Templates and buttons

Look what I found over the weekend at Sew Much Fun...

They have a lovely sheen and coordinate perfectly with my collection that will debut at Market - both the warm and cool color stories!  Can't wait to design with them.

I also picked up these new charm square templates.  They are 5" so would work perfectly with charms or ten squares. 

I'm interested in seeing how they can be used in combination with eachother. What a great idea for precuts!  (But also for scraps, which we have a lot of around here.)  I'll be posting some small, simple projects as I experiment with these tools.

Hope you had a good weekend!
Amanda

Swiss Chocolate complimentary pattern - in a kit!

Wondrous Woven Fabrics is selling kits for my complimentary pattern for Swiss Chocolate for Robert Kaufman! 

You can find the pattern here...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Cuddle Up!

I'm so excited to share "Cuddle Up", my latest free pattern, with you!  I think I have mentioned that we are big fans of Cuddle fabric here.  Huge fans.  We all have robes made of Cuddle and blankets made of Cuddle, so the next logical step is, of course, pillows made of Cuddle!

I wanted to trim these soft pillows with pieced cuffs. Cuddle comes in a wide range of colors and I easily found some that perfectly coordinated with my Ambrosia line.  Oh - and I made sure that the edges of the cuddle fabric are completely encased in the seams in this pattern - so NO shedding after you sew.

And then I had to sew a neckroll pillow, of course.  I LOVE how neckroll pillows look, and couldn't resist adding some trim.

Of course, I could hardly expect my ten year old to be enthusiastic about the flowery nature of these designs so I whipped up one for him in Robert Kaufman's Dr. Seuss fabric.

He has since said that, when his Dr. Seuss pillow is in the wash, he would consider using one of the other pillow cases so as not to go back to an ordinary pillow.  Supreme compliment, don't you think?

Mario at Shannon Fabrics gave me a great tip for times when you are working with lots of Cuddle: after you have cut your Cuddle fabric, but before piecing, throw it in the dryer.  It really eats up those little pieces of fuzz.  Thanks, Mario!

One more thing... I just recently joined twitter.  I'm a novice in the social networking arena but I am going to take the plunge.  After all, only quilters and crafty people might be interested in following me and we are the nicest people in the world, if we do say so ourselves!  As an aside, my computer-genius programming brother was no help in this area so I secretly want to be the expert in this one litle corner of the tech world - ha ha!  If any of you have any interest in joining and watching me stumble along in the social networking world I'd be grateful.  Just click on the twitter button on my sidebar and sign up!

I hope you all enjoy the pattern!


Amanda

Swiss Chocolate is shipping today! (and a sneak peek at a new quilt)

Hi everyone!

February 20th is the "official" shipping date of Swiss Chocolate.  Of couse, it is Sunday, so that would mean Monday is the official shipping date.  Then again, tomorrow is President's Day, so maybe Tuesday is the date.  At any rate, it should be showing up in stores soon.

To celebrate, I do have a new quilt from this collection to share with you.  "A Box of Chocolates" is in the April/May 2011 issue of McCall's Quick Quilts, which is starting to ship to subscribers now and will be in newsstands in early March.  

At 76-1/2" x 94-1/2", it is a great size for a bed, and quite simple to make.  I really had fun laying this one out.  Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop was kind enough to put together some kits for this quilt, along with some cuts of backing fabric, which is the caramel-colored tone on tone print you see on the front of the quilt.  They'll be shipping in a couple of weeks, but you can sign up to be notified when everything is ready at her site.

If you prefer to make it in mocha (blue and caramel color story), you'll need the following:

• 2 yards brown swirl print (sashing)- AAM-10930-174
• 3/4 yard cream print (border)- AAM-10930-15
• 1 yard cream/blue strip (binding)(AAM-10925-227)
• 3/4 yard tapestry - AAM-10926-227
• 3/4 yard blossoms - AAM-10928-227
• 3/4 yard melted swirls - AAM-10930-227
• 3/4 yard medallions - AAM-10929-227
• 3/4 yard scrollwork - AAM-10927-227
• 3/4 yard tone-on-tone floral - AAM-10931-227
• 3/4 yard feathers - AAM-10932-227
• 3/4 yard tone-on-tone Floral - AAM-10931-14

You'll still need to purchase the April/May version of Quick Quilts, and you can use the same backing fabric that Kimberly offers for the red and brown kit.

Also, I was ever able to get in contact with Carol to claim her Ambrosia giveaway prize, so I've used the Random Number Generator to pick a new winner.

Mary said:

I am doing Blockapalooza, and decided to come to your blog after seeing what you have done there. I'm embarrassed to say I wasn't aware of your work before that, but I am, after all, a "noob!" Anyway, I just wanted you to know I'm not just following you because you are giving away free fabric!

Having said that, Ambrosia is SO up my alley, and that Yo Yo pillow pattern is delicious!

Thanks Mary - and don't feel badly - my first collection of quilting fabrics came out this past year!  Isn't the blog-a-palooza program fun?

Happy sewing, everyone!
Amanda

ANOTHER Swiss Chocolate Giveaway!!!

Miss Rachel over at P.S. I Quilt is planning a football quilt out of Swiss Chocolate.  I LOVE it.  A football quilt out of Chocolate!  She is also doing another giveaway - the deadline is this Friday so hop on over and visit P.S. I Quilt!

Fat Quarter Shop has Swiss Chocolate precuts!

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

Thought you might want to know that Fat Quarter Shop just received Swiss Chocolate precuts so head on over for some Valentine's goodness! 

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner of the Ambrosia Giveaway is...

Carol!  She said:

I am a new follower and really have been enjoying your blog and the creative ideas. Of course I'd like to win fabric, I think my favorite is the tote bag, however the place mat is very close in this race.

Carol, please contact me with your snail mail address by this Friday (the 18th) to claim your prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered and either became a follower or already was one.  I really appreciate it.
Happy sewing!
Amanda

Blog-A-Paloozing (Part 2)

While working on some new lines and patterns, I've been having fun "blog-a-paloozing" with some other quilters out there.  A new blocks gets posted each Mondays and Thursday.  It is has been a great oportunity to try out my new Swiss Chocolate line. 

I think that I said in an interview that the "tapestry gone wild" is my favorite print, but in the last few blocks I really had fun fussy cutting the blossoms fabric, so it is running a close second...

Hop on over to the blog-a-palooza page to join in on the fun. You can see all the great work that people have done so far on the flickr group. (You can get the fabrics shown above at the Fat Quarter Shop, or use ones from your stash!)

Amanda

Robert Kaufman's (and my) Swiss Chocolate patterns and another giveaway!

Sherri of "A Quilting Life" has been dreaming up a recipe in Swiss Chocolate that I just can't wait to see.  She should be posting later on today and the best part is that SHE HAS ANOTHER SWISS CHOCOLATE GIVEAWAY FOR YOU, so head on over to her site!  Of course, you also still have time to enter Ryan's giveaway on I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts and the Ambrosia giveaway on this site. 

Robert Kaufman asks me to do a complimentary pattern for them for every collection.  Since Swiss Chocolate comes in Roll-Ups and Ten Squares, I designed a pattern that uses both precuts and incorporates all the fabrics.  (Swiss Chocolate Roll-Ups and Ten Squares will be available at Fat Quarter Shop at the end of the month.  They have yardage now, but are waiting on precuts.)

"Swiss Chocolate" for Robert Kaufman

Here is another complimentary pattern for a chocolate pincushion to make with the leftovers.... 

Hope you enjoy!

Amanda

And the Swiss Chocolate Giveaway winner is...

Quilary, who said...

I've just become a follower - I came over from Fat quarterly. Delicious fabrics - I love the mocha. I would like to make some cafe curtains for my kitchen and accessories, like oven mitts and placemats as well. I've got blue in the tiles and this would make it all look very posh! Thanks for the chance to win some.

You all had such nice comments, I wish I had pre-cuts to give everyone!

Congratulations, Quilary!  I'll be in touch...
Amanda

An Ambrosia Giveaway!

Ryan Walsh interviewed me about the development of Swiss Chocolate over at I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts!  So, in case you haven't had about enough of me blabbering on about how excited I am about this collection, hop on over to his blog and leave a comment for another chance to win a precut of Swiss Chocolate.  (Thanks for the interview, Ryan.) 

In conjunction with this, I thought it might be fun to do an Ambrosia giveaway. 

You still have until midight tonight to sign up for the Swiss Chocolate Giveaway that I'm doing in conjunction with Fat Quarterly.  And remember, you have until tomorrow night to enter the giveaway at Cluck Cluck Sew, too!

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

So, who would like a half yard bundle of Ambrosia?
To enter:

1. Become a follower of my blog.
2. After becoming a follower (or if you already are one), leave me one comment on this post saying that you are a follower and tell me what your favorite free pattern is on my blog (You can find links on the sidebar.) (MAKE SURE YOU LEAVE A WAY FOR ME TO CONTACT YOU SHOULD YOU WIN.)

Please leave only one comment.

The deadline for this giveaway is the end of day Friday, February 11th.
Thanks everyone!
Amanda

"A Rows Garden" in Quilts and More

Introducing "A Rows Garden", in this Spring 2011 issue of Quilts and More...

Didn't they do a wonderful job photographing that quilt? My daughter and I are swooning over the purple walls and yellow bed. LOVE LOVE LOVE the yellow bed! "A Rows Garden" is a bed-sized quilt that is simple to put together. The blocks are quite big and the fabric does most of the work for you. It features prairie points on the top and bottom. If you at all skittish about trying them, they really aren't hard. I took some photos of the process while making this quite, which you can find here and here...

Oh - and Robert Kaufman put in the sweetest candy bar add using my mocha colorway of Swiss Chocolate on another page in this issue - look...

The top two photos in this post sit on a backdrop of my newest Ambrosia design, in which I pieced the Lazy Angle blocks. No instructions are available as of yet (soon, if I can get my act together), but here is a sneak peek...

Have a wonderful weekend and happy sewing!
Amanda

"Caramel and Cocoa" in American Patchwork and Quilting

It's been so hard to keep these Swiss Chocolate quilts secret and I finally can let this one, at least, out of the bag.  My quilt "Caramel and Cocoa" is in the April issue of American Patchwork and Quilting!  (Yes, I am pinching myself.)

This is a really fun, easy quilt to sew.  The tapered panels and bargello pattern give it movement and sophistication.  The Swiss Chocolate collection just screamed for a bargello quilt, and now it has one!

Fat Quarter Shop is offering kits for this quilt in the chocolate (brown, pink, and red) color story.  (Thanks Kimberly!)  If you prefer the "mocha", blue and caramel, color story, you can order yardage separately for that there too.  Here is the information you will need:

Caramel and Cocoa in blue (sans Cocoa)

• 5/8 yard tapestry (AAM-10926-227)
• 5/8 yard blossoms (AAM-10928-227)
• 5/8 yard scrollwork (AAM-10927-227)
• 5/8 yard medallions (AAM-10929-227)
• 5/8 yard feathers (AAM-10932-227)
• 5/8 yard tone-on-tone floral (AAM-10931-14)
• 1-1/4 yard melted swirls (AAM-10930-227) for rows and binding
• 1-7/8 yard light fabric (melted swirls - AAM-10930-15)
• 1-7/8 yard dark fabric (melted swirls - AAM10930-174)
• 5-1/4 yards backing fabric - choose your favorite of the above!

Hope that helps!  Back with another quilt tomorrow - happy sewing!

Amanda

Another Swiss Chocolate Giveaway!

Is anyone out there ready for another Swiss Chocolate giveaway? (I know... this one isn't even over yet, but it is always good to have additional chances to win!)  Allison at Cluck Cluck Sew is giving away BOTH a ten square and roll-up.  Head on over to her blog to enter...

I got a chance to read some of the really nice comments from you all and I am pinching myself.  Some people even said that they hadn't tried colors like these before, but were drawn to it because of the fabrics.  I feel that is SUCH a compliment.  I love playing with color and hope that everyone who might be nervous about trying new color combinations take the plunge, whether with this collection or that of another designer.  Some people (yes, mom, I'm talking to you too if you are reading this) say they are not creative, but I really think that everyone has some creativity inside them waiting to be unleashed.  It is a matter of letting go of our fears of creating something that isn't perfect and letting our right brains take over, don't you think?

When I was in art school we were asked to create postage-stamp size pieces of art using only torn paper.  The fact that you had less control over the overall composition made you really pay attention to how colors interact.  Quilting is a little like this.  It is only a quilt, so don't worry about making color mistakes. Well, as someone who loves quilts recognizes, no quilt is "just a quilt", but it isn't as if you are making the financial commitment to redecorate your entire house.  Plus, the prints will help you along when you get stuck - pull in some complimentary fabrics in an accent color, or explore different neutrals, like brown or grey.  I have learned so much more about color through quilting and think my artwork has become a little better because of it. 

With Swiss Chocolate, I wanted to play with how the reds and the blues interact with the browns that are reflective of the wood tones in so many of our homes.  Chocolate is rich, after all, and I wanted the overall effect of the colors to be as well.  And I wanted to design something I hadn't really seen out there.  By the way, I used a similar pink in my next collection -Veranda - that will debut at Market, but this time it is juxtaposed with yellows and greens so that pink takes on a completely different look.  Fun... with color!

Thanks again for hosting the giveaway, Allison!
Amanda

P.S.  I was at the bookstore today and I picked up two magazines... one featuring a design with Swiss Chocolate and another with Ambrosia.  What a thrill!  More on that tomorrow.

Quiltmaker's (and my) Cafe Mocha!

I've had lots of emails this morning about a quilt that I designed on page 30 of Quiltmaker's March/April Issue. 

First of all, let me say how thrilled I am that so many of you love this quilt!  I love it too.  (My mother loves it so much that she has claimed it for her own - it is what began "The Great Dining Room Makeover" over at her house.)  No, unfortunately I do not offer kits, but Fat Quarter Shop has yardage and I can ease the ordering process by giving you the fabric SKU #s that I used for this quilt.  You might have to order 1/2 yards instead of 3/8 yards, but you can get pretty close to what a kit would actually contain.  So here is the info you need:

Quiltmaker Cafe Mocha yardage requirements

1/2 yard of these accent fabrics for the blocks:

• Melted Swirls - AAM-10930-227
• Medallions - AAM-10929-227
• Tone on Tone Floral AAM-10931-227
• Scrollwork - AAM-10927-227
• Feathers - AAM-10932-227
• Tapestry - AAM-10926-227
• Blossoms - AAM-10928-227
• Striped Ribbon - AAM-10925-227

2 yard dark brown print (Melted Swirls - AAM-10930-174) Quiltmaker specifies 2 yards, but you might want to buy 1/2 yard more to have to play with

1-3/8 yard cream print (Melted Swirls - AAM-10930-15)

1/2 yard inner border gold print (Tone-on-Tone Floral - AAM-10931-14)

2-1/2 yard outer border/binding fabric (Melted Swirls - AAM-10930-227)

6 yards backing fabric (Tapestry - AAM-10926-227)

If you would rather do the quilt in the chocolate (red) color story, change any replace the last three digits of any SKU that ends in "227" with "167".
 
Thanks for the kind comments and I hope that helps.
 
Amanda