Thursday, January 24, 2013

Peace Quilt Bloggy Party and a Giveaway


I am so excited to participate in the Peace Quilt Bloggy Party and be able to share my Peace Quilt and Peace top. I have been a follower of Rene' for over 40 years ;-) For those who may not be familiar with us, Rene' is my sister, best friend, motivator, source of inspiration...yes, I think she is awesome. And her Peace Quilt Pattern is just as awesome.



I totally fell in love with her first Peace Quilt, Feeling Groovy. If you haven't seen it, it is SO worth following the link!!

After some begging and pleading gentle persuading (thanks KT), Rene' developed the pattern, which is now available for purchase.

I had the pleasure of testing the pattern and am so happy to share a little #peace.

I made the baby peace quilt using Christmas scraps for a wall hanging.


I loved how quickly the top came together (I am all about instant gratification).  I loved how all my squares lined up so perfectly...a first for me ;-) The cutting instructions were spot on! I was able to lay out the strips on my dining room table and easily pieced the top in one afternoon.


The quilt was a perfect size for my Frustration and I to practice our FMQ.

The wall hanging goes perfectly in our kitchen, and we were able to enjoy this beauty during Christmas.



I have to say, however, that my second Peace quilt (the lap size) is my favorite. The squares are primarily Kaffe Fassett, with a few random squares thrown in. I waffled on the background fabric, finally choosing Kona Tangerine. As Rene' said, "Go bold or go home!" A perfect choice!!



As with the baby quilt, the instructions were perfect, and everything lined up nicely. Rene's pattern sure makes my quilting look good ;-)


Rene' included great graphics/diagrams for each size quilt. This really helped while laying out the strips and during piecing.


I am looking forward to finishing my Peace quilt, although I have no clue yet how I'm going to quilt it! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated ;-)


Be sure and leave a comment for your chance to win the giveaway of this pattern. I will leave the giveaway open through February 1st.  And be sure to check out the other blogs for some beautiful eye candy and more chances to win.

Bloggy Party Schedule:

Monday, January 21 -  Katie at KT Quilts
Tuesday, January 22 - Michele at  Nostalgic Cafe
Wednesday, January 23 - Cindy at  Live a Colorful Life
Friday, January 25 - Stephanie at Peas in a Pod 
Monday, January 28 - Terri at Terri's Notebook 
Tuesday, January 29 - Doris at Made by a Brunnette 
Wednesday, January 30 - Mary at Mary on Lake Pulaski 
Thursday, January 31 - Shelly at Prairie Moon Quilts 
Friday, February 1 - back to Rene' Creates  for a give away
Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!
~ Michelle ~

Monday, January 21, 2013

~ Family Secrets ~

Who would have known that while my sister and I were scheming a surprise birthday quilt for our mom that she had a little secret of her own?!? Christmas quilts for us both...



Although we knew our mom had taken a quilting class in October, we never imagined that she would be working on TWO quilts for Christmas.


I am totally blown away by this "beginner!" And I use that word lightly.


My quilt is absolutely gorgeous!! And perfect for nap taking ;-)


Somewhere under that bundle is me ;-)))
Mom named the quilt "Memories." We have such wonderful memories of past Christmases, and we are always looking forward to making more memories.



We have had so much fun the past few months sharing our quilting journey. We laughingly ask what we talked about before we quilted, as the three of us spend hours on the phone with quilty talk.


Be sure to drop by my sister's blog to see the beautiful quilt our mom made for her!!!

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!!

~ Michelle ~