Farewell 2015, Hello 2016!

Earlier in December when Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs announced the Best of 2015 Linky Party I wondered if I would even have 5 posts by the end of year considering my first post was December 3rd. This month I have published 11 posts including this one, all having one common thread...

Link Parties! 

I have participated in only a few of the link parties, but there is a great list of quilting and craft link parties at Quilt Along.net.  I found a great post written my Mandy at House of Rose about the benefits of link parties and how to link up. Here are my most popular posts with linkups.

Best of (December) 2015 Posts

5.  I linked to Molli Sparkles with Sunday Stash 4 times with Sunday Stash #1 showcasing Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis receiving the most views.

4.   My very first post linked up to Throwback Thursday with Jenn @ A Quarter Inch From with a Christmas wall hanging, The Greatest Gift, made in 2013.

3.  I participated in the ever popular biannual event, Giveaway Day on December 9th, hosted by Sew, Mama, Sew!  In the past, I have entered the giveaways for fabric, patterns and homemade items and have even won before.  So for me to give something away this time was exciting.  My blog gained over 60 followers on Bloglovin' alone and many on my Instagram account also.

2.  Fridays and Saturdays are popular for showing off your finished projects and linking up to  Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Link-A-Finish Friday, Can I Get A Whoop Whoop? Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Finish It Up Friday and Show Off Saturday.  The mini Christmas Tree I made is the second most viewed finish.  I was thrilled when Lindsay at Fort Worth Fabric Studio included my quilt on Fabric Frenzy Friday Features.

Christmas Tree on the door of the Clock Tower in downtown Easley, SC

1.  The most viewed page with over 1,000 views was Witco's Daisies which was specifically made for the EZ Quilting triangle challenge for QuiltCon West.  It is my favorite finish of 2015 even though it is labeled a #QuiltConReject.  (I can not be upset, I had two other quilts juried into the show.)

Witco's Daisies by Paige Alexander

Thank you and credit goes to Amanda Jean at Crazy Mom Quilts and her Finish It Up Friday link up for generating the most traffic.  While writing this post, my all time pageview history exceeded 5,000.  I really do not know if that is a decent number or not, but it is fun to look at the stats page and see number of page views and where the visitors are from, like Belarus and the Netherlands.

2015 Quilting Accomplishments

There are 3 other quilting accomplishments for which I am proud of for 2015.

1.  In February at QuiltCon 2015 in Austin, Texas, my Michael Miller fabric challenge, After Dinner Mints, received 2nd place in the challenge category.  Thank you for Michael Miller Fabrics sponsoring the challenge and Elizabeth Hartman for making the awesome ribbons.

After Dinner Mints at Quiltcon 2015 with 2nd Place fabric challenge ribbon

2. I was a member of the The National Quilting Association and entered their nonjuried quilt show a few times.  With NQA you always received an entry evaluation with comments by three certified judges giving the strengths and areas of improvement for your quilt which was most helpful in helping one become a better quilter.  At their 46th annual (and final) quilt show which took place in June in Little Rock, Arkansas, my quilt, Variegated, received an honorable mention in the modern quilt category. (There ribbons were beautiful.)

Honorable Mention ribbon received for Variegated at NQA quilt show June 2015

I was saddened to receive the final letter by email from NQA today. The National Quilting Association will be dissolving in 2016 and was a nonprofit organization run by quilters for quilters.  You can read about their history here.  On a positive note, the certified judges program will be continued through the newly formed National Association of Certified Quilt Judges.

3.  I am excited to be apart of the The Modern Quilt Guild.  Until this year I was an individual member but in July was instrumental in the formation of the local Greenville MQG chapter and currently serve as treasurer.  We are excited and have planned out the 2016 year.

2016 Blogging and Quilting Goals

Blogging Goals

• Photography - One of my favorite things about looking as blogs is the photography and I want to post great photographs.  I plan to go through a Craftsy class in my library, Basics of Digital Photography.
• Write and post at least one tutorial
• Participate in the 2016 New Quilt Bloggers Blog Hop
• Develop a brand identify starting with a logo

Quilting Goals

• Make one Quilt of Valor (I have a recipient in mind)
• Make at least one charity quilt for my local traditional guild
• Complete the Midnight Mystery Quilt hosted by Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs
• Continue to create a monthly block for the Everything Old Is New Again Block and Quilt Challenge sponsored by Modern Quilts Unlimited and complete a quilt with the finished blocks
• Write and publish a quilt pattern 
• Participate in at least one online quilt or block swap

It was fun to glance back at 2015 and am looking forward to see what 2016 holds for quilting and sharing it here.  Thank you for coming along with me on this quilting journey.

Linking up to Cheryl at Meadow Mist Designs for the Best of 2015 Linky Party and Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl for the 2016 Planning Linky Party.

Rainbow Hexie Flower Mini Mini Quilt + (GIVEAWAY)

Instagrams kept popping up for the Mini Mini Quilt Swap and I wanted to participate.  When I commented on the quilting and perfect binding of Bright and Cherry, the 20th mini mini quilt by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl, she graciously mailed it to me (along with my favorite, dark chocolate!)  Wanting to return the favor, I set out to make a mini mini quilt for Yvonne.  I have always had a fondness for miniature quilts, but most of these were finishing at a mere 4 inches square.  I knew it had to somehow include rainbow colors since Yvonne loves rainbows and decided on a rainbow hexagon flower.

Rainbow Hexie Flower Mini Mini Quilt using  3/8" hexagon paper pieces

The English Paper Piecing (EPP) hexagon flower was made from Kona Cottons using 3/8" paper pieces and the 3/8" acrylic template with the 1/4" seam allowance from Paper Pieces.  I used Clover silk thread in gray #205 in an effort to minimize the thread showing with the different colored fabrics.

Hexagon flower made using 3/8" paper pieces

Back of hexagon flower before appliqueing to background

I machine appliqued a stem and leaf using a zigzag stitch before hand appliqueing the hexagon to the background.  To reduce the bulk and to allow for removing the papers, I cut away the background behind the hexagon flower.

Background cut out behind hexagon flower and before removing papers

Quilt top after removing papers

I was nervous about binding such a small piece and decided on a single fold bias binding.  I knew joining the final seam in a 4 inch space would be tricky.

Single fold binding applied with ends joined using bias seam

If you will look in the lower right of the picture below,  you can see I barely took 3 or 4 stitches after turning the corner, trying to leave as much room as possible for joining the ends with a bias seam.

Bias seam of binding pressed before trimming

For the quilting, I outlined the flower, stem and leaf and used a swirling wind motif in the sky.

Quilting detail of Rainbow Hexie Mini Mini Quilt

Quilt Stats:

• Finished size: 4" x 4"
• Fabrics:  Kona cottons for hexagons and ground; Robert Kaufman Whisper Prints for the background; Michael Miller Garden Pindot for the binding
• Batting:  Warm and White
• Thread:  Aurifil 50 wt for quilting; Clover silk #205 for EPP and hand applique
• Quilting:  free motion

Below is the mini mini quilt I received from Yvonne.  Thank you so much!  Yvonne, your Rainbow Hexie Mini Mini will be in the mail to you shortly!

Bright and Cheery made by Yvonne at Quilting Jetgirl

Giveaway

Now, on to the giveaway! My quilty friend, Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs just released her latest pattern, Outlined Plus.

Outlined Plus pattern by Cheryl Brickey | Cover quilt by Jackie Padesky

Here is a close up of Jackie Padesky's beautiful version of Outlined Plus.

Outlined Plus is a fun take on a classic plus sign block and is a very versatile pattern containing 5 sizes: baby, lap, twin, queen, and king along with fabric requirements and cutting instructions to make each section (plus, outline, and background) using different fabrics in each block for a scrappy look or any of the block sections from a single fabric.  You can mix and match the instructions to customize your quilt!

Outlined Plus can be purchased at an introductory price of $6 until January 1st in the Meadow Mist Designs Etsy Shop or on Craftsy.

Cheryl has generously allowed me to giveaway a PDF copy of Outlined Plus just in time for the Outlined Plus Quilt Along with Cindy at Hyacinth Quilt Designs which is starting January 4th.

Leave a comment letting me know what fabrics you would use to make Outlined Plus.  On Sunday Stash #4, I shared the background fabrics I will be using for my version of Outlined Plus.   The winner will be announced on New Year's Day!

I am linking up to the Monday edition of Finish it up Friday with Crazy Mom Quilts.

The giveaway is now closed, thank you for entering!  The winner will be announced on New Year's Day!

Sunday Stash #4: Cotton + Steel Stash Box

At the beginning of November before all the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, Pink Castle Fabrics offered 30% off on all fabric bundles.  I could not resist their own limited edition Cotton + Steel Au Naturale Stash Box.  The 25 piece Fat Eighth bundle included many prints from the 2014 spring and fall collections along with some basics.

C+S Au Naturale Fat Eighth Bundle from Pink Castle Fabrics

We all know with precuts like fat quarters and fat eighths, I had a 50/50 chance of receiving the selvage edge.  And if you are a selvage saver like me, I am happy to report I received 17 selvages out of 25 cuts of fabric.  Let me do the math for you, that is a 68% success rate.

Selvage edges of  Cotton + Steel fabrics

Chris over at Made by ChrissieD has a Selvedge Zippy Pouch Tutorial which will be perfect for using the shorter selvages.

I did not have a project in mind at the time when ordering the bundle, but have since decided to use the fat eighths as the background fabrics in the Outlined Plus Quilt Along starting January 4th hosted by Cindy at Hyacinth Quilt Designs.  Outlined Plus is a newly released pattern by Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs.  Please stop back by Monday, Dec. 28th where I will have a copy of Outlined Plus to giveaway.

I am linking up to the after Christmas Sunday Stash #158, the last Sunday Stash post of 2015, to see what everyone else added to their stash.  Was Santa good to you?

Sunday Stash #3: Mistletoe Lane

My fabric stash increased this week by winning yet another giveaway, this time by Linda @ A Maidenhair Fern.  I received two Mistletoe Lane charm packs by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda Fabrics.  Here they are atop Kona Cotton in Chinese Red.

Mistletoe Lane mini charm packs

The colors in the collection include red(crimson) and green(sage) along with pink(lotus), light brown(wood smoke) and neutrals.  Some of the delicate prints are below.

Crimson and sage prints from Mistletoe Lane

You can see the entire collection by Moda Fabrics in this PDF document where Mistletoe Lane was introduced back in September 2014 with availability in stores starting January 2015.  I am saving the pinks and browns for a baby quilt I have in mind.

Following Amanda Jeans's simple patchwork dish towel tutorial, I made another set of banded kitchen towels, similar to the ones in my December 18th post.  I could not resist pairing the red and green snowflake prints, alternating the colors, for one towel and the plaid and ice skates for another.

Banded patchwork kitchen towels using mini charm squares

Now I have a little something on hand should I need a small gift.

I am linking up to Sunday Stash #157 to see the other great fabrics added to everyone's stash.

Christmas Tree Wall Hanging & Banded Kitchen Towels

Since starting my blog earlier this month, the first advice I received was to join link parties to become involved in the online community.  Last week, for the first time, I joined several link parties featuring completed projects including Sarah's "Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?" Friday" over at Confessions of a Fabric Addict which in turn started a chain reaction.

The 2nd link on Whoop Whoop Friday was a beautiful plus quilt by Linda at A Maiden Hair Fern. She also included a giveaway in her post for 2 Mistletoe Lane mini charm packs by Moda for which I entered a comment to win (more about this on Sunday).

I scrolled down a couple of posts to find an adorable Christmas tree wall hanging made from the Trees pattern by Crazy Mom Quilts.  I had that pattern!  Remember when Amanda Jean celebrated her 250th quilt back in September and generously gave a free pattern to those commenting?  Trees was the pattern I chose.  I thought it would be great made from the Blueberry Park in Pickle I had recently received in a giveaway by Robert Kaufman and blogged about in Sunday Stash #1.

It rained most all day and was difficult to take photographs, but in downtown Easley I took a few under a very cloudy sky.


Christmas Tree on brick building downtown Easley, SC

Christmas Tree with fountain in the background

Christmas Tree on the door of the Clock Tower

Straight line quilting detail

Binding in proccss

Quilt Stats:

• Finished size:  13" x 20 1/2"
• Fabrics: Libs Stitches in Pickle from Blueberry Park by Karen Lewis, mfg. Robert Kaufman; Woodgrain in Bark from Aviary 2 by Joel Dewberry, mfg. Free Free Spirit; Kona Cotton in white for background; and Sasparilla Check in red from October Afternoon, mfg. Riley Blake for binding
• Backing: White on white small flower
• Batting: Warm & White
• Thread: Aurifil 2024 for piecing and quilting 
• Quilting: 1/2 " straight line quilting with walking foot 

Banded Kitchen Towels

Linda had also adorned some dish towels using Amanda Jeans's simple patchwork dish towel tutorial.  Wanting to make some with a Christmas theme for a couple of gifts, I looked through my stash, but did not have enough coordinating prints.  I settled on a single print of red with white snowflakes, the same I used for the backing of the The Greatest Gift.  I sewed a single band of fabric to the towels using my walking foot and it worked wonderfully.  The band was cut 3" wide and finished 2 1/2" when the raw edge was turned under 1/4" on each side.

Banded kitchen towels hanging on the oven door

I measured the width of the first towel and cut my band to fit allowing for turning under the edge.  I proceeded to cut bands for 3 more towels using the same measurement. Mistake!  The towels were not the same width.  I did prewash the towels, but they should have shrunk the same.  You can see below where the bands do not quite go to the edge, but I did not want to recut them.  I had to tell myself, "It's just a kitchen towel, it will be fine."  I normally purchase these all-purpose towels from Williams-Sonoma when I applique them for brides' gifts.  But I was not about to make a trip to the mall this close to Christmas, so I purchased these by Better Homes and Gardens from the closer big box store.

Uneven bands due to different towel widths 

Banded kitchen towels ready for wrapping

The towels have now been gifted to two friends and plans are underway for more!  Thank you Amanda Jean and Linda for the inspiration!

I am linking up to Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Link-A-Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Finish It Up Friday and Show Off Saturday.

Preferred Quilt Binding Method | SMS Giveaway Day Winner

It was so exciting to participate in my first Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!  Thank you all for entering and answering the questions proposed about your preferred quilt binding method.

Do you cut crosswise strips or bias strips?  Do you like to sew them down by hand or machine?

From the comments received, the overwhelming majority of you cut binding strips on the crosswise grain of the fabric.  Unless the the direction of the print calls for otherwise, as in my recent finish Witco's Daisies, I always cut binding strips on the true bias.  Generations Quilt Patterns has two helpful posts, one explaining fabric grain and the other covering the debate of  bias vs. straight grain binding.

When it comes to sewing down the binding by hand or machine, binding sewn down by hand won out on this one.  By hand, the stitch I use is the blind stitch.  On the Modern Quilt Guild's 2015 Riley Blake fabric challenge, Round N' Round, I applied binding completely sewn by machine for the first time using Rita Hodges's binding tutorial at Red Pepper Quilts.

Ok, on to the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day winner...

The winner of the Kaffe Fassett charm packs was Erin who blogs over at Sew at Home Mummy.

Congratulations Erin! Your charm packs are on their way to you already!  And thank you Sew Mama Sew for hosting another great Giveaway Day!

Sunday Stash #2: True Colors

When Make Modern , a digital magazine from Australia, celebrated their first birthday back in August they had a grand celebration with many sponsors giving away all sorts of prizes.  I won the prize sponsored by Clover & Violet, a mother-daughter team, specializing in bags for quilters.

Jennie of Clover & Violet had Sew Lux Fabric send a fat quarter bundle of True Colors, a 20 piece collection by Tula Pink, in beautiful saturated colors which play well with Tula's other fabric lines.

True Colors by Tula Pink

In addition to the fat quarter bundle, I was able to pick 4 of Clover & Violet's lovely patterns.  I chose the Amelia retreat tote, the Caitlin pouch, the Flora supply case and the Penelope purse.

I want to make the Flora supply case in the coming year and am considering an English Paper Piecing project for True Colors.  Thank you Clover & Violet!

Today is the last day to enter my Sew Mama Sew giveaway.  Head on over to Sew Mama Sew to enter for other great sewing + craft supplies and handmade goods.

I am linking up to Sunday Stash #156 to see the other great fabrics added to everyone's stash.

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

Welcome to the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!

I am excited to be participating for the first time in the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day in the Sewing + Craft supplies section.  This giveaway is open to everyone, worldwide.  The giveaway starts today and runs through Sunday, December 13th and will close at 8pm EST.

One lucky winner will received two (2) charm packs of Kaffe Fassett Classics from Westminster Fabrics in green colorway which includes various greens from light to dark along with some blues, pinks and more.  Each charm pack of 5" x 5" squares contains 2 pieces each of 15 different fabrics for a total of 30 charm squares in each pack.  Look at all the beautiful fabrics in each pack.

Since I just started my blogging adventure, let me introduce myself...I'm Paige and love all forms of quilting, especially modern.  Please glance at my About page to get to know me a little better.  I enjoy entering quilt shows and below are my recent finishes which I submitted to QuiltCon West.  With the record number of entries, 1,810 to be exact, the jury has their work cut out for them.  My Triangle Challenge entry, Witco's Daisies, was featured on yesterday's blog post.

           Barcelona             |                Witco's Daisies             |             Positively Transparent

While we are waiting for the jury results, please enter my giveaway!

Giveaway Details:

1. Leave a comment, any comment.  For a suggested topic, I would love to know your preferred quilt binding method.  Do you cut crosswise strips or bias strips?  Do you like to sew them down by hand or machine?  
2. Followers, old and new, get an additional entry.  Please leave a second comment and let me know how you subscribe whether it be by Bloglovin', Email, or Instagram.

Please include your email address if you are a no-reply blogger.  If I can not contact you, you can not win.

Thank you for stopping by to enter the Sew Mama Sew Giveaway and I hope you will consider following along with me on this quilting journey!

Thank you so much for entering, the giveaway is now closed.  And thank you Sew Mama Sew for another great Giveaway Day!

Triangle Quilt Challenge: Witco's Daisies

I love a good challenge and am pleased to share with you my EZ Quilting Triangle Challenge entry, Witco's Daisies, for QuiltCon West which will be held February 18-20, 2016 in Pasadena, California.

EZ Quilting Triangle Quilt Challenge, Witco Daisies by Paige Alexander

Modern Quilt Guild Challenges

At QuiltCon, the Modern Quilt Guild's international juried quilt show, there are usually two challenge categories.  In 2013 there was a fabric challenge sponsored by Dear Stella and a modern miniature challenge sponsored by Modern Quilts Unlimited.

Michael Miller Fabrics sponsored the 2015 fabric challenge with their Spring Cotton Couture line featuring pastel solids.  Here I am below with my entry, After Dinner Mints, which placed 2nd in the fabric challenge.  Needless to say, I was shocked and thrilled.

Paige Alexander with After Dinner Mints Quiltcon 2015

There was also a bias tape applique challenge for QuiltCon 2015 sponsored by Panasonic in which I did not participate.  I had an idea, but simply ran out of time.

For QuiltCon West (2016), Michael Miller is again sponsoring the fabric challenge with their Glitz fabric line.  I will share details of my entry for this fabric challenge with you in a later post.

EZ Quilting is sponsoring the QuiltCon 2016 Triangle Quilt Challenge using the mini triangle templates designed by Darlene Zimmerman.  The category description states that quilts should be made using one or more of the EZ Quilting Triangles Templates and additional shapes can be included in the quilt.

MQG members could sign up earlier in July to receive the templates.  I had already signed up for the fabric challenge and without an idea in mind, I didn't sign up for the triangle templates.  I ordered them directly from Simplicity, just in case.

I came up with an idea late in the game and had several late nights in order complete the challenge by the deadline.  And, yes, I completed it on the very last day for entry, November 30th.

Inspiration

My idea came from artwork I first saw by Donna Mibus where she recreated Witco's Daisies originally designed and manufactured in the 1960's by Western International Trading Company (Witco) in Mt. Vernon, Washington.  The company co-founders, William Westenhaver and Ron Hovde, created Tiki style art and furniture with Mid Century/Danish Modern influences.  Ken Pleasant, husband of Mr. Westenhaver's granddaughter, carries on the tradition today with Witco inspired pieces and reproductions.  You can see and read more about Witco here and here.

Witco's Daisies with wooden accents from the 1960's
 (Photo by DejaVuLB on Etsy used with permission)

Fabrics and Techniques

To recreate the daisy petals, I used both the 60 and 45 degree templates and a double layer of Michael Miller's Cotton Couture in Soft White.  I originally planned to quilt over raw edge applique but was nervous that fraying might occur, so I decided to applique the petals, leaves and stems using a zigzag satin stitch onto a background of Avocado, again Cotton Couture.

But how would I imitate the walnut stained red cedar used in Witco's designs?  The perfect fabric was Joel Dewberry's Woodgrain in Bark from his Aviary 2 collection.  I covered 1 1/2" buttons with the fabric and used the same for the binding fabric cut crossgrain.

Witco's Daisies applique detail and Woodgrain fabric

Witco's Daisies backing and buttons

Quilting

Wanting to create a landscape effect with the the quilting, I used a hera marker and drew the first quilting line on an angle below the flowers and repeated parallel lines using the edge of my walking foot as a guide.  I quilted the remainder of the quilt with the same parallel lines perpendicular to the first sloping line using the hera marker as needed to insure I kept the quilting straight.

Witco's Daisies quilting detail

The Modern Question

With covered buttons, is this still a modern quilt?  After all, the Modern Quilt Guild's definition includes "primarily functional" in their description of What is Modern Quilting.  And I wouldn't want to put this quilt through the washing machine.

My fingers are crossed while the quilt show jury is deliberating, so I will not know if Witco's Daisies be accepted into QuiltCon until the end of this month.

Quilt Stats:

• Finished size:  31" x 22"
• Fabrics: Cotton Couture in Avocado by Michael Miller, Soft White and Black; Woodgrain in Bark from Aviary 2 by Free Spirit
• Backing: Bear Essentials 2 in Lime by P&B Textiles
• Fusibles: Lite Steam-A-Seam 2, bottom layer and 805 Wonder-Under, top layer
• Buttons:  1 1/2" by Dritz
• Batting: Warm & Natural
• Thread: Aurifil 5016 for quilting and Mettler Metrosene for applique

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day is December 9th, so please return and enter for your chance to win two Kaffe Fassett charm packs.

I am linking up to Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Link-A-Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, Finish It Up Friday and Show Off Saturday.