It is time again! I have a new blogger bundle to share with you. This month’s bundle was curated by the talented Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs. Many of you know Cheryl through her wildly popular mystery quilt event that she hosts annually. I have a confession. I haven’t done one of these yet because I feel intimidated by the process. I know, kinda weird but it’s true. I may have to jump on board with the next one though because I have always loved seeing the amazing quilts made by the participants of these events! Cheryl is an engineer by day, a very talented quilter and pattern designer by night and a wife and mom 24 x 7. Many of the patterns in her shop are modern takes on some classic blocks. She also recently co-authored the book, Modern Plus Quilts, with Paige Alexander. Cheryl must be incredibly organized to be able to accomplish all that she does!
I was excited when Cheryl agreed to curate a bundle for me because I so admire her style. The bundle does not disappoint. She chose a selection made entirely by Art Gallery Fabrics. Designers of these pieces include Maureen Cracknell, Katarina Roccella, Angela Walters, Pat Bravo and Sharon Holland.
The palette of black, white, navy and yellow is sophisticated and modern. But the blue piece from Sharon Holland’s Bountiful line softens it just the right amount.
Another aspect of this collection that is really pleasing is the relationship between the Scenic Blue Sky fabric and the yellow Terra Firma Sunlit. The bits of yellow used to accent the cozy farmhouses on the blue print is emphasized when placed with the yellow of the Terra Firma Sunlit piece. I love this because it just pulls everything together. Kudos to Cheryl on the selection of such a pretty bundle.
As before, this bundle is listed in my shop in both fat quarter cuts and 1/2 yard cuts. The price is reduced by 20% today through Saturday. Also, Cheryl is holding a giveaway on her site so one lucky reader will win a fat quarter bundle. Be sure to go check out the project Cheryl made with these fabrics. It will be fun for you to see how she utilized the fabrics.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this collection. Leave me a note in the comments!
Happy Monday everyone! I hope the weekend treated you well. Last week my husband and I had our 20th wedding anniversary. It was a crazy day which culminated in a meal of scrambled eggs for dinner. Not really the best way to honor twenty years of marriage! But we did get to celebrate a few days late. We took the weekend off and went to our little house in Downieville together.
Hiking along the river in Downieville.
We had a great time on our ‘twenty-moon’ and hated to see the weekend end. Saturday was gorgeous outside, maybe 75 degrees or so? We hiked along the river and enjoyed some gorgeous scenery.
We really love our little bungalow up on the river. Each time we are there I we wonder why we don’t get up there more frequently but you know how that goes. So many things competing for our weekend time! As we drove home Sunday afternoon, Ray was saying he needed to hop on the mower and get the hillside and yard mowed. This is a weekly chore during the spring and early summer which takes quite a chunk of time (he mows about two acres.). But surprise! Our youngest son (who came to hang out with Julia while we were gone) had mowed for him. An anniversary gift of the best kind and a very thoughtful gesture.
These shelves are packed!
This is the main project I am working on this week! My shelves are completely full (with the exception of the one in the top, left corner. I have two orders of fabric delivering this week, one from Windham Fabric and the other from Andover. (I am so excited!!) Anyway, there is no room for more.
This is the space opposite the fabric shelves. I need to clean it out and get the desk out of the room. (It is a beast – solid oak which makes it huge and quite heavy). I don’t use it other than to stack junk on. So, the junk is going, the desk is being listed on Craigslist and I am putting shelving on this wall. I have the shelving so that part will be easy. But getting rid of all of this might take a little time! I am excited to have the area available though. Decluttering the space is actually very motivating and I should be able to get most of this done today. I am not exactly sure how we will get the desk out of there though. It really is monstrous. I think Ray will have to take it apart to move it. (I am lucky to have him!)
Scrap Pack of Art Gallery Fabrics
As I clean up the shop, I am putting together some scrap packs. Here is one filled with eight ounces of Art Gallery pieces, some of which are designed by Sharon Holland, Pat Bravo and Maureen Cracknell. There is only one of them but if it appeals to you, hop over to the shop!
Olive loves her belly rubs!
Here is a picture of Julia and Olive. This piglet loves a good belly rub. She is so sweet-natured which becomes apparent when she sees Julia. She flips to her back and waits for the petting. She has a little smile on her face when they are together. Julia is actually a bit concerned because she doesn’t want Olive to flip to her back for a scratch when Julia is competing with her in the ring for showmanship! Clearly it may take a bit of training and practice to keep Olive up and moving when she is supposed to be.
Finally, on Wednesday this week I will be sharing the April Blogger Bundle. It was curated by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs. Don’t miss it, this is a lovely collection! See you Wednesday.
We had a great weekend! I love a weekend combined with family time, sewing time and outside time. That is the perfect combination for me.
My great-nephew and the quilt I made for him.
The family time consisted a of great visit Sunday morning with my niece and her family. She and her husband live in the Bay Area and have three children. Her youngest is about 15 months old and this is the first time I have met him. I did make him a quilt last year though. Isn’t he adorable? Somehow life gets busy, migraines derail plans, and it just never worked out. for me to meet him until yesterday. He was a delightful, happy little boy. They stayed up at my parents for the night. The kids had not yet experienced snow and were really excited to play in the snow, making snowballs and trying to make snow angels. Mom doesn’t have snow just now but if they drove up the highway about 20 minutes they would be able to find some. This is a very busy family with three kids, ages six, four and one. I remember those days as both joyful and tiring.
Sewing time was used to finish up a sundress and bloomers for my grand daughter. This was a really fun project. I recently received an order from Art Gallery Fabric which included a selection of Sketchbook. This line was designed by the talented Sharon Holland and features fabrics that look as though they were reproduced from her notebook full of doodles. I love the colors; navy, with dusty greens, blues, yellows and pinks. I have a quilt show coming up the first weekend of May so I am preparing for it. I will make a few samples to better display the fabrics I am bringing. I offered to make a sundress for my grand daughter and asked my DIL to select two fabrics from this line.
Such a sweet outfit for summer!
She chose a sweet combination of the large floral piece, Ink Outburst Atelier for the dress and Speckled Lapis for the lining and bloomers. The choice is great. I love the large scale floral – the colors are great for a toddler but not the typical juvenile fabric. With no zippers or buttons needed, this is one fast outfit. I used a McCall’s pattern, number M6912. The sundress is totally reversible – might come in handy at some point. If she spills on the front of her dress, just take it off and turn it inside out!
The bloomers are also a quick sew. I love the bit of ruffle at the thighs. I used a wide bias tape to make the casing for the elastic. If you sew it just above the hem of the leg, it gathers nicely and makes the sweet ruffle. When I was in Vermont a few weeks ago, I measured my grand baby’s chubby legs so I would have an idea for the length of elastic. I think it is nice and loose so it doesn’t get uncomfortable. My DIL does have a sewing machine so she can adjust the elastic if needed.
I put a little label on the back so it is easier to tell the front from the back. I hope it isn’t itchy though. Again, it is easily removed if necessary. I look forward to seeing the outfit on her, maybe when we are on vacation this summer.
As for the outside time portion of the weekend, we took Julia to select another piglet to raise and show at the county fair in August. She really loved doing this last year. She and my husband got the pen all ready for her new piggie on Saturday morning.
Checking out a litter of piglets with the breeder.
Sunday we drove out to the breeder’s ranch about 25 miles from our home. This breeder is just a great guy. He is very knowledgeable and relates very well to teenagers. He and Julia took some time to look at all of the piglets and choose one with good physical structure and a (hopefully) easy going temperament. The litter in this pen are about eight weeks old.
Welcoming her new piglet to the pen.
Julia quickly gravitated to this little gilt. She was born in February and is currently about 60 pounds.
Letting Olive check out her new home.
Her name is Olive and she is very curious. Julia has a calm presence with her, making Olive feel calm and secure. She was sniffing and rooting everywhere.
When she discovered her neighbors in the chicken coop, Olive became really vocal. She was happy though – I guess she was just making friends with the hens (who wouldn’t give her the time of day!) Julia is thrilled with her choice and I think the two of the will be good buddies.
The weekend was full and so enjoyable. I hope yours was the same. I will be linking up all over quilting blogland. Please be sure to check out the link ups I use at the top of the page, under Link Ups.
This month I am excited to share a new blogger bundle with you! It was curated by Kitty Wilkins, blogger, quilter and incredible photographer. Be sure to check out her work at Night Quilter. I first got to know Kitty when she and Stephanie Palmer (Late Night Quilter) teamed up and created the very popular Facebook group, Late Night Quilters. Kitty was also one of the bloggers who supported the grand opening of my fabric shop last March. She is a very talented person and I was so pleased when she agreed to create the blogger bundle for February.
I knew I was in for a treat when Kitty emailed me with a suggested bundle. She pulled fabric from several different lines. I believe her starting point was Tartan Field Midnight from the Bountiful line designed by Sharon Holland for Art Gallery Fabric. She built from here and added two more Art Gallery pieces, Twinkle Star Berry and Sashiko Florette in Teal. I was really surprised to see the tiny orange stars twinkling across Twinkle Star Berry are the perfect match to the orange in the Tartan Field Midnight. I had no doubt about Kitty’s skill with color but yikes! These pieces are really complementary. Then she added a light blue Color Weave by PB Textiles. This blue works great with Tartan Field. Go Kitty! Finally, she chose a piece by Alison Glass (Knowing what a fan Kitty is of Alison’s fabric, I was not at all surprised to see her pull from this line.) The green fabric is called Numbered (in Grasshopper) and it works wonderfully with Tartan Field.
Kitty knocked this one out of the park. I love the choices she made. This is such a great learning experience for me. I am enjoying talking about color and fabric each month as the blogger groups pieces together that I may not have thought to put together.
Kitty has more to say about her choices with this bundle. Please click here to read more about this bundle of color. Also, she has a bundle to give away to one lucky winner. You’ll need to check her post out to learn how to enter.
Finally, this Blogger Bundle is available beginning today in my shop. It is on sale for 20% off through Saturday, February 24th. No coupon code needed, the price is adjusted for you. Come over and take a look.
I hope you are enjoying the blogger bundle posts each month. You are in for a treat in March when I share the bundle curated by Yvonne Fuchs, of Quilting Jetgirl! See you then.
I am really excited to share my first Blogger Bundle with you! For the past couple of months I have been working with a group of awesome quilt bloggers. They will be curating bundles of fabric from my shop for me and I will offer these as both fat quarter and half-yard bundles. It has been a really fun experience for me and I am learning!! There is always something new to be learned, isn’t there?
This month’s bundle was curated by Sarah Goer. She writes at Sarah Goer Quilts. A stay-at-home mom of two school age children, Sarah has a passion for fabric, color and quilting. She has (already!) taught her two young kiddos to quilt and they will have a quilt hanging at QuiltCon next month. Sarah and I became acquainted several years ago when we both were starting our blogs. Since then, we have worked together on several different projects; the most recent of which was when I pattern tested her new Scattered Squares pattern. I really admire Sarah’s use of color. Her newsletters always contain a few fresh palettes to inspire the reader. I enjoy seeing the suggested colors she offers up.
When she agreed to put a bundle together, I knew I would like it! Honestly, this experience has been so interesting. I am in my shop each day working with these fabrics; cutting orders and shipping them off to customers. But seeing the collections that someone else puts together reminds me that there are endless combinations to be made with those yummy bolts I have downstairs!
Sarah chose a grouping of teal blue, gray, navy blue and yellow. I was surprised there was no purple in the bundle as that is often a go-to color for Sarah. 🙂
But this bundle works! It is really vibrant and bright! This collection includes the following:
Terra Firma Sunlit – from Maureen Cracknell’s Garden Dreamer line
Dots in Gray from Red Rooster’s Basically Low line
Atomic Web from Michael Miller’s Sassy Cat line
Sashiko Florette in Teal from BariJ’s Wild Bloom line
Frogland Friends Coordinate by Henry Glass
What do you think of this bundle? I am curious to hear your opinions. Also, Sarah has a post up today talking about our project and she even has a bundle to give away to a lucky reader. Hop over and take a peek. Maybe this is your lucky day?
Of course the bundle is also offered in my shop. It will be on sale today and tomorrow only, for 20% off!! (No coupon code needed.) Prices go back to normal on Friday!
