On Pointe and the last day of the Wake Up to Kona blog hop!

Tomorrow is the final day of the Wake Up to Kona blog hop at Sew We Quilt.  People have been posting such amazing projects - makes me so happy!  You can see the vast array of ideas and techniques over at the Wake Up to Kona Pinterest page as well.  (Tomorrow - the 21st - is also the last day to bid on City Lights, with all proceeds benefitting the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation.)

I thought I'd celebrate by showing one last quilt from Color Essentials.  This one is called On Pointe and it is sewn using a Kona Sunset Fat Quarter bundle.  It is pieced with Aurifil thread on my Bernina 580.  Quilting by Deborah Norris!

I hope everyone has a wonderful, colorful week.  Happy quilting!
Amanda

Window Boxes

This winner of this giveaway, according to the random number generator, is PK Sews!  Congratulations!

Window Boxes is a fun, modern design that I pieced this summer for Quilters Newsletter Best Modern Quilts Issue.  I'm so excited to be able to share it with you here today as part of the last day their blog tour, for which they have generously sponsored a giveaway of both a magazine and a Jolie fat quarter bundle by Anna Griffin!

Some of the larger wonky windows sport just a bit of appliqué!

Window Boxes is sewn in a combination of my "Bella" and "Bonjour, Mon Ami" lines for Blend Fabrics.  I used Aurifil thread for the piecing and appliqué and Warm and White batting.  My good friend Cherry Guidry of Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio, quilted the fun floral pattern.

"Jolie" fat quarter bundle by Anna Griffin

To enter the giveaway of a copy of the magazine and the Jolie fat quarter bundle simply leave a comment telling me about a quilting project you are currently enjoying or are excited about starting.  Deadline is tonight (Friday the 17th of January) at midnight.  One entry per person please.

And be sure to stop by Quilters Newsletter and another designer on the tour, Janet Jo Smith (a little bird told me it was her birthday today so be sure to wish her "happy birthday"), for more chances to win prizes!


Happy quilting and have a great weekend!
Amanda

P.S.  Please join me on Instagram at "amandamurphydesign"!

City Lights… to benefit the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America

Hi everyone!  I hope you've been enjoying the solids projects popping up on the Wake Up to Kona Blog hop over at Sew We Quilt!  To celebrate the final week of the blog hop I'm offering up the Sunset version of City Lights as featured in Color Essentials, with proceeds going to CCFA, the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America.  (This organization is a non-profit, volunteer-driven organization dedicated to finding the cures for Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis.  They are also a great resource for people living with the disease.)  Lots of people have a misconception Crohn's disease and colitis only afflict the older population but there are millions of people of all ages who deal with these diseases on a daily basis.  Chances are you know one… or a few.

"City Lights" in the Sunset Palette (64" x 82")

I had a lot of fun making this quilt, and figuring out how I water to colors to flow in alternating blocks.  It is set on an Kona Amethyst background and the appliqué is done in various cool shades of Aurifil thread.  I used Warm and Natural batting for vintage feel.  Deborah Norris quilted it for me using an "Interlocking Shooting Stars" pattern by Bonnie Borseth.

I hope you like it!  If you are interested in bidding on it please visit this link!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Lollipop

Who doesn't like Dresden Plates?  "Lollipop", which features lots of Dresdens set in "Slinky fashion", framed by appliqué circles on lollipop sticks, was another favorite quilt to sew for Color Essentials.

"Lollipop", as photographed by C&T Publishing

Basically I grabbed all of the blue and green Kona solids I could find and was well on my way.  (Sewing with so many shades of blue and green was a hardship!  Thanks, Robert Kaufman!)  I appliquéd everything in matching shades of 28 wt. Aurifil thread.

As with all the quilts in Color Essentials, there are other color ideas in the back of the directions for Lollipop.

Don't forget to check out the Sew We Quilt Wake Up to Kona blog hop to see what everyone is doing with solids!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Color Burst

Many of us love quilting with both solids and prints and a most times a quilt pattern can lend itself to both.  The first quilt that I came up with for Color Essentials, in fact the quilt that really inspired a lot of the other quilts in the book, was one I really envisioned in solids - Color Burst.  And since it is the Sew We Quilt Color Me Kona blog hop I though I might show you some photos...

Color Burst in Kona Brights palette

I thought of it as a painter's wheel with the Kona representing dabs of paint, but it is a log cabin quilt in disguise!  This is one of the quilts that I can't wait to see in other palettes or even in prints!

C&T photographed it against a matching seafoam green.  Nothing like decorating to match out quilts, right?  It should always be that way rather than the other way around!

One thing I learned the hard way is that you should ALWAYS use your template to line things up when trimming an irregularly-shaped log cabin.  Don't just use your ruler edge.  Ask me how I know!

Deborah Norris did a spectacular job quilting this - she used white coordinating colors on the blocks themselves.  I like how the loose floral motifs contrast with the angular lines of the piecing.

Make sure you head over the the Sew We Quilt Color Me Kona blog hop to see all the colorful projects popping up!

Have a great weekend and happy sewing!
Amanda

Wake Up to Kona is Here!

I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday season and is ready to begin the New Year with a  smile!

I'm so excited because today is the first day of the Wake Up to Kona blog hop featuring my Color Essentials book on Sew We Quilt!

As many of you know, Color Essentials is a part-quilting/part-color theory book; the projects explore combining colors in unique ways, all using Kona cotton precuts by Robert Kaufman and sewn in Aurifil thread on my Bernina 580!

Every day from now until the 21st, talented quilters will be showing off projects over at Sew We Quilt.  There are some really fantastic giveaways sponsored by Robert Kaufman and Aurifil!  I'll also be showing some projects from the book every few days over here.

The Kona Sunset palette as featured in Color Essentials

And to top off the blog hop, I'm be raffling off my Sunset version of City Lights from Color Essentials, with proceeds going to CCFA - the Chrohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, a non-profit dedicated to finding cures for Chrohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.  Bidding will start at $150 on the 15th and last until the end of the end of the blog hop - the 21st.  I'll be posting a link then.

If you love color and quilts check out the projects from now until the 19th!

Happy New Year and happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S.  I'll be going over some of  the principals of color theory that I cover in the book over on Bernina's blog, We All Sew, later today as well.