Two Summer Time Quilt Finishes

This morning I am excited to get to share 2 quilt finishes :)  The first is my Sew Sampler quilt and I am so happy to have it all done and ready to snuggle up in!!!   I just love sampler quilts and this one is just making me smile from ear to ear ;)

So if you have been following along you have seen these blocks from my 2016 Sew Sampler Box. Each month there was a "recipe card" with a new Sew Sampler Block.   I decided from the start to use my Bonnie and Camille HST's that I made way back here for this presentation.     It made whipping up the blocks nice and quick ;)

At the end of 2016 I had 12 blocks, but knew I wanted to make this quilt a little larger, so I just played with different HST designs to make up an additional 8 blocks.  And wouldn't you know it, I only had to make an additional 8 HST's to finish up all 8 blocks.  How almost perfect was that.

And then I really had some fun picking out the sashing.  I was playing with white, or navy, or red (and thanks to everyone who helped with a shout out on Instagram) and then I remembered that I had this Chambray left from another project and it was just perfect!!!  I just love how it gives it that "summer picnic time" feel ;)

When it came time to quilt it, I treid something new and I just love it!!!  I have seen this type of design done on the digital quilting a ton and have loved it but wasn't sure if I could do it free hand and keep my lines straight.   But when I loaded this quilt, I realized the entire quilt had the same layout and I could use the rows of HST's as my guide, perfect!!!   I just kept repeating in my mind, L, E. L, E, L, E :)

And I looped my way to some super fun texture.  So excited with how it finished off this quilt.  And now I totally can't wait to take it out and snuggle up under the tree out back with a good book.   I just love how happy and bright it is.

And so ya, I am pretty excited to finish up this Sew Sampler Quilt.   There is just something so satisfying about finishing up a quilt that you have been working on one block per month.  It just really stretches out the finish and makes you all the more excited when it all comes together :)  Yippee for a happy first finish!!!

And my second finish is my Mosaic Quilt.   And I can tell you that my son is super excited that I finished this up because he is wanting it for a new bedspread!!

I used the Mosaic Pattern from Fat Quarter Style by It's Sew Emma Patterns to make up this quilt. I just love how it combines bold graphic design with some yummy scrappy goodness!!

And it is kind of a funny story of how this quilt started.  I was working on a secret project (that I can share in a few more weeks) and had pressed all of my Fat Quarters.  But I had quite a bit left over and I just didn't want to fold all of the fat quarters again.  So I figured, why not cut out another quilt while the fabrics were still all prepped.

And before you knew it, I had my Mosaic quilt all cut out.   I just love all of these happy Blueberry Park Prints by Karen Lewis for Robert Kaufman fabrics.   It has been fun to work on the piecing in between other projects because those blues and greens just make me smile ;)

And when it came time to quilt it I kept it simple because my son said he wanted it to still look "cool for a boy".   SO I just did fun vertical squiggly lines.    These are so fun to quilt and go pretty fast, so that is always a bonus ;)

And my son approved, and says they remind him of water flowing down a river.   I figured that tied into the color scheme pretty well so I was pleased ;)   It's always good when you get the kid approval as well!!

And that is my Mosaic quilt!!  It's all ready to be loved and snuggled by my son, and that indeed makes it some super Happy Quilting!!!

I am just so thrilled to have both of these quilts finished and ready to be loved.  And with these two checked off, that means I only have 4 or 5, or maybe 6-8 Works In Progress.   At least I know I have two less right :)

I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Weekend!!!

Linking up this finish to Amanda's and Sarah's, and Myra's ;) 

June Sew Sampler!!!

We spent last weekend in San Diego with this kids on the beach.  It was so much fun and a great long weekend away.   And you know how it is always hard to come back and get into the swing of routine after you have been gone for a weekend . . . well this time, I was actually happy to return because I knew my Sew Sampler box was waiting for me!!!  It was so hard not to peek on Instagram to see what was in it, but I kept it a surprise, and what a fun one it was!!!

I just love Lori Holt's fun fabrics and designs so I was just thrilled to find a new Bee Basics 5" Stacker, along with a fabulous new pattern and the background and binding fabric to finish it.   How perfect is that!!!  And aren't those little kisses just to cute for words, so fun!!!   And I just love how it shows off the rainbow goodness of the Bee Basics ;) 

And then I was thrilled to find even more Lori Holt goodness!!!!   How adorable is that Bee Cute Ribbon ;)   I am working on finishing up a baby girl quilt for my sister and you better believe it will be tied in that adorable ribbon when it is all done.    And I just love the new Cute Cuts Rulers, especially that they have the frosted 1/4" seam allowance all the way around the ruler.  That makes fussy cutting so much easier to get your picture perfect every time :)

And of course, I had to whip up the Basket Block designed by Lori Holt for this month!!!  These blocks are so much fun and go together super fast.   I am  using Sweetwater's Freedom fabric line and I just love Block #3  :)   Doesn't this just make you want to take a picnic.  I love the way this one looks like it has cute little napkins hanging out the top of the basket, so fun!!!

Yippee for the June Sew Sampler Box  and it's awesome Lori Holt goodness!!!   I just love this awesome subscription box, it is so fun to have it arrive each month and make things like unpacking and 5 loads of laundry just a little more bearable ;)  Yup, fair to say that Fabric truly does make my world happy!!!

I hope it does yours as well and that you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Panguitch Quilt Walk - In the books!!!

This was my Fifth year teaching at the Panguitch Quilt Walk and it truly is always a treat!!!  I just love getting visit this small town nestled in the mountains.  Everyone is just so friendly :)  And with the smaller class sizes of this retreat I really get to know my amazing students throughout the class, which is just a joy!!!    And for the first time ever, I actually remembered to take class pictures!!!!  So excited . . . So let's share.

This was my first class on Friday Evening teaching my Petal Pop pattern.  And these ladies were just amazing.  By the end of class everyone had finished a block and some even two!!  And see that gal in the middle, she is 93 years old and still coming to this retreat to sew with her daughters.  Isn't that just amazing.  It was so incredible to have her in class.    And we had other sister's in the class as well.  It's just so fun to sew with family ;)

And here is a closer look at each of their blocks.  I just love seeing all of the different fabrics everyone chooses to use in their blocks.  And we even had two colored backgrounds in this class that I just love, so fun!!!

The next morning I taught a second Petal Pop class.   The first class filled up so fast when registration opened they decided to offer a second, which is always fun for me as I can pack a few less things, tee hee hee ;)   Again, this was such an awesome class.  Everyone finished their blocks and we had some wonderful laughs along the way.

I just love that about this particular quilt block.  As soon as it clicks, everyone just starts sewing away and the laughs and chatter just build and build.  It makes for a very fun and enjoyable class!!  And again, it was just so fun to see everyone's fabric choices.  It never ceases to amazing me how much just the fabric can change up the overall look of the design ;)  Love it!!!

And finally, Friday afternoon I taught my Two Paths Crossed class from Irish Chain Quilts.   This class did amazing, especially as we are making two different blocks.  By the end of class everyone had one of each block made, which as a teacher just makes me smile.  It's always nice to know you don't have to do anything new when you get home ;)

And somehow, I missed taking some of the individual photo's in this class. Sorry to those that aren't featured here.  Glad I got a group shot above to share all your awesome work!!!   Everyone did just a fantastic job and it was such a fun class to end with :)

And that is the Panguitch Quilt Walk in a nutshell.  It truly was such a fun two day and I am already so looking forward to next year!!!  I just love to teach these classes :) 

I hope you all have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!    Let's have some fun!!!

But  before we get to today's giveaways . . . First,  we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!   The winner of the $30.00 Gift Certificate to Lou Lou's Fabric Shop is . . . Number #47. . . Congrats Linda!!!!! I have emailed you :)    

 

So on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Fabric Please!   Fabric Please! has all of your quilting needs. You'll find beautiful pre-cuts and bundles and of course, lots and lots of quilting yardage.  And of course, you don't want to forget to check out the Sale Section!!! 

And for Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Rita has two special surprises for you all ;)   Fabric Please!  is giving one lucky reader a  $25.00 Gift Certificate as well as a Seam Fix Seam Ripper (which are so my favorite seam rippers!!!)  So fun :)

 You have two entry chances, the second being optional, and please leave a separate comment for each.  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  

ENTRY 1 - Simply leave a comment that tells me about your favorite seam ripper. (mine is a Seam Fix and of course, it is purple :)

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Fabric Please! Love!!!!   You can Sign Up for their Newsletter (on the right hand side :)  You can follow them on  Facebook.  Or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Fabric Please! Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, July 4th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Star Crossed - Featured in McCalls Quilting!!

Today I am excited to share another secret finish from a few month's ago.   This is called Star Crossed and I just love that it combines my two favorite things to piece . . . Irish Chain Quilts and Star Quilts!!

Star Crossed is featured in McCalls Quilting the July/August issue.     It is the perfect big bed size quilt finishing at 96" x 96".   And the wonderful folks at McCall's even included a free web bonus where you can download the alternate size chart with all the fabric requirements for making this quilt in crib size, throw size, or twin size ;)  How fun is that!!!

And I just love seeing the stylized shots taken of my quilts.  Doesn't this just make this quilt shine!!!  So pretty ;)  This makes me want to take a few photography classes, all I need is a few more hours in each day :)

As I said earlier, Star Crossed is a combination of my love for all things Irish Chain Quilts and Stars.  When I started designing it I really wanted to give it a "floating" feeling.  I love how the chain isn't quite connected, which really let's those stars shine ;)    And the additional of single patch and four patch stars just adds a fun bit of pop!!

I used Lella Botique's Sugar Pie fabric line for this quilt.  I just love the soft colors and the beautiful prints.   They were just perfect to make those stars shine.   The quilt is Layer Cake friendly so all you need to add is some background fabric and you are good to go!!!  The hardest part is just choosing which Layer Cake to use . . . so many beautiful fabrics, so little time :) 

And when it came time to quilt I had a lot of fun!!!   For the Stars and the Chain I used lots of echoed arches.  I just love the way it makes the star points just pop and how in the center of the block it creates the fun cathedral window or orange peel pattern.  I could quilt those arches for days!!!

And there is a whole lot of white space to fill in this quilt!!!  The possibilities are endless ;)  So I did a combination of a lot of favorites including, swirls, paisleys, pebbles, and curls.   I just love using this for a background because all of the beautiful curves in the quilting really softens all of the pretty points in the patchwork.   They are a great compliment to each other ;)

I did all of that quilting on a small to medium-ish scale, so there is a whole lot of texture going on in that background.  I might have ran my hand over the quilt top several times before I finally managed to put it in the box to ship to McCalls ;) 

And lastly,  one of my  favorite things about this quilt is that it is fun and fast to piece!!!  What of the things I always find myself saying when I am teaching is Fun and Fast.   I just love it!!!   And with these super large blocks made up of pretty basic piecing, you can put this bed size stunner together in no time.   I totally want to make it again but in a nighttime version with a dark background.   (Well, I also want to make a a two color version, so maybe I'll be making it three times ;) 

And that is my Star Crossed Quilt!!!!   And if you want to see a little more of my Star Crossed Quilt, you an pop on over to McCalls's Quilting blog to read a special guest blog that I have posted over there ;)   Lot's of Happy Quilting Today ;)  

And that's all for today!!!   I hope that you have a very Happy Quilting Day :)

Linking up these finishes to Amanda's, Sarah's, and Myra's ;) 

I Love House Blocks - Two New House Quilts!!!

Can I just say I am so excited for today!!!!  Secret Sewing is so hard to keep a secret ;)   So let's now wait a minute more and get right to sharing the quilts!!!
This is  The Street Where You Live .

and this is Home Is Where The Heart Is.   

 And I just love both of them!!!!  I made these two quilts almost a year ago for the newly released I Love House Blocks book and I have been so excited to share them ever since.  I just love these happy house quilts.  There is something so warm and snuggly about a quilt made of house blocks.  And this book is jam packed with 14 awesome quilts that just give you that happy to be home warm fuzzies.

So let me tell you a bit about my two quilts found in I Love House Blocks.   First up is The Street Where You Live.   And this one has a fun little story behind the design inspiration.  A few days after I received the invitation to submit some designs for an all House Block book, I was watching My Fair Lady.  And as Freddie was singing "I'm on the street where you live." I noticed the beautiful English Row Houses behind him and just thought, Perfect!!!!  I paused the movie, grabbed my sketch pad that I keep in my night stand, and before you know it, I had the cutest little English Row houses all happy and ready to be stitched.

And I just about flipped when I was looking at fabric options and came across Carina Gardner's Apricot and Persimmon Line.   How perfect are these prints and colors.  They just so reminded me of all of the wonderful costumes they dressed Eliza Doolitle in.  Doesn't that black and white just remind you of the beautiful dress Eliza wore to the race track.  It was just the perfect fit!!!

I decided to use 4 different window orientations in the house blocks.  I love the variety it adds to the quilt while still keeping the piecing nice and easy.   And the rows are put together using varying strip width's so you can really arrange your row houses in any order you like.   Again, I just love that it gives each row it's own long and really gives a neighborhood feel to the quilt.

When it came time to quilt it, I decided it needed something fancy, I mean this is a My Fair Lady inspired project right.  Fancy was a must :)    So I quilted an all over feathered swirl.   This is one of my favorite free motion quilting designs to give a beautiful texture and flow to the quilt top.  It's sort of my calligraphy of quilting ;)

And I have to say, I just love the black and white stripe binding on this quilt!!!  It is such the perfect way to finish it up.   So striking!!!  Especially next to the beautiful peach background ;)

And that is On The Street Where You Live, ya I named it after it's inspiration ;)    It measures 64" x 72" and it oh so much fun to make.   It's just perfect for beginners and experts alike.   I hope you just love it as much as I do ;)

And the second project I am blessed to have featured in I Love House Blocks is Home Is Where The Heart Is.   When I started brainstorming for design ideas I kept having the phrase, home is where the heart is come back to my mind.  It was something my mother said a lot when I was growing up and something I try to keep in mind as I raise my own family.    So I started thinking how an I share a Heart in a home . . . and this is what I came up with.

These little houses are so much fun to make.  And I just love the little heart cornerstones :)   So cute!!!   And I added some two sided sashing to the houses to give the quilt some movement.  I love that it just makes this neighborhood truly a place I would want to visit.

I used Bonnie and Camille's Little Ruby fabric for this quilt.   The colors were the perfect fit for the feel that I was trying to create, and all of the tiny prints really let the houses and the hearts in them shine.   And it was so much fun that there were so many wonderful Red prints in the line so there is lots of variety in all of those hearts ;)

When it came time to quilt it, I again decided I wanted something that really flowed to break up all the sharp points in the houses.   So I quilted it with an all over echoed paisley design, which is always a fun go to for lots of movement and curves.   I did a video tutorial right here on how I free motion quilt this, if your interested ;)

And look at that yummy texture it makes.   Oh so warm and snuggly.   I just love it.   I used my go to 402 Pearl thread for the quilting.  It is just the perfect color on that wonderful white background, blends enough to not take away from the design, but you can still see that it is quilted ;)

And the way you cut out and piece this quilt leaves you with a few extra Flying Geese, so I thought, how cute to make a fun pieced back!!!!  I love that this used up all of the little orphan pieces, I have enough of those already ;)    The directions for how to add up this little feature are included in the book and I just think it is the perfect finish for this quilt ;)

And that is Home Is Where The Heart Is, and again, when it came time to name it, the inspiration just stuck :)  The quilt measures 60" x 76" and would make a perfect give for someone special.  The quilt truly is all about the heart and I again, hope you love it as much as I do ;)

And those are my two House Quilts from the new I Love House Blocks Book!!!  And I am just so excited to finally get to share them ;)  Oh, and I have to add, I was pretty excited when I got my copy of the book and found that both of my quilts made a little cameo on the cover!!  Eeekk, so fun!!!

 There are lots of amazing House Blocks in this book and so many quilts that I have added to my "to make someday" list from it so be sure to Pop on over to  Martingale, the book publisher, to see all of the beautiful quilts ;)   And they just might be celebrating the release with a Giveaway as well!!!  So fun ;)   I Love House Blocks is now available wherever quilting books are sold and  if you would like a signed by me copy, I have a few available in my little book shop here!!

Thanks so much for popping in today and each day!!!  I am just so excited daily to share my quilting adventures here ;)

Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Linking up these finishes to Amanda's, Sarah's, and Myra's ;)