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It's been so long I wasn't sure I even remembered how to blog, but look! I do! I just paid to renew my domain name which served as a guilty reminder that I'm not here. And I miss being here. I miss the writing. I miss the conversations. I'm finding my way back. More soon.

Skip to My Lou Bake Craft Sew and Decorate Hoop Art Tutotrial

Today I’m over at Skip to My Lou as part of the Bake Craft Sew & Decorate series. I am sharing a Holiday Hoop Art Tutorial , these are quick to whip up for holiday gift giving. In fact, you won’t want to miss all the handmade gift ideas! I have joined over 100 bloggers to share some amazing homemade gift ideas……..Plus I get to be part of an amazing sewing giveaway too. See Below…

 

This is one is sew AMAZING! She is a gem and her name is Rachel.

 

One lucky winner will receive this beautiful…

Baby Lock Sewing Machine ($799 Value) and $100 Worth of Fabric from Riley Blake Designs.

Ready to take your sewing to the next level? The Baby Lock Rachel is the star of any sewing class, and she's here to help you. This computerized sewing machine is equipped with 50 stitches and push-button features to make every project easier. The value is $799. Click here for more details.

Riley Blake Designs colorful fabrics include cottons, flannels, sparkle cottons, organic cotton, knits, dreamy, and laminates in a range of designer and basic prints. You will love this beautiful fabric.

Wait for rafflecopter to load and enter there...

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52 Weeks of Color for Quilters :: Week 22 Split Complements (8)

I have to confess I love this week's group of Split Complements!  Normally green is my color but lately this combo plus gold and brown have been making me very happy.

The Kona colors for this week are:
Blue-Green : Kona Jade
Orange : Kona Kumquat
Red : Kona Cardinal

The tints are the top row here, true colors the second row, tones are the third and shades on the bottom - all shown in Kona cotton.

Can you see yourself using this combination? What would you add?

Bigger Plus Quilt Measurements

Hi all! A couple people asked about the larger measurements I used for the Plus Quilt I posted last week and so I wanted to share them here. These are from Michele who is only on Instagram - she very kindly did the math and I'm just reposting her information.

These correspond to the measurements in Jeli Quilts Plus Quilt pattern which you can find for free on Craftsy!

I pieced the larger borders (and didn't mind the way it looked at all) and added one extra border at the bottom of my quilt of just background fabric. This is a fantastic pattern and came together super quickly - I'm already thinking about making a couple more for holiday gifts!

Thanks for stopping by and hope this helps if you were looking for the larger measurements :-)

52 Weeks of Color for Quilters :: Week 21 Split Complements (7)

Phew. Life has been getting the better of me for the last few weeks and I was determined to stop thinking and stressing about being off track with my color project and just get back to it. So here we are - back on track. Insert grin here.

We're starting the last six of the twelve sets of Split Complements - these are all improv blocks that measure 12.5"

The colors this week are Green, Red-orange and Red-violet and I have to admit I find this combination a bit...odd? Off? Unappealing? A little bit of all of those. But it is interesting and it made we wonder if I could actually use these colors together in a way that made them attractive and likable. Still thinking about it - I'll keep you posted ;-)

So I thought it would be interesting to include the tints (above), tones (below main colors) and shades  (bottom row) as well. I don't have time to make blocks in all the different combinations but it's fun to see them all together. The main colors this week used Kona Flame (red-orange), Clover (green) and Bordeaux (red-violet).

The funny thing? When I pulled some prints from my stash in this color combination I actually liked them more! Still not quite ready to start cutting but you never know. Thanks for stopping by!

Finish It Up Friday :: Jeli Quilts Plus Quilt

Happy Friday everyone! In typical style I made this quilt this week after having the fabric since April of 2014. I bought a small FQ bundle from Anna Maria Horner when I was in Nashville for Sewdown and I was in LOVE with the colors but I had no idea what I wanted to do with them. So they sat on my shelf and I loved looking at them until I saw the QAL that @chelengeorge was co-hosting on Instagram using the free Plus Quilt Pattern from Kelly at Jeli Quilts. It was like lightening had struck and I knew instantly that this was what my precious bundle was meant for. You know I have a million other things I should have been working on right? But I had to make this quilt. So I pulled a few more fabrics that meshed well with the original bundle and off I went. I cut Tuesday night, sewed the top Wednesday morning and quilted/bound it last night. I'm pretty sure it's the fastest quilt I've ever made and it's gorgeous to boot. I am completely thrilled with every part of this and I know how rare and wonderful that feeling is, so I'm savoring it!

Michele shared measurements on IG that make this quilt slightly larger than Kelly's original version - if you can't find them on IG I'll be happy to share them here, just let me know. I used black yarn-dyed Essex Linen for the background and added one extra strip along the bottom. Some yummy Robert Kaufman flannel on the back and a binding of Kona Curry to finish it off. Just some simple straight line quilting kept the focus on the fabrics. This finished at 51"x65" and just in time for the cooler weather reported to be arriving tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday.

Finish It Up Friday :: Halloween Slice Quilt Top

Happy Friday and Happy October! I'm so thrilled with the cool rainy weather we've had lately, I wait all summer for these first cool days of Fall. That air that's finally free of the oppressive humidity and heat just soothes and energizes me. Fall is my season and October is my month. Since I was feeling energized I decided that even though I started this quilt last October it will be finished before this October is done.

The pattern is the free Summer Slice tutorial from Alison at Cluck Cluck Sew . She has so many patterns that I love! This was a Halloween bundle from Pile O Fabric last year and then more of the same (oranges, yellow oranges, coral and blacks) from my stash. I love that is has a Halloween feeling without any actual Halloween fabric. I made enough that I had one extra block which gave me some flexibility as I arranged them.

I finished the blocks yesterday and then the assembly happened very quickly. My only rule was that I didn't want two of the exact same fabrics right next to each other but otherwise I tried to not over think the block placement. Mine finished at 57"x71" just like the pattern. I've got my flannel all ready for the back and now I just need to figure out the quilting!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!