Wednesday, May 25, 2016

OMG It's Finished! Linkup May 2016

Okay, I sure hope ya'll have had better success with your One Monthly Goal this month than I have!

Perhaps I was a wee bit optimistic: Summer Gathering still waits patiently for me, leading the queue beside Mr. Juki. Of course, I wish I were sharing a finished quilt today! Instead, I will share the little projects I am toting with me tonight to the Las Vegas Modern Quilter's meeting.
Two block-lotto blocks, and a hummingbird I made for the Drunkard's Path block challenge. I was inspired by a quilt shared recently by Susan, who blogs at The Bored Zombie. My little block just doesn't represent her work well though, and I encourage you to check hers out! Susan named her beautiful quilt Doxstar's Flight, giving credit to the artist whose work inspired her, Cedric Kesteloot.

I am looking forward to seeing your quilty finishes!
One week left friends: I hope you can do it!!


In the prize-pool this month:
 Fusion Illusion scrap pack of 5"x18" cuts
 One lovely charm pack of Fossil Fern, generously gifted by Lara, of BuzzinBumble
 photo courtesy of buzzinbumble
 
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!
 One Monthly Goal, May Sponsors:

Bagmaker Supply $20 Store Credit
Fat Quarter Shop $25 Gift Certificate 

Saturday, May 21, 2016

Sew Scrappy Saturday: RSC Blocks and Crafted Applique Winner!

Stolen moments: Five minutes here, ten there, I am finding time to piece with green. I selected the most forest-like strips from my scrap bin and created two more Kite Tail blocks:

Ten blocks are finished now!

I'm also keeping up with the leftovers, they're pieced together in 12.5" lengths.
I intended that these might border the Kite Tails in some way, but now I am leaning toward a quilt all their own.

Next, I pulled from my vintage stash to use this little squirrel as the focus for this month's Courthouse Baby block:

Have you been inspired by the Crafted Applique Bloghop? 
Today, the Book Tour headed up to Canada, for a visit with Cindy, who blogs at Stitchin at Home! You will find the entire tour schedule at BuzznBumble, where Lara also has lots of party favors!


Thank you for all the wonderful comments left here, on my post for the tour! Congratulations to Louise, whose name was drawn at random from those comments, as the winner of the giveaway! Louise blogs at Quilt Odyssey, where she shares her quilty adventures afloat Vector, her home on the water! Pop on over and say Hello to Louise!


I am linking up today with Scrap Happy Saturday at So Scrappy!
RSC16
I hope yours is a Sew-Happy weekend!


Monday, May 16, 2016

Enter to Win! A Few Shares..

Good Morning!
A quick post this morning to share with you a couple giveaways going on in Blogland!
Maybe this will make up for my slow-blogging as of late,
(due in part to my new RedLetterQuilts account on Instagram!)
Instagram is fun! I was afraid of the commitment, then realized I can participate as little or as much as I like! I have found it user-friendly, and posting once or twice a week has been good so far!


I have extended the Crafted Applique Giveaway , now accepting entries through Tuesday, May 17th! Apparently I was looking at the April calendar when I wrote the post. Such is my life these days, haha..

Another Book Tour I have been following is Modern Selvedge Quilting, by Riel Nason who blogs at The Q and the U. I have admired Riel's work for so long now and I'm pretty excited to get my hands on this book! Today's stop on the tour is at Poppyprint, where Krista shares some great inspiration.
 I adore this quote she shared from the book:

"Selvages are like ticket stubs you keep from a fabulous show"


I'll share another giveaway going on this morning, because who wouldn't love to win a bundle of Oakshott? One lucky winner is going to be very very happy after visiting Lynne at Lily's Quilts...

OK, One more, lol!! 
If you are not already following Lea Anne, at Podunk Pretties, you may want to check out her blog! She is offering a cute tutorial tomorrow, (and giveaways!)

Did you see that Denyse Schmidt is featured as today's Flash Sale at Fat Quarter Shop, with New Bedford yardage at 50% off! I am still indecisive about how to spend the $100 gift certificate I won during the Worldwide Quilting Day celebration. Eventually, I will make up my mind - and I will be sharing the fabric with the OMG Prizepool!
I am leaning toward a pre-order, there are so many coming out this year!
I could use some of these for my Daily Dot quilt, and they look like great stash-fabrics:

Photo ripped from Fat Quarter Shop
 I still have a bit of Figgy Puddin' left in my Christmas Stash, and I am tempted by the new line coming from BasicGrey, Juniper Berry. The colorway is quite similar.
another Photo ripped from Fat Quarter Shop
It is sooo hard to make up my mind with all the great lines set to release this year! Maybe I could be persuaded! Is there something in particular you would like to see in the OMG Prizepool?

Friday, May 6, 2016

"Crafted Appliqué.... New Possibilities" Bloghop & Giveaway!

I have been playing with raw-edge applique! 
Do you recognize the Shasta?

That center dot is my "miniaturized" version, copied from the "Hello Mr. Ranger, Sir!" Insulated Picnic Bag, (and pictured on the cover of!) Lara Buccella's new book, "Crafted Applique... New Possibilities".

Welcome to Day #6 of the Blog Hop and Book Tour!
All month long, we are celebrating the recent release of this exciting new book!
Lara is giving away a LOT of books during the hop, (the Vintage Picnic giveaway is open until June 4th!) including a signed copy to one lucky reader of this post!

I am so grateful to share with you today, just how this book is inspiring me. One thing that intrigues me is the realization that very small piecework is possible with Lara's techniques. Those three dots I made are part of my Quilty365 Journal-Quilt: They're 3.5" Diameter each!
The Shasta trailer has pieces so tiny, I used tweezers to set them in place!
Then I top-stitched those little guys!

With Crafted Applique new things really are possible, and I find myself looking around my stash for potential candidates for applique. A rabbit caught my eye and I cut a piece of the vintage, sateen-type fabric to experiment with him a bit.

Cutting an image from fabric, for applique, is much like Broderie Perse. Usually flowers are involved, but bunnies work for me.
This rabbit is appliqued on some Heather Ross stash, then top-stitched by machine, with black thread.

I practiced some of Lara's tips for top-stitching the applique's.
I used my old Bernina 1020, with the 1/4" foot because it has an open toe.
It was working pretty well, so I left it on when I stitched all of these down:
MOD Winter Wallhanging, approx. 24" x 28", combines tiny pieces with large. Currently loitering in the ever-accumulating FQDP pile (Final Quilting Decisions Pending). 

I thought those large pieces may need the walking foot, but no distortion resulted and I was able to use the same foot to finish all the pieces.
My wheels were still turning..

I suppose I am on a bit of a holiday roll, the next project I chose to be sidetracked by is Just Batty:
Pattern by Carolyn Lynch, "The Bat in the Moonlight". I found the block printed in QNM, OCT 98 issue. It was designed for her quilt, "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Does anyone remember it? It's an amazing quilt, as are all of the quilts I found displayed on Carolyn's website, Articles of Merit Not Listed.

The block is a single applique, nearly 16" across. I used my FMQ foot for this because I am top-stitching and quilting at the same time. I left the feed dogs up since the piece is small enough that I don't need to go backward much. The stitching went really well despite my increased speed, (this was stitched last night - I really wanted to have the background quilted too!).

Perhaps there's a Hawaiian quilt in my future afterall?

Loving how it looks with my witchy hat...

A pleasant surprise, and huge value-bonus are seven amazing projects designed by Lara. Practical projects with stunning beauty and style. Now that I have built some confidence, Folk Art Christmas  is on my definitely-must-do-soon list!

Keep following the blog hop to see more of the projects revealed!

Blog Hop Schedule:

May 1 ..... Kick-Off and continued giveaways with Lara at Buzzin Bumble
May 2 ..... Valerie at Pumpkin Patch Quilter
May 3 ..... Dana at Stormy Days
May 4 ..... Lorna at Sew Fresh Quilts
May 5 ... Mary at Needled Mom
May 6 ..... Thank you for visiting Red Letter Quilts!
May 7 ..... Alycia at Alycia Quilts
May 8 ..... Amy at Amy Made That
May 9 ..... Sherrie at A Quilting Life
May 10 ,,, Lara guest post at Sew Mama Sew
May 11 ,,, Christina at A Few Scraps
May 12 ... Melissa at Happy Quilting
May 13 ... Sara at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
May 14 ... Soma at Whims and Fancies
May 15 ... Val at Val's Quilting Studio
May 16 ... Angela at Cut to Pieces
May 17 ... Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon
May 18 ... Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs
May 19 ... Judy at Quilt Paradigm
May 20 ... Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl
May 21 ... Cindy at Stitchin' at Home
May 22 ... Susie at Susie's Sunroom
May 23 ... Connie at Freemotion by the River
May 24 ... Ruth at Charly and Ben's Crafty Corner
May 25 ... Kaja at Sew Slowly
May 26 ... Ann at Fret Not Yourself
May 31 ... Jenn at Quarter Inch From the Edge
June 1 ..... Paulette at The Way I Sew It
June 2 ..... Sandra at Studio Sew of Course
June 3 ..... Christine at Triangles and Squares
June 4 ..... Darlene at Quilt Shop Gal
June 5 ..... Lara at Buzzin Bumble


 Thank you so much for reading today!
Leave a comment on this post to be entered in the drawing for your own copy of Crafted Applique... New Possiblities! Giveaway is open through Sunday, May 17th, Winner selected by random drawing and announced on Monday the 18th.
Edited on MONDAY, May 16th: Apparently I was looking at the April calendar when I wrote this! Giveaway will remain open for entries through Tuesday, May 17th!

I hope you find this book as inspirational as I have found it to be! 

Lara is also offering a giveaway with this month's One Monthly Goal
Have you set a quilty-goal for May yet? (linkup open through May 7th!)


Tuesday, May 3, 2016

April Winners: One Monthly Goal!

$25.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop:
Congratulations to Quilt n' Queen! If you have not already seen the fabulous bag featured on the Quilt n' Queen blog this month, you may want to check it out! Plus, I hear she is planning a giveaway soon - a kit to complete one of her amazing Tammy Bags!

Check out Fat Quarter Shop for Pearl Bracelets , 20% the entire month of May. 
...and their pattern of the month, Aloha Mermaids! What fun to select fabrics for these sweet gals:

$20.00 Credit toward minimum purchase at Bag Maker Supply:
Congratulations to Bee, who blogs at Buzzing Around!
Receive coupons toward Bagmaker Supply purchases when you sign up for their newsletter!


Congratulations to Katie, who blogs at Kharma Willow!  
I am sending Katie an Amy Butler Charm Pack, as well as this pretty drawstring bag I whipped up with some AB stash!

Congratulations to Lori K , who linked her goal through our Group Flickr Site
Lori is the lucky winner of The Ultimate Guide to Machine Quilting, by Angela Walters and Christa Watson! Woo-Hoo!!
This is really an awesome book! If you would like to read an informative review, Lara recently posted one at BuzzinBumble
Thank you so much, Christa, for generously offering this to our prize-pool!

Speaking of Lara, are you looking forward to our May Giveaway: 

Follow Lara's Blog-Hop throughout the month of May for additional chances to win a copy! 
Today is Day Three of the hop: Read, and see photos to learn how this type of raw-edge applique holds up after SIX washing's! Today, at Stormy Days!

Thank you to everyone for linking up with One Monthly Goal and cheering one another on! I hope you are making new friends and staying motivated! Our current goal-setting linkup is open through May 7th!






Sunday, May 1, 2016

OMG: May Goalsetting!

Welcome to One Monthly Goal: May Goalsetting Linkup!

The Snowbirds roll into town today! I am busy preparing an Uno De Mayo feast to celebrate! Yesterday, I made use of two crockpots, and the pressure cooker, and my Kitchenaid.
There'll be no pounds shed around here today haha!

It's possible my goal for May is a bit far-fetched, but I really want to knuckle-down and quilt Summer Gatherings. I try to select project goals that may not have otherwise been a focus, but are still manageable. This may not fit the bill, but I must challenge myself! Plus, it has been awhile since I had a 'real' quilty finish! You may remember Summer Gathering:
The picture is staged, and a bit deceptive. The sandwich was promptly folded after this photo, and has been sitting beside the machine since.

It was while working on Summer Gathering last summer that I first met Lara, of BuzzinBumble! Several online friends sent me fabric needed to finish this quilt, and I like to say I have a few friends gathered in this one!
To celebrate the release of her new book, Lara is hosting an amazing Blog Hop that kicks off today, with a fabric giveaway (Vintage Picnic!),
and all these books to be given away through the month!
"Crafted Appliqué.... New Possibilities", photo by buzzinbumble

And look-ee here - I am in the lineup for week One!
Come back on Friday to read about my take on the book, and enter to win a copy of your own!
Lara Buccella        BuzzinBumble  
Introduce Tour    
Valerie Smith      Pumpkin Patch Quilter
Dana Gaffney        Stormy Days
Lorna McMahon  Sew Fresh Quilts
Mary S.
Heidi Kuntz        Red Letter Quilts
Alycia Carmin  Alycia Quilts

In addition to those giveaways, Lara has generously added to the OMG Prizepool this month! One lucky participant will win this lovely charm pack of Fossil Fern, out of print now and sooo hard to find!
 photo courtesy of buzzinbumble

Perhaps our stars were aligned  - I cut a bit of a rainbow for the May prizepool as well!

These pretties are 5"x18", cut from the Fusion Illusion bundle I used for Winter in Bloom.
Winter in Bloom is a Christmas version of my Summer Gathering quilt!
It is now a part of the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Look Book, a beautiful source of inspiration!

Note: Due to Uno De Mayo celebration, and the expected recovery, winners of the April OMG: It's Finished Linkup will be drawn and announced on Tuesday, May 3rd!

Time to link-up and get busy! Thank you all for cheering one another on!



THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU
 One Monthly Goal, May Sponsors:

Bagmaker Supply $20 Store Credit
Fat Quarter Shop $25 Gift Certificate 
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