Monster Quilt equals Long Arm!!!

Yesterday I got to visit Let's Quilt to do a little long arm action for the second time!!  And once again, I had so much fun!!! It was nice to have a little experience under my belt from the  first time so that I felt a little more confident, and subsequently was a little quicker.  This time I was working on a king size quilt and it was a monster. Sadly, I can't show you the quilt (It will be published next year) but I can show you the back :)

After playing around with several designs in my head and on paper, I finally decided to go with this concept. I really like the way it creates a patchwork look and it really lends itself to the quilt design.  And it was oh so much fun to quilt.  It's not perfectly even by any means, but I am super happy with how it turned out.  Each of those little squares are about 7"'s.  So fun!!!

Now I just need to make some more monster size quilts so I have an excuse to go back down and play again.  Oh, I know, maybe I could finish the King and Queen size versions of my Braided Irish Chains ;)  So many projects, so little time :)

TNT Thursday - My Pickled attempt at Pickling

So this weeks TNT is a little different for me in that it has nothing to do with quilting.  It did however, keep me from spending as much time quilting :)  So here's what I tried new :)

I do not have a green thumb.  In fact, I would say it is much more of a brown thumb. And normally our little garden produces so little that we can eat it right as we pick it.   But . . . for some reason, this year, I have cucumbers coming out of my ears!!  So, since we can't eat 20 cucumbers in a week, I decided to try my hand at making pickles.

I found this recipe at Crazy Mom Quilts and thought it sounded easy enough.  But, when I got to the store I found that they were out of mustard seed, and didn't have red pepper flakes or canning salt.  So I decided to improvise.  Instead of canning salt I used regular salt and instead of the spices listed I just used Pickling Spice.  (It said on the label that it worked for pickles).

So after 24 hours of refrigeration we have pickles!!!  They are crispy, green and look delicious.  However . . . when you bite into them they are spicy!!  Seriously, these pickles bite back.  I think I should have stuck to the exact recipe and left out the pickling spice, or not used so much of it.

But I am not to worried.  I have already found at least 15 little cucumbers that should be ready in a few days.     I will be trying again soon, and this time I will find a store that carries the remaining ingredients I need and follow the recipe :)  And since this is all gardenish I am linking up to Debbies Herbal Table :)

So what have you been trying new this week???  Link on up :)

Studio Tour

Today my little sewing space is being toured at the Moda Bake Shop!!!  So if you want to see a few shots of my happy purple space go ahead and pop on over :)

I just love that when I sit here I have my current WIP to the right of me, my future projects stacked in the cupboard above me and fabric inspiration all around me :)

Tetris Quilt-A-Long - Week 6

**  NOTE  - This post is part of a series of posts for the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.  If you would like to join (and have a chance to win one of the grand prizes sponsored by The Intrepid Thread ) you can find a list of the post links here :)

Need detailed instructions on "how to play"??  See this post :)

It's Week 6 of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long!!!!  The last week of blocks!!  (But were not done yet, we have borders, and putting it all together next week and then a parade on the 11th of September :)

But before we get to the pieces for week 6, Let's first announce a winner of the Week 5 giveaway who gets the Modern Quilts HYB. And Mr Random Generator says the winner is . . .#6 - Lisa Marie- Congrats!

So now  . . .  on to Week 6!!!  (It's our last week of blocks!!!!)

First, Print off your grid!!

Now, color in your Tetris Pieces

Nothing fancy needed, just fill it in as if you were playing.  Here's my grid for this week.

Now lay your fabric out to match your grid.  Now for those that did the Tetris Color Charm Swap, you might be running a little low on squares. You might need to swap out colors or get a few prints from your stash.  Just FYI :)

And now just sew your squares into rows and then your rows into your Week 6 Block!!! (For detailed instructions on sewing a grid/patch block together see this post :)  

Yippee Skippee!!!  Block 6 is done!!!  You are done with all of your weekly blocks!!!  And now you can enter to win the last weekly prize :)

The Weekly Prizes are sponsored by the Fat Quarter Shop and a huge thanks goes to them for their support of the Tetris Quilt-A-Long.

This weeks  prize is a Cherry Christmas Jelly Roll by Aneela Hoey for Moda.

So what do you have to do for a chance to win this beautiful Jelly Roll??  Simple . . . Just link up your Week 6 block at the end of this post :)  You can link to a blog post or a flickr picture, or whatever.  Just make sure to link up by next Tuesday morning as I will be announcing a winner at the beginning of next weeks post :)

And Don't forget to add your Week 6 Block to the Happy Quilting Quilt-A-Long Flickr group!!!   I am so excited to see everyone's Week 6 block!!!  Yippee Skippee for the last weeks block!!!!

So what are you waiting for . . . Get your Tetris sewing on!!!

100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop

So have you heard about 100 Quilts for Kids??  Are you participating???  Do you need some inspiration??  

 100 Quilts for kids is an annual charity quilt drive co-hosted by Katie Blakesley of Swim, Bike, Quilt and the DC Modern Quilt Guild.   They make it super simple.  Just make a quilt or 2 and donate it to a child in need, locally if you can.  Easy right!!!  Then link up your quilts anytime from now until Oct. 15th for a chance at some great prizes.  And best of all you can smile, knowing you used your skills for good. 

If you haven't guessed,  Today is my stop on the 100 Quilts for Kids Blog Hop. Yippee Skippee!!! And for my stop I thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite "quick" tutorials.  These tutorials help in making adorable quilts  that will be treasured.  They also have the added benefit of whipping up in a day or 2 at most.  Perfect for those of us (most likely all of us) who are pinched for time.  

The first tutorial is Refracted!!!   This is my newest tutorial and it goes together super  fast.  Like as in I put this larger version's top together in 2 days, including cutting.

The only difference is that you wan't a kids version.  So instead of making 25 blocks, just make 10 with 10 fat quarters and sew them in  a 3 x 3 layout with an extra block to piece into the back :)  It might look something like these :)  Girl Version, Boy Version, or Rainbow.   Any way equals totally cute!!

The second tutorial  is Ribbons!!  Now obviously you don't have to use Christmas fabric.  Just pick your favorite Kid friendly Jelly Roll.  You can follow the tutorial exactly to get a slightly larger kids quilt or if you like just omit the solids and use just the 1 jelly roll.  The quilt will come out at appx. 50" x 50", perfect for a little one to cuddle up with.

The third and final tutorial is the Disappearing 9 Patch Variation.  This is a super fun way to create a sashed look without actually having to sash, which saves a ton of time. 

So if you haven't had time to make up a quilt or 2 for the 100 Quilts for Kids Project why not whip up one of these??  This is a wonderful charity event!!!  So what are you waiting for . . .  get quilting for the kids!!!