The Geese Have Landed!

So you remember those snaps I shared a couple of weeks ago of a new quilt I was working on? You know, before my machine decided to conk out on me? Well, now that I have my machine back, the quilt is done - woot! Wanna see?

"The Geese Have Landed" features a variety of prints from Tula Pink's Prince Charming and one from Plume, a variety of prints from Joel Dewberry including Modern Meadow and Aviary, two Patty Young prints (one from Flora & Fauna and one from Sanctuary), and four solids. Actually technically six solids if you count the background and binding fabric which is Kona Coal and the backing (which I'll get to in a sec).

This quilt was relatively simple as it features alternating lines of geese blocks (made using the no-waste method I outlined in my Geesey-McNinePatch tutorial but on a larger scale) but I think the colours and placement of the geese blocks really adds visual interest and keeps the eye moving.

Y'all know how much I adore my Tula Pink-girl and her Prince Charming collection was really the jumping off point for the selection of the fabrics for this quilt; I also love pairing her fabrics with greys (especially Coal as you've seen in Get Stacked!) as it seems to make the colours pop even more and creates a dramatic and modern effect.

The backing solid is Kona Medium Grey and I used the Champion Ribbon print from Lizzy House's Red Letter Day (which is out-of-print - so sad) to break it up and add some colour! My little label is down there too surrounded by a scrap from Prince Charming. The quilts finishes at approximately 40x40" and the batting is 100% unbleached cotton.

I used Gutermann cotton thread in a variegated green that shifts from emerald to turquoise to a mint green/white for the quilting - very pretty! I don't usually use variegated threads but I fell in love with this one at the shop and could not stop staring at it so I got it! I believe the colour is called Bahama Ocean. I did somewhat straight lines for the quilting - sort of let my walking foot do it's own thing without going crazy.

I've decided to put this little quilt up for sale in my Etsy shop! You can find the listing here: The Geese Have Landed!

This Past Week + the Giveaway Winner!

Hello all! Well, what a week! First off I'd like to take a minute to welcome my newest sponsor Southern Fabric (you can see their button over there on the right)! Even if you're not in the market to buy any fabric right now, you should definitely check out their site - they carry some excellent fabric, the site is well planned out, and I think the design is very pretty and fun!

So this week has been quite interesting - first, there was being in Stitch Craft Create (which I talked about in my last post) and then I got my sewing machine back! Hurray!

Welcome home Genevieve - I missed you! Some of you may know Genevieve's story, but if not and if you're interested, you can read about it here. Yep, this is the little girlie that I do all my sewing and quilting on; she's not very big or fancy but she gets the job done. I would love to have a sewing machine with a bigger throat space and maybe some more bells and whistles, but I do love my Genevieve. Is it weird that I named my sewing machine? Have any of you done the same?

In honour of Genevieve's return and as a means of testing her out to make sure she was good to go, I made this little Patchwork Pencil Case from Rashida's book Zakka Style. This particular project was designed by Shannon Dreval of Petits Details. I changed the dimensions slightly to make it longer so that it could hold some DPNs - the original finished measurement is 6 3/4" long, but these DPNs are about 7 1/2" long so I elongated both the lining and longer linen piece by one inch. Aside from the natural linen, all of the fabrics are bits and pieces from Tula Pink's Parisville line - these little scraps are leftovers from a quilt I finished almost a year ago and still haven't show. Procrastinate much?

I also made Alex some cuff links using a blue gingham fabric that is one of his favourites (the same I used to make him this tie) - I believe this particular gingham is by Cranston. The tops are 1/2" wide and are the perfect size for french cuffs. I was thinking about making some of these for my shop (maybe in Liberty, more gingham, etc); what do you guys think?

So I guess you want to know who won the giveaway, right? Well, without further ado, the winner is...

Jenelle of Echinops & Aster

Congratulations Jenelle! Please send me an email with your address and FQS will get your bundle sent out. And seriously guys, you should totally go and check out Jenelle's blog - so pretty and she makes beautiful things!

Also, one last thing before I gotta go, this is the last week for Fat Quarter Idol over at Sew Mama Sew! This round will end tomorrow and the theme is My Style: Fabric - go on over and enter if you haven`t had the chance yet!

Mini Quilted Trio

I've been keeping this under wraps for a little bit now...one of the many little secret things I've mentioned... and I'm so happy that I get to share it with you now!

I have a pattern in the Summer 2012 issue of Stitch Craft Create magazine!! You may remember that I shared this little sneak peak a couple of months ago...

My pattern in the Mini Quilted Trio, a series of three mini quilts that each use the same number of pieces and techniques to form three different traditional quilt blocks framed with a log-cabin style border.

These three mini quilts include instructions for making the traditional Snowball, Shoo Fly, and Friendship Star blocks. I made these minis using Kate Spain's Terrain and white Kona, and each mini finishes at 12" square. But wait (!!!) maybe they don't have to be displayed in a mini quilt gallery... maybe there are other options...

The awesome crew over at SCC (and trust me, they're a pretty rad bunch) decided to showcase the minis in a few different ways - placemats anyone? Pretty chair covers? The minis are actually featured throughout the magazine in a variety of different settings and uses.

But enough about me, because the magazine itself and the projects in it are all pretty and oh so delightful! And yes, I would say that even if I wasn't in it! When the magazines arrived at my house I was on the phone with my mum and just kept exclaiming how pretty the whole magazine was. I don't think my photographs do it justice at all. There are some really fun projects that I will definitely be trying out - yarn dying? I can do that! - and I wish that I had the time to complete them all because I really think they all look awesome. See that pillow up there? It's designed by none other than the super-talented Corey of Little Miss Shabby - if you haven't visited her blog, which I'm sure a lot of you have, I'm sure you've seen her beautiful quilts and amazing Ringo Pie blocks all over the interwebs.

The magazine will be hitting the newsstands on May 8th, but I just couldn't wait to share it with y'all (dudes, I've already been sitting on this for a few days). I hope that you take the chance to peruse the magazine and find it as pretty and delightful as I do. And if by chance you decide to make some minis using my pattern, I hope that you'll share them with me either via email or in my Flickr group.

Now, let's see, do I have any neutral yarn hanging around that I could try dying? Hmmmm...

It's Giveaway Time - Amy Webb's Blogger's Choice!

So, y'all ready for another giveaway?! It's that time again - I've got another fabulous bundle from the folks over at Fat Quarter Shop to give away. This time around we've teamed up to give away Amy Webb's Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle - so, so, so pretty!

The Blogger's Choice Bundles are exclusive to FQS and include 12 prints and 3 solids chosen by some of your favourite crafty bloggers. This particular bundle was put together by Amy Webb of amylouwho; Amy is a prolific blogger and all around crafty-type person.

Isn't it just so pretty? Amy's picks are just perfect for Spring (although it did snow a little bit here this morning - what in the what?!) and I think they would make a wonderful quilt to help usher in this season. Actually, couldn't you picture these all together making up a beautiful picnic quilt? Oh yes, day dreaming time!

Okay, so I guess 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 my know which item (fabric, pattern, bundle, etc)

is your favourite from FQS' Newest Additions page.

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 (on the May 4th) 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*

The Week so Far + the Giveaway Winner!

So, I know in my last post I said that I would be sharing a completed quilt with you this week...well, that just ain't gonna happen! Over the weekend my sewing machine decided to throw an unexpected tantrum (snapped thread, skipped stitches, etc) and is currently in the shop waiting for the Janome man to fix her. Ho hum. This is the first time in many years that there has not been a sewing machine in my house and it is making me quite sad - on top of that I'm on deadline for some publishing stuff and may just have to hand sew some projects together. And no, I'm not talking the "fun" kind of hand sewing but the kind that involves straight stitching for ages. Oh well, I've still got a few other projects (knitting and cross stitch) that I can work on while I wait.

I did get these fun stickers yesterday though so the week hasn't been a total wash. These little guys are really fun - they look like washi but are sticker sheets and come 27 sheets to a tin (you can also get other patterns with or without the in).

I do have something really fun to share with y'all but I need to double-check with some peeps and make sure that it's okay for me to let it out of the bag right now! Oh, one thing I can mention though - did you know that Pretty in Patchwork Holidays is now available for pre-order on Amazon?! I know, I am so excited! For those of you who don't remember or weren't hanging around these parts when I first mentioned it - Pretty in Patchwork Holidays is a collaborative work put together by John Q. Adams (none other than Quilt Dad himself) and features new designs by many popular bloggers/crafters including yours truly. I'll talk some more about the book when it comes out in August but you can read a bit more about my project - the Countdown to Christmas Advent Calendar - in this post I wrote when the ebook was released.

The second round of Sew Mama Sew's Fat Quarter Idol is going on right now - this week's theme is Meet Me at the Picnic! Now doesn't that sound like fun? If you're interested in participating head on over to this post at Sew Mama Sew for all the details and if you want to know some of the criteria that I'm using for my portion of the judging you can read about it here. And yes, I do know who won the first round, but no, I'm not going to tell you. All will be revealed over at SMS on Friday!


So I bet you wanna know who won the super-awesome Basic Grey pattern giveaway, right? Well, without further ado, the winner is...

Charlotte of Twelthzodiac

Congratulations Charlotte! Please send me an email with your mailing address and I will get your patterns out to you - and thanks so much to everyone who entered!

Quilty Things are Happening...

Right now I'm in the middle of completing a new quilt so I thought I'd share a few progress pics from along the way - the finished quilt will more than likely make it's debut here on the blog on either Monday or Tuesday, woot!

I started pulling fabrics from my stash last week and this is what all came out originally. I based my colour choices off of the greens and blues (with some grey thrown in) in Tula Pink's Prince Charming collection but didn't want to stick with just one fabric collection and pulled from some others too. Kona Coal was my solid of choice - frankly it usually is, just love it!

Sewing, sewing, sewing, and then there was confetti - geesey fabric confetti that is! I may have thrown this around a little bit before actually cleaning it up ;)

Geese were married and heaped behind the sewing machine as the sewing continued unabated for hours on end...

And now a finished quilt sandwich reposes on the floor waiting for a quilting design to be drawn and basting to ensue! Seriously loving the colours in this one guys...I might marry it...I don't think Alex will have a problem with that.

Fat Quarter Idol + a Giveaway!!

Hey everyone! What's up? So I have two very fun things for you guys today - one is a great  "contest" that you can participate in and have the chance to win something that is really you (emphasis on the "you" - I'll expand on that in a moment) and the other is a giveaway right here on this little ole blog.

First up: Do you think you have what it takes to be the next (er, first) Fat Quarter Idol?!

Oh, this is going to be tons of fun guys!! Here's the gist of it: each week for the next four weeks you will be given a theme, you then select 12 fabrics that evoke that theme for you from Sew, Mama, Sew's shop, pin them to a special board on Pinterest, and you'll have the chance to win that bundle chosen specifically by YOU (remember emphasis on the you)! Now doesn't that sound fun?

Here's the short version of the rules and what you need to do; the full details as well as the place where you sub,it the link to your special board can be found over here on the Sew, Mama, Sew blog.

So why, you might ask, am I so excited about this? Well, because the super-fabulous Heather and I are the judges! Here's how it will go down: each week Heather, the Sew Mama Sew team, and I will narrow the field down to 10 semi-finalists, the winner will then be chosen by public vote. So what will I be looking for when I judge the boards? Well, I'll be looking for interesting colour combinations, selections that aren't all from the same collection (or designer, or company), boards that evoke the theme in interesting ways, and above all I'll just be looking for that unique quality (I know, not overly specific but it's hard to put it into words)! I really can't wait to see your boards guys!

And now onto the giveaway!!!

Basic Grey has just released their first five patterns... and I have all five for one lucky winner! Here they are in all their glory:

Hello Zig Zag

Happy Churn Dash

Sunday Basket Brunch

Sweet Starlet

Promenade

Ohhhh, pretty! These five patterns (as well as a free download for the pillow featured on the Promenade cover) are all available in the Basic Grey shop, as well as several online retailers, and I'm sure you can also find them in local quilt shops near you... but you'd rather win them right?!

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

1. Leave a comment letting my know which of these five patterns is your favourite.

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 (on April 23rd) 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*