A Western Landscape and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I've been working like a crazy person this week to get my latest quilt top finished.  Graduation is just over two weeks away, and I really want to get this completely finished before then.  I am in love with the way it turned out!

I knew I wanted to make a landscape quilt that would echo the National Park posters we have for his dorm room, but I deliberated (a LOT) on the design.  I thought about using HST's or strips of some kind, and I even considered doing improv, but equilateral triangles won out.  The consistent solid triangles add simplicity to the quilt and allow the unique color layout to take center stage.  Speaking of layout, I played around with it for a couple of days, rearranging triangles here and there until I was pleased with it, and I really love it.  My son does too, which is the most important thing!

These triangles finish at six inches, so the entire quilt measures 72" x 72", a generous size for an extra quilt at the foot of his bed.  Since dorm rooms are small, we've decided to use a solid quilt for the main quilt on the bed.  An entire bed with this design would definitely overwhelm such a small space.

Since I used thirty(!!!) different solids, I have a ton of leftovers for the back, so figuring out how to use them is my plan for tomorrow!

Now, let's get to the highlights from last week!  This beauty is from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

I love this one shared by Rebecca Grace Quilting-

Anne Marie at Stories from the Sewing Room linked up this fresh spring quilt-

And these shades of blue are so striking in this quilt by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl-

Okay, y'all!  It's time to show me what you've been working on this week.  I can't wait to see!

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!  :)

A Dorm Quilt and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  We're getting super close to high school graduation around here (it's under a month away now!), and we have started giving serious thought to what my son's dorm room will look like.  Or, I have anyway.  My son mostly tells me not to go overboard with decor, and other than that, he's fine with whatever.  Well, I found these amazing posters on Etsy and (with his approval), we're building the dorm room around them. 

(fyi-there is a glare from the window on the top two posters creating some weird reflections)

The colors in these posters are a bit more muted than some of the brighter National Park posters I've seen, and he really liked the more subdued, controlled palette.  The blues, grays, oranges, and tans are right up his alley.  When we took our month-long family vacation out west two summers ago, these were his favorite five places we visited, so there is a personal connection to this theme as well.

I pulled solids from my stash, and though I had plenty of blues and grays, my rusty oranges and browns were seriously lacking.  I am still waiting on a couple of darker reds to finish off this collection, and then I guess I better get to work on a design plan!  I know it will be something very simple because that's what he likes best.

So, without further ado, let's get right to the highlights from last week.  This lovely quilt is from Linda at kokaquilts-

Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting linked of several pretty projects!

This awesomely scrappy quilt is from Alycia at Quiltygirl-

And this amazing quilt is from Sew Preeti Quilts-

Wow!!  I love browsing through all of the gorgeous projects week after week!  Let's get our party going!

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!  :)

Boho Blossoms and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  This week, I spent a relaxing Easter weekend with my family, worked outside in my yard quite a bit, and still found time to finish up this little baby quilt.

These little strips measure 1.5" x 11" finished.  It's a weird size, but since these are leftovers from my Blossoms and Buds quilt, the size was pretty much dictated to me.  I love the way the creamy Kona Bone background makes these saturated florals pop.

I quilted this one with a relaxed spiral floral design, and not only does it echo the design of the fabrics, it's a great complement to the straight lines of the piecing.

The quilting is dense enough to give it lots of great texture, but not so dense that it doesn't drape well.  This is a baby quilt after all, and a snuggly quilt is of utmost importance.

I had a leftover piece of this stunning wide back print, and it was perfect for the back.  I widened it out with an aqua print I had in my stash, though I had a bit of a measurement mishap.  If you look closely, you can see a very narrow strip along each side.  

Somehow, when I made the backing, it turned out about an inch too narrow, and I didn't realize it until after I had already laid out the quilt top over it for basting.  Since I had already started the process, I decided to go ahead and finish basting the quilt, and fix it after the fact.  After basting, I unpinned one long side at a time and sewed on an extra strip to widen it out.  I can't believe I did that!  I just goes to show that everyone makes mistakes and that's okay.  Most things are easily fixable, so don't freak out!

The fabrics in this quilt gave me lots of choices for the binding, so it was so easy to pull this purple crosshatch out of my stash.  I love it because there are a couple of fabrics in the quilt that are actually two shades of purple, so it coordinates beautifully.

Every single bit of this quilt came from leftovers or my stash, and I love that!  The finished quilt measures 36" x 44", so it's a perfect size for donating to the NICU of our local children's hospital.  I'm calling this one Boho Blossoms.  These Anna Maria floral fabrics are so colorful, and the designs have a very boho feel.

Last week's party didn't disappoint (it never does!), so let's get to the highlights.  This beautiful quilt top is from Jocelyn at Canadian Needle Nana-

This sweet and scrappy quilt is from Shannon at The Flemings Nine-

Karen at Quilts...etc. shared this lovely rainbow quilt-

And finally, this spring stunner is from Sew Preeti Quilts-

Oh my goodness!  Y'all made it SO hard to choose features last week.  Let's bring on this week's eye-candy!

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!  :)

Senior Prom and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  Though the bonus quilt I shared last week is basted and ready to quilt, I don't have any progress photos to share.  Instead, this week was heavily consumed by my son's Senior Prom, the afterparty that happened at our house, and recovering from all of it.  So, let's get right to the highlights from last week-

Look at this sweet quilt top from Gretchen's Little Corner-

Kris at Sew Sunshine linked up this scrappy awesomeness-

This unique quilt is from Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic-

Love this striking quilt by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl-

And finally, this quilt by Anorina at Samelia's Mum is a stunner!

Y'all!!!  I could've easily added several more to the feature list today.  If you missed last week's party, you definitely need to check out the amazingness there.  

So, let's party it up, 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 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!  :)

Bonus Quilt and NTT

Hey there, friends!  Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  This week, I've been playing with scraps from my Blossoms and Buds quilt to make this little baby quilt top (and y'all know scraps are my favorite).  

After looking at my leftovers, the shortest strips were 11.5", and my most narrow ones were right at 2", so to make the greatest number of useable pieces, I trimmed all of them to 2" x 11.5".  I had a chunk of Kona Bone in my stash, and it's the perfect complement for all of these saturated colors.  The finished top measures 36" x 44", and when it's finished, this sweet little quilt will be perfect for donating to our local children's hospital (one of our guild outreach programs).

When I have enough scraps from one of my larger quilts, I try to use them immediately rather than adding all of them to my scrap jars.  I can usually finish these little quilts quilt from my stash, and it's always fun to get these "bonus quilts."  They're quick and easy, and I know the families of the preemies and infants who receive them are so appreciative.  

Since I make pieced backs with the majority of my leftovers and bonus quilts when I can, I end up adding very few scraps to my scrap jars.  Gotta keep those scraps in check! 

Without further ado, let's get right to the highlights from last week!  Sally at Crafts, Cavies, and Cooking shared this beauty-

I love this cheerful quilt by Gretchen's Little Corner-

JanineMarie at Quilts From the Little House linked up this pretty quilt-

This lovely quilt is from Quilting Gail-

And finally, Turid at Den syende himmel showed off this stunner-

Okay friends, let's get our party going!

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!  :)

Back From TX and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I had the very BEST time presenting a trunk show and teaching a class to the Golden Triangle Quilt Guild in Beaumont, TX last week.  They are a such a friendly, talented group, and made me feel so very welcome.  I have said many times that I always have so much fun teaching that I'm terrible at remembering to take photos, and this time was no different.  I do have a few though!  

I taught scrappy improv piecing using the Churn, Churn, Churn class from my book Scrappy Improv Quilting, and I always love to see how others interpret my patterns.  Here are a few-

Michelle decided to add a fourth churn dash layer to the pattern to make a 48" square quilt.  She is toying with the idea of adding a fifth one too!  Because the color gradient is spread out between more than three layers, it is very gradual.  The inner churn dash is whisper-soft.

Lisa decided to use color theory to put her own twist on the quilt.  This one is aptly named Yellow and Blue Make Green!

And I love Melinda's soothing shades of blue.

My lovely hostess, Melinda, and me!  Since we moved from Texas to Tennessee fifteen years ago, I never quite get my fill of real TexMex, so Melinda was happy to grant that request for lunch.  YUM!

My face makes the weirdest expressions when I'm talking, lol!

There were 16 students in the class, and we had a blast!

And, since I have family in the Houston area (and I flew in and out of Houston), I was able to squeeze in a little visit with them as well.  It was such a fun trip!  

Is your guild looking for a fun and inspiring class for 2024 or 2025?  Please reach out!  I would love to share more information with you, and I would love to come visit your guild!

Oh, and one other thing happened that I haven't shared with you.  The release isn't until mid-June, but I was able to put my hands on this advance copy of my book!  Eek!!!  Not a great photo, but it's just so, SO exciting to finally see it come together in print.

Okay, y'all!  it's time to share some eye-candy from last week's party!  Like this stunning quilt from Kris at Sew Sunshine.  

This gorgeous quilt is by quiltingbydawn-

Gretchen's Little Corner linked up this lovely quilt top-

This striking quilt was shared by JanineMarie at Quilts From the Little House-

And this little quilt is also from Kris at Sew Sunshine, and I just couldn't help but share it as well-

Are y'all ready to party?  Let's do it!

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!  :)