There are a lot of similarities between the monsters (because I drew them all) but these are not the same pattern!
Scary Squares is the easier pattern. It includes full-sized applique patterns for twelve different monsters, plus all the instructions and links to videos you need to make your quilt. The pieces for each monster are exploded and labeled and ready for you to assemble in the usual way. This one is great for beginners.
Mix & Match Monsters includes 24 pages of mix and match monster parts. The pieces are all carefully sized and proportioned so you can combine them in a bunch of different ways to make a kajillion different monsters.Â
How do you know which one is right for you?
If you’re new to Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive, or you just want a monster project that’s fast, easy, and fun – with all the design decisions already made – then the Scary Squares pattern is the one for you. Get it here.
If you look at the Scary Squares pattern and think, “I like the eyebrows on that one monster, but I want to add them to this other one, and maybe add the horns from that guy onto this guy, and use some faux fur while I’m at it. Oh – and I think this guy needs a contrasting belly and that guy could use some stripes and I wonder if I could add some springy, curly hair to this one, and wouldn’t it be fun to make it look like that one is busting out of his block. . .” then the Mix & Match Monsters pattern is the best choice for you. 🙂 Get it here.
Update – Please be aware that Craftsy (now Bluprint) has added a subscription plan to their offerings, which changes the way instructor support happens. If you buy the class for your Forever Library, you get instructor support – which means your questions go to a special instructor dashboard where I see them and I can respond to them. I answer questions every business day. If you watch the class as part of the streaming subscription, any questions you post go to the larger class community – not to me. I don’t even see them, so I can’t answer them.
I’ve been sharing little peeks of what to expect from the new Craftsy class on Facebook and Instagram and then gathering them all up every week here on the blog. There are so many fun things in this one class!
You can read the first round up here. Googly eyes, scrappy pieced backgrounds, silly eyelids, a kajillion uses for a triangle – it’s all there. 🙂
This week we started with silly hair.
I mean, seriously. Those curls have elastic inside so they spring back when you pull on them. How silly is that?
And then I showed how one simple body shape can look totally different, depending on the other bits you add.
My favorite is the one with the purple toenails. 🙂
More fun 3D parts with these teeth.
So easy!
And then I went really crazy with the 3D additions with these floppy, satin-lined ears. . .
Enter the giveaway for a free spot here. Even if you don’t win – just by entering you’ll be notified when the class goes live (so soon!) and you’ll get a special discount coupon.
Over on Facebook and Instagram I’ve been sharing little peeks and bits of info about what will be covered in the class. Here’s a quick summary of what I’ve shared so far. . .
The theme is Monsters.
Mix & Match Monsters. 🙂
The pattern included in the class includes pages and pages of monster parts and you can put them together any way you like. Don’t worry if that sounds intimidating – over the course of the class you’ll see dozens of sample blocks for ideas and inspiration. You can copy as many or as few as you like. Here’s a GIF I made showing just a few ways I used a simple triangle shape.
Of course, you’ll learn the basics of Quilt As You Go and applique with fusible adhesive. . .
. . . and we even have a lesson on making pieced QAYG background blocks from scraps.
We talk about choosing fabrics and I show two different no-fuss-no-measure techniques for making your blocks. I love this grumpy “Get off my lawn!” monster. 🙂
I use a few different types of fabrics in the class and show you my tips for getting good contrast and monsters that really POP. I especially love the magnificent mottled monsters I got with these batiks.
Aren’t they gorgeous? I also really love saying magnificent mottled monsters. 🙂
We do a lot of different variations on eyes in the class. I think my favorite are these googly eyes.
Technically they’re faux trapunto eyes with needle sculpted pupils, but that makes them sound really hard and they’re actually super easy. You’ll see if you take the class. 🙂
I also like playing with eyelids. Look at just a few of the possibilities!
Grumpy eyes, sleepy eyes, surprised eyes – I love them all.
Update – Please be aware that Craftsy (now Bluprint) has added a subscription plan to their offerings, which changes the way instructor support happens. If you buy the class for your Forever Library, you get instructor support – which means I’ll answer any questions you post. If you watch the class as part of the streaming subscription, any questions you post go to the larger class community – not to me.Â
Did you know I have a class on Craftsy? (now called Bluprint) It’s called Fusible Applique Made Easy. You get the pattern for the Woodland Critters quilt you see behind me. That pattern on its own is a $14.99 value! But you also get videos showing . . .
How I choose fabric
How I true up my fabric and cut background blocks
How I quilt my blocks before adding applique
Fusible applique basics – my favorite products and how to use them
How I assemble every single block in the pattern
My tricks for marking faces and how to handle overlapping bits
Lots and lots of options for doing the eyes (the hardest bit)
Instead of showing you the quilts I made with the pattern, I thought I’d share some outstanding finished quilts and comments from students in the class. It has an average rating of 5 stars!
Suebee made this beauty. She writes. . .
Thank you so much for this class! I had a blast and am sure that I will using the techniques you have taught many more times! In fact, I have already started one of your flower quilts for my granddaughter!
Starbank64 made this lovely quilt. She writes. . .
Look at the Woodland Critters quilt France Houde made! She even used the fox block as a starting point to create a skunk block! She writes. . .
This was so wonderful to have done this quilt. My first one in my life, and my daughter loves it very much. Thank you!!! When we went to the store to choose the backing & the binding, the person at the store asked us to participate to a quilting exposition, as they never saw a quilt like this before.
I love this quilt that gorillamama made. She added the moose, Buzz and the butterfly (three free applique patterns) and the mouse from the Noisy Farm quilt. I love it when people mix and match like that! She writes. . .
Best. Class. Ever! Learned so much, had tons of fun, and ended up with a project that I feel so happy to have made! Thank you so much, Wendi! You’re the bee’s knees!
If you want a tiny taste of what the class will be like and what kind of view you’ll have – watch this video.
Click here to read about why I love online craft classes – and the Craftsy platform in particular. In a nutshell – you can take the class any time you like and watch it as many times as you need to – and you always have a front row seat with a terrific view. 🙂
I’m especially proud of how many people made their very first quilt with this class!
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I learned how to crochet when I was a kid – but I only learned the most basic stitches and for 40+ years I only ever made flat, rectangular things – afghans and scarves. Last summer I decided to explore some online crochet classes to learn how to make not-flat things. It was so much fun!
I started off with a hat-making class. I love handmade hats, but I’ve stopped buying them because they’re always too small for my head. I decided I would finally learn to make my own – to crochet round things!
I chose the class Crocheting in the Round: Mix & Match Hats* because it’s on the Craftsy* platform – which I love – and is taught by Stacey Trock. I’ve watched some of her videos on FreshStitches and I knew she was a good teacher. 🙂
This was a terrific class! Not only did Stacey teach me to make several different hats – she also teaches the why behind everything she does, so when she gets to the section about designing your own hat patterns, it totally makes sense! Now I can make any hat, any style I want – and it will always fit. And it’s actually super easy!
Jo (age 12 at the time) took the class with me and she loved it too. As you can see from these photos, she really got into the unit on colorwork. 🙂
Jo is still making tons of hats. I think she’s made at least one for every kid at her school. She even figured out how to make the top pointy instead of flat and made a bunch of elf hats too. So cute! But she’s not just making hats. . .
Monsters are great for this kind of class because you can never do anything really wrong. So maybe the body is a little weird and the arms are super long and the eyes bug out way more than you expected. It’s a monster! Nobody can say, “Monsters don’t really look like that!” 🙂
Stacey teaches basic formulas for different shapes – cones, spheres, etc. and how to attach arms and legs and how to add faces and excellent stuffing tips. I can’t show any finished cuties because Jo keeps giving them away before I can photograph them. Also – all of a sudden she can read crochet patterns and design her own! Her current obsession is making amigurumi turtles with spiral striped shells. 🙂
Jo and I aren’t done with online crochet classes – here are a few more on our wish lists.
Jo is definitely ready to learn some new stitches. She’s already figured out some weird crochet cable stitch and how to bobble stitch with YouTube videos, but now she says she wants a class that will take her through a bunch of new stitches in a systematic way. I’m getting her this Textured Crochet Stitches class* for this summer.
But first – let’s move my big head out of the way so you can see the whole quilt. 🙂
You guys saw bits and pieces in the sneak peeks last week, but here’s the entire thing – my Woodland Critters Quilt.
There are 9 different animals, 6 mushrooms, and 4 trees. You also get an alphabet so you can add animal sounds like this. . .
These examples are crib size, but I also include layouts for napping and twin size quilts. That’s the napping size hanging on the wall behind me in the top photo – my favorite size for couch use.
What’s that in front of me? It’s an owl quilt!
I took just one block from the Woodland Critters Quilt and went crazy with all my favorite colors and fun decorative stitches and made this beauty. I love how some of the owls are sleepy and some of them are grumpy. It’s super easy to make the change and I show you how in the class.
The class! Let me tell you what’s in the class!
(I can’t believe how much we packed into seven video lessons!)
I get a lot of emails from people saying they wish I could just come to their house and show them how to make a quilt from start to finish.
This is the next best thing. I show EVERYTHING!
How I choose fabric
How I true up my fabric and cut background blocks
How I quilt my blocks before adding applique
Fusible applique basics – my favorite products and how to use them
My tricks for marking faces and how to handle overlapping bits
Lots and lots of options for doing the eyes (the hardest bit)
Update – Please be aware that Craftsy (now Bluprint) has added a subscription plan to their offerings, which changes the way instructor support happens. If you buy the class for your Forever Library, you get instructor support – which means your questions are posted to a special instructor dashboard where I can see them and answer them. If you watch the class as part of the streaming subscription, any questions you post go to the larger class community – not to me. I never even see them, so I can’t answer them.
It’s normally $34.99 (which I think is a terrific price for an exclusive pattern plus all that video content) but for the first week of the release I have a special discount for you. $20 off!
Use this link to get the discounted price.
And use it now – because that is a crazy price and it’s only available until midnight EST on Monday 8/10.
I love rainbows! So, today, I’m going to show you how to add a fun rainbow detail to any hat pattern!
First, gather up some rainbow colored yarns, along with a neutral color:
This is a great opportunity to use scraps, as you won’t need a lot of each color!
It’s easy to add a rainbow!
I’m using the basic hat pattern from my Crochet Hats class on Craftsy, but you can follow these steps for almost any hat pattern! I find that hats made with simpler stitches (single or double crochet) are the ones that end up looking best with this type of colorwork.
Step 1: Find your multiple
The first thing you want to do is find a number that evenly divides the number of stitches in the main body of your hat. For example, if the body of your hat has 60 stitches, then both 4 and 6 are numbers that divide the stitches evenly!
Step 2: Crochet vertical stripes!
It’s easiest to crochet the increase section with your neutral color, and begin the rainbow when you have completed the increases.
For my hat, I used a 6 stitch repeat for my color changes. I crocheted 4 stitches of red, then 2 stitches of the neutral. Do this for a couple of rounds, then do 4 stitches of orange and 2 stitches of the neutral. Continue, making your rainbow!
