A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

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My sponsor Llama Fabrics is a wonderful online Etsy fabric shop full of the most beautiful photos of each season's "must have" fabrics! Offerings include collections by Tula Pink, Leah Duncan, Jeni Baker, Anna Maria Horner and more, all from our favorite manufacturers Art Gallery Fabrics, Free Spirit, and Michael Miller, just to name a few! New fabrics are added often, sure be sure to follow Llama Fabrics!
  
SHOP  *  INSTAGRAM  *  FACEBOOK
 

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We hope you enjoy visiting Llama Fabric's sites!! 

For this week's Fabric Giveaway Llama Fabrics is offering the ENTIRE Fat Quarter bundle of the brand new, adorable Boardwalk Delight collection by designer Dana Willard for Art Gallery Fabrics Limited Edition! This bundle includes all TEN prints that make up this colorful collection! How amazing and generous!!

You can find this bundle newly available as a fat eighth, a fat quarter, a half yard, and as a complete one yard bundle, along with single cuts of your choosing in the Llama Fabric Shop!! 

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (one entry)
2. Follow Llama Fabrics on Facebook and/or Instagram! Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry) 

3. My followers get a third 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)

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 Instagram, tweet, Facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Tuesday, May 31st! 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! 

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Thank you to all who entered our Giveaway! This week's lucky winner is commenter, Gene Black! Congratulations, I will be in touch shortly!  ♡ Maureen

A Wild & Free Quilt

Yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 13th Wedding Anniversary!! Since Mondays are always so busy and today is all about celebrating our son Jacob who turns ELEVEN, we decided to honor the occasion with a quick breakfast date, stopping after at a few of our favorite spots along the road back home, to finally photograph my Wild & Free Quilt!



This quilt was made for my Wild & Free fabric Quilt Market booth, it's the very first idea I ever dreamed up for my Limited Edition collection with Art Gallery Fabrics. I started it weeks before my strike-offs even arrived, beginning with a pile of Pure Element solids that coordinated nicely with the colors in my collection which I turned into dozens of HST's, until I could fill in the center squares of my design with those first fabric samples.



Of all the quilt patterns I've dreamed up for Wild & Free, to me, this one's the most fitting. For sentimental reasons, it's become one of my very favorites, and the pattern is one I would love to take the time to try again. It's on this Summer's to-make list and I'm hopeful!





As much as I love each little piece of it, one of my favorite parts is the finished quilting, a beautiful wildflower pattern longarm quilted by Sew Shabby Quilting! The sweet flowers were the perfect choice to add a little touch of femininity and to accent the wildflower prints!





Since it was returned to me after being photographed for the Wild & Free lookbook, it's been in constant use! For weeks now I've been meaning to take it out, to finally have the chance to share it photographed in the same place that inspired my collection. It feels really, really special to be able to do so today!



Thank you so much for stopping by to see! ♡ Maureen

Back Home : :

With all that's been going on these past few weeks there hasn't been much time for sewing besides the etsy orders I've received. At times it's been frustrating. I look to the rolls of my first collection still wrapped, untouched, and I wonder when I'll find the time to begin creating the ideas and plans I've been scheming and dreaming of long before these fabrics were conceived. Oh, I can't wait!



When my box of Wild & Free makings recently arrived back home from their trip to Quilt Market and then onto Art Gallery Fabrics headquarters for their LookBook photo shoot, it felt like Christmas had come! Having all the quilts and pillows returned, that I had made so quickly to prepare for my booth, felt just as wonderful as when those rolls of fabrics arrived at my door. It's even made this lack of sewing time for all those new ideas feel much more bearable! 





Once I decide on where to take my first two Wild & Free quilts to photograph I'll be sure to share them here, I'm so excited! The same goes for each pillow made & not yet shared, as well as the many beautiful things made by others that I want to showoff!





Today, I hope to decorate our living room with all things Wild & Free. I love the way this collection looks when combined with holiday decor. I'll be sure to share more of that very soon!

♡ Maureen 

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

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It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

My sponsor The Knotted Thread is run by Jenn, a fabric lover with a passion for sewing!  In her shop you'll find both bundles and single cuts of Fat Quarters, Half Yards, Yards, and Yardage, as well as some of Jenn's very own handmade items up or sale!! Designer fabrics include many of our favorites -- Free Spirit, Moda, and Riley Blake Designs just to name a few! 

She's just getting started and invites you all to stop by today to look around!! Thanks Jenn!
  
SHOP  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK  *  INSTAGRAM 
 

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We hope you enjoy visiting The Knotted Thread sites!! 

For this week's Fabric Giveaway Friday, The Knotted Thread is offering the winner a beautiful Fat Quarter bundle of Katy Jone's new Limited Edition fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, Priory Square!! This bundle will include a fat quarter cut of each of the eight quilting cotton prints that make up this colorful, new collection!

You can find Priory Square available in The Knotted Thread's shop as a Fat Eighth Bundle, a Fat Quarter Bundle, half yard bundle, and full yard bundle HERE!!

Here's a gorgeous example of Priory Square in action from Katy's recent booth at Quilt Market last month. It was all so beautiful and so full of inspiration for sewing with this lovely new collection!!

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Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here in this post! (one entry)
2. Follow The Knotted Thread on Facebook or on Instagram 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 instagram, tweet, facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, November 10th!! Winner will be picked 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!

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Thank you to all who entered the Giveaway!! From 967 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winner is...

Comment #73 --   * Crafty Ashley B *  Congratulations, I'll be in touch shortly!   

Knit Sewing : :

I'm late with today's post, but at last I'm beginning to see just how my Quilt Market booth is coming together! Goods I've ordered to decorate, display items, and some of the beautiful things made by willing & kindhearted sewing friends are beginning to arrive! Today I want to share just a few of those lovely things!

When my knit strike offs arrived, right away I sent them off to Caroline Hulse, aka Sew Caroline, clothing maker extraordinaire and fellow AGF Limited Edition Gleeful designer! With just my two little knit samples she whipped up the most adorable Kensington Dress, pattern by Hey June, and a super cute Recess Raglan tee, pattern by See Kate Sew!





These two were the first knit garments made with my Wild & Free collection, a sight I'll never forget! Once my knit yardage became available, Caroline was so sweet to make a few more pieces that I can't wait to share here after Market. Just check out this tee she recently made herself from the scraps!

Another sweet friend happy to help with a couple of items was Virginia Lindsay, aka pattern & book author Gingercake! She made this incredible Make Your Getaway Duffle in denim, with Honey PE solid details, a large pocket in my Wild & Free Folk Plaid, with Spiceberry lining. I'm in love with it!! To add a little extra color Virginia also added a quick and fun tassle from some leftover Sun Tracks knits for the handle. It's so perfect!!



Also arriving in today's mail from Virginia is this Wild & Free knit Sally Dress shown here on the most adorable model! This dress is made with my Woven Path knit as the main dress fabric with over-sized Sun Tracks pockets, accessorized with a brilliant headband!



I was so inspired by these pieces I made a first attempt at garment sewing for an adult, using knits, without a pattern to make this simple tank dress. I have so much to learn, but seeing their beautiful creations encouraged me to try and I'm so glad I did!



Be sure to visit the Gingercake blog to read more about Virginia's Wild & Free sewing! And please keep an eye out to see more of Caroline's Wild & Free garments on her blog after Quilt Market!  ♥  Maureen

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

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It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

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My sponsor The Intrepid Thread is a family owned and run business. In their shop you'll find Fat Quarters, Half Yards, Yards, and Yardage, as well as patterns and embellishments. Their designer fabrics include many of our favorites -- Art Gallery Fabrics, Moda, and Riley Blake Designs just to name a few! 
The owners work extremely hard everyday to bring their customers the best fabrics,
at the best prices, with high quality customer service!
  
SHOP  *  BLOG  *  FACEBOOK
 

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We hope you enjoy visiting The Intrepid Thread's sites!! 

For this week's Fabric Giveaway, Julie at The Intrepid Thread is offering a very sweet fat quarter bundle of the beautiful AGF Limited Edition collection by Sew Caroline, Gleeful!

This week's winner will receive this happy bundle including the EIGHT prints in fat quarter cuts that make up this fun collection!

You can find each pretty print in the Gleeful collection available individually and as pre-cut bundles in quilting cotton, knits, & voile right HERE in The Intrepid Thread Shop!!

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! (one entry)
2. Follow The Intrepid Thread on Facebook, their blog, or sign up to receive their Newsletter. Just let me know that you did by making a separate comment here to record that entry. (optional extra entry) 
3. My followers get a third 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)
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 instagram, tweet, facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Tuesday, October 14th! The winner will be picked 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!

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Thank you to all who entered the Giveaway!! From 901 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winner is...

Comment # 860 --   *  OhioLori   *  Congratulations, I'll be in touch shortly!   

A Quilted Dreamcatcher : :

I've always been drawn to the beauty of dreamcatchers. To each meaningful handmade component, from the hoop to each bead embedded in the webbing. Around two years ago, just about the time I started to seriously consider deigning fabric, I found this big beautiful vintage quilting hoop at a local thrift shop and decided that day that it would become a dreamcatcher inspired sign for my very first Quilt Market booth, for my very first fabric collection. That may sound a little crazy, but it's true! And although this first Limited Edition collection of mine is quite different than what I was envisioning back then, I'm so thrilled to see projects like this one materialize, just as I hoped, so many months later!



Just as I do for any sketch stitch piece, I began this project by basting a square cut of Creme De La Creme solid fabric to a scrap piece of batting to stabilize my embroidery. Using the satin stitch in multiple widths and stitch lengths & a variety of Wild & Free friendly Autifil 50wt I stitched out my collection logo front and center!



Next came the real fun of adding my quilting to resemble the magical weaving of a dreamcatcher and the many strands of Wild & Free fabric scraps, selvage ends, and other Art Gallery Fabrics that I've used to create all the projects I've been working on for this Quilt Market booth!





I'm so excited to have this special sign to bring with me to Houston, and I can't wait to share more of all the things I've been busy creating these past couple of weeks!



Thanks for stopping by today!  ♥ Maureen

An Embroidered Luminous Field Pillow : :

Before I used up every last crumb of my Luminous Field strike-off to patchwork projects and quilt tops, I wanted to be sure to highlight this particular print in an item for my Quilt Market booth. I decided on a small decorative pillow that's much simpler than the Feather Sketch pillow I shared yesterday and the Stitched Arrow pillow that I plan to share next!



For this one, a small rectangle cut from my favorite print of colorful wildflower sketches is framed with a narrow stripe from my Sun Tracks print on one side, with a strip of Pure Element Spiceberry quilted with Aurifil in a variety of colors and decorative heirloom & satin stitches on the other. It was an easy, quick, and pretty project that adds the romantic bohemian touch that I hope to showcase in little bits as I share all the project ideas I have for this collection!





I'm such a fan of the rectangle pillows, the size & shape is so perfect for tossing onto a sofa, bed, or chair!



In addition to highlighting this favorite print of mine in this pillow project, I've been working on a second quilt that will feature how nicely my Folk Plaid print will play with all the colors! I have such a small amount of each fabric to work with, with each new project I begin, at the start it feels a little limiting when it comes to size and design, but everything seems to be working out so far. Thank goodness!



The stormy-midnight-denimy shade of blue I chose for this buffalo check plaid print partners so well with each of the solids I pulled for this quilt. If I had enough of this plaid I would love to make an entire quilt with blocks of it framed this way! But since I don't, I've added the ten blocks I've made to a folk medallion pattern I'm just designing as I go. This particular quilt I'm making for lounging on and snuggling under at games, picnics, and campfires!



It hangs in my sewing room window now as I wait for more scraps to build upon to add and as I begin the next Wild & Free quilt idea on the list, involving my entire collection of Art Gallery Fabrics low volumes including my Fletching Chant and Luminuos Field print once again!



Stay tuned!!  ♥ Maureen

My Wild & Free Strike Offs are HERE!!

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook then you might have seen yesterday, the best mail ever, my Wild & Free fabric strike offs arrived at my door!!



Seeing my name on the selvage end brought lots of tears, as you can imagine!



Today I'm sharing just this quick little peek, since I'm still waiting on my metallic stars print, Midnight Roof in both the quilting cotton and voile to arrive. Once they're all here I'll be sure to do a proper show and tell. First cuts have already been made! I've been so eager to begin the projects I have been dreaming up for these! Now that they're finally here, with Quilt Market just a few weeks away, I'm so excited to get to work and to sharing my booth plans and projects with all of you!

Thank you for stopping by today, for sharing in my excitement, and for all the love and encouragement you've shown me!

♥ Maureen

Sketch Stitching Arrows : :

The promises I make to myself are the hardest one's to keep, but last night after a rough day I knew I'd feel so much better if I spent the hour I had pledged to devote to my sketch stitch ideas working on something new. It absolutely worked, I felt better and was quickly reminded that when I feel better, I do better!

I'm having so much fun working on these pieces! This one I created to match my Fletching Chant arrows print in my fabric collection, Wild & Free. I started by thread sketching a set of arrows onto a quilted piece of AGF's Pure Element Peach Sherbet with a white Aurifil 50wt. This colorful stack of AGF Pure Element solids coordinate with my collection and inspired the thread color story I used to create this new sketch.



Experimenting with the combination of threads and stitches feels just like coloring! It really is so much fun!



The feather I shared earlier in the week began with a simple sketch in a dark blue thread, then came all the color. This time I used a variety of decorative satin stitches in a mix of widths and patterns, saving the dark blue thread for my final outline. The triangle stitch patterns are my very favorite and so closely match the details I added to the very first pen drawings that became my Fletching Chant print!



I'm so excited to have this new stash of AGF Pure Element solids to sketch on and to sew with while I wait for my fabrics to arrive. It's going to make this waiting time much more enjoyable and bearable!



Art Gallery Fabrics recently shared their interview with me, where I talk about the inspiration behind my collection, what it means to me, along with my hopes for the rest of this year! I'd love for you to check it out by clicking -- here!

♥ Maureen