Quilt Reveal – Tea Time Quilt – The one with Stardust fabrics

 

I’m really in love with this quilt.  There’s not much to it either, only a gazillion half square triangles.  There’s nothing to figure out and nothing to get wrong.  No block will accidently be turned the wrong way.  You will learn to make half square triangles.  Again, and again, and again.  🙂

This quilt is called Tea Time.  It’s time consuming, but not difficult.  I have a ritual for my HSTs.  A method of trimming and pressing that I don’t stray from.  This pattern teaches that and three different methods for making half square triangles, so whether you have small or large squares of scraps or even strips, there is a method for HST making that will work for you.

Tea Time is a part of the Scrappy Pattern Pack releasing late this month on October 30.

View my progress post on this quilt here.

 

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Everything You Need for Perfect Half Square Triangles

Here’s my magic formula ritual:

• Square Up Ruler – This thing is the coolest HST ruler ever!
• Starch – I make my own.
• Wool pressing mat – This actually isn’t “needed”, but wow it’s made things a bit faster. I wrote a post about it here.
• And an iron of course – I recently purchased this one. The steam on it is incredible.

Tutorials

• How to use the Quilt in a Day Square Up Ruler

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There was something about those Stardust fabrics that felt luxurious.  They were cotton, so it wasn’t the type of fabric.  That splash of metallic gold had me swooning.  I’m hoping to have them in the shop at Meander + Make, but they don’t release until late November.  I think the use of ALOT of solids also made this quilt have more pop to it.

The pattern doesn’t go into a bunch of different layout options, it’s more do as you will.  I used method #2 for making my HSTs and it rendered many of the exact same looking blocks.  I decided to put them all in a vertical row throughout the quilt.  I loved the effect.

 

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Shop Bundles

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I won’t be able to part with this quilt easily.  Hopefully, not at all.  I wasn’t expecting to be all in love.  It’s just a HST quilt after all and in my mind they aren’t usually “special” quilts.  I wrote the pattern a bit ago when planning out the Scrappy Pattern Pack and knew that I wanted to write a pattern that encompassed all things HST.  I put it as the last quilt in the set as I wasn’t looking forward to it.  And then suddenly, I was so into working on it that I couldn’t get it done fast enough.  Total turn around.

I’m a brand ambassador for Michael Miller and a month or so ago they had me planning my fall/winter projects I would do for them.  I had chose a whole slew of solids and fairy frost fabrics of theirs I was going to make small projects with.  When the box of those fabrics arrived they had also included a bundle of their upcoming line Stardust and Marbles.  The love was immediate.

I set all the fabrics on the table and it dawned on me how well my chosen muddy pink and purples went with the Stardust.  They begged to be more than the little pouch I was planning on making.  This is how they all ended up together in Tea Time.

 

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Product Spotlight

Mystery Low Volume Fabric Bundle

• 10 pieces
• Fat quarters
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Get your bundle here.

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Remember when I was telling you I was experimenting with my quilting, well I gave the elongated curl another go.  I went a bit tighter with this one too.  I really loved the effect!  I feel like I’m learning and when I’m learning I get really excited.  Maybe these small details you don’t care about at all, but I do, so maybe there’s someone out there who does as well.   So here’s the details:  I usually like to quilt with a 30 weight thread.  I also usually meander, so the quilting is less dense and the 30 weight thread really gives it a pop that it needs.  When I quilted the above pattern with the 30 weight it seemed a bit much, so on this quilt I swapped to Microquilter, a 100 weight thread and LOVED the look.  If I’m quilting it to an inch of its life, a thicker thread is really too much in my opinion, but the 100 weight seemed just dreamy!

Unfortunately, I did not apply this same logic to the thread in my bobbin.  So the back of the quilt is in a 50 weight So Fine thread (the thread I use for piecing).  It’s an obvious difference.  I refuse not to love it anyway, but NOTE TO SELF:  Always use 100 weight Microquilter in the bobbin in silver.  It’s just better that way.

One more detail that you might be interested in is, if you don’t like your thread to pop like it’s doing in the pic below, always use silver.  Silver has a way of blending to whatever color fabric you are stitching it on.

 

 

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Fabric Scrap Bundles for Sale

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Quilt Details:

Pattern – Tea Time (pattern coming soon)

Size – 72×84″

Blocks – 378 half square triangles

Top Fabrics – All colorful fabrics came from Michael Miller.  You can see a list of the fabrics used here.

Backing Fabrics – Roadside Wildflowers by Bonnie Christine and Raspberries in Merlot

Binding – Brushed in Metallic Gold

Batting – Warm and Natural batting by the Warm Company

Thread – So Fine by Superior in Blizzard for piecing, Microquilter by Superior for quilting

Techniques Used – free motion quilting in an elongated curl, wall basting, and ditch binding

Quilt Label – from my shop here, tutorial for how to install it here

 

 

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Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this post about Tea Time.  The pattern will release on October 30.  If you are subscribed to my newsletter, you’ll receive a coupon good for the first few days after the release.  Hugs and happy sewing!

 

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