Basic Mixologie

A new arrival this month at The Quilt Department is the Basic Mixologie fabric collection
by the Moda in-house design team simply known as Studio M.

This contemporary fabric collection includes 38 bolts of geometric graphic elements
and is softened by an organic floral pattern in various colorways.

Colors are bold without being overwhelming with the addition of a neutral gray to round it all out.

Well done team Moda.

Have a wonderful day!
Leslie

Frivols Collectable Tin #2 - Faithful

The second in a series of 12 collectible tins has arrived at The Quilt Department.

Frivols Tin #2 - Polka Dots & Paisleys

Frivols tin #2 contains the Faithful quilt pattern designed by Minick & Simpson. This quilt uses the fabrics from their new collection Polka Dots & Paisleys.

Faithful Quilt - Finished Size: 26 inch square

Each tin contains a 7-inch square precut bundle and a bonus block card. Collect all 12 tins and with the bonus block cards you can create a sampler quilt.

Enjoy!
Leslie

The Frivols are coming, the Frivols are coming!

What the heck are Frivols you say? Well let me tell you. It is another absolutely adorable product from the super creative minds at Moda.

Look how cute they are stacked in a neat pile!

Each month a new collectible tin will be introduced. Here is a peak at the first 2 beauties:

Frivols Tin No. 1

Frivols No. 1 includes the Kindred quilt pattern

Frivols No. 2

Frivols No. 2 includes the Faithful quilt pattern

The first four tins will contain a new, exclusive precut to the Frivols collection, it is a 7" square.

Also included in each Frivols tin will be a bonus designer block card. These bonus block cards can be collected from each of the first 12 Frivols tins to create yet another quilt, a sampler quilt. Note: Fabrics for the sampler quilt will not be included in the tins. This is where your creativity will come into play.

Be on the watch out, the first Frivols tin is set to roll out in August. I can't wait!

Enjoy your day,

Leslie

Ambleside and some Peas, yes please!

The Ambleside fabric collection has been out for a few months but I just finished hand quilting this comfy little lap quilt and wanted to share. The quilt design is from Kim Diehl’s Simple Comforts book called Peas in a Pod. 

Hey, how did he get in there! 
That's Teddy, one of my Yorkie's.

I pumped it up with a bright red backing. How fun is that!

Peas in a Pod quilt using Ambleside fabrics.
Finished with a red backing fabric.

The fabrics are by Brenda Riddle for Moda Fabrics. I just love the mix of pretty floral contrasted with the geometric prints in this collection. And the colors are just scrumptious.

Ambleside blush pink color way.

Ambleside rosy red color way.

Ambleside ducks egg blue color way.

Ambleside willow green color way.

Ambleside sunbeam yellow color way.

Ambleside cobblestone grey color way.

Enjoy your day!

Leslie

Vin du Jour – 3 Sisters

I fell in love with the Vin du Jour fabric collection the minute I first saw it! I try not to get emotionally attached when I’m looking at new fabrics for the shop but sometimes they get to me and I just had to have this one!

Toile pattern in 7 different colorways

The color palette consists of grape, burgundy, champagne, linen and stone and was the first thing that drew me in. These fabrics may have been inspired by the wine region of France but living in the beautiful Willamette Valley is not a bad sloppy second for inspiration. This is a color scheme we see often in the landscape around us. We are treated to quite a few vineyards in our area that are tucked along the southern exposed hillsides around us. Seeing the wavy rows of wine grapes in the fall as their leaves change from green to gold is a beautiful site. 

Another charming aspect of this collection is the texture and scale of the different patterns. There are some tonal toiles, a variety of florals from large to small, wispy delicate leaves and tiny berries, as well as a simple basket weave pattern.

Vin du Jour fabric collection designed by 3 Sisters for Moda Fabrics

Collection consists of 40 different fabrics

Just having recently replaced my 12+ year old sewing machine with a more modern version with more bells and whistles than I will ever use (I wanted it for the throat space!), I just had to make something. So I grabbed a Vin du Jour fat quarter bundle and got to work on this table runner. It's based on a pattern I saw in an issue of American Patchwork Quilting, I had to modify it to make it into a runner. I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out, not my best work, but for testing out the new machine I at least have something nice to show for my time.

While messing around with the new sewing machine I got a little carried away with making the larger half square triangles for the table runner so not wanting to toss away all that effort I decided to throw this little number together as well. Not too shabby!

I hope you enjoy Vin du Jour as much as I do.

Cheers and have a great day!

Leslie Harris

Any one up for a Honey Bun?

I had been eyeballing this Papillon honey bun for a while now and I kept thinking of a log cabin quilt every time I looked at it. I have an affinity for log cabin quilts, probably because it was one of the first quilt patterns I made. What made this project quick and easy was not having to pick out all the coordinating fabrics and cut all those 1-1/2" strips was awesome, thanks Moda!

Honey Buns 

I wasn't sure how large of a quilt this would make (and I certainly didn't want to take the time to calculate it) so I grabbed a yard of a coordinating solid fabric for contrast, cut off a few strips, put on a good movie (most likely something by Jane Austen) and sat in front of the sewing machine and away I went.

What I ended up with was a nice size wall hanging (43" x 43"). After I got the first twelve blocks done I didn't think I'd have enough for additional rows so I ended up cutting the leftovers into about 4 inch strips and pieced them together for the outside border which surprisingly went pretty fast.

43" x 43" Log Cabin Quilt

If you want something larger you could even take a jelly roll and cut the strips in half, pair it with a contrasting solid and make a lap size quilt. A little more cutting work than the honey bun but at least the fabrics all coordinate.

I ended up hand quilting down the center of the logs to finish. Voila! Makes a nice quick handmade gift.

Papillon Log Cabin - Close up of hand quilting

Enjoy your day!

Leslie
The Quilt Department

Introduction

Well, here it goes. I guess I’ll keep this first post short and sweet and get over the anxiety of starting to blog by introducing myself, explain the purpose of this blog and post a few pictures of some of the quilts I’ve completed.


My name is Leslie and I am married to Mr. Wonderful. We are the proud parents of 3 precious puppies (more on them in future posts, I’m sure). I’ve been quilting since the mid 90s when I took a series of learn-to-quilt classes from a local quilt shop with a friend and I’ve been merrily quilting ever since. I love to hand appliqué and hand quilt.


The purpose of this blog is to have a platform to talk about quilting and review products we have in our online quilt shop, http://www.thequiltdepartment.com/ in a more personal way than we can on our website or on Facebook. I hope you enjoy and look forward to your feedback.

Jacobs Stars - Quilt Design by Susan Teegarden Dissmore
Machine Pieced and Quilted

Tulips and Tossed Greens - Quilt Design by Kim Diehl
Machine Pieced, Hand Applique, Machine & Hand Quilted

Autumn Pennies - Quilt Design by Kim Diehl
Machine Pieced, Hand Applique & Hand Quilted

Democratic Rose - Quilt Design by Barbara Brandeburg
Machine Pieced, Appliqued & Quilted

Log Cabin
Machine Pieced & Hand Quilted