How About a Giveaway?!

Isn't this a great bag? I fell in love with it right away! It's a brand new pattern...not even released yet...and is called "The Tiny Clutch." Tiffany from Tiny Seamstress Designs has made this clutch, and one reader of my blog can receive it! Tiffany is heading to market for the first time this spring, and the pattern for this clutch will be one of her pre-market releases.

To enter...head on over to Tiffany's blog, then scroll down to look at her other great bag designs. Come back here and leave a comment letting us know which is your favorite. The giveaway will stay open until Wednesday night, and we'll announce the winner at the end of the week!

Also, speaking of giveaways...I just had my 200th post a few posts ago...so I'm trying to get my own giveaway prize made in the next couple of days...I'll let you know about it soon! Have a great day, and good luck!

February Plans

We're having a wonderful rain today--perfect weather for sorting through the sewing room and setting my February sewing goals. (Because of the clouds my pictures aren't as bright as I'd like--these fabrics are so much more gorgeous in person).

I've finished piecing the top for my Verna version of "Jelly & Jam"...so now she needs borders!

So, goals one and two are to get borders on my two large Verna quilts (the other one is "Piece of Cake" that I shared here). Just this week I was able to order Verna yardage from Kelly...her prices are great, and her shipping was super fast!

Goal number three...(and I'm still on cloud nine here) is to start some projects using this 12 Days of Christmas Layer Cake from Kate. These fabrics are the best! I have tons of ideas going through my mind...trying to decide how I can make the absolute most of these squares! I'm really excited to work with this fabric and promise you'll be seeing something soon! By the way...have you seen the 2010 Designer Mystery Block of the Month from Fat Quarter Shop? It is going to be wonderful and uses the 12 Days of Christmas line. There are some fun posts about it here and here and here!

February goal 4 involves this fun giveaway I won from Margot at the Pattern Basket. Have you seen her Moda Love Pincushion project over at the Moda Bake Shop? I was thrilled to win this wonderful pincushion, and Margot also sent along four of her recent patterns, "Something Sweet," "Sugar Twist," "Frosted Squares," and "Charm Drops." I had been oohing and aahing over every one of these patterns on her blog and have had fun reading them the last few days. I think I'm going to make "Sugar Twist" first...and might use Martinique which is just now hitting shops.

February goal 5 (a carryover from the last couple of months) is to finally start a quilt with my Meadowsweet stack. (I'll surprise you with the pattern--maybe my March Schnibble)! And although I don't have a picture yet for February goals 6 and 7...they are to make blocks one and two of Anne's new Block of the Month, Snowbound. Goals 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 are to bind 5 quilts!

Hopefully I can get a good portion of these projects at least started and several finished...I really think setting quilting goals at the beginning of the month has been very beneficial. Even when I don't come close to meeting my goals, it helps to have a good idea of what I want to work on...then when I have even just a short amount of time to sew I can immediately go to a project without having to make too many decisions!

I have some fun things to share this month as well...including a giveaway...or two or three! Have a great rest of the weekend...hope all of you affected by the blizzard back East stay warm!

Wordless Wednesday

Another little quilt...and Winners!

I have to share one of my favorite little quilts made with the wonderful Fig Tree line, Patisserie. No, it's not a "Schnibble," but it is from a pattern by Carrie called"Opening Day." I had to make this miniature version last spring (actually this option is shown on the back cover of the pattern). I really want to make the full-sized quilt as well...I'm challenging myself to use only fabrics from my stash--but this was one of those patterns I just couldn't wait to start, and thus this little quilt. Oh...and a few "Schnibbly" winners to share today too...

Carrie has chosen two winners...one from Sinta's parade and one from mine...both will receive an Oz Layer Cake! Carrie will announce her winners on her blog today!

Quilt Taffy has donated this Sunday Best pattern which will go to Paulette (no blog) from Sinta's parade. I love the Quilt Taffy version shown on the blog...her daughter made it...so cute...you'll have to go read the post!

Cottage Quilts has donated a $25 gift certificate which will go to Darlene from my parade!

Quilter's Paradise has awarded a $25 gift certificate which goes to Kim from Sinta's parade.

Once again, Fat Quarter Shop has generously donated a $50 gift certificate which goes to Cindy from Sinta's parade.

And from Bear Paw Quilts An Encourager (also from Sinta's parade) wins the Sunday Best pattern and two Nature's Notebook charm packs!

Congratulations to all the winners...and a big thank you to all of those who donated prizes. Hmmm...I think I'm off to work on my March Schnibble! Have a great day!

Schnibbles Day!

It's February first (can you believe it?)...and here is the February Schnibble--"Sunday Best!"


I made mine out of Verna (by Kate Spain for Moda) and absolutely love it! You might notice I made a scrappy binding...the yardage is available now but wasn't when I was finishing my quilt...but I kind of like the scrappy binding! This quilt just says "spring" to me (although I'm rather liking the cooler temps right now...no hurry for summer).




A big thank you to my friend Gail who quilted it this week for me (last minute, no less)! "Sunday Best" is a nice sized quilt-- 37 by 37, using 64 charm squares (two charm packs-- you must have 2 charms each of 32 different charms), 3/4 yard of background, 1/2 yard of binding, and 1 1/4 yard of backing. Carrie also gives the option to make this into a 52 by 52 inch quilt using a Layer Cake and 1 3/8 yards of background. Make sure when you finish your "Sunday Best" quilt to comment on this post or Sinta's post with a link to your photo (non-bloggers e-mail as usual). This is a fun, fast, fantastic pattern that everyone will love...now...on with our parade!


First up is Kari's lovely quilt...I absolutely adore these colors!

Next is Lynda's Madeline...just gorgeous!

And Trish did a beautiful version in some great pinks!

Darlene has her Madeline beautifully quilted and bound!

Jocelyn's Madeline is beautiful...one of many who used reds and pinks!

Trisha loved the blocks so much she made more...quite a few more...her quilt top is 53 by 32 with borders still not added! You can read all about it here.

And here is "Madeline" from Paulette (no blog).


Next up is Sandy R. Of course I love this fabric!

This "Madeline" comes to us from Sandy F (no blog)--another beautiful interpretation.

And this one is made by Pam W. (no blog)--gorgeous.

This version is by Mary (no blog)...the French General fabric is very popular!

And this Madeline (all from her stash) comes to us by way of Stina. She mentioned she really appreciated using these light colors during the winter months.

This "Madeline" was made by Sigrid. (All these French General quilts are making me want to make another using this line!)

This one is by Sandy M. She used the beautiful Aster Manor line.

This one comes via Sandie--perfect for Valentine's!

This "Madeline" was made by Rita (no blog)--love her colors, too.

And a terrific Hope Valley version from Regena.

And one more French General version comes to us from Lisa. Well...I love them all! Make sure you head over to Sinta's for the other half of the parade. Sinta, Carrie, and I will be back tomorrow to announce the winners! Have a great day!

A Little Applique'

Twelve...all twelve blocks are finished for my A Tisket, A Tasket quilt...thanks so much Anne!!! I'm hoping to add the final row and borders this weekend.

This darling block is one of my favorites...the vintage pink rick rack in the basket came from Stephanie and seemed to be absolutely perfect.


Now I can start on Anne's new block of the month...Snowbound--well, as soon as Rural Jardin is available that is...

Have a wonderful day...hope you get to sew!

Just Checking In...

More pinwheels...(Fabric Verna by Kate Spain...pattern "Jelly & Jam" by Joanna Figueroa).

Borders on my Hope Valley quilt...(Fabric by Denyse Schmidt, pattern "Off Kilter" by Heather Mulder Peterson).

Had to share a close-up of the corner fabric...I'd originally intended this fabric for the four corners but was an inch short and almost used the side border floral instead....SOOO glad I waited for more of my initial choice...just that little bit of additional contrast made a wonderful difference...this is one of those quilts that I just love...hopefully after it's quilted and washed I can get some great pictures.

I did get a lot of sewing in this week...my February Schnibbles is complete...can't wait to share it...and I also nearly finished another quilt I can't yet share. I pieced two quilt backs yesterday--I procrastinate on quilt backs for some reason--does anyone else do this? Any suggestions? One of my goals for 2010 is to piece my quilt backs immediately after finishing the tops. Oh, and another goal is patience...if I could just learn to patiently wait for the "future collections" on the United Notions page I think life would be much easier. I'm pretty confident about accomplishing the quilt back goal...the patience...not so much! Have a great day!

What I'm Working on Wednesday

I've been enjoying the rain...yay!!! After such a long dry spell here we are being blessed with rain, and more is on the way. I've been sewing and took advantage of some sun this morning to take a few pictures. I'm working on my A La Mode (pattern by Camille) pinwheel stars...love this pattern!

I finished the front and back of my January Fresh and Fancy Table Runner (pattern by Bonnie at Cotton Way)...hoping to quilt this and get it bound soon; I can't wait to start the February runner as well!

And I've been working with Verna by Kate Spain...this fat quarter bundle doesn't exactly look like this anymore...

I've already started cutting it for the first two projects I have planned. Oh, and I've been doing a little sewing (that I can't share yet) with Fresh Cottons by Joanna of Fig Tree and Company. I love this line...you can see some great pictures over at Kelly's blog and every print over at the Moda website. Hope you have a wonderful day...be back soon!

Piece O' Cake

I just attended a wonderful lecture and trunk show at Quiltique given by Becky Goldsmith of Piece O' Cake Designs. I have several Piece O' Cake books and have been working on applique' over the past year so that I'll be able to start one of their projects soon. I took lots of pictures and several pages of notes; I can't say enough about Becky's wonderful lecture, and her quilts were absolutely stunning--works of art each and every one!

I love, love, love all the polka dots in this quilt! After her lecture Becky graciously allowed us to look more closely at her quilts and to photograph them. They are so very inspiring!

This is a close up of one of the blocks from "Passion Flowers," a quilt in her latest book, Applique' Outside the Lines. The quilting on each quilt is also spectacular, and we learned that Becky does all of her own machine quilting on her Bernina; this quilt combines machine quilting and big-stitch hand quilting.

This was another amazing quilt...part of a four block quilt made up of blocks from Aunt Millie's Garden.

This is another block of the four-block version of Aunt Millie's Garden.

This is a close-up of "Picasso's Garden," also from Applique' Outside the Lines.

I love how she quilted the leaves!

You'll notice that these pictures don't show the incredible detail I was able to capture in the close-up shots, but they do show the size of the quilts. Becky is on the right in each of these photos.

Becky's lecture was incredibly informative. She spoke accompanied by a wonderful slideshow with photos that illustrated each topic. We learned about color, the color wheel, and value. Becky walked us through several photos that showed her design process using the quilt "Tree O' Life" from Applique' Outside the Lines as an example. Becky is incredibly blessed to have a wonderful husband who binds her quilts and even sews on labels and quilt sleeves! One of the pictures in her slideshow showed her husband busy binding a quilt! After the lecture Becky conducted a question and answer session which was also incredibly informative and fun. We learned that her favorite applique' thread is the Superior "Masterpiece" (50 weight).

I loved the closing lines of Becky's lecture: "Make your quilts to please yourself--your quilts are the bits and pieces you leave behind...they are your legacy."

Hope Valley Quilt

Hope Valley by Denyse Schmidt for Free Spirit...I fell in love with this fabric after reading this preview...


At first I was only going to pick up a few fat quarters. They were amazing, so I got a few more. After that I ordered the rest. And then I started trying to figure out what to make first.

After considering many possibilities... I just knew these fabrics would be perfect for the pattern "Off Kilter" from the book Livin' Large by Heather Mulder Peterson. I changed up a few things from the original quilt, using a light colored sashing/inner border rather than a darker fabric. I also used 20 different squares for the machine-applique'd centers rather than alternating two different prints. I ♥ this quilt! Outer border and binding fabrics are on the way...I'll share this one again!

Binding is completed on my Cobblestones quilt for the Fig Tree Club. I ♥ this quilt too! Have a great day...see you soon!