Thursday, March 24, 2011

Moda Bake Shop contest, an exciting magazine back cover & a sneak peek!

Have you heard about the Moda Bake Shop contest for March? Head over to the Contest page and download the Printer Friendly Version to read all the details!



Charm packs might be my very favorite precut! They are so inexpensive and you get a taste of the whole fabric line! Plus, there's a lot you can do with a 5" square!

Remember my Log Cabin Baby Block Recipe? You can make one with Charm Pack (and have some left over)!





If you've picked up the Perfect for Precuts magazine that's on newstands right now, be sure you flip it over and take a look at the back cover!


What's that in the top left corner? :) Lots of other great MBS projects and friendly faces too!



I'm currently putting up finishing touches an on new Moda Bake Shop recipe that will also feature Charm Packs! I won't show you the whole thing, but here's a little sneak peek.



You can also search Moda Bake Shop for all recipes featuring Charm Packs!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Sunny Scallop Dress - pattern review!

In the midst of all the sickness around our house last week I didn't get a chance to mention that my pattern review of Jona G's cute Sunny Scallop Dress appeared on Above All Fabric's blog last week! Hop on over and take a peek! It's recipient certainly loves it! :)


Jona G’s Sunny Scallop Dress pattern with Mo Bedell’s Party Dress in Ramble – Shindig for the body of the dress and the Drip Strips in Fiesta for the ruffle, and for the underskirt, Jennifer Paganelli’s Jodi print from her Queen Street collection in Fuschia.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Geese at Sunset - behind the scenes post

A few days ago I introduced you to my little Geese at Sunset mini quilt that I created for the Project Quilt Flying Geese Challenge, but I hadn't loaded the in-progress pictures off my phone at that point, so since I finally did today, I thought I'd share them with you! (Public voting is still open though tomorrow, so be sure to head over and look at all the great entries! Mine is listed as "Sarah B.")


When I read the challenge I knew just what I wanted to do! But I didn't own a single scrap of batik fabric! I made a special trip to my local quilt shop and found fat quarters of just what I had in mind along with a half yard of some the blackest black fabric I've ever seen! (I need to learn how to photograph black fabric without it looking like a mistake!)


I sketched out my paper piecing pattern on reclaimed Christmas wrapping paper. If you squint you can see I numbered for a while there with the larger triangles but then quit.  There are about 30 small pieces in the bottom and 30 more in the top row of geese.


I then cut the this pattern in half (top & bottom) and started piecing.


The pic below is just before I gave up on Saturday night, so the lighting is cruddy. The paper pieced geese are all together in a triangle section and I was trying to visualize how I was going to inset them into the partially done strip-pieced sky. I cut each strip 1 1/2" wide. (That's a big kid's book acting as a design tray of sorts.) Instead of doing strips all the way across the quilt I pieced angles in here and there for a little more interest.


By the time morning rolled around I was in such a rush I didn't take any more in-progress photos. I basically did a Y-seam to inset the geese, fiddling a bit to get it sitting flat and in the processes ended up chopping off a few points off a couple triangles which thoroughly annoyed me, but I knew if I tried to fix it I wouldn't get it entered, so I just pushed on. I quickly hand cut a landscape out of black fabric, fused it on, then machined stitched along the edge. I did the quilting in coordinating sky colors so it wouldn't stand out too much, and took care not to sew on top of the geese. Then I quickly machine stitched on the black binding, took my photos and finally breathed, shocked that I managed to get it done! :)


If you haven't yet, remember to VOTE! Be sure to take a look at all the great entries and comment to enter the public drawing too! 

I couldn't finish this post without including a photo of what my 6-year-old daughter created with my scraps! She did this while I was attaching the binding on my Geese quilt and insisted that I not turn around until it was ready. I've always known she had an artistic flair, but this makes it clear she has a talent for modern quilting! I've promised her we would turn this into a real quilt together. :)


Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Project Quilting: Flying Geese Challenge & a wild Nature Walk Pullover

I just couldn't miss out on this week's Project Quilting challenge! I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I read the challenge combining the traditional flying geese block and complimentary colors! It immediately made me think of geese flying in the sky at sunset!


This piece measures approximately 17" x 9 1/2". I used foundation piecing (geese), traditional piecing (sky) and fusible applique (for the lower landscape).

I alway try something new for each Project Quilting Challenge! This was my first time using batiks or a true black. Even though I knew just what I wanted to do as soon as I read the challenge, time got away from me, so this also became the first time I think I've ever completed a full project in less than 24 hours, as I finally started sketching this one after noon Central Saturday (yesterday) and we lost an hour to daylight savings overnight.


If you like it, I'd really love your VOTE! Be sure to take a look at all the great entries and comment to enter the public drawing too! (I'm Sarah B.)

The week before last I whipped up this special shirt for my little guy. He picked out the fabrics himself! They are Riley Blake All Star 2 and the pattern is the Oliver + S Nature Walk Pullover.

(Take a peek at the mock up I did months ago of it in Photoshop!)