Let's get ready to Crumble!

Well.  This is a little scary.  I have this bad habit of jumping into things without thinking it all the way through - as in, what happens if I have a problem and can't figure out how your blog works in time to do this?  It's not like I'm going to figure that part out ahead of time... nope, last minute works fine for me!  I'm that kind of girl.

Hi. I'm Carrie.  I'm the two-legged, non-canine part of Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.

If you don't already know, this is Rosie.  I'm sure she wishes I would call her Miss Rosie but she's Rosie, Rosebud, Rosie-patosie and GoofyGirl.  Especially the latter.

I didn't have to prompt her to get this picture - in fact, she wasn't supposed to be in any pictures.  But we were outside and my attention was on the quilt.  You can figure out the rest.

That quilt is a good place to start - it's a tumbler quilt.  Also known as a "thimble".  I call them Crumblers.  I didn't start off calling them that, a sweet friend did.  C for Carrie, R for Rosie and the rest from tumbler.  I wasn't sure about the name but when she told me that she'd be calling them "Crumblers" until the day she died, I realized the name had stuck with me too.  It was seriously silly and that's probably why I liked it.  Life's too short to not have some fun, especially when it comes to making quilts.

But back to the templates - these are them:

(Pssst... This is the prize.  This is what you're going to win.  One of each.)

The story behind them is pretty simple - I wanted to make a tumbler quilt and I couldn't find a template that did what I wanted it to do.  I could find them in one size... but I like having options.  I could find pre-cut tumblers - love those! - but again, there were limitations of size and fabric.  So I pestered a friend who's a genius at creating amazing rulers - you met her the other day, Monique Dillard of Open Gate Quilts - and a few months later, I was "crumbling".  

(If you haven't already entered to win this ruler - do it!  Now!  I'll wait while you do that because you need it.  I love the Fit to be Quarter ruler.  And the Fit to be Geese.)  

The Crumbler measures 5 1/2" from top-to-bottom and will cut tumblers from strips measuring 3", 3 1/2", 4", 4 1/2", 5" and 5 1/2".  The Lil' Crumbler measures 4" and will cut tumblers from strips measuring between 1 1/2" and 4" at 1/4" increments.  Both templates are marked with seam lines for fussy-cutting, and both templates have a center line for cutting side-pieces, cutting "split-tumblers", and lining up stripes.

If you've never made a tumbler quilt, they're easy.  The hardest part is picking a size.  

Cut strips to your desired width.

Having the seam allowance marked makes it easy to keep the selvage out of the finished template.

Flip the template back and forth to continue cutting tumblers from the strip.  Cut a whole lot of tumblers.  (Then remember to clean your cutting mat before taking pictures.)

Just so you know, you don't always have to cut the tumblers at the top or bottom of the template.  Different fabrics and projects might call for something wider, chunkier or narrower.  I did mention that I like having options.

Piecing.  That's easy too.  There is only one thing to know and that's where to line them up.  This isn't it.    

That little arrow at the top - the two corners should not line up.  If the two tumblers are sewn together like this, they won't make a straight, even row.  

The two tumblers are off-set just a little bit - the wide "v" should fall right on the spot of a perfect scant 1/4" seam allowance.  There will be the same off-set at the bottom of the seam.

  

Press the seam - open or to one side.  The top and bottom edges of the pieced tumblers should be straight.  How easy is that?  

I'm sorry about the matching tumblers but this was all that was left after making this...

About thirty different cream and ivory prints from Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts - I've been hoarding saving them for a project like this.  The strips were cut at 4 1/2" so I could get two strips from a fat-eighth - the tumblers finish at 4" tall.  A leisurely weekend of sewing and I made a quilt measuring about 64" x 72".  

If you're worried about matching up angles and seams, a quilt like this is incredibly simple to piece.  Pressing the seams to one side means that the tumblers nestle into each other when the rows are joined.  Look Ma!  No pins!  Though I do like to press the seams joining rows open.

The Crumbler Instructions include all the information about cutting, lining up the tumblers for stitching, pressing, etc., mentioned here.  While the instructions don't really have specific patterns, I have included all sorts of numbers of how many tumblers can be cut from different size strips.  If you want to make a quilt { { t h i s  b i g } }... everything you need to know to calculate how many tumblers you'll need of different sizes is there.  Do you have a couple of Jelly Rolls you don't know what to do with?  Covered.  A Layer Cake.  It's in there.  Since I had ideas for options, I shared. 

Like mixing sizes - widths - of tumblers...

These were cut at 5 1/2" and finish at 5" tall.  The print tumblers were cut full-size and the background tumblers were cut 1" narrower.  A strip of masking tape on the under-side of the template.  Presto!

These were also cut at 5 1/2" to finish at 5".  Shirtings and Reproduction prints.  And no, there isn't a single repeated print in this one.  I wish you could see this one in person - it's much yummier than the picture shows.

I know I'm not the only quilter with bits and pieces of leftover 1 1/2" strips... I made a couple of these for Christmas presents last year.  Instead of quilting it, I "aged" it a bit by washing, crumpling and ironing it dry, then I framed it in an 11" x 14" frame.  (I took the glass out for the picture.)

These finish at 1" high by about 7/8" wide at the base.  They're easier to piece than you'd think... but be warned, I found making these to be highly addictive.  

Do you have any Moda Candy?  You know, those adorable little mini-charm packs!  I used two Scrumptious mini-charm packs, three (3) print fat quarters - one for the base and two for the lining - and about 1/2 yard of Bella No. 97 to make this...

I was hoping to get the handles stitched on - they're best done by hand - before I took a picture but... see above.  I'm a last-minute kind of girl.  Exhibit A - I finished this at 2:30 am.  Monday.  

You're going to have to be a little last-minute too... you have until Midnight on September 30th to enter to win a couple of Crumbler templates.  

I am going to give away a set of Crumblers - one of each - to one lucky winner.  To enter, please leave a comment telling me if you've ever made a tumbler quilt.  Then tell me which Moda collection you would use to make one if when you win the Crumblers!

All winners will be randomly selected and announced on Moda... The Cutting Table blog on October 2nd.  That's here - in a week!    

So hurry up and leave a comment!

And then make sure to come back tomorrow and Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday for more opportunities to win a nifty tool that you never knew you always needed until you saw it here.  

Toodles!