Christmas in July - Tree Skirts Then and Now

Virtual Cookie Exchange!

'Tis the Season - for love, for family, for joy, oh, and for COOKIES!

The Road to Heber Valley, Utah! "Road Home" Row-Along

Hello, and welcome to my stop along the "Road Home" Row-Along Blog Tour!

I'm happy to join 40 other wonderful quiltmakers and bloggers to give a little glimpse of our "Road Home" and share our patterns on this hop.

The "Road Home" Row-Along Blog Hop

Let's take a virtual trip around the world!

Hey, it has been awhile since I jumped on the bandwagon to participate in a blog hop, and I'm super-excited to be part of this one!  Marian@SeamsToBeSew and Amy@SewIncrediblyCrazy have put together this hop, organizing 40 busy quilters from around the globe who have designed quilt rows that depict their home, homeland, or wherever their heart longs to be.

Sew Sweet Simplicity - Finale' (& Giveaway)

Here is my final installment on Jacquelynne Steves' free block of the month series.

The quilt center is sewn, but it's still in an evolving and growing status as I decide on borders.

My goal with this quilt was to use ONE layer cake (Adornit Crazy for Daisies), then supplement with a white background and my own scraps.  I also wanted to create each block with an emphasis on the star pattern using the reds in the layer cake.  Another goal was to be able to use the AccuQuilt die-cutting system to prepare my applique' pieces.  Then I made block #4 and the pattern was great, as usual, but I think I used too much red.

 So I bought a little more fabric and made another block using pattern #1.

Then I made another Block #2 to balance things out.

I needed a few setting blocks, so I used pieces from the layer cake:

I cut 10" squares diagonally in half and paired them with 10" background squares cut the same way to make hourglass blocks, and trimmed them to size.  Not my normal way of doing it, since it created all-bias edges, but with a little starch it will work,  and was a great way to grow the quilt.

Then I tried to put the quilt together.  Oops.

There was a time when I did not own a seam ripper.   I confess, it was a matter of arrogance, really.  I mean, after all, I don't really NEED one, right?!   Thank heaven my cute friend Fran gave me one as a gift.  And for this project, the little gadget and I became reacquainted...

Good thing I recently watched this video so I knew how to use it!!

Fixed the setting blocks and started to audition borders.  Colors are great, but, really, it's so busy!  Maybe I'll have to go with a plain border.  Then I spied it - OH, NO!   That center block is lying on it's side... urghghgh!  Time to get "frog-stitching" again... "Rip-it, rip-it, rip-it".

And of course, the bobbin ran out just as I was re-attaching it to the quilt center... sheesh. 

Whew!  Now it's all put back together as you see in the first picture.  I think it will make a great Spring wall hanging, or I could add a couple more borders for a baby quilt.  Maybe more open space for quilting detail.  I'll have to dream about it for a few more weeks while I learn to use my new longarm machine!

Now for the giveaway info:  Jacquelynne is giving away her fabulous digital e-book! Sew cute!

In addition, I'll throw in a new seam ripper, my orphan block #4 as pictured above, plus a little stack of fabric.   Leave a comment to tell us about your favorite quilting tool or gadget.  Be sure to include your email address if you are a no-reply blogger.

Giveaway will end next Monday (March 2nd).  

Jacquelynne also has a second special giveaway going on today, with more info on Thursday to kick off her 2015 free Block of the Month!   The free patterns for Sew Sweet Simplicity will only be available for the next month.  See all Jacquelynne's details on her blog ↓↓.  Be sure to stop by each of our Sew Sweet team for more inspiration and giveaways.

Jacquelynne ~ The Art of Home

Snoodles ~ Lily Pad Quilting
Teresa ~ A Quilt and a Prayer Sandy ~ UpStairs Hobby Room Deonn ~ Quiltscapes << thanks for the visit! Barb ~ Bejeweled Quilts Sandie ~ Crazy ‘Bout Quilts Deanna ~ Wedding Dress Blue
Barb ~ Garden Path Quilts

Sew Sweet Simplicity #2

Here's my second block in Jacquelynne Steves' free block of the month series:

Without applique'

I'm keeping this one sew sweet and simple, using ADORNit's Crazy for Daisies cuteness. The prints just seem to suit Jacquelynne's sweet designs.  And look!  My favorite little hourglass appeared in the corners when I changed up the color placement a little.  Then I cut out the simple applique' with my Go! Baby.

Go! Feathers

I'm going for similar feel for each block, so I'm picking out the star elements in each pattern to give a strong focus with the cheery cherry red print. 

SSS Block #1

Are you making these blocks?  You can join in any time - learn more and sign up HERE.  You'll receive links for any previous blocks.  Be sure to use the hashtag #SewSweetSimplicity to share pictures on social media sites. See more inspiration from Jacquelynne's block-testing team hopping this week (see list below).

And if that wasn't enough to get your creative juices flowing, each blogger will be giving away this fun pattern bundle.  Leave a comment if you'd like to play along.  Giveaway will close next Monday, Dec. 1st.  Giveaway extended to Dec 3rd because of the Thanksgiving Holiday!

Oh, and be sure to check out the Sew Sweet Simplicity Pinterest page for even more inspiration!

Jacquelynne ~ The Art of Home

Snoodles ~ Lily Pad Quilting
Teresa ~ A Quilt and a Prayer Sandy ~ UpStairs Hobby Room Deonn ~ Quiltscapes << Barb ~ Bejeweled Quilts Sandie ~ Crazy ‘Bout Quilts Deanna ~ Wedding Dress Blue
Barb ~ Mountain Quiltworks
Barb ~ Garden Path Quilts

Summer Sewing! (& Giveaway)

September, already!?!

After a summer of sewing among other things - it's such a pleasure to take a minute for a little Sew & Tell on the "See You in September" blog hop!  We're to display three projects made this summer, with at least one article made with Riley Blake Designs' gingham prints. A big thanks to Mdm. Samm at Sew We Quilt who organized this wonderful hop and sweet Shari at Living With Purpose for cheering us all along!  It's been a great motivator for me, especially with the push to "Save the RBD Gingham!!"   I've been trying to knock out some UFOs.  Now, it's tough to narrow it down to only three projects!!  How about three... categories???  Ok, read on.

1)  Saving RBD Gingham!
Many of you know that I do some contract work for Riley Blake Designs.  You can find my "Sewing (& Quilting) Basics" tutorials in a series of Cutting Corners sponsored by Riley Blake Designs.  Cindy (co-owner of RBD) invited me to help her put together a series of How-to-Quilt videos based on those tutorials. (Only slightly mortifying!)  It has also been my assignment to feature and promote their Basics line of fabrics - the solids, shades, dots, chevrons, and of course, ginghams!

Here I am at Quilt Market last year to demonstrate some quick Make & Take projects.  I spy gingham! (lanyard, bag, backing and borders on the Bullseye Baby quilt, orange-peel runner and I even made my gingham shirt.)

Some of my recent RBD tutorials have focused on vintage stitchery techniques using different sizes of gingham.
 
The 1/2" gingham check is perfect size for Smocking.  For Shirring and Chicken Scratch, I like the 1/4".  Embroidery and Cross-Stitch are so easy to learn and practice on the 1/8" gingham checks.  Ruching works well with the smaller checks, too.  I like all the sizes.

Here's a little collection of Gingham Stitchery.  I plan to use all my samples in quilt blocks.

And my actual Gingham project?  An Orange Peel Table Runner.  After teaching the technique several times, I ended up with a nice little pile of extra circles.  I decided to add them to my existing runner.

 I tried it as a square, 

 as separate place mats, 

and finally, decided on the long runner.  

Gingham-y Goodness!

If you'd like, you can see the video instructions HERE.  (You can probably tell how terrified I am in front of the camera, argh!  But just turn the sound off, and you can see how we made it!)  I could keep adding blocks to make it a larger quilt, but this runner fits my dining table nicely!  

#2)  Tree Skirts!  I've been playing with my EQ7 quilt design software a lot this summer, learning new things every week.  Here's this year's version of my Star Medallion Tree Skirt.  Can't wait to see it made up in these fabulous fabrics.

And my actual project?  Star Weave Tree Skirt ~ Done!

This and the original Star Medallion Tree Skirt patterns are available on my Craftsy Store.  It's never too soon to get ready for Christmas!

And last, but not least...
3)   Round Robin quilts!
Have you ever participated in a Round Robin Exchange?  Form a group, and each person supplies a center block.  The next person will add a border, send it to the next person to add another border and so on.  Sometimes the group will establish rules, and sometimes anything goes.  When your quilt has made the rounds, your block has grown to a decent size wall-hanging with several borders.

Here's my "Little Ruby" that took a 'round the world trip to Montana, Australia, Georgia, Paris, New York, a detour to Ontario Canada, then North Carolina! The rules for this RR were to add simple 2" to 2-1/2" borders.   Little doo-dads were added along the way - a bit of ribbon, a few charms, along with some super-cute fabrics and fun piecing.  Oh, how I love her, hanging in my sewing room!

"Cherish, Love, Joy."  That ribbon sent from my sweet friend Samm summs it up.

Right now I'm working on another Round Robin I call "Around the Block."  My cute friend Amber sketched it out and I've been working on the pattern all summer long.  Let's just say, I've learned alot about designing with applique'!  Giveaway:  If this piques your interest, I'm giving away a center block and embellishing supplies along with the pattern (as soon as it's ready) for this adorable (trust me) wall hanging, and a tree skirt pattern of your choice.

Leave a comment below telling about your favorite summer outdoor activity as a kid.  Giveaway ends on Tuesday, September 16th at 5:00 pm.
UPDATE:  Contest over and winner notified.  CONGRATULATIONS, BarbCarol!!!
Thanks to everyone for playing along!  I loved reading about what you love to do in the Summertime!

Be sure to visit all my Hop Sisters today - they're amazing!  If you've missed the previous hoppers, see Shari's master list HERE. Thanks for stopping by!

Susie's World

Needled Mom

Cate's Linens

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