TNT and Giveaway

New things I’ve tried:

1.  Basting spray!

Why didn’t I try this sooner?  I love to piece quilts, but I never get around to basting and quilting.  Switching from pin basting to spray basting may make all the difference!  I used an entire can this weekend, so I’ve got plenty of quilts ready to work on.

2.  I made a blog button!

Actually, I made two.  I am going to start a year long of giveaways on my blog, starting with a $25 gift certificate to Fabric.com.  Come back to my blog on August 1st for all the details, and if you’re interested, you can grab my blog button from my sidebar.

In the meantime, I have this book to give away.  As part of my giveaways, I am going to be paring down all the stuff I’ve accumulated in my three short years of quilting.  The first is this:

I love this book!  It is filled with beautiful photographs and fabrics.  But as part of my paring down, I have decided that I am not going to be attempting to make “fiddly things” anymore.  So, potholders are out.  I like quilts and that’s what I’m going to focus  my time on.

To enter, you must be a follower and tell me what you like to sew best.  Do you like quilts, too, or maybe zipper pouches, pillows, tablerunners, or bags?  The drawing will close on August 1st and I’ll randomly pick a winner.  Open to US residents only.

Don’t forget to check back here on August 1st for the first of many giveaways!!!

I’m linking up to TNT Thursdays at Happy Quilting.

Scrappy Log Cabin Trivets

What is your favorite quilt block?  For certain mine is the log cabin.  Stars are a close second.

I made these trivets for our dining room table.  They are so bright and cheerful and a perfect accompaniment to summertime dishes like Caprese salad.

They were first inspired by a fat quarter bundle of veggie fabric I bought on Etsy.  I love fresh produce and the way the veggies are so modern yet classic.

I also experimented a little with these small quilting projects.  First, I tried spray basting for the first time.  The trivet on the left, which is significantly larger and less wonky was spray basted.  I just pin basted the one on the right.  You can see the spray basted one shifted around a whole lot less, so when I squared it up, it finished at 8 1/2” square instead of 8” like the pin basted one, which needed a lot trimmed off to make it square again.

I also tried some free motion curves on the trivet on the far right.  I left the feed dogs up and I think my quilting was a little better.  Maybe.  Maybe not!

Linking up to Fabric Tuesday and Quilting by the River.

Potholders or something like that

Two Christmases ago my husband bought me a book I had checked out from the library multiple times, Pretty Little Potholders.  I’ve loved to leaf through the book just to look at the pretty photos, but I’d yet to make a potholder. 

I’m not sure if these classify as potholders since A) there are no hand pockets and B) there are no hangy loops.  But I did line them with Insul-Brite and another layer of batting, so I plan to use them on the dining room table when serving hot dishes, which I believe technically makes them “trivets.”

I got these awesomely modern farmer’s market prints on Etsy at Twigs and Twist.  I plan to make 3 more trivets with the other prints and then maybe a tablerunner or even dishtowels?  I’m not sure, but one thing I’m sure of is how much I love these prints!

I made log cabin blocks for the reverse side.  I had some problems with my layers shifting when I was quilting them, maybe because the batting layer was so thick, and everything was kind of wonky by the time I squared them up. 

But I like them nonetheless and they really spruce up my kitchen.  Did you see Pink Chalk’s newsletter this week?  Kathy featured SOTAK Handmade’s Scrappy Apples and if you look in my photos, you will see that I am the proud owner of one of them!!!  A few weeks ago I was really sick and Svetlana sent me the sweetest package with goodies for me and my daughters.  The apple was one of the treats and I was so thrilled when I saw it!  Wait till I show you what she sent my girls!

I’ve finished the quilt top of my “Come What May” Stash Bee quilt and I have learned a ton from participating in the bee for the past few months.  I hope to get some good photos of the quilt top in the next day or two.  So say tuned for awesome-y modern triangles and dark gray!