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!

16 Paper Pieced Home Blog Tour

Hi there! Today is my stop on The Paper Pieced Home Blog Tour. I had the pleasure of meeting the author, Penny and her husband at Quiltcon recently and they are just the nicest people! Penny is really talented and I just love the unique paper pieced patterns she comes up with!

I chose to make the Jar Block. This is one of the simpler patterns in the book, and it came together really quickly!

I wanted to make a jar full of butterflies, and I think it turned out pretty cute! I used fabric from Sarah Watson's Arcadia and Biology lines from Cloud 9, with some of an old staple, Heath for the binding. It's quilted with straight lines in the blue and swirly FMQ in the jar, to make it look like the little bugs and butterflies are flying around!

I wasn't really sure what I was going to do with the finished block, but I decided to make it into a mini to hang on the wall in my sewing room!  I don't make a ton of minis, but this one makes me smile.

The Paper Pieced Home is filled with a ton of cute patterns (40 blocks and several projects), and would be great for anyone who loves paper piecing! There are a range of different types of blocks and difficulty levels so it's perfect for all skill levels. There is also a CD of all of the block designs included for easy printing. I really want to make the alligator quilt for a little boy, its adorable!

Thank you so much to Penny and Tommy at F+W for asking me to be a part of this tour!

The Paper-Pieced Home: Quilting a Household One Block at a Time

By Penny Layman

Interweave/F+W; $26.99
You can purchase the book directly from Interweave here or on Amazon here.

Make sure to check out the rest of the stops on the blog tour for more fun paper piecing projects:

3/16       McCall’s Quilting / Sewing Machine Block

3/17       Love of Quilting / Review

3/17       Sandi Sawa Hazlewood  of Crafty Planner / Watering Can Block

3/18       Quilty Pleasure (Quiltmaker blog) / Review

3/18       Imagine Gnats / Rotary Phone Block

3/20       Verykerryberry / Lion Block

3/21       Artisania / Cast-Iron Skillet Block

3/23       Where the Orchids Grow / Lamp Block

3/24       Katie Blakesley of Swim Bike Quilt / Layer Cake Block

3/24       House on Hill Road / Oven Mitt Block

3/24       Lee Heinrich of Freshly Pieced / BBQ Grill Block

3/26       Pink Penguin / Allie-Gator Block

3/26       A Happy Stitch / Giraffe Block

3/27       Bijou Lovely / Jar Block

3/27       Two Little Banshees / Saucepan Block

3/27       Charise Creates / Espresso Mug Block

3/30       Karen Lewis Textiles / Couch Block

3/31       Poppyprint / Clawfoot Tub Block

3/31       One Shabby Chick / Stack of Books Block

3/31       During Quiet Time / Sleeveless Dress Block

4/06       Pat Sloan The Voice of Quilting / Author Podcast Interview

65 Present Perfect Blog Tour & Giveaway.

Hi there! I'm excited to be a part of the Present Perfect blog tour today. It's a new book written by Betz White and published by Interweave/F+W. The book offers 25 projects, all items that are perfect for gift giving!

I decided to share my Coffee Cash Coin Pouch project, since I had already made one up to test the pattern for Betz. This pouch is so quick and simple to make!

It has a magnetic pouch frame inside, so there's no risk of all your change falling out. It was much easier to insert than I would've expected too, which makes me want to use more of these frames!

I used one of my favorite linen prints from Melody Miller's Ruby Star Shining collection for Kokka, along with some Chicopee, brown wool felt and some vintage lace trim. It was nice to be able to use up some precious scraps for once!

There are lots of cute projects throughout the book! Some I want to keep for myself, like the Sweet Life Pillow! :) I'd love to make a Gentlemen's Travel Case for my husband too!

You can find out more about the book in Betz's Present Perfect trailer! You can purchase a copy in the Interweave store or on Amazon.


I've got an extra copy of the book to give away to one of you today too! Simply leave a comment on this post. I'll choose a winner on Monday (10/20). Make sure to leave an email address so I can contact the winner.

Update: This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to the winner, Lisa Marie!

Make sure to check out all of the other stops on the tour too!

Happy Home

Sew Mama Sew – Make & Bake Apron excerpt – Mon, 10/6

Stacy Sews – Falling Leaves Appliquéd Placemats – Tue, 10/7

House on Hill Road – Hot Mitt House & Tea Towel Set – Wed, 10/8

A Happy Stitch – Sweet Life Pillow – Thu, 10/9

Memorable Moments

Sew Sweetness – Wool Courier Bag – Fri, 10/10

Raspberry Sunshine – Gentlemen’s Travel Case – Mon, 10/13

Pink Chalk Fabrics – Pasha Pleated Clutch – Tue, 10/14

The Long Thread – Eye Candy Glasses Case – Wed, 10/15

Made with Moxie – Cargo Tablet Sleeve – Thu, 10/16

Bijou Lovely – Coffee Cash Coin Pouch – Fri, 10/17

New and Little

Flax and Twine – Forest Friends Finger Puppets – Mon, 10/20

Imagine Gnats – Bib, Rattle & Burp Baby Set – Tue, 10/21

168 Fat Quarter Style Book Tour & Giveaway.

Hi there!  Welcome to my stop on the Fat Quarter Style Book Tour.  This is a great book from Fat Quarter Shop featuring 12 pretty patterns using fat quarters.

I was asked to make a block from the Primrose Quilt, which was really fun and fast to sew together!

I used fat quarters of three prints from Jeni Baker's Dreamin' Vintage for the block, and I think it turned out pretty cute!  Since I don't really have time at the moment to make a full quilt with this, I think it will become a mini!

The Fat Quarter Shop sent me an extra copy of Fat Quarter Style to give away to one of you!  To enter, simply leave a comment on this post.  Make sure to leave an email address so I can contact you if you win. I will choose a winner on Monday (8/25).  You can also purchase the book here if you'd like!

Update: This giveaway is now closed.  Congrats to our winner, Mindy!

Don't forget to check out the other tour stops as well to see more blocks from the book!

August 2^nd: Fat Quarter Shop Kick off

August 4^th : The Sassy Quilter http://www.sassyquilter.com/

August 6^th : My Quilt Infatuation http://myquiltinfatuation.blogspot.com/

August 8^th : Leigh Laurel Studios http://www.leighlaurelstudios.com/

August 11^th : Sew Can She http://www.sewcanshe.com/

August 13^th : Jana Machado http://janainamachado.blogspot.com/

August 15^th : Stitchery Dickory Dock http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/

August 18^th : Freshly Pieced http://www.freshlypieced.com/

August 20^th : Bijou Lovely http://www.bijoulovelydesigns.com/

August 22^nd : Film in The Fridge http://filminthefridge.com/

August 25^th : Why Not Sew? http://whynotsew.blogspot.com/

August 27^the : Pretty By Hand http://prettybyhand.com/

August 29th : Diary of A Quilter http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/

August 30^th : Fat Quarter Shop closing of tour

4 Vintage Quilt Revival Blog Hop.

Hi there!  It's been awhile since I've posted here, but I hope to share some of the projects I've been working on lately soon!  Today I want to talk about one of my new favorite quilt books, Vintage Quilt Revival!

When I heard that my friends Faith, Lee, and Katie were writing a book, I knew it was going to be great.  They are all extremely talented ladies and I pretty much love every quilt they make. The book exceeded all of my expectations though, it is honestly one of the most beautiful quilt books I've ever read!

The book is about modern traditionalism, which means that the patterns in the book are based off of traditional block designs.  Each pattern takes the traditional block and makes it modern in some way, either through fabric selection, new settings, or a twist on the block design.  There are mini history lessons included with each pattern as well, which I really enjoyed reading.  The pattern instructions are all very clear, and I like that many of the patterns are paper pieced, as I like the added precision you get from using this technique.

I usually purchase quilt books more for inspiration than to make the quilts inside them.  I can really only think of one quilt pattern from a book that I've actually wanted to make (Marcelle Medallion from Liberty Love).  When I opened Vintage Quilt Revival, I pretty much want to make all of them!  Here are a few of my favorites.

Spiced Chai Quilt

Star Bright Quilt

Cut Glass Baby Quilt

Stardust Quilt

As part of the blog hop, we were asked to make one of the blocks in the book to add to a charity quilt that the authors are putting together.  I chose the Riviera block so I could do some paper piecing.

Making this block was really fun, and it went together a lot faster than I was expecting.  Hopefully I'll be able to make a full quilt from the book soon!

I highly recommend Vintage Quilt Revival for anyone wanting to try out some new (old) block designs, more traditional quilters who want to branch out into modern quilting, and anyone who enjoys paper piecing especially.  It's a great way to improve your skills and learn a little about the history of quiltmaking in the process.  You can purchase the book on amazon (affiliate links in this post) or from the Interweave store.

Make sure to follow the rest of the blog hop through the links below, and to check out Faith, Lee, and Katie's posts tomorrow where they'll be sharing the finished charity quilts!  

January 13th (Monday):
Crazy Mom Quilts - Amanda Jean
Don’t Call Me Betsy - Elizabeth
Film in the Fridge - Ashley
Happy Quilting - Melissa
Noodlehead - Anna

January 14th (Tuesday):
I’m A Ginger Monkey - Katy
Quilting Is My Therapy - Angela
A Quilting Life - Sherri
Sew Mama Sew - Kristin
Tall Grass Prairie Studio - Jacquie

January 15th (Wednesday):
Christa Quilts - Christa
Diary of a Quilter - Amy
Quilting Gallery - Michele
Sew Take a Hike - Penny
V and Co. - Vanessa
West Coast Crafty - Susan

January 16th (Thursday):
Bijou Lovely - Holly
Don’t You Know Who I Am - Sukie
Lily’s Quilts - Lynne
One Shabby Chick - Amber

January 17th (Friday):
Swim, Bike, Quilt - Katie
Freshly Pieced - Lee
Fresh Lemons Quilts - Faith

3 saturday stash.

I haven't done a stash post in a few weeks!  The weekends have been pretty busy here with construction in our bedroom.  But we're taking a break right now which means I can share some new purchases with you!

I finally caved and bought Field Study.  The colors and prints are just so beautiful, I just couldn't resist any longer.  I bought a half yard bundle from Westwood Acres.  Amanda has such a great shop!

I got a surprise package from Windham Fabrics recently with layer cakes of the new fabrics by French Bull, Multidot and Delight!  These prints are all so bright and fun!

I also bought a couple new sewing books lately, Sunday Morning Quilts and Pretty in Patchwork Holidays!  Both of them are wonderful!  Pretty in Patchwork has the cutest projects, I'm dying to make a Modern Maple quilt!  Sunday Morning Quilts has some amazing scrap projects and a ton of information on scrap storage too!  I desperately need to organize my scraps.

In case you're in the shopping mood, here are a two fun sales for you!

Pink Castle Fabrics is having a moving sale, offering 25% off of everything in the shop with the code MOVING.

Stash Fabrics is also having a sale!  You can save 10% off of anything in the shop, including presales with the code TWITTERME.