Modern Bee Blog Tour :: a.k.a. I'm in a book!

I could not be more excited to share this book with you today! The entire process has been completely surreal to me, so here is a little bit about how it came to be. 

It all came about after Sewing Summit 2011 where I finally met a bunch of my online friends in person. Elizabeth of Don't Call Me Betsy, who is such a sweetheart, invited me to join an online quilting bee she was organizing. I, of course, jumped at the opportunity! Things started off normal enough, when all of a sudden Lindsay Conner, the author and a bee member, proposed the idea of a bee book and the rest is history! We all needed to finalize our quilt designs and kick things into high gear! 

I absolutely adore stars, and I had sketched out this triple star-in-a-star design for Pillow Talk Swap 6.

This is the pillow I made for that swap. I loved it and was so sad to send it away, so of course I wanted an entire quilt of it!

And here it is, in all its fancy styled photo shoot glory! 

A huge thanks to Lindsay for all her hard work organizing everything and for doing such a wonderful job writing a great book. Go get your copy today! ---> Modern Bee —13 Quilts to Make with Friends

Giveaway!

Want to win a copy of Modern Bee? To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment on this post telling us about your quilting bee, what you're currently sewing, or something you learned about the book!

We'll choose one random winner to receive a hard copy of the book! If winner lives outside the U.S., they'll receive a copy of the e-book. Giveaway ends October, 18, 2013. Good luck!

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Pantone Color of the Year: Emerald Challenge

I'm super excited to have an entry for a2w's Pantone Emerald Challenge! I had such fun pulling fabrics for this project, and was thrilled to turn it into a practical pillow we can enjoy every day. I was inspired by a HST pattern on Pinterest and interpreted it using the green focus of the challenge and paired it with my favorite, pink. I then had a design revelation and paired it with my new obsession of text prints instead of a typical solid background. It was my a-ha moment! I also inserted an invisible zipper so we can use the pillow from both sides. I'm so happy with it, especially because I finally have a project I get to keep! It's a standard 18". 

Head on over and check out all the beautiful green entries!

Double Wedding Ring Quilt

I'm so pleased to finally be sharing this quilt with you! 

I made it as a wedding gift for my very best friend, Jill. It was inspired by a vintage 1930's double wedding ring quilt that I bought at a local antiques show. I showed off my purchase to her and she actually recognized the pattern! Her being a complete non-sewer, non-crafter, that came as quite a shock to me. Then a couple of months later she got engaged! Of course, being the sentimental fool I am, I decided I had to make her her very own double wedding ring to commemorate this huge moment in her life. 

(wanna know a secret? My friend Jill is crouched back there holding the quilt so it won't fall)

Now, if you know Jill, you know she has very particular taste; impeccable taste of the utmost high and edgy style, but particular, nonetheless. So I set about my design not knowing exactly where it would take me. After weeks of stalking fabric sites while also helping her plan the wedding, it hit me! Use her wedding colors! She had coral and black, with theoretical hints of turquoise, and the grey was a stray from my usual white, but went perfectly with her edgier taste.

I then proceeded to do oodles of research to decide how exactly I would tackle this behemoth of a project. I immediately referred to my friend Kaelin's Double Wedding Ring quilt along for help and forged ahead. The pattern she follows uses foundation paper piecing to make the arcs, thereby making the process faster and simpler. It took me about 20 hours just to piece the arcs, and I stopped counting after that. It's made up of 98 arcs and measures in at 54" x 68". It was a total of about 5 months from start to finish. 

I took a class at my local quilt shop to learn how to use their longarm machine. I used a very light scrollwork pattern to allow the colors and piecing to stand on their own. Binding the rounded arcs and concave points was a royal pain in the you know what, but I fudged my way through it and finished it off. 

I aim for tears when I give gifts, and I'd say I succeeded here. :)
The cute part is that although she's not a sewist herself, she totally gets it. I've since been informed that this quilt is too nice and too special to use. Instead, it will hang on the wall of the future nursery. Nothing could make me happier.

The moment for which I waited many long hours and months. She loved it even more than I could have even hoped. My Jill, my lady, it was a true labor of love I would not make for anyone else. Much love!

Blogger's Quilt Festival Stats
Finished Quilt Measures: 54" x 68"
Special Techniques Used: Foundation Paper Piecing, curved piecing
Quilted by: myself, Elena Roscoe
Best Category: Favorite Throw Quilt, Favorite Quilt Photographer, Favorite Wall Hanging

Sewing Summit 2012

This was my second time attending Sewing Summit (or “Summit,” as I like to refer to it) and strike me down if it wasn’t even more uplifting than the first one! Never have I had the privilege of meeting so many wonderful and lovely people, all of whom share my interests with the same passion and fervor as I. It’s always been a nice feeling to share with one another via the online community, but never have I felt so warm and fuzzy as being surrounded by people who just “get” me. And I get them! Seeing all our favorite fabrics brought to life, whether in one of the infamous Weekender bags, a trendy new frame purse, or a stylish Wiksten tank, was a glorious pleasure.

A feeling came over me that perfectly epitomizes what the Summit is: sisters. One afternoon I was in a car overloaded with talented ladies, and as we bopped from shop to shop, with some Menchie’s in between, of course, through all the giggles it hit me; Sewing Summit is like a reunion of sorority sisters. I don’t have any sisters, nor was I ever in a sorority, but I can only imagine this is what it feels like. Suddenly the warm and fuzzies poured over me and I’ve never felt more at home than I did in that overloaded car.

I went home with a renewed inspiration for my craft. My first day home I placed an order for supplies and set to work to restart my production and sell at a holiday show less than two short weeks away. I have plans in motion and strategies in the works. My passion and fire for all things stitched has been reignited, and it’s all thanks to Sewing Summit. A huge thanks to Erin, Ali, Megan, Erika, and Katie for all their hard work, as they’re the reason we all had such an amazing time.

Postage Stamp Quilt

I am so excited to finally be sharing with you my Postage Stamp Quilt!

I started it over a year ago in a quilt along, but as usual, lagged behind. I proudly share with you my finished product. I'm really excited, as it's only my second finished quilt of this size.

Here is the top that seemed like it would be so easy, but went on for seemingly endless seams. I took my time pairing up all the strips into individual blocks, making sure each print was equally represented throughout. I'm really picky that way. It's part of my charm, really.

I'm really excited that I not only decided to go with solids on this one, but that I ventured out of my comfort zone and pieced my backing. The solids took a lot of thinking, but I finally decided to pull out some predominant colors from the top and came up with these. So bright, sweet, and lovely, they really make me smile. I also had some leftover strips from the front, so I decided to break up the back and showcase them here. I have several more extra, and will eventually make a matching throw pillow.

I spoiled myself and sent it out to be quilted. Chris, from the Cotton Pig, did an all over "wandering pipe" pattern that really echoes the layout of the stamps.

Thanks for checking out my latest creation! I'm linking up to the Festival of Scrappiness and Work in Progress Wednesday. Go check out the other eye candy!

Rainbow Charm Swap :: FULL

The Rainbow Charm Swap is now FULL. Sorry if anyone missed out :( I missed out on Kati's and that's why I started my own. Nothing like being inspired!

Color assignments and such are posted in the Flickr group, so please check over there for updates. I'll be emailing my shipping address directly.

Thanks everyone and I can't wait to see what you all choose!

Rainbow Charm Swap :: update

5 spots left as of 9am Saturday. Color assignments so far are posted in the Flickr group, so go check there for your assignment. Have fun!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1916610@N20/

Rainbow Charm Swap :: FULL

Update: now full, as of Sunday morning. Thanks everyone!!!

COLORS POSTED IN FLICKR GROUP! GO LOOK AND HAPPY SHOPPING!

Please note the rules and requirements in the previous post before signing up. This swap is limited to 56 people. I will close the form as soon as possible once the swap is full, but should more people get through to the form after it is full, please understand I may have to cut them off after the fact. I'll do my best! :)

Rainbow Charm Swap

Surprise! I'm hosting an enormous, gigantic, fantabulous rainbow charm swap! I've been thinking of doing one for a while now, but when Kati's From the Blue Chair swap filled up so quickly, and I missed out, I thought I better start another one to give myself and others a chance. A huge mega thank you to Kati for her help in setting this up and for letting me steal her verbiage :)

Added bonus: to make buying 5 yards a little less painful, the lovely Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics has offered a 15% discount for swappers! If you haven't already, you must check out her shop. She has a tremendous variety of beautiful fabrics. Thank you, Brenda!

The swap signups will open on this blog this Friday, March 9 at Noon eastern time.

We will be swapping FIVE yards of charms. Go big or go home, right? The colors will be the 12 basic colors from the color wheel plus black & white prints and grey. There are slots for 56 participants.

Here's the rundown:

• Each participant will be assigned ONE color. You must buy five different yards of fabric in that color (varying shades are appropriate such as a pink fabric for the red group). You will then cut these into 5" charms, sort them and ship to me (I will provide very specific instructions on how to sort). One yard must be a solid, the other four yards will be prints. A self-addressed-stamped envelope must be included (a priority envelope will be the best option for the amount of fabric being shipped).
• You must be on Flickr and agree to participate in the swap group. There will be discussion groups for each color assignment. You will be paired with three to five other participants with the same color assignment. You are expected to work together as a group to choose the best fabrics for your color and avoid duplication.
• Quilt shop quality fabric only. The only exception is Kona brand solids from Jo-Ann's or Hobby Lobby. Large scale fabrics are not appropriate unless they are tone on tone or white on tone. Prints may include additional colors as long as they do not detract from the target color.
• You will send me 5 sets of 56 charms and receive 280 different charms back.
• There is no fee for US participants, but you must include a SASE with adequate postage. I recommend a padded Flat Rate envelope which is just $5.30 each way.
  
• The shipping fee for Canadian swappers is $14.00 USD. The shipping fee for participants from any other country outside the US is $18.00 USD. International swappers may purchase fabrics from a US vendor and have them shipped directly to me. I will cut and sort your charms for a $10.00 fee. All fees are billed through PayPal.
• US swappers must ship to me by Monday, April 9. Swappers from any other country must ship by Monday, April 2.
• The link to sign up for the group will post here this Friday, March 9 at Noon EST. If you aren't available to register at this time, please make arrangements for a friend to register for you. I anticipate the group will fill quickly, as Kati's filled in just 5 minutes and I know there are people from hers waiting to sign up. (Information required includes name, email, mailing address, flickr photostream link, & paypal email for those outside the US).