Hello, Ollie!

Sometimes a new fabric collection arrives at my door and it's so good, I have to cut into it right away! That was the case with AGF designer Bonnie Christine's newest collection, Hello, Ollie! This is the very first Art Gallery Fabrics certified organic cotton fabric collection and the quality is absolutely amazing! These truly are the softest, most luxurious organic fabrics I have ever used. It's so exciting!



My favorite Hello, Ollie print is Dabbling Swan, which I set aside to admire a little longer with a different project in mind. For the remaining, beautiful eighteen prints, full of sweet feathered creatures and garden blooms, I couldn't wait to see them come together in a pretty, patchwork project!

It's been awhile since I've had the time to begin a new quilt top, and I definitely didn't want to start one only to struggle to find the sewing time needed to see it progress. After a little thought, I quickly settled on making an hour glass quilt. The "make four at a time" method I've always used for making hour glass quilt blocks produces fast results, and in no time I had all the blocks needed for a generous throw size quilt top!



These hour glass quilt blocks began with a stack of  7" charms squares,



sewn together into four-patch quilt blocks,



and after a little more sewing & cutting, emerged sixty-four 9" hour glass blocks!





Now, all that's left to do is arrange them into a harmonious pattern and to sew them together. I can't wait to see this finished and to share it here just as soon as it's done!

You can find Hello, Ollie available soon at Fat Quarter Shop, Llama Fabrics, Lady Belle Fabric, and The Intrepid Thread!

♡ Maureen  

From Scraps : :

Immediately after finishing Haila's pretty drawstring bag, I collected the odd Fleet & Flourish, Tapestry fabric, and AGF Denim scraps scattered throughout my sewing room floor and turned them into a sweet matching pillow. I carried on sewing with the same herringbone pattern and added lace embellishments that I have loved using so much lately!



It's a cute little pillow, barely fitting the 14" pillow insert that's stuffed in there so tightly, but I'm sure over time, after a little use, it will look just perfect! I always make my pillow covers a little smaller than the size of the pillow insert I plan to use. They always settle a little and I love them to stay looking nice and full!



Nothing went to waste in the making of this quick project - even the pillow back is finished with more scraps and a little linen.



For the binding I used the very last of that BIG role of Hello, Bear Summit in Twilight binding I made a few months back. I love the combination of each fabric & trim that makes up this pillow, pretty, pretty!



I especially love it paired with the Fleet & Flourish pillow I made for last year's Fall Quilt Market to showcase my Miniments and Lace in Bloom prints. Doesn't in make a lovely set?





I think they look so beautiful together, tossed on the Anthropologie Victoriana Silk Throw blanket that I received for Christmas last year!



I've been working, slowly, on building up my handmade inventory in the hopes of having a local pop-up shop around the holidays or possibly here online, and both of these pillows have been added to the pile!

♡ Maureen  

Something Pretty : :

Yesterday I set out to make a new drawstring bag for Haila. We have a shared love for floral fabrics, lace, and thrifting, so for her bag I knew I could really go crazy with all the sweet, special details!



This bag started with a bundle of pretty Fleet & Flourish and Tapestry prints, a pile of narrow strips cut for a herringbone quick quilt as you go patchwork for one side of the bag and a simple qayg stacked stripe for the reverse side.





As I pieced the front, I added in little bits from vintage tablecloths we found together at our local consignment shop and lace she helped me pick out at our recent trip to JoAnn Fabrics.





As I sewed she'd pop in and out of the sewing room, not knowing this bag was for her! The added embellishments are my favorite part of making these otherwise simple backpacks, the added extra details are so pretty, perfect for my girl!



I love using AGF denim for the backpack casing and tabs, and for the lining of this one I tried something new -- my Fleet & Flourish Swifting Flora knit!





To finish, I used more of my stash of vintage bias tape stitched closed for the drawstrings and added two, fun tassels Haila & I bought a year ago at a local yard sale!





These bags have quickly become my new favorite quick-sew project, perfect for these busy & HOT Summer days that don't leave much time for sewing!



You can find Fleet & Flourish and Tapestry available at Fat Quarter Shop, Llama Fabrics, and Lady Belle Fabrics!

XO, Maureen

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!

My sponsor the Fat Quarter Shop was founded in 2003 by Kimberly Jolly. An avid quilter, Kimberly began her shop as a side business while still working a corporate position, cutting, packing and shipping right out of her house during evenings and weekends. From the very beginning, she was committed to delivering top-notch service for every single order and customer. As the Fat Quarter Shop's reputation grew, Kimberly decided to make it a full-time operation. Her husband Kevin joined her not long after, and with his help, lots of hard work, and a tireless commitment, the store began to grow. Over the past few years a few more people have joined the staff! As a team, they continue to branch out with the best fabrics, exclusive kits, quilt clubs, BOMs, and more. And they will always be driven by the passion that Kimberly founded the store upon, 
which is always giving you the best products and service! 

SHOP  *  PINTEREST  *  TWITTER  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK  *  YOUTUBE

*  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *  *

We hope you enjoy visiting the Fat Quarter Shop's sites!!  

For this week's Giveaway the Fat Quarter Shop is offering to one lucky MCH reader a beautiful bundle Art Gallery Fabrics exclusive Summer Elements! This Fat Quarter bundle includes TWENTLY stunning contemporary prints including a colorful selection of Nature Elements, Oval Elements, and Pure Elements Solids! You can find this pretty bundle available at Fat Quarter Shop right HERE!

Enter to Win!

Here's how,
 
1. Simply leave a comment here in this post! Feel free to share what you'd make with these gorgeous fabrics!? (one entry)
2. Follow the Fat Quarter Shop on Facebook! Just let me know that you do by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
3. My followers get a third entry! Just let me know that you do by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry)
4. 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 Facebook, Instagram, tweet, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry)

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, July 25th. The winner will be chosen 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 so that I can contact you should you win!

A BIG thanks to all who entered our Giveaway. This week's lucky winner is commenter, Bonny! Congratulations, I will be in touch shortly! 

♡ Maureen  

A Roadside Guides Quilt : :

It's been way too long since I shared a new quilt photoshoot here on the blog! This quilt traveled with us to the beach last week where we had planned to carve out a little time to finally photograph it after sitting folded up for months and months. I was so excited to see it's beautiful colors against the ocean landscape. Each day away we'd decide tomorrow would be a better day until we completely ran out of days, oops!

I made this quilt months ago for my Fleet & Flourish fabric collection Quilt Market booth and LookBook using Art Gallery Pure Elements Solid fabrics, inspired by the only print fabric included in the quilt, my Roadside Guides in Opal print. I'm so excited that we made photographing it a priority now that we're back home in beautiful Potter County, PA!



Below you can see it on display at Fall Quilt Market in Houston last October, and you can also find it featured in my Fleet &  Flourish LookBook!



Even though it was shared a couple of times already, for me there's nothing quite like taking a quilt out to our beautiful surroundings here in Potter County. I never feel completely done with a quilt project until that happens!



This quilt is made & finished using my Quick Quilt As You Go technique with QAYG Log Cabin style quilt blocks turned on point to mimic my Roadside Guides fabric design. I only had a small amount of strike offs to mix into the quilt pattern, so I chose to add it in little triangles at all four corners and four points within the quilt top. This is the quick phone snap photo I shared on my Instagram way back when I was still working on it!



It was such a fun, creative way to show off this fabric design at Quilt Market, without having much fabric available to use! I've always wanted to create an all solids quilt and although this does include a little print, it still feels like I can go ahead and cross an all solids quilt off my to-make list!







I still have one more finished Fleet & Flourish quilt to photograph and share! I'm hoping to do that next week, because I hear my newest fabric collection, Nightfall, should be arriving in a couple of weeks. I can't wait!!

♡ Maureen

A Pillow Form Solution : :

When my favorite brand, Soft N Crafty Premier pillow forms go on sale at Jo~Ann I always stock up! At any given time I typically have at least a dozen, in a variety of sizes, piled in one corner of my sewing room since I lack the space in any of my cabinets and shelves to accommodate that many pillow forms. It always looks a little messy since they never seem to want to stay neatly stacked together. Well, last month I finally discovered a solution, and because it's been such a good, multifunctional fix for me, I thought I'd share with those of you who might also be looking for a way to store these necessary pillow forms, quilt batting, Poly-Fil, etc...



While shopping for a new hammock on Amazon a few weeks ago this Boho Ottoman Patchwork Cover popped up in the "frequently bought together" area on the page, and right away I thought of filling it with my pillow form stash!

The colorful, scrappy patchwork fabrics go so well with my style and I love the little tassel details!



It ended up being the perfect, extra-large size cover to fill with ALL the pillow forms I currently have unused, at least a dozen ranging in sizes from twelve to twenty inches!



The kids love sitting on the pouf when they join me in the sewing room and I love not having to see those plastic covered pillow inserts! I'm even considering ordering a second to house my prepackaged batting, to have one in front of each the matching chairs I have it my sewing room.



I hope you find this solution idea helpful!

How about you, do you have any tips/tricks for keeping your sewing space organized that you'd like to share?

♡ Maureen

Back from the Beach : :

Last week we headed South to the Outer Banks of North Carolina for our annual beach vacation. I had every intention of popping in to share a quick couple of blog posts that I had planned in advance, but it was much too beautiful to be on the computer at all, the weather was perfect, and we kept busy. Busy playing in the ocean and in the pool and in the sand. Busy eating lots of yummy food and making drinks all day long. Such fun, I tell you! It was a wonderful break that provided just what I needed -- a gathering of inspiration, some much-needed refueling, and a little bit of letting go.

Now that we're back home Kevin and I have a long list of house/yard things that need done before this Summer season ends, and I certainly have plenty of sewing projects I'd love to tackle, but our Summer fun to-do list is even longer and it's time to get serious! Before school starts, before the leaves fall, there's still plenty of time for more playing in the water and for picnics and for ice cream cones and for enjoying Summer's beauty.

I wish you all the best in the Summer days to come! ♡ Maureen