Leap Year - the Giveaway!

Happy Leap Year, dear friends!  I've joined the blog hop at Such a Sew and Sew blog. What a fun way to celebrate an extra day to the year.  This is a one day only giveaway. It begins tonight and ends tomorrow evening at midnight (Feb. 29th) I'll use the random number generator to choose the winner on Thursday morning, March 1st. My giveaway is for one of my favorite patterns to use with a fabric line. 

Strawberry Pie by Silver Thimble Quilt Company is jelly roll friendly. I've made this quilt several times. I've actually purchased fat quarters/quarter yard cuts of a fabric line for the strips and a little over a yard for the focus blocks. It's my go-to pattern when I love a fabric line, but don't know what pattern to use. Leave a comment on this post. Tell me your favorite new or old fabric line. Happy Leap Day, friends! And Happy Birthday, Bev! 

Leap Year Giveaway

Hi. Friends! I just read about a fun blog hop sponsored by Such a Sew and Sew blog.

 Here's how it works:
• Choose something to give away on Leap Day. Keep it simple. You can make something, give away a bit of your stash, offer a service, buy your favorite gadget to give away or offer something completely non-crafty. Your blog, you choose.
• To participate in the blog hop, your giveaway must start and end on Leap Day {February 29, 2012} in your time zone. You can open it at 10:00 am and close it at 10:00 pm, or go midnight to midnight, or anything in between. Your blog, your rules.
• Post your giveaway and then link up here. Please include the Leap Day Giveaway button {code found below} somewhere in your post. The linky will open at noon MST on February 28^th and close at 10:00 am MST on March 1^st, to allow for people in different time zones to participate.
• If you want to include the linky on your giveaway post so that others can link up from your blog the code is available below. If you choose to add the linky to your post, you MUST include the above rules so that it is fair play for all.

I thought it would be fun to participate in this one day giveaway. I'm deciding on the giveaway item. Please come back tomorrow evening  for the giveaway!

Blueberry Crumb Cake Decision

For the past month, I've labored over what pattern to use with my Blueberry Crumb Cake precuts. My first instinct was to make another White Chocolate quilt from Pat's book Spotlight on Neutral.

This is a photo of the king size quilt that I finished for one of my brothers. I'd love to make this one again, but was struggling a bit with my fabric bundles. I also considered Pat's pattern Emily Jane. Those logs are real narrow. It would take a billion blocks to make a king-size quilt.

My friend Sarah (no blog) is   making a Glory Bound  quilt from Bonnie Blue Designs with her BCC fabric. This one was a real temptation, but wouldn't work for my precuts.

Karin is using her bundle of BCC to make a design, Go Tell It on the Mountain from the Moda Bakeshop. 

One of the projects Edyie A's Jelly Quilt from the Moda Bakeshop was made with BCC.

Melisa suggested Pat's Strawberry Pie.  I've made that one 2 or 3 times and feel like a new challenge.

Monica suggested looking at the patterns on Fat Quarter Shop. The patterns can be searched by types of precuts.  Laurie suggested the Moda Bake Shop. Diane thought of the quilt on the banner of Nicole's blog.  and Brenda a new design called Yin Yang by Cozy Quilt Designs

Yesterday, I was ready to cut my jelly roll strips down to 2 inches to make White Chocolate when I had another inspiration.  I've had Bonnie Hunter's My Blue Heaven printed from her website for years. I checked the fabric requirements. Bingo! My precuts will work with this pattern and I own the specialty rulers that she suggests. Soooooo, my Blueberry Crumb Cake quilt will be my version of My Blue Heaven. I plan to "Thelmasize" it a bit. I'll probably make it bigger and change the borders.

This decision feels right. Time to begin cutting ......

An Early Surprise

You may remember me blogging about this little beauty last April. I "drove" this Bernina 330 at the AQS show in Paducah.  It was just a dream..... not in our budget or plans...


Things change.... it becomes the right time...

Yesterday, I bid adieu to my Bernina 810.(no picture available at this time) She had serviced my needs for the past 7 or 8 years, but I needed a travel machine that could do new tricks that my old beauty could not.

Welcome to Betty Bernina as she joins our sewing household. Her big sister Bernina 1530 lives in the sewing studio 

and will no longer travel out of the house. Cousin, Belle Noir (Black Beauty) Featherweight 221

will still do lots of traveling especially for pure piecing pleasure. 


Sometimes, Christmas, Valentine's Day, Birthdays... come early:)  Ellijay Winter Sewing Retreat, here we come: