Cozy Afternoon BOM: The Christmas Critters are Finished!

My Cozy Christmas Quilt went for a photoshoot today at Clark County Museum.

Cozy Afternoon in the Wintertime Gazebo!
Finished Size 64" Square

The Sew-along and Bloghop for the Cozy Afternoon BOM was a highlight for 2015! (the link is to the Pinterest Board if you are interested in seeing different versions!)
Hosted by Jacquelynne Steves, my version is based upon the theme fabric from her line "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel". 

The little critters I embroidered were enlarged from the theme fabric, and now take center stage.

I used crayons to color them, heat-set the wax, then washed the fabric in hot water and pressed it again prior to stitching.
With some trial and error, the Crayola Crayon's used with a very heavy-hand worked the best.

Mr. Mouse was the first block!

Embroidery on quilts is new for me! After seeking Barbara's (Cat Patches) advice for quilting the blocks, I decided to closely outline the stitching and used a loopy fill much like the larger loops I used in the background areas.
The Free Motion Quilting is stitched with Aurifil 50wt threads, using my Juki TL-98E.

The backing is pieced from a long-stashed snowflake print, plus a bit of the StudioE bias check I love so much. I used Ingeo Fiber batting, a manmade fiber using "ingredients from the earth" (plants). It behaves much like polyester - kinda puffy and holds it shape well. For seasonal quilts, I like a batting that can handle storage without permanently creasing.

For the flanged binding, I followed the tutorial for Susie's Magic Binding at 52 Quilts, except I cut my strips a bit more narrow at 1 5/16" (navy), and 1.5"(accent red). Attached to the back at just over 1/4", it was a perfect wrap to the front to stitch in the ditch for a quick finish with a bit more accent!

Following the link, you can also find a video. The other tip I suggest for this type binding is to sew the strip lengths together prior to joining them into one long strip. The diagonal seams will all in the same place this way, making it easier to avoid landing their bulk in a corner.

This feels like the perfect finish to wrap up 2015! I have had a fun and productive year, and am very thankful to have met so many quilter's through blogging. Thank you for joining me in celebration!



 

On-Point: A Setting for Cozy Afternoon!

I have always been attracted to quilt blocks that are set on-point, how bout you?
For me, The "Cozy Afternoon" Quilt Setting is no exception!

Love Love Love the lattice design!

Really, this setting could be used in so many ways!

All the math has been done for us --- Thank you Jacquelynne!

How bout you, do you love windy shots?

Today, as we celebrate the release of Jacquelynne Steve's setting instructions (link HERE!), we also wrap up The Cozy Afternoon BOM Bloghop! I have really been looking forward to seeing all these blocks come together and I will definitely be visiting all the participant's blogs:



 Teresa @ A Quilt and a Prayer

Jacque @ Lily Pad Quilting

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

Bev @ 44th Street Fabric

Kahryn @ Kathy's Quilts

Are you wondering if Jacquelynne is offering another e-bundle pattern giveaway?

Well, of course she is!

But first, a close up of my Cozy Afternoon Christmas blocks:

The idea to mimic the sweet little critters and use Jacquelynne's fabric, "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel" as my theme fabric was irresistible, though I love the sweet, teacup blocks designed for Cozy Afternoon! I plan to use one or two of the block patterns (the birdie!) to embroider dish towels as Christmas gifts.

 

As everyone gets to work on their settings, this seems like a good time to share a quick tip!

Did you know there is usually less stretch in your fabric running lengthwise than widthwise? Whenever possible, I cut my borders from the length of my fabric rather than across the width...

 

And now, let's see what Jacquelynne is sharing for the finale!

I adore the black and red version of Hugs & Kisses!!

This pattern "e-bundle" will be awarded to one lucky reader at EACH stop in the blog hop!

 

To enter the giveaway:

Please leave a comment on this post prior to Sunday October 18th, at midnight (PDT time!).

Maybe you have a tip to share with readers about working with borders? Or not, haha!

 

Blog followers receive a second entry, because it makes me so happy to know who is reading;)

Each comment is an 'entry', so please leave a second one to let me know how you follow!

 

The winners will be contacted by email on Wednesday, Oct. 21st!

Remember to leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger!

 

 

Although I may not be able to reply to every comment during a giveaway, please know how much I appreciate your visit and enjoy hearing from you!

Alaska Photos & Winners Announced!

I am back early from my trip to Alaska!

First though; I have two winners to announce before I share more pics:)

The winner of the Pattern Bundle by Jacquelynne Steves, given in conjunction with Block Five of the Cozy Afternoon Quilt Along and Blog Hop is Helen! Thank you Helen for the sweet comment! BTW, Jacquelynne's "Catching Up, Sew Along Day" is Saturday! Link up here for more details if you are participating in this BOM!

I also have a winner of my Hearts and Flowers UFO, which I linked up with the Quilty Orphan Adoption hosted by Quilting is More Fun Than Housework. Cynthia is the brainchild of this genius event that connects UFO's with quilter's who are excited to finish them! She will be hosting this again in March, and I have vowed to come up with another project to giveaway, to further lighten my stack. Congratulations to Lee, whose name was drawn at random by those who expressed interest! The match seems meant-to-be, as Lee has a recipient in mind who happens to love hearts, flowers, and the color blue. Perfect!

Comments left by reader's for my current giveaway kept me entertained while shivering in Alaska. Seems many people would prefer the cold temps up North to the hot ones of Nevada, but I am glad to be home and thawing out with all my modern luxuries. A tough and admirable lot of folks I found living up North, but I am not as young as I once was and perhaps I am more pampered than I would have admitted prior to this trip.

The ride inland from Anchorage was about 4 1/2hrs. That was following two flights of course, so I am looking a bit beat here. We found the stuffed moose in a greenhouse along the way.

We skidded to a stop when I spotted a quilt shop in Palmer. These pretty trees were growing outside the shop. They reminded me of crabapples, but I am not sure what they actually are.
I was NOT given permission to take photos inside the store, but I will share the two little prints I selected that gave me a souvenir feeling..

I may overdye the bird print, and the blue will be added to the batiks I am collecting for my mother.
This little guy kept my lap warm on the drive..

The leaves were beginning to turn color when I arrived,
I took quite a few drive-by shots, this glacier pic being the best of those..

Just two weeks later, the Aspens were super vibrant and I caught this shot - my favorite of all!

Alaska was a great experience overall, but I am really glad to be home with my hubby again!

I complain some about the price of food here in Vegas, but I filled my fridge with pleasure yesterday!

Prices at the grocery were astounding.
I was most surprised that chicken was so much more than beef - $16 for one whole chicken.

I couldn't help but snap some cellphone photos while shopping:
Do you like to drink coffee?
$19 for 25oz..

I wont even mention the Starbuck's, haha!
But do you take sugar with that?
4lb bags for $6..

The locals love their pets, but it seems they feed them leftovers more than store-bought kibbles.
6lbs Friskies nearly $15.

It was explained to me that weight of freight was the big factor for high prices,
25lbs kitty litter for $30.

And water of course is heavy.

The water in Glennallen is NOT drinkable-

A case of 24bottles cost $10.

 

The TP wasn't any heavier than the type I buy here in the Lower 48, yet..

$16 for 12 rolls of the type my pampered butt prefers..

I managed to do without chips..
$7 for 13oz!

Home Sweet Home at last, and looking forward to some sewing lock-down time this weekend!

Cozy Afternoon Block of the Month - The Fifth and Final Block!

Jacquelynne Steves releases the fifth and final Cozy Afternoon quilt block today!

This month's block features a teacup and butterfly to applique or embroider.

Cute Cute Cute! I plan to use the pattern the pattern to embroider tea towels, however my Quilt Along is a Cozy Christmas version!

I love visiting all the bloghop participants to see their versions! 

Teresa @ A Quilt and a Prayer

Jacque @ Lily Pad Quilting

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

Bev @ 44th Street Fabric

Kahryn @ Kathy's Quilts

The Pinterest Board is another fun way to view more versions of this Quilt Along!

This month I have embroidered the bunny character from Jacquelynne's fabric line, "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel".  He is my favorite critter yet, and represents my favorite carol as well, "Noel".

I have found that I love coloring the fabric in preparation of embroidery! It took a bit of practice to ensure each color would hold fast.

Using Crayola crayons, with a heavy hand, I then heat-set with an iron and ran them through the wash before stitching.

Next month, we work on the setting!

I hope you will visit Jacquelynne and share some love!

I've never hosted a Quilt Along, but I know she has put a lot of time and effort into this free pattern and I am filled with gratitude! Perhaps you are interested in joining her Sew Along Day:

Now for the GIVEAWAY:
Jacquelynne has generously offered an electronic 'pattern bundle' giveaway -

This bundle will be awarded to one lucky reader at each stop in the blog hop!

To enter the giveaway:

Please leave a comment on this post prior to Sunday September 20th, at midnight!

The winners will be contacted by email on Wednesday, the 23rd!

Remember to leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger!

Thank you so much for visiting! Please know how much I appreciate your comments even though I may not be able to reply to everyone during a giveaway - 

especially this month since I am still in Alaska!!

 

  

In other news, today is Day Fourteen of the Jaftex 85th Anniversary Bloghop and Giveaway!

Visit  Melissa @ Sew Bitter Sweet Designs!

Thank you and Good Luck!

Cozy Afternoon Block Four - The Joyful Christmas Mouse!

I have been looking forward to sharing this joyful little Mouse!

My 'Christmas' version of Block #4!

This month's pattern includes the cutest little birdie and it was just released today! Check out the other blog hop participants to see the bird - some are appliqued and some are embroidered:

Teresa @ A Quilt and a Prayer

 

Jacque @ Lily Pad Quilting

 

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

 

Bev @ 44th Street Fabric

 

Kahryn @ Kathy's Quilts



'Cozy Afternoon' is a free Block of the Month Quilt, designed and led by Jacquelynne Steves. The sweet little mouse is her artwork as well - I copied it from the theme fabric I will be using in the borders, from her line, "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel".

Here are all my 'Cozy Christmas' blocks so far:

I am having fun with these critters!

Only one more block to go and then we get an additional month for the setting! Yep, that means there is still time to receive the patterns! Visit Jacquelynne's blog, The Art of Home to sign up.

Jacquelynne has generously offered an electronic 'pattern bundle' giveaway -

This bundle will be awarded to one lucky reader at each stop in the blog hop!

 

To enter the giveaway:

Please leave a comment on this post prior to Sunday August 16th, at midnight.

 

I am interested to know of your favorite authors and/or books! A short, yet heartwarming book I recommend - a favorite since I was young, "That Quail, Robert" by Margaret Stanger.  

Have you read any of the books (to the right) I have conquered this year?

BTW, I am a 'hands free' reader! 80% of the books I read are on CD, often with headphones!

 

Followers of my blog may leave a second comment for another entry! I know, I know, shameless right? But followers should be rewarded, yes!! And I am coming up on my 300th post so this is good timing - hint hint;)

 

The winners will be contacted by email on Wednesday, the 19th!

 

Remember to leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger!

 

Thank you so much for visiting! Please know how much I appreciate your comments even though I may not be able to reply to everyone during a giveaway!

Block #3 - Cozy Afternoon Bloghop & Giveaway!

Woo-Hoo!

It's Bloghop Time!

Today we celebrate the release of block Number Three for the Cozy Afternoon Free BOM!

 

My quilt is a Cozy Christmas version, made with fabric from Jacquelynne Steve's line,

"Joy, Love, Peace, Noel"

The red and green snowball prints are from her line, "Fruitful Hands"

The embroidery is inspired by the characters in the theme fabric. For July, I stitched the sweet raccoon, with a sign waving PEACE.

 

Even though this is the second month in the Quilt Along, this is the third block pattern to be released. The first two blocks were quick and easy, and both were offered last month, but the patterns are still available! Check out my June post to see my Cozy Christmas Blocks One and Two.

 

I hope you will jump on board - there is still time to catch up!

The pattern has five blocks; one more in August and another in September, then we finish up in October. Visit Jacquelynne's blog to sign up!

 

And visit the Pinterest Group Board to see a lot more variations!

 

Jacquelynne has generously offered an electronic 'pattern bundle' giveaway -

This bundle will be awarded to one lucky reader at each stop in the blog hop!

 

 

For inspiration and variations of Cozy Afternoon, (and more chances to win!), there are five more quilter's participating:

 

Teresa @ A Quilt and a Prayer

 

Jacque @ Lily Pad Quilting

 

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

 

Bev @ 44th Street Fabric

 

Kahryn @ Kathy's Quilts

To enter the giveaway: Please leave a comment on this post prior to Sunday July 19th, at midnight. Followers may leave a second comment for another entry! Winner will be contacted by email on Wednesday, the 22nd! (Please leave your email address if you are a no-reply blogger - I was so surprised at how many there were last time!).

I have a trip planned this week and it is unlikely I will be able to reply to every comment -

Please know how much I appreciate your visit!

I will try and remember to take a few vacation pictures to share this time, haha!



Cozy Afternoon Blog Hop Winner Announced!

What great response from reader's of the BOM reveal last week! Thank you all for the wonderful comments, and for sharing your own experiences using colors on fabric. I did a LOT of coloring as a child, so it was pretty fun picking them up again!  Many of the comments were left by readers who were visiting for their first time and I really enjoyed visiting some new-to-me blogs as a result!

The winner drawn for Jacquelynne's pattern bundle is Debby, who blogs at Determined Debby - Congratulations Debby!

I must admit, I do love it when the winner drawn for a giveaway turns out to be a blogger as well! Certainly not a requirement, more of a bonus and a fun surprise when I am led to a new blog:-)

Regarding coloring on fabric, I stumbled upon an interesting set of pens this week at a thrift shop:

I made a sampling of the colors on muslin and ran it through with normal laundry. There was no bleeding and I did not use freezer paper. Many of the colors were not as colorful as I hoped as I wrote with them (nothing bright about that Bright Blue!), however most of them did stay true through the washing, and I can see these will be fun to use for labels.

 

The unfortunate part is that the product does not seem to be available any longer. In fact, I suspect that these pens are 25 years old. The fact that they are working this well makes them all the more desirable to me. Made by Evanscraft, these are meant for "stitch-less cross stitch". Seems a big oxymoron to me! Were they marketed today as 'quilt labeling markers', I think Evanscraft would have a hot seller!

 

Thank you for participating in the Blog Hop for Cozy Afternoon! New blocks are popping up on the Pinterest Board Jacquelynne has curated: Cozy Afternoon Free BOM

Cozy Afternoon Blog Hop - The Big Reveal!

Today marks the start of Cozy Afternoon, a Free Block of the Month led by Jacquelynne Steves!
Each month, the patterns offer embroidery and applique options. Search your stash for the perfect fabric, make it scrappy, or pick up a kit with these beautiful fabrics:

Jacquelynne's designs are always adorable and her fabric lines never fall short either! I love love LOVE the Christmas fabric line she designed for Henry Glass,  "Joy, Love, Peace, Noel". 
The characters are so sweet!

With the idea to feature them front and center in my version of this quilt along, these critters inspired me to try my hand at embroidery!
Mr. Mouse was first up, and he became the center attraction of my first block:

The background fabric is from Jacquelynne's 'Happy Town'. I wanted to add color so they could really 'pop', and I spent a good deal of time experimenting before I found a method I am confident   with. A heavy-handed Crayola crayon won out as my preferred method, followed by a HOT heat set with the iron, and an aggressive, warm water wash in the machine. I believe these are now colorfast!

My version of Block Two features an amorous snowman, another character from the same line.  I outlined using backstitch. It took some practice, playing with a few different stitches before I decided to go with the 'stab-style'. I am still fairly inconsistent with stitch size and tension, but I did see improvement pretty quickly and I'm happy with the results:-)
Looks like I forgot to go back with red floss to add French knots for the berries on his hat... funny how things go unnoticed until photographed!

Blocks One and Two are released today!

(July, August, and September will each offer one block for this five-month QAL)



As well as fabric from the Joy, Love, Peace, Noel line, I included the green and red polka-dot fabrics from Fruitful Hands, plus two aqua prints I found in my stash.

Interested in participating? Jacquelynne has a unique talent for accurate pattern writing, with clear instructions that suit all quilting levels. Cozy Afternoon is suited for beginning or advanced quilter's! And, sewing along is even more fun with giveaways planned along the way!

 

Jacquelynne has generously offered an electronic 'pattern bundle' giveaway -

This bundle will be awarded to one lucky reader at each stop in the blog hop!

To enter the giveaway: Please leave a comment on this post prior to Sunday June 21st, at midnight. Any comment qualifies, but perhaps you know a method for coloring on fabric that you would like to share?

For more inspiration, (and more chances to win!!) check out the creative genius of the following guest bloggers revealing their blocks today!

 

Teresa @ A Quilt and a Prayer

 

Jacque @ Lily Pad Quilting

 

Julie @ The Crafty Quilter

 

Bev @ 44th Street Fabric

 

Kahryn @ Kathy's Quilts

 

 

 



Linking up with Myra, today's guest host for Building Blocks Tuesday!