info or the traditional name for any of these, please feel free to share with all of us.

Month #1: Carolina Lily variation and unknown

Month #2: Feathered Star variation and unknown 

Month #3: Nine-Patch patchwork [a variation of a "Double Nine-Patch"] and Goose-in-the-Pond

Month #4: Carolina Lily variation [closest I could find were "Mariposa" or "Snow Drop" and unknown

Since its a great time for Christmas in July, I thought we would add in a Christmas bundle to the shop in case any of you want to get a start on a Christmas project of your own.

Click HERE for bundle info.

Talk soon. More vacation photos coming next.

The Vintage Sampler BOM…finished!

Edit:  The backing is the grey/cream sampler fabric #37061 in the grey color [its an older fabric that I am not sure tha is available anywhere which is why I didn't specify what it was] . The quilter is Diana Johnson of course... I can't believe I forgot to give you her name! If you are interested in having her quilt something for you, just email me and I will send your info to her!

 

I could say a lot of things and explain a lot of blocks and quilting, etc.... but I know you just want to see the pics of the quilting so here they are as requested.

The quilt is not even completely bound yet, but close enough!

We bound in red and backed in a cream sampler print from Julie & Eric Comstock, Baby Jane collection. The tiny cream dot would be lovely too. Email us if you are interested in that and I can see what I can do!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And a quick pic of the little helper who came home from school in the middle of the photo shoot and helped keep the quilt in place...

 

Coming up on Monday.... some Valentine goodies and some fantastic bundles [which might or might not be up in the shop already...].  

Samplers...

Over the last couple of weeks,  I have received a few emails from customers with questions about what samplers were, how they worked and were the idea came from. I knew a little bit about the topic but as a result of these questions, I did a bit more research and thought I would share them with you...

 

A BIT OF HISTORY

...the vintage sampler our VINTAGE FARMHOUSE was based around.

It seems that prior to the mid 1800's, most quilts were traditionally created as medallion style quilts, both here in the US and back in England. The center medallion was the focal element of the quilt and the remainder of the quilt was created around the medallion with various borders both plain and intricate.

 

In the early 1800's, American quilters slowly began experimenting with the currently more utilized, grid pattern- both sampler and one single repeated block, where each block is the same size and is set in some sort of a grid with or without sashing. Reasons were most likely numerous but it seems that these kinds of quilts lent themselves more to being done in groups and in community, by those just starting out and could be made more frugally with scraps and small fabric pieces. Samplers began to be very popular at this time- in various formats but primarily with one size block, each one different.

... a few of my favorite vintage samplers.

These kinds of projects were often done as block exchanges or family compilations or as "bees". As a result they were usually quite scrappy and blocks were original and varied. Mothers also used this method often to teach young girls how to quilt and, very similiarly to the popular cross stitch samplers, quilt samplers were often the very first quilt a young quilter might make.  

 ... this is kind of what I have always imagined a bee would look like. Sometimes I wonder if I should have been born in another era.

 

... I found this image and couldn't resist sharing. Love everything about it!

PERSONAL HISTORY

When I was learning how to quilt and in my early years working in our local quilt shop, I had absolutely no desire to make a sampler quilt. Nothing about it looked good to me. I wanted to work on the blocks quickly, wanted to strip piece them, wanted to be efficient with my time. Mostly I wanted to get to the end stage of the quilt as fast as possible so I could see the outcome of my work and move on to the next quilt in my head! 

Many quilters around me made samplers as a way of learning many techniques in one project but since I was self taught [from a book], I was not convinced. It has really only been in the last couple of years that vintage samplers have really caught my attention and the beauty of them has really stood out to me above many other quilts that I have seen. Perhaps its me that is changing but there is something so beautiful and awe inspiing about them. All of a sudden the idea of working on one block at a time, perhaps in a pre-determined timeframe like a block of the month, has become quite a draw.

For me personally, the ones that had a somewhat focused or more limited color palette were the ones that I fell in love with the most...

We decided to try it out and started our first sampler quilt as a Fig Tree program with our VINTAGE FARMHOUSE quilt. Based completely on a vintage sampler that we fell in love with [shown above], we loved both the blocks, the quirky feel and the color palette. [This was an 8-month program that we did last year and that ended in the fall of 2014].]

... NOTE: We are almost done binding this beauty and will show MANY quilt photos of it by the end of this week so check back soon!

We continued on when we jumped on Moda's MODERN BUILDING BLOCKS bandwagon but made it a bit more "figgified" with a mix of mostly solids and some Fig Tree fabrics from our current Somerset collection. MODERN BUILDING BLOCKS FIG TREE STYLE was born.

We loved the very modern feel of this quilt with some gigantic blocks and some little ones, mostly solids and a very graphic feel. This quilt was completely different than anything we had ever liked before and it has been so much fun to do along with many of you. I can't wait until we are done next month and I can see the whole thing put together in its entirety!  [This was a 7 month program which ends next month- this month's shipment will be processed by the end of the week.]

Currently we are working on the FIG TREE MYSTERY SAMPLER with many of you participating and we are adding in many of our long time favorite blocks [such as pineapple, rolling stone, nosegay, churn dash, weathervane, clamshell to name a few...], working with classic Fig Tree patterns and adding in a few things to challenge all of us just a bit!

 

The quilt is a mystery... even to us... as we are working just a month ahead the rest of you [don't worry we do have a general plan just not the specifics]! We can't wait to see how this quilt evolves and are absolutely in love with how its turning out so far... maybe that has something to do witht the fact that we choose all of our favorite Fig Tree colors, fabrics and blocks! [For this program, we are working on finishing up month #3 as we speak and those will go out next week for those of you who are in the program.]

As you have seen we have kind of fallen in love with samplers and you shouldn't be surprised if you see a new one coming up in the next month or so.... 

Happy January everyone!

Joanna

 

 

Vintage Farmhouse BOM on its way...

We are working like crazy to get ready for our upcoming 12 DAY OF CHRISTMAS SALE coming up soon.... [for those of you who have never done this sale with us, we will have more info soon/for those of you who know what is coming, get ready!

But I thought I would pop my head in for a quick moment and show you some quick pics of the Vintage Farmhouse Block of the Month quilt. It is finally put together and on its way to the quilter. I cannot wait to see it all finished and quilted and bound.... and beautiful! I am so in love with this quilt ladies, I can't even tell you!

 

 

 

 

Its a dreary kind of day so the photos are not the greatest but I thought it was time to at lesast show you something. We will do a real photo shoot when the lovely Diana has done her magic! Coming soon!

Joanna