Hearth + Home Quilt Pattern by The Seasoned Homemaker

I recently tested the Hearth + Home Pattern for The Seasoned Homemaker. This pattern is 2 quilts in one. Both quilts are made using the same blocks and layout, there's just a variation in the fabric placement of the 9 patch blocks. I tested the Home version which is described as having a vintage feel and made a scrappy version. The Hearth version has a star like design with more negative space.


This has been a record setting summer in Dallas, Texas. The nonstop 100+ degree days have had me longing for the cooler temps of autumn. I have made a lot of brightly colored quilts this year and thought it would be nice to make one with a fall inspired color palette. 


I had fun digging through my fabric bins for fat quarters and remnants in shades of teal, gold, and maroon (I really wanted purple like eggplant, but couldn't find enough fabrics in this color in my scraps). I found so many fun prints and blenders and it was fun to mix and match them into the 9 patch squares. For the snowball blocks, I went to my cart of precut scraps and pulled out the colors I needed in the size needed for these blocks. It was such a timesaver having my scraps precut into common sized squares and strips.


For the background fabric and borders I went through my remnants that are less than a yard in size. I used two different shades of brown for the background fabric. For the borders I used two fabric leftover from projects I sewed for Jaftex. 


My quilt features scraps from  previous projects, random fat quarters and scraps that I've acquired from swaps and secondhand. In addition to the two different quilts that can be made from the pattern, there will also be a tutorial that provides instructions to make blocks and a small quilt with the trimmings of the snowball blocks. 


I loved how quick and easy the Hearth + Home Pattern was. I give it bonus points for being scrap friendly. I really want to make the Hearth version as well - and also make it scrappy.  Below is a graphic of both versions.

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Week ending August 27, 2023

I have been extremely busy with work and working long days. I haven't spent a lot of time in my sewing room, and what time I did was spent trouble shooting my new robotics for my longarm. There is likely a problem with the "stitcher box" and I had to take everything apart and send it off this weekend.

I'm still loving my Column Block Quilt on my bed and snapped this photo on Mondsy of Smaug wanting to sleep in a little late. 


I went with Sherry to Simply Grace Thrift Store to check out a recent HUGE donation of fabric. I found some great fabrics- some vintage. 
I did finally get around to posting a blog post about the Coral Shadow Quilt. 


I made binding fir my Hispanic Heritage Month Quilt project.  

Both my Dia de Los Muertos quilt tops are finished and I was able to finish the photo holders for both this weekend.  I inserted some photos in two below as an example. I'm crossing my fingers that my longarm is back up and running soon so I can get both quilts auctioned off before mid October. 

I have 2 quilts cut out for my Jaftex projects for September and I have fabric from Minerva that I need to sew up.  I hope to get started on at least one of these projects this coming week.  I'm looking forward to next weekend and a long holiday weekend. 


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Coral Shadow Quilt Pattern by Sew Beachy Quilts

I recently tested a quilt pattern for Sew Beachy Quilts. The pattern is the Coral Shadow Quilt Pattern. The pattern is beginner friendly and is a block based pattern. 


When I visited my mom a few months ago, she insisted that I take home some of the fabric she had been stashing for a long time. In her stash I found several yards of this colorful tropical print "Rainbow Jungle"  by Alexander Henry that was dated 2003. The print is large and I loved the colors and patterns of the tropical leaves. Since the Coral Shadow Quilt Patter includes large squares for a focal fabric, I decided to use the Rainbow Jungle fabric and then found complimentary solids and a batik for the rest of the fabric needed for the pattern. 


The Coral Shadow Quilt Patter uses strip piecing which makes the construction of the blocks go very quickly. The arrangement of the blocks creates a visually interesting pattern that makes the quilt look more complicated than it is. 


The Coral Shadow Quilt Pattern includes three sizes. I made the Throw sizes which finishes at 68" by 82".  The size could be adjusted slightly be leaving off the borders or even making the borders a different size. 


The Coral Shadow Quilt Patter is perfect for highlighting a large scale print. I think it would be fun to make a scrappy version of this quilt. 


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Week ending August 20, 2023



It was a busy week for me work wise, but I did find some time to spend in my sewing room. I ordered a pattern to get printed on large format A0 paper and used a new local company to do so.  https://www.tapefreepatterns.com/
Kathe met me at one of the local libraries to handover my pattern and we chatted about working together in the future when I teach classes. If you need patterns printed - check her out! The price was only $1.65 a sheet for color printing and she ships. 


I can finally share my Coral Shadow Quilt. I tested this pattern for Sew Beachy Quilts and will share more soon in a blog post. 


Hispanic Heritage Month is coming up soon and I plan to auction off two quilts celebrating Dia de Los Muertos. These will have attachable photo holders so they can be used as a wall hanging and ofenda. 


Here's the other on my design wall as I figured out the layout. 


I finally posted my blog about the Icaria Pants from Itch to Stitch.  


I won fabric from Minerva in a Scrap bag challenge they had recently. 


My friend Sherry came by and she went with me to check out some quilting magazines on Facebook marketplace. They were 4 for $1! 


I spent the weekend putting my longarm back together.  I ran into some minor issues - cant get my lights to come on and have a cable that I can't figure out where it goes.  I was going to do a test quilt and blew the power fuse on my Machine. New fuse should arrive soon. I'm hoping to get back to quilting soon.  I have quite the backlog of quilt tops at the moment. 





Itch to Stitch Icaria Pants

A few months ago I tested the Icaria Pants pattern for Itch to Stitch. I was drawn to the Icaria Pants because they are similar in style to the Samara Pants that I love. The Icaria are a more simplified version and are a really quick sew. You can see my Samara Pants in this blog post


I made my Icaria Pants using a Viscose Linen from Minerva. I used this fabric as the backing of a quilt and had enough leftover for these pants. This is the Rainbow Harvest Print and it is gorgeous! The viscose linen is so soft and feels amazing. It also does not tend to wrinkle a lot like 100% linen. I would definitely use it again for quilting or apparel sewing.


The Icaria pants have wide, full legs with pockets. The legs are not as dramatically wide as the Samara Pants. The Icaria Pants have an elastic waistband that has a very unique construction. The process to sew the waistband challenged me, but I can't wait to give it another go soon on another pair of Icaria Pants. I have to note that the Icaria pants pattern does not come in the full leg length as I am wearing them. They come two length with the longest being a cropped length above the ankles. It was very easy for me to add 2.5 inches to get full length for my 5' height.


I have worn the Icaria Pants so many times since I have made them. They have been a great wardrobe piece for me to wear during this especially hot summer. The wide legs allow me to feel a nice breeze while still allowing me to wear pants. 

My top shown in these photos is also an Itch to Stitch top (and one of my favorites). It is the Soller Top and Dress. You can see many of the versions I made when I tested the pattern on this blog post. I have made a handful more since I tested the pattern and made this one specifically to go with my Icaria Pants as I had not made any solid colored Soller Tops and needed one!

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Week ending August 13, 2023


I decided that before I worked on another quilt,  that I needed to make some frankenbatting.  My batting scrap stockpile was getting a bit big. I made two battings and called that good enough for now.  

The new robotics came in for my longarm. They forgot to send me a power cord, so I have to wait a little longer before I can quilt anything. 


I finally got some photos of the beautiful fabrics Jaftex sent me to sew up for September.  The collection is called Midnight Rendezvous for Blank Quilting Company. 


I got a haircut! 


I made a new pouf for the kitties. I used the free pattern from Closet Core Patterns and used upholstery samples thst someone gave me.  It's stuffed with my fabric scraps and smaller stringy bits of batting that I save. 


I got this gorgeous crushed velvet from Minerva and think I'll make joggers. 


I picked the Harmony quilt pattern by Villa Rosa Designs for my Midnight Rendezvous fabrics. 


I bought a bunch of fabric from Jo-anns to use for quilts that I hope to make and auction next year. I was hoping to auction off or donate 6 quilts this year, but have only managed 3 so far. I plan to do one next month if I can get my $#!* together. 


This coming week I plan to focus on getting quilt pieces cut out for possibly three quilts. I have one in mind I want to auction next month that I need to get working on ASAP. 




Week ending August 6, 2023

This week I finished a quilt pattern test and got started on a quilt I'm making as a wedding gift. The wedding gift quilt is the Scrappy Lines Quilt by Side Lake Stitch. I've been working on it off and on for awhile. 


Smaug wanted to supervise the pressing of the snowball blocks for my pattern test for The Seasoned Homemaker. 


Here's that quilt test up on my design wall. This test had me very happy that I spent the time cutting down my scraps into usable squares as I was able to grab many of the squares needed from my precut scraps. 


I sewed a little bit together each evening. You can see my design wall is getting cleaner out. You can also spy a sneak peek of the pattern I'm working on.  It is one pattern, but has two different layouts. 


I finished the test and put my Scrappy Lines Quilt blocks up on the design wall.  I put them here just to organize their layout and to make sure I was happy with their randomness. 


I took a few minutes to fold newer quilts to store them in my quilt cabinet. I had to move most of my personal quilts to a cedar chest. These quilts, minus the one on the bottom, will hopefully find homes with a member of my extended family this Christmas. 


By the end of Sunday I had my rows completed for the Scrappy Lines Quilt. 


My new quilt robotics should be shipping to me this week. I can't wait! I have 3 quilt tops, plus this Scrappy Lines quilt waiting to be quilted.