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Material Girlfriends

Sew Along

Spring has Sprung!

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Last month we were whining about the rain. Thankfully, March came in like a lion and went out like a lamb. Now the sun is shining. We’re warming up. Trees and flowers are blooming… Oh. My. Goodness. I heard the pollen cloud can be seen from space! lol. The flowering is abundant and not just outside. We’ve had a lovely time with flower runners and quilts too. Check out the productive time we had with this recent class of the Round Rosie Runner. Aren’t they lovely!? And no itchy eyes and runny nose.

Learn how to make this fun runner by watching the video. Use your scraps to create this fun project. Round Rosie Fabric bundles are available online at Material Girlfriends shop. Get an instant download pattern on our Etsy store Round Rosie. or purchase a paper pattern at the Material Girlfriends Shop.

Mother’s Day is Coming

Hint. Hint. What a lovely gift a Rosie Runner or a Charming Cup of Love Runner would be for any lovely mum. Runners are thoughtful, quick, and useful gifts.

Or make a lovely Kitchen Quilt. Kitchen Quilts have multiple uses. They vary in size, generally from 6″ to 12″. Sometimes they’re square. Sometimes they’re rectangles. No matter their shape or size, these small quilts are very useful. They cushion pyrex, or teflon pans, keep eggs from rolling off the counter, and protect cold glass refrigerator shelves from hot leftovers. They are a mini placemat when having a bowl of soup or a yummy snack. Oh, and they make good pot holders too. What do you use your Kitchen Quilts for? The I Love Us in May block would be a perfect Kitchen Quilt gift for Mother’s Day. The pattern is a FREE download for 90 days. Click the link in the previous sentence or click the I Love Us Sew Along tab above. Scroll down to the bottom to download the FREE lovely 12″ block. Sew, quilt, and bind for a quick pretty Kitchen Quilt for mom or for yourself. Who are we kidding? Mom can make her own. 😉

I Love Us in May Block

Happy Sewing,

Lisa Norton

In Like a Lion, Out like a Lamb

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What is with this weather?

In Like a Lion, Out like a Lamb. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the weather folklore stems from ancestral beliefs in balance, meaning if the weather at the start of March was bad (roaring, like a roaring lion), the month should end with good weather (gentle, like a lamb). Wavy.com

I, for one, am looking forward to the end of March. Lora and I live in the East Bay Area of California. We’ve had years of drought – longed for the rain, prayed for the rain, delighted when it sprinkled. The last three months have not been at all “typical” California weather. Blink, blink.

I Love Us Sew Along

To brighten your day, we’ve a few FREE downloads for you. First, I’ve added the April block to the I Love Us Sew Along. Just check on this link (also in the header) for all the details and all the free downloads to the I Love Us Year Round quilt.

I Love Us in April block

April Showers Free Download

Next, we have another cute Bite Size block to share. This April Showers bite size 12″ block is the same size as the I Love Us Sew Along blocks. You can swap blocks, or make as an individual decoration. Download the April Showers block below. Available for a limited time. Download will expire in 90 days.

April Showers Bite Size Block
April Showers Download

We have kits for this pretty block too. The kits have die-cut fusible appliqué pieces! Kit includes pattern, fabrics for the front and the binding. The kit does not include backing, batting, or hanger. Check them out here.

Easter is Coming!

Speaking of kits, check out our new kit for the Bite Size Bunny! It turned out so cute! He was very popular at our last two shows (hoppy to be home). He is now listed on our MaterialGirlfriendsShop.com page. You’ll also find a new Bunny Runner pattern and kit too.

Bunny Bite Size kit
A Charming Bunny Run Table Runners
Material Girlfriends Shop

Lora and I will be headed to Sonora, CA for a quilt retreat this coming week. Woohoo! We’re sew looking forward to it. The forecast is rain, rain, rain. However, I think we’ll do as Mr. Angelo recommends.

Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. – Anthony J. Angelo

And plenty of quilt projects to sew.

Happy Sewing!

Lisa W. Norton and Lora W. Zmak

Boing Boing Boing

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You know when you have too much to do and you just bounce from one project to the next? I’ve been feeling that – especially since two of the new projects are super cute Easter Bunny patterns.

First off, Lora and I are headed out Monday (2-27-23). Through rain, sleet, hail, or snow, we will carry on to the next quilt show. Who am I kidding? I throw in the towel at sleet, hail is iffy, and “Jesus take the Wheel” if I have to drive in snow. Fortunately, Lora is a pro at driving in the snow. This California girl is still trying to figure out how to drive in the rain. Nonetheless, spring is in the air and the hills are turning green and we’re super excited to get on the road. We’re headed to Puyallup, WA for the Snow-Expo, I mean, Sew-Expo. Come visit us in our booth, row 800. We will have sunny smiles and warm hugs waiting.

Free Sew Along

If you weren’t aware, we are doing the I Love Us sew along. Last month we gave the February block as a free download. This month the March block is a free download. Check out the tab above, 2023 “I Love Us” Sew Along for all the details plus the download link for the blocks.

March 12″ square for I Love Us quilt
or for mini quilt decor.

Mystery Revealed!

We had an amazing time with the Mystery. Introducing Bundles and Bows our next 10″ square series pattern. This design is created from 10″ squares. You only need 24 light 10″ squares and 24 medium/dark 10″ squares. Slice and dice to make two L blocks (light L and dark L) then watch the magic happen in Lora’s video demo! L block construction notes are in the video comments. Like, subscribe and leave us a comment!

Cover Quilt

It goes together very fast. You can make it in a weekend. Throw size, 48″ x 64″ or add the optional 5″ border for 57″ x 73″. The pattern is now available. It is Bundles and Bows is $11.99 on our web store, plus we have kits available. For instant gratification, we have Bundles and Bows for $10 on our Etsy store. Oh, did I forget to mention there are 16 layout options in the pattern?! You can get so many different looks with this one block! Lora – clever girl – designed this one. How many light bulbs did Edison make before he actually got it to work? Yep, about that many squares hit the trash. But, working with the “disappearing block” technique, Lora came up with a winner!

Boing Boing Boing

I told you I was bouncing. Check out our new Easter patterns! The Bunny Bites size just got a little facelift, and we now have kits. The pattern is a $4.50 download on our Etsy store. Our get a kit or paper pattern when we get back from the SewExpo. We just didn’t get all the kits made (we have 75!) but they’ll be available soon.

Our newest addition is this fun Charming Bunny Run Table Runner. I just got the instant download version listed on Etsy. Paper patterns are en route and the kits are made up, waiting for the patterns. Check back in a week or so for this charming Bunny Run Table Runner. I know, what a tease, right? The tails or sooo cute. We used white fleece.

We have a bunch new kits now online. Check them out. We’ll ship your order when we get back from the SnowExpo, SEWExpo!

I hope to see you all sewn,

Lisa Norton

Don’t Panic

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Christmas is coming and the list is long. My list seems longer than Santa’s list! Why didn’t I start these projects earlier? “A Mad Russian’s Christmas” is playing on my Pandora station. It isn’t helping! At least my lights are up.

Ha! No, that is not my house. My lights are a tad bit more conservative. Maybe next year, not. Holidays have a tendency to make me feel like I’m leaning back a bit too far in my chair. You know that split second of panic when you know you’ve leaned too far and you’re about to go over? Yep, that’s how I’m feeling. You too? Deep breaths. We can do this.

Quilters’ Color Therapy Sew Along

Let’s look forward to the New Year when this hustle and bustle has subsided a bit. I will definitely be needing some Quilters’ Color Therapy. Breath in. Breath out. How about you?

Quilters’ Color Therapy, The Use of Color Psychology in Quilting is an informative Block of the Month Pattern Booklet by Lora W. Zmak and Lisa W. Norton, the Material Girlfriends.

Color Psychology is the study of color’s impact on human behavior. Color and its effects on the brain, and on an individual’s behavior, have been studied for years by various groups from scientists to marketers. Your personal feelings of color are rooted deeply in your upbringing, experiences, culture, age, gender, and situational factors. The meanings of colors are going to fluctuate and change as you do. With this QCT Sew Along, learn to use Color Psychology purposefully to help you feel and express your emotions through color and quilting. Follow the 12 monthly sessions with us to create an 87in x 87in colorful quilt or don’t. The booklet and quilt project are totally optional and the monthly Zoom workshops are FREE.

Each monthly session includes a lesson on a color, technique instructions for the blocks from the booklet, plus an optional Color project. These mini projects are for digging deeper into color therapy and encouraging quilters to develop self-care through personal small projects. For example, green is an anti-anxiety color. At this moment, green fabrics would be emotionally beneficial for me to work with.

Quilters’ Color Therapy is a Printed Paper Pattern
Final Product: Quilt
Finished Size: 87in x 87in
Technique: Standard Machine Sewing
Skill Level: Confident Beginner

Sign me up!

The QCT Sew Along Zoom workshops will be on the last Sunday afternoon of every month. Except the December 2022 Zoom workshop will be on the 3rd Sunday. We’ll be a little busy on the 4th Sunday. The time? Let’s go from 1 pm – 3 pm Pacific Time. We can talk about color and give block instructions for the first part and then anyone that wants to hang out with us can sew up their block until we log off. The Zoom links will be emailed every month.

  • Last Sunday of every Month of 2022 (except December is 3rd Sunday)
  • 1 pm – 3 pm Pacific Time
  • Zoom link will be emailed every month
  • Workshops won’t be recorded, attendance is optional
Sign Me Up for Quilters’ Color Therapy Sew Along

If you’d like to follow along with the book, click on the button below. Use coupon code MGShip4Free to receive free shipping off your entire order. The coupon is good for US orders only and expires on January 31, 2022. Yes, we have kits available; kits with black background and kits with white background. Quilters’ Color Therapy Kit, kit includes the booklet. (International friends will need to contact me directly at Lisa@materialgirlfriends.com – Our online store won’t process international orders but I’m happy to do it manually.)

I’m using my stash for this QCT Sew Along. I will use scrappy colors and scrappy white backgrounds. I don’t know what Lora chose to do. What will you decide? I can’t wait to see it!

Quilters’ Color Therapy Book $29.99

What do I need for the first meeting?

For the first Zoom workshop, January 30, 1 pm, you will need nothing. However, The Quilters Color Therapy booklet would be helpful and if you’d like to sew the first blocks with us, you’ll need some yellow, gold, and brown fabrics. Invite your quilting buddies. This will be fun!

Christmas Freebie Fix

Merry Christmas! Lora and I want to give you a gift for Christmas. Enjoy a free pattern download, Bella Notte. The size of this quilt is 62in x 62in. Bella Notte is a panel-friendly pattern and is available FREE for a limited time. The download link will expire on January 31, 2022. Link expired. Those of us running around like the “Mad Russian’s Christmas” can download it now and save it for next year. 😉

I ran out of tape and I’ve only wrapped two presents! I’ve gotta run like a Mad Russian. I’ll catch up with you later!

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

Lisa Norton

You’re Invited!

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Join us for a New Year’s Eve Sew Along!

As we kick 2020 to the curb, let’s say “So long” with a Sew Along! Join us via Zoom to celebrate the victories over one of the toughest years we have faced in ages.

Out with the Old, In with the New! Sew on your UFOs with Lora and/or start a new quilt with Lisa. Register and receive your free pattern, Double Irish Chain. The Double Irish Chain is a simple quilt top to construct and it uses up our stash! Register here for $5 to reserve your spot. Register early! Space is limited. An email will be sent a couple of days before the party with the pattern download and the Zoom link.

Lora’s UFOs – Eek! I think she has plenty of work for the night!
Lisa’s stash choices for the Double Irish Chain
Double Irish Chain Graphic – Digital Pattern Download will be emailed with Zoom link.

The party starts at 6pm. Topics we’ll be chatting up:

  • What Makes a Good Scrappy Quilt and Tips on Fabric Selection
  • Strategies to Complete UFOs
  • Double Irish Chain Instruction
  • New Year’s Resolutions for Quilters

Fabric requirements to make throw size, 54″ x 54″ Double Irish Chain quilt:

  • 1 3/4 yards total of lights (or white)
  • 1 yard total of darks (or black )
  • 1 1/4 yards total of mediums (or green)
  • 1 yard border (optional)
  • 1/2 yard binding
  • 3 1/2 yards backing

You can make it scrappy or in 3 fabrics. Pre-cuts (layer cake, charm pack, jelly roll) work great with this pattern. There are so many design options! Check out my Pinterest board on some of the lovely ideas floating in cyberspace. If you need some fabric for the project, contact Melissa or Leslie at In Between Stitches in Livermore, CA, 925-371-7064.

BYO dinner, snacks, mocktails, or cocktails. Feel free to come and go as the evening progresses. Though we will give instructions for the new pattern, the format is low-key and casual. Slip into something comfortable. Unless it is a personal safety hazard, bras are not required.

Have a very safe and Merry Christmas. We’re hoping to see you New Year’s Eve!

Lora & Lisa