Emerald Coast and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I am delighted to share my newest finish with you today, and I've named it Emerald Coast.  After seeing how closely the colors in this quilt resemble Florida's Gulf coast (where we went on vacation), how could I call it anything else?

This quilt used up almost all of my bluish-greens, greenish-blues, aquas, teals, and every color in-between- 36 fabrics total!  And of course, all the leftovers went on the back.  I originally made enough blocks for a 72" square quilt, but I realized that if I used all of them on the top, I might not have quite enough leftovers to fill out a pieced back that size.  Since I'm trying to make quilts entirely from stash, I decided to make the quilt 60" x 72" instead, and build the pieced back around the six extra blocks.  I used the blocks, along with chunky strips, to make big log cabin-style squares and then just filled in the gaps with extra scraps.  I had just the right amount to make the back, as well as a pieced binding (more on that later).

The allover swirl motif I chose for quilting adds so much amazing texture, and I'm really happy with the way it turned out.  Since the bowtie blocks have a circular secondary pattern, the quilting really gives the look of swirling water.  I took some extra photos in the bright sunshine to really show off the quilting texture.

I love that this quilt looks like an expanse of water and I didn't want to contain that with a single fabric binding, so I used the last of my of scrap strips to finish this one off.  It's magical the way a scrappy binding just disappears into the quilt.

I just love the way this quilt came together, and I am certain that Emerald Coast is the perfect name for it!

Now, without further ado, let's check out some of the highlights from last week's party.  Thank you all so much for your patience with the Linky.  The problem was definitely on their end, and hopefully it wasn't too inconvenient for you.  

Gretchen's Little Corner shared this colorful beauty-

This is from Sally at Crafts, Cavies, and Cooking.  It's a headboard, y'all!!  What a genius idea!  Check out her post for details on the process.

Take a look at this lovely quilt from Something Rosemade.  This is just ONE of the awesome quilts she shared this week-

And finally, this little bonus quilt from Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl is simple, but so happy and fun!

Okay, friends!  It's time to link up, but before we do, I need to let you know that NTT will be taking another little break for the Fourth of July holiday next week.  If you're in the US, have a safe and fun holiday!

Now, 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!  :)

Gulf Waters and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends.  I had such a wonderfully relaxing vacation at the beach last week.  Check out this stunning view-

This is Florida's Emerald Coast, and it could not have been more perfect.  We had great waves on some days and calm waters on others.  Two sea turtles swam fairly close to us, and we saw dolphins jumping out of the water. We even saw a herd of manatees!  All of the sea life was enchanting, but after the recent attacks, one thing I'm glad we didn't see was a shark.  We never go out very far, and certainly not to the sandbar where the vast majority of attacks occur, but we were on high alert nonetheless.

After getting home and tackling the unpacking and laundry, I finally got back to my latest quilt.

After a week of clear, blue-green waters and undulating waves, I decided this quilt needed some swirls.  They echo the circular secondary pattern, and I think it will give the quilt the feel of swirling waters.  It's coming along nicely!  By the way, if you missed it, you can see the full quilt top in my last post HERE.

Okay, friends!  It's time to check out the highlights from last weeks amazing party.  Take a look at this sweet quilt from Anja Quilts-

I love this happy quilt from Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting-

This lovely quilt is from Sew Preeti Quilts-

And finally, Quilting Gail shared this cool quilt-

Are you ready to party, friends?  It's time to 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 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!  :)

**If you are unable to see the Linky, please check back soon!  I have reached out to the Linky Tools admin, as this appears to be a problem on their end.  I am hoping to have it resolved ASAP!  Thank you for your patience!

All the In-Betweens and NTT

Greens that lean blue, blues that lean green, and every shade in-between! That's the criteria I used for pulling the fabrics for my latest quilt, which is now a finished quilt top.  Aqua, teal, turquoise, jade, mint, and so many more cool shades make this quilt a fresh wash of color.

There are an equal number of solid and print fabrics, and I paired them together to make these six-inch bowties.  Then, I alternated the solid and print bowties in the layout, and I love the effect.

I got all of the leftovers turned into a cool pieced back and basted it (I can't wait for you to see the back side).  And there were even enough scrap strips for a pieced binding.  I used thirty six fabrics in this quilt, with hardly any scraps added to my jars.  And once again, I didn't have to buy a single bit of fabric.  This quilt didn't completely eliminate this color in my stash, but it's pretty close.

I'd love to get this one finished up in short order, but that is not going to happen.  We are leaving for vacation this weekend (yay!), and the rest of the week is set aside for housecleaning, laundry and packing.  It will just have to wait until I get back.

On that note, NTT will be taking a break next week!  

Before we get to the party, check out some highlights from last week. This sweet star quilt is from Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room-

This cute quilt is from Jocelyn at Happy Cottage Quilter-

Maggie at Making a Lather showed off this lovely finish-

And finally, I love this cheerful quilt from Something Rosemade-

Okay, friends!  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 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!  :)

Soothing Bowties and NTT

Happy Needle and Thread Thursday, my friends.  This week, I turned that soothing, watery fabric pull into this tall stack of bowtie blocks- 144 six-inch bowties to be exact. I just finished pressing them this morning, and I can't wait to get them all laid out.

Last week's party was really amazing.  There were so many fantastic projects linked up, like this bright beauty from Sew Preeti Quilts, and this one's on the cover of the latest Make Modern magazine!

This cute quilt is from Kat at Scrapbook Quilts-

Linda at kokaquilts linked up this scrappy yumminess-

And finally, check out these gorgeous blue stars from Gretchen's Little Corner-

Y'all are just awesome!  I can't wait to see what you show off this week, so link up the latest from your studio!

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 Watery Fabric Pull

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, friends!  I'm still on my mission to bust through my stash, and as I was evaluating what I have left, it became very apparent that my aquas/teals are my most plentiful.  I have a ton of prints in this color but also, when a friend was destashing, I ended up with a fat quarter bundle of solids as well.  Since aqua/teal is one of my favorite colors, it seems like a logical choice to put them all together in a single-color quilt.

So, I pulled all those solids, and then paired each one with a coordinating print.  Some are on the blue side,  and some are more green, but I really think they all work well together.  My plan is to make a bunch of two-fabric blocks with the fabric pairs.  I haven't yet decided which block, but I'm leaning toward bowties.  I think the final color wash effect will be really neat.

Last week's party had so many amazing project linked up, like this cute quilt from Maggie at Making a Lather-

This sweet low volume baby quilt is from Frederique' at Quilting Patchwork Applique'-

This scrappy explosion from Sandra at mmmquilts is so much fun!

And finally, I can't help but show this one from Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room.  Anne-Marie was in my class with the Bloomington Quilter's Guild, and I just love her color choices for the Churn, Churn, Churn quilt-

It's always so much fun to meet quilters I "know" from blogging in real life!  I'd love to come visit your guild and meet you, so send me an email, and let's get something on the calendar for your guild.  I'm booking 2025 and beyond now!

Okay, y'all!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you have going on in your studio.  Bring on the 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!  :)

Fiesta Party!

Hey y'all, welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday.  It's been a super busy, fantastic week!  As I mentioned in my last post, I visited The Bloomington Quilter's Guild in Bloomington, Indiana and had the BEST time.  All of my flights were on time, which is a small miracle since I had to sneak through stormy weather and tornado warnings both coming and going.  After getting home, I had a lovely Mother's Day weekend, and even with all of that, I still managed to finish my latest quilt, which I'm calling Fiesta Party.

This quilt was fun to make.  The colors are so cheerful, and the entire quilt is completely from stash.  If you missed my post a couple of weeks ago, my print stash is dwindling down pretty low, and I'm on a mission to see just how many quilts I can make without purchasing a single bit of fabric.  Of course, piecing my quilt backs really helps in this endeavor.  I like to pull way more fabrics for the front of the quilt than I really need, which leaves plenty leftover for the back.  For this 60" x 60" quilt, I used 25 different fabrics!  

And speaking of pieced quilt backs-

I am in love with the back of this one!  I used the Chunky pattern from my book Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs to use up all the leftovers, so only a very few small pieces were added to my scrap jars.

With my busy week, I needed an easy finish.  For me, that means a nice, wide(ish) stipple.  It is by far my favorite way to quilt.  It adds plenty of allover crinkly texture, but the process is fast and relaxing.  It's definitely my go-to motif.

I pulled this Kona Royal Blue from my solids stash for the binding, and it creates a great solid frame for all of these cheerful prints.

I hope all of you had a great week as well.  Last week's party was downright jaw-dropping.  There were SO many fantastic things linked up.  This sweet, scrappy pineapple quilt is from Deb at A Scrappy Quilter-

Jan at The Colorful Fabriholic shared this beautiful hexie quilt-

This fun quilt is from Kris at Sew Sunshine-

And Anne-Marie at Stories From the Sewing Room showed off this striking quilt top.  By the way, I got to meet Anne-Marie in person in Bloomington last week, and it was such a treat to visit with her!

I could have easily highlighted SO many more amazing projects, so if you missed last week, head over there to browse through all the awesomeness.

I hope you're ready to party.  Let's get it 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!  :)

Sneak Peek at the Back and NTT

Welcome to Needle and Thread Thursday, y'all!  As I write this post it's only Monday, and I'm leaving to visit the Bloomington Quilter's Guild tomorrow, very early in the morning, and won't return until about midnight Wednesday night.  Thank goodness for the marvel of scheduled blog posts!  Since this is a short week for me, I haven't yet finished my spring quilt, though I have made good progress on it.  I did get the quilt basted and I'm all ready to start the quilting.  Here's a little peek at the back-

I used all the leftovers with the Chunky pattern from my book, Perfectly Pieced Quilt Backs, and I'm looking forward to showing off the whole thing!

Okay then- let's get down to business!  Last week's party was full of awesomeness, like this dreamy quilt from Sew Preeti Quilts-

And Susan at Patchwork n Play, who managed to turn old pajamas into this cute quilt-

Nancy at Grace and Peace Quilting is killing it with all her finishes lately!

Take a look at this 3D art quilt from Andree' at Quilting and Learning- What a Combo!  I shared a peek at this project in progress, but now that it's finished, I can't help but show the full reveal.  The tulips can even be rearranged.  Stunning!

And finally, this lovely, classic blue and white log cabin quilt was linked up by Viridian's blog-

Okay, friends!  As the party kicks off, I'll be on my way home from Indiana, and I'd love lots of eye-candy to peruse at the airport.  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!  :)