Cool Colourblock Tote Kit + the Giveaway Winner!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I'm just popping in to let you all know about a fun little kit Stitch, Craft, Create has put together for my Cool Colourblock Tote pattern.

The kit includes 6 solid fat quarters, as well as the downloadable pattern. My original pattern was written for the book 50 Fat Quarter Makes which was just published in May by David & Charles; this bag is colour blocked on both the interior and exterior, is fully reversible, and features a handy little pocket. Because of the use of fusible fleece, it is lofty and can be quilted as little or as much as you want!

I also thought I should announce the winner of our most recent giveaway! Drumroll please... and the winner of this FQ bundle is... Tammy of Karamat Sews! Congratulations Tammy, please email me with your address!

Welded + a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? Have you guys heard about the great collaboration between Art Gallery Fabrics and Fat Quarter Shop called AGF Stitched with Kimberly? This awesome little collaboration showcases fresh quilt designs from the AGF team and presented (for free) by FQS. Each pattern is also available as a video tutorial on the FQS YouTube. That's pretty cool in my book!

The third in this series is Welded. This quilt is on point! *chuckle*

Unfortunately my fabric did not arrive in time for me to actually begin work on my quilt top, but at least I can share the fun fabrics I picked out!

All of these fabrics were generously supplied by Art Gallery and I can't wait to use them! It's really hard to see in the pics, but the top splatter-y looking fabric is actually metallic... be still my fabric-loving heart! The fabrics come from a few of their newer collections including Imprint and Succulence, among others (and, in case you're wondering, the awesome metallic is from Succulence). I chose the text print (from Happy Home) for the backing and I just love it so much! It reminds me of everyone's favourite Ikea text print, but soooo much better!

Both a quilt kit and a backing set using fabrics from the Artisan are available from FQS to go along with the Welded pattern. The free PDF pattern is available right here and the tutorial is available on FQS' YouTube! Go forth and make all the quilts!!

Now, to make up for my inability to review the pattern and my lack of a finished quilt to share, I thought we'd do a giveaway. Because, you know, everyone loves a good giveaway!

Because I'm really feeling this right now, I am giving away a fat quarter bundle in the laguna night colourway from Katarina Roccella's Imprint collection for AGF. Isn't is lovely?!

You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:

1. Leave a comment letting me know what your favourite 

AGF fat quarter bundle is from FQS.

2. Leave another comment if you are a follower of my blog.

That's it! Two easy-peasy ways to enter! I will close the comments in a week (October 1st) and announce the winner here on the blog. International entries are, as always, welcome! Also, please remember that I have comment moderation enabled so if you don't see your comment right away it just means that I haven't had the chance to approve it yet (duplicate comments will be deleted).

If you would like to check out the other super-cool bloggers participating in the Welded hop, take a gander at the list below and visit on my dear friends. You know, after you enter the giveaway, and stuff...

Cara of That Crafty Cara

My homeboy John of Quilt Dad

Kitty of Night Quilter

Dana of Old Red Barn and Co.

Michele-Renee of Quilt Matters

Corey of Little Miss Shabby

Christina of Sometimes Crafter

Sinta of Pink Pin Cushion

Jess of The Elven Garden

Erica of Kitchen Table Quilting

Svetlana of Sotak Handmade

Jemima of Tied with a Ribbon

Katarina of Like Flowers and Butterflies

Caroline of Sew Caroline

Riane of Vessel Quilts

Megan of Quilt Story

Kaye of Miss Print - You are here, hah!

Natalia of Piece N Quilt

*the giveaway is now closed*

In the Jungle...

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I've been away from the blog from a bit - busy with work, a trip to Scotland (we got engaged!) and sewing up a big project for my mum's 50th birthday. Now this big project is what I want to share today!

Isn't he lovely? Violet released a picture of this pattern right before Spring Quilt Market this year and I just knew I had to make him for my mum! My mum is a Leo, has a lion tattoo, and with the big 50 fast approaching I knew that the present would need to be big too!

The Lion is the first pattern in Violet's Jungle Abstractions series and is all paper-pieced. The design is very clever and while there are a ton of pieces, the pattern goes together very smoothly. It is time-consuming (and I am not the fastest paper-piecer in the world), but I really enjoyed the process.

With the exception of the white solid (which is Kona), I used all Michael Miller Cotton Couture solids and the hand is just beautiful and it was nice to work with. To get the proper depth (and because I thought my mum would like the colours), I used all of the same colours that Violet recommends for the pattern If you are on Instagram, you can check out the #jungleabstractions hashtag to see some of the amazing colour and pattern combinations that other quilters have been coming up with. Checking out that hashtag (or my profile over there), you can also see all of my in process pics!

I gave this awesome guy to my mum last weekend at her birthday barbeque and she bawled, so I'll count that as a win!

  Jungle Abstractions: The Lion

For: Mum

Finished Size: 60x60"

Completed: 21 August 2015

The Lion pattern can be found here.

50 Fat Quarter Makes + a little blog hop

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am exhausted, as I just returned home from a 10-day trip to Scotland (more about that in another post). One of the many secrets I've been keeping is that I was asked to contribute to another book, and I finally get to share it all with you!

50 Fat Quarter Makes is edited by Ame Verso and published by David & Charles (an imprint of F&W), it features 11 designers (including me) and we've decided to do a little blog hop to celebrate its release - links for all the designers at the end of this post!

50 Fat Quarter Makes is divided by the number of fat quarters each projects takes to complete - from one singular FQ up to 10. My first pattern, the Charming Coin Purse, uses only one FQ and features a faux leather bottom and tab.

My second pattern, the Colourful Clutch Purse, uses just two FQs and features a wide strap that not only secures the clutch in its foldover position, but can also be slipped over the wrist for a little added security. Just a note: somehow the instructions for adding the faux leather tab were added to this pattern too; just ignore that part, although if you do decide to add it, it will totally still work as the tab is highly decorative.

My third pattern, the Elegant E-Reader Case, uses three FQs and features a front pocket that is secured by a handmade button. The case is padded, quilted, and perfectly fits a 7" reader.

My fourth pattern, the Cool Colourblock Tote, uses six FQs and features boxed corners and a small inside pocket. It is interlined with fusible fleece and I quilted one of the outer colourblocks (the gray) to add some extra texture. Because of the construction of this tote, it is fully reversible allowing you to feature different colours/prints depending on mood.

My fifth and final pattern, the Double-Sided Star Pillow, uses 10 FQs and is reversible.

I used eight prints in two colourways from Tula Pink's Saltwater collection, as well as two gray solids. This pillow is huge - about 30" square-ish - and would be great for lounging on!

Phew! Now that's a lot of projects! I am really happy with the way the book turned out and am enamoured with all of the other patterns created by this talented group of designers. Here's a list of the other blog hop participants and their dates (I'm right at the end, so be sure to check out their blogs/previous posts to see their patterns):

Monday 1st June - Jo Avery -  myBearpaw 
Tuesday 2nd June - Liz Betts - BetsyBetts
Wednesday 3rd June - Ali Burdon - VeryBerryHandmade
Thursday 4th June - Jesse Fincham - MessyJesse
Friday 5th June - Louise Horler - SewScrumptious
Monday 8th June - Kevin Kosbab - Feeddog
Tuesday 9th June - Emily Levey - StrawberryPatchRamblings
Wednesday 10th June - Cynthia Shaffer
Thursday 11th June - Kaye Prince - MissPrint
Friday 12th June - Ame Verso - StitchCraftCreate

Stash-Busting Blog Hop + More Liberty Love!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am thrilled to have been asked to participate in the Stash-Busting Blog Hop, and today is my day! There are two books featured in this blog hop, but I'm only going to focus on Scrap Happy Sewing by Kim Kruzich right now. I may have my reasons for saving the other book for another day *wink*!

I had a little bit of extra time over the weekend after finishing the quilting on a little baby gift, so I decided to get started on one of the projects in the book. This little hoop is part of the Simple Cloud and Raindrop Hoops pattern; I used a print from Indian Summer for the background and a lovely Liberty tana lawn for the raindrop itself. This little hoop is made using one of my absolute favourite sewing techniques - sketchy applique!

Here is the full pattern set from the book. The templates include the cloud and four different sizes of raindrop; mine above uses the largest size raindrop in a 6" hoop.

I'm sure many of you have heard of Kim, better know as Retro Mama, or read her blog. I am absolutely thrilled for her and the book is fabulous. If you'd like to see even more projects from the book, be sure to check out her blog as she's been posting lots of pictures over the last little bit.

After I finish off my little hoop, this is the next project I want to make from the book! This is the Fox Clothespin Bag and I think it's flippin' adorable! See the thing is though, I don't have a clothesline, so I need to figure out another fun way to put these little guy to use because I really am in love.

Frankly, all of the projects in Scrap Happy Sewing are adorable and I want to make at least one of everything (the Easy as Pie Apple Potholders? My gosh!) and I think you will too! If you're at all interested, Stitch Craft Create is hosting a giveaway for this book, the other book I mentioned (try to figure out why I'm not talking about it in this post!), and a bunch of fat quarters. You can enter that giveaway and see all of the other blog hop participants here.

Giveaway Time - a little April Rhodes!

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I thought it was about time we had another little fabric giveaway and the lovely folks over at Fat Quarter Shop agreed! Now this little bundle of loveliness may already be sitting in my cart waiting for me at FQS, and I hope you like it just as much as I do.

This beauty of a fat quarter bundle contains the Air colourway from April Rhodes' most recent collection Wanderer. Isn't it gorgeous?! I had the pleasure of meeting April at spring Quilt Market last year and she is truly a generous and sweet lady.

Now, as I said, this little bundle is already sitting in my cart waiting for me, but I was also thinking about purchasing a small amount of yardage to have stashed, but I can't decide which print I like more. Maybe you can help?

This is Gust of Leaves Silver...

And this is Temple of Asiaq. So hard to choose!

So, well, enough about my inability to make a decision,  I bet you want to know how to enter right?

You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:

1. Leave a comment letting me know what your favourite 

collection from FQS' Pre-Order Section is.

2. Leave another comment if you are a follower of my blog.

That's it! Two easy-peasy ways to enter! I will close the comments in a week (April 22nd) and announce the winner here on the blog. International entries are, as always, welcome! Also, please remember that I have comment moderation enabled so if you don't see your comment right away it just means that I haven't had the chance to approve it yet (duplicate comments will be deleted).

Good luck everyone!!

*the giveaway is now closed*

Knit All the Things!

Hey y'all! Last month I participated in a little Instagram swap with friends called Knit All the Things - it was super-super-fun! Not only did we swap yarn, patterns, and other knitting-type lovelies, many of us made a little something for our partners as well.

I decided to use Shannon's free pattern and made a Reversible Box Tote for my partner, Meg. Instead of adding the pocket, I decided to paper piece this little "knit" insert. I realized after mailing my package that I could have actually turned this bit of paper piecing into a pocket, which not only would have been easier but also more practical. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Here is the finished tote. I used an Art Gallery print for the outside and paper piecing, and a print from Zen Chic's Comma for the interior. I quite like how it turned out and Shannon's pattern is fab! Of course, I forgot to take a picture of everything else I included in the package (Hazel Knits and Madelinetosh yarns), but I did get a picture of what I received from the lovely Jennifer!

Eeep! Isn't this the best package ever?! I love everything and I am super-excited to have some beautiful sock blockers of my very own. Gosh, I am one lucky girl!

Sew Pretty for Little Girls + a Liberty Fabric Pull

Hey y'all! How's everyone doing? I am so thrilled to have been asked to participate in the Sew Pretty for Little Girls blog hop - it is one gorgeous book!

Just to nip any confusion in the bud straight off, this lovely book by Alice Caroline is also known as "Little Lady Liberty" in the UK (which is a title I just adore by the way).

This book is just full of lovely Liberty goodness, and you know I love me some Liberty! While the book is marketed as projects for little girls, I think many of them (such as the Isabel Baskets, Rosie Floor Cushion, or Zoe Lampshade) could work for just about anyone depending on the fabric choices.

Case in point, my Grandma is turning 85 in June and I'll be making her the Mia doll! She absolutely loves this type of doll, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to make one for her.

These are the fabrics and trimmings I'm thinking of using for the dress portion of the doll. All of the fabrics are Liberty quilting cotton and I'll be using the pink for one side of the dress and one of the blues for the other (I'm leaning towards the pale blue in the middle right now).

I'll also definitely be making myself a variation on the Orla Pencil Case, because I have this...

Liberty scraps! This is just a snippet of my Liberty scrap stash and I think making an Orla would be the perfect use for them (I'm also contemplating some EPP clamshells). Yep, this book is giving me all kinds of ideas!

If you're interested to learn more about the Sew Pretty for Little Girls (or if you want to see some more lovely pictures and drool over all of the Liberty goodness), be sure to check out the list of hop participants here.

Fat Quarters: Small Fabrics, More Than 50 Big Ideas + a Giveaway!

Hey y'all! So, as usual, over the past while I have been up to some secret antics and I finally get to reveal one of those secrets!

I'm in another book and I'm so excited about it! Fat Quarters: Small Fabrics, More Than 50 Big Ideas, edited by Lark Crafts, features over 50 fat quarter friendly projects. Many of the contributors are well known in the craft world and I'm super-happy to be among them. I have three projects in this book and I can't wait to share them with you.

© Lark Crafts

This is my Arrowhead Clutch. It requires three fat quarters and features paper-pieced triangles. I absolutely love the way they photographed it for the book - it looks so fancy! I used fabrics from Indian Summer by Sarah Watson and Kaufman Quilter's Linen.

© Lark Crafts

This is my Flex Frame Sunglasses Pouch. It requires two fat quarters and is super-easy to make. For this one I used fabrics from Briar Rose by Heather Ross and Architextures by Carolyn Friedlander. I've actually been using this ever since it came back because I dropped my iPod and now the screen is cracked. See, it works for so many things!

© Lark Crafts

And last, but not least, this is my Cheers Coaster Set. I love these so much, I can't even tell you! This pattern requires four fat quarters and features a little bit of sketchy applique as well as a few lines of quilting. For these I used the same fabric from Architextures, as well as Constellations and Pearl Bracelets by Lizzy House.

Now, I bet you want to know about the giveaway, right? Well, here's your chance to win a copy of the book!

You have two chances but please be sure to leave separate comments for each entry. Here's what you've got to do:

1. Leave a comment letting me know about your favourite use for fat quarters.

2. Leave another comment if you are a follower of my blog.

That's it! Two easy-peasy ways to enter! I will close the comments in a week (March 25th) and announce the winner here on the blog. International entries are, as always, welcome! Also, please remember that I have comment moderation enabled so if you don't see your comment right away it just means that I haven't had the chance to approve it yet (duplicate comments will be deleted).

*the giveaway is now closed*

A Little Arrow Mini

Hey y'all! How's everybody doing? I've been crazy busy, but thought I'd pop in to share this little mini I made.

I made this little guy for Kayla for the Schnitzel and Boo Mini Quilt Swap on Instagram. Ever since I released the Orion pattern, I've wanted to make a mini just using the paper-pieced arrow portion. After reading over Kayla's list of likes I dislikes, I figured this was the perfect opportunity to do just that!

One of the big "likes" on Kayla's list was Denyse Schmidt, so other than the low-volume neutrals and the arrow shaft (because wood), all of the prints featured come from one of Denyse's collections - I think there are three different lines represented in all.

I made one teeny mistake when paper-piecing this one that I didn't notice until I was quilting (and don't worry, the pattern itself is fine, this was all me), but I don't think it's terribly noticeable right away and you know, it makes it unique and stuff *wink*.

 Orion's Arrow Mini

For: Kayla

Finished Size: 7x24"

Completed: 15 January 2015

Full Orion pattern can be found here.

Photo courtesy of Rita, taken at QuiltCon

P.S. If you happened to me at QuiltCon a few weeks back, you might have just spotted the original Orion quilt hanging in the Massdrop booth. It just arrived back home last night and I'm so happy to see it again. Loaning out quilts/sending them anywhere without me makes me incredibly nervous!

Single Wedding Ring with FQS

Hey y'all! How's it going? Today I want to share a new free block pattern with you. It's courtesy of the lovely people at Fat Quarter Shop and is called the Single Wedding Ring.

For my test version of this block I decided to stick with solids for both fabrics, which isn't something I normally do. I'm usually all about the bold colour and prints! I thought using just solids would work really well for this block though and I think I was right.

I actually had quite a lot of fun putting this block together! I don't know what it is about me and HSTs but I'm pretty wild for them... you know, except that trimming part! I find myself using HSTs in a good 75% of the quilts I design, and I always think I must be a little bit crazy.

The free pattern for the Single Wedding Ring block can be found here, however if you'd like a full pattern with more setting options you can purchase it from FQS or even purchase a kit if that's your jam.

This block is part of the FQS' Classic and Vintage series. If you've been following along with this one, you'll know that there are also video tutorials for each block and that this is the fourth so far. If you're a visual learner or a newer quilter who needs a bit of help with the steps, then these videos are perfect for you. The Single Wedding Ring video can be found here but be sure to check out the rest of FQS' great videos!