Shop Hop Sunday Stash!

Um, that was fun! Last weekend the New Hampshire Modern Quilt Guild went on our first Shop Hop. We had four shops to visit with a scavenger hunt attached. Along the way we had things to find, places to go, and types of fabric that would get us points. The teams were made of four, ours was named TEAM WARP!  There was also Team Salvage, and Team Weft. 

The four stops along way: Button Box in Wellesley, Mass., Gather Here in Cambridge, Mass., Grey's Fabric & Notions in Boston, Mass., and Quilter's Way in Acton, Mass.  Each stop had a goodie bag there waiting for our arrival with cuts of fabric and other notions. Huge thank you to all the shops that let our craziness arrive. Also, Anna at Blackbird Donuts made us extra donuts so they wouldn't run out of their popular Blueberry Maple donut. We were also required to stop at the Happy Chocolatier for ice cream. Nothing beats fabric, donuts, and chocolate! 

Between all the shops we found a park with a four person teeder todder, which we capitalized on the opportunity. There was no shortage of fun happening. We all had quite the haul by the end of the day. Here is what I came home with ... 

Pinks, Art Gallery, Cotton and Steel, Dear Stella, Alison Glass

Backing cuts: Windham, Free Spirit 

Blues, Penny Rose, Moda, Dear Stella, Windham, Andover Chambray 

Low Volume & Greys, Moda, Cloud 9, Dear Stella, Lizzy House, Wyndham, Free Spirit 

And the days notions, I am pretty excited about all these new colors of No. 8 Perle thread! I have a Block of the Month quilt that needs some hand-quilting love. I also capitalized on Grey's being a Pfaff dealer and got a new open toe free motion foot! Also included in the picture is the swag we got from the shops! 

In total I ended up with an additional 19 yards of fabric!  I guess it's time to get sewing ... 

- Patch & Chels 

Stash Bee: September

Here is the next month for the Stash Bee. Michelle requested grey backgrounds with navy or orange plus signs. This quilt is going to come out awesome! Super easy block to make with charm squares, this might need to become a quilt for me :) 

Michelle asked how we store our stash.  Mine is color coded nicely folded in an IKEA rolling cart. I don't keep a very big stash, I like to clean it out frequently and keep it fresh.  Sorry I don't have a pictures (right now it's a disaster!)

-Patch & Chels

1930's Sunday Stash

Is anyone else as excited about the 1930's Farmer's Wife Sew Along hosted by Gnome Angel, Marti Michell, and Fat Quarter Shop? Let's say I squealed with glee when this was posted a while back. I quickly pulled all the 1930's print I had on hand. Then purchased a few more (shhh!). All the orange, yellow, and green prints got removed as I refined my final sections.

Here is the final line up, I did keep the aqua/teal colors but removed anything that was green.  I also included some brown and neutral prints to tone down the rest of the colors. Then I found a layer cake of Storytime Prints, circa 1930, so I added them to the stash.  This layer cake included some of those cute character prints that I love so much.  It was such a great free find! 

Then I pulled this chalkboard out and painted it a mint color. I had a wooden chalkboard for my 1920's Farmer's Wife Quilt, it got passed along as the "Traveling Chalkboard" so a new mint colored chalkboard is necessary for the 1930's round. 

My copy of Farmer's Wife 1930's Sampler Quilt by Laurie Aaron Hird has arrived in the mail, and I have patently waited to start my blocks. Lets just say I am ready to take on this challenge! 

Anyone else joining in the fun?

-Patch & Chels

Blogger Backgrounds: Tech Tip

This post is not about quilting but about blog design.  In the past you may have noticed an absence of background from my blog, I happen to dislike all the "stock" blogger backgrounds and that got me wondering. There must be a way to put my own background on my blog, not just the stock backgrounds. I wanted something more personal that matches the overall look of my blog. Other bloggers are also using the simple blogger format and have pretty backgrounds.  Well there is a way. Here is what I did. 

First I needed to chose a picture that I wanted.  The site Comment Nation  had a good selection of backgrounds and they allow you to use them for websites. Make sure the image you pick is open source "can be freely used." I picked a diagonal peach pinstripe that went with the colors in my giraffe logo and downloaded it to my desktop.

Next, I had to upload my image to blogger. I am going to defer you to the Blogger Tips Pro website because there directions are visual and involve zero code! It was pretty simple and I followed the directions with no problem.  The result is the image above. 

Here are some other backgrounds that didn't make the cut, but are still good looking ... 

Also, while I am at it, here is another tip.  Want to center your title, or pages? While you are in template designer, three tabs below the background tab is an advanced tab.  Click the advanced tab and scroll down to the bottom and click add css.  Cut and paste the following code into the box add custom css.  Then click apply to blog.

.PageList {text-align:center !important;}

.PageList li {display:inline !important; float:none !important;}

.post-title {

text-align: center;

}

.date-header {

text-align: center;

} 

At this point your titles and pages should center :) Want to learn how to add social media links? Click on my earlier post to learn how. Happy designing.

- Patch and Chels

X-Ceptional Finish

Yay! My X-ceptional quilt is finished! At the end of this summer I got some serious sewing done and still catching up on blog posts. With a busy beginning of the school year, it has been nice to have pictures in the queue. This quilt was from the Fat Quarter Shop's Summer Book Tour.  I showcased a book called Quilted Living by Gerri Robinson of Planted Seed Designs. Awesome book, it took me so long to decide which pattern to choose, but in the end I am so happy with the X-ceptional pattern. Here is my earlier post about the project. 

For fabrics I used a bundle of Kona solids called Rhonda Ruth, it's a coordinating bundle to go with the release of Elizabeth Hartman's new line of fabric. The colors were lush, saturated, and amazing. I also mixed in some prints, linen, and low volume from my stash. The binding is done in a Lotta Jansdotter navy print found a Joann Fabrics. The backing in s a Joel Dewberry print. I am in love with everything about this quilt, which almost never happens. 

QUILT STATS: 

• Finished Size: 66 inches x 66 inches 
• Pattern: X-ceptional by Gerry Robinson 
• Fabric: Rhonda Ruth, and stash fabric
• Batting: 80/20 blend
• Thread: Connecting Threads - Parchment

The top is quilted with a dogwood flower. I feel as though it's an easier free motion pattern. This pattern is also one of  my favorites and whenever a quilt as a 4 inch square it's my go to quilting. Also using a blend for the batting helps the quilting show a little more. Now I have been quilting more designs its nice to have them show up! Hope everyone is enjoying some back to school sewing, it's been the opposite for me :(

- Patch & Chels

Shhhhh: Low Volume Charm Swap II

Who's ready for another round of the Low Volume Charm Swap???  This fall Michelle, over at From Bolt to Beauty, and I are are back at it! Clearly from the pile below, one can never have enough Low Volumes.

Sorry, to all my international friends, this is a last minute decision on our part and didn't allow the time for international shipping. One day we are going to get this right for you!

DETAILS: 

Fabric Type: Low Volume

Fabric Size: 5 inch Charms

Participants: 28 Peeps, first come first serve! Don't wait :)

Timeline: Fabrics Due, Friday October 9th, 2015

Fabric Returned: Mailed out, Monday October 26th, 2015

Yield: 56 charms, 2 of each print

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS: 

1. Each person will purchase 1 yard of fabric and cut it into 5 inch charm squares.  1 yard will yield 56 charms exactly, you may want to purchase 1.25 yards just in case of an oops when cutting.  
2. Scale matters, choose prints that will work with a 5 inch square (smaller prints work the best for charms!)
3. Fabric should be designer label, 100% cotton, quilt shop quality fabric. (No Hancock's, Joann's, or Michael's fabrics)  
4. Fabric must be new and unwashed from a smoke free home.
5. Before mailing cut the fabric into 56 - 5 inch x 5 inch charm squares. Press/iron before cutting to ensure accuracy. Unsure how to cut a charm, check out Sarah's Quilts tutorial. 
6. Send your fabric in a Ziploc bag with an index card with your name and email address.
7. Upload pictures of your fabric to swap to our Flickr group and include the name of the fabric, designer, etc. This will help ensure we won't get duplicates of fabric and also, find out more about the fabrics we will be receiving. Or, if you really love one of the prints and just want more, you will know how to get more! 

 SHIPPING:

All participants must include a prepaid self-addressed, stamped envelope along with their charms when mailing. The best way is to include a prepaid priority mail envelope, if it fits it ships :) This will make it faster for us to get your fabrics back to you A.S.A.P! 

Are you convinced yet? Head over to our Google Doc's page and sign up. Remember this is first come first serve. The first five extra peeps will be placed on an alternate list in case anyone drops out. Also check out our Flickr group to see what everyone is getting before purchasing your fabric!

If you really hate low volume, the term, or the fabric, head over to Ellison Lane to find out the details on how to host your own swap. The post is very helpful and includes lots of tips to help make your swap run smoothly :) 

-Michelle & Chels

HST Quilt Along

Well, I finished all the Half Square Triangle (HST) blocks, all 30 of them. Then decided that I hated one of them and pulled it out. The other four are going to get pieced on the back. I also decided that I hate HST's. Wait, I already knew that. Now I just hate them more. 

After laying all the blocks out together, it needed something to break up each block. Each block is different and I wanted to showcase that no two where the same. On the inside blocks, I added the one inch sashing. The one inch sashing is quickly becoming my favorite. 

Now I am not sure how to finish the edges. So far my thoughts are a thicker border in the background color, then bind it. What do you all think?

- Patch & Chels

Picnic Pinwheels: Pattern

This news is super exciting I am releasing my very own pattern, it was part of the New Block Blog Hop called PICNIC PINWHEELS. This little guy is made with scraps, but there are directions to use both scraps and/or Jelly Roll strips. 

If you are interested in downloading a copy of this pattern head over to my Craftsy site. The quilt pattern is fun to make and a great way to get rid of some of those scraps laying around. I did make 4 extra blocks to get pieced into the backing as well! Clearly it was hard to stop.

Thanks for joining me in this exciting news. Hope you enjoy the pattern!

-Patch & Chels