RJR Cotton Supreme Solids Blog Hop and a Giveaway

 I am so excited to participate in the RJR What Shade Are You? blog hop. For those who follow me on Instagram, you know how obsessed I am how much I love the new Cotton+Steel Collection. Lately, anything and everything I've been making has been with Cotton + Steel, especially the Homebody line.  A couple of months ago, I was asked by RJR Fabrics if I needed some RJR Cotton Supreme Solids to go with my C+S. Well, of course I did ;-) They kindly sent me the following solids to play with:

(Blue Bayou #300, Navy #30, Proud as a Peacock #289, Rio RP #311, Carnation #135, Tropiacana #339, Turks & Caicos #292, On The Rocks #283)                                          

And I had the perfect pattern to showcase their solids.

Twinkle, Twinkle is one of Megan Nichols' patterns from her Quick-Sew Baby Quilt Club (I have been itching to make this quilt to hang in my therapy room at school). Megan's club runs from June through November, with a new quilt pattern delivered each month. You can still sign up for the club...previous patterns will be sent out within one business day. I have received four patterns, and they are beautiful and wonderfully written!!

I usually bombard IG with lots of progress pictures, but I was keeping this project under wraps.

I used Jacquie Gering's sectioned curves technique for quilting. I love the way the gentle curves add movement to the quilt.

I love hand stitching the binding to my quilts!!

I absolutely loved working with RJR's Cotton Supreme Solids!

They are a perfect combo with the C+S collection.

I found that there was less fraying than with other solids, which has always been frustrating for me.

And the colors!!!! Oh, my...beautiful!!

So, what shade am I? I have no idea ;-)))) But I do know that I really love the Cotton Supreme Solids and can't wait to get more! Luckily for me, Pink Castle Fabrics has a Color Inspirations Club that is calling my name!!!

One of my favorite parts of a blog hop is the opportunity for a give away ;-))) RJR Fabrics has been generous in offering a reader (US and Canada) a bundle of the solids used in my quilt. If you would like to win these gorgeous solids, leave a comment and I will randomly pick a winner next Tuesday. Be sure and leave an email address if you are a no-reply commenter.

You can also see other wonderful quilts from their blog hop on RJR's Facebook page.

I'm linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts finish it up Friday!

Thanks, as always, for dropping by!!

~ Michelle ~

***The giveaway is now closed***

Choose Your Own BlockAlong 9/22/14

Welcome to another week of our Choose Your Own BlockAlong. Please forgive my brevity this week...I've been burning the midnight oil lately, trying to finish a project with a deadline,  and I am beat ;-) 

 I am continuing with my City Sampler using my much loved Cotton+Steel. 

Here are my six blocks: 

For those of you keeping count, I should have 8 blocks. It didn't take long for me to realize I wanted all my prints to be from the Cotton+Steel collection, so I already have 2 orphan blocks. I'm sure I will find a way to use them in a future project.

Don't forget to head over to Rene' Creates and Live A Colorful Life to see their progress. I had a sneak peek of Rene's blocks, and they are gorgeous!!! And be sure to stop by Friday for a finish and a giveaway!!

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

Choose Your Own BlockAlong 9/15/14

Welcome back to another week of our Choose Your Own BlockAlong. I have two more blocks to share from the Tula Pink City Sampler.

Both blocks were made using my current favorite line, Cotton + Steel. I'm beginning to see a pattern ;-)

No. 44

No. 38

I am loving the C + S blocks...

Six down, 94 to go ;-)

Don't forget to drop by Rene' Creates and Live A Colorful Life to see their progress.

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

Choose Your Own BlockAlong

Welcome to this week's Choose Your Own BlockAlong! I sure enjoyed seeing the blocks that Rene and Cindy made last week!! And I can't wait to see their newest blocks!

This past week was a challenge for me. Between work, family, and end-of-Summer colds running through the family, I wasn't able to even think about my blocks until Saturday. Fortunately for me, Tula Pink makes it easy to choose blocks based on available time ;-)

Each block has the required number of fabrics and pieces.

 Needless to say, I chose blocks with very low numbers ;-)))

Both blocks were pieced using Cotton + Steel...my favorite!! I had some difficulty with the first block. I'll attribute my cutting and/or piecing errors to the cold medicine. It may end up as an orphan block, which is a shame as I ended up liking the mustard colored solid used. 

Here are my four blocks placed on the City Sampler grid.

My blocks look so lonesome...haha!!

 As more blocks are made, I will need to decide the layout I want to use. In the book, Tula provides 5  possible layouts. The number of blocks and setting fabrics vary according to the layout. I also need to be thinking about color choices for the blocks. So far I've been winging it ;-)  I need to be making some decisions very soon!

Rene' was kind enough to make a button for our BlockAlong. Be sure and grab it from my sidebar if you want to play, which I hope you will. 

 And don't forget to head over to Rene' Creates and Live A Colorful Life to see their blocks for the week.

Thanks for stopping by!!

~ Michelle ~

And So It Begins...Choose Your Own BlockAlong

I am so excited about a new project with my sister Rene', of Rene Creates, and friend Cindy, of Live A Colorful Life...and my return to blogging! During the summer, Rene' and I were discussing the endless list of projects we would like to work on. I have been itching to start my Tula Pink's City Sampler quilt, and Rene' has been wanting to make a Dear Jane quilt. However, we both have lots on our plates and have been slow to get started. Cindy was also busy planning her next sampler quilt (remember her amazing Farmer's Wife Fridays?) We thought it would be great to work on our sampler quilts together, as a collaborative project, to hold each other accountable share with each other.  And So It Begins...our Choose Your Own BlockAlong.

Each Monday, we will highlight, on our blogs, the blocks we have made for our quilts. I am hoping to make two blocks a week. I know that's not a lot, but I want to be realistic. I have A LOT going on now that the school year has started.

Here are my first two blocks.

No. 100: Tula PInk's Acacia

No. 27: Amy Butler...

Here are my blocks with the corresponding blocks from the book.

The book has a place for you to write the name of each block (which I won't be doing...I have a hard enough time naming quilts...haha) and to write fabric notes (which I probably won't remember). I am terrible at remembering fabric designers and/or collections, so please feel free to leave a comment if you know, or if I am mistaken, about the fabric...I will be sure to add it to my notes!

I will be uploading my pictures on an excel document to help me stay organized while working on my blocks. Debbie, from A Quilter's Table, has a great tutorial for creating a grid for the City Sampler blocks. 

Hmmm...I have quite a ways to go ;-)))))

I hope you will join me each Monday as I create my way through the City Sampler quilt.

Don't forget to head over to Rene' and Cindy's blogs to check out their blocks!

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!

~ Michelle ~

(Another) Gift For My Sister

I love making quilty gifts for my sister. She was, after all, the one who led me to this obsession. Last year I made her a wall hanging, which has become one of my favorite quilts. This year I decided to stretch myself by making her a bag...Elizabeth Hartman's Sewing Circle Tote. Oh my, what was I thinking??? I have always said, "I don't sew, I quilt."

I have to admit, this was a challenge...one I thoroughly enjoyed. I used materials I had never heard of (cotton webbing, fusible interfacing, Peltex...what????) and tried techniques new to me (zipper pouches, elastic pouches)...oh, my!!! Fortunately, I had Cindy as my go to person to email and text throughout the making of the bag!!! You can see her bag (which is awesome) here.

The pattern called for making the long and short straps first.

These wonder clips eased my pain quite a bit

After successfully making the straps and the bottom of the bag, I felt pretty confident ;-) Next up was making the four outer pockets using the quilt as you go method (a first for me). This ended up quite time consuming, as I spent probably an entire day decided on what scraps to use.

What a hot mess ;-)

Below are some progress shots, taken quickly, as I was rushed to finish before Rene's birthday!!

After what seemed a lifetime, I had my four outer pockets.

My first zipper pouch EVER...not pretty, but it worked

Below is a picture of the bag delivered to my sister in Montana.

Picture stolen from Rene's Instagram

Of course, no posting of mine is complete without a glam shot (or two) of My Frustration, who is always on hand to provide support ;-)

Bless his heart...he was exhausted upon finishing the bag!!

I guess I can no longer say that I don't sew. In fact, I have purchased another Elizabeth Hartman bag pattern!! A big shout out to her...she has the most detailed and illustrated patterns...almost "Michelle proof."

Thanks, as always, for visiting my blog!!

~ Michelle ~

Catch Up

I haven't been here for awhile...too busy with work, family, and Instagram (my new obsession). I have been quilting a little, though.

My latest finish is my #scrappytripalong quilt. I have found it impossible not to include the hashtag...thanks to IG ;-)

A big thanks to Bonnie Hunter, who has a great tutorial for this quilt on her blog.

I jumped on this wagon a little late, but boy did I have fun making it. I used a bunch of civil war era fat eights my sister had gifted me a couple of years ago. 

For the first time, I was working on multiple projects (don't you just love my Kaffe shoofly block?...haha). And, as usual, most of my pictures are taken with my phone while working. 

Although the quilt can quickly be put together, it took me forever!!! With lots going on with work and family, most days I was only able to look at my blocks waiting patiently for me to finish ;-)

I have learned that I work better without lots of starting and stopping. So, with this quilt, I worked in stages. I set aside time for cutting all the strips, then piecing them into strip sets, then subcutting, etc. It took forever before I finally completed my first block.

The many, many seams were a challenge for me, but a great reminder of the importance of pinning!!

While I was playing around with the layout, my oldest son asked who would be getting this quilt. He was quite surprised when I said that I was just making it to make it...no one in particular in mind. Well, he was quick to claim it as his! I love that my boys love my quilts ;-)

I returned to my old habit of quilting at the dining room table, which my Frustration LOVED!!! I quilted it using a meandering stitch throughout. Unfortunately, my best pictures would not upload without major distortions (not sure what the malfunction is), so I leave you with a few pictures my son took of the completed quilt.

I hope to work out some kinks with uploading my pictures. Maybe it's time to start using a real camera and not my phone!!!

In the meantime, I hope to share more quilting now that my summer vacation has finally arrived.

I have switched over to Bloglovin, so if you wish, you can follow me there.

Thanks, as always, for stopping by!!

~ Michelle ~