Can't Stay Away For Long....

So I designed a lot of patterns. Not all got tested so not all ended up on FandomInStitches. Instead they sat in a dark corner of Google Drive, untested and unknown. Sad, I know. In my defense, most things I design I do intend to one day make myself. Maybe. Someday. Or not.

Anyway, FiS decides they want to do a Rankin and Bass Christmas Quilt A Long. And who has a couple Rankin and Bass patterns sitting dusty and unused? You got it. So FiS asked me to pull them out and get them tested. Suddenly I'm back in the quilting world after a long hiatus. So let me introduce the Miser Brothers:

Heat Miser
(tested by Jessica A, Kimberlee B and Jeanie P)

Snow Miser
(tested by Jessica A and Jeanie P)

I can finally post them now that they have gone live on the FiS website. Tweeking the patterns has gotten me designing again and if you check out my Quilt Blocks I've Designed page, you will find a lot of new patterns. Untested of course.

The X-Files Quilt Along: FBI Badge

So I'm doing a quilt along with FandomInStitches. It's an X-Files quilt. Not one of my fav fandoms, but I have a friend that would love it when its done so it's totally his. If I ever finish it. Most of the blocks are embroidered and that is not my fav type of block. So when they asked designers to make a block I had to do paper pieced. I designed it for 10x10 but after I re-read the rules I found it had to be 6x6 so I re-sized it. The problem is there is a lot of very tiny pieces. Go slowly and iron  the ever-loving hell out of it.

Jar Jar Binks Quilt Block

Tested by Simon B. Photo used with permission.

FandomInStitches is planning a Star Wars post and asked their designers to make a new Star Wars block. That was tricky. There is a lot of SW quilts out there. I finally settled on Jar Jar. Yeah, yeah, I know that a lot of the fandom hates him with a burning passion, but you can't deny that he is a major character and thus deserving of  his own quilt block.

This is just my submission. You guys are gonna LOVE all the things the other designers have come up with. Stay tuned, it should be posted in the next week or so.

The Auryn

Tested by Angela G.

A new quilt block from the FandomInStitches request page. The Auryn from Never-Ending Story. It's been a rather long time since I saw the movie, but the Auryn turned out awesome! Angela put the block together for me and I fixed some minor issues she had with lines not meeting up quite right. Overall this block as got me thinking about translating some Celtic Knots into quilt blocks. How cool would that be?

The Serenity Quilt Block

Photo used with permission from Helen C.

A request came into Fandom In Stitches for the starship Serenity from the TV show Firefly. Well, as luck would have it, I already had that pattern made up and just needed to be tested! So here we have the firefly class ship "Serenity." The tester is thinking of adding embroidery to outline windows and panels which I whole-heartily encourage. I designed it as a silhouette in mind, but as a focus piece it probably needs the embroidery. Some flaws were found in the pattern, but hopefully I have fixed them and simplified the joins. Enjoy!

Blackhawks Logo Quilt Block

Photo by Dyana C. Photo used with permission.

Last week we had an urgent request come into our quilt block designing group. A woman was desperate for a Chicago Blackhawks logo design for a gift quilt. She was running out of time before the birthday party. I happened to be online when the urgent request came thru, so I figured why not? Seemed easy enough. I downloaded a picture of the logo she wanted and designed the block that night. I don't think she's going to do any of the optional embroidery, but there is instructions for that if anyone else does want to do it. I do believe this is my first real face and I'm kind of proud of it. She did a fantastic job sewing it as well. I think it was her first paper pieced quilt block.

For anyone who is looking for a fandom related quilt block and just can't find it, this is the link for submitting requests to FandomInStitches. 

Pokéball Quilt Block

Tested by Stephanie T. Photo used with permission 

Last week I decided to spend the day at the library. I like my library. The quiet peace of a hundred people working and learning. I find it soothing. So when I need a mini vacation I spend the day there. Good food in the cafe, free wifi, anything and everything I could ever want to look up, its all there. For some reason I wanted to see how fast I could make a quilt design. Beginning to end, finding the photo, designing it, writing up the cover page, all the way to compressing it all into a pdf. I looked at our spreadsheet that lists all the requests people have submitted to FandomInStitches and wanted to pick and easy block to do. The Pokéball from Pokémon seemed easy enough to do. So I timed myself. 43 minutes if your interested. Now that is not typical, this really was an easier one to do, but now I really have a urge to just go down the list of requests and do them all. There is like 300 requests so I don't think I can do em all. Maybe if I had internet at home I'd spend a few weeks knocking them off the list. For now I'll just putter around with them.

My tester said the ball didn't really want to get lined up nicely so I'm going back and seeing if there is anything I can do to make it easier to assemble, but until then its done.

World Of Warcraft Quilt: Tyrande Whisperwind

I have a very good friend that met about 8 years ago playing World Of Warcraft. We are still really good friends today. I decided I was gonna make him a quilt celebrating our time in WoW. I wasn't gonna post these blocks in case he saw them, but then he guessed what I was doing so it totally ruined the surprise. All well, now at least he can have some say in what blocks I do. The first block I've finished is Tyrande Whisperwind, the leader of the Night Elves in Darnassus. He picked the picture from one of the books. I just tried to mimic it.

Having her one hand out and pointing didn't look right as a quilt block so I moved it behind her cat. I'm now trying to decide how much embroidery to do. I know I'll add the bowstring, but what about faces? I like her without, but the cat needs something. And if I do the cat I should do her too. Not sure. I'm still thinking about it.

Oh and here's a neat picture of the back before I tear the paper off. Maybe I'll do a tutorial of how to do paper piecing quilts, but until then I'll just refer you all to the tutorials on FandomInStitches.com

Bunnicula

FandomInStitches is doing a special Halloween fandom post and they asked me to design a block for it. I had no idea what to do. I was thinking of a fav TV show, Rosanne, always had Halloween specials but what quilt block could represent that?  Far as I know, Star Trek never had a Halloween special, I've already done a ton of Supernatural blocks, but maybe the scarecrow could have worked for that. Then for some reason I thought of the children's book Bunnicula that I loved as a kid. Bunnicula is a vampire rabbit that drains the juices from vegetables leaving them white, dry husks. Kinda cute and still fits the Halloween fandom theme, right? Well I hope you guys like it.

Here is Bunnicula before the embroidery:

And the cover I took inspiration from:

Supernatural Quilt: It's Done!

Yes, the Impala has wheels now.

Finally! It's (mostly) done! And I posted it just in time for the #SupernaturalArtShow on Twitter yesterday. I'm still adding more actual quilting to it, but for all intents and purposes it is done. This is my first actually finished quilt. I've made a couple quilt tops in the past, but never got to the point of adding the batting and bottom layer and sewing it together. It sounds weird, but quilting is the most boring part of quilting. Quilters understand. The fun part is piecing the blocks and assembling the top.

Next up, a small throw pillow gift for a friend's birthday that I'm already late with and another themed quilt for another friend (World Of Warcraft this time).

Supernatural Quilt: Assembling The Top

So I've been slacking off a bit on my quilt. I got all my squares done, I just hadn't assembled them yet. Then just yesterday I heard that some Supernatural fans are putting together an art showshow on Oct 3rd. Now I have a reason to finish it and a deadline to keep me focused. In one day I squared up my blocks, cut out sashing and corner squares, and assembled most of the top. It's starting to look more like a quilt! However the eagle eyed viewer will notice the Impala STILL doesn't have wheels. I know, I know, it's still on my to-do list. At this point I had to call it a day and go to work, but the plan for today is another row of sashing on the outer edge and another grey border to finish the top. Tomorrow I hope to pick up batting and sandwich the quilt. Following days will be for quilting. That will take the longest because I'm gonna do that by hand and that will NOT be my favorite part. Hopefully it will be presentable by the 3rd.

Check out the art show on Twitter on October 3rd. Follow the hashtag #SupernaturalArtShow for all the artists participating.

Guardians Of The Galaxy Quilt Block

Tested and photo by Elise C.

My first Guardians of the Galaxy block! I'm not doing a quilt of this so I just designed the block and another woman tested it. She's making a Marvel based quilt for a friend and asked for an Awesome Mix Vol. 1 block. I'm glad it went together well for her :D

Supernatural Quilt: Anti-Possession Tattoo

Well, I finally got it done. The Anti Possession Tattoo was a pain in my neck the whole time, but Wow! I'm so glad it's done. The tattoo helps keep the boys from getting possessed by demons. Now, I am not an experienced quilter so my lines are not very straight and my corners don't match up the best, but a much more experienced quilter in my Facebook group tested this same pattern for me and hers looks fantastic!

By Linda E. Photo used with permission

This is what it is supposed to look like when done professionally. Maybe I'll take a fabric marker to mine to hide some of the flaws. I'm so excited for this one. Most of my Supernatural patterns will be on FandomInStitches.com Thursdays starting the end of this month.

Quilt Designer!

It's official, I am now an official quilt designer! My first block, Ruby's Knife has just been published over on FandomInStitches.com. I even got the designer badge to go on my blog. *giggle* The others should be posting over there in the next couple weeks or so.

In celebration I'll do a quick post on how I design my blocks. First and foremost I use QuiltAssistant software. It's free online, but I do highly recommend the tutorials on FIS. They will walk you thru step by step on how to use it. I was so confused by the software until I checked out the tutorials. Make no mistake, I am still learning, but this is where I started.

Kaylee's Umbrella pattern

With the hard part done, next I make the instruction page. This is the page that tells you how to assemble the pieces into the block, shows what the finished block should look like, any embroidery that needs to be added, and any other information you may need. I design it all in MicrosoftPaint. I don't know if its free, but it came with my computer so I use it. Quick note: QuiltAssistant won't tell you how to assemble the pieces logically into a block. You just need to puzzle that out yourself (or maybe it does and I just don't know where to look for that yet. Like I said, I'm still learning).

Cover Page for Ruby's Knife

Ok, this part that stumped me for a while. You now have a quilt pattern that is saved as a .qa2 file and a picture that is saved as a .jpg or .png file. How do you make it so people that don't have those same programs can open the files? Well, you convert it to a .pdf file. Most computers can open .pdf's. I use CutePDF to convert the various extenstions to .pdf's. CutePDF is a free software that you can also download online. One thing to mention tho, to use it, just act like your going to print your file. When the print dialog box comes up, just make sure to select the CutePDF printer. It doesn't actually print it, just converts it. Took me 3 days to figure out that one :P

Last little step is optional, but makes it easier for other people. You now have 2 .pdf's for your pattern. The pattern itself and the cover page you made for it. Now to combine the two of them so others only have to print off one link instead of two. PDFill can easily combine your .pdf's into one easy link. I just used the free PDFill tools, but there is more available on their website. Again, it's all free. I don't really bother with software I have to buy.

You now have one link with the quilt block you designed. You can give the link out to your friends in an attachment in an email if you like. I personally upload them to Google Drive so I can link them to my blog. It gives you guys an easy place to go to get the files. Just make sure your privacy setting is set so others can view the link. There you go! That is the current process I go thru to make my quilt blocks. Hope it encourages you all to try your hand at designing your own!

The Road So Far...

I'm getting ready to make my large centerpiece square, but that won't be ready to post for a while yet. It's a big one and very complicated. So until it's done and ready to be shown, here's a look at all the blocks I've made so far.

All blocks designed by me can be found Here. Any made by others can be found on FandomInStitches.com

Starting at the top we have the Samulet.

Designed by me. Twice. I like this simpler slim-lined look. I wish I'd used a more golden fabric for it, but I like it anyway.

Next is Bobby's Hat.

I adore it, but I'm probably not submitting it to FiS. Another designer has used the same reference picture and I think her's looks better. Mine needs an outline to see what it is, her's doesn't. So she'll submit hers, but mine will be here on this page.

John Winchester's Journal. I adore this one! All the embroidery variations available for the blank page makes me giddy to think about!

The Colt.

I'm contemplating outlining this one. I did add the pentacle on the grip, but it might benefit from a total outline. Otherwise I also love this one.

Angel Wings by Jessica Blacknall

All the feathers make this one a stunning piece, but also a complicated one. Be careful of the piece closest to the center, the feathers are tiny and require some concentration.

Castiel's Handprint.

This one seems to be the favorite of all my friends. My co-worker has even threatened to steal it before I can get it into my quilt :). I've been thinking about outlining all my blocks, but this one I don't think needs it. I'd even go so far as to say outlining this one might detract from it. I'm not sure, but I'm not gonna outline this one.

*Surprise Block that I can't talk about yet and just now realized was in this picture. You're getting a sneak peek at a block by accident. It's still being tested and isn't ready to be posted yet.*

The Impala by Jennifer Olfenstein

This is the block that started it all. I have no idea why, but I saw a fabric at the store, the same fabric that borders this block in the picture at the top, and thought it would be great for the Impala to be on for a Supernatural Quilt. Searching for an Impala pattern online brought me to FandomInStitches. From there I fell in love with fandom quilts and started to design my own blocks. And yeah, I still haven't added wheels to it. It's on my list of things to do lol.

Demon's Trap Bullet by Jessica Blacknall

I like this pattern, but I might make it over in colors that match the rest of the quilt better. You just really can't make it out, all the values are too close together.

The First Blade

Another pattern that benefited from an embroidered outline. I love how it turned out, the bone/fossil colored fabric just makes it.

Ruby's Knife

The very first quilt pattern I ever designed. I'm still proud of it. It is also the first one to be posted on FandomInStitches.

The Mark Of Cain

Another stunning pattern. More complex than you'd think for such a simple symbol. The rounded edges add more pieces which adds to the difficulty.

There you go. Those are my quilt blocks so far. Now to work on the centerpiece then to decide how I want to finish it off.

Supernatural Quilt: The First Blade

"He found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, so he reached out and took it and killed a thousand men with it." Judges 15:15

The First Blade is the blade fashioned from the jawbone of an ass that Cain used to kill his brother Able. The Blade works with the Mark of Cain to kill nearly anything. Dean uses it to kill Abbadon, a Knight of Hell. Without the Mark the Blade is just an old bone.

I adore the fabric I found for the First Blade. I really looks like bone! I did add an outline to it to help define the teeth. I wasn't planning on it, but the squares with outlining look fantastic so I'm considering outlining them all. That would be a bit of a pain for a girl who really doesn't care for hand sewing. Here is a picture of the Blade without the outline. See how much it helps it?

This pattern and others like it can be found here. But only the ones I created myself. If someone else designed the pattern you can find it on FandomInStitches.com.

Supernatural Quilt: The Colt

They say Samuel Colt made a gun. A special gun. He made it for a hunter, a man like us only on horseback. Story goes he made thirteen bullets, and this hunter used the gun a half dozen times before he disappeared, the gun along with him...They say...they say this gun can kill anything.  ~John Winchester

The Colt is the gun that can kill nearly anything. Demons, vampires, even a phoenix. The gun has a pentacle carved into the grip that I will ad with embroidery. It also has the words "Non Timebo Mala" etched along the barrel, but I haven't decided whether I will add that. It might be too small to get it all on there legibly. Designed and made by me, I will submit this to FandomInStitches as soon as I fix a few small issues in the pattern.

Supernatural Quilt: The Mark of Cain

Therefore whoever kills Cain, vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold, and the Lord appointed a sign for Cain, so that no one finding him would slay him. Genesis 4.14

Dean takes on the Mark of Cain in order to use the First Blade, the Blade being the only thing that can kill Abbadon, a Knight of Hell. The consequences of the Mark however may not be something he will be able to live with. A pattern designed and made by me soon to be available on FandomInStitches.

Supernatural Quilt: Bobby's Hat

Bobby Singer is the fatherly figure Sam and Dean needed. The person their actual father couldn't afford to be. Bobby is a grizzly old hunter that turns out to be a beloved teddy bear. One of his most recognizable features is the battered and dirty old trucker caps he wears all the time. This baseball hat is an easy pattern, however, without embroidery to emphasize the shapes it is difficult to tell exactally what it is. I fear even with the stitching, if you don't already know what it is you won't know what it is. I made it so I can't not see a baseball hat so please let me know in the comments if you can't tell right away what it is. Here is a pic without embroidery. See how harder it is to make it out?

I also put the hat on a background of plaid. The sheer amount of flannel the hunters in this show wear... Well, I wanted to represent flannel so I used a homespun cotton for the background. Also included is *SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't seen season 7, don't finish reading past this point. This point right here. I mean it. Don't say I didn't warn you. I also included the bullet hole in the hat. I almost didn't, but including it made it undeniably Bobby's hat. Aww Bobby *sniffle*

Supernatural Quilt: John Winchester's Journal

"Dad's on a Hunting trip and hasn't been home in a few days." -Dean Winchester

Their father's journal is perhaps the brothers' most prized possession. In it they find all the knowledge their father has gathered about all the monsters he's ever hunted.

I'm actually kinda in love with this block. There is several different embriodery variations possible for the blank page. I chose the circled Dean with coordinates though I almost did the Wendigo page. I had an earlier version were I pieced all the ribbons and medals, but I am very glad I changed my mind and used stitching for some of it. It turned out smaller than I thought it would and piecing it would have been near impossible. As it is not all the embroidery is done. I ran out of red thread for the Vietnam Service Ribbon and the other pin.

Here is a pic of the block without any embroidery.