Gathering Flowers and a Giveaway!

Happy First Day of December and happy Monday after Thanksgiving, American friends.  I am thankful for having the last few days to relax; starting a new job is tiring, yo!

The lovely, long Thanksgiving holiday also gave me a chance to finish the sweet Gathering Flowers quilt for my new baby cousin!

The back is a whack of the seahorse print from the collection Full Moon Lagoon by Mo Bedell for Andover, framed with the leftover solids from the petals. Perfect for a sunny Florida baby, yes?

The floral block motif is echoed by an allover little daisy free-motion quilting pattern.

WordPress kindly reminded me that today is my 3 year blogiversary. Hooray! To celebrate, I’m having a little giveaway for a $30 gift certificate to one of my favorite online fabric stores, Hawthorne Threads.

To enter, just leave a comment! Followers get a second entry; just comment a second time and let me know how you follow.

This giveaway is open to everyone, but if you’re a no-reply blogger, please make sure I have a way to contact you in case you win! I will draw a winner on December 8th and contact you via email.

The giveaway is now closed! Congratulations, Barbara Woods

It’s been a real joy to chat about what I make in this space and I’m thankful for you and the crafty maker blogosphere.   Here’s to many more years of turning fabric and yarn into quilts and woolens!

Gathering Flowers Top

I spent some time sewing today after being away for the last few days (post on adventures to follow later this week once I sort through the pictures; if you follow my Instagram you already know where I’ve been!) and I managed to finish the Gathering Flowers top!

The curved seams for the flower centers and flower petals went OK. The background fabric is a bit puckery in places but I’m going to quilt the heck out of it with an allover floral or swirl and call it good. AMH’s tips within the pattern on how to press the curve seams were great and give the petals an embossed look.

The background fabric makes sweet pinwheels where the blocks come together. Fun! Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced.

Gathering Flowers Blocks

I’ve been unemployed this week; my previous job wasn’t a great fit for me in many ways. I’ve had huge plans to spend these days sewing, cooking, cleaning, knitting, jogging, and pondering my very existence and worth as a person. Unemployment does that to you. In any case, it probably won’t last long, as I start a new job on the 24th. New adventure ahoy!

One of the main things I’ve been working on is a Gathering Flowers quilt for a new baby cousin. The nursery colors are pink, green, and blue, which will be the petal colors, and the inner wedges will be a mix of prints.

Gratuitous shot of nearly-perfect points; the other blocks aren’t as perfect.

Usually, I don’t gravitate towards this color palette, but I’m enjoying working with these darling colors. I hope my cousins enjoy the finished quilt!

Gathering Flowers Fabric

My cousins are expecting a sweet baby girl next spring, and my grandmother has asked me to make a quilt for her first great granddaughter. The nursery will be done in happy, springy colors: pink, sky blue, and apple green. She picked Anna Maria Horner’s Gathering Flowers pattern and I pulled this fabric.

I’m debating about the background pink mosaic print – it looked much paler online. It will alternate with Kona White, but is it too busy? I may alternate with some other low volume prints in my stash a la this Gathering Flowers made by Cindy at Hyacinth Quilt Designs. Thoughts?

In other projects, all of my secret block segments have been cut and now the trimming begins!

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced

Secrets and Flowers

The last few weeks have been slow sewing for me. I’m in the process of a job transition, which is sapping a lot of my after work energy. But hopefully I’ll be back in the saddle shortly!

I’ve been putzing along on Giant (not so) Secret Project. Here’s a quick shot, can you guess what it is?

I also picked out fabric for the Gathering Flowers (pattern by Anna Maria Horner) I’m making for my new niecelet. My Auntie sent room color paint chips and I think the fabric pull mostly matches – I need some more of that nice lime, which is curiously absent from my stash. And maybe some more rosy pinks; most of the pink in my stash has salmon undertones.

But it is a start, hey?

Linking up with WIP Wednesday at Freshly Pieced!