Splendid Sampler Day!

Thanks for stopping by here on your SPLENDID SAMPLER adventure.. and quite an adventure it has turned out to be. Who knew it would be this kind of world wide phenomenon??  If you don't know about it, go HERE to  learn more about it!

THE SPLENDID SAMPLER

In a nutshell, the Splendid Sampler is a year-long quilt-along hosted by Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson. Each week they provide 2 new 6″ x 6″ quilt blocks, designed by dozens of different designers, 83 total to be exact I think!

If you want to see more, go to the Splendid Sampler Facebook Group to see all the fun so many of you are having!

I sure hope you guys are enjoying working on the huge variety of blocks and the myriad of techniques that people have been using over the weeks and months. Its really a wonderful way to work on stretching your boundaries and learning new skills… I am amazed at all the different techniques and methods that are being used for the blocks. 

Even though my design schedule has prevented me from really jumping into the process of making other blocks, I sure have enjoyed watching you all!

… we have been all about the SHERBETS & CREAMS around here this summer. Click HERE to learn more!

 

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME

…my Sunshine quilt, made with a fun rainbow of Fig Tree prints and colors.

 

For those of you who don't yet know me, here is a bit of my story: 

My name is Joanna Figueroa and my business name is Fig Tree & Company [it used to be called Fig Tree Quilts and many people still use the name interchangeably]. I have been designing quilt, bag and accessory patterns for over 16 years and have been a fabric designer for MODA for almost as long.

… Strawberries for Sale. I have a serious thing for flour sack patterns.

 

Wow… that sounds like a really long time when I read it out loud. During the journey I have written books, contributed to dozens of magazines, taught throughout the world, designed other products and generally kept myself busy and entertained… usually doing much more than a person should at any given moment LOL! I can't imagine doing anything else as a career and I am thankful for my job and my work partners every day!

… one of my current favorite quilts, BLUE RIBBON in our upcoming Chestnut Street collection.

 

My husband Eric and I work on the business together, lead a wonderful group of ladies who work with us and rope in the kids whenever we possibly can. Our oldest is off to college in the fall, we have one in high school and our youngest daughter is in middle school. The oldest one was an infant when we started this crazy adventure! I couldn't really do any of this without their support.

There has been a lot going on here in the studio this summer with wool and block of the month programs and our special Little Box of Figs. 

... Month #6 blocks of the 2016 MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM.

Regardless of how many summers I think that it will slow down and let me catch up a bit… I am always wrong! One of my main "extra" goals this summer has been to do a major clean up of my office and studio… well, so far that office is looking good and after hours and hours of work, I can honestly say that it is more organized than it has been in several years.

As for the studio… well let's just say there I still have hope and a month or so left of summer!

… and yes… before you say anything… this is totally cleaned up and organized! I love to be surrounded by inspiration and color always!!

 

THE SPLENDID SAMPLER FABRIC

But enough about me and back to the Splendid Sampler... I am very honored to share that one of the two main colorways that are being used for the sampler is based on my Strawberry Fields Revisited collection along with Vanessa's lovely Little Miss Sunshine. What fun it was to find out that this was the color grouping that Pat and Jane had chosen. Thank you ladies! Thank you MODA for your generosity for provided it to all the designers. You  guys are the best!

… Strawberry Fields Revisited bundle. 

 

THE BLOCK

My block is called Flights of Fancy or at least that is its official name. I always end up looking at blocks and calling them all kinds of things that are never the "right" thing though… flying geese cross, intersection block… I don't know, maybe Bertha? No, she doesn't look much like a Bertha. Maybe Suzie Q? But I digress.

Working on this block was really a lot of fun. I loved how each section of the block gave me an opportunity to showcase another fabric. Let me tell you that Pat and Jane sent over so many fabrics to choose from that it was quite hard to say no to some and yes to others! I wanted to make sure to use both the Strawberry Fields Revisited fabrics as well as Vanessa's. I was quite pleased with how well they all played together. 

Click HERE for the official Splendid Sampler post and pattern download.

 

 

A FEW TIPS

One of my favorite techniques that I use in most of my patterns and books is what I have come to call THE SEW & FLIP METHOD. As I have taught students of all levels, I have found that this method almost always produces better and more accurate results for the most number of quilters. It is basically a way to avoid using bias and half-square triangles almost entirely. It used squares and rectangles, sewing pieces together on the diagonal, all the time completely avoiding cutting triangles and struggling with bias. I love it!

THE SEW & FLIP METHOD OUTLINED

Whenever possible, I use rectangles, squares & the “sew and flip” method in lieu of making ½ square triangles. In general, but especially with smaller pieces, I find that you have a lot more control & accuracy with this method and you can make all kinds of great final blocks with this method. 

#1- Press or pencil draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of your top fabric and use it as your sewing line.

#2- Line up the 2 pieces  RST & sew them together on that drawn line. 

#3- Press the top piece out & with scissors trim out all the excess fabric from behind, leaving a ¼” seam allowance. Accuracy is not really that important here because you are simply trimming out excess fabric and the two pieces have already been sewn together.

When the fabric on top is cream, trim out both the cream & the fabric underneath. When the fabric on top is the color, trim only the excess color and leave the cream background intact. This gives your piece even more stability [since you are basically leaving a foundation of sorts] and ensures even more accuracy. Please refer to this method with all of the units pieced for this block.

 

Thanks for joining me and happy stitching,

Joanna

Fig Tree DESIGNER SELECT SOLID BUNDLE… brought to you by MODA!

If you are new here today, welcome to my little corner of the world wide web! 

I know I have already talked just a wee bit about these this summer but today is a special day in blogland. It is MODA BELLA SOLIDS DAY! If you float around a little today, you might notice that several of us designers are talking about our bundle… all of them are quite yummy, each representing the colors in that designer's signature palette.

Ours is…. well, classic Fig Tree. Not pastel. Not primary. Not totally bright, not totally soft. Somewhere in-between. "Fresh Vintage" is how we have always called it. But this bundle can be best described as plain SHERBET… there is no two ways around it. SHERBETS all of them!

Our BELLA SOLID colors include the following: ivory, butterscotch, cantaloupe, coral, persimmon, light lime, chartreuse, mint, green apple, parchment, fig tree wheat and faded black.

MODA offers them DESIGNER SELECT SOLIDS BUDNLES in these yummy little stacks of fat quarters available at quilt shops worldwide and we also offer them in 1/2 yds. on our site HERE. 

When it came time to make some quilts with the bundles… well, we went a bit SHERBET crazy and created an entire book full of them. I guess I'm not nothing if not a bit obsessive… wait, did I say that out loud?

 

Introducing the SHERBETS & CREAMS book.

The book celebrates these lovely little sherbet bundles and all that you can create with them. It has 5 quilts that are all made with the FIG TREE SELECT BUNDLES and a variety of cream/low volume prints for the backgrounds. Each quilt uses either 1-2 of the fat quarter bundles or a single 1/2 yard version bundle, a variety of cream prints [we have cream print bundles too] and sometimes a bit extra of some of the solids for borders, etc. Each pattern in the book specifies exactly what you will need for each one, each one is a bit different.

 

 

Here are the quilts in the SHERBETS & CREAMS book. Click HERE for more info…

SLICES

 

 

  

 

POPSICLES

 

 

 

 

 

RIBBONS

 

 

 

...If you scroll back in the blog, you will find that we recently had a quilt along for this RIBBONS quilt. Feel free to jump in even now!

 

JELLO SQUARES

 

RETRO

Personally, I am loving every single one of these for the summer. Next up on my personal list… Jelly Squares!

Hope you enjoy a little FIG TREE SHERBET goodness this summer along with me!

Comment and let us know which one of the 5 quilts in the book is your favorite and you will be entered to win a SHERBET BUNDLE GIVEAWAY courtesy of the lovely folks at MODA.

Thanks for following and playing along!

Sherbet & Cream Quilt Along #5

Did you all think I had forgotten you? So sorry for the long break. Between now and when we were last here together, I finished up all of my new patterns, sent our brand new Sherbets & Creams booklet to print, went to Market, graduated my oldest son from high school, went on vacation to Boston and Cape Cod and am now back working my way through 1273 emails!

Phew! I'm feeling tired just thinking about it all. But enough about that, as for the quilt along....

 

 

Step 1:  You now have (20) squares of 4 pumpkin seeds. Add a black center circle to each 4-block. This is both a soft focal point for each block but also hides any imperfections you might have had with the tips of your pumpkin seeds. If you love how your seeds look and want a softer and less graphic quilt, feel free to leave these center circles off. We of course used the STARCH METHOD OF APPLIQUE to add them but you can use any method that you prefer.

Click HERE for the PDF download of the circle. It is basically a 2 5/8" circle [in case you have templates already or just want to trace something you have on hand]. If you are checking to see if your download is the correct size, the circle is 2.62" in diameter.

Step 2: Lay out your blocks until you like the placement. Layout is important because in the next step, you will commit to where they are in the quilt and won't be able to interchange them anymore.

Step 3: You will be sewing those black squares you prepared last month onto the inner corners of the blocks, using the "sew and flip" method that we use in so many of our patterns.

  Mark or press your black squares on the diagonal and use that as the sewing line for each square.

Sew them to the corners as shown. Press out and trim out the excess fabric underneath. Cut out both the black and the background/bottom fabric.

 

It is important to note that not all the block corners have black squares added to them... the outer sides of the blocks are left plain and only the inner corners have squares.

 

Step 4: Once the squares have all been added, begin to sew your blocks together. Pin the blocks carefully so that the black triangles line up with each other on each side. If you sewed them accurately, you should have no trouble here.

Step 5: Add a border if you like. We chose to add a 4 1/2" border [cut measurement].

 

So cut (6) 4 1/2" strips if you want to join us in that size. We used a small black dot on the diagrams in the final booklet. In the actual sample quilt we ended up choosing a brighter cream print from Aloha Girl for a little added punch. The black dot would have been a great choice too… it was a hard call! 

 

 

Step 6: Quilt as desired. Diana added her signature all over swirl feather pattern, leaving the black centers and squares alone . Bind with (7) 2 1/4" binding strips. We used black in the book and coral solid in the actual sample.

We hope you have enjoyed this quilt along! We have had such a wonderful time seeing all of your creations and your process. Many of you are SO MUCH MORE ORGANIZED than I ever hope to be.

If you liked the feel and "personality" of this quilt, it is one of five quilts in our brand new SHERBETS & CREAMS booklet that is hot off the presses and flying off our shelves as we speak. All five of the quilts in the book are made from these same SHERBET SOLIDS and a variety of cream/ low volume prints for the backgrounds and borders, etc. We think all 5 of these quilts are absolutely perfect for the summer! HERE is the link if you are interested in taking a look at the book.

Thanks for sewing along with me!

Happy sewing,

Joanna

 

Sherbet & Creams Quilt Along #3

Hello Friends!

Surely hope that you have been enjoying the process of our Sherbet & Creams Quilt Along. For those of you are just joining us, scroll back through a few posts to see the other posts and instructions and feel free to join us! This will not be a complicated or very involved quilt so everyone can join!

We have been buried under Market prep around here for what feels like forever… I know I exaggerate… but doesn't it kinda help sometimes to exaggerate? Just saying. 

We still have people receiving their solids bundles and grabbing up new cream/low volume bundles as fast as we can make them. So I have been trying to slow down my posts a little bit in the hopes that as many people have a chance to catch up as possible. If you have been wondering if "its too late", its not, its never too late so come on over and join us! Really!

We will also have to take a little Market break here soon so bear with me on the timing in the midst of May. I most certainly will not forget about you… and it will give many of you more time to catch up. I will definitely try to get one more step in before I leave for SLC so don't worry too much!

Okay so here't the next step:

1. Add a pumpkin seed shape to each 4-patch on the diagonal.
2. Here are some tips for doing that successfully:  for the lighter colors, or any of the colors for that matter, that seem to show the fabric through from the bottom, we created little cream "insets". What I mean by this is that if you have backgrounds that have stronger prints on them [in our case this was primarily true of the black dots and red twigs], those motifs might show right through your pumpkin seed shape. That will not make you happy when you are finished. So in order to avoid said unhappiness, we just traced and cut the pumpkin shape without a seam allowance onto plain ivory fabric. We then tucked that "inset" inside the turned shape and used a few dots of glue or your favorite glue stick [quickly falling in love with the Sewline Fabric Glue Pen but more on that later] to secure it. Its quite fast and we have found that sometimes with larger appliqué pieces that have fabric underneath, it is well worth the few extra minutes of work.
3. We then found our fabulous box of FIG TREE AURIFIL THREADS, found the color that most closely matched our pumpkin seed and used that thread to topstitch the pumpkin seed to the 4-patch.
4. As many of you have asked, you can of course also appliqué these seeds down. We just prefer the speed and durability of this method. We plan on picnicking with this quilt a lot this summer!
5. It just comes about 1/4" shy of each corner. Although remember that the corners are pretty much irrelevant as they will get completely covered up by the next  step. Normally we would worry about getting those corners perfectly but we aren't doing any worrying here at all!!

  

That's it for this step. If you are altering the size and not doing all 80 4-patches, you will need these in groupings of 4. Meaning that the final block will use four of these 4-patches. We will be using 80 of them for our quilt but if you are looking to make less, these are the increments that you could make:  64 blocks for a square quilt or 48 blocks for a smaller quilt altogether. 

NOW FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE STILL PANICKING BECAUSE THIS IS AN APPLIQUE SHAPE. A COUPLE THOUGHTS FOR YOU….

As you can see above, no actual appliqué is involved :-)) . Really you should try this…. are you buying it? Have I convinced you? Look at some of the comments of folks who are surprised at how easy it is….

Okay but moving on. Here is the alternative. We are not in love with it, but it will be along the same vein as what we are doing here… or at least as close as I can get it in my brain right now! It should be pretty cute although a bit more angular than the pumpkin seeds.

1. Instead of cutting pumpkin seeds, cut your SHERBET SOLIDS into 2 1/2" strips. Cut them up into 2 1/2" x 12" pieces. if you are making all 80 pieces, you will need 27 different strips since you can cut 3 pieces from each strip.
2. Cut your 4-patche apart in half on the diagonal.
3. Center and insert one of the 12" long pieces in the center and sew to one of the halves. Once you have done that, trim up the corners of the solid piece with the tip of your ruler so that each end comes to a corner of your block. Try as hard as you can to make sure that your trim is centered on the solid piece so that your block is even [but don't worry if you are a bit off]!
4. Add the other half of the 4-patch to the other side as shown, centering it on the solid piece that you just inserted into the center. Your finished block should be app. 7 1/2" but I would wait to trim up all your squares at once, when you are done with all of them. That way you can see what most of your blocks are turning out to be and make them work together.

 

… the actual center piece will be longer than this one, this was just all I had here in front of me LOL!

… I pieced one and then had to rip it apart to show you what it will look like so that is why the ends of the second half looked trimmed off.

We will post better/ more specific pics on this tomorrow. This is all I had right now and I wanted to get this post up here for those of you who have been patiently waiting for the next step! If this alternative doesn't make any sense, don't worry, more tomorrow.

If you are following along on INSTRAGRAM, use the hashtag #sherbetandcreamsquiltalong and #sherbetsandcreamquiltalong because people are using both!

Okay that's it for now.  Bye, Joanna

Sherbet & Creams Quilt Along #2

I hope you guys had fun making cream 4-patches… I loved it!!! I kept adding more and more creams because I couldn't just stick with what I started. Having a bit of serious fabric ADD around here right now. I have a very real feeling that right after Market I might just be making an entire quilt with nothing but these cream beauties. I think you might want to join me there too. I think it might be the perfect summer throw. Just saying.

** WE HAVE MORE SHERBET BUNDLE AVAILABLE IN THE SHOP AND WE NOW HAVE A NEW CREAM BUNDLE TOO**

Anyway…..

 

Okay… so in terms of the solids, this is what I am doing. We are going to be making these fun PUMPKIN SEED SHAPES for the entire quilt.

 

Now before you panic and decide that you are out because it is appliqué… let me explain a few things!

I really want you guys to try this! These are big, easy, simple shapes to turn. The ends are the only tricky parts in any way if you are a beginner…. AND WE ARE GOING TO COVER UP EVERY SINGLE END OF EVERY SINGLE PUMPKIN SEED in the final quilt. So your ends….. ARE TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT because they will be covered up by another pieced item. So this is an opportunity for you to try your hand at turning those corners with some starch or some glue and creating this amazing little quilt without having to stress about what your corners will look like in the finished product. I know you guys can do it. Really.

REMEMBER THAT:

1- The corners will not show.

2- The pumpkin seeds themselves will be topstitched to your quilt and not hand appliquéd. 

SUPPLIES

This is what you will need to proceed:

Solids Fabrics

Freezer Paper

Starch or a glue stick if you prefer that method.

A little paint brush. 

Thin Permanent Marker

THE CUTTING

Step 1: Download the PUMPKIN SEED TEMPLATE.  Click HERE  Be sure that you don't scale it by mistake when you print it. Keep it at 100%. It should be 8 1/2" from tip to tip!

Step 2: Trace it to a DOUBLE PIECE of Freezer Paper [the doubling of it makes it more durable so you can use it many more times before it starts to fall apart and also it makes it much easier to turn the edges around it]

Step 3: Using our STARCH METHOD OF APPLIQUE [or whatever other prep method you like. you can of course just cut these all out of fusible webbing if you really prefer and it will look just as cute], cut out and make your PUMPKIN SEED shapes.  OUR INFO AS ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS BLOG POST. REMEMBER THAT AS YOU READ THE INSTRUCTIONS, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT THE CORNERS OR WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE WHEN YOU TURN THEM BECAUSE THEY WILL BE HIDDEN LATER. USE IT ONLY AS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PRACTICE YOUR TECHNIQUE!

You will need 8 PUMPKIN SEEDS from each color in your Sherbet bundle [use all the colors except for the cream and the black- we will need the black for something else]. Although I have to admit that I cut out more like 11 of the red and a few less of all the others. You can kind of decide that as you go. You will need (80) total for your whole quilt. 

HINT: Your quilt will be 56" x 68". If you are starting to panic because you don't want to make that many PUMPKIN SEEDS, then you can make less and see how the process goes from here. You will need them in groups of 4.

Step 4: Enjoy the process. Take your time. After a few uses, usually about 10-15, your template might start to get a bit mangled from the starch and the pressing so just make a new one.

Do not rush these. Make a couple at a time. I think you might enjoy it more than you think you will! :-) 

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

OUR FAVORITE APPLIQUE METHOD:  THE STARCH METHOD OF APPLIQUE

SUPPLIES

Can of spray starch, small craft brush, freezer paper, thin permanent marker, Paper Scissors. Optional supplies:  Roxanne’s Glue Baste It.

Step 1: Trace your appliqué shape to a double side of a piece of freezer paper.  

Step 2: Cut the shapes out on the line.

Step 3: Iron the freezer paper templates to the wrong side of the fabric. Cut a scant ¼” seam allowance around the fabric shape. Clip into the curves and around the points. Remember that sharp curves will need more clips and soft curves will need less. For inner points, cut a few threads shy of the template.

Step 4: Leave the paper in place & paint starch onto the backside of the fabric seam allowance with a small paintbrush. [**spray some starch into a small jar or into the cap so that it has time to “defoam” before you paint it on].

Step 5: Press the seam allowance back onto the freezer paper shape, taking care around corners & curves. A stiletto is very helpful in pulling the points all the way in as you are ironing down your seam allowance and in generally assisting you with the movement of the fabric as you press. In the absence of a stiletto you can use the tip of sharp scissors or a seam ripper. 

Step 6: If you have excess fabric on an outer point, trim it down after you have starched down one side of the point. If you ever press more than you needed, simply reapply starch to the portion that you need to re-press down.

Step 7: Once the 1/4” seams are all ironed down, pull out the freezer paper along a straight away & what you have left is a perfect shape. You can reuse that same paper shape many times.

Step 8: Glue your appliqué shape down onto your background, using pin dots of the glue baste-it on the back of the starched down seam allowance.  When done you now have a perfectly turned appliqué image ready for whatever kind of applique- hand or machine.

Let me know how it goes!  

Joanna

P.S.  For those of you who absolutely start to break out in a cold sweat when you see anything that has to be turned under, you can use fusible webbing for your pumpkin seeds. -OR- you can wait until next week when I will give you guys an alternative that is all pieced. I don't think it will look nearly as good or be as charming but I will quickly work up a straight set version that will just have you add pieced sections in where the PUMPKIN SEEDS will go. I am warning you up front that I don't think it makes nearly as beautiful a quilt… but I will give you guys that alternative early next week.   xoxox

Winners and Updates

SHERBET & CREAM QUILT ALONG UPDATES

For those of you who have started following along on our Sherbets & Creams Quilt Along, here is some info:

Question #1: There are more Sherbet Bundles coming… and then more after that!

For those of you who have ordered already, your bundles have either already gone out or will go out on Friday when the next set of fabric arrives.

Question #2: Yes, we have another cream bundle up on the site as of 5 minutes ago!

 

Question #3: You can join in any time you like. I will give some instructions on the solids next weekend but if your bundle hasn't arrived by then, don't worry. Just start when you can! We will be "quilting along" for at least 4 weeks!

I am also posting some photos as I go along on Instagram, just in case you want to follow along there.

 

FRIVOL CONTEST UPDATES

For those of you who entered to win one of our yummy little FRIVOLS last Friday or over the weekend…. drum roll please….

 If you are BETTY HARDEN and you posted on 4/8/16 11:28 PM  then you are the lucky winner of our FRIVOL. Betty said….

I love those tins, and I love Strawberry Fields Revisited. Am buying it like crazy and tried to get in on your new box but got dumped off the site and when I was able to get into your site, they were gone and I am so blue about that as I really wanted to join. Thanks for the opportunity to win a tin. Did join the Fat Quarter Shop box. I keep hoping you will get more of these. Thank you. My next project will be staring Strawberry Fields, and will be a table runner first. 

 Thanks Betty for playing along with us an for your sweet comments!  Email me at [email protected] to claim your prize. 

 

Happy Sewing,

Joanna

Crossroads Quilt Along

Hello Friends!

I am so proud and happy to be a part of this project with Kimberly and the entire FQS gang! Working with Kimberly is always a pleasure and working on this particular project has so much additional meaning for me. First, getting to design the quilt itself… inspired by a beautiful vintage sampler that Kimberly uncovered… was a wonderful process for me. Working from vintage quilts as inspiration is my favorite way of designing any project!

Watch this fun video about the quilt HERE !!

 

Second, knowing that all of our work is going to benefit the March of Dimes is such a wonderful motivator for me… and hopefully for you as well… and makes the designing and now the piecing of this quilt so much more meaningful to me.

 

My daughter was born full term, as were both of my boys, but at 6 weeks of age she suddenly came down with life threatening meningitis. We lived in the NICU for the following 31 days, never going home, to be with her as she literally fought for her tiny little life. Although she was not a premie, we were surrounded by dozens of preemies and witnessed first hand the depth, length and difficulty of the struggle of those tiny, tiny little babies and their families. I will never forget some of them and when Kimberly first talked to me about the opportunity to work on something that would benefit the March of Dimes, I jumped at it!

I hope you have already joined us or if not, that you will now!!

Kimberly has a fabulous kit for the entire quilt  [including backing] from STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED or of course you can work alongside of us from your own fabrics as well, donating each month for the blocks as they are downloaded.

More info on all of the details from the Fat Quarter Shop HERE and HERE too!

A fun interview with Kimberly and I about the project on the MODA Blog HERE...

To get started, download your first block now!

 

Thanks everyone and I really hope you are joining us!

 

Joanna

Summer Fun & More

Hello Friends!

We have been doing a couple fun things lately that I wanted to share with you...

JUMPING  JACKS QUILT ALONG

A few weeks ago, some of my Instagram friends kind of talked me into starting a Jumping Jack Quilt Along with this pattern...

[the original Jumping Jacks patterns was one I created for myself last summer and one of the only patterns that I had the time to work on "just for me". We quickly made it a pattern after it was finished.]

I had never done or participated in a Quilt Along but thought it would be fun to see everyone's blocks as we worked on them at the same time.I have absolutely no business working on a quilt for fun [am supposed to be dedicating every spare minute to new Market collections, patterns and booth prep] but just like the first time I made this quilt, I couldn't really resist. I think it might be because I get to use every single one of my favorite colors and florals in one place, but there is just something about this quilt that makes it irresistible to me.

 

 

 

JUMPING JACKS MINI

In the process of having a lot of fun creating new blocks for a new Jumping Jacks...

I also started a MINI version of the same quilt and worked on it simulataneously. Oh my goodness, I don't know which one I love more! For both versions this time, I created each block with its own combination of 3 fabrics instead of the same stripe fabric for all the blocks like in the above version.

Each new block, both large and MINI, that I made, I loved more than the one before.

 

 

 

 

 

I am still working on the new large version, but finished up the MINI as fast as I could so we could make it up into a fun summer pattern!

Speaking of MINIS...

SAIL AWAY MINI

We hinted a bit at this one earlier on in the summer but finally finished up this verison of our large SAIL AWAY pattern as well. Perfect for the summer, for the cottage or for a little boy's room. This little mini is our little ode to the nautical theme!

 

 

 

 

A FEW NEW BUNDLES

While having fun with these new summer patterns, we also added a few new bundles taht you can use either to get you started on the new MINIS or just as fabulous stash builders!

 

 

SUMMER SALE

And because it has indeed been the "dog days of summer around here" we thought perhaps you might want to get some simple sewing in for the little girls in your life. Both POLKA DOTS & SUMMER and SUMMERTIME are 20% off this weekend as well as any other pattern with the word SUMMER in it!

Click HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for right now. Talk to you soon!

More MODA Friendship blocks...

The MODA FRIENDSHIP QUILT ALONG continues and we have been printing out and making many of the blocks. CLICK HERE for more info on the quilt along itself.

Hope you have been following too... the blocks are really, really fun to make!

 

Here are my new 4 blocks that we finished up this afternoon.....

 

 

Edyta's block...

 

Kate's bllock...

Kathy's block...

 

Lauren & Jessi's block...

 

As for the GIVEAWAY, we've closed it now and will announce the winners tomorrow so come on back to check it all out then! Thank you for every one who entered and good luck to all of you! I plan on having a late night reading all of your comments!!

 

OK, going back to make a few more blocks now :-)!

MODA Friendship Quilt Along

Today is my day on the Friendship Quilt Along! Welcome!

... our upcoming collection, AVALON. A fresh, summer feeling collection with beautiful reds, soft greys, buttery yellows, spring greens, all on an ivory background with a wonderful pop of navy blue! Due out in stores next month! We are so excited for this one we can hardly stand it!

 

A FEW INTRODUCTIONS

For those of you who are new over here, my name is Joanna and this is the home of Fig Tree & Company. We are so glad that you are here to see what we are up to. If you want to follow along our regular "goings on", then subscribe to our newsletter or follow us on our new FACEBOOK page! Click HERE to go to our page or LIKE us from the left sidebar.

 ... one of my favorite brand new patterns, LOLLIPOPS, made up in the AVALON collection with 1 Jelly Roll and some background and border fabric. There are no sewing templates in this pattern. I promise! Its a fantastic method that we have loved for years!

 

ABOUT THE QUILT ALONG

For those of you who are regulars over here but aren't quite sure what this QUILT ALONG is all about, here are some pointers:

• Each day [starting last Monday and going through March 1st], 3 different MODA designers are blogging about the Quilt Along and are sharing their own block with you. You can see the list of designers blogging each day at the end of this post. Each block can be easily downloaded on each designer's blog as a pdf.

• Each designer is also having a MODA fabric giveaway [courtesy of the wonderfully generous MODA mothership] of one of their collections so if you enter at each blog, you will have a great chance of WINNING something. Free blocks and free fabric, is there anything more perfect?!

• All of the blocks finish at 9" and would all work wonderfully in a sampler quilt. The instructiuons are all simple strip pieced and they all the blocks can be made from Fat 1/8's or large scraps so its perfect for your scrap bucket too.The directions for the blocks are all from Fat 1/8's.

 

• Warning: This could be a bit too much fun. We have gotten a bit addicted in just 3 days time!

 

HAVING A LITTLE FUN

Now I have to tell you that I just couldn't get into the Farmer's Wife quilt along [the one that swept the web last year] for a couple of reasons... the blocks were so small and they were all templates. Two things which I really don't love. So personally I enjoyed that one from far away. They were beautiful but I was happy to watch it go by.

This one... however.. is 9" blocks, which are just much more my speed, and no templates.That's right, not a template in site.

When I tell you that you can easily do all 3 of each day's block in that afternoon, I really mean it. Because I have kind of been doing it. Not all of them, but most of them....

This is our block... which I cut and pieced in under an hour, both of them.

It's Block #15 in the Quilt Along. I'm a bit addicted to it and plan on making it in several other color combinations and sprinkling it about my sampler or even making it every other block.... I guess we'll have to see how it goes. The flying geese are quite fun to make when you know yoiu only have to make eight! And it looks good in so many different fabric combos!

CLICK HERE FOR THE PDF OF OUR BLOCK

Now to visit some of our friends who have shared since Monday, since this is a Friendship Quilt Along after all... 

Here is Barb and Alma's block-

Here is Bonnie's block-

Here is Anne's block-

 

Here is Basic Grey's block-

 

Here is Camille's block-

Here are all the blocks we've made so far.... just looking at them is making me a bit giddy right now.

 

 

A FEW TIPS FROM OUR SEWING:

TIP #1: Many of these blocks use the method of sewing a square onto a rectangle, on the diagonal and then trimiming out the excess fabrics underneath. Whenever I use that method [which I love and use often], I trim out only the extra side of the piece on top and not whatever fabric was used for the bottom rectangle. This is because if you leave the bottom piece intact, it acts a foundation of sorts for your block. You cut that piece and it should be exactly the size you want it to be whereas the piece on top has been sewn and is often slightly irregular, coming out a bit shy of the shape or a bit large. The piece on the bottom will always be accurate and will help you with easier piecing as you build your block. The bulk of the extra piece has never been a problem for me or my quilter. The only time you can't use this method is when the piece that is being added on top is white/light and the piece underneath is dark. You must them trim out both pieces.i Try it and see some great results.

Tip #2: On Anne's block we didn't want to fuss with the thin bias tape so we used a 3/8" bias tape maker, made a small piece of bias from the end of the fabric strip, ran it through the maker and affixed it to our triangle with little dots of Roxanne's Glue Baste It. It was quick and easy.

We plan on making many more blocks as more of our friends share them so check back over here throughout the QUILT ALONG to see how they are turning out! We might even make more tomorrow!

... our SAIL AWAY pattern. All of those boats are made from one Layer Cake. Can you believe it? We love, love this quilt.

GIVEAWAY

As we mentioned above, we are of course having an AVALON GIVEWAY. So leave us a comment about which color or specific print of Avalon you are looking forward to most. To see the entire collection, click on the AVALON button on the right sidebar so you can see all of the fabrics [we've fixed all the collection links so you can click on any of them if you like].

... a styled shot of our SAIL AWAY pattern. Can't you just channel the beach when you look at those boats?

Two lucky winners will be chosen, one for a DESIGNER ROLL and one for a LAYER CAKE. We will also add a third winner for a grouping of all our AVALON patterns and a charm pack!. Be sure to comment to be entered.

Thanks for quilting along with us. Can't wait to see some of your blocks!

Here is the schedule:

FEB 18th

Barbara Brackman

Basic Grey

Barb & Alma- Blackbird Designs



FEB 19th

Bonnie- Cotton Way

Brigitte- Zen Chic

Anne- Bunny Hill



FEB 20th

Camille- Thimbleblossoms

Deb Strain

Eric & Julie Comstock



FEB 21st

Jan Patek

Joanna-Fig Tree & Co.

Jenn Ski


FEB 22nd

Kaari-French General

Lynne-Kansas Troubles

Kate Spain


FEB 25th

Kathy Schmitz

Edyta- Laundry Basket

Lauren & Jessi Jung


FEB 26th

Lisa- Primitive Gatherings

Malka Dubrawsky

Barb & Mary- Me & My Sister


FEB 27th

Laurie & Polly- Minick and Simpson

Pat Sloan

Sandy- Pieces From  My Heart


FEB 28th

Sweetwater

Stephanie Ryan

Vanessa- V & Co.


March 1st

The Cutting Table