Exciting new patterns!

Hello and happy weekend! 

I'm so excited about what I get to share with you today!

I've been happily sewing away over here and now its time to show you what I've been working on.

My friend and Minis and More cohost Sherri McConnell invited me to try out a few of her new patterns and I couldn't say yes fast enough!

Let me introduce you to her new pattern Hope Chest.

Using fat quarters from Sweetwater's Elementary fabric line and some Moda Bella Solids in Ivory for the background, I didn't want to stop making the blocks for this quilt!

It went together so smoothly that I'm already making plans for another!

It's my favorite large quilt that I've made in a long time, I'm not kidding.

Being able to trim up all the half square triangles makes the whole thing so precise and easy to put together.

When I can square up the half square triangles in a pattern I'm always happy about it.

It makes it so easy for all the points to match up.

And for maybe the first time ever, I think mine did, thanks to the trimming!

The half square triangles quickly turned into twelve big blocks and it was done!

If this pattern looks familiar to you, you must have seen Sherri's Hope Chest quilt made with her 'not even out yet' fabric line called Valley that she designed with her daughter Chelsi.

If not, you can see it in her post before Quilt Market.

She used a lighter sashing and it looks so different from the version I made with the black sashing from Elementary.

It's always interesting to me to see the same quilt pattern made with different fabric choices.

Hope Chest would look great in any kind of fabric!

And now on to Oceanside!

My favorite part of making this one was laying out the finished blocks!

I was surprised at how different the quilt pattern looked at different angles.

Until I was finished with the blocks and deciding on what block to put where, I hadn't noticed that!

Are you looking at it as diagonal rows of circles and squares? 

Or do you see each block as a single circle framed in the corners with a single fabric?

To me it depends on which direction I'm viewing it from at the time.

I wonder if the quilting I use on this one will determine what you're focused on?

This quilt uses fat eighths for the main fabrics and I used a Collection For A Cause - Faith fat eighth bundle and I still have lots left over for another project.

The background I used here was another Moda Bella Solids color, Snow.

I'm not sure that my photography here does this quilt pattern justice.

There is a giant live oak tree in our from yard dropping tons of acorns, and when they get wet its a big mess and not the best time to take quilt pictures.

Between that and the wind we had to work fast! My only option was when the sun was out which makes shadows on the beautiful quilt!

Since everyone is new to Sherri's Oceanside pattern she is offering 30% off on Oceanside this weekend in her Etsy shop with the code "happyfall".

Visit Sherri's blog A Quilting Life today and learn more about her new patterns!

Starting out November with a Parade

Well, here we are in November!

I'm not really sure how that happened so fast.  It seems like the school year just started yesterday and now I'm pondering Christmas decorations.  I'm determined to get mine out a little early this year so I can get the decorating out of the way and enjoy the holiday season. 

That being said, the high is going to be 91 degrees here today so I will have to channel my inner holiday spirit as I take down the Halloween decorations and put out a few Thanksgiving decorations, all the while thinking about where the Christmas lights will go in a few short weeks

.

As for the Minis and More Parade, the pattern was the Strawberry Fields Mini Pattern Trio by Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts.

You could make one, or all three if you were so inclined!  The choice was yours!

First up we have Patty from her blog A Stitch In Time.  She made the Mini Star Crossed Quilt from JoAnna's pattern using fabrics Patty had in her stash. What a sweet fall quilt!  Check out Patty's blog soon for her new series on bag making tips. Having just finished making a bag, this is definitely a series of blog posts I'm going to look into! 

Next we have Karen with her version of a This 'N That pattern by Sherri Falls.  I think its her November pattern from a mini quilt series that she was working on. The leaves are perfect for fall!  I love that she used batiks here!  My very favorite fall quilt I've ever made is a fall leaf quilt with batiks.  The variation in batiks is so similar to the variation is real fall leaves, and you can definitely see that in Karen's beautiful mini.

And remember, this isn't the whole parade!  The rest can be viewed on Sherri's blog A Quilting Life.

Speaking of Sherri, have you had a chance to see her new line of fabric that she and her daughter Chelsi introduced at the recent Quilt Market in Houston?  It's called Valley and it gorgeous!

Now the answer to the big question, what's the next project for Minis and More? 

Sherri and I have decided to have a free choice month! 

The pattern choice is totally up to you!

This would be a great time to work on that gift you need to make or maybe on a pattern we have done in the past, but you didn't quite get around to.

Have you been meaning to make one of Thimbleblossom's cute minis?  Or that Schnibble's pattern you have had your eye on for years?  Maybe a pattern of Sherri's has caught your eye recently?  Well now is the time to make it.

I'm excited about the number of choices!

 I think I'm going to make another mini from the Sweetness Pattern Trio we did a few months back, but I do have a few Thimbleblossoms Minis around here that are waiting to be opened.  Looks like I have some decisions to make.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

If you are new to the Parade and you'd like to participate, we'd love to have you!!  Just send me and email if you have questions and I'll explain what its all about!

Happy Halloween!

Hello!  I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend, eating some candy, and squeezing in some sewing time!

Over here our pumpkin is carved, the candy is in the bowl, and next on the list is making hot dog mummies for dinner!

 Before I do that I wanted to wish you a safe and happy Halloween.

And of course I'll see you back here on Monday for the Minis and More Parade.

Since the first falls on the weekend,  Sherri and I will be having the Parade on Monday.

Can you believe it will be November already?  I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving!

See you back here soon.

Vintage Tulip Mini Parade

It's time again for the Minis and More Parade!

Half of the Parade is here, the other half is on Sherri's blog, A Quilting Life.

The pattern for this Parade is Vintage Tulip Mini by Camille Roskelley.

Take a look at the cute minis that were sent in this month!

This beauty was made by Patty.  Her blog is called A Stitch In Time. She used pumpkin colored fabric for her tulip. Beautiful! A perfect way to start out the Parade on the first day of October!

Mary from the blog Needledmom made lovely placemats with her Vintage Tulip Mini pattern. These are adorable.  What a great idea Mary!  I love the black and white backgrounds.

Mindy was so excited about the pattern she couldn't stop after just one row.  She went for two rows of tulips. Mindy used scraps of some Pat Sloan fabric that she had to create her wall hanging.  I like how she has it displayed!

   

And this bright, fun mini tulip quilt was made by Karen from Quilting, Losing and Tea.  I love how she changed the direction of the fabric strips in her middle tulip.  It's so interesting to see different versions of the same pattern!   Thanks for joining us, Karen.

Are you ready to get started on the next pattern?

It's a brand new one! 

Strawberry Fields Mini Pattern Trio by  JoAnna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts.

Please head over to her shop to take a closer look at these adorable mini patterns.

 The Strawberry Fields Mini Trio includes Mini Laundry Baskets, Mini Star Crossed, and Mini Twirl quilt patterns.

Choose the one you'd like to make and send in a picture of your version for the Parade before November first.

After all this rain we've been having, which has resulted in some pretty muddy cross country meets for my teen son and his white cross country uniform, I really need to look at making the Mini Laundry Basket quilt!  It would be a good way to remember this rainy fall we've been having here.

Don't forget to see the other half of the parade at A Quilting Life!

The Hazel Pouch Trio by Clover and Violet in the works

Between some muddy cross country meets this week........And I mean muddy.  I have seriously never seen or cleaned off so much mud from so many things in such a short period of time.......I have been pattern testing the soon to be released Hazel Pouch Trio for Clover and Violet.

It's a welcome relief from all of the mud and rain here, especially when you have been out in it!

I'm making the largest of the three bags in the pattern.

Jennie from Clover and Violet mentioned that this size makes a great take along sewing bag and that you can fit a small embroidery hoop in it.  I don't embroider, but for some reason putting an embroidery hoop in here sounded good to me so I went with it.

For the outside of the bag I chose the brand new line Prairie and the low volume print from the fabric line called Maker.

Prairie just arrived in my mailbox earlier in the week and I used it right away.  That's rare for me!  Usually I have to let it sit for awhile before I can bear to use it.

  

Now normally I would be opposed to a white bag.....if you are wondering why please refer to the first paragraph.....but once this combination entered my mind there was just no going back.

I've been trying not to overthink fabric choices lately.  

Thinking about fabrics too much has been holding me back.  Will a fabric be better off in this or that? Will I have enough left for whatever I'm not even planning on making yet?  Will I ever be able to get this fabric again if I NEED it?  

These are some of the things that go through my mind before starting a project, which I've been trying to ignore and just sew what I want to sew!

Fabric is meant to be used and to find a home in a great project, right?

Back to the bag.  It's amazing!

So far, quick and easy.  I enjoyed quilting all of the squares just beside the seam.  I'm going to have to try that on a quilt soon!  

Next, I need to cut the lining. 

I'm deciding between the white Maker fabric for the lining or a coral text font print that I have, and I need to make a decision and get on with it, because I'm ready to start using this bag from the Hazel Pouch Trio!

I'm off to make a decision and to start cutting. I'll be back and update my progress soon!

Some Minis and More winners and a bit of Farm Girl progress too!

I've been busy, but not busy with blogging!

Behind the scenes I've been doing some hand quilting on my Floret mini.  It's really enjoyable.  A great project for just sitting and relaxing.  I'm close to finished.  I think I keep putting off actually finishing because I like it so much.  I guess I'll just have to plan to start hand quilting something else.  I do have a 'few' quilt tops waiting to be quilted.....

Pulling fabrics for my Vintage Tulip Mini for Minis and More is on hold for a few days while I wait 'patiently' by my front door for the mailman to bring me my next fabric order.

In other news,  I'm going to be testing a pattern for the first time!  I'll let you in on that more later, once I've gotten started on it.

And of course I'm still sewing my way through the book Farm Girl Vintage by Lori Holt.  And I've got the pictures to prove it

When Lori's sew along started I thought I'd have no problem putting together two blocks a week.

 Well, I was wrong about that.  I have fallen a bit behind, but I prefer to think of it not as falling behind, but as doing the blocks on my own terms. HaHaHa!

I've just decided to enjoy Lori's posts on Farm Girl Fridays and do the blocks as I pick out the fabrics for them.  Some come together faster than others, so I'm just going with it.

And now the good part, the quarterly Minis and More winners! 

The randomly drawn lucky winners are Mary from the blog NeedledMom,  Sandy from the blog Loves To Quilt and Brenda!

If the winners will please email Sherri with their mailing information she will be sending out some fun prizes.

Sherri and I would like to thank everyone for participating last quarter and we look forward to receiving your pictures for next month's Minis and More Parade featuring Vintage Tulip Mini by Camille Roskelley!

Have a great weekend!

Minis and More Parade Day!

Hey everyone! 

Can you believe its September already?  I know I can't!

It seems like just yesterday I was wondering what we'd be doing this summer, and now its gone.

  My kids have gone back to school and everything!  I might even get my fall decorations out this week.  That might be pushing it when it's still so hot here in Florida, but I've got to make my own fall here, because we don't have much of it in this area and it's my favorite season.

Time to start the parade!

If you remember, the pattern we were working on in August was Mini Juniper by Joanna Figureoa of Fig Tree Quilts.  We have lots of quilters who have a head start on their holiday sewing!

Mindy made her's using beautiful, soft colored FigTree fabric for the blocks. The border is a bit wider on her quilt because she plans to do something different to finish it off.  I can't wait to see what it is!

Kansas Troubles fabric is what Nancy choose to make her Mini Juniper wall hanging with this month.  She picked Kansas Troubles so it would go with her other Christmas quilts. Nancy made her version with fewer blocks.  Beautiful mini Nancy!

Kristen from the blog Meadowbrook made this lovely version.  She had such a good time making her's she plans to make another using some lighter fabrics to change it up a bit.  Kristen may or may not add the outer border depending on if she finds the perfect fabric for it, because she is very happy with it right now. I love that the reds she used are so bright and cheery!

Christmas text fabric and tree fabric too!  Karen is happy to have a holiday project finished.  Her Mini Juniper is bound and ready to go.  I love the background she used here.  It makes her Junipers really stand out.

Here's mine!  I have to admit I was a little intimidated by the angles when I looked at the pattern for the first time, and I wasn't so sure I was going to enjoy making this one, but it turns out that I couldn't stop making those little trees! I even made extra trees! I loved it!  It was fun to have some challenging, but definitely doable sewing, in a cute little mini quilt.

Okay, drumroll please.......

The next pattern we'll be making is one from Camille Roskelley of Thimbleblossoms!

 Mini Vintage Tulips

A big thank you to Sherri for letting me use her photo of the pattern.

 I don't know about you, but I'm really excited about making one of Camille's mini quilts.

They are so little and sweet!

My guess is that you can find all the fabric you need somewhere in your stash.  You simply need a charm pack and a fat quarter of background fabric to make the quilt top.

I've only ever made one of Camille's minis so far, but that's certainly going to change this month!

Send your Mini Vintage Tulip pictures and your link, if you'd like one to be included, before October first to

Sherri if your first name starts with A-L

or to me if your first name starts with M-Z

so we can include you in next month's Parade.  We'd love to see your tulip mini quilt!

Don't forget to see the rest of the Parade, this is only half of it, on Sherri's blog A Quilting Life and be sure to stay tuned to hear about this quarter's Minis and More prize winners.

Happy sewing!