Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! Today we are going to celebrate by checking out Pat Sloan’s new book, Focus on the Center. So pull up chair, grab your margarita of choice and let’s take a look!

Focus on the Center, published by Leisure Arts, is all about quilts with an interesting center. I have some definitely favorites…

I think I might make just the center of this one…

Using maybe this fabric…what do you think?

Want a chance to win the book? Leisure Arts has been nice enough to give away copies of this book to TWO of you! All you need to do is leave a comment. I will pick the winners Monday evening, May 7th.

If you want even *more* chances to win the book, each of the stops this week on the blog hop are giving away another TWO books – as well as Pat herself! All the giveaways end on May 7th, so there is still time to enter them all.

Tuesday May 1
Carrie http://lavieenrosie.typepad.com/lavieenrosie/
Vanessa http://www.vanessachristenson.com/

Wednesday May 2
Bonnie Hunter http://quiltville.blogspot.com/
Michele http://quiltinggallery.com/blog-posts/

Thursday May 3
Victoria http://bumblebeansinc.blogspot.com/
Rachel http://www.psiquilt.com/

Friday May 4
Jackie http://cvquiltworks.blogspot.com/
Dana http://www.oldredbarnco.blogspot.com/

Saturday May 5
Vicki Welsh http://vickiwelsh.typepad.com/
Me! (Saving the best for last??) http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/

Good luck everyone!

++ Closing comments to pick the winners! ++

Congratulations to the winners!
#96 Cathy said “I love your fabric choices. Would love to win this book.”

++++ Edited…since the email address doesn’t work for one of our winners, I selected another. #185, Mags! Congratulations! ++++

I’m happy to have you visit my blog today as part of the Festival of Half Square Triangles! Today I’m going to share a tutorial for a new quilt block and then talk about some ideas for what you can do with it.

I almost titled this post “When a Square isn’t a Square”. Because those are the words that were constantly in my mind as I was creating this quilt block and the quilt that will follow it on Friday. When I’m designing quilts, I think I tend to fall into the mindset that I have to make blocks that are square. But when I sit down and really think about quilts that catch my eye, a lot of the time they are quilts don’t use basic squares – whether it be stars or hexies or any number of things.

So today’s block is a rectangular hexagon. This block can be used on it’s own – I actually think it would make an adorable pillow. I could see a bunch of them in different colors all over my daughter’s bed. Or it can be combined with many more blocks to make a quilt. I will share tips for making it into a quilt at the end of the block tutorial.

Let’s get started on the single block tutorial!

Step 1. Cut your fabric.

Step 2. Cut all 6 squares along the diagonal, resulting in 12 half square triangles (HST).

Step 3. Pair 8 of your HSTs together as shown. Sew together along the diagonal creating 4 squares.

Step 4. Trim your squares to 4.5″ x 4.5″.

Step 5. Sew your 4 squares together to form a pinwheel.

Step 6. Take your 4 remaining HST. Lay out as shown below.

Step 7. Sew together along the short edge, forming a larger triangle as shown below.

Step 8. Place these larger triangles on each side of your pinwheel square. Line up the middle seams and sew together.

Step 9. Using a quilting ruler, trim the sides of the resulting block if necessary, so they line up with the edges of the pinwheel section of the block.

Congratulations! You’ve made a Candy Pinwheel quilt block!

As I mentioned earlier, I think a block like this would make an adorable pillow. But what if you want a quilt? There are a few options. First, let’s talk color and layout. These blocks are staggered to “fit” together.

I followed a few color rules when designing this quilt mockup. Almost all my blocks were made using all warm (pink, red, orange, yellow) or all cool (blue, turquoise, green, purple) colors. I think this gives a bit of order to a quilt that is actually scrappy.

As for quilt top assembly, there are a couple options. First, you could make individual blocks (rectangular hexagons) and sew them together using the Y-Seam method. I’m sure most people just fainted.

But there is another easier option. If you plan your quilt ahead, you can actually sew your quilt together in rows. Simply lay out your entire quilt top on the floor or design wall, and rather than making one block at a time, you make one row at a time.

You will need some space to make your quilt this way, but I found it to be very easy. I hope that gives you some ideas for making an eye catching half square triangle quilt. I will post my finished Candy Pinwheel quilt on Friday. Here’s a sneak peek!

I must say I had a wonderful weekend! I drove 3 1/2 hours Friday evening to the unchartered (for me!) land of Iowa to spend about 24 hours with some fellow sewers and bloggers – Vanessa, Anna, Deedrie, Jeni and Megan. I had met everyone except for Anna at the Sewing Summit last year. We did lots of sewing, talking, eating…ok, mostly talking and eating. I think we went to sleep at 3am on Friday night and woke up at 7:30…I haven’t done that since my kids were newborns. It was so much fun, just reinvigorating to be around people “like me” that love fabric and creating. I drove home Saturday evening and you would have thought I had been gone a month, my kids were SO happy to see me. It’s always nice to feel loved.

Today I have a couple shares for you. First, I am going to be participating in Megan at Canoe Ridge Creation’s Festival of Half Square Triangles!

Starting Monday, April 2, there will be a two weeks blog hop full of half square triangle tutorials and projects. At the end of the blog hop, you are invited to link up a HST sewing project of your own – bags, mini quilts, home decor, anything you can come up with. Then the blog hop group of bloggers will choose 10 finalists, at which point it’s all up to YOU to choose a winner! There will be lots of great prizes that Megan will announce soon.

So head on over to Megan’s site to grab a button, check out the Flick group, and join us for the Festival of Half Square Triangles starting Monday, April 2!

I am also the feature today on Quilt Story, so definitely go check that out!

Off to work more on my Liberated Sampler! It’s coming right along!

*Edited to add a little photo of my progress*

I’m happy today to be the third stop on the Craftsy Block of the Month (BOM) Blog Tour!

I had the chance to interview host Amy Gibson about what exactly Craftsy and the Block of the Month are, and I hope you will enjoy learning a bit more! {Be sure to keep on reading through to the bottom for a great giveaway from Fat Quarter Shop!}

This is Amy. We met at the Sewing Summit last year and yep, she is just as cute in person as she is in her photo!

Tell me a bit about yourself. How long have you been sewing/quilting? Why did you get started?
Amy: I’ve sewn since age 8 or 9, when I joined a 4-H club called “Stitchin & Kitchen” (hehe- I still giggle at the name). I started off with garments primarily, and some bags and pillows, then somewhere around 13 I decided to join a local charity quilting group of ladies who got together twice a week to make quilts for the Sheriffs’ deputies to keep in the trunks of their cars and give to victims of abuse or crisis. What a life changing experience- I had no idea at the time how hard I’d fall for quilting. Couple of decades later and now I’ve got an amazing husband, two squeezable daughters, and I’m having more fun with quilting than I ever thought possible. The more I learn, the more fun it is to let go of the “rules” and just play…to me, quilting is like coloring for grown-ups. I started my blog, Stitchery Dickory Dock, about a year ago, right after I left my job as a fashion model booking agent (was promoted to Director of Laundry, Carpooling, and Menu-Planning!)- it’s the perfect outlet to journal and share my creativity, as well as interact with the online modern sewing community that I’m so inspired by.

What is Craftsy?
Amy: Craftsy is a very fast growing website centered around online video courses, teaching everything from quilting to knitting to sugar art. There are currently over half a million registered users taking part in the inspiring and interactive community that it’s so quickly become- you can post photos and details of your finished projects, buy and sell patterns, and even purchase discounted designer fabric & yarn. The high quality video classes enable students to pause, rewind, skip to different chapters, take personal notes, ask questions, download patterns and supply lists, and of course come back and review the class at any time, from any computer.

How did you get involved with Craftsy?
Amy: I actually caught wind of Craftsy last year when they first launched, and I saw that one of my favorite quilting instructors, Jenny Doan, was teaching a course for them called “Quilting Quickly” all about getting creative with precuts (I think Jenny’s such a sweetheart, and always enjoyed her tutorials at Missouri Star Quilt Co.). Then at the Sewing Summit in Salt Lake City this past fall, I had the fabulous opportunity to meet some of the sweet folks behind Craftsy in person! I was so delighted to discover that they’re my neighbors- based right here in Denver! I started off by submitting some patchwork project designs (like the iTote workshop), and somehow stumbled into the unbelievable opportunity of hosting their first Block of the Month series. What a thrill! I feel so blessed to be a part of it.

What is Craftsy’s Block of the Month?
Amy: The Craftsy Block of the Month is a year long video series, revealing 2 new blocks each month. We’ll make 20 blocks total by October, and then the last 2 months will be devoted to helping students through the finishing steps of layout, basting, quilting, and binding. No more quilt tops folded neatly in the sewing closet…I am encouraging students who are overwhelmed with the finishing steps, to conquer their roadblocks and get those quilts finished and ready to snuggle by Christmas!

What kind of blocks will we make?
Amy: We’ll be making a very wide variety of classic historic blocks that have been “freshened up” a bit to fit with a more modern aesthetic. From stars and dresdens, to improv, curved and paper pieced, the blocks are a very ecclectic mix, that I leave themselves open to much personal interpretation.

What is the skill level required for the blocks?
Amy: Though I will be offering tips and help with trouble-shooting along the way, it’s helpful to start with basic quilting knowledge- accurate cutting and 1/4″ seams, etc. There is no required experience beyond that, as I’ll be demonstrating all of the needed skills for each block- so quilters of all skill levels are encouraged to join in!

Where do you find your inspiration when sewing/quilting?
Amy: I’m very inspired by bright, fresh color combinations and interesting geometry, so I end up being inspired by the most random things sometimes…the bright stripes on a baby jumper, or a vintage tile floor in a hotel bathroom. It’s embarrassing sometimes, taking out my camera and snapping pics in odd places. The other day I snapped a pic of a woman wearing a stunning rainbow head scarf, standing in line in front of me at the post office. Don’t want to forget that inspiring piece!

Can you share your favorite quilt or project you’ve made?
Amy: The jury’s still out on my absolute favorite, but I just love how this modern cross quilt turned out, from last year’s “Across The Sea” quilt along with my friend Jennifer of Ellison Lane and Sarah of Fairy Face Designs. Makes me smile every time I see it.

Thanks Amy! It was great “chatting” with you!

And now for the giveaway. Fat Quarter Shop is helping with the Blog Tour celebration by giving a $25 gift certificate to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment and you will be entered to win! I will pick a winner Thursday evening, March 1.

Be sure to visit the rest of the stops on the Blog Tour to learn more about Amy, Craftsy and the Block of the Month. And it doesn’t hurt that there are some great prizes along the way.

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Winner time! Random.org has picked #244!

Sharon says: I’m really enjoying the Craftsy BOM with Amy! She is an excellent teacher and I’m learning so much already!

Congratulations Sharon! I will email you shortly!
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