Scrappy Sewing Just Because

The other night it was finally quiet in the house and I went into my sewing area to clean up a bit. Instead, I found myself sitting down to sew something just for fun. I still had scraps from my Good Neighbors project out and I had a new pattern that I wanted to try. The next thing you know hours had silently passed me by. I love finding that quiet place of concentration and creation. It fuels me and refuels me again and again.

FABRIC: Good Neighbors by Amanda Jean Nyberg
PATTERN: Goosed Up by JeliQuilts

Sunny Side Pincushion and the Good Neighbors Blog Hop

Image via: Connecting Threads

Introducing Good Neighbors, the debut fabric line from my friend, Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts. We're celebrating this fun collection with a pincushion blog hop, a new pincushion a day from different quilting bloggers. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome!!

Good Neighbors is a beautiful collection full of stash-worthy prints. This is the kind of fabric I find myself reaching for again and again because they are so versatile. The colors are cheery and fun and they go with everything. There is a great range of scale and a variety of prints. Good Neighbors is brand new this month and available now at Connecting Threads.

For my project, I selected prints in teal, aqua, orange and grey and I cut out mini (teeny-tiny) Dresden blades. They reminded me of bunting all stitched together.

I added some linen scraps and stuffed it with poly-fil for body and uncooked rice for weight. I'm also experimenting with adding lavender essential oils for fragrance. I was thinking it could be kind of like a sachet/pincushion. It's already adding a perfect slice of sunshine to my cutting table.

BLOG HOP

There has been so many colorful and creative pincushions made already this month and a few more to come. Visit the links below and see them all!

Date	Blogger Name	Blog URL
9/1/2015	Amanda Jean	http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/ (kick off blog post)
9/2/2015	Anna	http://www.noodle-head.com/
9/3/2015	Mary	http://maryonlakepulaski.blogspot.com/
9/4/2015	Svetlana	http://sotakhandmade.blogspot.com/
9/5/2015	Debbie	http://www.eschhousequilts.com/
9/6/2015	Holly	http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/
9/7/2015	Carla	http://carla-graceandfavour.blogspot.com/
9/8/2015	Faith	www.FreshLemonsQuilts.com
9/9/2015	Vanessa	http://www.vanessachristenson.com/
9/10/2015	Anna	http://www.thimbleanna.com/
9/11/2015	Krista	http://poppyprintcreates.blogspot.com/
9/12/2015	Erin	http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/
9/13/2015	Lee	http://www.maychappell.com/
9/14/2015	Alex	http://teaginnydesigns.blogspot.com/
9/15/2015	Cheryl	http://naptimequilter.blogspot.com/
9/16/2015	Penny	http://sewtakeahike.typepad.com/
9/17/2015	Amy	http://duringquiettime.com/
9/18/2015	Debbie	http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/
9/19/2015	Anne	http://www.springleafstudios.com/
9/20/2015	Melissa Corry	http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/
9/21/2015	Amber	http://www.oneshabbychick.typepad.com/
9/22/2015	Nettie	http://aquiltisnice.blogspot.com/
9/23/2015	Adrianne	http://www.littlebluebell.com/ (you are here!) : )
9/24/2015	Cindy	http://www.liveacolorfullife.net/
9/25/2015	Amy	http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/
9/26/2015	Chase	http://quarterinchmark.blogspot.com/
9/27/2015	Rene	http://www.renecreates.com/
9/28/2015	Erin	http://www.houseonhillroad.com/
9/29/2015	Nicole	http://modernhandcraft.com/
9/30/2015	Teri	http://blog.connectingthreads.com/ (wrap-up blog post)

GIVEAWAY
UPDATE: The winner is GranChris! Congratulations!!

WIN a charm pack of Good Neighbors!! Leave one comment below by this Friday, 9/25/15 for your chance to win. This giveaway is provided by Connecting Threads and is open to residents of US and Canada. The winner will be chosen randomly and notified by email.

Color on my mind

Color inspiration happens everywhere! Sometimes it comes from nature, sometimes it comes from art and sometimes it comes from within one's own mind. These are the colors I was thinking of as I went to sleep last night and they are still with me today. They are kind of fall-ish in a Northern California kind of way. : )

What color is on your mind today?

Finished Modern Butterfly Quilt and a New Pattern

Name: Modern Butterfly

Size: 48" x 60"

Pattern: Modern Butterfly Quilt

Materials: Assorted prints in navy, wintergreen, fuschia, mustard and grey

Quilting: Crosshatch with Aurifil #2021 Natural White

INSPIRATION 

It all started with a stack of fabrics in a variety of prints in navy, wintergreen, fuschia, mustard and grey. I loved this collection of saturated colors and I thought it would be fun to set them against an off-white solid for a bold quilt with a lot of contrast. 

These butterfly blocks fit that mood perfectly with their crisp lines and colorful wings. My favorite part was really mixing up the colors for each butterfly. Their two-tone wings really let all the different color combinations shine.

*NEW* PATTERN

After sharing photos of the blocks, I received several requests for the pattern. It didn't exist yet, except in my head. So I set to work getting it written down so you can make your own beautiful butterflies! I'm excited to tell you that it's finally finished. It's a full color pattern that includes fabric requirements, cutting list, paper piecing diagrams, full size printable foundation for paper piecing and coloring page to customize your own design.

- Modern Butterfly Quilt Pattern

A very special shout out to Barbara, Holly, Rene' and Jayne. Thank you so much for all of your kind words and support!

-A