Friday, December 17, 2010

And the WINNER is...

And the winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Quilt Kit is......................

Alli!  Congratulations!!!  I just sent you and email.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Great Mail Week!

The mailman has been so good to me this week.  He's been filling my mailbox with secret treasures.

All the way from Australia came a owl wrapped package full of goodness.  Lorraine of Small Quilts was my secret partner for the Pillow Talk Swap.  She sent along *the* most gorgeous pillow cover, a sweet little cushion, (elephant and red polka dots!!) and a patchwork pouch in my very favorite color.  Thank you thank you!  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world.  : )




Then, tucked inside my mailbox was an envelope from the U.K.  I got to meet my friend Brioni (flossyblossy) at quilt market.  We got to talking about our shared love for the Joseph's Coat Quilt Along.  She has already started hers, you MUST take a peek here.  She so generously offered to send me her templates so I could make my own! (Insert big grin here)  Thank you Flossy!!


Sometimes you just get lucky... and one day recently I did get very, very lucky.  I won the Fat Quarterly giveaway for Kajsa Wikman's new book, Scandinavian Stitches!!!  Kajsa's style is so charming and whimsical her whole book just makes me smile.  I'm can't wait to make the sweet Tomte Stuffy and a Yule House for my family.



And then.... if that weren't enough to have me squealing with happiness and dancing about the house... this arrived from Kajsa herself.  A set of the cutest cards featuring her work.  Here are three of my favorites...



Ok back to sewing for me.  I've got a long list of "to finish before Christmas" and only 10 days to do it.  What are you working on this week??

-A


Monday, December 13, 2010

Giveaway Day: 12 Days of Christmas Kit

**This giveaway is now closed**

Happy Giveaway Day from Me and...


I'm giving away a Quilt Kit, 12 Days of Christmas by Kate Spain for Moda


Images from Moda

This cute kit includes a quilt pattern, fabric panel, additional yardage, and binding for a 59"x59" quilt top.  The backing is not included.  It all comes packaged together by Moda in a cute reusable bag with a customizable label.  Give as a gift of keep for yourself.

To Enter: Please leave a comment below.  

The winner will be announced here on Friday, December 17th.  International entries are welcome.

GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!  : )
-Adrianne



Sunday, December 12, 2010

Sunday Stash 10


I bought these from the other night in a burst of inspiration.  It was one of those intense must have, must make moments.  I didn't write it down.  The fabric arrived and I cannot for the life of me remember what I was going to make.  D'oh!  It will come back to me... I hope.  Aren't they pretty?

Red Sketched Flowers, Milly
Red Dots, Fresh Palette
Red Modern Check, Fresh Palette
Red Tonal Flowers, Flower Sugar 2
Red Hot Bias Plaid, Giddy
Red Vintage Lace, Country Lane

Hmmm.... looks like a "red" plan don't you think?

Thursday, December 9, 2010

On the Design Wall: Scrappy Christmas


Between the Christmas sewing projects and infectious Christmas music my Urban Lattice quilt morphed into the Scrappy Christmas Quilt.  No maroon or slate in sight (sorry Honey, the manly version will have to wait).


I finished up the blocks last night.  I was aiming for the lap size but I underestimated the amount of white I had in my stash...by about 1.5 yards!  Time for another bolt.  I have *just* enough for a petite size.  It still big enough to cuddle on the couch with Hot Coco and twinkle lights.  : )


This is my first time paper piecing and it won't be my last.  It is so satisfying pulling off that paper!!  This is a great introduction to this technique.  Cara's tutorial/quilt along is very well written.  If you make one add your pictures to the Urban Lattice Flickr group.  Looking at this picture I can see some blocks need to be moved around a little.  That's ok, they can marinate on the wall while we have lunch.

Happy Thursday from cold and wet California.  : )
-A

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Fabric Wreath



This fabric wreath is a fun holiday project. I used two Moda honey buns and this tutorial.  The only thing I did different is keep the strips folded once, leaving one folded edge and one cut edge for each knot. I like the smoother look of it. It was fiddlier to tie off this way but worth it.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Born to Shine

I finished up my scrappy stars quilt for the local NICU.  A special project close to my heart.  The maverick stars were fun to make.  More posts about this quilt here and here.

I added the quilt label before quilting.

Measures 38"x38"

All over micro stippling.  I wish you could feel this!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Regatta Block Tutorial

Adventures in quilting, a peak inside...

For my Regatta quilt I had my mind made up that I wanted a rectangle shaped block, divided equally by two triangles and measuring 5"x7" finished.  This is not a standard quilting angle or block for that matter.  I knew that if I didn't get the points nice and crisp the effect of the sails would be lost.   The angles of these triangles are tight and I was worried about piecing them.

What is a girl to do?  I scribbled, I sketched, I calculated and I came up with a plan.  I'm not going to sew triangles, I'm going to sew rectangles that *look* like triangles.  Excellent!  : )

Warning, this is not the most efficient use of fabric.   There will be scraps.  I pieced two rectangles together and then cut them into the shape I wanted.   **Click any picture to see it larger**

 1) Piece together two rectangles measuring 5" x 10" each.

2) Cut a piece of paper measuring 5.5" x 7.5" 
and draw a diagonal line across the rectangle.

 3) Tape the paper underneath a quilting ruler with clear tape.  It doesn't matter which ruler you use as long as it's larger than your block.  I used my 15" square ruler.  Make sure that two edges of your paper line up with two edges of your ruler.

 4) Match the diagonal line of your paper to your seam line.  The corner of your ruler should be below the edge of the fabric.  You are leaving room to cut a crisp new edge.

 5) Now cut off two sides without moving your ruler.  Make sure you lay your hand down flat to stabilize your ruler.  These cuts needs to be as accurate and precise as possible.

 6) Flip your block upside down.  See how the colors have switched sides?  Match the diagonal line on your paper to your seam line.  Also align the bottom of the paper to your block underneath.  The bottom point of your paper should be right over the bottom point of your block.  Now cut the remaining two sides.

7) Ta Da!  You did it.  Take a minute and admire those points.  

This is such a versatile block.  Scrappy and white? Value Study? Two colors? Saturated prints with Gray?

There are lots of layout options too.  Here are some examples of how the shapes fit together.

 Gliders

Pennants

Argyle

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A quilt called Regatta

Inspired by my Dad, photography, sailboats, modern quilts and Cherri House!

My Inspiration

A mix of Moda Bella solids. 

A scrappy binding.

Regatta

Growing up my Dad would take us down to watch the sailboats race on Wednesday nights.  The colors of the sails and the sea would magically change as the sun set.  The sails would dance across the water puffing and gliding with the wind.  This quilt is for my Dad, who loves blue, taught me the difference between isosceles and scalene triangles and loves photography as much as I do.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Sunday Stash 09


Hidden treasures from a Houston quilt shop.
Lush by Erin Michael, Wildflowers and Tadpoles by Heather Ross

The winners from last weeks American Jane giveaway are...

KatieB, 1/2 yd of Green Pez
Jansie, 1/2 yd of Blue Pez
Our Busy Little Bunch, 1/2 yd of Red Pez

Congratulations ladies!!!  Please send me your mailing addresses.
-A

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Central Park, A Closer Look

Central Park by Kate Spain for Moda is like a walk through your favorite park.  Imagine a perfect day, the sun is shinning, the air is crisp and a slight breeze dances through the flowers.  Kate has captured exactly that.  There is so much about this collection to love!  The colors are so fresh and saturated.  It will be available January 2011.

Ok first you have to see Kate's booth.  Isn't it gorgeous??  




I bought a fat quarter bundle at Sample Spree.  There are lots and lots of pictures to share.  Enjoy!  : )


 * Click on any picture to see it bigger *





Even more pictures on my fabric forum.  A lot.  Come on over.  : )

Strip Swap, The Plan

I left our last guild meeting with a bunch of strips convinced I was going to make something log cabin-ish.

Remember these were the strips?

The mix of styles made me nervous.  I've got batiks, brights, traditional, modern, reproductions.  BUT!  If you look at the strips with fuzzy eyes, the colors actually flow pretty good.  The one on the right stands out more because it's darker than the others.  I decided it should be a feature.  But how?  It could be the center of all the log cabins.  At this point I wasn't sure I still wanted to go in that direction.  

I went to my flickr favorites for another idea.  Check these out.  Yes!  That's what I want to do.  Tiny, wonky, scrappy stars.  My theory was the fabric pieces will be small and instead of seeing the prints you will see the colors.  I have always wanted to try this kind of star and this was a great excuse to play.  I used this tutorial for wonky stars


Instead  of 4.5" pieces I used 2.5".  I chain pieced my way through the wonk.  I picked pieces randomly from a bag to make sure they were mixed up.  I wanted it to be as scrappy as possible so there would be lots of movement with the finished stars.

 Wonky = lots of trimming.


I took this picture out of focus on purpose to show you the colors and not the fabrics.  The dark centers unify the stars but the scrappy colors make them dance.  Or should I say twinkle?  ; ) 


I'm almost done piecing the stars.  I've had a Coldplay song stuck in my head as I work.  You know the one that goes, "look at the stars, look how they shine for you."  I think I might incorporate that into the back somehow.  

I'm supposed to have this done by Monday for our next guild meeting. Wish me luck!

-A

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