Link-Up #summerstackfridays Cool Colors

     Are you living in a corner of the world where you are ready for the summer heat to cool down? There has been quite a heat wave in Germany this summer, and thoughts of ice cream, swimming pools, and cool breezes are occupying most people's minds these days. Last week's summer stack, we warmed it up, but this week it's time to turn that color wheel to the other side and explore the cooler side of things with shades of green, blues, and purples. I like to challenge myself to try to take a color scheme and approach it differently than my usual high saturation / high contrast palette. When I think of cool colors, I think in the pure hues... essentially the colors at the...

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Waste-Not, Want-Not Pillow

One of the things that I think could possibly trip people up when it comes to a reverse applique project, is that you have to essentially cut a hole right in the middle of your project... did you ever have your mom reprimand you sternly for doing the same with your construction paper art projects? Well, I say, that if you already had those natural tendencies when you were young, then perhaps you were onto something back then, so shake off any guilty feelings and charge boldly forward... no holding back! Just because reverse applique requires you to cut a hole out of the middle of your project doesn't mean that you have to waste it... not with my Waste-Not, Want-Not pillow! Last week...

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Link-Up #summerstacksundays Warm Colors

So how has the weather been with you this summer... are you ready to warm things up a bit? We are now into week three of the #summerstacksundays link-up party, and what better way to celebrate summer than with a warm color palette.   Working with really bright and intense tones, is perhaps what makes my heart beat when it comes to working with color. In spite of this, I can sometimes have a very specific color palette in my mind when approaching a new project. I love the challenge of toning things down, pulling in the reigns, and grabbing for an outside of my color norm, go-to stack. Just because you go for a warm or analogous color palette, doesn't mean that you...

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#summerstack Moves to Sunday!

Sometimes you find yourself mid-stream when you realize that you might need to change course a bit…and just hope that you’ve not gotten too far to turn back. I’ve come to the conclusion that Fridays may not be the easiest day for a link up party, which is why I decided to change the summer stack link-up party to Sundays.  The goal is still the same: practicing, pushing yourself, documenting for future projects, and getting connected to other quilters. It’s still low key, but hopefully now on a slower day for everyone – summer vacation or not.   If you are following the weekly themes, then how about if we warm things up next week, with a "warm colors" fabric stack - think reds,...

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Link-Up #summerstackfridays Primary

One of the benefits of documenting fabric pulls is that it gives you a starting point, once you are actually ready to dive into a new project. If you are like me, you might have several projects going at one time, but may have to wait until the other projects are finished before starting new ones... having time to think about favorite fabric stacks may not always match the beginning of a new project. So for this weeks' #summerstackfridays, I started out with this "Ladder" print from the Sweet Dreams collection, from Anna Maria Horner as my inspiration fabric.The darker dots are actually an interesting dark, greenish-khaki color that is a little hard to match up. Since I don't have very...

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Primary Colors - Adventure or Challenge?

If you talk about a primary color combination, the first thing that might come to mind is the inside of a kindergarten... pure hues of red, yellow, and blue have a tendency to be pretty intense, and especially daring as a fabric combination. For this week's #summerstackfridays link-up, for those following along with the weekly theme, a primary color palette just might be as challenging as one can get... but why no put a little twist on it? Let's just start out with red... what happens when you add white? You end up with pink. And depending on how much white you add to it, depends on how light or dark a pink it is. Even a pink would still "technically" be in the red family. My red has a slight...

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Circle Around Reverse Applique Pillow

Recently I shared one of my favorite, lesser-known, and all-too-often-forgotten-about quilting techniques. If you were to ask me, I would tell you without a doubt, that reverse applique should get more recognition than it does. Don't stop reading there, or snub your nose, just because it has the word "applique" in it... I promise, it's not a dirty word like some might like to label it with quick judgments. But I've actually noticed something a lot recently - I don't have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I have seen a quilt, and thought to myself - "wow, one could have cut corners, shaved off hours of drunkard's path, curved-piecing sewing, and still ended up at the finish...

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Link-Up Week 1 #summerstackfridays

Welcome to week one of the #summerstackfridays... I'm so glad you've joined in! As I mentioned in my introduction post, summer stack Fridays is all about carving out a little bit of time in the busy summer months to sneak in few creative, quilty mintues, even if it is just 10 - 15 mintues. Let's just face it - summer sewing doesn't have anything on the cold, winter months, but a link-up party gives you a chance to make it into your sewing room, even if you don't have the time to sew anything. ... and let's face it - what quilter doesn't love petting all her pretty fabrics, am I right? Just in case you happened to miss my first fabric stack, be sure to backtrack where I shared a little of...

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Put Your Feet Up - Brimfield Stool

I recently had a visit from a quilty friend for the weekend, and it seemed as if I was all over the place with my projects... somehow, I wasn't really motivated to work on the things that I was "supposed" to work on... and I actually pulled out a project that had been a long time in the works... for a long time. When I first started this Brimfield block, I didn't have a specific plan, but had thought to possibly make a little pillow for my living room. Since I already have several quilted pillows, I quickly concluded that it was perhaps a little predictable... and even overdone. By the time I had decided to turn this single block into a stool, the next step was to actually find a stool.   Anyone...

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