August Bee Blocks

I've been a busy bee! I recently completed all my bee blocks for the month of August, so I could free up some time for other projects in the works.

First up is the Newbee Hive #7 block. The Queen wanted a Wonky Pinwheel block with a color scheme of grey, pink and yellow.

I have been wanting to try this block out for quite some time, so I was excited my hive mate picked it for her month. It was very easy and fun to make. I love the color scheme, and I am not a big fan of yellow but this is just pretty.

I also completed my ThreadDivas bee block for August. The Queen requested a Donut Block, she provided the instructions. Her color scheme was red and white. She was gracious enough to send us out the small red squares for the block so that we could match colors for her red and white quilt to be.

I love the red she chose. It's a deep cranberry red. I made up some small pinwheel blocks with the cut off corners of the snowballed blocks to send along. I am excited to see her quilt finished. I have added a red and white quilt to my "to do" list. I don't know about you but my "to do" list is an ever growing one. I'll be lucky to finish it up by the time I'm 95.


I've also been working on a Union Jack Pillow for the Pillow Pop Sew Along on ThreadBias. I did mine a little different than in the book but I am happy with the results so far.

Instead of making a bunch of little Union Jack's I made one big one for the front. You can find the pattern over at Mollie Sparkles blog here. I should be finishing this up soon!

I have a lot more planned to do this week, but we will see how that goes as this is also the first week back to school for the kiddos. Yikes!! Wish us all luck!

I'd love to know what you are working on this week!

Birthday finish and a Fabric Sale!

If you need to add some fabric to your stash head on over to Lark Cottons for their Summer Designer Sale! 

 

Save 40% on fabric by Creative Thursday, Laurie Wisbrun, Malka Dubrasky,
Lucie Summers, and Rosemarie Lavin.  

Discount applied automatically to the shopping cart.  No coupon code needed!


I've been away from the blog for awhile busy working on packing up my house for the big move. I have been sewing when I can in between cardboard boxes and sorting and cleaning. I have a baby blanket under way for one of my Mom's coworkers. They are expecting a little girl. So I decided to use some Up Parasol by Heather Bailey.

I just love this line it's so pretty and feminine. I decided to go with the Churn Dash block because it's one of my favorites and it is so versatile.

I've also been working on the Mini Medallion being hosted over at Clover and Violet along with Sew Lux Fabric. There is a new post each month with directions for each section of the Medallion. I got caught up and have the first two sections finished.

I am excited to see what this looks like when its finished, its my first Medallion.

I also joined a Birthday Swap over on Flickr. The July Birthday girl had a room done in the theme of Peacocks. So I made a mini quilt with those colors in mind and sent some other little treasures along.

 

 

I used a mixture of Kona and AMB solids and just a few pieced of some peacock fabric that I had left over from another project.

 

 

So what have you been working on this week?

 

 

 

 



Economy Blocks

I have recently been making up some fun economy blocks. I have not decided what I am going to do with them all yet, but am leaning towards making an I spy quilt with them.

 This is my first try at any kind of paper piecing. I really loved the process of it, once I figured it out. These were very addictive and there are so many possibilities.

I love the little frogs! They are my favorite, probably because I collect them.

Here are a couple others that I made.
Little fishing frogs.

Big Frog, Little Frog

I don't usually have a lot of fussy cut friendly fabrics on hand, I will definitely need to add to my stash because these were just to fun to make.

If you are looking for some fussy cut friendly fabrics might I suggest checking out Lark Cottons. They have several fussy cut friendly fabrics on their site. Here are just a few that I found:

I think these cows and other farm animals would be really cute for a farm theme.

Park and Moo by Alexander Henry



Farmyard Fresh by October Afternoon

I think these fresh fruits would make really cute economy blocks.

To Market To Market-Red Apples by Robert Kaufman

And let's not forget the birds and the bees, or bugs...

Cardinal's and Yellow Lady bugs- by Charley Harper

Wee Wander Glow Friends - by Sarah Jane

I think these would be really cute for an I spy quilt! You can find all of these and more at Lark Cottons.

I would love to see your I spy economy blocks!

Happy quilting.

 

Linking up with Stitch by Stitch

Sunday Stash

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday weekend in the states! I know mine was busy and filled with family, friends, and beautiful fireworks.

I picked up these lovelies for the Color Brick Swap I'm hosting.

First up Orange, which is a color that is lacking in my stash.

 The bottom print is from the Daydreams collection by Kate Spain, its Reflections in Persimmon. In the middle is of course some lovely Happy Go Lucky- Jump in orange by Bonnie and Camille. And last but not least is the Tapestry mosaic in Tangerine.

Next up- Grey

The top and middle prints are from the Flats collection, top is Diamond Rings in Slate and the middle is Polka dots in Stone. Love these prints. On the bottom is Grey Honeycomb from the Shades of black, again one of my favorites.

Last but not least- Low Volume



I picked up some Paris Flea Market-Paris map in china white, along with some Boho in Basic Earth. The top print is from the Barcelona line, City map in Crème. I'm in love with map fabric right now. Its kind of an obsession of mine at the moment.

Here's to a wonderful week!

Linking up with Mollie Sparkles



Mystery swap update.

"Monday, Monday so good to me..."

I wanted to update you all on the Mystery Swap. First off thank you to all who filled out the questionnaire. I received some really good feed back. Most of you liked Spain the best, sorry Morocco. I have made some changes per all of your feedback.

So due to popular demand I am going to open the Summer Vacation Swap- Theme: Spain, to 56 participants. Each participant will be responsible for 1 yard of fabric that goes with the theme. Each yard will be cut into 56 - 5" charm squares. Each participant may sign up for up to two slots, possibly more depending on how fast we fill up. You must have a flickr account and can sign up here.

Fabric can be based on color or the inspiration board, a design that goes with the theme and so on. The only No, No's would be NO kids prints or batiks. Fabrics need to be vibrant and spicy! Pretty simple right. I will post mail dates once the swap is full.

Now for the best part fabric inspiration!!

Have a great Monday, Monday!

Linking up with Drowning in Fabric.

Friday Finsh and a Winner!!

It's Friday, and that means its time for a finish and a winner! Recently Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts was asking for pattern testers for her Ombre Studio Mini Quilts, and I jumped at the opportunity! I choose to work on the Quilt mini. I picked a Kona Roll up-Sunrise, and used Kona white for the back ground. The patten was a breeze! As I was making it I thought that either would make a great mini quilt or even a pillow, and I'm sure many of you could come up with even other ways to use this great patten. Here's what I came up with.

For the back I used left over strips from my Kona Roll to make a Kansas Sunrise. I also used the scraps for the binding.

Lorna is having a linky party where you can see all of the mini's that were made by everyone who tested her patterns. So head on over and check them out!

Linking up with Sew Fresh Quilts and Crazy Mom Quilts.

Ok now for the winner of the Lark Cottons FQ bundle give away!

The winner is Mom C.!

Mom CJune 23, 2014 at 10:28 PM

Love so many of the collections. I was at a quilt retreat last week and one of the quilters was using Ghastlies. It was so darling. I want to copy her. Thanks.

Mom C. please send me an email and I will get this out to you ASAP!

Thanks to all who participated in the give away!

WIP-Charity Quilts

Happy Humpday! This week I have been working on getting the tops put together from some star bee blocks that I received. The first one is Scrap Jar Stars pattern by A Little Bit Biased. I have seen this block a lot lately and really liked it. I had asked for a Brown, Orange and Aqua color theme for the blocks as I really like this color combo.

The second is the Inverted Star block by Common Threads a free pattern on Craftsy. I also asked for the same color theme on these blocks.

I have backs picked out for both, so now I just need to get them basted and quilted. These will be going to Happy Chemo. 

I'd love to hear about what your working on this week! Happy Sewing!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced



Sunday Stash

Today is all about Kona Solids. I personally love Kona in all colors. I recently purchased this lovely stack for a swap. I wanted to choose some colors I had not used before.



The colors from left to right: Royal, Persimmon, Pomegranate, and Wasabi. I just love all of these, they are so bright and cheery. The Royal looked more blue online but when it arrived I noticed it really is more on the purple shade. The Persimmon and Pomegranate are just rich and vibrant. I found the Wasabi to be my favorite. Its just the right amount of limey green without being neon like. This is a short and sweet post, as its been a long busy weekend here! Happy Monday.

*****Reminder*** Don't forget the coupon code for 15% off at Lark Cottons ends today! (06/23/14 @ midnight). You can find the code here along with a giveaway (giveaway open till 06/27/14).

Linking up with Sunday Stash

and Stitch by Stitch

Welcome Lark Cottons! -Giveaway

I'd like to introduce and welcome my new Sponsor Lark Cottons.

 

 Based out of Portland Oregon, Lark Cottons, owned by Heather,  is an online fabric shop specializing in fabrics with a fresh modern aesthetic. They offer several collections. Here are a few of my favorites.

The Ghastlies -Alexander Henry

I am in love with the Ghastlies and Lark Cottons is offering the newest addition A Ghastlie End in the shop. 

Cat Nap-Lizzy House

They also offer a great variety of organic and Japanese Import Fabrics. I've had my eye on these Charley Harper Organics for quite some time and was pleased to find them in the shop.

I think these Japanese Imports would be great for and I-spy quilt!

Well I could go on and on, Lark Cottons offers many wonderful fabrics. Along with some many choices the site is easy to use. You can search fabrics by Designer, Collections, Themes and even by Type. So if your looking for something specific its right at your finger tips. I like this feature because I can just peruse all the pretty fabrics or if I need something for a specific project I can select the category I need and get right to it.

In case you need an excuse to take a look, Heather at Lark Cottons is offering Stitching @ The Green Desk readers a 15% off all fabrics - (excluding remnants) - thru Monday, June 23rd till midnight with code greendesk. Enjoy!  

Note: Code is case sensitive and must be entered on the shopping cart page.

:Giveaway:

Sponsored by Lark Cottons

 

One lucky reader will win the Eretheral Mosaic bundle to pad their stash! For a chance to win head on over to Lark Cottons and let me know what your favorite collection is. For a second chance my followers can leave an additional comment letting me know how you follow my blog. Giveaway is open to US residents only this time and will remain open thru  June 27th!

Morocco or Spain- Mystery Swap

It's Summer and officially vacation time. I was thinking it would be fun to have a Summer Vacation themed Mystery Swap. Mystery Swap, what's that you say? Basically there would be a preselected theme, in this case Summer Vacation, I would select the fabrics, cut them into charms, and send them to you. I am currently securing the best price possible for fabric, and the shipping would be included in the charm pack price. I will be posting more about that as soon as I get it sorted out. I will be offering full charm packs-112 charms, and half charm packs-56 charms with limited spots. All fabric will be quilt shop quality.

Here are a couple of the themes I was thinking about doing along with some possible fabric choices.

{Possible fabric options} 

________________________________________________________

 {Possible Fabric options}

So now I would like to know which is your favorite? Have any of you been to these destinations, if so lucky you! If not (or even if you have) I invite you to come along with me this summer, virtually through fabric, and visit these amazing vacation destinations. Feel free to vote below on these two pallets and the charm pack size you would prefer. Please only vote once for each question. Thank you.  

Linking up with Drowning in Fabric

WIP

This week has been busy, busy, busy! I'm ready for things to slow down just a bit, so the kids and I can enjoy the summer! This week I have been pattern testing for Lorna over at Sew Fresh Quilts.

Lorna recently inquired for some pattern testers on her blog for her Ombre Studio Sewing Studio mini quilt patterns. I offered to help her out. Lorna graciously sent me both patterns (I love to Sew and I love to Quilt) and said I could do one or both. I decided to do the I love the Quilt mini. I thought Kona solids would work great for the Ombre effect so I scoured the Internet for color inspiration. I ultimately chose this Kona roll up in Sunrise.

It reminds me of a Kansas sunrise. Love it!

The roll up worked out great as the pattern calls for strips. I had very little waste. I chose Kona white for the back ground.

Here are a couple of the pieces finished.

This has been a really fun pattern to put together.

I'm thinking of using the left over Kona roll up to make a scrappy back and binding. But as I kept putting pieces together I thought this might make a really nice pillow as well, so now I am torn, pillow or mini quilt?

Lorna is hosting a linky party over at Sew Fresh Quilts on June 27th. Be sure to check it out to see all the wonderful mini quilts! If you can't wait till then Lorna has a flickr page where you can see all of the progress so far.

I would love to hear about what you are working on this week! Have a great Wednesday!!

Linking up with Freshly Pieced.



#operationgivewarmth

 

 

 



I wanted to share something special with you all today. One of my favorite blogs is No Hats in the House written by Sarah Sharp. She is hosting a monthly color inspiration for quilt blocks. Each month she posts a color pallet and folks can make blocks with either all or just some of the colors in the pallet. You can pick any block you want as long as it is in the color range for the month.

April's Color pallet:

May's color pallet:

The best part about these blocks is that they will be going to the foundation My Very Own Blanket. MVOB is a non-profit that provides blankets (quilts) to children in the foster care system in hopes that it will bring them comfort.

Isn't this wonderful! Well I thought so too! It's easy peasy, just head over to No Hats in the House and you can find the monthly color pallet postings in her side bar. You can send a few each month, or just one, or even send a few during the months you have time for extra sewing. If you would like to help out by making some blocks you can find more information here. There is also a flickr page where you can see all the blocks that have been made so far.

Here's the color pallet for June:

 

 

 

This is such a wonderful cause and I hope some of you out there are able to participate, I would love to see your blocks! If you are unable to make up some blocks head on over to Sarah's blog and give her a high five for hosting this wonderful project!

 

Belinda

 

 

Linking up with Stitch by Stitch.