October Sponsor News!

Hey there, friends!  Am I the only one who has a tough time staying in the autumn spirit?  I know it's only October, and I absolutely love all of the warm fall colors, but around this time of year, my autumn decor has been out for a few weeks and my mind starts jumping right to Christmas.  I want to enjoy all of the orange, brown, and gold colors; all of the leaves and pumpkins and scarecrows, but deep down, I'm just itching to start putting up my Christmas stuff.  I can't help it!  

So with that in mind, today I'm highlighting all of the awesome stuff going on at my favorite fabric shops around the web, and I'm here to satisfy those of you who are like me- torn between a love of two seasons.

Let's kick off with Lady Belle Fabric, where this Lilliput bundle by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery fabrics definitely fits the bill for warm and cozy. 

The woodsy feel of these fabrics is soft and earthy, and the palette is unique.  They're perfect for an autumn quilt.

            

If you're already in a Christmas frame of mind, take a look at this stunning Holiday Classics collection by Rifle Paper Co.  These fabrics have traditional Christmas motifs and colors, but I think the addition of black makes it a little dressier.  So pretty!

Over at LouLou's Fabric Shop, I always love browsing through the huge selection of quilt kits.  There are SO many to choose from, and they have kits that aren't found in many other places.  Check out this Through the Woods quilt kit.  What a cool quilt!

If you're looking for a more traditional Halloween quilt with pumpkins and bats, I am in love with this Spooky Sampler!

Or, if you've already moved onto Christmas projects, LouLou's has you covered there too!  There are tons of Christmas fabrics available right now, and this Homegrown Holidays bundle is even on sale!

LouLou's is also offering a special sale to my readers. Right now, take $10 off any layer cake with the coupon code "Layer Cakes"  Awesome!

                      

And finally, I always love shopping at Fort Worth Fabric Studio.  They have a weekly bundle that is always perfect for the season, and if you're wanting a special touch for your Thanksgiving holiday table, take a look at this Amazing Autumn bundle.  These colors are quintessentially fall!

By the way, if you haven't shopped Fort Worth Fabric Studio's Monthly Bargain section, you are missing out!  There are kits, bundles, precuts, remnants, and sale yardage listed here, and once they're gone, they're gone!  Trust me.  You don't want to miss out!

 

     

If you're already looking ahead to Christmas, and if you're a lover of batik fabrics, then you'll definitely want to visit Fort Worth Fabric Studio to get some of the Felicity Batik Christmas collection by Kate Spain.  These fabrics are absolutely gorgeous!  There is even a beautiful quilt kit available.

Okay friends, whether you're soaking up all of the pumpkins, bats, and scarecrows you can handle, or you're already thinking of evergreen trees, stockings, and ornaments, I know we're all busy planning our holiday sewing.  I know these fantastic shops can help you out!  Each of them has a beautiful selection of fabrics with their own unique flair, but best of all, they ALL offer impeccable customer service with great prices. So head over and show them some love!

 

All Dressed Up and Shockwave

Hey there, friends!  This is the last week of the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog tour- can you believe it?  And we're going out with a bang!  The last two quilts included in the book are a couple of my favorites.  First up today is All Dressed Up, and this is a fresh take on a traditional bowtie block.

All Dressed Up is all about the blues!  This quilt uses color gradient and the arrangement of the light, medium, and dark blues give the blocks some real pizzazz;  but the addition of the negative space really makes it unique.

The blocks look like they're spinning out from the center, and I wanted to choose a quilting motif that would accentuate that.  A giant spiral that creates a vortex in the center does the job well, and I opted for a light blue thread that gives just a little contrast to the Kona Silver background.

This geometric floral print had been sitting in my stash for awhile, and I widened it out with a piece of Kona Royal Blue.  I love how it shows the tight spiral so well on the back of this quilt.  The binding is a perfect shade of light blue- Kona Stratosphere.   

Linda at Flourishing Palms made the All Dressed Up quilt for the blog hop, so head over there and take a look at her gorgeous version of the pattern!

The final mini quilt in the book is Shockwave, and I love this one so much.  It was actually a contender for the cover!  This quilt is kind of a mix between two traditional blocks- the pineapple block and flying geese.

The Shockwave quilt uses the warm, fiery side of the color wheel, and sets all of that scrappy improv goodness against a Kona Nightfall background. I have thought about making a cool color version several times, and I know it would look just as amazing.

The quilting on this one is all linear with coordinating thread, following the shape of each section of the quilt.  There is so much fantastic texture!

Remember my Gossip Queen quilt?  Well, I had a chunk of this orchid fabric leftover from that backing, and because the colors are similar in this mini quilt, I knew it would be perfect.  And this yellow diagonal stripe binding continues the color movement right to the edge of the quilt.

Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room made the Shockwave quilt for the blog tour, and you definitely need to check it out!

On Wednesday, I'll be wrapping up the blog tour with the bonus thank-you pattern, and a little recap of all of the awesomeness the book has to offer.  So, don't miss the finale!

Signed copies of Scrappy Improv Quilting are available in my Etsy shop HERE, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.  It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major booksellers.  
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck.  I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop!  :) 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-

8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes

9/7- Seasonal Sensations, Standards With a Twist 

9/13- Summer Blossom- Lori @ Crossquilt
           Up, Up, and Away- Sandra @ mmm quilts

9/15- Flutter- Rose @ Something Rosemade
           Botanics- Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

9/20- Face the Sun- Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
           Full Spectrum- Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

9/22- Prismatic- Anja @ Anja Quilts
           Downpour- Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

9/27- Funkytown- Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
           Cherub Wings- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

9/29- Chapel Window- Kris @ Sew Sunshine
           Winter Frost- Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

10/4- Heartstruck- Rebecca Grace @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
           Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares

10/6- Birds of a Feather- Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts
           Fall Foliage- Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

10/11- Ornamental- Gail @ Quilting Gail
            Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

10/13- Sunset Crossing- Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
             Positivity- Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts

10/18- All Dressed Up- Linda @ Flourishing Palms
             Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room

10/20- Sweet Bee (a bonus thank-you pattern), Finishing, and Wrap-Up (here!) 

Happy NTT!

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  This week has been Fall Break for my son and we have been out of town visiting family for the last several days, so no sewing for me, but I have a full day in my studio planned for today.  Before we left town last week, I did take some time to update my blog header, and I am really loving it!

Have you been keeping up with the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog hop?  This week's posts featured four more quilts, and you can see them HERE and HERE.  I can't believe it, but we are almost to the end of the tour.  Just two more posts!

Last week's party had lots of amazing link-ups, like this beauty by Sew Preeti Quilts-

Linda at kokaquilts linked up this pretty quilt.  Love those hexies!

This lovely quilt is by Quilting Gail-

And take a look at this simple, fun quilt shared by Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

And finally, Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic shared this striking quilt-

Okay friends!  I always love seeing your gorgeous creations, and it's time to link them up!

And of course, remember- for just ONE more week, NTT will be posted on Thursday mornings instead of Wednesday evenings!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Sunset Crossing and Positivity

It's time to showcase another two quilts from my new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting.  I can't believe we're almost to the end of the blog tour!  Today features two more quilts from the Standards With a Twist section, starting with Sunset Crossing.

Sunset Crossing uses scraps in a summery palette to add pop to the crossroads quilt blocks.  I love how the blue and aqua scraps play so well with the Kona Peach and Kona Melon solids.

I let the blocks be my guide for quilting this one.  Each crossroads block is quilted with coordinating thread with lines that follow the X shape with tiny crosshatch quilting in the center.  Stippling in the background adds lots of texture to the Kona White background.

This small blue and aqua floral print came right out of my stash and looks great on the back, and I finished it off with a Kona Melon binding.  By the way, I really love that with mini quilts, I usually don't have to go shopping!  Most of the time I can pull everything right from my stash- including the backing and binding!

Kate at Katie Mae Quilts made Sunset Crossing for the blog tour today, and I hope you will head over to see her lovely mini quilt!

Positivity is the second quilt being featured today, and this one is absolutely, positively, SO very easy to put together!  The scrappy purple and gray palette give this quilt some depth, but I think my favorite part of this pattern is how the plusses don't extend all the way to the edges.  That negative space makes it a little bit different.

With all of these squares, I knew that Positivity needed grid quilting to set it off.  The half-inch grid echoes the plus shapes and gives a nice, clean look to the quilt.  

I used this simple gray and white print on the back, and finished it off with a Kona Purple binding.

The Positivity stop for the blog hop is over at Sarah Goer Quilts.  Be sure to check out her version of this fun little quilt!

I'll be sharing the final two quilts next Monday, so come on back to see them.  And check out the full blog tour schedule below!

Signed copies of Scrappy Improv Quilting are available in my Etsy shop HERE, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.  It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major booksellers.  
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck.  I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop!  :) 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-

8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes

9/7- Seasonal Sensations, Standards With a Twist 

9/13- Summer Blossom- Lori @ Crossquilt
           Up, Up, and Away- Sandra @ mmm quilts

9/15- Flutter- Rose @ Something Rosemade
           Botanics- Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

9/20- Face the Sun- Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
           Full Spectrum- Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

9/22- Prismatic- Anja @ Anja Quilts
           Downpour- Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

9/27- Funkytown- Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
           Cherub Wings- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

9/29- Chapel Window- Kris @ Sew Sunshine
           Winter Frost- Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

10/4- Heartstruck- Rebecca Grace @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
           Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares

10/6- Birds of a Feather- Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts
           Fall Foliage- Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

10/11- Ornamental- Gail @ Quilting Gail
            Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

10/13- Sunset Crossing- Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
             Positivity- Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts

10/18- All Dressed Up- Linda @ Flourishing Palms
             Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room

10/20- Sweet Bee (a bonus thank-you pattern), Finishing, and Wrap-Up (here!) 

Ornamental and Churn, Churn, Churn

Wow!  Can you believe we're starting a brand new week of the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog hop?  I certainly can't.  Today, we're finishing up the Seasonal Sensations section and beginning the fourth and final section of quilts.  Let's jump right in!

I could never have had a section of seasonal quilts without including a design for Christmas, and I had so much fun designing the Ornamental quilt.  My favorite little bits of Christmas fabric make up the hanging ornaments, and the background of this one is metallic gold (Cloud 9 Glimmer Solids in Champagne).  If there's any time you can get away with a little extra glitz and glam, it's Christmas!

I keep my Christmas scraps separate from all of my other scraps, and I just love digging into them.  Since I already have a Christmas quilt for snuggling on my couch, most of the time when I make a Christmas project, it's for a gift, and it's on a smaller scale- napkins, pillows, table runners, etc.  My scrap basket never lets me down, and it certainly didn't with the Ornamental quilt.  It was so fun to go through my basket to find just the right pieces, and the Kona Rich Red and Kona Basil stripes add a little extra detail to them.

I added lots of texture to the ornaments with dense lines, matching the thread to each color section, and kept the quilting simple with my favorite filler design- stippling of course!  Stippling in the background always creates a nice contrast to more detailed quilting, and adds yummy texture without looking too busy.  I really wish the glimmer of the gold fabric showed up a little better in the photo!

The back is made from some of my favorite Christmas strips and chunks, and I framed the quilt in this subtle tonal red print.  

I'm a traditional red and green Christmas girl, but can you imagine how these ornaments would look in blue and silver, or any other color combo that matches your personal decor?  Well, Quilting Gail put her own spin on the Ornamental quilt, and she took this little quilt in an entirely new, gorgeous direction.  Hop over there and see it!

The second quilt for today begins a whole new section!  In the Standards With a Twist section, each of the mini quilts is made from a traditional block, but trust me.  The addition of scrappy improv sections make them anything but standard!  

Churn, Churn, Churn is the first quilt in Standards With a Twist, and the color gradient used with the scrappy improv technique make this one so unique.  The quilt moves from the softest pinks in the center to  a rich, deep pink in the biggest outer churn dash, and all of the shades of pink glow against the Kona Medium Gray background.

This mini quilt is quilted with an allover boxy stipple design.  Unlike most of the other quilts in the book, I actually chose a thread for quilting that doesn't blend into either the improv or the background.  White quilting thread shows up just a little bit against each color, and it really works!

This color gradient chevron print from my stash was just too perfect for the backing, and I had just enough of this pretty light pink fabric for the binding. 

Cynthia at Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework made her very own Churn, Churn, Churn quilt, and you definitely don't want to miss it!

You know the drill!  I'll be sharing two more quilts on Wednesday, so come on back to see them.  And check out the full blog tour schedule below!

Signed copies of Scrappy Improv Quilting are available in my Etsy shop HERE, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.  It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major booksellers.  
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck.  I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop!  :) 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-

8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes

9/7- Seasonal Sensations, Standards With a Twist 

9/13- Summer Blossom- Lori @ Crossquilt
           Up, Up, and Away- Sandra @ mmm quilts

9/15- Flutter- Rose @ Something Rosemade
           Botanics- Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

9/20- Face the Sun- Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
           Full Spectrum- Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

9/22- Prismatic- Anja @ Anja Quilts
           Downpour- Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

9/27- Funkytown- Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
           Cherub Wings- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

9/29- Chapel Window- Kris @ Sew Sunshine
           Winter Frost- Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

10/4- Heartstruck- Rebecca Grace @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
           Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares

10/6- Birds of a Feather- Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts
           Fall Foliage- Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

10/11- Ornamental- Gail @ Quilting Gail
            Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

10/13- Sunset Crossing- Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
             Positivity- Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts

10/18- All Dressed Up- Linda @ Flourishing Palms
             Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room

10/20- Sweet Bee (a bonus thank-you pattern), Finishing, and Wrap-Up (here!) 

Happy NTT!

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday!  I have been sewing like a madwoman during the past week, but unfortunately, I have to keep it a secret because it's for my new book.  During the sewing phase of my other two books, I've squeezed in some smaller projects between book sewing, but this week, I just took off pedal to the metal, and didn't sew anything else that I can share.

So instead, I'll just share lots of eye-candy from last week's party!  LeeAnna from Not Afraid of Color linked up this fun Halloween quilt-

This beauty is by Something Rosemade-

Look at this sweet wall hanging by Vicki's Crafts and Quilting-

This awesome, scrappy quilt is by Joy at The Joyful Quilter-

And this gorgeous quilt is by Sew Preeti Quilts-

By the way, don't forget that the blog hop celebrating the release of my newest book, Scrappy Improv Quilting, is happening right now.  Every Monday and Wednesday morning, I've been featuring two different quilts from the book, with some help from my quilty friends!  If you've missed the posts this week, you can see them HERE and HERE.  

And of course, for the duration of the blog hop, NTT will be posted on Thursday mornings instead of Wednesday evenings!

Okay y'all!  It's time to link up and share the happenings from your sewing studio.  I can't wait to see what you're working on!

1. You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post (not to your home page!) to make it easier for others.

3. Please remember to spread the word and post my button or a text link within your 

    post.  

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!

*If you're new to the party, here's a helpful tip for linking up- select "Auto Crop"  when selecting your thumbnail photo.  For some reason, trying to crop your own image results in the dreaded "white question mark box," and we definitely want to see your awesome work!  :)

Birds of a Feather and Fall Foliage

We're moving right along in the Scrappy Improv Quilting blog tour!  Birds of a Feather is up first today, and it pays homage to my favorite springtime backyard visitors.  We have a few bird feeders with different kinds of food in them to attract a wide variety of birds, and it's so much fun to see all of them congregating.

For the Birds of a Feather quilt, I used all of my light to medium aqua scraps, plus some light blue scraps, with bird silhouettes made from Kona Chestnut.  This palette is classic and so soothing, and looks like the birds are sitting on a wire with a cloudless sky in the background.  If you wanted your birds to sit amongst the branches of a tree instead, light and medium green scraps would accomplish that nicely.

I quilted each bird with lines that echo the shape, but I added a little extra curve in the quilting lines to give the hint of a wing in each silhouette.  When free-motion quilting two identical shapes, it can be difficult to make them match, but don't worry!  They don't have to be exactly the same.  In fact, I think it gives character to the piece if they don't.  The quilting lines on my birds are similar to each other, but definitely not exactly the same- and I'm okay with it!  I quilted swirly paisleys in the background, and it gives the illusion of clouds in the sky.

Two aqua fabrics look great on the backing, and the Kona Chestnut binding creates the perfect frame for this mini quilt.

Sew Preeti Quilts made Birds of a Feather for the blog tour, and I can't wait for you to see hers!

Up next is Fall Foliage, and this quilt is unique because it's the only one in the book that uses batik fabric scraps.  If you follow my blog, you know that I actually don't use a lot of batiks.  It's not that I don't like them, it's just that I find myself more often gravitating toward more graphic prints.  But I knew when I designed this leaf that batik scraps would really bring it to life.  The distinctive watercolor effect of the batiks shows off the autumn leaf perfectly.

In keeping with the outdoorsy feel of this mini, Fall Foliage is quilted with a dense, allover wood grain motif.  The tan thread blends into the Kona Khaki background, but stands out a little bit against the scrappy improv leaf without taking away from the colors.  The texture on this quilt is just amazing.

On the back of the quilt, I used some chunky batik scraps, and I love how the wood grain quilting shows up against them.  Since I don't use batiks very often, I wanted to really showcase them in this quilt, so I opted for a scrappy binding on this one to frame it.

Susan at Quilt Fabrication made her own version for the blog hop, and I know you're going to love it!

Be sure to join me next Monday, when I share the next two quilts from the book!  And check out the full blog tour schedule below!

Signed copies of Scrappy Improv Quilting are available in my Etsy shop HERE, or ask about it at your local quilt shop.  It is also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other major booksellers.  
And shop owners, you can get it from any of the major distributors- Checker, Brewer, United Notions, and EE Schenck.  I hope you'll consider adding it to your library or carrying it in your shop!  :) 

Scrappy Improv Quilting Blog Tour Schedule-

8/31- Intro, Single Block Beauties, and Simple Shapes

9/7- Seasonal Sensations, Standards With a Twist 

9/13- Summer Blossom- Lori @ Crossquilt
           Up, Up, and Away- Sandra @ mmm quilts

9/15- Flutter- Rose @ Something Rosemade
           Botanics- Diann @ Little Penguin Quilts

9/20- Face the Sun- Laura @ Slice of Pi Quilts
           Full Spectrum- Jayne @ Twiggy and Opal

9/22- Prismatic- Anja @ Anja Quilts
           Downpour- Nancy @ Grace and Peace Quilting

9/27- Funkytown- Vasudha @ Storied Quilts
           Cherub Wings- Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

9/29- Chapel Window- Kris @ Sew Sunshine
           Winter Frost- Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

10/4- Heartstruck- Rebecca Grace @ Rebecca Grace Quilting
           Star Spangled- Christine @ Triangles & Squares

10/6- Birds of a Feather- Preeti @ Sew Preeti Quilts
           Fall Foliage- Susan @ Quilt Fabrication

10/11- Ornamental- Gail @ Quilting Gail
            Churn, Churn, Churn- Cynthia @ Quilting Is More Fun Than Housework

10/13- Sunset Crossing- Kate @ Katie Mae Quilts
             Positivity- Sarah @ Sarah Goer Quilts

10/18- All Dressed Up- Linda @ Flourishing Palms
             Shockwave- Anne-Marie @ Stories From the Sewing Room

10/20- Sweet Bee (a bonus thank-you pattern), Finishing, and Wrap-Up (here!)