little joys quilt along - present block

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Yay! It's week four of the Little Joys quilt along with Elea Lutz! And this little bow-tied present might be my favorite block... this week. (Every new block becomes my new favorite, and that's why I love sampler quilts. No chance to get bored!)

Who doesn't love a pinwheel block topped with a quarter-square-triangle bow? And I finally got to go crazy with the two pink prints. Once again, I tried as hard as I could to have as many fully intact deer as possible in the green print, so I cut my HSTs slightly larger than the pattern and then trimmed them down.

I hope that you're sewing along with us! The pattern download is free from the Fat Quarter Shop, and you can find it here. I'm sure you know that I'm sewing with the kit as a base, and then I added in half yards of the two pink prints.

So now all the blocks have been sewn! And not a moment too soon, I might add, because I've packed up nearly all my sewing supplies in anticipation of my relocation move next week. The only quilty thing that isn't packed is my Little Joys quilt project and supplies. Next Wednesday we'll add sashing and borders! Thanks for stopping by today!

Oh, I almost forgot... if you share your blocks on social media, please use #LittleJoysQuiltAlong and #ILovePennyRose so we can all see your blocks.

little joys - welcome home wreath

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If it's a Wednesday in July, then it must be time for the Little Joys quilt along! This week we are making the Welcome Home wreath block. Nothing says summer quite like a Christmas wreath, LOL! But just think of how happy you'll be when you have this wall hanging done waaaay before Christmas! These Little Joys prints from Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics make me smile every time I see them. And this week I got to break out the pink print! I couldn't decide if I wanted a red bow or a pink bow, so I thought why not make an ombre bow?! Then I went ahead and made two more identical wreath blocks.

The tiny pop of pink makes me happy. And just wait till you see how simple these wreaths are to sew. The pattern shows you how to trim slightly oversized pieces to get perfectly sized blocks.

Want to make your own cute wreaths? The free pattern is here (but only for a limited time!), and there's even a kit with the red and green prints at Fat Quarter Shop. I used the kit and added half yards of the two pink prints - you'll see more pink in next week's blocks.

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I'm sewing along with Elea Lutz, Fat Quarter Shop and a group of my favorite quilty people. You can check out everybody else's blocks on their blogs and on Instagram. (I am @greydogwoodstudio on Instagram.) We'll all use the hashtag #LittleJoysQuiltAlong with our blocks.

For those of you who might be curious about my upcoming move to Southern Indiana, my packing boxes arrived yesterday. The movers will be here exactly two weeks from today! EEEK! I spent four hours on Tuesday night packing books. Yes, just books.  The cookbook boxes were easy to pack. But then I had to ask myself if I really needed to keep EVERY book by Kaffe Fassett and Thimbleberries, even though I no longer use them... and the answer was YES I do! I even kept some of the older country-inspired quilting books because they remind me of how I got started, like Debbie Mumm and Little Quilts. My living room is now completely taken over with boxes of books. Tonight I will attack the fabric stash, quilting magazines and DVDs!

little joys - trim the tree block

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It's week two of the Little Joys Quilt Along! Join me, some of my favorite bloggers and Fat Quarter Shop as we make the Little Joys mini quilt together. It was designed by Elea Lutz of Penny Rose Fabrics. We're making a tree block this week, a ribboned gift next week and a wreath the following week. Then we can assemble the quilt! I hope that you've gathered your Christmas prints and are ready to sew along with us. (The fabric requirements are here.)

I'm using the kit which includes red and green prints as well as the ivory background. I'll enhance it with Elea's pink prints next week.  (I need my pink and green!)

Could this fabric be any cuter? Nope, I don't think so. It has that perfect retro, vintage look that I love. You'll also want to print out a copy of the tree block pattern. It's available for free here for a limited time, so get yours soon.

This has to be one of the easiest, and most classic tree patterns ever. Simple stitch-and-flip corners form the tiers of the tree. I also did a small amount of strategic cutting when I cut my print strips. I wanted to get as many deer into my tree as possible without cutting off their heads. Decapitated deer aren't very Christmasy :-)

You'll make just three trees.

You can reuse your scraps in a future block or in another project. Here's how I store mine. Simple and not too elegant, but it works...

The bag serves another purpose. I lightly starch my fabrics right before I cut them. Now I know that the fabric in the bag has been starched, while the other fabric still needs to be treated. So, no guessing about which fabric I'm using. And see how great the red and green look next to the pink?

Next Wednesday we'll make the gift box block!

If you share your blocks on social media, be sure to use the hashtag #LittleJoysQuiltAlong. And look at who is sewing along! Such a talented group of ladies, and I'm happy to be included with them.  

little joys quilt along starts soon!

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It's time for the annual mid-year Christmas In July quilting fest! So throw a log on the fire (ok, maybe not!) because the Little Joys Quilt Along starts soon!

It's the perfect time to begin a small Christmas project. It's a small quilt (34" square) and the pattern is free! We'll have our quilts finished way before December!

Photo credit Fat Quarter Shop

Photo credit Fat Quarter Shop

Cute, right? We'll make 9 blocks using the adorable new fabric collection, Little Joys by Elea Lutz for Penny Rose Fabrics. I'll be using the kit from Fat Quarter Shop with fabrics as shown, but I might add some of the pink prints, too, for extra joy. The block patterns will be free and can be downloaded each week, so you can make the quilt with your own fabrics. (Wouldn't this be fun in 30's repros, or the new Holly's Tree Farm collection?)

Find all the details here, including a handy PDF with fabric requirements, plus links to the other bloggers who will be participating in this quilt along. The pattern for the first block will be posted on July 8 so you have plenty of time to gather your festive fabrics!