Watch for 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop starting this Saturday, July 14. Many thanks to Sarah Craig at Confessions Of A Fabric Addict. She has spent countless hours organizing this fun filled event. Visit Sarah for the entire schedule on Saturday, July 14.
Christmas is my favorite holiday for designing. I have created many different paper pieced Santas, but on Tuesday I will be sharing a tutorial on how to paper piece my favorite Santa pattern. Visit each of these 29 designers between July 14-29.
Each designer is offering something fun and exciting for Christmas… perhaps a free tutorial or a pattern. AND…some of us will also be offering GIVE-AWAYS.
I will be giving away 1 free copy of my latest paper piecing book, Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. This book offers 16 adorable paper pieced blocks AND 8 cute holiday projects to use the blocks.
This Polar Bear table topper and gift sack are both included in the book, along with so much more.
Join the fun! My day to post is Tuesday, July 17. I will be including a full schedule on Tuesday. See you then!
Thanks for stopping by to visit! Carol from Just Let Me Quilt has done a marvelous job organizing this Blog Hop. We want to add some hearts and love to your February. So…every pattern mentioned in my blog today has a “heart”.
My FREE block is “HEARTY PENGUIN”. This paper pieced block measures 8″ x 8″ unfinished. This block would make a great pillow, potholder, or could be used in a table runner.
My intention was to share a pattern that would not only be sweet for Valentine’s Day, but would last all through winter.
This is a very easy paper pieced block, and would work well for beginners. You may download this
HEARTY-PENGUIN-MERGED.pdf (2254 downloads )
block here. Keep reading…my give-away is towards the end of this post.
Instead of giving you a finished project, I thought you might want to learn paper piecing basics. So…
Set the stitch length on your sewing machine to 1.5 (that’s about 20 stitches per inch).
Step 1 : Make 3 copies of the original pattern. (I use cheap copy paper.) Cut it into the 3 segments A, B and C, shown by the red lines. I like to add 1/4″ seam allowances between the segments. This is not a necessary step, but I find it a helpful reminder as I paper piece. If you prefer, you could just make 1 copy of the pattern and cut it apart on the red lines. Just make sure you are allowing plenty of fabric along the edges for the 1/4″ seam allowance as you paper piece. I will be paper piecing Segment C.
Step 2: Pin a scrap of fabric a bit larger than, directly behind, piece #1 . The right side of the fabric should be facing away from the back of the pattern. Another way of saying this is, place the wrong side of the fabric touching the wrong side of the pattern. Holding the pattern up to a light source makes this step easy.
This is what the pattern looks like from the back.
I have more “heart” blocks available on Etsy and Craftsy.
This is my “SCALLOPED HEART BLOCK“. It measures 8″x 8” unfinished. I used it to make an adorable pillow. This is a challenging pattern with a lot of pieces.The SCALLOPED HEART PILLOW pattern will be given to 1 lucky winner. To enter for a chance to win this pattern, please leave a comment after this post. Be sure to include your email address 🙂 This give-away will end on Friday, February 9. The winner will be announced on Saturday.
Of course, in my usual fashion, I couldn’t stop designing blocks with hearts. “BE-MINE PUPPY BLOCK” is for the dog lovers. I am going to make a potholder from this block.
This is “PERKY PENGUIN BLOCK“. His face is shaped like a heart! This pattern does not include directions for constructing the pillow. It is a nice, easy block for beginners!
If you like these Valentine’s patterns, you might also like to check out my brand new St. Patrick’s designs.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Please visit other blogs today for even more FREE patterns. And don’t forget to LEAVE A COMMENT. Let me know which of my “heart” blocks you like the best.
Welcome to my paper piecing tutorial “#2: Sewing Segments Together”. My step by step directions are designed to help you use my “Made By Marney” paper pieced patterns.If you are piecing a combination block, you will have to paper piece each segment in the pattern, then sew these segments together. Watch “Tutorial #1: Paper Piecing a Segment” if you are a beginner before watching this tutorial.
The Penguin block I am using in this tutorial is a FREE download and will be available on my website starting on Tuesday, February 6.
Step 4: Bend the paper pattern out of the way and trim away any excess seam allowance beyond the 1/4″ needed.
Step 5: Flip fabric 2 in place behind piece #2 and press flat.
Step 6: Trim away the excess fabric, leaving a generous 1/2″ beyond what is needed.
Step 7: Position the fabric for piece #3. Again, I am bending the pattern on the stitching line so I can peek under the pattern to help place my fabric to allow about 1/2″ of seam allowance. (I am always generous with this seam allowance, especially for beginners.)
Above, you can see that piece #3 is stitched, pressed in place, and the excess fabric has been trimmed. Continue to add pieces in numerical order.
Above you can see that section C is now completed.
Trim the seam allowance 1/4″ from the red line. Segment C will be sewn to Segments A and B along the red lines.
Step 8: This a close up showing how I match the seam lines for segments A and B. Poke a straight pin through the seam line of segment A and match it with the seam line on segment B.
Pin the segments together. Sew on the seam line.
Rip off the paper that is in the seam allowance on each side.
Press the seam to one side. Here is segment A and B sewn together and pressed.
If you need any further assistance, contact me at maryannhertel@gmail.com
My step by step directions are designed to help you use my “Made By Marney” paper pieced patterns. Tutorial #1 gets you started on paper piecing a segment. I cannot fit all of the photos in one post, so Tutorial #2 shows how to finish the segment and sew it to a second segment. The pattern I am using can be found as a FREE download on this website starting Tuesday, February 6.
Let’s do a tutorial on paper piecing right now. Set the stitch length on your sewing machine to 1.5 (that’s about 20 stitches per inch).
Step 1 : Make 3 copies of the original pattern. (I use cheap copy paper.) Cut it into the 3 segments A, B and C, shown by the red lines. I like to add 1/4″ seam allowances between the segments. This is not a necessary step, but I find it a helpful reminder as I paper piece. If you prefer, you could just make 1 copy of the pattern and cut it apart on the red lines. Just make sure you are allowing plenty of fabric along the edges for the 1/4″ seam allowance as you paper piece. I will be paper piecing Segment C.
Step 2: Pin a scrap of fabric behind piece #1. Hold the pattern up to a light source so you can position the piece behind piece #1 on the pattern. The right side of the fabric is facing away from the back of the pattern. Note that the scrap is larger than piece #1 to allow for seam allowances.
Step 3: I am now ready to position the fabric for piece #2. In the first photo I am pointing at the
line I will be stitching. In the second photo I am bending piece 2 back along the stitching line to help me position the fabric. Note that the fabrics are right sides together. I am allowing for about a 1/2″ of fabric beyond the stitching line. You can see I am working with a large scrap for fabric 2. I like to trim my fabric AFTER stitching it in place.
Notice, I start sewing 1/4″ before my stitching line, and will stop stitching 1/4″ after my stitching line. No backtacking is necessary.
Step 4: Bend the paper pattern out of the way and trim away any excess seam allowance beyond the 1/4″ needed.
Hello to my friends everywhere! Today I am giving a special shout out to my friends and customers from Australia. I was fortunate enough to have my latest book, “Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” previewed in their magazine, “Down Under Quilts“.
There I am on the cover…well it’s not really me, but my Rudolph.
The magazine shares a FREE pattern block “Present” from my book and the instructions to make it into a placemat.
I am very busy working on some cute designs for Valentines/Winter. There is an upcoming BLOG HOP that I want to share with you. In February, I will be participating in the “Put A Little Love In Your Heart” Blog Hop from February 5-8.
This is right around the corner. Everyday different quilters will be sharing a FREE pattern with a heart in it. This sounds like so much fun. I can’t wait! I will keep you posted as this fun event approaches. Some of the sights, including mine, will be offering give-aways, too.
I’ll let you know what my give-away will be next week! Stay tuned…
I just can’t stop!!! Designing these Halloween blocks is so much fun! Here are 4 more paper pieced blocks which I am calling my “Black and White Series”.
These are 8″x 8″ unfinished blocks. I used them for potholders, but they also work great in my pillow pattern
Welcome to the 3rd Annual Row Along hosted by Seams to Be Sew.A hugeThank You toMarian Penn for organizing this event. Also, thanks to our sponsors, Northcott Fabrics and Calibre Art . Our sponsors are wonderful and we owe them a HEAP of gratitude. Read to the end of this post to find information about the Give-Aways from Northcott and Calibre.
This is your chance to download tons of free row patterns. I am just 1 of many pattern designers involved in this row-along. This year’s row-along will last for 6 weeks, ending with a “Show and Tell” day Tuesday, October 10. Starting September 5, every Tuesday and Thursday 5 (some days 4) different pattern designers will be offering a FREE row pattern. All rows will measure 30 1/2″ long, so all will consistently fit together into the quilt of your choosing.
Each row is designed with a specific Christmas carol in mind. My row was inspired by “Jolly Old St. Nick”. I love to paper piece images of Santa, and this is the perfect song. The pattern is paper pieced and is very easy to assemble. If you are new to paper piecing, I suggest you watch my free tutorial on sewing a Simple Paper Pieced Block, found on my “Tutorials” page.
Here are photos of the 4 blocks that make up my row. Remember, when paper piecing, your finished block always turns out the opposite of the original pattern.
The pattern explains how to tie a “knot nose” using a scrap of muslin. So cute! My finished row shows the “Jolly Old St. Nick” row finished as a table runner with an inner and outer border. Also, consider using just the “HO HO” block for a pillow or potholder!
Please visit all of today’s Row-Along participants:
Give-Away #2: My “Dogs Only” paper pieced pattern. If you like to paper piece, and you like pets…this is the quilt for you! Eleven different dog breeds represented in one quilt.
Potholder directions are not included in this download, just the paper pieced block patterns.
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy my fun Halloween creations. Attached is a photo of a table runner made from 3 of my Halloween block patterns. Thank you, Wanda, for sharing your cute table runner. And here’s an adorable table topper by Shelley, using all of my Halloween blocks.
Shelley used my Christmas Tree Skirt pattern to assemble this table topper so she could use 8 different Halloween blocks. Didn’t she do an awesome job?!?!
I love seeing my friends’ creations using my patterns. Please share by sending me photos at my email: maryannhertel@gmail.com
I am obsessed with Halloween images! The Frankenstein and Count Dracula paper pieced block patterns are FREE for you.
Both blocks will be easy for an intermediate paper piecer. They make sweet potholders, pillows, table runners …and wouldn’t they make a great trick or treat sack? Use the “Gift Sack” pattern from my new book, “Sew Yourself a Merry Little Christmas“. The book is full of super easy projects.
If you like them, please SUBSCRIBE to this website so you don’t miss any of my upcoming posts.
I hope you enjoy these Halloween images. I had sooo much fun making them…and watch for more Halloween blocks to come in the next couple of weeks! What’s your favorite Halloween theme?
The 2 Breezy Butterfly blocks pictured above can be found on my Craftsy and Etsy shops for FREE. These paper pieced patterns can be used for summer potholders, pillows, a table runner or even a butterfly quilt.
I am offering these free patterns as a thank you to my loyal customers…and if you haven’t been a customer in the past, I would value your patronage in the future. I would also love you to SUBSCRIBE if you have not previously done so.
Christmas is my favorite holiday for designing. I have created many different paper pieced Santas, but on Tuesday I will be sharing a tutorial on how to paper piece my favorite Santa pattern. Visit each of these 29 designers between July 14-29.
I will be giving away 1 free copy of my latest paper piecing book, Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas. This book offers 16 adorable paper pieced blocks AND 8 cute holiday projects to use the blocks.
This Polar Bear table topper and gift sack are both included in the book, along with so much more.
Purple Daisies
