Lady Bird

I don't think it's really a secret that I have WAY TOO MUCH FABRIC in my sewing room.

So when a new collection is released and I don't have any definite plans for it, I try to talk myself out of buying any. After including the collection in several different mockups recently, I finally bit the bullet on Black Friday and picked up a jelly roll of Lady Bird.

Quilt Ideas - Stay Gold

Way back in the middle of 2021, I made the cover version for the Penny Quilt pattern using Stay Gold by Melody Miller for Ruby Star Society. Due to some delays, the fabric collection is finally available in shops so I thought I would do some mockups using the collection.

I absolutely adore these prints so this was a ton of fun! She does such a great job of mixing colors, scale, and value to create a really balanced collection that is easy to use in quilts. Plus the fabrics are just so pretty!

Better Half Square Triangle Trimming

How do you feel about trimming HSTs? I don't love them, but they are kind of an important part of this whole quilting thing. 

When I make quilts, I am always looking for a slightly better way to do things. Usually changes make very little difference in the finished product, but over time all of those little changes have led to great accuracy.

Recently I discovered a way to trim HSTs that actually resulted in a pretty significant difference in getting crisp corners. My HSTs are usually pretty good (pats self on the back) but I always want them to be better.

You can watch a video demonstration below:

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There are lots of slotted ruler options out there. For trimming HSTs, a smaller ruler is a little easier to handle but you could use any size. I will link to a few options here:

QuiltCut Strip Savvy Square Up Slotted Quilting Ruler (this is what I am using in the video)

Creative Grids Stripology Squared Quilt Ruler

June Tailor Squared Straight

Each of these rulers has multiple size options. I love my Creative Grids Stripology XL for cutting width of fabric strips, but I have really liked having the smaller QuiltCut ruler for trimming. 

The Diana Quilt - A Rainbow Speckled Version

Technically this is my last quilt finish of 2021, but I don't consider it finished until it is photographed so we are going to log it with the 2022 finishes. This is a rainbow-y version of the Diana Quilt made using Speckled from Ruby Star Society.

This version uses fewer fabrics than the pattern calls for - it just combine Fabrics A & C, D & F, etc. It's an easy adjustment to make in the pattern. Another difference between this version and the previous versions (see those here and here) that I have made is that I swapped where I used the darker value and lighter value fabrics - I love the result! 

2021 Roundup

Whew, what a year. What a couple of years! I thought it would be fun to do a quick roundup of the past year.

Recently I updated my "Finished Quilts" catalogs for each year that I have been blogging - you can view them all by clicking the links below.