Quilting Gallery - 2012 Blog Hop

Have you been to the Quilting Gallery? I joined last year and have had so much fun! I did an Easter quilted basket swap, a Christmas quilt-a-long, and was a featured designer. If you have any interest at all in quilting, you have to check them out!

This month they are doing a blog hop and I am of course participating! The best part? Every blogger is having a give-away! That's right!! Last time I checked I think they were up to 150+ bloggers all with fabulous giveaways! Crazy goodness..

Since I first joined Quilting Gallery, my style has evolved and I'm so happy that I have now found my quilting voice. I'm now dedicated to art quilts in my profession, though I do create a number of  lap quilts for family and friends. In 2013 my blog will be focused on exploring silk paints, silk applique, and a multitude of collage art quilt themes. If you would like to see more of my work, jump on over to my gallery. I would love to stay connected with you, please feel free to sign up as a blog follower!

Now what is my giveaway that I've been mentioning? A random, lucky winner will receive a fat quarter pack of Lori Holt's Daisy Cottage for Riley Blake. I love this line and have used it with a number of projects for my girls.

What do you have to do? Just leave a comment on this post anytime by midnight (MST) Monday, December 17th.

I will post the winner's name on Tuesday the 18th and ship out the gift that week.

And yes this giveaway is open to International readers!

In your comment, please leave an email to contact you.

Best of luck and enjoy the rest of the blog hop!

What some ideas on what you could make with your fabric? Check out  my tutorial page!

Prepping for Quilt Market

Today I'm guest posting over at Quilting Gallery - one of my favorite quilting sites! I'm presenting how to create my business card pouches. I made these for a few special contacts at Quilt Market (and yes I'm counting the hours till I board the plane!)

Want to read more about my inspiration to go above and beyond with my cards? Check out my friend, Topsy Turvy's post on her AMAZING cake pop/business cards. Such a creative way to leave a lasting impression! 

Hope to see you at Quilt Market! May the shopping and dreaming begin..

Quilting Gallery - Mini Quilt Exchange

I am a huge fan of the Quilting Gallery. Michele works very hard to promote other quilters, create fun activities that involve the blogging community, and swaps. For this last swap, our task was to create a mini quilt. I have been intrigued by the granny pattern that Blue Elephant Stitches created. I didn't quilt mine following her tutorial, mainly because I created them at my quilt guild Sewing Saturday and my tablet died before I could see the tutorial. I think I may even try to this foundation pieced next time and see if I like that better..

 I desperately wanted to crochet around the colored blocks as a fun spin on the "granny" motif, but I ran out of time. Later this month I am hoping to make this block again and try it with my running stitch crochet technique.

I really like the final mini quilt and was so happy to hear that my swap receiver loved it too. Have you tried the granny block yet? I'd love to see your pics!

Quilting Gallery - Blog Hop

Have you been to the Quilting Gallery? I joined this year and have had so much fun! I did an Easter quilted basket swap, a Christmas quilt-a-long, and was a featured designer. If you have any interest at all in quilting, you have to check them out!

This month they are doing a blog hop and I am of course participating! The best part? Every blogger is having a give-away! That's right!! Last time I checked I think they were up to 200+ bloggers. Crazy goodness..

And what am I giving away you ask? One of my Riley Blake mini tree skirt kits! My kits come with the all the fabric you need to piece the top, all the printed templates pieces you will need to cut, and color printed instructions. It's wrapped up super cute and would make a great gift for the quilter in your life..or you of course!

How to enter?

You have until midnight December 17th - winner will be announced the morning of December 18th!

Required First Entry

Join my blog (1 entry - please leave comment on post)

Optional additional entries

Tell me one of your favorite blogs on the blog hop (1 entry - please leave comment on post)

What quilting gift are you asking Santa for this year (1 entry - please leave comment on post)

And that's it! You have up to 3 ways to enter this giveaway.

Good luck and please continue on the blog hop..so many amazing quilting friends to meet!

Celebrate Christmas - Quilt Along

Welcome Quilters!

I'm so honored to be a part of Quilting Gallery's Quilt Along.

If you are new to my blog, let me give me a little background.

My name is Jennifer and I live in Utah with my 2 adorable little girls

and super supportive, handsome hubby.

I've been sewing on and off for two decades, and quilting in the more recent years.

Earlier this year I tried paper piece foundation quilting and fell in love.

I'm completely hooked on the technique and started creating my own patterns this summer.

I like to post free patterns & tutorials weekly - I highly recommend subscribing to my blog to keep up with latest!

For this Christmas quilt along, I created the paper pieced block "Santa's Mittens". If you have not done this technique before, I have a very simple tutorial here. If you have any trouble at all, please do not hesitate to email me!!

The block pattern is here. There are a total of 3 PDF pages to print - each one is a 6" printed square. ** With paper piecing you will use your add 1/4" ruler around the edge so it will be a 6.5" square upon completion.

I suggest printing out multiple copies - one to sew on and one to color in as a reference. Please remember that your block will be the mirror image of what you print.

How much fabric do you need?

I used 4 fat quarters and had LOTS leftover.

The wonderful thing about paper piecing is it's easy to use up your stash rather than having to buy new fabric, but I of course always want to buy new fabric.. I'm sure none of you can relate.. ;o)

How do you create the block?

You will do a single block of each mitten.

You will do two blocks of the 4 square. I alternated the colors in my triangles, but of course you can do what you like best.

For this block - you will need to cut the letter groups from each other - A,B,C,D,E, and F.

Complete each letter group and then sew together.

For example, sew A1 to A2, B1 to B2, and then the A group to the B group.

When you paper piece, you will leave a 1/4" border around the printed piece. Thus your printed 6" square will be a completed 6.5" square.

You will then sew the four blocks together and have a completed 12.5" square that will be 12" finished once you sew them to the additional Christmas blocks.

I thank you so much for your time and truly hope you love this block. I know that foundation piecing maybe new to some of you, but please give it a try. I personally find it much easier and I think you will have fun. Happy Holidays!

-Jennifer