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Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Winners and NTT!

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  The fact that I have an obsession with quilting comes as no surprise to you I'm sure, but this week, the depth of my neurosis has been pretty glaring.  After the past several weeks of secret sewing, my rational side really wanted to make a quilt that I could share with you, but my irrational heart couldn't seem to get another secret quilt out of my mind;  I even dreamed about it!  At that point, I gave up and decided to plunge into making one last secret quilt.

When I submitted my book proposal to my publisher, I actually designed several more quilts than I needed, knowing that I would have to cut some designs.  The quilt I'm working on now is the last quilt that was cut from the book, and even though I don't have room for it, I really wanted to go ahead and make it.  I still am not able to share it, because it gives too much of a peek at the book's premise.

Suffice it to say that I would love to have a better explanation for you as to why you can't see what I'm working on once again.  Alas, the truth is the truth, and I'm sure there are more than a few of you out there whose hearts overrule your head from time to time.

So, without further ado, I owe you four (yes, FOUR!) winners from last week's 2017 kickoff sponsor post.

The winner of the Early Bird Fat Quarter bundle from the Fat Quarter Shop is comment number 74, Barb Neiwert!










The winner of the $25 gift certificate to LouLou's Fabric Shop is Ann, comment number 182!










The winner of the Love Is In the Air fat quarter bundle, sponsored by Fort Worth Fabric Studio is comment number 72, Kathy!










And lastly, the winner of the $25 gift certificate to Lady Belle Fabric Shop is Audrey, comment number 149!










Congratulations to all of you!  I'll be contacting you shortly via email so you can get your prizes!  Now, let's check out the amazing features from last week's party!  This oh, so amazing quilt top is by Maryse Makes Things-


Take a look at the cool layout of these feathers by Erin at The Lazy Quilter-


and this scrappy medallion quilt top by Ariane Quilts is just gorgeous!


Wow!  I love browsing all of your amazingness week after week!  Time to party, friends!

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!  :)


Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Quilting Pride and NTT

Whoop whoop!  I am so excited to share that I have finished with all of the quilts for my book, so all of my secret sewing is finished- yay!  I'm a terrible secret keeper, so I'm excited that I now get to share what I'm sewing in its entirety.  Now I just have to write, write, write!  In these last few quilts, I took a little more risk with my quilting and did a couple of designs I have never done before.


This design was so much fun, and pretty easy to move around the space.  It's not exactly a paisley because there are no overlapping stitches, and not really a swirl either, so if anyone knows if this motif has a name, I'm all ears!


As hard as it is to believe, I have never quilted a giant spiral on one of my quilts, and I changed that last week as well.  The spiral is very dense in the center, which I quilted free-motion, and gets wider toward the outside of the quilt.  I used my trusty walking foot for the outer rings.  It has been raining here every day just enough to keep everything damp, so both of these are inside photos.  The spiral backing looks super puffy, but in person, it really isn't.

All in all, I am so proud of myself for branching out with my quilting, and I even enjoyed quilting the top motif as much as I love stippling, so you'll definitely be seeing that one again.  The spiral felt tedious though, so unless the quilt really demands it, I'm not sure I'll do that one again.

Let's get to last week's party highlights!  Love Quilting shared this pretty Storm at Sea quilt-


Anja Quilts shared her fun Modern Sampler quilt-


and Simply, Sarah share this fresh hexie baby quilt-


Okie dokie friends!  I can't wait to see what you've got going on this week in your sewing space!  Party on!

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!  :)










Tuesday, January 17, 2017

January Deals and FOUR Giveaways!

Well, it's a brand new month and a brand new year, and I'm super excited to fill you in on the latest happenings at some of my very favorite shops!  This post also includes four different giveaways, so read on to find out how to enter!



I always love kicking off a post with a giveaway, and this one from the Fat Quarter Shop is super awesome- a fat quarter bundle of Kate Spain's new line, Early Bird!  This collection is so new, it's not even shipping just yet, so the lucky winner will be one of the very first to receive it!


           Fat Quarter Shop



I also want to call your attention to a couple of other fun things happening at FQS right now.  At the beginning of every month, I make a point to check out their Basic of the Month, which is at a special 20% off price for the entire month.  Even if you've vowed to use up your stash this year, basics are always a necessity for helping every project come together.  This month's basic is Moda's Concrete Basics line, a great tonal basic that has a similar feel to the Grunge Basics.

If you're looking to expand your horizons into a neat new shape, Fat Quarter Shop also has a new set of orange peel templates, with an array of fun, new patterns to put them to good use.




Over at Shabby Fabrics, they're beginning a brand new year of their fun pillow club, A Year in Words.  For me, decorating my entire house for each new season just doesn't happen, but I enjoy a little touch here and there.  These fun pillows are perfect!  The shapes are laser cut and pre-fused, so all you have to do is iron in place, and sew around to create a perfect appliqué.

           Shabby Fabrics



Over at LouLou's Fabric Shop, so much awesomeness is going on!  They are continuing their HUGE Year-End sale, with literally hundreds of fabrics marked down to $6.00/yard, and great prices on some precuts as well, with no coupon necessary.

If a special, full-priced collection has really struck your fancy, LouLou's has generously offered my readers 15% off all full priced fabrics with the code quilt.  I have my eye on the new Acreage collection!

LouLou's is also sponsoring the second giveaway of the day- a $25 gift certificate to spend however you choose!

LouLou’s Fabric Shop
Fort Worth Fabric Studio is another shop that offers amazing fabrics at fantastic prices.  Right now, the Dear Stella collection is only $5.55 per yard through January 21st!
                     Fort Worth Fabric Studio
One of my very favorite features of shopping at FWFS is checking out their expertly curated bundles.  Each week, they mix fabrics from different collections for a unique, perfectly coordinated bundle.  The color combinations, as well as the prices are hard to pass up!  Fort Worth Fabric Studio is generously providing one of their Love Is In the Air bundles as a giveaway this month!  
*Due to shipping costs, this giveaway is only open to US residents.
The start of a new year is the time that many quilters not only make some life resolutions, but some quilty ones as well.  If you've promised yourself that you'll do a better job of labeling your quilts, then let Finer Ribbon help you!  I absolutely LOVE my labels, and they are quick and easy to add to all of my projects.
I have used my full color labels for well over a year, and the quality is top-notch.  At just over $100 (US) per spool, they may seem pricey, but each spool contains 1000 labels, which works out to about ten cents per label.  Ordering a spool means that you won't even have to think about labels again for a LONG time!
FinerRibbon
My labels are available HERE.  
If you want to order, there are a couple of important points to consider-



*My labels are 2 1/4 inches wide.  You'll have to choose your width in the drop-down menu.


*My labels are printed from side to side, rather than running the length of the ribbon.  I think it works perfectly for quilts, but I have also sewn them to mug rugs, pillows, etc., and I still like this size.






Finer Ribbon will work with you to design your labels, so you don't need to be afraid of the process.  They will send you a full-scale, printable proof so that you can print, cut, fold and make absolutely sure that your labels are exactly what you want.  Best of all, they are super patient during the process.  I had two or three different proofs before I approved my labels, and the Finer Ribbon team was so friendly from beginning to end!



And finally, there are always great things going on at Lady Belle Fabrics.  Did you know that their sale bundles, like this Gooseberry bundle, are always 30% off?  You can check out all of these awesome sale bundles HERE.




Right now, in addition to 30% off of tons of great bundles, Lady Belle is offering free shipping with the code freeship.








Lady Belle is also sponsoring the final giveaway of the day!  They are offering a $25 gift certificate to spend however you choose.  If you're looking for a brand new, sweet collection to help you spend it, Lady Belle has Heather Ross' new collection, Sleeping Porch!


      
Wow, so many great happenings at so many wonderful shops!  Even though I've promised myself to bust my stash this year, I've always got a little room in my cabinet for some fabric love found on sale!
Time to enter these four fantastic giveaways.  Just leave a single comment on this post to let me know if you've made any quilty resolutions this year, or you can just tell me what you have on your wish list!  Since one of the giveaways is only open to US residents, in your comment, please let me know if you live outside of the US (don't worry, though- you're still eligible for the other three!).  That will help me out when I draw the winners!

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.  Additional replies/comments/entries are always deleted.  I'll announce the winners at NEXT week's NTT (January 25th).

This giveaway is now closed.  Thanks so much to all who entered!  I'll announce the winners at this evening's NTT post!  :)


Wednesday, January 11, 2017

More Sneak Peeks and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  I've made tons of progress in the last week on quilts for my book, and I have two more little peeks to show you.  These photos are of the backings only, but you can at least see the quilting.  In fact, I've expanded my quilting horizons a little bit with these two.


The first quilt has a very peaceful palette, and I thought some free motion waves with aqua thread would complement it nicely.  It's the first time I've ever quilted waves, and I'm pleased with them.  Next time though, I plan to try to have some of the waves come closer together in places.  I think this will make the movement more organic.


I backed the second quilt with French General fabrics and quilted with flowers in muted gold thread. French General fabrics aren't exactly considered modern, but being a south Louisiana girl, the warmth of these French influenced fabrics are near and dear to my heart.  They just remind me of home.  This is the second time I've quilted flowers, but I made these a little smaller than the first attempt.  I found that making them smaller actually made it much easier to cover the quilt evenly without blank spots.

Let's get to last week's party highlights, shall we?  I'm embracing a final bit of Christmas kitsch in this quilt from Homespun Hannah-


Kate at Life in Pieces linked up her progress on this pretty quilt.


and I know I shared the blocks last week, but I couldn't help but share this finished top from Tanya Quilts in CO.  Y'all know I love a curvy illusion!


Alrighty friends!  Let's link up and party!

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!  :)



Wednesday, January 4, 2017

NTT- Kicking off 2017

Happy New Year, y'all, and welcome to the first NTT of 2017!  I have my first big book deadline approaching February 1st, so for the past week and a half or so, I've been quilting like a mad woman at all hours of the day.  No exaggeration- I basted my current quilt at 3:30 am this morning...yikes!  I do have a couple of finishes to share soon (backing and quilting only), but today's daylight was waning, so they will have to wait for another post.

Never fear though, we can still get our eye-candy on with these drool-worthy projects from last week!  Check out this Cotton and Steel beauty from Judy at Sew Some Sunshine-


I love, love, LOVE how these Bonnie and Camille fabrics play against the charcoal background in these blocks by Tanya Quilts in CO-


And oh. my. gosh!  Check out this stunner by Summer Lee Quilts-


Clearly, y'all have been busy at your sewing machine too!  Time to kick off a brand new year of Needle and Thread Thursday.  Let's party, friends!

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!  :)



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