I am totally smitten over a new line by Jill Howarth called Way Up North. She created it for Riley Blake Designs and it’s absolutely adorable! I love it all! This is a great line for fussy cutting because it has cute snowmen, whimsical Santas, peppermints, snowflakes, and so much more. Having it in my sewing room has led to daydreams filled with merry carolers on streets decorated with Christmas lights and drinking from mugs of yummy peppermint cocoa. A street I have been calling Peppermint Way. I know, I know it’s only June, but this girl has to start early if I am going to get any Christmas sewing done. Since I am channeling the spirit of Christmas, join me and three other blogger as we bring you lovely Christmas projects on The Way Up North Blog Hop, like this tutorial on the Peppermint Way quilt and table runner.

Way Up North Blog Hop

I am ecstatic to show you what I have been working on for the Way Up North Blog Hop. The other bloggers on this hop will be sharing their creations in June and July. I can’t wait to see what they create.

Emily Carr with Simple Girl Simple Life
Bonnie Ferguson with Hem Me In
Anjeanette Klinder with Anjeanette K

The Peppermint Way quilt and table runner captures some of the trends in our quilting industry like curves, stripes, and English Paper Piecing (also known as EPP). The free downloadable pattern gives you five different quilt sizes and three table runner sizes. If you know me, you know I love to make a party out of pattern release days. Keep reading to find out what very special gift I have for you. One of you lucky readers could be the winner. Dun Dun Dun . . . I can’t help myself, I just have to tease you a little. 

English Paper Piecing

Have you ever done EPP? Before last year, I hadn’t. If you are reluctant, you should try it and this is the perfect project for you. (To read more about EPP click here.) In this project, we are English Paper Piecing the peppermint rings and then sewing them to a 13.75” block, taking advantage of the template to get the perfect shapes but we are not overdoing it by piecing the whole top.  EPP is great because you can do it on the go. Because it is transportable, it’s something you can do anywhere: plane, train, automobile — pick your poison. Once you have all your parts cut and fabric pieces basted to the paper templates, it can be quite simple to create. Here is a link to the full pattern. 

Recommended Tools & Notions

• Printer
• Card stock
• Copy machine
• Scissors for fabric
• Scissors for paper
• Pins
• Sewing stiletto
• Cotton thread and invisible thread
• Needle (Straw Needles Size 10)
• Sewing machine
• Iron and ironing board

Peppermint Way Quilt – Medium Table Runner – Six Blocks

The Peppermint Way Table Runner Tutorial

1- Make six copies of the ring template on card stock. Cut out pieces using the lines as your guides. It’s important that they are all printed at the same scale so when you print the templates make sure that the printer or copier is printing at 100%. Something that I have learned when copying templates is to place the copy inside the machine instead of feeding through the top of the machine. This is because I have experienced shape distortion when feeding the paper through the top of the machine. 

2- Lay a paper piece over the top of the right side of the fabric, number facing down. You will need to add a little more then .25” around the paper & cut there. It does not have to be perfect.

3- Lay your fabric down wrong side up. Place template on top, number facing up. Put one pin in the middle to tack them together. Thread your needle and knot the end. Wrap the edges of the fabric around to the back of the paper where the number is located. Stitch the wrapped fabric edge to the paper using a large basting stitch. When you get to an edge, fold the corner. (You can also use a glue stick.)

When you get to a curve, clip close to seam line making slits in the fabric so it wraps flat around the paper. Don’t make your cuts too deep and too close to the edge of the paper. Cover all pieces. Working on one ring with one fabric at a time ensuring you get fabric pieces with all the numbers.  

4- Take #1 and #2. Place the right sides together. Line up the edge where they will meet. Make sure the sides of the edges will touch. Stitch them together using the whip stitch. Begin by tying a knot at the end of the thread. End by pulling the thread through your last three stitches forming knots.

5- Using the number you see on the backs as your guide, lay the pieces out to form your ring. Stitch all edges that meet together. (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5, 5 to 6, 6 to 7, 7 to 8, 8 to 9, 9 to 10, 10 to 11, 11 to 12, 12 to 1) Repeat for a total of six rings.

6- Take a completed ring. Press well using starch on medium heat, front and back.

7- Remove basting stitches and paper from ring. Iron edges back into shape.

8- Center it on the 13.75” square. Do this by folding the square in half and ironing a crease in the middle. It ends up being about 1.25” from the top and bottom. Make sure all the ring seam edges are tucked under and pin down.

9- Start with the inner ring. With the machine needle stop to ‘down’ position, stitch close to the edge to secure the ring to the background fabric. Use your stiletto to push edges under as you sew. When you come to a curve, adjust the position of your square by keeping your needle down and lifting the foot. Repeat for outer ring. 

10- Repeat steps 5 to 9 for a total of six blocks.

11- For the Medium Table Runner you will need six blocks for one row. Pin and sew them together. Press flat

12- Sandwich your table runner by placing the top facing up, batting in the middle, and backing good side facing down. Quilt and bind as desired. Because it is a table runner, I didn’t want the binding to stand out. I used Ballerina from Riley Blake Designs Confetti Cottons collection and it was the perfect match.

On the computer, I played around with how the Peppermint Way quilt could look as a full quilt using a different background fabric and I think it would be adorable. Hmmm . . . I just might have to make it. What do you think?

I just love this line of fabric. There are so many possibilities with this: pillows, napkins, mini quilts, tea towels, and more. I plan on making a few more projects with this fabric, so come back to see more Christmas projects using this Riley Blake Designs collection.  I would love to see what you make with this pattern. Share your photos in Instagram using #PeppermintWayQuilt and #BrownBirdDesignsCreations.

The Way Up North Giveaway

Riley Blake Designs and I have put together a gift packed full of whimsical bliss. One lucky winner will get a 10″ Stacker and a 5″ Stacker of Way Up North fabric, a magnetic pin bowl, flower head pins, a 5 mm Rotary Cutter, a .25″ binding maker by Clover, and a set of templates for one Peppermint Ring. I wish I could win it, but since I can’t, I hope you do.

To enter, head over to my Instagram page. Like the giveaway photo, follow me, follow Riley Blake Designs, and after you have done these three things tag a friend or as many friends as you would like. Each tag will get you an entry into the giveaway.  Once a random number is generated, I will make sure that you have liked the photo and follow both Riley Blake and Brown Bird Designs, and once it has been verified a winner will be announced. I think this just might be the best giveaway I have ever gifted. The winner will be announced July 11, so check back on this post or Instagram for that announcement. Good luck!!