Cherry House Quilts

Passport, Tickets, Money

"Passport, tickets, money", this is a line from one of my all time favorite movies Shirley Valentine! This is also the name of my suitcase quilt, which I am working on, after too long of a delay. Thank you for your emails giving me a little push, telling me how much you want to make this quilt for the traveler in your life. I'll be using Kona Cotton solids for the background, and Moda Crossweaves for the suitcases.

 

I can't wait to get it made, and make the pattern available to you!

As soon as I have an update on the pattern, I'll let you know.

xoxo,

Cherri

P.S. Thanks for your continued concern over my headaches...they are not improving, and the medical procedures which I've undergone seem to not be working. While I am discouraged, I'm not giving up hope. My Melissa is home from Johns Hopkins Nursing school, and while searching for a job, she is acting as my own personal nurse. Wonderful healthly meals, and nightly walks have been started, and I believe (like Tinker Bell), and have faith that wellness is within reach!

1001 Peeps, say I Do

I Do Peeps, sounds like peeps getting married, doesn't it? Well, you could call it a marriage, a marriage of Lizzy's awesome new fabric 1001 Peeps, and our best selling pattern I do! Plus, throw in some of my fav Kona Cotton Solids, and it is a match made in quilter's heaven ♥

 
 

Here's the original pattern, but doesn't it look great with Lizzy's fabric? I think so!

xoxo,

Cherri

 

More solids & prints...the challenge

Well, hands down, the gray wins...thanks to everyone who left a comment, voting for your fav! It was interesting that several of you wanted to see red as a background. The second quilt has a narrow red inner border, which completely changes the look of the quilt. Do you like one over the other?

 
Several commented that the white looked too washed out (which it did), but look at it with the narrow inner border of gray. The second quilt has the same narrow border, but with the darker gray background. I think the narrow border looks backlit by the darker gray.

 
As promised here is a quilt combining both prints and solids. It is a challenge to get the right mix of prints with solids, balancing both to get all the components working together. Fabric designers and manufacturers take a lot of the guess work out of the equation with tight collections, and matching solids. The fabric used in this quilt is Moda's Just Wing It by MoMo.

 
By using a simple block such as the Log Cabin, both the prints and the solids have a chance to shine. The prints are busy, but solids are calming...so the combination of the two is visually exciting to examine, but not overwhelming to your senses.

All I can think of now that I've designed this quilt, is that I want to make one...happens every time!

I hope you've enjoyed this look at prints and solids with me!

xoxo,

Cherri

Solids and Prints part 2

Yesterday's quilt was one print and lots of solids, today's quilt has lots of prints and one solid. It is amazing how the color of the solid makes so much difference in the look of the quilt...which one do you like best?  I like the gray. This fabric is Hullabaloo by Moda's Urban Chicks..isn't it fun?

 
 
 
This type of pairing seems to come more easily to everyone, especially in light of the modern quilt movement, and the very popular pairing of white, ash, and coal with prints. Fresh Modern Quilts on Flickr is full of great examples of these types of quilts. The neutrals ground the printed fabric, and give the eye a place to rest. I love the gray version of this so much, I want to make it! A more challenging combination is the pairing multiple solids and multiple prints. Let's talk about those next week!

xoxo,

Cherri

A primer on pairing solids and prints

 
Often I hear from quilters who are anxious about pairing solids and prints. They just aren't sure what to do, or how to do it. I'm not sure where the anxiety comes from, maybe the starkness of the solid? 

Here's a simple little quilt, working with just one print, and lots of solids

• Pick a favorite print that has a variety of colors
• Pull/purchase solids in shades close to the colors of the print
• Bind the quilt in the same print to unify all the colors together
• You've just successfully paired solids and a print!

Here's a free paper pieced 6" block I created - give it a try, and let me know how it goes! The name that I've given the block is DRY IN THE SHADE...this is the international symbol to dry clothing in the shade.

• Download DRY IN THE SHADE

xoxo,

Cherri

I ♥ all of you!

Dearest friends,

Thank you so much for your outpouring of love and support this week. After the unpleasant surprise of finding my self and my work being negatively discussed on a message board, your kindness has been the best medicine. What I found shocking about the whole experience was the way my work, and my quilt along project were being discussed. On more than one occasion I was so tempted leave a comment, and say "hey, I am reading what you are saying about me, I am right here!!!" But I didn't...I kept my mouth shut.

How are you coming along with the QAL? Tuesday we will put it all together, isn't it going fast?

I'm already working on our next small quilt, quilt along...we will be combining solids and prints. The whole project came about as I was going through my fabric collection, and realizing how old some of my fabric is, there was some really dated stuff...10+ years! There was a reason I bought the fabric, I loved it once upon a time. I thought the perfect solution would be to take a wide range of fabrics, chop them up really small, combine them with solids in order to make everyone play together well - current fabric, older fabric, hideous fabric - everyone in the pool.

Fair warning, it's a fussy little block, finished size 4". Notice I didn't date that Kaffe fabric...it's timeless to me!

 
Happy Valentines everyone...hope you spend the day with someone you love ♥♥♥

Cherri

The Tempest - Color Options

 
After many requests, the color options guide is finally available!!! The downloadable PDF includes a chart with the exact Kona colors you will need to create The Tempest in seven different options. The Tempest pattern is not included with guide.

If you haven't invested in one yet, now would be a great time to purchase a Kona Cotton Color Card

Color Guide $6.00

The Tempest $9.00

Thank you for all The Tempest love!

Cherri

House's House...it's here!!!

 
 
Is this the most fun pattern cover, ever? Lizzy always does such a great job with these covers...she's the best!

House's House 60" x 66"

Level of difficulty: confident beginner

Pattern includes color placement chart and cutting guide

Fabric used - Moda's Grunge by Basic Grey

Price: $10.00

Click here to purchase

Thanks for all of your enthusiasm about House's House!!!

xoxo,

Cherri

Quilting with Silk

 
Let me say from the outset, I am a cotton girl at heart!  I've dabbled with silks for my Little Bouquet quilts, but never anything serious, or big like a quilt.

So, for those of you that may be interested in a working with dupioni silks, or you would like to create your own version of Silk Tempest, but are just a little leary - let me share what I've learned.

• Silk frays something awful (it couldn't be as gorgeous as it is, and there not be a price to pay, right?)
• To control fraying consider using a lightweight fusible interfacing - my #1 recommendation
• Use pinking shears, or a rotary cutter with a pinking blade
• Use 1/2" seam allowance, versus a 1/4" seam allowance normally used in quilting (for use without the interfacing or pinking)
• Lengthen the stitch length slightly
• Adjust your iron's temp to the silk setting
• There are special machine needles for working with silk, but I used a sharp #60 needle
• Cutting the silk into strips for the quilt seemed more like cutting thin bark, or paper than cutting fabric - it is a different animal than 100% cotton
• Be mindful of the orientation of the warp & weft when piecing your blocks
• Create each block individually as vs. usual strip piecing methods. I found the more I handled the fabric, the more it wanted to shred. Working with silk does require a little more delicate handling.

On a personal note: To create the Silk Tempest I used a 1/2" seam allowance, which worked fine, but was a little disconcerting for me - since a 1/4" is so ingrained in my mind. After I created the quilt, I experimented with multiple methods for controlling the fraying, and the best solution in my opinion is the interfacing. 

• I was a little anxious about quilting on silk, but as you can see from the photo, it worked wonderfully.  I used YLI 100# silk thread on the top for the quilting, and Gutermann 50# weight in the bobbin. 
• Use quilting cotton for the binding, and the quilt back.
• For the batting I used Hobb's fusible batting, it worked great!

Anyone have any other silk tips to share?  If so, please leave a comment so we can all learn!

xoxo,

Cherri

Silk Tempest - pattern now available

 

The latest pattern from Cherry House Quilts, Silk Tempest is now available to purchase!  How glorious is this cover? Lizzy said the sun popped out for just a minute, and she was able to capture the luminosity of the silk.  Check out the red chair - brilliant, absolutely brilliant!  Thank you again Lizzy!

Quilt Size 60" x 60"

Price $9.00

ITEM # CHQ-ST01

Click here to purchase

Please note the instructions for Silk Tempest are very different from the instructions for The Tempest. The Silk Tempest instructions were specifically written for working with silks.

What's up next? House's House pattern available by 12/18!!!

xoxo,

Cherri