Brutal Honesty {July 2017}

Happy July! I had another month of progress and I completed all four of the goals that I had for June!

1. Island Batik Ambassador June project - DONE
2. Coast to Coast Bee blocks for Chelsea - DONE
3. Finish quilting Alison Glass Sampler Quilt - DONE
4. Finish the top of the Gathering Mystery Quilt - DONE

Here's the status of everything else:

1. Farmer's Wife Quilt (RSC 2016 project) -- Sent to be long arm quilted and hoping to pick up when I go home in August.

2. Traveling Quilt Bee (2016) -- No progress

3. Coast to Coast Bee -- I made blocks for Chelsea and am now working on Audrey's quilt. Here's a preview!

4. Stash Bee Star quilt -- No progress

5. Top Spin leaders and enders -- No progress

6. Meadow Mystery QAL -- No progress

7. Pineapple Stash Bee Blocks -- I am waiting for a few more blocks to arrive before I can start putting it together.

8. Summer on the Coast Quilt -- No progress

9. Monthly Wall Hangings -- I finished my July wall hanging and now need to finish the September one. The June one has never actually been started.

10. Alison Glass Sampler Quilt - You can read all about my quilting progress here! As noted above, the quilting on this quilt is finished, and I am currently working on the binding.

11. Sew Kitschy Blocks - No progress

12. Romantic Garden Quilt - No progress

13. Mini Monthly Wall Hangings - No progress

14. Happy Houses blocks - I made three green blocks for May and three yellow blocks for June!

15. Birthstone blocks - No progress

16 . Monthly Island Batik Ambassador projects -- My June project is done and my July project is in progress.

17. Gathering Mystery Quilt with Cora's Quilts -- My quilt top is complete and also ready to be sent to be quilted.

New Projects:

I started one new project -- a quilt for Moda Bake Shop that will be published in the early part of August. I am actually ahead of schedule with this project and the quilt might be finished in July.

Here's what I'm planning to work on in July:

1. Finish July IBA baby quilt
2. Coast to Coast Bee blocks for Audrey and Stash Bee blocks for Mom/Lori (yes, my mom and I are in the same hive!)
3. Complete quilt top for Moda Bake Shop Quilt
4. Finish binding on Alison Glass sampler (this week!)

I am also excited to share that the Meadow Mystery QAL Kona specials are now live!

The throw bundle contains 4.25 yards of Kona for $26 + flat rate shipping. The queen bundle contains 7 yards of Kona for $42 + flat rate shipping. We are currently offering the bundles in 10 different colors:

Don't delay -- this special will only run until the end of July! If you're interested in a color that we don't currently have listed as part of the bundle special, send us a message on Etsy and we can see what we can do!

Gathering Mystery {Finished Quilt Top}

When last I reported on this quilt, it looked like this:

Since then, I was able to put the entire top together -- hooray! Since my designated quilt holder (husband) has been working crazy hours, I sort of had to finagle these pictures on my own.

This quilt top is queen sized, as you might recall, at a whopping 95 inches square! As such, I will not be adding a border. Here are some closer shots of the "stars" all surrounded by blocks and pieced sashing:

As I noted previously, while really only knowing which fabrics were darks vs. mediums vs. lights in the example quilt, I am quite pleased with how the colors have ended up in my quilt. I think there is good contrast between the colors that neighbor each other.

I also am in full recognition of my limitations, so this quilt will be sent out to a long arm quilter (identity TBD). I am still looking for a long arm quilter in central Maryland, so if you know of one please feel free to leave their contact information in the comments.

As for backing, I will likely use an 108" wide backing just for simplicity, even if the color might not be a perfect match. The darkest green or the black seem like my best choices at the moment.

As of right now, my plan is to use the orange day lily print as my binding since I have the most of that fabric left. I will need nearly two-thirds of a yard of fabric for the binding!

I am also excited to share that the Meadow Mystery QAL Kona specials are now live! The throw bundle contains 4.25 yards of Kona for $26 + flat rate shipping. The queen bundle contains 7 yards of Kona for $42 + flat rate shipping. We are currently offering the bundles in 10 different colors:

Don't delay -- this special will only run until the end of July! If you're interested in a color that we don't currently have listed as part of the bundle special, send us a message on Etsy and we can see what we can do! And if you're not planning to participate in the mystery quilt, feel free to use the sale and stock up on Kona for yourself!

Sharing at Let's Bee Social and Needle and Thread Thursday!

Honey, Bunny, and Doll Updates {Patterns + Upcoming Sale}

Today I have a few "business items" to share!

First, I am very excited to share that the FREE one page pattern for the Ombre Everest mini quilt is now available!

If you make your own version of this quilt, make sure you share on social media with #OmbreEverest!

The complete pattern of Christine's Kitchen is now also available!

Finally, we are excited to share that we are a sponsor of the Magnolia Mystery QAL hosted by Cheryl of Meadow Mist Designs! At the end of the quilt along, one quilt finisher will be able to chose a pre-cut or bundle of their choice from our Etsy shop!

Happy Friday!

Folk Art Fantasy Blog Hop {Bunny Patch Placemats Tutorial + Giveaway}

Update: the giveaway is now closed, winner noted below!

Happy Thursday! Today I am your host for the Folk Art Fantasy blog hop, showing off Amanda Murphy's latest fabric collection!

I have long been a fan of Amanda Murphy's fabric, and this collection is no exception! The prints are fun and unique!

This one might just be my favorite because it has bunnies in some of the prints! I decided to use this as my inspiration to make some reversible patchwork and applique bunny placemats!

You will need:
One 10x10 stacker of Folk Art Fantasy (or approximately 2 yards total of various fabrics)
2/3 yard of fabric of your choice for binding

Before we start cutting, we need to sort our 10 inch squares. You will not need all of them!
-- Pull out four (4) white or light colored 10 inch squares for our bunny applique sections
-- Choose twenty four (24) squares that will be your "featured" fabrics on the "front"

For clarity, I will call the side with our applique bunny the "front" and the scrappy patchwork side the "back".

For each of your twenty four (24) featured fabrics, cut the following pieces in order: cut a 10 x 3.5 inch strip first, then cut the remaining piece into a 6.5 inch square and a 6.5 x 3.5 inch rectangle. By cutting precisely and in order, you will be able to cut these three pieces from a single 10 inch square.

Set aside your 6.5 x 3.5 inch rectangles and your 10 x 3.5 inch rectangles. Using your twenty four (24) 6.5 inch squares, sew together in groups of six to create four "front" pieces for our placemats.

Trace the applique motif of your choice onto fusible web four times. Iron these onto your four white or light colored squares and trim along the edge of the design. Remove the backing paper and iron onto the center of each placemat "front". Machine applique as desired.

(And yes, that is the same bunny clip art used in the header of my blog!)

For each "backing", you will need six (6) 10 x 3.5 inch rectangles and three (3) 6.5 x 3.5 inch rectangles. (You will have twelve extra 6.5 x 3.5 inch rectangles.) First, sew your 10 x 3.5 inch rectangles in pairs of contrasting fabrics, and then sew a 6.5 x 3.5 inch rectangle to each pair, as shown in the first picture. Sew three of these units together for each backing, for a total of four backings.

Layer together the backing, batting, and fronts and quilt as desired. I love to use batting scraps for projects like these! Note: your front pieces and your backing pieces will be the EXACT same width. Make sure to align them when you're pinning!

I quilted my placemats with a simple meander in white. I used 2.5 inch binding and bound these completely by machine for strength and stability (because I know these will end up in the washing machine on a regular basis!)

If you're interested in winning a fat quarter bundle of Folk Art Fantasy:

1. For everyone: leave a comment telling me what sort of shape you'd applique in your version of these placemats! (one entry)
2. For followers/sharers: leave a comment telling me how you follow -OR- share this post on social media and tell me where you shared it (one entry)

The giveaway will be open until Monday morning!

Update: our winner is Emily C!

If you haven't already, check out the rest of the posts on this week's hop!

Tuesday: Mandy of Mandalei Quilts 

Wednesday: Benartex Blog Design Team 

Thursday: Alison of Little Bunny Quilts 

Friday: Amanda of Material Girls Quilts

Thanks to Amanda Murphy and Benartex for inviting me to share Folk Art Fantasy with you!

Sharing at Finish it up Friday!

Gathering Mystery {Quilt Top Construction}

I'm not quite done putting together my Cora's Quilts Gathering Mystery QAL top, but I figured I should give a quick update!

I finished putting all of my blocks together for Week 10, which required lots and lots of pins! I only had one that I partially took apart and fixed! I then quickly progressed into sewing the sashing pieces to my blocks, meaning even more pinning! Pinning made the matching nearly perfect and I think thus far I've only taken out part of one sashing + block combo.

And of course then you pair your blocks...

And then you pair your pairs and finish off the row!

Now all four of my block rows are completed! I also completed my horizontal sashing rows. These were much quicker to put together since there wasn't any matching! 

Last night I was able to pin each block row to a sashing row. These are ready to be sewn (and look like almost no easing will be required!) as soon as I can sit down at my machine!

Have a happy Monday! For once, it's not oppressively hot and humid in MD so I am wishing I could be outside!

Sharing at Monday Making, Linky Tuesday, and Let's Bee Social!