2011 Mosaic

1. SMS Giveaway Day, 2. A New View Baby, 3. Spell It Out, 4. Rebel Flock, 5. A very long term project, 6. Curried Plums, 7. Purple Pillow, 8. Mosaic, 9. Elegant Celebration, 10. Keep Calm, 11. Five Frames, 12. Lines Pillow, 13. The Bee's Knees bee quilt, 14. Off The Deep End, 15. Read Between The Lines, 16. LinesSpring

Many of my completed projects for 2011.  Happy New Year all!

Quilty Christmas gifts

None of my family members are quilters, so they needed a few hints from me as to what I might like to feed my obsession.  I was so excited to get these two books and a magazine!

I've been a huge fan of Weeks Ringle and Bill Kerr of Modern Quilt Studio (formerly FunQuilts) ever since I discovered their first book The Modern Quilt Workshop.  So, when I learned they were putting out a new magazine I couldn't wait to put a subscription on my Christmas list.  I love how they include pieced quilts and applique, but one of my favorite parts of the way they write patterns is how they explain their color choices and provide us with sketches of alternate color schemes.  I can't wait for the next issue!

Sweetwater's fabric designs have been delighting me for several years now, starting with Authentic right through to Reunion.  I love that they use words and text in their fabrics.  Of course, I had to have their book "Sweetwater's Simple Home".  The clean lined projects for every room in the house, many including some words, did not disappoint me :)

Last, but not least, Modern Blocks from Susanne Woods of Stash Books.  This book is chock full of wonderful inspiration!  I know I used to have one of those sets of mirrors you can set up to reflect a single quilt block so you can see what four blocks would look like together - this book has me searching to see if I still have it or if I got rid of it.  I just love that cross block on the cover by Emily Cier!   I'm not sure I have the patience for a whole quilt full of such small pieces, but the layout and colors of the block alone make me smile.  Weeks and Bill have some great blocks in here too, as do many of your favorite designers and some designers that might be new to you.

Did you get quilty gifts this year?

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Fabric Frenzy!

I remember the days when I was a calm and careful purchaser of fabric.  I often worked from my stash, adding new fabrics when I didn't have enough of a certain color or style.  I was aware of new fabric lines, but didn't pay too much attention unless one or two of the fabrics suited my needs.

Enter 2011, Sweetwater, Basic Grey, Daisy Janie, Half Moon Modern, Malka, and Lotta!  All of a sudden, I can't resist these lines - the colors and prints have been calling my name, loudly.

These are the latest bundles of fun to come home with me.  Fat quarter bundles of Reunion and Half Moon Modern and a layer cake of A Stitch in Color.  Many of my fabric indulgences (including these) have been satisfied by Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics, but I've also found some of my favorites at Pink Chalk Fabrics, Marmalade Fabrics, and Fat Quarter Shop.  (No sponsorships or anything here, just a happy customer).

Part of me is dying to pull these packages apart, spread them out and look at each individual fabric but the other part loves to look at them all neatly stacked just as they are.  I'd better get sketching - I have lots of quilts to make!

How about you?  Do you have a favorite line or two from this year or that you are waiting for in 2012?

Christmas Sewing

I'm not making any quilts for Christmas gifts this year, but my sister asked me if I would make a duvet cover for my niece.  Of course!  We had fun at our LQS last week picking out these fabrics.

The top and bottom fabrics will be the center panels on the front or back of the duvet cover and the center fabrics will run down the sides.  I'm using French seams so there won't be any raw edges on the inside.  I haven't done a French seam in years.  Hooray for the internet to reassure me that I remember how to do it properly!  (I'm also sure I have this information in a book somewhere).

We bought a long zipper to put across the bottom and I'll be attaching some ties to the duvet itself and inside the cover so it doesn't shift around all over the place.  The front and back panels are finished.  I cut them a little long because I'm not sure how much ease I need to include to account for the puffiness of the duvet.  Now to add the zipper, the ties and sew the front and back together.  I hope she likes it!

Giveaway Finale!

First of all, thank you so much to all of you who sent me good wishes in my battle with this cold.  I am making steady improvement.  My voice even sounded close to normal yesterday :)

I try to respond to comments left on my blog and this giveaway is no exception.  I have been having lots of fun reading through them and replying.  I'm not quite finished yet.  My responses tend to vary in length based on how many of them I have done in one sitting.  Early ones get wordier replies than the thirtieth one :)

Neutral threads seem to be the most popular quilting choices with white, off white, beige and grey being used by many quilters.  There was also a strong contrast and variegated thread contingent and a lot who said it depends on the quilt.  A few people said black, which I have never tried but will keep in mind for the future.

Now, drum roll, please!  Jennifer W. is the winner of the quilt!
Jennifer said "What a gorgeous quilt! 
I prefer neutral thread for quilting, but I'm up for contrasting thread if it seems to suit the mood of the piece."  Congratulations, Jennifer!  I've sent Jennifer an email directly.

Thanks so much to the wonderful group at Sew, Mama, Sew for organizing this event!  Welcome to all my new followers.  I'm so excited to have you all here!  Posting here may be a little light for the next week or two as I try to catch up on Christmas sewing and enjoy some family activities.  Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays seasons!

SMS Giveaway Week!

It's a very lucky thing for me that Sew, Mama, Sew decided to expand their Giveaway Day to a Week.  I have been dealing with the worst cold I've had in years and that put me way behind on finishing up my giveaway quilt.

Welcome to those of you who are new here!  My name is Debbie and this is where I share my sewing adventures and a little of the rest of my life too.

Some of my regular readers may recognize the pattern I used to make this quilt.  It is my Triangle Maze pattern, which was originally a free pattern here on the blog.  I have updated the pattern and added five more sizes - yes five!  The free pattern was for a crib sized quilt and now I have added the baby size (shown) and throw, twin, full, and queen/king sizes.  You can find the pattern in my Etsy shop or at PatternSpot.

This is the fourth or fifth quilt I've made from this pattern and every time I get more ideas for color combinations to try.  Right now, I'd love to make this baby quilt again with lots of pretty pink prints.  I'm not sure if I'd use only pink or whether I might add in a little grey too.

Anyway, giveaway details:
I'm giving away this baby quilt which measures approximately 36" x 45".  I used Kona Ash, Bright Peri and Bahama Blue and an orange solid from my stash that is similar to Kona School Bus or Orange.  It has been washed and is full of crinkly goodness.  The vertical quilting lines are quilted with grey thread and the horizontal quilting lines are in aqua thread. The back is the same orange used on the front.

To enter, leave me a comment telling me what color thread you like to use for quilting.  Do you always use white, another color, variegated thread, matching or contrasting?  If you are a follower or become one, leave me a second comment letting me know and you'll be entered a second time.   (You can follow me on FaceBook too - button in left column)  I am happy to ship internationally.  The giveaway will close at the end of the day on December 16 US EST.  Please be sure to leave me a way to contact you if you are a "no-reply blogger".

Don't forget to check out all six categories of giveaways back at Sew, Mama, Sew!

Guess where I was...

on Friday and Saturday?  Picking my daughter up from U Chicago for the holidays.

I've been staying at the same hotel (4 times now) when I go there.  The decor is a little old and beat up, but the rooms are clean and the location is very close to her school.  Plus - this is the view from the front of the hotel looking north.

This is right across the street.  I just love looking at Lake Michigan.  Water views are so calming to me.

My room didn't have a lake view this time, but I could see the early morning sun shining on these buildings.  Plus, for some reason, they gave me a huge room with a large seating area in addition to the bed area.

How would you like to have to climb down this fire escape!  I guess you'd be happy it was there if you needed it, but yikes!

Even though I'm not there very long each trip, I'm really enjoying getting a chance to visit and get to know this city a little better.

SMS Giveaway Day

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway day is coming December 12!  I'll be participating again. Stop back to see what I'm giving away.  Hint:  it starts with a "q" :)

In the back of the closet

Remember how I said my quilt closet was overflowing?  I had totally forgotten about this quilt.  I made it as a throw sized version of my Shadow Boxes pattern by reducing the number of columns and removing one block from each column.  I didn't think the quilt itself would be all that great looking, but I had plenty of black, white and grey solid fabric so I went ahead with the quilt.

As I suspected, I wasn't wowed by the final result, but it ended up a nice size at about 48" x 72".  I like my throws to be long so I can nap on the couch and cover all of me :)

The real surprise was the back.  I bought this lovely soft green quite a few years ago because it matched the color of my living room walls.  I never did anything with it and so it ended up on the back of this quilt.  I love how it looks - so soothing.  It was one of the first backs I pieced with a design in mind and not just making it big enough.  The cream fabric is one of my favorite handwriting prints.

The funny thing is that, in real life, the back is nicer than the front, but, when I look at the pictures, the front looks better than the back.  And they say pictures don't lie :)

Do you like the new blog header?  I haven't changed it in months so it was about time.

Giveaway winner

Molly from BaileyGirl5 is the winner of the Jovial charm pack!   Congratulations Molly!

December!

I've been in denial since Thanksgiving that December and the holidays are coming soon.  I think since today is December 1, I have to finally admit that this is the situation.

It isn't that I don't enjoy the holidays - I do. I think it is just that my already busy life needs to kick into a higher gear and part of me really wants to put that off until later :)

The Ann Arbor Modern Quilt Guild met last night and we had a fun ornament swap.  This little mitten is what I made.  I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out but there were some serious moments of doubt along the way.  I started off with a totally different idea that didn't work out at all.  So after searching all over the internet for a good mitten shape, a trip to JoAnn's for supplies and an hour or so or stitching, I breathed a sigh of relief that at least I wouldn't be totally embarrassed to admit which ornament was mine.

I was lucky enough to get this cool kanzashi made by Kathy.  It is such a pretty blue and I can't wait to get our tree so I can add it to my collection.  Isn't that button in the middle amazing?

On another subject, I had this great idea in October that I was going to make a darling little Christmas quilt out of a Jovial charm pack and then give a Jovial charm pack away.  Well, that quilt was a failure.  What looked like good minimalism in a drawing turned out to look just plain boring in fabric.  I really love this line of fabric so I am planning to rework the quilt, but haven't got there yet.

Anyway, if you've had the patience to read this far, I'm going to give the Jovial charm pack away anyway - quilt or no :)  To be entered to win the charm pack, leave a comment telling me if you are making any quilts (as opposed to quilted items) for gifts or if you'd like to, but haven't gotten started yet.  Because, I know there are others like me out there who have lots of great intentions and ideas well in advance, but are a little more last minute on the actual sewing.

Edited:  Oops forgot to say, giveaway ends at the end of the day on December 2.