Just Stitching Over Here

So I have been working on a few behind the scenes projects as of late.  Most of these will be shown at Market, so luckily I won't have to keep them all a secret for a long time.    But secret sewing means I can't show a whole lot of what I have be sewing except for maybe some trimmings.  Oh yes, that is Hello Darling by Bonnie and Camille trimmings and it is lovely!!  I won't be able to share this one for a little while after Market so it seemed only fair to share this little tease, right ;)

But, I can show you, that with all of that secret sewing, my Scrappy Single Irish Chain quilt that I am making entirely as Leaders and Enders is continuing to grow.  I now have all of the blocks sewing into rows!!!

And now those rows are lovingly stacked by the side of my machine to be ready for Leader and Ender sewing into blocks :)  At that point, I think I will just have to hurry and finish the quilt, so hopefully not to much longer before I can share the tutorial ;)   I really am having fun making this quilt while making all of my other quilts, it just seems like it is "free" sewing.  Every few days I just look at the pile and smile how it is growing ;)

Have you given Leaders and Enders a try yet??  I haven't been doing it long and already I almost have a whole quilt from them, so awesome!!!  They really are so very much fun!!!

Happy Easter

Our family has had an amazing Easter weekend filled with inspiration and love.  This video shares why I love Easter so much!!  May the spirit of this Easter Weekend fill your hearts and your home.

Happy Easter!!

2 New Patterns!!

So it is kind of funny, but I taught these patterns clear back in January for 2 different retreats and was frantically getting them ready to be published.  I finished the patterns in time for the classes, loved teaching the classes, got wonderful reviews on the patterns, and then somehow, after all of the excitement let down, I totally forgot to add the here on the blog and in my  Etsy Shop ;)   So without any further ado, here they are!!!  Petal Pop and Trade Winds are my two newest patterns ;)

Petal Pop was originally featured in Quick Quilts back in 2013 and ever since I got it back from the magazine it has been on my bed.  It just makes me smile every time I walk in the room.  I frequently got emails from gals who had the magazine but wondered if there was a way to make it in a different size and I would think every time that I really should make it into a pattern with more size options.   And last year, I had a friend from our local guild over and she instantly fell in love with it and absolutely insisted that I teach this quilt at the next Cedar Quilt Retreat.  Which just happened to be the perfect catalyst for getting me to actually write up a pattern for it ;)

I have always loved this quilt that was actually inspired by a gorgeous tatting.  As I mentioned, I taught it in January and it was so fun to see everyone's different choices of colors and prints!!!  And everyone just loved making their blocks, it really is a lot easier than it looks ;)  And it is totally Jelly Roll friendly, so your cutting time to start out is super small ;)

Petal Pop has 5 size options, a Baby, Twin, Full, Queen and King and uses 3 varied block sizes to make those sizes work ;) So no matter what size your bed is, there will be one that works for you ;)   So fun!!!

And that is Petal Pop!!!  Oh I hope you love it every bit as much as I do ;)

And the second pattern is Trade Winds!!!!

Trade Winds was originally made in January of 2014 and I am so excited to finally be sharing it!!!  The reason it has been secret for so long is that it was originally created to be part of my new book, Irish Chain Quilts, hence the beautiful twist on the classic criss cross Irish Chain design made with the pinwheels.   But as the book started to get a little long Trade Winds had to "hit the cutting floor".  Which was totally okay because now, it can just become one of my new patterns!!!!

And the fun thing about it being a pattern is that it has size options!!  Trade Winds has 3 size options, a Baby, Picnic, and a Queen.  And of course, it is super Pre-cut friendly as it is mostly made with lots and lots of HST's!!  You know how I love em ;)

And I wanted to share some of the quilting detail of this, because it was the first time I ever tried ruler work.  (which I still need a lot of practice on ;)  These diamonds really were the perfect way to offset the Chain of the design, and I was super scared to quilt them, but I was super happy with how they turned out!!!  I used Superior Threads So Fine #50 in  402 Pearl for the quilting.  Yup, this was essentially the quilt that I found this favorite color!!!  It just blends so perfectly!!!  If you haven't given So Fine #50 thread a try yet, I would totally encourage you to give it a whirl.  It really is some fabulous thread!!!

The fabrics I used for Trade Winds are Kate Spain's Daydreams line for Moda.  I just love all of the beautiful colors and amazing prints!!! It is just a super fun quilt to use lots of happy bright colors that will pop!!!  And that is Trade Winds!!!

I am so excited to finally be sharing these 2 new patterns and quilts with you ;)  Both of these patterns are available in my Etsy Shop and are currently on sale for $5.00 for their opening debut ;)  They will remain on sale for a week and then go to my normal $8.50 pattern fee ;)

Thanks so much for stopping in today ;)  Have a Happy Quilting Weekend!!  It is Spring Break around here so I am off to the park with the kids ;)

So excited to finally be linking these finishes up to Sarah's and Amanda's :)

Bitty Bits Mini

For March, Fat Quarter Shop hosted a March Mini Challenge , and making Mini's is totally fun, so I decided why not join in on that fun ;)  I thought for a bit on what I wanted to make, and then it hit me, everyone makes mini's of their new quilt designs, right  . . .  so why not follow suit!!  And here it is, my Bitty Bits mini!!!

Bitty Bits is one of the  quilts in my new book Irish Chain Quilts (that comes out in just 6 weeks, squeal!!!)  The book quilt is done in all solids so I thought it would be fun to play with prints for this version.  I used up lots of my little grey "Candy pieces to make up this quilt and love all of the fun variety in it ;)

And when it came time to quilt it, I decided, since it was just a mini, to quilt it on my home machine ;)  I don't do a lot of quilting on the home machine since I got the long-arm, so it was fun to shake off a little of the rust.   I got back in the swing of it before to long and absolutely love the way it turned out!!

And I had so much fun with this mini, I have started another one.  I was so happy with how this one came together and thought it would be fun to share it at market.  Then I figured, why not share the different way you can change up this pattern with simply changing out color placement and using solids, prints, or a mix of them.   So there will be a few more Bitty Bits mini's in the making ;)

Isn't it just so fun to make mini's!!!  I love that you get such quick results and can really enjoy a good challenge because it is done on a smaller scale.   How about you . . . have you given Mini's a try??

P.S.  We had a lot of "extra" giveaway's here last week meaning not TTGD's.  Oh, so fun!!!   If you are wondering where the winners are they have been posted on the individual posts ;) Thanks and have a Happy Quilting Day ;)

Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day!!!

It's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Day . . . let's have some fun :)

First, we need to announce the winner from last weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway!!   I think we broke a record for most entries for a TTGD, Yippee!!!  The winner of The Taupe Box of Aurifil Thread from Fat Quarter Shop is . . .   Number #184 . . . Congrats Farm Quilter!!   I have emailed you :) 

    

    

    

And on to today's

Today's Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is being sponsored by Superior Threads!!   It's no secret around here that I am a huge fan of Superior Threads!!  You can go back through most of my completed quilts and see that So Fine is my go to thread!!  It always blends so perfectly!!  It gives you a beautiful quilted look without taking away from the quilt design, it is the perfect compliment!  

And the Terrific Tuesday Giveaway is for not 1 winner but for 10 winners who will all be getting a  Superior Threads Gift Certificate!!!!!  I will be giving away 5  $10.00 Gift Certificate to Superior Threads on my blog here!!!   And then Superior Threads will be giving away another 5 $10.00 Gift Certificates to Superior Threads on their Facebook site.  So be sure after you enter here to pop on over here and sign up for more chances to win ;)  

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 has the number 10 in it ;)  

 ENTRY 2 - Show your Superior Threads love. You can follow them on  Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, or their Blog. You can Sign up for the Superior Threads Newsletter or you can visit their Shop and then share a favorite item ;)   Just be sure to leave a comment of how you showed your Superior Threads Love!!!

And that's it ;)  The giveaway will be open until next Tuesday, April 7th when I will announce a winner at the beginning of next weeks Terrific Tuesday Giveaway Post :)

Good Luck and Have a Happy Quilting Day!!!