The Tea Party Mini Quilt Pattern is a downloadable pattern, seven pages long in .pdf format. Those seven pages have lots of detailed photos of the different steps in the little pattern, plus plenty of written instructions.
Because we are not having to have copies of the pattern printed by a printer in an expensive four-color process, we are able to offer the pattern for just $2.50. There's no shipping charge either because you buy and download the pattern on your computer and print it on your own printer.
I envisioned this little pattern as a design you could whip up to hang in your office (pin to a cubicle wall, for example) or to enter in a quilt show as a subtle statement.
You could also applique the shield, cup and puddle of tea to a tote bag or to a shirt or on the back of a jacket. I'm expecting you to suggest other great uses for this design!
Gordon is putting together all the video he shot as I made this design for a much longer instructional or tutorial video for this pattern. It will be available free with the purchase of the $2.50 pattern. Pretty good bargain, huh?
Since this is my first For Sale pattern, I would value your feedback. Are the directions clear enough? I agonized over writing the pattern so that newbies would feel comfortable with this pattern, but I did not want the pattern to "talk down" to experienced quilters. I remember all too well being a newbie in quilting, and there are areas now that I feel nervous in trying.
Same thing with the video preview and the upcoming video tutorial. Let me know if it shows too much or not enough...if it is crystal clear or "clear as mud". (That's a Southern expression for something being hard to understand, murky, like trying to see through a glass of mud.)
What else do I need to tell you? You can always find this and future patterns at the link just under the blog header that says "Quilt Patterns".
Gordon has put an order button "Add to Cart" under the video in this post, but an order button is on the page of Quilt Patterns on this blog. You can pay via Paypal.
As you probably already know, through Paypal, which is a free service, you can pay via bank draft or by a credit card. Gordon tells me that you do not have to have a Paypal account (which is free) in order to make a one-time payment/purchase using Paypal. They want you to try it out and see how easy it is to use.
So, this little design that came to me on April 15, 2009, during a the television coverage of the Tea Parties, is now a pattern you can buy. To be honest, I'm nervous about starting my line of patterns with one that might evoke a few emotional responses.
If you have any questions about making this pattern, please do not hesitate to email me: penny(at)pennysanford(dot)com or pennysfikes(at)gmail(dot)com. (Gordon told me to write my email addresses that way so that the spam robotic computers will not add to all the spam I already get.)
Happy quilting!
Fondly,
Penny
If fabric is not your bag, then feel free to pass on this blog post. For Fabric Fondlers (i.e. Fabric Lovers) around the world, this is a Yellow Fix! Once again, my Fabric Addiction Enabler was Stitchin' Heaven.
I've found a NEW favorite yellow fabric. This is it!
This is a new-to-me fabric company, Studio E. Take a look at all the luscious colors in this particular line.
Note to Studio E: get this beautiful fabric out in some natural light to photograph it to show off the depth of the design.
This is a sateen, and I am 99.99% sure this will become a BUNCH of new pillowcases for our bed. After I wash the fabric and see how soft it is after washing, I will make my final decision.
The pattern and color had me at the first sun beam to flicker over the surface of this beautiful daffodil yellow fabric!
You might remember I am a pillow-aholic. We have 17 or so pillows on the bed, from buckwheat to Euro squares to a body pillow. Too expensive to buy matching pillowcases for all of those pillows, besides, I have made pillowcases for years and enjoy doing so. I make French seams and other tailored details that make the pillowcases last as long as the fabric holds together.
These fabrics pictured are all 100 percent cotton premium fabrics for quilting or home sewing. My previous absolute, all time favorite yellow fabric in the entire universe, "Sunshine" polka dot by April Cornell for Moda is shared here and here! I would still buy more of this fabric if I could find it!
Look at three pieces from Free Spirit Fabrics by designer Verna Mosquera.
I can't tell you the name of the fabric line (collection of coordinating fabrics by the same designer released in one particular season), but the three names of these coordinating prints are "Twisted Rose", "Miniature Rose" and "French Border Print".
These three tight weave sateen fabrics may also end up in pillowcases. The colors and prints work perfectly with a bedding set we already have, but who can't use some more pillowcases? *grin*
I really would like to know the thread count on these beautiful quilting cottons. Does anyone have any idea if that information is available?
Moving on to the third photo, how cute is the name, "Oddles of Poodles"? I'd buy the fabric (at the bottom of the picture) just for the name! It was designed by Cheri L. Strole for Moda Fabrics. (At least I think that is what was printed on the selvage. When type is printed in yellow on fabric, it can be hard to read!)
The beautiful fabric at the top of the third photo is "Roses" produced by Free Spirit Fabrics and designed by Donna Dewberry.
My previous favorite yellow fabric was an April Cornell print. Moda does seem to lavish her fabric designs on fabric with a soft, sateen weave.
These three corn-yellow pieces are no different. I love all three of them!
"Polka Dot", "Mulberry" is the middle fabric, off to the left of the picture, and "Portugal" is the one with the big flowers.
I need more of that "Mulberry", and maybe all three of these. Moda does not reprint its fabric, so if I decide I will need more of one of these, I'd better make that decision fast before these beauties are sold out!
I do have another piece of yellow to show you and some great fabric from Australia...but that will have to wait for another post. What fabric colors do you find irresistible?
It's raining today. A pretty, gentle, summer rain. I would normally enjoy a rain like the one we had today, but my "acute bronchitis" has been getting worse all week, and we have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow, hoping she can end this three-month saga.
Anyway, I need cheering up, so I have been editing some photos I took last week of pretty yellow fabrics. Here follows some pretty pictures and prattle.
First, I will confess I have a problem with this out-of-print "Sunshine" by April Cornell for Moda. I'm obsessed with it. If a fabric could represent the complexities of a human's existence, THIS fabric is how I would want to be as a human. Don't ask me to explain that. I cannot.
The fabric was introduced to the consumer in 2007, I think. Of course, I did not discover it until late 2008. I ordered my first yard. I even prattled about it in this blog.
Then I started looking for more of this fabric. I wanted enough for a backing of a king size quilt, 9 to 10 yards. I found the almost-six yard length that I snatched up.
Browsing around the Internet late one night recently, I stumbled across this beautiful eight yard length ON SALE! AND the shop accepted PayPal, meaning I could pay for my "fix" straight from the bank account...forget some little bill that might need to be set aside for a while...I needed a Fabric Fix!
Well, my fabric shopping has been greatly curtailed this year, so I get even more excited when a package with fabric arrives! I've had to do a little fabric shopping for a special commissioned quilt that I'm currently working on. You will see it when it is all finished. *grin*
While sorting and organizing my fabric stash, I decided to take a photo of some of it. This Tower of Happy Yellow represents most of my yellow fabric stash.
Another piece I bought long ago I was delighted to find a similar piece recently. It is the yellow batik pictured in this post.
While I was enjoying photographing yellow fabrics that day, I shot this favorite yellow print by Sue Penn. I cannot remember the name of the fabric line or the manufacturer. I had cut off that info from the selvage to look for later. That little piece of selvage will show up. I have a little collection of them since i am always looking for various out of print fabrics.
A previous fabric orgy here
First, my serendipity from yesterday.
I put my cutting mat on Mama's old rolling hospital bedside table. It turns 360 degrees. It adjusts in height. It worked wonderfully with my new 24 inch cutting ruler. Even the tiny lip of the table helped in my cutting project.
There I was in the lap of cutting luxury, in my padded, rolling office chair, cutting quilt pieces in total comfort. I will designate this little hospital table to be my small cutting surface for ever and ever.
No, we did not lift it from a hospital. We ordered after Mama's stroke in 2004 from a Sears Medical Supply catalog. It makes a great laptop table or hand-sewing surface for when one melts into a recliner and needs a rolling table to roll under one's extended feet.
Now for my questions of you:
I need to designate one of our 6 foot folding tables to be a cutting table for larger stuff. I've seen some pretty large self-healing cutting mats on eBay. If you know of a source with good prices, please let me know.
What are the recommendations for the height of such a cutting table?
I'd like to cover the boring brown fake grain with something pretty and colorful. Oilcloth? Fabric with a top layer of thick clear vinyl? What would be durable?
Alicia Paulson (Posy Gets Cozy Blog) used concrete blocks to raise the height of her cutting table.
Another question: Not all self-healing mats are made equal, apparently. My cutting mat, above, was a bargain from eBay. Maybe I have left it in the hot car to bake...it started life as my cutting mat to take to quilting classes. It does not "self heal" as well as I expected. Is there a brand of self-healing cutting mat that you would recommend?
My eyes, ears and brain are all open to learn from your experience! Thanks, in advance!
First, look up to the navigation bar under the banner. See "Program Notes"? That is the new page I compiled with notes, links, resources and a partial bibliography from my program on Historic Quilts. I'll continue to add Program Notes for future multi-media programs or speeches that Gordon and I put on.
I also plan to have a page listing the programs that we have prepared to give to any group that needs a program.
Here are photos from the Show & Tell portion of the West Alabama Quilters Guild meeting in Tuscaloosa, AL, Saturday, April 11, 2009. Hopefully someone will come behind and leave comments identifying the quilters and the pattern names. I'll number the photos so that you can refer to a specific photo number.
Photo 1
Photo 2
Photo 3 (OH, how I love an interesting quilt back.)
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7
Photo 8
Photo 9
Photo 10
Vintage and Antique quilts from the Guild meeting to share with you next time.
When Gordon and I attended a DAR meeting in Ruleville, Mississippi, earlier this summer to give my quilt program, one of the ladies brought one of her family quilts to show to the rest of us.
Frieda Hardee's grandmother made this happy yellow quilt around 1930. I adore the colors and the pattern.
Frieda shared the following heart-warming memories with me about her grandmother and this beloved family heirloom:
"My grandmother quilted out
of necessity, and she did beautiful work. She was also an accomplished seamstress who
could make any garment with NO pattern! She could look at it and then make it,
and it would be perfect.
"I can sew, but certainly did not inherit her ability to
do it with no help. When this particular quilt was made, my grandmother lived in
Greenbrier, AR and my grandfather was a farmer. My grandfather used to say he
hated to see winter come because he would have to walk around a quilting frame
for months.
"Fabrics came from a local mercantile and some were feed
sacks. My mother could look at the quilts and identify scraps from her
clothing. My grandmother made shirts for my grandfather and uncle, too, and my
mother said that she did not get her first store bought dress until she was a
senior in high school in 1942!
"My grandmother always allowed me to play with her
sewing things, and she showed me what to do when I wanted to learn to sew. I
helped her hook rugs and watched her sew on the treadle machine she had.
"When
she passed away, she still had my first pieces of needlework in frames on
her wall. She always made me feel like my work was outstanding. I have several
of her quilts which are very dear to me. They will be passed down to her great
grandchildren someday."
Frieda is a quilter and a fellow member of the Mississippi Quilt Association. She is also a fellow member of the Mississippi State Society Daughters of the American Revolution.
Through these two organizations, she has participated in various quilt documentation and oral history projects.
I see Frieda's gift of herself to document the quilts of others as a continuation of the gift her grandmother gave her...the love and appreciation of fabric, appreciation of sewing as an art form, and preserving family memories in quilts.
Frieda, every time I look at this picture of your grandmother's quilt, it makes me smile. It is a happy, cozy, comfort quilt! Thanks for sharing it with us.
The yellow bird fabric arrived today. "Bird Seed" by Alexander Henry, copyright 2006. I love it even more in person!
The business card from the seller gives a good visual size reference.
I'm still leaning toward Jan's suggestion to use a disappearing nine patch pattern. Many, many thanks to Ronda's suggestions for accompanying fabric choices to make the nine patch "disappear".
I have this fabric open where I can study it as I type. I think the right companion fabrics are en route, if not, it will be fun to keep looking.
The next hurdle will be to actually cut into the fabric. Many fabrics just seduce me to the point that I don't want to cut into it. Do any of you have this problem too?
This seller, JCB Designs, had some excellent packaging. Clear cello self-adhesive bag with promotional sticker to keep the fabric clean. Business card. Free fat quarter of fabric, also wrapped.
The third picture is the free fat quarter fabric. There was no name on the selvage, so if you are interested in identifying this fabric, you can email Jennifer at JCB Designs at the link in the previous paragraph.
Then, a package arrived from Shirley of Be Creative Quilting Fabric, an eBay seller with whom I've done business with for years. Deep contented sigh. Fabric therapy.
I love, love, love the playful yellow dotted fabric. "Sunshine" by April Cornell for Moda.
Gotta find more of this fabric. I can see it ending up in dog clothes, pillowcases, quilting projects. It is happy-making fabric.
Then on to my quest to find the same fabric as in the Block of the Month quilt kit "Botanika" by Robyn Pandolph. I've blogged about this applique quilt project here, here, here and here.
When I cut the provided background fabric into squares for the applique, I allowed a little extra fabric, as I always do. Somehow, I came up short and will be one background block short.
Beside that, I love the fabric for background for applique, and I'd like to do another applique quilt in this or a similar fabric.
The three fabrics from 3 Sisters for Moda are close, but not the same. If you happen to know the pattern or manufacturer of this background fabric (behind the applique leaves), please let me know so that I can find some more of it.
The sage and yellow in "Sanctuary" by 3 Sisters for Moda would make a nice background for applique. You will definitely see that yellow "Sanctuary" fabric in a future quilt project. I bought seven yards of it, and I really, really like it.
Now to wash and press fabric while I wait for the rest of the yellows to arrive to accompany the "Bird Seed" fabric in the previously discussed quilt. I'm really looking forward to getting started on this yellow bird quilt.
Jan suggested I try a Disappearing Nine Patch for cheery new quilt project. That looks like a perfect suggestion.
Here is a beautiful quilt in this pattern. Look at the stunning quilting on this lovely quilt! This quilt comes with a free tutorial.
To think this generous lady made this quilt for the children's ward of her local hospital.
How does that work? Do the quilts get laundered and re-used, or does a quilt stay with a terminally ill child?
So, using this beautiful quilt as inspiration, I should use the bird fabric as the big accent blocks... the flowers on the black background as the border fabric... the batik yellow with orange worms as one of the long pieces around the focus fabric...
That leaves the other long piece around the focus fabric and the small square to choose.
I don't have any of those quilt designing programs. Quite frankly, I'm not sure I would have time for the learning curve. Do I need another yellow fabric like the two yellows in this example?
HELP, gentle readers!
You know, I just have not been able to muster the umph to work on a quilt since Daddles died while I was sewing on a new design at the sewing machine. Gotta break that spell.
I've done a little applique, but my heart has not quite been in it. Gotta let go of the guilt that she needed me, and I was playing at sewing.
Some brand new fabric over which I have been drooling for a while. Something bold and bright and inspiring. Lots of happy yellow to influence my mood.
Please help me choose among the fabrics below for a new, easy, easy quilt. Something with large blocks or borders. Yellow brick road pattern, maybe. Suggestions?
So tonight I decided to pick out my Christmas present. It is not going to be the combined birthday/Christmas and anniversary present for which i have tried to save. I've told Gordon that each year, instead of a bunch of little presents I'd like one nice piece of jewelry for birthday, Christmas and anniversary. Maybe next year. I said that last year. "sigh"
What do you think of this focus fabric? This is the one I can't get out of my mind, so it needs to come live here, right? It i produced by Alexander Henry, and I think it was introduced last year. That means it won't be around for much longer.
With a few exceptions for very successful fabric lines, the companies only produce a fabric for a year, and then they move on to fresh designs and fresh colors.
It keeps fabric-aholics like me hopelessly hooked on adding to our fabric stash!
Then I found this Aunt Grace reproduction fabric in the eBay store of one of my favorite eBay fabric sellers. She runs a tab for me when I ask, and that gets dangerous. I've had to be increasingly budget disciplined this year, so fabric shopping online tonight is like chocolate!
So, those two fabrics are now ordered. Now I need to pick out some more fabrics. I have to fight hard my tendency to be too "matchy" with fabric, and that is where I need your help.
This batik looked like little worms to me, and I thought that would be appropriate for the birds in the quilt. I'm "seeing" this quilt as light and airy with the Aunt Grace fabric being the heaviest visual impact. The yellow with red worms can be an accent fabric, maybe even the binding? Maybe the backing of the quilt?
To lighten the quilt, I thought a cream and black dot would be nice. I wish I could find a cream with more random dots. The background of the birds is cream, and the daisies are cream.
I did find a paint splatter print that I thought would work instead of the symmetrical dots. It is called Tints and Tones from Kauffman. I can't quite tell the colors in it from this picture. If it does not work for this quilt, it will work for something else.
This green swirl looks nice. It is made by Moda Since the green in the bird print and the green in the daisy print are not the same, it probably does not matter if this swirl green is more like the daisy leaf green? What do you think?
See, I struggle with this, so your input will be greatly appreciated.
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