Keepsake Quilting & 3 Day Block Sale

My before-Christmas 3-day block sale was such a success I am doing it again for the last three days of 2015!  Shop for blocks for this year and last year's Block of the Month and Bonus Blocks for HALF PRICE.

Only December 29, 30, 31, 2015

Click here to shop the 3-Day Sale, and be sure to use the coupon code DECO50 when you check out to get the 50% off.

I love when my Keepsake Quilting catalog arrives in the mail.  It has so many beautiful patterns and kits which always tempt me.  Yea, right!  Like I have time to do more quilts!  LOL  But this issue has one of my patterns in it!  So I hope it tempts you.

Arboretum Stars is named for the gorgeous line of artisan batiks produced by Robert Kaufman which are used in this quilt.  The pattern may look difficult but here is what makes it actually pretty easy to make:

• There are no set in seams!  Yup, you assemble pieced triangles which go together in vertical rows.  Yes, it really is that simple.
• Those tiny triangles are fused on!  No difficult or tedious piecing of all those little triangles.  Fuse them on and off you go.
• The entire quilt can be cut using 2-1/2" strips and Marti Michel's STRIPPERS Templates, 60 degree diamonds.  The cutting is super accurate and the piecing does not require any crossed corners to line up.
• Keepsake Quilting is offering both the pattern and the kit!

That sounds like a pretty cool deal to me.  If you need the 2-1/2" Strippers Templates you can get them HERE on my website for $15 with free shipping.

Oh and hang in there for the big reveal on January 1, 2016 of my new FREE Block of the Month for 2016.  It is completely pieced (no applique), and is sorta, kinda, almost, could be, a row quilt.  Stay tuned!  I will be offering the blocks free for 1 month and then they will be for sale on my website.  I will again be offering KITS for the BOM!!

I am so thrilled to be collaborating again with CONNECTTHEBLOCK.com who will offer batik kits for the 2016 BOM.  To get the free block and a free bonus block each month subscribe to my newsletter.

Click here to subscribe:  NEWSLETTER

Happy New Year everyone.  Hope you have a wonderful holiday and a great 2016.

December Free Project

Sometimes I get carried away when I am designing with EQ7.

I wanted to do something special for all my readers and subscribers to thank you for hanging out with me this year.  So I designed a special block just for you.

Click here to download the free pattern for this 12" block.

So here is where I start getting carried away.  I wanted to add a border so that when I put four of the blocks together I would get a square designs.  So I added a vine to the flower block.

Click here to download the bordered block.

So  here is what it looks like with the four blocks together.

I love this 24 x 24 pillow look and thought about some other arrangements for other Christmas decorating.  Here is my idea for a table runner.

Two squares of four block. 24 x 48 Pretty simple, but still fun. However, if you are not an applique girl then you might break out in a sweat trying to do 8 blocks. Then I thought of something simpler and less square.

I really like this one.  Three 12" blocks on point and the little deco garden border blocks festooning the sides in reds and greens.  I might even make this one.  At 20 x 45 it is a great size for a holiday table.

So here is a table cloth sized quilt.  I liked the offset squares of flowers when I started rotating the blocks.  But the next one is simpler and leaves room for some pretty quilting.

So you can use these two free blocks to make any of these settings or just use the four in a square to make a pillow, candle mat, table topper, or wall hanging.

"It amazes me that a little bit of moving around changes the look of the block so much.  But wait till you see what happens when you start changing the color!"

So now I am starting to get really carried away in EQ7 and go back to the four block poinsettia arrangement and start playing with color.  I always see blue poinsettia fabric in the stores so I did a blue variation.

Wow, I loved that one, and the bit of purple really contrasted nicely with the blue.  Of course poinsettias don't really come in blue, but they do come in white and pink so I thought I would try a variation in first white, and then pink.

What do you think of the white one?  I loved this one too because it reminded me of those years as a teenager when I worked in the florist shop with my mom and sister.  There were so many gorgeous white poinsettias in the shop.  OK, so here is the pink version.

OK, so it's not really pink, but I loved the combination.  I started playing with my favorite EQ7 tool - random recolor - and it looked sorta pink, ok more red than pink. But I liked it anyway, and it was a bit less traditional for all you non traditionalists.

This is more like it.  I loved this pink version.  So romantic and victorian.  I picture it in a Country Home article on "A Victorian Christmas!"  It would fit just right in my pink and green bedroom.

Then I inverted the colors just for fun.  Peggy (www.connecttheblocks.com) this one is for you, the bling girl!  I would put crystals all over this for you.  It also matches my Easy Binding Winder!  Hohoho.

Doesn't that make you want to run for the pepto bismol?  Hahahaha  So I kept hitting the random recolor button and here is what I came up with.  Well actually this is only a small sample of what I came up with because once I started I couldn't stop.  But these were some of my faves.  Perhaps they will give you an idea about how you would like to color your blocks.

These colors looked Asian to me.  The gold behind the deep blues and purples looked so rich.  Not sure about the light blue border, but it does make a soft contrast (complement of orange is blue!) to the bold colors in the design.  Remember, these combinations are totally random!  Those of you who are especially anal and #don't do random may want to look away at this point.

This looked like ice to me.  If you are a "Frozen" fan you might like this. It  would go great in a little girl's bedroom filled with "Frozen" stuff.  The stonehenge fabrics in the background are such a cool texture, also.  Even the purple border provides a nice counterpoint.

This is another one of those warm variations with the blue violet and red against the gold.   Whooo doggy, that would light up someone's ugly brown sofa!

This one with the blues, grays and turquoise is much more "me".  I love these cool colors against a silver background.  I would so totally make this for my back porch wicker chairs and sofa.

While these muted greens and tans are not my colors I could see this in the cabin with rustic furniture and hunting decor.  My husband would call this the "camo" version.

This has a more modern look to me, especially those cool black and white print flower centers and lime green (the new neutral!) haha.  But I gotta tell you it is growing on me and I am more open to these colors than I once was.

This is for all of you K-State fans.  You know who you are and I didn't want to leave you out so when this variation popped up I save it just for you.

This one is for my friend Cara Gulati, cuz it is in her colors and style.  I think this would appeal to her.  Warm, rich, kinda kinky, but fun - always fun.

I can see you start to yawn so the show is over.  Hope you enjoyed playing along with me while I shared this project with you.  Download the free blocks (available only for 30 days) and share with me what you would do with them.

Thanks for hanging out with me in 2015.  I love each and every one of you.

PS.  Watch for my NEW block of the month coming in 2016!

Christmas is in your heart Blog Hop

Welcome to the Christmas is in your Heart Blog Hop November 12 - 19.

Each stop on the hop has a free project or tutorial and is offering a give-away for a free $25.00 Gift Certificate from The Fat Quarter Shop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Here are all the stops on the Blog Hop:

Thursday, November 12
Bejeweled Quilts
Quilt Shop Gal
The Quilting Queen OnlineIn The Boon Docks
BumbleBerry Stitches

Friday, November 13
All Thingz Sewn
Marjorie’s Busy Corner
Jane’s Quilting
Just Sew Quilter
Batts in the Attic

Monday, November 16
A Stitch In Time
Apple Avenue Quilts
From This To That
Just Let Me Quilt
Quilting Affection Blog
Kwilt Krazy

Tuesday, November 17
Just Because Quilts
Words & Stitches
Feather Your Nest
Patchwork Breeze
Quilt In Piece

Wednesday, November 18
Pink Doxies
Miss Loreen’s Schoolhouse
Morning Glory
In Stitches and Seams
Moose Stash Quilting

Thursday, November 19
Meadowbrook
Tea Time Creations
Selina Quilts
Living My Dream
Seams To Be Sew

Sponsored By The Fat Quarter Shop

I am offering a free Christmas placemat pattern which is great for using up those holiday fat quarters.

 The pattern includes instructions for matching folded napkins!  Mix and match fabrics from a single fabric line or use up all those great holiday scraps.  It is super easy and fun to make. . . . and is made from Fat Quarters!

Click here to download your free pattern for these holiday placemats.

November Bonus Block

Just a quick note to say the November Newsletter with the free bonus block will be delayed a few days.

We just got home from Houston (read Quilt Festival) yesterday and while I was catching up on pattern orders, Bruce went up to visit his dad (who is 95 and very ill).  Well, His father passed away this afternoon while Bruce was there and we are both grateful that we got home in time for him to see his dad one last time.

I promise the bonus block will be worth the wait.

Bonus Block 11 Violets

 

Quilt Market and Festival

Two weeks of excitement, innovation, and all things quilty!

I have been in Houston at Quilt market and then Quilt Festival.  It was quite an adventure having a booth at both shows this year!

I shared a booth with Peggy and Rex who demo'd and sold their Easy Binding Winder.  It was so fun to see this product take off.

I sold my patterns and kits and had a blast shopping for cool stuff!  Happy to get home and take a few months off to recharge my creative batteries, design my new BOM for 2016, and work on some new quilts.

October Block of the Month

Finally home from AQS Quilt Week in Des Moines and getting caught up.  Free block is posted and newsletter has been sent out.  Sorry it was a few days late.  Life just gets busy sometimes.

Bruce and I went tire shopping for the Whale

after a blow out on the way up to Des Moines.  What is up with the cost of tires??  Talk about sticker shock!!  And the trailer has 4 tires and a spare.  GASP.

Gotta tell you we were sure happy we had a spare when this thing blew! By the time we got 35 feet of camper plus truck stopped and off the Highway there was not much left of this tire.  Thank God we were safe and AAA-RV Plus for changing the tire.

Back home, now I am working on my block of the month blocks, my Camping Row and printing patterns for market in 2 weeks.

My camping row is making slow progress.  I will post pictures once the applique is in place.  right now it is all over my cutting table!

I just love this little racoon!

Candy Stars is now available on my website for half price in October.  It was in The Quilt Pattern Magazine in February and is now available for sale on my website.

Another one of my designs, At the Cantina, was in the last four issues of TQPM. The final installment (blue and white borders) is in this month's issue!  A year's subscription to The Quilt Pattern Magazine is only $16 and you would get this pattern plus a dozen more each month for a year.  It really is a bargain.

I have designed a 30's reproduction BOM for them which will be featured all next year.  I hope you will tune in for that.  I will be offering fabric kits for it as well.

The new Deco Gardens block for October is actually the border triangles.

You can see how they are placed in the side borders in this diagram.

Be sure to download this block for free during October on the 2015 BOM Tab at the top of the blog page.

Here is this month's bonus block.  You can buy it on my website if you are not a subscriber to my newsletter.

I think this might be my favorite block so far, but then I say that every month.  LOL  If I could get away with it I would just keep on designing these Art Nouveau flower blocks, because they are so fun.  I love them, and I guess a few of you do as well based on the great comments I get from many of you.

But I am thinking of doing a pieced BOM next year, possibly a Seminole Pieced sampler. What do you think about that idea?  I Would love your suggestions for next year's BOM.

The Arboretum Stars quilt is on my website now.  The pattern can be purchased as a digital download. Of course I can't take a picture of a quilt on the floor without a cat showing up and plopping down on it.  I had to shoo Buster off 3 times before I got a cat-free picture.  I loved making this quilt, I just wish I had not been so rushed to get it completed.  I want to try it in other colors and fabrics now.

So back to the studio to get my camping row done!!

EQ7 Seasons Row Along Blog Hop -- Week 3

I hope you have been following the incredible blog hop the last two weeks.

Not only are there a lot of totally amazing rows with seasonal themes, there are some really crazy good prizes (sweepstakes, give-aways, gifties – there has been some discussion about the proper word for this).

For information on how to enter the contests and to see all the rows click HERE.

Here is the schedule for new rows this week.

15-Sep Reeze Morning Glory 

15-Sep Marian Seams To Be Sew 

15-Sep Jennifer Sew Hooked 

15-Sep Carol Just Let Me Quilt

15-Sep Anneke Stof Genoeg 

 

 Well anyway, my row is summer and I designed a fun camping row with campers, a tent and cute critters atop the signs pointing their way to camp.
You can download the PDF pattern HERE or the EQ7 file HERE.

This is block 1 in the row.

Owl Block 1

There are 5 blocks which finished at 8” x 12”.  They are all applique blocks done with large easy pieces (mostly) which are done with fusible web and machine applique.  I have reversed all the templates for you already so when you download the PDF you will be ready to trace or print the templates onto the fusible web.

Camper Block 2

Tent Block 3

Camper Block 4

Racoon Block 5

Super thanks goes to Northcott fabric for supplying some of the fabric used in this block and for supplying one of the HUGE prizes we will be giving away.
So what prizes am I offering?  I have a boatload. . . .or maybe I should say a trailer full of stuff to give away.

First you have to enter the totally amazing Aurifil Thread give away.  This stuff is made in Italy and it is amazing stuff.  No lint, very strong, and fabulous colors.  Here is the set you will win if your name is chosen.  We are using Rafflecopter for the give-aways so be sure you enter in the box below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

But I also have a totally cute Andover Fat Quarter Pack to give away, an Aurifil sampler pack of thread, and an Andover batik strip pack.  Yea, this is good stuff!!!  Oh, and I will be tossing in a few free patterns just to keep things fun.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now for the other goodies:

Northcott Fabrics, 1 entry per entrant per week, all featured blogs today have same giveaway. 6-8 yards of fabric in 1 yard lengths $60-80.00 Value based on $10.00 per yard cost of fabric.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Fat Quarter Shop: Every blog has a different opportunity to win. Each entrant may enter at each blog's featured day. 1 $25.00 gift certificate.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Morning Glory Design Facebook Page:  Click HERE

Sulky: 1 six-pack Cotton thread contains 6 spools at 500 yards per spool
Each packs value is $36.00

Connecting Threads: 1 $25.00 gift certificate

Sew Fresh Quilts: 3 Fox and Friends Patterns

Craftsy and Nancy’s Notions Giveaways, You must stitch out one unique block from any of the rows offered today or any featured day of this Row-Along. Filler Rows are excluded. Filler Row Designers are Be A Quilter, Stof Goeneg, and Linda Franz. You may enter this giveaway every day from September 01, 2015 to October 13, 2015. You must upload a picture of your block to the Flickr Group prior to entering. Then go back to the blog of your choice and enter the Giveaway for the Craftsy or Nancy’s Notions Giveaways. All entries will be double checked. The Flickr group is here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Craftsy: 1 class of your choice – 3 total classes Average Value $40.00 each

Nancy’s Notions: 1 $10.00 of gift certificate – 2 total certificates Total Value $20.00 each.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
By entering any of these giveaways, it is assumed that you agree with the following rules and guidelines.

Guidelines and Rules of the Gifts Offered by Our Sponsors:

• No purchase whatsoever is necessary.
• You must be 18+ in order to win a gift.
• You are responsible for claiming and paying any tax owed on the value of any gift that you win.
• All gifts will be given between September 01, 2015 and October 13, 2015. Winners will receive notification via email. Winners have approximately 7 days to claim their gift, if 7 days passes, the gift will be offered to another eligible entrant. Winners who will receive a shipped item, will need to provide, name, address, city, state/province and country along with a phone number. All international winners will be responsible for any fees customs chooses to assess. Winners where prizes can be delivered via email, must provide a name, country and a valid email address. All prizes will be awarded.
  All winners will be announced on the blogs where they won and here at Seams To Be Sew. Winners agree to allow their name, city, state and/or country to be publicized.
  While we hope you will comment on the posts of the day and we love comments, we want no reply bloggers to have a chance at winning also, all bloggers will use Rafflecopter to give their gifts away. You will be asked for your name, email, city, state, and country. (City, State, Country will be asked to identify any winner where the same name may per chance happen)
• Some restrictions on gifts will apply based on shipping policies.
• The Electric Quilt software giveaway will be held at DoYOUEQ.com’s blog and will be given away the week of October 6, 2015
• Odds of Winning a prize are based on total number of rafflecopter entries during each week and in total for all giveaways.
• This giveaway is void where prohibited by law.
• Participating bloggers may enter any of the giveaways as long as they don’t participate on their own blogs giveaway.
• The word giveaways in the rules and guidelines are also known as sweepstakes.

All giveaways will be given away within 24-48 hours of the expiration of the giveaway. You have 7 days to reply to the email sent to you. If you don’t answer, we will give your gift to another entrant.