bright birch trees 4-a work in progress

First off, thanks for the warm welcome back to blogging! I appreciate all of the kind comments that you left! I'm happy to be back at it. :)

After I made my third bright birch tree quilt, I told myself that was it...I wasn't allowed to make another one, because I thought I "should" try something new rather than remaking the same quilt over and over. My resolve lasted a little over a year, apparently. In May I started another one. I couldn't help it! This pattern is such a great way to use up little scraps....at least I think so! (Pattern is available here.) I was able to use ALL stash fabrics for the backgrounds, which is always a good thing!

It only took me a month or so to piece the top, which felt pretty fast, considering I wasn't spending all that much time sewing. I've had it basted for a few weeks now, and last week I finally started hand quilting it. (At least I'm trying out a new quilting treatment on this version!)

I decided to do some big stitch quilting echoing the lines of patchwork. It's looking better than I imagined. (Woohooo!!!! I love it when that happens!) I'm using this beautiful boxed set of threads that I've hoarded long enough. (The thread is perle cotton, size 8, designed by Anna Maria Horner for Anchor Threads. It was released several years, but I found some available here. No affiliation.)

I've hand quilted a few quilts in my day, but it took me awhile to get back into the groove. I ripped out my first quilting line 4 times (at least!) and then it occurred to me that I should mark some guidelines first, so my quilting lines aren't quite as wobbly. I used my Hera marker and a ruler to mark the temporary lines, which made all the difference. I'm well on my way to a finish AND I'm enjoying the process! Win/win!

(As an aside....I love my hera marker! If you don't have one, I would suggest getting one. It creates a temporary crease in the fabric rather than marking the fabric with ink, so you don't have to worry about whether or not your marking pen will come out of the fabric once your project is complete. While it works on both dark and light fabrics, I will say that it is much more visible on darker fabrics than light fabrics, but I've used it successfully on both. It's one of my favorite sewing tools ever. Again, no affiliation whatsoever.)

pincushions 21-31, the finale and a blog break

Well, it's the end of July and I completed another month of pincushions!!! Let's catch up, shall we?

 Day 21--simple hand embroidered hearts on "notebook" lines

Day 22--twin pincushions made from a sweet little floral print that I adore. (even if it is polyester. ha!) The tabs are made from a tape measure that would no longer retract. I love re-using things like that!

 Day 23--morning--a tiny Jacob's ladder pincushion

day 23--evening--another version of the Jacob's ladder block, but this time in red and white. I had it in my head all day long, so I had to make another one in a different color way.

 day 24--simple bias solid stripes with a tiny metallic polka dot tab

day 25--fronts--These were made from scraps that were leftover from my friend Mary's fabulous owl blocks that she was working on at retreat.

day 25--backs--the backs are quilted, too, and are made from more scraps from the same project. Don't they make a fun set?

day 26--I showed these on Friday already, but I had to include them in the line up. Fabrics are from my new collection Emma & Myrtle for Connecting Threads. :)

day 27--a simple cube pincushion, again from my new fabric line!

day 28--the front--I really didn't feel like making a pincushion on day 28, but as usual, red and white polka dots were the answer! This pincushion measures about 2 1/2" square. It's tiny!

day 28--the back. I love how the back turned out, too. I'm glad I pushed through and made something, even if I didn't feel like it. That's all part of the challenge!

 day 29--A simple design made from the leftovers of day 19

 day 30--ticker tape pincushion that uses teeny tiny Liberty scraps

day 31!!! And the last one....a happy flower block, inspired by my friend Rene's wonderful blocks. I feel like this was a fitting way to end the month!

Thank you ALL so much for your kind comments and for cheering me on as I made a pincushion (or more!) a day. I appreciate you following along on this crazy journey. It's been a lot of fun!

Here's a picture of them all together:

 There are 44 in all!!!! It wasn't easy to get them all in the frame. Ha!

 And here they are in calendar order. :)

It's been a fun month! Thanks again for all of your encouragement!

It has been my usual practice in the past few years to take a month off social media, and I've decided that August is going to be my month off this year. I'm tired and I need a break! I need to soak up the last few crazy weeks of summer with my kiddos. I also have plans to take a trip with my husband to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary! (How can I be that old??) I'm looking forward to catching my breath and returning at the beginning of September.

Thank you for reading my blog and being a part of this. I appreciate it more than I can say. xoxo

happiness

1000!

Hello there! Merry Christmas to you! :)

I can hardly believe it, but this is my 1000th post! That's a whole lot of writing! And quilting! It's the perfect time to say THANK YOU to you, my readers. I appreciate you reading, commenting and encouraging me as I quilt my little heart out. :) Comments are my blogging fuel, you could say, and your encouragement means so much. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

To celebrate, I've gathered a few of my favorite things to give away to one lucky reader. International entries welcome.
Some of my favorite things include....POLKA DOTS! Of course!

(notice, not a purple one in sight ;) )

Also, a full yard of black and white striped fabric (perfect for binding), a hand made scrappy pin cushion (made from the trimmings of this purse), 2 spools of Connecting Threads Essential Cotton Thread in cream and grey, a pack of self threading needles (perfect for burying knots), a pack of Clover wonder clips, and a signed copy of Sunday Morning Quilts. Plus, I'll throw in a customized thread catcher in your favorite color combination.

If you would like to win this package of my favorite things, please leave me ONE comment in this post. In your comment please state where you live and what your favorite color/color combination is. I'll pick the winner sometime on Friday, December 28.

Happy Christmas to you!
xoxo
Amanda Jean

fabric usage

I broke open a whole jelly roll today-just for 2 strips of lavender fabric. Never thought THAT would happen. Ever.

Back in May, when I was at quilt market, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of fabric out there. I mean, there was so. much. fabric. Everywhere. And they keep making it. At breakneck speed! I'd like to say that after that experience I'm a changed woman. Ha! It made me want to use my fabric rather than hoard it. When I say hoard, I mean "wait for that *perfect* project for the fabric". You know what I mean, right? Now, I'm not holding my breath or anything...but I'm actually enjoying cutting into my fabric these days. Yippee!!! Something that monumental needs to be documented. :)

On the flip side...and there is always a flip side, don't ya know.

I'm saving smaller pieces than ever. These are mini ticker tape pieces.  Aren't they so darn cute??? The orange polka dot bowl (thanks, Mary!) was just screaming for something special to hold. I think these little bits are it!

ticker tape on canvas

I took my ticker tape concept and translated it onto canvas.

Not much to say about it besides the fact that I LOVE IT!

So, I made another. This one is in my chopped rhubarb color scheme. I really, really LOVE this one as well.

Each piece measures 11" x 14".
I'm gonna make more...just as soon as I can!
Another bonus, one more project checked off my small projects list.

quilt camp

On Saturday, I taught a beginning quilting class to some ladies at my church. I'm hoping to get several of them hooked on quilting so I have yet another sewing circle of ladies in my life. (So far I have two circles that I'm a part of. One more wouldn't hurt!) Actually, I did the "one day quilt camp", as we called it, to teach the basics of quilting, but also to work on a few community quilts to donate to Margaret's Hope Chest. It was such a fun day!

Here's a shot of the set up. My husband had a grueling week at work, but despite that, he went along with me on Friday night to help me hang the quilts and set up the room. He's such a great guy!

I had no shortage of samples to pull from around my house to use for my class. :)

I made a pin cushion as a thank you for each person who attended the class. (They loved them. Yay!)

I squealed a bunch while I was making these...each pincushion finishes at only 3.5" square!

I taught how to make a 4 patch, pinwheel, log cabin block and string block. The ladies did fabulous at all of them!

Here's a group shot with the string blocks we made. I thoroughly enjoyed watching them play with colors/fabric selection. Everyone did so great, and they all had their own personality reflected in their block. It was so much fun to see that process taking place.

I decided all over again that I love teaching classes. It's so tiring, but as exhausting as it is, it is equally-if not more-rewarding! I also decided that the term "teaching" is a little intimidating. I'd rather think of it as "sharing my love of quilting" with others. Now THAT doesn't sound intimidating. At. All.

Happy Monday to you!

fraternal twins

These two lovelies are made from the brand spankin' new Cabbages and Roses fabric from Moda. I believe that the fabric was officially released today. This fabric could. not. be. prettier! I started by cutting 9" squares (from a fat quarter, so there was virtually no waste) and then I made half square triangles. I didn't want to chop up the fabric any more, because I wanted to show off the lovely large prints. I debated long and hard on the layout, because with HST's there are so many possibilities! Too many, really. I was going to make one twin sized quilt, but in the end, I just couldn't shake the idea of separating the colors and making two quilts. So, two quilts it is!

For the back of the blue and green quilt I found this vintage fabric in my stash that had belonged to my Grandmother. I couldn't believe how well it coordinated with the front and I had just the right amount for the back. Serendipitous! I was giddy at this discovery. Ok, maybe was isn't the right word. Maybe I still am.

For the binding, I used a navy dot from the Children at Play line by Sarah Jane. (Yes, I am completely obsessed with these dots!) I love how the navy frames the quilt and pulls out the dark blues in the quilt top. You can't go wrong with dots on the binding! The navy is just so crisp and classic.

To quilt this one I made large loops following the diagonal lines in the quilt top. It went smoothly and quickly. The not-so-dense quilting coupled with the weight of the backing makes it a soft, smooshy and cozy quilt that will only get better with use.

For the back of the pink quilt I was going to use a cream sheet, but at the last minute I changed my mind and pieced the back. I used fabric that Cindy had so generously sent me this summer (thank you, Cindy!) and I worked the pieces like a puzzle until I came up with this layout. I love how it makes this an over the top girly girl quilt. The addition of the yellow is especially sweet, I thought.

For the binding, I chose this Denyse Schmidt dot. It's not a predictable choice for this style of quilt, but I like that unexpected twist. The red dots pull out the red accents in some of the florals, and the pinks don't match perfectly, but close enough, which I actually kind of like. The binding is a little bit sassy and it makes me smile.

To quilt it, I did an all over stipple. I thought about doing loops again, but I wanted to change the quilting and see what it did to the look of the quilt. I like the results of both quilting styles, really.

When I was debating layouts, as mentioned earlier, I really wanted to make one twin quilt, because it could be used either on a bed or as a lap quilt. But now that they are both finished, I'm so glad that I made two smaller quilts. There is something so special about a pair of quilts, you know?

Both quilts were finished in a jiffy thanks to my new found love of machine binding. Hurray for that!

Each quilt measures 48" x 64". 

I'd like to say a big thank you to my friend, April, for letting me use her clothesline for the photo shoot today.

cartwheels quilt

I've had several emails asking me for a good pattern for a jelly roll quilt. Well, today I have your answer. :)

I finished this quilt up back in April, but I drug my feet writing the tutorial for a few months. All that to say, I'm so excited to finally be posting this quilt! It's made with Strawberry Fields fabric, designed by Joanna of Fig Tree Quilts. I LOVE THIS FABRIC! In fact, I think this quilt may be one of my top 5 favorite quilts I've ever made! (Even though it is strip pieced, which is NOT my favorite technique.) But, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do! :) Actually, strip piecing made quick work of the top.

I love the pieced back! The strip of coins breaks up the repeat of the fabric. Plus, it made the backing just long enough AND it used extra pieces from the top. There is very little waste and just a few extras. I love maximizing my fabric! But you already know that, right? ;)

One of my favorite parts of the quilt is the little 2" blocks at the top and the bottom of the quilt. Aren't they so sweet? I like having borders on only 2 sides.

For quilting, I stippled it in cream thread. The red binding fabric is the cherry on top...the icing on the cake...my favorite binding ever!

The tutorial is posted over here on the Moda Bake shop! If you make a quilt using this tutorial, I'd love to see it.

Happy Friday to you!