New Patterns and Giveaway

Happy Monday Everyone!

It’s a gorgeous day here in Minnesota, even if an evil wind last week blew most of the leaves off the trees.  The sun is shining, it’s in the mid sixties, calm and there are still a few fall colors around.

Today I want to share two new patterns that will be showing at fall market later this month.  They just arrived from the printer, so our pre orders will ship out today.  That means you could start seeing them arriving in stores in a couple of days.

First up is Little Charmers 7.  You may remember my obsession with charm squares (and all precuts), which resulted in my other Little Charmers patterns.  It has been a while since I have made any runners, so it was time to come out with a few new charm patterns.

The pattern includes directions for all three runners.  Each requires just one charm pack, along with some background and binding fabric.

Above:  the Loops Runner

Can you tell I had some fun quilting these?  I did pebble quilting on the one above and some fun free-hand designs below.

Above:  The Ribbon Runner shown in the fabric line “Blitzen” by Basic Grey

Above:  The Dresden Runner, shown in my Summer House line (coming out in January).

 

The next pattern is called Galleria.

As you can see, the description on the pattern reads: a place to show off a perfect collection of fun fabrics.  I have been saving this collection of fat quarters for something that really showed them off.

I couldn’t find quite the right pattern, so I had to make up a new one 😉  The fabrics are from the Secret Garden line from Sandi Henderson (along with a couple from my stash)

There is a touch of applique, just to add a bit of interest and break up the piecing.

Every fall, I borrow my neighbor’s maple tree for a few photos.  It makes the perfect quilt rack, don’t you think?

I always like to give away the first copies of the newest books or patterns.  If you are interested, just leave me a comment.  Later this week, I will draw a couple of winners.

If you are interested in purchasing the patterns, click here and here.

I am just finishing up some photos on a kit for Galleria.  I’ll be back soon with the pics.  Thanks for stopping by!

New Fabric Preview

Fall quilt market is right around the corner, so I can finally spill the beans on a few of the new things that I have been working.  I will be sharing them over the next few blog posts, starting with a new fabric line.  I did all the paintings last summer, so it is always a long wait until the strike-offs arrive.  Now that they are finally here, I get to show them to you.

My inspiration for the line came from the empty walls in my living room.  Sounds like a strange source of inspiration, doesn’t it?

Let me explain.  I had designed Artful Home to go in my living room.  After having those quilts out for a while, I got a little tired of the same quilts all the time.  I wanted something to rotate in my main living area, but this time, something a little brighter.  Something with a summery feel.  That got me started with the colors and prints, which eventually turned into the following fabrics – which I decided to call Summer House.

(By the way, I had ironed the strike-offs, but somehow the camera sees things that my eyes don’t!)

So, there you have it.  We are still in the process of doing color corrections on the strike-offs and the goods won’t hit stores until next January.  The line will be available for pre-orders at quilt market the end of this month, so this is when shops will get a chance to order it.

I have already started making a couple of things with my strike-offs, though I am having to fill in backgrounds, etc with some yardage from my previous lines.   More to come in another post . . . .

So, as usual, I am waiting for the day that the bolts show up at my doorstep.  Until that time, I am just curious to see which of the prints is your favorite.  I always appreciate your feedback, as it helps me determine which type of prints and colors the quilters are looking for.

Thanks for the feedback and for stopping by!

Fall

After all the Carter photos that I’ve been showing lately, I have been getting lots of nice comments about what a smiling, happy baby he is.

And he is, most of the time.

But, just in case you thought he was a smiling little angel all the time, here’s a few shots to keep it real.

Hopefully you don’t think too poorly of me, but I do find crying photos to be just a tad bit funny.  However, I don’t like the loud crying sound that accompanies them.

And this boy has some lungs, but we can save that for another time!

Have I mentioned that Minnesota is dressed in the most beautiful colors right now?

Just gorgeous, isn’t it?

 

It has put me in the mood to set out my fall decor – Including my fall quilts.

 

(Edit:  Many of you have asked about the quilts and fabrics so I have added the names of the quilts and some of the fabrics.)

Pattern:  Harvest Time

 

 

Emmy’s Autumn Runner from the book “Gifts For All Reasons“

 

 

Seasonal Topper from the book “On the Run”.  Fabric:  Essense by Sandy Gervais for Moda

 

 

 

Maple Harvest from the book “Favorite Quilts from Anka’s Treasures“.

 

 

 

 

Autumn Days from the book “A Season of Change”.

 

 

 

Game Board from the Little Charmers 6 pattern.  Fabric:  Tranqulity by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

 

 

The Everyday Table Topper from the book “Charmed and Dangerous.”  The fabric is more cute stuff from Sandy Gervais, but I can’t remember the name of the fabric line.

 

 

I have been feeling pressure from Pinterest lately to redecorate my house.

Pinterest is full of pretty images of entire houses with aqua blue walls and lots of white woodwork – And though I love that look (in fact, I have some of it in my house.   My downstairs living room is aqua blue) –  putting out some of my fall stuff makes me feel like my house is okay for a little while longer.  I love the warm glow of fall colors and I’m just not sure how you decorate for fall with all those pastel colors. 

It makes me want to make new fall quilts, in some brighter colors.  Like using aqua blue with a great orange (see photo above).  It makes me in the mood to hunt for some fun, fall quilt fabric!  It’s always a treat to make a new fall quilt each year, even if it’s just a table runner.  Are any of you working with any great fall fabric lines?   Anyone else feeling pressure from Pinterest too?