I'm Guest Hosting at Freshly Pieced!

Hey everyone!  I'm guest hosting WIP Wednesday for Lee over at Freshly Pieced today.  So hop on over and link up your works in progress!  Here's a sneak peek of what I'm sharing!

Check it out, ya'll!

Wicked Hop Giveaway Winner

Hello All!

Thanks so much for all of your generous comments in response to my Quick Quilted Coasters Tutorial!  Time to use Mr. Random to determine the winner of the Halloween fabrics!



The winner is lucky number 91 (although for the life of me, I cannot figure out how to get this little widget to work properly without making the number disappear)! 
Congratulations to Diane W!  I'll be contacting you shortly by email, Diane and thanks so much for reading!

A New Quilt and A New Chapter

Wow!  Things can really move quickly in the blogging world.  Last week, between Needle and Thread Thursday, a tutorial for the Wicked Blog Hop,  that "little holiday" that was last Thursday, a tutorial for Benartex, and you know- teaching full time, my head was spinning a little bit trying to juggle the posts and responses to comments, and I wondered whether or not I had bitten off a little more than I could chew in one week!

So after all of my scheduled commitments passed, yesterday I was so happy to start a new quilt and finish up this top.  I decided to make one that is bright and fun, and gender neutral with shades of blue, green, and bright orange.

I purposely chose fabrics that were a little bit clashy, and although I wasn't too sure about it at first, it's kind of grown on me.  I think when it gets all quilted I will love it even more.

In the midst of all of that last week, another big thing happened to my little piece of the blogosphere.  I don't know if you've noticed my new left sidebar, but...I have sponsors now!  I thought about this choice for awhile, before finally deciding to take the plunge!  Of course, I decided that I would never take on a sponsor that I wouldn't gladly buy from myself, and all opinions on my blog will remain my own.

Yesterday, I revealed my newest finished quilt, Blossoms and Butterflies, and introduced you to my very first sponsor, Bumbletees Fabrics.  This is my local shop that also sells my quilts.  If you missed that post, be sure to check it out, because Bumbletees is kicking off their sponsorship by giving away 5 fat quarters from Heather Bailey's Lottie Da fabric line.

Without further ado, I'm happy to welcome two new additional sponsors, Fat Quarter Shop, and Fabric Tree!

                                                             

Fat Quarter Shop is a great shop that carries a huge selection of yardage, precuts, patterns, and quilt kits- and they have a whole section dedicated to holiday fabric!  Their customer service is great and there is always a bargain to be had in their clearance section!  If you need it, there's a good chance they've got it!



Fabric Tree is a new discovery for me, but after browsing their shop, I'm certain that I'll be visiting often.  With fabric lines like Riley Blake's Enchant, A Merry Little Christmas, Bake Sale, Madhuri, So Happy Together, and Life in the Jungle (and more), there's a lot of selection!  They also have a great clearance section, and "Create Your Own Bundle" options in varying quantities.  Fabric Tree is offering 10% off all Christmas fabric with the code XMAS10 through the holidays, and I have it on good authority that there are more fantastic coupon codes coming up!

I'm so excited to be stepping into this new chapter in my blogging journey!

Blossoms and Butterflies...and Bumbletees

I finished up my Lottie Da quilt yesterday, and managed to get a few pictures between periods of rain.  I decided to name this one Blossoms and Butterflies.  The butterfly fabric is very subtle in the photo, but in person, it is so pretty.  I just didn't get a close up of it in photographing the quilt, but there is a picture of it below!  I just love the colors in these fabrics.  They're sweet without being too sugary, and they feel really fresh.

Most of the fabrics are Lottie Da, by Heather Bailey, but I did add a few other prints, including the chevron and polkadot.  I used all of the scraps in the backing (of course), and am totally in love with both sides of this quilt!

I knew as soon as I saw that cute lilac fabric that I wanted to use it for the binding!

I quilted this with a simple meander, although I did make it a little tighter than I normally do. And although you can't really get a sense of the scale with the pictures, I've been making my labels smaller as well.  I figure that with a baby quilt, I should keep the scale of the label consistent with the scale of the quilt.  Each strip is 4 inches finished, and the center square is 9 inches, so the finished quilt measures 49 inches square.

I made this quilt for the local shop that sells my quilts- Bumbletees Fabrics, and I'm so excited to introduce them as a sponsor!  

                                                             

Bumbletees is my local sewing studio that offers sewing classes, gifts made with fabric by local artists, applique clothing, and of course shelves filled with bolts of gorgeous, modern quilting fabric.  Lots of the fabrics I use in my quilts are from Bumbletees, since I'm in there at least once a week!  

I've loved getting to know the owners, Jan and Andrea.  They are super friendly, and they have wonderful customer service, and great prices!

Check out a few photos of the shop, and you'll see why I can't stay away!  And if you look closely, you'll see my quilts sprinkled here and there!

See what I mean?  Art, frames, pillows, bunting, tea towels, cute applique clothing- and FABRIC!  Is it any wonder that I'm in there all the time?

To kick off their sponsorship, Bumbletees Fabrics is offering a giveaway of five of the fat quarters in the Lottie Da line!

To enter the giveaway-

1.  Like Bumbletees Fabrics on facebook and leave a comment for me to let me know!

*For a second entry-

2.  Visit Bumbletees Fabrics and add them to your favorites list on etsy.  Be sure to let me know with a comment!

Mr. Random will pick a winner next Saturday, November 9th.  If you're a no-reply blogger or a Wordpress user, please be sure to leave your email address so that we can contact you and get your fabric all packaged up and sent to you ASAP!

Happy sewing and good luck!

  

Bold Braid Quilt Tutorial

As much as I love a braid or herringbone quilt with lots of little strips, sometimes I just don't want to mess with all of those tiny pieces of fabric!  I decided to make a quilt with that fantastic braid pattern, but make it with wider strips.  This makes it fat quarter or fat eighth friendly, and it goes together in a flash!

I used one of Benartex's new fabric lines, Dori, and I love the bright, happy colors.  This quilt was fun and easy from start to finish!

For the backing, I opted for the Dottie Lime fabric in the Dori line, and of course I used all of the scraps as well!

A bright orange binding finished the whole thing off!  I'm calling this quilt Coral Reef.  Something about these colors and prints reminds me of the surreal colors of tropical water.

The finished quilt measures 40 x 52- a super-versatile size- perfect for a baby, or for draping across a table for a cookout or pool party.  I know we're heading into winter, but in true teacher fashion, I think about summer year-round!

Head over to Benartex's blog, Sew In Love With Fabric to check out the step-by-step tutorial with lots of pictures!

oh, by the way- Benartex is giving away a FQ bundle of these fresh, fun Dori fabrics!  

There are two ways to enter-

1.  Follow Benartex's blog, Sew In Love With Fabric by bloglovin', email, or another blog reader.  You can find those buttons on their right sidebar.  Leave a comment here to let me know how you follow!

OR,

2.  You can like Benartex on Facebook and leave a comment to let me know you did so.

**For a second chance to win, follow my blog, and leave a comment to let me know how you're following!

Mr. Random will pick a winner next Wednesday, November 6th.  Sew In Love With Fabric will be announcing the winner, so stay tuned!

*Please be sure that you leave your email address if you're a no-reply blogger, or if you're a Wordpress user.  I hate that you Wordpressers show up as no-reply to us Blogger users.  I surely do wish they'd fix that!

Good luck and enjoy the tutorial!

Quick Quilted Coasters- and a Giveaway

Hello All!  It's finally my turn on the Wicked Blog Hop!  I can't believe that October has slipped by and tomorrow we'll all be looking ahead to Thanksgiving.

If you're looking for Needle and Thread Thursday, or even if you're not and you just want to check it out, I posted it a day early because of the blog hop, and you can find it HERE!

For my stop on the Wicked Hop, I want to share a little tutorial on a project that can be modified to suit your decor all year long, and will keep away those really "wicked" rings on your furniture!

I made these super cute quilted coasters (a whole set of six) in less than an hour- no kidding!  Here's what you'll need-

*24 assorted 3 inch squares.  This is a great use of small scraps, or I picked up a FQ bundle with five different fabrics and had way more than enough for the entire coaster set.

*6 squares for backings, cut 5.5 inches.

*and 12 squares of batting, cut 5.5 inches.  I wanted to be certain that the coasters were able to absorb a lot of condensation, so I doubled my batting, which is why we're cutting 12 squares instead of 6.

To make the tops of your coasters, sew your 3 inch squares into four patches, and give them a quick press.

Now, put your four patch and backing square right sides together, and put the two squares of batting on top, like this-

Using your walking foot to be sure that everything feeds evenly, and sew all the way around with a 1/4 inch seam, leaving about 2 inches open.  Be sure to backstitch when you start and stop.  

Remember, you're looking at the wrong side of the fabric on the back!

Clip your corners, taking care not to cut your stitches.  We just need to reduce the bulk in the corners to make the next step easier!

Then just turn the coaster right side out!  These are small enough that you can use your fingers, but a chopstick or the eraser end of a pencil works too.  Just don't use anything sharp or you'll poke right through your corners!  This is where the backstitching is important, because when you turn it, your seam will need to be strong so it doesn't pull open.

I am really not a fan of hand sewing, so I like to close my open edge by folding it inside and stitching all the way around the edge of the coaster.

At this point, you could quilt it however you want!  I know that some spiderwebs would have been just awesome, but I did mention that this was completed in an hour, right?  Instead, I set my stitch length to 3mm and opted for a quick square spiral.  I didn't get too precise with it.  I kept the lines "organic-" which is what I like to call it when I don't care if there's a little wonkiness to it, ha!

Once you've got the basic construction down, you can change the fabrics to any holiday or even match your regular decor.  You can make the quilting design your own, or even modify the top into any favorite block pattern.  Keep in mind though, that the entire finished coaster is only 5 inches- plenty big enough for a drink to sit on, but not exactly a ton of room to show off mad-piecing skills. You know, unless you're into working with teeny-tiny pieces... in which case- more power to you!  You could even fussy cut squares for the top and not piece at all!  Just have fun with it!

So, there you have it!  A set of six coasters that would make anybody smile, and will keep away rings on the furniture- because those are really scary!

I have a good bit of the fabric I used on this project left over, and since it's time for me to stop thinking of Halloween, and start checking off my Christmas list, I don't have any plans for it.  So, I'm offering them as a giveaway!  There is one 12x18 inch piece of each fabric left, plus a 5x12 piece.  So still plenty for another little wicked project!

To be entered in the giveaway, just leave a comment!  I'll use Mr. Random to choose the winning number on Monday, 11/4.  So the giveaway will stay open through the weekend!

Followers will get a second chance to win.  So in your second comment, be sure to let me know how you're following!

oh, and ps- I'll contact the winner by email, so if you're a no-reply blogger or a wordpress user, please be sure to leave your email address in your comment.  :)

Good luck!

Lots of thanks to Mdm Samm and Wicked Wendy for organizing such a fun hop.  By the way, don't forget to check out the final few Wicked Hoppers today!

DreamWeaver's Quilts  

My Quilt Infatuation-yep, you're here!

Just Keep Swimming

Quilts From My Crayon Box

Daisy and Jack

Thimblemouse & Spouse

Tomorrow's Treasures Today

Why-Knot-Kwilt

Just Let Me Quilt

Sew We Quilt

It's Almost Thursday!

Okay y'all-  Tomorrow is my stop on the Sew We Quilt Wicked Blog Hop (not to mention Halloween), so I know things will get pretty busy in a hurry!  I wanted to give everyone plenty of time to share what you're working on, either before or after the sugar-induced coma of trick-or-treating!  So, I'm posting Needle and Thread Thursday a day early, and I'll still leave it open through Friday!

In case you missed it, I have my machine back and am sewing again!  Yippee!  So, tomorrow, I'm planning to share a little tutorial for the blog hop, and Friday, I have a tutorial ready to go for the braid/herringbone quilt I mentioned in my last post.  Be sure to keep an eye out for those!

With all of that coming up, I'll just save my NTT sharing for another time, so let's just get right down to the highlights, shall we?

Last week, there were SO many fantastic links!  I know, I know.  I say that every week.  Yep, I do.  I and I really mean it, but this week I had an especially hard time choosing some projects to highlight because there were lots that I just loved.

Jess at Quilty Habit shared this adorable baby quilt, and I just think the little owl is too cute!

Ms. Midge's paper pieced fairy tale quilt is just amazing!

and Diana at Red Delicious Life shared her Accuracy Quilt Along top, and I love the purples!

Okay, y'all, you know what to do.  Bring it on!

Here are the rules.  Y'all know the drill!

1.  You can link finished projects or WIP's , but just keep it about quilting and sewing!

2. Link to your specific post to make it easier for others.

3. Spread the word and post my button or a text link.  Please find my new button on my sidebar!

4. Spread the comment love far and wide!

5. Following me is not a requirement to link, but is so very appreciated!