Curious Dream Blog Hop {and Giveaway!}

I'm going to do my best not to make this post too sappy, so forgive me in advance if I fail.  I found out around a year ago that my friend Angela was designing a fabric line.  I was secretly thrilled I was one of the few people who got to peek in on her process:  agonizing on which prints were best, indecision on exactly what shade of blue was just the right one,  etc.  I was {almost} as excited as she was when Windham Fabrics picked up her line, Curious Dream!  I mean, come on! This is the same fabric company that has artists like Heather Ross and Lotta Jansdotter!  It is unbelievably rewarding to witness a friend's dream come true.  I am so proud of her and all the hard work that went into this collection, inspired by Alice in Wonderland.  I HIGHLY recommend browsing her stunning look book for this collection.  It is jaw dropping! 

So what happens when one of your good friends designs a fabric collection?  You get mail like this!!!!  Then you realize you actually have to open the bundle and cut the pretty, pretty fabric......  drat!  I'm not going to lie, the timeline for the blog hop wasn't great for me.  I had my own deadline for 9 (yes, NINE) quilts to complete, but I was not going to miss out on a chance to create something with this beautiful collection and SHOUT about how stinkin' happy I am for Angela!!!  She always teases me about how fast I am so I needed to live up to the hype!  I created 3 different projects with Curious Dream!

First up is a simple patchwork pouch.  I love making little pouches like this!  You don't need much fabric and it's a fun way to showcase the entire collection, especially that little rabbit who is a personal favorite of mine.

Hi sweet rabbit!!!

Next is a Jane Market bag.  This is a classic grocery tote shape and always a huge hit as a gift around the holidays. 

I am OBSESSED with the Alice patchwork print!  Hello bags and backing!!!  

I used it here as the middle accent pocket and used another Windham collection, Twilight, for the navy print in the body of the bag. 

For the lining I used two of the lock/heart lock prints.

For the straps I used one of the "key" prints.  Love the lock and key theme!!!

 Last up is a mini quilt.  I thought what could be more "Alice" than a wonky 9 patch! 

 This being the real world, I will admit I messed up my 9 patch shuffle in my excitement to finish, but I love the results all the same!

Now, for the fun part!!! I'm giving away a FAT QUARTER BUNDLE of Curious Dream!!!!  All you have to do is leave a comment.  Maybe tell Angela how awesome her fabric is.  Just a suggestion! :)  If you want to enter another giveaway, hop on over to my IG account @kelbysews to enter for a chance to win one of the items I made with Curious Dream! 

Thank so much for joining me on the blog hop!  Be sure to catch all the stops for more fun Curious Dream projects and more giveaways!  

Curious Dream Blog Hop Stops 

Monday, December 12th – Windham Fabrics: https://windhamfabrics.wordpress.com/

Tuesday , December 13^th – Kelly Bowser –Kelly Sews  http://www.kelbysews.com/

Wednesday, December 14^th – Brooke Sellmann- Silly Mama Quilts http://www.sillymamaquilts.com/

Thursday, December 15^th - Wendy Sheppard -Ivory Spring  https://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/

Friday, December 16^th – Becca Bryan – Bryan House Quilts  http://bryanhousequilts.com/

Saturday, December 17^th –  Chris Dodsley- Made by ChrissieD  http://madebychrissied.blogspot.com/

Sunday December 18^th – Aurifil - https://auribuzz.wordpress.com/

Monday, December 19^th-  Jennie-  Clover & Violet http://www.cloverandviolet.com/

Tuesday, December 20^th – Stephanie Kendron – Modern Sewciety  http://www.modernsewciety.com/

Wednesday, December 21^st – Joanne from  The Fat Quarter Gypsy – http://www.thefatquartergypsy.com

Monday, December 22nd – Heidi Staples – Fabric Mutt  http://fabricmutt.blogspot.com/

Friday, December 23rd – Round up post at Windham Fabrics https://windhamfabrics.wordpress.com

Winners announced Friday, December 23rd!



LinkConnector Validation

Four Corners Fabric Tour

A little over 2 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting the sweet ladies (Liz and Elizabeth) from Simple Simon and Co. for the first time.  If you've ever met them in person you'll understand when I say there was laughter AND tears (the joyful kind).  Anywho! When they asked me to be apart of their blog hop celebrating their new fabric line, Four Corners, from Riley Blake, I happily agreed! 

When I got the fabric I squealed a bit--I mean, come on! Bright, graphic prints plus some metallic thrown in?  YUM! I decided to see where my sewing mojo took me and just began slicing and dicing! I thought I was making a mini quilt, but I ended up with a piece of fabric the perfect size for my Hour Basket!  Heads up, Pellon is coming out with a new fusible foam  soon called FF78F1 Flex Foam (which I used for this basket).  It ROCKS! 

The Hour Basket didn't use up much fabric from the fat quarter bundle I had so I decided to add a Lined Drawstring bag!  This orange-red cross print on light grey is my absolute FAVORITE from the line! 

I still had fabric left so I made a little zippered pouch with a curved bottom (just use a bowl to cut the corners into a round shape).  Loving the peek of metallic in the lining on this one!

Then, I decided I needed to use one of the border/panel prints to make something and wound up with a 30 minute pouch!  Seriously, the cross ended up perfectly centered without even trying! It was fate! 

This just goes to show you how far you can stretch a few fat quarters! I have an entire basket full of beautiful goodies plus fabric to spare!  Congrats on the great fabric line ladies!  Be sure to head over to Simple Simon Co for a chance to win some of this beautiful new fabric for yourself!

Stash Fabrics Kona Blog Hop and Fleur Pattern!

I was so excited when Beth of Stash Fabrics asked me to participate in her Kona blog hop (read to the end for a coupon code and information on my giveaway)!  She asked me to choose my favorite 12-15 Kona colors for my very own bundle......I sorta chose 21 colors instead!  Ooops!  Sweet lady that she is, Beth went along with my pull!  Did you know she carries ALL KONA COLORS?!?!?!?  Yeah, me either!  Anywho!  I decided to use my (totally awesome) bundle to create a new pattern for Hearts and Bees called Fleur!

I am so in love with this quilt!!!!  I dragged it all over town trying to find the best shot!  People must have thought I was nuts!  This one was taken at the Civil War Battlegrounds in Franklin TN!  I stole a tourist to help hold the quilt! 

I pulled over on the side of the road to use these ratty old stairs that lead to some utility building.  I'm so classy! ha! ha! ha! You can really see the stellar quilting Crinkle Love did for us here!  

I absconded a jogger along the Harpeth River for this one!  Gotta love the South--you can ask perfect strangers to do weird things and they're totally agreeable!  

Like most of our patterns, there are two versions!  This is Ali's interpretation of Fleur!  I love it in Bonnie and Camille fabrics, but......

I am IN LOVE with this mocked up version she made with Denyse Schmidt's Hope Valley!  Oh!  It also comes with the paper pieced mini versions of both patterns!  Yeah, we're cool like that! 

So, don't forget to check out the other killer bundles along the blog hop and get 10% off your Stash Fabrics purchase with the code WOW303 through September 6th.  You know you want my awesome bundle!  Also, there is a great new Kona Club Stash Fabrics is starting soon to help build your stash!  If you sign up before September 1st you get a free color card!

July 17 – Darcy @ Modern Cozy
July 23 – Jacey  @ Jacey Craft

July 30 - Kelly @ Kelby Sews
August 3 – Nancy @ Owen’s Olivia
August 6 – Jodi @ Tales of Cloth
August 10 – Megan @ City Stitches
August 12 – Rita @ Red Pepper Quilts
August 17 – Elizabeth @ Andpins Handmade
August 19 – Tara @ Rad and Happy
August 21 – Sharon @ Color Girl Quilts
August 24 – Allison @ Allison Sews
August 27 – Kristi @ Schnitzel and Boo

August 31 - Jessee @ Art School Dropout

******GIVEAWAY!******  

I will be hosting a giveaway on my Instagram account for 2 mini charm packs of my Stash Fabrics Kona bundle and a free copy of Fleur!  Just find me @kelbysews on Instagram to enter (the post will go up around noon CST on 7/30)

Quiltmaker Magazine Giveaway!

I'm so happy Babylock and Quiltmaker asked me to be a part of the latest issue of Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks magazine!!!  In addition to my own little giveaway here, Quiltmaker is having a fantastic blog hop and giveaway to celebrate so be sure to check out all the fabulous designers and great prizes from each of the 60 designers blogs plus some sponsor blogs all week long, with two giant prize package giveaway on Friday! 

This is my block, Squared!!!  Isn't it cute????  I love rainbows and squares so I put my two favorite things together to come up with this!  Oh, and if you really want to see something embarrassing  check out my video for Quiltmaker HERE. 

 For a chance to win a free copy of the latest 100 Blocks magazine just leave me a little comment here!  Maybe tell me your favorite pattern, favorite workout song, or something to make me laugh.  :)  It's up to you!  I'll leave comments open until 8am CST on Friday, November 15 then randomly select a winner.

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!

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!  

Olfa Splash Giveaway

A few weeks ago Olfa sweetly sent me one of their new Splash 45mm rotary cutters to try out!  Now, to be honest, I'm such a girl that the first thing I did when I saw it was squeal, "OH! It's aqua!"  Who says all your notions/tools have to be drab colors???  Plus, it makes it much easier to find in my mess of a sewing room. :)  It works great and is easy to hold, like all Olfa cutters, but the absolute best part is how fast you can change the blade!  You pull down a button on the back and BAM! The blade falls off! Have I mentioned it's AQUA???? So adorable!  Yes, I'm a sucker for all things pretty.

Want to know something else?  Olfa sent me a second Splash cutter to give away!  All you have to do to enter is comment on this blog post!  Maybe tell me your favorite summer song, cocktail, or recipe.  I'll have Mr. Random Number Generator choose a winner on June 5th!

My Precious July Giveaway!

Can you believe it's that time again????  I swear these months are going by so stinkin' fast!!!!  Ok, I'll make this short and sweet.  You can read the story/rules behind this quilt-a-long HERE.  If you've made something with your Precious fabric this month, please link up at the end of this post so we can see your pretty work!  If you link up you can win one of five prizes this month!

1.  A copy of Zakka Style by Rashida Coleman-Hale donated by little old me!  This book has tons of cute little projects!  I'm partial to the bag of cookies.  I wonder why? :)

2.  The Mazed pattern by Kristy Daum, 2 yards Kona Coal, and a mini charm pack (2.5" squares) of Heather Ross prints!  This is donated by my sweet friend, Christine who is a Heather Ross addict!  She will be including prints from Mendocino, Spoonflower, West Hill, Munki Munki, and Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries!  

She even went the extra mile and fussy cutting those bad boys!  This is my dream prize, truly.  I love using little bits of Heather Ross!  Oh, have I mentioned I finished all my blocks for My Precious Quilt?  Check it out!

3.  Also from Christine, "Leon" the accordion playing gnome pincushion with Heather Ross mushroom fabric, a 3 piece set of her gnome pins (she makes them!!!!), and a FQ of Heather Ross blue gnome fabric from Lightning Bugs and Other Mysteries!!! Holy wow!

4.  Christine is donating one more awesome prize!  A Heather Ross goldfish pincushion plus a set of 3 goldfish pins, a handstamped goldfish notecard set, and some Heather Ross scraps (to include some of both goldfish prints)!!!

  

5.  Rachel and Jill from Tab-Slot are graciously donating 1/2 yard of Gold Seed from the original Flea Market Fancy printing and a set of Portland Peel templates from their shop!  Jill even makes custom templates!  These acrylic templates are WAY easier to work with than using flimsy template plastic, paper, or tracing!  Go stock up!

Link up here!  Let's see those Precious Projects!!!  You have until July 20th at 11pm Central time to post your picture!