Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? A Bit of Fancy Quilting...

Hi, all!

It's Friday again!  Did you see the harvest moon last night? It was spectacular!   Always a sign that fall is finally here.  Have you been doing much sewing this week?  I bet you've got something to whoop about - so let's get our whoop whoop on!!

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I've got several things to whoop about this week...

I put the final stitches in this quilt...

Actually, lots and lots of stitches!

This beautiful quilt top was donated to us by Mona R. and is for a silent auction at an upcoming women's event.

I also finally got to reveal the projects I made using Free Spirit's new fabric line, Boston Commons!  Here's the quilt and pillows...

...and here's the table runner!  You can see more pics of these projects on this post.

So - - - can I get a whoop whoop??

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And now it's your turn! 

What are you whooping about this week?

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you!

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Introducing Boston Commons by FreeSpirit Fabrics!

Hi, all!

The day has finally arrived - the release of FreeSpirit Fabrics' new line, Boston Commons!  I've been waiting for so long to share this beautiful fabric with you, but first I want to tell you a little bit about the genesis of my projects...

When FreeSpirit contacted me about Boston Commons, they told me that it was inspired by an antique quilt owned by Donna Wilder, who started FreeSpirit Fabrics.  As you may know from my blog, I don't work much in reproduction fabrics, so this was a whole new challenge for me.

I remembered a book that my sister (who loves to haunt antique stores and junk shops) gave me for Christmas a few years ago, and decided to look through it for some inspiration.  And actually, I was amazed at how modern some of those antique quilts looked!  But I found two that really caught my eye...

I love the medallions on this quilt, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for...

And then I found this one!  I knew this would be the perfect way to showcase all of the beautiful fabrics in this line.  And so I got to work with paper and pencil (have I said recently how much I hate quilt math???) and came up with a working pattern inspired by this quilt..

I incorporated the medallion theme from the first quilt into the center of my design, combining the two and using it as the medallion in the center of this quilt.

It reminds me of a bed turning...

"In the distant past, the Quilter would use a 

Bed Turning as a social event.  A lady would

invite several guests over and serve tea and cookies,

then show off the quilts she had made by 

layering several of them on a bed."

...several separate sections that each look like a quilt on their own, turning as they are layered on each other.  This quilt is made up of over 1300 individual pieces, and took f.o.r.e.v.e.r. to make - but I love it!  I have a whole new respect for the quilters who created quilts like this without rotary cutters, rulers and templates, computers, calculators, or even electric sewing machines.... it almost killed me, and I had all that stuff!  I originally planned to write a pattern for this quilt, but I did so much "flying by the seat of my pants" I'm not sure I could write a coherent pattern.  Sorry!

I loved the center medallion so much, I decided to use the shape to create coordinating pillows to go with this quilt.

Working with the octagonal shape was new to me, and a lot of fun to play with once I worked out that pesky quilt math!  I also made them reversible...

And remember I told you my sister likes to haunt antique stores?  She found me the cool hand-carved antique wooden buttons I used on the back of the pillows...

...and I found this gorgeous painted coconut button for the front at Joann's - isn't it perfect?

I had a lot of fun with this photo shoot, too!  It's amazing how much vintage stuff I had to use as props.  The chair on the left is a family piece we lovingly call the "boot chair".  We think it dates from Revolutionary War times.  The sofa in the center was used in my great-grandfather's law office way back at the turn of the 20th century.  The smokehouse dates back to the late 1800's, shortly after the Civil War.   The collection of old rusty metal and wood pieces have been hanging on the smokehouse since we bought it!  We didn't have any fall leaves yet, so I had to add my own for color....

But wait - - - there's more!  After I returned to the house, it was time to take some pictures of the table runner I designed using Boston Commons...

As you can see, I echoed the corners of the quilt in this table runner, pairing the fabrics with my favorite Essex linen.  

The colors in this fabric are so gorgeous for fall decorating, and I love the touch of blue!

Lots of straight line quilting on this piece give it awesome texture!

And see - - - that little pop of blue lets me add in my pretty Delft bowl!

Boston Commons should be showing up at your local quilt shop soon - I found it on-line at Hancock's of Paducah, and it's on sale!  (I'm not an affiliate of H-P, just passing on a good deal!)  I hope you'll check it out - its rich, vibrant colors make it ideal for fall projects, and as I've shown, it can be used in both vintage- and modern-looking projects!  

Many thanks, once again, to FreeSpirit Fabrics for allowing me to play with their beautiful fabric!  I feel like I learned a lot with this project, and stretched beyond my self-imposed boundaries too - always a good thing.  

Thanks for stopping by!  Tell me - what would YOU make using this beautiful fabric?

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? It's Fall, Y'All!

Hi, all!

It's finally Friday!!  And not just Friday, but the first full Friday of fall!  

Have you done anything you're whooping about this week?  Think hard - there's always something!  Remember, it doesn't have to be a finish - just something you're happy about.  Let's get whooping!!

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First, let's start with an inconsequential but still happy-making thing....

This showed up in my driveway this morning, and when it left, I had a whole new view...

It seems like a silly thing, but living out in the country, that driveway gets muddy after a while, and a new layer of gravel is SO nice!!

And then I got  busy today and set up my photo shoot for the Free Spirit Fabric project!  

It's always fun to find props for a photo shoot.  In this case, I was aiming for a vintage/antique look, so I pulled out the small sofa my great-grandfather used in his law office, and the small boot chair that we think dates from revolutionary times.  Lots of old metal hanging on the smokehouse and sitting on the ground, too!  I'll have to do some careful editing of pictures to take out some "non-vintage" things, but I think it's do-able!  

The post will go up this coming Tuesday, introducing Free Spirit Fabric's new line, Boston Commons.  I hope you'll stop by!

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And before I show you my final whoop for this week, I want to share something I saw on Instagram this week...

This week I am just bowled over by how much good you all have done!  Wednesday night we packed up all the pillowcases and quilts we have received for A Heart For Texas so that the mission team can take them when they head out on Sunday.

Those are two enormous tubs (I think you could put a person in each one!) and they are jammed absolutely to the brim with pillowcases.  I lost count, but I'm pretty sure there are more than 600 pillowcases in those two tubs.  (Thankfully they are on wheels or they'd be too heavy to move!)  And the two spacesaver bags on the shelf contain 23 quilts!  You are all so awesome!!  Keep up the good work - let's change the world one quilt at a time!

So I'm going to give you all a great big 

WHOOP WHOOP!!!

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up this week?

                                                                                                                                                  

What's making you do a little happy dance?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you - 

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Can I Get a Whoop Whoop? Life's A Beach....

Hi, all!

It's Friday again - and September!  Can you believe it?  Where did August go?   But you know what Friday means.... it's time to get our whoop whoop on!  

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As you may already know, I'm at the beach until the middle of next week.  We LOVE the beach - it's our happy place!  But this morning, when I woke up, this is what greeted me...

A yucky, rainy day, courtesy of the remnants of Tropical Storm Harvey.  (Believe me, I know it could be much worse, and my prayers and thoughts are with the people affected in Texas. More about that below.)

So I went to my other happy place... or at least, my traveling happy place!

This is my traveling sewing area, complete with everything I need to while away a rainy day!

So this morning, I completed this pretty little table runner (top)!  I have the colorful center for another one, but didn't have enough border fabric to finish it.  Looks like I'll need to stop by a fabric store on this trip!

I also finished some more of these components for my Free Spirit Fabric project.  Aren't those colors awesome?

We went to see a movie, and by the time we got back, the weather had cleared some (although it was still REALLY windy!) so we enjoyed some time looking out over the ocean from our balcony.  There's nothing like a good book and an ocean breeze!

The weather promises to be better tomorrow, so I should have my toes in the sand soon.  But I'm never sorry to have time to sew!

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And speaking of Hurricane Harvey victims, our church is planning to send some quilts, but we're also working on a much quicker project that we hope to send off in the next week or two - pillowcases!  One of the women in our group was affected by the Nashville flood a few years ago, and she said that her kids were given pillowcases in the shelter, which they use still to this day.  She said it made a huge difference in how they felt, having something that was uniquely theirs and made for them.  So we're dipping into our stash of juvenile and novelty fabrics to make a whole mess of pillowcases.  Our church will be sending teams to Texas as soon as it won't be disruptive to do so, and I'm sure they can take quilts with them, but we also have contacts in TX so that we can send the pillowcases sooner.

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And FYI, Craftsy is having a super event on Monday, September 4th - on Labor Day, you can enjoy 1200+ Craftsy classes for free - for ONE. DAY. ONLY!  

9/4/17, 12:01 AM MST to 11:59 PM MST

What a deal!  This offer is good for members, so if you're not already a member, all you have to do is sign up using your email address to access this excellent event.  It's totally free to be a member, and as a member, you have access not only to their classes but to great supplies, kits, and patterns.  Many patterns are free, too - it's definitely worth checking out!  

I plan to use this opportunity to check out classes on fun non-quilty things, like calligraphy, or "mobile" photography (using your mobile phone), or crocheting amigurumi animals - the possibilities are endless!  And it's a great way to test-drive a new skill you've been thinking might be fun.  

So click << here >> and sign up if you haven't already, then binge stream on Labor Day!!

FYI I am a Craftsy affiliate, and clicking on one of the links in this post might earn me a little money to help support this blog.  It doesn't cost you a penny extra, though, and your support is greatly appreciated!

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So - - - can I get a whoop whoop?

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And now it's your turn!

What's got you whooping it up?

What's making you dance a little happy dance today?

Share!  We want to dance right along with you - 

And it's always more fun to dance with friends!

The party will stay open until Sunday midnight.

Hope to see you there!

Hugs!

Sarah

Florals & Wovens Together, Oh My!!

Hi, all!

Are you inspired by nature around you?  Does the beautiful echinacea in the picture above make your heart beat a little faster?  Do you ever wish you could stop by the roadside to pick the wildflowers growing there?  (I have to admit, I want to do this all.the.time.)  

When Free Spirit Fabrics asked me if I wanted to play with Anna Maria Horner's new line, Floral Retrospective, combined with some of her beautiful Loominous woven fabrics, I was over the moon excited!  These fabrics are even more beautiful in person than I thought they would be - particularly the Loominous woven fabrics.  They add so much texture to my quilts, and were particularly fun to play with, especially after I decided to use spray starch to make them a little less wiggly.   I made a few pretties for me, and some for my little girlies too - do you want to see them?

We went to a local park for a photo shoot the other day - it was a fun place to spend one of the last days of summer vacation!

Here you can see Emmy's top, which is made using Raindrop Poppies in Plum.  

What a ham!  Here you can see the quilt I made, which combines both Floral Retrospective and Loominous in an interlocking pentagon star pattern.

The girls really enjoyed playing while I was taking pictures - it was hard to catch them standing still!!  Can you tell?

Here's Lilli wearing a top made using her favorite print, Social Climber in Perfume.

And one last shot of Emmy's outfit, just because I love this fabric so much!!

Emmy was totally fascinated with these little Pea Pod Pouches that I made using Overachiever in Velvet (the floral) and Dotted Line in Cobalt.  This is a fun little pouch and I can see that I will need to make a few for the littles to have - they are the perfect size for storing little treasures!

I love this pairing, too - Overachiever (the floral) matched with Crosshatch in Strawberry.  I'll be posting a tutorial for this pillow soon - it's a simple one-block top that works up in a flash!

Then I took some of the Echinacea print from the Floral Retrospective line and did some fussy cutting!  Of course, I had to take a picture next to the garden echinacea....

...but here's a better picture on my dining room table.  This was such a fun print to fussy cut, and amazingly, I had just the right shade of green, plus a bit of pink linen (from an IKEA curtain!) that matched perfectly!  I'll also be posting a tutorial for this table runner soon.  It's another quick easy project!

And of course, I couldn't pass up the chance to make a quilt with these beautiful fabrics!  I blended the Floral Retrospective fabrics with the Loominous fabrics in this quilt, which yielded some wonderful textures and a whole lot of gorgeous color!

Here you can see the pattern - interlocking stars built around a hexagon center.  I found a great pink Grunge fabric in my stash that worked really well for the few spots in the quilt that needed a background fabric.  Isn't it wonderful to find just what you need when you need it?  

So a good time was had by all, and the quilt was designated as definitely picnic-worthy!  Sunshine, happy faces and a great new line of fabric from Anna Maria Horner - 

the best of all worlds!!

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Many thanks again to Free Spirit Fabrics for giving me the opportunity to play with these beautiful fabrics!  I hope you'll look for them in your LQS or on-line - I think you'll love them!!

Hugs!

Sarah

PS Be sure to come back next Wednesday when I'll resume my scrappy posts - with the beginnings of a new scrap quilt!  I hope you'll be inspired to quilt along with me!