Finding the Fun Again

Yesterday was the first day of spring and, as it so happens, the last day of our spring break this year. We took a few extra days off after our annual week of vacation because my sister's family drove out from California to spend some time with us. Being together is always such a treat, especially for our daughters. I had all five of them in my minivan yesterday afternoon as we went on a special "cousins shopping trip," and it was so much fun. It's amazing to me to see how quickly they're all growing up into beautiful young women.

As I was driving my girls home last night, we were listening to the soundtrack for the Curious George movie which was such a big hit with them so many summers ago when they were little. Just hearing the music took me instantly back to a dozen vivid memories -- seeing them scamper around the vegetable garden with their Daddy, helping them swim in their little plastic pool on the patio in the afternoons, watching cartoons with them in the evening as the smell of warm grapes drifted in the back door from the arbor outside, tucking them and all their stuffed friends into their toddler beds at night.

I remember it all like it was yesterday.

Back then I would clean up after dinner and then get my machine out on the dining room table so that I could get in a little bit of sewing before bedtime. It was such a challenge back then to get any time to sew, and I treasured every chance I had to do it. So much of what I made was for the girls -- play quilts, floor pillows, book bags. All of it was well used and well loved. I was cleaning out our guest room the other day and found a whole stack of those little quilts in a wire basket, too small for my growing girls now but full of memories from when they were just the right size.

I can't escape the fact that, in many ways, I was having a lot more fun with my sewing back then. It was always exciting to look for the next project I had never tried. Fabric collections were fewer, and fabric designers were like rock stars. I remember counting the days until the release of Nursery Versery by Heather Ross (where the mouse print from her current Trixie line made it's debut), Hello Pilgrim by Lizzy House, and anything from Melody Miller's early Ruby Star years. Blogs were still newish, and there were so many sew alongs and swaps back then, all of them administered by chatty, happy Flickr groups. I remember large groups of us sewing through entire books like Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale and Patchwork, Please! by Ayumi Takahashi. (Does anybody even do that sort of thing anymore? Do any of us have the time to do it??) Working through these books in online communities wasn't just about doing what was popular, but it was also about learning new things with other people who enjoyed it as much as you did.

It wasn't that long ago, really, but those days seem so innocent and naive to me now. Somewhere along the line things changed...or maybe I changed. It's the tradeoff you make with turning your hobby into a business. You get so many opportunities to do amazing things, but that inevitably leads to more deadlines and less time to play. Trying to balance your creative work time with your creative play time, and then figuring out how to balance all of that with your family time -- it's a tightrope I walk every day. Even now as I write this post, I'm trying to alternate between typing and being a guest at my youngest daughter's imaginary diner, where she's serving cardboard blueberry pancakes and rubber chicken. Yes, I'm running short on time this afternoon. Yes, I'd like to get this up on the blog before I have to take the car to the dealer for maintenance. But how many more years will she be willing to put on an apron and serve me plastic food? Some things are too important to wait.

So one of my goals for 2019 is to find the fun again. When it comes to creativity, I want to be able to work hard and play hard. This month I'm looking to one of my most inspiring friends to help me get back on track with that. The unbelievably talented Mary of Sunny Day Supply is running a just-for-fun log cabin sew along on Instagram starting next week. It's not too fussy -- any kind of project featuring any kind of log cabin block will do -- and it will be a wonderful chance to get out my fabric and play. I decided to start early, making a little courthouse steps block that finished at 6" square. It's scrappy and playful and quilted entirely by hand. I added a bit of black and white gingham to the back and turned it into a tiny pillow. Not, of course, because I need another pillow, but because just looking at this little bit of handmade joy makes me so happy that I almost want to cry. I'll be putting it up on a shelf where I can see it every day, reminding myself to find my way back to where I began in this hobby that I love so much...

Soda Pop Shop Quilt Top

Late last fall I was scrolling through coming collections on the Riley Blake website when I came across the most adorable set of fabrics called Perfect Party by my friend Lindsay (the Cottage Mama). I immediately wrote to our RBD blog tour coordinator and said, "I HAVE to be on this tour!"

I'm completely in love with this fabric collection. The little animals enjoying birthday celebrations together, the border prints, the ribbon flowers, even the colorful plaid designs are all so playful and sweet. And don't even get me started on the panel that includes birthday bunting and larger animal squares that are just perfect for pillows. I can't wait to get my hands on it!

A collection this cute called for something special, so I decided to make my first attempt at a vintage soda pop bottle quilt block. Blocks this large actually come together surprisingly quickly, and I really love the way they look, especially with the novelty prints as soda bottle labels. I worked in a few RBD basics too, mostly the striped prints that I used for the bottle caps and the filler blocks, which remind me very much of party straws with little decorations on them.

This quilt top was a joy to design and sew from start to finish. I've decided that I love it so much that I'm going to have it quilted with a longarm, so I'm packing it up tomorrow and sending it off to a pro. Once it comes back to me and I get it bound, I'll have more pictures to share...promise!

Shortcake Panel Patio Placemat Tutorial

Since I first posted my original Patio Placemat Tutorial back in 2012, it's received almost 80,000 page views, making it the fourth most popular tutorial on my blog. (The Ellie Travel Case comes in first place, followed by the Malibu Satchel and then the Pixie Basket, for those of you who were wondering! See below for more details...*) When Riley Blake asked me to design a placemat panel to go with the Shortcake collection, I thought it would be fun to create one that could be used with that original tutorial.

The result is a fun panel, available in 2 colorways, that can be used in 3 ways:

1. Make 4 standard placemats with a simple front and back. The rectangles on the panel are your placemat fronts, and all you need are some batting and backing fabric to sew them up.

2. Make 2 pocket placemats. These include a pocket for the plate and silverware -- really handy for breezy days on the patio so that your paper and plastic tableware doesn't blow away! Pick 2 of the panel rectangles to be the pockets and 2 to be the placemat fronts. You'll add batting and backing fabric to finish them.

3. Use the panel as a pattern sampler. There are 5 extra prints on here along with 8 retro fruit crate label squares, just perfect for fussy cutting a sweet little project of your own design!

Directions are included on the panel for both types of placemats, but I thought I would do a post on here using the fabric so that you can have a step-by-step visual to help you along the way. Here's how you make one pocket version of the Patio Placemat:

1. Cut out the 2 rectangles of your choice -- 1 for the pocket and 1 for the placemat front. Seam allowance is included, but sometimes shapes can get a little wonky when they're printed. Don't worry if the rectangle is skewed slightly by 1/8" or so. You need a rectangle that measures 11" x 18". If there's a bit of white along the edges, that will get caught up in the seam allowance and won't show in the end, so don't worry about it!

2. Fold the pocket rectangle in half lengthwise with the wrong sides of the fabric together. Topstitch 1/8" below the fold.

3. Use adhesive basting spray to fuse the wrong side of your placemat front rectangle to an 11" x 18" batting rectangle. (Pins or binding clips will work too, but the spray is so quick and easy!)

4. Place the pocket piece on top of the placemat front along the lower edge. Baste in place along the right, lower, and left edges of the pocket to hold it in place.

5. Measure a line on the pocket 5" from the right edge and sew down that line, backstitching at the start and finish. This will divide your pocket into two sections -- one for the plate and one for the silverware.

6. Cut out a 11" x 18" rectangle from another piece of backing fabric and use pins or binding clips to hold it right sides together with your placemat front.

7. Stitch 1/4" from the edge all around the outside of the placemat, backstitching at the start and finish, but leave a 4" gap in the lower edge for turning. Trim the corners and any loose threads.

8. Turn the mat right side out through the gap int he lower edge, gently pushing out the corners and edges with a knitting needle.

9. Tuck the raw edges inside the gap in the lower edge, give the whole mat a good pressing, and then topstitch 1/8" from the edge all around the mat to finish.

That's it! To make a standard placemat, just follow the directions above but eliminate the pocket. The wonderful thing about this project is that it's so quick. You can easily make yourself a set of placemats in an hour or less, and these are just the thing for summer picnics and patio parties. If you sew with the panel or any of the other prints, be sure to share photos with me with the tag #shortcakefabric and @fabricmutt. I would love to see how you're sewing with Shortcake!

* For those of you who may have viewed this post before I edited the stats, I had my numbers mixed up the first time around -- sorry about that. The official count of page views for the top four posts on Fabric Mutt (as it stands at the writing of this post) is:

1. Ellie Travel Case Tutorial - 201,021
2. Malibu Satchel Tutorial - 121,505
3. The Pixie Basket Tutorial - 84,963
4. Patio Place Mat Tutorial - 79,891

Nothing makes me happier than knowing that you're all using and enjoying these tutorials that I write for you. It absolutely makes my day!

Shortcake Picnic Medallion Quilt Tutorial

Last June while our family was on our amazing road trip back east, I was in touch with Riley Blake about the quilt pattern that I needed to design to go along with my Shortcake collection. There's not a doubt in my mind that I was heavily influenced by the textiles and art we saw in Williamsburg and Mt. Vernon when I finally sat down late one night with a pad of graph paper and my colored pencils in our hotel room and sketched out the diagram that would become my Picnic Medallion Quilt. It seems fitting that the quilt I designed to feature Shortcake, which as I shared in a previous post is really an ode to the joys of summer, was designed while our family was taking our first summer road trip. Just looking at this quilt brings back so many wonderful memories...

I sewed up a mini version of this pattern for my Quilt Market Booth last fall, which you can see in all the photos for this post, so I decided to give you the cutting directions for both a mini and a lap size quilt, since I like for you to have options. The mini makes such a cute wall hanging and is a great chance for smaller fussy cutting. As for the larger version...well, I just couldn't think of anything more perfect for a summer picnic quilt than one featuring napkins, plates, and a sweet little picnic basket in the center.

If you make one of these in either size, please share your pictures on social media! Use the hashtag #picnicmedallionquilt and don't forget to tag me @fabricmutt.

Here we go!

Picnic Medallion Quilt Pattern

By Heidi Staples of Fabric Mutt

Finished Quilt: 33” square (mini size) or 66” square (lap size)

Materials for Lap Size Quilt (less needed for mini quilt size)

1 fat quarter bundle of Shortcake

1 3/4 yd. Riley Blake Red Swiss Dot Reversed

1/2 yd. Main in Royal Blue

3/4 yd. Grove in Red

10” square Riley White Solid

1/4 yd. Riley Red Solid

1/4 yd. Rose Solid

1/4 yd. Petunia Solid

1/4 yd. Riley Royal Blue Solid

1/4 yd. Blueberry Solid

1/4 yd. Boy Blue Solid

4 yd. Berries in White (backing)

1/2 yd. Ribbons in White (binding)

Cutting Directions

Print	Part of Quilt	Mini Quilt	Lap Quilt
Main in Red	Basket cross blocks Basket Napkin Plates	(12) 1” square (A) (4) 1 1/2” square (B) (1) 1 1/4” x 7 1/2”  (C) (1) 1 1/2” x 7 1/2” (D) (1) 1 1/2” x 3 1/4” (E) (1) 1 1/2” x 5 1/2” (F) (1) 2” square (G) (1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (2) 3” square (I)	(12) 1 1/2” square (A) (4) 2 1/2” square (B) (1) 2” x 14 1/2” (C) (1) 2 1/2” x 14 1/2” (D) (1) 2 1/2” x 6” (E) (1) 2 1/2” x 10 1/2” (F) (1) 3” square (G) (1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (2) 6” square (I)
Riley Royal Blue Solid	Basket lids Plate edging	(2) 1” x 3 1/2” (J) (20) 3/4” x 3” (K) (20) 1 3/4” square (L)	(2) 1 1/2” x 6 1/2” (J) (20) 1” x 6” (K) (20) 3” square (L)
Peachy in Blue	Borders Napkin Plate	(4) 1 1/2” x 9 1/2” (M) (1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(4) 2 1/2” x 18 1/2” (M) (1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Rose Solid	Cornerstones Plate Edging	(4) 1 1/2” square (N) (12) 3/4” x 3” (K) (12) 1 3/4” square (L)	(4) 3” square (N) (12) 1” x 6” (K) (12) 3” square (L)
Riley Red Solid	Chain blocks Plate edging	(16) 1 1/2” square (O) (20) 3/4” x 3” (K) (20) 1 3/4” square (L)	(16) 3” square (O) (20) 1” x 6” (K) (20) 3” square (L)
Main in Royal Blue	Napkin Borders Plates	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (4) 1 1/2” x 19 1/2” (P) (2) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (4) 2 1/2” x 38 1/2” (P) (2) 6” square (I)
Grove in Red	Napkin Plate Corner cross block Outer border	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I) (4) 1 1/2” square (Q) (2) 1 1/2” x 31 1/2” (R) (2) 1 1/2” x 33 1/2” (KK)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I) (4) 2 1/2” square (Q) (2) 2 1/2” x 62 1/2” (R) (2) 2 1/2” x 66 1/2” (KK)
Ribbons in Pink	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Jam in Royal Blue	Plate	(1) 3” square (I)	(1) 6” square (I)
Grove in Royal Blue	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Jam in Red	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Ribbons in Blue	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Peachy in Pink	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Berries in Royal Blue	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Berries in Blue	Napkin Plate Corner cross block	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I) (16) 2 1/2” square (S)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I) (16) 4 1/2” square (S)
Grove in Pink	Napkin Plate	(1) 2” x 3 1/2” (H) (1) 3” square (I)	(1) 3 1/2” x 6 1/2” (H) (1) 6” square (I)
Peachy in White	Plate	(1) 3” square (I)	(1) 6” square (I)
Main in White	Plate	(1) 3” square (I)	(1) 6” square (I)
Jam in White	Plate	(1) 3” square (I)	(1) 6” square (I)
Berries in White	Plate	(1) 3” square (I)	(1) 6” square (I)
Boy Blue Solid	Plate edging Cornerstones	(12) 3/4” x 3” (K) (12) 3/4” square (L) (4) 1 1/2” square (T)	(12) 1” x 6” (K) (12) 3” square (L) (4) 2 1/2” square (T)
Blueberry Solid	Plate edging	(8) 3/4” x 3” (K) (8) 1 3/4” square (L)	(8) 1” x 6” (K) (8) 3” square (L)
Petunia Solid	Corner cross blocks Plate edging	(4) 1 1/2” x 2 1/2” (U) (8) 3/4” x 3” (K) (8) 1 3/4” square (L)	(4) 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” (U) (8) 1” x 6” (K) (8) 3” square (L)
Riley White Solid	Basket cross blocks	(3) 7/8 x 1 7/8” (V) (6) 7/8 x 1” (W)	(3)1 1/4” x 3 1/2” (V) (6)1 1/4” x 1 3/4” (W)
Red Swiss Dot Reversed	Center background Chain blocks background Napkin background Middle background Plate background Outer background	(1) 2” square (X) (2) 2 3/4” x 3 1/2” (Y) (2) 1 1/2” x 7” (Z) (2) 1 3/4” x 9 1/2” (AA) (8) 1 1/2” square (BB) (8) 1 1/2” x 2 1/2” (CC) (8) 1 1/2” x 3 1/2” (DD) (24) 2” square (EE) (8) 1 1/2” x 2” (FF) (8) 1 3/4” x 11 1/2” (GG) (64) 1 1/2” square (HH) (24) 1 1/2” x 3 1/2” (II) (8) 1 1/2” x 21 1/2” (JJ)	(1) 3” square (X) (2) 5” x 6 1/2” (Y) (2) 2 1/2” x 13 1/2” (Z) (2) 3” x 18 1/2” (AA) (8) 2 1/2” square (BB) (8) 2 1/2” x 4 1/2” (CC) (8) 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” (DD) (24) 4” square (EE) (8) 2 1/2” x 3 1/2” (FF) (8) 3” x 22 1/2” (GG) (64) 3” square (HH) (24) 2 1/2” x 6 1/2” (II) (8) 2 1/2” x 42 1/2” (JJ)

Piecing Directions

Remember, all seam allowances are 1/4”, and always press seams open or toward the darker fabric!

Sew the Center Ring

1. Place 1 of the V pieces, 2 of the W pieces, and 4 of the A squares as shown in the

diagram above. Sew the smaller pieces together in rows and then sew the rows together.

2. Rotate the block so that the cross becomes an X and trim it to 1 1/2” square for the mini

version of  2 1/2” square for the lap size version, being careful to center the X as you trim it.

(You may have slightly trimmed corners but those will be hidden in the seam allowance, so

don’t worry about it!)

3. Repeat with the remaining pieces for the other 2 basket cross blocks.

4. Alternate the 3 cross blocks with the 4 B squares as shown above and sew together in a

row.

5. Sew the C strip to the lower edge of the block above and the D strip to the upper edge.

6. Sew each of the 2 J strips to the lower edges of each Y rectangle. Sew one of these units

to the left and right long edges of the E strip. Sew this unit to the upper edge of the unit from

step 5.

7. Use the G and X squares to make a pair of half square triangles following the diagram

above. Place the squares right sides together. Draw a diagonal line across the wrong side of

the X square and stitch 1/4” from each side of the line. Cut along the line, press both half

square triangles open, and trim to 1 1/2” square for the mini version or 2 1/2” square for the

lap size version.

8. Sew the half square triangle units on the short ends of the F strip as shown above and

then stitch this unit to the lower edge of the unit from step 6.

9. Sew the Z strips to the right and left edges of the center block. Sew the AA strips to the

upper and lower edges of the center block.

10. Sew an M strip to the right and left edges of the center block. Sew the N squares to the

short ends of the remaining 2 M strips and then sew those units to the upper and lower

edges of the center block to complete the center ring.

Sew the Middle Ring

1. Make the flying geese units using the H rectangles and EE squares following the diagram

above. Place an EE square on the right side of an H rectangle, right sides together. Draw a

diagonal line from the upper inside corner to the lower outside corner and stitch along that

line, trimming to a 1/4 seam allowance, and press open. Repeat with the other EE square

on the other side of the rectangle. Repeat with the remaining EE and H pieces until you

have 12 flying geese units.

2. Sew the flying geese units into rows, alternating each unit with an FF strip (pay attention

to the orientation of the flying geese units in the diagram above) and sewing a GG strip to

both long edges of each row.

3. Make the chain blocks using the O, BB, CC, and DD pieces. Arrange the pieces as

shown in the diagram above and sew together. Repeat until you have 4 blocks total.

4. Sew a flying geese row to the right and left edges of the quilt. Sew the chain blocks to the

short ends of the remaining two flying geese rows and then sew each row to the upper and

lower edges of the quilt. Pay careful attention to directionality of the blocks as you go!

5. Sew an P strip to the right and left edges of the quilt. Sew the T squares to the short ends

of the remaining 2 P strips and then sew those units to the upper and lower edges of the

center block to complete the middle ring.

Sew the Outer Ring

1. Make the plate blocks. Arrange your K, L, I, and HH pieces in groups, using the diagrams

in this pattern as a guide to which solid color borders go around which plate centers. Each

block group should have 4 K strips, 4 L squares, 1 I square and 4 HH squares.

2. Sew a K strip to the right and left edges of the I square and then to the upper and lower

edges of the square, centering them on those edges. (Note: the K strips will not go all the

way to the corners, and this is okay.) Place an L square in one corner of the block, right

sides together, sewing a diagonal line to cut across the corner. Trim the seam to 1/4” and

press open. Repeat with the other L squares. Now repeat this same process with the HH

squares in every corner to finish the block. Do the same with the remaining 19 plate blocks.

3. Sew a row of plate blocks. Alternate the blocks with II pieces, sewing them together as

shown above. Sew a JJ strip to either long side to finish.

4. Make the corner cross blocks. Arrange the U, S, and Q pieces as shown above for one

block. Sew the pieces together in 3 rows and then sew the rows together. Repeat to make 4

blocks total.

5. Sew a plate block row to the right and left sides of the quilt. Sew a corner cross block to

each of the short ends of the remaining plate block rows, and then sew them to the upper

and lower edges of the quilt. Sew an R strip to the right and left edges of the quilt, and then

sew a KK strip to the upper and lower edges of the quilt to finish the top.

6. Quilt and bind as desired.

I hope you have a wonderful time making this quilt. And don't forget to be on the lookout for

Shortcake fabric at your local quilt shop!