Welcome back to the Royal Baby Sew Along!  Now that you've got all 16 blocks that you'll need to make the quilt, we'll show you how to assemble the quilt top and add the bias tape details.  Block Orientation You're going to first want to lay out your blocks like they will be in the quilt top.  Make sure you have plenty of space! Stripe Orientation Once you have the blocks laid out in their correct positions, you're going to want to ensure that the stripes within each block are oriented correctly.  Use the following to diagram to help you.   If you're blocks are laid out correctly, there should be a continuous line around the outside of the quilt and the stripes should point inward.  Also, each Block C's stripes should be visually continued...

Thanks for joining us for Week 5 of the Royal Baby KAL/CAL!  As many of you may know, the Royal Baby, George Alexander Louis, is here and we can officially say, "it's a boy"!  We still think both of our Royal Baby colors are beautiful, though, and hope you are enjoying working with them as well! Knit Square: The week 5 knit square features a traditional English Mesh Lace pattern in honor of the arrival of the Royal Baby Boy! Knit Square #5 Materials: -100 yds of Worsted Weight yarn -US 7 knitting needles -darning needle -2 stitch markers Gauge: 17 sts = 4" in garter stitch Directions: CO 47 sts Knit every row for 6 rows On last row, place stitch markers as follows:              -K5, pm, K to last 5 sts, pm, K5 Set up row (WS): K5,...

I don't know about you, but I LOVE finding tools and tidbits on the Interwebs that help make my life easier, especially when it comes to knitting.  Whether it's digital graph paper for plotting designs, a website where I can order as much undyed yarn as I want (for Kool-Aid dyeing experiments, of course!), or a formula for planning the perfect stripe sequence for my next pair of socks, I’m thrilled that there’s so much interesting information out there about my craft! That’s why I was stoked to find out about Knits All Done, a professional knitwear finishing service started by Keith Leonard, who realized that he was one of the few knitters out there who really enjoyed that aspect of project-making that many of us dread: finishing!  I will admit that I have at least one...

Hi, Everybody! The Royal Baby is here!  Good thing we're on to the last block in the Royal Baby Sew Along.  Last week, we showed you how to make the 4 Block C blocks for this quilt (phew, aren't you glad those are done?).  Now, it's on to Block D, the last block of the quilt and an easy peasy design to boot! Finished Block D      The first thing you'll need to do is cut the pieces for Block D  If you purchased a kit from us (which includes all the fabric you need for the quilt top, binding, and backing!), you'll find a piece of purple Shot Cotton that measures 13” by 44” and a 13.5” by 22” piece of  Shot Cotton in the color Curry.  These are the pieces that you'll need to make Block D.  If you didn't purchase a kit from us, you'll...

Crochet Square 4 Front Hello everyone and happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend! We are really excited about this week's squares. Heather explores a ribbing pattern with the crochet square giving it a different look on either side. For the knit square, we will work a modified diagonal lace that is knit from one corner out, and then back into a point. Lets get started! Crochet Square: Materials: -100 yds of Worsted weight yarn (we've used Lorna's Laces Shepherd Worsted.) -Size H/8 crochet hook -Tapestry needle Gauge: 17 dcs over 4”; 10 rows = 3” New Stitches Used: dc (double crochet): Yarn over hook, insert hook under both loops of next stitch, yarn over hook and draw loop through stitch; yarn over hook and pull through two loops on hook; yarn over hook...

A comment on my last blog post suggested that I post some patterns using silk.  This is such a wonderful idea that I can't let it go by without doing so!  So here are a few patterns that I think would look great in some of our silk and silk blend yarns. Let's start with patterns for our 100% silk yarns! Debbie Bliss Luxury Silk DK (solids) and Silk Print (variegated) are 100% bombyx silk spun into two soft, thick plies.  The softly spun and plied construction of this yarn gives it a truly luxurious feel, like warm butter! As a quick aside, many people ask me what DK means, it stands for double knit.  On the thickness scale it is a #3, just a bit thinner than worsted (#4) yarn.  I always think of it as about 5 stitches to the inch on a US #6 needle.  The range...

Welcome back to the Royal Baby Sew-a-long. Last week, we showed you how to make the four "Block B" blocks for this quilt. This week, we'll pick up where we left off-- with Block C! Finished Block C The first thing you'll need to do is cut the pieces for Block C. If you purchased a kit from us (which includes all the fabric you need for the quilt top, binding, and backing!), you'll find a piece of scarlet Shot Cotton that measures 24” by 22” and a 13.5” by 14” piece of Woven Stripes in Earth. These are the pieces that you'll need to make Block C. If you didn't purchase a kit from us, you'll need a 2/3 yd piece of fabric for the background of the block and a fat quarter for the stripes.  For each Block C (there are 4 total in the quilt), you will need:  - 4 blocks...