Trunk Show of "Tucked-Away Treasures" book

Hi, I'm Jennifer, and today I have a trunk show for you of quilts from the book Tucked Away Treasures. This book is by authors Paula Barnes and Mary Ellen Robison of Red Crinoline Quilts, and what's inside are 14 patchwork patterns for small quilts. So let's get started. The first quilt carries the same name as the book, Tucked Away Treasures, and it has these beautiful bold print they've chosen for surrounding the stars. It's like treasures nested into a little jewel box here with these stars set on point and the cheddar around the outside. That is called Tucked Away Treasures. If you're a fan of little quilts, as am I, you'll love this cutie. It's called Bountiful Baskets, and this one is done in a red and green combination that might be reminiscent of the holidays or maybe springtime apple picking or fall apple picking, but you can also do it for other seasons. I mean, think about all the possibilities for autumn baskets or summer baskets in reds and blues. Super cute. I love the asymmetrical elements by adding the borders at just the top and the bottom, and if you're worried about making these tiny little triangle squares, don't be because the book is filled with tips for how Paula and Mary Ellen achieve those great results, and they use a product called Star Singles, which is sewing on foundation papers, and if you've never tried it, you're going to be a believer after you see their tips for it and give it a try yourself. Next up is Checkered Stars, and this one is surrounded in brown, and for those of you who love brown, it is a color that's associated with dependability and solid dependable traits, and here they've surrounded it on the outside border and then also used it in the center of these checkerboard squares and in the center of some of the pinwheels. So it's got a scrappy mix of fabrics, which is great for those of us who have a little bit of fabric stash we need to work our ways through, but it's just a beautiful use of a mix of browns. The blue that they've chosen is one blue throughout, and the quilt is actually just two blocks. One is the star, the checkerboard star, and the other is the pinwheel block, and then it's set on point. So it looks quite intricate, but it's really easy to put together because it's just two blocks, so that would be a great one to add to your collection. Now there are lots of tips in the book for how to use small quilts to decorate in your home. Maybe you like to tuck them into a display area that you have, use them on tabletops, make a wall display out of them, so many ideas for what you can do with these cute quilts. This is called Threads of Time, and how many of us as quilters don't have the satisfaction when you finish a spool of thread? You just feel so great, like you think about all the things that you stitched with it and made with it. So this sort of commemorates that with the spool block. You can use different fabrics. Imagine saving your scraps from all the projects that you've worked on and making a spool block every time you finish, and then you could look at your quilt and see all of the different quilts that you've made. So this one is called Threads of Time, and a very scrappy little quilt. Next up, maybe you like a more controlled scrappy look, and this is called Fresh Picked. So it's bear's paw, bear paws blocks, and the extra little stars that you see in here are created by the sashing. So it's really just straight set bear's paw blocks, and the reds are a mix of cranberries and apple reds and cherry reds. Very scrappy. You can see even that the backgrounds are scrappy. So it's not just one print, light print that they've chosen for the background, but that shifts as well. And that black frame is the inner border really sets things off. I love that. Okay, oh before I get to this one, I am going to tell you about this quilt behind us. This is called Fancy That, and it really elevates the simple triangle square block into something special, creating these pinwheels as you go along, and then also using them in the border. And you can see where they've turned them to create sort of an accent at the center of each. And I also love how they've chosen this big print. Maybe you've got a big print that's a favorite in your stash. This is a great way to showcase it without cutting it into pieces that are too small. And you can use the star singles on this as well, to make sure that your triangle squares are accurate. So let's go on to this cutie. It's called My Oh Pie. Again, it has the little triangle squares, which with the star singles, no problem to make them accurately every time. And if you've got your favorite method, you can certainly use that as well. You don't have to use the star singles, but they are a great way if you are concerned about your own sewing accuracy, and you want to get better at it. I encourage you to give the star singles a try, and follow Mary Ellen and Paula's tips on how to make that work. So this really is easy as pie to put together. There's a strip set method for putting things together, and then also using the star singles. A nice table runner. This one is called Scraps Made Simple. So all of the little hourglass blocks in this are scrappy. Again, another way for you to use up all those precious pieces that you've been saving for someday. It's time to use them. And you can see that they've also made the border scrappy. So each side of the border is a different print as well. So you don't have to have too much of any one fabric to make that one. This is called Picture This. And here in the book, Paula and Mary Ellen share some tips for you for how they go about selecting an assortment of prints for their quilt. And here's a hint. It has to do with their border fabric and pulling in some of the colors from that. There are also ways that you can use your phone and your camera on your phone. Taking a black and white photo to help you with the value of things that you see. So lots of ideas for how to get this beautiful mix. Even if you're working in a controlled color palette, you do have to sort of understand the difference between your darks and lights. And much like clothes sizing, where you could maybe be a you need to understand those medium fabrics whether they go light or dark. And their tips will help you to do that. How many of you remember as a kid playing the game Four Square? I do. It was the game where you would draw on the ground with chalk and four squares and you bounce the ball between each other. And you couldn't let it bounce more than once or you're going to be out. Well this quilt is named Four Square after that game. And there are a lot less rules involved in making this little wonder than there are in the real game of Four Square. But what I love especially about this quilt is their use of this stripe fabric. And sometimes you find a great stripe and you're like, how am I going to use this? Well this is a perfect controlled way to make sure that you fussy cut it so your stripes are all pointing in towards the center. And you get things going the direction you want and showcase that stripe print. So this is called Four Square. Perk Me Up is this next one. And in the book they share some ideas for ways again that they use little quilts in their house. But a tabletop quilt is one of the ways that most of us find is an easy way to change out the seasons or with our decor. And this little square is the perfect way that you can set it on top of a table no matter what your table shape or size is. You can set it on point. You can set it on square. You can put a little elevated dish or something on top of it if you want to create a little vignette on your tabletop. But a cute way to decorate in your home making table squares in addition to table runners. So Perk Me Up. This cutie is the cover quilt you'll recognize. And it's called Striking Stars. So it is a rainbow of stars you can see in these rich tones. The blues, the greens, the purples, red, yellow, you know one of everything. But here's the challenge. You know we all like a little bit of drama. Not so much in our life but we do love it in our quilts. So they have used this black background to really make these stars pop. And that black background also comes through in the star centers. It's a solid black. And they've used contrasting thread to quilt in them. I don't know if you can see that but it's a light thread against a black fabric. And the other thing that's interesting though is you probably see all those colored stars shimmering at you. So now take another look at it and see if you look at it and see white stars. Bigger white stars or light stars shimmering behind those dark stars. So they kind of create a double layer effect with their piecing and the points on those stars coming out twice. Once in the colorway and once in the light print background. So really dramatic. This is called Striking Stars and it's aptly named. Paula and Mary Ellen. Paula lives in Texas and Mary Ellen lives in Florida now. But at one point they both lived in Texas. And this is named Hill Country Heritage. And it's named for the Texas hill country. If you're familiar with that part of the country it's the crossroads of where west, central, and southern Texas come together. It's known for its mix of cities and rural living and just a lot of diversity. So they have created this with the small triangle squares and the large triangle squares. Sort of has that mountainous effect or you see the hill country and kind of landscape coming through with the different triangles. And again this is a perfect opportunity for you to try out those star singles and get them, you know, really hone your skills and the accuracy right so that you can make this cute little wall hanging or table topper called Hill Country Heritage. And last but not least as I said there are 14 quilts in this book. So lots of things for you to have fun and make and start and finish because they're all small quilts. And this one is called Crossroads. And so as you look at it you might see that it looks kind of like a weaving. Like things are going over and under and through. It's anything but. It's super simple the way that they have you piece it. It's all about careful color placement and it is a crossroads of things that you can absolutely achieve with their careful instructions and able advice. So look for Tucked Away Treasures wherever you buy books or at shopmartingale.com.