A Friday Flimsy Finish

I cannot tell you how excited I am to share this finished flimsy with you!! When I saw this quilt top Joanne over at Canuck Quilter  showed on her design wall, I was smitten. Completely smitten! I may have gushed a little in my comments on Joanne's blog and she asked me if I was willing to test the pattern. . . it took me all of about two seconds to say "Heck yeah!" sign me up and a happy dance might have ensued! The pattern is called Blaze and it has not been released yet but Joanne is working on it and I will be sure to let you all know when that happens. Hopefully about the same time the quilting is finished because you know I cannot wait to get to that negative space!! ;)

The top came together quickly, easily and it has a huge impact, IMHO :) I'm not going to share a lot more, other than the pictures, I think they say it all! Joanne's patterns are fantastic! Check out all of her fabulousness over at her Craftsy Store. No, that is not an affiliated link. :) As I said, this pattern has not been released yet but you can be assured I will be letting you know when it is! BUT, she has other patterns that are just as wonderful for you to peruse, paper pieced snowflakes (I've made some of these and they are awesome!) and quilts and freebies!

Initial fabric pull. I decided against the yellow batik for the background of the leaves. . . I kind of regret that choice now, not major regret. I just think my first instincts might have been right...

The first leaf block. OH MY! At this point, I am seriously excited to get all of the pieces up on my design wall to see what it will look like!!! Does that ever happen to you? EEEEK!! Get your sew on girl cuz we can't wait to see what it is going to look like :D

At this point. . . I am obsessed - and I couldn't stop. . . I added a couple of columns, I made the leaves tumble. That might have been due to the fact that in my excitement of sewing on the sashing I made some 'errors' in terms of what side I initially sewed the sashing. . . Instead of ripping, I went with it :)

And here it is!! LOVE!!!

There might have been some happy dancing going on on my patio as I took these pictures ;)

I couldn't decide on which picture to show. . . so I'm showing them all! haha

I broke so many rules with this fabric pull. . . Are those batiks? Yes, they are. . . you combined them with what??? Yes, I combined them with Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in black for the background and the Purple for the sashing and the top and bottom zigzag is Moda Grunge. I wish I could tell you the color but unfortunately, I do not know :( What I can tell you is that ALL of this fabric was in the stash! YAY :) I will never understand why there is that 'rule' out there that batiks should not be combined with other fabrics. It is bunk in my quilting world! :)

The top is sandwiched and I have it marked and I'm almost finished with the ditching. This quilt spoke to me the entire time I was putting it together. I did not stare at it for hours wondering how I was going to quilt it - it told me and I'm going with it :) Provided life cooperates more than it has been in the past couple of weeks and allows me a little more time at my machine, you should be seeing this one all quilted up very soon!

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish it up Friday. If you are here from there, thanks for visiting! And if you haven't been over there yet this week, take a few moments and check out the drool worthy finishes people are sharing!

Until next time, keep on quilting!

And the Winner Is. . .

I have a winner to announce!! Please note, this is not the giveaway that included the two Craftsy classes and the fabric bundle. That giveaway is open until February 21, 2016! If you haven't clicked through to enter, what are you waiting for?? Click here! And if you haven't checked out all of the great reviews of products, classes and fabric purchases shared by the Craftsy Sweetens Up My Life blog hop, here's the schedule and links to all of the posts! A big THANK YOU to both Julie and Sandra for hosting this very informative and fun hop and to Craftsy for the huge giveaway!
 
Blog Hop Schedule
Wednesday, Feb. 10
Judy at Quilt Paradigm: Review of classes "Design It Quilt It" and "Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts" both with Cindy Needham
Helen at Midget Gem Quilts: Review of class "Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot" with Jacquie Gering
Thursday, Feb. 11
Cindy at Stitchin At Home: Review of class "Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" with
Amy Johnson
Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting: Review of fabric purchases:  Stonehenge Strips and Christmas Fat Quarter Bundle
Friday, Feb. 12
Zenia at A Quilted Passion: Review of classes "Start FMQ" with Elizabeth Dackson; "Secrets of FMQ" with Christina Cameli; "Help! How Do I Quilt It?" with Angela Walters
Jayne at Twiggy and Opal:  Review of quilting supplies: Pressing/cutting mat and mini iron
Saturday, Feb. 13
Tish at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland: Review of classes "Dot to Dot Quilting" with Angela Walters; "Shoot It! A Product Photography Primer" with Caro Sheridan
Anja at Anja Quilts: Review of patterns  Postcard from Sweden; 1 Hour Basket; Star Bright; Reusable Handwarmers
Sunday, Feb. 14
Beth at Cooking Up Quilts: Review of Amanda Murphy's class "20 Fresh Appliqué Techniques"
Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts: Review of fabric purchases:  Kaffe Fassett Classics Design Strip 
Monday Feb. 15
Julie at Pink Doxies: Review of class: "Color Play for Quilters" with Joen Wolfrom
Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm! quilts: Review of Classes "Machine Quilting: Small Changes, Big Variety" and "Free Motion Quilting With Feathers" with Angela Walters; review of fabric purchases: 10-yard bundle and fat quarter bundles; review of patterns: Sea Glass and Snowflake

And drum roll please! The winner from the giveaway on my blog is:

I have already sent an email with a link to the class. She may be watching and learning something new right this very moment!! :) Talk about instant gratification. Just one more reason Craftsy sweetens up our lives, classes there when and where we want! Sweet!!

And just a little reminder of what Craftsy is giving away, again, this giveaway is open until February 21 and the winner will be announced on Sandra and Julie's blogs. There will be three winners. Two people will win a Craftsy class of their choosing! And one lucky winner will win the following:

(1) Boundless Solids Amy Gibson Crown Jewels Kit

(1) Boundless Solids Color Theory 6 in Str (Modern Brights) (strips)

(1) Boundless Solids Color Theory 10 in square (Modern Brights) (squares)


If you haven't done so already, click here!

Until next time, keep on quilting!!
 

Craftsy Sweetens Up My Life Blog Hop

As Valentine's Day approaches, Sandra over at Musings of a Menopausal Melon, mmm! Quilts and Julie over at Pink Doxies are hosting a fun blog hop! This hop is about all things Craftsy. Make sure you go check out Sandra and Julie's posts for giveaways! Classes, fabric, oh my!! And make sure you read through this post - I'm doing a giveaway too!! Oh and I want to disclose right up front, I am not affiliated with Craftsy in any way other than crushing on them big time ;) I receive no compensation for any of the links in this post.

Today is day two and I'm going to share with you how Craftsy has sweetened up my quilting life. There have been several ways, but I had to pick one. ;) You know I had to push it so really, I picked two! Classes that is. When I started quilting not so long ago, it did not occur to me that I wouldn't be quilting my quilt. . . I watched tons of videos on Youtube and just dove in. . . Quilted that very first quilt (extra large KING sized quilt) myself and I was hooked! And I wanted to know more. That's when I found Cindy Needham's Craftsy classes:

Click here for 50% off the class!!

and

Click here for 50% off the class!!

I'm not sure how to even begin to tell you how these two classes shaped my quilting journey!Her teaching style is so encouraging. I watched these classes over and over. One of the major benefits of Craftsy classes is that you have access to them forever. That's a long time! You can watch them as many times as you want, when you want and best of all where you want. Want to watch a particular section over again? Easy peasy. Want to bookmark portions of the class that have just blown your mind? Easy peasy. Craftsy has an excellent class platform and includes the ability to interact with the teacher which is awesome.

I immediately put much of what I learned from Cindy into practice. And my fan girl status of Craftsy and Cindy was ignited. About a year and a half after I took those classes from Cindy, I got the chance to take a class from her live and in person!! Turns out, Cindy is just as sweet in person as she seems in the classes!! What an absolute thrill!! Wholecloth quilts absolutely fascinate me. Big ones, small ones and everything in between! What specifically came out of Cindy's classes? Check this out!

Wholecloth quilt quilted on Dupiani silk :)

I used many of the designs she taught in the Design it Quilt It class and the tips and tricks she shares in the Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts can be used in any kind of quilt, not just wholecloths. I've taken a lot of Craftsy classes, these two were hands down my absolute favs :)

Do you ever look at something you have made and wonder "Who quilted that?" . . . happens every time I look at this quilt!

OK, on to the good stuff! First, Craftsy is doing an AWESOME giveaway in connection with this hop! Here's the skinny:

To enter the Craftsy giveaway, click here! What's up for grabs?

Three fabulous prizes from Craftsy! Two lucky people will one one class each, and one person will win this fabulous grand prize!
(1) Boundless Solids Amy Gibson Crown Jewels Kit

(1) Boundless Solids Color Theory 6 in Str (Modern Brights) (strips)

(1) Boundless Solids Color Theory 10 in square (Modern Brights) (squares)

How do you enter this fabulous giveaway?? Click the Craftsy logo above or just click here! The giveaway will be open until February 21, 2016 and winners will be announced on February 22, 2016 on Sandra and Julie's blogs.

And what am I giving away? Well, I'm giving away a Craftsy class! What class? Your choice!! If you've never taken a Craftsy class before, you can check one out for free! If you have taken classes, here's your chance to win another! Want to try something new? Crocheting, knitting, photography. . . pick your subject and your class! :) What do you have to do to enter the giveaway on my blog? Just leave me a comment. That's it, one comment and you are in the drawing! No need to follow or jump through hoops. Tell me if you crush on Craftsy classes or if you would be taking your first class if you win. Please, please, please, make sure I can contact you. This giveaway will end at midnight Februrary 15, 2016. I will announce the winner on February 16, 2016.

AND, here's the schedule for the rest of the hop!

Blog Hop Schedule

Wednesday, Feb. 10
Judy at Quilt Paradigm: Review of classes "Design It Quilt It" and "Machine Quilting Wholecloth Quilts" both with Cindy Needham (You are here!)
Helen at Midget Gem Quilts: Review of class "Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot" with Jacquie Gering
Thursday, Feb. 11
Cindy at Stitchin At Home: Review of class "Quilting With Rulers on a Home Machine" with
Amy Johnson
Vicki at Vicki's Crafts and Quilting: Review of fabric purchases:  Stonehenge Strips and Christmas Fat Quarter Bundle
Friday, Feb. 12
Zenia at A Quilted Passion: Review of classes "Start FMQ" with Elizabeth Dackson; "Secrets of FMQ" with Christina Cameli; "Help! How Do I Quilt It?" with Angela Walters
Jayne at Twiggy and Opal:  Review of quilting supplies: Pressing/cutting mat and mini iron
Saturday, Feb. 13
Tish at Tish's Adventures in Wonderland: Review of classes "Dot to Dot Quilting" with Angela Walters; "Shoot It! A Product Photography Primer" with Caro Sheridan
Anja at Anja Quilts: Review of patterns  Postcard from Sweden; 1 Hour Basket; Star Bright; Reusable Handwarmers
Sunday, Feb. 14
Beth at Cooking Up Quilts: Review of Amanda Murphy's class "20 Fresh Appliqué Techniques"
Preeti at Sew Preeti Quilts: Review of fabric purchases:  Kaffe Fassett Classics Design Strip 
Monday Feb. 15
Julie at Pink Doxies: Review of class: "Color Play for Quilters" with Joen Wolfrom
Sandra at Musings of a Menopausal Melon - mmm! quilts: Review of Classes "Machine Quilting: Small Changes, Big Variety" and "Free Motion Quilting With Feathers" with Angela Walters; review of fabric purchases: 10-yard bundle and fat quarter bundles; review of patterns: Sea Glass and Snowflake

Just a reminder - to enter the Craftsy giveaway, click here. To enter my giveaway, leave a comment :)

ENTRY HAS NOW CLOSED

Linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts. If you are here from there, welcome and make sure to sign up for BOTH giveaways!