I think my favorite part of hosting giveaways is reading all of your thoughtful answers to the questions I pose. There are so many wonderful things that you love about your local quilt shop (LQS), or that you look for in a quilt shop. The top characteristics sought after in a LQS seemed to be:
-friendly and helpful staff who are willing to share ideas and tips
-good selection of fabric that fits your style
-friendly atmosphere
-sales section
and for online shops, add:
-a great selection of fabric
-reasonable and quick shipping
-great customer service and response
I completely agree, and am SO happy that all of these characteristics are found in Fiddlehead Artisan Supply, my most local quilt shop. What keeps me coming back again and again is the excitement the staff shares about my current projects, and how helpful they are when I’m trying to work through design conundrums. Not to mention the gorgeous aesthetic and friendly, open space filled to the brim with potential creations.
This bundle will be going to commenter number 70, as chosen by mr. random.
Congratulations to Mary (@true2beeme)!! Check your email and let me know your address so that I can get this low volume bundle into your creative hands. I can’t wait to see what you create!
For those of you who didn’t win, you can still purchase this bundle from Fiddlehead, HERE, while they last. Use the code nightquilter15% to take 15% off your entire order through June 21st!
I’m thrilled to introduce you to my very first sponsor, my local quilt shop located in Belfast, Maine–Fiddlehead Artisan Supply. Fiddlehead Artisan Supply is a family-owned sewing, quilting, and craft-supply shop in beautiful midcoast Maine. In addition to a great selection of modern quilting cottons, patterns, thread, and notions, Fiddlehead offers a wide range of other craft supplies all within one of the most aesthetically pleasing shops I’ve visited. It’s a haven for makers. Just for my readers, Fiddlehead is offering 15% off anything in their online shop with the code nightquilter15%.
To kick-off our partnership, Abby at Fiddlehead invited me to curate a bundle of low volume fabrics, AND is offering a bundle as a giveaway to one of my readers. I love low volume fabrics, since they are so versatile in quilting and just about anything. There’s nothing like a scrappy low volume background to help colors pop.
This bundle of eight (8) fat quarters includes (clockwise from top):
– XOXO Cotton + Steel basics by Rashida Coleman Hale
– Dotti’s Cousin in Natural, Mochi by Rashida Coleman Hale for Cotton + Steel
– Prisma in Honeycomb, Minimalista by Art Gallery Fabrics
– Hello Bear by Bonnie Christine for Art Gallery Fabrics
– Cotton + Steel basics by Alexia Marcelle Abegg
– Passport Parchment Paris Map by 3 Sisters for Moda
– Music in Neutral by Tim Holtz Eclectic Elements
– Passport Charcoal Etchings by 3 Sisters for Moda
Just for fun, and since I have a baby shower to attend this weekend, I decided to whip up a quick project using this bundle. I made a one hour basket (free pattern by Kelby Sews) using the fabrics from this bundle and some scraps of Alison Glass’s Sun Prints Grove.
Side 1Side 2I love these low volumes!
The recipient of this basket hasn’t found out the gender of her baby, so I thought the sleek low volumes and pops of color were the perfect combination.
The basket is the perfect size to hold diapers and wipes, or just about any other newborn essentials.
To enter the giveaway today, simply share what you love about your local quilt shop. If you don’t have a local quilt shop that fits your style, tell me what you look for in a fabric shop. Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win. If you’re a follower of Night Quilter, leave a second comment telling me how you follow for a second entry. Like Fiddlehead Artisan Supply on Facebook or subscribe to their newsletter and tell me how you followed them for a third entry.
This giveaway is open to US and international participants. The giveaway will be open until 8pm Wednesday 5/27 when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. Good luck!Note: This giveaway is now closed! Congratulations to Mary!
If you just can’t wait to get your hands on this low volume bundle, it can be purchased HERE. And, if you’re like me and like to support family run small businesses, feel free to take a virtual vacation to midcoast Maine and visit Fiddlehead Artisan Supply’s online shop: Fiddlehead is offering 15% off for all of my readers through June 21st–use code nightquilter15%. Of course a vacation in person is preferred–if you do that, let me know and I’ll meet you for coffee and fabric shopping in Belfast!
I’m linking up with Crazy Mom Quilts Finish it up Friday, since I’ve got this adorable one hour basket finish ready for the baby shower this weekend. Many thanks to Fiddlehead Artisan Supply!
Inspiration is everywhere. It is clearly decided that we creative folks pull our inspiration from just about anywhere.
There were 478 comments on my Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day post, and I truly wanted to respond to them all. I asked you to share what inspires you to create, and the answers were inspiring in and of themselves! Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration. Many of the inspiration sources resonated deeply with me, since I, too, seem to find inspiration just about anywhere. I’ve decided to share some of the top sources of inspiration, as shared by you, my readers.
But first, a winner! Mr. Random chose comment 362 as the winner of the fabric bundle and two patterns of choice from Quilting Jetgirl. Congratulations Amanda! Please check your email and get back to me with your mailing address and patterns of choice!
Here are some of the top sources of inspiration pulled from your comments:
Blogs, Instagram, Pinterest, and other online inspiration
Many of you find inspiration in the beautiful things that others have made. Our extensive online community of creative souls makes it possible for us to draw inspiration from such a wide world of creativity!
Color and Texture
Color and texture is literally EVERYwhere, and you creative folks can see it! Many of you said that color, either in nature or in general, and texture were top sources of inspiration for you.
A palette created for my Color Inspiration {22} post. Color in nature!
Patterns in Life
Whether a gorgeous miracle found in nature, or a man made structure, patterns in life inspire many of you to create. Some of the top sources are:
Nature
Geometry
Tiles
Architecture
Art
People
People in our lives inspire much creativity. Some create for charity, so the knowledge that someone in need will be gifted a quilt filled with love drives the sewist’s inspiration. Some create for their family and friends. Children, especially, seem to be a big source of inspiration. Sometimes, it’s the people in our lives who have passed, or the one who taught us how to quilt who inspires us most.
Learning New Techniques
Some of you are inspired by the desire to learn new techniques, or experiment with different mediums.
Peace & Quiet
The ability to escape to a place of silence and peace is inspiration for some. I can certainly relate to this as a mom of two-soon-to-be-three rambunctious and spirited children. Life is busy, loud, and often chaotic. Moments of silence and peace are inspiring indeed!
The amazing quilters of the past, and the creativity of the ones who first began to sew scraps of fabric together to create quilts are inspiration.
Materials
The materials themselves are a source of inspiration for many. “A lovely hand-dyed yarn or fetching pattern on fabric are my starting points and then I go from there to find a pattern to use them with.” shared Laura aka aprilshowers.
The NEED to Create
This is my favorite, and also a strong source of inspiration for you creative folks. Many of you mentioned that the root of your inspiration is simply a need to create. Afton from Quilting Mod nailed it with her comment:
I’ve discussed this feeling before, and agree that for me, while inspiration truly comes from everywhere–family, friends, nature, texture, color, blog and IG posts, people who need or request quilts, architecture, pattern, fabulous fabrics and threads–my sewing is driven by an innate desire to create.
Thank you for sharing your sources of inspiration, and most of all, thank you for creating. Each of you makes the world a bit more beautiful with every stitch!
It’s here: the most epic sewing-blog giveaway day in the entire blogosphere. This is my first year participating, and I’m excited to have a great bundle to give away today! Welcome to readers new and old, and to those of you visiting for the first time, I encourage you to have a look around. Here I share my creative and design process, project progress, completed creations, tutorials, color inspiration, and more, chock full of colorful photographs. If you like what you see, you can follow my blog via email or bloglovin (look –>) or follow me on Instagram or Twitter, or can check out my paper piecing patterns on Craftsy.
Now, let’s cut to the chase! Here’s what you could win today:
Fabric Bundle
I personally selected this bundle of fabric from one of my favorite local quilt shops, Fiddlehead Artisan Supply in Belfast, Maine. The bundle includes a half yard of Cotton + Steel Fern book in Navy, from Mesa by Alexia Abegg as the inspiration piece, and fat quarters of:
XOXO in Toy Boat by Rashida Coleman Hale, Cotton + Steel Basics
XOXO in Dandilion by Rashida Coleman Hale, Cotton + Steel Basics
Plot Circles in Carrot from Doe by Carolyn Friedlander (Robert Kaufman Fabrics), and
Spot On Pearl Metallic Small Dot in Copen (Robert Kaufman Fabrics)
Choice of Two (2) Quilt Patterns from
Yvonne of Quilting Jetgirl was generous enough to offer winner’s choice of any two (2) of her quilt patterns! You can check out her available patterns in her Craftsy shop HERE. I know which two I would choose–have you seen Tesselated Leaves or Triangle Transparency!?, but which two would you choose? Here is a peek at just a few of her patterns:
On this blog, I strive to share the course inspiration takes in my sewing and creating: from original spark to completed project. To enter the giveaway today, I’d love to hear what inspires you to create. Leave a comment and make sure I’m able to get ahold of you if you win. If you’re a follower, leave a second comment telling me how you follow for a second entry.
This giveaway is open to US and international participants. The giveaway will be open until 8pm EST Sunday 5/10 when I’ll select the winner randomly with random.org. I’ll announce and email the winner on Monday 5/11. Good luck!NOTE: The giveaway is now closed. A winner will be announced tomorrow!
P.S. I always try to respond to comments, but may not be able to on the giveaway posts due to the high number of comments. Please know I appreciate your visit and hope you follow or come back again!
Wow!! I was floored by the response to my Doe & Aurifil giveaway last week in conjunction with the Fat Quarter Shop Layers of Charm quilt blog hop. 354 comments! Thank you all so very much for your kind comments and new follows. I apologize for not being able to reply to everyone. I appreciate every single comment! For those of you who said you wanted to make the same quilt I made–if you do make it, I would LOVE to see it, so please tag me @nightquilter! Now, without further ado, it’s time to announce the winner!
Mr. Random Number Generator chose lucky 219:
I counted through all of the comments (don’t worry–I counted twice. Remember: measure twice, cut once. Same rule applies for finding giveaway winners.) and Kriss is our lucky winner!
Kriss, I’ve sent you an email requesting your mailing address, so once I hear back from you and your winnings are received, you’ll be well on your way to making your own Layers of Charm quilt!
When Fat Quarter Shop contacted me about quilting along with their newest shortcut quilt pattern, I immediately decided I wanted to make the quilt out of Carolyn Friedlander‘s newest fabric line Doe. Thus the seed was planted that grew into the Doe Layers of Charm Quilt.
Remember this sneak peek?
Well, here it is!
Layers of Charm
Layers of Charm is Fat Quarter Shop’s newest Short Cut Quilt pattern, complete with a free downloadable pdf and video. The pattern uses a layer cake and charm square pack, so I used a Doe layer cake (with two cameos by Botanics) and the coordinating Kona cotton solids charm pack. When I started this quilt, Doe wasn’t yet available in the US so Robert Kaufman Fabrics was kind enough to send me what I needed in advance (Thank you!). The part of the process that took the longest was deciding on a layout that I liked. I ultimately decided on one that I feel embodies the Doe fabric line well, with the focus on low volumes and amazing texture, with just a pop of color. Piecing the 57 1/2″ x 57 1/2″ lap sized top took me only 6 hours (andI’m a meticulous, seam-ripping-until-perfect kind of sewist).
For the back, I chose to sew one row from Carolyn’s Catenary pattern on an Architextures Ledger backing. The Catenary was my first time attempting needle-turn applique, and even with a time crunch, I truly savored each stitch! All three of Carolyn’s fabric lines are represented in this quilt, and I absolutely love it.
I decided to use a combination of straight-line quilting and free motion quilting, all of which I did on my domestic Bernina sewing machine.
Two quilting thread colors converge.
When inquiring about a coordinating Doe Aurifil thread set, Alex Veronelli from Aurifil said that there was not yet such a set, but offered to send me coordinating threads of my choice (Thank you, Alex & Aurifil!). I chose:
2783 – medium delft blue
1320 – medium teal
2850 – medium juniper
1154 – dusty orange
5022 – mustard
2021 – white
2026 – chalk
2310 – light beige
2600 – dove
1246 – grey
Look at them shine (and comment below for a chance to win small spools of all these colors)!
My chosen quilting pattern left a TON of thread ends to bury (3 hours worth!) but I’m really happy with the outcome. Changing threads to coordinate with each section of the quilt really helps emphasize the varied values and textures in Carolyn’s Doe line. The Layers of Charm pattern is a great pattern that lets the fabric do the talking.
My family helped me photograph the completed quilt during one of our recent blizzards (there seems to be one every few days). We had a little bit too much fun, as you can see.
Size: lap sized: 57 1/2″ x 57 1/2″ (pattern includes table runner, crib, lap, queen, and king sizes)
Fabric (all by Carolyn Friedlander for Robert Kaufman Fabrics): Front: layer cake of Doe with two squares from Botanics, charm square pack of Doe coordinating Kona cottons. Back: Architextures Ledger in Grey with Catenary pattern in Doe Droplet in Carrot on Kona Med Grey and Architextures crosshatch in Niagara Binding: Architextures crosshatch in Navy with an accent of Poppy
Batting: 100% cotton Soft n’ Crafty batting
Thread: Aurifil 50wt in coordinating colors: 2783 – medium delft blue, 1320 – medium teal, 2850 – medium juniper, 1154 – dusty orange, 5022 – mustard, 2021 – white, 2026 – chalk, 2310 – light beige, 2600 – dove, and 1246 – grey
Time:
Piecing the top: 6 hours
Piecing the back: 4 hours
Squaring, layering, and basting: 45 min
Quilting: 7 hrs 45 min
Finishing (thread burying): 3 hours
Binding: 1 hr 30 min Total: Approx. 23 hours
While I always seem to take the long road, this quilt could easily be whipped up in a weekend (or a day, if you’re quick). I am already thinking of making a baby-sized version with all black and white (heavy on the black) 10-squares and a bright pop of color solid charm pack.
Now, for a giveaway!
To celebrate the launch of the Layers of Charm pattern, I’m hosting a giveaway. One lucky winner will win a layer cake (ten-square) of Doe by Carolyn Friedlander (thanks to the Fat Quarter Shop) and a set of small spools of coordinating Aurifil threads* (thanks to Aurifil). You can enter by leaving two comments:
What would you make with your winnings?
If you follow me, Night Quilter, let me know how–or visit my right toolbar to follow me if you don’t already, then tell me how! (e-mail, WordPress, Bloglovin’, Instagram, Twitter, Craftsy)
The giveaway will be open until Monday, February 16th 12noon EST. I’ll select one winner randomly from the comments below. Good luck!
*Note: The coordinating Aurifil thread set is not an “official” Doe coordinating set. I personally chose ten colors that I feel compliment and coordinate with the Doe fabric line.
After entering the giveaway, head over to the Fat Quarter Shop’s blog the Jolly Jabber to see the other version of this quilt in the blog hop. Meanwhile, we’ll be snuggling in this lovely Doe quilt.
I grab a needle and thread once the kids are in bed
Night Quilter 