Nordic Christmas in September

Hey friends!

This is going to be a short blog post. Mostly, I just want to check in here. Sometimes I feel like checking in with you all is one thing that seems to slow my crazy world down. When weeks and months fly by I can look back at this blog and remember that I was there in September. I was there, I was sewing things. My weeks and months are full of love and work and fun, they are bracketed by sewing projects and finishes.

If I were to have a timeline for my life right now, it might be a series of quilts. I have been working (paying, work work) so much! We are just slammed right now. When I am not working I am thinking about work. Sewing is my sanity. My quiet place. I think you know what I mean.

Speaking of sanity... finishing projects is its own kind of sanity.

I finished my Nordic Christmas quilt (originally blogged here).

I love it. It is my kind of Christmas quilt. Subtle. Slightly traditional. Clean lines. 

I quilted it with a woodgrain design. It is my first time with this design and it was actually really fun.

We did some photos when were up in the Blue Ridge Mountains for our annual getaway. I wanted to share the process, because it was funny.

Do you all see my hair flying? I laughed out loud when I saw this picture. 

 Apparently I laughed out loud then too.

Then, finally a good picture.

Quilt Stats:

Name: Nordic Christmas (Tutorial avalaible here)

Size: 65" x 65"

Fabric: Folk Art Holiday by Gina Martin for Moda

Quilting: Woodgrain quilting with Aurifil thread

Finished: August 2014

I love you all so I am leaving you with this soothing picture. Mountains are my happy place. 

Nordic Christmas [Christmas in July]

Merry Christmas in July! This is a tutorial for a quick Christmas quilt. Seriously quick and fun. It is a Scandinavian inspired design I put together for Folk Art Holiday. This is something you can whip up quickly and enjoy all Christmas season! I just super sized this classic block for a fresh and fast Scandinavian inspired quilt.

Make sure to head over to the Sew Lux Blog to see the other fab tutorials.

As always, if you have any questions or if I made a mistake (known to happen, I am not a professional) let me know. I am happy to help and would love your input.

Nordic Christmas Tutorial

Finished Quilt Size: 65” x 65”

Finished Block Size: 25” x 25”

All seams are a scant ¼”

Skill level: Confident Beginner

Please read all of the instructions first before you start. 

Materials:

8 Fat Quarters of Folk Art Holiday (Available here)

3 yards Bella Bleached White

4 yards backing fabric

½ yard for binding

Coordinating Thread (I used this)

Supplies:

Basic quilting supplies (rotary cutter and mat, ruler, scissors, sewing machine, iron, etc)

6.5” Square Bloc-Loc Ruler (optional, but helpful)

Rotating cutting mat (optional, but helpful)

For each block cut (parenthesis note the prints from my example):

6 – 6 x 6” squares white

4 – 6 x 6” squares Print B (Green)

2 – 6 x 6” squares Print C (Blue Snowflake)

8 – 5.5 x 5.5” squares white

2 – 5.5 x 5.5” squares Print A (Blue Bird)

1 – 15.5 x 5.5” rectangle Print A (Blue Bird, cut this directionally so the birds stand upright, horizontally the long way)

1.    Make twelve (5.5 x 5.5”) half square triangles (HSTs) blocks, eight of Print B and four from Print C, using your 6 x 6” squares of the print fabrics paired with white. You can use your favorite method to make these HST blocks, I outline my favorite below (using your 6 x 6” squares):

a.     Draw a diagonal line through all six of the white squares using your fabric pen or a pencil.

b.     Pair the white squares with squares of Print B and C, right sides together.

c.      Sew ¼ inch on either side of the diagonal line for each pair of squares.

d.     Cut along pencil line.

e.     Press blocks, with seam toward darker fabric (print).

f.      Trim each HST unit to 5.5 x 5.5” (Use your Bloc-loc and rotating mat to make this painless and quick).

g.     You should have twelve half square triangle units (eight from Print B and four from Print C, all paired with white).

2.    Now it is time to layout your block. It is a 5 square by 5 square block unit. Lay the block out as pictured below (time to get Print A involved).

3.    Sew together in horizontal rows. When you are finished with rows 1 through 5, press the rows in opposite directions, row 1 to the right, row 2 to the left, row 3 to the right, etc. I used a technique called webbing my block (for a tutorial on that, see this video).

4.    Sew five rows together.

5.    Repeat to make four blocks. Each block measures 25.5” square.

Corner Stone Instructions:

Cut:

Eight – 3” by approximately 15” strips of each print you would like to use (I chose two red, two gray, two blue, and two green, using the Print A from each block.)

1.     Sew strips of the blue print to the red print, then strips of gray print to green print. Make sure you check to ensure directional prints are facing the same direction.

2.     Press all of the seams to one side (up for the blue and red and down for the green and gray).

3.     Cut 3" strips from the long strips. You need nine from each fabric set.

4.     Take one from each combination and sew together so seams lock. If you want all of your cornerstones to look the same just make sure to sew them in the same orientation.

5.     You will finish with nine 5.5 x 5.5” four patch blocks.

Sashing/Layout and Assembly:

Cut: 

Twelve – 25.5 x 5.5” strips of white for the sashing.

1.     To the left of each 25.5” square block attach a sashing strip. Sew blocks together in large strips and add one more sashing strip at the end. So your block units look as pictured. Press seams towards sashing.

2.    With the remaining sashing strips attach them with the four patch corner stones in between each strip. You will have 3 long strips. Press seams towards sashing.

3.     Sew sashing onto blocks, use pins at this stage to line up seams (even if you never use pins, trust me, you'll want to here).

4.     Sew rows of blocks together to complete your quilt top (use pins, you may need to ease in some seams to your blocks line up perfectly).

5.     Press! Step back and enjoy!

Now you can baste, quilt and bind your quilt in your favorite way!

I am off to finish this one. I will make it my personal goal to have this finished to show you by the end of the Christmas in July Challenge. I can’t wait to see what you make. 

Link up your projects by between July 21^st and August 4^th on the Sew Lux Blog for a chance to win fabulous prizes. More importantly, get a jump on the Christmas sewing and avoid the craziness that can come with that season! 

For complete challenge details see here.

Full Disclosure: This fabric was given to me in exchange for writing this tutorial, but I love Sew Lux and I buy fabric there all of the time. My endorsement of the shop is heartfelt and my opinions are my own. 

It's Christmas in July! 2014!

Hello there friends!

I am super excited to announce that Christmas in July is coming back to the Bacon Haus! July is when the manufacturers release the year's new Christmas fabrics. It seems crazy to be buying and sewing with Christmas fabrics when it is mid-summer, but getting a head start is never a bad idea. I am always running behind when it actually gets to holiday time!

To help you out with that, Chrissy and Linda of Sew Lux Fabrics have gathered together a group of bloggers to inspire you with tutorials with the 2014 Christmas lines.

I am sewing with Folk Art Holiday by Gina Martin. I have been smitten with this line since I first saw those birds and that shade of blue. This is my kind of Christmas line!

Here is a sneak peak of my project, which is actually finished, because I have to go to Alabama next week. But this tutorial is going to be epic, super fun and simple. Dare I say folksy? This quilt can be made with 8 fat quarters and 3 yards of solid (I found that Bella bleached white was the best match). It is super simple comes together fast (I promise).

Christmas is sneaky, and if you wait too long those fabrics will be sold out!

Never fear!

Sew Lux has you covered! The awesome mother and daughter team over at Sew Lux are offering 10% off all of the bundles featured in the Christmas in July bundles featured in the series. Bundles are on sale through 7/13 with coupon code NICELIST for 10% off.  This only applies to the bundles on the Christmas in July page - NOT all Christmas fabric. 

You should also go check out the Sew Lux website, it is shiny and new and definitely worth a perusal.

Here's our Schedule of Events for the Series:

• July 7th - Series Announcement & Bundle Sale
• July 14th - Solstice Wreath Mini Tutorial (See that cute wreath in our series button image? We'll show you how to make it here on the Sew Lux Blog!)
• July 21st - Sewing with Winter Wonderland - Lee of May Chappell
• July 22nd - Sewing with Be Jolly - Chrissy of Sew Lux
• July 23rd - Sewing the Folk Art Holiday - Sarah of Stitching & Bacon AND Megan of Quilt Story
• July 24th - Sewing with 25th & Pine - Tessa of The Sewing Chick AND Tracey of traceyjay quilts
• July 25th - Sewing with Solstice - Christen of Love by Hand AND Stephanie of Quarter Incher
• July 21-August 4th - Linky open to link up your projects
• August 5th - Winner Announced

Sew with Us!

To encourage you all to also get a start on your holiday sewing, we're offering up some prizes!  All you have to do is make a project using one of the tutorials from the series and link it up by August 4th!  You can use a bundle or fabric from your stash - it only has to use one of our 9 tutorials from this series!

Prizes

There will be two winners chosen at random and announced on August 5th. International friends are welcome to participate - your prize will be included with your shipment upon redeeming your gift certificate.

• Grand Prize: $50 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric, a set of 6 You're Sew Nice cards, and an assortment of three patterns by May Chappell
• 1st Prize: $25 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric, a set of 6 You're Sew Nice cards, and a pattern by May Chappell
  
  
  
  
  

Tree Trivet Tutorial [Christmas in July Sewing Challenge]

Happy Christmas in July!

For my tutorial in the Christmas in July Challenge, Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabrics sent me these gorgeous new prints from the Aspen Frost Line by Basic Grey (this exact fat quarter pack is on sale for 10% off right now, no coupon code needed). I LOVE this line. It is the perfect mix of scales and those low volume stripes, musical notes, and snowmen...

For my tutorial, I decided to go with something I wanted to use and give this Christmas. It has to be fast, because (real talk) no matter how much I plan ahead, I will forget someone and I need a go to present I can whip up in 20 minutes. Also, I live in a tiny little house. Teeny tiny (like 900 square feet tiny). In my teeny tiny house, we have this tiny little dining room table. I do not let that stop me from making huge dinners and inviting people over to share them! My table can't really hold a table runner and all of the food and plates.

So, how to get decorative without a huge table runner?

Some sweet little Christmas Tree Trivets.

I imagine using these all Christmas season. When they are on the table, they look so cute waiting for your warm dishes. After dinner,  you hang them up and they are beautiful seasonal decor!

A set of trivets would make great hostess gifts or would look fantastic along with a plate of cookies as a Christmas gift for a neighbor or friend. They come together really quickly and are a great way to show off adorable Christmas fabrics.

There is some really simple paper piecing for this pattern. Don't worry if you have never done paper piecing, because this project would be great for getting your feet wet. I will walk you through it.

Christmas Tree Trivet Tutorial
(This tutorial makes 1 tree trivet. I made a bunch to give out this Christmas quickly by cutting out the materials for a couple at a time)

Use 1/4" seams, unless otherwise noted

Supplies:
Pattern Pieces (download HERE)
Rotary Cutter/Mat/Ruler
Fabric Scissors and Paper Scissors
Pins
Coordinating Thread
Marking Tool (I like the Frixxon pen)
Washable Glue stick (optional, but useful)
Turning/Pointing Tool (optional, but useful)
Walking Foot (optional, but useful)
Add-a-Quarter Ruler (really, really optional)

Fabric/Materials:
I started with an eight pack of Fat Quarters of Apen Frost by Basic Grey for Moda from Sew Lux. Each trivet takes about a fat quarter of fabric total (so you could make at least 8 trivets with this fat quarter pack, but I bet you could squeeze out more).

Cut - 
1 - 7.5" x 9.5" piece of Insul-bright (regular cotton batting would work too, but be a little less insulating for your table)
1 - 7.5" x 9.5" piece of fabric for back (I would hold off cutting this until you have your pattern pieces for less waste)
1 - 1.5"x 4" rectangle for hanging loop (optional, could also use a 4" long piece of ribbon for a couple of these I used the fabric selvedge)
1 - 5" x 2" rectangle for trunk
1 - 9" x 4" piece of fabric for bottom of tree body (labeled 2 on tree pattern)
1 - 6" x 3.5" piece of fabric for middle of tree body (labeled 1 on tree pattern)
1 - 3.5" x 4" piece of fabric for top of tree body (labeled 3 on tree pattern)

Download and print the pattern pieces. There will be two sheets. Make sure to set your printer to scale 100%. Cut out the pattern pieces. You should have three pieces (Tree Body, Trunk, and Tree Back). You will need one copy of the tree body for each trivet, but you can reuse the pieces to cut the trunk and back multiple times.


Hanging Loop (Optional)

2. Using 1.5" x 4" rectangle, fold long (4" side) raw edges in 1/4" and press.

3. Fold these edges in to meet each other and press in half.

4. Topstitch along folded in edges, as close to the edge as you can comfortably. Then, topstitch along fold. This will be your hanging loop.

Tree Back and Insulation

1. Using your Tree Back pattern piece, cut one tree back from your chosen backing fabric and one from  Insul-bright. I like to use my marking pen to trace the pattern on the fabric and batting and then cut on my marked lines (I use a combination of rotary cutter and fabric scissors for this step).

2. Position backing fabric on top of batting, align edges. Set this aside.

Tree Front

1. Cut 1 trunk using the trunk pattern piece and 5"x 2" rectangle.

2. Position the 6"x 3.5" rectangle on the tree body pattern piece so the fabric overlaps at least 1/4" on all sides of the paper and the section labeled "1" on the tree. Using your glue stick, attach the fabric to the pattern piece with just a dab of glue. Make sure the right side of the fabric is facing away from the printed side of the pattern piece and the fabric hangs over the lines.

3. I trim my seams at this stage. Between the sections labeled "1" and "2" fold the paper along the line (not the fabric, just the paper).

4. Using the add a quarter ruler or a regular acrylic ruler trim the fabric to 1/4" away from the fold. Unfold the paper.

5. Position the 9" x 4" rectangle of fabric centered along the raw edge you just trimmed, right sides together. Make sure that when the fabric flips down it will cover the bottom of the paper.

6. Adjust your sewing machines stitch length to slightly shorter (on my machine the stitch length is 1). Sew through the paper attaching the two fabric pieces, following the line.

7. Unfold the fabric and press seam open, either with your finger or a dry iron.

8. Follow steps 3-7 to attach the top of the tree (section labeled "3" on the pattern piece). This time you are folding the line between sections 1 and 3 and trimming that side of the fabric. Use the remaining rectangle (3.5" x 4") for this section.

9. Using a hot iron, press the tree body (I turn the steam back on at this point).

10. Trim the tree along the pattern edges. You now have a triangle shape.

11. Remove the papers carefully. The narrow stitch length should keep you from ripping out your seams.

12. Fold tree body in half and finger press and fold trunk in half and finger press (see photos here).

13. Align the two center folds and pin right sides together.

14. Lengthen your stitch back to normal. Sew the trunk onto the tree (using 1/4" seam is very important here).

15. Press this seam down towards the trunk. This is important!

Making the Trivet

1. Line up up front of trivet and back of trivet/batting, right sides of fabric together. Batting facing outwards.

2. Position loop so both raw edges of tab are aligned, facing the seam and the loop is facing the inside of the tree. I leave the loop placement up to you. I like it towards the top of the tree. Pin loop in place.

3. Using your walking foot (optional, I forgot in this picture and it was fine) stitch around the tree using a 1/4" seam leaving an approximately 3" opening in the trunk for turning.

4. Trim all of the corners, be careful to not clip into the seam.

5. At the right angles between the tree and the trunk clip, trimming out tiny triangles if you can.

6. Turn the tree right sides out. Use your pointy turning tool if you have one, to push those corners out.

7. Press the tree well. At the opening in the trunk fold the raw edges in 1/4" and pin.

8. Using walking foot, top stitch all around the tree as close to the edge as you are comfortable. This should close up the opening at the bottom.

9. At this point, I like to add some quilting to the trivet. This is really just decorative. My favorite is the garland quilting, which I just do with my walking foot and some improvised curves. Quilting along the seams looks super cute too.

10. You have a Tree Trivet. Enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you make something for the contest, there are some terrific prizes up for grabs, just for starting your Christmas sewing early. It has been my pleasure to share with you today!

Don't miss these terrific tutorials.

Christmas In July Challenge Schedule

July 8 – Christen, Love by Hand

July 10 – Sarah, Stitching & Bacon

July 15 – Kelly, Kelby Sews

July 17 – Lyanna, Purple Panda Quilts

July 22 – Tessa, The Sewing Chick

July 24 – Kristen, KD Quilts


Don't forget to start and finish your own holiday sewing project to link up July 26-30 for a chance to win one of three amazing prize packs from these amazing sponsors!

Grand Prize

$40 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric
3 Sewing Prints from Pen & Paint
Paloma FQ bundle from Dear Stella
1 pattern from LBG Studio

Second Prize

FQ Bundle from Michael Miller
2 sewing prints from Pen & Paint
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric
1 pattern from LBG Studio

Third Prize

Havana FQ Bundle from Monaluna
1 sewing print from Pen & Paint
Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric


Winners will be selected by the judges, which will consist of all of the bloggers plus Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric. Entries will close on Tuesday, July 30 and winners will be announced on Friday, August 1. 

Check out this post at  Love By Hand for more details, but you do not need a blog and your sewing can be anything you have made in the month of July to get ahead on Christmas sewing.