Happy Halloween! Sneak Peek at the Making of the Fright Night Quilt

Happy Halloween everyone! Is this anyone else’s favorite holiday, or just mine? I love getting to be a little silly, dress-up as something fun and eat lots and lots of candy. Basically Halloween is a day where we all get to be kids again. No gifts to buy, no stress or messy kitchen, just plain old silly fun!

To celebrate, I wanted to give you some insight into how we made our newest Halloween quilt, Fright Night. This spooky pattern features the Wicked collection from our friends at Northcott. 

When this line of fabric came first across my desk, I was immediately inspired to make a fun throw quilt. But I knew that the prints would also lend themselves really well to wall decor or a door quilt. Instead of just settling for one, I figured why not make a pattern for all three!

The video quilt tutorial we made to accompany this project covers how to make the lap quilt, which encompasses all the techniques you'll need for assembling the smaller projects. 

To get us started, let's take a close-up look at the main panel which helped inspire all three of these fun projects. So spooky! 

In the video tutorial I cover some tips on how to work with panels and how we added a border around the panels in these projects to help make sure they were the correct size for the quilt center. 

Next up, we show you our favorite method for making Flying Geese. With this tip, they come out perfect!  You can check out the ruler I use in the video here.

There are a lot of points and seams in this project... To help, I cover how to press seams open in a way that helps the blocks lay flat when finished. I use one of our favorite tools, The Strip Stick to make pressing seams open a snap!

And here's a fun peek at the block center before we added on the last pieced borders.

Next up, it's time to add the last border onto the pieced blocks.

Here are the pieced and small panel blocks finished and ready for assembly. After this, we just need to finish the center block.

To finish the Center Block, we need to add a pieced border to the top and bottom of the large panel block.

And look at that, now we finally have all of our blocks ready for assembly!

 Time to finish up the quilt top and get this quilted!

Here is the finished quilt back made by Monica Croom who quilted it with Halloween motifs! It is spooky, cute and ready for me to cuddle under it tonight for Halloween.

I hope you've enjoyed the walk through for this project as much as we enjoyed designing and making it! Be sure to check out this video tutorial along with all of our other great videos on our YouTube channel. While your there make sure to subscribe and hit the bell to be notified every time we post a new video.

Happy Halloween!

BIG NEWS! The Whimsical Workshop is now on Spoonflower!

Hello there! We are incredibly excited to share with you some big news: Some of our favorite fabric designs are now available on Spoonflower! Today, let's go over what these designs look like. We're working on some really fun projects to go with these fabrics so stay tuned!

All of the designs can be seen and purchased from our Spoonflower profile here: https://www.spoonflower.com/en/shop?on=fabric&q=Matthew%20Pridemore&availability=ForSale&sort=bestSelling

Tossed Dragons Pink and Teal | Sweetie Collection

Matthew designed this adorable pink dragon named “Candy the Sweetacular”. She loves candy, all things sweet, and also has a little bit of an attitude! Remind you of anyone?

Tossed Dragons Pink and Teal features our fun pink dragons that measure 1-1/4" x 1 3/4". Part of the Don't Call Me Sweetie Collection.

Donut and Candy Paisley Pink & Teal

Here is another design from Matthew, who has always loved both paisley prints and donuts (how could you not?). In this print he combined these two loves of his into a sweet delight. 

A bright and whimsical pink and teal paisley with some mini donuts & hard candies thrown in for fun. Each paisley measures 2" x 4".

 

Donut Stripe - Pink and Multi

Speaking of donuts, in my opinion, you can never have enough. So here is our adorable Donut Stripe. This print is perfect on its own or as a border, and pairs really well with both Sweet Paisley (shown above) and some of other prints shown below! A fun and whimsical stripe featuring various delicious donuts.  1" Pink stripe with 1-3/4" multi colored donuts 

Milk Chocolate Bar | Sweetie Collection

Who doesn’t love chocolate? I'm not sure I trust anyone who doesn't like chocolate... Here is our Sweetie Chocolate Squares print ready for all Chocoholics! The best part is there are no calories in this Chocolate Bar. The Chocolate Tiles each measure 1" x 1".

Whimsical Patchwork 5" Cheater, Whole cloth squares. Multi-Colored

Personally, this may be one of my favorite prints (ssh don't tell the others!). Each patch is a 5” Patchwork squares, so one piece of fabric can be used just like a charm pack! All of these whimsical and happy prints can be used in border or cut apart, and are perfect for small appliqué. What a versatile print, right? This  5" Whimsical Patchwork can also be used as a Whole Cloth or Cheater Quilt.

Wrapped Candies

This is the perfect coordinate for several of the fabric prints we've already shown you! These tonal tossed candies are available in three colors: Bright Blue, Hot Pink and Bright Yellow. Which is your favorite? Tossed Candies Blue Tonal,  Tossed Candies Pink Tonal or Tossed Candies Yellow Tonal . Each Candy measures 3/4" x 1".

Steampunk Gears

And now finally we have the perfect print for all steampunk fans, Coplayers, makers and so many more! The copper gears are large scale and perfect as a quilt border or for pillows, totes and garments. Gear measurements Large, 3-3/4" and Small 2". 

It's been so much fun designing these prints and making them available for you! Spoonflower has a large assortment of materials that these designs can be printed on, including cotton, rayon, organic, woven, upholstery and knit fabrics. It can even be printed as wallpaper! All of these prints will be up on our website in the next few months, but you can get them now without the wait!

If you use any of these prints in your projects, we'd love to see what you make! You can share pictures and videos with us on Facebook, Instagram, or even email them to us at heidi@thewhimsicalworkshop.com.

Let's Celebrate Fall with a Virtual Quilt Show!

We are SO excited that is finally Fall! Fall brings brisk days, colorful trees and sweater weather, not to mention classic Turkey day and my all-time favorite, pumpkin pie! Who doesn't love pumpkin pie?! 

 

For this week I thought I could share with you some of my favorite Fall themed quilts that we've worked on over the years! Hope you enjoy the show! 

Here's the first beautiful quilt in our show: Skip to Dessert. This is hands down the most popular Thanksgiving pattern available on our website. This friendly guy just wants to point out how important the Dessert Food group is! Maybe we should just start with dessert before every meal!

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Skip-to-Dessert-Pattern-x10324177.htm

Next up is the elegant and easy to make Autumn Splendor quilt that's made up of flying geese and HST Units. The beautiful fabrics used in the quilt shown below are from the Radiant Paisley collection from Benartex Fabrics. It's in stores now so make sure to pick some up!

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Autumn-Splendor---Digital-Download-Pattern-x44712512.htm

This beautiful quilt, Chocolate Covered Cherries, features the Ruby fabric collection designed by the talented Bonnie Sullivan for Maywood Studios. We have a great video tutorial that helps walk you through this pattern step by step.  

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Chocolate-Covered-Cherries---Digital-Download-Pattern-x44762057.htm

And watch the video tutorial here: 

I designed Pine Tree Lodge several years ago in honor of my hometown of Rochester, New York. Fall in Upstate New York is a such a sight to see! I haven't had the chance in years to be home during this beautiful season since we are always getting ready for Quilt Market, but my goal is to be there next year! This quilt image features Autumn Palette from Timeless Treasures.

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Pine-Tree-Lodge---Digital-Download-Pattern-x38719648.htm

Looking for a quick and easy Fall themed project? Our Happy Fall quilt is built around a center panel from the Hello Beautiful Fall fabric line from Timeless Treasures. Both the panel and fabrics are in stores now! If you're looking for tips on assembling a panel quilt, be sure to visit us on YouTube where we go over our favorite insider tips and tricks. 

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Happy-Fall---Digital-Download-Pattern-x44571606.htm

Next up in our show today is The Midas Touch: This quilt looks way more complex than it actually is to make, I promise! I did a three-part tutorial on this project to go along with our pattern and it takes you through every single step. All three videos are free on YouTube. Don't forge to subscribe and leave a comment to let us know what you think! The quilt features Radiance from Benartex Fabrics. If you want to learn more about this project, we shared a whole blog post dedicated to it that you can check out here! 

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/The-Midas-Touch---Digital-Download-Pattern-x44762120.htm

And you can watch the 3 part video tutorial here: 

If you're looking for a quilt that features a beautiful Fall color palette, but isn't fully comprised of leaves, Marble Mania may be exactly what you're looking for! This pieced curve quilt is a snap to assemble, just check out our YouTube Video on how easy it is to do curves with my special glue trick! This quilt features Metallic Marble basics and Stardust Basics from Michael Miller Fabrics.

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/Marble-Mania---Digital-Download-Pattern-x44578162.htm

Want to learn more about our easy trick for sewing curves? Check it out here: 

And finally, the last quilt in this showcase, The Lady’s Garden. Did you know that our studio was lucky enough to design many of the quilts that Andover Fabrics used to promote their Downton Abbey Fabric lines from a few years ago? It was quite the honor as we were huge fans of the show. This was the quilt I designed inspired by Cora Crawley, the Countess of Grantham. I also designed several others that I will share more in upcoming episodes of our Story Behind the Quilt Series on YouTube. 

You can get the pattern here: https://www.thewhimsicalworkshop.com/shop/c/p/The-Ladys-Garden-Pattern-x16366397.htm

I hope you've enjoyed our Fall quilt preview! Make sure to also check out our FREE Block Mania block, We Are Family,  featuring some new adorable character and friends.

Sydney the Spider FREE Project

This week I'm excited to highlight our newest YouTube video, “Free Sew Along to make this cute spider pin cushion”. 

This video is the next in our series of simple sewing projects to help build up beginner sewing skills. It's designed to be easy enough to follow along, that with the video and this post, you shouldn't need a pattern. 

This Sydney the Spider Pin Cushion is the perfect project to celebrate October and Halloween. He can be stuffed with walnut shells to make a pin cushion or you can use Fiber-Fill to make a spooky cute stuffed spider! Be sure to use both this blog post and the video while constructing this project. I hope you have as much fun making him as much as I did!

For this project you will need the following: 

¼ yard for the Spider Body

¼ yard for the Spider Legs

3” square of Black for the Eyes

3” square of White for the Eyes

You will also need: 

3” square of Fusible Web

Walnut Shells for the body and Fiber-Fill or just Fiber Fill

(8) 12” Pipe Cleaners

Small dowel or chop stick

Optional: Turn it all Tool (Link to product on website)

Once you have all of your supplies together, use the templates to cut the legs and eyes and body segments as listed on the templates. 

The first step is to do a little bit of fusible applique to add the inner and outer eyes with a touch of machine applique for the mouth to create one body segment. 

The next step is to make the eight legs for your spider:

We will use the pipe cleaners to help form the legs after assembly. Each leg is stuffed with Fiber-Fill to fill them out. 

It really is quite easy to turn the legs right side out when using the Turn-it-all-Tool. It's not required for this pattern, but it's a very handy tool to have on hand.

Next up, it's time to build out the spider with all eight legs.

Once you have all the segments and legs sewn together, let's turn the whole thing right side out.

Now it's time to stuff your spider. Refer back to the YouTube video tutorial for my tips on how to stuff the pin cushion with Walnut Shells, and then add a little Fiber-Fill at the end to make it easier to sew closed. 

Once your spider is stuffed, we must stitch the opening closed. In the video, we'll walk through how to hand sew the spider closed using a Ladder Stitch.

And just like that, we're all finished! Say hello to your new little friend.

I hope you've enjoyed this month’s sewing project and have learned lots of new sewing skills! We would love to see your spiders come out so make sure to tag us in any photos you share with friends and family. And feel free to email us if there other simple projects you would like to see us make and share with you in future videos! Thanks for following along.  

We Are Family FREE Block for the Block Mania Blog Hop

Hi there! We're back with another great block for the monthly Block Mania Blog Hop. If you're not familiar with the Bog Hop, each month a group of top designers in the quilting industry create a free downloadable pattern for a 12” block that fits the month’s chosen theme and color palette. 

We post all of our blocks on the first Tuesday of the month, and then you get to hop from blog to blog and learn more about each designer while collecting your free block pattern. This month’s theme is “Family” for which we created the We are Family block just for you. The pattern is available on our website here.

Both of our most recent blocks, "Study Buddy" from August and "Batty and Happy" from September are still free to download this month on our blog. However we do recommend downloading these soon, since they will soon be listed as a pattern for sale. We love being able to consistently provide you with new, tested, and fun patterns to create with. In order to keep offering these free block patterns, our Blog Mania Blog Hop patterns will now be available for free download starting the day they're released, up through the following two months. Come the third month, they will be offered as a digital download at $5.00 each. 

Now, let's get into our October block, We Are Family:

In this month's video, we cover how to assemble the block using a placement drawing (below) and an Appli-Fuse Pressing Sheet. I also go over how to finish the edges on these tiny pieces. 

Next, here are the lovely fabrics we were finally able to settle on (there's so many great options to choose from). They are all basics from Benartex Fabrics. A huge thank you to our friends at Benartex for sending these gorgeous goodies to us!

One we select our fabrics, the next step is to get all the pieces cut and ready to assemble. Though the pattern is written for traditional cutting, I did cut my pieces using an SVG file compatible with a Cricut Maker. The SVG file we use is available for purchase, but is not required for completing the block.

Here's a fun in-the-middle image of our cute friends coming to life. It shows us using an Appli-fuse mat to make easy work of the assembly step. Did you know we also have these available on our website? Appli-Fuse Mat

Now that we have the block assembled, it's time to pick your favorite Aurifil threads for the finishing stitch, and move on to the sewing machine.

In the video, we included all of my favorite tips for working with small pieces when finishing the edges. We also cover a trick I've developed for using a machine stitch that looks like embroidery.

We are family, we come in all shapes, sizes and colors. What do you think of the finished block?

I hope you've enjoyed this month’s free block! Make sure to visit all the other designers on the Blog hop to collect your free family blocks from them as well. And don't forget to come back next month for another round of Blog Hop Mania!

Warming by the Fire
Paper Chain Family at Slice of Pi Quilts
Family is Love
Family Quote Pineapple Block by Blockofthemodotcom
Family Pumpkin Pickin' Day
Family Crest at Always Expect Moore
Old Rocking Chair at Duck Creek Mountain Quilting
Love@Home at Stash Bandit
Sisterhood by Michelle Renee Hiatt
Glimpse of Home at Scrapdash
We Are Family by Heidi Pridemore
Family Trees at Pretty Piney Quilts
Family is the Heart of Home by QuiltFabrication
Gathering by Blue Bear Quilts
Sister's Choice at Perkins Dry Goods
Every Family Has One at Patti's Patchwork
Orange Blossom Quilt
Wonky Nesting Hearts
Family Photo Block
Celtic Trinity Knot by Appliqués Quilts and More
Scarecrow
Family Ring at Devoted Quilter
Tartan Block at True Blue Quilts
FindSewingStuff.com
Flying Geese Family by Tacy Gray
Family Heart by Amarar Cracions