Happy New Year!

Hello Friends, and Happy New Year to you!  I hope you and yours had a restful and enjoyable break over Christmas and New Year.  WOW — I can’t believe we are already into the 6th day of the new year!  I hope we will have fun with each other as quilting buddies this new year.  Venturing into the New Year is like stepping through a door… and finding out what awaits on the other side.

Things are already shaping up for me this New Year.  The following samples of what’s to come in the new year… so, you can see I have been working, haha!  But then if you have known me for any length of time, I make a point to not ever complain about work.

Here are a few Miss Baby’s sayings that I thought were cute from last year…

#1.  “Mom, I would still be grateful if all I got were a few cough drops in my stocking!”

#2.  “Do I really get everything you have after you are gone, including ALL the quilts? …. Oh, you mean I could pick a few of my favorites and then maybe give the rest away?  Phiew!  Don’t be offended… I would keep ALL the quilts if you only made a few.  But you have so many of them!” [#2 made me laugh!]

Miss Baby did manage a last minute quick stitching finish before 2017.  So, this will be the first ornament she hangs up on our Christmas tree this year.

So, here are a couple of New Year-ish quilts!

Making New Friends in Fons & Porter’s Quilting Quickly (November/December 2016), using Windham’s Grace charm pack.  You can watch a tutorial on how to make this quilt here.

Day Break is a design using Hoffman fabrics, and exclusive kits are available from Keepsake Quilting.  Click here to purchase quilt kits.  I was asked if the construction of this quilt top involves Y-seams — no Y-seams, just the good ol’ half-square-triangles!  You know me, I avoid complicated piecing for the most part, hehe.

SEW-ALONG – who wants to join?  Besides the usual, this year, I have a goal to make my Spring on Bleecker Street quilt for myself!  You see, I didn’t get to keep the original quilt displayed at Quilt Market last fall.  And I am looking for sewing buddies on this project.  I will be hosting a sew-along starting in Feb.  I would love for you to join along.  If you haven’t already, you may download the instructions for this collage quilt here.  Please email me with the subject tilte “Sew Along” to let me know you would be interested to join in the fun.  The fabric kits (fabric and floss) are available from http://thimblemouseandspouse.com.  I know that for a fact, because Lynn announced that she had ordered the fabrics and floss.  Give her a call or email her!!!  I will share more about the schedule for sew-along next week, and how it’s going to work next week.

Meanwhile, Christmas isn’t quite over in my little corner of the world. I will be working on these fabrics!!!  One thing I can promise you for 2017 is that I have MANY Christmas projects in the works.

MYSTERY QUILT-ALONG, anyone? There will also be a mystery quilt-along being planned for this summer.  I am trying to see which you prefer — would you prefer a mystery quilt-along using scraps or a specific fabric line?

Alrightie, Friends…. God’s  blessings to all of you for a fanta-bulous year!  And have a wonderful weekend.

p.s.  I am still trying to catch up on emails you had sent me over Christmas break.  We were gone for a bit, and I am just now working on replying my email inbox and cleaning it out.

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First Blush FQ Bundle & Aurifil Thread Pack Giveaway Winners & Other Fun Kits

Happy Friday, Friends!  I hope you have had a great week.  My week went by fast from settling back in my routine post-Quilt Market, to tending to an under the weather little girl, and being behind on stuff!  Haha.  That “being behind” stuff — a friend from the industry and I were just laughing at how “being behind” is just a part of life.  We were hoping for a Market reset — but sadly, there’s no reset. :)  All is well!!!

I am happy to announce the winners of my FIRST BLUSH FQ BUNDLE and AURIFIL THREAD PACK GIVEAWAY! You may click here to view more pictures of the project I did with the fabrics.

WINNER OF FQ BUNDLE: Jocelyn of Happy Cottage Quilter

WINNER OF AURIFIL THREAD PACK: Vicki Sprain

Please email me your mailing address so that I can forward to the right people to have your gifts sent to you!!!

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I have been receiving emails asking if you could purchase my patterns separately apart from the quilt kits carried at stores.  Answer is: if the pattern is offered as a free-to-use pattern on the website of fabric companies, then they are available to you for download for free.  However, if they aren’t, they are usually exclusive only to the quilt kits.  I currently do not sell my patterns via any venues like Craftsy for various reasons, but it is something I am considering doing.  But no decision is made on that front.  For now, I like the arrangements I have with the different companies for whom I design because it frees me up to design, and not mired in administrative responsibilities.

WITH THAT SAID, I am happy to share that Missouri Star Quilt Co is now carrying kits of a few of my patterns!

1.  Dixie Flowers Kit – click HERE to purchase.

2.  Kaleidoscope Kit – click HERE to purchase.  This is a fun design in that it is a play on pinwheels blocks where I inserted pinwheels within pinwheels within pinwheels in a quilt block.  

That’s all for now.  I have more magazine quilts returned to me.  I will share those with you next week, hopefully! Meanwhile, have a lovely weekend!

Quilt Kits at 50% off…

… totally a steal!  Friends, Keepsake Quilting sent me an email today promoting 12 quilt kits at 50% off!  Did you receive the email?

Well, out of the 12 quilts they featured for the special offer, 3 of the quilts are recent/new releases of mine.  And the kits are half off!!!  The email instructs entering promo code KQHALF at checkout.  Special prices are good only through October 27, 2016.  Click here to view the other quilts offered at 50% off.

1.  HOPE (61″ x 61″) – Click HERE to purchase kit.

2.  Flowering Tree (62″ x 62″) – Click HERE to purchase kit.

3.  Overland Trail (85″ x 85″) – Click HERE to purchase kit.  I absolutely LOVE this one — it has such an antique feel done in these fabrics.

Have fun shopping, Friends! :)  I shall catch up with you later!

Rose Trellis Runner – an Autumn Project & others!!!

Hello Friends, I hope you are well.  Are you feeling the chill in the mornings these days?  Autumn is upon us.   Have you spotted my Rose Trellis table runner project in the latest Keepsake Quilting catalog?  I received mine yesterday, and was thrilled to see quite a few kits are being offered for my designs!!  Without further ado, here is Rose Trellis, designed with Robyn Pandolph’s Garden Gate fabrics for RJR Fabrics.

A bit of piecing, and a bit of applique for a relatively easy autumn project:

Purchase the kit here, or purchase the pattern here.

Be sure to check out my other offerings in Keepsake Quilting here.

While we are talking about kits and such, I found that a few kits made with my designs are on sale over at McCall’s Quilting!  ‘Tis might be the time to stock up.  We are all different, and we all have different views on kits.  I actually like kits because sometimes I just like someone else to do the thinking for me. :)  Here goes…

Kits for Sherbet Stars HERE.

Kits for Rows of Roses HERE.

Kits for Big Time HERE.

Kits for Twilight Trellis HERE.

Kits for Constellation of Colors HERE.

Kits for Sherry’s Stars HERE.

That’s it for now, Friends!  I hope you have fun shopping.  Look around at some of the other kits on sale while you are at it.  I am buying a couple myself. :)

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Some of you asked how the “Miss” is doing!  She is doing well, ever the chipper kid that she is.  She is also thriving in second grade.  Yesterday during our car ride to school, she schooled me about the almost impossibility of having to put a heart valve in an ant’s tiny heart in case the ant had a cardiac arrest.  Well, to be quite honest, I didn’t even know if ants have hearts… “Of course, they do, Mama!” were her parting words when I dropped her off.  I came home and consulted Dr. Google — and learned that indeed ants do have hearts.  They don’t have lungs, however!  So there — the trivia of the day for those of you who care to learn about ants, hahaha!!!

Thanks for stopping by – hugs to you all!

Maribel FQ Bundle Winner!

Hello Friends, thank you for your kind words on my Thread Journey quilt!  I will be sharing a couple of secrets on quilting that quilt tomorrow.  For now, I want to also thank you for playing along in the Windham Fabrics’ Maribel giveaway, and we have a winner!  #47 — Patty H!  Congrats – an email was sent to you asking for your shipping information. :)

Incidentally, you may now purchase patterns and kits of my Maribel designs from Craft of Quilting.

Click here for Smokey and Friends Kit.

Click here for just the pattern.

image source: Craft of Quilting

Click here for Our Block Kit.

Click here for the pattern only.

It’s been fun for me to read your comments.  So keep them coming.  That’s all for now.  I have to tend to quite a few urgent things for Quilt Market next month.  I just booked my ticket too!  Hope to see some of you there. :)

FREE PATTERNS & KITS using Windham’s Rosewater …. and GIVEAWAY!

Hello Friends, end of summer is imminent at our end.  Miss Baby starts school again this Thursday.  She told me yesterday she couldn’t believe she has gone through “three hard years of schooling” already!  Hard years of schooling indeed – I have to confess I rolled my eyes above her head! :o)  I have had fun having Miss Baby home this summer. We have had lots of reading, stitching, learning, lounging, daydreaming and Paddington Bear audio books!

There’s always lots going on over here besides school starting — all will be shared in due time!  For today, I have a few free-to-use designs to share with you using Windham’s Rosewater fabric line!  I know many of you love florals — and these florals are definitely floral-icious!

Click here to view the fabrics.

#1.  Medallion Star:

Download pattern instructions here.

Purchase quilt kits for a limited time here and here.

#2. Birds and Stars:  Oh yes, we’ve got to somehow incorporate the Sawtooth Star blocks. :o)

Download pattern instructions here.

#3.  Maple Leaf Chain

Download pattern instructions here.

Purchase quilt kits (no border) for a limited time here.

Windham is very generously sponsoring a giveaway of a Rosewater FQ Bundle to a US address! Leave a comment between now and next Tuesday (August 30th), and tell me what quilts or projects you have completed this summer to be entered in the giveaway. Winner will be on August 31st.  The more details about your projects the better — because I am nosy!

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you have a lovely rest of your week.

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My 2016 Line-up

Note:  You may click here for the exhaustive list of my published work.

Editorial Features:

American Patchwork & Quilting 2016 Calendar: In Your Corner

Australian Quilters Companion (Issue 79): Little House on the Hill

Australian Quilters Companion (Issue 80): My Heart At Home

Fons and Porter Love of Quilting (March/April 2016): Constellation of Stars

Fons and Porter Love of Quilting (September/October 2016): Highland Stars

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2016): Estelle

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Fall 2016): Rainbow

Fons and Porter Scrap Quilts (Summer 2016): Pinwheel Parade

McCall’s Quick Quilts (December 2015/January 2016): Rows of Roses

McCall’s Quick Quilts (February/March 2016): Early Birds

McCall’s Quilting (January/February 2016): Sherbet Stars

Quiltmaker (May/June 2016): Lavender Love

Quiltmaker (July/August 2016): Dawnstar

Quilters Newsletter (April/May 2016): Tartan Links

Quilts and More (Summer 2016): Tutu Cute

 

Free-to-use Designs:

January: Heads Up Crib Quilt & Playmat (Quilting Treasures)

January: Big Love using Go Big or Go Home (Windham Fabrics)

January: Star Dust using Brittany (Benartex)

January: Wish You Were Here (Hoffman Fabrics)

January: Farfalle using Whisper (Windham Fabrics)

January: Tulips Quilt using Flower Pedals (Windham Fabrics)

FREE PATTERN: Hoffman’s Rustic Refined

Hello Friends, thank you for stopping by again.  I hope you have had a great start to your week.  Things are happening at my end.  Among other things, I have been making these blocks — many of them with MANY tiny pieces. Those bright red squares finish at 3/4″.  I am seriously believing I have a screw or two loose somewhere!!  You know how I feel about piecing.  But more often than not, I end up doing A LOT of piecing for my quilts.

I have had the pleasure to play with Hoffman’s newly released (and beautiful) line Rustic Refined a few months back, and came up with this design!

I really love how these rustic-theme fabrics look!  You have got to check out the fabrics.

View the entire fabric group here.

Download the free to use pattern here.

Purchase the quilt kits here and here.

Thank you for stopping by.  I need to run and finalize things for Thursday’s instructions for Thread Journey’s Quilt Along!  Are you joining along?  I hope you are. :)

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My 2016 Line-up

Note:  You may click here for the exhaustive list of my published work.

Editorial Features:

American Patchwork & Quilting 2016 Calendar: In Your Corner

Australian Quilters Companion: Little House on the Hill

Fons and Porter Love of Quilting (March/April 2016): Constellation of Stars

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2016): Estelle

Fons and Porter Scrap Quilts (Summer 2016): Pinwheel Parade

McCall’s Quick Quilts (December 2015/January 2016): Rows of Roses

McCall’s Quick Quilts (February/March 2016): Early Birds

McCall’s Quilting (January/February 2016): Sherbet Stars

Quiltmaker (May/June 2016): Lavender Love

Quiltmaker (July/August 2016): Dawnstar

Quilters Newsletter (April/May 2016): Tartan Links

Quilts and More (Summer 2016): Tutu Cute

 

Free-to-use Designs:

January: Heads Up Crib Quilt & Playmat (Quilting Treasures)

January: Big Love using Go Big or Go Home (Windham Fabrics)

January: Star Dust using Brittany (Benartex)

January: Wish You Were Here (Hoffman Fabrics)

January: Farfalle using Whisper (Windham Fabrics)

January: Tulips Quilt using Flower Pedals (Windham Fabrics)

FREE PATTERN: Broken Chain using Windham’s Shades of Grey

Hello Friends, I hope you had a lovely weekend!  Our summer has started for us, as Miss Baby’s school year ended last weekend.

Before I forget, I am happy to announce the winner of my What Shade Are You? giveaway is Joyce O’berle!  Joyce — I have forwarded your address to RJR Fabrics, and they will be shipping the FQ bundle to you directly.  Congrats, Dear Friend! :o)  Thank you to ALL of you for playing along – I will have more giveaways coming up this summer! Stay tuned for details.

I have another free pattern to share with you today — this design is near and dear to my heart because it is GREY/GRAY! :) Broken Chain is designed using Windham’s Shades of Grey fabric line.  You may view the fabrics here.

You can purchase a quilt kit here.  A special note kits offered on my designs.  Recently, quite a few quilters emailed me about kits using my designs that are no longer current.  I have no control over the decisions quilt shops make to kit my designs, or how long they keep their kits currents.  SO — if you think you would like the kit, do purchase them while they are current. :)

Click here to download the free-to-use pattern instructions.

I hope you enjoyed seeing Broken Chain.  To me, the grays are the new whites in quilting. :)  Thanks for stopping by. I also enjoy your visits.

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My 2016 Line-up

Note:  You may click here for the exhaustive list of my published work.

Editorial Features:

American Patchwork & Quilting 2016 Calendar: In Your Corner

Australian Quilters Companion: Little House on the Hill

Fons and Porter Love of Quilting (March/April 2016): Constellation of Stars

Fons and Porter Easy Quilts (Summer 2016): Estelle

Fons and Porter Scrap Quilts (Summer 2016): Pinwheel Parade

McCall’s Quick Quilts (December 2015/January 2016): Rows of Roses

McCall’s Quick Quilts (February/March 2016): Early Birds

McCall’s Quilting (January/February 2016): Sherbet Stars

Quiltmaker (May/June 2016): Lavender Love

Quiltmaker (July/August 2016): Dawnstar

Quilters Newsletter (April/May 2016): Tartan Links

Quilts and More (Summer 2016): Tutu Cute

 

Free-to-use Designs:

January: Heads Up Crib Quilt & Playmat (Quilting Treasures)

January: Big Love using Go Big or Go Home (Windham Fabrics)

January: Star Dust using Brittany (Benartex)

January: Wish You Were Here (Hoffman Fabrics)

January: Farfalle using Whisper (Windham Fabrics)

January: Tulips Quilt using Flower Pedals (Windham Fabrics)

Kits and Such

Hello Friends, thank you for stopping by again.  I have been having so much fun reading what shade you are in my RJR What Shade Are you Giveaway post here.  Keep those comments coming!

Every so often, I get emails asking for kits of my designs. I am happy to share with you a few that are currently out there…

#1.  Springtime Butterflies in Craft of Quilitng catalog – click here to view and purchase.

#2.  Constellation of Colors (Keepsake Quilting) – click here to view and purchase

#3.  At the Aquarium (Keepsake Quilting) – click here to view and purchase

#4.  Gears (Keepsake Quilting Exclusive) – click here to view and purchase

#5.  Butterfly Garden (Keepsake Quilting Exclusive) – click here to view and purchase

#6.  Postage Stamp Runner (Keepsake Quilting Exclusive) – click here to view and purchase

#7.  Snowbirds – click here to view and purchase

#8.  Painted Snowballs (Keepsake Quilting) – click here to view and purchase

Meanwhile, if you are wondering what you can do with the empty Aurifil thread spools… at our house, we are using them as stands of paper finger puppets. :o)  See, Aurifil isn’t just for threads… :o)

“Lemonade” Smocking & News

HAPPY MONDAY, Everyone, I hope you have had a great weekend! I had a blessed one even though it was a bit hectic.

“Lemonade” Quilts are quilts made with either a pink or yellow color scheme. I thought I would show you the 95% finished smocking on my dotted Swiss “Pink & Yellow Lemonade” daygown ( I won’t be able to add the boullion roses until the gown is constructed):

I didn’t have much trouble with smocking through the dotted Swiss even though I didn’t remove the dots from the smocking area, except for when the needle had to go right through a “dot”. But as long as I kept my needle perpendicular to the pleat, and push a little harder, I didn’t have any problems:

The daygown should look like this after construction (hopefully!):

Picture from Nancy Coburn

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Meanwhile, look what I got?

The Pieceful Garden Quilt Kits are ready to ship starting TOMORROW!

Photo courtesy of The Quilter