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 Eighth bundle of Tula Pink's newest fabric collection for Free Spirit, Moon Shine! This bundle will include a fat eighth cut of each of the 27 fabric prints that make up this colorful, new collection!

You can find Moon Shine available in The Knotted Thread's shop as a Fat Eighth Bundle, a Fat Quarter Bundle, and a half yard bundle here!!

In addition, The Knotted Thread is offering my readers 10% OFF any order from the shop throughout this Giveaway, just use coupon code "Maureen10" at checkout! Be sure to check out the Summer yard sale section, where most fabrics are just $6 a yard!!

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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, March 31st!! 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! 

Thank you to all who entered the Giveaway!! From  1,324 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winner is... 

Comment #1,254 --   *  Anne   * Congratulations, I'll be in touch shortly!   

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 
 

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

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 Eighth bundle of Tula Pink's newest fabric collection for Free Spirit, Fox Field! This bundle will include a fat eighth cut of each of the 27 fabric prints that make up this colorful, new collection!

You can find Fox Field available in The Knotted Thread's Shop as a Fat Eighth Bundle, a Fat Quarter Bundle, and a half yard bundle here!!

In addition, The Knotted Thread is offering my readers 10% OFF any order from the shop throughout this Giveaway, just use coupon code "Maureen10" at checkout!!

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

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, March 31st!! 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  2,535 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winner is... 

Comment #1,045 --   * Abbigail * 

Congratulations, I'll be in touch shortly!   

A Diamond Strings Quilt : :

My Rock 'n Romance Diamond Strings Quilt As You Go quilt is finished! We made several stops on our drive and around town to get these photos to share here today. Yesterday turned out to be such a beautiful day, with the sun shining bright but always changing, casting sunbeams, spots, and shadows on so many of my pictures. In the end I think this is just one of those quilts that's beauty shows best in person, but I tried my best!



This is the second quilt I've made using Pat Bravo's Rock 'n Romance fabric collection. The first was made for Pat to use in her  R 'n R promotional ads & video, and was quilted by the amazing Angela Walters. I haven't seen it finished, in person, but I do remember watching this fun video by Fat Quarter Shop from quilt market and then the shock that followed after hearing my name mentioned! If you watch it be sure to notice all that beautiful quilting!!

Well, after having my skull quilt featured in such a special way, I've been waiting for the perfect quilt idea to strike, one worthy to use up the rest of my R 'n R stash. Then a couple weeks ago while deciding which fabrics to use for my niece Ceci's quilt I kept going back to my stack of Rock 'n Romance and eventually sketched out my new quilt idea.

The rectangle blocks are made using the same technique I'll be sharing in my next tutorial -- combining cotton batting as my foundation and quilt as you go. Once squared up, the large rectangle blocks measure  10" x 18" and the blocks made with both strings and Pure Element solids measure 10" x 14." 





I wanted to create an ombre color-blocking effect using both pink & purple solids at the top and bottom of this quilt, and I love the end result! It made it difficult deciding which edge should be the top, just for picture taking sake, but it doesn't really matter with this pattern. Any way goes!

It's bound using AGF's newest blender, Squared Elements in both Fuchsia and Watermelon. From my Tula Pink Aurifil collection, I pulled a 40wt variegated thread that matches my binding fabric choice perfectly!



Here you can see the pretty decorative stitches I added using several more colors of Aurifil, along with a few of the built-in stitches my Janome offers. I love those special details!





I can't wait to give this quilt to Ceci! Now that this one is finished and Sylvia's Tule Sunset is on it's way to Sew Shabby Quilting, I have just four quilts left to make before Christmas! A "Princess Castle" quilt for Josie, a Superhero quilt for Ben, one for my oldest niece Kiele, and one for my Kaiden who has such grand ideas his quilt alone could take me as long as it's taken me to make the seven I'm considering finished. But I'm excited for the challenge!

This promise to make my children, nieces, & nephews all a quit this year has bettered me in so many ways. It truly is amazing!!

Thanks so much for stopping by today -- Have a great day!!  ♥  Maureen

Butterfly Quilt Finishing : :

I just finished up the binding on my butterfly quilt and took some pretty pictures as I worked! I know exactly where I'm going to take this quilt for picture taking, hopefully the weather holds out today!

This Gray & Pink combo had me wanting to break out my Rock & Romance stash!



The prettiest bobbin I've ever wound, it's Aurifil Variegated from the Tula Pink Collection!



My first attempt at wavy quilting, I thought the movement would be a pretty compliment to the Butterfly theme!



Scrappy Binding in various shades of pink!



Backed in one big, gorgeous piece of Loulouthi Clippings by Anna Maria Horner!



I hope to share this new, finished quilt on Monday!! Be sure to stop back tomorrow for a beautiful Giveaway offer from Contemporary Cloth! And, have yourself a lovely day!!   ♥   Maureen

An Aurifil GIVEAWAY : :

Happy Wednesday everyone!! While I'm away on our family vacation I thought it would be fun to organize a special Aurifil Giveaway to share! I just had my first quilting experience with Tula Pink's beautiful variegated Aurifil thread collection on my most recent Zig Zag quilt and I am such a huge fan of these threads now!









For today's Giveaway I have one gorgeous thread box to offer! This Tula Pink Aurifil set includes 10 spools of variegated Aurifil cotton 50wt. in a wonderful variety of colors, perfect to match up with any of your sewing projects!!





Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here in this post! (one entry)
2. Follow Aurifil on facebook! (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 tweet, facebook, pin, instagram, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Monday, July 22nd!! 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!!

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From 1,822 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winner is...

    Comment #466 --   * Brie *  

Congratulations!!! I will be in touch shortly!

          

    

Nordika Zig Zag Quilt {and GIVEAWAY} : :

When the beautiful new Nordika collection by designer Jeni Baker for Art Gallery Fabrics arrived at my door just a couple weeks ago, I knew they had to become a quilt as soon as possible!



Right away Haila asked if these fabrics could be made into a new quilt for her, that made me so happy, and we decided this FQ bundle would make the perfect zig zag pattern quilt!



I planned out my design, then began by separating the darker value fabrics in this collection from the lighter ones, before I started piecing my blocks. You can see that well with a quick photo change to black & white, and I love the result!



The descending Zig Zag pattern made finding a beautiful staircase for our photo shoot a must! The intense colors in this collection against the old masonry was so beautiful to photograph! 



For the binding Haila chose from my stash both a Raspberry Rose and London Red Pure Element solid. My girl has great taste and such an eye already, I especially love where those two colors meet!



For the quilting she chose an aqua variegated Aurifil 50wt from the Tula Pink Collection. This was my first quilt made using a variegated thread and I'm completely sold and in love with these threads now!!



For the back I made use of the two panel pieces that came with my FQ bundle, adding in a bit more of Art Gallery Fabric's Pure Element solid in the Raspberry Rose & in my favorite Empire Yellow, along with a quick scrappy strip patchworking of my Nordika scraps.





As usual I took so many photos of this finished quilt, and I of course do have my personal favorites! The one above and this one of Haila running with her new quilt. She L♥VEs it!



This quilt came together so quickly and was so much fun to make! I do plan to share my pattern, but since we decided to start our family vacation a little early and will be headed to VA Beach on Thursday, followed by a week in Nags Head, it may be a little bit before I'm ready. I'm hoping that by the time I have it finished for sharing, Nordika will be fully stocked in all of our favorite shops!!

Nordika is scheduled to hit stores this month!! I'll be sure to add a list here of my shop sponsors that will be carrying this collection. For now, you can find the Art Gallery Fabric Pure Elements available at Fat Quarter Shop, Moona Fabrics, The Intrepid Thread, Pink Castle Fabrics, Stash Fabrics, and Contemporary Cloth!

Today, I get to host yet another surprise Fabric Giveaway for TWO FQ bundles of Nordika, courtesy of Art Gallery Fabrics!! Yes, that means two winners! One will receive the Alpine Valley colorway and the other will receive the Frost Valley!

photo by Jeni Baker

photo by Jeni Baker

Enter to Win!
 
Here's how,  

1. Simply leave a comment here in this post! We'd love to know which colorway you most love? You can view all prints in both the Alpine Valley and the Frost Valley colorways HERE! (one entry)
2. Follow Art Gallery Fabrics on Facebook. 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! Whether you follow me here, 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) 
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 tweet, instagram, facebook, pin, blog, etc... (optional extra entry) 

That’s 4 possible entries! Enter now through Friday, July 12th. The winner will be chosen by Random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog! 


Thank you so much for stopping by, have a wonderful Monday!!   ♥,  Maureen  

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Thank you to all who entered the Giveaway!!

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From 1,741 entries, Mr. Random says the lucky winners are...

    Comment #243 --   * Robin (noteverstill/noteversewing) * 
Comment #1646  -- *  Hannah  * 

Congratulations!!! I will be in touch shortly!     

Rain, Rain, Go Away : :

After a busy and wonderful weekend, July has greeted us with a very rainy and rather dark start to this new week. The perfect kind of weather for sewing, yes, but instead I'm waiting with enthusiasm for this rain to go away so that we can go out and take the photos of my newly finished Zig Zag Quilt! Tutorial soon, thank you SO much for asking!!

How about you, are you getting any sewing in these days?

A Glimma & Linen Quilt Finish : :

I'm so happy to have a quilt finish to share here today!

I made this quilt top back in January, yikes, when things had finally slowed down after our move into the new house and those busy holiday weeks. It came together quickly, in a late night sewing session, completely on impulse after I had laid out my Glimma Charm Pack to get a good look at this new collection by Lotta Jansdotter. I added in some white and medium gray linens from my stash and got to work!



I had shared last week that I was having some pucker issues in a couple of spots -- many thanks to those of you who offered up your advice! Well, I'm happy to report that after some heavy quilting and a good tumble in the washing machine and dryer, I think I'm the only one who would notice. In the end I think it started as a piecing problem that went unnoticed until I started my quilting. Lesson learned!



The unexpected bonus of my mistake is the crinkle effect that this quilt received right away from that washing. Usually I prefer my quilts to keep that flat look for as long as possible, but this quilt was made to be crinkly! It softened up beautifully!! I was a little worried throughout the process, having pre-washed my linen but not the Glimma pre-cuts. Thankfully it came out better than I imagined!



Using both a cotton Aurifil 50wt in white and a gray from my Tula Pink thread collection, I added my quilting stitches only on the linen -- with a dense quilting around the borders and inside the larger shapes, and some wider pivot quilting on the inside of each of the linen charm squares.



The back is finished in the Kulla Glimma print in Slate and for the binding I used Korkek in Dandelion.





The finished quilt measures a 44" x 48", a good size to keep on the couch I think!



I have to also share that these quilt photo shoots are becoming such a family favorite! I held this quilt up to Kevin and the kids and we brainstormed where to take it, together. It's pretty special and an awesome reminder of how gorgeous Potter County, Pa is!

You can find Glimma available in the shops of my sponsors -- Contemporary Cloth, Stash Fabrics, The Intrepid Thread, Pink Castle Fabrics, Moona Fabrics, & the Fat Quarter Shop!

Happy Monday, friends!!  ♥ Maureen