The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 21!

Before we jump right in to week TWENTY ONE, to help us better to understand what you're looking for in future sew alongs, Sharon and I have prepared an 8-answer survey and we'd really appreciate you taking the time to help us out! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already. If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help!

Now it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #21: Hourglass. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin the SBS Sampler right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Hourglass Block I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: Flower Dance and Flower Waltz with on of the main florals from Fleet & Flourish: What Awaits Above. I love this combination of peach, mint, & creamy white!

This week I fussy cut one of my favorite flower clusters from the peach floral print, framing it with Flower Waltz and I'm really happy with this fabric combination! My delivery of AGF's Soft Sand Linen came this week so I had it just in time to add to this block and have already added the linen frame to last week's to be able to share on Instagram later today!



The center of this week's block is my favorite part and includes a new piecing technique called Square in Square that Sharon put an extra step by step tutorial for on her blog today. Be sure to visit her if you need some extra visuals of how this Hourglass block comes together, Sharon's instructions are the best!



I can't wait to see all of the beautiful Hourglass blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with Needle and Foot!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen   

A Sewcial Bee Giveaway with Me!

It's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!  

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new, special Giveaway with one of our amazing, participating sponsors! If you happened to miss the launch of our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info and can join us anytime - it's never too late to jump in!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot   Thread Cutterz   Stash Builder Box    Hobbs Batting

Today's featured Sewcial Bee sponsor is Maureen Cracknell!

That's right, this week I'm offering the winner a generous fat quarter bundle of my Garden Dreamer collection for Art Gallery Fabrics! This bundle will include a fat quarter cut of each of the TWENTY prints that make up this pretty collection!

You can find this collection available in these Sewcial Bee Sampler sponsor shops: Circa 15 Fabric Studio, Fat Quarter Shop, Lady Belle Fabrics, Needle and Foot, Needle in a Fabric Stash, and Llama Fabrics who's offering 30% off all fabrics with coupon code: LLAMA30!

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (one entry)
2. My followers get a second entry! If you follow here, on Instagram, or on Facebook just let me know by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
3. Help spread the word!! I know that many of you already do, so I thought it would be nice to add that as another way to enter! Whether by Instagram, tweet, Facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry)

That’s 3 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, June 19th at 4pm EST! The winner will be picked next week at random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog.

* Note * This giveaway is open to EVERYONE! If you're a "no reply" or anonymous commenter, please remember to include your email address in your comment! 

A BIG thanks to all joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who entered our Giveaway! This week's lucky commenter is renae! I will contact you via email shortly!

♡ Maureen 

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 20!

Before we jump right in to week twenty we need a little help! As we near the end of this incredible journey, my co-host, Sharon Holland and I are looking to future collaborations together. The success of the Sewcial Bee Sampler (SBS) has been phenomenal and mostly because of your participation and the remarkable community you've created out of this sew along!

To help us better understand your future needs in a sew along, Sharon and I have prepared an 8-question survey. This quick questionnaire will give us insight to better serve your needs as a quilter. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. The link provided on both of our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thanks for taking the time to help us out!

Now it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Today's free download is for block #20: Irish Chain Variation. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Irish Chain Variation Block, I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: the pretty pale blue blender, Triangular Reflection with two deeply colored prints from Nightfall: Lunation Dark and Magical Gust Crisp. Can you tell I'm still trying to make my very purple block from week 17 fit in with the rest? I think in the end there might be enough eggplant purple scattered throughout my sampler if I continue to bring little bits of it into future blocks and that's exciting!

This block comes together quick and is another chance to add in some fussy cut patchwork, which I always enjoy. This time I cut from my moon phase print and I'm really happy with the results, yay! Missing from my block is my linen frame. This week's pattern included a narrow frame and I'm completely out of linen until later today, so I'll have to add mine to share on Instagram tomorrow.



This is my first time making an Irish Chain Variation block and after this one block I've decided I would love to make an entire quilt using this pattern featuring my Nightfall phases of the moon print in both colorways. It's going on the to-make list!



I can't wait to see all of the Irish Chain Variation blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday for a special bundle of my fabrics!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen   

A Sewcial Bee Giveaway with The Intrepid Thread!

It's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new, special Giveaway with one of our amazing, participating sponsors! If you happened to miss the launch of our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info and can join us anytime - it's never too late to jump in!

Aurifil      Circa 15      The Intrepid Thread      Fat Quarter Shop      Omnigrid      Llama Fabrics      Color Girl     Lady Belle Fabric      Needle in a Fabric Stash      Dritz      Knotted Thread    Needle and Foot   Thread Cutterz   Stash Builder Box    Hobbs Batting

Today's featured Sewcial Bee sponsor is The Intrepid Thread!



With over 15 years of experience in ecommerce, The Intrepid Thread is a family owned business employing 5 amazingly creative quilters and sewists. Julie, the owner, is dedicated to offering quality quilting fabrics at competitive prices and takes special pride in knowing her customers receive unparalleled service!

SHOP  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK * INSTAGRAM * We hope you enjoy visiting The Intrepid Thread!

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Julie at The Intrepid Thread is offering a $20 Gift Certificate to her wonderful shop to one commenter!!

Enter to win!

Here's how, since Sharon and I will be taking turns hosting Sewcial Bee Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Sharon Holland Design's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  

♡ Maureen

Soulful is here!

I'm so excited to announce that Soulful is finally shipping to shops and you'll soon be able to see this brand new collection in person at your favorite LQS! It's also beginning to pop up in online shops, you can find the growing list on my SHOP My Fabrics page. Pretty please let me know if you discover any shops carrying Soulful so I can add them to the list!



Last month I traveled to St. Louis to show Soulful at International Quilt Market. I mostly shared that adventure on my Instagram but today I'm excited to share a little bit more here on the blog to celebrate it's official release!

I began planning my Soulful Quilt Market "booth" as soon as it was finalized with AGF. The first thing I purchased for my display was this beautiful embroidered canopy from Free People. This is the first collection I've created that includes so many gray tones and the sheer gray net would provide the perfect accessory to surround with colorful Soulful projects! From there I simply got busy making strike off samples, with the help of SO many talented friends, and gathering up things scattered about our home to include in the booth. Since Soulful at it's core is about surrounding oneself with things loved and treasured, the meaningful things collected by just living, it was easy for me to tell it's story with my own belongings at Quilt Market. For me that's what Quilt Market is all about, telling the collection's story is the reason I love going so much second only to getting to visit with so many wonderful friends. Merchandising has been a passion of mine since I was a young teenager, working my first retail job at a local clothing store who's owner trusted me to do window displays at a very young age. Looking back I realize now what a blessing that opportunity was for me, not knowing that twenty years later I'd be using those cultivated skills to present my own fabrics as an exhibitor at Quilt Market twice a year.



The color palette of Soulful is filled with soft, dreamy colors infused with a little magic in the form of purples and fuchsia and teal. After releasing my fifth collection I've realized that I have a bit of a whimsical flair that carries through each of my collections. It's not anything deliberate but, I think it comes from my love of fairytales and interest in discovering the true magic of everyday life. Plus, I love to add a little sparkle!



In addition to a focal floral, Floral Universe and Crystal Awakening the gemstones print, I'm excited to include a mandala print in Soulful. There's something about a circle that has always lured me in. Looking around our home, it’s hard to find a piece of purchased or thrifted décor that’s angled and rigid in nature. Most of the things we collect seem to be spherical, round, flowing, plus drawing mandalas is something I've done for as long as I can remember. Since mandala in Sanskrit means "Magical Circle" it was the perfect symbol to pair with these other meaningful main prints to represent inclusion, wholeness, unity. I'm so excited to have these prints to sew with!



I'll be sharing many more Soulful images, project inspiration, and behind the scenes sewing here and on my social media accounts in the weeks ahead. Be sure to follow along to see what I'm stitching up, and please remember to share your own Soulful makes with the collection hashtag #SoulfulFabrics!

You can see the full quilting cotton collection, plus which prints are available in knit and rayon NOW at:

http://liveartgalleryfabrics.com/soulful-fabric-collection/

I can't wait to show you the LookBook a little later this month and I really can't wait to see all of what you'll create from these fabrics! I'm so excited to share Soulful with all of you.  I hope you love these prints as much as I do!!

♡ Maureen

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 19!

Happy Wednesday, friends! It's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this community sew-along now through early August and as usual, I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! We continue to have new participants joining us each week, the blocks typically take about an hour to male, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to continue to encourage all who join us to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler tagging both @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can all see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee block posts. We'll continue to try our very best to visit with all who join the sew along. Thank you so much for making this so much fun!



Today's free download is for block #19: Circle of Friends. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Circle of Friends Block, I used a combination of prints from Garden Dreamer: Moment in Time Dim and Climbing Posies Pale with a pretty Teal blender, Labyrinthine Dusk from Nightfall! I love this week's fabric combination!

I'm excited to bring in two more of my prints in this week's block that I haven't used in previous weeks. The pressed flowers print was chosen specifically for the fussy cut squares of Circle of Friends and because I'm continuing to try to add in some deep colored prints to make my week 17 block fit in a bit better, but I'm still on the fence with that one! I've loved adding in fussy cut bees to my blocks whenever there's a chance, but since I had just done so last week, I'm happy to replace them with pretty pressed flowers this week. I love how the HSTs dance around the flower centers!



I really love the name of this week's block: Circle of Friends! Although it's been difficult for me to keep up with commenting as much as I'd like to on all that's being sharing in the #SewcialBeeSampler -- from how busy it was preparing for & traveling to Quilt Market last month, Circle of Friends describes so perfectly what I feel those of us participating in the SBS have created. So many new friendships have formed and I love how many of us are in this together! I'm so inspired each week, it's been an incredible experience!



I can't wait to see all of the Circle of Friends blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our wonderful sponsor the Intrepid Thread!

Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen