Its spring and the bees are buzzing around all the fresh flowers. Enjoy bees even more with this free pattern for a small “Bee Yourself” quilt.  I designed it with my “Bee Yourself” fabric collection  for Quilting Treasures. There is a bee for everyone – which are you?

This quilt is a great size for a wall hanging, lap quilt or a child’s quilt at 31 1/2″ W x 36 1/4″ H.  Its a great quilt that can be made quickly or by a beginner. The blocks in the center are a one-piece panel, so the sewing consists of adding strips and borders.

For the free quilt pattern download, just click for full instructions and diagrams.  You can also see all of the fabrics on my website.

If you would like to make a larger quilt, table runner or large tote bag made with the same fabric, please see my prior blog post with links to these free patterns. They are all available on the Quilting Treasures website.

Bee happy,

Phyllis

The International Spring Quilt Market, being held in Portland, OR, is almost here, less than a month away.  So its natural that my thoughts are on sewing and quilting as the show date approaches. In addition to heading to my sewing machine, I’ve been adding sewing art to a variety of products, in addition to the iPhone and iPad cases that I completed a little while back.

Turquoise is my most favorite of all colors but I do love all colors! I’ve been creating the new products in a new turquoise color range to go with the other color choices I created in this “Sew Fun” pattern of all your favorite sewing accessories.

Turquoise Personalized Sewing Art Mousepad by phyllisdobbs
See more mouse pads online on zazzle.

Cases are available for iPhone 4 and 5 and iPads as well as iPad and notebook sleeves.

Turquoise PersonalizedSewing Art iPhone 4 Case by phyllisdobbs
Browse iPhone 4/4s Covers online at Zazzle

These products can all be personalized to include your name, business name, monogram or other words and make nice gifts.

I also added a turquoise color range with my Quilt Art products as well. This binder will make a great album for your quilt patterns and notes and is also available in the sewing art pattern as well.

Turquoise Patchwork Quilt Personlizable Album Vinyl Binders by phyllisdobbs
Look at other Original quilt fun Binders at zazzle.com

And there is still time to stock up on business cards for your quilting business. They are available in multiple styles and colors and are very high quality with printing on both sides.

Quilt Block Art Yellow Business Card by phyllisdobbs
See other Business Business Cards

If you are not a turquoise nut like I am, there are many other color choices so I’m sure you will find a color fave to accent your love of quilting and sewing.

Sew happy,
Phyllis

Spring is here and flowers are blooming. Let them bloom in your quilting as well! I designed this “Spring Blooms” quilt pattern that you can get free by joining the Quilt Dash game and dash through online quilt shops now through April 30.

In addition, you will be entered into a drawing to win prizes from the shops that you visit.

This “Spring Blooms” quilt is pieced with 10″ blocks. The size of the quilt is 69 1/2 inches square but can easily be converted to a larger or smaller quilt or a rectangle shape. The quilt is great for an advanced beginner through experienced quilters.

I hope that you join the Dash and enjoy this pattern for free while enjoying your own spring blooms!

Phyllis

I promised to show some of the spectacular quilts on exhibit at the Houston International Quilt Market in the first part of my Houston Quilt Market blog post. These are just some of the amazing quilts exhibited. I’m always awed at the beauty of the quilts and the talent involved to create them.

Monarch: About to Fly by Gloria Hansen of East Windsor, NJ. This quilt is a digital painting based on a photograph of a Monarch that she took before it flew away. The techniques are digital painting, machine piecing and quilting.

Etherium Botanica Bromeliads – by Deborah Beatty of San Jose, CA. This quilt is based on her photography. The technique is digital painting, machine and hand piecing, machine quilting, and hand painting.

Desert Daze – by Debra Crine of Marco Island, FL. This quilt was inspired by beautiful colors and landscapes of the southwest, with southwestern motifs added after the design was complete. The techniques used were paper piecing, fusible applique and machine quilting.

In My Mind – by Eun-Suk Lee, Cheong-Ju-Si, Chung-Buk, of the Republic of Korea. This quilt was created to show a red line of hope leading to the clarity that traditional Korean patterns have a place in modern quilting and to be a Korean artist in a Western art form.

Heidi’s Schlowers – by Andrea Brokenshire of Round Rock, TX. This quilt was inspired by the beautiful Cattleya Orchid and a child trip with her sister to Disneyland. The techniques were hand painted silk applique fused on a pieced batik confetti background, machine quilted and thread painted.

Apple Blossom Dance – by Maggie Weiss of Evanston, IL. Powdery spring blossoms inspired this quilt. The techniques were torn fabric, applique and machine quilting.

3-D Sunflowers – by Martha DeLeonardis. Design source – a vintage sunflower block quilt. The techniques used were turned edge woven fabric, machine pieced, applique and quilted.

Tree of Life – by Allison Lockwood of Shell Beach, CA. This quilt was inspired by the Tree of Life that is an important symbol in nearly every culture and a trip to Thailand. Techniques are hand appliqued, hand quilted, embellishments applied by hand.

Synergy – by Nancy Sterett Martin and Karen Sistek of Owensboro, Ky. They were inspired by a photograph of a close-up of a poppy in creating this quilt. The techniques are hand painting on silk and machine quilting.

Tree – by Kathy York of Austin, TX. This quilt was inspired by the thought that if buildings could dance, they would upon the sight of such a lovely tree. The techniques were fusible applique, machine and hand quilting, and hand embroidery.

Prairie Grass – by Frieda Anderson of Elgin, IL. This triptych was inspired by the mid-west fields and prairies of Frieda’s hometown area and swaying in the wind on a spring day. The techniques used were fused collage and machine quilting.

Flowers for Me Diptych – by Lynn H. Woll of Tacoma, WA. This quilt was inspired by a bouquet of flowers that Lynn bought for herself when she was feeling down. The techniques used were raw edge applique and embellishment.

Mae’s Dance – by Carolyn Crump of Houston TX.  Mae Jones, a quilter from Florida, passed away a year ago. Her family gave Carolyn Mae’s sewing machine, fabrics and quilting tools. Carolyn used the machine to make this quilt and named if for Mae. The dancers symbolized the power of needle and thread. The technique used was machine quilting.

As you can see, there were some spectacular quilts on exhibit. There were many more that I did not get pictures of due to time constraints. I hope you enjoyed seeing these few.

Phyllis

For some reason, black cats are symbolic of Halloween. I wonder what the story was that created the Halloween black cat icon. As the “mom” to a black cat, I always make sure my black kitty is inside well before dark on Halloween. A few years ago, my husband overheard some really young kids that were out trick-or-treating early say as they tried to quietly pass by our house “this is the house with the black cat”. Since there were not many houses with really young kids close around, it made me wonder how notorious our black cat is. My husband did stop them and gave them some candy.

And I have to say that my black kitty is not scary by the wildest stretch of imagination – he’s so sweet and affectionate and loves attention. I hate it that he’s lumped as a superstitious “black cat”.

Since Halloween is approaching, I thought I would have a give-away of a fat quarter bundle of my “Meow Meow” cat fabrics. You can see by the colorfulness, that the inspiration from my black cat resulted in fun and bright fabrics filled with cat antics. You can see the entire fabric collection on my website.

To win the fat quarter bundle, just leave a comment and tell me your favorite black cat or Halloween story, cat story, or say “hi”. I will draw a name from those leaving a comment on Oct 31 – Halloween evening between giving out candy, and post it the next morning  I’m sorry but the drawing is open to residents of the US only.

Have a happy and safe Halloween and give a black cat a hug!

Phyllis

I love all things related to sewing and quilting! My mother taught me to sew at a very early age on an old Singer sewing machine (it wasn’t THAT old  with the foot petal operation although my grandmother had one). I have my mother’s tins filled with old buttons, etc, a bunch of vintage fabric scraps and her doll pin cushion, all of which I cherish. I used my love of sewing to create a fabric design using my favorite sewing notions  interpreted with a bit of whimsy that I showed you in my last post.

Periwinkle Blue Sewing Notions iPhone 4 Case by phyllisdobbs

Yellow Sewing Notions Laptop Sleeve by phyllisdobbs

Pink Sewing Notions iPad Case by phyllisdobbs

Orange Sewing Notions iPhone Case iPhone 5 Cover by phyllisdobbs

I will be busy sewing and quilting this weekend, getting ready for Quilt Market with my new fabric collection (sneak peek coming soon), a Schoolhouse event and new patterns that I will be posting here. Enjoy your quilting and sewing and remember how its “Sew Fun”!

Phyllis

I love fabrics and I love designing fabrics almost as much as I enjoy eating. That says a lot as I love all food groups! This has been a busy year with fabric design for me. My “Celebrate” fabric collection by Quilting Treasures will help create a cheerful birthday celebration. My newest collection will debut at Quilt Market at the end of the month that will be quite the “buzz”! A sneak preview will be coming very shortly.

In addition, I have fabrics in the Cranston Village V.I.P. line this year with more coming for this line as well with some really great colors.

“Sewing Notions” is a fun design for anyone who loves to sew or quilt. I thought of all the handy items that I frequently use while sewing and threw them into this fabric design. I took a little liberty when designing – my sewing machine does not really have polka dots.

The other 3 fabrics in V.I.P.’s line are “Bird Patch“, “Coffee Cups” and “Texting Lingo”.

Back to work – this is a busy month in preparing for the International Quilt Market in Houston in 3 weeks where I will also be conducting a Schoolhouse event.  More to come shortly on that.

Phyllis

Its been fun designing and sewing with my new Celebrate fabrics from Quilting Treasures.  I have created this free sewing and quilt pattern (quilting optional) that you can use for sewing a Happy Birthday banner. The banner is 25″ x 35 1/2″ and can be hung on a wall, in a doorway or for a multitude of other uses.  Use it year after year for birthday celebrations. The colors of my Celebrate fabrics are bright and cheerful to add to the festivity and use birthday cakes and cupcakes for design motifs.

Click away to the download page for the quilt birthday banner free pattern.

The fabrics are available through independent quilt shop and stores. While the weather is so hot, its perfect for staying inside and working on new sewing or quilt projects. Other free quilt and sewing patterns created for the Celebrate fabric collection can be found on Quilting Treasures website for download.

Stay cool and keep sewing and quilting!

Phyllis

Woohoo!  A favorite part of my job is when I receive a box of my fabrics! A just heard the door bell dingdong and went downstairs to see what the UPS guy left. The UPS or FedEx guys are the only ones that ring my doorbell in mid-afternoon, so I knew it had to be one of them.  There sat a huge box that was waaaaaaay too heavy for me to even move. So I looked to see who it was from, then went to get a pair scissors to open it. It was filled with my new fabric collection “Celebrate” from Quilting Treasures.

I can’t wait to get started on more projects using the fabrics! You can see what the fabrics look like plus some free patterns that are available for download from Quilting Treasures in my prior post. The fun colors are great for birthday celebrations for all ages.

Stay cool!

Phyllis

My new fabric collection “Celebrate” from Quilting Treasures is out!  Yea! I’m so excited! The bright colors and cakes and cupcakes are perfect for boys and girls of all ages through at least 120 for birthdays celebrations. I loved playing with the fabrics and designing these free quilt and sewing patterns for you to use! After a previous sneak peek, here is the entire “Celebrate” collection -

The project sheets for a quilted table topper, placemat, large gift bag and a happy birthday banner are available for free pattern download from Quilting Treasures’ website. Just scroll down and you will easily see them with their bright colors.

The quilted table topper measures 48″ x 48″ and will add a festive accent for birthday celebrations. All you need is a real cake for a perfect centerpiece! And of course, a pile of presents!

Another way to add a splash for a special birthday is with a placemat, sized 18 1/2″ x 13″. The yellow fabric on the right is a pocket to hold silverware or even better, a surprise gift or candy. The old saying is that a small present holds the best gift, like maybe a key to a car!

And for a larger gifts, you can make this large gift bag with a drawstring opening. Think of all the gifts this bag will hold. Its 30″ high and 20″ wide.

And nothing announces a birthday better or makes someone feel more special than a banner. This Happy Birthday banner is 28″ wide and 35 1/2″ tall, with red triangle points at the bottom edge.

Enjoy these fun projects and give them a try to use for many years of birthday celebrations. If you have a hard time choosing which one to make, make them all. They are easy to make. And I would love to see your finished projects!!

I have also designed another project, a small banner that I created for display at the Spring Quilt Market. I just have to finish writing the instructions and then I will post it here for another free pattern.

And while you are thinking of that perfect birthday event, please check out all the products I created in my Zazzle store using the “Celebrate” art to coordinate with the fabrics. I’m adding more products daily.

Lime Green and Blue Happy Birthday Cake Plate by phyllisdobbs

Have a fun day of quilting and sewing. And Happy Birthday to you on your special day!

Phyllis