Fussy Cut Favorites + GIVEAWAY!

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Dear Stella Design

We teamed up with our friends at The Quilting Company to bring you a Valentine’s Day full of fussy-cut fun! They’re sharing ten essential tips for mastering the art of fussy cutting, which is one of our fave techniques to use with these irresistible fabrics.

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Plus, don’t miss our mega giveaway totaling TEN YARDS — a stash of all the fabrics pictured below. These 1-yard cuts will give you plenty of wiggle room to practice your fussy cutting skills. Use them to try your hand at all of the tips listed here!

FussyCutFav01_optScroll down for a chance to WIN THESE FABRICS!

Image-4-Circus-Animals-768x480_optCarnival Animals (Stella-SRR928 Moonlight), from Seaside Carnival by Rae Ritchie. Image courtesy of The Quilting Company.

Image-5a-Red-Riding-Hood-768x480_opt1Frames (Stella-976 Skylight) from Little Red. Image courtesy of The Quilting Company.

IMAGE-7b-DEER-SKULL-768x512_optDeer (Stella-SRR875 Phantom) from Magik by Rae Ritchie. Image courtesy of The Quilting Company.

IMAGE-8-HEXIE-PARTY-768x569_optTreetop Party (Stella-SRR518 Multi) from Foxtail Forest by Rae Ritchie. Image courtesy of The Quilting Company.

Enter via Rafflecopter below to win TEN one-yard cuts of the fussy-friendly fabrics featured today on The Quilting Company! Giveaway ends at noon on 2/21/18. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Introducing // Little Red

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Dear Stella Design

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Introducing Little Red! This sweet collection is hitting stores in March. Request it at your local quilt shop or favorite online retailer.

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Join Little Red and her forest companions on their journey to Granny’s. But watch out for the big bad wolf!

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Check out this cute quilt featuring Little Red fabrics! Through the Woods is a published pattern by Rachel Rossi. Get the yardage requirements for it here!

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We hope you love this collection as much as we do!

Happy stitching!

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Now Shipping // Royal Picnic by Rae Ritchie

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Dear Stella Design

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Float back in time to an era of precocious pups, decadent desserts, and fancy frocks with Royal Picnic by Rae Ritchie! This collection is shipping to stores now.

This springtime meadow expressed in a gorgeous pastel palette will transport you to the meticulous grounds of 18th century Versailles.

Read on to hear more about Royal Picnic from Rae Ritchie!

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// I’m really excited to share a sweet blend of springtime pretty and fanciful confections with my new collection “Royal Picnic.” It is inspired by French court life during the 18th century and the Rococo architecture and art of the time. Stories of Marie Antionette’s pastoral retreat Hameau de la Reine, were also of great inspiration—picnics in the prairie, relaxed boat rides, and pampered puppy companions. //

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// French fashion and art history has always been of interest to me in general. As a fashion design student in 2005, I got to travel and study in Paris, learning from several makers of leading couturiers, among them a long-time employee of Madame Grés. Though my work life has taken me away from true fashion design, I still, of course, cherish that experience in France, and the exact, skilled and long tradition of perfection in the creative process when it comes to fashion, food, and architecture.

We’re really excited to offer metallic accents in this group as well, something we hadn’t tried yet in my collections! \\

How epic are these metallic Wigs!

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Here’s an upcoming free pattern, Royal Picnic by Kathryn Patterson! Get the estimated fabric requirements here. Check back later this spring for full instructions!

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Happy stitching!

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Now Shipping // Seaside Carnival by Rae Ritchie

Posted on January 11, 2018 by Dear Stella Design

Lions, tigers and boardwalks, oh my! Seaside Carnival by Rae Ritchie is shipping to stores now! Ask your local quilt shop for this summer treat!

Read on to hear more from Rae about this collection.

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// In May I took a holiday to New York with my mom, sister and nephew. We took the train to Coney Island for the day and had a wonderful time. I’m always interested in the history of places, so immediately did some research on the Coney Island attractions park area.

The history of the area is fascinating and the fact that it’s remained a place of amusement for so long through all the hands that have held it is quite surprising! Though I don’t agree with circus animal captivity or human oddities attractions, I do love a fictitious circus here and there! //

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// When the book “The Night Circus” by Erin Morgenstern came out, my sister and I flocked to the MPR interview with the writer at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and hung on her every word. Quite a good read if you like magic!

Join me and my fair friends for a day of fun in the sun, with Seaside Carnival! //

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Check out this Seaside Carnival project:

Pinafores and High Tea is a published pattern by Denniele Bohannon. Get the fabric requirements here.

We love the colors going on here—kind of reminds us of sherbet!

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What will you make with Seaside Carnival? Happy creating!

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For Fox Sake // Fields & Furrows

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Dear Stella Design

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We introduced For Fox Sake right here on the blog in December, and we’ve got even more fun in store today! We’re bringing you the inside scoop on Kathryn Patterson’s Fields & Furrows pattern. Keep reading for behind-the-scenes inspiration and tips, brought to you straight from the designer!

// When I saw the adorable prints in the For Fox Sake collection, I knew I wanted to design and sew with them. The whimsical creatures are kid-friendly, and the color palette is sophisticated enough for any grown-up room. To me, this meant any quilt I made with these fabrics would appeal to the whole family.

I especially love the hedgehogs and raccoons, but all the motifs are absolutely adorable. I called my design Fields & Furrows because that’s where the real-life versions of these animals live. The quilt is a great size for sofa cuddling! //

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// Since the pattern calls for cutting the exact same patches from 7 different prints, stacking those ¼ yards before cutting really speeds up prep time. I cut them into two groups, one with 4 layers of fabric and one with 3. Much faster than cutting 7 different sets! Cutting for the 3 textured fabrics also goes really quickly as it’s mostly width of fabric strips.

It’s helpful to use a scant ¼” seam when sewing together the centers of the Kite Blocks. Those centers need to finish at 6 ½” x 12 ½” from raw edge to raw edge in order to fit with the rest of the piecing. If they come out a bit too big, you can trim them down, but if they are too small, things are going to get wonky. //

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// Jill Coleman did the machine quilting on her Nolting longarm machine. We chose the Calla Lily pattern by Urban Elementz and Jill did an all over design. The curves of the leaves are a nice contrast to the straight lines of the piecing and fit with the theme of forests and fields. //

Look for Fields & Furrows at your favorite quilting retailer, or purchase the PDF pattern from Kathryn’s company, Hill Street Quilts, here.

Download yardage requirements for this quilt from our Projects page here.

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Happy stitching!

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