Postage Stamp Quilt

I am so excited to finally be sharing with you my Postage Stamp Quilt!

I started it over a year ago in a quilt along, but as usual, lagged behind. I proudly share with you my finished product. I'm really excited, as it's only my second finished quilt of this size.

Here is the top that seemed like it would be so easy, but went on for seemingly endless seams. I took my time pairing up all the strips into individual blocks, making sure each print was equally represented throughout. I'm really picky that way. It's part of my charm, really.

I'm really excited that I not only decided to go with solids on this one, but that I ventured out of my comfort zone and pieced my backing. The solids took a lot of thinking, but I finally decided to pull out some predominant colors from the top and came up with these. So bright, sweet, and lovely, they really make me smile. I also had some leftover strips from the front, so I decided to break up the back and showcase them here. I have several more extra, and will eventually make a matching throw pillow.

I spoiled myself and sent it out to be quilted. Chris, from the Cotton Pig, did an all over "wandering pipe" pattern that really echoes the layout of the stamps.

Thanks for checking out my latest creation! I'm linking up to the Festival of Scrappiness and Work in Progress Wednesday. Go check out the other eye candy!

Craftsy Block of the Month :: Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who entered the great giveaway from Amy at Stitchery Dickory Dock, Craftsy, and the Fat Quarter Shop. The results are in! The winner is comment #30:

Thanks Beth! I'll be emailing you about claiming your prize :)

Rainbow Charm Swap :: FULL

The Rainbow Charm Swap is now FULL. Sorry if anyone missed out :( I missed out on Kati's and that's why I started my own. Nothing like being inspired!

Color assignments and such are posted in the Flickr group, so please check over there for updates. I'll be emailing my shipping address directly.

Thanks everyone and I can't wait to see what you all choose!

Rainbow Charm Swap :: update

5 spots left as of 9am Saturday. Color assignments so far are posted in the Flickr group, so go check there for your assignment. Have fun!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/1916610@N20/

Rainbow Charm Swap :: FULL

Update: now full, as of Sunday morning. Thanks everyone!!!

COLORS POSTED IN FLICKR GROUP! GO LOOK AND HAPPY SHOPPING!

Please note the rules and requirements in the previous post before signing up. This swap is limited to 56 people. I will close the form as soon as possible once the swap is full, but should more people get through to the form after it is full, please understand I may have to cut them off after the fact. I'll do my best! :)

Rainbow Charm Swap

Surprise! I'm hosting an enormous, gigantic, fantabulous rainbow charm swap! I've been thinking of doing one for a while now, but when Kati's From the Blue Chair swap filled up so quickly, and I missed out, I thought I better start another one to give myself and others a chance. A huge mega thank you to Kati for her help in setting this up and for letting me steal her verbiage :)

Added bonus: to make buying 5 yards a little less painful, the lovely Brenda at Pink Castle Fabrics has offered a 15% discount for swappers! If you haven't already, you must check out her shop. She has a tremendous variety of beautiful fabrics. Thank you, Brenda!

The swap signups will open on this blog this Friday, March 9 at Noon eastern time.

We will be swapping FIVE yards of charms. Go big or go home, right? The colors will be the 12 basic colors from the color wheel plus black & white prints and grey. There are slots for 56 participants.

Here's the rundown:

• Each participant will be assigned ONE color. You must buy five different yards of fabric in that color (varying shades are appropriate such as a pink fabric for the red group). You will then cut these into 5" charms, sort them and ship to me (I will provide very specific instructions on how to sort). One yard must be a solid, the other four yards will be prints. A self-addressed-stamped envelope must be included (a priority envelope will be the best option for the amount of fabric being shipped).
• You must be on Flickr and agree to participate in the swap group. There will be discussion groups for each color assignment. You will be paired with three to five other participants with the same color assignment. You are expected to work together as a group to choose the best fabrics for your color and avoid duplication.
• Quilt shop quality fabric only. The only exception is Kona brand solids from Jo-Ann's or Hobby Lobby. Large scale fabrics are not appropriate unless they are tone on tone or white on tone. Prints may include additional colors as long as they do not detract from the target color.
• You will send me 5 sets of 56 charms and receive 280 different charms back.
• There is no fee for US participants, but you must include a SASE with adequate postage. I recommend a padded Flat Rate envelope which is just $5.30 each way.
  
• The shipping fee for Canadian swappers is $14.00 USD. The shipping fee for participants from any other country outside the US is $18.00 USD. International swappers may purchase fabrics from a US vendor and have them shipped directly to me. I will cut and sort your charms for a $10.00 fee. All fees are billed through PayPal.
• US swappers must ship to me by Monday, April 9. Swappers from any other country must ship by Monday, April 2.
• The link to sign up for the group will post here this Friday, March 9 at Noon EST. If you aren't available to register at this time, please make arrangements for a friend to register for you. I anticipate the group will fill quickly, as Kati's filled in just 5 minutes and I know there are people from hers waiting to sign up. (Information required includes name, email, mailing address, flickr photostream link, & paypal email for those outside the US).

Craftsy Block of the Month :: Blog Tour & Giveaway!

I'm super excited and honored to be included in this fun and educational blog hop for my friend Amy!

Craftsy has this amazing Block of the Month series hosted by none other than Amy Gibson herself! Amy blogs over at Stitchery Dickory Dock and is just all around awesome. I had read her blog for a little while before I was lucky enough to meet and hang out with her at Sewing Summit last October. (What is Sewing Summit, you say? Blasphemy! Click through, read about it, then promptly sign up...you won't regret it!) She is an absolute doll and a total blast! We were quilty kindred spirits from the get go.

I particularly love the blocks she is teaching us this month, as they are slightly intimidating and I've been dying to try them for a while. Below you'll see my very first ever string block!.......and perhaps a giveaway.......WHAT?! Did I say that out loud? Read on...

String block supplies :: a few background pieces and lots of scraps!

Strings and scraps during...

Strings and scraps after!

I'm so happy with how fun and scrappy this block turned out! I'm officially addicted and must make more! And just imagine how it will help cull through your scrap bin!

***drum roll***

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for.............the generous folks over at The Fat Quarter Shop are offering up a $25 gift certificate to their fabulous shop!

To enter, just leave a comment. For fun, tell me your favorite sewing tip. I'll draw a winner on Thursday, March 8.

Be sure to follow along on the rest of the tour and show some stitchy love:

Feb 24 - Miss Print

Feb 25 - Hoosier Toni

Feb 27 - Fresh Lemons

Feb 28 - Qubee Quilts

Feb 29 - Amy's Creative Side

Mar 2 - mon petit lyons

Mar 3 - Mel's Own Place

Mar 5 - Breakfast for Dinner ::::::: you're here!

Mar 7 - Sew Paint Create

Mar 9 - SoChick

Mar 10- Spin the Bobbin

Mar 12- Diary of A Quilter

Mar 14- Ellison Lane

Mar 16- Old Red Barn Co

Modern Mini Challenge :: Giant Granny Square

As I'm sure you're all well aware, the granny square block has gone viral in stitchy blogland and I couldn't help myself. But the teeny little 9" block wasn't enough for me. No no, I had to go bigger; 20", to be precise. Instead of the standard 2.5" squares, I used 5" charm squares. Logically, one would think doubling the size of the squares would double the block size to 18", not 20". But lest we forget, this is quilty math and it has its own set of rules.

I went with pink and navy because this mini/pillow was actually meant for my friend Kaelin and that's the color combo she's obsessed with at the moment. And can you blame her? It's quite gorgeous! This will keep her company on the sofa, as due to an injury, she's not allowed to sew for a little while. (Perish the thought!) But something tells me, she won't be enjoying this pillow all by herself...

Whiskers!!! That pillow is for your mommy! Silly boy :)

I'm linking up to the Modern Mini Challenge and Sew Modern Monday. Go see what everyone else has sewn up, too!