patterns – Page 2 – Maryland Quilter

The Hunger Games Inspired Quilt — Gotta See It!

November 26, 2013November 26, 2013jroyer1 Comment

Katniss and Peeta have just triumphantly returned to District 12 from their first Hunger Games. Some grateful residents donate fabric from dresses and clothing to make a quilt for the victorious survivors. Primrose designs the mockingjays to cavort on the top of the quilt. Her mother finds a beautiful rose print to adorn the sides. The finished design represents the rustic beauty of the people of District 12.

I imagined this part of the story and it inspired the design for ‘Katniss’. This quilt is fun and not too hard to make. It is completed in stages that make it easy to quilt as you go, first assembling the center panel, then the borders. Each part is quilted before it is assembled so that there are few bulky parts. When the top is done, the quilt is finished except for the binding.

The quilt and the pattern are for sale in my shop, Maryland Quilter.

Eli’s Super Duper Amazing Animal Quilt

October 8, 2013October 9, 2013jroyer1 Comment

I have a new great nephew named Elijah, (Eli for short). I just love the babies that are sprouting out in my extended family tree. I now have 3 great nieces and 3 great nephews. You know I only want more so that I can make more baby quilts for them, right? I’ve decided to name some of these baby quilts after the babies that inspired me and they get the original quilt as a bonus. So today, it’s Eli’s turn.

Here is Eli’s Super Duper Amazing Animal Quilt:

And here is a detail of the fox block:

The quilt pattern and each of the individual animal block patterns are available in my shop

Eli gets the quilt, of course:)

Linking up to a great blog this week: Stitch by Stitch

Had I not had children of my own, I would have never written books for children, nor would I have been capable of doing so.

Roald Dahl

Had I not had children of my own, I would have never written books for children, nor would I have been capable of doing so.
Roald Dahl
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/r/roald_dahl.html#Jt3dFPiLhOGOYbXA.99

In My Best Dreams, I’m Flying

September 24, 2013September 24, 2013jroyer3 Comments

I am afraid of heights. Whenever I look over the edge of a balcony or a cliff I feel an incredible pull, so strong I think it may drag me over the edge. I back up quickly and look away. When I fly in my dreams, there is no downward pull. It is all joy. I do flips and rolls and soar in the sky. I like to imagine those dreams are a glimpse of heaven and when these ties are loosened I’ll know for sure. For today, it is enough to watch the birds, dream and sew.

Here is a new mini quilt and pattern, Sunshine on Little Bird, available in the shop.

This post is linking up with Sew Cute Tuesday

What is a Fussy Folk Quilt?

September 17, 2013jroyer3 Comments

“Fussy” is a quilt term. It is the current vernacular for “Broderie Perse” which in french means “Persian Embroidery”. All of the different labels are for a way of cutting out fabric that focuses on a motif in the pattern rather than the entire fabric pattern. So, if you find fabric with cute penguins and seals and you cut out the penguins and sew them on your t-shirt, you are sewing using the fussy cut technique.

My newest project, ” Wild Flowers” uses fussy cut flowers and stems to create appliques. Because the background of the quilt has a bold print, I put solid colored background flowers and leaves behind the appliques to help them stand out. The outer petals are rag cut to give texture and life to the flowers. All the appliques are sewn with raw edges to give a relaxed, folk style to the quilt. A red print border with a clipped edge finishes the composition.

The quilt and pattern are available in my shop

We Interrupt the Regularly Scheduled Program to Bring You This Special Announcement

July 9, 2013July 9, 2013jroyer8 Comments

A couple of dog years ago, hubby and I built a house. It was an exhausting, mostly unpleasant ordeal, but I experienced a few epiphanies and I will share one with you.

One day when we were almost ready to move in, it occurred to me that we had no mailbox and no house number. I called the post office assuming that obtaining a mailbox would be some lengthy bureaucratic paperwork deal involving background checks and social security numbers.

They told me to make up a number between the ones our neighbors had and pound a box in the ground. That was it! I couldn’t believe it was possible. We followed the directions, and the next day there was junk mail in our box! Soon there was junk mail with our address on it! We had, in a few minutes of decision, marked the world with a location that would be there for maybe hundreds of years! The power made me dizzy!

So, years later, I remembered that moment. The success of that creation gave me the courage to create again. Maryland Quilter was born! I don’t know how lasting my little company will be, but today it celebrates its 150th Etsy sale!

So here is a photo of the original mailbox which still stands in the inaugural location:

Here is the first Maryland Quilter pattern, written April 4, 2012. It remains a best seller.

The Ocean Waves pattern and quilt are available at Maryland Quilter.

I Am So Rocking the Modern Quilt!

July 2, 2013jroyer8 Comments

Here I am bragging again. Is this a consequence of being able to say whatever I want on the crispy new blog post page? Probably. Anyway, a few posts back I mentioned how I avoided white in quilts. Well, I faced my fear and now I am bingeing on white. White has become my new favorite color to add in quilts. How did I miss this for so long?

Here is my newest quilt with lots of white,white,white!

If you are thinking about making that first quilt, this one would be a great one to begin with. The pattern is easy to follow and leads you from first cut through to the label on the back. The pinwheel is made from a square folded back, how easy is that!

The pattern and the quilt are available in my Etsy shop.