Tag: free patterns

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A “Love-ly” Blog Hop, FREE PATTERN, and Give-Away

Just Let Me Quilt
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 (2499 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…
Let’s do a tutorial on paper piecing right now. Here are the first few steps. If you want to see a post with the entire tutorial, visit “PAPER PIECING TUTORIAL #1: SEWING A SEGMENT” and “PAPER PIECING TUTORIAL #2: SEWING SEGMENTS TOGETHER”
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.
Now for the fun stuff…
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.
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Paper Piecing Tutorial #2: Sewing Segments Together

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

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Paper Piecing Tutorial #1: Paper Piecing a Segment

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.
If you have found this post helpful, visit my next post “Paper Piecing Tutorial #2: Sewing Segments Together”.
Linking today with:
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Paper Piecing in Down Under Quilts

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.

Just Let Me Quilt

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…

Linking up with:

Quilting Is More Fun than Housekeeping

Stitch All The Things

Free Motion By The River

Quilts My Way

Needle and Thread Network

Silly Mama Quilts

Sew Fresh Quilts

Quilt Fabrication

Rainbows, Bunnies, Cupcakes

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

 

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My 5 Favorite Posts for 2017

Hi everyone…thanks so much for stopping by. Here are my 5 favorite posts of 2017.

My Jolly Old St. Nick was one of my favorite patterns this year for beginners. This post was very popular with new and experienced paper piecers because it was easy, but cute!

Jolly Old St. Nick Post

Because my customers love FREE patterns, my Halloween blocks were some of my favorite creations this year.

Free Halloween Patterns

I adore spending a weekend at my cabin. This loon block gives me a calm feeling of relaxation and reminds me of the lovely song of the loon that I hear when at the lake.

Loon on the Lake Post

When my kids were little, they loved hearing nursery rhymes from the Richard Scarey book. This quilt reminds me of reading to my kids every nite before bedtime.

Nursery Rhyme Quilt Post

This patriotic quilt is a special design for customers who want to create Quilts of Honor.

Homeward Bound Post

Thanks to all my friends and customers for visiting my blog. I love sharing with you!

Linking with:

The Needle and Thread Network

Silly Mama Quilts

Powered By Quilting

Busy Hands Quilts

Confessions of A Fabric Addict

So Scrappy

Kathy’s Quilts

 

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FREE Paper Pieced Halloween Patterns from Made By Marney

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

or could be used in my “Boo” Table Runner pattern.

Or, put the entire collection of Halloween blocks together to make a quilt.

These FREE blocks can be found on Craftsy and Etsy. Or you may download them here: BLACK-AND-WHITE-BLOCKS-MERGED-AND-UPDATED.pdf (2265 downloads ) .

Thanks so much for being loyal customers and friends! If you have not already done so, please SUBSCRIBE.

Today I am linking to:

Kathy’s Quilts

Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Tweety Loves Quilting

Show and Tell Monday with Bambi

Show Off Saturday

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Stitch All The Things

Free Motion By The River

Needle and Thread Network

Sugar Lane Designs

Silly Mama Quilts

Anja Quilts

Busy Hands Quilts

My Quilt Infatuation

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Crazy Mom Quilts

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FREE PATTERNS TODAY! GIVE-AWAYS TODAY!

Welcome to the 3rd Annual Row Along hosted by Seams to Be Sew.  A huge Thank You to Marian 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:

Thursday, September 28, 2017
Mountain Meadow Designs
Quilt Art
Made By Marney
Renee’s Quilting Addiction

And now for the Give-Aways!

Give-Away #1: This prize comes from Purple Daisies.

Purple Daisies are giving away a Quilt-As-You-Go DVD…a $30 value! Find out more about this product here.

This Give-Away will end on Thursday, October 5. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter. The rules and regulations of this drawing are found at  Guidelines-For-Entering-Giveaways.docx (1236 downloads ) . You will be responsible for paying the shipping.a Rafflecopter giveaway

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.

DOGS ONLY QUILT

Enter for the pattern here. This Give-Away will be sent to the winner via download and ends on October 5. The winner will be announced shortly thereafter.  a Rafflecopter giveaway

For information about Give-Aways from Northcott and Calibre, visit Seams To Be Sew.

Thanks so much for visiting my website today. I love “comments”, so feel free to leave one.

Linking with:

Kathy’s Quilts

Quilting is More Fun Than Housework

Scrap Happy Saturday

Monday Making

Main Crush Monday

Mop Monday

To Do Tuesday

Linky Tuesday

Silly Mama Quilts

Midweek Makers

My Quilt Infatuation

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

The Quilting Room With Mel

Busy Hands Quilts

Crazy Mom Quilts

Here is the complete list of all 44 designers offering free Row-Along downloads.

The Christmas Caroling Row Along Schedule

Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Quilting Affection
Any Pattern
Just Let Me Quilt
Quilt In Piece
Kissed Quilts

Thursday, September 7, 2017
Daydreams of Quilts
Seams To Be Sew
Be A Quilter
Creatin’ in the Sticks
Fun Threads

Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Sew Incredibly Crazy
Masterpiece Quilting
Sugarlane Designs
Happy Sewing Room

Thursday, September 14, 2017
Barbara Dieges
Cynthia’s Creating Ark
The Quilted Snail
Ms. P. Designs USA
(sponsored by Just Let Me Quilt)

Tuesday, September 19, 2017
Jaded Spade Creations
Adventurous Applique and Quilting
UlaSewing / SzycieUli
From Blank Pages

Thursday, September 21, 2017
Martina Latimer
(site will open late next week)
Quilt Fabrication
Patchwork Breeze
Patti’s Patchwork
Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse

Tuesday, September 26, 2017
Cheryl LaPlante
(sponsored by Quilt In Piece)
Morning Glory
Pampered Pettit
Fun Threads

Thursday, September 28, 2017
Mountain Meadow Designs
Quilt Art
Made By Marney 
Renee’s Quilting Addiction

Tuesday, October 3, 2017
MaryMack’s Blog
Kathys Kwilts and More
Pamela Quilts
Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Heleen Pinkster

Thursday, October 5, 2017
Seams To Be Sew
A Dream and A Stitch
Upstairs Hobby Room
Words & Stitches

Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Show and Tell Day
Bloggers will be announced at a later date

 

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More Halloween Paper Pieced Patterns AND 2 FREE Patterns

As promised, I am sharing more of my favorite Halloween paper pieced blocks this week.

This is Skat Cat, the craziest cat in my Halloween collection.

This goofy cat is available as a single paper pieced block.

Bewitched is my favorite witch…and she is very easy to paper piece. This block is also available for sale as a single block.

The Haunted House is part of the Boo Collection, and is sold in a pattern with 6 other Halloween blocks, plus a table runner and potholder pattern.

And finally, here are 2 blocks that are FREE.

The Frankenstein and Dracula paper pieced block patterns are FREE and can be downloaded here:  Count-Dracula-and-Frankenstein-MERGED.pdf (2513 downloads )

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

Linking with:

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Free Motion by the River

Stitch All the Things

The Needle and Thread Network

Silly Mama

Let’s Bee Social

Quilt Fabrication

Katie Mae Quilts

My Quilt Infatuation

Crazy Mom Quilts

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The Christmas Caroling Row-Along Starts Today!

Today is the official start of the 3rd Annual Row Along hosted by Seams to Be Sew . 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 today, 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.

Today you may visit these participating blog sites to find your first FREE row patterns and learn about each site’s GIVE-AWAYS.

The Christmas Caroling Row Along Schedule

Tuesday, September 5, 2017
Quilting Affection
Any Pattern
Just Let Me Quilt
Quilt In Piece
Kissed Quilts

This year’s theme is “Christmas Caroling”, and all rows are designed with a particular carol in mind. My row is “Jolly Old St. Nick” and will be available on this website on Thursday, September 28, so be sure to visit me on that day to get this FREE row pattern as well as a FREE give-away!

Please visit Marian at Seams To Be Sew
She is our organizer and has more information about the give-aways.

*There may be a shipping charge to receive the give-away.

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FREE Halloween Paper Pieced Patterns from Made By Marney

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.

FRANKENSTEIN

COUNT DRACULA

Look for these free patterns on Etsy and Craftsy. Or download the patterns right here: Count-Dracula-and-Frankenstein-MERGED.pdf (2513 downloads )

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?