A New Quilt and a Winner!

Thank you all so much who took the time to enter into my Dream On giveaway! You left over 800 comments and I loved reading all about your crafting goals for 2011.  And welcome to all of you who just found me here for the first time. I'll do my best to keep you entertained. The one lucky winner of the Dream On quilt kit is Jackie! Jackie, Congratulations and I sent you an email to get your mailing address.

While I've been finishing up my Kerchief Girl quilt, I got the unstoppable urge to start in on a new idea. I pulled this beautiful stack of prints for Brooke's block in the Bee Hexed In bee this month, and really became enamored with this color palette of deep golds, creams, ivorys, greys and light blues. I've started seeing this combination in different forms all around now, and I'm thinking it might be the new "red and aqua" of 2011!

Here is a little peek of what I've made of these fabrics so far:

I was feeling the need to work on something requiring little accuracy - free-flowing and a little improv-y. I've always loved the Drunk Love style from Denyse Schmidt's book, and this one is inspired from the Drunk Love Two-Tone, except using mostly prints instead of all solids. After a few blocks, I decided to change it up a little and add in a few rogue improv blocks to spice things up. So far I like where this is going, although I wish I had a bit more neutrals to add in. Does anyone have any favorite cream colored prints?

The great thing about this is that my oh-so-opinionated Mark loves this style of slight wonk and the colors, I suppose, are man-ish enough for him. So I've decided to go for a king-size on this one for our bed. Which scares the hell out of me when I think about the basting/quilting stage with my giant belly in the way. Maybe it's time to finally send one out to a long-armer!

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and make sure you check back in here on Monday for the big announcement! Judging from a lot of your comments, this is going to be something a whole lot of you will want to join in on. You'll be able to find the same announcement over on the blogs of my partners-in-crime, the most talented Katy (i'm a ginger monkey) and ingenious Nova (a cuppa and a catch up), so make sure you pop in over there too!

Dream On Giveaway! (Giveaway ended!)

I just realized I promised you all a giveaway today!

I am decidedly not in the "stash pact" or "fabric diet" camp this year. Actually I've ordered a bit more fabric than usual the last couple of weeks and bought more yarn than I could ever knit in the next coming months. Oh well, I've got other things on my plate right now than suffering defeat at another failed resolution. But in the spirit of supporting all of you who have made this resolution, how's about a gift of fabric?? It's OK if you didn't buy it yourself, right??

Dream On is such a gorgeous line from Urban Chiks for Moda, based on the designs of vintage sheets and ripe with sherbet-y pinks, greens, yellows, blues and oranges. I finished my Dream On quilt (you can see the whole thing by the link to it on my sidebar) this fall, and this fabric was truly a "dream" to sew with. Would you like to make one yourself? 

For this giveaway I have not one, but TWO jelly rolls, FOUR YARDS of the beautiful patchwork cheater print for the backing and a half yard of the stripe in orange for a binding for one reader. Just add batting and maybe a solid and that's enough for one HUGE quilt! 

Hopefully that will help someone lessen the pain of their fabric hunger pangs. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me what is the number one project you would most love to complete in 2011, whether it be a quilt of a particular design, a crocheted granny afghan, a knitted sweater or just your first ever big sewing project. Be specific, I love to read the details! (My own goal is to complete my "Ode to Denyse Schmidt Colorwheel" quilt and my Liberty of London hexagon quilt!)

For a second chance to win, become a follower,

and for a third chance, blog or tweet about my giveaway!

Please, please make sure your blogger is not set to no-reply, or leave an email address so I can contact you. The winner will be chosen on Thursday the 20th of January. Good luck!

Dreamy Windmills Quilt

Before I do anything, I have to say a huge thank you to you all for such lovely, helpful and sometimes hilarious comments on my Arrrgh!!! post. You sure all do know how to make a girl feel better! When I first started blogging and flickring, it was to share my projects with whomever cared to see them, but I really think I've kept at it because all the supportive, caring - dare I say friendships? - I've made here. It's not that I don't have "real" friends in my "real" life, I've got lots of great ones, actually. But the kindred spirits I've connected with here understand the part of me that obsesses over fabric, curses my sewing machine and gets my panties in a bunch over quilts puckering. No one else in my life besides you guys gets it! So thanks for being here:)

I think all of your collective empathetic encouragement and sweet advice did the trick! Dreamy Windmills is by no means perfect, but guess what? No puckering! I adjusted my presser foot pressure as a few of you suggested and it really made a world of difference. Serves me right for not taking the totally free Bernina classes offered at my LQS that it never occured to me that was a big problem. I also succumbed to the temptation of basting spray for the back, but I doubt I'm pregnant yet so it's only my own brain cells I'm offing. And lots and lots of pins, every one I own, for the front.

We got outside to take a few shots this afternoon, but as you can see, autumn has landed in Seattle, and a blustery storm is rolling in.

Here is a more cozy indoor photo:

Isn't Dream On such a pretty line? I chose the orange stripe print from the line for the binding and I'm completely in love with the print I used for the back. It's a big cheater print that comes in two colorways and is perfect for backing if you're like me and usually just want to get to it and not have to bother piecing the back for interest. I used four charm packs combined with the Kona Ash solid in simple half triangle square Windmill blocks. If you're thinking it looks different than most Windmill quilts, it's probably because I set these on point. After it was washed and all cozy and crinkly, I decided there was still something missing, so I'm going back now and hand-quilting some of the star outlines. It measures a generous 60x60 and Mark thinks it's a little bit girly but somehow I doubt that will stop him from using it.

Welcome to the bunch, Dreamy quilt!

Oh yeah, you probably want to know who won the City Weekend jelly rolls! Here we go!

Number 284 Mary on Lake Pulaski

Number 293 Weatherbee:)

Number 71 Jennspen

Congratulations ladies! I'll be in touch soon to get your mailing addresses. I can't wait to see what you make with City Weekend!

City Weekend Baby Quilt - and a giveaway!

I was hoping to get a few more sunny-day pictures of this little quilt before I showed it but it looks like the weather won't be cooperating today. So here it is, all washed and cozy and ready to be packaged up and sent to it's new owner in Portland, Oregon, who is being born today! Lucy has a new cousin, Harper, (isn't that a cool name?) and I thought this would be a perfect gift to welcome her arrival.

I am just adoring this new line, City Weekend, by Liesl Gibson of Oliver & S fame. The color palette is so vibrant and unique! I'm especially loving the bright tomato red, turquoise and golden yellows, so I chose to highlight those colors in the backing, border and binding. The rest of the quilt was made with just two charm packs and a bit less than a yard of solid. Half triangle squares and little four patches, sweet and simple. It measures about 42 x 48 and I made friends with my walking foot with just some simple straight line quilting. I also used bamboo/ cotton batting for the first time and I LOVE it! The loft is a touch higher than Warm and White so it's super squishy and soft. I based the design off of a traditional pattern I'd seen in some vintage quilts, but I think the fresh colors give it a modern feel. I should also mention that the hand of these fabrics is silky soft when you touch the yardage, more so than typical quilting cotton. I'm thinking Liesl must have had a say in choosing the base cloth to make the texture wonderful for children's clothing. Lucy will definitely be getting a dress made from these soon.

So are you thinking you might like to play around with these lovely prints too? Moda has generously given me not one, but three, jelly rolls to pass on to three of my lovely readers!!! You've got three separate chances to enter, too! For the first chance, just because I love hearing what everyone else is up to, leave a comment telling me what your big crafty project is this week. If you're a follower, leave another comment for another chance, and if you follow Moda Bakeshop, go ahead and enter for a third! I'll have random integer choose three winners on Thursday at 5 PM western time. Good luck!

In case you were wondering what my big project is this week, it's quilting up my Dream On quilt. I'm in serious finish-mode and it feels so good!

Have a great Monday!

Blog-aversary Giveaway Winner!!!!

Here it is......the winner of the big Blog-aversary Giveaway!

True Random Number GeneratorMin: Max: Result:378Powered by RANDOM.ORG

Number 378!

Shari said...

Congratulations on your one year mark! Favorite print would have to be the "helicopters" from the Flea Market Fancy line. I don't know how many yards I had but I used every scrap. I hope you're not requiring me to pick a color too....

Yay Shari! I will be in contact with you via email to get this little package mailed off!

Thank you all so much for entering! I really actually did go through and read each and every comment and had a blast doing so. I'm going to do my best over the second year of blogging to not bore you to tears, so please check back often to see what I'm up to. I really adore and appreciate all the comments I receive - they really keep my creative mojo going!

Have a fabulous weekend friends!

WIP Wednesday (and lots of 'em!)

Holy comment love you guys! I am so joyfully overwhelmed by all the enthusiasm over my Blog-aversary giveaway! Two days to go and over 800 comments and lots of new readers. I am having so much fun reading all your comments! As far as favorite fabrics go, it seems anything Flea Market Fancy (big shock!) and in particular the seedling print is a clear winner. I was fairly sure anything by Heather Ross would be the second most popular, but her Goldfish in Bags print is far and away the most loved. Being a mushroom and gnome lover, that surprised me! Anyways, a big welcome to all of you who are new around here. Now the pressure is on to actually sew something!

So I decided to write out my list yesterday of everything I'm currently working on.......

it's a bit big and scary. I even forgot about a few to add and left off altogether a few I have classified into the "abandonment pile". And of course here I go again -  having zero will power to resist starting yet another project. The new City Weekend line is just too pretty to not cut up.

Here are a couple of other new things I'm working on:

A quilt for my pug-loving best girl friend (inspired by Ashley's gorgeous quilt here),

a quilt made from the new Moda Bliss line (the top is all pieced now and just needs borders),

and my super secret swap piece for the Urban Home Goods Swap.

It's a wonder I'm getting anything done at all around here lately keeping up with Lucia! I'm pretty sure she has more energy than most! She is actually loving her new baby dolls I made her. See how gently she shoves the bottle into the baby's mouth? I have already had to repair one's  embroidery and wipe raspberry goo off another's face (I admit a little cringing occured here) but they are meant to be played with after all!

So how many quilts do you have going right now? I hope to find a little time to wrap a few of these up soon.

See you Friday for the big winner announcement!

Happy Blog-aversary to me! (and a giveaway!) GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED!

I can't believe it's been one year! I finally decided to start blogging last August and it has been such a rewarding addition to my life. When I started I really didn't even know where to begin, as you can see in my very first post, here. I have never been one to keep a journal but this for me has been a wonderful way for me to catalog all my sewing adventures, and to watch Lucia grow and grow. I've made so many online buddies and received so my crafty encouragement from you all. I don't have any friends who craft in my "real" life so all of your comments and constructive criticism are very valued by me.

As a thanks to you all, I dug deep into the corners (okay, under the messy, desperately-needing-to-be-organized stacks) of my fabric stash and put together this little bundle of rainbow goodness to give to one reader. These are some of my most treasured prints of all, most of which are nearly impossible to find without paying for with one's arm and leg. Included is a fat quarter of each: Heather Ross lavender matryoshka dolls, pink bikes, blue dogs, aqua underwater sisters, seagulls and yellow mushrooms; Erin Michael's Lush painter's pots and Uptown paint-by-number birds in blue and red; Tula Pink aqua ladybugs; Katie Jump Rope red daisies, yellow ribbon and orange dots; and from Flea Market Fancy, green posies and seeds in gold and yes, grey! Those grey seeds I must admit are a little hard to part with, being my favorite print of all time. But you guys are worth it!

Wanna a chance to win??? Here's what to do: Leave me a comment telling me your favorite fabric print of all time! If you can't pick just one having two or three in that comment is just fine too:) (I do have a real soft spot for my black Nani Iro double gauze and some of my japanese fairy tale prints, too!)

If you are a follower, old or new, leave me a second comment for another chance.

If you have a link to my blog in your blog's sidebar of blogs you read, enter for a third chance.

And if you want to blog about this giveaway, go ahead and enter for a fourth!

And please, please make sure you give me a way to get ahold of you. So many people leave lovely comments and have their account set to no-reply so I can't get back to them! I'll leave comments open until midnight next Thursday and choose a winner on Friday.

Thanks again to all of you for making my bloggy adventures so much fun!

Tuesday morning pick-me-up (and the Scrap Bag winner!)

Nothing too exciting to report in my world this Tuesday. Just a few new pretty fat quarters (from the Flora & Fauna and Hunky Dory collections - I see more of both of these in my future), a stitchy pattern book to give me some inspiration for this month's Bee-autiful Bee blocks and a new pattern. 

Has anyone used this boxer pattern yet? Mark has been begging me to sew him some boxers so I just picked this one up and I'm hoping it works well. He has requested Liberty tana lawn as his material of choice after browsing through my stash. That or perhaps some of my beloved Heather Ross goldfish. I guess the man has taste! I think I'll make some up in something less rare and precious first in case they don't fit to his liking.

Time to announce the recipient of the Bohemian scrap pack - it's Karen (badlandquilts)! (Does anyone know how to paste that random integer number thing to their blog??) The scraps grew quite a bit after cutting the pieces out for the back and there are a few nice, big swatches so I hope there's enough there for you to go crazy with!

And this is a little view of what I'm working on for the other side of the Bohemian quilt. I'm sure most of you have already seen this awesome free pattern from Oh!Fransson and I'll show you more as soon as I'm done.

It's been a busy week around here, just returning from a trip from Eastern Washington for Mark's grandfather's funeral (he was 88 and passed away very peacefully). Lucy did really well on her first road trip (thank you new Ipad and Yo Gabba Gabba!) but the fabric hunt proved disappointing. We hit three different shops and no treasures were found:( So much for my fantasy of finding some bolts of FMF hiding in some out of the way quilt shop! Just lots of batiks, ugly calicos and civil war prints!

I'm off to pack up now for a trip out of town again. Mark is whisking me off for a fun-filled birthday weekend in Portland and the Willamette Valley wine country! I'm so excited! Lucy is staying with her grandmas and we are going to hit up some fabric stores on the I-5 corridor and Portland, drink lots of Oregon Pinot Noir and eat at some of my favorite restaurants in the country, including Le Pigeon for my birthday night! We'll be back Saturday to open our tasting room so I'll give you a full report of my fabric hunting when I return!

The (drunken) Bohemian quilt top

Yee haw! I finished the Bohemian quilt top today! Doesn't it look like a bunch of yummy Skittles candy here?

The sun visited us this afternoon so I got a chance to have an assistant hold it up for some sunshine love...

I really don't think I have ever been so close to hating a thing and then loving it in such a short time. But I really DO love it now. Even Mark has come around to liking it (although he is super glad it is off the "design wall" aka dining room wall now).

I really have a lot of this fabric left. And I am still really wanting to go with the Plan B quilt I was mulling over when I hated how the Drunkard's Path was shaping up. And let's face it, I really don't need two Bohemian quilts. So, it looks like this quilt is going to be double-sided. I'll show you what I'm up to just as soon as I get a little further.

Yes it's bright, and yes it may even be a bit obnoxious, but I'm smitten. And I think it looks a lot better in person. Thank you so much to all of you who offered your compliments and encouragement to keep me going on this. It really was almost completely frogged!

And for all of you out there who have been wanting to try your hand at curves, but are a bit intimidated, take it from the very non-expert who is me: it's super easy.

Just a few things to know:

1. Go slowly. Really slowly. This requires patience.

2. Do not consume any wine before embarking on this task. Coffee may be the preferred beverage of choice.

3. Just three pins worked best for me. One down far enough from the edge you'll begin sewing on to allow room for your foot, one at the very bottom edge and one smack in the middle. Line the two points up as seen below so the needle points to the points of the fabric. Does that make sense?

4. Use the needle down position frequently to check your work and move the excess fabric behind you. DO NOT PULL as the bias cut fabric will stretch and distort easily.

5. The first few ones may not turn out perfectly, but I assure you a little practice makes perfect. If I can do it, so can you. And may I just say, investing in a brand new seam ripper is one of life's small luxuries. I had no idea how dull my old one was and this new one sure make's ripping out mistakes a lot less painful.

Sewing curves is actually fun once you get the hang of it. I hope those tips might inspire some of you to give it a go!

So because I have a lot of this fabric left over and really don't need these scraps, would anyone fancy a big zip-lock of Bohemian scraps? There are a few bigger ones, but mostly pretty small but would make a nice string pillow top. Just leave me a comment here and I'll pick someone on Monday to send it off to. The only thing I ask is, please only leave me your comment for it if you really do think you can use them. I know I won't so I would love for them to find someone who can.

We are off for the weekend to Eastern Washington so I'm hoping to hit up a couple of small-town quilt shops to find some hidden out of print gems. Wish me luck, and you all have a great weekend!

Bohemian Giveaway Winners!

I'm so excited to announce the winners of the Bohemian Fat quarter stack and the two charm pack runners up! I used the random integer generator from Random.org (Mark erased the screen from the computer before I had a chance to cut and paste it) and here are the numbers in order it selected:

29

10

130

I almost fell over when I counted out the comments and the grand prize winner is none other than Bohemian fanatic Heather (alamodefabric)! Congratulations Heather! This was just meant to be, and I counldn't be happier because we all know this woman is going to give us all an awesome Bohemian quilt to admire!

The two charm pack winners are Kate(kmdegroot) and Holly(binkwaffle). Congrats ladies, I can't wait to see what you'll make!

Thanks so much to everyone for entering and all your inspiring comments!

You guys rock

I just wanted to say thank you for all your kind comments and encouraging advice concerning my Bohemian mess the other day.  I hope you don't all think I am some kind of fickle emotional freak, but I must say that now with a little distance and a new perspective, I think I actually like it!  

I took your advice and put up a piece of batting for a make-shift design wall and it really did make all the difference. Plus, it is so fun playing around with all the pieces, sort of like a jigsaw puzzle. Sure, it's aggressively bright and wild, but I am a big fan of color and I'm hoping once it's all done and quilted I'll love it to pieces. I am still toying with the idea of adding some solid neutral. And I have big plans for the back, to make it double sided quilt.

I've really been enjoying all your comments and enthusiasm for the giveaway! And I've realized I'm still going to have lots of this fabric left over, so I have decided to sweeten the deal a little. In addition to the grand prize fat quarter stack, I'm also going to throw in a couple of charm packs for two runner ups. I'm going to draw the winners this weekend so I promise to let you know Monday who are the lucky ducks!

I thought I would leave you with a glimpse of what my poor husband has to put up with on a daily basis-

This is our dining room/kitchen table, and yes, all my fabric and notions are pushed just to the side so we could enjoy this lovely dinner he prepared (garlic rosemary lamb chops, grilled onions, broccoli and Oregon Pinot Noir) while I fussed over this sewing dilemma. Oh, and here is a quote from him when asked his opinion on the pattern: "Yes, it's a bit busy, but I like the circles. But Mrs. Roper called and she's looking for her wardrobe." Funny guy.

Jumping the Gun

Here is the big, hot mess that graces my kitchen table this morning. And while I have all of your rapt attention, I thought I'd whine about it to someone who might care - or at least sympathize.

I was so inspired and excited by all your comments I decided to give a go to a pattern I had been contemplating for the Bohemian for a long time now, the Drunkard's Path. I used the template for the Joel Dewberry Deer Valley pattern found on the Free Spirit website. I'd seen so many other great circle quilts like these ones here and here that I thought it would look great with these big, bold prints.

Well guess what? I hate it.

I got pretty excited that I was able to pull off these curves fairly successfully my first time and made this test block. It wasn't near as difficult as I had feared! So I got a little rotary blade-happy. By the time I started laying some things out I was totally frustrated. So much so that Mark ordered me to go relax with the New Moon DVD he brought home for me and my knitting (which I also screwed up).

So what to do? I have a plan, I think. I do want to do a circular quilt at some time, but not with these prints. I am thinking a more calming pattern will take some of the busyness away and a nice neutral solid (linen?) will bring it all together. I am a bit heartbroken I wasted the only fat eighth of red circle dots I had, but I think it is time to just let go of this debaucle and move forward.

After all, there are more important things in the world to lose sleep over, right? I guess if this is my biggest worry of the day I am one lucky girl:).

And if anyone has a similar story to share I'd love to hear it!

Fairy Tale Charm Pack Winners Announced!

I am so sorry to have been keeping you all waiting so long......

The winners of the charm packs are Sarah and Liz B.! I am so happy to know they are going to homes who will love them and I can't wait to see what you make! (I will contact you both as soon as I get a chance between naps and other craziness around here.) Thank you to everyone who entered!

I have been way too busy this week. Husband and I decided to take our first mini vacation without Lucy! We packed up and headed down to Portland, one of our favorite cities, for a two night stay at Hotel Lucia downtown (a great place!). We spent two days walking around the Pearl and Hawthorne, drinking Stumptown coffee, drinking Oregon Pinot Noir, eating at awesome restaurants (Biwa, Apizza Scholl's, Kenny and Zuke's, Ken's Artisan Bakery and Pok Pok) and even got in a little shopping! Here are some purchases I made from some cute little quilt shops in Portland:

As if I needed to buy any more fabric!

Well, back to the business. Does anyone else feel like the holiday madness in beginning early this year?!? If I manage to get in any sewing this week, I hope to make some stockings from comfortstitching's fabulous new tutorial, found here!

My First Blog Giveaway!!!!

I am so excited for this - my very first blog giveaway!!! As many of you know, I have been obsessed with japanese kawaii fairy tale fabrics for awhile now. I have scoured shops and the internet and spent way too much on shipping from Japan and Australia to acquire what I believe to be a lovely little collection. Oh, and not to mention the wonderful ladies who have swapped some of these to me! I really, really love these fabrics.

I know a lot of you love them too! Most of these are out of print or really hard to find. There is Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, Sleeping Beauty, Goldilocks, Pinocchio and many more. And don't forget Little Red. I have the fairy tale quilt I plan to make for Lucy all mapped out in my head but with all my other WIPs and the holidays looming that isn't realistic right now. Sooo, I needed an excuse to cut them - you! I really want to share and see what someone else would come up with.

So here is the giveaway - I spent tonight cutting 5 inch charms out of all my favorites - 25 different prints in total. TWO SETS are up for grabs! To enter, all you need to do is leave a message here about what you would love to make with the charms. If you sign up to follow me, you'll get another entry. And of course, the 25 great gals who have already been gracious enough to follow me will be entered a third time! I am thinking I will have my 11 year old niece help me to draw winners, the random number generator intimidates me! Comments will close Sunday evening November 8th at 10 PM Pacific.

Thanks again to everyone bothering to read my postings here. I am still so very new to this crafty-sewing-blogging-quilting-mama business and so many of you have been such a great inspiration to me. All your support and constructive comments are always appreciated!