Courthouse steps quilt

as a throw

Using all the layer cake fabrics I gathered on the quilt shop hop I decided to make a quilt. I had seen a tutorial on blue is bleu's blog that I really wanted to try. It seemed very neat and blew my mind trying to figure it out. Her tutorial is to make the hourglass steps pillow,  a two tone square and only the fabric in that square matches, but another great quilter I follow, Rachel Wooden Spoon,  made some adjustments and made it so it wasn't an hour glass block, but a courthouse step quilt. I just couldn't wrap my head around it, it took me several days to finally be brave enough to cut the fabric. I decided to make a paper version to guide me on sizes and quantity while cutting.

measurements and paper sample

Once it was all cut up and organized, the fun part began sewing it all on my new machine! my precious! Cutting took about 4 hours, and sewing up each block took about 20 - 25 mins per block depending on how tired I was and what distractions were around. Basting usually is quicker it may have taken a bit less than an hour, quilting took three hours and hand binding another three. For a grand fun total of approximately  20 hrs. It turned out beautiful! I love it!

Here it is with some ideas on uses.

as a couch decoration

as a picnic quilt

Baby quilt
A swaddled Kiko (this is my baby)

foot of the bed
as a foot warmer and decoration accent

wall decoration

It is up on my etsy shop if anyone is interested on purchasing it.

New tool Tuesday

With every project I begin, with any new technique I try, I always end up buying a new gadget, a new tool, a new something.

Let me review it here.

This week's purchase was a 1 1/4 inch ruler. 

My new quilt required strips to be 1 1/4 inches. It was hard to achieve this with my standard ruler; the markings come in increments of 1/2 inch. I tried following the other markings but it was hard and time consuming. I headed to the store in search of a ruler with quarter inch markings, which I am sure will come in handy for other future projects. I found the perfect one! it is a 1 1/4 inch ruler. Just the perfect size! They read my mind!

It is a 1 1/4" by 12" Olfa brand, and has a special coating on the bottom to prevent sliding.

sewing supplies

Now I'll share with you my list of basic sewing and quilting supplies I own.

• Olfa self healing cutting mat

• Rulers

I have different sizes and shapes, but you can survive with just the long rectangular one.

• Scissors 

I have paper scissors, fabric scissors, fabric pinking scissors, and a pair of tiny ones. They are all Fiskars.

• Rotary cutter 

It also is Fiskars brand along with the replacement blades.

• Pins

Buy flat pins, I do not recommend these ones with the round end.

• Iron

My iron is Black and Decker, but any iron will work. I iron my pieces on a wool setting or for some irons #5. It is very important to know you DO NOT ADD WATER! Water will stretch your fabric and make it uneven and hard to match the pieces together. You can either prewash the fabric or wash your finished product.

• Ironing board

• Sewing machine

• Thread

I use all kinds of thread from cheap to expensive only because I do not care much about this sewing machine and I sew on a budget. Cheap thread frays and leave a lot of lint residue everywhere which can break your machine. I recommend Coats & Clark, or Gutterman.

• Needles #14 for sewing and #11 for quilting

• Fabric
• 1/4 inch presser foot

• Seam ripper 

• Safety pins

• Quilt basting spray

This is a good place to stop or this list will never end. Ready to sew along?

Happy sewing