Adventures in Hexagons Blog Hop & Giveaway!

Quick announcement before I get into today’s post re: de-stashing!  I have started contacting those who made it to the waiting list in the order of when your email came in.  I will be contacting more of you as I manage to pack more boxes.  To date, I think I have shipped off 25-30 boxes!  If you haven’t heard from me and are on the waiting list, that because there are others in front of you in the queue! I will share more about my de-stashing project next week.

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Happy Saturday, Friends! I am happy to be part of the celebration featuring Emily Breclaw’s new book “Adventures in Hexagons”, published by CT Publishing. Emily is a very talented quilter, and you may learn more about her and her work at http://thecaffeinatedquilter.com/.  Emily and I definitely share our choice of coffee as our “stay awake juice” (coined by Miss baby).

I have always been fascinated by the hexagonal and octagonal quilts, and have secretly saved in my archive pictures of tile floors with the the notion that I will bring the designs to life one day with fabrics.  Meeting Emily for the first time at Houston Quilt Market has piqued my interest even more….

I like the way Emily presents her instructions in the book for either machine piecing or hand piecing her quilts!  It might sound weird, but as much as I use the machine for my quilts, I am tending toward handpiecing when making these fun hexagonal quilts!  AND…. the best part of the book for me is the pictures!  Emily’s quilt are truly awe-inspiring!  Here are a couple of my favorites!

There are many more eye candies included in the book – I hope you will pick up at copy of Emily’s book!  Meanwhile, CT Publishing is generously giving away a copy of Emily’s book!  Leave a comment here between now and next Saturday (August 12th, 2017), and tell me if you have ever made a hexagon quilt or hand-pieced quilt!  I will pick a winner and announce it on the following Monday, and show you my version and first ever Hexagon quilt!

Have a lovely rest of your weekend! Hugs to you all!

Windham Fabrics Christmas in July Blog Hop & Giveaway: SPARKLE!

Hello Friends, I hope you are enjoying your weekend!  I am happy to be part of Windham Fabrics’ Christmas in July Blog Hop!  For this hop, I got to work with the Sparkle fabrics — it is a metallic group featuring gray(!), red and gold colorways!  Click here to view the individual fabric.

 

For some reason, I associate Christmas with all the different Christmas pillows.  So I have made quite a few Christmas pillows over the years, and would bring them all out during Christmas time.  It’s not a surprise therefore I made a another Christmas pillow with the Sparkler fabrics, based on Bunny Hill Designs’ Block 1 of her free pattern Sugar Plum Stocking Treats.  You can check out the information on the pattern here.

I followed the applique stitchery pattern exactly, except for the tag.  Instead of applique-ing the tag, I fussy-cut and appliqued a bauble from one of the prints instead.  The stitchery and applique were made possible by an assortment of Aurifil threads: buttonhole stitching around applique uses Mako Cotton 50wt; stitchery of antlers and ornaments in red and brown use Mako Cotton 12 wt (and I am LOVING the effect!); stitchery of whiskers, eyes and paw use Aurifloss.

As soon as I saw the gray in the collection, I knew I had to make a “cat”-related project with the fabrics in honor of Smokey, the mascot of Windham Fabrics.  Some of us affectionately call Smokey the Fabric Mogul!  Follow Windham Fabrics on Instagram to catch sightings of Smokey sporting his custom-made bow ties!

I hope you have liked seeing my “Sparkle” Christmas pillow.  I am actually sending this pillow as a gift to a girl with a heart of gold.  Would you like some Sparkle fabrics to play with?  If so, you have a chance to win a FQ bundle of Sparkle fabrics if you live within the United States.

Between now and next Saturday (July 29th), leave a comment and tell me what your favorite Christmas project is, and I will pick and announce a winner on July 31st!

Have a lovely rest of your weekend, Friends!

My Turn: Windham Fabrics CURIOUS DREAM Blog Hop & GIVEAWAY

Hello Friends – looooong time no chat!  I have missed corresponding with many of you.  The truth is, life has taken an even busier turn with the holidays and all that goes with them.  I have been sewing like crazy for my 2017 projects. It’s crazy to share this — we haven’t even had Christmas 2016, but I am already working on Christmas 2017 stuff.  I actually have quite a few Christmas 2017 things already in the works, much more than years past.

Today is my turn on Windham Fabrics’ Curious Dream Blog Hop.  I never turn down a chance to participate in a blog hop because that means I get the opportunity doing something fun and different — even if I am up to my eyeballs in deadlines!  Curious Dream fun fabric group by Angela Pingel, based on Alice in Wonderland.  The fabrics are adorable.  Click here to view the entire fabric collection.

Since Christmas is really big in our house (especially for a certain little girl), I used these fabrics to make a Christmas pillow.  ANYTHING is possible in Alice’s Wonderland, right? :)  Even if that means pulling off a Christmas pillow from non-Christmasy fabrics!

Remember the Old World blown glass bauble Christmas ornaments?  I have a soft spot for them even though I don’t have any.

Curious Dreams has three different fabrics that feature medallion motifs made of keys, which I fussy cut to fit the ornament templates, found online, as the starting point for my fabric bauble ornaments.  You can click here to print these ornament templates.

Before I fused my applique pieces, I measured and marked where I wanted my hanging ribbon to be.  I used Aurifil 40wt to stitch the straight lines. The heavier wt meant I only have to stitch along the paths 3 times to get the hanging ribbon effect.

I do not like my applique piece to have raw edges in view.  So, I always finish them with buttonhole stitches when I am doing fusible machine applique.  This is my first time using the heavier Aurifil 40wt (compared to 50wt) for the buttonhole stitches.  I have to say I like the effect for these ornaments!

For this particular ornament, I thought that the buttonhole stitches would detract from the look.  So, I outline-stitched around the ornament three times, also with a 40wt thread, and I REALLY REALLY like the result!

To finish off the hanging ornaments, I used embroidery floss from my Marmalade Meadows collection to make bows that were then secured to the pillow top by hand.  Click here if you haven’t heard of my Marmalade Meadows floss collection.  I will share more about this collection next week with a few juicy details!  Stay tuned.

The hanging ornament section was then pieced with two other fabrics to make my pillowcase!  I kept the other sections simple so that the focus will be on the ornaments.

GIVEAWAY:

#1.  Click on Windham Fabrics’ blog post HERE for chance to win  FQ bundle — this giveaway is open to the USA and International quilters!

#2.  Between now and Dec 22, leave a comment on this post for an extra chance to win a FQ Bundle within Continental US, and I will announce winner on Dec 23.

That’s it for now, Friends!  I hope to share with you before the weekend a few (like 4!) magazine quilts that are made with Windham’s fabrics!!  Till then.

Pat Sloan’s Mega FUN Book Tour: TEACH ME TO MACHINE QUILT

Hello Friends, I am SO happy to be a part of Pat Sloan’s Mega Fun Book Tour celebrating the release of Pat’s new book: Teach me to Machine Quilt!

I always admire Pat for being so willing and ready to teach quilters.  I am excited to see that her new book deals specifically on machine quilting on a domestic machine.  You all know how I feel about domestic machine quilting. :) Pat spoke to my heart when she wrote in her book introduction about quilting our quilts is a “sweet ending” to our quilt projects!

Pat has tackled the topic of domestic machine quilting from the very basic.  So, if you have thought about trying out quilting your own quilts on your machine, and are still hesitant, check out Pat’s book!  Reading through the book, I thought Pat has a fantastic treatment on preparing your quilts for machine quilting, among other aspects dealing with domestic machine quilting.  Pat also has videos showing the different basic quilting skills she introduces in the book.

Pat also included a few fun projects – REAL projects, with full instructions, for you to make to practice machine quilting for yourself.

I was inspired by Pat’s kitty quilt….

… to make my version of of a mini kitty quilt.  Instead of applique, I traced the silhouette of a kitten on the fabric to make my quilt sandwich.  And I just fill the background with pebbles — very repetitive, but together, the pebbles make a nice visual effect.

Sometimes it can be intimidating to a beginner machine quilter to have to try out the different techniques and motifs.  But if you just take one technique at a time, as outlined in Pat’s book, I think you will find yourself really proud of your machine quilting accomplishments a few months from now, a year from now, and many years from now!

Here, you see my little mini quilt with the colors I used to quilt the mini.  The Aurifil Mako Cotton 50 wt remains a favorite weight of mine for domestic machine quilting.

Seriously, you can SO do this!!!!  Pick up a copy of Pat’s book and let her teach you to machine quilt… today! :)

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GIVEAWAY:  Pat is giving away 5 copies of her book over on HER blog.
Here’s the direct link to enter the giveaway:  blog.patsloan.com/pats-mega-fun-book-tour/

HAVE FUN, Friends…. and with that, Meow!  See you next time!  And remember, machine quilting is a JOURNEY – a fun one because you will find yourself surrounded with friends who are always happy to share a tip along the way!

Sew in Love {With Fabric}’s DREAMSCAPE Blog Hop

Hello Friends, the countdown is definitely on for Thanksgiving, isn’t it?  I hope you are as excited as we are over here about the upcoming holiday.  I know you are probably busy cooking, and playing at your sewing machine is the last thing on your mind.  But perhaps my block, contributed to the Dreamscape Blog Hop hosted on Benartex’s Sew in Love {with Fabric} blog, will tempt you to at least file it under “to be tackled later”?

Instructions on how to make my Diamond Layer Block are posted on Sew in Love {with Fabric}.  Click here to go.  As you can see, this is a straight-jacket variation of the strings block, without stabilizer or a base for paper piecing.  Be sure you leave a comment on Sew in Love {with Fabric}’s post for today to enter a giveaway of a fabric bundle.  Comments are turned off for today’s post.

Thanks for stopping by – and I hope you have a fun and blessed Thanksgiving eve.  Hugs to you all!

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 10

Hello Friends,  I am a little sad we have come to our last day of the Island Batik & Creative New Quilts blog hop.  I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing my book projects being made with batik fabrics.  I am immensely appreciative of all the talented quilters who have contributed to the hop!

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle — Last Friday you saw the placemats, today Linda is sharing the Birds of a Feather runner with Island Batik’s Sweet Georgia Peachfabric lines.  The fabrics gave the runner a mosaic look!  You have to check it out.

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter — Check out how Bea, an amazing quilter and designer, has given my Childhood Memories girl quilt a very elegant look!  It has red and black in the colors – two of my favorites!!!

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River (Connie) and KISSed Quilts (Marlene).  These two ladies did a fantastic job with my Winter Blues quilt.  You have to check out their quilts, as well as their blogs – as there is a LOT of talent on those blogs.  Of course, enter the giveaway for a copy of the book that has instructions on how to make myWinter Blues quilt.

TODAY!!!  Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine — I think of Maryellen as one of my late night friends! There have been numerous times she and exchange emails during the night when I am burning midnight oil.  I am really excited to have Maryellen make one of my quilts with Island Batik’s London Fog fabrics.   I love that Maryllen also increase the size of her quilt but making more blocks than my original quilt.  Please head on over to her blog to see her version of my Stars Over Columbia quilt!  While you are there, check out Maryellen’s Etsy shop as well.

Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets — Today’s hop featured project is my Counting My Blessings banner quilt.  It is one that has received sweet and warm responses!  Hop on over to Pat’s blog to see the blings she has added to the banner.

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So this is my original Counting My Blessings.  

The pagoda birdhouse is a nod to my Oriental heritage.

You may click here to view more pictures of the banner.  The book also includes an autumn version of falling leaves (and the full size template).

I hope you have enjoyed this 2-week long hop.  A HUGE thank you to Island Batik for coordinating the hop, and Landauer Publishing for sponsoring the book giveaway.  I hope you will remember check out the products of these wonderful companies for your next quilty purchase – just sayin’! :)

And I hope you have a most blessed weekend as we celebrate Easter/Resurrection of Christ.

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 9 / Sewing Humor

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle — Last Friday you saw the placemats, today Linda is sharing the Birds of a Feather runner with Island Batik’s Sweet Georgia Peachfabric lines.  The fabrics gave the runner a mosaic look!  You have to check it out.

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter — Check out how Bea, an amazing quilter and designer, has given my Childhood Memories girl quilt a very elegant look!  It has red and black in the colors – two of my favorites!!!

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River (Connie) and KISSed Quilts (Marlene).  These two ladies did a fantastic job with my Winter Blues quilt.  You have to check out their quilts, as well as their blogs – as there is a LOT of talent on those blogs.  Of course, enter the giveaway for a copy of the book that has instructions on how to make myWinter Blues quilt.

TODAY!!!  Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine — I think of Maryellen as one of my late night friends! There have been numerous times she and exchange emails during the night when I am burning midnight oil.  I am really excited to have Maryellen make one of my quilts with Island Batik’s London Fog fabrics.   I love that Maryllen also increase the size of her quilt but making more blocks than my original quilt.  Please head on over to her blog to see her version of my Stars Over Columbia quilt!  While you are there, check out Maryellen’s Etsy shop as well.

Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets

The original Stars Over Columbia is made totally with scraps from my stash.  So often we are left with small pieces of leftover fabrics when we finish a quilt.  A great way to organize them is to cut them int0 squares of common sizes: 2″, 2 1/2″, 3″, 3 1/2″ and so forth.  Then when you have enough built up in your stash, you can easily pull them out to make a project.

This design works in just about any color combination.  Maryellen’s quilt ends up looking very different from mine because of the colors she chose, but her colors are perfect for spring!  Head on to her blog to see the quilt for yourself.  And THANKS to Maryellen for contributing to the hop.

Tomorrow is our last day of the hop – truthfully, I am feeling a little sad, as I have thoroughly enjoyed the fun these last couple of weeks!

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I thought you might enjoy seeing this picture I took from staging Miss Baby’s Playmobil cats “messing about” with my Aurifil threads!  What is this world coming to? :)

Thanks for stopping by!  I shall check in with you again tomorrow.  Hugs to you all.

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 8

Friends today is an exciting day on our hop, as we have two very talented quilters contributing to the featured hop project!

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle — Last Friday you saw the placemats, today Linda is sharing the Birds of a Feather runner with Island Batik’s Sweet Georgia Peachfabric lines.  The fabrics gave the runner a mosaic look!  You have to check it out.

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter — Check out how Bea, an amazing quilter and designer, has given my Childhood Memories girl quilt a very elegant look!  It has red and black in the colors – two of my favorites!!!

TODAY!!!  Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River (Connie) and KISSed Quilts (Marlene).  These two ladies did a fantastic job with my Winter Blues quilt.  You have to check out their quilts, as well as their blogs – as there is a LOT of talent on those blogs.  Of course, enter the giveaway for a copy of the book that has instructions on how to make my Winter Blues quilt.

Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine
Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree SnippetsFirst of all, the original Winter Blues quilt that I made is a shout out to Island Batik as I had used their fabrics.  Over the years,  I have made friends with the wonderful people at Island Batik, and am always appreciative of their generosity with sponsoring fabrics for my projects!

Secondly, this quilt is a nod to my past, my former life, my college life in Engineering school.  For some reason,  the images of I-beams in the pages of one of my college textbooks had been swirling in my mind when I was working on designs for my Creative New Quilts & Projects book.  That’s why some of the blocks have the look of I-beams.  I thought it was cute when Marlene of KISSed Quilts picked Winter Blues as the project she would re-make with Island Batik’s fabrics.  I guess once an engineer, always an engineer — even if those calculations are quite rusty right now (at least for me!).

Bygone engineering days aside, this design is great in showcasing any novelty prints you might have in the bigger and the solid square blocks!  Take a look at your stash, and you might have just found your next project!

Thirdly, this quilt also shows my love for blue and white!  2016 is my blue and white year!  If you have followed me on Instagram, you have probably seen this blue and white project I started.  I will share more about it on the blog.

Here are couple of pictures showing the quilting.  I will have more pictures of the quilt to share in the near future!

For now, please visit Connie and Marlene and see their Winter Blues quilts, would you?!  Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you have a most lovely of days.  I will catch up with you again tomorrow.

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 7 / This or That #14

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle — Last Friday you saw the placemats, today Linda is sharing the Birds of a Feather runner with Island Batik’s Sweet Georgia Peachfabric lines.  The fabrics gave the runner a mosaic look!  You have to check it out.

TODAY!!!  Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter — Check out how Bea, an amazing quilter and designer, has given my Childhood Memories girl quilt a very elegant look!  It has red and black in the colors – two of my favorites!!!

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River and KISSed Quilts 

Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine
Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets

You know that I have a young daughter, and therefore, I am all about childhood memories.  To me, childhood ought to be simple and sweet.  It’s with that sentiment in mind, I designed the following quilts, girl and boy versions. All you need for these quilts are some precuts 2 1/2″ strips and fat quarters!

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Today, I have had a bit of fun over at Instagram with a very important question.  I thought I would do it here too as our #14 installment of our THIS or THAT question. [If you are on Instagram and want to search for me, my handle is ivory_spring — VERY original, eh?!]  Ready – MILK or DARK Chocolate Bunny for you?!

Thanks for stopping by.  We have sunshine today – I am really happy and grateful!  I shall catch up with you later.

***

You may click the following for our previous THIS or THAT posts.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #1. Click here for Vicki’s follow up post.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #2.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #3.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #5.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #6.

Click here for Quilty THIS OR THAT #7.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #8.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #9.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #10.

Click here for non Quilty (aka Pointless) THIS or THAT #11.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #12.

Click here for Quilty THIS or THAT #13.

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 6

Happy Monday, Dear Friends!  I hope you had a good weekend.  We remembered Palm Sunday in our family, and look forward to our Easter week.

Meanwhile, our blog hop is still growing strong at Day 6!

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

TODAY!!!  Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle — Last Friday you saw the placemats, today Linda is sharing the Birds of a Feather runner with Island Batik’s Sweet Georgia Peach fabric lines.  The fabrics gave the runner a mosaic look!  You have to check it out.

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River and KISSed Quilts 

Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine
Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets

The original runner looks like this in the book:

And I also showed an autumn colorway in the book:

I think it can be said about today’s hop project is that fabrics really make the runner! :)

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will check out Linda’s blog — don’t forget to leave a comment on her blog for your chance to win a copy of my book!

I shall check in with you later — for now, I have a few sets of pattern instructions to rush out — and I’d better get going!  Love to you all!

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 5 / Aurifil DOM Block #3

Happy Friday, Friends!!!  I want to thank you all for following this first week of Island Batik’s blog hop using projects from my Creativew New Quilts & Projects book!  I hope you have enjoyed visiting the talented quilters who have put in the time and effort in giving my designs batik-y makeovers!

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

TODAY!!!  Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts — Barb is a talented designer, and I am thrilled to see her version of my Birds of a Feather placemats! Barb is also a Craftsy designer.  I hope you will check out her many best-selling patterns!

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River and KISSed Quilts 

Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine

Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets

Today’s featured hop project is my Birds of a Feather placemat – super easy and quick to make!!!  My original placemats are shown below.  The instructions include the applique and non-applique version.  This is also a great project for teaching a class on easy piecing, as well as easy machine fusible applique method.  So, quilting teachers out there… just sayin’! :)

Barb has incorporated both Batik and quilting twists in her placemats, and that’s all the spoilers I will reveal.  Head on over to Barb’s blog to see her pretty placemats!

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Meanwhile, I am not sure if you knew Block #3 of Aurifil’s Designer of the Month program is out?  This month’s featured designer is Christa Watson.  Check out Christa’s block here.  Remember, by posting your block (any block) on Pat Sloan’s website, you will be entered in the giveaway of a box of 12 Aurifil’s large spool thread!!!

Here are what I have so far,

And that rounds out our week, Dear Friends!  I will be making my Block #3 this weekend.  I hope you have a most lovely weekend.  See you next week!  Hugs to you all.

Island Batik & Creative New Quilts Blog Hop Day 4 / A question on beets!

Happy Friends, I just came through a sewing marathon.  I am exhausted, but am glad that I got another thing checked off my list!  I am obsessive about making lists, and “me versus list” sums up my life most days.

Monday, March 14 – Island Batik Intro – be sure to stop by for the giveaway of a free fabric bundle! You will also see what outfit I wore to church yesterday when you visit Island Batik’s blog today.  Totally unplanned… I chuckled when I saw the picture!

Tuesday, March 15 – The Fit Quilter – Adele is using the Desert Rose collection to make her version of Crossings! You have got to pop on over to see her quilt – simply gorgeous! Adele is a quilt designer herself — check out her work, and the patterns she has for sale!

Wednesday, March 16 – Pamela Quilts — Pamela gives a batik-y twist to my Flight of Colors pillows. Pam is also a Craftsy Designer, as well as Etsy Shop owner.  Do take a moment to check out her offerings!!!  And there’s a giveaway of a copy of my book!

TODAY!!!!  Thursday, March 17 – MooseStash Quilting — Today featured hop project is one that is near and dear to my heart!!!  Joan made my quilt with the BUZZ – my coffee cup quilt! You simply have to head over to her blog to see her quilt.  I am tempted to reveal the colors of Joan’s quilt here, but I shall refrain!  And of course, as for the entire blog hop, a free copy of my book is given away by all the hop contributors.

Friday, March 18 –  Bejeweled Quilts

Monday, March 21 –  One Quilting Circle

Tuesday, March 22 –  BeaQuilter

Wednesday, March 23 – Freemotion by the River and KISSed Quilts 

Thursday, March 24 – Mary Mack Made Mine

Friday, March 25 – Lemon Tree Snippets

It is no secret I am a consumer of coffee.  Miss Baby dubs coffee my “stay awake juice”, and I have to admit she is quite right about that!  Here is my original Care for a Cuppa quilt!

So, now you just need to head on over to Joan’s blog to see her version of the quilt.  She is also giving away a free copy of my Creative New Quilts & Projects book which has the instructions and full templates for making Care for a Cuppa!

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Thank you for all your kind words on Miss Baby’s penmanship.  I had only intended to share the laughs, but then I started getting emails and comments about Miss Baby’s handwriting, haha!  My mother was very particular about my handwriting when I was learning how to write, and I suffered a few consequences when I didn’t do a good job.  My Mom would erase ALL my work when she spotted certain discrepancies (shall we say), and I would have to redo everything.  So, I learned early and quickly I’d better just do things right the first time.  Now, I haven’t quite used my mother’s consequences yet on Miss Baby, but I have threatened!!!  So far, she has taken my threats to heart.

Being in line with pioneer-ish and all….. I resisted buying the cooked/steamed/roasted beets at the store 2 weeks ago, and decided to buy the raw ones!  I mean, how hard can cooking some beets be?  I bought these:

I first baked them in the oven…. after 2 hours, they were still hard.  Then, I decided I would boil them, after 45 minutes in boiling water, they were still considerably hard.  Then, I started getting concerned about cooking off the nutrients, so I stopped, and just cut up the beets and served them at the table.  It is universally established that I would make a dismal pioneer, and that’s for another day, ha!  But I am wondering…  Might any of you have some words of wisdom concerning cooking of beets?  What is your favorite way to cook beets, and how do you like to serve your beets?