Pat Sloan's Blog

Pat Sloan Red Apple Lane Pick a Pepper

 

Time to "Pick a Pepper" or an eggplant ... maybe some carrots and Brocolli?

Don't forget the garlic!

When making this block I had a BLAST fussy cutting the eggplants, placing the basket so the veggies just filled it up and rolled out onto the table.

Shall we take a closer look?

Here is the quilting on the peppers

Up close and personal

Do you want a refresher on fusible applique? CLICK HERE to a tutorial

Take your time building this block. Place the largest pieces first, like the green pepper.

The slide the 'shading' piece AFTER ALL the big pieces are in place.

The garlic is 2 fabrics

And I quilted 'circles' in the brocolli.. loved doing that!

The carrot toppers are straight stitch appliqued instead of blanket stitch since they are thin.

My Pick a Pepper  is made with all my 'Eat Your Fruit and Veggie" fabrics. CLICK HERE to see my line and where to buy it. This is block 4 of Red Apple Lane. Make a single block or the whole quilt!

Share your progress in my Flickr group HERE

Need Help? Ask at my Quilt group HERE!

Need the patterns or a kit to Join me for the fun?

CLICK HERE for buying info

Taking it ON THE ROAD... Reality Quilting with Pat Sloan!

When you go on a trip do you take 300 projects to works on... and work on none? 

You do? Well then you and I are going to get along fine.. just fine.

Because JUST like you I don't really get to quilt or stitch as much as I'd like. So I am bringing this round robin with me that I did with my friends (the ones here..)

To prepare for the trip I got it out and added some things..

more quotes

more goodies ...

I LOVE sayings and there are quite a few on here. I'll show you during the trip.. ok?

So what I'm doing is KEEPING IT REAL..

Welcome to my Reality Quilt Show!

I PROMISE to work on this during this trip

AND share my progress

And I'd like YOU to take a UFO and work on it over the next 3 weeks. Whenever I share here.. YOU tell me what YOU did on yours.

Ok... you in?

Tell me your project in the comments.. I want to know!

Reality Piecing with Pat and show and tell Thursday!

I may have to rename this blog 'Reality Quilting with Pat Sloan'. I am DEAD SERIOUS. Lately I have been running into more 'sewing challenges' than I care to... so here it goes... time to show and tell ..

tell ALL.....

I joined Amy Gibson's Stitchery Dickory Dock "Sugar Block Club" and we are on block 2.

Paper Piecing.

I like paper piecing, but have to be somewhat 'in the mood'. Thus the reason you see this post on the last day of Feb.... let's move on.

The challenge to myself was to create the blocks with just a layer cake and bit of extra fabric.. more aqua floral may have been purchased to keep me sane... CLICK HERE to read the January post

Do you notice something about that block in progress? It seem the paper piecing ate up more of the tan I used in the center than I had hoped for.

Do I change it .. or not?

I decided it would look better if each blade was the SAME fabric in the 2 sections

So I ripped out the seams in the center block and rebuilt that block. Then sewed it all up.

It is now about 11pm at night.. I took this photo... ACK!

What a freaking BIG ERROR!

How the heck did I piece that without thinking SOMETHING WAS WRONG? I cried over at my quilt group page... they will understand.. except Bobbie who loves paper piecing...

Should I fix it or not? I decided to sleep on it

All in all I think it needed fixed.. so here it is...

Can you say 'Starch' is now my piecing BFF??

Have you meet Amy Gibson yet? I interviewed her Jan 6, 2013 CLICK HERE to listen!

Did you get my newsletter yesterday? CLICK HERE to read it online

So this is my "Reality" show and tell today!!

Now I'd love to see YOURS! Put a direct link to your latest blog post, your flickr folder (did you share something new?), your pinterest board, or how about your latest project loaded to craftsy?

Click the blue box and follow the directions..let's have some fun!

I can't wait to see your latest quilt, finish, start or pile of yummy fabric!

 

Pat Sloan Up Close and Personal

Let's get a little personal. We all went to see a quilt up close don't we? Secretly examing the stitches and touching the fabrics.

Well let's do it.. do it Virtual that is.. wink! This is the actual Red Apple Lane quilt, Block 3. There are a few tips I have for you.

Place the cirlce first. It's the FULL circle.. and be sure to cut way most of the fusible.

Carefully build ALL the baskets, THEN insert the berries. I find it works much better this way. You can even fuse the bottom edge of the basket before filling to hold it in place.

If you are making the whole quilt this block 'flows' into the next. So if you have the background for the next block, sew the 2 together before fusing the baskets. If not, then just do not fill this basket until you get to block 4.

And here you got.. that UPCLOSE view of the stitching. I mixed straight stitch applique and blanket stitch applique with this project. Matching the thread colors from my Aurifil thread kit!
My Berry Baskets quilt is made with all my 'Eat Your Fruit and Veggie" fabrics. CLICK HERE to see my line and where to buy it. This is block 3 of Red Apple Lane. Make a single block or the whole quilt!

Share your progress in my Flickr group HERE

Need Help? Ask at my Quilt group HERE!

Need the patterns or a kit to Join me for the fun?

CLICK HERE for buying info

Pat Sloan A Manly Quilt Sew Along!

In my newsletter last week I talked about how to change this quilt in Camera Color Quilt, into a "Manly qult" I mentioned that I REALLY thought I should get more of that pile of dots in grey/black/tan fabric. It's the one in the center. Don't you think it ties in the colors so well?  EXCACTLY!   

My order came yesterday.. woot!! When I get back from this trip to Texas I'm going to make up a few blocks. I have someone in mind for this Manly quilt..

Which quilt in the book would you do first?

CLICK HERE to to see the quilts.  I'd love to have you sew along!

Pat Sloan There is no perfection in Quilting

I want to take a moment to say there really is no perfection in Quilting.

You may THINK something is "perfect".. but the "King of the Fabric Gods" has other thoughts.

Take this part of my "Red Apple Lane" Block of the Month. The Canning Jars.. this is a PRETTY UP CLOSE photo. Do you see the imperfections? The only way you can get closer is if you take a workshop with me and put your nose to it.. which you can do HERE. wink!

Do you know what happens when real life comes along in the form of a HARD deadline?

I had the whole quilt top done and was stitching the labels.

And I WROTE THE WORD Peach WRONG.. yep.. TYPO!

Do you see what I did? I appliqued a new piece over top... FIXED!  Not PERFECT... not at all

I want you to think about how you view your work. Your 'Perfectionism Gene'. Does it have ultimate power over you. Do you fusss and carry on and NOT SEW because ______ wont' be 'Perfect'?

How many hours of enjoyment have you lost, quilts not made, time wasted..

because perfectism was eating at you

making you hestitate, do over or just not even start?

My newest Newsletter went out yesterday! You can read it online here http://goo.gl/H3X6b

My Canning jars quilt is made with all my 'Eat Your Fruit and Veggie" fabrics. CLICK HERE to see my line and where to buy it

Share your progress in my Flickr group HERE

Need Help? Ask at my Quilt group HERE!

Need the patterns or a kit to Join me for the fun?

CLICK HERE for buying info