Holiday Memories - Janome to the rescue!

Holiday Memories

Janome to the rescue!

by Natalie Barnes of beyond the reef

The Holidays are for making Memories.

Just that.

You might be thinking, you don't have time to sew during the Holidays.

But I assure you, you do.

Just a few minutes a day, and you'll be ready for the Holiday family event.

Here's a simple project - and an idea for you.

Sprinkle some "albumn blocks" on your table, include Micron pens

and let your guests sign their name and leave a sentiment for the Holiday.

Everyone knows I love string blocks.

I've chosen them once again for this project, because they're achievable

and don't take a lot of quilting math!!  (smirk)

When you are done, you will be left with a stack of lovely blocks 

with the names and notes

from all of those that you love, and shared time with during the Holidays!!

Choose a color scheme - red and white, red and green and white, silver and blue.

Grab some fabrics from your stash.

Head to the hardware store and get some painters masking paper - 6".

You'll need lots of bobbin thread, so grab the Aurifil for this project - a neutral light grey.

You'll want a 6-1/2" square ruler, a cutting mat and rotary cutter, some snips

to one side of your Janome

and an ironing mat, and your Oliso travel iron sitting to the other side.

Because I sew on the HD-3300, I can set it up anywhere.  

So I set it up by the tree and turned on the lights

sewing to the sparkle!!!

Cut random width strips, trimming ends - between 1 - 2 inches.

Cut a stack of 6" squares from the masking paper - your foundation.

Place white, or the fabric you've chosen for the signature of the block, 9" strip,

in the center from point to point,

right sides up.

Select your first color strip, and trim it to a length just past the foundation paper.  

With right sides together, stitch together and give a quick press open with your iron.

Repeat until one side of the paper is covered.

Then cover the other side of the paper and you have completed your block!

Remember, you can chain piece the strips!!  

The Janome HD-3300 is fast, and makes quick work of this project!  (zoom zoom)

(the perfect setup!)

Give the blocks a good pressing, and trim to 6" square.

You are DONE!

And now for the magic.

Yup.  I buried the lead.

Sprinkle these blocks 

down the center of your table, 

making them part of the centerpiece!

Add some Micron pens, and ask your guests to sign while they are dining.

So, remember, Holidays are about the Memories.

Capture those memories with a quick stack of Albumn Blocks

easily string pieced

and ready for your Holiday Dinner or get together!

HappiestDays.

Natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

be.do.create

Shayla Wolf Good Vibes Only blog tour

"Summer-to-go!"

It's a great month!

It's time to celebrate with Shayla Wolf of Sassafras Lane Designs!!

It's time to take a look at this lovely Windham Fabrics line

with lots of color and prints that will make lots of different projects!  

There is a great blog tour happening right now.

And I couldn't be more excited to be a part fo the fun.

Let's celebrate together.

Leave a comment!

Each maker will be hosting a giveaway for a small bundle of Good Vibes Only. 

That is 19 opportunities to win! 

There will also be a big giveaway with the recap post on Sunday, June 23rd. 

The big prize will contain a fat-quarter bundle of Good Vibes Only and a pattern bundle.

It's summer.

Not only is it summer, but school is out, and that means kids are at home.

Well, only until they find the next place they want to go....

and then you're off to the races!

It's for this reason, I suggest a simple

"quilt-as-you-go"

project for this summer - it's these lovely, rich, cheery fabrics...

And, because, it's something you can work on

15 minutes at a time!!

These bright colors just say, "summer", to me, too!

"Summer-to-go!" mats and coasters

Mats

Place the first strip right side up, on the batting,

in the center of the 13"h x 16"w batting/backing rectangle.

(trim to 13" as you select each strip)

Quilt through the first strip.

Place the second strip right sides together on the first strip.

Sew together with an approximate 1/4" seam.

Flip open; quilt the second strip.

Repeat, across the left of the center, then the right of the center. 

Hint:  Piece some random strips together to form larger pieced strips.

Use these in your

"quilt-as-you-go" 

piecing.

Be sure to sew and quilt in opposing directions to keep your project square.

(up one side, down the other, and repeat)

don't you just love all of these patterns and colors???!?

Trim mats to 12 x 16, and coasters to 5-3/4" square.

Make 2-1/4" straight binding; attach to projects.

Color Recipe:

Use fat quarters of all of the colors to piece the mats and coasters.

Use the black to bind the coasters, the white to bind the mats.

The coaster backing is grey, and the mat backing is made from the whites.

(the rest of the details are below)

Coasters:

Piece them in a "loosely interpreted"

log cabin piecing technique.

Start with a square or strip in the center, then round and round you go,

quilting-as-you-go!

Who knows?

Maybe the kids will want to quilt with you, once they see these great colors!

Looking for a chance to win something?

Leave your comment below...and remember, each post

is another chance to win....

Details

(4) 6" squares grey for coaster backing

(4) 6" squares of InsulBright and lightweight batting

(4) 13" x 17" white/grey for mats backing

(4) 13" x 17" rectangles of batting for mats

(2) sets of 1-1/2" strips, and (2) sets of 2" strips

of all of the colors

(all of them!!! and yes, you'll have fabric remaining)

Schedule:

Monday, June 3rd: Shayla Wolf | Sassafras Lane Designs

Tuesday, June 4th: Emily Dennis | Quilty Love

Wednesday, June 5th: Nichole Vogelsinger | Wild Boho

Thursday, June 6th: Irene Sytema | Sugaridoo

Friday, June 7th: Sylvia Schaefer | Flying Parrot Quilts

Saturday, June 8th: Robin Long | Robin Ruth Design

Sunday, June 9th: Jessica VanDenburgh | Sew Many Creations

Monday, June 10th: Nicole Young | Lillyella

Tuesday, June 11th: Sherry Shish | Powered by Quilting

Wednesday, June 12th: Tara Curtis | Wefty Needle

Thursday, June 13th: Jo Westfoot | The Crafty Nomad

Friday, June 14th: Janet Nesbitt | One Sister Designs

Saturday, June 15th: Natalie Barnes | Beyond the Reef

Sunday, June 16th: Elisabeth Hardy | Elisabew Quilts

Monday, June 17th: Sarah Sharp | No Hats in the House

Tuesday, June 18th: Joanne Hart | Unicorn Harts

Wednesday, June 19th: Elise Baek | Elise & Emelie

Thursday, June 20th: Kaitlyn Howell | Knot and Thread Design

Friday, June 21st: Nicole Daksiewicz | Modern Handcraft

Saturday, June 22nd: Sarah Thomas | Sariditty

Sunday, June 23rd: Shayla Wolf | Recap

                                              
                                          

One block a day....

...just one quilt block a day....

"how long does it take to make a quilt?"

my apologies

I missed posting a blog this last Sunday

but.  I was posting, it was a video, tho.

how many of you have heard of the video series called

STITCH!

you can find it on my very own youTube channel

beyond the reef patterns

and also on

Windham Fabrics

but I did want to post a little something for you this week 

on the blog, too

so here's this week's encouraging post

I ask you

what if you just made one block a day

at the end of the year, you'd have

365

blocks!!!!!

I don't know about you, but I think that's pretty impressive

365

(Natalie Barnes at Missouri Star Quilt Company birthday bash)

so I encourage you

take just a few minutes every day

and make just one block

and if you're looking for a new project

tune in - subscribe - to STITCH! for some inspiration

HappiestDays

Natalie.

be.do.create

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

Easter.

Easter.

Spring.  Passover.  a Promise.

it's one of those things

I've done since I was a kid

my mother and I stood side by side in the church choir

singing

Halleluja Chorus

from sunrise service to pancake breakfast

one year I rode my horse to the top of the mountain

for the community service

these days, I walk to the bay alone and watch for the sun to rise

today, the neighbors joined me

and we sat in silence

there was a heavy overcast

and sunrise never came

we just sat in

silence

but as I was walking home
I realized something

regardless of whether we could see it
the sun actually did rise
there was indeed a sunrise

the promise remains

as quilters, we know this better than anyone else
we look at a stack of fabrics
or a basket full of scraps
and we see the finished quilt



so this year, I am reminded that whether or not you can see it
or believe it
each new day brings a bright and shining promise of a life well lived

Passover stories will continue to be told
Easter will be celebrated
the garden will bloom and the shrubs and trees will produce each and every year
and 
fabric will indeed turn in to quilts.

natalie.
be.do.create

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

ps - we have our shop site link on the website
and we now have an etsy shop
beyondthereefshop

please come visit and purchase a pattern or a bundle
...something new for Spring!

Road to California Countdown Giveaway - FINAL DAY!

it's the final giveaway!

this is the last post for the

Road to California Countdown

b e y o n d   t h e   r e e f

is a proud sponsor at the Road to California quilters conference

we will be in booth 312/314

and we'll see you this coming weekend, starting on Thursday!

thanks to

Moda Fabrics

we have this lovely the giveaway
of a 10" square bundle of Fig Tree & Co. fabrics

"Berry Fields Revisited" by Fig Tree & Co - Joanna Figueroa - for Moda Fabrics

confirm you are following us on Facebook, and Instagram and Pinterest

when you leave your comment

(please let us know you've signed up on those sites)

(did you know that kind of thing is a really important reflection of our business image?)

and please answer the following question

where is the number one place you purchase
fabric?
notions?
patterns?

we want to hear from you!!!

this is the last post we'll be doing as a countdown giveaway
it has been really fun for me to hear from all of you

...for those of you who have asked or wondered...
I will, I promise, be more actively looking for a new puppy
...not to replace Buddy...
but to honor him by giving a new stray/abandoned dog
the love and care and sense of
home
that Buddy experienced
I thank you all for your kind words and notes and sympathy

be.do.create.

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

fine print:  shipping to US addresses only for this series

all seven winners will be announced on Wednesday 20 January 16

Road to California Countdown Giveaway!

it's a giveaway!

tonite we start the 

Road to California Countdown

b e y o n d   t h e   r e e f

is proud to be a sponsor at the Road to California quilters conference

we will be in booth 312/314

and we'll see you on Thursday

(it takes a team to make it happen - workers, helpers, and housesitters!!)

thanks to

Windham Fabrics

we're starting the giveaway off with this lovely bundle

of fat quarters

"Imagine" by AnotherPointofView

confirm you are following us on Facebook, and Instagram and Pinterest

when you leave your comment

(please let us know you've signed up on those sites)

(did you know that kind of thing is a really important reflection of our business image?)

and please answer the following question

will you be attending Road to California

or do you attend a show in your own area?

we want to hear from you!!!

we'll be posting nightly

from tonite through tuesday nite of next week

that's seven straight days of giveaways

be.do.create.

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

fine print:  shipping to US addresses only for this series

all seven winners will be announced on Wednesday 20 January 16

...a busy year!

s u r p r i s e

it has been a busy year

while I really wanted to have a big reveal at

Fall Quilt Market

A M A Z O N

beat me to it

it's true!

and I am just over the moon

that Martingale/That Patchwork Place

believed enough

in my ideas to allow me to 

write my very own book

but there's a twist

do you see it?

look again

yaaaaay

it's true

Angela Walters

agreed to be a part of the book

and I think you're really going to appreciate what she has to say

too

while the book won't be shipping until 

FEBRUARY 2015

I just wanted to let you know

what I have been doing this last year

and if you are a wholesaler, and you are attending Fall Market

A    M O D E R N   T W I S T

will be a part of the

Author Hop

and you will have a "preview peek" at the actual book

want to know about the projects?

want to know about the book?

want to see that cover?

stay tuned....

for now, I just had to give a little squeal of delight

and while the book won't be available until next year

if you leave a comment

about what 

YOU 

have been doing for the last year

we'll have the random number generator

select one comment

for a copy of the book

and send it to you at the beginning of next year

so....

what have YOU been up to?

be.do.create.

natalie.

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

Book Giveaway - winner and new book post!

we have a winner!

okay, it's up to you to count down, six different comments

discover who you are...

and send me an email

natalie@beyondthereefpatterns.com

with your pobox/snailmailaddy

and I will send you your book!

...thank you Martingale & Company

our next book is about

yes, I know...the other creative word

knitting.

 I made a milky way scarf sampler, and then I got into quilting for, well, for a lot of quilt shows!

isn't it funny how (at least for me) knitting for quilters is such a seasonal thing!

you know, in Hawaii, they say the best hand quilters come from

upcountry

and that's because it's colder there than anywhere else in Hawaii

whaddya know

of course, people all over the Hawaiian Islands will challenge me about this

tidbit...it's okay...

 you will want to make a lot of these projects for your girlfriends,

 your quilting sisters

or your family member

please leave a comment

and let us know which person you'd make a project for

it's a big commitment!

HappiestDays.

natalie