sewing

Bountiful Charity Quilt Along: Release 2

Good morning & happy Friday friends!

Today is a good day to share some fun new things I have been working on. You may have seen all the buzz surrounding Fat Quarter Shop’s Bountiful Charity Quilt Along. This is their 10th Annual Charity Quilt, and I am in awe of all the beautiful blessings it brings every year.

This year’s quilt is designed by Corey Yoder and features her newest collection, Sunwashed for Moda Fabrics. It’s stunning and adorable all at the same time, plus I am always inspired by Corey’s talent & creativity. Find more info about this quilt along (as well as a cross stitch version) on the Jolly Jabber blog here! And if you’re looking for fabric requirements, you can find those here!

Bountiful Charity Quilt designed by Corey Yoder

For this year’s Charity quilt, I am using our newest collection, Bountiful Blooms! I found this fitting and so serendipitous that the quilt is named “Bountiful”! Our collection (shipping in September 2023) culminates a feeling of seasons whilst in a transition of change. That moment when summer blooms start to flow into Fall was the inspiration we latched onto while designing these beautiful fabrics.

Bountiful Blooms by Sherri & Chelsi for Moda Fabrics

Bountiful Charity block releases will be published on the first Friday of every month. If you’re just joining in, don’t be hesitant to start! You have plenty of time to catch up and still pace yourself.

Wildflower & Center Blocks

Today I’ll be sharing my “Wildflower & Center Blocks” from Release 2. Fat Quarter Shop is also highlighting me on their blog today (thank you Fat Quarter Shop)! Be sure to read their post today that includes lots of great info and a couple fun things from me! Find that post here!

Okay, so just a couple fun things about these blocks…. these will make up the sashing and center blocks of the quilt. I thought it was such a clever idea to use blocks for these sections of the quilt. These blocks had lots of pieces varying in size, so I pulled out my “Alphabitties” from Fat Quarter Shop to help me keep track of everything. Truthfully it was so helpful to use them! You can find them here if you don’t already have some!

Once I had all of my fabrics cut and organized, I was ready to start sewing these cute blocks together! I loved putting together the different varieties of flower blocks and appreciated the fabrics in our Bountiful Blooms collection that gave me a wide range of prints and colors to choose from.

Again, once I started sewing, I just couldn’t stop. The patterns for these blocks were very well put together and designed making it an absolute joy to sew along to. I often get questions about if I enjoy sewing patterns and projects designed by other creatives and the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES! I love being able to sit down and follow a pattern designed by another talented creator. It makes my heart happy that others take such joy in creativity just like the rest of us!

After sewing up your Wildflower Blocks, you will need to mix and match them by stacking one flower variation on top of another. I made sure that like colors weren’t matched together. I like to have contrast when it comes to colors and prints. I played around with it for a bit until I decided on final choices. I love how they turned out!

After you’re done sewing up your flower blocks, you’ll still need to make your Center Block. This one is very cute, and I love that you can use different color options to tie the whole quilt top together! I opted for a pretty blush maroon & gold print for the petals and a simple gray for the center of the block. For those who may ask…I used Bella 9900-200 Off White for my background.

I’m loving how my blocks turned out and it’s so exciting to see how my quilt has been progressing! Quilt Along’s help keep me motivated to sew and they also challenge me creatively! Be sure to check out my Basket Blocks below from Release 1! I had so much fun putting those together and have really enjoyed using our Bountiful Blooms collection!

If you want to see more of my progress, be sure to visit me here on my blog. I’ll be sharing all the fun things plus more cute stuff I’ll be up to this year! You’ll be able to keep track of new quilts, new fabrics, and news were pretty excited about! Also, be sure to catch us on our YouTube channel here where we share all things Sherri & Chelsi!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

XOXO,

Chelsi

Heartfelt Charity QAL: Precious Block

Happy July 1st and welcome to a fun release day for the Fat Quarter Shop Heartfelt Charity QAL! I was really excited to participate in this year’s QAL and love that they chose Beautiful Day designed by Corey Yoder! I’ve known Corey for years and feel blessed to call her a sweet friend.

I absolutely loved piecing these cute Precious blocks (aren’t they adorable)! I had so many pink, red, and purple scraps in my stash from previous collections and knew that worked well for this quilt pattern (of course I was itching to use them up). It has been fun mixing and matching these particular colors, plus it’s giving me a really cute scrappy look.

This block uses easy piecing techniques (don’t be intimidated by the center heart, it’s easy peasy) and goes together quickly. I’m thinking a whole quilt of the Precious block would look stunning!

It warms my heart seeing Fat Quarter Shops Charity QAL’s come together each year. Donations bless so many families lives! If you wish to donate and sew along you can find the link here!

It’s always a joy to share things with my mom! I loved her block using our Emma fabrics! Be sure to check out Fat Quarter Shop’s blog for a fun feature today with my mom and I! You can also find the pattern for Release 6 here! I hope you enjoy sewing these sweet blocks!

Chelsi

Xoxo,

Moda Block Heads Roundup

Hello there! It’s been a little bit since I did a roundup of my Blockheads and since it’s Moda Block Heads Wednesday It seemed like the perfect time to catch up.

Today’s block 15, Highland Plaid, is brought to us by Crystal Manning! I love simple patchwork and piecing, but especially if it’s plaid! This block would actually make an awesome holiday plaid quilt top. I’m also still using all Emma fabrics (Emma ships in September 2022), but that tone on tone dot is actually a print by Vanessa Goertzen of Lellaboutique! I really enjoyed making this block and definitely have plans for a plaid quilt this Fall! P.s. be sure to check out Crystal’s blog for the pattern here! Keep reading for an update on more blocks!

Block #13, Evening Delight by Debbie Maddy

I have absolutely enjoyed sewing along with Moda Blockheads 4 and really like the weekly challenge of consistent sewing. It’s also really fun to see my pile of blocks growing!

That’s all for today friends! If you’d like to see more fun things be sure to follow me on Instagram @ chelsistratton or on the A Quilting Life Youtube channel here! You can also find my pattern shop here!

Xoxo,

Chelsi

Block Heads 10: Autumnal

Good Morning friends and welcome! I’m so very glad you’re here and feeling honored to share my block, Autumnal, with you all for Moda Block Heads today! It was an absolute joy to be invited on the Moda Block Heads train especially since I adore my fellow designers and friends I get to participate with. This is my very first Block Heads experience and I’m having a wonderful time. A couple highlights have been making the beautiful blocks and of course learning more about my fellow designers. What a treat to be sewing blocks they have designed!

I want to first start off by saying that having a weekly sew along is a great way to stay organized and goal oriented. This is something I have been trying to implement into my own sewing life and have found Block Heads to be a huge success in particular to this goal. It has also been a great way to use my scraps! I am primarily using fabrics from our Emma collection, but will be adding in fabrics from past groups too. My block featured above uses a Bella 200 background and two red prints from our Emma fabrics. I like to mix and match basic prints with floral prints. Its a great way to show off different prints, but you can always make it scrappy with more prints.

It can also be fun to opt for a darker background and low volume look as well! This is a great way to show off some low volume prints as the main focal point in your block! Autumnal already gives off such sweet simplicity so both color ways in my blocks work well. I also want to note that I am making the 9″ finished block size for all of my quilt blocks. This block is beginner friendly and uses simple piecing techniques. Keep reading to find the pattern!

Autumnal Blocks in 9″ & 4 1/2″ by Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life

I hope you enjoyed being here and reading more about my Autumnal block! You can find the pattern for the Autumnal block here! And if you want you can find my pattern shop here!

Be sure to follow my blog and my Instagram @chelsistratton for new fabrics, quilt patterns, and news and of course our YouTube channel here for all things Sherri & Chelsi!

Thanks for stopping by & happy sewing!

XOXO,

Chelsi

Be Mine Quilt Along 2021

Welcome, I’m so glad you’re here! Can you believe it’s a new year already!? I’m so excited for all the fun things I have planned and especially excited to share them all with you! On that note, I’m detailing everything you will need to know about the Be Mine Quilt Along!

Be Mine (as shown below) is a Fat Quarter friendly quilt measuring 75 1/2″ x 75 1/2″ and uses fabrics from our Sincerely Yours collection. The QAL will run from January 12th to February 9th. Videos will also be available every Wednesday morning on the A Quilting Life YouTube channel here! Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss anything! You will still need the Be Mine pattern (here) as the videos will not release any sizes needed for blocks.

The Be Mine quilt pattern is a great skill builder which makes it great for any beginner quilter. Blocks range from very simple piecing to confident beginner piecing. Each block uses different techniques all which can build confidence as well as bring enjoyment to any skilled quilter. I have also listed the fabric requirements below!

1 Fat Quarter Bundle (at least 30 Fat Quarters)

4 7/8 yards background, sashing, and border

3/4 yard binding

4 2/3 yard backing

Chelsi Stratton of Chelsi Stratton Designs

I am so excited about this QAL! It is such a fun quilt and great for setting quilting goals! If you’re joining in I would love to hear your comments below and if you’re interested in a kit, I have just a handful available here in my shop! You can also find me on Instagram @chelsistratton Be sure to use the hashtag #bemineqal so I can see all your progress!

Happy sewing and thanks so much for stopping by!

Sewcialites Block 14 – Serenity

Good morning friends!

Today I’m excited to share Sewcialites block #14 with you all! If you’re new to the Sewcialites here’s a bit of what’s been going on…

Fat Quarter Shop is celebrating our quilting community with a free block of the week (yay!) They gathered a fun group of designers to design the blocks that will end up making a beautiful sampler quilt. Be sure to check out more information here.

The Serenity block is beginner friendly and so much fun to make. I made a 6″ block version (don’t you love all of the different size options Fat Quarter Shop gave us).

I decided to use our Balboa collection for this block. Lately I have been diving into my stash for a much needed clean out and this has been the perfect project to do so! Choosing a 6″ block made it possible for me to make the best use of my scrap sizes that are available.

I hope you enjoyed reading this post today and that you’re enjoying your Sewcialites sewing! Have a wonderful weekend friends!

Xoxo,

Chelsi

Happy New Year: 2021 Kickoff

Hello there and Happy New Year! I must admit it’s been awhile and I’ve missed you all here on the blog. One of my goals for the new year is to blog a little more consistently. My hope is that you’ll find this space inviting as well as something to look forward to reading every week. With that said, I’m excited to start off the new year with this kickoff post in hopes that it will inspire you!

I have so many fun things planned out for this year! New fabric, new patterns, quilt-along, giveaways, YouTube videos, tutorials, etc. are a few I can think of right away! You’ll be able to find more content and information here. I can’t wait to share it all with you! So with that, here’s just a few highlights to start off the new year!

Despite coming off of a very challenging year I know that this community is invested in making the world a better and brighter place. My hope is more unity, more kindness, and more creativity. You are welcome here, you belong, and I’m lucky to have you all here with me! I hope you truly feel that as I share more of my journey here with you all.

My mom (Sherri McConnell/A Quilting Life) and I just recently finished designing our thirteenth fabric collection for Moda Fabrics. These past several years designing has been such a joy and we feel so incredibly grateful for every one of you who has supported us and cheered us on. Also, we hope to bring your more beautiful fabrics to create with. P.s. Keep an eye out for new fabrics being announced in the next couple of months as well as Happy Days being shipped to shops in March.

I started my journey spending more time with my sewing machine and designing fabrics with my mom for Moda, but I found a real love with designing patterns shortly after that! You can find my pattern shop here!

My sewing studio is well loved and has given me a space to create and focus when working. My husband put together the bookshelves and I think they turned out wonderfully! If you would like to hear all about my sewing room be sure to check out my YouTube video here!

I hope you’ll stick around so I can connect with you! I plan to bring you a lot of fun quilts, fabrics, and tutorials! Happy New Year friends, I hope it’s the best one yet!

XOXO,

Chelsi

Jelly Snowflake Quilt Block 3

Hi there and welcome back to my blog! If you’re new around here, I’m Chelsi! I’m a wife (my husband and I just celebrated our 10 year Anniversary, mother to three cute kiddos, a Pattern Designer, & Moda Fabric designer with my Mom (Sherri of A Quilting Life)!

For my quilt I have been using Homegrown Holidays by Deb Strain for Moda Fabrics. While I love sewing with my own fabrics, I sometimes like to switch things up and use other collections from designers I admire! Deb was my booth neighbor at my very first quilt market. She is a sweet and kind soul with an eye for design and I have been thrilled to sew with these sweet fabrics of hers.

If you are just barely joining in for the quilt along, don’t fret yet because I have an informative blog post here that should be helpful! These blocks are so much fun and easy to piece so you’ll be caught up in no time….and you probably won’t want to stop sewing because they’re extra cute which is a plus in my book.

Today’s block is the Frosted Corner Block! I feel like this was the easiest block to piece so far. It goes together quickly and if you’re newer to quilting it is beginner/intermediate friendly. Fat Quarter Shop does such a wonderful job at making their quilt along projects friendly for all stages of quilters.

You can find the download for this weeks block 3 here and if you would like to see some up close steps of how to put your block together be sure to check out this link to the video Fat Quarter Shop has available. They walk through the whole process so it’s easy peasy to follow!

Jelly Snowflake Mystery Quilt Blocks Week 1-3

I am really loving my blocks so far and can’t wait to see the final quilt come together! It has been fun to see everyone’s progress on social media and all of the different fabrics everyone is using. If you’re on Instagram be sure to use the following hashtags below so we can see your progress!

#fatquartershop #christmasinjuly #jellysnowflakeqal #fqsquiltalong

Next week we are headed to Pat Sloans blog here so you’ll need to go visit her for next weeks block. And of course to don’t forget to check out our other fun friends Sherri & Bev who have been sewing along as well.

Thank you for stopping by today! Just for fun I am doing 20% in my Esty shop here, no code needed! I hope you’re enjoying this quilt along as much as I am. It is always so fun to be sewing with a community of awesome quilters. The connections made are priceless and cute fabric and patterns are always a win win! Have a wonderful week friends and hope to see you back soon!

XOXO,

Chelsi