this week.

now that my swappy package has safely arrived, i'm excited to be able to share it with all of you! i made this mini quilt for my secret partner, Michelle, in the For the Love of Solids swap. i just love the circle of flying geese block -- so fresh and modern. especially with the Kona solids!

i wanted to try something new with my quilting so i decided to go with a straight-line+echo quilting combo. i'm really happy with the way the quilting turned out -- i plan to use it in more of my mini quilts. my favorite part of the entire mini quilt is that bright citrus-y green binding!

this quilted mug rug rounded out the package. i've only tried improv piecing a handful of times but i'm really growing to enjoy it! shocker, i know. i chose to quilt it using 1/4" straight-line quilting and l love the texture it created in the corners! 

my raw edge pez quilt is being featured over on the Modern Quilt Guild blog today! i'm super excited they wanted to share it as a part of their 100 days of quilting. thanks, ladies!

the weather here in Iowa has been *wonderful* these last couple of weeks. lots of sunshine, blue skies, and unseasonably warm weather. but hey, this girl isn't complaining! i love this time of year -- everything looks so fresh and green! 
  
have a great weekend, everyone! don't forget, the Festival of Half Square Triangles kicks off Monday -- and the prizes are awesome!

xo, megan. 

festival of HSTs | linky party rules and prizes.

This post is part of the Festival of Half Square Triangles event.

For more information, click here. 

i am *SUPER EXCITED* to announce that Fat Quarter Shop will be sponsoring the 

Festival of Half Square Triangles blog-hop and linky party! and the prizes are *GREAT*! 

Fat Quarter Shop will be giving away 

$200 in Fat Quarter Shop gift certificates! 

from Monday, April 16 to Sunday, April 22, you all are invited to 

link-up your finished HSTs projects in the 

Festival of Half Square Triangles Linky Party. 

linky party rules:

1. you may enter a maximum of two projects into the linky party. 

each project must have it's own blog post and link. 

2. this is a half square triangle event -- projects must use HSTs in 

at least 75% of the overall design.

3. projects must have been completed within the last 6 months.

4. everything goes! this linky party is for all things 

sewn -- quilts, pillows, bags, home decor, etc.

5. there are no size restrictions -- have fun!

here's what's up for grabs.

Viewer's Choice -- Grand Prize

$100 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

Viewer's Choice -- Runner-Up

$50 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

2 Random Draw Door Prizes

$25 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop each

So grab a button, join the flickr group, and check back in April 2nd 

for the Festival of Half Square Triangles!

xo, megan. 

announcing | festival of half square triangles!

Do you love half square triangles? Looking for some fun, fresh ways to incorporate HSTs into your next sewing project? Then you are going to love the Festival of Half Square Triangles!

Starting Monday, April 2, we've got two weeks jammed packed with all sorts of half square triangle tutorials and projects from some of your favorite modern sewing bloggers! After all of the creative inspiration, you are invited to link up a HST sewing project of your own -- bags, mini quilts, home decor, you name it. Then our fabulous group of bloggers will choose 10 finalists, at which point it's all up to YOU to choose a winner! That's right, we've got some fabulous prizes up for grabs!

Here's the schedule:

Monday, April 2 -- Sara from Sew Sweetness

Tuesday, April 3 -- Amy from Amy's Creative Side

Wednesday, April 4 -- Faith from Fresh Lemons Quilts

Thursday, April 5 -- Holly from Bijou Lovely 

Friday, April 6 -- Katie from Swim, Bike, Quilt

Monday, April 9 -- Erin from Two More Seconds 

Tuesday, April 10 -- Megan from Canoe Ridge Creations

Wednesday, April 11 -- Jeni from In Color Order

Thursday, April 12 -- Heather and Megan from Quilt Story

Friday, April 13 -- Katy from I'm a Ginger Monkey

Monday, April 16 to Sunday, April 22 -- Linky Party featuring all of YOU over at Canoe Ridge Creations!

Monday, April 23 to Wednesday, April 25 -- Viewers Choice Voting
Friday, April 27 -- Winners Announced!

<a href="http://www.canoeridgecreations.com/p/festival-of-half-square-triangles.html"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBvX5NVTkPc36qGce4Yb-6CrTUhfLMVovrmQw21QUpuvjqfJ4ls9wDOrw59zJGtfpNlXy6VINCjUQGK9Ke7LP1XrgSyKQepUi1w2wfEiSSNi-gO4LMkAep5XbdqEjiNv1y10di5LWz_A/s1600/festivalofHSTs150.png"></a>  

So grab a button, check out the Flickr group, and join us for the 

Festival of Half Square Triangles -- starting Monday, April 2!

xo, megan

{sew} modern monday.

it's time for {sew} modern monday!

hello everyone -- i hope you all had a wonderful weekend! mine was packed with work (i'm back to full-time), a sewing day with friends, the hunger games movie (so good!), and more. oh, and i announced a fun new event that will be happening right here starting April 2nd! the Festival of Half Square Triangles is going to be a super fun time -- especially with the list of bloggy friends+sewists who will be playing along! find all of the details here!

are you ready to link up for {sew} modern monday? you know the drill! just please link back to CRC somewhere in your blog post! i can't wait to see all of your modern sewing creations this week!

xo, megan. 

pattern sale!

use promo code MODSTIX15 now through

April 1st to recieve 15% off the

Modern Stix PDF quilt pattern -- available here!

lately.

free spirit fabric designer mark cesarik sent me some lovely charm squares of his upcoming line Cosmic Burst a few weeks ago and i've finally started sewing a mini quilt with them! i love how bold and colorful these prints are!

while on a Sunday afternoon drive last weekend, I picked up these yummy fabrics from a LQS. i LOVE the neons+gray -- i think they will make a super fun purse! the line is called Stockholm Collection by Robert Kaufman and it's available online at Contemporary Cloth and Mad About Patchwork.

sometimes leftover quilt blocks make the perfect mini quilts! I decided to finish up this orphan sparkle block into a little mini quilt. it finished up at 8" x 8" and just feels SPRING-Y! if you would like to make a sparkle quilt -- big or small -- you can find all of the information here.

 
some of you were wondering what the gray print was that I used in my new york beauty block. it’s from Echo by Lotta Jansdotter and it’s quickly become a staple in my projects lately. you can find it at Contemporary Cloth and Fat Quarter Shop (on sale!).

hope you all have a great weekend! i'm off to spend some sewing time with my pals -- Vanessa, Jeni, Deedee, Faith, and Anna -- and i couldn't be more excited! 

xo, megan. 

catch up!

first off, I just wanted to say a *HUGE* THANK YOU to all of you who left kind words on my behind blog post! your words of encouragement+kindness truly mean the world to me! so thank you, thank you, thank you to each and everyone of you! words can't express how much it means to me!

and it seems in my whirl-wind of catching up on all things sewing I completely forgot to announce the winner of the TulaPink Neptune honey bun. there were over 550 entries in the giveaway, but there can only be one winner. congrats to #58 Melinda! the package is already on it’s way to your house!    

i'll be back tomorrow to share some of those sewing finishes i've been working on! 

oh, and you should all go wish my pal Jeni a HAPPY BIRTHDAY today! :) 

xo, megan. 

{sew} modern monday.

  hello, everyone! welcome to {sew} modern monday!

looks like it's a double post day! :) check out my tips+tutorial for Block 1 of the New York Beauty QAL. more importantly, let's not delay any further on your modern sewing! you know the drill -- just be sure to link back to CRC, please! 


xo, megan. 

new york beauty quilt along | block 1

This tutorial is part of the New York Beauty QAL!To see a schedule and more information, see here.  

Hello everyone, my name is Megan and I blog right here at Canoe Ridge Creations! Welcome to my stop on the New York Beauty QAL! Today we will be focusing on Block 1. You can find all of the templates featured in the QAL right here! If you are sewing along with us -- or want some inspiration -- be sure and join the flickr group! Let's get started!

Getting Started. 

Before we get sewing, you will need to print off the paper piecing template for Block 1. Now, I had some trouble printing my template onto normal printing paper (8.5" x 11") -- it kept cutting the corner+edge off of my templates. You could certainly draw in the missing edge with a pencil, but I used some legal paper (8.5" x 14") I had sitting around and it worked out perfectly!

You will notice that the block template has you cut out two different pieces for the outside arch, having a seam down the center in your final block. For my block I didn't want to see that diagonal seam, so I taped the two template pieces together (overlapping at the seam allowance). 

I recommend starting this project (and every new sewing project) with a new needle -- I use Schmetz Universal -- Size 12/80. Also, be sure to shorten your stitch length (around 2mm), as it will make things easier when tearing the paper off your finished block. 


Materials Needed. 
-- block 1 template, printed and cut out. 
-- twelve 2 1/2" x 3" pieces (background of pieced arches)
-- four 1 3/4" x 3" pieces (points on inner pieced arch)
-- six 1 1/2" x 3" pieces (points on outer pieced arch)
-- six 1 1/2" x 3" pieces (contrast points on outer pieced arch)
-- 9" x 9" square (for block background)


Block Construction. 

Inner Pieced Arch.

1. With right sides together, place one background arch piece (gray) on top of a inner arch point (pink).

2. Lay the inner arch template piece on top of the fabric unit. Making sure to overlap stitch line 1 by 1/4".

3. Sew along stitch line 1. 

4. Press seam. 

5. With right sides together, add the next background arch piece. Making sure to overlap stitch line 2 by 1/4". 

6. Sew stitch line 2.

7. Fold back the paper template along the stitch line. 

8. Trim the seam to 1/4".

9. Continue this process until you've reached the end of your inner pieced arch unit. 

10. Using the paper template as a guide, cut out your finished inner pieced arch. 

Outer Pieced Arch.

1. Repeat the same process with your outer pieced arch.


Assembling the Block.

1. Using the paper templates as a guide, cut out the background fabric pieces. 

2. Layout your block. 

3. Working from the inner arch to the outer block, sew your arches together. At this point, my paper pieced arches still have the paper attached while the background pieces do not. 

4. Be sure to pin, pin, pin those curves. 

5. Sew the pieces together using a 1/4" seam allowance. 

6. Be sure to gently press the seams after each new arch is sewn on. 

remove paper pieced template and done! 

Thanks for stopping by Canoe Ridge Creations and I can't wait to see your New York Beauty blocks! Oh, and feel free to link up any finished blocks to {Sew} Modern Monday.   

xo, megan. 

psst!

yes, yes i know it's been a bit quieter than usual around these parts. but that usually means one thing -- i have been sewing like a crazy lady! and i have lots of things to share with you all this upcoming week! i hope you are having a great weekend and see you back here for {sew} modern monday! :) 

xo, megan. 

pillow talk swap.

confession: i've never really made a patchwork+quilted pillow before. yes, i've made a basic lap-back pillow in 4-H many years ago (10+ maybe?), but that's where it ended. so why on earth i joined the Pillow Talk Swap, you ask? to be honest i'm not entirely sure, but the point is i joined and somewhere fell in LOVE with making pillows. 

my secret swappy partner asked for a combination of yellows, blues, grays, with a hint of green. i'm really happy with the way this pillow ended up--in fact, i almost didn't want to send it away! finishing up at 20" x 20", this isn't your whimpy, little throw pillow--which i totally dig! and the best part, all the fabrics came from my scraps+stash. i hope my partner loves this pillow as much as i do! 

so first patchwork+quilted pillow ever = the beginning of a wonderful love affair. :) i am hooked on pillows! 

xo, megan. 

<<linking up to Fabric Tuesday>>

<<linking up to From the Blue Chair's Slash the Stash -- March>>

{sew} modern monday.

good morning, everyone! 

it's time for {sew} modern monday! 

did you all have a good weekend? i'm slowly digging myself out of my sewing room and am hoping to share some projects with you later this week! so without any delay, let's get right to the good stuff this week--YOUR projects! do you have a recent modern sewing finish? quilts, garments, home dec, etc.--as long as it's sewn, it's game! please link back to {sew} modern monday (or grab a button!) in your blog post too! 

i can't wait to see what you all have been up to this week! 

xo, megan. 

how to | raw edge pez quilt.

i'm excited to share today's tutorial so you can make a raw edge pez quilt of your own! let's get started:

raw edge pez quilt. 

finished size: 36" x 42"

materials needed. 
raw edge pez template

1 charm pack or 42 - 5" squares

1 1/3 yards of background fabric

1/2 yard of binding fabric

a 40" x 46" piece of batting

1 1/3 yards of backing fabric

cutting instructions. 

from the background fabric, cut: 

     42 - 6 1/2" squares

step one. download and print out the raw edge pez template. trace template onto freezer paper, cut out. **i like to use the freezer paper in projects like this because it makes tracing+cutting fabric out a whole lot easier. however, after a few blocks you may have to make a new, fresh freezer paper template as the "sticky-ness" does wear off after a few uses. 

step two. using a medium to high heat iron, press freezer paper template onto a charm square (5" square). trace the template onto the fabric. 

step three. using a scissor, cut out your fabric pez shape following the lines drawn.

step four. center your pez shape onto a 6 1/2" square of background fabric. pin in place. 
 

step five. using a 1/4" seam allowance, sew around the inner and outer edges of the pez shape. making sure to backstitch where your seams overlap. 
----------
repeat to the remaining charm squares until you have 42 blocks in total. 

layout your raw edge pez quilt, 6 blocks x 7 blocks. sew blocks together.

quilt, bind, wash, and enjoy! the beauty with this raw edge pez quilt is the more you wash it, the softer it gets. 

if you make a raw edge pez quilt like this please share it in the Canoe Ridge Creations flickr group -- i would love to see YOUR creations! 

xo, megan.