3and3quarters

TUTORIAL // FPP Friendship Circle Block!

GET THE PATTERN: FriendshipCircleBlockTemplate_3and3quarters

Hi all!

Although my Post-A-Day Challenge for September fizzled away too near to the end of the month, I’ve re-kindled the friendship between me and blog and we’re ready to present to you another awesome Quilt Block Tutorial! Yay!

So you may’ve already guessed what the block in question is by the title of this post, the title of the template pattern and the thumbnail of the video below…

But despite all of that, the block we’re learning how to make today is the Foundation Paper Pieced Friendship Circle Block! (Whew, what a mouth full!)

Everything you’ll need to know on how to piece this little beauty together is in the video below and trust me when I say that this block is easier to make than it looks!

FINAL BLOCK SIZE:
13&1/4″x13&1/4″ approx. (33.5cmx33.5cm)

FABRIC INFO:
You can easily make this block using Fat Eighths, Fat Quarters as well as those little scraps that tend to float around your sewing room! Be as creative or as safe as you like when it comes to choosing the fabrics that you think would look best in this block!

CUTTING INFO:
Cut these amounts for each section in the template. (These amounts are to make one full block.)
A1 & B1: x8 2.5″x2.5″ square
A2 & B2: x8 4.5″x4″ rectangle
A3 & B3: x8 4″x5.5″ rectangle
A4 & B4: x8 2″x6″ rectangle
A5 & B5: x8 3.5″x3.5″ square

TOOLS & NOTIONS:
Brother Innovis 200QE sewing machine
Brother 1/4″ sewing foot
Gutermann polyester thread
OLFA Cutting Mat
Fiskars Rotary Blade (28mm)
Sew Easy Rulers
Bostick Glue Stick
Triumph Craft Scissors
Birch Non-Melt Flower Head Quilting Pins
Clover Serrated Tracing Wheel http://goo.gl/kS3aoi
Clover Finger Presser http://goo.gl/IOXilY
Spray Starch
Philips Azur Iron

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If you’re keen-as-beans to make this block, let me know how you go and don’t forget to share your finished blocks with me either on my Facebook page, Instagram and Twitter (@3and3quarters) or through email: 3and3quarters@gmail.com. I would love to see how you interpret this block! And if you have any questions, don’t feel shy to ask – I’m always happy to help! 🙂

I hope all have the most terrific weekend!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

September 25th: Favourites & Finishes!

Oh man, I knew it would happen! Our Internet conveniently died yesterday, ruining my good run of publishing a new blog post everyday during September! I did try to attempt to get onto WordPress yesterday, but all I was met with was a blank screen and that annoying little circle of lines that goes round and round when you’re waiting for something to refresh or load! Oh well, it is what it is!

So now that we have our Internet back in all it’s beautiful high-speed glory, I can share with you today what I was going to share with you yesterday!

My Notting Hill House Mini is finished!! Yay! (Well, no. A slight lie there. I still need to attach a rod pocket so that I can hang it up. But other than that, it really is finished!)

Oh, I swoon! It’s just so lovely! I can’t believe I was so unsure about the fabrics I picked – but they all work so well with each other! Hooray!

I was planning on quilting it in a grid-like pattern, similar to the original but on the day I quilted it I was more in the mood to stick with my classic straight-line quilting style than to branch out of my comfort zone! I’m really am so happy with how it worked out though. Super modern. Super chic. Super darling!

And today I caught myself gushing even more about this Mini in my September Favourites video! It’s been a while since I shared my monthly favourites on my blog! I hope you enjoy watching it!

Here’s a list of the things I chatted about in the video…

My September Favourites
Florence + The Machine Album, ‘How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful’ (2015)
Petal Pincushions / TUTORIAL
Notting Hill House Mini Quilt by Nadra Ridgeway
HER WEBSITE
THE PATTERN
‘Be Brave. Be Bold.’ Book from Kikki.K
Revlon Highlighting Palette in 020 Rose Glow
Photography / CAMERA: Canon EOS 600D DSLR

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I hope you all have a wonderful weekend wherever you are in the world and use the time to sew til your hearts content!

Happy Sewing, friends!

September 23rd: TUTORIAL // The Mountain Block!

It’s been a while in the making, but here it is: The Mountain Block tutorial!

FABRIC
Wildwood by Elizabeth Olwen for Cloud9 Fabric, in Wild Flower.
Prima 100% Cotton Homespun, in White.

MEASUREMENT & CUTTING
From the white solid fabric cut:
x1: 8.5″ square

From the print fabric cut:
x1: 8.5″ square

FINAL UNIT SIZE

6.5″x8″/17cmx21cm (approx.)

FINAL BLOCK SIZE

15.5″x12&6/8″ / 40cmx32.5cm (approx.)

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As I mention in the tutorial, you have free reign on how big or small you want to make your mountain block! In no way must you stick with the measurements I’ve provided – you can be as adventurous and as creative as you like when piecing it together! The only thing you need to remember is to cut your HST in the opposite direction to achieve that wonderfully awesome mirrored effect in the block!

Here are a few great examples I found on Pinterest of the mountain block (also known as the Delectable Mountain/s block) being used to create such effective and beautiful modern quilts!

The quilt by Quilts by Emily

The quilt by Quilternity’s Place

The quilt by Wendy Meyen

The quilt by Old Red Barn Co.

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Let me know if you’re excited to give this block a go! It’s perfect for intermediate beginners and would be great to use to get some of those scrap fabric piles down to a better height!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

September 22nd: One Tired Auntie!

Here in Australia, it’s the first week of the school holidays! (Similar to a mid-semester break!) So today I took my two oldest nephews into the city to visit the Powerhouse Museum and to see a fun and interactive Minecraft World that they have there at the moment!

Both boys loved it, especially the oldest one, Caleb who likes to play Minecraft a lot! At the exhibition they had a room full of cardboard Minecraft blocks for the kids to stack and build their own worlds, colour-in stations, interactive game play, green-screen photo sessions and a petting zoo (full of the cardboard animal characters!). Even Steve was there!

Caleb with Steve/ Building Blocks/ The Petting Zoo!

While we were at the museum we also had a bit of a look at The Wiggles exhibition, a beautiful Jewellery display along with all of the other permanent favourites that are there like the big Spaceship, the old steam trains and interactive science labs. So much fun!

However, although the day was super fun, this poor Auntie is now struggling to keep her eyes open as she types this post out! Gee, I’m pretty sure as soon as my head hits the pillow, I’ll be out to it!

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Tomorrow is back to normal for this quilter! I’ll be uploading my Mountain Block tutorial for you to watch (the edit has taken so much longer than usual!) and I’ll reunite myself with my sewing machine and get the inspirational juices flowing again! Yay!

But first, sleep!

Goodnight, friends!

September 21st: Three Simple Things

It’s been a quiet ol’ Monday here in the sewing room. To be honest, I actually found myself struggling to find something to write about today as it’s just been all editing and no play!

But there are three simple things that have made this day a good one. Three simple things that have been my favourites from the day…

No.1

I figured out how to make my beloved manky old Mickey Mouse watch to work again! After buying it on eBay years ago, I only recently had a new battery placed in it. The watch worked beautifully for a few weeks after and then I noticed it slowing down very, very gradually! Boo!! Then today, I saw something that made me think that perhaps it’s one of those watches that needs to be wound every now and then to keep it on time… So I put the watch back to the proper time and then gave the dial on the side a real good wind… And 8 hours later, the time is still absolutely perfect! Yay! So hopefully I’ve now figured out how to keep this watch working properly so that I can wear it again! Fingers crossed!

No.2

This beautiful new song by my favourite singer/songwriter, Passenger has completely made my day! It’s called Restless Wind and I’m pretty sure I’ve played it near one hundred times today! (Well, perhaps not that many times!) All of his songs always, so simply, make me feel more calm and grounded whenever I feel anxious or stressed while also having this ability to pick me up and make me feel happy! (Even the sad, heartbreaking songs!) I am always blown away at how melodic and soul-touching Mike’s lyrics and cords are each time I hear a new song from him! If you’ve never heard his stuff before, you can check out his music on his YouTube channel! (May I recommend this one: Hearts on Fire w/Ed Sheeran… Oh, the harmonies!!)

No. 3

Last night I received this lovely book called ‘Be Brave. Be Bold.’ (from Kikki.K) from one of my dearest friends, Sam for my birthday. It’s full of wonderful quotes and words of inspiration and encouragement that I’ve absolutely loved reading over today. For such a little book, it packs a punch in getting you back into the right frame of mind to get shiz done and not give up! Love it!!

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Those are my three simple things that have made this day a good one. What are your three simple things that have made your day a good one? Let me know!

September 20th: A Family Day!

Happy Sunday!

Today was spent celebrating the lives of my nephew Xavier and niece Amelia at their Christening Day! The ceremony was lovely, very hands on and inclusive with their older brothers, godparents and grandparents.

Both kiddies were dressed beautifully, with Xavier sporting a darling suit vest and collared shirt and Amelia wearing a darling white dress with purple flowers and shiny white Mary-Janes! Oh so cute!

Here are a few of my favourite photos from the day…

The joys of photographing little people! One's blowing a raspberry and the other is looking at anything but the camera! — The joys of photographing little people! One’s blowing a raspberry and the other is looking at anything but the camera!

My eldest brother Kevin and his beautiful family!

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So on the to-do list this week in my sewing room is:

Get the Mountain Block tutorial finalised and uploaded for you to enjoy!

Finish my Notting Hill House Mini Quilt so that I can hang it on the wall and swoon all over it!

Re-think the ‘Wildwood’ Quilt…

The initial idea I had in my head to make with those gorgeous Cloud9 fabrics I keep going on about, hasn’t been sitting right with me all week. I’ve sort of got half way through piecing together the quilt top and realised I’m just really not feeling it…

Hmm...Perhaps I need to re-jig the layout to get the excitement back for this quilt...? — Hmm…Perhaps I need to re-jig the layout to get the excitement back for this quilt…?

What I’ve done so far just doesn’t excite me, resulting in me losing interest and motivation to get it finished. Boo! So, I’m gonna have a bit of a re-think about, scrap the idea I’ve already begun and start a fresh! Last night I came up with the idea of perhaps re-visiting the Spinning Stars pattern by Anna Maria Horner or even trying out that Octo pattern by Zen Chic I bought the other week from FQS! Hmm, it’s definitely back to the drawing board with this quilt and fabrics. I’m determined to get a beautiful quilt out of them one way or another!

I’ll be sure to keep you updated!

Enjoy the week ahead friends!

September 19th: I Heart Sydney!

Last night, as you may know, I took a trip into the city to see Anything Goes at the Sydney Opera House!

The show, one I’d never seen before, was fantastic! The music was wonderfully jazzy and melodic, the story line funny and engaging and the dance numbers were absolutely first class! It was really great and a perfect birthday treat from my parents!

And of course, while I was in the heart of my beautiful city, I captured some photos for you of the Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the sparking harbour surrounding them!

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Today has been a busy editing day, getting the Mountain Block tutorial polished and all shiny ready to upload for you in the next few days! I am sorry that it is a little later than usual, the past few days have thrown my schedule all out of whack!

I hope you’re all having a splendid weekend and are pursuing all of your quilty plans and dreams!

Happy Sewing!

September 18th: Show Time!

First and foremost, a big huge humongous THANK YOU to everyone for sending me your lovely birthday wishes yesterday! You’re all such wonderful friends! My day was perfect!

Tonight, another birthday treat is coming my way! My folks and I are off to the city to see Anything Goes at the Sydney Opera House! Yay! I’ve never seen this show before so hopefully I’ll like it! But I love all of that Broadway singing, dancing and shiz so I’m bound to love it either way!

I’ll do my utmost best to capture some beautiful shots of the Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge for you while I’m there! I love my city so much so any chance to share and show her off, I’ll take with both hands! 😀

Apologies for the short post today! I’ll be sure to tell you all about the show and what we got up to in the city tomorrow!

Happy Friday, Friends!

September 17th: Birthday Celebrations!

Today was my 28th birthday! 🙂

I spent the day rugged up at home (my favourite place) joyfully playing with my youngest nephew and niece! We sung songs, played with balloons, ate doughnuts and built Duplo towers!

Amelia: 'Auntie, what is that big thing you're shoving in my face?' (I took the picture using my big DSLR camera!) — Amelia: ‘Auntie, what is that big thing you’re shoving in my face?’ *(I took the picture using my big DSLR camera!)*

Oh, those big brown eyes and pouty lips!! Too cute!

Xavier singing his ABC's! — Xavier singing his ABC’s!

More of my family came over this evening where we had our traditional party tea, with homemade chocolate cake, lollies, Chocolate Crackles* and yummy fresh fruit!

And because I work from home (which means that technically I’m my own boss) I gave myself the day off! I do feel slightly bad that I did, as it means that Friday’s tutorial has now been pushed back a day or two! Sorry! But today’s little breather from everything has really helped clear my head and get a few things back into perspective!

Although, I do have one very exciting thing to tell you about! Last night I finalised everything for my next Quilt-Along Series!!! Yay! It’ll be a HST Sampler, made up of nine different blocks, all at different levels of difficulty and layout. This time around I’ll be using a beautiful fabric collection from RJR Fabrics that has some of the most loveliest colours and patterns that I’ve seen in quite a while! As soon as I saw it, I knew it was the perfect one to use for the quilt! I’ll announce what the range is and the whole story behind it once I receive it! Eek!! (Although, some of you might be able to figure it out with some of the clues in the picture below!)

Here’s a sneak peak of the blocks we’ll doing…

I guess this also gives a little insight into how I design and work out all the maths for my quilts! I must always draw them out and colour them in to be able to get a true understanding and visualisation of the block/quilt I want to make! At the moment, I don’t have a date for when this will begin, but know that it’ll be very soon! (Like ‘weeks’ soon!)

I hope your day was as lovely as mine!

*PS. Curious to know what Chocolate Crackles are?? Here’s the recipe if you would like to try them! Every Aussie kid has been brought up eating these, especially at birthday parties, cake stalls, picnics and as special treats!

Chocolate Crackles

Ingredients:

4 cups of Rice Bubbles

1 cup of desiccated coconut

1 cup of icing sugar (powdered sugar)

250g of Copha (a type of vegetable fat made from coconut oil)

3 tablespoons of cocoa

To make:

First, slowly melt the Copha in a saucepan over a low heat.

Meanwhile, mix together the rice bubbles, icing sugar, coconut and cocoa in a large bowl.

Carefully pour the melted Copha into the rice bubble mixture and stir until well combined.

Spoon the mixture into a cupcake tray filled with paper cases and place in the fridge until set.

Enjoy!

Makes 24+

Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

September 16th: Beautiful Wisteria!

Just a short little post today!

This afternoon I went out into the beautiful Spring sunshine and took some lovely photos of the blooming Wisteria trailing along our side fence! It has bloomed so insanely quick! It seems like only yesterday it looked like dead twisty branches trying to eat our fence!

Wisteria vines/bushes would have to be one of my favourite garden flowers ever! The scent, the colour, the delicate little blossoms, the bright green leaves along with it’s dramatically soft vertical hang! Oh, so pretty! What made it all look so romantic today was the brilliant blue sky that quietly hung in the background! All of these delightful Spring colours coming together simply made my heart so so happy!

After our lovely day visiting the Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens last week, I’ve totally fallen in love with taking photographs of flowers and nature, showcasing their beauty, colour, structure and uniqueness at the moment! Today I was also quite lucky to capture a few bees doing their loyal duties to their Queen and Hive! The flowers were almost swarming with them which made me feel very uneasy, as I have a slight fear of bees! (I’ll explain the dramatic and ever-so-scaring story another time!)

I hope you enjoy these photos just as much I do!

Happy Wednesday, Friends!

PS. How beautiful would these colours be in a quilt!!? Especially that last one! So gorgeous!

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Chocolate Crackles

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