Pinwheel Stitch Along - Update

Good morning!  I'll start you off with a story this morning ...

In my "day job," I am a high school teacher and occasionally when I pass handouts down a row, I accidentally short them a sheet so the last kid pipes up and asks for another. I usually answer them with a joke, "so you're saying it's a good thing I'm not a math teacher, right?" and they (usually) laugh with me. :-)

Well, this morning I realized that I am definitely NOT a math teacher!  I made an ERROR in my initial directions and I hope it doesn't mess you up too much ... as you should still have enough fabric. But ... when I told you the number of squares you'd need, I was thinking about the number of blocks we'd have (12 total), NOT that each block comes from two squares.  So ... you'll actually need the following:

• Charm Pack Version: 24 5" squares
• FQ Version: 24 8" squares (4 from each of 6 prints)
• Layer Cake Version: 24 10" squares

I sincerely apologize for this mistake and will be ultra paranoid about the rest of my directions for you (which stitching starts tomorrow!).  I hope that you'll still be able to squeeze out enough of what you'll need for the stitch along and that you'll still join me tomorrow.

Have a lovely day!  And I'll see you tomorrow (I hope)! :-)

Random Updates

Happy St. Patty's Day!  Hope you're not getting pinched! :)

I wanted to share some shop news ... we've gotten in more Bella Solid Snow and we got a pretty Essential Dot called Sunshine. Lovely, no?  It's really pretty with the Tea Garden prints as well.

We also just ordered some patterns to add ... and I am very excited to get those.  As soon as we get a shipping notification on them, I will share more details. So that is coming soon!

Did you know that most of our orders get shipped out the same or next day?!  If you need it quick, we can help.  :) Also, this weekend is the last weekend of the sale on Weekends (ends 3/20). 

I have several projects I am planning to share with you soon ... going to make this bag, share my shoo-fly charm quilt as a tutorial, have an idea for a twist on the shoo-fly block (going to test it out this weekend), and a few other "charming" projects for you. And ... at your request, I will be using some Flurry this weekend to get ready for week two of the Pinwheel Quilt Along! :-)

See you soon!

Pinwheel Stitch Along Fabric Selections

Happy Wednesday!  The weekend is getting closer and closer!  And so is the pretty weather we're supposed to have. :)

Today, I am stopping in to share the fabrics I will be using for the Pinwheel Stitch Along.  Are you ready?!

First up, for the fat quarter version, I am planning to go a little red and aqua on y'all and use these prints from Bliss. We're selling out of the aqua prints pretty quick.  If you're lucky, you can catch the last of the tulip here.

I think this is going to be really lovely.  I am leaning toward using the red designer beads print for the binding.

For the layer cake version, I will be using the Fandango layer cake I've been hoarding for quite. some. time. :) I plan on using this print for the backing with two rows of layer cakes pieced in and this one for the binding.  Here are the prints I pulled from the layer cake that I will use on the quilt top - I chose 3 squares from 4 of the main colors.

And, later this week I will let you know the consensus on the "would you rather" question of Countdown to Christmas or Flurry!  :-)

Share your fabric choices with us in the Flickr group. :-)

Happy Sewing!

Let's Play a Game of ...

Hello, hello!  I am getting my fabrics together for the Pinwheel Stitch Along ... I had a plan for the charm pack version, but then we got some samples in!  So, let's play a game of "would you rather ..."

Would you rather me use Countdown to Christmas by Sweetwater or ....

Flurry by Kate Spain ...

for the charm pack version of the stitch along?  Let me know which you'd rather see!  :)  I will share my selections for the 2 other versions tomorrow!

Happy Sewing!

Need a Pinwheel Quilt Kit?

Hi again ... I am excited some of you are thinking about stitching along with us!  If you are interested in buying a kit for the FQ version of the Pinwheel quilt, I have set up a listing in our Sew Lux Etsy shop for easy one-click shopping.

Hope you are having a lovely day! :-)

Pinwheel Stitch Along: Week One

Here we are at week one of our Pinwheel Stitch Along.  This week, your goal is to get your fabrics ready to go so we can start stitching our blocks next week.  In order to help you use some of those precuts we've all been hoarding, I will be giving you instructions for three different sizes of this quilt.  Keep in mind, you can make it bigger or smaller by adding additional blocks. :-)
Edited 3/20/11
Charm Pack Pinwheel Quilt:

• Top: 12 24 charm squares
• Backing: 3/4 yard or 30 charms if you want to piece the back
• Binding: 1/4 yard
• Final Dimensions: Approx. 17" x 22"

Fat Quarters Pinwheel Quilt:

• Top: 6 fat quarters - cut two four 8" squares from each print (12 24 total squares)
• Backing: 1 yard
• Binding: 1/3 to 1/2 yard
• Note: if you are using FQ, you can cut 10" squares to make this a little bigger (see layer cake version)
• Final Dimensions: Approx. 29" x 38"

Layer Cake Pinwheel Quilt:

• Top: 12 24 layer cake squares
• Backing: 1 yard + 10 layer cake squares (pieced back) or 1-1/2 yards for a non-pieced backing
• Binding: 1/2 yard
• Final Dimensions: Approx. 38" x 50"

When choosing your fabrics, you want to select half that read as a "light" print and half that read as a "dark" print so that your pinwheels will be more noticeable when you put the quilt together.  Basically, you don't want the two prints in the pair to blend together too much.  See the pinwheel quilt photo below as a reference.  Note - your layer cake and charm pack versions will be a little scrappier than the FQ version since you will have 12 24 prints instead of 6.

This week, you'll need to collect your fabrics, cut them if needed (FQ version), and then separate your fabrics into 6 12 pairs - each pair of prints should contrast each other - one "light" and one "dark" print. That's it!  Later on this week, I will show you the fabrics I will be using and then next Monday, I will show you a quick method for making the half-square triangles and how to put your pinwheel blocks together. Make sure you have some pins ready ... that is key to successful piecing!

We'd love to see that fabrics you'll be using ... share them in our Flickr group pool.

Happy Sewing! :-)

Winner and Pinwheel Stitch Along Update

Hello again!

Let's get straight to the good stuff .... we randomly drew a winner from our "Suggestions Anyone" post this morning ... congratulations to Tracy!  Tracy, please email us at sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com with your address so we can send out your prize.  We've got a set of 2 fat eighths from Bliss and a cute cupcake needle holder. :-)

Thank you to everyone who posted a suggestion and your thoughts on the coming soon fabrics ... we really appreciate your input and look forward to building our inventory around what you want most.

We heard you loud and clear about needing some ways to use all those beautiful precuts, especially charm squares! I have several projects/tutorials using those planned for the blog over the next couple of weeks, so I hope you'll stay tuned.

I am also going to be sharing directions and dimensions for three different sizes of the pinwheel stitch along quilt ... so whether you've got some fat quarters, a layer cake, or some cute charm squares, you can stitch along with us.  I will have all those details up and ready for you tomorrow morning so you can start making selections and prepare to get to stitchin' in week two.  This is definitely a quick and easy project, so I hope you'll join in the fun with us.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peek at my original version of the quilt we'll be making ... I had these Dillweed by SEI for Robert Kaufman sitting on the shelf for wayyyyy too long. So glad I put them to good use!

See y'all tomorrow!