Shades of Camo

I’m humbled and awed by the response I’m getting concerning Stitches and Kisses New Venture.   If you missed the announcement, go take a peek!  And if you’re looking for the giveaway, it’s here.

Now, the last BIG Christmas order is DONE.

Talk about a modern take on a vintage block, huh? 

The pictures STINK, because we had nasty rain again.  I hate taking them indoors.  Do you know how hard it is to find grey solids locally?   I knew I should have ordered from Kona directly.  Oh well.   2 shades of grey,2 black, and 2 white.  It worked.

A meander to mimic the camo print, and echoing in the churndash itself.

It really looked cool!   I was scared to work with camo again, but it worked just RIGHT!

Even a cool back!  I didn’t quilt as heavily as some of my other quilts, so I was a tad worried about the crinkle factor.   But….

…Yup!!   It still worked nice!!

The clients already gave it to their son.   (grin) Apparently, it was a HUGE hit!

peace and pieces,
amy

 

 

Sportlov Sussi (Skating Sue Swap)

Yes, she came!  Look at her!!!!  Isn’t she awesome?  And ALL the way from SWEDEN!   I know, I know, I shipped to Australia–why shouldn’t I get an international Sue in return.   But still….I was surprised!

Look at the “fur” detail on the hood!

Awesome word fabric.   I assume it’s a foreign language, but not really sure!  It’s not English, that’s for sure!  LOL

The tiny wonky log cabins-I keep seeing this but havn’t tried it yet.   They are so cute and quirky-I really ought to try it.

Even the label is awesome!   She paid SUCH attention to the details.

AND I even got extra goodies!!   Chocolate, salted licorice (I can’t wait to try that!) floss, a moose medallion, and some scrap fabrics.  The hedgehog print is to DIE for!   I’m trying to figure out what to do with it.  Maybe some Wonky Log cabins with the scraps?!  Could make a great mini for spring!!!

Getting the envelope totally made my day.   I stopped the mail lady on my way out because I was expecting a box from Connecting Threads.   It was supposed to rain and I didn’t want it left on the porch.   She handed me this envelope first.   When I saw that it was from Sweden, I screamed!!   I am a tad ashamed to admit this,  but I sounded like a preteen at a boy band concert!  The mail lady laughed as I tore into the envelope and showed off the quilt. 

See?   Told you I tore into it!!   So go take a peek at Lizzie’s blog, at Swedish Scrapper.   I just spent some time there myself.  She has these teeny tiny log cabin blocks, and an amazing New York Beauty doll quilt.   Very talented woman!  Thank You again, Lizzie!!!  I LOVE my Sportlov Sussi!!!!(by the way, she says that is roughly translated into Winter Break Sussi)

And don’t forget to drop into The Quilting Gallery–this is where all the swaps and blog hops are!   Another blog hop with giveaways will start on December 10th!

I think the Brown Eyed Boy is finally asleep.   Back to Jemma the Long arm, and the 50 Shades of Camo quilt!

peace and pieces,
amy

 

Johnny’s Cajun Cathedral Window

**This pattern is now available in my Etsy store.

This is a pattern born of necessity.  The father of my oldest and dearest friend of 25+ years has Stage 4 Cancer. 

I started this quilt late September, knowing that I needed to hurry.  His chemo was starting soon and he needs a QUILT!!  There is a Cathedral Window quilt in the family, and they all love it, but I knew I didn’t have the time. 

I did some research–Google is AWESOME–and stumbled on Chapel Windows at Hills Primitive Cupboard.

http://www.hillsprimitivecupboard.com/shop/index.php

A GORGEOUS quilt!  Thank you for the inspiration!!!  Still wasn’t quite what I was looking for, but close—OH so close.  I shrunk the size of the color patch, finagled the setting triangles…  I think this is perfect.

This is a queen.   Each piece is 2″ finished.  Yes, that’s a LOT of tiny squares.  But strip piecing makes it go fairly quickly.

The wind wanted to show off the back!!   It’s a BUNCH of FQ’s cut into squares.  Feels like fall, doesn’t it?

I am totally in love!   The quilting really makes it!!   I did an orange peel over the entire quilt. 

While quilting this, I thought about life.   Each of these individual arcs were off.  Wonky.  IMPERFECT.  Some of them, a LOT imperfect.

But when you step back, they blend.  Beautifully.  Seamlessly.

Like life.   Each moment in your life may not be perfect.  May not be good.   But life in general……is perfect!

I can’t WAIT to show this off at the guild meeting, and then it’ll be on it’s way to Mr Johnny.  FILLED with love and prayers for a full recovery.

The pattern will eventually be for sale as a PDF file.   Part of the proceeds will go to the American Cancer Association.  I have testers working on the pattern now.  *****It’s now for sale in my Etsy Store****

I’ve also decided to enter this quilt in the Bloggers Quilt festival!  I can’t get to Houston–so let’s have a quilt show here!  LOL

Blogger’s Quilt Festival Stats

Finished quilt measures : 92″x 92″

Special techniques used : strip piecing

Quilted by : Amy Gay on an Empress Long Arm

Best Category : Favorite Bed Quilt, Professionally Quilted, Favorite Quilt Photographer.

Go take a peak at some of the other quilts!   Especially if you can’t make it to Houston this year!!

peace and pieces,
amy

Starting ANOTHER quilt!!

yes, yes, I know.   I have a MILLION projects going on.   But I’m not really DOING this one!!  I stumbled across a Mystery project.  The FB page is here, but I found them on a blog somehow.  And honestly, I can’t find it again!  ******edit*****  FOUND IT HERE  OOH!   And the original blog is My Sister Made Me Do It.  Thanks for writing about this in the first place!

Anyway, cancer has now touched my life several different times in just the past week, as well as in the past.  AND the girls have been begging for a new project.  So this was just about perfect. There is a $15 entry fee.  $5 stays for administration fees, but the other $10 goes directly to a patient.  In this case, he is a boy names Jack.  Thankfully, the large tumor that was taken from his brain turned out to NOT be cancer, but that wasn’t know at the time the group was set up.  And little Jack is still having many issues from brain surgery, so he is still a worthy recipient.

We dug through the stash for the yardage required–I was nervous about using scraps. 

The first clue came yesterday afternoon.   I cut everything—they just can’t quite handle the Blade Of Doom yet!! Wild Child sewed the first half, and then ironed them.  

Then the Apprentice took her turn.

And here is our stack after Step 1!!  Cant WAIT to see what Step 2 brings!!

I’d also like to link up with from blank pages.  There’s a linky party going on, and it’s all about New Beginnings.  She is also in the Whims and Fancies paper piecing halloween blog hop with me.  AND don’t forget to check out the many designers at The Quilting Gallery!!  There is still time to enter the fabric giveaway here on Butterfly Angels, too!!  HURRY!!

peace and pieces,
amy

Glorious Autumn Block Party!

The Giveaway is closed.  But please enjoy the free pattern!!

 

The wonderful Michelle at Quilting Gallery has been giving us a walkthrough to these amazing blocks!  In her words…

“Over 15 weeks, 45 designers will create 12″ blocks for the Glorious Autumn Block Party. These blocks will be featured, three per week, on the Quilting Gallery site starting September 4th. In addition to the blocks, there will be Super Deals for Quilters from our favourite online retailers. Be sure to check each designer’s post, as many will be offering give-aways on their own site that everyone can participate in.”

My bio with some cute pics is on The Quilting Gallery‘s main page.

And now it is MY turn!!   Here in SW Louisiana, teal season has already opened.  Duck and goose seasons will open shortly.  The hunters around here get up before the sun, and sit in their blinds (usually freezing their patooties off) and wait for the sun to rise.  This is my representation of a goose in front of the sunrise.

The base of the block is easy, but tedious.  I used 1 inch squares to make a bargello-ish block.   Took me a WHILE, but they all came from the scrap bin.  Leftovers from strips sets, bits from squaring up quilts, etc.  I sat down and picked out 14 shades.   This was what I had the first time.There was WAY too much pattern.   Soooo, I flipped most of them over!!!!   Yes folks, you ARE allowed to use the backside!  Doesn’t this look MUCH better?

You will need 1.5 inch strips.  I could have used the bargello method-long skinny strips, sewn with strip piecing, etc but I had several pieces that weren’t going to work.   Sooooo, bunches of tiny, 1.5 inch squares!!!

I STRONGLY recommend some sort of labeling system.   I did not, and the cat decided it made a great resting place.   And when she skeddadled, the pieces went everywhere.  Thankfully, I had the above picture to reference!  Darn cat.

This will take concentration.   I recommend a glass of wine, and nobody to interrupt you.  LOL  I used the EQ mockup to keep my rows in order.  You can do one row at a time, or several, or all.   That part is up to you.  Once you have the 12 rows (sorry-forgot the picture) sew them into pairs.

Then put all the rows together and press VERY well!

The take the template plain duck and create your applique.   (Yes, I know it’s a goose.   Not sure why I named it duck)  I used raw edge with a blanket stitch to hold it down.  The pattern is already reversed.

In this picture, I have already added a 2inch border in the darkest blue.

Finish it whichever way you’d like!  I added 3 rows of Flying Geese, and a panel for a Welcome sign.

Next order of business, a GIVEAWAY!!   I hand picked, especially for YOU, 10 Fat 1/8s. 

I visited my local quilt shop, Quilts Bayou, so these are all good, quality quilter’s cottons.   Aren’t these yummy?  I see another wall hanging, or a bag.  Perfect colors for fall!!  To win this bundle, tell me what your favorite fall food is.  That’s it!   No hoops.   I’d LOVE if you’d subscribe to my blog, or visit me on FaceBook, or even Twitter.   I have Flicker too.  And Pinterest!  But the ONLY requirements are that you comment below, AND that I have a way to contact you.   (I have to re-give away a set of mugrugs from 2 weeks ago, because the person who won hasn’t gotten in touch with me.)  A name will be selected no earlier than Friday, October 6, 2012.   For those of you who are NOT quilters/sewers/crafters, I offer you this—if you win, I’ll make a table runner or small wall hanging with these fabrics instead.  Deal??

It would also be awesome if you’d at least check out the 2 other designers this week.  We all worked very hard on our blocks.   Sew Joy creations  and Harding Hill join me this week.  And for the entire list, head to the Glorious Autumn page!

Thank you again for visiting.   I really hope you enjoy my block.

peace and pieces,
amy

New Beginnings mini received!!!

Good Morning all!!!   It’s taking me 3 days to get this post to you.  There is just WAY too much on my plate!!  But this is from MY partner Crystal!!

Isn’t it ADORABLE????   You can check out her blog here.  LOOK at the embroidery!

I rarely do handwork–You ALL know that.  And this is FULL of hand embroidery.  I’ve never been brave enough to try that yet.

The eggs are my absolute favorite!!

And of course, the Apprentice loves the bunnies!

Thank you SO much, Crystal!!   I truly love it!!!  It is hanging on my front door and will likely be there through June!  LOL

peace and pieces,
amy

Kutter’s Krazy Kritters

As soon as Gabby found out her teacher was expecting, she knew she was making a quilt.  We waited to discover that it was a boy.  She picked out the fabrics.  She helped pick out the pattern (I steered her towards easier ones!!) Then she sewed the entire top all by herself!!!

And RIPPED the screw-ups out, ALL by herself.  I hate ripping.  Now, she does too!!  LOL  Poor kid.  But in the end, it came out absolutely amazing.  And I’m super proud of her.

I think she was proud, too.

Her teacher LOVED it.

I LOVE Quilty Goodness!!

I hope Kutter, and his mommy, have a wonderful BIRTHday.  Whenever he decides to come!

peace and pieces,
amy

Patriotic Cowgirl

She is finished.  I have very few pictures, unfortunately.  Yeah—-make sure the 3 year old isn’t ANYwhere near the camera from now on.  He deleted the last few, which were my full length ones.  But I can start with this picture.  It’s the last full length picture I had.

So you see where the “Patriotic” part comes into play, and NOW, the Cowgirl part!!  I quilted it with hats and boots!!

I know, they’re kind of hard to see.  But the BACKSIDE shows them more.

This is obviously an unfinished picture, but…

I did manage to save this picture before he deleted this.  I LOVE the way this came out!

peace and pieces,
amy

Sniped and washed

I SO love my rag quilt!!  It’s only been washed and dried once.  The more I do it, the better it’ll get.  and already SOOOO soft!!

I’ve also decided that I’m going to try the Quiltville Mystery Quilt.  She calls it Roll Roll Cotton Boll I don’t have the pinks like she does, or even the greens.  But we’ll see!!  I will be WAY behind the others, since I have so much else on my plate.  But if I can use up some of the scrap bin (currently housed in a 30 gallon tote), then I’m game!  Anyone in with me???

Rhapsody in Blue is coming along NICELY!  I have all 6 butterflies made, and laid it out last night.  Time to sew it all up.  This weekend, I hope!

Peace and Pieces,
Amy

T-shirt quilt

Once again, If you are here for the Fall into Fall BlogHop Give Away, PLEASE GO HERE!!!

Now, I’ve had SEVERAL people ask if I can make T-shirt quilts.  Yes I CAN (and they are a pain!), but I did NOT make this one.  A nice lady made this, and asked me to quilt it for her.  I never thought of using a print like this as the sashing and border.  I LOVE it!  I’ll consider wild prints when I make the one for my girls.  Eventually.

This is a closeup of the quilting.  Just a super easy, general meander.

The client made the binding, but it’s not enough.  So I didn’t bind it yet.  this is the color she picked!  It’s going to look AMAZING!

Now THIS is the tricky part.  She put a border in her backing.  It looks AMAZING, but if she’d been even a smidge off on her cutting, it could have been disastrous.  Thankfully, she’s amazing!!  It fit exactly!  And looks soooooo cool!