March Minis and More

Are you ready for a Clambake?

I sure am after making this adorable mini quilt!

The pattern for this Parade was Clambake Mini by Camille Roskelley.

It's super cute, fast and so much fun!  What more can you ask for in a mini quilt pattern?

We'll start this half of the parade with Mindy's quilt.  She's already ahead of the game because Mindy used holiday fabric for her version of Clambake Mini!  She was able to take some sewing time for herself and ran across a charm pack of this fabric when she was cleaning out her sewing room.  The candy cane border is a perfect fit for Mindy's festive quilt!

My Clambake Mini is made with Gooseberry fabric.  I had so much fun with this one.  You can read more about it HERE. A big Clambake quilt is now on my list of quilts to make this year.

  

And in keeping with the "More" part of Minis and More, Sherri and I are changing it up a bit this month! 

Our next pattern will be Village from Miss Rosie's Quilt Co.!

One of Carrie Nelson's new patterns!

It's a big quilt using charm squares!

I can't use too many exclamation points here!  I'm excited about it and I hope you are too!

This lovely picture of Carrie's Village quilt is from Thelma's blog Cupcakes and Daisies, taken by Carrie Nelson of Moda. 

Village would be wonderful with scraps, or a mix of charm packs, and even Layer Cakes too if you'd like.

So many options!

Now I'm not really sure of this so please proceed with caution here, but I'm thinking you could possibly even make it smaller or larger if you'd like.  That's something you'd need to look into if you were interested in doing that, but it looks like it might be possible to me..... 

This picture of the houses she made with scraps belongs to Thelma of Cupcakes and Daisies.  Used with permission. 

Sherri and I are giving you two months to make Village, since it's a bigger quilt, so the next Parade will be May first.

And after the May Parade it'll be time for a prize!  Anyone with a quilt in a Parade since our last giveaway will be entered. The more Parades you've participated in, the more times you are entered!

I'm off to order my pattern from The Fat Quarter Shop and look around here for some charm packs.

Don't forget to see the rest of the Clambake Parade on Sherri's blog A Quilting Life!

I can't wait to see your Village! 

Time for a Clambake!

Over the weekend I photographed my Clambake Mini and I'm so happy with how it turned out.

I'm happy with the pictures and I'm especially happy with the quilt!

This little quilt was so fun to make!

The construction is different than what I'm used to and that was wonderful.

Trying something new can be so refreshing!

I admit I was slightly slowed down by the fact that the Gooseberry fabric line that I was using had only a few colors in it.

Similar colors and fabrics so close together had me rethinking my layout a few times, but boy do I love how it turned out and I love that Gooseberry fabric too!

I'm tempted to stock up on it, but with so many beautiful new fabric lines coming out soon I might just wait..... 

If you haven't tried this adorable pattern by Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms you might want to check it out.

It's quick, fun and easy.

A big Clambake quilt has definitely been added to my list of projects to make!

To see more cute Clambake mini quilts stop by tomorrow for half the Minis and More Parade here on my blog, and and visit Sherri McConnell's blog, A Quilting Life to see the other half of the parade.

Sherri and I have something big planned for next month!  Hope to see you there.

Have a great Monday!

The February First Minis and More Parade

The last month of winter!  Before you know it we'll be welcoming spring!

For today's Minis and More Parade we'll start out with Patty's table runner.  

Patty from the blog A Stitch In Time used Road 15 fabric by Sweetwater to make a table runner using the blocks from Sherri's Hope Chest Mini, the pattern for this month's parade. This mini lends itself well to a table runner version.  Patty's fabric choices make it great for use any time of year!

Sandy did a post on her blog Loves To Quilt and included a picture of her mini quilt for this month's parade.  She used Kansas Troubles fabric from scraps of her stash in an effort to use some of it up. Great use of scraps Sandy!  It's beautiful!

Mary sent in a picture of the front of her Hope Chest Mini and one of the back too, so we could see the beautiful pantograph she used in better detail. I also love that she used the border fabric in the blocks. Lots of flowers just in time for spring! You can read more about Mary's mini on her blog Needledmom.

And here's mine, now all quilted and bound.  I was happy to be able to use only fabrics that I already had on hand for this one, including some Me and My Sisters fabric that I had left over from a baby quilt that I made last year and some Kona Snow for the background.  And I was able to get the stripes on the binding matched up all the way around!

Be sure to view the other half of the parade on Sherri's blog, A Quilting Life.

As far as next month's pattern goes, Sherri and I have chosen Mini Clambake by Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms!

It's a little different than a quilt made up of quilt blocks, so it should be fun!

I was able to locate the pattern at the Fat Quarter Shop and in Camille's shop too in both PDF and paper form.

  We're really looking forward to making this one and seeing what you all come up with!

Don't forget to email one of us a picture of your quilt and maybe a bit about it when you're finished.

Have a great week and be sure to do some happy sewing!

Hazel Pouch Trio

Today I'm going to show you pictures of the finished bag from the Hazel Pouch Trio Pattern that I tested for Jennie of Clover and Violet.

It's a cute bag!

It's a very versatile pattern too, with three different size options.

This is the largest size of the bags in the pattern.

I plan to keep some hand sewing in it so I can pick it up and take it with me when I'm on the go.

For that reason, I went with the option of leaving out the dividers inside the bag and going with more open space.

There are big deep pockets on the inside where I can keep some smaller sewing items.

I used Prairie fabric for the accent squares and Maker fabric for the background.

I'm not a fan of white bags, but this one just had to be made, there was no resisting!

I love this fabric combo and you can be sure I'll use it again.

For more information and pictures of the bag in progress you can check out my post HERE.

In other news, in the continuing effort to keep my blog up to date and refreshed I've removed a few inactive blog buttons and I've also removed a few blogs from my blogroll.

 I've only removed blogs that haven't had posts for two or more years. I figure if you haven't written a post in two years you have probably decided to stop blogging.

If this isn't the case and you decide to continue to blog or to reactivate your blog button, please let me know because you are missed and I'll be more than happy to put you back on.

   Have a great week!

Minis and More in 2016

Welcome to the first Minis and More Parade of 2016!

Usually I can't get my Christmas decorations down and put away fast enough, but this year I'm being pretty slow about it and I'm sad to see them go.  Maybe its because of the crazy warm weather we had over the holidays.  If I remember correctly it was 83 here on Christmas Day!

Well warm or not its time to move on to the New Year, and Sherri and I are excited about what we have in store for you for Minis and More in 2016.

Today its a small, but wonderful Parade, as I'm sure many of you were busy with plans over the holidays.

Hildy made this beautiful Christmas tree pillow by combining two of our pattern choices for December,  Oh Christmas Tree by Amy Rivera and Christmas Baubles by Jen Daly, both available in the Moda Bake Shop.  She can use this pillow all year.  I love how Hildy comes up with creative ways to use the patterns and this one is no exception!

Nancy E. made this adorable mini pattern by Camille Roskelley for a friend at 

Christmas and she sent it in.  This pattern is wonderful!  That cute checked binding is perfect!  Nancy used First Crush by Sweetwater for her fabric.  I think that's a brand new line of fabric, out just in time for Valentine's Day. 

During December I was able to squeeze in time to make Abundantly Blessed by by Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way.  I had a great time making this quilt!  Cathedral Windows have always been a favorite of mine and add the quilt as you go method and this is definitely a winner in my book!  I used Charlevoix fabric by Minick and Simpson and some Moda Bella Solid Off White too.  You can read more about it HERE if you're interested.

I'm so excited to tell you about the pattern we've picked out for the February parade!

It's Sherri's brand new pattern Hope Chest Mini!

Remember the Hope Chest pattern I tested for her a few months back?

 It's one of my favorite patterns ever! 

So when she sent me the mini to look at just a few days ago, I asked if it was possible to have it out in time to introduce as the pattern for Minis and More this month.

The PDF is on sale in Sherri's Etsy shop until Friday for the reduced price of $3.50 with the code minihopechest.

If you're interested in the paper version there will be a short wait of 1-2 weeks until the paper pattern is available.

The Hope Chest Mini is a great way to use up some scraps or a few precuts you have left over from a larger project, but couldn't bear to part with.

I walked right past that pile of laundry and all of the Christmas decorations that are begging to be taken down this morning, so I could get my Hope Chest Mini finished up and show it to you!

I'm looking forward to seeing your version at the end of the month!

Abundantly Blessed

During the holiday break, I've been able to complete my Abundantly Blessed quilt!

I'm so happy with this one!

Both Sherri and I were really excited about using this pattern by Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way as one of the featured patterns for Minis and More this month.

There were two other fun patterns to choose from that I was tempted to make, but this one has been on my list for so long.

It's a quilt as you go pattern and with no binding at all, so it was finished in no time!

  In fact, mine has the label on it and everything.

That has got to be some kind of a record for me!

There was a Layer Cake of Charlevoix by Minick and Simpson that I've had for awhile that has been languishing in my stash waiting for just the right project. 

After much consideration, I broke down and cut it into charm squares to use for this project and hopefully a for a few more too.

It was a hard decision to cut it down, but I'm glad I did. 

Am I the only one who has trouble doing that?

The solid I used was Moda Bella Solid Off White.  I put it on in two layers to make the frayed edges more full.  I'm happy with how that worked.

Oh, and I shortened my stitch length a little too, since I knew it was going to get washed right away.

The Abundantly Blessed pattern calls for a 1/4 inch seam allowance and I made mine a bit smaller to keep the fraying on the edges down.

I found that decision to be both good and bad.

Good, in that it did keep the fraying down a bit, but bad, in that I did cut it a bit too close in a few areas and had to do a little resewing.

But that wasn't the end of the world, and I think I'd do it again if I was going for less fraying.

And I definitely plan on making one of these again!

I see this quilt being used this Spring and Summer and maybe being hung on my new quilt ladder when its not in use.

I love the cathedral window look to it.

I've always loved cathedral window quilts!

Be sure to join us on Monday for the Minis and More Parade.

You can find half on the blog of my friend Sherri and the other half right here at the beginning of the New Year.

I can't wait to see what the New Year brings!

See you then!

It's the December Minis and More Parade!

This was a fun month!

I always love free choice of a pattern for the Parade.

It's fun to see the same pattern made so many different ways, but I also enjoy seeing what everyone chooses when the pattern is up to them!  You can find half of the parade here, and the other half is on Sherri's blog A Quilting Life.

Patty D. from A Stitch In Time is starting the parade today with her Twelve Days of Christmas mini quilt.  She fussy cut the fabric to put the Twelve Days Of Christmas front and center.  A very fun and modern Christmas mini!  The paper piecing pattern Patty used was from the blog Piece By Number.

Mindy send her Mini Nordic Sampler made with Holly Tree Farm fabric for the Parade.  The pattern is by Sherri Falls.  The Christmas theme is perfect for December!  I especially love the ornament and the wreath blocks!

This Joy To The World table runner was made by Mary from the blog Needledmom.  She added the words with machine embroidery and she used fun red music fabric, perfect for this runner! Mary played off of an idea she had when making a large Silent Night Quilt from Seams and Dreams.

Here's the mini I made this month!  It's the Vintage Tulip Mini by Thimbleblossoms that we did a few months back, but I ran out of time to get mine done, so this was the perfect motivation for me to get that pattern out and get it completed! The fabric is mostly by V and Co.  

And moving on to next month, you have three patterns to choose from this time!

You can choose between two free Christmas themed patterns found in the Moda Bakeshop or a quilt pattern appropriate for anytime of the year,  Abundantly Blessed by Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way. 

Abundantly Blessed is a small Cathedral Window-like quilt that uses a raw edge quilt-as-you-go method.  So if this is the quilt you choose, you'll be finished with the whole thing, quilting and all, once you are finished with the top! I do love a Cathedral Window quilt and I've been interested in trying this pattern for awhile!

The first of the two Christmas themed choices is the Oh, Christmas Tree Quilt by Amy Rivera.  Its a quilt pattern with a more modern look to it, but I can see it looking amazing with any kind of fabric.  It uses half square triangles and Amy says it goes together quickly and easily.  I'm sure you can have it finished in time for Christmas!

The other Christmas themed option is another Moda Bakeshop pattern called Christmas Baubles by Jen Daly.  This pattern uses mini charms, a bit of gray fabric, and some background fabric to make an ornament tree all ready for the holiday!

Enjoy picking your pattern and sewing your mini quilt for the January parade.

I thought I knew which one I wanted to make, but now I'm not so sure.......

Don't forget to run over to Sherri's blog A Quilting Life to see the rest of the parade.  I'm excited to see what everyone has made over there!

If you have any questions about how the Parade works or what to do to join in, email me here or email Sherri at A Quilting Life and we'll fill you in.  Everyone is welcome!