Pixelated Snowflake Tutorial: Christmas in July Challenge

Merry Christmas in July!!!!  Christen of Love By Hand is have a great Christmas In July blog hop and sewing challenge!  You can read all about it HERE.  I was a bit ambitious in this challenge and decided to make a quilt!  Pixelated quilts have been super popular lately--I've make two pixelated heart quilts!--so I decided to pixelate a snowflake!  

Chrissy From Sew Lux Fabric sent me this super pretty fat quarter bundle of Winter's Lane which is 10% off right now, no coupon needed!

I promptly sliced and diced it to make this quilt top!  Sorry, my ambition got the better of me and I didn't have time to quilt it yet! :)  

Fabric requirement:

FQ Bundle of Winters Lane or whatever holiday fabric you want

2 yards background fabric (technically, you only need 1.75, but I like extra to be safe)

Cutting:

(120) 2.5" print squares***

(165) 2.5" background squares

(4 10.5"x20.5" background rectangles

(4) 4.5" x 10.5" background rectangles

(4) 10.5" x 10.5" background squares

Yeild:

50" x 50" quilt

***You can easily make this using any size squares you want to make the quilt larger or smaller.

This is actually a super simple top to put together, so long as you follow the diagram below!  For the most part, I put the small squares together in 5x5 blocks, but you can divide it up however you'd like.  I find working with only 25 squares at a time prevented mixups and seam ripping.  

This would make a great wall hanging, table topper, lap quilt or bed quilt depending on the size of the squares you want to use! 

Check out all the great holiday tutorials!

July 8 – Christen, Love by Hand

July 10 – Sarah, Stitching & Bacon

July 15 – Kelly, Kelbysews

July 17 – Lyanna, Purple Panda Quilts

July 22 – Tessa, The Sewing Chick

July 24 – Kristen, KD Quilts

Then, during the month of July, start and finish your own holiday sewing project to link up July 26-30 for a chance to win one of three amazing prize packs from these amazing sponsors!

Grand Prize

$40 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

3 Sewing Prints from Pen & Paint

Paloma FQ bundle from Dear Stella

1 pattern from LBG Studio

Second Prize

FQ Bundle from Michael Miller

2 sewing prints from Pen & Paint

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

1 pattern from LBG Studio

Third Prize

Havana FQ Bundle from Monaluna

1 sewing print from Pen & Paint

Pearle Cotton Sampler from Sew Lux Fabric

Winners will be selected by the judges, which will consist of all of the bloggers plus Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabric. Entries will close on Tuesday, July 30 and winners will be announced on Friday, August 1. 

How To Enter: The Details:

Enter any project you’ve made during July to get ahead of your holiday sewing. It can be anything (not just the projects we post here) and can include any fabric – it doesn’t have to be Christmas fabrics or colors.

Starting July 26, you'll be able to link up your entry at Love By Hand. You'll have until 10:00 PM EST on July 30 to add your entry – one entry per person. Link a new post from your blog, your Flickr account or your Threadbias account – you don’t have to have a blog to enter!

Craftsy Class Giveaway!!!!

I'm sure most of you have heard of Cratsy, but if you haven't you MUST check it out!  I SOOOOO wish this was around a few years ago when I was clumsily teaching myself how to sew through blogs and tutorials! You can take classes on how to make quilts, bags, garments, etc.  There are even non-sewing related classes like cake decorating, paper crafts, knitting, and crocheting!  Classes are much less expensive (some are FREE!) than you can find at your local shop and you can take them in your pajamas! 

Anywho!  I got to try out Tara Rebman's new Quilt as You Go Patchwork Bag Class and now I'm giving away this pouch I made using her method along with her class to one (lucky!) person!  

Tara's class is super easy to follow and is a great introduction to quilting and bag making at the same time!  She is a fabulous instructor!

Tara teaches you her easy method to create her adorable Tinker Tote bag:

And a sweet clutch!

Aren't they cute?????  Perfect for the summer!  All you have to do is

 CLICK THIS LINK TO ENTER

If you have a Craftsy account already, just use your login information.  If not, signing up for Craftsy is free! Only one entry per person and you have until Thursday, July 4th to enter!

Picnic Time!

I recently realized our family needed to keep a quilt in the car--you know, for emergency picnics and playground adventures!  I love simple patchwork so I cut up my fat quarter bundle of Anna Maria Horner linens (from Amanda) and whipped this up!  For those eagle-eyed fabric junkies, yes, I left out one of the feather prints (the purple/maroon one) because it just wasn't my fav.

I decided to try hand-tying a quilt for the first time!  I have to say, it won't be the last!  Super simple and quick!  I used pearl cotton and tied the center of every square and at each 4-square intersection (so roughly, every 4").  To see a how to on hand-tying, check out this VIDEO by Mary Fons.

My squares were cut at 9" so they finish at 8.5".  The quilt is about 60"x68"  I really love the texture and durability of the linen.  It's perfect for something that will be used outdoors with boys tromping all over it!  

For the back I had the perfect amount of this adorable Lucie Summers Summerville letter fabric!  I think  it's a nice contrast the craziness that's on the front!  I also used some premade Anna Maria Horner binding I've had for a while.  I can't wait to get this washed and in the car.....I feel a picnic coming on!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Earlier this month I flew out to Denver for Babylock to film a segment for QuiltMaker magazine!  They are doing a video series that coincides with the release of a new 100 Quilt Block magazine issue!  I was super excited (and honored!) to be included!  Lets just say that sewing at home and sewing under studio lights while the sound guy yells, "Ready? Big smiles! Go!" is a big change.  I felt like a huge dork and kept tripping over what to say. *face palm*  I wasn't nervous, there were just a lot of things I had to remember:  look here, keep your mic clear, don't move this, be sure the camera can see the fabric here, etc.   Not to mention I felt like my hair and make up were melting under those lights! Anywho!  I'll keep you guys posted on when my segment goes up--no laughing at me!

We finished shooting in time for McKenzie (my favorite Babylock gal!) and I to hit up Fancy Tiger Crafts in downtown Denver!

They had lots of awesome fabric!

I wanted to hug these shelves!

Even their sign was adorable!

Mmmm, Liberty!

I don't knit, but this wall was pretty too!

In quilting news, I whipped up with voile quilt top the other day.  I've been hoarding my collection of Anna Maria Horner voile for a while and I just decided to keep it easy and make a patchwork top.  I realized later that this is my THIRD 10" patchwork AMH quilt top! LOL!  I guess I have an addiction--Katie B. says it's an addiction to awesome so I'm sticking with that theory!

Triangles and Squares Make Great Gifts!

I finished my triangle quilt!  I forgot to get real pictures before I sent it off though!  Doh!  This is a gift for a good friend (I can't say who until she receives it!)  I used an equilateral triangle ruler with a base of 6.5" unfinished to make the triangles.  I quilted it with concentric circles using my walking foot and a bar guide.  It stinks the first 2 or 3 circles when you're turning the whole quilt under your machine, but after that it gets really easy!  For the backing I used an IKEA fabric that I adore!  It's a bit wider than quilting cotton so I didn't have to piece the back!  The quilt finished 50-something" by 60-something".  I didn't take a real measurement, sorry!

I don't have a great method for sewing triangles together.  I'm more of the "better done than perfect" philosophy so sometimes the points look great and other times.....not so much.  I don't really stress about perfection in my piecing--this is a hobby; it's supposed to be fun people!  If I really want something perfect, I paper piece it!

I started watching Vampire Diaries on Netflix (OMG! so many cuties in that show!) and decided to randomly fussy cut some squares to pass the time while I drooled over the actors.  Of course it ended up a rainbow!

I decided to make this into a pillow for my friend, Jessica, who recently moved to Portland.  It seemed just her style and every new house needs some Heather Ross rainbow-goodness!

Winner, Swaps, and a Gift

The winner of the Olfa rotary cutter is Cheryl of Ladybug Lane!  Congrats!

This was the swap package I sent to Kelly L. for PTS 10.  She seemed pretty happy and posted lots of pics (which is always the best form of thank you in my opinion!)

I received this AWESOME package from Melissa!!!!  I was thrilled, over-the-moon, so in love with everything!  You can see a more up close picture of her beautiful hand quilting HERE.

Look at the adorable storage hoop!!!!

I made this quick baby quilt last week when I was procrastinating cleaning my house.  :)  ha ha!  It's just (16) 10" squares that I cut out a 3" strip, assembled back together, then trimmed. Easy peasy!

I also took this stack of pretties and made.....

This quilt!  I love the triangles, but, to be honest, I really stink at getting the points to look pretty and meet up.  Oh well!  There is always room for improvement!  Hopefully I'll get better the next time!  

Klogs Shoe Review

I was recently asked by Madeline of OnlineShoes.com if I would be interested in reviewing some Klogs shoes.  At first I thought, well, I do LOVE shoes, but Klogs?  Not my style.  I automatically think of shoes doctors and nurses wear.  I decided to check out the links she sent me to Klogs Frankie sandal just to see, and, surprise, surprise, I liked them!  I agreed to give them a try!

 I put them on as soon as I received them and noticed immediately, these were no ordinary wedges.  I guess all that research into comfortable shoes paid off! These feel like you're wearing flats!  I swear!   I can even chase after my two boys while wearing them--if that's not an endorsement, I don't know what more I can say!

My mother in law was visiting when I received the shoes and, because she wears the same size, I had her try them on and tell me what she thinks.  Lets just say it's lucky I got them back for a photo shoot! She tried to steal my freaking shoes! She was dubious because she only wears flats, low heels, and biker boots, but she thought these were super comfy and cute!   They are soft and padded and the straps are super soft leather so there is nothing biting into your feet or squishing your toes.

 I'm loving these wedges with my favorite (read: elastic waist) skirt this summer!  You can find a whole selection of Women's Klogs and Women's Sandals at OnlineShoes.com.  It was a new-to-me site and I love their focus on comfort AND style.