0 New Website.

I finally switched my website over to Squarespace, after planning to do so for the last few years! Head over to www.bijoulovely.com to check it out! My old blog posts will stay here until I can properly migrate them all over, but new blog posts will be posted at www.bijoulovely.com/blog. I'll be updating the feed on my end but you can always check to make sure it works on your end as well! Thanks so much for following my blog!

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6 Feeling Inspired.

I'm not sure what it is about that start of a new year that gets me so inspired. I've been making stuff lately, much more frequently than usual, which is pretty awesome! Part of it is that my busy season for photography has come to an end so I have more free time, but part of it is that I just have this desire to make. all. the. things. lately!

I picked up some Bluebird and Alison Glass Handcrafted Indigo since I've been loving the indigo and blues. The colors are just so beautiful! I got started on a new quilt design this week using these and have been really enjoying the process!

I finished up a scrappy trip quilt top a few weeks ago, which I started in November at a local sewing retreat. It's made with Alexia Abegg's Paper Bandana collection for Cotton & Steel. The squares finish at 1.5", they're pretty teeny!

Cloud 9 sent me some digital yardage of my Brush Strokes collection (releasing in June) so I could start stitching up some samples. I made a fun triangle quilt with it at the Stitch Supply Co sewing retreat last month. It was so nice to get together with my friends and sew!

I made a quick wonky log cabin quilt last week after starting it at another local quilting class (maybe the trick for me is to go to sewing events so I'm forced to sit down and sew?!). This is probably the fourth quilt I've made with Violet Craft's Brambleberry Ridge. It's just so pretty!

I've got a stack of unfinished quilts taunting me now. I used to be so good at quilting them right away! Not sure what happened there. I hope to start finishing these very soon! Right after I make another quilt top :)

2 Et Frais Mitts.

I knit up this pair of Et Frais Mitts this fall. Knitting with black yarn is hard! But also, worth it. They are so pretty all finished.

I used Plucky Single in Morticia from The Plucky Knitter. It's a beautiful black/charcoal color. I just love Plucky yarn! The colors are so sophisticated and rich.

I made my sister and cousin model my recently finished knits while they were home for Thanksgiving. We took pics in my new studio up on the second floor! It was pretty fun.

These are a gift for a family member, but I think I'll make another pair soon for myself! I love fingerless mitts, they are perfect for photo sessions in the winter because I can still press all the camera buttons while keeping the rest of my hands warm!

You can find more details about these on my Ravelry page.

26 Quilting from Every Angle.

I feel like I've finally been making progress again with quilts after focusing on photography this summer. It's a nice change! My friend Nancy Purvis just released her new book, Quilting From Every Angle and asked if I would join her blog tour. I love Nancy's style so of course I said yes! The book is really awesome, to be honest it took me a long time just to figure out which quilt to make because there were so many I loved!

I settled on the Brooklyn Quilt, partly because it looked like a quick one and I never have enough time lately, and mostly because I just love the look of it! It took me no time at all to put together once I decided on the fabric. The pattern calls for just three fabrics, but I couldn't resist adding in a couple extras to test out a new color scheme I've been loving lately.

I used one of my favorite prints from Carolyn Friedlander's Doe collection, some pink Sprinkle basic from Cotton & Steel, and a random selection of solids from my stash for this quilt. I used my go-to Essex yarn dyed linen in black for the background. I just can't quit that stuff, I need to start buying it by the bolt!

I can't wait to get this quilt finished. I think it will be a perfect wall hanging for my new studio! Must post more about that soon.

Back to the book. Nancy did a fantastic job creating quilt patterns that are original, modern, and beautiful. They're a really great body of work to showcase her personal style as well, which I love! The diagrams in the book are very clear, which makes it much easier to glance at to remind yourself what the next step will be. Especially if you're bad at following patterns, like I am :)

Make sure to check out the rest of the quilts made from Quilting From Every Angle. They're all amazing! 

11/10- Michelle Wilkie of Factotum of Arts
11/11- Hillary Goodwin of Entropy Always Wins

11/12- Karen Lewis of Karen Lewis Textiles
11/13- Anna Graham of Noodlehead
11/16- Rachel McCormack of Wooden Spoon Quilts
11/17- Tara Larson of Rad & Happy 
11/18- Jennifer Mathis of Ellison Lane
11/19- Holly Hughes of Holly Gets Quilty
11/20- Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft
11/23- Pat Bravo of Pat Bravo Fabric Design and Jesse Maloney of Art School Dropout
11/24- Astrid of Red Red Completely Red
11/25- Holly DeGroot of Bijou Lovely
11/26- Christopher Thompson of The Tattooed Quilter
11/27- Spoonflower

I'm giving away a DIGITAL copy of the book today! To enter, please leave a comment! Please leave your email address too so I can contact you. I'll choose a winner on Monday, Nov 30th.  

Note: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Janet M!

You can find Quilting from Every Angle on Amazon or purchase a signed copy from Nancy here. Make sure to check here before starting a quilt for any pattern updates!

7 Brush Strokes.

There are some big changes happening in my life lately. Some good and some not so good. But one of the most exciting things going on is that I have my first fabric line coming out with Cloud9 Fabrics next spring!  I am so grateful to be a part of the Cloud9 family, they are such a great company to work with! You can read my designer bio on the Cloud9 website here. The collection is called Brush Strokes and will be shipping to stores in June.

Brush Strokes is a playful collection of graphic blooms and geometric prints painted in vivid shades of watercolor. It includes 16 prints on organic quilting weight cotton. It also coordinates really well with Cloud9's Cirrus Solids. I'll give more details on that in the spring!

I had so much fun painting all of these patterns! I can't wait to see them on fabric. Thanks to Cloud9 for such an amazing opportunity! 

I will have the collection available to purchase once it's released. If you're a fabric shop owner looking to purchase the collection, please contact Cloud9 Fabrics to order!

11 Bloomsbury Quilt.

I've been meaning to share this sample of my Bloomsbury Quilt pattern with you for awhile now.  It's a very late gift for a friend of mine who got married last fall. I used mostly Cotton & Steel fabrics with some Carolyn Friedlander prints mixed in. I hope my friend likes the bright and scrappy look!

I used some Essex yarn dyed linen in two different colors for the background fabric, which probably doesn't surprise you since I use it all the time! I just love the extra texture and softness it gives to a quilt.

It's quilted in a loose crosshatch pattern, which was kind of a pain to mark on the quilt (I used a hera marker as usual) but I'm happy with how it looks finished.

It's bound in a favorite green Cookie Book print by Kim Kight, and backed in a pretty teal print from Carolyn's Doe collection.

You can find the Bloomsbury Quilt pattern in my shop, here!

34 Good Neighbors Pincushion Party.

Did you know my friend Amanda from Crazy Mom Quilts has a new fabric collection that just released? It's called Good Neighbors, and is available through Connecting Threads. I first met Amanda at our annual sewing retreat in Madison last year, and she is one of the nicest people I have met! She loves scraps and we've joked that I should just start sending my buckets of scraps to her since I can't stand them :)

This Pincushion Party was the perfect excuse for me to sit down and make another pincushion for myself. I only owned one pincushion until my friend Jeni made me another recently! So after making this one, I now have three! I opted to stitch up the pincushion from Anna's book, Handmade Style, and it was so much fun to make. I love all the little pockets!

This cushion will be great to have on my sewing table right next to my machine. I stuffed it with crushed walnut shells, which give it a nice weight and sharpens the pins that you stick in it. I'm excited to have something I can use while I'm hand stitching on the couch too, to hold all my small supplies in one place!

Amanda's collection is so perfectly her. It's bright, happy, and awesome for chopping up into little scrappy bits! I decided use little strips on the top of my pincushion to showcase a bunch of her pretty prints.

Make sure to head over to Connecting Threads to get some of Amanda's Good Neighbors collection, and check out all the other adorable pincushions every day in September!

9/1/2015 Amanda Jean – Crazy Mom Quilts

9/2/2015 Anna – Noodlehead

9/3/2015 Mary – Mary on Lake Pulaski

9/4/2015 Svetlana – Sotak Handmade

9/5/2015 Debbie – Esch House Quilts

9/6/2015 Holly – Bijou Lovely

9/7/2015 Carla – Grace and Favour

9/8/2015 Faith – Fresh Lemons Quilts

9/9/2015 Vanessa –  V and Co.

9/10/2015 Anna –  Thimbleanna

9/11/2015 Krista –  Poppy Print Creates

9/12/2015 Erin –  Why Not Sew

9/13/2015 Lee –  May Chappell

9/14/2015 Alex –  Tea Ginny Designs

9/15/2015 Cheryl –  Nap Time Quilter

9/16/2015 Penny –  Sew Take a Hike

9/17/2015 Amy –  During Quilt Time

9/18/2015 Debbie –  A Quilter’s Table

9/19/2015 Anne –  Spring Leaf Studios

9/20/2015 Melissa Corry –  Happy Quilting

9/21/2015 Amber –  One Shabby Chick

9/22/2015 Nettie –  A Quilt is Nice

9/23/2015 Adrianne – Little Bluebell

9/24/2015 Cindy –  Live a Colorful Life

9/25/2015 Amy –  Diary of a Quilter

9/26/2015 Chase –  Quarter Inch Mark

9/27/2015 Rene –  Rene Creates

9/28/2015 Erin –  House on Hill Road

9/29/2015 Nicole –  Modern Handcraft

9/30/2015 Teri –  Connecting Threads