Sandi Blackwell is such a lovely woman. I could not attend Quilt Market this past year so Sandi brought Market to me :) She sent me her newest book and several patterns to review and give away on my blog. Can I get a loud Woooo Hooooo for Sandi!!! She just ROCKS!!!
From the moment I watched Sandi demonstrate how she sews squares together and then turns them into complicated quilt patterns I was blown away. She uses science to make beautiful quilt pattern designs.
I have to be honest and tell you that I would not be willing to cut my fabric on a diagonal and sew the bias edges back together again. I have enough trouble keeping everything square and I don't want headaches. I'm sure that is why I was so tickled to see Sandi's method.
The diagram on the back of Simply Sensational Square-Agonals Quilts is an excellent visual description of how Sandi manages to turn a bunch of squares into a beautiful on-point quilt. First you sew all the squares together and then you cut them on a diagonal and re-sew those pieces together. Yes, you do have bias edges and I did say I don't like bias edges. Sandi demonstrates how she keeps those edges stable by using her tape. It isn't required to use it, but for folks like me...I'd use it.
As I said, you don't have to use the additional Guide Tapes but they are helpful if you are like me and gets things mixed up and wonky. Sandi also provides templates in her book for the Arrow's that you can print and use as well.
I assure you that with the visual guides and very well written instructions you can make a beautiful quilt like Strawberry Fields without having to cut all those small bias edges.
I just love the Strawberry Fields pattern. It is bright, cheerful and can be made with a huge variety of fun fabrics. There isn't a pattern in this book that I don't like which is a real compliment coming from me. Typically there are only a few quilts in a book that I am drawn to and I'm drawn to every one of Sandi's quilts. Just look at the cover of the book....isn't that just a stunning quilt?
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Sandi has Free Pattern Downloads, you don't want to miss those!!!
Jack Blackwell wrote an article that was published in Quiltposium Magazine that you may enjoy reading.
Smiles,
Kelly
From the moment I watched Sandi demonstrate how she sews squares together and then turns them into complicated quilt patterns I was blown away. She uses science to make beautiful quilt pattern designs.
Simply Sensational Square-Agonals Quilts by Sandi Blackwell
I have to be honest and tell you that I would not be willing to cut my fabric on a diagonal and sew the bias edges back together again. I have enough trouble keeping everything square and I don't want headaches. I'm sure that is why I was so tickled to see Sandi's method.
As I said, you don't have to use the additional Guide Tapes but they are helpful if you are like me and gets things mixed up and wonky. Sandi also provides templates in her book for the Arrow's that you can print and use as well.
I assure you that with the visual guides and very well written instructions you can make a beautiful quilt like Strawberry Fields without having to cut all those small bias edges.
Strawberry Fields Quilt pattern from Simply Sensational Square-Agonals Quilts
I just love the Strawberry Fields pattern. It is bright, cheerful and can be made with a huge variety of fun fabrics. There isn't a pattern in this book that I don't like which is a real compliment coming from me. Typically there are only a few quilts in a book that I am drawn to and I'm drawn to every one of Sandi's quilts. Just look at the cover of the book....isn't that just a stunning quilt?
Did I mention a giveaway? I sure did :)
I will be giving away an autographed copy of Simply Sensational Square-Agonals Quilts this Friday to one very lucky person AND 4 other very lucky people will be given one of Sandi's patterns.
Sandi has Free Pattern Downloads, you don't want to miss those!!!
Jack Blackwell wrote an article that was published in Quiltposium Magazine that you may enjoy reading.
CLICK HERE and scroll down to read the article
Smiles,
Kelly
I love blocks set diagonally.
ReplyDeleteDo not enter me in this giveaway I just wanted to agree Sandi is a sweet gal! She sent me some patterns to try and I also just had a giveaway for one of them!
ReplyDeleteLola
Cool. Thanks for the chance. Hope you are healing well.
ReplyDeleteI love the quilt on the book cover! If there is an easy way to make it, I need to know! LOL There are a lot of funny things about me, too many to list. :-o I hate turtlenecks because they feel like they are messing with my bones. See? Have a happy day Kelly!
ReplyDeleteSomething funny about me? I am southern and I don't eat chicken!
ReplyDeleteI have such a soft spot for animals that my husband says if a skunk came up to the door I would try and make a house pet out of it......I think I would draw the line there though. Thanks
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book.
ReplyDeleteI am super short, exactly 5 ft tall. It's not *funny, but kinda unusual :)
ReplyDeleteI knitted hats for my brothers-in-law a couple of years ago for Christmas & used my head measurements to size the hats. My younger sister told me several months later that the hat was too big for her husband (and he's over 6' tall), so she was using it instead. We inherited the same big head. Thanks for the chance to win.
ReplyDeleteThe only funny thing I can think of is that my husband is younger than me and everyone thinks I'm younger. Sandi's book sounds great. Thanks for te chance to win.
ReplyDeletehmm, can't think of anything funny off hand. interesting though... i met my husband because he found my lost wallet. ;)
ReplyDeleteI am a pure Cajun from Louisiana who does not like or eat gumbo, rice, gravy, or put red pepper on/in my cooking.
ReplyDeletesomething funny about me? Hmmm, nothing I can think of that would be considered funny. Interesting maybe, funny, no. I am one of three siblings (out of four) who are left handed born to parents who were also lefties. Thank you for a chance to win.
ReplyDeletefunny! I ran into a brick building while trying to park. We were on our way back from getting my driver's license. True to form, the building was a fabric shop. Things don't change all that much:)
ReplyDeleteWell how clever are those blocks and so effective is that Strawberry Fields.
ReplyDeleteHugs Khris
I'm afraid I'm too boring to be funny...thanks for the chance!
ReplyDeletei started quilting at age 70
ReplyDeleteLooks like another fun new book by Sandi. I saw her Glori Stars/QIH quilt at Quilt Market and it is an amazing design/beautiful quilt.
ReplyDeleteSewCalGal
www.sewcalgal.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for sharing. Looks like a great book. I'd love to give it a try, Happy holidays
ReplyDeleteThat book looks fantastic!
ReplyDeleteI just had a bad experience with bias edges tonight, but I'm willing to try again!
ReplyDeleteHmm,, the only funny thing I can think of is I recently lost an earring at work and my hubby found it by stepping on it in the kitchen at home! Not sure how it got there, unless it "traveled" there in my tote bag and fell out when I took out my lunch dishes. Either that, or it has hanging out in my clothes!
ReplyDeleteSandy A
Ohhh, I love that book! I was just at a Christmas Open House at a wee quilt shop in my area & the book cover quilt of Sandi's was on display there! How neat is that! One of the funniest things that happened to me was going to a house party & I wore two different shoes! I wondered why it felt weird walking!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for a chance at the give-away.
Maureen
mgw070 at shaw dot ca
I have one of her books (not this one) and made a table runner. It was so fast to do and looked amazing, and was fun to boot.
ReplyDeleteI like to eat bananas with peanut butter…my husband thinks it's gross, but I love it!
ReplyDeleteWhen I fall down, I always stop my falls with my head!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a kid I feigned a British accent, and sometimes I still pronounce words oddly. Last week I said, "bean" for "been" and I know it goes back to my phony Brit days.
ReplyDeleteFunny thing about me? I'm probably not as tall as you think I am!!! (tried to post this last night... but Tablet would not cooperate!)
ReplyDeletesomething funny about me?? well I just don't know.........there are so many funny things... like when the sewing machine eats my fingers... there are pictures on my flickr site... once the tooth ( needle) broke off 1/4" into my finger... yup I measured it AND there are pictures on my flickr site!
ReplyDeletethe link to my blog is http://lishsstuff.blogspot.com and my comment about the giveaway has been posted!!!
ReplyDeleteI funny thing about me...hmmmm...there are so many.....I have to put my socks on before I put on my underpants. Not sure why but it throws me into a tizzy to do it the other way around.
ReplyDeleteLove looking at quilt books.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of creating blocks and then cutting them to make something else!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I've heard of her before, but I love the look of her quilts. Thank you for the giveaway! I am nervous about bias cuts, too. Count me in!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteThe book looks wonderful. If it's as easy as it says maybe I can do it to. Thanks for the chance to try. katztoo1 at frontier dot com
ReplyDeleteThe book sounds awesome and the tape looks very interesting! Would love to win! Happy Holidays!
ReplyDeleteEverytime I go up steps I have to count them!
ReplyDeleteI once wanted a root tiller for Christmas
ReplyDeleteOrange is my favorite color, but I don't like any of the orange vegetables. Except for raw carrots, but not cooked.
ReplyDeletei was a quilter, many, many moons ago!! i think i have tried every craft known to man kind, and i really enjoyed quilting. it was before my children were born and they are 30 and 31 soooo that tells you how long ago it was!!
ReplyDeletehave a fun sunday girlfriend!!
I talk to plants in the woods. I address them by their Latin names. Sometimes the trees sort of talk back.
ReplyDelete