HoneyBeGood GIVEAWAY!

Woot woot!! We've got a lovely new sponsor, HoneyBeGood, and they sell some darling organic fabrics.  And they have the BEST prices (hands down!) I've seen on organic fabrics.

HoneyBeGood is a family-owned shop with a focus on organic cotton and sustainable hemp fabrics for the quilting arts. They have a growing inventory that currently consists of bright and fun organic cotton from Robert Kaufman (check out their organic cotton kona solids), Nancy Mims, Cloud9 fabrics, Daisy Janie, Amy Butler (to name a few), hemp/organic cotton muslin in a variety of colors, organic cotton thread on fun wooden spools, and prepared-for-dye organic cotton poplin, canvas and voile.

Such yummy-ness! :)  Love this New Leaf bundle, so bright and happy!

 HoneyBeGood operates out of loft space in a renovated cotton mill on the Yellow River in Porterdale, Georgia. Although mostly an online store, if you're in the area, give them a call to schedule a visit and tour the old mill. If you're game, and weather permits, they may even take you kayaking on the river.  Sign me up!! :)

Would you like to win some of these lovely fabrics and/or notions?!?

HoneyBeGood is offering a $25 gift certificate!!

You can also save 15% storewide through Wed, March 6. 

Use coupon code QUILTSTORY

To enter:

please leave a separate comment for each

1. Visit HoneyBeGood and let us know what you'd like to get if you win!

2. Like HoneyBeGood on facebook, tell us you did in a comment (and for fun tell us your favorite designer(s)

This giveaway is now closed.

Quilt retreat and Fabric Tuesday...

This last weekend I went to a quilt retreat hosted from Emily of Crazy Old Ladies quilts. It was about 30 ladies in a giant cabin about 1 hour away from my house. It was so much fun! I definitely want to fit more retreats in my future.

This is the view from the back patio. Seriously, I know.  Beautiful!

Amber showing off her cute finish (we all showed off in this manner). Amber from A little bit biased. Amy from Diary of a Quilter and I shared a bedroom and sewing table. Kathleen from Quilt My Phone was also at our sewing table, it was great to meet her as well. We had a lot of laughter, and a few tears as well. (Because that is what sleep deprived girls do right?)

I worked on some of my granny squares, aren't they getting cute?

Also tons of these little stars. I love them with all my heart. It will be for Sophie and Addie's rooms. 

and my finish...

I am the pink and purple giant star, and Marion from my quilt diet, (the crazy lady who created over 65 quilts in her first year of quilting). Marion was one funny gal! (more on the star quilts later...)

Anyhow, I had a ton of fun, what did you create this week?

A little something special from Sew Nomadic

Nicole from Sew Nomadic, is a darling girl! Cute as can be with a big heart! Se submitted this quilt to us. She was more excited about her Great Aunt than the quilt she was submitting, which was just so sweet! Nicole is a crafting/quilting/knitting girl etc. And as she says, jack of all trades, master of none. I certainly can relate to that!Be sure to visit Sew Nomadic for some inspiration!

So I was a little nervous about my first post. How'd I do??? I guess I was more nervous to hit that post button and put myself out there then anything else. Its amazing the power a little button can have over you.

Anywho...I thought I would just roll right into the awesome sewing craftasticness!

As a crafting/sewing junkie I find that 99% of the time I am making for others. The moment someone is wrapped up in a quilt I've made for them or is daily using a bag I've sewed especially for them, it makes my heart do kart wheels!  This is why I do what I do, to make others feel happy and loved.

A while back I decided I would make a quilt for a wonderful lady in my life, my great aunt. Her name is Auntie Mary and she is amazing. I love her more then anything. She immigrated from the Czech Republic when she was very young and is a true actualization of the American dream. She worked her way into owning her own business, learning English all by herself and making a real life for her and her family. She is so important to me because my own grandmother(her sister) died when I was very young. Auntie Mary has since been the only "grandmother" I have known.

She has always been so supportive of what I do. She says she sees a lot of herself in me, the drive and ambition to become something great. She remembers when women did not have the rights they do today and is happy to have contributed to this freedom. Sadly, Auntie Mary passed away recently and it has really hit me hard. In her remembrance and honor I would love to share her story. A feature would mean the world to my family and I and ultimately to Auntie Mary.

Meet Auntie Mary.

Isn't she so cute!  She is 92 years young, sharp as a tack, and the sweetest woman I know.

My Grandmother passed away when I was a very young girl and I never got to know her.  But my Auntie Mary swooped in as the best stand in I could have ever asked for!  Being my Grandmother's older sister, she took on the role as proud segregate Grandmother serving up double doses of love and "homemade" pies.  She never sends me home without something sweet, lots of kisses and a magical fiver which, unbeknownst to me, somehow finds its way into my shirt or jeans pocket .  When we go up north, my family always makes a point to visit her for a cup of tea and a chat.  Her house is still one of my most favorite stops! And its not because of the cookies or change, but because of the way she squeezes my face and in her Eastern European accent calls me her baby then asks me if I've eaten something.  Because she is so absolutely wonderful I made her this!

It's a thank you for all she's done and continues to do for me.  Now it can love her as much as she loves me.

Make sure you give your Grandparent/Grandparents an extra long hug next time you see them.  I swear it will bring a little sunshine to both of your days!

First Friday Finishes!

Hey all!  Heather is enjoying herself at a quilting retreat this weekend...and I'm pretty jealous!  It seems pretty amazing to me to spend three days sewing your heart out!  She's been emailing me here and there to keep me in the loop :)  In case you're wondering...Heather and I keep our blue tooths in our ear and talk a couple of hours everyday.  Yep.

You've heard us both talk about how amazed we are to have finished a quilt with the Block of the Month series.  So we've been talking and decided we wanted to start another series..

First Friday Finishes

Sorry, cute button to come.  It's pretty simple, the first Friday of every month we are going to share something we've finished for the month.  Not something new that we've started and finished, but one of our many many WIP's that we've taken the time to finish up!!

Here are some of mine that were handy yesterday for a picture:

Lucy skirts...two need trim and elastic, one just needs trim.

Lucy's Christmas stocking BEFORE Dec. 1!

I have several bibs in various stages...and she is such a drooler I actually need them!

For my FIRST Friday Finish (in 1 week) I am going to have my quilt label finished and attached to the quilt for my 4 year old and give it to him!  His birthday was January 6th.  I am so very close.

Heather is going to have my Christmas present finished and ready to share!

We both have loads of WIPs, I have three quilt tops, a messenger bag in the works and more...

The question is what do you think?

Would you like to just see us post our finishes on the First Friday?  See how much we can get done this year?

or

Would you like to join us?  We can do a linky party to encourage all of us if it's something you're motivated to do too!

Ron Swanson Quilt from Simple Sewendipity

This takes awesome to a whole new level.  A mini quilt, for a man, of Ron Swanson (a character from a TV show, Parks and Rec).  Now I must admit, I watched the first season and my hubby and I gave up, when many people say it got really good. We've been talking about giving the show another go. However, I think Stephanie from Simple Sewendipity wins for awesome wife don't you think?? My husband would probably appreciate a Michael Scott version...or Jack Bauer. :)  Check out Stephanie's flickr for some more fun and creative ideas!

Have you ever tried to make a quilt for a man?  It’s HARD!  I was pretty settled on the fact that even though hubby is über supportive of my never-ending sewing and fabric shopping, he’d probably never truly appreciate the gift of a quilt.  Fine by me if he’d rather have CDs or a new phone – whatever floats your boat!  That is until I saw this by Monica of Happy Zombie fame.

 

 (Perhaps I should preface this by saying that both hubby and I are major Parks & Recreation fans and “Treat Yo Self!” became our adopted catch phrase for longer than was probably healthy or funny for people other than us.) 

I guess my love of quirky quilts and pop-culturey projects is no secret, so making a mini quilt of this for our 13^th anniversary seemed like it would be a good fit and probably a fairly easy finish.  About 2 weeks before our anniversary, I went onto Happy Zombie to find a few more detailed photos and how she constructed her letters…and found a tiny reference at the bottom of her Treat. Yo. Self.post that said that Ron Swanson would be appearing on her blog.  Hmm.  Intriguing.  So I clicked…and laughed, and laughed, and laughed. 

(Perhaps I should also add here that in addition to loving Parks & Recreation, my hubby wants to BE Ron Swanson and would probably wear his hair high and tight and rock a ‘stache if he could pull it off.

 

I knew instantly that a) this would be perfect, b) extremely appreciated, and c) WAY harder to finish in two weeks than I was counting on.  Undaunted, I joined the Ron Swanson Along and picked out my fabrics.  Happy Zombie’s version is pretty much one color scheme, but I liked the idea of having a separate color for the background.  I also really wanted the hair and moustache to stand out a bit, so I added a range of browns to the black and greys and chose aqua for the background.  Manly colors, all the way!

 I also wanted to scale down the size a bit from her tutorial so that hubby could bring Ron into his office to keep him company during the work week.  I scaled down the squares to 1.5”.  Now just so you know, each block was 10 squares by 10 squares.  And there were 12 blocks.  Ugh.  The cutting, my god the cutting!  I think I practically got a blister on my finger from all the rotary cutting, but I just knew that it would be SO worth it.

 

I worked and worked on the Swanson mini at every free second for those two weeks.  After a couple of days of sneaking around behind his back, I figured out a key point that I will probably use to my advantage again:  if I don’t physically bring him over to the sewing machine or ironing board or prompt him to come and look at a project, he will NEVER ask what I am working on. So I was able to work away right under his nose and still keep the gift a surprise.  Yay!  I finished sewing on the binding by noon on the Saturday of our anniversary dinner and wrapped it all up with a card that alluded to me never becoming one of his “Tammy’s.”  

The look of confusion melting into utter delight and amazement when he opened up the quilt was just perfection.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so satisfied with a gift I’ve given him.  It got even better when I asked him to turn it over and he saw the extra little something that I created for the back.

 

Scrappy eggs and bacon - because any Ron Swanson fan needs to have ALL the eggs and ALL the bacon.

 

 

I loved this from start to finish – even when all those hundreds of squares felt a bit too much, I’d get a glimpse of moustache or furrowed brow and it just all felt worth it.  Plus I felt like I was giggling and running Parks & Rec lines through my head the entire time that I was sewing.  It was pure bliss! 

 

The cherry on top was that when I posted up pictures in the Ron Swanson Along Flickr page, I got comments and praise from Monica herself!  And then she pinned it as well!  I felt a little star struck.

And just in case you were wondering, Nick Offerman HAS seen Monica’s quilt and even SIGNED IT for her!!  Gasp!  Now THAT is better than a meat tornado. 

Fabric Tuesday #123

Happy Fabric Tuesday!

Before we get into everyone's projects, let me announce the winner for the darling rose bouquet from  A Joyful Soul Fabrics:

Allison C said...

I love Tula Pink's Octo Garden Aqua

FEBRUARY 14, 2013 AT 6:46 AM 

CONGRATS!!!

I have been working and working on my Block of the Month Quilt this week.  I'm almost there, hooray!  I've turned mine into a twin sized quilt so it's been a big project.  Can't wait to share :)

Here are some great projects linked up from last week:

Doll Quilt Swap from Creative Chicks

Quilted Slippers from a lotta bit fun

Blocks from Nordic Flcka

 Madrona Road Herringbone from The Sewing Chick

Zipper Pouches from A Quilter's Table

Matters of the Heart (100 Hearts) from Sew Sara

sweet momma post!

Fabric Tuesday #123

click here for info

Link up your fabric related projects!

A Joyful Soul Fabrics Giveaway!!!!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!

We have a super fun and cute giveaway from A Joyful Soul fabrics today. 

A Joyful Soul Fabrics has been up and running for over 4 years. She started because of a serious love of fabrics that grew and grew. She only offers adorable fabrics (my words not hers), be sure to take a look. 

Only a serious fabric lover would make such and adorable Valentine's bouquet!

Look at this precious bouquet of roses?  All made from Joel Dewberry's Notting Hill line. This is 6 fat quarters and 6 fat eigthths!!  The winner will be given instructions how to take it apart and use the fabrics however you please. 

The winner will also receive a dozen "rose cards," these are postcard size patterns of quilts that are perfect for ALL skill levels. Designed by Villa Rosa Designs.  

The total retail value of this giveaway is $50.

Giveaway is open to US and international folks, (if an international winner, the equivalent in fabric will be offered, 6 fat quarters and 6 fat eighths, for shipping purposes)

3 ways to enter: (separate comments for each)

Go to A Joyful Soul Fabrics and tell us your favorite fabric

"Like" A Joyful Soul Fabrics on Facebook and tell us you did

Check out A Joyful Soul Fabrics blog and tell us what you think...

This giveaway is now closed.

Fabric Tuesday !

Hi all! Welcome to fabric Tuesday.

We normally like to feature projects from last weeks link up, but our subscription expired and I don't have access to the lists. (I am all paid up, but am not sure if this link will even work???)

Don't worry, everything should be restored!

Anyhow, I wanted you to share a few fun projects we found on Pinterest. Meg and I are in LOVE with Pinterest. You can check out our boards or follow us on Pinterest here.

A chevron baby quilt from Girls in the Garden...just love the colors!

Super fun and cute star quilt found on flickr...

This amazing quilt from Canton Village Quilts...one day...

Fairly Merry-Hannah's Garden quilt...

Mary created this quilt for a friend who lost her pet. What a great gift. I love the Sunflower burst your eyes are drawn to. I also love how the color values match their pet.  You can read more of the story here. What a great gift to a friend. Mary is a fabric lover and quilter. She blogs at FairlyMerry, cute name. Here are her quilt finishes, amazing! Be sure to visit her blog...

I promised some photos of Hannah's Sunflower Garden quilted.  I didn't get photos of the completed quilt before gifting it.  They kicking and yelling graciously let me have it back for a few days for photos.  The husband had asked me to make his wife a sunflower quilt and a reminder of their pet who had passed on.  He was going to pay me, but as I took almost an entire year to find my rhythm with this quilt, I decided to gift it instead of taking payment.  (they are friends, so it wasn't too much of a stretch)

The sun hitting the quilt just so made it look especially bright.  Sunflowers should be happy, bright, fun, and make you feel good inside. Somewhat like a quilt.

Some of the quilting is grid style, I like to use that for stability.  I used FMQ to make sunflower petals through the panel pieces of the sunflower.  I also made small sunflowers in the center of the lighter blocks, you can see them well on the back.  

For the back I used a sunflower batik, and I was just a tad short of having enough for the entire back.  But, I used that to my advantage for something I wanted to add at the bottom.

In the quilting I wanted to add a small outline of 'Hannah' who was the pet of this quilts new owner.  Hannah was ill and went on to heaven before her time.  I traced a photo of Hannah and stitched over the outline on the back of the quilt.  You can barely see her on the front - as if she is hiding in the garden.  They had wanted a reminder of Hannah, but I didn't want the quilt to be sad, and this way, I feel as if she is there if they want to see her, but not obvious.  She was a very handsome dog!  

Here is the photo I used:

Hannah 

I received a very nice note from the quilts happy home, that alone was enough to make me all warm and fuzzy feeling inside.  But as we had talked about Hannah when I gave her the quilt and she said how sad she still was.  I encouraged her to make a home for a new dog - as that is what kept me going last summer when I had to let go of my own old girl.  In her note she told me that she was inspired to move on from her sadness and will bring home two boxer puppies later this month.  I will need to remind her later, that I did NOT in anyway encourage her to get two!  

Black and white showing value in the quilt.