Black & White Blog Hop Starts Tomorrow!

Black & White Blog Hop Schedule

Monday, January 21st

Just Let Me Quilt
Needled Mom
Tu-Na Quilts, Travels, and Eats
Life in Scrapatch
QuiltFabrication
Scrapdash
Bumbleberry Stitches
keepsake moments
Vroomans Quilts

Tuesday, January 22nd

MooseStash Quilting
SewFreshQuilts
Elizabeth Coughlin Designs
Quilts by Joanne
PamelaQuilts
That Fabric Feeling
Songbird Designs
Two Maker Chicks


Wednesday, January 23

Selina Quilts
Beaquilter
Quilt in a not-Shell
Patchwork Breeze
Adventurous Applique and Quilting
Kathleen McMusing
Cynthia's Creating Ark
Everyone Deserves a Quilt
Homespun Hannah's Blog

Thursday, January 24

Quiltscapes
Seams to be Sew
Storied Quilts
Kathy's Kwilts and More
Ms P Designs USA
Den syende himmel
Melva Loves Scraps
The Joyful Quilter 
Creatin' in the Sticks  

This blog hop is hosted by

Carla @ Creatin' in the Sticks

Looking forward to all the quilty inspiration.

Hope to see you hopping along!

It is Snowing ~I am Sewing!

Cupid Kit from Fat Quarter Shop

(Spoiler Alert: stop reading if you ordered this and have not received it 

and want to be surprised) 

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Outside the snow is falling, the wind is raging, the temperature is dropping.

Inside I am warming my hands with this pretty red fabric kit.

I <3 it! 

I bought the special Cupid Box from the Fat Quarter Shop.

You probably saw this everywhere on the quilty social media.

It is sold out.

I am not trying to sell you anything.

If you think you want advance notice of these special offers

you may wish to join the

Kimberly's Stitch Squad Facebook Group

to see it first.

If you do, you may see many quilty goodies you may want to buy.

There is a lot of inspiration in this friendly group

but it can be tempting. 

I really like these surprise boxes so I gave in to the temptation for this one.

Opening one of these surprise boxes is a treat!

This one included the pattern and all the fabrics needed to

make the top for a 22" by 64" table runner.

There is even vartigated Aurifil thread to quilt it

and a cute heart needle threader as a extra gift.

The only other things I need to finish my table runner is

2 yards of backing fabric from my stash.

My sizable stash has this covered.

I  sorted and cut.

Now I am sewing.

I am warm and in my happy place.

May you be safe and warm and protected 

from the storms in life

and surrounded by quilty love.

<3 

Summer In the Midst of Winter

“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.

And that makes me happy. 

For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, 

within me, there’s something stronger – something better, 

pushing right back.”

― Albert Camus

This has been a favorite quote

since I was in college. 

It is bitterly cold in the northeast

and a major ice and snow storm is coming this weekend.

I am safe and warm and snug and counting my blessings.

and enjoying the fabric 

in my quilty home.

The fabric flowing through my fingers

takes me to different places and other seasons

and fills my world with color and with joy. 

Today this new summery fabric is on my way to me!

I pre-ordered the collection bundle from 

Julie @ The Intrepid Thread

where I first discovered Tilda and now buy most of my Tilda Fabrics.

Julie is a joy to do business with.
I am not affiliated in any way with this shop.

I am just a very happy customer.

Explore Tilda's World

Browse 

Tilda Apple Butter Catalogue

and 

Download Free Patterns

I am making plans to sew this 

Apple Butter Scrapflower Quilt

and

Apple Butter Scrapflower Pillow

I found the 

Cornflower Blue Background Fabric

(affiliate link)

at my favorite place to shop

Fat Quarter Shop 

(affiliate link)

Where the 

Apple Butter Collection

(affiliate link) 

has just started to appear in stock today.

I want to sew one of these cute 

Dapper Dacshhunds

and some

Easter Bunnies

Maybe a few

Kitchy Friends

and this 

Apple Butter Teapot Quilt

is sew cute!

Okay ... yes ...  I want to sew it all.

Of course, I cannot buy it all. 

The "Scrapflower Quilt" had me at the name!

When I was browsing the pretty patterns

my hubby walked over and pointed right at the same blue

quilt I was plotting to make.
This blue is his favorite color. 

I said I found the background fabric,

but it was expensive.

Hubby said get it now while you can.

My hubby is fabric enabler.

I want to make a warm summery quilt 
for hubby and I to snuggle under
in the midst of winter. 

I am lucky to have some other

Tilda Fabrics in my stash.

Any of these patterns would also be adorable in 30's fabrics

or any pretty floral.

Which is your favorite free pattern for this collection? 

Will you be sewing summer in winter? 

Do You Want To Sew A Snowman Quilt?

Snowman In the Cabin Quilt Tutorial

This free quilt tutorial and sew along 

can be found year round 

in the green toolbar at the top on my blog.

I am working today on the finishing touches for my blog post

for the upcoming

Black & White Blog Hop

coming soon at

Creatin' in the Sticks

This favorite black and white quilt 

is warming my walls in my cold New England home.

Sew do you want to sew a snowman? 

The Importance of Being Accurate

Nine Patch Tracks

12" Block, Finished

Jelly Roll Friendly

Yesterday a new  quilting friend in an online sewing group was struggling 

with the math and the 1/4" seam allowance

while making a 12.5" block unfinished.

It started a discussion in the group and

sent me to my machine
to illustrate my comments.

I am a hands on person

so I designed this simple block.

Start with 2.5" scrap strips

The question was how to make a block from jelly roll strips 

and what size would the units be after sewing.

It could be called a Nine Patch Block or a Rail Fence Block

but I am calling this block Nine Patch Tracks,

in part because of my fabric choices.

This was made with some of my scrap kitty fabrics. 

Two strips sewn together measure 4.5" across.

These strips will be 2" wide in the finished block. 

Sew the strips together using a 1/4" seam and cut into 4.5" squares

Measure seams!
An accurate seam measures 1/4" from stitching line to edge.

I have moved my ruler a thread to the right so you can see the seam thread line.

Many quilters like to sew a "scant 1/4" seam which measures slightly smaller.

I like to maintain a full 1/4" so my seams will not be compromised and fray
with lots of washing.

Rulers are a quilter's friend!

It is important to maintain an accurate 1/4" seam

and to measure and square units before sewing them into the block.

The time spent measuring and squaring is well spent

as it insures the block will be the correct size in the end.

Put the right foot forward!
(like my ever helpful quilty kitty Maestro) 

I find a 1/4" foot invaluable.

I now use the flanged 1/4" foot on the left which was included
with my Janome 6600p.
I find the flange is a good guide for the edge of my fabric.

I started my quilting adventures with the foot on the right,
which is from my old Brother machine and fits my Janome.
I learned to sew an accurate 1/4" seam with this foot.
I  sometimes still use this while paper piecing.
This foot measures 1/4" from the right of the needle hole.
When learning, I put down a strip of narrow masking tape on the bed of my
old Brother machine marking 1/4" for my seams.

If you are a new quilter, practice, measure 
and find what works best for you.

I measure and square each block with my worn
12.5 inch Quilter's Ruler.

This block was constructed with nine 4.5" square units,
alternating directions of the strip seams.
3 rows and 3 units.
A very easy block.

This was my 15 minutes of fun playing with my scraps yesterday.

I am working on several projects for blog hops right now and
am looking forward to showing them to you soon.

May you have a happy quilty day!