Friday, July 25, 2014

July: A Lovely Year of Finishes - Finishes Party

Melissa from Sew BitterSweet Designs and I love seeing ALYoF projects throughout the blogging world.  

A Lovely Year of Finishes


I'm not done with mine but I'm giving myself a pass even on the small goals as I'm unable to focus on much of anything.  It's all good :)

~~~

But, let's get down to your projects...

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.
1. Link-up {this previous post} the first 7-days of the month

and

2. Link-up below during the last 7-days of the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.
Please grab a button or link back to Melissa and I so other people can join in the fun! {See stage left for the grab the button stuffs}
And if you remember to make it easy for us we'll click through the winners faster..aka put number of goal link up.

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Melissa , so there is no need to enter twice *



~~

 Here's what we have up for grabs.
July prizes include:

1. A fat quarter bundle from Riley Blake Designs



2. Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns



3. $30.00 credit towards Long Arm Quilting Services
from by Orchid Owl Quilts

250

4. One pdf pattern from  Sew Sweetness

 Sew Sweetness
5. Thread Prize from Aurifil


6. 1 Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to
Stitches n’ Giggles (winners choice)


7. 8. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs ($10 value)

 http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/

9. PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams

Project QUILTING

10. 11. Honey, Bunny and Doll – 2 Patterns

Honey, Bunny, and Doll

12. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

  Meadow Mist Designs Button

13. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies - Custom fabric package, 4 yards (worth $20) plus free shipping


14. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

 cloverandviolet

~~

Phew a lovely bunch of sponsors.

Get your goals ready....see you soon!

Friday, July 18, 2014

June Winners ~ A Lovely Year of Finishes

Oh yes winners. See what vacation and extra work does to us.

A Lovely Year of Finishes

Let's celebrate our sponsors and tell you about the winners from last month.

Many thanks to Melissa for you know doing ALL the work this time round.

~~

June Winners!

 1.  Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns



Andrea - Flickr

2.PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams
Project QUILTING

Jody - Flickr

3. $15 gift certificate from Fat Quarter Shop


Kris - Sew Sunshine

4. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

 Meadow Mist Designs Button

Deb - Deb's Doodling

5, 6. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

 cloverandviolet

Ellie - Color My World
Patty - A Stitch In Time


7. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies - Custom fabric package, 4 yards (worth $20) plus free shipping


Lisa - Flickr

8. One pdf pattern from  Sew Sweetness

 Sew Sweetness

Moneik - Moneik Quilts

9, 10. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs ($10 value)

 http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/

Tammy - Karamat Sew
Heidi - Red Letter Quilts


11. Thread Prize from Aurifil

Kristyn - Melon Patch Quilts

12. Quilting Patterns designed by Quilting Lodge

 


13. 1 Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to



~~~
Congratulations to all of our winners! 
Please be patient to the winners..I will catch up on these emails soon!  Promise promise.

Can't wait to pick winners again for this month...keep up with your finishes!!!!


Thursday, July 17, 2014

July - A Lovely Year of Finishes Participant Highlight ~ Jess from Quilty Habit

Hello lovely people.
I so appreciate everyone understanding that Melissa and I went on travels during the same time.

It's time to meet another ALYoF participant?  
A Lovely Year of Finishes

Melissa and I are so excited to see and share all of your hard work. Along with this comes a fantastic highlight of a participant.

  Today we are introducing you to yet another amazingly talented quilter with our participant feature. Jess was so awesome she made this months feature super early.

~~~
Jess from Quility Habit
All photos provided by Jess ~ thanks for sharing

Blog name: Quilty Habit

Name you’re known by throughout quilting world: Jess @ Quilty Habit


What's your ALYoF goal this month? 

I want to finish my orange peel baby quilt, a quilt I designed for the Orange Peel Quilt-A-Long! This goal isn’t very lofty because: 1. I’ve already had a huge head start on the top, and 2. I’m in head-over-heels in love with the fabrics I’m using (Pretty Potent by Anna Maria Horner). I’m sure to get this one done quickly. I am already thinking about how I’m going to quilt it and what my next orange peel project will be!

Shameless plug - if anyone wants to join in on the fun, I have a page dedicated to the QAL, which runs until September 8. There are three size categories and prizes, as well as a Viewer’s Choice award - so come and design a quilt with orange peels! They are way too much fun, promise!



How do you approach your sewing goals? 

I have a lot of trouble following through with goals, mostly because I hate to put too much pressure on myself for a hobby. Granted, I sew for at least an hour even on my busiest days, so it’s a big part of my life, but I feel like that doesn’t mean I *have* to get certain projects finished all the time. I am a big follower of inspiration urges - I only work on projects I feel inclined to work on. Yes, deadlines are important (see below), but it’s not fun to me anymore if I force it (and it is supposed to be fun!). I do set monthly and quarterly goals now thanks to ALYoF and the Finish-A-Long, but otherwise, I try keep myself open to whatever comes up.

How do you organize/prioritize your projects? 

My typical approach to life is this: whenever I feel overwhelmed, I make a list. If I’m feeling extra antsy I’ll write down all the deadlines, even if I know when the are. I’m primarily a visual learner so any cues (dates, huge underlines, very bold pen marks, smiley faces) are helpful. :) In terms of deadlines, I try to reward myself. For example: “If I finish this quilt top that’s due on (x), I can take a small break before quilting it to work on this selfish pillow/quilt top/what have you.” I’m like a little kid: rewards go a long way around here. Milkshakes made or brought home by my very supportive husband work, too!

Here's a photo of Jess and her husband with their wedding quilt.

What is your current favorite project that you are working on? Will you share pictures with us?

My current favorite project is actually in “time out” - my (predominantly) Anna Maria Horner medallion quilt. I’ve been snooping on and scheming up medallion quilts for a while and decided to design my own, border by border. I have a general sketch in my notebook but I’m still deciding what to do next. Besides the fact that I’m using my favorite fabrics, it’s also been such a blast to really dig into the creative process and do whatever I want. It’s in time out because I just need time to decide what’s next!



What is your dream project to work on?

Oh, wow, what a question! I have two. One, I would love to make a double wedding ring quilt or a really intense Irish Chain quilt one day. I haven’t psyched myself up to all the little DWR templates yet. Maybe that’s a project for next year. Two, I would love to collaborate and piece, quilt, bind, etc. a quilt with a friend (the whole way through, in person, together).

What is your favorite time of day to sew?

I love to sew in the afternoon when I can! I get pretty good natural light in my sewing space then, and that makes for optimal precision. I worked a job in the morning and a job at night for the last year, so midday was when I had the most free time to sew. It works out!

What is your favorite quilting/sewing accessory? 

My current favorite is those seam rippers with the rubber or plastic on the cap. A friend recently showed me how to sweep away the threads from your seam ripping using the cap, and I *had* to have one! It’s funny - as a self-taught quilter, I feel like I have missed out on a lot of tools and knowledge that others have, but that’s okay. My guild members are always pointing out new things to me, and I so appreciate it!

What is your number one quilting/sewing goal for 2014?

I want to submit three quilts to QuiltCon, so my goal is to get the last one done. It’s a progressive quilts from a bee my friends and I created, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Quilts. A couple of the quilts are still going, but we hope to open up more rounds afterwards. My quilt top is finished and just needed to be backed, quilted, and bound! I am amazed by the sewing prowess of my friends. It was so cool to see a quilt evolve from my starter into a modern kitchen sink quilt in the colors I chose!



What is one technique you really want to learn?

I would love to learn how to quilt on a longarm. My friend Jess has one and has promised I can practice sometime. :) I’ve done a lot of FMQ on my home machine and I l.o.v.e. it, but for certain quilts (like the medallion quilt) I really want to give special treatment/try something new.

Oh and here's one last awesome photo of Jess' sewing space:



~~~

It's so wonderful to have Jess join Melisa and me today.

And with that...hope you all are doing well on your July goals.

I'll be contacting the June winners in the next week...things just are super busy.





Sunday, July 13, 2014

July travels week 1

A quick hello.

Thanks everyone for being understanding about last month's ALYoF prizes.  We'll post about those in the next few days.  It doesn't happen often that both Melissa and I are gone at the same time :)

I was in Indiana for a vacay with my family.  I don't get to visit my sister often.

My sister was so great and we did so much.

On the first day I was there she took me to the awesome store Crimson Tate.
OMG they are wonderful!!!!

I had an amazing time at #crimsontate and @ crimsontate and @crimsontavid were so helpful.  I'm setup to be the best auntie ever by making pillowcases.

I met Heather and David.  They put up with us including two - 6&7 year olds.

I learned my niece loves Lotta Jansdotter as much as I do...she'll be seeing some Glimma love for the holiday I'm sure.

Since a quilt couldn't be 'made in 2 days' as my niece imagined, I zipped up these 4 pillowcases for all 3 kids and my sister.

#crimsontate  helped make me the best auntie eva.  4 pillowcases done!

Everyone got to pick their favorite print and then my niece helped color coordinate them with solids.  She already has an eye for color as you can tell. And it didn't hurt she's the one that picked out the Tula fabric.

And I even had the kids 'sew' with me....you know by pushing the peddle. No fingers were even hurt. Phew.

~~

I also got to see my niece in the pinafore I made with the imagine gnats pattern.


~~

We were sooo busy.  We picked out and cut out a dress for my sister, saw a few movies, painted nails, made loom bracelets, went to the zoo, and topped it off with a girls day pedicure.

Girl day

I love my sister and so happy I could made these memories with the kids.

So I'm off again to Portland.
Maybe I'll go to a few stores but I'll be happily working on my July ALYoF goal of finishing hand stitching binding down.

Whoop.










Tuesday, July 1, 2014

July: A Lovely Year of Finishes ~ Goal Setting Party

Summer

Travel

Shanna be M.I.A.

I am going to cry ..that's how much traveling on my plate this month....but really it's all summer.

~~

As always, Melissa from Sew BitterSweet Designs and I super thrilled to host ALYoF as it gets me to post...and to see what other people are working on.

A Lovely Year of Finishes
~~~

I'm thinking about what I want to do for my own little July goal.
{Catch that...LITTLE}

I didn't get to touch my June goal.  Funny enough I did finish up a whole other quilt.  Whoop.
Even the binding is on that one!  Geeze!

But this month I'm gonna choose to finish the binding the awesome quilt that Orchid Owl Quilts long armed for me.
And the binding is ready. .is it the weekend yet? I'm so in awe of the quilting by longarmer @orchidowlquilts
This is a long overdue beauty. It's so near the finish it's amazing!

~~~

Do share, what's your July goal?

What one item will you choose?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.


1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

and

2. Link-up in the last 7-days of the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Melissa and I so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Melissa , so there is no need to enter twice **



Here is a list of our generous sponsors for July!!

 July prizes include:

1. A fat quarter bundle from Riley Blake Designs



2. Green Fairy Quilts – 3 pdf patterns



3. $30.00 credit towards Long Arm Quilting Services
from by Orchid Owl Quilts

250

4. One pdf pattern from  Sew Sweetness

 Sew Sweetness
5. Thread Prize from Aurifil


6. 1 Charm pack or $10.00 gift certificate to
Stitches n’ Giggles (winners choice)


7. 8. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs ($10 value)

 http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com/

9. PDF Pattern from Persimon Dreams

Project QUILTING

10. 11. Honey, Bunny and Doll – 2 Patterns

Honey, Bunny, and Doll

12. One PDF Pattern from Meadow Mist Designs

  Meadow Mist Designs Button

13. Thimblepie’s Quilt Supplies - Custom fabric package, 4 yards (worth $20) plus free shipping



14. One pdf Pattern from Clover and Violet

 cloverandviolet

~~

Phew a lovely bunch of sponsors.

Get your goals ready....see you soon!