Envelope Quilt!

Ta da! My Envelope quilt is done! I decided to make 3 more blocks to give me a nice 9 -block wallhanging. One of my favorite stores is Paper Source  and a picture from their catalogue was the inspiration for this quilt along with this quilt on flickr.

I think it would be adorable hanging over a console table in an entryway or in an office (a very cute office!)

The quilting was simple. Straight lines on the solid fabrics, a grid on the print and loopy-loops on the background. I found the perfect binding in a tiny zig-zag print from the Reunion collection by Sweetwater. 

I have to share with you my new tool that's been keeping me on track with my projects. I have a way of jumping from one thing to another, tidying up and putting things out of my way. Then I completely forget about them and you know what happens - UFO city. So I've been keeping an ever-changing list posted and somehow it keeps me on track. 

And finally a little splurge on Joel Dewberry's gorgeous new line - Notting Hill. Now this needs to be added to the list!!   . . . Cindy

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Courthouse Steps

My Courthouse Steps block is growing. Now 51" square heading to 63".

I hope to keep it growing. Do you think watering and fertilizing will help? . . . Cindy

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Spinning Stars Quilt

You may remember my Spinning Stars quilt. I posted a sneak peek a few weeks ago. One of my commenters hoped that I'd post a lot of pictures of the finished quilt. That was easy - a got some nice shots on this beautiful day!

The fabrics are primarily Field Study, with some Chicopee and a few prints from Anna Maria's earlier lines.

I love how the pattern forms 2 designs when the blocks are put together. This octagon shape...

And a 4-pointed star...

I struggled choosing a binding for this one. I tried all of these and the Chicopee in a purply-plum color won out. And I had just enough - about 1/8 inch leftover!

 The backing is one of my favorite prints from Field Study.

I hand-quilted with shades of blue, orange and gray just in the cream areas. The rest is machine-quilted with echoing lines in Gray Aurifil.

I think it makes a pretty Fall quilt! Don't you? . . . Cindy

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Sewing Kit... Zakka Style

A dear friend celebrated a monumental birthday last week. Some Melody Miller Ruby Star Shining fabric...

and the sewing kit pattern from Zakka Style...

A special gift for a special friend!

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Giveaway winner and more!

Thank you all for your gracious comments about my block and resulting quilt. I can see tons of possibilities with it from quilts, to pillows, to bags. And we have a winner of the magazine!

QuilterKat ~ send me your address and we'll get it to you!

My blogging was somewhat remiss last week. We've been busy with outdoor preparations for winter beautifully described in this poem. As much as I love the warm months and the garden, I always look forward to long winter evenings snuggled under a quilt with some hand-stitching.

And speaking of hand-stitching, I have a pile of completed quilts - they just need their bindings hand-stitched. Some show-and-tell coming soon!

Quilters are known for stepping up in times of need. After the devastation of Hurricane Sandy many organizations are now collecting quilts and hand-made items to help ease the pain so many are feeling. For a nice list of organizations spearheading collections be sure to visit the Martingale Blog - Stitch This!

I'll be sending 2 quilts to Bumble Beans. I've donated to this organization in the past and they are already in the process of distributing quilts to Sandy victims.

In other fun news, this month was my turn to distribute my blocks in the STL Redbird Bee. I chose this block using scraps of teal, orange, brown and orange-yellow. I'm very excited to have a quilt made by some special friends!

And finally, I've been a lucky quilter. I recently won all these great giveaways and want to say thank you, thank you, thank you to:

 Bon Bon Atelier for the beautiful stack of solid voile quarter yards (not quite sure what to do with those; any ideas?)

Free Spirit Fabrics and 100 Quilts for Kids for the stack of "Essentials" fat quarters

Modern Quilt Relish and Alissa Haight Carlton's Action Kivu fundraiser for a complete set of 13 patterns (love them all!)

Heather Mulder Peterson for her 2 new patterns Galleria and Little Charmers 7 (can't wait to try them!)

It's so much fun to win free stuff!! . . . Cindy

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100 Blocks Blog Tour and Giveaway!

Welcome to my stop on Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks vol. 6 Blog Tour!

My block is #583 Lattice. The fabrics are from Amy Butler's Lark collection. I love how the black print square seems to float.

The magazine editors did a great mock-up of a quilt with the block set on point.

My quilt uses 2" finished sashing to connect the blocks. I used a strip in the center of each sashing unit to connect the blocks. Did you notice I made one block in red for a pop?

 The magazine is filled tons of inspiration and more awesome blocks! It'll be released on November 13th!  How about a free copy? I've got one to give away - leave a comment and I'll pick a name on Monday morning November 12th!

For even more prizes and the complete list of bloggers on the hop head over to Quilty Pleasures Blog! Hope you win!!    . . . Cindy

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Quilting my Dresden Fan

Where has this week gone?? Seems like not too much has been accomplished in the sewing room this week. In my quest to stop the quilt top pile-up, I did get my Dresden Fan quilt basted and the quilting started.

Here's a lesson! My plan was to stipple the white background and individually quilt the "fans" with colored thread. I did about 20 minutes of stippling and realized many of the blades would require starting and stopping for each one since there was no where to travel with colored thread. It's always good to take a thorough look at the quilt before going too far. I was able to easily rip out my stippling and come up with a new idea.

I ended up with "squiggly" concentric circles going round and round the block. I'll go back and quilt something in the center octagons.

Where the blocks come together, I used a stencil to create the perfect little flower.

Now that I've got a plan B, hopefully my pin cup will fill up quickly! Have a great weekend!! . . . Cindy

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