2014 In Review ~ Partially!

This has to be the most productive, exhausting and exciting year in my quilting journey! All through the year we make, sew, quilt, iron...scream and swear and repeat.  But we make it through each and every project (mostly, right?!).  We learn, we share, we admire.  

By the end of said year, we put together these mosaics to remember our excitement, joy, frustration.  Kind of a tribute to the blood, sweat and tears we put in to our craft.  For me, it's hard to remember each and every project whether it is big, small or in between!  These are all pulled from Flickr, even though Instagram is the hottest thing since sliced bread...I still try an post on Flickr. 

1. Vice Versa BOM Quilt Finish., 2. Kaffe Fasset Woven Stripes, 3. Heart For My Mama!, 4. Placemats ~ Color Block, 5. Improv. Finish, 6. Cluster F*#K Finish., 7. Bed Runner Finish!, 8. Kaleidoscope!, 9. Left Overs., 10. Graphic HST, 11. Shards in Light Gray, 12. Table Runner, 13. Pastel Hand Dyed, 14. Table Runner, 15. 'Michael the Magnificent', 16. Big Reveal!!!

1. Briar Rose, 2. Love and Marriage?!, 3. Baby Quilt Take 2, 4. And This Baby Is In The Bag!, 5. Itajime Shibori Coin Purse, 6. Zipper Pouch, 7. Tidy, Compact and Baby Ready., 8. Yum!, 9. Oh Baby!, 10. Buttercup., 11. So, iPads take crappy pictures! @hagpalace (aka my lovely daughter) took this picture of our latest Shibori / indigo dyeing. So lovely! #shibori #indigo #fabicdyeing @hagpalace, 12. Pillow Cover., 13. = togetherness..., 14. Baby Blanket., 15. Wall Hanging, 16. Hand Dyed & Shot Cotton.

I have yet to figure out a good way to add my work in my yearly quilt tab ~ efficiently and easily, so this will have to do for now!  

Feather Pillow Finish

A little while back I made my first trial feathers.  They were a test and something that I had wanted to try for some time.  Maybe you remember...I was going through a period of using Kaffe Woven Stripes in everything!  I wrote a post about it:  Stripes & More Stripes! 

While I wasn't sure what or if I would make anything out of the two test pieces,  in the end I decided a pillow would be worth the time! 

Here are the two feathers I made using stripes and Kona Khaki.  Since I ran out of the solid and just wanted to make something...I decided a simple pillow would work!

16" x 16"

And it did!  I love the straight line quilting (always) in the Khaki.  The feathers I quilted random lines following the feather direction.  

Classic envelope closure always works for me.  One day I really want to do a hidden zipper. I've heard they are pretty easy!

I am looking forward to a little break from quilting now.  A Holiday break!  Hopefully I will come back rejuvenated, refreshed, kicking my heels up and ready to start a brand new year with a brand new direction!

Linking:

Let's Bee Social

YAY! SMS GIveaway Day!

I love Sew Mama Sew Blog.  I adore all the info, tutorials, interviews...everything!  Since having a blog, I have looked forward to the SMS Giveaways!  It's kind of my way of thanking everyone who visits, comments and with any luck follows my 'pride and joy' little blog!  Plus, it is a great way to discover new blogs/bloggers and perhaps even win a prize!

Are you ready?  Wanna win something fun?  Let's do it!

1st up for grabs, I have a delightful Trio of Fabric Baskets!  Not one, not two, but three! These have some adorable little chicks clucking through a field of spring green.  I went a little crazy putting my spin on them!  "I, ME, MINE" (Beatles Song) has been pieced across the baskets.  

You have a chance to win all three baskets and approximately 1/2 yard of matching fabric!   

 If it's in a basket it has to be mine! 

~ AND ~ 

YAY to Free Fabric!!

The 2nd prize is one yard of hand dyed fabric!  An amazing assortment of 'Sand & Sea' colors hand dyed by me and my daughter.  Hand dyeing fabric is so much fun and I would love to share that with some lucky winner!

And last but not least, the 3rd and final prize!  

A few of the delightful prints in the pack!

A really huge charm pack of Dear Stella Spring 2013!  125 (OMG) different 5x5 prints! Amazing!  This pack is going to make a pretty awesome something-or-another!

You have 3 chances to win 3 prizes:

# 1.  Leave a comment tell me what your favorite reindeer name is!  Are you a die-hard Rudolph fan, or do you favor Blitzen?   Or better yet, make up a name! 

(HINT: and he whistled, and shouted, and call'd them by name: Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer, and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donder and  Blitzen!)

# 2.  Follow my BLOG and leave another comment saying you have done so.  If you already follow my blog leave a comment saying so.

# 3.  Follow me on INSTAGRAM  and leave yet another comment saying you have done that too!
RULES:

• This giveaway is open to everyone. 

• If you’re a “no reply” or an anonymous commenter, include your email address in your 
  comment.

• Giveaway ends December 12 at 7pm CST

• I will the winner using Random Generator and then announce the winner on my blog
  and notify via email.

Good luck!

Thank you for stopping by!  

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED! 

Fantastic Finish

Oh how I love when I love something!  Especially when its a project that literally takes me to a meditative, zen happy place!  Having a vision (usually not completely thought out) and having it come together is such an amazing feeling to me.

Quilting is so creative.  How many times have you seen a quilt and thought...I so want to do that?  Every other quilt I look at inspires me!  Makes me think in different ways, pushes me to do more, try more.  I love quilters!  You guys may or may not know how much you inspire others.  

Okay...the finish!

50" x 64"

A beautiful array of shot cottons and just a touch of hand dyed.  The gray is Kona Shadow.

It is a beautiful light gray that really enhanced these colors.

I went CRAZY with the quilting!  After dividing the quilt in 4 sections, I machine quilted super dense organic lines in a Log Cabin type design.  I used 6 different thread colors alternating colors in a random sort of way.

I have never quilted a quilt in such a dense way before.  It was a lot of work, lots of thread changes, lots of turns.  However, so worth it in the end!  I was hoping after washing it that it would look amazing!

This is the back.  I couldn't let those test blocks go to waste, so I incorporated them in the back.  The grays are Kona Pewter and Kona Iron. I love this back and plan on making a quilt front with the design!

Thank you for stopping by and letting me over indulge with this quilt! 

LINKING:

ANYTHING GOES MONDAYS

LET'S BEE SOCIAL

FABRIC FRENZY FRIDAY

CAN I GET A WHOOP WHOOP

SEW SOLID SUNDAY
I QUILT THURSDAYS

Blogger's Quilt Festival Entry #2

And for my second Blogger's Quilt Festival, I'm entering this beauty in the Original Design Category.

This was so much fun to make!  I used hand dyed fabrics (again).  I blogged about this one here:

Make It Or Break It

For each block I used 4 different shades.  Let's see:  blue, pink, purple, yellow, orange and green!

I used a beautiful gray to highlight the hand dyed fabric.  Then machine quilted 1/2" V's in four different section...that in my opinion, made it!  It measures 32" x 43".  

After it was washed it was pure heaven!  I'm a huge 'crinkle' fan!  

Blogger's Quilt Festival In Full Swing!

It's that time of the year again!  The fun, inspirational and 'oh so lovely' Blogger's Quilt Festival!  Last year was my first year to enter a couple quilts.  I had just started blogging and it turned out to be a wonderful way to connect with other bloggers and see some incredible quilts!  

This time around I am entering this quilt in the

Small Quilt Category!

This baby quilt features hand dyed scraps.  Bella gray on the front and Bella Aqua on the back.  I machine quilted a trendy geometric straight line design using gray thread.  The lines are 1/2" - 3/4" apart.  Depending on the section.  This one measures 32 1/4" x 44 1/2".

Here is the original blog post I did:

Triangle Kick

The flowers are a beautiful purple/lilac Clematis.  I saw the lovely blooms and couldn't resist using them in the photo! 

I have to say I am in love with this one!