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Happy Flower Garden Quilt Along!

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My Happy Flower Garden Quilt is one of my favorite quilts. It may be because this is the quilt I snuggle with on my couch. I love flowers and this is a great way to be around flowers year round.

I had posted a survey in my Quilt Along Facebook Group. Several people expressed interest in using this pattern for a Quilt Along! I think it will be a great quilt a long pattern, since it’s kind of a sampler quilt and it’s perfect for spring!

Join the Facebook Group for an extra Coupon Code!!

The Fabric Requirements are listed inside the pattern. 

Download today!

You can sign up for my weekly Newsletter that will give you the new weeks task and it will direct you to the new blog post!

Sign up for the Newsletter!

The original pattern only included a baby and throw quilt directions. I have recently updated my pattern to also include a queen and king size version.

I had ask my quilter followers if they prefer big block or more blocks of a smaller size. The answer was pretty 50/50. So when you purchase the pattern you will receive 2 pdfs. One is for a small block version and one is for a large block version. Here are the different layouts.

layouts

Most of the Flying geese in this pattern are made using the 4 at 1 time no waste method. With my last quilt along I noticed some of the participants were having trouble using this method. So I made  a supplemental pdf that will give you cutting instructions so you can make all the flying geese using the 1 at a time method or half square triangle method. If you decide to use these alternative methods, I would recommend purchasing a little extra fabric just in case. The fabric requirements are for the piecing in the original pattern. These cutting instructions only replace the pieces used to make the flying geese. So you will need to make sure to omit cutting the piecing from the original pattern.

I asked in the quilt along group when the best start date for the quilt along would be and the final winning date was May 1st! So from now until May 1st, you can download your pattern and pick out your fabrics! Post pictures in the Facebook Group or on Instagram with the hashtag #happyflowergardenQAL

So here’s the quilt along schedule:

May 1st – Week 1 – Cut your Fabric
May 8th – Week 2 – Make your Half Square Triangles
May 15th – Week 3 – Make your Flying Geese units
May 22nd – Week 4 – Make your Bottom Rectangle Blocks
May 29th – Week 5 – Make half of your Tulip Blocks
June 5th  – Week 6 – Make the other half of your Tulip Blocks
June 12th – Week 7 – Make your Corner Tulip Blocks
June 19th – Week 8 – Make your Star Flower Blocks
June 26th  – Week 9 – Add Sashing and Cornerstones (Finish Star Flower Blocks if needed)
July 3rd – Week 10 – Baste, Quilt and Bind

I am so happy to be quilting along with you! I’m so excited to see your fabric picks!! Make sure to share your progress photo’s on Instagram with the hashtag #HappyFlowerGardenQAL

You can also join the Facebook Group and post your photo’s there! Join me in the Facebook Group today at 10:15 am PDT (West Coast USA) for a Live Video to go over the quilt along and fabric selection!

Facebook Group

Download your pattern now and start searching for fabric!!

Download Now!

Happy Quilting!

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Aloha Ripple QAL Week 9: Finishing Our Quilts!

Wow! It’s already the last week of our Aloha Ripple Quilt Along! It has gone by so fast. Last week we put our quilt tops together, this week we will Baste, Quilt and Bind our quilts.

basting

 

Basting Your Quilt: 
Spray baste: My favorite way to baste my quilt is by using Spray Baste! It makes basting so much easier. If you have allergies, this is probably not a good option for you.
Find a place where you can lay out your quilt. Make sure to tape the backing fabric taut to the floor (or large table).
Here’s  great spray baste tutorial by Cluck Cluck Sew: Spray Baste Tutorial

Pin basting: You can use safety pin about 3 to 4 inches apart (about the width of your hand). I like to use the large curved basting pins. This takes a little longer than the spray basting, but is a great option.

quilting

Quilting your Quilt:
This step is totally up to you! I like to straight line quilt my quilt with my walking foot on my domestic machine. With my floral Aloha Ripple Quilt I quilted from the center out following the seams, so there was only about a 1/4 of the quilt in my sewing machine throat at a time.

Hand Tie your Quilt: Some prefer to tie there quilt.
Here’s a tutorial on how to do this on Craftsy.

Machine Quilt using your Walking Foot: 
Emily Dennis from Quilty Love has a great tutorial on how to Zig zag quilt your quilt with a Walking foot. Click here I love this method of quilting, it give your quilt great texture.

Free Motion Quilting:
Free motion quilting can give you great texture and if you aren’t great at quilting straight lines, this would be great for you. Suzy Williams from Suzy Quilts has a great Free Motion Quilting Tutorial. Click here.

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Binding Your Quilt: Binding is the fabric strip that goes on the edge of your quilt. It covers all of the unfinished edges and rounds out your quilt.

You will want to make sure to square up your quilt before you attach the binding. Cut off the extra batting around the edges and make sure your sides are straight.

One of my favorite binding tutorials is by Suzy Williams of Suzy Quilts. Go check it out!

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Since I was using stash fabrics for my Baby size Aloha Ripple Quilt, I decided to go with a scrappy binding. I didn’t have enough of one color, so I used all the colors!

Join me LIVE!! If you have any questions, make sure to join me for my LIVE VIDEO. Today (Tuesday March 13th) at 10:15 am PST (West Coast USA) I will be filming a LIVE video in the Facebook Group to go over tips and answer any questions.

Make sure to share a photo of this weeks step on social media with the hashtag #AlohaRippleQAL or join the Facebook Group and post your photos!!
You can follow me on Instagram here: Instagram.com/HappyCloudCreations

Join the Facebook Group

If you haven’t downloaded the FREE Aloha Ripple Quilt Pattern yet, you can download it here:

Aloha Ripple Quilt Pattern

King Size Aloha Ripple Quilt – Supplement Updated

You can check out the previous week’s blog posts by click the links below.

 

Starting January 2nd: Download Pattern – Select your fabric and post a photo!
Week 1: January 16th: Cut fabric
Week 2: January 23rd: Make the Flying Geese
Week 3: January 30th: Make the Half Square Triangles
Week 4: February 6th: Make the Center Block (1)
Week 5: February 13th: Make Corner Blocks A (2)
Week 6: February 20th: Make Corner Blocks B (2)
Week 7: February 27th: Make the Stacked Flying Geese blocks (4)
Week 8: March 6th: Assemble your Quilt Top
Week 9: March 13th: Baste, Quilt and Bind your Quilt!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

 

 

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Aloha Ripple QAL – Week 7: Stacked Flying Geese Blocks

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Welcome to Week 7 of the Aloha Ripple Quilt Along!! This week we will be making our last blocks! Can you believe it! This quilt along is going so fast!

We will be making 4 Stacked Flying Geese blocks. 2 of them will have 5 flying geese in them and 2 of them will have 6 flying geese in them.

Making your Stacked Flying Geese block:

First I like to layout all my flying geese in the correct order. Then I like to sew two flying geese together at a time, until you sew the whole row together. Make sure to press your flying geese block according to the arrows on the pattern! This will ensure that your seams nest when you go to sew all your blocks together next week.

2 of these blocks will have an additional flying geese sewn to the top! These blocks will go together super quickly!

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If you have any questions, make sure to join me for my LIVE VIDEO. Tomorrow (Wednesday Feb. 21st) at 10:15 am PST (West Coast USA) I will be filming a LIVE video in the Facebook Group to go over tips and answer any questions.

Make sure to share a photo of this weeks step on social media with the hashtag #AlohaRippleQAL or join the Facebook Group and post a photo of  your stacked Flying Geese blocks!
You can follow me on Instagram here: Instagram.com/HappyCloudCreations

Join the Facebook Group

If you haven’t downloaded the FREE Aloha Ripple Quilt Pattern yet, you can find it in my Craftsy shop!

Download Pattern

Next week we will be put all our blocks together to make our quilt top! Yay!!!

Here is the full Quilt Along Schedule:

Starting January 2nd: Download Pattern – Select your fabric and post a photo!
Week 1: January 16th: Cut fabric
Week 2: January 23rd: Make the Flying Geese
Week 3: January 30th: Make the Half Square Triangles
Week 4: February 6th: Make the Center Block (1)
Week 5: February 13th: Make Corner Blocks A (2)
Week 6: February 20th: Make Corner Blocks B (2)
Week 7: February 27th: Make the Stacked Flying Geese blocks (4)
Week 8: March 6th: Assemble your Quilt Top
Week 9: March 13th: Baste, Quilt and Bind your Quilt!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

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Aloha Ripple QAL – Week 3: Half Square Triangles!

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Welcome to week 3 of our Aloha Ripple Quilt Along!!  This week we will be making lots and lots of half square triangles. (Download Pattern)

I love how versatile half square triangles are! You can make so many pretty designs using this basic block.

I like to make my Half Square Triangles with the 2 at 1 time method. If you have a different method you prefer, go for it! I like this method because all your finished edges will be straight grain and not on the bias.

To make the HST 2 at a time, I add 1 1/4 inch to the finished size HST. So our finished throw size HST will be 5 inches finished, so 5 + 1 1/4= 6 1/4 inches.
I like to give you plenty of wiggle room for when you are trimming your HST down to the correct size.

All of the 6 1/4 inch Main color squares will match up with 1 Background color square of the same size. (See the Aloha Ripple Quilt Pattern for amounts).

With right sides of fabric facing each other, lay one square on top of the other. Draw a line from one corner to the other diagonally. You will then sew a scant 1/4 from the seam on both sides. (Since this size square gives you plenty of wiggle room a regular 1/4 seam would work, I have you sewing a scant 1/4 inch seam, so the whole pattern is consistent.)
Cut down the center, Set your seams with your iron, finger press them open and then press open. SEE BELOW.
IMPORTANT – You will need to then trim down all of your half square triangles to the correct size. The throw size will be 5 1/2 inches. You will want to make sure to line your center seam up with the 45 degree angle on your ruler to insure that your points line up when sewing.

Since trimming the half square triangles can take a long time, next week we will have a super quick and easy block! You can start trimming the HST’s this week and finish trimming the remaining ones next week.

LIVE VIDEO: Join me today (Tuesday Jan 30th) at 10:15 am PST (West Coast USA) for a LIVE video in the Facebook Group to go over tips and answer any questions.

Make sure to share a photo of this weeks step on social media with the hashtag #AlohaRippleQAL or join the Facebook Group and post a photo of all your half square triangles!

Join the Facebook Group

Download Pattern

Next week we will make our first block, the Center Block!

Here is the full Quilt Along Schedule:

Starting January 2nd: Download Pattern – Select your fabric and post a photo!
Week 1: January 16th: Cut fabric
Week 2: January 23rd: Make the Flying Geese
Week 3: January 30th: Make the Half Square Triangles
Week 4: February 6th: Make the Center Block (1)
Week 5: February 13th: Make Corner Blocks A (2)
Week 6: February 20th: Make Corner Blocks B (2)
Week 7: February 27th: Make the Stacked Flying Geese blocks (4)
Week 8: March 6th: Assemble your Quilt Top
Week 9: March 13th: Baste, Quilt and Bind your Quilt!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

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Aloha Ripple Quilt Along – Week 1: Cut Fabric

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Welcome to the first week of the Aloha Ripple Quilt Along! Hopefully you have all your fabrics picked out and are ready to start cutting!

If you still need to download your FREE pattern click here!

Things you will need:

  • Rotary Cutter
  • Acrylic Ruler
  • Cutting Mat
  • Paper
  • Pen
  • Pins

When I make a quilt I like to cut all my pieces up front and label them to keep organized. Make sure you have a nice sharp blade for your Rotary cutter.

*Measure twice – Cut once*

I know everyone says it, but it’s true. You don’t want to rush your cutting and end up cutting your pieces too small.  You want to make sure you have plenty of fabric for the whole quilt.

When you cut out your pieces you will want to cut out the largest pieces first. Then cut the smaller pieces. This will ensure that you have enough fabric.

I like to take a little piece of paper and write the color and size on it and pin it to the stack of fabric. Since some of the sizes are very close, this helps me sew the correct pieces together.

Once they are all cut I like to stack them in a Gallon size Ziplock bag. That way I don’t loose any of my pieces.

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Make sure to read through ALL of the Basic instructions before starting your quilt. I’ve added instructions on how to test your scant 1/4 inch seam inside the basic instructions. Most quilt patterns require a scant 1/4 inch seam, they just don’t mention it. This 1/4 scant accounts for the little bit of fabric that is take up when you fold and press your seams open.

You will also want to look through the whole pattern to wrap the construction around your head before you start. You may need to cut your fabric differently if you want to make your flying geese or half square triangles with a different method than is listed in the pattern.

I like to go through all the steps and write in my color choices, so it’s less confusing when I get to those steps. You can also go through with a highlighter and mark the instructions for the size you are making, since the instructions are for baby, throw and queen size.

You could also tape pieces of your actual fabric to a pieces of paper and label it for reference.

Join me today at 10:15 am PST (West Coast USA) for a LIVE video in the Facebook Group to go over tips and answer any questions.

Make sure to share a photo of this weeks step on social media with the hashtag #AlohaRippleQAL or join the Facebook Group and post a photo!

Join the Facebook Group

Download Pattern

Next week we will be making our Flying Geese units! We will be using the 1 flying geese at a time method and the 4 at 1 time no waste method.

Here is the full Quilt Along Schedule:

Starting January 2nd: Download Pattern – Select your fabric and post a photo!
Week 1: January 16th: Cut fabric
Week 2: January 23rd: Make the Flying Geese
Week 3: January 30th: Make the Half Square Triangles
Week 4: February 6th: Make the Center Block (1)
Week 5: February 13th: Make Corner Blocks A (2)
Week 6: February 20th: Make Corner Blocks B (2)
Week 7: February 27th: Make the Stacked Flying Geese blocks (4)
Week 8: March 6th: Assemble your Quilt Top
Week 9: March 13th: Baste, Quilt and Bind your Quilt!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

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Block 6 – Stepping Stone Block (Happy Cloud Quilted Pot Holder Quilt Along)

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Wow! We are already at our last block of our Pot Holder Quilt along!! I love block 6 the Stepping Stone block. This block goes together quickly and is super cute!

When making this block I like to lay out all my pieces to see how the block will be when finished. Then go from there! Make sure to press your seams in an alternating direction so you can nest your seams (so the seams interlock) when sewing it together.

I can’t wait to see all of your creations with these past 6 blocks! Thank you everyone for joining in the fun and making these blocks with me!

DOWNLOAD THE FULL LENGTH PATTERN HERE! Full Length Pattern – Happy Cloud Quilted Pot Holders

I will be filming a LIVE video in the Facebook group tomorrow (Wednesday December 13th) at 10:15am PST. To share tips and answer any questions. You can also share your progress in our Facebook Group!

Click here

I can’t wait to see all of your pretty blocks!! Make sure to post them in the Facebook Group and on Social media you can share using #HCQPotholderQAL

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

Quilt Along Schedule
Oct. 27, 2017 – Week 1 – Fabric requirements and Pot Holder construction directions
Nov 7, 2017 – Week 2 –  Block 1 – Modified Log Cabin
Nov. 14, 2017  – Week 3 – Block 2 – Flying Geese
Nov. 21, 2017 –  Week 4 – Block 3 – Sawtooth Star
Nov. 28, 2017 – Week 5 – Block 4 – Crazy Flying Geese
Dec. 5, 2017 – Week 6 – Block 5 – Diamond in Diamond
Dec. 12, 2017 – Week 7 – Block 6 – Stepping Stone

WATCH THE FACEBOOK LIVE TUTORIAL VIDEO

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If you like this block, you may like my Stepping Stone Baby Quilt pattern! I made 4 of this baby quilt and plan on connecting them with a extra strip of fabric between to make an almost queen size quilt (87 1/2 x 87 1/2 inches). This will be a family cuddle quilt for our couch! My son’s name is Cloud and daughter’s name is Snow, so I found some cute cloud print and snowflake print fabrics. I’m hoping to finish this one up soon!

You can find my Stepping Stone Baby Quilt pattern in my pattern shop and in my Etsy Shop!

Happy Quilting!
Andrea

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Here is the baby size:

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