The Plaid Scottie is Having a Giveaway!

You know what I love about giveaways?  Okay, besides the chance to get fun free things.  It's discovering a new blog that is interesting to me.  Sometimes the only time anyone mentions their blog is to announce a giveaway and that's how I've found some really great ones.

Well here's an announcement I just saw today--but you'll need to hurry as the giveaway is only open until September 7th. 

Right now a blog called The Plaid Scottie is giving away some gorgeous Meadowsweet fabric and a cool zipper pouch (perfect for those sewing supplies you need to take with you to classes and such).  You know you want it!  So head right over there and leave a comment to enter.  And while you're there, check out her cute little helper, Sir Whiskers MacTavish, an adorable black Scottie dog.  (You know I just had to promote the giveaway on a blog of someone who has a four-legged--I mean, what would Stars say if I skipped it!)

Hoop Up! Stitch & Send Swap

Well, the waiting is over and Round 2 of the Hoop Up!  Stitch & Send Swap is starting.  Each of us choose a theme and then embroider an inspiration piece.  Then our other group members create us a piece based upon the theme.  I chose a theme of songbirds in cages.  Nothing metaphorical about the choice, just cages as opposed to birds on branches or something.  So here's a peek at my inspiration piece, its a work in progress.

I'm working with bright summery colors and have requested that all the cages be in some shade of gray.  I can't wait to see what everyone creates for me!

If you like this pattern, I got it over at Bustle and Sew--you should add this one to your collection!

Doll Quilt Swap 9

Just a quick look at the beginnings of my doll quilt swap quilt (okay, I'm a bit behind on posting, but I'll catch you up quick).  Here's the Kona Coal being cut out by hand using a rotary cutter and straight edge blade.  It took quite a long time and made my hand a bit sore, but I think the end result will be worth the trouble.

Moody Blues Log Cabin

I just realized that I hadn't posted about the first block in the new Moody Blues Bee!  We received a mix of navy blue, pistachio, turquoise and a bit of tan fabrics.  This one goes to Samilou1 (Sandie) who requested a log cabin style block where we choose various widths of fabric around a center white square (which did not have to be in the center of the block).

Here's mine:

I really thought her fabric choices worked well together and I like the mix of floral and graphic designs.  Can't wait to see what blue focused block will be next!

Right Angle Blocks

Just a quick post to show off a couple of blocks for Simone in the Sew Buzzy quilting bee.  She sent out a lovely selection of pink and yellow fabrics with the instructions to make a block with right angles.  This quilt will be for her little four-year old (who is totally adorable btw) and included some fairy princess fabric that was to be included in each block.  Normally, I just make the one block, but this time I was sleeping in the living room while my grandma stayed in my room where my fabric stash is (now that's trust!) and so I couldn't work on some of the other blocks and quilts that I normally would at night.  Luckily, Simone had included plenty of fabric so I whipped up a second block rather than channel hop.

Here's the first one:

Here's the second one:

This will be one cute "big girl" quilt!

Pick 5 Monday on Quilting Bee Blocks

I was asked to contribute to Quilting Bee Blocks' Pick 5 Monday.  What's Pick 5?  I simply pick five favorite blocks from the thousands of block photos added to the Quilting Bee Blocks photo pool on flickr and tell why I like them (yeah, even I can handle that).  I went with a theme of strip or string quilt blocks.  Go check it out at their blog!

Jaybird Quilts Fabric Giveaway

There's a great giveaway happening over at Jaybird Quilts (great blog btw) that you need to check out--stack of Sandi Henderson fabric!  Now who doesn't want that?!

Just look at that Meadowsweet goodness!  Quick go to Jaybird and leave a comment to enter!  Sign-up for the newsletter at Above All Fabric and comment on Jaybird for a second entry. 

Come on--you know you want it!

Dream Catcher

Sliding in at the end of the month is my block for the Bee White Black quilting bee group--whew, made it!  This month belonged to quiltinkimmie (Kim B.) who requested that her fabrics be turned into a block with flying geese in it.  Nope, not talkin' real birds here.  The flying geese block is simply a rectangle shaped block with a triangle in the center and smaller half-square triangles in the upper corners, usually in a contrasting color.  (Here's a quick tutorial for one method of making the flying geese block.)

She chose not to add a touch of color, so the fabrics were strictly black and white.  The fabrics sent in my packet were strong graphics, no floral types, with dots, lines and such.  I love these kinds of black and white fabrics, but they definitely require some careful thinking, cutting and placement to get the best results out of them.

The pattern chosen for her block was the center of a mini quilt pattern called Dream Catcher by Sue Bouchard.  I redrew it in EQ6 to get the sizing I wanted and to give myself printable templates for paper piecing.  I also changed the coloring layout to maximize the effect of the strong black and white fabrics.  What do you think?

These fabrics really played into the layout and design of this block giving a striking image.  When finished, this will be a 12 inch block.  Here's a closer look at the center section of the block:

You can see the flying geese surrounding the center--they almost blend in!  This block would look great in multi-colors or in other two-color combinations.  Give it a try!

Enjoy your block Kimmie!