Remember Our Summer Sew-Along??

Take a look at these finished versions, using our original PAULA BARNES COMPANIONS fabric choices, and various other combinations from our quilting friends!  Red Crinoline posted these and more great pix on their blog today…

Ursula Yeo

Kathy Wagner of Ontario, Canada – waiting to add 2 borders

As you will see from the blog post, this SAL was truly an impressive international effort! Thanks to those who shared their beautiful work, and if you’ve completed (or nearly completed?) your Marcus Fabrics Designer SAL from this summer, be sure to send us your picture, too!

The Marcus Sew-Along Quilt, Revealed!

SALButtonHORZ14Here it is!

SALRevealedDo you love it as much as we do? We’d like to thank everyone who has participated for the past nine weeks, block by block, and, as I promised, the end result is beautiful. Congratulations to everyone who kept up, and if you were not able to, we’re sure that this image of the finished quilt will inspire you to catch up in the completion phase.

And thanks to all of our talented and generous designers for taking time to participate, including the gorgeous finishing design by Paula Barnes and piecing by Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts with quilting and binding by Gloria Parsons of Olde Green Cupboard Designs.  

Complete instructions for the finishing are available on the Red Crinoline Quilts blog, but if you still need to catch up on the nine blocks first, here are the links to the blog posts:

Remember to leave a comment on the Red Crinoline Quilts blog for your chance to win the Grand Prize package:

SAL-GrandPrizeGiftPack

Marcus Sew-Along, WEEK #9

SAL-LisaBlockOnMatCROPPEDHi, I’m Lisa Shepard Stewart, marketing manager at Marcus.  If you’re a regular reader of our website, blog posts, press releases and newsletters, chances are I’ve written it.  In addition to working part-time for Marcus, I own a company called Cultured Expressions, specializing in the creative use of authentic African textiles for decorating, quilting, sewing and crafts.

Well, if you’ve followed us this far in the sew-along, you’re likely already a big fan of Repro prints.  But even if you’re like me, and the Repros aren’t necessarily your go-to category when you quilt, I’d encourage you to try mixing them in with your favorites and see what happens.  (The many deep, saturated colors and earthy tones of some repros would look great pieced in with bogolan / mudcloth from Mali or even Indian raw silks for a different take, but I digress…)

By now I know you can’t wait for the big reveal of the “Friends & Companions” quilt next week, so let’s get on with the instructions for the final block!  For this block, you’ll need the following from Paula Barnes Companions:     1035-0112 Black, 1034-0111 Burgundy, 1702-0116 Sage, 1038-0188 Beige, 1033-0128 Cheddar

Cutting Instructions:

— from Burgundy, Sage, and Cheddar:  Cut (1) strip 1½” x 15″ long
— from Black, Sage: Cut (4) squares 1½”
— from Beige:  Cut (4) strips 1½” x 2½” and (4) strips 1½” x 3½”

                        (OR Cut one strip 1½” wide x at least 28″ long (for Alternate piecing method)

Block Instructions (Read thru all steps before you begin)SALHowTo1

1. Sew burgundy strip to sage strip. Sew cheddar strip to the other side of the sage. Press. From this pieced strip, cut (4) 3½” sections.

2.  Sew one sage square to each of the four 2½” beige strips. Sew one black square to each of the four 3½” beige strips.*

SAL-Howto2

Note: In the first photo, the beige strip under the machine needle is about to be trimmed down to 2.5″ as the first two were. Next, the units are simply cut apart, then pressed.

(*As an alternate piecing method, stitch the first square to the beige strip. Without removing the piece from the sewing machine, trim the beige strip to 2½” long, Stitch the next sage square to the remaining length of beige strip, and again trim the beige strip to 2½” long. Repeat until you have the four green-tipped strips, and four black-tipped strips. Cut strips apart; press.

3. Stitch the green-tipped strips to the four Rail Fence sections, lining up the sage square and cheddar strip as shown.

4. Stitch the black-tipped strips to the units, lining up the black square to the burgundy side as shown.SAL-Howto3

5. Join the four units as shown; square up for an unfinished block size of 8.5″.

(Download the PDF version)

Week9-CoinPursePrizeRemember to leave a comment below for your chance at this week’s goodies – a bundle of Marcus fabrics in dark reds, one of my favorite palettes, and a Vintage Coin Purse Kit, a gift from Cultured Expressions, so you can create your own.  Good Luck, everyone!  

With your nine blocks now complete, we all THANK YOU for participating, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the process so far! Congratulations — your efforts will soon be well rewarded  ; )  See you next week for the Big Reveal!!  Late to the party?  Start from the beginning!

Marcus Fabrics “Friends & Companions” SEW-ALONG

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(Links Corrected)  Looking for a fun summer quilt project?  We’ve gathered Marcus designers to help create an exciting new Sew-Along, using selected prints from the PAULA BARNES COMPANIONS collection!  Each Friday for ten weeks, you’ll visit a designer’s blog for the block info and instructions, followed by the finished quilt reveal in Week 10.  AND, you’ll have a chance to win a great prize each week, in addition to a Grand Prize at the end of the Sew-Along! Be sure to order your fabric kit from one of the participating designers now (see below), so you’ll be ready to begin with us on August 1.

MB Friends & Companions Kit Fabrics 2Sew-Along tip: Visit each designer’s blog before August 1 and enter your email address in the “Follow by Email” icon or “Subscribe” box on each designer’s blog shown below.  That way, you won’t miss any of the good things we have in store for you, and you’ll be able to print all of the block directions to take to your cutting table and sewing machine!

8/1  Pam Buda ~ * Heartspun Quilts
8/8  Paula Barnes ~ * Red Crinoline Quilts
8/15  Sarah Maxwell ~ * Homestead Hearth
8/22  Pati Violick ~ Marcus Fabrics
8/29  Gloria Parsons ~ Olde Green Cupboard Designs
9/5  Nancy Rink ~ Nancy Rink Designs
9/12  Mary Ellen Robison ~ Red Crinoline Quilts
9/19  Dolores Smith ~ Homestead Hearth
9/26  Lisa Shepard Stewart ~ Marcus Fabrics
10/3  Red Crinoline Quilts ~ Quilt Revealed!

(*Kits are available from the first three designer websites above)

If you’re a Paula Barnes collector and you already have the prints, or you’re choosing your own fabrics, here’s what you’ll need:

* For Blocks:
1⁄4 yard cheddar print
1⁄2 yard light print #1
1/6 yard red print #1
1⁄4 yard black print
1/6 yard blue print
1⁄3 yard olive green print

* For Quilt Setting and Borders:
1-3⁄4 yards red print #2 for outside border
1-1⁄4 yards black print for alternate block, inside border and binding.
1-1⁄8 yards light print #2 for alternate block
1 yard olive green print for setting corners and triangles.
4 yards for backing

*Prizes will be awarded each week from the featured designer
*Quilt size  60 x 60 and block size 8 inches
So join Marcus & our designers for this exciting new Sew-Along!  See you on August 1!