Improv Houses Summer Sew Along!
Description
Grab a friend and join us for some sewing fun this summer! On Wednesdays at 4pm Central Standard Time, join me on YouTube. I will be live, doing a demo of easy house blocks. We are creating fast and fun blocks, full of whimsy. It is summer time and we want our projects to be the most fun possible!
If you are a beginner at sewing, this is perfect for you. If you a teaching a kid how to sew, this would be a fantastic project to partner with them! You can join Happy Quilty People live on YouTube on Wednesday afternoons all summer long as we chat our way through an easy analog creative project.
My YouTube channel is @happyquiltypeople
When you subscribe (it’s free) make sure to select the little bell icon so that you get alerts when I’m live. What is a YouTube Live like? You are not on screen- you can just sew along with no worries about your camera or being muted. There is chat where you can type questions or interact with other participants.
Shortly after the live, the video will be available on YouTube. If you want to watch with closed captions, please note that it may take YouTube 24hrs. to process the captions.
This is a choose your own adventure quilt project. It’s easy, and I’ll offer lots of options so you can create in a way that is enjoyable to you. Need some inspiration? Here is a link to my giant Pinterest board. Look for the House section.
Start gathering your fabric. You choose what you love- this project can use just a few fabrics, or a whole scrappy rainbow. I chose a low volume neutral background. I will make houses out of an assortment of bright cheery fabrics.
Thrifty Fabric Ideas: Upcycle your cotton clothing into your blocks! Save those jeans or even buy a shirt from a thrift store. If you know a long time sewist, ask if they have any scraps you could have. Keep an eye on discount/clearance fabrics at the store. That’s how I found my background. Don’t forget to tell your social media friends what you are making and what color fabrics you need. You never know what might turn up! #happyquiltyhouses
I’ll offer 3 possible ways to create your blocks. All fabrics can be cut as you create your individual houses.
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glue fabric in place on a background block. Stitch around the outside of your shapes for a raw edge applique.
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Construct house elements with traditional block piecing and sewing.
3. Use double sided fusible to hold collage elements in place.
There are 3 ways to quilt your blocks too.
- You can create a pieced quilt top and have it traditionally quilted in a method of your choosing.
- I will be using the simplest quilt as you go method. Each block is quilted as it is made. The quilted blocks are sewn together in a patchwork fashion. Backing fabric is added and attached by stitching in the ditch.
- If you want to turn your blocks into a rag quilt, you can. You will sew together a layer of cotton, flannel, and each house block. Your seams show on the front of the quilt and get snipped to create the ragged look.
Each week of June and July 2026 I will demonstrate techniques live on YouTube at 4pm CST. In August we will work on assembling our blocks into a quilt. I do hope you will join us for this weekly summer quilting bee! I cannot wait to see your house projects!
Supply list and FAQs at the Happy Quilty People Blog! https://www.happyquiltypeople.com/post/free-summer-sew-along-improv-houses
