Hi ,

It's been a wild week getting back from Chicago while kicking a sinus infection AND finishing up the last chapter of the Pantograph Guidebook! I'm so excited about the new beginner sewing machines I'll be offering soon.

In this newsletter you'll find beautiful quilting from a quilter inspired by the Free Motion Quilting Project, a fun half square triangle quilt pattern you can make in a day, plus info about the hoop frame accessory sale and a bit of news about some upcoming changes to my websites...

So let's kick off with this beautiful image from Joanne P:

Joanne wrote - I made a version of trailing spirals and it looks great! Just wanted you to know that I've used at least 15 of your designs in my projects!!  

 

Thank you so much for your contribution and time that you put into making those videos! I just started quilting about 3 years now and I love free motion! I've attached a photo of my most recent project using the trailing spiral!

Just in case you'd like to try quilting this design in your next quilt, here's a quilting video from 2010 (nope, it won't be the best quality, that was 15 years ago!)

I'm delighted to see the designs from the Free Motion Quilting Project still being used and enjoyed. They are a continual source of inspiration and creativity and I hope you'll continue to enjoy watching the videos on my Youtube Channel.

Half Square Triangle Quilt Pattern

Are you ready to piece half square triangles and make a fabulous quilt top in a day? While hanging out in the airport I began playing with triangles and had so much fun, I had to come home and make this one:

I haven't had a chance to add this to my website yet, so this newsletter is the only place you'll find this free pattern. To make this 59 1/2-inch throw sized quilt top you will need:

1 ¼-yards Light Green

1-yard Dark Green

1 ¼-yards Yellow

1-yard Orange

This fabric requirement is calculated based on 42-inch wide 100% cotton fabric.

Fabric Cutting for Echo Triangle Quilt

For best results wash and dry all fabric before cutting. Apply starch and press to increase fabric stability. You can find an excellent tutorial and multiple videos on preparing fabric right here. This fabric prep step makes piecing and matching seams easier.

Cut the following number of squares from each fabric:

Cut 13 – 9 ½-inch squares Light Green

Cut 12 – 9 ½-inch squares Dark Green

Cut 14 – 9 ½-inch squares Yellow

Cut 11 – 9 ½-inch squares Orange

Once you get your squares cut, you're ready to stack them and begin piecing half square triangles. Click Here to find my tutorial on piecing HSTs.

These are very large half square triangles so you may way to pin the two pieces of fabric together before piecing. You might also have to fold the right corner of the block over a bit to sew the seams if the block is too big for the harp of your machine. For my machine, this isn't a problem!

Stack the following fabric squares right sides together.

7 Light Green + 7 Yellow

6 Light Green + 6 Orange 

7 Dark Green + 7 Yellow

5 Dark Green + 5 Orange

Once you piece and cut them apart, you'll have all the pieces you need to make the 59 1/2-inch Echo Triangle Quilt:

Are we ready to piece the quilt top? Nope, not yet. I always calculate, cut, and piece my half square triangles slightly bigger than they need to be so I can cut to the correct size before piecing into the quilt top. This ensures accurate units, every single time.

Trim all HSTs to measure 9-inches square, then arrange 49 using the image of the quilt above as a guide. Piece 7 rows of 7 HSTs each, then piece the rows together matching seams.

I hope you'll give this quilt a try and send me a picture of your quilt top. I'd love to add it to the Half Square Triangle tutorial and help more quilters learn how to piece this fun unit.

Hoop Frame Accessory Sale

This month all Hoop Quilting Frame accessories are on sale. This includes bungee clamps, hoop frame leader cloth, mini quilt clips and more.

If you have an Evolution Hoop Frame and have been wanting to upgrade your frame to an Evolution Elite - now is the time!

We offer Evolution Hoop Upgrade Kits to transform your 5 foot Evolution Hoop Frame into an 8 foot, 10 foot, or 12 foot Evolution Elite, and the current prices are the lowest I've ever seen them.

Just make sure you understand two key elements about the Evolution Hoop Upgrade:

1 - No More Hooping - Once you upgrade, the frame becomes an Evolution Elite Frame, which is rolling rail only. This means the length of your frame determines the maximum width of your quilt. We can load up to a 79-inch wide quilt on an 8-foot frame and up to a 103-inch wide quilt on a 10-foot frame.

2 - Make Sure You Have Space. When you upgrade this frame it takes up a LOT more room! Double check you have room for the frame and room to walk around one narrow edge and to stand to both the front and back of the frame as well.

Click Here to find Evolution Hoop Frame Upgrades on sale through May 31st.

Change Coming to the FMQP

I mentioned above that changes are coming to my websites. I've decided over the summer to phase out the website FreeMotionProject.com to focus my energy on LeahDay.com. 

The most important tutorials and free motion quilting designs will move over to LeahDay.com, so please don't worry - you will still be able to find your favorite quilting designs.

In the meantime, especially once FreeMotionProject.com begins redirecting, please check out my Youtube Channel and search for designs by name - you can still easily watch the original videos this way.

If you haven't picked up a copy of 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, we still have a few boxes left. This version of the book was published and printed by C&T Publishing. I do plan to offer a new edition of this book eventually, but for right now, the copies I have on hand are the limit.

Please know that I am not going anywhere!

Please continue to open these email newsletters to find links to updated tutorials, new quilt patterns, and awesome quilting gear. This decision took me over a year to make. It's not easy to shut down the blog that literally got my business started.

But I know by focusing my energy on maintaining one website, I can have more time for quilting, more time for teaching, more time for creativity. And that is the whole point.

Saying yes to one project means saying no to everything else. In this case, by saying no, I'm saying yes to a far more creative, productive, and happy future.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day