Mountain Camping Paper Pieced block: Fabri-Quilt New Block Blog Hop!

Hello!  Welcome to my contribution to the Fabric-Quilt New Block Blog Hop!  If you're here for the first time, Hi my name is Renee and I quilt on a Janome 6300 (domestic machine).  Here are all the quilts I've made this year:

My completed quilts so far in 2015!  You can get links to each of these from the My Quilts tab at the top of the page.

For this New Block blog hop I designed this 12" quilt block:

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: in Fabri-Quilt solids from the Watermelon Summer bundle.

We were encouraged to design a block inspired by summer, and to me summer is a time for camping.  My parents took me and my 3 siblings camping since we were very little, and I've taken my kids camping since they were babies.  When I looked at tent quilt blocks I found several made with the iconic A-frame style tent.  But I've never camped in a tent like that, I've always had a dome tent and decided to design my block after this photo I took outside of Durango, Colorado:

Camping near Durango, Colorado in October, 2011.

I kept the lines fairly simple so that someone new to paper piecing won't feel overwhelmed--this is a fairly simple block, and extra details can be added with quilting or embroidery (see mini quilt below)

You can download this pattern for FREE on Craftsy (link).

**If you make one and share it on IG, tag it with #mountaincampingquiltblock **

If you're new to paper piecing here are the tutorials I liked best when I was getting started:

• Sew Hooked Paper Piecing Step-by-Step picture tutorial

• Artisania Paper Piecing video series, plus links to other tutorials (this is the series that helped me finally "get" paper piecing)

In testing my block pattern and instructions I had fun picking different fabrics and colors:

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: colors based off the photograph.

I turned this one into a mini quilt (the fate of all these test blocks, actually) so I could show you how the quilting can add some of those awesome details:

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: turned into a mini quilt!

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: first test--a purple tent my daughter requested.

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: a blue tent for my son (he asked if the lines on the tent would go away, when I told him no he decided he didn't want this block).

Mountain Camping paper pieced quilt block: a nighttime version!  My personal favorite.  I used every last scrap of that green-black shot cotton scrap I had--as evidenced by how many extra seams there are to frankenstein it together.  Worth it though!

This blog hop is sponsored by Fabri-Quilt, and they provided me with 6 fat eighths to make a 12" quilt block to be donated to charity quilts made by the blog hop hosts.

To read more about the Fabric-Quilt New Blocks blog hop and fabric giveaway, visit Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl !  You can also go check out all the other new Fabri-Quilt blocks on the blog hop today:

Monday, August 31st
Host – Yvonne @Quilting Jetgirl
Kelly @Quilting it Out
Martha @Once a Wingnut
Irene @Patchwork and Pastry
Cassandra @The (not so) Dramatic Life
Andrea @The Sewing Fools
Bernie @Needle and Foot
Silvia @A Stranger View
Wanda @Wanda’s Life Sampler
Sandra @Musings of a Menopausal Melon
Vicki @Orchid Owl Quilts
Jess @Quilty Habit
Diana @Red Delicious Life
Chelsea @Patch the Giraffe
Margo @Shadow Lane Quilts
Renee @Quilts of a Feather

Selvage Along: project at Elven Garden Quilts!

Today for the Selvage Along Jess from Elven Garden Quilts is sharing this pin cushion she made:

Jess's selvage project!

Selvage Along Schedule

July 20 - Intro post
July 24 - Selvage storage/collection linkup 
July 27 - Selvage Strip Pillow Tutorial by Jess @ Quilty Habit 
August 3 - Anna Maria Horner Selvage Feathers Tutorial by Renee @ Quilts of a Feather
August 10 -  Selvage Zippy Pouch Tutorial by Chris @ Made by ChrissieD & mid-way check-in linky on both blogs  
August 17 - Selvage Binding Tutorial by Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl 
August 24 - Project by Vera @ Negligent Style 
August 31 - Project by Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts  <<<You are here!
Sept. 7 - Selvage Churn Dash Project Share by Helga @ Cluckin' Pineapple 
Sept. 14 - Tutorial round up on both blogs

Sept. 21 - Last linky party- link up all your selvage projects!

1000 Cranes Aeroplane Bag (II)

Aeroplane bag in 1000 Cranes Indigo.

I have been hoarding this crane fabric for ages (okay only like 3 years), saving it for a special dress.  Well, I finally realized I'm not likely to find a perfect dress pattern for my shape and I should use it for other projects that make me happy.  I made this bag for a friend that loves blue, and I hope appreciates cranes (my favorite bird, and in my top 5 favorite animals).  The bottom panel is a reclaimed denim.

This is my second Aeroplane bag, you can see the first one here.  This time I made the long version, because I think it's a better size for a weekend/overnight bag, and you can fit a small sewing machine in it:

Long version of the Aeroplane bag, this sewing machine measures 6.5" deep x 15" wide x 12.5" tall (not including those red straws).

I added an outer slip pocket (you can see in the first photo), an interior split slip pocket, and one zippered pocket:

Aeroplane bag interior: split slip pocket.

Aeroplane bag interior: large zippered pocket.

Again I quilted the exterior pieces (I basted the fabric onto Annie's Soft and Stable and FMQ normally):

Aeroplane bag quilted exterior.

And this time I remembered to add one of my labels!

Label from Tags 2 Go on Etsy.

Here are the two Aeroplane bags and machines side by side for comparison's sake:

Aeroplane bags (left is the long version, right is the regular version) with machines that fit inside.

I added extra padding to the handles and zipper tabs to the zipper--you can see my tutorial on how I did them here.

Selvage Along: project at Negligent Style!

Today for the Selvage Along Vera at Negligent Style is sharing this bag she made:

Vera's selvage project!

If you're just joining us for the Selvage Along, you still have plenty of time to make something before the final link up on September 21st!

Selvage Along Schedule

July 20 - Intro post
July 24 - Selvage storage/collection linkup 
July 27 - Selvage Strip Pillow Tutorial by Jess @ Quilty Habit 
August 3 - Anna Maria Horner Selvage Feathers Tutorial by Renee @ Quilts of a Feather
August 10 -  Selvage Zippy Pouch Tutorial by Chris @ Made by ChrissieD & mid-way check-in linky on both blogs  
August 17 - Selvage Binding Tutorial by Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl 
August 24 - Project by Vera @ Negligent Style  <<<You are here!
August 31 - Project by Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts
Sept. 7 - Selvage Churn Dash Project Share by Helga @ Cluckin' Pineapple 
Sept. 14 - Tutorial round up on both blogs

Sept. 21 - Last linky party- link up all your selvage projects!

Selvage Along: Selvage Binding

Today for the Selvage Along Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl has a tutorial on how to use selvages for quilt binding!

She let me see a sneak peek of the tutorial, and I decided to use it to finish off the selvage mugrugs I made last week:

Selvage mugrugs with selvage binding.

I love how the Cotton + Steel selvages look on both sides, they are perfect for binding!

Free motion quilting test block turned mugrug with selvage binding.

Plus the Cotton + Steel selvages have great little sayings and icons on them!

Netorious selvage binding.

I decided to try using some voile selvage I had, but wouldn't use it again.  The white part of the selvage was too wide, so barely any color showed up:

Voile selvage as binding, not very interesting.

It is also fairly transparent, and it shifts around so much it was hard to sew a straight line!

Voile selvage as binding--you can see print from another selvage under the binding on the left.

Now go check out Yvonne's Selvage Binding Tutorial!

Also, there is about 3 more days left to link up any project you've been working on during the Selvage Along!

Selvage Along Schedule

July 20 - Intro post
July 24 - Selvage storage/collection linkup 
July 27 - Selvage Strip Pillow Tutorial by Jess @ Quilty Habit 
August 3 - Anna Maria Horner Selvage Feathers Tutorial by Renee @ Quilts of a Feather
August 10 -  Selvage Zippy Pouch Tutorial by Chris @ Made by ChrissieD & mid-way check-in linky on both blogs  
August 17 - Selvage Binding Tutorial by Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl <<<You are here!
August 24 - Project by Vera @ Negligent Style
August 31 - Project by Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts
Sept. 7 - Selvage Churn Dash Project Share by Helga @ Cluckin' Pineapple 
Sept. 14 - Tutorial round up on both blogs

Sept. 21 - Last linky party- link up all your selvage projects!

Selvage Along: Mid-way checkin!

I was so pleasantly surprised with how many people linked up their selvages!  I can't wait to see what you guys make with them!

I finished piecing my selvage feathers from the tutorial I put up last week:

Selvage feathers

I then decided to make the quilt back out of selvages too, cuz why not??

Rainbow selvages pieced onto some muslin for a small quilt back.

I'm planning to do lots of free motion quilting on this quilt, but since the backing is so thick I decided to make some test blocks to see how my machine, needles and thread would handle it:

Free motion quilting on selvages in Aurifil Dove (#2600).  I will turn these into mugrugs for a IG giveaway (@quiltsnfeathers) later this week!

Speaking of IG giveaways, I'm nearing 1000 followers over there (@quiltsnfeathers I'm amazed!!) and made a little zip pouch to fill with goodies:

Free motion quilted feather zip pouch.

But since I made it during the Selvage Along I decided to use the feather fabric selvage for the bag lining:

Selvage lining for a zip pouch!

Today Chris over at Made By Chrissy D has a selvage zip pouch tutorial!  Mine is like the inside out version, haha.  But go check out her project and tutorial!

Also today is the mid-way linkup of your selvage projects!  I'm so excited to see what everyone has been making.  The link up is open until the 20th, so you have lots of time to start on a project and link it up!

Selvage Along Schedule

July 20 - Intro post
July 24 - Selvage storage/collection linkup 
July 27 - Selvage Strip Pillow Tutorial by Jess @ Quilty Habit 
August 3 - Anna Maria Horner Selvage Feathers Tutorial by Renee @ Quilts of a Feather
August 10 -  Selvage Zippy Pouch Tutorial by Chris @ Made by ChrissieD & mid-way check-in linky on both blogs  <<<You are here!
August 17 - Selvage Binding Tutorial by Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl
August 24 - Project by Vera @ Negligent Style
August 31 - Project by Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts
Sept. 7 - Selvage Churn Dash Project Share by Helga @ Cluckin' Pineapple 
Sept. 14 - Tutorial round up on both blogs

July 24 - Linky - selvage projects on both blogs
Sept. 21 - Last linky party- link up all your selvage projects!

Link up:

An InLinkz Link-up

Selvage Along: Feather Tutorial

Today's tutorial was inspired by this pin I found--someone using selvages for an Anna Maria Horner Feather Bed pattern!  I've used the feather pattern for many mini quilts, but I've always given them away.  This time I chose colors and layout for the wall space above the window in my sewing room.

Selvage feather using the AMH Feather Bed pattern

Before I get to my tutorial, let me first say I'm basically repeating Meredith from Olivia Jane's method, with some changes and instructions for working with selvages.  If you are just going to use regular fabric, go check out her tutorial!  Also, you will need to go get the AMH Feather Bed pattern, and will need her instructions for putting together the blocks.

Instructions: For best results, read through ALL instructions before starting!

First cut 16-24 pieces of selvages to 12" long--this length will give you 4 feathers.  The number of selvages you will end up needing depends on how wide you trim your selvages.  I almost always cut mine 1" past the white part of the selvages and used 10 strips for one side and only 8 strips for the other side.

12" selvages

Next, press your selvages flat, I recommend using some spray starch too.

Selvages ready to sew!

Here's my pile of selvages I chose for these feathers, and the A piece from the AMH Feather Bed pattern:

Selvages and pattern piece.

Pick two pieces to start with, and stagger them about an inch, using the pattern piece as a guide, being sure to line up the bottom of the pattern with the bottom of the selvage:

Line up bottom of pattern piece A with bottom of the selvage, then place second selvage so the bottom of it is about 1/4" away from the pattern piece.  

Overlap the upper selvage 1/4" over the bottom selvage, then pin in place and sew at the edge of the top selvage:

Sew near the edge of the selvage, with a 1/4" overlap.

Now get another selvage and layer it on top of the previous one, again using the pattern as a guide on how far over to stagger this piece:

The red circle is showing how I place the top selvage with 1/4" overlap while figuring out where to stagger it.

Then pin and sew:

Sewing the selvages together.

 Here's what the back looks like, you can see the 1/4" seam allowance that is created on the raw edges of the fabric:

Back of my selvage panel.

After sewing together several selvages I started to notice some warping and curving, so I started pressing and starching after each new piece was added:

Warping and waves need to be pressed out before they cause problems!

Also the selvages have a tendency to curve, so I also recommend putting a straight ruler on the raw fabric edge to check, placing the ruler from corner to corner and trimming off anything above the ruler:

There is at least a 1/8" curve in the selvage.  Left untrimmed it will cause the next selvage to warp and curve more, and the problem just keeps getting worse.

Continue adding selvages using the pattern as a guide, and pressing, starching and trimming after each addition:

Staggered selvage panel ready to trim!

Using the pattern piece and a long ruler over it for a hard, straight edge, cut one pattern piece as shown in the above picture, then flip it around and cut one like in the picture below:

Second feather orientation.

Continue flipping it top to bottom until you run out of fabric.  If there is one or two selvages too short to cut out the last feather, you can rip out the short pieces and add in a longer piece:

Last feather needed some surgery on the far left--I ripped out the piece that was too short and then using the pattern as a guide added a longer one.

You should now have 4 feather halves:

These are the right sides of the selvage feathers.

To make the LEFT side of the feathers, flip your pattern over (I will call this side B), and using the method above, create a staggered selvage panel:

Side B of the pattern to create the left side of the selvage feathers.

Finished selvage panel, ready to cut out the pattern pieces!

Again, be sure to rotate the pattern piece top to bottom to get 4 pieces from the panel:

Second feather cut upside down.

I originally cut my selvages to only 11", so I needed to do surgery on this side as well to get the fourth feather out of the panel (cutting them to 12" should prevent this!):

I replaced the center selvages so they would be long enough to cut one more Side B from this selvage panel.

Here are the left sides of my feathers:

Left sides of my selvage feathers!

I'm now ready to sew together some feathers!

Left and right sides of my selvage feathers.

For the stem of the feather, trim a selvage to 18" x 1"--only the center 1/2" will show for this one!  You now use the Patchwork Instructions from the AMH Bed Feather pattern to put your feathers together.

Selvage feather pieces.

Selvage feather sewn together.

The only place I do something different than AMH's instructions is to press the stem seam allowances in towards the stem.  There are so many seams on the feather sides, the allowance for the stem naturally wants to go towards the stem.  I'd rather the bulk be in the stem, it makes the quilting easier later.

Press stem seam allowances towards the stem.

Here is my finished Selvage Feather block!

Selvage Feather block.

This tutorial is part of the Selvage Along, I will be sharing my finished mini quilt for the last link up.  Next Monday you can link up the projects you've been working on!

Selvage Along Schedule

July 20 - Intro post
July 24 - Selvage storage/collection linkup 
July 27 - Selvage Strip Pillow Tutorial by Jess @ Quilty Habit 
August 3 - AMH Selvage Feathers Tutorial by Renee @ Quilts of a Feather<<<You are here!
August 10 -  Selvage Zippy Pouch Tutorial by Chris @ Made by ChrissieD + mid-way/check-in linky on both blogs
August 17 - Selvage Binding Tutorial by Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl
August 24 - Project by Vera @ Negligent Style
August 31 - Project by Jess @ Elven Garden Quilts
Sept. 7 - Selvage Churn Dash Project Share by Helga @ Cluckin' Pineapple 
Sept. 14 - Tutorial round up on both blogs

Sept. 21 - Last linky party- link up all your selvage projects!