New Pattern ~ Tribal Chevrons Table Runner

Hello! It's been quite a while since I've posted here. I'm doing great and still quilting lots but demands on time seem to be ever increasing! There are just so many online social places to be these days and I decided to try out Instagram as my main place for a while. I'm @quiltsbyemily and I'd LOVE to follow you too....leave a comment and let me know where I can find you! :)

I did want to share something I just finished up last week.
Several years ago I made a table runner. I've had lots of requests for the pattern and I started writing up instructions for it quite a while ago but ran into a few snags. I had a recent request to sew one of these up for someone so I took the opportunity to buckle down and finish writing it! Use coupon code NEWPATTERN to get $2 off this pattern in my Etsy shop now thru the end of October.






P.S. I'm still following blogs but don't comment much because I seem to always get an error, especially on Blogger, go figure! But just know that I truly enjoy seeing everything that you all create! so inspiring!

Aztec Chevron Quilt + {new pattern}

I'm so excited to show you a new quilt pattern I've been working on!
It's a really fun, geometric chevron pattern. So perfect for showing off special fabrics. I was inspired by a design on a beach towel of all things!

I had originally picked out the teal, peachy pink, mustard and mint color scheme but just felt there was something missing. Once I added in the Wild & Free arrows print and the Denyse Schmidt Chicopee print all was right with the world!

Love this quilt so much! This is the throw size which is about 54"x72". Way back when I started testing ideas for the pattern I made a baby size which I never blogged about but you can see on Flickr. I'm sure I'll be making more of these since it's such a quick and easy pattern to sew up!

Fenced In throw quilt

I'm so happy you all are excited about my Wonky Stripes tutorial! Can't wait to see how yours turn out!

A little while back I fell in love with a fabric collection, Priory Square. I must have been dreaming of spring! So I know I'm not alone here but let's be honest...I don't need to buy another fabric collection. So what I did was try to recreate the color palette of Priory Square with fabrics I already had. The pink I used isn't quite the same but overall I'm pleased with how it turned out.

I went with the tried and true Fenced In pattern by Elizabeth Hartman using Essex Linen in Flax for the background.

I did order some Priory Square fabrics for the back. I don't use a lot of large scale florals but I really do love this one! Very bright and cheerful.

Wonky Stripes Baby Quilt + Tutorial!

I have the cutest little baby boy quilt to show you today! It is so easy and fun to make I though some of you might like to whip one up too so I have a quick tutorial made up.
Wonky Stripes is the most unoriginal name but I am at a loss....what would you name it?



This quilt ended up being 37.5" by 48".
You'll need at least 10 fat quarters.
Cut 40 8"x8" squares from your fabrics.

Stack a variety of 4 squares, making sure that the top and bottom squares are not the same color (because they will be touching each other when you sew them into blocks).


Make 3 cuts at slightly wonky angles so that you have 4 stacks of strips. Make sure to keep the stacks in the order you cut them in.


Next, rearrange the layers so you can sew them together into blocks.

Now sew together the strips in the order you see them from left to right.

One thing to take note of when you're sewing the strips together. Because you are sewing angled pieces, you need to overlap the points where the seam allowance is.

You'll end up with 4 finished blocks that are 8"x6.5".

After all the blocks are pieced, you can arrange them (with the blocks turned horizontal) 5 blocks across and 8 blocks down. Finally, sew the blocks into 5 vertical columns and then sew the columns together. Done!

I'm working on a version of this with girly colors as you can above. I can't wait to see how it turns out!

Vintage Style Bowtie Quilt

Hey guys! It's Monday, hope you're week is off to a great start!

I've got some very mediocre, boring brick wall photos of a really GORGEOUS quilt! I do want to step up my photography skills but I always end up taking the quick and easy way out by snapping the same old pics.

This quilt I love! I was totally inspired by this vintage bowtie quilt I saw on Pinterest.

Denyse Schmidt fabrics are so perfect in a quilt like this. Modern but vintage all at the same time. I made 7" bowtie blocks using mostly Hadley fabrics with a few solids and Katie Jump Rope prints mixed in.

Even the backing is a Denyse Schmidt fabric from JoAnn's.

This quilt really makes me smile!

Quilts of 2014

Since this year felt like it just flew by, I was curious to see all the quilts I had made. My mosaic turned out really tiny for some reason but I spent all that time on it and didn't want to redo it. All the original pictures are on Flickr if you want a larger look at them. :)
Turns out, I made more than I had thought! In fact, I think about 8 of these never made it to the blog.

I don't think I was as creative this year with my patterns. As you can see, I repeated a lot! Two "Love" quilts (Tula Pink pattern), 2 Tango quilts (a Cluck Cluck Sew pattern), 5! Optimism quilts (3 baby size, 2 throw size) and 2 Archaeology quilts. But I really loved making all of these and sometimes keeping it simple can be so enjoyable and rewarding!

My only goal for this year quilting-wise is to keep making things I love! Oh and try to take better pictures.
So here's to 2015! I hope the new year brings you much creative joy!

Postage Stamp Quilt

This is most probably my last quilt to be finished in 2014 and boy, it's got to be one of my favorites! As a gift for my sister I'm happy that I'll get to see it often :) It's also a surprise for her, she has no idea I've been making a quilt for her.

I used the Snapshots pattern from the book The Practical Guide to Patchwork. It's just a basic postage stamp quilt but I used a lot of different fabrics to give it a scrappy-ish look.

I used so many fabrics in this quilt! I was going for a color scheme of navy, coral, turquoise, yellow, gray and lots of low volume prints.

My favorite quilting ever! overlapping scallops.

The back is a large piece from Leah Duncan's Meadow collection plus some random scraps.

I know my sister is going to love it! Christmas is just a few days away, can't wait!

12-Patch Quilt

Happy Friday before Christmas!!!
I'm working on one last gift item that I'll show you in a few days. How about you? all ready or still scrambling? I'm usually scrambling with last minute gift making at this point but this year I took it easy and am only making one thing.

Anyway, I have a super cute finish to show.

I was completely inspired by this little mini quilt I saw on Flickr. These blocks are perfect for digging into those scraps! And they are SUPER quick to boot. Love them, I could totally make another quilts worth of these blocks.

For the back I finally used up a yard of Denyse Schmidt plaid I'd been saving for a long time.

The finished size of this quilt came out to about 39"x52".

Have a great weekend everyone!

2 quilts for 2 little boys

Oh my! where have I been? just busy I guess!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family up in Colorado last week, the weather was beautiful! And part of the reason I was able to enjoy it so much was I had just completed an order for 2 lap quilts.

The customer requested quilts for her 2 young sons and the amazing part is she provided all the fabrics (the really good stuff too!) so all I had to do was sew it up. She said her sons each picked their own fabrics. These boys have quite the eye for color!

These were a lot of fun to work on!
I'm cutting into fabrics a Christmas gift quilt today so I'll share more on that soon! Anyone else making a quilt for a Christmas gift?

Blogger's Quilt Festival Fall 2014

I am woefully behind showing you quilts that I've finished recently but thankfully the fall Blogger's Quilt Festival is going on so I was motivated to post one up for you.

I'm entering this quilt into the Original Designs category. Thanks to a low volume background and a mix of bright triangles, this quilt has quite a different look than my original Archaeology Quilt I made.
Back in August I had just gotten a few of the new Cotton + Steel fabrics and was inspired to cut into them right away. I added a few other fabrics that really compliment them (from Denyse Schmidt, Joel Dewberry, Lizzy House and Carolyn Friedlander).

I love the funky vibe the back has. I was sad to use the last of my Anna Maria Horner Field Study fabric but it was perfect.

Thank you so much for stopping by!