Amanda Murphy Design

And Easter Table Topper - Part 2

2012-03-02T11:31:00.001-08:00

If you are following along with the Easter Table Topper, here are the next steps... (The first steps can be found here.)

Choose 3/4 yard of a background fabric that complements, but doesn't overpower, your pieced charm pack. Something that reads as a solid is a good choice. Cut background fabric into 2 (10'') strips. Using this template, cut 16 (sorry - not 20 - I misspoke last week) wedges from the strips (or 32 if you are making two Table Toppers). If you happen to own the 22.5 degree wedge Nifty Notions Cut for the Cure ruler, you can use that too. Simply line up your fabric on the 3'' and 13'' lines when you cut. (These are kind of "chunky" Dresden Wedges.)

Now cut out the Dresden shape from this other template and place it on top of your wedges. (Save the egg with the tiny slash marks in the margin for the next step.) Trace the curved shape on the top of wedge onto the fabric. Cut along your traced lines. This will give you a lovely scalloped border on your finished piece.

Trace the egg (inluding the little slash marks) 20 times onto paper-backed fusible web. Cut out excess fusible roughly around the egg shape. Cut excess fusible from inside the eggs as well so your finished piece won't be stiff.

Fuse these pieces to the back or pieced charm squares, lining up slash marks with seam lines. Cut out. Fuse eggs onto Dresden wedges, using the template with for placement. (I could see right through my background fabric, but if you can't, just lightly press the wedge in half vertically and mark a tiny mark on the fold with a disappearing pen about 1-5/8'' from the curved edge to indicate the bottom of each egg and ensure uniform placement.)

Repeat to add an egg to all your Dresden Wedges.

Next week we'll add some of the much-neglected decorative stitches on our machines to decorate our eggs!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Sew We Quilt

2012-03-01T08:29:00.000-08:00

I'm honored to have my Portaits of My Garden quilt featured on the March banner of Madame Samm's Sew We Quilt blog. "Green" is the theme of the month - check it out!

Portraits is a really fun quilt because, although it looks complicated, it really isn't because there are no seams to match. Plus it is a great vehicle for feature prints.

I'll be back tomorrow with the next installment of the Easter Table Topper.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

An Easter Table Topper - Part 1

2012-02-24T21:21:00.000-08:00

Today, and one day last week, I went to Sew Much Fun in Gastonia for training on the Bernina 580e. While there I spotted Flora - an adorable little charm pack by Lauren and Jessi Jung for Moda. I've been thinking about sewing an Easter table topper using a lot of the features on my machine, and thought that the charm pack was perfect for the little eggs around the edge.

The light yellow print in the background is from Curio, by Basic Grey. I bought a yard and plan to use it for the background. (That will be enough for one table topper, but to make a second I'll have to purchase another yard.)

I'm going to incorporate some specialty stitches, fun finishing techniques, and maybe some (optional) embroidery, I'll be posting every week until Easter, so feel free to follow along.

I want to piece the the eggs, so I started off by matching each charm square with a contrasting charm that complemented it. I then cut pair into (1-3/4" x 5''), (1-1/4'' x 5"), and (2'' x 5'') strips. I took the 1-1/4'' strip and sewed the contrasting 1-3/4'' and 2'' strips onto either side of it. The #57 foot has a 1/4'' training blade that allowed me to sew all 42 squares together in no time. (There will be only 16 20 eggs on the Table Topper, so I will have enough to make two Toppers if I buy more background fabric.)

I pressed the seams open. This is key because I plan to stitch some fun specialty stitches down these seams later in the process.

As you can see from the pieced charms in the background, you will end up with 21 pairs of pieced charm squares - each pair having opposite placement as far as fabrics go.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Funky Flower Quilt

2012-02-22T14:11:00.000-08:00

Here she is, my Funky Flower Quilt...

Accuquilt's half-square triangle dies make this easy, but you can make up this pattern even if you don't have an Accuquilt cutter. (I would love to see this in batiks on a black ground! Wouldn't that be fun?)

Enjoy!

Amanda

And the winners of the Aurifil Giveaway are...

2012-02-21T21:03:00.000-08:00

MRZ, who said...

I have bought and used all 3 - but fat quarters are my favorite.

Gene Black, who said...

Of the choices, I would choose fat quarters. however, my real choice is a full yard.

And Cheree @ The Morning Latte, who added...

Fat quarters, tho I do use the 10" squares occasionally. Love the thread. :o)

Thanks to everyone who participated. Sorry I samples to send out one to everyone...

As an aside, I just sent Garden Paths off for its third printing, and I print by the thousand! Thanks, you all! When I receive the patterns back maybe I'll post another giveaway. In the meantime, I'll be back later this week with another complimentary pattern - this time for a spring lap-sized quilt.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Another Aurifil Giveaway

2012-02-17T07:45:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!
It is time for another Aurifil giveaway!

Three lucky people will be sent an assortment of Aurifil threads to play with!

To enter, just leave me a comment on this post telling me whether you prefer to buy 10'' squares, roll-ups (2-1/2'' strips), or fat quarters. Do you have a favorite? Please become a follower if you aren't already.
Only one entry per person please. Deadline is this Monday, February 20th, at midnight.

That is it!

Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Love...

2012-02-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

My new baby - a Bernina 580e

Need I say more? She arrived Monday and I'm still swooning.

I've sewn hundreds of flying geese since then...

Flying Geese - made from Laurie Wisbrun's Brrrr line

And tried out some applique and embroidery... The stitch quality on a Bernina 580e is nothing short of AMAZING! I feel like I have only tapped the surface of what this machine can do.

It is worth the mess that is accumulating in the front room as I sew. The kids homeschool and I design and sew all in the same room (usually) and I'm working on a big (secret) project, so things are crazy here right now. But, in case you don't think I'm serious about the mess, here are some peeks:

Clockwise from top right: more flying geese (from Patrick Lose prints), a wonky star block for the Charlotte Modern Quilt Guild's exchange, about one hundred yards of washed and ironed fabric, and school books galore...

Lesson: Cropping makes even messy rooms look a lot better.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. I'm taking a little break from introducing Accuquilt tutorials this week to have another Aurifil giveaway - so stay tuned because I'll post rules tomorrow.

Accuquilt Complimentary Pattern 2 - Funky Flower Pillow

2012-02-08T18:58:00.000-08:00

It is week #2 and I'd like to introduce my second complimentary pattern for Accuquilt - the "Funky Flower Pillow".

It is named, of course, after Accuquilt's Funky Flower die. As was the case with the first pattern, you can still whip up the project without the die, but the die does make it more fun.

Next week, I'll post directions for a coordinating Funky Flower quilt!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. For my Australian readers, I've just found out that Sew Bright Alpine Quilting is running my Under the Veranda Block of the Month program, and they are still accepting new participants. It is such a thrill to think of sewers half way around the world making this quilt!

Accuquilt Complimentary Pattern 1 - Bubbles Table Runner

2012-02-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

I was thrilled when Accuquilt contacted me last year and offered to do a GoBaby giveaway right here on this blog. At that time I was secretly designing several projects that used their dies. Those tutorials haven't made it up on the Accuquilt website quite yet, but the folks at Accuquilt have graciously agreed to let me share the patterns with you here in the meantime.

So... every week for five weeks, I'll be debuting a new complimentary pattern here on this blog! While having a GoBaby Accuquilt cutting system certainly makes these patterns even quicker and easier, you don't have to have one to complete the projects. I've included all the instructions that you need either way!

The first pattern is my "Bubbles Table Runner". She is perfect for spring and all the fun fabric collections that are starting to come out. Hope you like her and are inspired to create your own unique project!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winners are...

2012-01-27T16:07:00.000-08:00

Beth at Seasons of Home, who said:
I love polka dots and can rarely pass up using them in any quilt. Thanks!

Yes, Beth, from the photo below, you can see that I agree, one can NEVER have too many dots.

Dresdens in progress

AND Jenny, who said:
I really like simple prints...modern whimsy circles are fabulous and mono pezzy prints are top on my list right now.

This giveaway will be perfect for you, Jenny!

Thanks to everyone who entered. You all have such great taste - wonderful dream fabrics! Have a lovely weekend!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

A Modern Whimsy (and Bejeweled) giveaway

2012-01-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

When I began Bejeweled I wanted to use a bright, playful collection that would stand out nicely against the white background. I was lucky enough to get my hands on some advance yardage of Modern Whimsy, by Laurie Wisbrun for Robert Kaufman. And guess what? Robert Kaufman cut ten-squares of Modern Whimsy for both Laurie and me so we are hosting giveaways together! And we are both also including Bejeweled patterns. These ten-squares include one piece of each print, so they won't be enough to complete the larger version of the quilt, but you will be well on your way. (I also going to split up my remaining yardage that I used to make the quilt among the winners here.) Should be fun!

To enter here, tell me something about your "dream fabric". It can be something that is currently on the market, or that you have seen in the past, or something you just imagine. Maybe it sports a particular motif, maybe it is a certain color or scale. (For instance, I'm always on the lookout for good greens. One can never have enough. I'm also always looking for good light modern prints.) Please become a follower to enter if you aren't already. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win. That's it!

Then hop on over to Laurie's blog, the Scarlet Fig, to enter there too. (There will be two winners here and two there.) Her post should be up tomorrow. The deadline for both giveaways is the 26th.

Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Webcents

2012-01-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

Imagine my surprise when a few people emailed me this weekend saying that they had seen a version of my Garden Paths quilt on the cover of WebCents. Turns out WebCents is a new publication put out by FabShopNews and Garden Paths made the premiere issue!

It was sewn up in batiks and I love how it looks! Garden Paths is my best seller, although Blossoms and Bejeweled aren't far behind. I think it is because Garden Paths uses a jelly roll in an unusual way, as Blossoms does with a stack of 10'' squares. I can't quite figure out Bejeweled. I didn't know if there was a market for it, with all those yo-yos, but I loved it anyway (with the vertical design it looks fantastic on a bed) and decided to publish it. Apparently there are a lot of people like me out there who like to have something to do in carpool lines and doctor's offices etc., because it has done really well so far. Thanks, you all!

Happy sewing, everyone!
Amanda

The cover!

2012-01-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

Veranda made the cover of the March issue of Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting!

Thanks for the votes, all of you!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Another Aurifil Giveaway!

2012-01-16T19:43:00.000-08:00

No, not here, at least not yet (hint: next month), but look, all of you creative people, at the great contest/giveaway going on on Aurifil's facebook page. Time to get out the camera and take pictures of your latest work!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Aurifil winners and a fantastic Veranda project to share

2012-01-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,
You all have so many great projects to work on this year! Makes me want to pull out my sewing machine and sew.
Wait... my sewing machine is out - along with about a hundred yards of fabric ironed and washed on our living room floor. Yes, I did say "living room". Yes, the front room of our house. Well, what can I say, fabric is important and anyone visiting should know that, right?

Staci, one of this blog's followers, sent me a beautiful picture of a Veranda sewing machine mat, cover, and pincushion she made for her sister-in-law Emily this week. She used Veranda and a Thimble Blossom pattern. Isn't it beautiful? (It definitely belongs in the front room of a house, IMO.)

And she made a little iron-cover to match! And the iron is color coordinated! LOOOVE IT!

One of them must have a brother with great yaste - he chose a wife who sews like his sister!

And now for the Aurifil giveaway. The winners, using the Random Number Generator, are:

Regina, who said:
I am collecting 4 patches to make charity quilts for cancer patients - I have been gifted with nearly 2000 patches already, so I have lots of assembling in the months ahead. It is such a great feeling! I cannot wait to make that first delivery. (Great job, Regina!)

Donna, who said:

Fab! Been hearing lots of good stuff about these threads and read the interview! I am excited about a FMQ challenge I am participating in @ sewcalgal. thanks for the chance to win!

And Kim C, who said:
I would love to try Aurifil! I am signed up for Sew Cal Gals FMQ Challenge and would love to practice with this thread..I want to explore the possibilities with all the different weights and types of thread. Thanks so much for the giveaway.

So many people are trying the Sew Cal Gal FMQ Challenge I had to check it out. It sounds like fun!
Send me your addresses, ladies, and I'll send out the thread.

I have used Aurifil thread all this week and I have to say that I think it is the most lint-free cotton thread I've every sewn with. It is amazing. If you didn't win this time please be sure to stop back next month, when I have another Aurifil giveaway.

Happy sewing, everyone!
Amanda

P.S. I'm excited about speaking to the Forsyth Piecers and Quilters guild in Winston-Salem, NC tomorrow night!

Please help Veranda make the March/April cover of Love of Quilting

2012-01-06T09:33:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week.

I just found out that another of my Veranda quilts is up for the COVER or Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting. Isn't that exciting? They are having a poll to choose the image over on Facebook.

It has half-square triangle, quarter square triangles, every color under the rainbow - pretty much the kitchen sink!

If you like this quilt, any support you could show by voting would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks everyone!
Happy sewing!

Amanda

Aurifil Giveaway

2012-01-03T08:02:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had happy, healthy holidays.

Let's start off the New Year in a fun way with a giveaway, sponsored by Aurifil threads! Alex Veronelli, Product Manager for Aurifil, sent me an assortment of threads to giveaway, so I'll be giving away three bundles this time and another three next month. Sound good? (Incidentally, Alex just gave an interview about Aurifil threads over at Jolly Jabber - make sure to check it out. Did you know that Aurifil threads are produced in an environmentally friendly way?)

To enter please leave comment on this post telling me about some quilty-related item that you are excited about creating this year or some product or new fabric line that you can't wait to use. (Please become a follower if you aren't already.) Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win!

The deadline is this Friday, January 6th, at midnight.

Happy New Year with lots of sewing!
Amanda

So proud...

2011-12-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, usually I don't do the "proud mom" thing and subject you all to my talking about our kids, but this holiday I'm making an exception.

Remember how I mentioned that we were awash with Nutcracker rehearsals? North Carolina Dance Theatre has a fantastic production downtown with the symphony - just beautiful. Well, a great local photographer named Christopher Record recently took pictures. Pop over to his site and see. The second and third pictures on this page are my baby! Could that be? It was just yesterday that she looked like this...

I wish we could freeze time, but the older we get, the faster it flies by.

We're so proud. And she can sew too!

And we're also proud of this guy, who plays her brother on stage and in real life. And in his off hours he is my International Director of Shipping, which is a very important position.

Not getting too much sewing done around here, but trying to enjoy the moment.

Happy Holidays! (And sewing too!)

Amanda

Giveaway over at the Scarlet Fig

2011-12-09T19:59:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!

We are in the middle of Nutcracker madness over here, but I wanted to let you know that fellow Robert Kaufman designer Laurie Wisbrun has a great giveaway of some Modern Whimsy fabric and also a couple of Bejeweled patterns on her blog, the Scarlet Fig!

Happy holidays a little early, everyone!

Amanda

And the winner is...

2011-12-05T08:49:00.001-08:00

#37, Lisa Marie, who said:

Love this block! As for the layouts, I think it's a tie between A and D.

Please send me your snail mail address, Lisa Marie!
Thanks so much to you all for participating. If any of you make quilts with this block, please send pictures!

As you know, usually I try to answer every comment, but I am so behind on emails I haven't had a chance. I apologize We are awash with Nutcracker rehearsals here. The kids have their first performances this weekend and we are doing our best to enjoy the moment. Hope everyone is enjoying the special holiday season!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

"Diagonal Delight" with Madame Samm!

2011-11-28T10:49:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone!
Tomorrow I'll be guest blogging over at Madame Samm's. She has been featuring a series of guest bloggers over that past month, each with their own unique block design. Over the past year I have been experimenting with blocks that interlock - where one block seems to flow into the other in a seamless way - and this block is no exception.

Introducing "Diagonal Delight"...

On her own she doesn't look like much, but look what she can do when multiplied...

Diagonal Delight Quilt A

Diagonal Delight Quilt B

Diagonal Delight Quilt C

Diagonal Delight Quilt D

If you are looking for a tutorial to make this block, hop on over to Madame Samm's.

Now for the giveaway - this one is easy. I'll be giving away three of my patterns that exemplify this interlocking block idea: Garden Paths, Bedazzled, and Beribboned. All you have to do is follow (if you don't already) and leave a comment on this post telling me which of the above designs is your favorite.

That is it! Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win!

Deadline is a little longer this time - Thursday, December 1st at midnight.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner of the Fat Quarter Shop giveaway is...

2011-11-28T09:36:00.001-08:00

#7, Mom to Ryan and Sis, who loved the Swoon quilt kit. Me too!!!

You all are the best - you put me over the 1000 followers mark. We are celebrating here!

Fat Quarter Shop will be announcing their own winners based off of the comments made on their post. Just to make things fair I deleted any multiple entries on this blog. Sorry for the confusion! I'll be back tonight to talk about my Madame Samm block design and maybe there will be a giveaway with that too! (And next month we will have an absolutely fantastic Bejeweled giveaway courtesy of Robert Kaufman. Think Modern Whimsy fabric!)

Happy sewing everyone!

Amanda

Chatting with Fat Quarter Shop

2011-11-26T19:20:00.001-08:00

Note: This giveaway is now closed...

Later today (some would say tomorrow) I'll be chatting with Kimberly and friends over at Fat Quarter Shop. They have a few sets of my new patterns to giveaway, so go visit - they stock them all! They also have an absolutely great Thanksgiving "Black Friday" sale!

In celebration, of course I have to giveaway a set of patterns here too!

This is a QUICK giveaway, as I have another surprise in store Tuesday with the lovely Madame Samm!

To enter, leave me a comment telling me your favorite item in Fat Quarter Shop's "Block Friday Blowout". (My personal favorite has to be one of the fat quarter bundles of Christmas fabrics.) You must be a follower to enter and leave me a way to contact you should you win. Deadline is Sunday the 27th at midnight!

For two more chances to win, become a follower and comment on Fat Quarter Shop's post!

Happy sewing!

Amanda

P.S. Included in this sale is a Garden Jewels kit and Square Dance kit, both for an amazing price!!!!

And the Winner of the Ryan Walsh Quilts giveaway is...

2011-11-22T10:13:00.001-08:00

#61, Lesley Jean, who said:
I am in LOVE with Bejeweled. I have no idea what fabric line I'd use because I have so many favorites right now...maybe Terrain by Kate Spain. I could probably use that fabric for anything though.

You are right, Lesley, Terrain would make anything beautiful! Please send me your snail mail address.

Thanks to all who entered. Stay tuned becuase I have a few more great giveaways planned between now and the New Year.

Patterns are now in the Fat Quarter Shop or maybe in your local shop. I just dropped some off at mine the other day - Sew Much Fun! in Gastonia, NC.

Happy Thanksgiving (and sewing), everyone!
Amanda

Feature at Ryan Walsh Quilts and Pattern Giveaway!

2011-11-17T19:51:00.001-08:00

Ryan Walsh, blogger and quilter extraordinare, offered to feature me again on his blog and I jumped at the chance. If you haven't followed him, you really should, he always has great posts about what is going on in the quilting industry and is incredibly creative.

If that isn't enough of incentive, you can visit Ryan and peruse my literary skill (or lack thereof - I should probably stick to designing), because I wrote a poem about my new patterns. Yes I did. Don't judge. My experience writing poems is only about as extensive as my experience writing corny treasure hunt clues for our children. It is amazing how our better judgement goes out the window at 2am. If nothing else it will give you a good laugh.

Did you know there are rhyming dictionaries on the internet? Yes, there are. That is my new discovery this week.

To celebrate, I am doing a giveaway of a copy of ALL eight of my new patterns! And so is Ryan - and he has two sets of patterns to give away! To enter here, leave a comment (only one) on this post telling me which of my new patterns is your favorite and what collection you might make it in. Your choices are:

Oh - and you must be a follower and leave me a way to contact you should you win. (If I can reach 1000 followers we meaning myself, my husband, my International Director of Shipping, and my Chief Presser - will have to celebrate around here! Pie, anyone?)

Winner will be chosen on by the random number generator. Deadline to enter is this Monday, the 21st, at midnight. This giveaway is not closed - thanks to all who entered!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. All patterns are now available at the Fat Quarter Shop!

Garden Sampler

2011-11-16T07:54:00.001-08:00

My final new pattern is Garden Sampler. This twin bed-sized design was originally published in American Patchwork and Quilting almost a year ago. I decided to reissue it becuase the really big blocks make it just perfect for some of those modern lines out there. Those big rectangles are 12'' x 18''!

I have an obsession with 17th century English band samplers and have stitched some reproductions on linen. (And while we are on the subject, check out this 17th century embroidery made by and 11 year old!) Unfortunately, since I have started quilting, I haven't stitched much at all. So a band sampler for modern fabrics! Why not? Juxtaposing modern and traditional ideas works fantastically in decorating, why not quilts?

Did I mention that there were prairie points on the top and bottom of Garden Sampler?

Gosh, I'd love to see this sewn up in some really large-scale modern prints, like Sandi Henderson's Secret Garden, or Marc Cesarik's Tides.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Garden Jewels

2011-11-15T09:53:00.001-08:00

Hi everyone,

Hope you are having a great week. It was an exicting day around here because my new patterns came from the printer. I love my printer.

Patterns are now shipping, so now we can gear up for some fun giveaways coming up in the next week. My International Director of Shipping (i.e. newly-11-year-old) and my Chief Ironer (the one who sewed half of the Under the Veranda Sampler but doesn't like exalted titles - but she is the power behind the throne, so to speak) were busy bagging items while they watched Cake Boss last night. Then I was busy bagging patterns well into what remained of the night while watching pretty much anything remaining on the DVR. Lots and lots of bags. Lots and lots of patterns. Lots and lots of late night TV.

There are only two patterns I've yet to introduce, so I'll cover one today and be back with another tomorrow.

Does this quilt look familiar?

Re-introducing Garden Jewels... It was a quilt that was featured in Quiltmaker this summer and I've gotten lots of requests to see this in pattern form.

As always, it is printed in full-color with lots of graphics, including a Quilt Assembly Diagram on the center spread.

Kimberly, of Fat Quarter Shop, is offering it as a kit here. If you are interested in doing it in Veranda you might want to get it now because some of those pinks are sold out. If you sew it up in another collection please come back and share pictures in my hopelessly-neglected-by-me-Flickr group.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Meadow Lark

2011-11-14T07:51:00.000-08:00

Last week Kimberly, from Fat Quarter Shop, placed a large order for my Village Green pattern. Look what she is kitting!

I love how this pattern looks in Amy Butler's Lark fabrics. And oh my goodness - I love the red border. So colorful and fresh!
You can buy the kit here. It should be ready really soon.
And about that FQS photo... I'm having a sudden urge to paint something bright blue.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the Winner of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4 is...

2011-11-14T07:43:00.000-08:00

#56, Kaye, who said:
I made a springtime table runner for my daughter in a workshop and it will be part of her Christmas gift. Now I'm making a small Christmas tree wallhanging. Its mostly applique and has gold rickrack embellishment. Love your block design!

Thanks Kaye, and thanks to all who participated!
I'm ramping up to do some more giveaways of all my new patterns later this week, so stay tuned.

Hope you have a great week.
Happy sewing!
Amanda

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 4, Giveaway

2011-11-10T21:10:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone!

Guess what is on newsstands right now? The fourth issue of Quiltmaker's 100 blocks! I'll be giving away a free issue of this fun magazine later on in this post and so will a lot of other designers. Not to mention there are other GREAT prizes. Hop on over to Quiltmaker to find out more.

This issue is so much fun and is a great bargain too! I designed a block in Veranda using a combination of applique and piecing this time.

Three of these in a row would make a great springtime table runner. But wait... we haven't even gotten to Christmas - why am I talking about spring?

Speaking of the holidays, I have done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to prepare for them. I haven't made a gift, bought a present, or even thought about decorations. I HAVE driven an inordinate amount of carpools shuttling kids to Nutcracker rehearsals, so that should count for something. Is anyone else in such a quandry?

But I know there are more organized souls out there who start sewing gifts in July and I would love to hear yours ideas. So, to enter the giveaway for Volume 4 of Quiltermaker's 100 Blocks, leave a comment describing something you have been working on for someone else (or for yourself !). And if you are hopelessly behind, like me, tell me what you would like to make. You must be a follower to enter and please leave me a way to contact you should you win. The deadline to enter is this Sunday, the 13th, at midnight.

This giveaway is now closed... Thanks for your interest!
Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Cafe Mocha

2011-11-09T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

Hope you are having a great week! I wanted to take a moment to introduce Cafe Mocha. She was originally published in Quiltmaker, but was popular enough to bring back as a pattern in my line.

I think this is because she is a great vehicle for scraps of feature prints. Sometimes it is hard to know what to do with large-scale prints, especially when you have less than a quarter yard of them. The rectangle blocks here are work wonderfully for those - so scour your house for those modern scraps!

I used a dark background with light horizontal bars, but you could do the opposite as well.

This pattern is also deceptively simple because it is assembled in columns. If you follow the pressing directions all the seams lock and it looks like the blocks are interwoven!

atterns should arrive in the mail today or tomorrow and I'm so excited. To make Cafe Mocha, you will need:

Accent Rectangles - 2-1/2 yards total from an assortment of fabrics
Background - 2-7/8 yards dark brown fabric
Horizontal Bands and Middle Border - 1-3/4 yards cream fabric
Inner Border - 1/2 yard caramel fabric
Outer Border and Binding - 2 yards yard dark blue fabric
Backing - 6 yards

As an aside, the folks over at Robert Kaufman are mourning the loss of Saul Kaufman, who ran the company for years. Many employees have written about him on the Robert Kaufman blog. Gosh - we should all have such nice things said about us at the end of our lives. I never actually met him, but after reading those comments I wish I had.

Enjoy making a project for someone special in your life.

And if you get a chance, hop on over to Caroline Simas' blog. She found some wonderful vintage linens and is looking for advice for how to use them.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Caramel and Cocoa

2011-11-07T06:48:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! Hope you had a lovely weekend.

We have had a busy one. And have I mentioned the fact that our living room is the current repository for literally hundreds of yards of fabric that I am washing and ironing because I'm crazy? It is chaos here.

I wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the fifth new pattern in my line - Caramel and Cocoa. (Actually, "reintroduce" would be more accurate since she was previously published by APQ. I have had so many inquiries about back issue availability that I added her to the line.) She is a REALLY simple, modern take on a bargello quilt.

The blocks are 9" wide. There are no seams to align. There are no borders to put on. She couldn't be simpler, really.

She is lap-sized - 63-1/2" x 86" - and was originally sewn in the Swiss Chocolate in the chocolate color palette.

She also looked good in mocha. I had a hard time choosing.

But she works with bright colors too. (This is where I really can't wait to see what you all make.) Here she is in Veranda.

She is fun. Really fun to sew.

You can dress her up or down, try her in novelty fabrics or batiks - she is like a little black dress. (Someone made her in black and white fabrics, actually, and sent me the link months ago and I can't find it.... ARGHHHH!)

To make her you will need:

Bargello Blocks - 5/8 yard of 7 fabrics
Light Fabric - 1-7/8 yards
Dark Fabric - 1-7/8 yards
Binding - 5/8 yard for straight grain binding or 1 yard for bias binding
Backing - 5-1/2 yards

I hope that you like her!

Incidentally, all these patterns are currently being in the process of making their way through distributor channels. Orders will be going out soon. Your local quilt shop can order directly through me or they can order through Checker, E.E. Schenck, or United Notions. And if you are looking for an online retail source, Fat Quarter Shop has already ordered them all so will have them soon. If you are a shop that carries my line through a distributor, contact me and I'll add a link to you on the sidebar of my blog!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Beflowered

2011-11-02T10:07:00.003-07:00

I know you aren't supposed to have favorites, but I do. This is Beflowered.

She is 74" x 96" and her Kona rainbow palette makes me happy. Her big, varied, blossoms make me happy. She uses big 8" triangles (gotta keep it simple somehow) cut using a 60 degree Creative Grids ruler and I love her. Really really love her.

Of course, I had to have Deborah Norris quilt her and love how it turned out. Deborah scattered special little motifs throughout the quilt and I just keep seeing new things every time I looked at it.

I love the solids but can't wait to see what else you all dream up!

Oh my - look at the little curlicues around the edges!

and the little leaves!

And the curls with the sunny rays! (None of which I am personally capable of executing...)

Sara, from Sew Sweetness, stayed true to her name and was the brave soul who tested this one for me. Thanks for believing in my design idea, Sara, and to plunging in head-first. Sara will be posting her version today and she used black blossoms so go over and see! Oh my - she sent me the sweetest picture of her kids laying out the blocks and it is adorable! But I'll let her tell you about that.

I entered this quilt in Blogger's Quilt Festival. Have you been there? There are so many fantastic quilts displayed - makes your mouth water!

The Beflowered patterns are at the printer but will be back soon. To make her, you need:

Background Fabrics - 1/2 yard of 16 fabrics; select 8 colors and chose a light and medium shade of each
Flowers - 4 yards (Kona® 1387 White)
Flower Centers - 3/8 yard (Kona® 1089 Corn Yellow)
Accent Triangles - 2 yards (Kona® 1173 Ice Frappe)
Binding - 1-1/8 yard (Kona® 1009 Azure )
Backing - 6 yards (Kona® 1009 Azure )
Fusible Web - 10 yards (24” Warm Company® Steam-A-Seam 2)
Tear-Away Stabilizer - 10 yards (Sulky® Tear-Easy Stabilizer)
Appliqué Thread - 30 wt. Sulky® White cotton appliqué thread
Triangle Ruler 8” - 60° Triangle Ruler from Creative Grids®

Happy, happy sewing!
Amanda

Bejeweled...

2011-11-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Have you ever searched for that perfect project for car trips? Or carpools lines or waits at doctors' offices? And wouldn't be great if it was also a project that made great use of scraps?

This is Bejeweled and, at 72" x 102", she is all those things. (Fabrics are from Modern Whimsy, by Laurie Wishburn for Robert Kaufman.) I really designed her to be a great-looking bed quilt, but you can easily change her size by adding more columns.

As you can see, she features lots and lots and lots of yo-yos. I highly recommend a Clover Yo-yo Maker to make these yo-yos, but you more coordinated souls out there can also just cut out circles of fabric and make them traditionally. The yo-yos can be made from yardage, charm packs, or scraps. And you attach them to the columns before the quilt is assembled, so even that step is easy to pack up and take on the go. (Here is my secret, this step takes less than 4 minutes per yo-yo and is faster than the actual yo-yo making that my-dear-daughter-who-I-love-and -appreciate-very-much accomplished.)

The pieced columns of this quilt are made from either a 10" square (layer cake) or 2-1/2" roll-up, so it is a really versatile pattern. Ohhhh - if you had collections of coordinating scraps from your favorite designer's collections this would be great.

My mouth waters when I look at Deborah Norris' quilting. I could not accomplish it, but don't need to because I know someone who can.

Since you are quilters I will show you the back...

Even better, directions are included for a lap-sized quilt using pieced strips cut from a charm pack. Here is one made from a Kona Brights charm pack with yo-yos and borders in Kona Ash.

Bejeweled will start shipping to shops and distributors late next week, but in the meantime here is what you need for the bed-sized version of this quilt:

Striped Columns - 29 (10”) squares or 29 (2-1/2” x WOF) strips
Background - 4 yards (Kona® 1387 White)
Yo-yos - 3 yards total from an assortment of fabrics (Kona® 1188 Kiwi, 1089 Corn Yellow, 1009 Azure)
Border - 1-1/4 yard
Binding - 3/4 yard for straight grain binding or 1-1/8 yard for bias binding
Backing - 6-1/2 yards
Clover Quick Large Yo-yo Maker (#8701) optional

And for the lap-sized version you'll need:

Striped Columns - 42 (5”) squares (Kona® Bright charm pack)
Background - 1-1/2 yards (Kona® Ultra White)
Yo-yos - 1-1/2 yards (Kona® 1007 Ash)
Border - 3/4 yard (Kona® 1007 Ash)
Binding - 3/4 yard (Kona® 1007 Ash)
Backing - 4 yards (Kona® 1007 Ash)
Clover Quick Large Yo-yo Maker (#8701)

Happy sewing (and yo-yoing)!
Amanda

And the winners are...

2011-10-31T19:16:00.000-07:00

Numbers 44, 62, and 82!
Oh my goodness, my readers have such good taste. Can I go fabric shopping with each of you?

#44, Judy in NC, said:

A devoted follower and my selection would most definetly be Good Fortune by Kate Spain.

Thank you for this wonderful opportunity.

#62, Karen, said:

Gorgeous photos of your quilt in the magazine. It looks lovely.
Fabric? Love to have some Terrain!

#82, Henria O, said...

I'd like Sophie by Chez Moi for Moda! Thanks so much for the giveaway!

Please send me your snail mail addresses and I'll have QN send a copy of Quilter's Newsletter Special Interest Publication on Fat Quarter Quilts your way!

Tomorrow I'll be back with Bejeweled - I promise yo-yo craziness.

Happy sewing everyone!
Amanda

Another Quilters Newsletter Fat Quarter Issue Giveaway!

2011-10-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

As promised, courtesy of Quilters Newsletter, I'm having another giveaway! This time there will be 3 lucky winners of a copy of Quilter's Newsletter Special Interest Publication on Fat Quarter Quilts!

"Square Dance" - my Veranda quilt in this issue

Fat Quarter shop is kitting Square Dance - you can purchase the kit here!

If you would like to enter the giveaway, please leave me a comment telling me what favorite stack of fat quarters you would love to recieve as a present! It can a past or current collection - anything goes! Just to be fair, let's exclude my collections. If you aren't already a follower, please consider becoming one. And don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win. Winner will be chosen with the random number generator. Deadline is this Sunday (the 30th) at midnight.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Beribboned!

2011-10-27T10:47:00.000-07:00

Hot on the heels of Bedazzled, is her sister Beribboned!

'
This is another interlocking design, which features two fabrics that cascade down the quilt top like interlocking ribbons. (If you follow the pressing directions, all seams lock, which makes it really simple to put together.) It uses only 2 blocks and they are simple!

This time I used a white background with 3 Kona Brights charm packs, but you could use prints too! Oh - please send pictures!

As always, Deborah Norris did a fantastic job with the quilting...

Look how she used both ribbon colors in the quilting so the green pops on the pink and vice versa!

Looking down the ribboned rows...

I really love the litttle echoed feathers that curve around themselves in the background. Really, really love them. Thanks, Deborah!

Beribboned measures 74" x 94" will be available to ship in mid-November. Here is what you need to make her:

Semicircles - 96 (4”) squares (3 Kona® Bright Charm Packs)
Background - 3-3/4 yards (Kona® 1387 White)
Ribbons Color A - 1-1/4 yards (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Ribbons Color B - 1-1/4 yards (Kona® 1062 Candy Pink)
Inner Border - 1/2 yard (Kona® 1295 Pomegranate)
Middle Border - 3/4 yard (Kona® 23 Lemon)
Outer Border - 1-3/8 yard (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Binding - 3/4 yard for straight grain binding or 1-1/8 yard for bias binding (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Backing 5-1/2 yards - (Kona® 1062 Candy Pink)
Fusible Web 3 yards - (24” wide Warm Company® Steam-A-Seam 2)
Tear-Away Stabilizer - 3 yards (Sulky® Tear-Easy Stabilizer)
Appliqué Thread - 30 wt. Sulky® cotton appliqué thread

Next up... "Bejeweled". Think yo-yos. Lot and lots of yo-yos. A really good quilt to travel with.
But, before then we have another Quilters Newletter giveaway so I'll be back tomorrow!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Introducing Bedazzled...

2011-10-26T08:49:00.000-07:00

I won't be going to Quilt Market, but will be unveiling 8 new patterns here and through distributors. Four are reprints of my most popular magazine patterns and 4 are brand new!

I've been experimenting with quilt designs that make use of simple blocks set in different ways - where the divisions between blocks aren't always obvious. This is definitely the case in the first of my new patterns. It is called "Bedazzled", and its interlocking pattern is made from just one block!

Here are some close-ups....

Isn't Deborah Norris's quilting just beautiful?

Even better, those semicircles are charm pack friendly! I used 2 Kona Pastels charm packs, but you could use your favorite prints too!

Bedazzled is 62" x 86" and will be ready to ship by mid-November. For those who like to plan ahead, it requires:

Semicircles - 48 (5”) squares (2 Kona® Pastel Charm Packs)
Background - 2-1/2 yards (Kona® 1003 Amethyst)
Chains Color A - 1 yard (Kona® 1191 Lilac)
Chains Color B - 1 yard (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Inner Border - 3/4 yard (Kona® 1387 White)
Middle Border - 1/2 yard (Kona® 1189 Lavender)
Outer Border - 1-1/4 yard (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Binding - 3/4 yard for straight grain binding or 1-1/8 yard for bias binding (Kona® 199 Cactus)
Backing - 5-1/2 yards (Kona® 1189 Lavender)
Fusible Web - 2-3/4 yards (24” Warm Company® Steam-A-Seam 2)
Tear-Away Stabilizer - 2-3/4 yards (Sulky® Tear-Easy Stabilizer)
Appliqué Thread - 30 wt. Sulky® cotton appliqué thread

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner is....

2011-10-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

#82, Darlene B, who said:

I love my 1x6 ruler. It comes in so handy to just doublecheck measurements. I used it yesterday while straight line quilting by holding it along a seam and running my presser foot alongside it to make evenly spaced lines! It also fits easily in my purse for whenever I need it.

Congratulations Darlene! And thanks to you all - there were so many notions and great ideas, some of which I had never heard about.

And I've more good news. Quilters Newsletter contacted me and offered to sponsor more giveaways of this issue, so I'll have another giveaway here next weekend, so stay tuned...

Also, the Belagio Pillow tutorial is now posted. Hope you enjoy!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Quilters Newsletter's Fat Quarter Quilts

2011-10-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

Quilter's Newsletter Special Interest Publication on Fat Quarter Quilts is now on newsstands! I designed a quilt using all the SKUs of Veranda for this issue called "Square Dance".

This issue is chock-full of great projects and I have an extra copy to give away! If you would like to enter, please leave me one comment (only one) on this post telling me about your current favorite notion. It can be a particular type of thread, ruler - whatever! Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win. Deadline to enter is the end of the weekend - this Sunday at midnight! Winner will be chosen with the random number generator.

As an aside, Fat Quarter shop is kitting Square Dance here!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. I just saw a great Veranda giveaway over at Jaybird Quilts too! To enter, comment before 10 pm PST Sat. the 22nd!

Bellagio Pillows

2011-10-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
I've seriously neglected this blog for the past couple of weeks. Things have been really busy here as I've been getting patterns finalized for Market. I'm not actually going this time but the patterns are being sent to distributors in time for the show. I have four new designs as well as four magazine patterns that are being republished. More on that later...
Speaking of Market, while I was there in the spring the folks at Belagio Enterprises invited me over to their booth to select some fantastic trim to match some of my collection. They graciously shipped me a couple of yards of each after Market. It is so fun to combine these fancy trims with patchwork for home decor items. You don't need a lot to make projects really special. Belagio Enterprises makes some fanastic pom-pom trim that I used with Swiss Chocolate and Ambrosia...

The trim with the pom-poms on one side allows for easy mitering...

The flat trim is perfect for sewing along seams...

I love the blue buttons on the back!

Lots of circles on these!

I used two types of ribbon trim with Veranda.

The ribbon that is pleated on one side is perfect for mitered corners...

The ribbon pleated on both sides is so pretty sewn down the pillow along the main seams....

I love all the trims, but the white ribbons might be my favorites because they are so versatile.

Complimentary tutorial coming soon! Happy sewing!

Amanda

Finally Free (by Caroline Simas) Giveaway

2011-09-30T17:20:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Awhile back I introduced you to my friend and fellow Charlottean-and-Robert Kaufman artist, the fantastically talented Caroline Simas of Multiple Blessings.

To learn a little more about Caroline, visit Cindy Ann's Blu Penny blog feature article.

Caroline's new fabric line, Finally Free, is shipping in December and she is giving away one yard of it this weekend on her blog!

Isn't this bird and flower fabric beautiful?

Make sure to visit!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Two Birds with One Yard Challenge

2011-09-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

Hop on over to Lily Pad Quilting and learn about an amazing challenge she issued on to help underserved kids in Malawi. For every yard of fabric that you donate, you'll be entered for a chance to win some fabulous prizes, including one set of my entire pattern line. Lots of us have fabric leftover from projects that we can donate, so don't forget to visit!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Great Veranda Giveaway going on at Cluck Cluck Sew!

2011-09-23T14:47:00.000-07:00

Just letting you know that Allison, quilter extraodinaire, has a fantastic Veranda giveaway going on at Cluck Cluck Sew. Ten-squares AND Roll-Ups! Make sure to visit!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Blossoms... for Christmas!

2011-09-16T12:25:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
When Blossoms debuted this past spring, I think I mentioned that I really wanted to try it in Christmas fabrics. Well, a friend took me up on that and commissioned a Blossoms quilt in Kate Spain's Flurry fabric, with just a little bit of Doodlebug Design's Christmas Candy thrown in. I changed the leaves to be a little pointed, so that the blossoms look like pointsettas. I'm taking it to Deborah tomorrow and can't wait to see what magic her quilting adds, but in the meantime, here are some sneek peeks...

I love the how the vibrant colors frame the big white flowers!

On another front, my market-booth-neighbor, Brandy Masher, created a really neat wall hanging using a charm pack of Veranda. You can see it on Ribbon Candy Quilt Company's blog. Isn't it sweet?

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner of the "My Memories" digital scrapbook giveaway is...

2011-09-13T20:39:00.000-07:00

#9 Pink Granny, who said:

I like the Pretty in Pink...Breast Cancer Awareness Month is coming up and I will be celebrating 8 years as a survivor on the 16th...so I want to make a pink scrapbook!

I'm sure that everyone will join me in congratulating her on you on your 8th year as a survivor. That is wonderful! Hope you have a great time making your pink scrapbook!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

My Memories digital scrapbook giveaway

2011-09-08T09:37:00.000-07:00

Last week My Memories contacted me asking if I would like to give away a copy of their software to one of my blog readers. Well, of course I want to give you all the opportunity to win something fun for free!

I played around with the software this week. (To see more info about the actual software click here. They gave me a code for you to enter at checkout to get $10 off - STMMMS36473.) Anyway, you can use it to make lots of things - photo albums, cards, invitations. My favorite feature was the ability to select a bunch of photos, select a book design, and watch as it automatically thread the photos throughout - like this....

Fun!

To enter this give away hop on over to the My Memories site and click on "Digital Scrapbooking Kits" on the sidebar. Come back here and leave one comment on this post telling me which kit is your favorite. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win. Have fun!

The deadline for entries is this Monday the 12th at midnight.

Happy sewing!

Amanda

And the Garden Paths and Roll-Up Giveaway winner is....

2011-09-03T16:47:00.000-07:00

#194, Maggie, who said:
I never wreck my vacuum by sucking up snarls of loose threads and pins. That's why we buy vacuum belts by bulk.

Ha ha! Nor do we, Maggie!
Thanks to everyone for participating. I am so far behind in my emails that I haven't gotten to write back to everyone, but we read every single big fat lie and they were hysterical. Who would have ever thought so many swimsuit models and chocolate-haters reading this blog!

Late this week I'll have a giveaway of some scrapbook software - so check back soon.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Veranda Interview at Fat Quarter Shop

2011-08-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
In the interest of totally shameless self-promotion, I wanted to let you know that I'll be talking about Veranda on Fat Quarter Shop's great blog, The Jolly Jabber, tomorrow. Fat Quarter Shop was one of the first places to pick up my entire pattern line when it came out and they have such a great blog. (Also lots of sales through their twitter feed so it is definitely worth following!) They also kitted Jewels of My Garden, which appeared in Quiltmaker this summer and will be added to my pattern line in the not-so-distant future.

For visitors from The Jolly Jabber, please comment on yesterday's post to enter my Garden Paths and Verand Roll-Up Giveaway. (I am so enjoying reading all your big fat lies about yourselves incidentally, and that is NO lie!) Welcome!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Sewing Back-To-School at Sew Sweetness and Garden Paths Giveaway

2011-08-28T18:44:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is now closed...
Tomorrow I am guest-blogging at Sew Sweetness, which is hosted by Sara in Chicago. She has lined up 30 days of fun sewing articles this month. I'll be talking about buttons and buttonholes - specifically how to use them on the back of pillows.

I "met" Sara this spring. After noticing that she faithfully commented on many of my blog posts I emailed her asking if she might want to test a pattern for my line. (Yes, be careful faithful commenters!) That pattern was Garden Paths, my best seller, so I thought that it was only fitting that I host a Garden Paths giveaway with this post. Not only am I giving away the pattern but I have one Veranda roll-up that I've saved for just this purpose.

To enter you must be a follower of this blog and leave a comment on this post telling me a big lie about yourself. (I must give credit to this giveaway idea to the very funny ladies of at Me and My Sister Designs. They did this a few months ago and I thought it was absolutely brilliant.) Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you should you win.

I'll start:
At a statuesque 5'10", I am a very relaxed person with absolutely no tendency towards obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Winner will be chosen using the Random Number Generator on Saturday

Make sure to hop on over to Sew Sweetness and say "hi" to Sara because she is having a giveaway on my entire pattern line - one more chance to win something fun!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Under the Veranda

2011-08-28T10:33:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

I've gotten lots of emails inquiring about my Block of the Month program, Under the Veranda. It is a set of patterns developed exclusively for shops stocking one or both color stories of Veranda. I love this sampler becuase it reallly has a modern feel, but uses many traditional techniques.

Because I wanted to do something really special to support local shops, you won't be able to find this set of patterns on my website. If you are a shop that has ordered Veranda please contact Robert Kaufman to get these patterns in downloadable form. Online shops can also participate, but we do request that, because these patterns were developed at no charge to the customer, you only distribute them to customers buying Under the Veranda kits.

Quilters Emporium, a great shop in Houston, Texas, will be offering this as a mail order block of the month program and I'm sure there will be more opportunities popping up all over to participate. (If you are an shop owner and would like your shop listed on the sidebar of my blog as offering this program please email me and I'd be happy to add you in.)

I hope you enjoy Under the Veranda!

Amanda

Sew Much Fun! has Veranda in...

2011-08-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

One of my absolute favorite local shops, Sew Much Fun!, just got their shipment of Veranda in and they also have my full line of patterns. So for all you local Charlotte, North Carolina people - you can hop on over and visit Drusilla in Gastonia! She has a fabulous shop with so much fabric, notions, trims, plus some machines that I have been drooling over for years. While you are there, our children highly recommend visiting Jen's Sugarliscious Bakery for cupcakes. We are particular fans of the Coconut Cream and Red Velvet variety. They are so good that a 10 year old boy will spend and hour in a quilt shop in order to get one.

As an aside, if you any of you out there are sewing my patterns to sew up your fabulous creations would you please post picts on my Flickr site? The patterns don't have to be made out of just my fabric - I love ALLLLLLLLLLL fabric! I established this site before the patterns were in distributors hands and keep forgetting to blog about it.

I'm currently making "Blossoms" out of Christmas fabrics for a friend and will have more to show you soon!

Our thoughts are with all the people on the east coast this weekend. May you stay safe and may your homes be spared form this terrible storm.

Thinking of you all,
Amanda

Beautiful Beaufort and beautiful silk...

2011-08-24T20:03:00.000-07:00

Last week I spoke with a wonderful bunch of ladies at the Beaufort, South Carolina quilt guild. While there, the kids, my mom, and I took a walking tour of the picturesque town and, I have to say, I don't think there could have been a more appropriate place to talk about Veranda, because we were surrounded by them.

Beautiful!

While I was gone Robert Kaufman sent me some of their Radiance silk to play with. It is gorgeous and ironable! I tried a bunsh of different things with it: Drunkard's Path, fusible applique, needle-turned applique (not so easy!), flying geese, bias tape making, until I finally tried paper-piecing.

Radiance has a lovely sheen, but it is slippery. Sewing on top of the paper stabilizes the silk, prevents the seams from being pulled into the machine, and gives a much cleaner result. (The paper-pieced portion is the long triangles in the lower left. You can see how much crisper that area is.)

Now I just need to get some more colors (a light aqua would be lovely!) and design a new project!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Giveaway at Sew We Quilt!

2011-08-16T06:27:00.000-07:00

I'm sure some of you have heard about the fantastic giveaway going on every day at Sew We Quilt. Madame Samm has graciously hosted a giveaway every day of the week for THREE WHOLE MONTHS for both Want To Be Quilters (on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) and Quilters (on Tuesday and Thursday).

Today I am guest blogging over at Sew We Quilt showing how to make this...

A lampshade covered with fabric! No sewing this time, but we all love to accessorize.

The folks at Robert Kaufman have donated 1/2 yard cuts of Veranda for the giveaway so make sure you hop on over today and enter! There are 2 bundles of 6 yard totals to win! And Madame Samm has thrown a Colonial basket full of different goodies AND Famore Applique scissors too! I know... Just become a follower and leave a comment here and also at Madame Samm's fabulous blog and you will be set to enter. (If you beat me to it and left a comment on the previous post that is okay - I'm internet-challenged this week and apologize for my lateness.) And don't forget to check in at Sew We Quilt each day for the next 3 months for more giveaways!

Note: If you have trouble seeing my follower button on my sidebar try refreshing the screen a couple of times.
Thanks Madame Samm!
Amanda

Topiary Tiles

2011-08-13T18:29:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to report that Veranda is now starting to ship! For each collection, I design a complimentary pattern.

Introducing Topiary Tiles! It uses one 10-square, 1 roll-up, plus sashing and border fabric.

It is so fun to explore the ways the different fabrics can work together in each block...

Thanks to my friend Pat Hopkins who sewed the sample.

I hope you enjoy Topiary Tiles. And if any of you are going to be in the vicinity of Beaufort, SC, I'm excited about speaking about the development of this collection and my pattern line at the Sea Island Quilt Guild this Thursday.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And can you believe the winner of the Accuquilt Giveaway was...

2011-08-08T17:53:00.000-07:00

Number 13?

That is right. So much for 13 being unlucky. Congratulations to Kelsey, who wished for two sizes of half-square triangles and hexagons.

I really wish I had one of these machines to give away to everyone.

Thanks so much for participating!
Amanda

Accuquilt Giveaway!

2011-08-03T20:47:00.000-07:00

It is time for the Accuquilt giveaway! The prize is an Accuquilt GO Baby Fabric Cutter, with three dies of your choice! To participate, become a follower of my blog, if you aren't already. Then leave a comment on this post (just one) telling me which three dies you would choose to go with your machine should you be lucky enough to win. The deadline to enter is this Sunday, August 7th, at midnight. I'll choose a winner using the random number generator on Monday.

Remember to leave me a way to contact you should you win!

Good luck and happy sewing!

Amanda

Another giveaway!

2011-08-01T07:13:00.000-07:00

Good morning everyone!

Just wanted to let you know that there is another giveaway going on this week - this time at Love Affair With My Brother (and my Janome, and my Bernina, and my Singer). Make sure to visit for a chance to win! Hope you have a great week!

Make sure to stop back later in the week. I feel an Accuquilt giveaway coming on!

Amanda

And the winner of the Virginia Reel Pillow is...

2011-07-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

#14, Pamela, who said...
I really had to think about this one...I'm usually the one who gives the handmade gifts! I would have to say that it would be a matching hand knit wooly scarf/hat from my knitting daughter a few years back. It's a lovely set and I love that she made it.

Thanks to everyone who entered - I so enjoyed hearing your stories.

Have a lovely weekend - happy sewing!
Amanda

Fat Quarterly Virginia Reel Pillow Giveaway

2011-07-25T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm excited to introduce a new complimentary pattern, the Virginia Reel Pillow. Virginia Reel is a quilt that I designed for the folks over at Fat Quarterly. Most of you are probably familiar with that magazine, but if you are not, it is an online-only magazine that comes out 4 times a year. Each issue is absolutely chock full of quilts, projects, interviews - with no ads. It is really a great deal.

For Issue 6, which comes out early next week, I designed a quilt called "Virginia Reel" in my Veranda line. I called it that because it is comprised of dozens of pinwheels that seem to spin between pairs of columns, just like dancers in a reel.

Want to take a peek?

Hop on over to Fat Quarterly's blog to download the pattern for the complimentary coordinating pillow, or, if you would prefer a traditional pdf to google docs, you can download it here.

The columns and rows upon which the pinwheel hangs wrap around to the pillow back!

Yes. I used more Doodlebug buttons for the back. Buttons with stripes! Can't get enough of them.

I'm giving away my sample of the pillow right here! I so enjoyed reading your comments last week about favorite handmade gifts you have given others, so to be entered in this giveaway leave me one comment on this post (only one please) telling me your favorite handmade gift you have been given. Remember to leave me a way to contact you should you win. And please become a follower, if you aren't already.

The deadline is this Friday the 29th at midnight.

Good luck and happy sewing everyone!

Amanda

And the I Have a Notion Giveaway Winners are...

2011-07-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

#s 27 and #28. Can you believe it? What are the odds that the random number generator would select consectutive numbers?

The 27th entry is Jane, who said...
My best was my last one, a baby quilt. It was just a panel with pretty borders added, but it turned out so stinkin cute! I outline quilted the little animal scenes in the panel and did daisies and loops in the borders. Hope the mother liked it as much as I did!

AND

The 28th entry is SewingMom2Three, who said...
The best handmade gift I ever gave was a hand painted Christmas village that I painted for my Mom when I was in high school. She had no idea I was painting it and I managed to keep the whole thing a secret from her. It was so fun to see her surprise when she opened it on Christmas!

Contact me so you can claim your flowers and patterns!

I so enjoyed reading all of your messages and stories. For me, this was my favorite giveaway ever. Thanks to everyone who commented. If you commented early on or didn't have a chance to read through the messages at the time, take a second and peruse them. They'll warm your heart!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

I Have a Notion Giveaway

2011-07-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! This week I’m doing a giveaway in conjunction with Kelly of I Have A Notion, and she does. She actually has a ton of notions! Like most of you out there, I LOVE NOTIONS. In addition to stocking a rotary blade sharpener that I have been coveting ever since she reviewed it last week, Kelly stocks of ton of Accuquilt dies. We thought it might be fun to do a giveaway incorporating my patterns and Accuquilt products.

This past weekend our kids and I cut some fun flowers using the Accuquilt fabric cutter – 20 in Veranda and 20 in Ambrosia. They are the perfect size for my Village Green quilt pattern. I’ll be giving away each set, in conjunction with a Village Green pattern. So, if you follow this blog, leave me a comment (only one) telling me the best handmade project you’ve ever given.

I’ll start by saying that the best project I’ve ever given was this quilt that I made for my mom. It was actually going to be her first quilt – I know – she is an overly ambitious person, but she was very distressed to find out how it soon overtook her house, so I inherited it very early on.

It was my favorite because of how much she appreciated the work that went into it. My friends lovingly referred to it as the "Guilt Quilt". Mom even bought a new couch to go with a quilt. Only a mom buys a new couch to go with a quilt, for goodness sake! (Not to mention the fact that she is decorating her new house in Swiss Chocolate!) All year I told her that there was no way I could get it done, even as I was finishing up. We made her go on an embarrassing treasure hunt around the neighborhood to claim her prize, and when she came back home she was shocked to find it finished on her bed!

My second favorite giveaway is this Amy Bradley quilt I made for my nephew. Unlike his grandmother, he did not reupholster a couch to go with his quilt, which is why this is my second-favorite gift (sorry Ollie!), but he does know all the dogs by name.

For another chance to win a fun prize, go over and visit Kelly's blog at I Have a Notion. She is also offering a great discount on the AccuQuilt GO! Round Flower Die that I used in the above photo and on the GO! Baby Fabric Cutter.

The deadline for both giveaways is midnight Thursday. We’ll announce the winners on Friday. Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Accuquilt Go Baby Review

2011-07-17T12:12:00.000-07:00

We had a chance to play with my new Accuquilt Go Baby fabric cutter this weekend. Fun! It is really pretty simple. (Really simple compared to a magazine quitl I have been working on... I can't give away too, much, but I'm really having to brush up on my piecing skills as each block has an hourglass unit, four quarter square triangles, four half square triangles, 4 flying geese, and four corner blocks... all set on point. And there are 72 blocks! Oh my!)
The Go Baby cutter has a very compact design, making it easy to store.

You open up the Go Baby...

Choose your die, and lay an appropriately sized piece of fabric on top. (Most dies for the Go Baby use a 12" x 6" piece of fabric.) If you only want to cut one shape from the die, just lay a smaller piece of fabric on top of that shape. Cover the die and fabric with the cutting mat.

Roll the die through the cutter, turning the Accuquilt handle with one hand and applying pressure on the mat/fabric/die with the other. More pressure results in a cleaner cut.

When the cut shapes come out the other end, there may be a few threads that still attach them to their background, so keep a pair of sharp scissors nearby.

Snip the threads and you have a beautiful applique shape.

I think the Go Baby cutter really would come in handy for applique projects, or project with unusal angles that can't easily be cut with a rotary cutter. If you only want a few shapes from the die, it is definitely a great way to use up scraps.

First on my wish list for new dies that Accuquitl might create would be one that has leaves - just leaves, in the same style but different shapes. Or spirals - that would be fun!

I realized that the round flower die (55007) is a perfect fit for Town Square, so our daughter cut two sets of 20 flowers to go with my Village Green pattern - one in Ambrosia....

and one in Veranda...

I think it might be cute to do the flowers in patterned fabric and the squares in solids.

Our son cut a ton of circles for a future project. I am a big fan of circles!

I'll have a giveaway for these lovely Ambrosia and Veranda flowers later this week and a little later in the month I will be giving away a Go Baby fabric cutter along with three dies of your choice!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Designing for the Soul...

2011-07-15T19:35:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

My friend and fellow licensing artist, Caroline Simas, is having a fun giveaway over at her blog. (I'm a firm believer that one can never have too many pincushions. Hop on over and see her lovely fabrics...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the winner of the I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts Giveaway is...

2011-07-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

Lee Ann, who said:
I'm a follower. To be honest, I'm keen for all shades of purple as they are hard to find.

I like purple too, Lee Ann. Our daughter is an even bigger fan.

But honestly, there aren't a lot of colors that I don't love.
Thanks for entering and for the great ideas, everyone!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Interview at "I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts"...

2011-07-08T10:16:00.000-07:00

This giveaway is now closed.... Thanks for participating!

Hi everyone. I promised another giveaway and here it is. Ryan Walsh, of I'm Just A Guy Who Quilts, was gracious enough to interview me about Veranda and feature it on his fantastic blog. Make sure to visit because he has some great treats to give away. (Patterns and advance fabric... hint, hint!)

I'll giveaway a bit of fabric and some patterns on this blog as well.

To enter, become a follower (if you aren't already one) and leave a comment (only one) on this post. Tell me what colors you'd like to see in a future collection. Do you like bright tropical colors or more subdued prints? Do you like rich purples or warm yellows and oranges, or something else entirely?

Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you should you win.

The winner will be announced on Wednesday, July 13th!

(For Swiss Chocolate fans, Melanie at A Sewing Journal just announced a giveaway of my patterns and a fat quarter pack in the Mocha color story, so don't forget to visit there too!)

Happy sewing!
Amanda

And the Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway winners are:

2011-07-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Karen, who commented on this blog:

"Hi Amanda. I like Garden Paths. What a happy design. I would love to win your giveaway. Thanks for the opportunity."

And from my facebook experiment, the winner is Granny Cooper, who said,

"Wow! So glad I found this link. Garden Paths and Blossoms are now on my To Buy list. And Portraits of my Garden. And Bubbles."

Please contact me so that I can mail out your patterns!

Fat Quarter Shop should be posting their winners soon too. Thanks so much to everyone who entered.

There will be another chance to win a full set of patterns late this week when I do an interview in conjunction with "I'm Just a Guy Who Quilts" , Ryan Walsh, so stay tuned!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Fat Quarter Shop Giveaway (and a giveaway here too!)

2011-06-28T07:05:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
Fat Quarter Shop is doing a feature on my pattern line and we're throwing in a giveaway for good measure. I'll be giving away an entire set of patterns right here! To enter:

Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment on this
post (only one) telling me what your favorite pattern is and why. You must be a follower to enter, so please become one if you haven't already. Also, I must be able to reach you if you win, so make sure to include your email address if you comment anonymously or if it isn't in your profile.
I recently joined Facebook and have NO IDEA what I am doing there, but let's try this. Hop on over to my facebook page and "like" it. Keep in mind that I am a total novice at this but bear with me, and I'll choose a winner from there too... For those who tried to visit a page and didn't find a like button, please try this link again. I hope that I got it now.
Hop on over to Fat Quarter Shop's blog and leave them a comment for two other chances to win.

The giveaway ends at the end of day Tuesday, July 5th. For those of you who are new to my blog, the patterns are pictured below...

Good luck and happy sewing!
Amanda

Coming Soon...

2011-06-27T15:16:00.000-07:00

An Accu-Quilt Go-Baby give-away! Along with some other fun give-aways the next few weeks. Stay tuned...Before that particular brand of summer fun happens, though, Accuquilt is giving away 22 free patterns to people who sign up for their email newsletter, so hop over and sign up!

And they have some special offers through July 5th as well...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Bubbles

2011-06-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

And finally, here is the last of the quilt patterns to debut at Market - Bubbles!

Don't you love the little zigzag quilting on the sashing that Deborah Norris did? Reminds me of ricrac. And the little swirls in the bubbles themselves? Yum! I love Bubbles because it is REALLY fun to make and is a great vehicle to show off those great modern fabrics.

I used a thick, contrasting 12 wt. Sulky cotton for the applique, and love how it looks. A few shop owners have remarked that this would be good to use for an embroidery class. One sewer remarked that she was planning on using all the specialty stitches on her machine to attach the circles. Why didn't I think of that? I guess I'll have to make another quilt... Another quilt- that is definitely what every girl needs, don't you think?

It is so fun to arrange each block a little differently. I used fusible applique, but you could just as easily use freezer paper templates for a more traditional finish.

I used the Sorbet color story of Veranda, which ships in August, but Bubbles would make an excellent scrap quilt as well.

My friend Mary test-quilted Bubbles for me using Central Park by Kate Spain. She used "Bubbles" in some of the blocks and left others plain. She also mitered corners for the first time, but I'll let her tell you about it.
I posted my tutorial for mitering corners online recently, but it is also included in the Bubbles pattern.

I just found out this week that my pattern line is being picked up by two big distributors - hooray! I'm very excited about that.

Hope you have a happy weekend filled with lots of sewing!
Amanda

Village Green

2011-06-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I hope you have been having a great beginning to your summer.

I still have two patterns to "officially" introduce and one of them is Village Green. (Incidentally, Kimberly has them all available to order now at Fat Quarter Shop.) At 84" x 102", it is the largest quilt in my line and is perfect for a bed. It uses up 2 roll-ups/jell-rolls completely. We wouldn't want to waste a bit of fabric!

This is a great scrappy quilt as well. The directions call for flowers, constructed out of coordinating solids, to be appliquéd to the center of each block; you could vary flower colors or even fussy cut motifs from your favorite feature fabric and appliqué them on instead... That would be particularly fun for a child's quilt. Imagine airplanes or cars appliquéd to the center of each square for a little boy's room... Fun!

The fantastically talented Deborah Norris, of Deborah's Quilting, did her magic for me on this one as well. I love her feathers and swirly vines! (She just started blogging, so if some of you out there visit and leave comments, I'm sure that would surprise her and make her day!)

My friend Lisa tested this pattern for me. Hop on over to her blog to see pictures of her beautiful garden as well. Luckily I had a lot of 2-1/2" scraps leftover from making Veranda quilts. She appliqued lovely purple blossoms in the center of each block for a different look.

I have some accessories in the works for this line too that will be coming out on blogs this summer, and some giveaways so go along with them, so be sure to check back occassionally.

Hope you are having a wonderful summer - happy sewing!
Amanda

Mitered Border Tutorial

2011-06-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is a tutorial for mitering borders. I included specific directions for this in my Bubbles pattern, but there wasn't enough room in the others so I am including it here. (It's also on the side bar.)

My friend, Pat Hopkins, mitered the corners on her version of Town Square. Didn't she line up the stripes nicely? (I am not that patient so I'm glad you sewed this one, Pat.) Please excuse the out of focus photo but I was focusing elsewhere on the quilt and don't have it back yet to stage a re-shoot.

Mitered borders really aren't that hard. In fact, they can actually be a time-saver when you have a number of borders to apply to a quilt. My friend Mary tried it when she tested Bubbles, and she was surprised how easy it was.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

My pattern line is shipping!

2011-06-10T13:22:00.000-07:00

So they should start arriving at shops within a few days. Interested shops can email me; as shops order my patterns I will be adding them to my webpage. If you choose to buy the patterns from a distributor, please email me to let me know you carry them and I'll add you to the list.

In response to inquiries, I do not carry my fabrics - I leave that to Robert Kaufman. You can order "Veranda", the fabric line that I used for all the patterns, now for August delivery. Please make sure to order ahead of time to ensure you get the fabrics.

Thanks everyone!
Amanda

P.S. If anyone is in the area of Manassas, Virginia, I'll be speaking at the Manassas Quilt Guild on Monday night...

Town Square!

2011-06-10T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! Hope you are having a great week. I'd like to introduce another of my patterns. Town Square is a fat-quarter friendly design suitable for 12 or 20 fat quarters of fabric.

I love it because it works so well with modern fabrics, but it would also work fantasically with retro or historical prints. But keep reading, because I'll tell you the secret reason that this quilt is a personal favorite...

I made the large version of Town Square in the Sorbet (pink, green, orange) color story of Veranda, along with a couple aqua prints from the Garden color story. I love how joyful this quilt is. I used the light green for the sashing, which made the entire piece look like a wash of color.

Town Square is made up of blocks that are essentially nine-patches within nine-patches within nine-patches. I include pressing instructions that produce blocks where all the seams lock, so getting all the corners nice and crisp is pretty straightforword. Because pressing instructions are very clear, this is an excellent quilt for teaching basic patchwork techniques.

Deborah Norris added so much to the design with her quilting. It is always so exciting to get a quilt back from her and see it taken to an entirely new level. Don't you love the swirly centers? Because you make up the blocks by stacking the fat quarters before cutting and "shuffling" two sets of pieces around, each block was a surprise. On some of the blocks, the fabric took center stage, and on others, the quilting rose to the forefront!

My friend, Pat Hopkins, made up a smaller version with twelve fat quarters in the Garden color story. It attracted a lot of attention at Market.

I think my favorite print in this quilt has to be the purple and aqua diamonds. They form a lovely, vibrant blue tone when viewed from far away, and I like how they contrast with the more intricate patterns.

Okay, all of you hard-core quilters out there - here is the secret reason I love Town Square so much: it uses up fat quarters with virtually NO WASTE! Don't you love it? This quilt arose out of a personal challenge I made to start with a stack of fat quarters and design backwards, with just that aim in mind. I wanted to make the pattern flexible, so that you can use it to create a quilt no matter how many fat quarters you have onhand. Only true fabric lovers can appreciate this. We wouldn't want to waste ANY of our precious fabric, would we?

To sew the large version (73" x 88") of Town Square you would need:

Blocks - 20 Fat Quarters (I used an assortment of Veranda prints - they are listed on the pattern)Sashing - 1-1/2 yards light green tonal floral (AAM-11488-43)
Inner Border - 5/8 yard medium green radiating dots (AAM-11492-218)
Outer Border - 1-3/4 yards dark pink medallions (AAM-11500-239), or 3 yards if you prefer to fussy-cut the border
Binding - 3/4 yard green and pink stripe for straight grain binding or 1-1/8 yard for bias binding (AAM-11490-239)
Backing - 6-1/2 yards medium green radiating dots (AAM-11492-218)

If you buy the pattern and make it in another fabric plase take pictures and come back and add them to my flickr group. I'd LOVE to see them.

Town Square will start shipping to stores tomorrow, so if you are interested, there isn't long to wait!

Happy sewing!

Amanda

Jewels of My Garden

2011-06-03T14:38:00.000-07:00

Guess what came in the mail today?

The July/August issue of Quiltmaker. I turned to page 40 and saw...

..."Jewels of My Garden", the very first quilt I made out of Veranda. This is a really fun bed-sized quilt. It is so easy to make, with just flying geese, squares, and rectangles making up the blocks. I used the pink paisley feature print for the border to bring everything together. I used a bright Kona yellow for the square centers, but you really could pull any color from the accent prints.

Kimberly, of Fat Quarter Shop, will be offering kits for this "Jewels of My Garden" when Veranda ships in August.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Portraits of My Garden

2011-05-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

While I'm waiting for my patterns to come back from the printer, I'd like to introduce you to another design, "Portraits of My Garden".

This quilt is really quick and fun to sew - probably the easiest of all the quilts in my line. My goal was to design a piece that would showcase feature prints in large "framed" pieces, hence the name of the quilt. I also wanted to explore having a color, rather than white or cream, function as a neutral background.

The key is picking a fun tone on tone pint for the background, with a contrasting bolder print for the "frames". (You could also pick a solid for either, but we are probably too accident-prone around here to have that work for us.)

The large feature prints are showcased framed up as "portraits".

I love how Deborah Norris echoed the feathers she quilted down the center of the columns in each individual block. I chose the medium green creamware print for the background and the purple and aqua geometric diamonds for the "frames" in the sample.

Here are some other possible color combinations for backgrounds and "frames" from Veranda:

Again, Fat Quarter Shop will have this pattern in just a few weeks. If you are a shop owner, please contact me directly to arrange an order and/or to be listed as carrying the patterns.

My friend Mary tested this pattern for me in Ambrosia. Take a peek!
Happy sewing!
Amanda

A weekend project

2011-05-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

What did everyone do this Memorial Day weekend?

I thought I'd share a bit of mine with you. Eric and the kids went to visit my in-laws; I am on a deadline for work and needed access to my internet and graphics tablet, so I stayed behind. In the spirit of biting off more than I can chew - a trait I undoubtedly inherited from my mother - I decided to redo our daughter's room as a surprise. Between running upstairs to cover both the room and myself in paint (I am a sloppy painter) and running downstairs to do design work, it has been a crazy weekend.

It is still incomplete. I didn't have time to sew bedding, so I purchased Amy Butler bedding from Bed, Bath, and Beyond. I am going to eventually supplement that with accessories in my Veranda line using the pink, green, and aqua prints, but Caitrin and I will work on that together. I want to cover the white lampshade I bought with the green and aqua fabrics in the line. I think Town Square will look perfect at the end of the bed when I get it back from Robert Kaufman.

They are coming home in a few hours. I can't wait.

Back to work - thanks for letting me share!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Blossoms!

2011-05-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!
Just sent patterns to the printer (they should be available to shops in a couple of weeks so check back soon!) so in the interest of shameless self-promotion I thought I'd take this opportunity to share the details of another of the designs with you...

I'd like you to meet "Blossoms", a fun and versatile pattern that uses two packages of 10"-squares stacks, or 75 10" squares in total.

The quilt pictured above uses two 10"-square stacks of Veranda, my new pattern line from Robert Kaufman, which ships in August. The sample pictured above was with the help of my mom, daughter, and son. The ladies traced the applique onto fusible web, fused the petals, pressed, band drew diagonal lines when needed. Our son was in charge all destructive activities i.e. stabilizer removal. I manned the sewing machine.

Here, two of assistants display "Blossoms" on our front porch...

Thank you, assistants! Deborah Norris, of Deborah's Quilting in Gastonia, NC, did a beuatiful job quilting this, echoing the blossom chapes and covering the back with swirls and leaves, don't you think?

What I love about this pattern is its versatility. "Blossoms" would look great in springtime prints, like Veranda. But you could also change the flowers to orange or yellow and it would look fantastic in autumn colors. Personally, I can't wait to buy a couple of Christmas 10" square packages and make it with white blossomss with bright red centers. Sara, at Sew Sweetness, has been testing this for me using Amy Butler prints, and maybe she will share soon.... (And I have some other testers out there who will be sharing their version of other patterns in the line - more on that in the near future as well.)

If you are interested in the pattern, or the Veranda fabric, please ask your local shop to place an order. (The patterns can be ordered through me and the fabric can be ordered through Robert Kaufman.) If you are one of those unfortunate souls without a local shop, Fat Quarter Shop will be carrying it all! (If you are a shopowner who would like to be added to my list as carrying my fabric and/or patterns, please contact me.)

Thanks for letting me share. I hope you like Blossoms! (And I'll be doing some pattern giveaways in the future, so stay tuned!)

Happy sewing and thanks for listening to me ramble!
Amanda

And the Sew, Mama, Sew, Giveaway winner is...

2011-05-25T21:50:00.000-07:00

Melody, who said:

What to make, what to make? Could be a purse, or placemats, or a quilt. Or maybe one of each. It's just too hard to decide right now:) Thanks for the chance to win. Love your fabrics.

Melody, email me and let me know your address and which color story is your favorite.

Thanks to all who participated in this giveaway. I'm so grateful to all of you! I'll be back tomorrow to show you more of my new pattern line!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Sew, Mama, Sew Giveaway!

2011-05-23T06:39:00.000-07:00

Note: This giveawy is now closed...

Hi everyone!
It is time for the "Sew, Mama, Sew!" giveaway day! I will be giving away one fat quarter bundle of Swiss Chocolate in either Mocha (blues and tan) or Chocolate (reds and brown) - your choice. 10 fat quarters are included!

Chocolate Color Story

Mocha Color Story

Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop still has bundles and some yardage available as well.
The deadline to enter is May 25th and I'll pick the winner randomly on May 26th. Become a follower and leave a comment to enter, or, if you are already a follower, just leave a comment on this post. Tell me what you would make with your bundle!

I apologize ahead of time that I have had to turn comment moderation on due to some nasty person out there spamming this post. Keep entering - and I will approve comments as soon as possible!

Happy sewing and good luck!
Amanda

Garden Paths

2011-05-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone! I'm back to talk about the first pattern of my pattern line - Garden Paths. I hope you like her...

I've had this design floating around my head for awhile now, and am excited to offer it as a full-color pattern featuring my Veranda line, which ships in August. Garden Paths was really the inspiration for the entire pattern line. It looks like a complex quilt to make, but it really isn't, so it is great for the sewer who has explored the basics of piecing (rectangles and maybe some triangles) and wants to take the next step.

Sara at Sew Sweetness tested this pattern for me and you might want to hop on over and see what she has to say about it.

Deborah Norris of Gastonia, NC did a spectacular job on the quilting - I LOVE the freehand roses and leaves she quilted down the white areas!

I'll be printing the patterns in just a few weeks and will be shipping to your local shops in June. For those of you without a local shop, Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop will have them all!

If you like to plan ahead, this pattern measures 68"x 96" and uses one roll-up of 40 (2-1/2") strips, 3-3/4 yards of background fabric, 1-1/4 yard of inner border and accent square fabric (1-3/4 yards if you like to fussy cut), and 1-1/2 yards of outer border fabric.

Since this pattern is special to me I'm posting it over on the Blogger's Quilt Festival. Pay them a visit to see all the wonderful projects people are working on!

Veranda - a closer look...

2011-05-17T21:34:00.000-07:00

A picture is worth 1,000 words, right? Here is my newest baby in the Sorbet and Garden color stories...

Sorbet Fabrics

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

Garden Fabrics

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

Veranda ships in August and I can't wait. Do you have a favorite print? Please share! Mine changes daily.

Spring 2011 Quilt Market!

2011-05-16T21:34:00.000-07:00

What a delightful few days! Quilt Market was wonderful and I was absolutely overwhelmed with the shear amount of creativity in one room. It is so nice to be around people who love what you love and who are enthusiastic about the sewing and fabric industry - and about helping people find the joy of creating things with their hands. It was amazing. I met so many people - I'm almost afraid to list them because I know I will leave out lots of fantastic ones, but I have to try... Julie of Jaybird Quilts, who has to be one of the most generous souls out there, Angela Walters of Quilting is My Therapy, who did some spectacular quilting on a logo quilt I designed (among many because her quilts were in virtually every booth), Allison of Cluck Cluck Sew, Sherri of A Quilting Life, John of Quilt Dad, Heather of a la Mode, Scott Hansen of Blue Nickel Studios, Lisa Lam (who recently wrote the best book EVER), Lizzy House, Tula Pink, Patrick Lose, Jennifer Paganelli, Kimberly and friends of Fat Quarter Shop, lots of magazine editors who I had never met face to face, and, of course, all the people at Robert Kaufman. Even Sarah and her mom, from JEllen's House of Fabric, stopped by. Oh, and I introduced myself to Anna Maria Horner and Camille Roskelley, both of whose blogs of love.

Get this... it took me 30 hours (mostly in the Dallas airport) to get to Market due to flight delays. I slept in the airport on a cot that it took walking through 5 terminals to find. I presented a schoolhouse that I made it to by 3 MINUTES after sleeping in the airport and not having brushed my teeth for 30 HOURS. I know... My apologies to anyone in the room or within about 100 feet of me at that time. But when I finally arrived on the show floor this is what I saw:

Thanks Emmie, Kyle, and Allie. Thanks Evie, Aurelia, and Patty and all the other people at Robert Kaufman. You did a much better job arranging all my mess than I possibly could have done.

Introducing Veranda! It is a fun and bright collection that ships in August and it has been what I have been working on in the past couple months. I hope you love it! There are ten prints, each in two color stories, plus a white-on-white accent print.

The wall on the right is the logo quilt that I designed for this collection. Karen Fisher pieced it (thanks, Karen!) and Angela Walters did a fantastic job quilting it and I'll be able to show you more detail in later posts.

The "Under the Veranda Sampler" on the left is a block-of-the-month shop program in six parts and was pieced by my daughter and me in 5 days! (Thank you, Cait - I'm forever grateful.) Deborah Norris of Deborah's Quilting in Gastonia, North Carolina, quilted it expertly (along with 6 other quilts in my booth). Each block also has directions for a coordinating accessory. So the idea is that if you don't want to make the quilt you can make a photo album cover instead of a bargello block, or a pillow instead of Dresden plate and flying geese blocks, etc. I used the pink and green color story in the quilt, but you can see a peek of the purple, aqua, and green color story in the accessories on the lower right. "Under the Veranda" is a program I designed exclusively for quilt shops that buy one or or both color stories of Veranda. They can then use these patterns to offer kits of classes. I'll be compiling a list of shops that are participating in this program on my website, so, if you are a shop that is interested, make sure to contact me.

Under the Veranda Sampler (Sorbet Color Story)

Under the Veranda Sampler (Garden Color Story)

I was so busy in this booth that I hardly took any pictures, so those of you who have them out there, please send them! (Angela, oh quilting goddess with a camera to match, I'm calling your name!)

My other big Market news was the debut of my pattern line! There are six patterns available and they are all printed in full-color with clear Assembly Diagrams on the center spreads. Some use precuts and some use yardage. I'll give you more information in the days to come right here! Patterns will be shipping in June. I won't be selling these retail, but Kimberly, of Fat Quarter Shop, will be offering the entire line of patterns as soon as they are available. And your local shops can get them her if they are interested. So, without further ado, here is the line...

All these quilts were quilted by Deborah Norris. So, that is what I have been working on. ~~(If you are still listening to me babble on, I am looking for one more pattern tester for Village Green. If you are interested,~~ ~~email~~ me. This is a scrappy quilt made out of 2 roll-ups/jelly-rolls. You must be in the U.S. or Canada so that I can get it to you quickly. I'll need it tested in the next couple of weeks. Some fabric scraps might be in your future. First come, first served.) Sorry - the pattern tester spot has been taken - thanks!

There were some flight delays on the way home, but nothing like what experienced on the way out there, but - get this - I ate dinner at the airport with Becky Goldsmith. Yes, I am talking about the Becky Goldsmith of Piece 'O Cake Designs. And she gave me a book about needle-turn applique, which I have always wanted to learn. Yes, I received a book about applique from Becky Goldsmith. If you are reading this blog you are obviously a hard-core quilter and will know how big a deal that is. Becky confirmed my view that quilters everywhere are just the nicest people. And then, to top it all off, my seatmate on the way to Chicago was Anja Pundt, who owns Nahwelt Machemer, the biggest quilt shop in Europe, and had just bought my line that morning, and she was lovely. It is a small world.

A good market all around. I'll be back in future days to give you more details about Veranda, Under the Veranda, and patterns. In the meantime, happy sewing!

Amanda

A last sneak peek

2011-05-10T10:05:00.000-07:00

Completed:

10 quilts
6 patterns
1 shop program (a sampler with 6 parts)
6 pillows
almost 2 table runners
2 quilted bags
2 album covers
1 schoolhouse presentation

Still to do:

8 placemats
bind 1/2 of a table runner
pack!!!

Off to Salt Lake City! Have a a great week and happy sewing!
Amanda

Happy Mother's Day and Table Runner Kit Winners

2011-05-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

Well, Happy Mother's Day everyone! I hope every mom out there has a fantastic day.

Thanks to eveyone who commented and contributed to our ice cream experience!

Without further ado, the blog giveaway winners were numbers 48, 95,and 114.

#48 Robin said...

I'm a follower of your blog with Google Reader, and I like machine piecing. I'm a newbie quilter. I love this fabric line, and love the Mocha Blossom Runner, but would be thrilled to win any of them! :)

#95 Moshie said...

Just became a follower! I adore your swiss chocolate line. And I would love to make the Mocha runner. Right now, my favorite quilting technique is straight line quilting with a walking foot.

#114 Cat said...

What a great use of a striped fabric. But I have to say I love the Chocolate Blossom kit. Thanks for sharing the design.

Congratulations! (Please send me your snail mail addresses so I can get these out the door. Moshie, please email me specifying whether you meant the blossom or striped Mocha runner.)

Have a great weekend everyone!
Amanda

Quiltermaker's 100 Blocks Volume 3 Blog Tour!

2011-05-04T20:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Well, the blog tour for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks is well underway and this is my day to talk about my block (and to giveaway a little something extra - see details below)! I used Swiss Chocolate sample yardage, which I had just received at the time the block was designed. You'll find the pattern on page 46 of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Volume 3, which should be out on newstands next week.

A lot of you know that Swiss Chocolate was designed in two color stories: Mocha and Chocolate. Since I used Mocha for the Swiss Chocolate quilt in Quiltmaker's March/April 2011 issue, I decided to use the Chocolate color story for this block. Here she is...

A few of the prints in this collection really lent themselves to fussy-cut pieces, and I decided to make use of this. I had a hard time deciding between the stripe and the blossom print, but in the end I chose to use the stripe.

I've heard from many people who used Swiss Chocolate in home decor projects, so I thought it would be great to show you a table runner using this block x 3, with variations.

Chocolate Striped Runner

Chocolate Blossom Runner

Mocha Striped Runner

Mocha Blossom Runner

I'll be kitting up one of these table runners (your choice!) for three lucky winners. The first winner will also receive a copy of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks, Volume 3., courtesy of Quiltmaker. I can't absolutely promise that the packages will go out before Market (still sewing like mad around here), but I'll try. If not, they will go out the following week. To enter:

Become a follower of my blog and leave me a comment telling me what your favorite quilting technique is. If you already are a follower, leave a comment about your favorite technique too. (My kids will be forever grateful for the follower part because, if I reach 250 followers, we get to go out for ice cream!) Also let me know what table runner kit you would choose.
If you comment anonymously, please leave your contact information in the post so that I can contact you!
Only one entry per person, please.
The deadline to enter the giveaway is on midnight Saturday, May 7th.

And remember that Quiltmaker will be giving away a yard of each print of THE ENTIRE LINE OF SWISS CHOCOLATE courtesy of Robert Kaufman, along with other great prizes, later in the week, so check out their site. There are some great giveaways, along with links to other designers' fabulous sites!

Have fun and happy sewing!
Amanda

Pieced Backs

2011-05-03T06:39:00.000-07:00

I just sent a shipment of Market items off to Robert Kaufman. The quilt that will serve as the centerpiece of my booth went with that shipment. I borrowed the idea for a pieced back, with the label actually integrated into the design, from Julie, of Jaybird Quilts. I love how it looks. Thanks, Julie! (Julie has a fantastic tutorial on how to do this over at her blog...)

Can't show you the front quite yet, but it won't be long now...

Don't forget to stop back here Thursday for a great giveaway in conjunction with Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour!

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour Volume 3 - Preview

2011-04-29T05:32:00.000-07:00

Be sure to stop back here next week on May 5th to hear about my Swiss Chocolate block for Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Blog Tour. There are some great giveaways going on in conjunction with this, including (pause for dramatic effect)... Robert Kaufman's donation of 1 yard of EACH Swiss Chocolate print! IN BOTH COLOR STORIES!!!

I know. A pretty generous giveaway, huh? (Thanks, Robert Kaufman.) Some of thse SKUs are sold out, so make sure to visit the Quiltmaker site next week and stop back here on May 5th.

Oh - I almost forgot to give you a peek of my block...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Hand Quilting

2011-04-28T09:51:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the silence lately but I have been sewing, sewing, sewing, in preparation for Market - mostly on the machine, but a little by hand. I love the look of hand-quilting and should do it more often.

Last night I hand-quilted around this Desden block with 12 wt. thread. I used a slightly darker green in the center and a vivid pink around the block itself. I love how the pink contrasts with the green striped background. I love it and wish I had used heavier thread, but time is of th essence and 12 wt. is what I had.

Next I need to quilt this...

I am thinking purple or green in the center circle and maybe a light aqua around the Dresden. Or maybe pale green. Your thoughts?

Happy sewing!
Amanda

My Pattern Line

2011-04-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

My pattern line is debuting at Market (along with my new collection, Veranda) and I'm so excited! There are six patterns in all - in full color, and they all feature my new fabrics. To see the quilts that I have been planning bound and completed has been so satisfying. I can't wait to share...

Three and a half more weeks! But I CAN wait, because there is still a lot of sewing to do!
Amanda

Swiss Chocolate Sale at Wondrous Woven Fabrics

2011-04-15T12:45:00.000-07:00

I just got an email for Wondrous Woven Fabrics this morning. They are having a spring cleaning sale before Market. While they don't have the entire line of Swiss Chocolate, they have the following discounted at 30% if you use the code 8great2 at checkout. This is a great opportunity to pick up the kit for my complimentary sampler pattern, or a roll-up or ten-square...

Happy sewing!
Amanda

"Pinwheel Garden" for Fons and Porter's Love of Quilting

2011-04-13T15:20:00.000-07:00

This one has been gone from home for so long that I almost forgot about her.

Luckily Fons and Porter didn't. "Pinwheel Garden" features my Ambrosia collection for Robert Kaufman and, best of all, it is being featured as a free pattern on the Love of Quilting website that you can download here.

One note:
An attentive reader was downloading the pattern and noted the following:

I fell in love with your "Pinwheel Garden" quilt that was featured in the latest edition, May/June 2011. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I could download it. In reading through the instructions, I noticed that the names of the small templates may have been reversed. It appears that the name for the "Small Fill-In Template" on page 4 should have been named the "Small Take-Away Template and vice versa.

So be sure to make a note on your pattern. Thanks, Linda!

You can still find most of the Ambrosia line at Fat Quarter Shop. And the two prints that they have sold out of can be found over at Wondrous Woven Fabrics. And it looks like Fabric Shack has them all!

Just to make it super-easy for you to order materials should you want to whip up this quilt, here are the SKUs:

1/2 yard pink floral (AAM-10757-193 )
3/4 yard blue floral (AAM-10757-192)
3/4 yard blue leaves (AAM-10758-192)
1 yard purple crackle (AAM-10760-192)
1-1/4 yards brown crackle (AAM-10760-193)
1-1/2 yards yellow circles (AAM-10759-136)
3/4 yard dark pink medallions (AAM-10756-193)
3/4 yard light pink circles (AAM-10759-193)
1 yard dark green medallions (AAM-10756-192)
1/2 yard medium green leaves (AAM-10758-193)
5/8 yard light green circles (AAM-10759-192)
3-1/2 yards backing fabric - anything from the Veranda line will work

The Fons and Porter curved seam templates are also very helpful.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. I had a momentary lull in sewing last night in order to get out a scrapbook collection and last night we were able to (pause for dramatic effect)... eat in the dining room!

The state of things...

2011-04-09T12:29:00.000-07:00

Have you ever picked up a quilt from a quilter and been so excited because they brought your work to an entirely new level? That is how I felt this morning when I picked up this....

I love Deborah Norris' little leaves and rose swirls. I can't show more yet (soon, soon...) but had to share.

I dropped off quilts #6 and #7 this morning, which means I have need of lots of binding...

It was so nice to see Deborah's quilting because I'm feeling at sixes and sevens because we are living in complete chaos. Those of you who read this blog regularly know that I don't have a studio all to myself and that we homeschool our children. That means a lot of activities take place in just a couple of rooms and, right now, I'm taking more than my fair share of space. You can't go more than a few feet without stepping on a project. These are various snapshots from our dining room, which is being used for pretty much everything but eating. (And we don't have an eat-in kitchen, so right now we are sometimes eating standing at the counter, or on towel in the family room.) Such is life. For those of you who might be feeling behind with housekeeping, take a look...

Fabric - washed and ironed

Quilt tops, in various states of completion

Borders, waiting to be sewn on

I completely forgot about laundry, but these fabrics have little strings before I've even ironed them, and I find that really funny.

More ironing on the chair, and more quilt blocks on the floor.

I'd much rather iron quilt blocks than laundry, wouldn't you?

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Giveaway at Jaybird Quilts

2011-04-05T21:15:00.001-07:00

Julie is having a fantastic giveaway of Ty Pennington fabrics and Robert Kaufman Silk/Cotton blends over at Jaybird Quilts! Be sure to enter...

Giveaway over at Koolbeenz

2011-04-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Thanks for the tips yesterday. A little fusible web and some zigzagging did the trick.

April, a fellow North Carolinian, is have a fabric giveaway over at her blog, KoolBeenz. She has some great ideas over there. Hop on over and enter!

Happy sewing!
Amanda

Do you feel my pain?

2011-04-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

Has anyone ever, in the process of squaring up the edges of a quilt that has been expertly quilted, misaligned their ruler so that there were four inches of border on one side and only three on the other and made a cut before realizing it?

OH YES I DID! My daughter heard my moans of anquish from across the room (where she was pressing blocks for another top) and came over and looked. She said, "Oh my." I just groaned incoherantly on the floor.

So, now I am faced with either a) making the border narrower OR b) zigzagging an inch or so into the quilt to secure the damage. I am leaning toward the latter as I think I love my border more than some delusion that future generations will consider me an expert quilter. (The quilting itself was done by Deborah Norris - didn't she do a fabulous job? She accentuated the blossoms shapes and did freehand flowers and vines on the background.)

I will zigzag in yellow to match the border and it will be okay. This is what I am telling myself. This is actually the first quilt to be finished from the pattern line I'm debuting at Market, so I think it is fitting that it be marked insome special way - and I have certainly found a method to put my unique stamp on it. (If you are at Market, please stop by booth 2224 to meet the unfortunate victim of my rotary cutter - and to meet the antagonist in this saga.)

On another note, lots of quilters devote time to teaching young people how to sew and I think that is great. (Julie, of Jaybird Quilts, recently blogged about helping a girl scout troop with a project and Allison, of Cluck Cluck Sew, wrote about a great project involving fabric and lots of glue that she did with her young son.) Although it does certainly take more time to produce quilts with young children "helping" (I have secretly unstitched many a seam to make blocks fit together) I can vouch for the fact that, in the end, giving new, enthusastic sewers confidence in their growing skills certainly pays off. I am currently reaping the benefits of having an expert 12 year old sewer in the house. (She is my preferred helper in everything sewing-related - and is much better at it than most adults.) When she was six or seven she helped by running zigzag stitches around blocks that I was going to applique. (My ten year old son, incidentally, is an expert in ripping stabilizer off of the backs of quilts - there is something for everyone, even the destruction-proned. Yes, he obviously gets that from me.) So if you have a son, daughter, niece or nephew in your life, find a project that they can do an help them discover the joy of working with their hands in this digital age. And if anyone out there has some fantastic ideas about projects that are suitable and enjoyable for young sewers, please share. I'd love to hear what everyone is doing!

Now it is time to have my daughter help me with that zigzag stitch. Happy sewing!

Amanda

Spring Market Countdown (Part 2)

2011-03-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

It is definitely a challenge to think up blog posts this time of year. There is a lot happening that I can't show. Here is just a peek, along with some cuts of the groundcover in the back yard that blossomed overnight. I love the periwinkle color!

Happy sewing!

Amanda

An Inspirational Quilter

2011-03-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

Diane Rose woman is amazing and so inspirational. Take a look...

Spring Market Countdown (Part 1)

2011-03-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Happy sewing!
Amanda

2011 Golden Quilter Awards

2011-03-21T14:04:00.000-07:00

Wow. I just found out I was nominated for "Best Designer" for the 2011 Golden Quilter Awards over at SewCalGal. I couldn't believe it when I saw my name on the list with many, many fantastic designers whose work I admire. Thanks to whoever out there nominated me. You made my day!

Happy sewing!
Amanda