A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!

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Pink Castle Fabrics  is an online fabric shop full of Modern Fabrics, owned by Brenda & Jason. Fabric selections include all of the latest designer fabrics, Japanese kawaii fabric, vintage-inspired fabric, geometric designs...you name it! They specialize in modern quilting fabrics, but also carry flannels, apparel fabrics, as well as a very exciting selection of monthly Fabric Clubs!

We invite you to visit the links below to see more and to follow Pink Castle Fabrics at their --

   SHOP  *  FACEBOOK  *  BLOG  *  INSTAGRAM
 

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We hope you enjoy visiting Pink Castle Fabrics!! 

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Beginning this week Pink Castle Fabrics is now selling Janome Sewing Machines!! To kickoff their new partnership they're offering some amazing, exclusive packages full of free notions and gift cards! Be sure to check out their new stock of Janome machines and accessories, right HERE!

To celebrate they're giving away an entire Fat Quarter bundle of April Rhodes' Wanderer collection to one MCH reader! The lucky winner will receive all twenty prints that make this wonderful collection!! WOW!



You can find this Wanderer collection available with coordinating Art Gallery solids and blenders right HERE in the Pick Castle Fabrics Shop!  And, be sure to checkout their amazing Art Gallery Fabrics Bundle Club while you're looking around!

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Enter to Win!

 

Here's how,   

1. Simply leave a comment here in this post! (one entry)
2. Follow Pink Castle Fabrics 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! 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 Monday, June 29th. The winner will be chosen by Random and I will announce their name at the bottom of this post, here on the blog!

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Thank you all for entering! From 796 comments this week's winner is comment #403, Janet Schultz! Congratulations, I will be in touch shortly!!

♥ Maureen

Yellow Diamond Strings : :

Yesterday I finished up another Diamond Strings quilt top using my favorites yet again - April Rhodes' Wanderer and Pat Bravo's Indie, along with my Wild & Free fabrics!



The last one was made in a hurry for a local quilt raffle that turned out to be a huge success, hooray for that! It made it much easier to let that quilt go but, here I am just a couple weeks later already making another! This time I am changing up the design just a little. It's much more scrappy for one! I didn't use a single strip wider than 2."





I also didn't start and finish with blocks including the larger cuts to create the sharp angles you'll see at the tops and bottoms of my other Diamond String quilts. Instead, this time I began and ended each of my qayg blocks with a few strips of the warm, golden yellow that all three of these collections include.



Choosing that one color to begin and end with really makes all the wonderful diamonds that are created within this pattern pop!





I'm always so amazed at how the slightest change in a pattern can create something so new and different, even when using the very same colors and prints. These three collections just speak to me, I can't seem to get enough of them! Hopefully you all don't mind!



I'll be sending this one off to be photographed and shared along with an article I'm writing on quilt-as-you-go for a magazine due out this Fall, and then I have plans to make it our porch swing quilt!



♡ Maureen

Oh, and if you love these fabrics together as much as I do, the Intrepid Thread still has some of their custom bundles available that were inspired by these quilts right HERE!! XX

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

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
 

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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 custom fat quarter bundle inspired by my very favorite Art Gallery Fabrics called, "Color Me M"!

This week's winner will receive this gorgeous bundle including ELEVEN prints in fat quarter cuts that make up the "Color Me M" exclusive bundle! I LOVE it!!

You can find this "Color Me M" bundle right HERE in The Intrepid Thread Shop!!

Enter to win! 

Here's how,

 
1. Simply leave a comment here under this post! We'd love to know what you'd stitch up with these fabrics? (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 Monday, May 11th! 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!

A BIG thanks for stopping by and to all who entered! This week's winner is comment #197, * Lynne Tilley * Congratulations Lynne, I will be in touch shortly!   ♡ Maureen

A New Diamond Strings Quilt : :

Yesterday we took my newest Diamond Strings QAYG quilt out for pictures, choosing this cute, old building nearby that's always made me think of the Little House on the Prairie Walnut Grove Schoolhouse. Since this quilt was made for a local quilt raffle to benefit the 6th grade class trip it just seemed to fit. I don't know the history of the building, these days it looks to be used for just storage by the local Consistory. I've always loved it, especially the brick red color and old double doors!



Last week I shared that this quilt came together quick! It's actually the fastest quilt I've made yet, coming together from that first cut of fabric to the last binding stitch all in just a little more than one day. I credit that to my super speedy quilt-as-you-go method and some surprise snowy weather that allowed a few extra hours at my sewing machine!



This quilt is made up of twenty-four Diamond Strings QAYG rectangle blocks and measures a nice 56" x 68" once finished. For the fabrics I used my Wild & Free collection paired with my two favorites, Indie and Wanderer. I love this fabric combo! The colors and prints create such a warm, bohemian vibe and I love that little touch of sparkle from my Midnight Roof metallic stars print!



Ever since I finished my recent Wanderlust Quilt using my Woven Path print for half of the binding, I've been wanting to finish another quilt using this denim blue stripe print. It makes such a cool finish and I love the contrast against my Luminous Field wildflower print. It helps keep the style of this quilt more gender neutral, which I was trying for and is challenging for this flower fabric loving girl! I think the colors, the stars, many of the prints, and the binding finish really helps with that, along with this denim blue plaid flannel backing! It made such a soft and cozy back, I need more!



I really hope this quilt raffle is a big success! We started selling tickets over the weekend and so far, so good!



Wishing a wonderful Monday & happy sewing to all!   ♡ Maureen

QAYG-ing : :

This morning while snapping photos of this week's quilt work it was a sad sight out the front door. I love Winter more than most, but I'm so ready for warmer days!



Back inside I'm feeling extra grateful for the two very different, very colorful quilt as you go projects that are keeping me busy this week, in between my Etsy order makings! This first one I shared the beginnings of a couple weeks back. It's a new qayg pattern I designed for Pat Bravo's latest collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, Etno, paired with several of their new Prisma Elements. Such a happy combo! I'm taking my time with this one, reminding myself to take photos of each step along the way for a future tutorial. So I'm happy to report that after a long strip piecing session this past Saturday, I've finished up the remaining twenty-eight Etno patchwork rectangles needed for each qayg block! The rest should come together super quick!







This second quilt as you go began just yesterday in the late morning, when I cut a few long, narrow strips from each of my Wild & Free prints and this gorgeous stack of Indie, Wanderer, and new Pure Element solids!



Unlike my Etno quilt that's been slow-going, this one is under a tight deadline! After an all day speed quilting, diamond strings qayg assembly line, followed by last night's quilt top assembly session, I managed to make this quilt top from start to finish all in one day! I hope to have it completely finished & photographed by Monday for a last minute local quilt raffle!



I knew I'd love seeing these three collections together! How could I not, they are my very favorites!!



Be sure to stop back tomorrow for a new Fabric Friday Giveaway! Have a great day!!  ♡ Maureen

My New Pillow : :

I finally have a new pillow to share, hooray! Although it took me about a week to finish completely, taking a few minutes of extra sewing time here and there, this pillow is truly a super quick make! Along with these photos today I'll be including the details for those of you who'd like to make your own!



As I shared last week, this is simply a fun pillow version of my Herringbone QAYG tutorial. To fit the long 14" x 28" pillow insert that I purchased for this project, I started by making four quilt-as-you-go blocks that each measure  7.5" x 14.5."



Once my fabric strips were sewn to all four qayg rectangles, I squared them up, and sewed them together to create my finished pillow top. I chose to leave mine simple, but added hand or decorative stitches would be really lovely here!



You can see below that this is the exact same method I use to create my Diamond String QAYG quilts, using just slightly different measurements for my rectangle blocks. One of the many reasons I love this pattern so much is because you can get so creative, using any size block you'd like, rectangle or square for this style of pillow or quilt. For a quilt, just continue making blocks until you have the desired size, sew them together when finished, and attach the quilt back by sewing 1/4" to 1/2" from each vertical and horizontal seam. So easy and a beautiful end result!





To finish my pillow I quilted up a large piece of this Indie print with an Auriful 40wt in a sweet pink shade. Once quilted, I cut it into two pieces measuring 14.5" x about 16.5" for an envelope style back, and bound each unfinished edge with some leftover bright orange Tule fabric binding!



Next I made and added my pillow binding in this rich chocolate brown Pure Elements solid. To create enough binding for this size pillow you'll need just 3 strips, 2.5" x wof. Brown isn't a popular choice very often, but I personally have always loved the combination of brown with pink so, when I auditioned all the binding options yesterday, the brown won out and I'm really happy with how it turned out! This pillow will live on our bed after all, and I think a little added masculinity is a nice contrast to all the flowery sheets, quilts, and duvets that dress our bed throughout the year!





Be sure to let me know if you give this pillow design a try! I plan to make many more myself! ♡ Maureen
 

A Sketch Stitch Quilt Plan : :

This week I plan to begin work on a brand new "sketch stitch" quilt and I'm so excited! Here's a reminder of the first one, An Applique Art Quilt!



This time my plan is to create a throw size quilt-as-you-go quilt, using this block style method, one of my most popular tutorials! I plan to include lots of "sketch stitch" elements to showoff both how creative one can be with this type of "freehand" embroidery and with all the amazing built-in stitches that my Janome sewing machine offers!











I recently had a nice chat with one of the education supervisors at Janome and signed on to create this quilt project to send in to have on display at the Janome education center, as a way to share this type of unique, creative work that's made possible by Janome's amazing machines! Whether you're using the wonderful Horizon Memory Craft 15000 that I use daily, other Memory Craft models, or their newest Skyline machine, in the quilt process posts that I'll be sharing along the way you'll see lots of tips and new ideas to add to your own projects!



For the fabrics I'll be using my very favorites, Art Gallery Fabrics' Indie by Pat Bravo, Wanderer by April Rhodes, and my very own Wild & Free collection!






Just a few more orders and projects to finish up and I'll be ready to begin, I can't wait to share more soon!

♡ Maureen

A QAYG Pillow Beginning : :

Have you tried my Herringbone quilt-as-you-go technique for a pillow? I make so may things I can't even keep track anymore, but I'm pretty certain I hadn't! This first one started with that beautiful stack of Wanderer and Indie that I shared last week!



I had purchased a new-to-me size pillow form measuring 14" x 28" a few weeks back to make a new pillow for our bed and I love the length of it! To create a pillow cover to fit, I started with four pieces of batting scraps cut to measure approximately 7.5" x 14.5," plus lots of narrow fabrics strips cut into 1" to 1.5" pieces, and I started qayg-ing!



After all four pieces were finished, I simply sewed them together to create a diamond pattern. I love how scrappy it is and especially love the little touches of pink from the Indie Royal Nature in Nectar print!



All that's left to do is to quilt up two larger pieces of fabric for my pillow back and to make some binding!



I promise to have this one finished by Monday, I'm so excited to see it on our bed!

♡ Maureen