Sunday, December 29, 2013

Sunday Stash #211 Up, Up and Away by Heather Moore

Up, Up and Away by Heather Moore - Cloud9 Fabrics

Cloud9 Fabrics have once again collaborated with South African surface and product designer Heather Moore (whose works are known under the brand name Skinny laMinx) to release another great collection of fabrics ~ Up, Up and Away.
Up, Up and Away - Up in the Air in Dark Red, Blue Moon and Pollen
Cloud9 Fabrics produce only 100% certified organic cotton fabrics ~ bringing you affordable, eco-friendly fabric, and contemporary designs. The Up, Up and Away collection consists of 10 designs printed on quilting cotton weight fabric, although if that is not your thing they are suitable for a range of sewing projects including clothing and accessories.
Up, Up and Away - Free as a Bird in Blue Moon, Pollen and Dark Red
Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

Disclosure:  This Up, Up and Away bundle of fabric was sent to me courtesy of Cloud 9 Fabrics without obligation - the words, photos and opinions however are all mine.  No persuasion needed.

Pin It!

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Merry Christmas!


I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Enjoy your holidays with family and friends 
and perhaps squeeze in a little time for fabric play and sewing.


I am spreading a little Christmas and holiday cheer ~ all Red Pepper Quilts Patterns in my Craftsy Store are reduced to $US6.00 for two days only.  No coupon required.  Patterns are available for immediate download. Sale has ended.



The following three Red Pepper Quilts Patterns are FREE ~

Kaleidoscope Block, Economy Block, and Hummingbird Block

Happy Holidays!  Stay safe.

Rita

RELEVANT LINKS:
Red Pepper Quilts Craftsy Store

Details and Tutorials for Free Patterns
Pin It!

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sunday Stash #210 - April Showers by Bonnie and Camille

April Showers by Bonnie and Camille for Moda Fabrics
April Showers is the - soon to be released - new collection by the dynamic Bonnie and Camille team. This is such a fun collection and I was really excited to get my hands on a bundle of fat quarters courtesy of my fabric scouts at Houston Quilt Market in November (I am grateful and very lucky indeed!).  


I love a Spring theme and color palette ~ the quirky green fabrics are so refreshing!  The delightful umbrella prints are already a stash favorite and are clever focus fabrics for this Spring collection. 
And as we've come to expect from Bonnie and Camille there are a fine selection of stash basics to complete the range including diagonal stripes (which are great for candy striped quilt binding) and dots in a range of colors.

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita


Pin It!

Friday, December 20, 2013

Pink Castle Fabrics - Kawaii Fabric Club and Giveaway!

A sponsored giveaway.
Today I have the great pleasure of introducing you to the



Pink Castle Fabrics do fabric clubs so well and the Kawaii Fabric Club starting in January 2014 is set to be another winner.  Kawaii fabrics are your cute Japanese fabrics which are often hard to find or difficult to purchase from just one source. 


The Kawaii Fabric Club is a great way to build your stash ~ each month eight different Kawaii fabrics will be sent to club members. The materials may vary (for example, cotton or cotton/linen blend fabrics in a range of weights) but all will be cute Japanese prints. You get to choose if you prefer fat eighths or fat quarters - and you may cancel your membership at any time.

Kawaii Fabric Club - sign up here (includes all the answers to frequently asked questions).

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:
-------------------------
Today Brenda from Pink Castle Fabrics is giving one lucky RPQ reader the chance to sample the Kawaii Fabric Club by receiving the January instalment of fabrics, and yes they're so very cute that I couldn't resist cutting into the complimentary Kawaii bundle that Brenda kindly sent me:

To be in the draw to win a fat eighth bundle of Kawai fabrics as pictured please leave a comment on this blog post. Only one comment per person/per email address - email me if you are not able to leave a comment (redpepperquilts at gmail dot com) and I will leave a comment on your behalf. The draw will take place at 10am on Sunday 22 December 2013 (Australia - EDT).

The winner will be announced by edit to this blog post and will also be contacted by email.

Good luck everyone and thank you for supporting my sponsors!

Rita
Thank you for all of your entries!
ENTRY HAS NOW CLOSED and the winning entry is:
Congratulations Elsa!  Elsa has been contacted by email.

RELEVANT LINKS:

Pin It!
Follow on Bloglovin

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Liberty Tana Lawn Oven Mitts and Potholders

A Handmade Christmas

This sunny bundle of Liberty Tana Lawn (from Westwood Acres) arrived at my house late last week. It is such a pretty rainbow of fabric and after one of THOSE days of sewing - where nothing goes to plan and all of Monday's efforts ended up in the bin - I turned to my Liberty Stash and started on some Christmas sewing projects.  
Two sets of Oven Mitts and Potholders.

Some of the details:
  • I have used the oven mitt template from the book Quilts by Denyse Schmidt.
  • Simple patchwork (1.5 inches finished) squares for the outside of the mitts and potholders. 
  • Fabrics used are Liberty Tana Lawn and Essex Yarn Dyed Linen in Flax
  • Lined with a layer of 100% cotton batting as well as a layer of Insul Brite
  • Bias binding for the oven mitts and potholders.

They are almost too pretty to use! I am however a very practical person and wouldn't hesitate using these, throwing them in the washing machine and pegging them on the line. These oven mitts and potholders have been made to serve.

It feels good to make and gift handmade this Christmas and there is nothing like leaving it till the last week or so is there? I think I work better under pressure, well that's my excuse anyway. Are you busy making last minute Christmas gifts?

Rita

Pin It!

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Sunday Stash #209 True Colors by Heather Bailey

True Colors by Heather Bailey
More from the True Colors range!  True Colors is a designer driven fabric program by FreeSpirit Fabric featuring modern basic prints from FreeSpirit designers - Anna Maria Horner, Joel Dewberry, Jenean Morrison, and Heather Bailey - each contributing five prints in four distinctive colorways.

True Colors - Pop Blossom by Heather Bailey

This range of fabrics is True Colors by Heather Bailey and it is my second True Colors collection to be stashed (see True Colors by Joel Dewberry here).  If I am to play fabric favorites then this range may just be the one.  I am really drawn to the soft colors (Eek, even the purples!), the relatively smaller scale and simplicity of the designs.

True Colors - Chevron and New Wave by Heather Bailey

TRUE COLORS by Heather Bailey is now available from:
Stash Modern Fabric (Etsy)
Pink Castle Fabrics
The Fat Quarter Shop
True Colors - Mod Dot by Heather Bailey
I do also like these perfectly arranged dots - graphic, simple, structured and great colors.  Perfect stash basics.

Enjoy Sunday!
Rita

Pin It!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Hawthorne Hues and a Lone Star Quilt

Hawthorne Hues by Hawthorne Threads
A new line of solids! Presenting Hawthorne Threads own line of solid fabrics ~ Hawthorne Hues ~ a collection that will compliment the modern quilter's stash, one that feels young, fresh, and exciting.


There are 24 glorious and saturated colors to fit the mood of virtually any project and the collection is available in yardage and Fat Quarter Bundles.  Swatch Rings are also available and no doubt very helpful to have on hand when choosing colors.

Hawthorne Hues - from top to bottom:
Plum, Avocado, Goldenrod, Red, Turquoise, Silver, and Black.
I was very excited to receive a complimentary fat quarter bundle of the whole collection.  The bundle looked like a rainbow of pretties and were smooth and soft to touch, but I really wanted to see for myself what the fabrics were like to work with.  And so, I chose seven colors (pictured above), got out my rotary cutter and made my first (half) Lone Star Quilt ~ 


Ta dah!  The Lone Star was strip pieced in small sets - from fat quarters - and the fabric behaved beautifully. Piecing the strip pieces together was a little trickier and it was a bonding experience for my seam ripper and I. Once I got the general idea of how to match the seams it was a breeze, alas my Lone Star was just about done. The fabric tolerated my sewing, seam ripping and re-sewing very very well!


I have quilted this quilt with an overall grid - again - creating a modern and contemporary look for this very traditional quilt design.


For the back of the quilt I have used a popular design - Cardinal Stagger - from the recently released Charley Harper collection. Every quilt needs a great quilt back ...


This quilt is for sale and is listed in my Etsy Store.

You will find the listing here:  Modern Baby Quilt.


Relevant Links:

With thanks to Charlie and Lindsay from Hawthorne Threads for the bundle of Hues.

Perhaps a bigger Lone Star Quilt is in my future. Thank you for stopping by!
Rita

Pin It!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Strips and Bricks Quilt III

A finished quilt.

Oh this quilt ... I love the soft colors and the contrast of the larger scale fabrics. Whilst the fabric play rates highly as my favorite part of the making of the quilt, the quilting comes a close second. The quilting has added just the right amount of interest and texture.


And there was quite a lot of quilting with sets of 8 lines quilted 1/2 inch apart intersection to create a grid at regular intervals. Some of the lines were ditch stitched, and the remaining lines were quilted with the use of a quilting guide which is definitely quicker than having to mark lines on the quilt.  I try to avoid marking the quilt whenever possible.


For the back of the quilt I have used a modern bird print from the Waterfront Park collection by Violet Craft (Flight in White).


The binding fabric ~ Art Gallery Fabrics - Squared Elements is one of those fabric designs that I seem to be turning to often, especially for binding a quilt. Several new colors have recently been added to the already extensive Squared Elements range which means that there is always just the right color for your quilt! The colorway pictured here is Squared Elements - Honeycomb.


This quilt is for sale and is listed in my Etsy Store.

You will find the listing here:  Modern Patchwork Quilt.


RELEVANT LINKS:
Red Pepper Quilts Etsy Store
Strips and Bricks Quilt - Work In Progress
Strips and Bricks Quilt I June 2009
Strips and Bricks Quilt II July 2010
It is just two weeks till Christmas and I am feeling a little panicky. I am starting my handmade Christmas gifts today!  Today. Sew sew sew ...

Thank you for stopping by,
Rita

Follow on Bloglovin
Pin It!