Churnstile Quilt Finish!

I'm a quilter without a plan... that's just how I operate. Ok, well, I do from time to time make a plan for my ongoing projects, but a good majority of what I do, starts out with no real A to Z, start-to-finish, mapped out direction. Usually such quilting projects leave you with a pretty good story once you do finally make it to the finish line... so, are you ready for a sit back and grab a cup of coffee kind of tale? I actually started my Churnstile quilt back in February of this year when I wanted to "audition" potential bee blocks for when it was my turn to be queen bee. It didn't take long for me to figure out that I liked the block so much, and had such a very specific color direction,...

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Best Of 2016

There's nothing more satisfying than being able to look back and actully see what you've accomplished in a year... especially when you see it it pictures. Firstly, I wanted to give a nod to the finishes that I've had this year.  I could hardly believe that I had finished six quilts this year! You may also have noticed a quilt finish in there that you've not seen before, and not without reason... this post bumped it from it's planned spot, but I plan to officially share next week. The first "Best Of" category is the Quilt Finish With The Most Views. My Facing East quilt also gets the title of "Longest Quilt in the Making", and it's what I consider to be my epic finish of all time,...

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Bee Blocks? Check! Check!

They say that it's sometimes the best thing to step outside our comfort zone... always stretching and pushing ourselves to come out of that place of familiarity and safety that keeps us there to begin with. Of course trying new techniques for any quilter can only build on already established skill levels, and if you really want to step outside that zone then improv is the way to go! I realized as I was working on my last bee blocks for this year that I forgot to share the improv blocks that I made for Yara. (check out her progress here) For her, the bold colors were her big stretch. From time to time, I convince myself that I need to try improv, yet again. Usually after struggling and...

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Square It Up

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed a flurry of half square triangles in the making. This is a fun little mindless sewing, scrap busting project that I started recently to rescue several cut away triangles from my last few projects. Now, I'm not exactly the epitome of a "never throw a scrap away" kind of girl, but some scraps are just too good to toss. So, as with almost every project that I start... who needs a plan? Just make it up as you go, and if you're going to do it at all, then do it big! Go big, or go home, right? I've also been adding other scraps as well as a few of those this-fabric-was-just-made-for-this favorites. I've been saving this Heather Ross fabric...

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Giveaway Day Winner!

I really wanted to give a warm thank you to everyone who participated in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day. I really enjoyed reading your comments and hearing what you are making this holiday season. Some of you have a pretty ambitious list to finish before Christmas, so I won't make you wait any longer... Congratualtions goes out to Laura Ferdal! ... and to the rest of you who joined in on the fun, good luck with your to-do sewing lists, whether it's a little selfish sewing or filling up those spots under the tree. Have a blessed Christmas and great slide into the New Ye...

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Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day

***This Giveaway is now CLOSED. Winner will be announced tommorw, December 13th, 2016.*** Every year, Sew Mama Sew hosts one of the biggest and best giveaway link ups that a sewist could wish for. And since it is the season of giving, I thought I would gift a copy of my Jeweled Kaleidoscope quilt pattern! (PDF pattern) In case you've not been here before, be sure to check out my "Freebies & Tutorials" section, which is filled with fun project patterns, how-to videos, and even includes a tutorial that I did for Sew Mama Sew last year. My paper pieced quilt pattern is for the advanced beginner to intermediate quilter, is available in four sizes, and even includes a mini version,...

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Merry & Bright Pillow Finish

Searching through boxes and boxes of packed away things, it feels like I can only find about half of my Christmas decorations since our move. It's always a delight at the beginning of the season to pull out all those hand made pillows and other sewn things to adorn our living space. So needless to say, this pillow finish comes at the perfect time in the absence of my missing holiday decorations. This project actually came to be because of a couple sick days on the couch. I already had it prepared for my Denmark trip, but without those "forced" days down, I'm not sure it I would have finished it this year. I decided that a radiating quilting design would highlight the wreath and draw focus...

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Connections

Without sounding totally cliché, it really is amazing to me the connections that you make online... especially within the quilting community. When I first moved to Germany, I never would have imagined that one day so many of my daily contacts and friends would stem from relationships with people that I had met online. Even just a few weekends ago, I spent the weekend with the ladies from our HH Modern Patchwork Treffen for a retreat in Denmark... all of them, with the exception of one, I had met online!  I think I "met" Magda about the same time that I "met" Melanie... it was a WIP Wednesday connection, back when Freshly Pieced was still hosting. Before I knew it, the three of us...

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THANKFUL Pattern Sale

Thanksgiving is not just a time to drool over the scrumptious and perfectly browned turkey, but I dare say your favorite fabrics and projects too! I've been drooling over the new Alison Glass collections, Seventy Six and her 2017 Sun print fabrics, and I can't wait to get my hands on them! You too? Can't you just imagine my Jeweled Kaleidoscope pattern made with them? To celebrate the spirit of the holiday, I would like to let you know how grateful I am for your support by offering 20% off my Jeweled Kaleidoscope quilt pattern November 24 - 28th! Simply enter the sale code: THANKFUL in my Payhip shop. What are you thankful for today? ...

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Merry & Bright

Are you a pre-holiday project planner? As much as I would like to say that I belong to this category, the honest truth about things is that I usually think about making a holiday project when I am already in the middle of that holiday. On our recent sewing retreat to Denmark, I did, however, have to have several projects planned ahead of time, and I wanted to have a hand project in case I needed a break from the sewing machine... what was I thinking, right?!? a break from the sewing machine? HA! (big laughing here behind the scenes) This past weekend, the traveling sick bug hit everyone in the family except for my husband. It's almost torture for me when I am too sick to make it to...

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