Personalized Quilt Banners : :

Last week I shared in my Instagram Stories this fun personalized quilt banner project that is so perfect for this Alphabet painted letter panel by Bari J for Art Gallery Fabrics! This print is a must have for your fabric stash -- from simple monogramed tea towels to alphabet quilts and everything in between, my ideas for this print are endless!





To make these little letter quilts I mostly use up scraps -- batting scraps, fabric scraps and quilt binding scraps. I start by trimming up natural fiber batting rectangles to measure around 9" x 11". It's important to use natural fiber batting such as cotton, bamboo, silk or wool anytime you qayg so you can use a hot iron and press right onto the batting. Next I spray baste or use a little glue to stick each fussy cut letter to the center or slightly off-center to each batting square. Then using a variety of fabric scrap strips I use Quick Quilt As You Go and the log cabin style to make each letter quilt. I finish by backing each, attaching the backing fabrics by adding a little quilting, and then I finish with machine quilt binding. Easy and fun!



For the Quinn banner I made and shared in my stories last week, I combined each letter with a variety of my own painted florals and new Love Story prints!



This sweet banner is for my niece to match her big sister Sylvia's banner that I made for her Birthday party this past Summer. I'm excited for the girls to have these to hang in their bedrooms and to hang on special occasions that celebrate each of them!



To attach each little letter quilt I used a long length of leftover Soulful fabrics binding. I used pins to hold each letter quilt in place and sewed to attach, making sure to catch the inner edge of the binding on both sides.



On both ends of the banner I made a simple loop for hanging. I love how this Quinn banner came together!





For Sylvia's banner I used mostly scraps leftover from pillows I had made in Sew Caroline's Chalk & Paint collection for AGF, along with scraps from my own collections, Wild & Free and Fleet & Flourish!





I hope these personalized quilt banners inspire you to sew with these fun fabrics! I'm so behind on sharing here all that I've been sewing these past couple of weeks. I look forward to playing catch-up over the holiday!

xo Maureen

The Sewcial Bee Sampler: My Finished Quilt Top!

Before I share my finished Sewcial Bee Sampler, one last time Sharon and I are asking for all SBS makers to take the 8-answer survey we've prepared! This quick questionnaire is completely anonymous and the answers will give us better insight into how you've enjoyed this sew-along. To ensure the most accurate results, please only take the survey once. A BIG thanks to those of you who've participated in the SBS questionnaire already! If you've not yet had a chance to take the survey, please do so as soon as you can, we're only keeping it open now through the end of the SBS sew along. The link provided on both our blogs will link to the same survey. So, if you access the questionnaire from either Sharon's site or mine, your answers are compiled to the same place. Thank you in advance for your help. This has truly been a wonderful experience for both Sharon and I!

Now it's time to show off my finished Sewcial Bee Sampler quilt top!

For those of you who just discovered our block-of-the-week bee and for those of you not yet finished, you can continue to access all of the pattern and instruction pdf's on my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page so you can find everything you need to make an SBS Sampler right in one place, anytime!

For my version of the Sewcial Bee Sampler I have used prints from each of my fabric collections with Art Gallery Fabrics: Wild and Free, Fleet & Flourish, Nightfall, Garden Dreamer, & Soulful!  For me, this chance to see how my own prints from the collections I've created would interact with one another depending on how they were paired and positioned in each block of the week has been so fun and rewarding. With each new fabric collection comes a new story, theme and color palette needed to create something unique, all while wanting to hold onto a style and quality that will effortlessly bridge each of them together with past collections. This can be challenging and so for me to have made this quilt top that I really love, pairing all of my current prints together, it has been extra satisfying!




I put together this mosaic of my twenty-five blocks, in order of when they were made, not how I pieced them together in my final quilt top. Before I began adding my sashing strips to connect my blocks and rows, I had to remake just one block, my week 17 block: Spools, which provided a chance to add in a little Soulful to my Sampler, so I was happy to remake that one! Along with my own fabric designs I used The Denim Studio Soft Sand Linen for each of my block frames and for the final sashing, AGF's Solid Smooth Denim in Cool Foliage, a vintage looking blue that pairs perfectly with the colors I love to use when coloring my fabric collections! 

For these finale photos I had to return to my favorite local spot for quilt pictures. Isn't this barn amazing? I love the worn, white washed wood! The Sewcial Bee Sampler is just a little too big for Kevin to hold up without losing some of the blocks from view, so thankfully a couple of pins in the old wood grooves did the trick. Pretty, pretty!

I also took the quilt top with me out to my sister's beautiful new cabin in the woods. The lighting was so gorgeous, but the lush surroundings  made it a little challenging to get great shots of the full top. It was one of those times where you really had to be there to appreciate just how beautiful the quilt top looked amongst the overgrown field and fading sunlight!

Truly, although this is totally biased, I do believe that the Sewcial Bee Sampler will look incredible photographed just about anywhere! Sharon and I have both been admiring each new finished SBS that is shared in the #SewcialBeeSampler hashtag pool, so keep them coming! It was been such a joy to see all of the weeks of work we've put in on beautiful display!



It's bittersweet to see this journey come to and end and it's impossible to put into words just how much this entire sew-along has surpassed all of our expectations. This is a first time sew-along for Sharon and myself, both joining and hosting. The entire thing has been such a highlight! But I have to share that getting to work with Sharon as a fellow AGF design sister and on this sew-along has me feeling like the luckiest girl. Sharon's process of creating and planning is like nothing else, and she does it all so effortlessly. Everything she does comes out of her heart, down to every last detail, and it's so special. Thank you, Sharon. Thank you for your wisdom, your generosity, and patience with your own process (and with me). You are an inspiration, a dear friend, and I am personally grateful that you took the time to do this with me.

I'm excited to see all of the finished SBS Quilts this week! If you're blogging about your finished SBS, feel free to leave a link where we all can see in the comment section below. Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special FINALE Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!

  XO Maureen     

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 15!

It's Wednesday, my new favorite day of the week, and that means it's time for another block release of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along!

Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this community sew-along now through early August and as usual, I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! We continue to have new participants joining us each week, the blocks typically take about an hour to male, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to continue to encourage all who join us to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler tagging both @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can all see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee block posts. We'll continue to try our very best to visit with all who join the sew along. Thank you so much for making this so much fun!



Today's free download is for block #15: Broken Dishes. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page with the previous week's patterns. It's a great place to start for those of you just discovering our bee, where you can easily find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For my version of this week's Broken Dishes block, I used a combination of three prints -- Luminous Field from my very first AGF Limited Edition collection, Wild & Free +  Miniments Unpolished from my first full collection Fleet & Flourish + Twinklestar Blu from my beloved Garden Dreamer collection, all framed with AGF's Soft Sand Linen!

This week's block is another quickie, featuring the make 2-at-a-time HST method that's fast, simple, and leaves no waste! If you need a little extra help Sharon has a super helpful step-by-step tutorial with photos and instructions here on her blog! Broken Dishes also includes a large framing, and I love the way it looks when arranged with my other blocks. I can't believe we've already come to the last block of row three. Our bee is flying by way too fast!!





I can't wait to see all of the Broken Dishes blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's special Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our wonderful sponsor The Intrepid Thread!



Happy SBS sewing, friends!  ♡ Maureen   

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 11!

It's week ELEVEN and another block release day of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along! Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting this community sew-along now through early August and as usual, I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! We still have quite a few new participants joining us each week, the blocks typically take about an hour, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to encourage you all to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler tagging @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can both see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee posts. We'll continue to try our best to visit with all who join the sew along. We're having so much fun!



Today's free download is for block #11: Four Square. I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page, so those of you just discovering our bee can find everything you need to begin right in one place! Simply click on the link or the image below for direct access to this week's new SBS pattern!



For this week's Four Square block I'm bringing in new fabrics to add to my Sampler from my earlier collections ~ Wild & Free's Folk Plaid and Fletching Chant, with Gentle Mantle Flame from Fleet & Flourish! When I laid out all ten of the previous week's blocks, I noticed I was reaching for my Nightfall prints the most when it came time to stitch up a new one. This block pattern was perfect for fussy cutting different elements from each of these older prints!

I especially loved cutting different motifs from the Gentle Mantle Flame stripe to use in my block, the pop from the berry purple flowers and the subtle print used in the outer corners. I really enjoyed making this one!





I'm can't wait to see the Flour Square blocks you'll make this week! Be sure to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, and to stop back for details on how to enter this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our wonderful sponsor The Intrepid Thread!



Happy SBS sewing! ♡ Maureen 

The Sewcial Bee Sampler Sew-Along: Block 5!

It's a new month, week five and block release day of the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along Sharon Holland and I are co-hosting now through early August! I like to begin each Wednesday by reminding folks just learning about the bee that it's never too late to jump in! The blocks typically take about an hour, so feel free to join us and play catch-up at anytime! I also love to encourage you all to keep posting to Instagram with #SewcialBeeSampler, tagging @sharonhollanddesigns and myself @maureencracknell when you post anything SBS so we can both see and easily keep track of all your wonderful bee posts. We'll continue to try our best to visit with all who join the sew along. We're having so much fun!

Today's free download is for block #5  July Fourth! I'll be sure to add this new pattern to my Sewcial Bee Sampler Page, so those of you just discovering our bee can find everything you need to begin right in one place! I keep meaning to mention each week how I love sharing the images that Sharon made combining my Garden Dreamer Bee and her Bountiful fabric prints, aren't they great?!

For this week's July Fourth block I'm combining my Crimson Dance print from Wild & Free - my first fabric collection with my newest - Garden Dreamer, plus AGF's Soft Sand Linen. I love the combination of this rusty red with the sweet berry purple!



This pattern was a new one for me and I'm happy to have learned another pretty star block to add to the roster. I love how this one turned out and I'm looking forward to making my second block using AGF's Boho Fusions!



I can't wait to see the July Fourth blocks you'll make this week!

I'm still playing catch-up with my own SBS blocks since I'm making two versions and have been so swamped lately with getting into the new studio space, while working on a new fabric collection. I just need one good sewing day to get me back on track, hoping for that sooner than later! Don't forget to visit Sharon's blog today to see her beautiful versions, for an extra step-by-step tutorial for the new technique being shared in this week's pattern, and to stop back for this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday with our sponsor the Dritz!

Happy SBS sewing!  ♡ Maureen 

A Sewcial Bee GIVEAWAY with Lady Belle Fabrics!

It's Sewcial Bee Giveaway Friday!  

Each Friday, throughout the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along community event that Sharon Holland and I are hosting together, we've lined up a new, special Giveaway with one of our amazing, participating sponsors! If you happened to miss the launch of our Sewcial Bee Sampler you can follow this link for all the info and can join us anytime - it's never too late to jump in!

Today's featured Sewcial Bee sponsor is Lady Belle Fabrics!

Lady Belle Fabric is run by husband and wife team, Rob & Brooke. In their shop you'll find both bundles and single cuts of handpicked fabrics that are fresh, modern, and fun! Designer fabrics include many of our favorites -- Art Gallery Fabrics, Cotton + Steel, Free Spirit, and Moda, just to name a few! Lady Belle Fabric's goal is to offer the most gorgeous fabric as quickly as they can! 

Shop  *  Instagram  *  Facebook  *  Pinterest  We hope you enjoy visiting Lady Belle Fabric!

For this week's Sewcial Bee Giveaway, Lady Belle Fabric is offering the winner an eight piece fat quarter bundle including prints from my Wild & Free, Nightfall, and new Garden Dreamer collections for Art Gallery Fabrics! This pretty bundle is also available for purchase and would make a wonderful Sewcial Bee Sampler quilt! Look for the Maureen Cracknell Mix Up Bundle from Art Gallery Fabrics in the Lady Belle shop!

In addition, Lady Belle Fabric is having a wonderful Winter Clearance SALE with some amazing deals on Art Gallery Fabrics! U.S. readers can use coupon code: freeship to enjoy free shipping on orders throughout our Giveaway! Visit Lady Belle HERE --  http://www.ladybellefabric.com/

Enter to win! 

Here's how, since Sharon and I will be taking turns hosting Sewcial Bee Giveaway Fridays, this week I'm sending you to Sharon Holland Design's blog to enter!

A BIG thanks to all of you who are joining the Sewcial Bee Sampler sew-along and to those who enter our Giveaway!  ♡ Maureen

A Collection Quilt Plan : :

It's beautiful this morning. Outside huge, fluffy snowflakes are falling and I'm inside warm & excited to begin my first quilt of the New Year!



On Friday, I had shared on my Instagram that my BIG goal for over the weekend was to design a new quilt pattern suitable for using all of my Art Gallery Fabrics collections. That's Wild & Free + Fleet & Flourish + Nightfall + Garden Dreamer -- sixty-eight prints total! While we were up in New York for one last holiday celebration with my husband's family, I worked here and there on my design, but in the end decided the best pattern for this project was to remake one of my favorites -- my Winter's Garden quilt, just bigger!



In the original Winter's Garden quilt design, each block features three different prints with a narrow, solid border that I could easily change to use a blender print. Or perhaps I'll just make a larger quilt, including twenty blocks rather than sixteen. The scrappy sashing is ideal for including my low volume prints, and the center area of each block perfect for the main prints that I've designed for each collection!

What do you think?



So there we have it, a project plan to begin right after I finish up the tutorial for my Reverse Appliqué Love Garden pillow!

I Can't wait! ♡ Maureen