Butterfly Season Mini / Beauties Pageant 336

For a lady who loves making throw-size quilts, I am finding myself sewing more and more small projects lately. Remember last year’s zippered pouches and thread catchers? Well, I think I’ve entered my mini-quilt era.

It all started with a simple guild challenge: Bring in a bit of fabric, blindly swap it for someone else’s fabric, and then make something with that new-to-you print or solid. I ended up picking a fabric I had never seen before. Now that everything has been cut up and sewn back together again, it’s best viewed on the back ... 

I immediately saw butterfly forms in the design and thought of my own Butterfly Season quilt. Relying on a pattern I had already designed and sewn seemed like a sneaky way to respond to this challenge. But I was plotting this mini (ahem!) the night before the guild meeting where everyone was unveiling their creations. It was a matter of making a Butterfly Season mini-quilt or going empty handed! In the end, I was happy to make this little bit of loveliness and to share it with my guild mates.

Now the question is, What should I do with this beauty? I hang mini-quilts on the bulletin boards in my kitchen, but they’re all smaller than this one, which finishes at 12 inches by 15 inches. So I’ve decided to give it away to someone who needs a pick-me-up. Instead of holding a formal giveaway, I will be posting it in my main shop (that is, not Etsy) for $0 and free shipping. Want to learn more (because I expect this to be so much fun I’ll do it again in the future!)? All the details will be shared in this week’s newsletter, which will go out tomorrow. If you’re not a subscriber, you can sign up here.

Related links:

• More on the original Butterfly Season
• Not-Your-Typical Jelly Roll Quilts (which contains the Butterfly Season pattern)
• The FBTB newsletter 

 

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• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

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Holiday Sewing Season / Beauties Pageant 335

Every summer, fabric manufacturers release their winter-themed fabric lines. For those of us in the northern hemisphere, it may be hard to reconcile our longer days and ample sunshine with, say, a snowman project, but I think it’s always more enjoyable to tackle holiday projects in advance. Doing so makes for a saner November and December, and the holidays always seem to come and go so quickly ... I might as well get into the spirit in the off-season and then enjoy the fruits of my quilty labors when winter is here.

It’s little wonder, then, that we’re expecting a high of 84 degrees today in New England, and I am plotting my new snowflake pattern. 

But can you blame me? I picked up a fat quarter bundle of Kim Kight’s Merry Happy, and I am totally smitten. I love a holiday collection with a surprise or two, and this one features gummy bears, pickle ornaments, and a pink colorway. Nontraditional colorways get me every time -- I love a good Christmas line with blue or black -- and this pink is so, so good!

I was spinning my wheels on this idea for a while. When I couldn’t decide upon a layout, I took to Instagram for some instantaneous feedback. The masses spoke, and I took their advice: The third layout, with tight off-set rows, is what I am running with now.

Layout 1: On Point

Layout 2: Offset and Loose

 

Layout 3: Offset and Tight

I am calling this beauty "Festive Flurries" and expect to have a sample and finalized pattern ready to share next month!

It anyone else out there plotting winter- or Christmas-themed projects? 

 

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The pageant rules are simple:

• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Airing on June 14: Alex Anderson, Ricky Tims, and Me! / Beauties Pageant 334

Last summer, I had the opportunity to fly to Louisville, Kentucky, and meet with Alex Anderson and Ricky Tims, hosts of The Quilt Show. Doing this required taking a big step out of my comfort zone, but the experience was well worth the time, travel, and courage!

My afternoon with Alex and Ricky started off with an interview when we talked about how I got into quilting and where I draw my inspiration from. I showed them my quilt about my son with Down syndrome, the project that originated from seeing the shingles on my eye doctor’s roof (true story!), and many other finished quilts. 

Then we filmed two additional segments that focused on nitty-gritty techniques. In the first, I share with Alex my tips for working with jelly roll strips. In the second, I show Ricky how I finish my binding with chunky hand stitches.

If you’ve seen Ricky’s award-winning quilt The Visitation, it also features a special binding treatment. Ricky wrote a poem about the quilt and embroidered it into the binding with a technique he calls "free-motion bobbin embroidery." He takes us through this novel technique step-by-step in the episode.

How You Can Watch 

Truth be told, I can’t bear to watch videos of myself—but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t (ha!). These segments become available to Quilt Show subscribers this Sunday, June 14. If you don’t subscribe and would like to watch my segments (or hundreds of other episodes featuring talented quilters), you can sign up for a free seven-day trial here.

Thank You!

To all of you who’ve been showing up week after week to read my humble posts and peruse snapshots of my latest projects, thank you! I have had all sorts of new experiences over the past year or two—teaching at both guilds and regional shows, presenting to groups, publishing a book. In my mind, you share in those triumphs with me. I have appreciated all of the encouragement and emails and comments over the years. Truly, I am a better quilter for being a part in this little online community.

Related content: Read the post after I returned from Louisville last August.

Upcoming Teaching Event

 Register here! (Use code PP26MichelleC to get $20 off)

 

Follow Me On ...  

 

* * *

The pageant rules are simple:

• Post your finish in the linky tool. (No links to your own giveaway or linky, please!)
• Point your readers back here with a text link or use the button above.
• Visit and comment on other participants’ finishes.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter