Inspired Patchwork : :

I made half a dozen of these pretty patchwork pillows a few weeks back, but I've been so busy making since then that I'm just now finally sharing them here!



Each print that I pulled from stash to stitch up these pillows was inspired by a beautiful Swan Patchwork cushion by artist, Carola van Dyke. I completely fell in love with her lovely combination of color and the sketch stitching style of her applique that I often use myself. And, since I prefer my pillows to come in pairs, I decided to try my best to make my own patchwork pillows to match!





Right away I thought of AGF designer, Bonnie Christine's collection Hello, Ollie that's full of sweet swan motifs. From there I chose prints completely based on Carola's sense of color and in the end most of my stack included Bonnie Christine prints. A very happy discovery!



I even added my own sketch stitched applique swan to each pillow!



I've been using a variety of Hobbs batting for mostly all of my projects since they sponsored the Sewcial Bee Sampler. For this pillow I used their wool batting and it's extra squishy, which I love! Because it's a natural fiber I can use it for quilt as you go, which is how I made my pillow tops and finished my envelope style pillow backs.







I plan to keep a few of these Swan Patchwork pillow sets and to add a few to my Etsy shop soon. I really love how they turned out!

xx Maureen

Pretty New : :

Happy September 1st!

This week I enjoyed folding and photographing my newly stashed Lambkin collection by fellow AGF designer, Bonnie Christine. Bonnie has such a such a beautiful, sweet style that I really admire. Each print had me sighing and wishing my kiddos were small again. Lambkin is the first collection that would have been perfect to sew with for all three of my children when they were littles!



For Haila -- Pretty Twiggy, Keeping Watch Mist, and My Darlings in these soft peachy pinks would have matched her little girl room perfectly!



Jacob, my camping and forest loving boy would have loved Valley View Echo and Keeping Watch Dim! And for Kaiden, who loves birds and used to LOVE bugs and beetles just as much, Wind Observer and Little Entomologist!



These were also the days when for a little while I would knit just as much as I sewed and would have loved a little knitting bag in Lambkin Sir Wooly. It would have made the most perfect bag for carrying around my wool hat projects!



If you think these are as perfect and pretty as I do, you can find Lambkin newly available at Lady Belle Fabrics, Fat Quarter Shop and Fabric.com! I'm sure I'll have a Lambkin project or three to share soon, as well. I think I'll surprise my ten, thirteen, and fourteen year olds with pillowcases to remind them of those years when we still held hands when we crossed the street, and spent our days picking wildflower bouquets and looking under rocks. I'm sure they will tease me when they discover them on their beds, but I guarantee they'll use and love them!



This week I also added a Dahlia and Brown Eyed Susan to my collection of sunflower family pencil sketches. I can't begin to describe just how much I'm enjoying drawing like this again! There was a time when it was all I did, every chance I had. Those were the days before parenting, knitting, sewing, blogging and designing. I didn't realize how much I've missed it. It's become such a nice addition to my creative time and I'm really hoping to stick with it. Perhaps these will be available on future fabric designs or maybe in some other form. Either way, it feels worthwhile to give drawing some time again during my work days.



And since I have a preference for even numbers, I'll have to add at least one more to my collection. Any suggestions?



xo Maureen

An Hourglass Quilt Top : :

This weekend we made time to photograph two new quilt tops and I'm so excited to share both of them here on the blog this week!

First up, a scrappy hourglass quilt featuring Bonnie Christine's latest collection with AGF, Hello, Ollie!



Hello, Ollie is the very first certified organic cotton fabric collection for Art Gallery Fabrics and the quality is absolutely amazing! These truly are the softest, most luxurious organic fabrics I have ever used. Hello, Ollie is a beautiful mix of soft & delicate hues with fun pops of color, and is packed full of sweet feathered creatures and garden blooms!



When this collection arrived we were in the thick of Summer break, where a week would quickly go by with little to no sewing time for this mama to three. In an effort to begin a new Hello, Ollie quilt with very high hopes that I might actually finish it up, I settled on one of my go-to pattern favorites for producing a pretty but speedy quilt using the hourglass block. The "make four at a time" method I use makes for quick work, and in no time I had all the blocks needed for a generous throw size quilt top!





There's a beautiful maple farm about forty minutes from our home that happens to have pond where two swans actually live. The moment I finished this quilt top I've been waiting for the chance to photograph it at this perfect spot, and then a week ago when we ventured there for brunch I completely forgot about it! I'm still kicking myself for that one, but this pretty tree shot from Saturday almost made me forget about it. It's my favorite photo from the bunch!



Isn't it dreamy! When it comes to photographing these light, feathery quilt tops the slightest bit of wind can make it impossible to take photos while my husband holds it steady. Seeking out special trees like this one and the split rail wood fencing we're so lucky to have throughout the areas surrounding my hometown are perfect substitutes!



I plan to back this quilt with a sea of swans using Bonnie's Swanlings Bevy in Nightfall print!



And, once it's completely finished I promise to find my way to those swans!

You can find this beautiful Hello, Ollie collection newly available at Fat Quarter Shop, Llama Fabrics, and on SALE at Lady Belle Fabric!

♡ Maureen  

A Fabric GIVEAWAY : :

It's Fabric Giveaway Friday!  

To follow yesterday's Forest Floor Blog Tour project post, LLama Fabrics and I arranged a special Forest Floor Giveaway to share today!

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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!! 

Llama Fabrics is offering the ENTIRE Fat Eighth bundle of the beautiful Forest Floor collection by designer Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics! This bundle includes all TWENTY prints that make up this lovely collection! How amazing and generous!!

You can find this pretty collection 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, July 5th! 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

Forest Floor Blog Tour : :

Today is my stop on the Forest Floor Blog Tour!

I’m so excited to be joining in one of Bonnie Christine’s blog tours! Bonnie is a fellow Art Gallery Fabrics designer, I'm a huge fan of her work & style, and this latest collection of hers, Forest Floor is my favorite one yet!

"Inspired by her experience of living in the forest, Bonnie creates a whimsical world where dreams of a magical place come to life.  Forest Floor hopes to ignite the exploration of forest curiosities, and take you on an adventure filled with green and oak flora and delicate berry tinted fauna that inhabits the wondrous depths of the mountains."

Since I'm all about making drawstring backpacks these days, I decided to make one more using these beautiful Forest Floor fabrics with added denim, pompom trim, and vintage lace!



This new bag started with a bundle of pretty Forest Floor prints, a pile for herringbone quick quilt as you go patchwork for one side of the bag and my favorite Forest Floor print, Luna Rising to be featured on the reverse side.



I decided to go with Luna Rising in shadow colorway, the steel gray background is so lovely! I quilted a large grid pattern using the moths as my guide, stitching down their center, above and below them with a Aurifil 50wt from my Bohemian Garden thread box.





For the front I used a mix of strips in Forest Floor with AGF's gorgeous Soft Smooth Denims!

You can see below the stitched vintage bias tape I used for the drawstrings and a little peek of the fluffy pompom's I added within my herringbone pattern!



I LOVE vintage lace and the pieces of the thrifted tablecloth I had on hand paired so perfectly with Bonnie's sweet fabric designs!



The added embellishment made this backpack my new favorite! I don't think I'll be able to make another without adding these extra details, it's so pretty!





I used more AGF denim for the backpack casing, tabs, and lining!



As much as I love the fancy side of this bag, this quilted Luna Rise side is just as gorgeous!



Thank you Bonnie for inviting me to join the tour and for creating such amazing fabrics for us all to sew with!!

To explore this beautiful Forest Floor collection deeper visit Bonnie's blog Going Home to Roost : the collection | the lookbook | on instagram | about the collection

Want to join the fun? You're all invited to share you own projects on Instagram using hashtags #ForestFloorFabrics & #ForestFloorBlogTour! You can find Forest Floor available at Fat Quarter Shop, Llama Fabrics, and on sale now at Lady Belle Fabrics!

XO, Maureen