Category: quilting

PDF download, quilting, tutorials

2022 Project Recap

Deb Gehringer

It’s time to look back on 2022 and revisit completed projects, and in all there weren’t that many!

My first finished project was a wine bottle bag as a hostess gift; it definitely makes a lovely presentation when gifting a bottle of wine. It’s a really quick project that only requires a fat quarter and a ribbon! Download the free PDF tutorial here.

Next up is a pillow cover of a cute little lion. This is an easy project that can be completed in just an afternoon. The cover fits a 16″ pillow form. Lazy Lion pillow cover pattern is available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

My first 2022 quilt pattern releases were Pinwheels Galore Mini quilt and Pinwheels Galore quilt which is available in several sizes. Both patterns can be found in my Etsy shop.

Pinwheels Galore Mini Quilt

Pinwheels Galore Baby Quilt

To celebrate Christmas in July, I released a fun and whimsical pattern called Christmastime. It’s a table topper or wall hanging, and it’s definitely a fun one to watch come together. And, the tree is constructed with no half square triangles!

If we want to talk favorites, I’d have to say my Stitches & Stars is up there. I made mine using fat quarters from the Elements collection by Art Gallery Fabrics. I just love this line and I think this pattern is a great way to showcase the beautiful jewel tones. Stitches & Stars comes in four sizes and is a popular choice among quilters. 🙂

Making handmade gifts for Christmas has become something I do year after year. In 2022, I made pillowcases and a darling Easter mini quilt for family members.

Lastly, I made a mini tree skirt for a new tree addition in my sun room. It’s also a quick and simple project and can be made in no time.

That wraps up 2022 projects. I’ve got plenty planned for 2023 so be sure to stop back! 😉

modern quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, PDF pattern, quilting, quilts

Star Shimmer Quilt Pattern

Deb Gehringer

New year, new pattern! I couldn’t wait to get everything together to have this pattern, Star Shimmer, released in January. I finished the quilt top last year but it’s finally ready for purchase in my Etsy shop. 🙂

Star Shimmer is an instant PDF download chock-full of easy-to-follow and colorful diagrams. It’s a fat quarter friendly pattern available in 3 sizes: baby, small throw and large throw.

My quilt (above) is small throw size made with Kona Cotton New 1930’s collection. I envisioned it in pastels and this fabric did not disappoint!

Star Shimmer is suitable for a confident quilter and above. The blocks are on the larger side so they come together rather quickly. Plus it’s just a fun one to create.

And, if you’re always wondering what to do with cut-away corners—there’s no worries as they’re used to make half square triangles resulting in very little waste! Always a win.

Envisioning yours in your favorite fabric line? Grab some fat quarters and give it a try. There are so many color options that would definitely make this one shine.

Christmas, fabric project, quilting, quilts, Uncategorized

A Mini Tree Skirt

Deb Gehringer

This Christmas season I bought a little 4’ pre-lit artificial tree to brighten up my sunroom. At first, I wasn’t going to do much but light it, then I decided to add a few decorations but keep it simple.

First, I hung a variety of colored bead strands then added crocheted snowflakes my daughter made me a while back. Wanting a rustic look, I found a lightweight star ornament with a deer scene that’s perfect for my ‘in the pines’ setting. My husband easily made a wire spring, drilled it into the bottom and voilà—a star topper is born! 🙂

Once I’d gotten to this point, I knew a tree skirt would be in order. Years ago, I purchased a 10” Dresden ruler for making mini tree skirts I gave as gifts, so already having that was great. I also had leftovers from five holiday fat quarters from last year’s stockings. It ended up I was able to get two Desden cuts from each—exactly what was needed.

I used a tonal white-on-white flower print (leftover from my Scrappy On Point Four Patch quilt) for contrast fabric, and luckily had enough Kona Red solid to make the bias binding. I was ready to go!

Sewing the Dresden pieces together goes really fast. I think it took me more time to press the fabric and cut them. 😉 I used a metallic holly berry print with a green background for the backing, also a leftover.

Figuring how to quilt it was a bit more of a challenge. On the others, I quilted a tree in each section but that required a lot of hiding thread ends that I didn’t want to do. I thought of going around circle after circle, but was afraid it would look like a spider web…so I let that idea rest for a few days.

Nothing else came to mind so I decided to give circles a try after all. To start, I quilted about ½” down from the center. I set up my walking foot guide to 1 ½” and continued from top to bottom.

The quilting ended up looking nice, and I don’t think it looks anything like a spider web. 😉

Next was attaching the binding. Since I lack experience with sewing circles, I knew my sewing skills would be put to the test, but overall it was a good turnout!

I now have a scrappy mini tree skirt and this little tree is decked out for the holidays!

If you’ve got a small tree, I suggest giving this project a try. It’s fast and easy. Also, these little tree skirts make great gifts, too.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas, mini quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, quilting

Wee Three Trees Kits

Deb Gehringer

Wee Three Trees is now available in kits! Shabby Fabrics has this little mini pattern bundled with festive fabric so that one-stop shopping makes it easy. Inside the kit you will find beautiful Moda fabric and a paper copy of the pattern. Kits are limited so be sure to order early! 🙂

Have your own fabric? No problem! You can purchase either a paper or PDF pattern in my Etsy shop.

Wee Three Trees is designed for the confident beginner, but of course it’s a fun make for anyone. Plus, it goes together fast making it a great weekend project. And now’s the time to start on that holiday sewing, right? 😉

baby quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, patterns, PDF pattern, quilting, quilts

Pinwheels Galore Quilt Pattern

Deb Gehringer

Pinwheels Galore quilt pattern is available for purchase in my Etsy shop. My last post introduced Pinwheels Galore Mini quilt but if you’d like to try it in a larger size you now have four choices – baby, throw, twin and queen.

My sample shown above is a baby quilt made with Blossom fabrics by Riley Blake.

Here’s some information about the pattern: the pinwheels use 10″ squares making it layer cake friendly and the cut-away waste is minimal. And of course, there’s always the option of going scrappy!

The pieced sashing requires small amounts of yardage. Like the mini, this also goes together quickly because it’s designed for strip piecing and chain piecing.

With so many size options available coupled with a quick finish and cuteness, there’s got to be a perfect size for everyone!

home decor, PDF download, PDF pattern, quilting

Lazy Lion Pillow Cover Pattern

Deb Gehringer

My great nephew was about to celebrate his 1st birthday and I automatically went into ‘What can I make him?’ mode, because, of course, handmade gifts are always best. 😉 He loves watching the Lion King so I decided my lion mini pattern would make the perfect gift, but as a pillow.

I easily made some revisions to the old pattern by adding a thin border to frame the lion’s face and then I added outer borders to get the block to the size needed for the pillow form.

Here it is…

I’ve entitled it Lazy Lion because basically all lions are! It’s now available for purchase in my Etsy shop as a PDF download. The finished cover fits a 16″ x 16″ pillow form.

While the lion block is traditionally pieced, the eyes are raw edge applique and I did some basic straight stitch embroidery for the mouth. If you enjoy adding a personal hand-crafted touch to your projects, this one’s for you! And it’s easy enough for a beginner.

As another option you could replace the appliqued eyes with buttons, but I wanted mine 100% baby-proof, plus I like handwork sometimes, so I opted for applique. You could always quilt the front, too.

This lion block is fun to make, and it’s so versatile—you could make it into a mini quilt, a table topper, a placemat or make a lot of lion blocks and create an adorable quilt. The choice is yours! 🙂

monday morning designs quilt pattern, quilting, quilts, Uncategorized

2021 Project Recap

Deb Gehringer

Every year I like to take a look back at the projects I completed. While there were plenty of quilts and small projects, there was also a significant pause where I made absolutely nothing. Just needed a break I guess. 😉

I started the year off with a new pattern, Floriography. I designed it for a layer cake and tested it with one I’d had since 2015. The original pattern had square-in-a-square blocks in the sashing but once I made it I thought it might be too much fuss and if I thought so, other quilters would too. I still may offer it as Floriography II if there’s enough interest.

After completion, I ended up altering the pattern and offsetting the blocks so this is Floriography as it is today. The pattern is still layer cake friendly and is available for purchase in my Etsy shop. So far it’s been pretty popular and it’s so versatile with fabric cuts and colors, I used fat quarters!

Next, I played around with my Triangle Twizzle pattern by making a baby quilt first. Doing so helped me get the design where I wanted it. I really liked this one, especially the lovely pastels.

After tweaking the pattern, I ended up with my final version of Triangle Twizzle which is available in my Etsy shop with three size options: baby, small throw and large throw. It’s very easy and great for the beginner quilter.

For this quick finish I used various 2 1/2″ strips for an outdoor quilt as per my daughter’s request. She wanted it just big enough to sit on or cover up with and nothing fancy. All I did was gather a bunch of strips and put them together for a super scrappy look. The backing was a mix of gray pieces in random sizes which didn’t matter since it would be used primarily on the ground.

For the quilting, I experimented with a short zigzag stitch and really liked the results.

By early March I finished my Playful Pastels baby quilt for the Fall 2021 issue of Quilts and more. This pattern will be available when I have my copyrights back, making it the end of February 2022. I’m excited to release this pattern, renamed Pinwheels Galore; it’ll be available in four sizes: baby, throw, twin and queen.

Used with permission from Quilts & More magazine. ©2021 Meredith Corporation. All rights reserved.

I made The Ghost Quilt by Pen + Paper Patterns and along with it I made a few minis. It was a fun one, but it was also a ‘one and done’ one!

This was an ongoing quilt that I made using 2 1/2″ squares I cut as leftovers, although I did have to buy some yardage for the background. I absolutely love this quilt…except for the quilting…it just isn’t what I’d hoped for but it was a fun make and will someday be used on my queen size bed.

Other projects included reusable grocery bags, wine bottle bags, a pillowcase, fall leaf minis, Christmas stockings and table napkins. (A PDF wine bottle bag tutorial will be posted soon!)

I also have two other patterns nearing completion. Here’s a peek at one entitled Christmastime. It’s wall hanging size and will be available in July! The other quilt will be available in several sizes and features the ever-popular sawtooth star.

That wraps up last year and here’s looking forward to a quilty 2022! 🙂

Christmas, quilting, Uncategorized

Christmas Stockings Galore

Deb Gehringer

After making a Triangle Peaks Christmas quilt last winter, I had several whimsical fabrics left over from a Moda fat quarter bundle.

I figured the leftovers would be best showcased in smaller, festive projects instead of a quilt so I decided to make handmade stockings for my family and a wine bottle bag for a host/hostess gift for an upcoming holiday party.

As a side note, I’ve written a tutorial for making this wine bottle gift bag. It’s a really quick make and requires a small amount of materials. I’ll post the tutorial sometime soon!

To get started on the stockings, I did a bit of searching to find a tutorial that best suited my needs. I wanted to make them with a one-piece front and I wanted to quilt them. I found a pattern called ‘Stocking Up’ on the All People Quilt website that was exactly what I had in mind.

I was hopeful to get two fronts out of one fat quarter, but because all fat quarters are not cut equally, I was only able to get two out of one of them. Since I was making six stockings and one wine bottle bag, and I needed fabric for cuffs, I ended up going to my LQS for an additional fat quarter.

I don’t have much of a stash but I was able to put together nice combinations of stocking fronts and cuffs with what I had on hand (one fat quarter shown ended up getting swapped out).

Having used fat quarters instead of yardage, I opted to sew a solid matching color for the backs omitting both the lining and quilting.

There were a few steps in the making process that threw me—I got confused trying to think inside out and backwards but I managed alright in the end. 😉

I chose to quilt all six the same. The front piece is a rectangle so I drew a diagonal line from corner to corner using a hera marker then quilted every 1 1/4″ with white thread.

I love the diamond pattern.

I also made my cuffs a 1/2″ longer than the pattern, just a personal preference.

I really like the variety of colors and fabrics, and overall this was a fun project to make this time of year. I’m very happy with them and I hope my recipients will be as well!

Merry Christmas!

quilting, sewing, Uncategorized

Save that Selvage!

Deb Gehringer

Ever since I started quilting I’ve been saving selvages. Even though I have plenty, I can’t seem to stop saving ones that have fun sayings and cute drawings printed on them.

Since I like to keep things to a minimum, I’ve found a great way to use some of those selvages—wrap them on gifts instead of ribbon—and this is the perfect time of year to do so.

Each Christmas I like to give my family members something handmade, and because everyone has received at least two quilts from me, I’ve had to think of other things to make. For the last few every years I’ve gifted my husband a bird-themed pillow case wrapped with colorful selvage.

Other gifts I’ve dressed up by using selvage is table napkins made for my kids. When I completed this set I wrapped it with selvage and tied a pretty bow. I think it classes up the bundle and makes a nice presentation.

(If you’d like to make table napkins for yourself or as gifts, I have a PDF Table Napkin Tutorial available).

Of course another good way to use selvage is wrapping and gifting a quilt. When I gift a quilt I always find a selvage that compliments the fabrics. By doing this there’s nothing to buy and I’m ready to gift or ship without doing any shopping. Nothing like saving time and money!

Another bonus to saving and using selvages is that they’re really easy to store. I just bundle a few together, place them in a large zip-lock bag and keep it in my scrap bin. It doesn’t matter that they’re creased and wrinkled, just press and trim when needed.

Not only does this put pretty selvages to good use (that may otherwise be tossed out), it’s convenient and environmentally friendly! 🙂

fall decor, home decor, mini quilts, quilt blocks, quilting

Maple Leaf Minis

Deb Gehringer

A couple of years ago I made a Maple Charm throw quilt by Coriander Quilts. It’s a definite all-time favorite and I bring it out every autumn (for display only). 🙂

But lately, for some reason, I’ve really slowed down on making larger size quilts and I’ve been focusing on making minis or other small sewing projects instead. Hopefully I’ve just misplaced my quilt-making motivation for a while and it’ll show up soon. 😉

In the meantime, I wanted something more than just the quilt to decorate with so I decided to make minis using just one block. I chose three traditional autumn colors for the leaves: orange, yellow and red. Some fabrics were used in the quilt, others I’ve accumulated recently.

Picking out the fabric is half the fun, isn’t it? So, once my fabric choices were decided, I made one block out of each color. For the background I used Moda’s Cream Solid, the same fabric as in the full size quilt.

Since I wanted the minis a bit bigger than the block, I added a finished 1/2″ inner border using dark brown fabric to frame the leaf in. I then added a finished 1″ outer background fabric border to make it complete. The minis finish at 15″ x 15″.

I quilted the orange and yellow minis with a diagonal serpentine stitch to give a falling/windy effect which I thought worked out rather nicely.

I quilted the red mini in a 1″ square grid, just for something different than the other two.

I also added a corner hanging sleeve in all four corners—that way I can orient the mini any way I want. This hanging method is so easy! If you’re not familiar with it, I have a Corner Hanging Sleeve Tutorial on my website if you want to give it a try.

Overall, these were a really fun project and added great color and variety to my autumn décor. They also would make nice table setting minis for your holiday displays…another reason to make a few.

Happy Thanksgiving!