Saturday, December 28, 2013

Finally, the Good Folks Finish

Ok, so I know this is a long time coming. It just seems like every time I try to get photos of this quilt, something gets in the way. Regardless, I have finally done it! You may remember it from my Japanese X and + tutorial, when I posted about the finished top, or you may have seen it in my header and wondered what happened to the finished quilt.

Well finally, here it is. This is my flat out all time favorite ever quilt.




For the back, I got really lucky and found 3 yards of filigree on Etsy for only $18. You know how expensive yardage of Good Folks can get. Naturally I scooped it right up, and it is the perfect backing.
 

I quilted it with basic straight lines that were set just 1/4" off of each side of the the seams. It has great drape and is not too heavily quilted. I don't like quilts that I actually use to have any kind of heavy quilting on them. I think heavy quilting makes a quilt feel like a piece of cardboard. 



So yes, the finished quilt does exist. I use it almost everyday and it is my favorite finish of all time. :)

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Hemispheres QAL {Winner}

I am pleased to announce the Hemispheres QAL Winner! The voters picked Anya Nixon! Anya, I will shoot your email over to Tammy at Marmalade Fabrics and she will be in touch. Thank you everyone for participating!

Make sure to keep up with the new patterns released from Aria Lane. I have a few more coming soon as do some of the other designers! To be kept up to date, sign up for their newsletter! Happy sewing!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

My Gypsy Wife: Part 2

Im still in love. This quilt is so therapeutic. Here are a few more of my main blocks.





This one is just heavenly. I got to highlight a little piece of original Flea Market Fancy Barbells that I have been hoarding. It just seemed so appropriate in this quilt. 


And as I began to add the filler blocks, the blocks on the wall started to grow,


and grow,


and are looking awwwwesome (if I do say so myself). If you are as inspired by this pattern as I am, you can find it and all the other gorgeous Jen Kingwell Patterns at Westwood Acres!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Around the ColorWheel {Green}

Yum! This arrived on my doorstep just in time for my birthday and the holidays!


I love watching my solids stash grow. If you need stash builders, check out Tammy's bundles and Around the Color Wheel at Marmalade Fabrics!



On my birthday, we made ornaments for our first tree. He's adorbs, I look like I'm 10 rather than 26. Haha.  :)

Monday, December 9, 2013

Hemispheres QAL {Link Up}

Are you ready to win this!?!?!?


Then link up your finished Hemispheres quilt top or finished quilt below!

I have changed the dates a little since my technical difficulties with my internet today delayed this post so much. You can link up today and tomorrow, and then on Wednesday, the chance to vote on your favorite top will be available! Please come vote and help us pick the winner of this gorgeous stack of fabric. The voting will be open until midnight on the 14th, and then the winner announced on the 15th!

So link up now and check back to vote on Wednesday! Can't wait to see what everyone has made! Thanks again to everyone who participated! I have really enjoyed seeing everyone's quilts come to life!

Wednesday, December 4, 2013

My Gypsy Wife: Part 1

My newest obsession is Jen Kingwell's Gypsy Wife. I knew I had no other choice but to make it when the BOM came out last year, but I could not afford a BOM that was shipping from Australia. So I waited. And waited. And waited. And finally, the BOM finished, and the pattern was released! I snatched it up super fast from Westwood Acres and almost fell over with glee!


Needless to say, I got started right away! If you follow me on Instagram, you have seen the progression of this quilt already. Block 1 won my heart. I was in love. Love love love.


It was on this block that I noticed the first error. When I follow a pattern, I look at the cover, look at the diagrams, and then read the words. Its kind of like cross checking that it all flows correctly. Well the diagram for this block has a shading error, and if you only look at said diagram, you will leave off one of the little triangles.

For all those following along with #gypsywifealong or who decide to make it after my blog posts, I am probably going to post a list of errata that I found. I have already seen some people on Instagram making the blocks wrong, and it makes me sad because they are just following the directions. It is not their fault. If you are making this with me on IG and you think you have found an error, post it to #gypsywifealong. I want to make sure I capture everything when I write this up for my friends who are following along. I also want to shout out a little bit to Alyssa and say thank you for all of the rigorous revisions that you do for our Aria Lane patterns. Months of checking and testing go into those puppies.

So anyway, semi-negative stuff aside, I am still painfully in love with this quilt. It touches my soul because I see so much of myself reflected in the design. The chaos of the pattern, the saturation of all the color, the inability to take it all in on first glance. I love this quilt.

I chugged through what I call the 'main blocks' pretty quickly. Here are a few more.





 
I'll save the rest for my next post! What pattern touches your soul and reflects everything you are? I am interested to see what quilts people see themselves in. Happy quilting!

Monday, December 2, 2013

Hemispheres QAL {Giveaway Winners!}

Yay! We have some winners! Our random number generator picked numbers three and eighteen! Congrats Stephanie and Rachel! I will email you soon and let Tammy know that you guys are the winners!


Thanks to everyone for entering! I was so pleased that so many people found the quilting tutorial helpful! If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I have a bit of a new obsession. It's called the Gypsy Wife. I will post about my progress this week!