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!  :)

Eleven More Days

Happy NTT, friends.  Do you realize that college football season is less than two weeks away?  I've been so busy that it has sneaked up on me this year.  I figured now was the perfect time to whip up this LSU quilt for a family member that is getting married soon.  Yes, that's how I roll.  After all, color preferences can change over time, but sports fandom is eternal, and both the bride and groom love LSU.

I got all of the blocks finished and pressed today, and I had just enough time before this post to get most of them up on the design wall to show some progress.  These blocks are so quick, and I love the rounded look.  I'm planning on a fast finish for this one.  The top will be put together tomorrow, and it will hopefully be all done by the weekend.

On another note, I've been working on my teaching schedule for 2019, and it is starting to fill up!  I try to limit my travel to one trip per month, which still gives me plenty of time to be home for my family, and I already have several months booked.  If your guild would like to schedule something for next year, please contact me soon and we can discuss all of the details.  If you are on Instagram, I'm sure you saw this weekend's post from my class in Arkansas, but even if you didn't see it, take my word for it- my classes are tons of FUN!  Check out more information HERE!  :)

Just one more thing before we party.  I owe you a giveaway winner from my August sponsor post!  Comment number 56, Charlotte Nash, is the lucky recipient of the bundle from Fort Worth Fabric Studio. Congrats, Charlotte!  I'll be contacting you very soon so you can get your prize!

There were so many great projects linked up at last week's party.  This fox pillow by Anja Quilts is just precious!

Louisa at Sewmotion shared her Rainbow Rings quilt hanging in a quilt show!  Stunning!

Jen at de Jong Dream House shared this gorgeous quilt, called On Ringeis Lake-

and Sew Yummy showed off this vibrant scrappy trip around the world graduation quilt-

Okie dokie, friends!  It's time to share your projects.  Let's 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!  :)

Needle and Thread Thursday Time!

Happy NTT, y'all!  My secret sewing has been a success, and I am pleased to call this one finished!

If you missed my last post, this one is for my wild thing for Christmas, and it was made entirely in secret.  That's a little bit hard to do around here because he's pretty observant.  Even though the sewing happened while he was at a retreat this weekend and finished while he was at school, every single incriminating scrap had to be thrown away in the outside trash.  He can spot LSU colors from a mile away.

 I pieced the backing with some leftovers, of course, and framed all of the busy pattern with a solid Kona Purple binding.

A snuggle with a quilt is almost as good as a hug from mom (though I still steal those when I can), and it makes my heart happy to know that he will treasure this quilt for years and years to come.

So, before we link up this week, let's check out some of the awesomeness from our last party.  Carole at From My Carolina Home linked up this perfectly pretty Autumn Jubilee table topper-

This lovely is from Myra at Busy Hands Quilts, and it is her brand new pattern, called Castle Dreams.

I love this In the Pink quilt from Kris at Sew Sunshine.

and finally, I cannot help myself this week.  I have to show this improv stunner, called Crown of Orchids by Jess at Quilty Habit.

There is so much fantastic eye candy every single week!  Time to link up your latest projects!

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!  :)

What Momma's Boy Wants

Our wild thing is an only child, and we have worked hard through the years to make sure that he knows, that while he is dearly loved, he is not the center of the universe.  That sometimes means that even when we can afford to give him something he wants, we choose to make him work to pay for it himself because we want him to appreciate what he has, and value more than just possessions.  When he asks Momma for a new quilt though (which doesn't happen very often), all bets are off.

At the ripe old age of twelve, my big boy still snuggles with me, but only on his own terms (and even that's a big secret).   My heart melts to see him wrapped up in a quilt I've made, and I'm sure that won't change, no matter how old he gets.  So, when he asked me for an LSU quilt, I got busy planning;  and when he was away at a youth retreat this weekend, I took that opportunity to get busy sewing!

He got home from the retreat yesterday afternoon, and I got all of the evidence hidden away.  I will be working like a madwoman over the next few days to finish this quilt while he is at school, and pretty soon it will be wrapped up for Christmas!

NTT and Team Spirit

This quilt was pure fun, from the first bit of fabric browsing to the last stitch in the binding.  I finished it up yesterday, and I thought that a photo shoot at our city's youth league football field would be fitting.

The finished quilt measures 72" x 99" so it is a generous twin size, and this pattern was really easy to size up (fyi- I started out with 30 complete blocks, in case you want to tackle this pattern).  Since several have emailed me to ask- you can find the original (free) pattern HERE, which explains how the quilt is constructed (including photos);  however, I changed the measurements slightly to make the pattern fat quarter or yardage-friendly, since I rarely use precuts.  My measurements (and cutting diagrams can be found HERE).

Now that the quilt is all finished, I love the addition of the gray and white even more.  I feel like just that little bit of neutral fabric really keeps the purple and gold from being overwhelming.  In another context, I would refer to this color as yellow, but we LSU fans say that our colors are purple and gold, rather than purple and yellow.

I kept the back simple;  just Kona Purple with a wide stripe of the busiest LSU fabric.  I quilted it with white thread, and I love how it shows up against the purple.  There was a time (a long while ago) that I would shy away from really dark, solid backings because I worried about the contrast showing every single imperfection in my stitches, but these days I am more comfortable with my quilting, and as it turns out, these high contrast backings are really some of my favorites.

The binding is Kona Corn Yellow, and it frames the quilt perfectly without adding any extra pattern.  My first instinct was to put a gray binding on the quilt to pick up the gray in the top, and I really struggled with the decision; but my husband's reasoning won out when he reminded me that gray is actually not an LSU color.  As it is, I think it mostly just blends into the front, which is good, and it really pops against the back, which is fantastic.

This one has already been shipped off to my friend, and I can't wait to get his reaction when he receives it!

Alright!  Last week's party was filled with lots of awesomeness, so check out some of my favorites!  This string quilt from Kris at Sew Sunshine is so beautiful, and I love the contrast of the bright colors against the weathered barn in her photos.  Amazing!

Chelsea at Patch the Giraffe linked up this pretty Picnic Pinwheels quilt.  I love it!

and of course, the fact that I am a sucker for a rainbow quilt strikes again, so I can't help but feature this Rainbow Patches quilt by Myra at Busy Hands Quilts.

Y'all just amaze me week after week!  I can't wait to see what you have going on this week!  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!

Geaux Tigers!

For those of you who are not from Louisiana, "geaux" is how we LSU fans spell the word go- not all the time; just when we get extra excited about sports, which is often.  It's just one of those quirky things that gives a little nod to the French influence in our great state, and I love that it's unique to us.  We're smack in the middle of an undefeated football season and school spirit is running pretty high right now, so when a friend from college contacted me and asked if I would make a twin sized LSU quilt for him, I jumped right on it!

I decided on the Stacked Squares pattern since I wanted something modern and definitely not feminine.  I never seem to tire of the illusion that this pattern creates!  I had to size it up to make a twin, which means that I had to make 30 different blocks in order to make all of the partial squares work out properly.

For the stacked illusion to show up in the quilt, the blocks need plenty of contrast, so I decided to add a little bit of gray and white to the mix.  Plus, as much as I love purple and gold, it can get overwhelming pretty quickly.

I must confess that I exhibited the ultimate in quilt photography laziness today with this pic.  I did actually press the top before taking it outside, but you'd never know it!  Autumn has definitely arrived here, and the leaves have begun to fall, scattering themselves across my backyard and deck.  I was in such a hurry to get this photo taken so I could start basting, that I just spread the quilt top right over the existing leaves, hence all of the bumps and wrinkles.  Oh well.

From the moment I started shopping for the fabrics, this one has been so much fun to create.  It is all basted and ready to "geaux," so quilting will be happening soon!