Today, November 13th is the reveal of my Splendid Block!  Woohoo!  It has certainly been a long wait but it is finally here!! My block is called Inspirational Threads.  So many people have inspired me on my journey in quilting and this was a way of honoring all of them.  I have had such a fun time with this Splendid Journey.  My sewing/quilting journey began a long time ago.  I have only been quilting for 15 years, but I have been sewing for over 40 years.  My very first sewing machine was purchased with my hard earned paper route money.  It was a Singer and it weighed about 100 pounds, at least that is what if felt like when I lugged it home as a 10 year old.  It didn't get any lighter as I moved it from one home to another!  I eventually sold it and got a machine with a lot more bells and whistles and it weighed a lot less.  What was your first sewing machine and how old were you when you got it???

This is it!!! I just love the aqua colors with the grey spool!  Some of you may not like to paper piece all the "threads".  You can use a striped fabric set on the diagonal to give you a similar effect.

Stripes and dots, how can you go wrong?  Because I love smaller size quilts I just had to make this block in a 3" size and I couldn't stop with just making a block.  I had to make a miniature quilt to go with the block.

This is my "Mini Spools" quilt.  The quilt is 19" x 19".  It is a great way to use up the tiniest scraps that you have remaining from your Splendid Blocks.  If you are interested in more information on how to  make this mini quilt CLICK HERE 

I hope that you are enjoying your Splendid Journey!  Don't forget to leave me a comment telling me what your first sewing machine was and how old were you when you got it!!  It's has been great getting to know you all!

Is there anyone out there that makes latch hook rugs or locker hook rugs?  I was really into this craft years ago, but I just can't keep up with all the other projects I have going on so something had to give.  I purchased these for the shop when I was teaching this craft there.  Since I closed the shop, I have some of this product remaining.  I am trying to clear things out and I hope there are some people out there that still like to do this kind of work.  I am giving away this Graph N Latch Rug Canvas FREE (you will have to pay for postage) to the first 4 people that contact me at quiltessentials@live.com.  In the subject box type in FREE CANVAS and in the body of the email, I will need your name and shipping address.  I will send you a bill thru PayPal for the shipping portion only and I will ship it First Class! The cost to ship will be $4 (US shipping ONLY)!! 

68 Degrees in March!!!! What?????  I knew that it was going to be a really nice warm day today and we don't have many of those in the month of March, so I had to get busy this morning and package up all the orders that came in for the Downton Abbey fabric so that I could get outside a bit this afternoon.  If you haven't placed your order, don't be discouraged there is still some left.  Click here to place your order.  Check out the other sale items while you visit the website!

After getting everything packaged, I made a trip to the post office with the sunroof open and the windows down.  I could just smell spring in the air!  Once I got home I had to fling the windows and doors open and get that nasty winter air out of the house.  I know that we are bound to have a couple more cold days, but I look forward to more of these types of days!  I can't wait to see the trees getting their buds and the flowers coming up.  It's just so exciting!!!  Get out and enjoy the day if you are able!

Only 6 seasons ago I began to watch one of the most successful PBS shows ever, Downton Abbey.  I am not sure why I was so drawn to this show, but every Sunday that it aired I made sure to clear my schedule.  I immediately fell in love with the stories and characters, both upstairs and downstairs.  I can't say that I really had a favorite, because as the show evolved some of the characters I didn't care for were ones that I was rooting for in the last season (i.e. Mr. Barrows) and ones that I liked to start off with became my least favorite (i.e. Lady Mary).  During the fourth season of the show, Andover Fabrics came out with a line of fabrics that represented the Women of Downton (Lady Sybil, Lady Edith, Lady Mary and the Dowager Countess).  It was so exciting to have a fabric line that represented these fabulous characters.

Now is your chance to get these fabrics at an AWESOME price...$6.00/yard or $1.50/Fat Quarter.  Quantities are limited.  I will not be cutting any new Fat Quarters and yardage is available in yard cuts only, so when they are gone, they are gone, just like the show!  Click here to make your purchase!

Well this block took me all afternoon!  It really only took a couple of hours, I had to run out and pick up my prescription at the store so that took up a bit of time.  It always takes me at least a half hour to pick out the fabrics that I want to use.  I have to put them all together to make sure that they will all work with each other and that there is not more of one color than the other.  Normally I would have pick a lighter background than this, but I thought since there was yellow in most of the other selections this would work as the background.

I am a very slow piecer, particularly when I am working with small blocks.  I make sure to square everything up after EVERY step.  This may seem tedious, but with blocks of this size even being 1/16" larger can make a big difference in getting an exact measurement.  Don't let this stop you, it's not a race.  Enjoy the journey, take your time!!  Always remember, if your block comes out to small, add a small border around it.  The quilt police are not going to fine you for a deviation of the block.  It's your creative license to do what you want to make your block work for you!!!

If you haven't already signed up to get notification of when the FREE blocks are available, GO HERE and sign up today.  You can also join the The Splendid Sampler community/classroom on Facebook.

The second and third block of the Splendid Sampler have been released and I love seeing all the variations that people have made.  I had the second block done but just didn't get around to posting the picture, so here it is:

As you can see, I am not completely done.  I haven't embroidered the body or antenna yet. I will do that another day!  The third block is also available and I haven't started that one yet.  I think I will do that one this afternoon!  I hope you are having as much fun with this as I am!

If you haven't started yet, don't worry you can catch up.  Or you can just start with the next block and go back to these later! It is never to late to join, just Click here. All the patterns are free and there are additional bonus projects and tutorials!
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.The first block in the Splendid Sampler quilt has been released.  Hearts Aflutter by Pat Sloan was released on Valentine's Day! If you haven't already signed up to participate in the Splendid Sampler adventure you can do it right now.  It's FREE! You will receive a free block pattern every Sunday and Thursday for a year.  There will also be FREE tutorials and other FREE projects along the way!  For a whole year!!! For more information about the program, go to the Home page by ​Clicking here

You can also join the Splendid Sampler Facebook group.  This is a great place to meet all the other quilter's that are taking this journey and to see the photos of their blocks and the variations that they make.  We are a group of over 13,000 (and growing!!) from all over the world!  It's going to be a lot of fun.

I was asked to design a block, but mine won't be released until November.  In the meantime, I am going to be sewing along with everyone else.  The heart above is the one that I made.  I found an older stack of fat quarters that was just screaming to be used!  I will share my blocks with you on this journey and I invite you to share yours also!  Until next time......

What is the Splendid Sampler?  
 
Two friends and designers (Pat Sloan and Jane Davidson) got together over a cup of coffee and decided to do a project together that would join quilters from all over the world in one year long 100 block "Epic Adventure".  They invited 83 Fellow Designers they admire and Industry Leaders that support them to design a block and sew along with them. I was lucky enough to be included in that group!  

This is a mystery sampler.  Each block will be 6" finished and will use techniques ranging from pieced, to appliqué, to embroidery, to English Paper Piecing (EPP) or traditional Paper Piecing.  The blocks will be released twice a week, beginning February 14th.  There will be two holiday breaks for Christmas Day and New Years Day. The blocks will be FREE until March 2017!

There may even be a few bonus blocks and projects.

I haven't picked out the fabric that I will use yet to make my sampler, but I will keep you updated here and on my Facebook page.

Sew, sign up now and get to know us and let us get to know you! Already there have been more than 8000 quilters sign up to take this journey!  

JOIN THE SPLENDID SAMPLER ON FACEBOOK! or VISIT THE SPLENDID SAMPLER WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION!

The beginning of December and NO snow!  What is going on?  I don't mind the snow as long as it doesn't lay on the road to make driving treacherous and it isn't bitter, bitter cold.  I do like the first snowfall when everything is covered in a beautiful WHITE blanket!  It is so peaceful!  There are a couple of things I do LOVE about the snow and one of them is snowmen!  I love to build snowmen and I love to collect things with snowmen on them!  When I saw the collection, Blizzard Bunch, by Riverwoods I knew I had to order it.  It has been very popular and I have a bit left!  Here is a little slide show of some of the fabric that remains and it can be yours for $5/yard. The fabric is only available in one yard cuts.

Go to http://www.quiltessentialsonline.com/flannel.html and place your order while supplies last