Blog Hop! Dots on Dots and a Giveaway

This entry was posted on September 13, 2012, in Embroidery, Made by Me and tagged , , , . Bookmark the permalink. 196 Comments

**Giveaway winner announced at the bottom of this post!**

Hi! If you are here visiting as part of the Dots on Dots Blog Hop, welcome! (And hi to my usual readers, of course!) I’m so happy to be participating in the blog hop. I love dots, whether they are large polka dots or dainty tiny dots, so when I saw the challenge to create a quilt block using only dotted fabric I knew I had to do it.

I have a pretty good fabric stash, so I limited myself to using only fabric I already had on hand. Luckily, I had recently done a charm swap which netted me the two lovely dotted fabrics on the far right. They set my color palette and I pulled out the other orange and white dot and the white with tiny grey dot fabrics from my collection.

From there I sketched out my block (finished size 12.5 inches). I wanted to keep it simple and modern, so I decided to do two rows of three HST blocks each on top of each other, with two long rectangular blocks underneath. Here is my finished block so you can see what I mean:

I alternated the direction of each row of HST blocks.

If you have never made an HST, here is a great tutorial for how to make one. I always use method two, if I can help it, which is where you put your two squares right sides together on top of each other, mark the diagonal middle of one square (this becomes your cut line), then sew a quarter inch on either side of the marked cut line. After sewing, cut your two blocks apart on the diagonal middle line you marked, and voila! Two HSTs.  (If you want to figure out what size block to start with to make a particular size HST, this blog gives you an easy formula.)

 

Press your seams, then sew your top row of 3 HSTs together and your second row of 3 HSTs.

Then sew your two rows of HSTs together on one of the long sides and  press the seams nice and flat.

Then I just sewed my two rectangle blocks to the bottom of this. I love hand embroidery and thought these colors and dots were so cheery, so I added the word “joy” to the block.

I used the chain stitch and a variegated orange floss.

Here’s that finished block again, which I am going to turn into a doll quilt.

Don’t forget to check out the other blogs joining me today:

The complete list for the full blog hop is here.

Now for the giveaway!

To keep up with the dot theme, I am giving away a stuffed padded envelope of dotted (and other patterned) oil cloth scraps! You can do so much with these. (Coasters, Tags, Buntings, Wallets, add chalkcloth and make postcards…just to name a few.)
   
Some are big, some are small, but I know you are creative and can come up with fun stuff to do with them! I am also throwing in a surprise handmade goodie for you!
One entry just for leaving me a comment. A second entry if you follow Feathered Nest Studio by email (the button to do so is in the sidebar on the right). And a third entry for “liking” Feathered Nest Studio on Facebook! Just leave a separate comment for each entry and your email address so I can contact you. I’ll pick a random winner on Sunday September 16th. The giveaway is now closed for entries. The winner is Faye, who said:
Ooh, I love Pinterest, too. Have fun pinning new things to make! The random number generator picked comment #37 and that was Faye’s comment! Faye, I sent you an email, but in case you didn’t get it, please email me your mailing address so I can send you your goodies.  featheredneststudio [at] gmail [dot] com
Thank you to everyone who entered! You all left the best comments! Plus I found some great new blogs to check out, too.
Thanks, and I hope you like my block!
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196 thoughts on “Blog Hop! Dots on Dots and a Giveaway”

  4. Pingback: Signs of Autumn, pt 2 «

  22. I have always loved dots… my fav dress was a white on pink twirly dress- the kind you spin around in and it lifts up to a circle.. it had gumdrop buttons- my momma made it for me. I was 4…

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  26. I love the tutorial. Thank you for taking the time to participate and share with us. I learn something new every time and am reminded of things I do know which is great, too! I don’t have any oil cloth at all, can you believe it, so samples would be a treat! The right person will get them – the person who needs a pick-me-up or needs them for a project. It seems to always work out that way.
    Again, thanks

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  41. Good morning Jennet…the DS dots are some of my favorites…just love the grey and orange paired together…and the wee bit of embroidery really completes the block…just perfect for the hop. Thanks for sharing! Happy stitching Pauline

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  69. I love your block. I really like to make half=square triangles. Some think me strange, but that’s ok. I really liked your tutorial too.

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  83. I’d never really thought of orange and grey as a combo, but it works really well in your project…sigh not that I need to plan more new stuff but now I think I have to do something with that combo!

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  89. Jennet- Love your block-it kind of reminds me of a street because the triangles go one way on the top and the opposite way in the next row. Regarding your toilet paper projects, I just saw somewhere how they were used to plant seedlings because they’re small and they decompose into the dirt because they are paper and I thought that I would pass that on to you. It would be great for little kids to start plants from seeds and watch them grow during the winter and then transplant in the spring. I think the ones we used when I taught were radishes, carrots and beans because they were almost always successful and quick growing. I love HST too as they are so easy to make, but sometimes a challenge to match in a star. Thanks for sharing and the opportunity to win some great fabric.

    Reply

  104. I usually don’t like alot of orange, but the combination of being poke -a -dots and the grey make it feel peaceful to me. You’ve made a great tutorial that I’m sure I could follow! Oh no….another pattern to add to my growing list of projects i want to do.
    Marj in Mexico

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  115. Thanks for a great tutorial….love to combine piecing and embroidery! Would love to give those scraps a new home — I’ve been wanting to try some small projects with oil cloth!:)

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  143. I have some orange dot fabric and have not found what to do with it. Now I do. Thanks for your tutorial and I am a follower by email now. Love your block today and the fabric is sweet. Thanks for sharing…Judith, Texas

    Reply

  152. I love the design of your block. You could do a whole line of them and add other words like peace , love, happiness, etc. This would make a great wall hanging. Thank you for the giveaway.

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  158. I have not worked with oilcloth before, but it would give me an excuse to pin all kinds of new projects, and then actually go and try some of them out! Thanks for the chance.

    Reply

  161. I’ve not tried working with laminated fabrics before..these pieces would be a good starting point to take the leap :) I’m beginning to like dots as a result of this hop..they never interested me much before, but they do add to the cuteness factor big time!

    Reply

  166. I have to admit that I was never a big fan of dots before, but this blog hop has totally changed my mind! Oh good, another fabric pattern that I’ll want to buy too much of, lol. Thanks for the inspiration!

    Reply

  171. Wonderful block! I love that you added the stitching to it, it truly made the block special. I need to learn to think creativly like that too. It really adds so much.

    Reply

  176. I discover your blog! Many thanks for this perfect tutorial! I would love to play with you! many thanks for this contest and congratulations for your blog!

    Reply

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