Print Shop by Alexia Marcelle Abegg

Falling In Love With Sewing Again

It’s no secret, this year has freakishly flown by, eating up time like it’s no bodies business. And my poor sewing machine has suffered as a consequence.

Also, not gonna lie, my motivation to sew and be creative has taken a bit of a hit too. So with all of that combined, not a whole lot of movement has been had in my sewing room this year.

But recently a few projects have come to hand to make me dust off the sewing machine, dig out my rulers and cutters and get sewing again.

In my last post, I shared with you my finished Star Sampler Quilt (sans quilt label!)…

It felt like it took me for ages to get this quilt (and YouTube series) finished. But I’m so happy with the end result.

I currently have it hanging in my sewing room and I find myself just staring at it at times, admiring it’s beautiful tactile quilted surface, it’s perfectly pieced and nested points as well as the monochromatic tones clashing with the pops of colours dotted here and there.

❤

When I was quilting this quilt, I took a gamble and used a new tool that I’ve been told is a must-have to use when quilting… Quilting Gloves!! OMG!! How did I ever get through quilting a quilt without these bad boys all of my quilting life?! They’re ah-maz-ing! Although I felt a little bit clumsy and resembled a bad Mickey Mouse look-a-like, the grip the gloves gave me was 10-fold compared to just using my bare hands!

Although the series has now come to an end, I only just finished the final touches to the quilt today… The quilt label!

And as tradition stands, I made the quilt label a Hexie Flower using some of the fabrics featured throughout the blocks in the quilt. Love it, love it, love it!

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Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing a new quilt that I very excitedly started after wanting to do it for ages and ages! The pattern is called Pixelated Rose by Riley Blake Designs and it sings to my yearning Florist inside of me!

So far I’ve loved every stage of getting this quilt underway. Choosing the harmonious solid colours was a breeze, the measuring and cutting was a slow but very meditative experience (I think I must be one of the very few quilters out there who loves the cutting process!) and then the precise piecing has kept me on my toes! Because of it I’ve been able to settle into an easy pressing and nesting routine that each block needs to be able to fit together in the end. Not gonna lie, the whole process (for me anyway) has been quite slow and lengthy. But I already knew this and I took on this project as one of those slow burners that you keep coming to over a set period of time until it’s finished, either months or years after you started!

I’ve been posting pics here and there on Instagram of the progress so far…

Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten any further than the last photo in the right hand corner. The past month has been jammed packed full and this project has been pushed to the side, collated into block order and hung outta mind, outta sight. Although, I do have some free time tonight… Hmm… 🙂

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Now, I must also confess that there has been a spectacular fail in the sewing room too.

That being a terrible attempt at making a pretty gathered A-Line skirt for my birthday a few weeks ago.

Despite being quite time poor during the weeks leading up to my birthday, I knew it would be a pretty big stretch to be able to cut, make and finish a skirt when dressmaking really isn’t a strong skill of mine. Although, in saying that, I did successfully stitch a side pocket for the first time as well as sew in a zipper next to another side pocket! Yeah!

However, things began to fall a part when I had to attach the waistband and match up dots and seams and things that I didn’t know I had to match up… So with time pressing on me and my interest and patience waining, I gave it up and allowed in the realisation that I’m no good at dressmaking one bit. (I’m sharing no photos of my sad attempt of a skirt!) Perhaps with a bit more practice and a bit more patience, I may become a superstar seamstress yet!

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I hope you enjoyed this brief glimpse back into my sewing room.

I feel like I’ve really fallen back in love with sewing again… Just the raw, basic and fundamental steps in this creative skill I’ve been blessed with. Over the past year or so, I’ve felt slightly distant from my sewing bubble that I’m so used to be being in. But I think I’m finding it again and it feels great!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

Star Sampler Quilt | Finishing Touches

After almost a year of getting the ball rolling, the end of my Star Sampler Quilt Along has come to an end! *insert sad/happy face – whichever one applies!*

In the final instalment of the series, I’ve jammed packed it full of all of the ‘finishing touches’ we need to do to have a completed quilt!

This time ’round there’s no pattern sheet to follow or to download, instead everything you’ll need to know is either in the video tutorial or listed here in this post…

So once you’ve finished piecing together your quilt top with sashing and borders, it’s ready to be backed and basted in preparation for quilting! If you’ve made your quilt with the same measurements as mine, you’ll need:

BACKING: WOF*x150cm (59″)

BATTING: 120cmx150cm (47″x59″)

For my batting I’m using a lovely Premium 100% Cotton Quilt Batting in an Autumn weight by a company called Bosal. To be honest, before receiving this, I never knew that batting was or could be available in ‘seasonal weights’. I chose an Autumn weight as it’s not too fluffy (or lofty) to sandwich between my quilt top and backing, while still being light/heavy enough to keep one warm on a chilly winter’s eve.

When it comes to basting your quilt, use the method that you feel the most comfortable with. For me, that’s spray basting. It’s quick, simple and equates to less time rolling on the floor pricking my fingers with pesky pins! 😀

The same advice goes for your choice in quilting. From the early stages of planning this QAL, I always envisaged this quilt to have a subtle mathematical grid texture to it’s surface. To achieve it, I used my handy Clover Hera Marker and long quilting ruler to mark a 2″ grid pattern across the top of the quilt, three lines at a time (ie. mark three lines, quilt, then mark another three lines, quilt etc.) until the entire quilt was finished.

After trimming away any excess backing/batting from around the edges of the quilt, it’s time to bind! To make your own quick and easy binding, you’ll need:

BINDING: WOF*x40cm (16″)

Cut this into x6 2.5″ strips and sewn end to end on a diagonal to create a long binding strip.

After pressing the binding in half, simply machine sew it onto the front of the quilt as shown in the tutorial, then bring it around to the back and slip-stitch the other edge to the back of the quilt. Too easy!!

Don’t forget to label your quilt with the month/year the quilt was completed, the name of the quilt as well as the name of the person who made it! My label is still to be made (oops, my bad!) but when I do, hopefully I’ll remember to come back to this post and upload a photo of it for you! 😀

FINISHED QUILT MEASUREMENT: 141cmx107cm (55.5″x42″)

*WOF = Width of Fabric

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I want to extend a HUGE thank you to the lovely ladies over at Dayview Textiles who so generously helped out with the fabrics and materials I used for this series. Without them I would’ve been able to have the pleasure of using such beautiful fabrics from the Printshop Fabric Range!

And of course, thank you to all of you who participated so patiently in this series! I’ve absolutely loved seeing all of your gorgeous blocks, quilt tops and finished quilts – you’re all so talented and amazing! Although the series is finished, keep on sharing them with me using the hashtag #AmandasQuiltAlong on Instagram as well as over on my Facebook page!

So now that the QAL is finished, it’s time to move on to some more ‘old-school’ content that you’ve been used to seeing! That means some new block tutorials, crafty sewing tutorials, flower based tutorials, some fun Christmas things as well as other usual stuff like Monthly Favourites, Vlogs, Hauls etc! Exciting times ahead people!! Yeah!

So while I go and enjoy my last week of being in my twenties (It’s my 30th Birthday this coming Sunday! Eek!), I hope you all have fun completing your gorgeous quilts!

Happy Sewing, Friends!!

PS. Happy News! I now have a PO Box! If you would like to send me something lovely, you can using this address:

Amanda Rolfe
PO Box 1179
St Marys NSW 1790
Australia

Star Sampler Quilt | Quilt Top Construction

PATTERN SHEET: Star Sampler Quilt QUILT TOP

Sorry it’s been a while a since I last checked in on my Star Sampler Quilt Along! Things have been crazy over on this side of the computer monitor. Work. Family. Sickness. Winter. The list goes on and on! But hooray! After many weeks of coming and going with filming this tutorial, I finally got it finished! Whew!

Hopefully my little hiatus has given you the time to catch up on completing all 12 Star blocks and are now ready to sash and piece them all together! Cos that’s what we’re doing today!

When placing the blocks into their final positions, feel free to mix them up and place blocks in any order you wish. Also, if you want to make your sashing and border pieces wider than mine than that’s okay too! Just be aware that the wider and longer you make your quilt top, the more batting and backing fabric you’ll need in the next part!

As always, everything you’ll need to know in regards to the measurement and cutting information as well as the fabrics* I’ve use to piece the quilt top together are in the pattern sheet linked at the beginning of this post!

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Depending on my work schedule and other social thingys I’ve got happening over the next month or so, I hope to get started on the next stage of the Quilt Along very soon! (Fingers crossed for next week!!) Now that the blocks have been pieced together and a lovely quilt top has emerged, I can’t wait to see it finished in it’s all glory! The fabrics I’ve chosen for the backing and binding are going to finish the quilt off beautifully!! So exciting!!

I hope you’re all having a lovely week and enjoy the weekend ahead!!

Happy Sewing, Friends!

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*A big thanks to Australian wholesale supplier and fabric distributer Dayview Textiles for supplying me with such beautiful fabrics! If you want to see all of the fabrics I’ll be using in this Quilt Along, check out this post where I share them all with you!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #12: Aunt Eliza’s

PATTERN SHEET: Star Sampler Quilt BLOCK12

Can you believe it!? The final block tutorial in my Star Sampler QAL is here! Yay! (And also boo!! There are no more stars to make!)

I think I saved quite a little darling of a block to make right at the end… All of the hard blocks are over and done with and now it’s just plain sailing into the finishing off of the blocks. The Aunt Eliza’s Star is simple, quick and very effective to make – you’ll have yours pieced before you know it!

For all of the measurement and cutting details, along with the fabrics* I’ve used to piece this block together and a diagram of the block layout, click on the pattern sheet linked at the top of this post. If you would like to use a similar 12.5″ set square as me, you can find it here:June Tailor Get-Squared 12.5″ Ruler.

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Now that we have all of our blocks made, it’s time to piece them together into a quilt top!

Although at the end of the tutorial I mentioned that I didn’t know whether I wanted to do sashing and borders, I’m 99.5% sure that I’ll do a smaller sashing than I have in the past… I’m thinking a 1″ sashing between each of the blocks and a 2″-3″ border around the edge.

So once we have the quilt top pieced, we’ll be able to start talking about what types of batting we can use along with what fabric prints/colours you’ll like to use for the backing AND what type of design we can use when it comes to quilting it!

So although the making-the-blocks-part has come to an end, there’s still so much more to think about, plan and do before we have a lovely finished quilt!

Bring it on!! 🙂

Happy Sewing, Friends!!

PS. Once they’ve all been pieced, I would love to see a photo of all of your 12 finished blocks together like I have above! Although this isn’t my final layout, it’s so exciting to see them all sitting so prettily next to one another! 🙂

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #11: Square & Star

PATTERN SHEET: Star Sampler Quilt BLOCK11

A big hello to you on this chilly May day! Late Autumn has definitely set in here in Australia… The afternoons are turning darker earlier, the chill in the air is becoming more bitter each morning and the Ugg boots are already getting a good workout at home! And it’s finally tea drinking season and I’m loving it! 🙂

In today’s post I’m sharing with you the second last block that we’ll be making in my Star Sampler QAL! It’s a beautiful chunky-like star called the Square & Star. Personally, I’ve never heard (or really seen) of it before. It’s one of those blocks that looks tricky from the outside but once you peek inside and see the simple units that make up the block, it’s one of those easy-peasy ones that you can make within 45 minutes or so.

Have fun with mixing different contrast fabrics together for this block. The bolder the contrast, the better the block will look I think! Or if you want, stick with a favourite solid or bold all-over print for the ‘square’ and ‘star’ bits and it’ll turn out just as great!

As always, everything you’ll need to know in regards to the measurement and cutting information as well as the fabrics* I’ve use to piece this block together are in the pattern sheet linked at the beginning of this post! If you would like to use a similar 12.5″ set square as me, you can find it here: June Tailor Get-Squared 12.5″ Ruler.

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Like I mention in the video, block 12 has been a long time coming and I thank and appreciate everyone for being so patient with me! Block 12 is the one design that I’ve been so excited to make! It’s final layout, I think, will be very effective and really add an element of interest to the finished quilt top! The final hint for this block is that it’s similar to an Ohio Star block but it’s not an Ohio Star block… If you get what I mean! 🙂

Until that tutorial comes out…

Happy Sewing, Friends!

PS. Keep sharing your blocks with me on Instagram using the hashtag: #AmandasQuiltAlong!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #10: Martha Washington

PATTERN SHEET: Star Sampler Quilt BLOCK10

Hello Friends!

Today I bring to you the next block tutorial in my Star Sampler Quilt Along series! We’re up to no. 10 – this one is called the Martha Washington Star! And gosh, isn’t it a pretty one! The pretty little pinwheel in the centre has me swooning every time I look at it.

Named after the very First Lady of the U.S, this sweet block is perfect for all levels of quilters and has lots of basic piecing techniques all patchworkers should have under their belt. Techniques used to make this block include half square triangles, quarter square triangles and in come cases (not in ours today though), the making of flying geese units.

When pulling the fabric for this block, you can choose to go either way in your colour schemes. You can use the same fabric for the pinwheel centre and the surrounding HSTs or do like me and use two contrasting fabrics. Heck, if you really want to, have some fun and do a scrappy block! The choice is all yours! 🙂

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Goodness! With block 10 made, we’ve only two more blocks to go until we start piecing our quilt top together! Huzzah!

I can’t wait to share with you what block 11 is! The best way I can describe it is that it’s a bit on the chunky side, design wise! Te-he! Despite that, it’s a beautiful block and I’m super excited to make it!

Until then friends, keep on sharing your finished blocks and I hope you all have a lovely and safe Easter break!

Happy Sewing!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #9: Missouri Star

PATTERN SHEET: star-sampler-quilt-block9

Hello there!

Are we ready for another block tutorial in my Star Sampler Quilt Along?!

Block 9 is the Missouri Star, a design I’ve actually never made before. Fun fact of the day; when I was filming this, it was actually my first time making too!

When I was piecing it together, I was honestly unsure whether or not I had made the right choice in fabrics. I felt that the prints and colours of my two main fabrics didn’t quite mesh well together… But once I finished the block and took a step back, I think it works. The contrast in the fabrics show the design of the block and help highlight those semi-tricky half quarter square triangle units!

My tips for making this block:

Taking your time to make sure you square up the centre unit to a 6.5″ square as well as ensuring your HSTs and then half QSTs are trimmed and squared up to the measurements mentioned in the tutorial.

When making your half QST units, pay attention when placing the marked background fabric squares on top of your HST units. The marked line should be running in the opposite direction to the seam of the HST underneath.

Keep true to a 1/4″ seam allowance. All of your seams and points will match up perfectly, resulting in a precise 12.5″ block at the end after squaring it up.

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Can you believe it, we’re nine blocks down with only three more to go?! Time flies when you’re having fun, huh?!

I’m super excited for block 10! We’ll be making the Martha Washington Star block (google it to see how pretty it is!). The thing I love most about that block is the gorgeous half QST pinwheel in the centre! Too cute!!

Keep sharing your blocks! (Use the hashtag #AmandasQuiltAlong on Instagram!) If you can, post a picture like mine above showing me all nine of your blocks so far! All of your quilts are going to be beautiful, I just know it! 😀

Happy Sewing, Friends!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block#8: Crystal Star

PATTERN SHEET: star-sampler-quilt-block8

Huzzah!! The day is FINALLY here where Block 8 in my Star Sampler Quilt Along series is up on my YouTube channel, ready for you to make!!

My deepest apologies for the taking a hella-of-a long time to get this block out to you! Excuses include: Christmas, New Years, Holidays (cruise time!) and lots of work shifts slotted in between. Not to mention our Internet decided to conveniently break last week, leaving us with a veeeeerrrrrryyyy sllllllooooooowwwww connection for about 8 days. Uploading a video and trying to write a blog would’ve been painful and very soul-crushing!

But alas, our Internet is back and happy, I’m back and happy from my long break away from YouTubing and blogging and I’m ready to dive straight back into the creating!

So back on topic; Block 8 is such a simple beauty to piece together. It does require you to be quite precise with your cutting, piecing and trimming of each unit, but I go more into that in the video. Have fun choosing some great contrasting fabrics to really make each element in the Star pop!

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Like I mention in the video, I’ll be starting on Block 9 this week. It features elements that we’ve covered before in the series, but will be applied in a slightly different way. (Pretty cryptic, huh?!) I’m genuinely very excited to make this block as I think the final outcome of it will be stunning!!

Don’t forget to keep sharing your blocks with me!

Instagram: @3and3quarters (using the hashtag: #AmandasQuiltAlong)

My Facebook Page

Happy Sewing, Friends!!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #7: Indian Star

PATTERN SHEET: star-sampler-quilt-block7

And away we go again!

Block seven is finally here for you to watch, enjoy and make! Yay!

I’m so sorry for taking ages to get this one out to you – I’ve been terribly ill with a nasty flu/chest infection for the past week and a bit and needed some urgent R&R!

But happy days, I’m back and feeling a lot more like myself again!

Like I promised last time, block seven is a more simpler and kinder block to piece together compared to what block six was. The Indian Star is a lovely and gentle design consisting of a few classic patchwork construction techniques – flying geese and a four-patch!

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As mentioned in the video, block eight is a similar variation to the Indian Star. It’s another easy one where we’ll be re-visiting the flying geese technique again, which I’m all sure you’re all pros at making by now!

Until then,

Happy Sewing, Friends!

Star Sampler Quilt | Block #6: Amish Star

PATTERN SHEET: star-sampler-quilt-block6

Hello! Geez, it’s been a while huh?! Apologies for being so out of touch these past few weeks… I’ve been working my (not so) little butt off and struggling to find the time and energy to get these block tutorials out to you!

But happy days, I’ve finally been given a few days off to get my life back into some sort of order! And first thing’s first, block 6 needed to be done!

I’m absolutely in love with this one! It’s called the Amish Star block and is such a little darling of a design! (BTW, is it pronounced Ay-mish or Arr-mish? I got no clue?) I’ve loved how I’ve been able to play around with fussy cutting the centre unit and adding pops of colour in the corners. Initially, I was going to make this block using just two fabrics – the usual background fabric and then just one black print from the Print Shop range. But I ended up changing it as I wanted to use more of the range throughout the blocks. So this is the colour-way I came up with and I’m sooo happy with it!

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I can’t to share with you what I’ve got in store for block 7! It’s a nice simple easy one that I think you’ll enjoy making! (It’ll be a nice respite from all of the tricky blocks we’ve been making lately!) I’ll also be sharing another two fabrics from the Print Shop range that I haven’t used yet! One of them is my favourite print from the range!

Until then,

Happy Sewing, Friends!

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