September Fabric Deals and Two Giveaways!

2018 is moving right along, isn't it?  It is so hard to believe that autumn is upon us, and it's time to really start thinking about sewing up holiday gifts and projects, and to help you out, I've got all of the information on sales you need to get it done.  Read on, friends!

Up first is Lady Belle Fabric.  Did you know that Lady Belle now offers quilting services?  Perfect for when you have too much to finish on your own.  You can see all of the amazing options HERE, or you can get to the page by clicking the "Quilting Services" link at the top of the shop page.

During the month of September, Lady Belle is offering free batting with all quilting services.  To take advantage of this offer, just include "free batting" in the comments.

Also this month, Lady Belle is giving away a $25 gift certificate to one lucky winner, which can be used toward quilting services, OR on any fabric in the shop.  Yay!

At Shabby Fabrics, they're ready to help you get into the Halloween spirit with a brand new Block of the Month Club!  The Trick or Treat Smell My Feet BOM runs from November 2018-August 2019, so you'll have this adorable wall hanging just in time for next year's Halloween (with glow in the dark fabrics!).  You can take a look at each block in detail and sign up HERE.
It is worth mentioning that Shabby Fabrics makes their appliqué projects super easy.  Every shape arrives pre-fused and laser cut.  All you have to do is iron them in place and stitch them down!

                 

LouLou's Fabric Shop has lots going on right now.  Until Friday, you can take advantage of 20% off of all fabric bundles (excluding LouLou Bundles) with the code loulous.


There is also a HUGE inventory reduction sale happening with hundreds of bolts marked way down- some as low as $5.00 per yard.  Deals like these are a great way to build up colors that might be lacking in your stash, so be sure to check it out!

I love Fort Worth Fabric Studio all year long, but I especially love their seasonal fabric "houses" this time of year.  They have a Holiday House, Haunted House, House of Heroes, and House of Hearts, which is a one stop shop for any themed projects you can think of!  

In fact, Gift Wrapped, my latest quilt, started with this fantastic Christmas Vintage Fancies bundle along with others from the Holiday House and my stash.

Fort Worth Fabric Studio also has awesome quilt kits with perfectly coordinated fabric.  Their latest is the beginner-friendly Star Break kit, featuring Moda's Badda Bing collection.  So cute!  Check it out HERE.

          

FWFS is sponsoring the second giveaway of the day- two charm packs of the adorable Mulberry Lane collection to help you get a jump start on your holiday projects (US winner).

The icy color palette and snowmen in this fabric line are so much fun!







Before you head off to check out the deals at these amazing shops, take a minute to leave a single comment on this post to enter the two giveaways.  Since one giveaway is only open to US readers, please be sure to let me know if you are international.
Remember to leave an email address if you're a no-reply blogger, and only one entry per person please!  Unfortunately, replies to your own comment counts as an entry (the system numbers those, too), so remember to put your email address in your comment if necessary.
Additional replies/comments/entries are always deleted.  I'll announce the winners at NEXT week's NTT (September 26th). 
Happy shopping!  :)

Gift Wrapped

I had a fantastic day on Saturday presenting a trunk show of my Stash Statement quilts and teaching a class to the Music City Modern Quilt Guild in the Nashville area (you can see all of the scrappy goodness from the class on my facebook and Instagram pages). Before I headed out of town though, I managed to finish my Christmas X Plus quilt.

I don't know about you, but I really love to work on Christmas things when the season isn't yet upon us.  Somehow, once Christmas actually gets here- you know, in mid-October in some places, and everything is decked out in red and green, my mind almost gets too saturated with those colors, and I don't enjoy it as much.  So, making this quilt in September felt just right.  I think the X Plus blocks look sort of like beautifully wrapped gifts with bows on top, so I'm calling this one Gift Wrapped.

I used the X Plus measurements in my tutorial HERE to yield a 10" finished block, but instead of using seven different fabrics in each block, I only used four.  With such a limited color palette (just reds, greens, and whites), I opted to use just one consistent fabric the four X pieces, rather than four different prints as most X Plus quilts do.  The look is a little more uniform this way, but still so pretty.    I threw in some metallic gold for a little glam, and it gives some unexpected pop to the quilt.

Since this pattern is busy with several stripe prints adding lots of fantastic movement, I quilted it with an allover stipple, which is still my favorite standby design for letting the piecing and prints really shine.  Of course, it helps that I can practically stipple in my sleep.  It is super relaxing for me.

Since I only had a quarter yard of most of the prints in the quilt, I didn't really have any leftovers for the back, but I found a few other fun Christmas prints that look awesome on the back.  In fact, I wish I had found the peppermint print beforehand so I could have used some on the front.

The darkest green fabric in the quilt is Kona Basil, and when it came time to choose the binding, I decided that a rich, dark frame would contain all of the movement in this quilt very nicely.  It's the perfect Christmas tree green, and I just love it!

This quilt, along my Fall Foliage quilt, have already been sent off to their new home.  So, my friend and his family are all set when the weather starts to get a little chilly.

CMM September Blocks

It's the middle of the month, and that means it's time to share our latest blocks for the Classic Meets Modern QAL, and let me just say that my design wall is officially full of awesomeness.  It's a good thing that we only have a couple more months of blocks left, because I am ready to put this baby together!

I am loving the way these blocks are all looking and I can't wait to finish them so I can start putting the top together.  

The first block this month is the Squash Blossom block, and I love the interesting shape this block makes.  The components of this block are not difficult to sew, but I will say that it took some paying attention on my part to make sure that everything in this block was pointing the correct way.  The resulting block is awesome though, and it's actually the basis for lots of the southwest inspired quilt patterns that are out there.

The second block this month is the Eccentric Star, and it doesn't get much easier that eight HST and a center square.  Even considering its simplicity, the spinning shape of this block is super cool.  

And because I'm a big ole copycat, I couldn't help but steal the brilliant digital planning method that Something Rosemade is using for her blocks.  I finally got around to it this week, and it was so much fun!  Since I have always left a little white space around my blocks in my photos (and I am just too lazy to re-crop every single one), my digital layout isn't quite as neat as hers, but I still love seeing it take shape without actually having it sewn together.  Each digital pattern includes this blank layout guide, so if you want to you can do this as well with any free online photo editor.

Can you believe that we only have one more month of blocks, and then our filler geese and snowballs left before it will be time to put the top together?  I am having a tough time wrapping my head around just how quickly 2018 has flown by so far.

Okay, y'all!  It's time to link up your September blocks!

1.  If you're a little late to the party, it's okay!  You can still join in anytime.  This is a Block of the Month Quilt Along, so we will only be completing two blocks each month.  The pace is leisurely and it will be easy to catch up.  You can get the Classic Meets Modern pattern in my Etsy or Craftsy shops (links on my right sidebar).  As long as you have a finished quilt top at the end of the year, you'll be eligible for the prizes.

2.  Remember, the link party opens on the 15th of each month, and will close at midnight CST on the last day of the month.  You can certainly link to the weekly NTT post if you like, but be sure to link your quilt along blocks to this party, so everyone is sure to see your progress.

3.  You don't have to have a blog to join in!  You can link to an Instagram post, or even a Flickr account.  Use the hashtag #classicmeetsmodernbomqal on Instagram!  If you do have a blog, grab a button to let everyone know you're participating!  You can get the button on my right sidebar.

Christmas X Plus

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  In case you missed it, I posted the finish of my Fall Foliage quilt that I shared at last week's party HERE (quilted with woodgrain!), and I'm pleased to say that my wishful thinking worked like a charm.  We have been given a reprieve from the super hot temperatures for the past few days and it's actually starting to feel more like autumn is on its way.  Well, we all know that after fall comes the most wonderful time of the year, and it will be here before we know it!

As it turns out, this quilt is going to the same friend who is receiving the Fall Foliage quilt.  His family just loves my quilts and they decided they needed one for Christmas.  In fact, this will be the fourth quilt of mine that they own.  They already have an LSU Stacked Squares quilt for football season, as well as a Mardi Gras diamond quilt.  Since the Mardi Gras season follows right after Christmas (beginning on January 6th) and lasts through the start of lent, they will officially have the fall and winter seasons covered with quilts!  It makes me so happy to know that they love them so much.

It appears I'm not the only one getting in the Christmas spirit!  Sew Preeti Quilts shared this fun Modern Christmas Trees quilt-

Bambi Quilts shared this lovely Farfalle butterfly quilt-

Vasudha at Storied Quilts linked up this cool quilt.  Be sure to check out her amazing quilting on it.

and finally, this cool Oklahoma quilt is by Katie Mae Quilts.  What a neat way to show team spirit-

Y'all rock, friends!  I can't wait to see what you share this week.  Let's link up!

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.  

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!  :)

Fall Foliage

My Fall Foliage quilt is finished and I am so excited to share it.  If you missed my last post, this quilt is destined for someone who loves everything about the fall season.  The muted palette of this quilt is way outside of the norm for me but it definitely screams autumn, and I know she is going to love it.

The scattered maple leaf blocks finish at 16 inches and 8 inches, and I designed them with plenty of negative space to keep them looking like they are floating gracefully down the quilt.  I love how the Kona Khaki background makes the quilt look very woodsy.

I decided to make my maple leaves with eight points.  I think the shape is a little less chunky than the more traditional maple leaf block, even though that meant lots more points to worry about.  As much as I love the shape and layout of the leaves, my favorite part of this quilt is the woodgrain quilting.

I knew deep down that this quilt needed the woodgrain motif, but I was apprehensive about it because I had never even tried it.  After quilting a practice quilt sandwich, I decided to just do it, and hoped that the organic nature of the design would hide any imperfections.  I am so glad I did, because I absolutely LOVE how it turned out and it adds so much to the quilt.  It is quilted with 50 wt. Aurifil Beige, #2314.

On the back, I used all of my scraps, along with a stripe of Kona Khaki, and a pretty leaf print.  Since I wanted the leaves to look more natural on the front, I stuck with tonal fabrics and didn't actually use any fall novelty prints.  I figured that the back was a good place for one.

This maroon woodgrain print echoes the quilting motif perfectly, and creates an awesome frame for the quilt.  This finished quilt measures 54" x 72", so it is a really great lap size and will be a perfect addition to their home.  I can't wait to ship it out!

Wishful Thinking and NTT

Lord, please rescue me from this heat!  Even though it is September, the heat index has continued to hover close to 100 degrees every day and let me just say that I am OVER. IT.  I want sweaters and boots, crisp temperatures, and pumpkin spice everything.  Like, yesterday.  But alas, I am in the South, and that won't actually become a reality here for about another month, so my latest quilt is just wishful thinking.

This quilt is for a friend from college whose wife loves all things autumn.  They were married in the fall, and he asked me to make a quilt that he could give to her for their anniversary.  I designed these maple leaves to scatter across the quilt, and chose a Kona Khaki background to keep it looking very rustic.

I have a special plan for quilting this one (a new motif for me that I think will look perfect), and I can't wait to get it all quilted up!

Before we link up, take a look at some of the projects from last week that really caught my eye- there are so many awesome ones!  This Pantone Challenge Ultra Violet quilt by Sarah Goer Quilts is amazing.  Just look at that graffiti quilting!

Jen at de Jong Dream House shared this lovely wedding quilt-

Sandra at mmm! quilts shared this fun Movin' On Up quilt.-

This gorgeous pickle dish quilt is by Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic-

This fun, scrappy HST quilt is by Sarah at 9658 Textiles: Quilting-

Barb at Mountain Quiltworks showed off this beautifully modern quilt top-

Barbora at skalabara quilts linked up this striking cross tile quilt-

And finally, Jayne at Twiggy and Opal shared this stunning quilt made with all shot cottons!  Check out her post for close ups of those awesome little twists.

Wow.  I went a little crazy on the highlights this week (I think it's the most I've ever shared), but I couldn't help myself.  Y'all rock!  Okie dokie, friends.  Party 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.  

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!  :)

Come Link Up!

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday (finally)!  Technology is a beautiful thing...when it works; and when the internet is completely down, it's funny how nowadays we feel lost.  I am just old enough to remember a life without being connected all the time.  Then later, the magic of dialing up to connect to the internet in college.  It's amazing how so many crafts and industries have changed in such a relatively short amount of time, and my dependency on the internet is in sharp focus when it's gone.  So, thanks for being patient with me.  I'm glad to be back up and running!

My most recent finish is this fun LSU quilt, made for a family member.  This pattern goes together so quickly, which is just what I have needed lately with the busy start to the school year.

I opted for wide stripes on the backing, utilizing a little more of the licensed prints, and pulled a Kona Purple binding from my stash to finish it off.

Before we get to the party, check out some of the highlights from last week.  Something Rosemade shared this simple, yet fun quilt.

This pretty, scrappy quilt is by Gretchen's Little Corner-

And I'm loving this awesomely modern quilt by Sophie at Luna Lovequilts-

Okay y'all!  It's (finally) time to party!

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.  

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!  :)