Lily Pad Quilt

With summer right around the corner and the great outdoors calling us away from the sewing machine, it’s nice to have a quilt pattern that’s fast, fun, and the perfect size for picnics, campfires, or play forts! Oh, and how about some awesome faux chenille embellishment—you’ll find the extra time to make this one!!!!!

Lily Pad is now available in the SHOP.

Lily Pad is a redesigned quilt pattern of a quilt I made for the Quilt Now Issue 15 (January 2015) magazine originally called, Honeycomb. The magazine version was more complex than the newly revised Lily Pad quilt but much the same overall look. I’ve always loved this pattern but never got around to publishing it as a stand alone pattern until this year when Nannette Holmberg of Chenille-It asked me if I wanted to design something for her monthly subscription boxes.

I’m all about quilts, as you know, and my newest Art Gallery Fabrics Lilliput collection just released this spring so it was the perfect platform to create a quilt that shows off Lilliput prints AND highlights Chenille-It faux chenille. The redesigned Lily Pad quilt did it all with big, quick-to-piece shapes from fat quarters and those skinny strips between the half hexagon were calling out for Blooming Bias tape embellishment!

The May Chenille-It subscription boxes have already shipped but you can still pre-order this Lilliput version as a kit from Chenille-It. Orders will be shipping in a couple weeks once more fabric arrives.

Add Chenille-It to Your Projects

If you’re wondering how to apply the faux chenille, here’s some videos and tutorials:

Handi Quilter

Sharon Holland - Chenille Pillows Tutorial

Sharon Holland - Adding Faux Chenille Binding

@sharonhollanddesigns IG Reel - Fluffing faux chenille with brush

So now comes the virtual quilt show of Lily Pad quilts—my favorite part! I made two versions of this quilt and my pattern testers created their own stunning versions so you can see how versatile this quilt pattern is. Basically if you select 8 fat quarters that look beautiful in the fabric pull you’ve got most of the work of picking fabrics for the quilt done! Add in a complimentary background and choose a coordinating or contrasting Blooming Bias from the 23 gorgeous Chenille-it colors. The faux chenille can be applied to the skinny quilt strips like in my samples and/or as the binding like some of the testers did on their quilts.

The Lilliput version photographed so beautifully I have plenty of images to share and inspire. The beautiful quilting on the Lilliput version was done by Brooke Becker at Lady Belle Fabric and I used Hobbs Heirloom 100% Bleached Cotton batting inside for the whitest whites and traditional stitch definition and drape.

GET THE KIT

Get this KIT at Chenille-It!

Quilt Inspiration

For my second Lily Pad quilt I pulled a mix of Art Gallery Fabrics from my Spirited and Kismet collections, added prints from Maureen Cracknell’s Homebody collection along with a print by Pat Bravo recolored for the Sparkler Fusions bundle, and used a printed background of Delicate Balance Serenity.

This quilt will be available as a kit from Lady Belle Fabric who not only has the kits but who also did the beautiful long arm quilting you see on this version as well as the Lilliput sample quilt.

Get the Kit!

For this version I used Chenille-It Blooming Bias in Natural which I bloomed by using a spritz bottle of tap water and a brush to selectively bloom the bias tape rather than washing and drying the quilt to bloom the chenille as directed in the Chenille-It instructions.

The batting for this quilt is Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting which has an amazing drape but looks and handles much like cotton batting with the added feature of warmth and light weight.

Get This Kit at Lady Belle Fabric

Meet The Testers

I thoroughly enjoy having testers make quilts from my quilt patterns before a quilt release so not only can we make sure the pattern is the best it can be but because the creative testers make the quilt in their unique style and fabric pulls to show you more possible quilt looks than I could possibly do on my own. Each of the following quilts have been made from Art Gallery Fabrics. Sometimes a tester will work from one collection like I did with my Lilliput version of Lily Pad or they will mix and match from several AGF collections and designers like in my second version. The beauty of AGF is from the Pure Solids to the blenders to the different collections, you know it will mix and match beautifully.

Buy the PDF Pattern HERE!

Lily Pad quilt made by Marija Vujcic

As you can see in Marija Vujcic’s mood board her color palette inspiration came from yellow iris. Marija used the new Evergreen Pure Solid as the background and a mix of yellow, sage, and aqua AGF prints and a layering of two chenille colors for accent. Follow this talented lady on Instagram Marija Vujcic and on her blog at Mara Quilt Designs. Her passion for sewing and color will inspire you!

Lily Pad quilt made by Jennifer Monroe

Jennifer Monroe selected feminine, floral AGF prints from designers Bonnie Christine, Amy Sinibaldi, and Bari J. and wanted to create a quilt perfect for curling up with a good book and daydreaming. Jennifer used pink Chenille-it for just the binding edges. This quilt feels like a summer garden in full bloom and if you want to learn more about Jennifer and all her sewing adventures find her on her blog Sunshine Selvage and @sunshineselvage on Instagram.

Lily Pad Quilt made by Joyce Ulm

I’m loving the Zen quality of Joyce Ulm’s fabric selections for her Lily Pad make. Sage green, sky blue, blush, and teal play harmoniously in a background of flocking birds. Joyce used Bahama Blue chenille on the horizontal strips and for the binding (you would need two rolls of 5/8’’-wide Chenille-it to achieve this same look) and backed her quilt with luxurious Shannon Cuddle fabric. Joyce is offering kits from her Etsy shop and you can see more of Joyce’s work on Instagram @evamaecustomquilts, Etsy shop, and on her Facebook blog HERE, and does long arm quilting as well!

Get this KIT at Eva Mae Custom Quilts!

Lily Pad quilt made by Liza Taylor

I want to welcome Liza Taylor to the tester collages. Liza has been working with our tester group since the beginning of the year but was out of the country visiting relatives for several months and this is her first chance to work on a test quilt for me. I love this Pure Solids Sage Green background and assorted peach and terracotta prints palette so much. Don’t you just want to live in that mood board!?!?! White chenille horizontal accents add to the Shabby Chic vibes of the quilt and Shannon Cuddle backing gives it that simple elegance. See more of Liza’s beautiful work @lizataylorhandmade on Instagram and her Etsy shop of the same name.

Lily Pad quilt made by Terri Neil

I’m really loving the homespun feels I get from Terri Neil’s Lily Pad quilt. Terri used Maureen Cracknell’s Homebody collection with AGF Smooth Denim as the background to create this beautiful quilt. Navy Chenille-it was used for the horizontal strips as long as the center hexagons and for binding to create a luxurious custom looking quilt. Be sure to follow Terri on Instagram @quiltingrubies and you’ll be in awe of all the beautiful quilts she makes and quilts for others from her long arm business called Quilting Rubies.

Lily Pad quilt made by Elaine Satterfield

Summer, sun, and sand is what I think of when I see Elaine Satterfield’s Lily Pad quilt make! How stunning is this quilt!?!?! Elaine used AGF Smooth Denim for the background and a mix of red, cream and blue prints from Art Gallery Fabrics along with Natural chenille accent and Shannon Cuddle fabric backing. You could feel like you’re on vacation every day of the year with this quilt. See more of Elaine’s work on Instagram @createjoyquilt.

Lily Pad quilt made by Victoria Newmyer

Victoria Newmyer drew inspiration from Paris flower markets for the color palette for her quilt. The Pure Solids Icy Mint background is the perfect match to the mood board water pitcher and the spring-fresh floral prints in teal, pink, and fuchsia create a sweet bouquet across the quilt. Victoria owns the Midlife Quilter shop where you can find these beautiful AGF fabrics and more and get personal help curating your next bundle for a quilt project. Kits are available for this Lily Pad and Chenille_it quilt HERE and be sure to visit Victoria’s beautiful Instagram account @midlife_quilter.

Get this KIT at Midlife Quilter!

Lily Pad quilt made by Tracey Taber-Parry

This gorgeous, Boho-inspired Lily Pad quilt was made by Tracey Taber-Perry and she uses jewel tones of Pure Solids Very Berry coordinated with Bari J’s 365 Fifth Avenue collection from Art Gallery Fabrics to create a sumptuous look. Tracey backed her make with Shannon Cuddle and combined two colors of Chenille-it between just the hexagon rows for the added accent—what a stunning look! To see more of Tracey’s beautiful work and you can follow her feed @ttabes80 on Instagram.

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Lilliput Look Book

Back on April 23rd, Art Gallery Fabrics released the Lilliput Look Book but between Prickly Pear and Lily Pad pattern releases and a family emergency I never wrote a blog post about my newest collection release. So, the next post you receive from this blog will be a Lilliput Look Book Review so be prepared to be inspired by projects and more detailed behind the scene looks at the projects I made for the virtual publication.

Happy sewing!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.

Sweet Home Quilt Along Finale Week 6

Sweet Home Quilt Along Finale Week 6

It’s been so much fun sewing along with everyone and seeing all the beautiful Log Cabins and Bungalows being constructed! This is our finale week for the Sweet Home Quilt Along hosted by myself, Maureen Cracknell, and Jennifer Jones. This Quilt Along’s taken a bit of the isolation out of staying home to be able to connect with the Sweet Home quilt makers on our Instagram community as well as on our blogs. Thank you to everyone who participated! The quilts being made are so adorable—see what I mean when you search the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram and see all the amazing quilts in progress and finished quilts.

This may be the last official week of the quilt along but the blog posts and tutorials will remain up for anyone just starting their Sweet Home adventure. Before my big reveal of my Sweet Home quilt I thought I’d show a favorite photo from each week of my QAL posts. You’ll find links to those posts in the Highlight review if you need to read more, simply click on the aqua highlight “Week” title.

The quilt along ran six weeks total and covered a different aspect of piecing or finishing for each week. If you’re a novice quilter and want more instruction along the way—we have that too in the form of recorded Instagram tutorials over on my IGTV channel on Instagram. I’ve recorded step by step tutorials for you to access on my @sharonhollanddesigns IGTV channel on Instagram and the Sweet Home Quilt series covers fabric selection, Log Cabin block, and Bungalow block construction.

You can purchase the Sweet Home quilt pattern from my SHOP here.

A Look Back at the Highlights

Week 1

The first week was about selecting your fabrics for your quilt and cutting out the pieces for the quilt. You’ll find Instagram tutorials from myself and Jennifer Jones on how to substitute your fabrics in the pattern.

View my IGTV Sweet Home QAL series

View Jennifer’s IGTV story

My fabric pull for this quilt consisted of Art Gallery Fabrics Terra Kotta collection mixed with a couple Pure Solids and one print from my Spirited collection. This kit is available at Fat Quarter Shop if you’d like to sew a quilt like mine.

Week 2

Construction of the 10 Log Cabin blocks began and we learned about the many merits of chain piecing and how to control directional prints on Flying Geese units.

Week 3

Week 3 was devoted to making the Bungalow blocks and utilizing all the skills we’ve learned during the Log Cabin construction. There’s also tips and tutorials for using up those leftover half-square triangle from trimming the roofs.

Week 4

On week 4 we stitching up the Cornerstone Squares and adding sashing to your blocks to make a quilt top.

Week 5

Week 5 was a big blog post about sandwiching a quilt, spray basting, quilting, and binding. That post is loaded with tutorial links to earlier blog posts and tutorials on my blog. I finished my quilt with Chenille-It Blooming Bias (faux chenille) binding and you’ll find a video tutorial for that on the Week 5 post.

Week 6

Finale week is were all three hosts get to show off my six weeks of work and enjoying our fun Sweet Home quilts.

Here’s my finished quilt…

This sweet little stone spring house at a local park made the perfect backdrop for my quilt. We weren’t lucky enough to have a sunny day but the wind calmed down enough to get some shots.

Don’t forget to stop by Maureen Cracknell and Jennifer Jones blogs to see their big reveals and beautiful Sweet Home quilts.

This Friday will be the last Friday Giveaway for the Sweet Home Quilt Along and it will be our grande finale giveaway. Be following along on Instagram as all the giveaways will be held on that platform and winners will be randomly drawn the following Monday from the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag pool. The quilt along members that post their progress photos to public account on Instagram and use the hashtag #SweetHomeQAL will automatically be entered into every Sweet Home Quilt Along drawing! It’s that easy to enter, so enter often to up your chances!

And, while you’re on Instagram, take a look at the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram and see what the other QAL Makers are using in their quilts—it’s an amazing resource not only to see fabrics but to make new friends!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.

Sweet Home Quilt Along - Week 5

Sweet Home Quilt Along - Week 5

Welcome to the fifth week of the Sweet Home Quilt along hosted by (me) Sharon Holland, Maureen Cracknell, and Jennifer Jones. It’s been fun to connect with the Sweet Home quilt makers on our Instagram community and here on our blogs. The quilts being made are so adorable—see what I mean when you search the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram.

If you’re just joining us you’ll probably want to pop over to the Sweet Home Quilt Along - Week 1 post to get caught up. You can purchase the Sweet Home quilt pattern from my SHOP here.

The quilt along will run six weeks total and we’ll cover a different aspect of piecing or finishing for that week. Some of you are working ahead and that’s wonderful—it’ll give you more time for the quilting and finishing portion. This quilt along is very relaxed. If you feel like completing the top in a week—go for it! But, if you’re a beginner and want more instruction along the way—we have that too in the form of LIVE and recorded Instagram tutorials over on my IGTV channel on Instagram. I’ve recorded step by step tutorials for you to access on my @sharonhollanddesigns IGTV channel on Instagram and so far the Sweet Home Quilt series covers fabric selection, Log Cabin block, and Bungalow block construction.

Assembly and Finishing

We’ve got a lot to cover this week as we assembly our quilt sandwich, quilt, and bind our Sweet Home quilts. Luckily, I’ve covered different aspects of how to quilt a quilt on my other Sew Alongs and Tutorials so as you continue reading, be watching for the highlighted links to take you to those previous posts and tutorials.

Basting

If you’re planning to do your own quilting for this quilt I recommend spray basting. I’ve tried a few different brand and hands down I love Odif 505 brand the best. See the step-by-step instructions for how I sandwich my quilt layers and apply the spray baste in the Basting tutorial as part of my Sewcial Bee Sampler Quilt Finishing post.

For all the quilts shown in this post I used Hobbs Tuscany Silk batting inside and love working with it if I’m the one quilting but since I’ve sent my quilts to Lady Belle Fabric with Tuscany Silk batting to use she now carries it as a batting option in her shop because she also loves working with it too!

Quilting

Even if you’re not planning to do your own quilting you’ll still need some inspiration for just how to quilt your quilt. A good long armer will help you decide what may look best.

I personally love an overall design that may not have anything to do with the quilt design at all but that it adds another layer of goodness to the entire finished piece.

It’s certainly not my best work ever but I have my quilt finished and did the quilting myself this time around. I went with one of my favorite quilt designs, the Fan or Baptist Fan design. I’ve a tutorial for how to mark out a quilt and stitch in a continuous line. Read more HERE.

For more information on how I quilt using a mid arm machine and some easy looping stitches read more HERE.

The two Sweet Home Quilts I made in the spring I sent off to Brooke Becker of Lady Belle Fabric to be long arm quilted. The blue quilt above has an overall geometric pattern called Abacus.

This quilt was made for my grandson who love stripes so the diagonal lines of the quilting were just perfect to highlight all the lines already happening in the quilt. I also bound the quilt with light blue Chenille-it Blooming Bias.

For my granddaughter who loves pink and flowers I had Brooke use the Daisy Chain design for the quilting.

Chenille-it Blooming Bias was also used to edge this pretty Sweet Home quilt and I used the natural color for this one. It’s really the perfect finish for this fun quilt.

Binding

The Sweet Home quilt pattern includes information for traditional strip binding as well as how to attach Chenille-it Blooming Bias tape for the binding. I’ve tutorials for both!

Regular Double-fold binding is the most common type of binding and done by cutting width of fabric strips. The Sweet Home quilt pattern includes my method for attaching traditional binding and you’ll also find step-by-step instructions for traditional and bias binding HERE and even more instructions and step-out photos HERE.

Attaching Chenille-it Blooming Bias tape to your quilt for binding is a little different and possibly easier than traditional binding. Faux chenille binding does not fully encase the raw edge of the quilt like traditional binding does so the first thing you’ll want to do it to zig zag or serger the edges of your quilt.

I’ve made a YouTube video that shows you exactly how to apply this fun product to your Sweet Home Quilt.

For my quilt along Sweet Home make I used the Cinnamon colored faux chenille for my binding. Binding is applied in double layers to both the front and the back of the quilt. Below is how the Blooming Bias looks stitched to the edges and before 'blooming' in the laundry.

To “bloom” the bias tape you can run your quilt through a gentle cycle wash in the laundry. Blooming can be done by hand but is more successful if the quilt is laundered.

Toss the quilt into the dryer on a low, gentle tumble. I have dryer balls I use in the dryer that also help to fluff the quilt and dry it faster. I prefer to leave my quilt just a touch damp for reshaping and a light press but you may love a dryer-crinkled quilt so wash and dry like you would normally with your quilts.

Next week it’s all about the big reveals! I’ll show off my lovely Sweet Home quilt with it’s Art Gallery Fabrics Terra Kotta prints and my co-hosts will have their quilts to show off!! I’m excited to see your quilts.

I’m enjoying seeing your postings to Instagram and following along on your progress—you’re all are doing amazing and beautiful work on your Sweet Home quilts—there’s even some finished quilts showing up already!

Don’t forget that this Friday will be a new Friday Giveaway with fabulous prizes from our sponsors. Be following along on Instagram as all the giveaways will be held on that platform and winners will be randomly drawn the following Monday from the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag pool. The quilt along members that post their progress photos to public account on Instagram and use the hashtag #SweetHomeQAL will automatically be entered into every Sweet Home Quilt Along drawing! It’s that easy to enter, so enter often to up your chances!

And, while you’re on Instagram, take a look at the #SweetHomeQAL hashtag on Instagram and see what the other QAL Makers are using in their quilts—it’s an amazing resource not only to see fabrics but to make new friends!

I am an Amazon Associate site and earn from qualifying purchases on the products I’ve linked below. The helpful products selected are the same or similar to materials used to make the project(s) in this blog post or related items I think you may enjoy.

Sweet Home Quilt Along Giveaway Week 2

Sweet Home Quilt Along Giveaway Week 2

Each Friday, throughout the Sweet Home Quilt Along, there’ll be a Giveaway. Your QAL hosts, Maureen Cracknell , Jennifer Jones, and myself have coordinated special giveaway prizes with our amazing participating sponsors for each and every week! If you've happened to miss the first Sweet Home QAL post, take a look back and read about it HERE then follow the posts in chronological order until you get caught up.

These Friday blog posts will highlight the Sponsor and awesome giveaway prize offered for this week’s QAL giveaway. The randomly drawn winners will be selected from the growing Instagram hashtag pool the following Monday around 4 pm Eastern with the winner(s) announced on Instagram.

Top #SweetHomeQAL posts in the Instagram hashtag pool

Is your Instagram post featured in this #SweetHomeQAL hashtag pool snapshot???

We’re using Instagram as a Sweet Home QAL community share spot where we can follow along and comment on each others quilt progress and share beautiful photos of our work.

Every time you share a post to your public instagram account and use the official #SweetHomeQAL hashtag in your post caption your post is automatically entered into the giveaway hashtag pool! That’s right—it’s as easy as that—just do what you’d do anyway! So, to up your chances, post a lot of of progress shots of your fabric pull, cut pieces, blocks, sashing, assembly, tops, and ultimately, finished quilts.

You may notice I keep saying you need a public Instagram account to be entered into the giveaway drawings. That’s because if you have your IG account set as a private account, Instagram does not add any hashtags to hashtag pools from private accounts—it’s just the way they roll. So, you may want to go into your IG settings and turn your account to public for the QAL or if not, and I totally get the need for privacy in this strange world we live in, just know that you won’t be eligible for the giveaways.

SWEET HOME QAL SPONSORS

TODAY'S FEATURED SWEET HOME QAL SPONSOR IS Chenille-It!

If you can dream it you can Chenille-it is the tag line for this innovative notions company run by owner/designer/artist Nannette Holmberg. Chenille-it Blooming bias let’s your create a faux chenille finish to all your sewing projects with easy-to-use bias tape. Stitch it, wash it, and you're done—it’s really that simple!

Visit Chenille-It: Shop | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

We’re so pleased to have Chenille-It as a Sweet Home QAL sponsor and Nannette is giving away three (3) $25 e-gift cards to three lucky winners to use in the Chenille-it shop. You can use the e-gift card toward purchase of any of the wonderful items in their shop like: patterns, kits, fabric, notions, or of course, toward faux chenille Blooming Bias—all available on their site! 

I personally love the Chenille-It Blooming Bias tape and have used it on several pillow projects and as the binding for my first two Sweet Home quilts made in earlier this spring.

I’m planning to use faux chenille binding again for the Sweet Home QAL quilt and have a roll of 5/8’’-wide Cinnamon binding all ready for that finishing touch. Don’t worry, I’ll be going over exactly how to attach this type of binding to your quilt on week 5. But for those of you that like to work ahead, I’ve already a Faux Chenille Binding video prepared for the easy steps needed to achieve this cool look.

Don’t forget to share your Sweet Home quilt makes with your fellow quilt along makers over on Instagram and you’ll automatically be entered into this week’s drawing if you have a public IG account. Three lucky winners will be drawn from the growing hashtag pool on Monday, September 21st around 4 pm Eastern and the winners will be tagged and notified on Instagram.

Be sure to follow along on all three host’s blogs as well as our Instagram accounts: Me @sharonhollanddesigns , Maureen @maureencracknell , and Jennifer @penelopehandmade

I also want to let you know that during the QAL Jennifer and I plan to have impromptu IGTV live videos to give you tips and tricks for sewing your Sweet Home Quilt.

View my IGTV Sweet Home QAL series

View Jennifer’s IGTV story

Work on gathering your fabrics and cutting out all the pieces so next Wednesday we can start piecing the Bungalow blocks! Be watching my Instagram feed on Monday or Tuesday for LIVE video demonstrations on how to assemble Bungalow Blocks. Don’t worry if you miss the LIVE broadcasts as you can always access the recorded video anytime in my IGTV channel.

—Happy sewing