Fat Quarter Quickies

So many great books hitting the market and here comes another one. With a title like,
Fat Quarter Quickies
how can anyone resist. If you know Kathy or have ever visited
with her it is apparent she is from the south. Quilt names such as
Smorgasbord,
Brown-Eyed Girl,
Cutoffs, 
Pixy Stix
and Tequila Sunrise
surely came 

along with a bit of southern twang.
I can say this about her
because I am pretty southern myself,
so I know she won't mind.

 So here is the line for the blog hop.

June 17th- Sew Unique Creations - http://sewuniquecreations.blogspot.com/

June 18- Pam Kitty Morning - http://pamkittymorning.blogspot.com/

June 19 - Spun Sugar Quilts - http://www.spunsugarquilt.com/

June 20 - Martingale - http://blog.shopmartingale.com/

June 21 - Modalissa - http://modalissa.blogspot.com/

June 22- Silver Thimble Quilt Co - http://www.silverthimblequilt.com/

June 23 - Jaybird Quilts - http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

June 24 - PS I Quilt - http://www.psiquilt.com/

June 25th - Teacher's Pet - http://www.theteacherspet.typepad.com/

foolproof, 

honest-to-Gussie, 

can't fail me now....

Kathy's own words to describe her fat quarter projects.

Pickled Dish Quilt along

The Pickled Dish Quilt along from Aneela Hoey has been on my bucket list since she first posted the Quiltalong on her blog.

Pic courtesy of Aneela Hoey

I am off to a long weekend retreat and so in case you were wondering 

what I was going to use the grey and yellow fabrics for......................

 Well, this is the start of my project. I only need 125 more arches.

 Let's see how much sewing  I get done. Can I possibly pull off an all-nighter?

And just in case I get bored with this project. I did pack 3 more things to work on.

Have a great weekend. I know I will!!

And the winner is

 tpott said...

Years ago my husband used my 6x24 inch ruler and broke it. I'm still not sure, what he was measuring with it. I was so upset he never used any of my quilting supplies again. I think at the time I only had 2 rulers. It seams like a million years ago, I have SO many different rulers now.

June 7, 2013 at 3:25 PM

Congratulations!!! You are the winner of A quilting Life book by Sherri McConnell. 

Friday Funny

Hope your summer is off to a glorious start.

Wanted to share a precious video.

Watch it to the end. 

I think he was thrilled being on stage! 

- Modalissa

Grey and Yellow

 Here is my stack of fabrics for my next scrappy project. I have been accumulating/hoarding everything I can find in greys and yellows.

I think this color combination first started wit  a piece from
Vanessa Christenson's Simply Style.

Then came along Baby Jane by Eric and Julie Comstock.

Then  Kate Spain's newest fabric, Sunnyside has some yummy pieces
in it so I had to add them to my pile.

The stack of fabrics continues to be fermenting so I had to get serious 

and start weeding out the ones I was going to use. 

I like to cut swatches and make my own little inventory list
of fabrics as I collect them.

 Then when it comes time to narrow down the pieces I look at them in grey scale. Nowadays this is much easier to do by just taking a picture of it on your phone and turning it to grey scale. I use to drag myself up to the copy shop and lay it on the copier to make a black and white copy.
 

If you have trouble with color this is a good exercise to build your color confidence.

 I think color is scary for a lot of people, when that actually is the funniest part
with the fewest actual "rules."
What is tough to get a grasp on is the difference of what
value and scale will do to your project. 

By looking at the grey scale swatches you take all the color out of the equation. Sometimes we use a fabric just becasue we love the color, yet the scale or pattern ends up sticking out like a sore thumb.

 I ask myself do I have the right mix of small, medium and large prints regardless of the color? 

Looking at the fabrics in grey scale also helps determine if any of your fabric choices are way too dark or way to light.

I tend to gravitate to a certain scale of fabrics so I always have to make sure my choices all look the same. Try this out next time you are choosing fabrics. It is amazing how it helps narrow down your choices while adding visual interest to your fabrics choices.

-modalissa

A Quilting Life blog tour

Hello to all, 

I hope you have been following along.

All of the following people have been sharing bits about their quilt life.

Everyone is also giving away a copy of Sherri's super duper book. All you have to do to win onw is visit each of the blogs throughout the duration of the hop. 
The winners will be posted on the 14th.

Monday June 3^rdNanette at Freda’s Hive http://fredashive.blogspot.com/
Tuesday June 4^thSinta from Pink Pincushion http://pinkpincushion.blogspot.com/
Wednesday June 5^th Jodi from Pleasant Home http://www.pleasant-home.com/
Thursday June 6^th Judi from Green Fairy Quilts http://greenfairyquilts.blogspot.com/
Friday June 7^thLissa of ModaLissa http://modalissa.blogspot.com/
Saturday June 8^th Amanda of AmandaMurphyDesign http://amandamurphydesign.blogspot.com/
Sunday June 9^thAnna of Thimbleanna http://thimbleanna.com/
Monday June 10^th Amy Smart of Diary of a Quilter http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/
Tuesday June 11^th Kristyne of Pretty by Hand http://prettybyhand.com/
Wednesday June 12^th Sherri of A Quilting Life http://www.aquiltinglife.com

WINNER'S ANNOUNCED the 14th.

(International winners will be sent an e-book)

Okay so that is the business part, on to the fun part.

 Sherri's blog has got to be the most perfect name ever, right? 

Who among us cannot say we live the quilting life or at least dream of the quilt life. 

Sherri is a gentle giant working alongside so many other people. 

She has sewn for many people, set-up quilt booths, designed contests & 

events & challenges, organized Schnibbles parades, 

creates projects for the Moda Bake Shop and so, so much more. 

 So I can't begin to tell you how excited I was to hear 

that she was going to share some of this talent 

on the pages of her very own book appropriately titled, 

A Quilting Life.

 The projects and inspiration in this book range from pillows, table runners, totes, wall hangings, so there is a project for literally every aspect of your home.

One of my favorite projects from this book is the Mod Runner.

Our assignment for this blog hop is to tell a little bit about our quilting life.

My quilting life began in 1980  and there is not much of my life that did not involve quilting. I am also lucky enough to have a job doing something I am passionate about. Did I say passionate, maybe I meant obsessed.

Quilting is my life, I had a dream once that I got called into the Principal's office because my son called someone a fat quarter.  I did get called in at a later date for him looking up a girl's skirt on the playground.



When I worked and taught at a quilt store, sometimes my students would call my home asking quilting questions. My family was comfortable thinking they could answer. If they were asked, about how much yardage should they buy? The standard answer was, "I think 1/2 yard would be plenty."

Quilting is my life, 

if my grown son uses my supplies to make his dog a Dallas Cowboy super bowl outfit.

I once was blamed for our foundation issues. 
Well after all my fabric stash was on that side of the house.

 Quilting is my life.....If I use my children for human quilt hangers.

 Do you let people use your good scissors to cut paper? What about using a rotary cutter to cut pizza? you know who you are... Quilting is my life. 

 If all your Christmas stocking are made from 
quilts, then quilting could be your life.

 

When I show any of my quilts to my crew, they always say, " Is that a log cabin pattern?"

 

There is nothing better than sharing the craft with the next generation.
Quilting is my life.

Sherri's grandmother shared it with her and I hope you have the opportunity to share your quilting life.

Leave a comment and let me know  how one of our family members has used your quilting supplies to win one of Sherri's books. I will also throw in a few of my favorite charm packs. The winner will be announced on the 14th.

Triangle Swap

 

Recently I participated in a triangle swap with 20 other gals.

I have always been a fan of Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts and her triangle papers.

These papers fit beautifully on fabric approx 7" x 22 making it a 

wonderful project for scraps or fat eighths.

 

Each package comes with enough papers to make 700 triangle sets. The papers are printed on newsprint paper making it easy to tear the papers off once the sets are sewn together.

Once my triangles were sewn and pressed, they  were sorted into stacks to swap.

As I sorted them I had fun entertaining myself by playing with different designs.

Rows of flying geese, anyone?

Cheddars, poison greens, madders, oh my!

Reds, blacks and a pop of royal blue.

Here is what the triangle paper looks like with fabric right sides together.

The sewing directions are easy to follow with arrows all along the way.

Directions are printed on each sheet.

Now the swap has happened and I have thousands of  2" finished triangles. 

So many triangles, so many fabric combinations, so many design options.

Now it is time to make a decision on how to put all the triangles together!!