Quilting With Laura
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Expanding on the 2-for-1 concept introduced in Scrap Bonanza (c 1994), this book explores the many different quilts you can create with the 'flying geese' unit, constructing it in a method which results in cut-away pieces that are already sewn together, ready to be used for bonus quilts. Beginning with a 'fabric selection for scrap quilts' section, I chose to explore how many different ways you could play with the same 2-for-1 concept with the Flying Geese unit. The result is a collection of 6 main quilts, all totally different, ranging from wall hanging to queen size. including how many cut-aways each size will yield. The 'bonus quilt' section of the book includes patterns for seven different quilts that can all be made with those cut-aways, listing how many are needed for a wide range of sizes.
The combinations from these 13 quilts are endless, and the best part is that it doesn't look like you are making the same quilt over and over again. In conclusion, how to decide what quilting pattern goes where is discussed. This is a book I think you will go back to over and over again.
Sale Price: $18.00 plus $5.00 shipping (includes sales tax)
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Children and adults alike continue to be fascinated by the engaging tale of what life was like during the era in which Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up. This book is a charming collection of traditional quilt blocks that tell the story of Laura and her adventures. Whether joined into a sampler quilt, as shown on the book's cover, or made a quilt of an individual block, this book will take you on your own Little House adventure. Quilting with Laura includes blocks that are actually mentioned by Laura in her books as well as traditional blocks whose names reflect events of this pioneering time.
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books were among my favorites as a child. Reading about Laura's adventures planted the seed that got me interested in quilting. When a Mom approached me years ago asking if there were patterns available that were inspired by the Little House series that she could use to teach her daughter how to quilt, I was off and running.
I began collecting patterns inspired by the Little House books, both patterns Laura wrote about and patterns whose names reflected the adventures of the Ingalls family. The quilt shown on the cover is a sampler quilt displaying the 14 patterns within the book.
Don't be put off by the thought of making something with so many blocks! This is not a direction manual for making this particular sampler quilt, but rather, it is a book that will teach you how to do patchwork as Laura did. Pick which blocks inspire you and create a quilt of your own design, whether it be an entire quilt made up of just one block, or a quilt made up of a combination of blocks. It is your chance to tell your own story in stitching!
Blocks are arranged in order of difficulty, so quilters will learn a new skill with each block they make. Quilters are encouraged to pick and choose which patterns appeal to them, either because of the design itself, or because of the story behind the block, and create a quilt that tells their own story.
The book has been out out for a number of years now, and has proven to be very popular with moms, aunts, grandmothers, homeschoolers, girl scout leaders, you name it. It is a wonderful way for you to share your passion for quilting with the youngsters in your life.
Everything from what tools you need to how to make templates is included in this hand-piecing guide book. Each of the 14 patterns is accompanied by what links them to the Little House stories. It is the perfect companion to the Little House series, and a way to pass your love of quilting on to the next generation.
School teachers and youth group leaders find Quilting with Laura also makes an ideal teaching tool that dovetails with a wide range of subject areas.
Reprinted July 2015
Sale Price: $10.00 plus $4.00 shipping (includes sales tax)
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39" x 44"
In 2015, Andover Fabrics invited me to create a quilt using fabric from their newly released fabric lines inspired by Little House on the Prairie. Using fabric from all three lines and blocks from my book Quilting with Laura, I created Little House Sampler. Whereas Quilting with Laura is geared towards hand piecing, the Little House Sampler pattern uses all machine piecing techniques.
The Little House Sampler pattern is a 22 page booklet containing directions for nine patchwork blocks that tell the story of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House adventures. The booklet includes a color photo of the quilt, as well as full size templates for the blocks constructed from templates. Non-template blocks are constructed with precision machine piecing techniques. The detailed directions include step by step colored illustrations, making it good for all levels of quiltmaking experience, from the beginner to the advanced stitcher.
Patterns included are:
Price: Originally $15.00, SALE PRICE $7.00 plus $2.00 shipping (includes sales tax)
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Quilting with Laura is a book, 8 1/2 x 11. 32 pages, with templates drawn on the pages that you trace onto sturdy template material and then use those templates to trace around onto fabric to cut out the pieces to construct the patchwork blocks by hand. When doing so, you cut the fabric 1/4 inch larger than the tracings to create a seam allowance.
There are patterns/instructions for 14 blocks related to the Little House stories. The 14 designs can be seen in the sampler quilt on the cover of the book. This book does not have directions on how to construct the particular sampler quilt shown on the cover, only how to construct the individual blocks. Readers are encouraged to pick and choose which blocks they would like to construct to create their own Little House adventure. The cover quilt is merely an illustration of all of the patterns.
I would call this a technique book, teaching how to construct 14 different blocks. This book also has a brief bit on how each pattern relates to the Little House stories (the Nine Patch being the block Mary and Laura created when they were learning to sew, for example)
When Laura was a child, patterns were given merely as a line drawing of a block and quilters just knew how to create their pattern pieces and construct the blocks on their own. As time went on, by the time Laura was an adult, patterns were a line drawing that included directions on how to piece a particular block, and quilters just knew how to then create a quilt out of the pattern of their choosing. This book is most like that style.
The Little House Sampler is a pattern leaflet, 5 3/4 x 8 1/2, 21 pages plus the cover, with directions on how to cut out and construct 9 different patchwork designs that are then used to construct the sampler quilt seen on the cover. These blocks are constructed by machine. The only block in this leaflet that you have to create trace-around templates is the schoolhouse block. Because it is then constructed by machine, the seam allowance is included in the templates for this block.
The other 8 blocks are all constructed with various machine piecing techniques that involve cutting strips, squares, or rectangles, again, each containing the seam allowance, as that is what is required for machine piecing. As in all machine piecing, achieving an accurate 1/4 inch seam when you sew is vital to the success of each block. Each design has step by step illustrations to guide you along the way. Again, because this leaflet is a pattern for machine piecing, the seam allowance is included in everything that you cut out.
This leaflet does contain step by step directions on how to construct the quilt shown on the cover. I would call this pattern leaflet a project leaflet, telling how to construct this particular quilt. It does not contain the brief bit on how the pattern relates to the Little House stories. It has, as I said, a project focus. This is how most patterns today are, something that shows how to make a particular project from start to finish.
Between the two, you see a sort of evolution of the style of patchwork patterns that have been available to quilters through the years.
It's here! The pattern for Laura’s Wedding Quilt is now available. In These Happy Golden Years, the story of Laura and her early married life unfolds. In it, she talks about her Dove-In-The Window quilt. Even before I became a quilter, I remember wondering just what her quilt looked like? Sadly, the actual quilt she made no longer exists. In 1889, the young couple lost their home and nearly all of their possessions in a house fire. All I had to go by were some of the descriptions in Laura’s books. I had found a few patterns called Dove in the Window. One was very similar to Bear’s Paw. Is that the one she made, explaining why in On the Banks of Plum Creek she called it Bear’s Tracks and in These Happy Golden Years she called it Dove in the Window?
Or was it the more complex version of Dove in the Window that is made up of many diamonds, fitting the description of how hard it was and that every seam must be exactly right or Ma would make her re-do it? My research into how quilts fit into Laura's life has led me to this design, now available in my new pattern. It includes research information on how this version of Dove in the Window is thought to be the one Laura made for her Wedding Quilt. Made in a time before commercial patterns were available, Laura would have drafted her pattern from scratch. Now you too can create your own Dove In the Window pattern from scratch, as Laura would have. Included are instructions for making this version of Dove in the Window, combined with the Nine Patch block Mary and Laura honed their quilting skills on.
I offer Laura's Wedding Quilt as a full day workshop, but if you can't take the workshop, this pattern is for you.
Price: $6.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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What is a Statewide Shop Hop, you ask? It is where over 70 quilt shops throughout Wisconsin join together in June to offer a shopping experience not to be missed! Collect your 'passport' at the first shop you visit, and get it stamped at each shop you go to. You will be eligible for a wide range of prizes, depending on how many shops you visit. Participating shops all carry the line of fabrics by that have been designed with a Wisconsin theme. It is a different line of fabrics every year. To add to the fun, many of the shops have designed a special pattern using the shop hop fabrics.
For the fifth year in a row, I have designed the Shop Hop Quilt for Gatherings, the Country Decor and Fabric shop that was formerly located here in Boscobel, WI.
The picture blocks are part of a panel of scenes from Wisconsin. The scallops and borders surrounding them are a fun way to make the pictures a real feature. This technique would be a great way to expand the size of any 9" block you may have, whether it be from a panel or an orphan block from an old project.
$4.00 plus $1.25 shipping (includes sales tax)
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Whether made with a selected color scheme or with a wide range of colors, Pick-Up Sticks is sure to please. This is not paper pieced, but rather, constructed with some pretty nifty strip and triangle techniques. A sweet 29" x 29" square, this quilt works up quickly for that special spot in your home you have been wanting a wall hanging for.
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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The folks at Millhouse Quilts fully embraced the Wisconsin theme of the 2015 shop hop by paying tribute to Wisconsin born Laura Ingalls Wilder. Millhouse asked me to design a quilt using blocks from my book Quilting With Laura, Patterns Inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie Series. While the book features hand piecing techniques in keeping with how Laura pieced her quilts, this quilt and the pattern that goes with it are done with machine piecing techniques. A charming 30" square, this quilt would make a lovely keepsake for any home.
$6.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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The 2014 Shop Hop fabrics have a lovely antique feel, with design elements that scream Wisconsin. From the antique postcards of places around the State, to the postal stamp collage, these fabrics were a treat to work with.
Working to create a scrapbook feel, postcard motifs are fussy-cut to be the centerpieces of several of the blocks. The alternate blocks create an intriguing interlocking design that help to highlight the postcards. I have already made another quilt from the same pattern, using plain fabric in the postcard spot, where autographs will go. Or try it with photo transfers. Or embroidered blocks. Or I Spy designs. Let your imagination be your guide!
The pattern also includes information on how to make the quilt any size you want, be it for a twin bed, a full bed, or a queen bed. Now that's versatile!
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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The 2013 Shop Hop fabrics featured circle prints that just begged for something happy and bouncy! Curves, which can be tricky to piece, are done in a whole new way! There is not one single curved pieced seam in this quilt. Try my revolutionary way to create curves that can be done in half the time of traditional piecing and is much more accurate! Give it a try. I think you will love my new method for doing curves as much as I do!
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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I had such fun with the 2012 fabrics that I made two versions: one with the Wisconsin fabrics, and one with some wonderful bright pastels! The Wisconsin Travels version of Gatherings features the Wisconsin Icon fabric of the Moda Wisconsin Shop Hop Fabric. Nine special images celebrate all that is Wisconsin, with accompanying theme fabric surrounding the images.
I call this version of Gatherings The Happy Quilt. It contains a collection of joyous fabrics that gave long arm quilter Marcia Wachuta of Marcia's Crafty Sewing and Quilting http://www.craftysewing.com the opportunity to play with a different quilting pattern in each block.
You may remember Marcia from other postings as a source of extra wide flannel for your flannel wall. She also carries extra wide backing fabric. She has quilted several quilts for me, including one of the quilts that appeared in Quiltmaker magazine. What I like about Marcia's quilting is that she does not do all-over patterns, but rather, works with the quiltmaker to come up with quilting that highlights the features of each quilt, making every quilt she does specific to the wishes of the quiltmaker.
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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Stacked Bricks (a pattern for the cover quilt on the Scrap Bonanza 1 book, which is now out of print.) This is one of the best patterns for scrap quilts you will ever find. It is quick and easy, and is a terrific way to utilize your scraps. Plus, it comes with directions for a second quilt also made out of the 'bricks'. That's two quilts in one pattern!
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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This Tote Bag is sure to become a staple in your tote bag collection. Roomy and loaded with pockets, the shoulder tote makes a wonderful gift item, and can be whipped up in no time. Get your pattern today!
$5.00 plus $1.50 shipping (includes sales tax)
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This casserole carrier is the perfect accessory for all your pot luck dinner needs. The batting keeps your dish warm or cool, as needed, while you transport it in ease. This makes a great gift for that hard-to-stitch-for person on your list, and best of all, it works up in a jiffy!
$5.00 plus $1.50 shipping (includes sales tax)
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The Bog Coat (a pattern format reprint of the out-of-print book Beyond the Bog Coat)
This coat adapts to any shape. Starting with a basic rectangle whose dimensions are determined by how long you want the coat to be and how wide it needs to be to go around you, the Bog Coat becomes a classic reversible garment that adapts to a wide variety of patchwork embellishments, including Seminole, curved striping, piping, and applique overlays. You determine the size by your measurements. This is a great coat for adults and children alike.
$7.00 plus $1.75 shipping (includes sales tax)
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Send to:
Linda Halpin
708 Viking View Drive
Reedsburg, WI 53959
