Sea Star Winner

For those of you who are bummed your name isn't up on the winner board, there is hope. Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs has marked down Sea Star to $6, but only for a limited time. So, hurry up!

-Patch & Chels

June Stash & Bee Crash

Just sneaking in this post before June is over. The blocks are currently traveling to their rightful owners! This month I participated in a little hive crashing, like wedding crashing just with blocks! **Not to worry there were no hives damaged in my crashing ;) ** Summer in Hive 6 got some blocks, but also  Diana in Hive 4, and Yvonne in Hive 2. 

HIVE 6: Summer @ The Easy Quilter

Summer requested a combination of saturated prints, well hello stash meet Summer, you're going to get along just alright! Having difficulty settling on one saturated double star, I compromised at two. Can't hurt to have extras :). 

Question: Have you ever participated in a quilt along?  Yes, last year I participated in the Sugar BOM club, it was so much fun! I have yet to put all the blocks together, that is on the to do list this summer! I say try it out, usually you gain some friendships and it's nice to post to Instagram and see what others are doing. 

HIVE 4: Diana @ Red Delicious Life

I hope Diana is making this quilt for me, teal and grey, it's almost like she knows me too well! We do have similar color tastes, so I am envious that I didn't think of this pattern first!

Question: What do you like to listen to when sewing? The podcasts 'How Stuff Works' or 'Stuff you Missed in History Class'

HIVE 2: Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl 

Yvonne chose big mail letters, so to be a pain I made got addicted to making small mail letters.  She wasn't counting on my block in her final number so I took some liberties :).  Hopefully, she likes them just as much. If not they will be good for the backing! She always sends me nice blog mail/comments, its only nice to return the favor! 

Question: What is your favorite season? I love fall in New England. The crisp cool days, the changing of the leaves, the apples (and apple pie), the pumpkins, and going back to school. There is nothing about fall I dislike. Now winter, that's a whole different story ... 

Whew, I hope all these ladies enjoy their new blocks.  It was fun to branch out and go beyond! 

-Patch & Chels

{Fat Quarter Shop} Joyful Jelly Roll Tree Skirt Love

If you're coming over from the Fat Quarter Shop WELCOME! If not, glad to have you back :). 

When I was asked to be apart of this tree skirt project I, of course, said yes! If you would like to get your hands on this beautiful pattern you can purchase it at the Fat Quarter Shop! They are also offering a kit and a video tutorial to help you through the pattern. In the whole process, the only part I was concerned about was binding around the circle, and that ended up being very easy. So, give it a try! 

Disregard my lack of Christmas tree, they are not in season!! 

Last fall I made a quilt top using some of my favorite Christmas fabrics I had collected and had a bunch of scraps left over.  This skirt pattern was too cute to pass up! I ended up using the same fabrics so it would match. The background is Essex Linen in Natural. I wanted something that would make the white prints pop and add texture.  The linen was a great choice. 

Knowing the quilt top wouldn't get heavy use, I went with some light hand quilting in red.  The quilt ended up having a nice drape to it, which will look great around a tree. The big stitching was just enough to add detail but not take away from the fabrics. 

If anyone is looking for Christmas fabric, in my search I found the Fat Quarter Shop has a Christmas Cloth Store.  Pretty spectacular! Some people are probably laughing at me, but for those of you who didn't know, it's awesome. Also, if you haven't already, head to the Jolly Jabber to see other versions of this tree skirt. 

-Patch & Chels

Sea Star: Pattern Testing + Giveaway

Back in April Cheryl from Meadow Mist Designs put out the call for pattern testers for her new Sea Star Pattern. Last Fall I pattern tested her Looking Glass quilt and LOVED how the quilt turned out. So, of course, I signed up for another. Sea Star is a great combination of a plus block and a star block. Following Cheryl's lead I also chose cool colors in a sea theme. I don't have many baby boy quilts on hand, so this one was perfect. 

Just like last time, this quilt was super quick and fun to make. I got in a couple fights with my ailing iron, but overall it was painless. The quilt consists of squares and HST, nothing difficult but a new design anyone can try out! I was able to get the whole top done in one day of sewing. The backing, quilting, and binding was another day. To me her quilts are great projects that offer more pizzaz than basic squares, but are equally as easy and have have such design flair. I really have enjoyed each and every quilt I have made using Meadow Mist patterns.

In the pattern the baby quilt is square, but I went with a 3 by 4 block arrangement to make the quilt rectangular. I like the final size of the quilt.

Check back to Cheryl's blog to see what the other pattern testers chose for colors and the link to purchase this pattern. She has also offered up a pattern giveaway! To enter, answer the question:  What colors would you made this pattern in? Good luck everyone! I will draw and post the winner June 30, 2015.

Looks like this summer has started off with at least one quilting success, I hope to get a couple more projects completed before beginning summer school in the beginning of July.  Enjoy your summer everyone :) 

-Patch & Chels