Winners, we have winners!

We just realized we need to tell everyone about the winners from our last blog post. 

As promised, 3 lucky readers were randomly selected. If this is YOU, please email us with your shipping details so we can send you some fabulous fabric and a pattern. 

Drum roll, please, the winners are:

Peggy Tomlinson who said...
Wow Sarah, I see you posted your block a minute after midnight! I am amused to see all the very early comments posted. Do we quilters ever sleep? I seem to gravitate toward 1930's fabric. Love your block! I love designs made with all HST's.

Meredith who said...
Love all fabrics, reproductions especially, and am drawn to some of the brighter modern ones..your block is wonderful, love the colors, thank you!


and 

Linda who said...
I like your color choices for the block. I like small prints in primitive colors and am a particular fan of cheddar!

Thanks to all who took time to participate in the sewalong and especially to those who took time to comment. 

Stay tuned for the next fun event!

Marcus Fabrics Friends & Companions Designer Sew-Along Continues

Welcome back to the Marcus Fabrics Friends & Companions Designer Sew-Along. This week, we're featuring the block made by Dolores Smith, one of the owners of Homestead Hearth.

Dolores loves classic, simple quilt blocks, reproduction fabrics, plaids and Japanese taupes. Working with wool is also a passion.

Let's get started with Dolores' block! Here are her instructions:
  

Cutting instructions:

Background print (1038-0188)

*  Cut (4) 2 ½” x 2 ½” squares

*  Cut (4) 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” squares, cut once on the diagonal

Red print (1034-0111)

*  Cut (2) 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” squares, cut once on the diagonal

Blue print

*  Cut (2) 2 7/8 x 2 7/8” squares, cut once on the diagonal

Black print (1035-0112)

*  Cut (2) 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” squares, cut once on the diagonal

Green print (1702-0116)

*  Cut (1) 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” square, cut once on the diagonal

Cheddar print  (1033-0128)

* Cut (1) 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” square, cut once on the diagonal

Sewing instructions:

As you probably noticed, this block is all about half-square triangles again!  Sarah and I seem to always do more hst than normal.  What I like to do is match all the hst up in pairs and sew them all at once.  As Sarah mentioned in her blog post a few weeks ago, the Judy Martin point trimmer is one way we ensure accurate points.  Just want to let you know, it is a must--we both use it.  I have Sarah to thank for showing me this tool. When you use it, your triangles end up looking like this with no pointy ends to worry about:

All HST will be 2 ½” unfinished

*  Sew background and red print triangles together to make HST.  Make 2.

*  Sew background and black print triangles together to make HST.  Make 2.

*  Sew background and blue print triangles together to make HST.  Make 4.

*  Sew red and green print triangles together to make HST.  Make 2.

*  Sew black and cheddar print triangles together to make HST.  Make 2

Watch the placement of the prints and how the hst are turned to form the design!

Row #1

Sew hst and squares together and press seams to the left.

Row #2

Sew hst and square together and press seams to the right.

Row #3

Sew hst and square together and press seams to the left.

Row #4

Sew hst and square together and press seams to the right.

After all rows are made sew together in order as above.  Another favorite I like to use are fork pins to join my seam intersections.

Block is 8 ½” unfinished

For a downloadable version of the pattern, click here.

 What's a sewalong without giveaways? Please post a comment right here for a chance to win.  If you're stumped for a comment topic, tell us favorite style of fabrics--is it repros, 1930s, plaids, brights, etc?  I'll choose a winner the morning of August September 22nd.  (Please do not email your comments as only comments left on the blog will be eligible.)

Winners!!

I didn't forget about drawing for the blog winners, I just had one of those weeks & didn't get back to post about them.

So, each of our 3 winners will receive our Reverie pattern

and a selection of 5 fat quarters from the Romantic Renaissance line that we used in the quilt.

So, the winners as randomly selected are listed below. Please email us at info@homesteadhearth.com with your shipping details so we can get your prize out to you!

 Jacqueline said...

Beautiful block and fabric choices. I love participating in the SAL and appreciate all the effort and time you gracious Ladies do on our behalf.

I use a lot of different methods to make my hst's. Depends on how many I need of the same two fabric's.

Thanks for a chance.

Joanne Poxson said...

This is my first sew along. Loving these blocks! Looking forward to getting this next one done quick! Can't wait to see them all together!

and  

Marcha Osephius said...

So happy with this Sew-Along. Have plenty to do already, but this is 'just a little thing in between'!

Congratulations, ladies and keep sewing!

Marcus Fabrics Friends & Companions Designer Sew-Along

Welcome to our first stop on the

I'm Sarah Maxwell and I'm one of the owners of Homestead Hearth, a brick-and-mortar and online quilt store located in Mexico, Missouri. Our store is located in a really unique building just off the town square. Originally built as a chicken hatchery in the early 1900s, the building had many uses over it's lifetime and in 2001 my husband and I bought it with the idea of opening a quilt store.

Dolores Smith, my long-time quilt show buddy, had previously owned a store so we decided to go into business together. 12 years later, Homestead Hearth occupies the majority of the 10,000+ square foot building. We're known for our carefully labeled block-of-the-month shipments and our huge selection of 1800s reproduction fabrics. In recent years, we've expanded to carry more modern, brighter fabrics, too, to appeal to all customers. You can see our selections and visit the store online if you're too far away to visit!

This week, we'll be talking about Sarah's block for the quilt. In a few weeks we'll be back with a post featuring Dolores' block. Let's get started!

Cutting Instructions:

Background print (1038-0188) 

*Cut 2 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal

Red print (1034-0111)

*Cut 2 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal

Gold print (1033-0128)

*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal

 Black print (1035-0112)

*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal

Green print (1702-0116)

*Cut 4 squares 2 7/8” x 2 7/8” – Cut once on the diagonal

Sewing Directions:

This block is made up of half square triangles (HST).  There are many ways to construct these units and I'm going to show you my personal favorite. I use a tool designed by Judy Martin called the Point Trimmer. You can order it here!

After cutting our triangles  as listed above, we use the handy point trimmer to nip off those little pointy ends--it makes lining up the pieces much easier & really improves accuracy.

*  Sew the red print and background triangles together.  Make 4 HST press toward the red print. Each HST will measure 2 ½” x 2 1/2 “ unfinished. (Note how there are no pesky "dog ears" hanging off the ends of the pieced unit thanks to the point trimmer?)

 Repeat these steps to make the other HST units for this block.

     *  Sew 4 of the black print and gold print triangles together to make 4 HST. Press toward the black print.  

       

* Sew 4 of the green print and gold print triangles to make 4 HST. Press toward the gold print.

* Finally, sew the 4 green print and black print triangles together to make 4 HST. Press towards the black print.

* Now it's time to sew the rows together!

Row 1, press seams to the right.

Row 2, press seams to the left.

Row 3, press seams to the right.

Row 4, press seams to the left.

If you are worried about lining up the seams and points when sewing the rows together consider using fork pins.  You can order them here.

They work miracles! Just line up the points you are trying to match & then use a fork pin to anchor the intersection.

 Press the seams for each row.  The block should measure 8 ½” x 8 ½” unfinished. And that's it, another block is done. 

If you prefer the ease of  accessing a pattern via a PDF file, then click here for a PDF version. 

Are you excited to see how the entire mystery comes together? Be sure to check back each week for another installment. If you want to make a quilt just like ours, you can still buy a kit of fabrics.

 What's a sewalong without giveaways? Please post a comment right here for a chance to win.  If you're stumped for a comment topic, tell us what your favorite method of making HST units is and whether you have tried the Point Trimmer featured in this post.   I'll choose a winner the morning of August 18th.  (Please do not email your comments as only comments left on the blog will be eligible.)

8/1                        Pam Buda ~ Heartspun Quilts www.HeartspunQuilts.Blogspot.com

8/8                        Paula Barnes ~ Red Crinoline Quilts  www.RedCrinolineQuilts.Blogspot.com

8/15                      Sarah Maxwell ~ Homestead Hearth  www.HomesteadHearth.Blogspot.com              

8/22                      Pati Violick ~ Marcus Fabrics  www.MarcusMentions.com

8/29                      Gloria Parsons ~ Olde Green Cupboard   www.OldeGreenCupboard.Blogspot.com  

9/5                        Nancy Rink ~ Nancy Rink Designs   www.NancyRinkDesigns.com/blog

9/12                      Mary Ellen Robison~Red Crinoline Quilts   www.RedCrinolineQuilts.Blogspot.com

9/19                      Dolores Smith ~ Homestead Hearth  www.HomesteadHearth.Blogspot.com

9/26                      Lisa Shepard ~ Marcus Fabrics  www.MarcusMentions.com

10/3                      Red Crinoline Quilts ~ Quilt Revealed!  www.RedCrinolineQuilts.Blogspot.com

Lapis & Marigolds makes cover of McCall's Quick Quilts!

Over the last several years, Dolores & I have been so fortunate to have our quilts appear in McCall's Quilting and McCall's Quick Quilts.

Seeing a quilt in a published magazine or book is always exciting and it's even more so when the quilt makes the cover. So, we were SSSOOOO excited when we saw the cover of the October 2014 McCall's Quick Quilts which includes our Lapis & Marigolds quilt! Order your copy here!

The quilt features Faye Burgos' amazing Medallion Muse fabrics. We have those available here.

I loved the strong, bold colors of the line, especially that cobalt blue, and I definitely wanted to showcase that gorgeous, large floral. So Lapis & Marigolds is the result.

Of course, we have kits available!

And, of course, we have a giveway.  Leave a comment below & tell us what your color is sure to make you want to use a fabric. Two lucky winners will receive a free copy of the October 2014 McCall's Quick Quilts magazine. Please leave your comment below. Do not email comments as only comments left on the blog will be eligible for the prizes. Winners will be randomly selected on August 11, 2014.

We realized we never posted to share the winners of our last blog. Congratulations to Vic in NH and Hayley for sharing their favorite forms of relaxation sewing. We've emailed both of you to request addresses so we can mail your prizes.

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Happy quilting!