patterns – Stash Lab Quilts

Scrap resolutions

January 2, 2020

Happy New Year! Are you starting off your new quilting year off with a resolution to use up your scraps? Or maybe just get to some of those lovelies that have been living in your stash and are looking for the perfect project? Great! Because String Theory 2.0 is here!

String Theory 2.0. is the second issue of the Lab Manual series and features projects that are made for 1 1/2″ wide fabric strips, or sometimes called strings. String quilts have been around for a long time and have been a favorite of scrap quilters for ages. I love them and they are one of my favorite standard scrap bucket sizes because you can do so much with them!

2.0 offers six new projects, all based on 1 1/2″ strips, and this time around, some of the projects add in the A-word. Yes, appliqué! Now don’t be afraid! It’s not scary appliqué I promise and all of the projects will burn up a serious amount of scraps! Be brave!

Now, winter weather and my schedule have not been great for getting a lot of outside quilt shots but I did luck out with a recent sunny day and ran out to put up my project “Happy Lattice” out in the garden to catch the sun. Beautiful quilting on this one by Tracey @thequiltingninja .

I had so much fun bringing these projects together and I hope you will find something that tickles your scrap fancy. To help start you off on your scrap resolutions, I’m offering free shipping in the U.S. on all on-line orders of String Theory 2.0 for the month of January! Yeah! No discount code needed, just shop an go!

And of course, your support and purchases are always appreciated at your favorite local quilt shop. String Theory 2.0 as well as all of my other patterns and books are available to shop owners through their distributors.

If you’re in my Pacific Northwest neighborhood there are some upcoming workshops and trunk shows featuring these new projects so check them out!

Are you a member of the Northwest Quilt Connection? I’ll be visiting NQC, Saturday, January 11th and I’ll be sharing a trunk show program. See their site for more details.

Upcoming classes at Two Thimbles Quilts Shop in Bellingham:

Saturday, February 8th I’ll be teaching the Flora runner.

Sunday, March 1st, Walking Foot Quilting.

Sunday, March 29th I’ll be teaching Petal Pusher.

Another great opportunity coming up in January, February and March, will be Scrap Science Club at Quilting Mayhem in Snohomish.

Well, my year is off with a dash and I hope yours is too! More soon!

Happy new year’s quilting,

Tonya

Two new for wool!

December 1, 2019

Hello December! I can hardly believe it! Time to catch up on some new pattern details…and a SALE! First up is Deco Rose, one of my latest patterns just recently introduced this Fall. Deco Rose cover front Deco Rose features wool applique on cotton background – and my favorite – two background options: low volume or dark prints – this time using a mix of 5″ charm squares. Same applique pieces, completely different look! Of course, if scrappy is not your style, pattern includes option for single fabric background. Make it your own!

Deco Rose can be a quick-make – even with hand stitching! – and could easily be made as a gift for someone special for the holidays 🙂 I can’t say that for all of my crazy-scrappy projects but it’s true for this one!

My second new(ish) pattern featuring wool applique is Hungarian Picnic! Hungarian Picnic cover front

This pattern has a special place in my heart because it was inspired by my home-away-from-home country, Hungary, and the wonderful people there. This pattern originally appeared in Quiltmania’s Simply Vintage in Summer 2018 and is now available as an individual pattern.

HP_1 — A-mazing quilting by Tracey @thequiltingninja

The image above is the same quilt, just different lighting! Some projects you know you will just keep forever, and for me, it’s this one for sure.

And guess what? For the next 48 hours, I’m having a pattern sale in my shop just in time for Cyber Monday as a small way to say thank you for all of the wonderful support and encouragement you’ve given me this year. All individual print patterns are 25% off and ship for FREE in the U.S. – including Deco Rose and Hungarian Picnic! Just use coupon code “Thankful2019” at checkout. Sale runs through Tuesday, December 3rd.

Happy holiday quilting,

Tonya

Drumroll please…

October 19, 2019

O.k. o.k. o.k.! So excited (and mildly stressed out – in a good way!) The countdown is on. This time next week I’ll be opening my booth at the Houston International Quilt Market 2019 and introducing my newest patterns and offerings to quilt shops, distributors, and retailers alike including…..String Theory 2.0!!!

Quilt market runs October 26-28 before the International Quilt Festival in the Houston Convention Center (everything really is bigger in Texas – this thing is gigantic!). It’s the industry trade show for everything quilty – fabric companies, pattern designers, notions, distributors, retailers, publishers, and every auxiliary industry you can imagine.

Like most things, I’m working towards this with my hair on fire! I sure can’t do this alone – HUGE thanks to the consummate professionals and friends that make my designs come to life: long-arm quilter and thread whisperer, Tracey Fisher, graphic designer extraordinaire, Lindsie Bergevin, and keeping me honest, my much-needed technical editor, the awesome Elizabeth Beese. With their efforts, here’s a peek at some of the things I’ll be introducing there!

If you are a retailer attending Market, please stop by my booth #2208 and say hi! I would love to meet you. My booth is in the LAST row of the show floor (or maybe, the first, depending on where you start!) Let’s just call it the end row – and the easiest to find!

You can also pick up your passport for the Pattern Designer Booth Hop – a fun way to discover some great independent designers and a chance to win PRIZES! Who doesn’t love that?

If your not a shop owner but your favorite local quilt shop peeps will be attending – send them my way and let them know what you’d like to see in their shops. You can be there in spirit and have them bring something home for you 🙂 Your support is soooo important and they appreciate your business!

I promise more feature posts on the individual new patterns and the new Lab Manual – String Theory 2.0 after market. (I heard some of you may still have a few scraps laying around so it was necessary!)

To be sure to get the latest updates from Market – follow me on Instagram @stashlabquilts and also follow the tag #quiltmarket2019 for great posts from everyone on the show floor.

Next stop, HOUSTON!

Tonya

Simply Stars

May 18, 2019

Sometimes, the simple way is the best way – or at least a little quicker! That’s my thinking with my newest pattern, “Simply Stars”.

This new pattern might look a little familiar – it’s a variation on my string quilt project “Rock Star” featured in the String Theory Lab Manual. A re-boot, if you will! Similar layout, different finished sizes, and no string piecing but using single fabrics instead. Here’s the Rock Star string quilt version…

The new pattern uses different striped fabrics for the star points, giving a similar effect of the string version, but with about 10% of the effort or time! Simply Stars can be made in two sizes, 70 x 90 twin size/large throw or 35 x 45 crib size/small throw, making it a perfect option for a quick baby quilt gift! This project comes together quickly, no matter which size you choose!

This pattern is so versatile and can look great in so many fabric variations. The pattern cover image is the large version done in Kaffe Fassett brights and here’s the crib size version I did in Kaffe pastels (did you know there are pastels? Yes indeed!)….

Choosing a multi-directional neutral print for the background makes this come together in a snap. The wavy echo Quilting was done on my domestic machine using my handy walking foot – love that thing!

Want to see the back?

I’ll spare you and leave out the cute-as-a-button puns for now but pretty hard to resist!

While I’m not at Spring Quilt Market this time around in Kansas City, Simply Stars will be and is currently available to shop owners through Checker Distributors. Or you can get it directly from me here.

That’s it for now! Happy spring quilting!

Tonya

A boulder, a book, and a few other things…

March 3, 2019

Just south of town there’s a giant spray-painted boulder referred to locally as “Blue Rock”, “Graffiti Rock”, or simply “the Rock.” It’s the unofficial billboard for the masses: team cheers, memorials, prom proposals…You name it, this boulder announces it to the world and has been doing it since at least 1966!

So, what does this boulder have to do with quilting? Well, it’s a stretch but it’s a great analogy of life, my life and the boulder of life I’ve been living under for the last 4-5 months. Sometimes you’re on top of the boulder of life, sometimes you feel like you’re underneath it! And I think if I were to connect the boulder with quilting, it would be that sometimes we have a great amount of creative energy and mental space to create, and sometimes we just don’t. And that’s o.k. Some may ask, Tonya, where have you been? What are you working on? Why aren’t you posting three times a day on social media? Your last blog post was in OCTOBER!

Well, my personal boulder would have several things written on it over the last few months and it would say something like this:

Sell house #1, buy house #2, pack house #1, move to house #2, sell a house #3, pack house #3, move house #3 across 3 states to join house #1 at house #3, break out in shingles, survive the holidays, and sadly say goodbye to puppy #1 after almost 14 years as a member of our family.

Now as complicated and stressful (at least to me!) as all of that sounds, there’s LOTS of good in all of that, with the exception of losing the puppy. It just took a few months of focus, or should I say, distraction, to get there.

Sugar Shack, by Tonya Alexander

I’m happy to say I made it through the muddle, life is returning to a better balance, and we’re in a beautiful home, including a dedicated sewing space! Yeah! While I’ve been under my own personal boulder, a new book came out that included one of my favorite projects, Sugar Shack. (See, I did finally bring it back around to quilting!) And with all of my house-related drama lately, it seems pretty perfect!

Martingale just released a big, beautiful new book of lap quilts and it’s called, you guessed it, The Big Book of Lap Quilts. Sugar Shack is making it’s second appearance, first being featured in another Martingale title called I Love House Blocks as part of their popular Block-buster series.

Sugar Shack is a project perfect for fat quarters and uses some easy half square triangle piecing for the roof line making it a quick and easy project. So if lap quilts are your thing – they are one of mine – then you’ll want to check it out. You can visit my shop page or ask for it at your favorite local quilt shop, they’ll be glad you did!

Other fun things are happening, visiting quilt guilds, teaching workshops and classes, and even finding a little time to sew with friends. More about all of that another time. But for now I think I will close with one more pic of the BEST. DOG. EVER. We miss you, our beautiful Seamus. Thank you for being a such a beloved part of our family. You were a blessing and made our lives full of unconditional doxie-love that is hard to imagine ever replacing…

Until next time, happy scrap quilting my friends – on top of all of the boulders of life!

Tonya

Pressed Leaves…Homeward

October 28, 2018

Making a pattern more than once? A rarity for me – but not this one! I’ve made so many of these table runners from my pattern “Pressed Leaves” I’ve lost count! It features a traditional leaf block in a not-so-traditional setting. It’s pretty quick and easy and looks great in every color combo of fabrics I’ve seen. And the perfect project to get you in the mood for Fall!This time though, I had the pleasure of using a beautiful new fabric line by Natalie Barnes from Beyond the Reef Patterns for Windham Fabrics called Homeward. When I saw the beautiful mix of bold, saturated color and low volume prints, I knew my next “Pressed Leaves ” runner was on its way! The fabric line includes a great range based on a beautiful floral focal print…I chose to mix up several of the low volume white/gray/black prints in the line for my background. The leaf blocks practically made themselves I had so many great combinations of prints to pick from. From the looks of this photo, I need to clean my design wall!I added my go-to favorite quilting on this project – an echo quilted wavy line using the walking foot on my domestic machine. Choosing scrappy binding from all the bits leftover means you don’t have to pick just one! There are so many great choices in this line and it will look great on my dining room table.Thank you Natalie and Windham Fabrics for a beautiful line! Look for Homeward as well as my pattern “Pressed Leaves” at your favorite local quilt shop!Happy fall quilting,

Tonya

Time for a little String Theory!

June 23, 2018

And yes, we’re talking science – SCRAP SCIENCE that is! One of my favorite subjects to be sure. The longer I quilt one thing has proven to be true – the scraps keep multiplying and they keep getting smaller! I have been on a solid year full of string quilts – strings for me being skinny 1 1/2″ cut strips of fabrics. The result is my latest project – the String Theory Lab Manual and I’m thrilled to share it with you!

String Theory includes patterns for 6 different projects, all featuring these skinny strips of fabric. It’s amazing what you can do with all of these lovely little bits. We also talk a lot about low volume fabrics, storage ideas, and general construction tips and tricks. For me, it all started with this project, Rock Star…

This one also includes the optional project for the Big String Star that I teach in workshops and has been so much fun. On to the next project, Calliope!

Calliope is my version of a traditional plus quilt on scrappy string steroids! What makes this quilt work visually with all the different fabric scraps is the technique of color-blocking and I talk a lot more about that in the book. Next up, Domino, a curvy log cabin table runner. There are actually two version in String Theory but here’s version #1…

And Ombré Loco, for serious scrap enthusiasts with a bucket of favorite color scraps over-flowing. The best thing about this project is how it can be adapted for ANY favorite color out there!

Next up, Exit Stage Left!

And last but certainly not least, Simple Gifts, a quick and easy table topper that can be personalized for any favorite holiday colors.

One more for good measure, is this Simple Gifts alternative, these cute little throw pillows. I couldn’t resist! How can you ever have too many throw pillows? Especially when they’re this cute!

Simple Gifts alternate project – pillows!

O.k., here are the details…look for String Theory at your favorite local quilt shop or ask them to get it! They can order wholesale directly from me or through the following awesome distributors: Checker, EESchenck, Brewer Sewing, and Petersen Arne.

Or, you can order directly from my new shop page ! You can also check out my other latest patterns available now too. More about those later. I think that’s as much scrap happiness as we can handle in one post for now!

Happy string quilting,

Tonya