Splendid Sampler Saturday!!!

Time for another Splendid Sampler Saturday Post!!!

First up, the Hand in Hand block designed by Kari Carr. This was such a fun block to make up.  The "star" points are actually 3-D so you can stick your finger underneath them.  So fun!!!  Such a creative way to change up a block!!

And second is the Inspector Sidekick block designed by Michelle Foster.  And I have to say, this one came out a little darker than I had planned, but I still totally love it!!!  It is always fun to play with solids!!  This will be a good corner block in the quilt to really set it off ;)  So excited!!!

And one more quick thing before I sign off today, which isn't Splendid Sampler . . . but it does allow for lots of Splendid Quilting down the road ;)  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Saturday ;) There is a current Sewing Survey being run by F & W that ends May 20.  So if you get a chance, pop on over and answer a few questions about your sewing habits ;)  I tell you, one of my favorite parts of Market is hearing the results of these types of surveys, so very interesting!!! And it really does help the manufactures of the industry better know how to serve us all :) Win - Win!!

And with that little side note, I am signing off for today ;)  I hope you have a very Happy Quilting Day!!!

Box It All Up - 100 Blocks Blog Hop

I am so excited!!!  It's time for another 100 Blocks Blog Hop!!!  Volume 13 of 100 Blocks Magazine is hitting new stands everywhere and I am so very honored to have a block in it!!  The block is called Box It All Up and it is block #1262.  And it is such a fun block to make ;)

  I just love 100 Blocks magazine!!!  They are chuck full of so much creative goodness!!  This is the 8th time I have had a block in 100 Blocks and I get more excited with each one ;)  And I am especially excited to not only have my block on the cover of this edition but to also have my name on the cover!!!  I might have squealed out loud when I saw that the first time ;)

And I a super excited to get to share a finished Box It All Up Baby quilt with you as well ;)  This quilt was for my sweet little niece Emily ;)  She is my twin sister's third little one and such a cutie!!!

You might remember this picture I shared a while back.  This was the first time I got to meet my sweet little niece Emily when she was about 3 weeks old.  She sure has grown a lot since then ;)

The Box It All Up Block makes such an adorable baby quilt!!  I  had fun adding a thin sashing so the blocks can really play together and create some great secondary designs.  And the block really does come together fast while still having lots of movement to keep your eyes dancing around.  So fun!!

For the fabrics, I choose the beautiful lilac color story of Violet Crafts Brambleberry Ridge for Micheal Miller fabrics.  I love how all of the colors are so soft and just blend together.   And of course, you know I love the purple!!!!   And it even has pops of gold in it, the lines is just precious and it fits my sweet little niece just perfectly!!

When it came time to quilt, I decided to go with an all over design of all my favorites ;)  This mixture of Swirls, Curls, Paisleys, and Pebbles is really becoming a favorite design to do and I just love all of the wonderful texture it creates!!

And that is my sweet little Emily's Box It All Up Baby Quilt!!!   I had so much making her quilt with the Box It All Up Block!!!  I never get tired of how fun it is to watch a block grow into a quilt!!  Just such an amazingly happy process of creation!!

And there just might be some more Box It All Up Block sewing around here :)   Don't you just love these shades of Berry Bella Solids!!!   Some secret sewing fun to be revealed at a later day :)

That's all of the Box It All Up Block . . . But don't go away yet!!  One lucky Happy Quilting reader will be getting the all the amazing block patterns in their own copy of Volume 13 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks!!!!

    

To enter is easy!!  All Entries are welcome, including International Entries.  Please just be sure to leave an email address if you are a no-reply blogger ;)  One Entry per person please and I will announce a winner on Wednesday Morning,  May 11th ;)

ENTRY - Simply leave a comment that includes the number 13.  It can be anything, as long as there is an 13 in it :)    

And be sure to pop on over to the Quilty Pleasures Blog for lots more 100 Blocks Posts, Eye Candy, and of course, awesome Giveaways!!!

Thanks for Stopping In, Good Luck, and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Linking up to Sarah's and Amanda's ;)

Tell Me A Story Doll Quilt from Intentional Piecing

Okay, today is all about to cute for words!!!   I am so excited to share a quick little finish with a special story and for a special person.   Here it is, the Tell Me A Story Doll Quilt ;)  Isn't it just so adorable!!!

The pattern for the Tell Me A Story Block is from Amy Friends new book Intentional Piecing.  Amy is such a sweetheart and a Paper Piecing Genius!!!   Her book focuses on getting the most from your fabrics and really thinking about how you want to use them to enhance the quilt design.  I really love the way Amy gets you to look at your fabrics with all new possibilities!!!

The Tell Me A Story Quilt is all over right now!!!  Have you seen it popping up on social media??   You can find them with the #TellMeAStoryQuilt.   They are all so cute and I just love that it is getting everyone to really think about how their fabric can represent a special memory or story.  So fun!!!   And of course, there is a fun little prize to go along with telling your own story, you can check it out here!

So when I decided to try the #TellMeAStoryBlock, I really wanted to focus on "intentional".    This jumped out to me because one of my goals this year is to be more "intentional" in my projects.  I do a lot of projects in a year and this year I really wanted to focus on making sure each project had a purpose ie, being made for someone, or for something, or would work for a special type of event, ie wedding, baby shower.   You get the point.  So rather than just make a block that would end up an orphan block somewhere, I thought it would be just perfect for a Doll Quilt  for Kami.  She got a new 18" doll for her birthday and has been asking for a quilt for her, a perfectly intentional match ;)

So with Kami's help, we choose out the cutest perfectly princess fabric!!!   I got this fantastic Happy Ever After by Sandra Workman for Riley Blake Designs Layer Cake a few markets ago and have been waiting for the perfect project to use it for.  Kami was so excited to break into it!!

We chose the Princesses and Fairy Tale Places for the center blocks.  I loved that with every little bit of gussy cutting I was doing she was telling me all of her favorite fairy tales that the girls and places reminded her of.   Then, since my girls absolutely love dress up, We choose the princess ball gowns for one set of borders.  The second set of borders are a beautiful damask print that remind me of  the cover of my childhood Hans Christian Anderson Fairy Tale book.  I have to say, it was so fun to cut up these fabrics thinking specifically of how the fabric represented some wonderful memories, and how we created memories as well in choosing it out!!

And then it was time to do a little Paper Piecing.  I am still not an expert at Paper Piecing by any means, but I really enjoyed this basic layout and didn't have any problems having it all come together nicely.   And you always have to love the mess you make when Paper Piecing!!

And before to long, I had an adorable Tell Me A Story Doll Quilt top and then just a little stitch in the ditch and some binding and the Quilt was done!!!   My daughter loves it, and the best part is, it will always remind me of her sharing all of her stories :)  Super excited for this adorable finish!!!

I was really grateful to Intentional Piecing for making me stop and really look at the designs on my fabric and think about them in a whole new way!!!  Such a fun way to bring a whole new level of creativeness into your quilting ;)

And I already have my second project from Intentional Piecing picked out!!!  You remember how I have been storing up selvages for just the right project . . .  enter the Circuitry Quilt!!!  Isn't this just so fun!!!   I love it!!  Now, just to find a bit more time in the day so I can start it :)

Which makes me wonder . . . do you save your selvages???

Happy Quilting!!!

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)  And sorry it is coming a little late today  . .  . I was teaching my sister-in-law applique!!!  So fun!!!  So let's get to it . . .

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   The winner of the SummerFest Charm Pack  and a Bella Solids White Charm Pack from  Ollie and Evie   is . . .   Number #91 . . . Congrats Erin Marie!!!   I have emailed you :)    

    

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Fat Quarter Shop.   Fat Quarter Shop has everything you could ever want and then some!!!   They always have amazing deals and amazing tutorials.  Have you checked out their You Tube Channel yet??  Daily awesome eye candy!!!!

And for today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Fat Quarter Shop has a super adorable Fat Eighth Bundle of Summerfest by April Rosenthal for Moda!!!!  I have sewn with this line for Market last year and let me tell you, it is fantastic!!!  So bright, happy, and all around summer goodness!!!

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 what are you looking forward to doing the most this summer??  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Fat Quarter Shop love.   You can follow them on   Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, You Tube or at their Blog.  You can Sign up for their Newsletter which will ensure you catch all of their amazing sales, or you can visit The Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Fat Quarter Shop Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, May 10th, when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!

Quilt Along???

Hello all.  So, if you have been around here for any time . . .you know that I love to do Quilt-A-Longs, and it has essentially become an annual thing.  Last year, we did the Irish Chain Twist Quilt- A-long to co-inside with my Irish Chain Quilts book release, and while I wanted to repeat that timing this year, Spring got a little busy and this month is going to be no different with Market fast approaching.

So what do you say to a Summer Quilt-Along??  (or would you rather wait until Fall??)  Both are totally doable.  If we did Summer, we would go slower than we normally do so that if you are on vacation for a week or whatever you will still have time to get your weekly assignment done . . . I am thinking maybe Bi-weekly assignments.   What do you think??

Also, I have a few sketches and some basic plans in the works . . .but I want to make sure I include what you want to do???  So is there any particular skill that you want to learn in this Quilt Along??    Do you want to see a particular design concept, ie . . .I always love stars ;)   Do you want to do a block quilt, or a medallion quilt, or maybe some random layouts??

Here's your chance . . . What do you want to get out of this years annual Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long???