Pieces of Rana's Life: BOM

Showing posts with label BOM. Show all posts

Saturday, January 10, 2015

New for 2015!

There are a few new things happening around here these days.
New and exciting things!
Things for you, from me!

Number 1...
How about a newsletter?
Yes, that sounds good.
But how about a newsletter filled with things you want (not just advertising).
Free things. Inspiring things. Things to create. Things to enjoy.
Yes, that's the kind of newsletter I am talking about.

This year, I am going to focus on six different types of content:
Patterns
Mood Boards (fully editable and customizable)
Desktop (and Mobile) Backgrounds
Recipes
Tutorials
Pattern Reviews and Discounts
You can sign up for the monthly mailer HERE, if you are interested.

Number 2...
How about a new Block of the Month?
Yes, that sounds good too.
But how about a FREE BOM!
A free, string quilted, medallion style, mystery BOM.
That's the kind of project I am talking about.
One that can put quite a dent in your scrap basket.
You can find the intro and pattern for the first month HERE, if you are interested.
And you can grab the button right here:

Number 3...
How about a great new book?
Yes, that sounds good too.
How about a book about modern string quilting.
A book filled with patterns (12 of them) to decrease your scraps and increase your level of cozy.
Hopefully you have already heard about this book, but just in case you haven't:

I wrote it myself and you can get a copy of it HERE, if you are interested.

And finally, Number 4...
How about a FANTASTIC new house?
Yes, that sounds really good too.
But how about a HOME. A comfy, cozy little place on the central coast of California.
A place where a family can settle in and enjoy the changing of the seasons and the marching of time.
Together. With love and happiness and fresh eggs every day.
I have just the place for you, and you can check it out HERE, if you're interested.

(And yes, this is our home. We are looking to make a MAJOR change in our address. To start a new page and a new adventure in a new place. New. New, New. And a little old. Because you can't change everything. And who would want to? We will still be the same happy couple with the same time tested outlook on life and the same beloved small businesses. We will just be enjoying it all in a DIFFERENT place. A place where the changing of the seasons looks and smells a little different than here and where time still marches on, whether you want it to or not. And yes, the new place will still be filled with love and togetherness and fresh eggs daily, but our hens will be a lot more cold hardy!)

My friend Laura, of Dienzo Fine Art Photography, took these pictures of our home. You can find her HERE if you are in need of any amazing photography for yourself.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Block 11: The Final Borders

Well, here we are. The last installment of Autumn's Bounty.

The last little bit is, of course, borders. One thin solid border and one final pieced border.

My last piece of advice is to resist the urge to finish it off with a solid final border. The pieced border (kind of a random piano key border that reflects the string piecing) keeps the movement in the center of the quilt going all the way to the edge. A solid border will work, of course, but it looks so flat and...... well flat! (I actually tried it with several different fabrics :0)

And that my friends, wraps the whole thing up. You can download the pattern here.
I sure do hope that you enjoyed it!

Now, before we leave the world of fun and free patterns.... my birthday is almost here. And so is my favorite holiday. And that means MORE FREE PATTERNS!
So check back the end of June and again the first week of July for 2 more freebies.

TTFN.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Blocks 9 and 10: Northern Stars

We are getting so very close to finishing our BOM!

I hope that you have enjoyed making it as much as I have enjoyed designing it for you!!

This month I am giving you 2 months worth of work. But don't worry, it will be easy. Month 10 is just to small to stand alone, so I am combining it with Month 9 because they really go together.

Month 9 is this star block. It is called Northern Star, and you will need two of them.
Be sure to keep the background consistent with the rest of your backgrounds in color.

And Month 10 is using those blocks to fill the corners of your little quilt top.

Happy stitching!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Block 8: Star Border

Hello BOM Quilters!!

Yes, it is time to add a little something to your Autumn's Bounty Quilt.
A star border to frame it all up. And how wonderful.... all of the pieces to make this border have already been stitched up!!

You can access the pattern here (under Block 8, of course).

We are getting close to the end of this little project. Next month you will have Blocks 9 and 10, because they go well together. Then in June the final little bit will be revealed! And that will give you a couple of month's to get it all quilted and ready for fall.

Happy Stitching.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Block 7: Pumpkin, leaves and tendrils

Hello again to all of you BOM-ers!!

It's time to applique that pumpkin, the super star of the whole show, into place.

Tips for Month 7:
~Template F is part of the Month 1 download.
~Remember that the tendril was already cut (during month 1 as well). If you have lost it, just follow the directions in month 1 to cut another.
~Be sure to cut out the background that is underneath the pumpkin. (It will make for better quilting.)

I guess that's it, except that you can link over to the pattern right here.
I do hope you are enjoying this BOM!
Happy stitching.

Monday, February 13, 2012

Block 6: The Cake Stand

Hello BOM Quilters!!

Please don't be too hard on me for getting to this at the last minute.
It has been a very busy day here. Crazy busy!!
But it is STILL Monday here in California (just barely). ((Wink)).

As promised, it is time to start putting all of your pieces together.

First, you are going to sew your 6 large string blocks together.

Then you are gonna add a little cake stand. A place to show off your pumpkin.

Do you like it??

Tips for Block 6.
~Be sure to turn off all scaling options when you print because this pattern has a template.
~If you have a problem area in your string blocks, think about positioning it in the center (so it will be covered by the pumpkin).
~Be sure to cut away the background that is underneath the cake stand. It will quilt up much more nicely if all of those seams are not accentuated.

I think that is it.
Happy stitching.

Get the pattern here.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Block 5: Big Strings

It's time for Block 5.
And it's going to look very familiar to you. You can download the pattern here.

More string blocks. But this time they are 8 1/2". And you are gonna need 6 of them.
Be sure and stick with your chosen background color, and let me remind you of these few tips from last time:
~Do you see that little strip of white/gray. I regretted that very much. Don't do that.
~Do you see that there are lots of different black prints, but there is no huge difference in scale or shade. Do that.

Remember, this is our last month of making just parts. Next month we are going to start putting it all together. You will still need a few more things, but it will be a make-them-as-you-go situation, from here on out.

Happy stitching!!

Oh yeah, did you hear about the new POM??
If not, scroll down to the previous post.

Monday, December 12, 2011

Block 4: Simple Stars

It's time to add another little bit to the Autumn's Bounty BOM.
This month it will be 3 little stars. And you can download the pattern here.

These are pretty simple, so I don't really have any tips for you.
Ok, maybe just 1.
Make them!!
Don't put them on the to do list.
Don't think "Oh I will catch up next month", or "I'm too busy, it's Christmas time".
No, no. Just make them!!

And one little sneak-peek into the future: Next month will be our last month of just making parts. After that, we will start assembling all of these lovely little pieces into a lovely little quilt.

And one more sneak-peak: a give away is coming very soon!!

A follow-up note: For some reason, Internet Explorer does not always want to open the pdf downloads. I have no idea why. But, if you are having trouble opening the pattern in IE, you might want to try opening it in Firefox. It is a more reliable browser.
And if there are any techies out there who can tell me what I can do to minimize the problem, well then bring on the advice!!!

Monday, November 14, 2011

Block 3: Aunt Addie's Album

Well, well, well.
It seems like we are about due to add a little bit more to our BOM.
Are you ready?? Are you all caught up?? Looking forward to a bit more??
I hope the answers were yes, yes and yes!

This month we are going to add three more blocks.
Aunt Addie's Album.
It is an old favorite that has been around for a long long time. But, if you don't make a lot of traditional blocks or stars, it may be new to you.

Click here to download your copy of the pattern.

There are no big tricks for these blocks other than keeping some good contrast between the two fabrics that make up the star points.
The background fabrics can be all the same or all different, but be sure to keep them in your chosen color family. (What I mean is that you need to use the fabrics you chose for the "background". Mine is black, just like the string blocks.)

If you are new to the BOM, you can click here to get started from the beginning.

Happy stitching!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Block 2: Little Strings

Hello Hello
Are you looking for Block 2?
Well you're in luck, because I just happen to have Block 2 sitting right here waiting for little ol' you!

It is called Little Strings and looks a lot like this:

It's kind of a nod to my current (and very tiny, miniscule, hardly worth mentioning really) obsession with string quilts.

You will need to make 3 of these in your chosen background color.

A few notes that you might find helpful:
~Do you see that little strip of white/gray. I regretted that very much. Don't do that.
~Do you see that there are lots of different black prints, but there is no huge difference in scale or shade. Do that.
~And don't be afraid to use a different color as your background. The first one I made was this black one, and the second one I made was tan. And they are both cute.

I guess that's it. If you have any questions or problems send me a little email (rana@sewnintothe fabric.com) and I will try to help.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Introducing Autumn's Bounty

A Free Block of the Month!

Autumn is nipping at our heels, and you know what that means:
Pumpkins
Gorgeous Leaves
Back to School
Crickets
Hay Rides
Corn Mazes
Apple Pie
Pumpkin Spice Lattes
Nippy Mornings
Halloween
Cider
Mums
And, of course, the perfect quilting weather!

So, let's celebrate it all with a fun new BOM.
This pattern was inspired by my quilting girlfriends.
We are taking a year off from our usual round-robin quilt projects and doing this mystery BOM instead.
Join us if you want to. It's gonna be fun. And did I mention, it has an Autumn theme.

Block 1: The Pumpkin

Grab the BOM Button!

Update: I was recently made aware of the fact that I did not come back to this post and link in Block 4. Oopsies!!

But, in all honesty, I will probably not remember this faux pas a month from now either!!
So... please remember I will post the next block on the second Monday of every month. And don't get left behind!!

Did you hear about our new POM??!!
If not, you can check it out here and here.