NTT, Winners, and A New Pattern

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  Sometimes I sketch new patterns and it takes awhile for me to get around to actually turning them into quilts, and other times, I design it and start creating it immediately.  Such is the case with this newest one.  I was so excited to see this quilt come together, that the process from idea, to sketch, to quilt top only took about a week.

It seems that I'm on a bit of a solids kick lately, doesn't it?  I almost made this one with prints, but I wanted the lines of the pattern to really show.  I love the diamond shape, as well as the secondary faceted jewel shape in the negative space and I was afraid that the secondary pattern would be less prominent with prints.  I know this one would really benefit from some creative quilting designs (especially because of the solids), but I have to level with you.  I'm so engrossed in working on my book these days that it will probably get an allover stipple.  Though I have branched out in my quilting lately, stippling is still my favorite, hands down.  It is relaxing for me, and I also love how it looks on a quilt.  I'll be finishing this one up between writing and editing sessions!

So, I owe you three winners from last week's sponsor news post.  Just in case it's not obvious, I have the best sponsors around, and I love working with them!  

The winner of the gorgeous spring bundle from LouLou's Fabric Shop is comment number 113, Ann!

The winner of the $50 gift certificate to Fat Quarter Shop is Carole, comment number 5!

And finally, the winner of the happy, vibrant bundle from Fort Worth Fabric Studio is comment number 10, STH.  Congratulations, ladies!  Have fun with your prizes!

Last week's party was full of drool worthy projects!  Y'all amaze me with your creativity week after week!  Jess at Quilty Habit shared this stunner, called Fall Spectrum-

Tanya Quilts in CO linked up this pretty rainbow bubble quilt. 

and Shauna's World shared her *king size!* version of my Courtyard Tiles pattern.  It's a beauty!

Wow, wow, WOW!  Y'all are just amazing.  It is truly one of the highlights of my week to get to browse through all of the fantastic projects you have going on, especially right now, when I'm not getting to sew as much as I would like. (not that I don't love working on my book!)  So let's party, friends!

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!  :)

Mardi Gras Revelry

Mardi Gras Revelry is finished, and I am so happy to report that it is packaged and ready to ship out today!

This quilt was so much fun!  I am not really a novelty fabric kind of girl, but for Mardi Gras, a touch of ostentatious is perfect.  I mixed themed fabrics with others from my stash to balance it out though, and I'd say the mix is about half and half.  I definitely wanted the colors to be distinct, because from even the slightest distance, the purple, gold, and green prints could have ended up looking muddled in the quilt without other, more solid fabrics to break them up.  The individual prints are a little difficult to distinguish in the photo of the entire quilt since they are smaller, but you can see them better here (pretty proud of my triangle points too)-

There are feathers, masks, and fleur de lis prints, as well as more traditional prints in Mardi Gras colors, like the chevron, stripe, checkerboard, and polkadot fabrics.  A few of the prints have some gold metallic accents (but not too many).  Then there's my most favorite fabric- the Mardi Gras leopard print!  When I bought the fabrics for this quilt, I almost left this one out because I felt like it was almost too over the top, but I am SO glad I decided to include it.  I love that it is a themed fabric, but so unpredictable.

Speaking of buying these fabrics, I really had a hard time finding everything I needed from one shop.  I was determined to stay with the traditional colors of purple, gold and green, along with black and white.  When I started shopping, I was surprised to find that lots of Mardi Gras fabrics have many different colors in them, and I knew I didn't want that for this quilt.  I also didn't want to pay shipping costs from five or six different shops to get the variety I needed!  A quilt shop in New Orleans, Mes Amis Quilt Shop, came to my rescue.  They are not an online shop, but they do have a website, boasting that they keep almost 30 Mardi Gras prints in stock year round.  They were more than happy to take a phone order and ship the fabrics to me, but since they are a brick and mortar shop only, they didn't have photos of each of their prints readily available.  They were kind enough to text pictures of their bolts to me, 5-6 at a time, so that I could decide what I wanted to order.  Now that is customer service.  (ps- this is NOT a sponsored post, I am just extremely grateful!)

I made use of every single bit of the fabrics in the pieced backing, and finished it off with a Kona Purple binding to frame all of that loud print.  The finished quilt measures 56" x 72," so it is a really great throw size.

I think the combination of the fun fabrics, along with the diamond pattern reminiscent of harlequin masks came together pretty perfectly on this quilt.  And I think it truly captures the spirit of Mardi Gras!  It's glitzy, loud, ostentatious, and so much fun-  perfect for the season where those of us from Louisiana "laissez les bons temps rouler,"  or let the good times roll!

Instagram and a New Finish

I feel like I've gone over to the dark side.  Okay, so I'm being a little bit dramatic, but yesterday I went to my monthly guild meeting, where we had a presentation on how to use Instagram, and I was totally strong-armed into setting up an account.  Again, I'm totally being dramatic, but the fact that I am so entrenched in social media and the modern quilting world, and had not yet taken the plunge into Instagram has been the topic of some good natured teasing lately.

So it's done, and I'm glad I finally jumped into it.  I resisted for so long because I didn't want to over-commit myself to yet another social media platform, and because I love blogging so much that I didn't want this side of things to suffer.  By all accounts though, Instagram is the greatest thing since sliced bread, and super easy to use, so you can find me there at myquiltinfatuation!

This weekend, I finished up my latest quilt, and incidentally, my next pattern (in the works).  The diamond shape, with the negative space reminds me of a faceted diamond ring, so this pattern is called Girl's Best Friend.  I made a quilt in this pattern a couple of years ago, but I never wrote the pattern.  I have made some modifications to it since that first incarnation, and I like this one much better.

I really love the colors in this quilt, and I'm not one to use a ton of brown in my quilts.  This Joel Dewberry Aviary fabric is just yummy though. The palette feels very calm and warm to me.  The fabrics were specifically chosen to match a friend's bedroom, and I can't wait to give it to her.

I bought half yard cuts specifically so that I would have a quarter yard leftover of each print for the back.  I like how the front feels very airy with all of the white, while the backing is an explosion of print.

The chocolate brown pebble print fabric on the binding ties the whole thing together so well.

I had just enough small scraps leftover to make a couple of throw pillows for her bed to match the quilt.  They are backed in the same Tiffany blue damask, and have the same brown pebble binding.  Each pillow is 16 inches.

I'm so excited to take these to school tomorrow and give them to her, and I hope she loves all of them!

Take Two

I don't know what the weather has been like in your neck of the woods, but we've had a reprieve from the bitter winter temps here lately.  I'll take a beautiful, breezy sixty degrees any day!  I'm sure winter isn't over yet, but the spring-like weather made the photo shoot for this quilt much more fun that the last few.

I was finally able to get the quilting done over the weekend, but even then I worked on it in short bursts, no more than 30 minutes at a time.  This quilt measures 72 x 90, and a quilt this size takes me about four hours to stipple.  I usually enjoy my marathon quilting sessions, but to my surprise, the shorter sessions were just as enjoyable, even though it really felt like doing it that way made it take longer.

Other than the triangle bits that are part of the little preemie quilt I'm working on, I used every available scrap in the backing, and I love the way this warm yellow fabric makes the colors pop.

The binding is a beautiful, rich shade of red that I feel like I have been seeing a lot lately, and I realized after I chose it that Marsala is the Pantone 2015 Color of the Year.  So that may explain things a bit.

This quilt is for my mom, and I can't wait for her to see it.  Perhaps you remember the Anna Maria Horner Dowry quilt that I made for her over the summer?  Well, she is redoing the guest room in her house and wanted a quilt with AMH fabrics.  She really loved the LouLouThi line (these fabrics), but since it is an older line I couldn't find enough of it, so I made the quilt with the Dowry fabrics instead.  

Although she really likes the Dowry quilt, it turned out to be too dark for the room.  The Dowry line is much more jewel-toned, and these fabrics are more earthy.  Since I knew she had her heart set on LouLouThi, I kept my eyes peeled.  I found a bundle of it on Etsy last fall and snatched it up.  Clearly, the rest is history.  All of this goes to explain the twofold meaning of the name of the quilt- Take Two.

Not only is this quilt "Take Two" for the intended room, I also think that Anna Maria Horner fabrics have such a great vintage feel.  The prints feel like a wonderful hodgepodge of fabrics you might find in a thrift shop, and the bold mix of colors really give a treasured, aged quality to the quilt.  I'm certain that Take Two will be exactly what my mom had in mind!

LouLouThi Diamonds

I've been working for the last several days to finish my latest quilt top made with Anna Maria Horner's LouLouThi collection, plus ten other prints from my stash.  Can I just say that this is a LOT of triangles?  330 of them to be precise.  I have mastered the art of sewing triangles while preserving the points and without stretching them out of shape, but I must say that I still find it a bit tedious to do so many.  It's all good though.  This one is for my mom, and she will love it!

AMH collections are always a mix of prints and colors that are really fun and unexpected, but are so harmonious when put together.  Because her fabrics have a certain vintage feel, it can be tough to mix other fabrics with them, but I think the ones I chose fit in well.  If you look closely, you might just spot some Amy Butler Cameo in there!

The backing is all finished, and the torturous task of basting will commence tomorrow.  I'm having an outpatient procedure on Monday morning, so I'm not sure when I'll get this one quilted, but I'm hoping I'll feel up to some short quilting sessions by the end of the week!

Jeweled and NTT

Welcome to another Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  My lovely week of fall break sewing is over and I'm back to the daily grind.  I managed to get this quilt basted and quilted before the weekend was out, but the binding was left for Monday night.

When I was working on this quilt, I envisioned a picturesque location for the photo shoot to really show off the beauty of the fabrics and pattern, but the huge swath of storms that made its way across the country over the last couple of days has made everything soggy.  Thankfully, the Memphis area just got lots of rain, without any tornadoes or wind damage.  My deck isn't completely dried out yet, but it was okay for a few quick pics.

I really had fun with this one and I love the way it turned out.  Originally, diamonds weren't in the plan for this quilt.  I had planned to do a basic equilateral triangle quilt, but when I was playing around with the layout, I loved the diamonds so much, I just had to do it.  It's amazing how something as simple as laying the triangles end to end creates such a different look!

The wide stripes on the backing were certainly helpful for putting a dent in my Amy Butler stash, but even still, I probably still have enough for a couple more quilts.

I always try to use scraps where I can, and that includes the binding when possible.  In this case, though, I knew this quilt needed a less busy binding.  The teal tonal print is just solid enough that is contains the busy pattern of the quilt and frames it nicely.

Some quilts are much easier to name than others.  Sometimes, I know the name of the quilt as soon as I pick out the fabrics, and other times, I have to think about it for days.  With the diamond shapes and the rich jewel tones in the fabrics, the name for this one came to me pretty easily.

Okay!  On to last week's NTT highlights.  Kate at Thread Everywhere shared her Supernova blocks.  This quilt is going to be fabulous!

Janet at Simply Pieced showed off three different projects!  If you missed her XPlus quilt, you should definitely check it out, but take a look at what she made with the trimmed corners from it.  What an amazing use of scraps!

and Wendy's Quilts and More linked up this bold beauty!

I just love browsing your links week after week!  Thanks for all of the inspiration.  Let's link up, shall we?

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!

Amy Butler Diamonds

So, here's the deal.  You all know I love Amy Butler fabrics, and through no fault of my own, I have amassed quite a hoard of it.  Okay, maybe I'm at fault just a little bit.

At one time, I probably had over 30 yards of Amy Butler fabrics, in 42 different prints (I counted).  Yikes!  That is a LOT!  Little by little though, I am chipping away at it, which is why I've made so many quilts with them.  I am ready to bust my stash.  I have considered separating them by color and mixing them with others, but Amy Butler fabrics are so bold and vibrant that it can be tough to do that.

Anyway, all of this is to say that I am working on another Amy Butler quilt, and this one really is one of my favorites.

  

It all started when I designed Acadian Trellis for Modern Quilts Unlimited magazine almost a year ago.  I used 16 different Cameo prints, and ended up with quite a lot left over.  Westminster Fabrics graciously provided the fabrics for that quilt, and they were very generous with their cuts.

The rest of my Amy Butler stash was collected for a custom twin sized quilt over the summer, and then the customer found other fabrics she preferred.  To be fair, I ordered the fabrics before she completely committed to them because the thought of all of that Amy Butler made me a little giddy and I lost my head.  Other than that, I have collected a print here and there, but nothing major- honest!

The good thing is, when I sold my Unruly quilt, two other people wanted a quilt made with similar fabrics, so this is one of those. I didn't have to hunt down the fabrics I needed because they were already sitting right there on my shelf!  As much as I love Amy Butler fabrics, I have to admit that I'm ready to use them up.

Girl's Best Friend

Right off the bat, just let me say that I wish I had been able to be more creative with my photo shoot for this quilt because the colors are so lovely,  but BRRRR!!!  It is just too darn cold.  Yesterday, our high was only 14 degrees, and today it is a balmy 23 with a wind chill of 13.  Now, I know that there are many of you who are dealing with much colder than this, and do on a regular basis, but I'm still a south Louisiana girl at heart, and I just can't take it.  It's all about perspective, you know!

I decided that Girl's Best Friend was just too perfect a name to pass up for this one.  Every time I look at this quilt, I see a diamond set with prongs.  I didn't really plan it that way; it was just a happy occurrence!

As I mentioned in my last post, I really enjoyed creating this pattern, but the only thing I might have done differently is  to make the blocks smaller.  These are 20 inch blocks, made with 5 inch segments.  I love the crown shape created by the white space between the diamonds, but I think it might look better if it was a little less expansive.  I do love the big chunks of the Vintage Modern fabric though!  I guess I can't have it both ways.

Of course, I used up the scraps in the backing, and added a Riley Blake aqua dot, along with a really beautiful gray fabric I found at Joann's.  I think I like the backing as much as the front!  I de-stressed from all of the holiday mayhem by meander quilting.   

I also found this sketch texture fabric in the perfect shade of red to use as the binding.  Reds are so difficult to match, so I snatched this one right up!

Woohoo!  My first finish of 2014!  (Even though I posted about it just last week, I actually finished Lilacs and Sunshine before Christmas)

Because the weather is so bitter and school is out (Tennessee is just not prepared for weather like this and many students don't own adequate outerwear), I have thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in, hanging out in my thermals and slippers, drinking hot chocolate, and cutting into these-

Oh yes...  I can't wait!  I got these from Fabric Ala Carte, a shop I only recently discovered.  They have a great selection of beautiful fabric bundles (FQ's, half yards, and full yard bundles!), yardage, and a clearance section with fantastic deals. 

I am so happy to welcome them as a new sponsor!  Check out the button below, or on my left sidebar!  

Fabric Ala Carte's 5th anniversary is next week, and Kris is offering free shipping on any US purchase $30 or more.  International buyers can contact Kris for an 18% discount.  To take advantage of these offers, use the coupon code 5thAnniversary!  Happy shopping, and stay warm friends!