A Winner!

A big thanks to everyone who stopped by and left a comment on this year's Sew Mama Sew giveaway here!  I LOVED reading your comments, and it was so interesting to see where you want to travel! My *very scientific* analysis reveals Hawaii and Italy as the most popular destinations.  Sounds good to me!

Our randomly selected lucky winner is Mara, who wrote: "I want to go home, to the States, living in Greece right now but would love to visit family in Washington and California." Your loot is on its way!

Today I've been doing some trimming... for some work with HSTs that I'll be showing off soon :)

Giveaway Day: Treasures and Tidbits, 6 FQs!

I'm so excited that it's time, once again, for Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day!

If you're visiting for the first time, welcome!

Sun, Please!

In celebration of the emerging sun this season and the new freckles on my nose, I've created a new paper-piecing pattern, called "Sun, Please!" It is more geometric than literal, and I'm smitten.

To start, I stitched a basic red and white block that matched the vision of the block I had before starting, which still stuns me in its clean lines and simplicity. I love how it turned out and want a whole quilt of them!

...and of course, I had to modify the pattern to include a skinny outlined version, too.

Paper-Piecing Tutorials: Do It Your Way

Over time, I've received many requests from people who want to learn paper-piecing, but aren't sure where to start. I've created a Paper-Piecing page on this blog that shows the basic steps I take, but I want to give credit to the amazing work others have done, and avoid reinventing the wheel!  

In addition, I urge you to find the method that looks the most normal and logical to you, since there are endless ways to achieve wonderful results.  

Little Hand-Quilted Pillow Tutorial

There's one little pillow on our couch that I insist is mine, the perfect size for right behind my head while watching junky TV.  It's about 12x16 inches, and luxuriously feather-filled.  I decided that I needed another, of course, and thought I'd share the process.  

With the directions below, you can create fun hand-stitched a pillow out of any special block of your choosing.  

Step 1:  Pick a favorite 12.5x12.5 inch unfinished block.  I used one of my recent Star Seams blocks.  

EXCITED!

I got the most wonderful package in the mail this week: the Spring 2013 issue of Simple Quilts and Sewing!

I am very excited to share that my Lone Starburst pattern is featured within, along with directions to make a pillow I created to feature it: measurements, fabric requirements, the works.

Seeing something I created in a REAL magazine for the first time was pretty surreal, and I really love the styling of the photography.

Spring Hope Triangles Quilt

This time of year is pretty tough in New England. You get the smallest tastes of warm air, glimpses of blue skies, and brief salty breezes.  Then the wind starts blowing, the temperature drops, and you realize you have to wait a bit longer.  Those teases make me crave REAL spring, with hyacinths and picnics and "just a sweater" weather.

For now, though, we have green shoots, plenty of salty dust, and the ground, covered in dried grass, is at least free of snow.  I hear that "mud season" is coming.

In the spirit of appreciating this time of year, here's a quilt that incorporates those bits of spring hope: green, blue, summer linen, in the midst of a calm sandy background.  

I have long admired quilts that make use of negative space, and had fun playing with layouts for these bordered triangles.