Uncategorized – Page 3 – Monday Morning Designs

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

Pinwheels Galore Queen Size Quilt

December 8, 2023December 14, 2023 Deb Gehringer

In the fall of 2022, I found myself (once again) making another quilt for my bed to use up leftover fabric. Since I’d already made a queen size on point scrappy quilt, I thought it was time to make one using my own pattern.

I had a variety of beautiful fabrics to use so I decided on Pinwheels Galore because 1. I love to sew pinwheels 2. the pinwheels are on the larger size so I knew they’d showcase all the lovely, vibrant colors.

Pinwheels Galor e is an easy, 10″ square friendly pattern. Just make pinwheels, strip piece the bars for sashing and voilà, you’ve got yourself a quilt. The pattern is a PDF download and four sizes are available: baby, throw, twin and queen.

To start, I chose the most colorful fabrics I had enough of and began making HST for the pinwheel blocks. Fabrics included: Art Gallery Elements and Matchmade by Pat Bravo of Art Gallery Fabrics, Moda Rustic Weave and Grunge, Bedrock by Windham Fabrics and Blossom by Riley Blake.

Here’s a look at some HST before creating the pinwheels.

I needed 72 pinwheels which works out to 288 HST. That’s a lot! I made sure of an even balance between lights, darks and colorways.

Because of the sheer number of HST needed, chain piecing came in very handy.

Here’s a look at some pinwheel blocks…

After finishing all the pinwheels, it was time to start the sashing. I’d designed the pattern to include strip piecing, so with that there’s chain piecing, too. I can’t say enough about how easy this pattern is, and fast!

While working on this quilt I completed other projects, took breaks, etc. Start to finish time was several months which was intended as I was in no hurry. I had everything sewn together in April 2023.

Here it is after trimming threads on the back; an annoying task and time consuming, but completely necessary. 😉

In August, I sent it off for longarming. For the quilting pattern, I chose Euphoria by Urban Elementz. I love how it turned out! Here it is on the cutting table for trimming off excess batting and backing.

I had made the binding long before I sent out the quilt. I was glad of that because it was ready to go once I got the quilt back. I used different colors of Blossom by Riley Blake. While it’s one of my favorite collections because of the small print and variety of colors, it frays a lot. That said, it took me quite a while to trim the binding edge before basting it down for machine sewing.

Lastly, here’s my finished quilt…

For backing, I used a wide width due to the amount needed. The fabric here is Lava Lamps by Whistler Studio. I love that every color on the back is seen on the front.

For this photo I added pillows I made but keep elsewhere in my home. I thought they looked cute so I included them. 😉

That ends my major projects for 2023! And I doubt there’ll be any more queen size quilts in my future, but who knows…

Christmas, modern quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, PDF download, quilting, Uncategorized

Winter Woodlands Quilt Pattern

November 20, 2023November 19, 2023 Deb Gehringer

To end this year’s quilt pattern releases, I’d like to introduce my Winter Woodlands PDF pattern, now available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

Winter Woodlands is a nod to my best selling pattern, Wee Three Trees mini quilt. For quite a while I’d been thinking about making the mini into a larger version and here it is! Just think of it as Wee Three Trees grown up. 😉

For my quilt, I used Moda’s jelly roll Merry Little Christmas by Bonnie and Camille.

This collection is so festive and is a perfect choice for this quilt. I love the traditional red and green and that teal is also included.

Since the pattern is written for a throw size quilt (finishes 55″ x 60 ½”) you can make it all from a jelly roll, including the binding!

Winter Woodlands block made from Moda’s Evergreen Collection

I know I say it a lot, but my testers all agreed this is a quick make! It’s geared toward confident quilters; yet if you’re a quilter looking to build your quilting skills, give it a whirl.

It’s the perfect time with the holiday season upon us, so I hope you’ll get your copy and add a festive quilt to your home for this coming winter.

halloween, modern quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, quilts, Uncategorized

Making My Spooky Kittens Throw Quilt

August 28, 2023August 21, 2023 Deb Gehringer

My last entry was about the release of my latest pattern, Spooky Kittens. Since this quilt has gotten quite a bit of interest, I decided to post a write-up with photos for a more in-depth look at my process.

I’d like to start by mentioning that not only is this pattern beginner friendly, it sews together fast and instructions include 2 fabric choices, either fat quarters or yardage. And also for beginners, there are no half square triangles which can sometimes be a challenge!

To make my quilt, I used yardage since I had most of the solids I wanted to use on hand.

Kona Cottons from L to R – Morning Glory, Black, Citrus, Quicksilver

Once my colors were chosen, it was time to get started. In a nutshell, this pattern consists of making two mirrored kitten blocks, adding sashing then putting it all together. All testers agreed—it’s a quick make.

And here’s why…throughout the pattern there are several places where you can chain piece: when assembling the kitten heads and again when attaching sashing strips. It’s no secret that chain piecing is an excellent time-saver. 😉

You can also chain piece when attaching kitten heads to background pieces, as I did here…

And again when sewing the kittens blocks together making finishing blocks a breeze.

Once the blocks were sewn and my layout was complete, it was time to sew the blocks and vertical sashing strips into rows. At this point, everything was coming together as I envisioned so I was pretty happy about that. 🙂

With rows completed, the last thing to do was attach the sashing. Here’s a tip for handling the sashing strips; once they’re sewn into long strips, wrap them around something sturdy so they will unfold nicely when you’re attaching them to rows.

I used comic book cardboard backing boards for wrapping and it worked great. (I happen to have a whole pack for wrapping and storing my solid fabrics). If you don’t have any on hand, cardboard or anything sturdy will work just fine.

Once my quilt top was complete, I had to pause a while waiting for a fabric order. I wanted something Halloween themed for the backing and I found the perfect fabric. It’s from Free Spirit’s line Spell Bound and it features black chains on a festive orange background. It was the perfect compliment to the quilt front.

With my quilt top complete, my backing fabric cut, sewn and pressed, it was time to sandwich and pin baste my quilt. Not a favorite part of the process but I managed to get through it easily enough. 😉

After basting, I needed to decide on a quilting pattern. Since the kittens are shorter blocks, I thought the quilting would showcase best by running horizontally. And because the kittens are a bit ‘spooky’, I decided the quilting should give that sort of vibe, too. That said, I chose a three-stitch zigzag with the lines spaced 1 1/4″ apart.

I used medium gray Aurifil thread (2605), and was pleased with the results.

Since the binding is the finishing touch—I consider it ‘framing in’ the quilt, kind of like choosing the right frame for a piece of art—I wanted something to set it off.

I also wanted to use a common Halloween color so I went with purple.

So here it is—my version of Spooky Kittens complete!

One last thing…I had my test block leftover so I decided to make it into a mini quilt. For this, I used the serpentine quilting motif sewn with a lighter gray thread. I also used Kiwi Kona cotton for the binding. It’ll make a great wall hanging in a small area.

There you have it, easy and quick! And a great quilt to add to your Halloween decor. I hope you enjoy this fun Halloween quilt and you try one out for yourself.

halloween, modern quilts, PDF pattern, quilts, Uncategorized

Spooky Kittens Quilt Pattern

August 14, 2023August 14, 2023 Deb Gehringer

It’s nearly back to school and that means back to the sewing machine! With Halloween just a mere 78 days away, you’ll have more than enough time to whip up my latest quilt pattern, Spoo ky Kitten s. It’s now available for purchase in my Etsy shop.

To all the Halloween lovers out there, this quilt’s for you. Spooky Kittens has a lot to offer…first of all, it’s beginner friendly. The pattern is written for throw size; it consists of just two mirrored blocks, sashing, and presto, it’s done!

Another bonus is that the pattern comes with two fabric options—yardage or fat quarters.

I made mine using yardage. For the back, I went with a really fun print with black chains on an orange background. With all the seasonal fabrics out there, you’ll surely find something to make yours unique!

I’d love to see your version of this fun and easy quilt! With either fabric option you choose it’s sure to be a Halloween favorite. 🙂

home decor, mini quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, quilting, Uncategorized

Cozy Kittens Mini Quilt Pattern

July 10, 2023July 8, 2023 Deb Gehringer

Every year I like to release a winter holiday pattern and this year’s pattern is ready to go just in time for Christmas in July. It’s called Cozy Kittens and it can be purchased in my Etsy shop.

Cozy Kittens measures 23 ½” wide x 17″ high, so I consider it a mini quilt but it’s also a great size for a table topper.

What’s more? It’s written for fat eighths but I bet if you dig into your scrap bin you’d find plenty in there for this one. 🙂

This cute little mini quilt is suitable for the confident beginner and testers all agreed that it goes together really fast!

If you’re looking for a quick sew and want to get your holiday sewing underway early, get your copy and get started. Happy Sewing!

baby quilts, modern quilts, monday morning designs quilt pattern, quilting, quilts, Uncategorized

Stitches & Stars Baby Quilt Finish

April 18, 2023April 17, 2023 Deb Gehringer

Finally, another quilt finish! While this is only my second quilt for the year, I do have a couple of new patterns in the works that I’m excited to share fairly soon.

Yesterday I finished a baby version of my Stitches & Stars pattern. I decided to make this to help use up some extra fabric, mostly solids. I also had on hand a variety of colorful bindings from other makes. I attached them all together and came up with a myriad of colors. It’s definitely a fun look and certainly adds some brights, too.

For this baby version, I used soft-colored solids for the stars. The sashing, the “stitches”, are made using a tone-on-tone print by Art Gallery Fabrics. I feel accenting with gray is always a good choice. 😉

Since it’s for baby, I thought I’d soften the whole look by using an off-white solid on both the front and back. And to add some extra flair, I sewed together the cut-aways and made a fun stripe on the back.

For the quilting, I ran a vertical serpentine stitch every 1 1/2″ which gives it that lovely, crinkly-quilty look.

I released Stitches & Stars in 2022. It’s a really fun pattern to make, and if you’re one who loves star quilts it would be a perfect pattern for you.

I have decided to put this for sale on my Etsy shop hoping a cute baby will receive it soon!

fabric project, mini quilts, Uncategorized

Black and White Checkerboard Mini

March 6, 2023February 21, 2023 Deb Gehringer

A couple of years ago I made The Ghost Quilt that resulted in dozens of cut-away corners. Not being one to waste and certainly being one who’s always looking for something to make with such things, I held on to them.

Knowing I wouldn’t get to this project anytime soon, I had to find a way to keep the corners together. I stacked bundles about 3 inches high then hand-sewed through them making a loop.

I put them in a bag, and then they sat for over a year and a half. One day in the middle of winter I went through my fabric looking for inspiration. My sewing room closet doesn’t allow for a lot of storage so upon finding the bundles I decided it was time to make something.

The first thing to do was make half square triangles. After chain piecing the pairs, pressing and trimming (a couple of days worth of work) there were over 160 HST!

A sane quilter wouldn’t have taken this project on for several reasons. First of all, the cut-aways were very small. Once sewn and squared, the HST measured 1 5/8″. Meaning once sewn into something they’d finished at 1 1/8″. That’s crazy small. But there I was.

Out of all the design options, I’d settled on checkerboard. I’ve got to admit, once sewn, I didn’t really like it. Once quilted, I still didn’t like it. But it’s a gift and I hoped the recipient would.

Here’s a few photos of the process…

As you can see, there were a lot of threads to cut AND I used quite a bit of starch due to the bulk.

Here’s the finished mini.

After putting it away for a few weeks then getting it out to photograph, I did end up liking it. I think the white binding is just right, too.

Overall, this was a challenge I felt I needed. I also found it interesting how at one point I was ready to toss it but decided not to, and in the end was glad I didn’t. 🙂

PDF download, tutorials, Uncategorized

How to Make a Quilt Hanging Sleeve – A Quick & Easy Tutorial

January 2, 2023December 26, 2022 Deb Gehringer

I thought I’d start off the new year with a new tutorial. If you have a quilt you’d like to hang for display then this is just what you’re looking for…

I’ve created a hanging sleeve tutorial that’s easy-to-follow and chock-full of photos and tips. It’s also a PDF so it can be downloaded and referenced whenever needed. Even if you don’t sew with a machine, you could easily sew one by hand.

It’s also a quick make…only an hour or so and it’s done!

Christmas, fabric project, quilting, quilts, Uncategorized

A Mini Tree Skirt

December 19, 2022December 14, 2022 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!

diy, fabric project, tutorials, Uncategorized

Re-cover Your Portable Ironing Board

October 10, 2022October 4, 2022 Deb Gehringer

A few years ago I upcycled a plywood board that was used for delivering an irrigation pump. Not only was it the perfect size for a portable ironing board, it only needed two small holes plugged to ready it for its next purpose.

A new re-cover was long over due, so I got supplies ready and chose some pretty fabric for the top. Since winter is on the way, I decided to use a stylish pink, orange and white fabric to help brighten my space on darker days. Of course, this lovely print will do all year around.

The next step was to sew an approximate half inch seam along each edge.

Next, I removed the staples and took off the old top. I expected to see stained batting, but since I’ve stopped using a leaky iron it was still like new; I didn’t have to replace it (I did add an extra layer though).

After pressing my cover, my husband stapled on the batting then the fabric cover. After several staples and about ten minutes, I had a finished ironing board.

It’s so cheery!