Tag: Blog Hop

Check out Irish Chain Quilts by Melissa Corry!

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I’m super excited to be a part of Melissa Corry’s blog hop for her fabulous new book, Irish Chain Quilts. Melissa is known over on her blog as Happy Quilting Melissa and I can’t think of a better pseudonym for such a truly fabulous gal!

B1297_Final_FB_Cover.inddImage Courtesy of Martingale Publishing, Fabulous Photographer Brent Kane

About Melissa Corry

I first got to know Melissa when my shop used to sponsor her blog and we immediately hit it off! I mean how could you not adore someone with such a friendly, bubbly personality that loves to help others and share her loving of quilting with as many people as possible? She’s truly someone I look up to as a positive example in the quilting industry, and I’m so glad to call her a friend. I’ve shared about her and some of her other quilts on my blog previously, too!

Christa Watson and Melissa CorryMelissa and I met in person for the first time on her way to quilt market in 2013. She flew out of Las Vegas that time which was awesome for me! We had lunch and chatted non-stop the whole time!

Ok, enough gushing and on to the book!!

The Book

Irish Chain Quilts includes 15 fabulous quilts all based on the classic Irish Chain block design. You know – that’s the design that forms an X in each block which creates a very striking chain effect when all blocks are placed side-by-side. Melissa created such stunning original designs and asked several of us to re-create a block inspired by one of the quilts in the book.

This is the design I chose to work with – Daisy Chain. I’m a sucker for applique with fun big pieces that I can easily stitch down by machine! I also love the photography in this book. Hanging all of the quilts on a clothesline with clothespins is sooo Melissa! 🙂

01-80_B1297_Finals.inddImage Courtesy of Martingale Publishing, Fabulous Photographer Brent Kane

My Take

Here’s my and funky colorful interpretation of Melissa’s block. I’m a sucker for orange, earthy tones!

christa_daisychain

This block was super easy to make and very easy to resize. The book calls for larger blocks, but each of the blog hoppers is remaking a block in a smaller size that will be joined together to create a super fun and scrappy quilt from all of the blocks!

At the end of the hop, Melissa will share the big reveal of the quilt she’s assembled from all of the various blocks from the book. And, true to her generous nature, she will then be donating that quilt to charity. I can’t wait to see it!

Giveaway!!

Along with the Charity Quilt reveal, Melissa is hosting two grand prize giveaways where you can win one a copy of the book, a mini quilt made by Melissa, and a treasure trove of fabrics!

Grand Prizes

To enter the grand-prize giveaway, be sure to hop on over the intro post on Melissa’s blog and leave a comment!

Where to Buy

List of Blog Hop Stops

Be sure to hop around to all of these fabulous blogs below to see the rest of the quilts from the book, plus the reinterpreted quilt blocks. There’s inspiration galore!

Thanks for stopping by!

If you are new to my blog, be sure to sign up for Friendly Threads, my email newsletter!

The Beehive Quilts – Double Star Block

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This month I’m pleased to be a part of The Beehive, a quilt block tutorial series hosted by Alyce from Blossom Heart Quilts.

My block of the month is called Double Star, which finishes at 12″ x 12″.

Double Star Block

Be sure to hop on over to Alyce’s blog for the Double Star block tutorial, plus see what the block looks like in repeat, and check out Alyce’s version in an alternate colorway. If that’s not enough, there’s also an extra bonus for EQ users!

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Click here for links to all of the Beehive block tutorials.

Around the World Blog Hop – Remix

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Isn’t it such fun to meet a variety of bloggers, quilters, and pattern designers? I previously participated in the Around the World Blog hop back in September where I was able to share a bit about my creative process.

around_the_worldFree Clipart Courtesy of Clipartof.com

I think it’s gone around the world a few times and it’s come back to me once again, this time from my lovely friend Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting Melissa. I have to give a huge shout out to Melissa, who also has a book coming out with Martingale. She was the one who encouraged me to submit my book proposal to them and I couldn’t be more grateful!

melssa_corryMelissa Corry of Happy Quilting Melissa

Melissa was tagged by Melissa Mortensen who was tagged by Amanda Herring who was tagged by Amber Johnson who was tagged by Amy Smart who was tagged by Jen Kingwell who was tagged by Sue Spargo and it goes on and on from there! So be sure to check out each of these fabulous women’s posts. I think you’ll learn something new and be inspired!

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I’m currently working on some secret sewing featuring the fabulous Handcrafted batik collection by Alison Glass for Andover fabrics. I can’t wait for the big reveal!

If you haven’t shared your journey yet, I invite you to now! Just write up a post by next Monday, January 26th and link back to this post. Then invite a friend or two to join the fun by mentioning them in your post going forward. On your blog, feel free to answer these questions any way you like:

What are you working on?
How does your work differ from others?
Why do you do what you do?
How does your creative process work?

I can’t wait to read your responses!

Book Review and Blog Hop – Vintage Quilt Revival

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Today I would like to tell you about some fabulous friends of mine who put their brilliant minds together to create an amazing quilting book that actually has something to say!

QuiltCon Dinner

Dinner in Austin, TX, 2013
From Left to Right: Katie, Christa, Faith, Holly, Lee

At QuiltCon last year, I got a chance to chat about quilting over dinner with Vintage Quilt Revival authors Katie Clark Blakesley, Lee Heinrich, and Faith Jones (plus their fantastic friend Holly who’s on the hop later in the week).

Even though I didn’t know they were writing their book at the time, their passion for modern quilting was quite contagious! In fact, when I arrived home from QuiltCon last February, I was ready to take on the modern quilting world, in part due to their enthusiasm for it!

Vintage Quilt RevivalSo let me tell you a little bit about their book, Vintage Quilt Revival. In addition to an extremely well written volume that is beautifully illustrated, they have included mini history lessons for each block, plus design notes and tips throughout.

It’s a whopping 159 pages full of creative inspiration and instruction including sections on tools and techniques, new settings and color approaches, and re-imagined blocks that will take your breath away!

The book is organized block by block, with instructions on how to make each of the twenty 12″ finished blocks, followed by a full-sized project to make from each and every block.

Sugar Snow Quilt

Sugar Snow Quilt by Lee – one of my favorites from the book!

And this is where the creativity really comes in. Adapted projects include fun accessories like totes and pouches, to full sized quilts using a variety of settings. The icing on the cake is the included sampler quilts, made by each of the authors showcasing a different way to combine all of the blocks!

Vintage Quilt Revival

Faith’s Sampler Quilt – I absolutely love this setting!

Many of the blocks utilize paper piecing techniques, and the book comes with a CD so that you can print out as many full-sized foundation templates as you need. They’ve thought of everything!

I also give Katie, Lee, and Faith extra credit points for quilting a vast majority of the quilts themselves, including tidbits of inspiration on how they chose the quilting designs. I love it when authors show that it is possible to make amazing modern quilts yourself from start to finish. 🙂

Cut Glass Quilt

Katie’s Cut Glass Baby Quilt – I got to recreate a couple of these amazing blocks!

Vintage Quilt Revival is worth reading and perusing as a coffee table book, even if you never make a block – but make a block I did! Each of the 20 bloggers on the hop got to construct a different block from the book using our own colors and fabric choices. Such fun! My block was the Classic Geometric Star Block – the one Katie chose to make her Cut Glass Baby Quilt, shown above.

Geometric Star Block

My version of the Geometric Star Block

Even though this particular block was listed as an “advanced” skill level block. I had no problems following the clear-cut instructions to make my block.

Just for fun, I also made another block with the points going the opposite way and added a little sashing border around it, to demo how fun it can be to mix things up!

Geometric Star Block

Geometric Star Variation, with Border

I’m very touched that the authors have chosen to incorporate all of our sample blocks into charity quilts which will be revealed at the end of the hop. It will be fun to see how they all come together.

Updated – See The Finished Charity Quilts!

I was so thrilled to see the three charity quilt finishes put together by Katie, Lee and Faith. I am impressed with how they were able to take all of the blocks and combine them into three cohesive quilt designs. Remember, the participants had free reign when it came to fabric and color choices. Aren’t they just wonderful?

Katie's Charity Sampler

Katie’s Charity Sampler

Lee's Charity Sampler

Lee’s Charity Sampler

Faith's Charity Sampler

Faith’s Charity Sampler

To see more Vintage Quilt Revival inspiration, be sure to check out the entire blog hop schedule below. I feel truly honored to be included among such talented people!

January 13th (Monday):
Crazy Mom Quilts – Amanda Jean
Don’t Call Me Betsy – Elizabeth
Film in the Fridge – Ashley
Happy Quilting – Melissa
Noodlehead – Anna

January 14th (Tuesday):
I’m A Ginger Monkey – Katy
Quilting Is My Therapy – Angela
A Quilting Life – Sherri
Sew Mama Sew – Kristin
Tall Grass Prairie Studio – Jacquie

January 15th (Wednesday):
Christa Quilts – Christa
Diary of a Quilter – Amy
Quilting Gallery – Michele
Sew Take a Hike – Penny
V and Co. – Vanessa
West Coast Crafty – Susan

January 16th (Thursday):
Bijou Lovely – Holly
Don’t You Know Who I Am – Sukie
Lily’s Quilts – Lynne
One Shabby Chick – Amber

January 17th (Friday):
Swim, Bike, Quilt – Katie
Freshly Pieced – Lee
Fresh Lemons Quilts – Faith

Upcoming Holiday Tutorials and Sewing With Certainty

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I’m excited to share with you two upcoming blog hops I am involved with this fall.

The first is a Holiday Tutorial blog hop hosted by two fabulous gals, Heather and Megan from Quilt Story.

Holiday TutorialsThe holiday tutorial series will feature 10 different bloggers (including yours truly) sharing tutorials for fun gift projects this holiday season. The complete schedule is below. I would encourage you to visit each of the blogs now and bookmark them or add them to your bloglovin’ feed so you can catch them as they happen!

Sewing with CertaintyThe next blog event is hosted by Jessica from Quilty Habit.

She’s presenting a series entitled, “Sewing with Certainty“, geared toward helping you improve your sewing and gaining confidence at the same time!

Since machine quilting is near and dear to my heart, I will be expounding upon that topic as part of her series.

The unique thing I love about Jessica’s series is that it will include a linky party with prizes! Every two weeks from now through February, she will blog about a particular topic. In turn, you can expound upon each topic in your own blogs and talk about ways you are gaining confidence in this particular area. I think it sounds like a lot of fun.

Remember, each linky party is open for the entire series, giving you plenty of time to participate. I’ve included the full schedule (subject to change), including a  link to the first party, underlined below:

  • Sunday, November 3: First Linky Party! Write a blog post about the crafty areas in which you want to gain more confidence, and/or discuss a project you will be working on during the series that will help you gain this confidence.
  • November 10: Choosing Fabrics
  • November 24: Perfection
  • December 8: Approaching New Patterns/Concepts
  • December 22: Free Motion Quilting (FMQ) with Christa of Christa Quilts
  • January 5: Creating Your Own Designs
  • January 19: Showcasing Your Work
  • February 2: Writing A Sewing Blog
  • February 9: Final Linkup! Write a blog post about a project you worked on during the series that helped you gain confidence in your skills.
  • February 16: Prizes awarded from all Linky Parties!

Happy hopping! 🙂

Christa’s Quilt Links – FMQ, Block of the Month, Free Patterns

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I’ve been doing a lot of machine quilting lately, finishing up a few quilts in time to enter them into some shows. That got me thinking about all of the wonderful quilting tutorials, blocks of the month and free pattern ideas there are out there.

I can only begin to post a few, but here are some of my favorites I ran across this week.

ElizabethModern Patchwork Hartman from Oh Fransson shows how to do easy some easy free-motion quilting with her Dogwood Quilting tutorial. This one is definitely on my list to try!

Elizabeth is also offering a wonderful (FREE!!) Craftsy class called Creative Quilt Backs. I love “back art” so this is definitely the class for me! I just ordered it (FOR FREE!!)  and can’t wait to have some time to watch….

Angela Walters In StudioAngela Walters has a wonderful new book out and she has loads of FMQ inspiration and tips on her blog.

I’ve signed up to take one of her classes at QuiltCon and have viewed her machine quilting class on Craftsy, too. She is my FMQ muse right now 🙂

In Color Order BOMI found a super cute Block of the Month hosted by Jeni of In Color Order.

All of Jeni’s blocks feature half-square triangles (one of my favorites!) in a striking combo of Citron and Aqua.

She just posted the final block in December and you can visit her blog for the entire group. She included some setting instructions, too, along with her finished quilt. It’s gorgeous!

ZiggyI found this totally modern quilt block tutorial called “Getting Ziggy With It” from Kelly at Live Love Create. Isn’t it cool? I’ve never seen anything like it before!

Speaking of fun projects, the Art Gallery fat quarter gang has a fantastic Pillow Cover tutorial on their blog. Hmm, I wonder how you become part of the “gang”??? That sounds fun!

I’vePearl Bracelets been checking out Andover‘s blog a lot lately, considering I’m expecting Lizzy House‘s Pearl Bracelets to arrive any day now.

In fact, Andover has have a super funky free quilt pattern to go along with Pearl Bracelets, aptly titled, “Pearls.” Lizzy designed it herself and it features large applique circles in a rainbow of colors.

Kissing FishIf applique is not your style, how about this awesome free pattern from Lee at Freshly Pieced?

It’s called Kissing Fish and is available as a free pattern download. Nice share, Lee!

By the way, that’s Lee who hosts the WIP linkup every Wednesday on her blog.  But I warn you – it’s quite addicting and can take hours to view and read about all of the lovely quilts each week!

Wow, there’s so much to check out that I could spend all of my free time blog-surfing rather than quilting. What a tough balance!

Color Run and Christa’s Quilt Links: Shop Hop and More

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This morning I ran a super fun 5K with a couple of my friends. It’s called Color Me Rad and it was basically a crazy color-soaked extravaganza. While we ran the race course, volunteers were standing by throwing bags of colored starch onto us and our white T-shirts. At the end, we looked like a tie-dyed mess! I sure love color even if it gets all over me!

Color ExplosionColor Me Rad 5K

Now onto some other cleaner things to share with you.

Fab Shop HopThe FabShop Holiday Hop is going on now through December 15. Browse through hundreds of fun online stores, sign up for their newsletters and you could possibly win a fabric shopping spree. How cool is that?

Sea of Stars Quilt AlongDon’t call Me Betsy is starting a brand new quilt along kicking off on Monday, Nov 19th.

It’s an original pattern of hers called Sea of Stars.

She’s a prolific designer, teacher and blogger so it should be fun!

Applique Letter TutorialThanks to one of the blogs I follow, Quilt Story, I found a new fun blog this week: Sew Sara.

Sara has an adorable Applique Letter Tutorial that she posted earlier on her blog.

You could use this technique on items like boutique clothing, baby onesies and of course, quilts!

I didn’t have quite as much time to browse through my huge list of blogs I follow so these are just a few highlights.

Remember, if there’s a cool blog or nifty technique out there that you run across, feel free to share it with me. If I’m not quilting, I love reading and dreaming about sewing fun new projects all the time!