Create Landscape Quilts - Giveaway!

Want to go in a new direction with your quilting? Looking to make landscape quilts that contain people and places? Then Meri Henriques Vahl's new book, Create Landscape Quilts (affiliate link), will start you off in the right direction! 

I'll admit that early in my quilting journey, landscape quilts were on my bucket list of quilt challenges. I have several bins and a drawer or two of landscape fabrics (mostly from the early 2000's!) that are begging to be in a quilt.

Fast forward to 2022. My bucket list is now very short, with items crossed off as my quilting journey has moved in different directions. Unfortunately, and probably to hubby's disappointment, landscape quilts are off the list. That's why I'm offering Create Landscape Quilts to a fellow quilter who would enjoy the landscape journey.

Before we get to the giveaway, let's have a look at the book. I must say, the quilts that Meri has created are beautiful and detailed in design - they certainly draw one in for further inspection! Just look at her quilt, Free Tibet.

Meri has great explanations for both the design part such as depth, movement, texture, etc, and of course the nitty-gritty of putting it all together. If you're new to landscape quilts, I suggest starting with one of her simple projects such as this river scene, Grand Tetons Revisited.

From there, get more adventuresome and try more complex landscapes, buildings, and even people. Check out Meri's The Notice - absolutely wonderful!

Included in the book are also quilting ideas to add movement, texture, and shadow. For people, there's her 'Paper Doll Technique', which is like playing with paper dolls. As an independent piece, the 'doll' is first traced from a photograph and given detail with pencils, so that it can be moved around the quilt for the best placement. There's lots to learn in this book!

Interested in winning a copy of Create Landscape Quilts? Just enter the Rafflecopter drawing below, now until midnight Wednesday, December 15. Contest is open to continental US residents only - sorry, no Alaska, Hawaii, or International entries at this time.

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Good luck and Happy Quilting!

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Quilt As-You-Go Made Clever - Giveaway!

With last month's adventure making two memory quilts (part 1, part 2) in a quilt as-you-go method, I thought it would be a good time to highlight a new book, Quilt As-You-Go Made Clever by Jera Brandvig (affiliate link). 

Full of projects that use the quilt as-you-go technique, Jera puts a new spin on some old favorites. Take a look at that quilt on the cover, called Whimsy Whidbey. I just love how she added the extra soft lace for a very feminine quilt - absolutely lovely!

There's also Sunset Hill, a great quilt as-you-go project using circles,

and Friday Harbor, a log cabin quilt easily quilted block-by-block then assembled.

Here's a snapshot of a few more quilts shown in Quilt As-You-Go Made Clever.

I think I've fallen in love with Magnolia Mini, the hexie quilt in the lower right. Those 3D flowers are awesome!

Quilt as-you-go is certainly a very useful technique. For those who do their own quilting, sometimes quilt as-you-go is the best way to manage a large quilt under a domestic machine. And as seen in Jera's book, there's plenty of inspiration for using this technique!

Thanks to C&T Publishing, I'm giving away not one but two copies of Quilt As-You-Go Made Clever! This fabulous giveaway is open now until midnight, Sunday November 7, and for those in the continental US only - sorry, no Alaska, Hawaii, or International entries at this time. To enter, fill out the Rafflecopter questions below to be one of two lucky winners!

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Good Luck!

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Beyond the Tee - Book Giveaway!

The construction of my neighbor's memory quilts over the past couple weeks incorporated both the T-shirt quilt and the quilt-as-you-go quilting styles. In some ways, it was nice not to deal with stabilizing knit fabrics, though cutting button-down shirts had their challenges too. 

Personally, I'd rather work with t-shirts for the greater creative process. I know that scares a lot of quilters, which is why I think it would be a good time to have a giveaway of Mary and Jen Cannizzaro's book, Beyond the Tee (affiliate link).

Mary and Jen's Beyond the Tee book covers using your basic t-shirt in creative shapes and settings. This is not your standard t-shirt as a square or rectangle shape. The two quilters have created t-shirt quilts using diamonds, hexagons, circles, or ovals for some truly stunning quilts. Check out these below.

Personally, I'm thinking I need to up my game - these make my memory quilts look quite amateur!

I guess I could have incorporated some of Mary and Jen's ideas into my quilts, as the two provide hints and tips for dealing with clothing having buttons and zippers, pockets, over-sized images, or an embroidered design. And check out this idea for using ties:

My neighbor did hand over a bunch of ties as a 'use them if you can' sort of idea. Right now, I don't have the time or energy to deal with them, though I love that little wall hanging using ties that Mary and Jen designed.

So, has all of this inspired you to tackle a t-shirt or memory quilt? Would you like to make one of the quilts from the Beyond the Tee book? Then enter to win a copy!

The giveaway for Beyond the Tee starts today and ends midnight, Tuesday October 19. Giveaway is open to continental US resident only - no Alaska, Hawaii, or International entries at this time - sorry. Enter via Rafflecopter below. Winner will be announced on Midweek Makers. Good Luck!

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Happy Quilting!

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Fall Foliage Mini Quilt

Yay! After sharing the orange bounty last week, it's time to reveal my project for Kelly Young's new book, Scrappy Improv Quilting (affiliate link). Kelly is the creative quilter behind not just this book, but also Stash Statement (affiliate link). She blogs about her quilts over at My Quilt Infatuation, where there's always some great eye candy!

And now, with a ton of scrappy goodness, here's my version of Fall Foliage, one of my favorite quilts from her new book.

I just love how Fall Foliage turned out - this leaf has such a colorful personality with scraps from orange, yellow, red, and a few bits of brown. Certainly more colorful than the all-brown oak leaves my tree provides this time of year. Oh how I miss fall in New England!

Now, this is not the first time I've made a quilt using scraps to make blocks, which then make a quilt. I find stitching my scraps into usable blocks to be my go-to scrap reduction method. It's easy, creative, and the results are always good looking.

For this project, I started with these small and wonky bits,

trimming them for the next scrap additions,

and then they ultimately look like this - blocks.

If you're new to what Kelly terms 'improv piecing', then you need one of her books. She does a fantastic job of explaining the process, making it simple and stress-free, to make beautiful quilts. You'll be thrilled with the results while reducing that scrap pile!

Here's a few more closeups showing both the scrap blocks and the quilting.

I chose Glide Military Gold thread and a pantograph called Maple Syrup, resizing it to fit plus redrawing it to make curlicues instead of big open curls. Well worth the extra effort!

The Scrappy Improv Quilting book tour has just a few more weeks to go. Visit my fellow quilter, Preeti, of Sew Preeti Quilts to see her version of Birds of a Feather today, and view the entire list of quilters and their projects at my Scrappy Improv Quilting post. Also, check out my interview with Kelly to learn more about this creative quilter!

Happy Quilting!

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Sew Healthy and Happy

A new book has crossed my desk for a May feature, curtesy of C&T Publishing. It's called Sew Healthy and Happy by Rose Parr (affiliate link).

At first glance, I thought this book was about setting up a sewing space with the correct ergonomics. But I found out it's much more than that!

Determined to thoroughly investigate this book, I sat down, opened it up, and ultimately read (and participated with) each page.

As seen in the Table of Contents below, the book starts out with ergonomics, otherwise known as working comfortably and efficiently.

There's how to find the proper height for the cutting table, the ironing board, and the sewing desk or machine. And yes, I did pull out my measuring tape to check to see what height my sewing stations were at and if they needed any adjustments. Suggestions for adjusting are also given in Sew Healthy and Happy, in case I needed them. Fortunately, my stations are just right for me!

At the Sew Healthy and Happy Amazon affiliate link, 'look inside' at a few of book's pages. One of those pages goes over the height for a cutting table, something I did not know. Check it out, plus find a couple more suggestions on ways to sew happy.

After the ergonomics section, the second focus of Sew Healthy and Happy are the stretches. As quilters, we spend a lot of time sitting in front of our machines, which is not good for our overall health. A look at the second page of the Table of Contents shows stretches, healthy habits, and recipes to help us be our best.

It was the stretches section that really had me sold on this book. While I already do some of the stretches as a daily routine, there were several more that I plan to incorporate, especially the ones for the hands and wrists.

As I've gotten older, my wrists have become more susceptible to pain and inflammation. Some of it has to do with muscle loss in my shoulders due to radiation therapy years ago, which causes my arms and hands to be held differently. And some of it has to do with computer over-use. Whatever the cause, I've notice a decrease in wrist flexibility, especially when writing.

I was surprised and delighted to see over eight pages that Sew Healthy and Happy devoted to stretches for the back, shoulders, wrists, and hands, areas that I am very conscious of. My plan is to try and incorporate these not only into a daily routine, but as a stretching break throughout the day.

Of course, I should also incorporate those stretches for the hips, quads, and hamstrings - those areas are getting stiff from standing a lot. My - I have a lot of stretching to do!

As for the smoothie recipes - already doing that! Yes, though a green smoothie made with spinach, kale, greek yogurt, etc, may look and sound unappetizing, it tastes pretty good! Gotta thank my Ninja blender system with Auto IQ for making a great smoothie!  

Bonus info: sprinkled on all the pages of this book are quilting tips and tricks from well-known quilters - what more could one ask for?

So, to wrap up, if you want to be kind to yourself by preventing injuries and improving not only your health but also your quilting enjoyment, I recommend getting your hands on a copy of Sew Healthy and Happy. You're body will thank you!

Happy Quilting!

My Favorite Patterns

Felt Flower Giveaway!

The calendar says it's spring, though with recent snows around the country, most would beg to differ. If flowers and trees aren't blooming yet where you are, then how about making some of your own? The new book Felt Flower Workshop by Bryanne Rajamannar (affiliate link) will get you started!

I was impressed with the absolutely beautiful flowers that can be made with felt, and the cover shows just a few of them. The Felt Flower Workshop affiliate link shows a few more, plus a few snippets of construction - much more than I could put in this post. 

Here's a sample of a few flower arrangements projects given in the book. Don't they look lovely and realistic?

A lot of the techniques remind me of my days cake decorating, making flowers out of gum paste, a non-edible soft sugar dough. But flowers from felt? So much better because they have a wider variety of display options and will last forever. See what I mean with this beautiful floral wall display?

Are you ready to start making some of your own flowers to usher in spring?

To enter the Felt Flower Workshop giveaway, courtesy of C&T Publishing, fill out the Rafflecopter form below. Contest is open now till midnight April 30, Friday, to those in the continental US only. No international entries at this time.

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Thanks for entering and good luck!

My Favorite Patterns

March- April 2021 Book of the Month

Though it's a bit late into the month of March, I going to forge ahead with another quilt book to feature, which will carry over into April. This time, it's Stunning 3-D Quilts Simplified (affiliate link) by Ruth Ann Berry.

Stunning for sure! The quilts in this new book look so complex, but they're easy to design and sew due to isometric paper. What's isometric paper? It's a grid made of 60-degree triangles. As Ruth states in the book, who knew? 

I'll admit, that when C&T Publishing graciously sent this book, I wasn't very interested - these quilts looked way too complex. But having just designed the interlocking chains in Lucky Clover, I'm now in the right frame of mind to find the cover intriguing enough to give the book a second look. 

And boy am I surprised! I couldn't believe all 12 projects in the book use 60-degree triangles - how easy is that? With proper value placement, simple to complex 3-D designs are possible as never before - who knew?

Here's a project from the book, a simple table runner.

Thinking about this runner made of 60-degree triangles, it looks pretty straightforward, right? It certainly looks like something any quilter could make.

Keeping those 60-degree triangles in mind, let's jump ahead to a more complex design like this one, which graces the cover of Stunning 3-D Quilts Simplified.

Wow! Fascinating, isn't it? I don't know about you, but I find myself tracking the path of all of those colors every time I look at this. And it's all made with 60-degree triangles - amazing!

This is such an intriguing idea, I think I'll have a go with these triangles to make a 3-D quilt. Within a week or so, I hope to share some other exciting news which will make one of these quilts a breeze. Until then, I'll decide whether to make a project from the book or design my own. There's more to come in April!

Until then,

Happy Quilting!

My Favorite Patterns

Sizzle Quilt Review

I have a new book to review! This time it's Sizzle Quilt by Becky Goldsmith (affiliate link).

Notice the title says 'Quilt' not 'Quilts'. That's because this book includes all the detailed instructions, paper piecing patterns, and applique templates needed for one quilt of 9 different blocks, the Sizzle Quilt.

Shown in two colorways, the beautiful reds, yellows, and oranges of the warm spectrum as seen on the cover above, and the cool tones of green, blue, and gray, below.

Designed by Becky Goldsmith, the Sizzle Quilt was a 2019 Block of the Month project for The Quilt Show. It was available to members during that year, and has now been turned into this wonderful book, full of tips, tricks and fantastic construction photos to easily paper piece these gorgeous blocks. 

Even if you don't have time to make the quilt (like me!), Sizzle Quilt is still worth reading for the paper piecing techniques she uses. I'm super impressed with her up-close, detailed photos!

So, if you're looking to learn a new quilt skill, or just perfect those you have, look into the Sizzle Quilt. Who knows? Maybe you'll try a block or even the whole quilt!

Happy Quilting!

My Favorite Patterns

Sew Home in the Kitchen

Let's start off the 2021 in style, creating new, decorative and useful items for the home from the project loaded book Sew Home in the Kitchen, by Abigail American Bennett (affiliate link). 

This new book, curtesy of C&T Publishing, is full of 18 projects for the kitchen, all using insulated fleece. It even includes a few recipes - what a bonus!

Here's a few that caught my eye:

the Potluck Tote. 

When we get back to social gathering, this tote will be the perfect way to keep a dish hot to enjoy with friends and family. Fitting a 9" x 13" pan, it even has a pocket for holding a serving utensil. Isn't that handy? 

The Coffee Cozy.

This replaces the paper/cardboard cozies found on all those take-out coffees. Not only does it make a prettier cup to drink from, but it keeps the hot in because of the insulated fleece. Love it!

But my favorite? The Skillet Handle Cover,

which is a great idea! It's size is definitely perfect for any hand, eliminating trying to roll a stiff hot pad around the handle, or use a bulky oven mitt. Such a useful tool to add to the kitchen!

I loved the idea so much, I made one for myself!

This cover was simple and easy to put together - I think I spent just as much time picking out fabrics as cutting and sewing. Not only is the batting several layers thick to protect against the heat of the cast iron handle, but I also like how the top point sits against the pan, protecting my knuckles from the sides of the hot skillet.

Oh! Did I happen to mention there's a giveaway? C&T Publishing has graciously provided a copy for one lucky reader! Just a few steps are all that's needed in the Rafflecopter widget below to win a copy of Sew Home in the Kitchen.

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Contest starts today and runs through midnight January 8, 2021, and is open to continental US residents only. Winner will be announced at next week's Midweek Makers - good luck!

Happy Quilting!

My Favorite Patterns