All the Buttons Quilt Tutorial

It's been ages, friends, I know...

Back in the middle of June I shared on Instagram that I was taking a break from social media for the summer, and it has been the BEST THING EVER. Don't get me wrong -- I love chatting with so many lovely people on Instagram and getting to see all the beautiful projects they're working on. But I've been trying to focus my attention on what's right in front of me these days, the family and friends I love who need me the most right now. After running through my days at breakneck speed for so long, becoming numb to everything except the demands of my to-do list, I almost thought it wasn't possible to live life any other way.

I'm so happy to tell you that I was wrong about that. Life has become a hundred times simpler, slower, quieter, and more peaceful than it's been for years. Suddenly I have time again to read, to talk with my husband, to sew with my girls, to play, to think, to dream. It's been a balm to my soul and a treasure that I can't imagine giving up lightly. So for now, I'm continuing my break from social media, though I did want to drop by this space to say hello, catch up with a little news, and share a quilt tutorial that I promised myself I would give you before the summer was over.

Little Joe at 2 weeks

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll remember Little Joe, the tiny tabby kitten I found abandoned in the middle of the parking lot at my local Target. He was about two weeks old, lame in his back paw, and very near death when I rescued him that day and took him home.

Teeny tiny Joey

At the time, I had no clue how much care and commitment is involved with raising young orphaned kittens. It's truly like taking in a newborn baby. I spent weeks bottle feeding him through the days and nights, keeping him warm, massaging his back legs, relying heavily on videos by The Kitten Lady and on help from my vet to face each new challenge.

Joey at 3 months

I promised Joey's many fans that I would give an update on his progress during the summer so that you could see how much he's grown. He's now 3 months old, and not only are his legs perfectly healed, but thankfully we've also been able to set up a room for him inside our house despite my parents' and husband's cat allergies. A special air filter in the room and weekly baths have kept the dander at bay. My husband loves to have coffee with Joe every morning while he feeds him his breakfast, and Dad pops in to cuddle with Joey every afternoon. Watching my men together with this cat just melts my heart. I'll always be his mama, but I think he saves his loudest purrs for the guys.

Joey is still a rambunctious little goofball who loves to climb and play with his toys and my girls every day. But my favorite moments are when he climbs up into my lap and touches his wee nose to mine just to say "I love you." We are so incredibly grateful to have him in our family, and seeing him happy and playful in his special room just brings me all kinds of joy.

I also wanted to share with you these sewing kits I made for my girls, who all wanted to practice sewing hexagons this summer. I let them each choose their main fabric from my stash, and then I picked coordinating prints to go along with that.

The pattern is the Double-Zip Clutch from my first book Sew Organized for the Busy Girl which I shrank down to about half size. It makes an absolutely perfect travel sewing kit. I made one for myself years ago which I've taken on plane trips for easy-to-pack sewing on the go. I love that it has a spot for all the supplies and every tool I need to bring along. Right now the girls are sewing Laundromat Coin Pouches from my book Patchwork USA, and they're having so much fun.

And now on to the pattern! This quilt was originally going to be published in my abandoned Carnival of Patchwork book. I had dreamed for ages of making a quilt with a ton of little button blocks on it, and it was so much fun to see that dream become reality in this project. It took me three long months to sew this one together, but I'm absolutely crazy about it. My friend Jennifer at Farm Fresh Stitches did the gorgeous quilting in a classic baptist fans motif. This block would look darling on so many other projects too: a tote bag, a zipper pouch, a pillow. Even if you don't feel like making a whole quilt, try it out on something small and have fun with it!

All the Buttons Quilt Tutorial

Finished Size: 53’’ x 60’’

Finished Block Size: 3 1/2" x 3 1/2"

Materials

From 97 5’’ squares of various colored prints, cut from each:

- (2) rectangles, 1’’ x 2’’ for button blocks (A)

- (2) rectangles, 1 1/2’’ x 2’’ for button blocks (B)

- (2) rectangles, 4’’ x 1 1/2’’ for button blocks (C)

From 2 yards of white solid, cut:

- (2) rectangles, 1’’ x 2’’ for button blocks (D)

- (4) squares, 1 1/2’’ x 1 1/2’’ for button blocks (E)

- (98) squares, 4’’ x 4’’ for alternating squares (F)

- (4) rectangles, 4’’ x 53’’ for borders (G)

From 2 yards of wide batting, cut:

- (1) square, 70’’ x 70’’ for interfacing (H)

From 2 yards of 108’’ wideback fabric, cut:

- (1) square, 70’’ x 70’’ for quilt backing (I)

From 1/2 yard of pale blue floral fabric, cut:

- (6) rectangles, WOF x 2 1/2’’ for quilt binding (J)

Make the Blocks

1. Sort the pieces for each button block into 100 stacks. Each stack should include 2 A rectangles, 2 B rectangles, and 2 C rectangles from a single Colored Print. It should also include 2 D rectangles and 4 E squares from the White Solid

2. Sew a D rectangle to either long edge of an A rectangle. Cut the resulting piece in half through all 3 rectangles as shown in the illustration above.

3. Sew the pieces from step 2 to the upper and lower edges of the remaining A rectangle. Sew the B rectangles to the right and left edges of the block.

4. Sew the C rectangles to the upper and lower edges of the block. Use the E squares to snowball the 4 corners of the block, to yield a finished block as shown above.

5. Repeat steps 2-4 with the pieces for the remaining blocks, giving you a total of 97 blocks. 

Make the Quilt

1. Arrange the button blocks and F squares as shown above, organizing the colors in whatever order you like best. Sew the blocks and alternating squares together in rows. Then sew the rows together.

2. Sew a G rectangle to the right and left edges of the quilt top. Then sew a G rectangle to the upper and lower edges.

3. Quilt and bind as desired.

All warm and crinkly after coming out of the wash...

If you make anything with this tutorial, please share your photos! You can use the tags #fabricmutt and #allthebuttonsquilt. I'll be back on Instagram sometime in the fall to check in, so be sure to tag me @fabricmutt so I can see it then.

I hope you're all having a beautiful summer and doing the things you enjoy best. Most of all, I hope you're getting time with the people you love. Enjoy every minute of it!

Mini Double-Zip Clutch: the EPP Kit

Back when I first developed the Double-Zip Clutch for my book, Sew Organized for the Busy Girl, I remember thinking, "Someday I need to try making a miniature one of these." Well, today was the day...and wow, do I love it.

For those of you who might want to try one of these, I simply cut all the measurements in half. This smaller version finishes at 4 1/4 x 5 1/2" closed, 5 1/2 x 8 1/2" open. I also switched out fusible interfacing for cotton batting which I attached with adhesive basting spray. I found that I didn't need to even use the batting to reinforce the lining on the end zipper pockets; the smaller version holds up quite nicely without it.

This clutch couldn't be a more perfect size to use as an English paper piecing kit for basting hexagons. All the fabrics you see here are from Amy Sinbaldi's charming new collection Paperie for Art Gallery Fabrics, which features plenty of delicate small scale prints as well as a vintage book theme -- two of my very favorite things. These sweet prints will definitely be showing up in future projects.

This was my first time trying metal snaps as a closure, and I'm definitely a fan. I also added leather zipper pulls and trimmed it with a bit of twill tape covered in French handwriting as a final touch. There are pockets here for everything: paper pieces, basted shapes, needles, thread, scissors, and fabric. It all zips and folds up into an easily hand held package. Best of all, it only took me a few hours this afternoon to sew this up between helping the girls with their classes.

And we all lived happily ever after...

The Constance Organizer Tutorial

It's been an exhausting week here at our home. My daughters have been fighting a nasty bug that comes with endless high fevers, and it's been a constant battle to keep their temperatures below 101 degrees. Blogging and blog reading naturally fell by the wayside for the past few days, so I missed the posting of my latest piece for The Glamorous Housewife blog. I promised you all a tutorial for that organizer I showed you last week. Here it is: the Constance Organizer.

This version is slightly different from last week's. It has an extra pocket on the left side of the interior, a flap closure, and a much simpler exterior. The basic pattern is no problem to customize, though, so you can easily change this to make it whatever you want. That's the beauty of patterns for me -- I love to play with the details and make something new.

These make great last minute gifts for those of you who are already casting an eye toward Christmas presents. If you make one of these, please do send me pictures or mark a photo with #fabricmutt on instagram. I'd love to see what you're making!

And now I'd better head back to the couch to sit with my sick little Bear as we watch the never ending Handy Manny marathon that's been parading through my living room all week. Remember this old Calvin and Hobbes cartoon? Once in a while I share the same feeling for those who write children's programming. Not that I'm bitter or anything...

Care Package

A friend of mine was having a lousy day last week. I couldn't be there to sit down for a cup of tea and a chat, so it seemed like a good idea to send a little care package. My leftover pieces of Fort Firefly and Charlie Harper came in handy as I sewed up a fun organizer for her to use.

I still can't decide which I love best -- the front or the back. These prints are all so adorable.

The inside has several pockets, even one with a zipper. I tucked in a few goodies, including those of the fabric variety, and it's now winging its way across the miles to her doorstep. And if you'd like to make one of these for yourself...well, just stay tuned...

Linking up (better late than never) to Finish It Up Friday.

Triple-Zip Pouch

This has been a week for catching up on things I've been wanting to do for months. Today I finally made one of my friend Debbie's triple-zip pouches -- a genius pattern if there ever was one. Debbie is hosting a Triple-Zip Along too, which is a great excuse (if you really needed one) for trying out this amazing tutorial.

When I first saw Eric & Julie Comstock's new collection 2wenty Thr3e online, it was love at first sight, even though it's really not my normal choice of colors. Now that I've seen these prints in person, I'm officially smitten -- and so very glad that I pre-ordered a fat eighth bundle earlier this month. This charm pack arrived the other day, and I thought the triple-zip pouch was a great way to start using it along with some Sewing Guide in black from Mama Said Sew by Sweetwater and an orange and white stripe from Lizzy House's Hello Pilgrim collection for the lining.

I never realized how small this pouch was until I sat down with the tutorial -- just under eight inches long -- yet it's incredible how much you can fit inside it. I'm so excited to swap out the larger pouch I've been keeping in my purse for this efficient little beauty. Can you believe that all this stuff can fit inside with room to spare?

Make yourself a triple-zip pouch. You'll be glad you did.

Zakka Organizer

My sewing machine was delivered this afternoon, and suddenly my world makes sense again... Actually, last night I finally started working on Erin's Hand Pieced Quilt-a-Long after procrastinating for so long. It's a wonderfully relaxing thing to stitch away at these little blocks, and I'm having fun pulling from my scraps for each one. But more on that tomorrow. For today, I'm back on the Zakka wagon after falling off last week, and I'm so happy with how this little zip organizer turned out.

Most of the fabric is from a Ruby Star Shining panel by Melody Miller, and I'm only sorry that some of her gorgeous designs are covered up by the pockets. I also threw in a bit of grey linen and some Town News in cream from the Hometown collection by Sweetwater (still loving that print -- it goes with everything). I'm so glad to finally have one of those darling typewriters on something I can use every day. The inside turned out a little busier than I expected, but that's okay. It's good to have a little color in my life.

Definitely check out the tips that Krista offered in her pattern review on Monday. I, of course, read the tips and promptly forgot them, leading to a little one-on-one time with my seam ripper...

Also be sure to check out the great Let's Get Acquainted Blog Hop posts by Taryn and Em today. They're both such sweet ladies, and they have wonderful tutorials to share!

Linking up to the Zakka Along and TNT Thursday.