Made By Marney

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Cooking Up Quilts

Clever Chameleon

Adventurous Applique and Quilting

Christmas In July Blog Hop, Free Tutorial AND a Give-Away

July 24, 2018Blog Hop, Books, Christmas pattern, free tutorial, Paper Pieced Blocks, Uncategorizedchristmas paper piece, Christmas pattern, Christmas patterns, free tutorials, made by marney, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced animals, paper piecing patterns, quilt block patterns, quilt patterns, quilting, sew yourself a merry little christmas, sewingmaryhertel

Welcome to the “Christmas In July” Blog Hop. I am offering a FREE tutorial on paper piecing AND a Give-Away at the end of this post.

Thank you to Carol Swift from Just Let Me Quilt for hosting this blog hop. She has worked countless hours to organize this hop. Thank you, Carol!

I am offering a FREE TUTORIAL on 3 tasks…1) How to paper piece a simple block using my Snowman block from my Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas book, 2) How to paper piece a combination block, and 3) How to assemble the Gift Sack pattern in my book.

Paper piecing is simply a “sew by number” technique. You work from a paper pattern, sewing right through the paper and fabric to create the image. It is my FAVORITE way to add an image to a project.

So first, let’s take a look at sewing the simple block. I am including a download of every step in the paper piecing process to complete this Snowman. Click Workshop-Step-by-Step.pptx (697 downloads ) to download the free tutorial.

Also included in the tutorial are 2) How to paper piece a combination block, Polar Bear block.

AND a tutorial on 3) How to assemble the Gift Sack pattern. All of these patterns are found in my Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas book. Available on Made By Marney on Etsy. Also available on Amazon.

One lucky visitor will win a FREE Sew Yourself A Merry Little Christmas book. To enter the raffle, leave a comment on this post. Make sure your email is included in the comment. Due to the extremely high cost of postage overseas, I am only able to mail this book to a customer from the US. If someone wins from a foreign country, I will download this Christmas pattern to them, instead of the book: Must Be Santa Table Runner/Pillow pattern. Winner will be announced Saturday, July 28.

Please visit all of the wonderful designers and quilters participating in this blog hop:

July 23

Creatin’ in the Sticks

MooseStashQuilting

Lily Patch Quilts

Melva Loves Scraps

Sew Many Yarns

Cynthia’s Creating Ark

July 24

Thimblemouse and Spouse

Seams To Be Sew

Clever Chameleon Quilting

July 25

Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

Quilter in Motion

Made By Marney

July 26

Quarter Inch Crafter

Marjorie’s Busy Corner

Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats

July 27

Life in the Scrapatch

Linking with:

Clever Chameleon

More Woodland Animals

June 18, 2018Paper pieced Animals, Paper Pieced Blocks, Paper Pieced Quilts, Paper Piecing, Quilts with Animalshandmade quilts, mary hertel, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced, paper pieced animals, paper pieced quilts, paper piecing, paper piecing patterns, quilt block patterns, quilt patterns, quiltingmaryhertel

Often, my customers like to substitute different animal blocks in my patterns to get a more unique quilt. Here are 2 new paper pieced blocks that would work well in my Forest Friends quilt pattern.

This friendly Brown Bear is an 8″x 8″ unfinished block. Most of my paper pieced blocks are this size and can be mixed and matched into any of my patterns.

This Fawn would make a cute addition as well. I designed the fawn after finding a newborn fawn curled under a tree in my yard at the cabin. It was resting there for the day, and was later reunited with it’s mother.

So adorable! It laid in this position all day, never moving. Mother deer came in the night to gather her offspring and move on.

It’s always fun to be creative and make your own composition using the animals of your choice. Are there any other woodland animals that you would like to see in this quilt?

Linking this week with:

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Love Laugh Quilt

Farmyard Stars Paper Pieced Quilt

May 13, 2018Paper pieced Animals, Paper Pieced Quilts, Quilts with Animalsmade by marney, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced animals, paper piecing patterns, quilt block patterns, quilt patterns, quiltingmaryhertel

Growing up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin has instilled a life long love of animals. The “Farmyard Stars” quilt was motivated by all my lovely memories of animals and pets that we saw on our farm every day.

I love everything about this design. The animals are bold and bright with whimsical expressions. The black and white border presents a calming, yet quirky frame to the colorful animals. The animal sounds were machine embroidered in the sashing, but could also be satin stitched, appliqued, or skipped altogether.

I have a hard time choosing my favorite animal, but “Demi Moo” the cow is right up near the top. Remember, these are farmyard STARS, so each is named after a celebrity.

Here’s “Kitty Purry” the cat.

“Pig-Casso” the pig…

“Lady Baa Baa” the sheep…

And, another one of my favorites, “Pony Danza” the horse. Love those teeth! I have designed lots of horses, but he is precious.

To see the names of the other animals you will have to check out the pattern at Etsy or Craftsy.

Linking this week with:

Love, Laugh, Quilt

Clever Chameleon Quilting

Small Quilts and Doll Quilts

Tish’s Adventures In Wonderland

So Scrappy

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

More Dog Paper Piecing Patterns

April 1, 2018Dog Quilts, Paper pieced Animals, Uncategorizedcatsndogs, dog patterns, dog quilts, handmade quilts, paper piece patterns, paper pieced dog, paper piecing, quilt block patterns, quilt patterns, quiltingmaryhertel

One of my favorite projects is highlighting a paper pieced dog block in a toss pillow. It’s such a great way to add a bit of color to a couch, chair, or bed. It’s also a great conversation piece.

This PUG pillow is the first dog pillow I created. I just love it so much! Not sure if it is the huge eyes, the little tongue, or just all the neutral gray colors, but everytime I walk past this little guy, I smile.

This sweet COLLIE pillow was made by Julie. I absolutely adore the bandana fabric she used for the background. It’s the perfect compliment to the Collie’s black fur.

Here is Kelsey’s awesome creation! She made a great rendition of an “Andy Warhol” pillow, using my CORGI pattern. I LOVE this pillow.

Here are a few more of my newest dog designs. BICHON FRISE

CAIRN TERRIER

BLUE HEELER

WEIMARANER

And, last but not least, the RED MIN. Needless to say, some of these breeds I had never heard of until a customer requested a design. So please, keep those requests coming. It is such a fun challenge, and I am learning a new appreciation for the subtle differences between different dog breeds.

Linking this week with:

Super Scrappy

Unicorn Paper Piecing Patterns

March 25, 2018Paper pieced Animals, Paper Pieced Quiltshandmade quilts, made by marney, mary hertel, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced pattern, paper piecing, quilt block patterns, quilt patterns, quiltingmaryhertel

Once again, my sweet customers have steered me in a fun direction. “Unicorns” keep popping up in conversations and so many people want them for pillows and quilts.

Here is my Unicorn Block that measures 8″x 8″ square and is perfect for a pillow, as pictured below.

I love the 1 block version because its fast, but I also wanted a full body unicorn.

This Large Unicorn is constructed with 6 blocks and measures 15″ wide x 22.5″ high. My intention is to use this unit in the center of a quilt and add some borders. I haven’t gotten around to doing a complete quilt pattern yet, but I can envision some paper pieced butterflies as cornerstones. How would you complete this unicorn into a quilt?

“Watercolor” by Moda inspired me to make the unicorn mane very colorful. This is a lovely fabric line and comes in scrumptious colors.

For the horn, I stitched some stripes with silver metallic embroidery floss, but a fun striped fabric could work, too.

I also want to share a photo from Edith of a cute tote she designed using my Easter Bunny 2 Block.

She did a great job! Keep your photos coming. It inspires me to see what you are doing with my patterns.

Linking this week with:

Elm Street Quilts

Cooking Up Quilts

Emsscrapbag

Paper Pieced Valentines

February 11, 2018Paper pieced Animals, Paper Pieced Table Toppers, Quilts with Animalsmade by marney, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced patternmaryhertel

Congratulations to Marsha. She is the winner of my “Scalloped Heart Pillow” pattern give-away.

My sweet friend Marilyn just shared a photo of her version of the scalloped heart. It is so lovely.

She also made a gift sack with my “Be Mine Puppy” block pattern. Too cute! There have been so many requests for holiday designs, that I am now working on blocks for every occasion.

This table runner and the gift sacks were also made by Marilyn. Didn’t she do a super cute job with my “Easter Collection“? I love when my customers continue to challenge me, and then inspire me!

Thanks to all who participated in last weeks Valentine Blog Hop. I enjoyed all of your comments.

For anyone who missed last week’s free pattern, you can still download the “Hearty Penguin” block pattern HEARTY-PENGUIN-MERGED.pdf (2254 downloads )

Have a great week!

Linking with:

Cooking Up Quilts

To-Do-Tuesday

Quilts My Way

Confessions of a Fabric Addict

Enquiring Quilter

Nina Marie Sayres

More Paper Pieced Dogs from Made By Marney

January 22, 2018Uncategorizedcatsndogs, made by marney, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper pieced pattern, paper piecing, paperpieceddogs, quilt patterns, quiltingmaryhertel

Everyone seems to have that special pet in their life. Here is a sample of my “Dogs Only” paper pieced quilt done by my sweet customer, Jan. Didn’t she do a great job? I love when my friends share their photos!

This quilt was designed using photos of real pets sent to me by my customers and friends. They were my inspiration.

Here is a charity quilt sewn by Faith. She used just 1 of my block patterns, then added lots of borders. Very clever, especially if you want a fast project! Thanks for sharing, Faith.

And here are 2 very cute pillows shared by Edie. These pit bulls are named Duece and Daisy, as you can see. Edie used my Pit Bull pattern.

Here are some other dogs that I designed from customer’s requests.

And, 1 of my all time favorites, the Chinese Crested. When I was asked to design the Chinese Crested, I asked if that was a “bird”! No kidding, I had never heard of it. After finding out it is a somewhat hairless dog, I thought, “Oh my, this block might be really ugly!” However, it turned out to be one of my faves. It reminds me of a little fairy dog.

Thanks to all of my wonderful customers and friends who share their photos. It means a lot to see how much you enjoy your paper piecing. If there is a dog pattern you want, and don’t see it on my Etsy shop, please let me know and if you can share a photo of your pet, even better!

Enjoy your week!

Linking with:

So Scrappy

Quilting Is More Fun than Housekeeping

Paper Piecing in Down Under Quilts

January 9, 2018Blog Hop, Books, FREE Patternschristmas paper piece, Christmas pattern, free patterns, made by marney, mary hertel patterns, paper piece patterns, paper piecing, quilt patterns, quilting, sew yourself a merry little christmas, sewingmaryhertel

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…

Linking up with:

Quilts My Way