Gone to the Dogs! (And Cats!)

Throughout the year, I save up all my fabric and batting scraps. These are cutoffs from projects that are too small to use on something else. Trimmings from squaring up blocks, batting and backing that's cut off after squaring up a quilt, etc. I just toss them into a trash bag as they are created.

At the end of the year, I use "ugly" fabric that I've acquired or fabric that I know I won't use for something else and sew up little "pillowcases" that are stuffed with the fabric scraps and sewn shut. Then I donate them to the local animal shelter to use as dog and cat beds. A "trash to treasure" win!

Quilt Your Weight Off

A personal goal I have for the new year is to lose some weight. After two kids, I have a "few" extra lingering pounds. I was already planning on getting serious about it at the start of the year, but then I discovered that @stacypacy on Instagram was planning a weightloss sewalong!

(Photo credit @stacypacy)

Here's how it works: for each pound that you lose, make a quilt block. Then at the end of your weightloss journey, you have a quilt to show for it!

Best of 2016

As 2016 comes to a close, I'd like to take a look back at my five best blog posts of the year! Thank you to Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs for hosting the linky party!

Think Even Bigger!

At the prompt of QuiltingJetGirl, I'm looking back at my 2016 goals and thinking ahead to what I want to accomplish in the new year!

At the start of 2016, I casually decided that my theme for the year would be "Think Bigger." Without knowing it at the time, this would turn out to be the perfect guide for me!

An Ozark Christmas

A couple months ago, I received a gift of about five yards of pre-quilted fabric (often called double faced quilt fabric). If you've ever shopped for this type of fabric before, you know it is often $15-$20 per yard. This was a great gift!

The fabric is "Ozark Christmas" by Fabri-Quilt. I live in the Ozarks! It was meant to be!

Slow Stitching

I have a few secret sewing projects going on right now (new quilt patterns coming soon!), so I thought I'd give you an update on an ongoing project.

I started making hexies from Sarah Watts' Honeymoon fabric line (for Cotton + Steel) back in February. I had never made a hexie before, but the tutorial from Modern Handcraft seemed easy enough. So thanks to a road trip and my pledge to sew 20 minutes a day in February (Beth of EvaPaige Quilts hosts DAGMT every year - join in!), I took the plunge.

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Hop

Hello! Welcome to the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 14 Blog Hop!

If you're new here, you're in great company! This is my first time having a block in a 100 Blocks issue. (Okay, let's be honest. It's my first print magazine appearance ever - so I'm a little excited ecstatic!)

My block and name are not technically on the cover, but I am included in an elite group of designers known as the "And More!" club!

Snowfall Quilt

Meet Snowfall!

 

Snowfall is my 34th quilt finish this year and my fourth pattern for the year!

Teal Mini Swap - Revealed!

Beth of Eva Paige Quilt Designs hosts the Teal Mini Quilt Swap each year during September - ovarian cancer awareness month. The swap is a fundraiser for ovarian cancer research. Each participant pays $15, then Beth mails everyone a swatch of teal fabric that must be used in the mini quilt that you make. Everyone is paired up, and you make a mini quilt for your partner. Make a (mini) quilt, make a friend! (You can read more about the swap and see the starting teal fabric on my post here.)

I was so excited when I got my swap partner info! It was Bethany Miller (@letsgoliftandsew on Instagram)! We have been "friends" on Instagram for quite awhile, and she's someone I'd love to be friends with in real life!

The Month of the Pillow

As you may already know, I love Instagram. There is such a community of quilters there that are welcoming, encouraging, and creative. I find much inspiration and motivation from the people I "know" there!

This month, the Modern Makers Retreat is hosting a pillow challenge. All you had to do was create a pillow, post a picture, and use a few hashtags. There are some amazing prizes! And, if you know me, I can't resist a good challenge!

This led to "the month of the pillow."

It all started with an empty couch at church. It needed some color! So I pulled out some aqua scraps and made two 16" pillows. I just sewed strips of fabric together and quilted it with my walking foot 1/4" on either side of each seam. Every pillow I made this month has an envelope back - because that's fast and effective!

Desire to Inspire Challenge

This month, I had the opportunity to work with some fantastic Henry Glass & Co. fabrics for their Desire to Inspire challenge! Each month, a different quilter is chosen to create projects from a different line of fabric. I jumped at the chance!

 

 
Henry Glass & Co. mailed me a fabric panel and seven prints from the line "Sew Bee It" by Shelly Comiskey. The prints are so fun! Just look at the selvages!

Fruit of the Spirit

Have you caught the selvage bug? I admit I'm not really a fan. But I am a huge fan of challenges, so when the selvage challenge popped up on Instagram, I was all in!

The selvage (or selvedge if you speak British English) is the factory edge of fabric. It does not fray, so can be used in projects differently than cut fabric.

The selvage challenge is hosted by Stash Builder Box (a monthly subscription box for quilters with a great pay it forward philosophy). The premise of the challenge is to use selvages (the part of the fabric traditionally thrown out) to create a quilt or other quilty project. Of course there are some awesome prizes too!

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Entry 2 - Butterfly Quilt

Amy Elllis of Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival this month. Quilters can enter up to two quilts in the various categories. It's a great way to meet some new bloggers and see what others have been up to in the quilting world!

My second entry is my Butterfly mini quilt. I could have entered it in a couple different categories, but I decided on the applique category.

Blogger's Quilt Festival - Entry 1 - Round Robin Quilt

Amy Elllis of Amy's Creative Side is hosting the Blogger's Quilt Festival this month. Quilters can enter up to two quilts in the various categories. It's a great way to meet some new bloggers and see what others have been up to in the quilting world!

My first entry is my Round Robin quilt. It was difficult to decide which category to pick to enter it in, but I finally chose the small quilt category.

Saying Thank You

In May, I received an amazing surprise gift. A Singer featherweight sewing machine!

My dad made the table from an old treadle sewing machine base. My maternal great grandfather was a Singer repairman!

My great aunt Ruelena knew I was looking for one, so she decided to purchase one for me! My parents and grandparents had helped her out during the winter, and knowing they would never accept payment, she decided to pay it forward! So unexpected!

Christmas in August

Anybody else having a busy month? I have several things on my plate this month, so I thought a simple quilting project was in order.

A year ago, one of my favorite online quilt shops went out of business and I snatched up a few yards yards upon yards of fabric for 99 cents a yard! I used some to make pillowcases, some to make my Scintillating Stars quilt, and now I'm using some to make Christmas table runners. Don't worry, I still have plenty for future projects!

Then and Now

After my most recent quilt finish (the Round Robin quilt), I've been thinking a lot about how far I've come since my very first quilt. Then this week, my friend Leanne (she blogs at Devoted Quilter), is hosting a linky party on exactly that subject!

I made my first quilt in 2010. I bought a fabric book panel and coordinating solid fabrics from Jo-Ann's. I knew nothing about fabric and less about quilting! I watched YouTube videos for every step. Then called my mom with a million questions. Then called my grandma with even more! I thought everything had to be done the "right" way. I tried many techniques in that first quilt - applique, biased binding, and even free motion quilting!

Teal Mini Swap 2016

Have you ever participated in a quilt swap?

Maybe you remember my deer quilt? Or my art quilt of the road I live on? Or my Horton quilt? Or my big dipper quilt? Those were all for quilt swaps!

Round Robin - A Finished Quilt

In January, my best quilty friend, Heather, and I started a Round Robin quilt. Now, just over seven months later, we both have finished quilts!

Do you remember how it worked? We set some rules (that we I often broke) and each started by making a center block. Then we mailed the block to the other person to add a border. Then switched two more times to add another border each round. We then gave ourselves two three months to finish the quilts. (Read about the previous rounds here: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, and Round 4.)

This one is for Dallas

This quilt was not on my to-do list. I didn't really have "time" to make it. But it's important.

There seems to be a lot (or maybe a "LOT") of chatter on social media about love lately. And the political scene is adding a whole host of other chatter too. In the midst of all of this, I keep hearing the slogan, "Let's make America great again." Please remove any political affiliation this slogan has, and just think about the premise of the slogan. I'm sure we can all agree there's some truth to it. Didn't America used to be great? What has happened? What made it great before? What does a great America look like? How will it become great again?

Scintillating Stars

Do you have any sewing UFOs at your house? Any UnFinished Objects? If you're like me, you have quite a few!

Today, this quilt has moved from the UFO pile to the finished pile!

This quilt started in July 2015. I volunteered to be a pattern tester for Beth of EvaPaige Quilt Designs. (You may remember that after testing her Hexies a la Mode pattern, my version became the cover of the pattern!)

A Birthday Puzzle

Do you know Heather? She's my BQF (best quilty friend)! Her birthday is next week, and I wanted to surprise her with a fun gift!

I had a puzzle made from a quilt I sewed for her!

To Orlando with Love

Eight days ago, 49 people were killed and 53 people injured in Orlando, Florida in a mass shooting. Instead of rallying together as Americans have done in the past, it seems that most people chose instead to use the atrocity to fuel political views and opinions. If you know me personally, you may know that I have strong beliefs and opinions regarding the issues facing our nation. However, this is NOT the time or place for that!

"Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another." John 13:34

It's Launch Day!

I can finally reveal what has been going on behind the scenes here for months!

 

I have written three quilt patterns that are now available for sale!

Split Arrows Quilt

Split Arrows is a quilt I made about ten months ago for a friend's new baby.

I looked high and low for a chevron or herringbone quilt that would work well with the medium scale print fabrics I had chosen to match her nursery. I also didn't want to fuss over matching up angled seams. I couldn't find anything like what I envisioned in my head! The closest I came was a design on a tissue box! (You probably have one in your home right now! I think they only get new designs once a decade!)

Laying Tracks Quilt

It's time to reveal another secret sewing project!

Laying Tracks is now available as a digital and paper pattern!

This quilt began about nine months ago. I had just gotten a new phone and wanted a quilty wallpaper. The rabbit trail of Pinterest led to a picture of a fabric that I loved! That inspiration photo has been my wallpaper ever since!

Bookends Mini Quilt

I have been working on many behind the scenes and secret sewing projects lately! One of those is this quilt. I'm calling it the Bookends Mini Quilt. It is my 19th quilt finish for the year!

I first made this quilt exactly a year ago for a librarian friend (well, one like it - this is the second one of this design). After posting pictures of it on Instagram, I got many requests for the pattern. I initially shrugged it off. I knew there were already several bookshelf quilt patterns available. However, as time went on, I realized that there wasn't anything exactly like it.

Sewing Smaller

A couple weeks ago, Make Modern magazine announced a quilt challenge on their Instagram account. The challenge was to make a mini mini quilt - a quilt that is 6" square or less.

Well, of course I wanted to participate! But I didn't want to make a "normal" mini quilt. I wanted to try something new!

Row by Row Experience

Have you heard of the Row by Row Experience? From the description on their website, "It's like a shop hop, but it's not... no fees, no cards to stamp, and all summer to play! Simply visit any of the participating shops and receive a free pattern for a row in a quilt. Combine your rows in any way to create a unique quilt that represents the fun you had traveling throughout the summer. Travel with friends, discover new quilt shops and have fun collecting rows!" And there are prizes too! Be sure to go to their website to read more about it!

There are shops that participate all over the US, Canada, and Europe! Check out the list of participating shops to find one near you!

Round Robin - Round 4

It's the beginning of May, so it's time to reveal the final round of the round robin quilts! If you missed the first three rounds, you can catch up here - Round 1 - Round 2 - Round 3.

This was the last time Heather and I swapped the quilts! Now we will each finish our own (we're giving ourselves two months to do that!).

Do you remember what Heather's block looked like last month? She had added a border of purple and aqua fabrics.

Quilted Pumpkin Garden Flag

As you may know by now, it's super hard for me to resist a challenge!

I learned of the My Stash, My Style challenge through Instagram.

Jenifer Gaston, author of "Primitive Style," and Tonya Alexander, author of "Stash Lab," (along with the publisher, Martingale) teamed up to challenge readers (and themselves!) to create projects from the book that is furthest from their normal style. Jenifer's style is mostly folk art, and she uses wool and traditional fabrics. Tonya's style is more modern, and she uses bright and colorful fabrics in her projects.

Pat Bravo Minis Blog Tour

Hello! Welcome to the Pat Bravo Minis Blog Tour!
 

I'm so excited to be one of thirty makers chosen to create a mini quilt for this blog hop! The fabrics are a combination of Dare Fabrics and Essentials II Fabrics designed by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery Fabrics. Pat's Dare fabrics come in two colorways: Dare to Be Bold and Dare to Be Funky (I'm using the latter). From the Essentials II line, I'm using several of the fabrics from the Azur colorway. You can read more about the blog tour on Pat's blog here.

Round Robin - Round Three

It's time to reveal the latest additions to our Round Robin quilts!

(Catch up by reading about Round 1 and Round 2 first.)

This round, Heather and I each had our own quilts back. There aren't many rules when we are working on our own (not that I followed the rules last round anyways...).

Honor, Courage, Bravery, Valor

I have been doing lots of secret sewing the past two weeks, but I can finally reveal my latest two quilt finishes!

Home Sweet Home

I've been working on some secret sewing projects that I can't share yet, but this mini quilt was a quick make, and I can share it with you!

Early last month, RJR Fabrics sent me two fat quarter bundles of their Cotton Supreme Solids to work with! Brenda Ratliff of Pink Castle Fabrics (and Just a Bit Frayed) curated twelve different solid bundles of ten fabrics each as part of the Color Inspirations Club. If you sign up for the club, you receive ten solids each month for twelve months - 120 fabrics in all! In conjunction with the club, RJR released twelve free mini quilt patterns from various pattern designers to highlight the different colorways.

Round Robin - Round Two

It's the beginning of a new month, so it's time to reveal the next round of the Round Robin quilt!

You can read more about the Round Robin quilt that my BQF (best quilty friend), Heather, and I are doing and see our starting blocks here.

I'll start with what I added to Heather's block!

Heather's starting block was appliqued feathers made with scrap pieces in purple, turquoise, and yellow on a solid gray background.

Quilting on the Prairie

I started this blog for several reasons, but one was to record the stories behind the quilts that I make. This quilt wrote its own story!

"The attic and the cellar were full of good things once more, and Laura and Mary had started to make patchwork quilts. Everything was beginning to be snug and cozy again." Laura Ingalls Wilder

Sewing To Go

We just got back from a week-long family vacation to Nashville. The drive is about six hours for normal people, but at least eight when traveling with toddlers. I knew I would have a lot of seat time, so I wanted to pack something to do.

I always take a quilt magazine or two, but this time I wanted to try something new. I decided to try my hand at making hexies.