Crafted Appliqué: New Possbilities Blog Hop Winner!

Phew! I'm ptractically exhausted from reading and replying to all those wonderful comments left on my stop of the Crafted Appliqué: New Possbilities Blog Hop.

 

If you haven't already read them, it's well worth the time. So many creative tools. As for the lucky winner of a copy of Lara's awesome new book (as chosen by Mr. Random Number Generator) is #17. That's Tish @ Tish's Adventures in Wonderland!

J

P.S. I'm still reeling a bit from my adventures at Glamp Stitchalot this past week-end. Not to worry! There will most definitely be post(s) this week all about the shenanigans! Awesome barely covers it!

P.P.S. If you were here last Thursday looking for Throwback Thursday, never fear! Knowing that I would be away, I postponed it to Thursday, June 9th. See you in a couple days!

Crafted Appliqué: New Possbilities Blog Hop (and a giveaway!)

Those of you who know me well are thinking "WTF? Has she lost her ever loving mind? Appliqué? Really?" But seriously, when my pal, Lara @ BuzzinBumble asked me to jump on the blog hop for her new book, Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities, I couldn't say no.

 

I am NOT an appliqué devotee. You know that. It gives me a unique perspective. I've sampled lots of different techniques: needle turn, fusible web, white glue, glue sticks, hand, machine, you name it. I don't want to give Lara's unique approach away, so I'm not giving you the full run down on it. I will say there is Modge Podge involved. Fear not. Lara researched and tested the living daylights out of this technique and breaks it down into excellent step by step instructions.

She compares a number of traditional methods and gives their pros and cons. She also gives sample pics of those techniques. It reminds me of America's Test Kitchen and their recipe tests! And those stray threads always drive me bonkers. Glad to know Lara's technique will mean the end of them for me!

And then there are the projects. I wish there were a few more small ones, like this charming needle book. Yup, all those sharp edges on the phone box are appliqué! But honestly, this book is more about the technique than anything else for me. It can be applied (see what I did there?) to any appliqué project you've fallen in love with and are too chicken to try for fear of messing it up.

Want your own copy? Well, you can pop on over to BuzzinBumble and order your own signed copy. Or you can leave me a comment below about the craziest notion you've ever used while quilting (and we're not limited to appliqué here) and take your chances with a giveaway. And don't forget to pop on over to the rest of the blogs on the hop!

This giveaway is open to international participants until 11:59 Atlantic Time on Sunday, June 5th. If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave an e-mail in your comment. If I can't reach you, you can't win! ☺

J

Dog Gone Cute Twins!

Nope, they're not identical! There's not one pup the same in this whole litter!

 

Welcome to my stop on the Dog Gone Cute Blog Hop! I'm very excited to be showcasing (yet another) incredibly cute animal pattern by the lovely and creative Lorna of Sew Fresh Quilts. She's so generous with her creativity... if you're not a follower, you should be!

You can read more about the early stages of making these critters here and here.

For my project, I opted to make two small quilts, just 25½ by 18½ inches. They're destined to tuck around my 11½ month old twins in their car seats when winter sets in. And I hit my Cotton & Steel stash hard! BT's quilt features pups #4, #5,  #7, and #2 (clockwise from upper left) made from Dottie in Night Owl and XOXO in Ghost.

And for GT's quilt, I went for pups #1, #3, #6 and #8 using Cotton & Steel's XOXO in On the Rocks and  Netorious in Ivory.

Both quilts have C&S Sprinkle in Black Cat as the background, as well as Dottie in Cotton Candy for the inner ears and Netorious in Black Cat for the eyes.

To keep these quilts cozy, I used black polar fleece - a first for me! I was a little nervous about the fleece shifting during the quilting process, so I spray basted and pinned. I also decided not to FMQ as originally planned. Instead, I did random straight line quilting in black thread. Wherever possible, I outlined the pups.

I can never resist a gratuitous binding shot. Since I only had FQs of these C&S's Basics, I went with scrappy pieced bindings.

And now for a trade secret from A Quarter Inch from the Edge! How does one mark their rounded corners? With an emergency snack pack of rice cakes, of course!

Then on went the bias cut binding!

It was a gorgeous Nova Scotian fall day when the pups went outside to play in the leaves. I just couldn't resist snapping a few non-quilty pics!

It's the last day of the blog hop, so I hope you're not all tuckered out from the Dog Gone Cuteness. Click on over to these other blogs who are showcasing their finished projects today.

Abigail of Cut & Alter
Magdalena of iloveneutrals
Anne of Batiks by the Bay
Susie of Susie's Sunroom
Tracy of Tracy’s Bits N Pieces

And if you're a latecomer to the hop (and have some time on your hands!), you can visit all the participating blogs via the main page. There's also a link-up starting on November 3rd for your own Dog Gone Cute projects.

J

P.S. Even though it's not Friday (yet), I'll be linking up with TGIFF @ Faith and Fabric, as well as with Finish Up Friday @ Crazy Mom Quilts.

P.P.S Don't forget that next Friday is Throwback Thursday here at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. It's your chance to link-up an oldie but goodie (or not so goodie) from your dark and twisty quilty past. See you on November 6th!

My stop on the Meet MMQG Blog Hop!

Welcome to A Quarter Inch from the Edge and my stop on the Meet Maritime Modern Blog Hop! I'm very excited to be participating and hope you'll enjoy all the stops on the hop. Here I am... 

I'm usually the one behind the camera, not in front! I'm a Middle School French teacher by trade, but I'm currently on maternity leave with my nearly 6 month old twins. They're known collectively in blogland as Double Trouble (DT) or indvidually as GT and BT. I've been quilting for 17 years and loving fabric for a whole lot longer. I can't say I was always a modern quilter, but floral was never my thing!

A few short snappers about me:

• I have a mild obsession with Kona. (See Kona Love)
• I'm a life long Girl Guide. And yes, I have cookies for sale.
• Sewing is my favourite form of stress management (apart from chocolate).
• I am a strong proponent of breakfast dessert. 
• My travel research always includes local quilt shops.
  
• I am unable to resist watching the following movies if I come across them on TV: Footloose, Forest Gump, and School of Rock. And I usually have TV shows or movies playing while I sew.
• My first ever quilt was a queen sized double Irish chain that I quilted horizontally & vertically every 2 inches.... on my little 'ole Singer. It was forest green... yikes!
• My dream job? Nail polish color namer (or Kona namer... I'm not picky!)
• Some items on my quilty bucket list: Hawaiian appliqué, orange peel, and something made with every colour of the Kona rainbow.

Here are a few recent creations. Click the pic to read more about them...

My current WIP: Technicolor Galaxy -Skill Builder BOM from Pile o' Fabric

It's far from my only WIP, just the one I'm the most excited about! There's always at least half a dozen on the go... I keep a list that's updated each January.

So that's a little about things here at A Quarter Inch from the Edge. Tomorrow, our fearless President is taking up the blog hop torch. I hope you'll pop over to Chezzetcook Modern Quilts and see what's going on. I'm willing to bet you'll find a quilt (or seven) to fall in love with!

Here's the rest of the schedule for you readers who like to plan ahead!

Thursday, May 7 - Tracy @ Quilting on the Dark Side
Friday, May 8 - Anja @ Anja Quilts
Saturday, May 9 - Val @ Purple Boots and Pigtails
Sunday, May 10 -  Linda @ Scrapmaster
Monday, May 11 - Jeanette @ Stamp Stitch Create
Tuesday, May 12 - Dominique @ The Running Thimble
Wednesday, May 13 - Aimee @ Candy Coated Quilts

 

And now a little more fun stuff... a giveaway! I'm giving away a lovely little zipper pouch filled with some of my favourite things - sewing related and otherwise! To win, leave me a comment telling me what you'd do first if you had a million dollars (it's a favourite game of mine!) You get a bonus entry if you're a member of a modern quilt guild. Just leave a second comment telling me the name of your guild. The giveaway is open until Friday, May 15th at midnight Atlantic Time! 

J

Around the World Blog Hop

Hi all! It's my stop on the Around the World Blog Hop! Thanks to Kate from Thread Everywhere who asked me to be part of the hop. She was also a part of the Plum and June New Quilt Blogger Hop earlier in the summer.

As part of this hop, each participant was asked to share a little about our creative process... here's my 2 cents!

1. What am I working on?
As per usual, I have a number of projects on the go (and I'm not afraid to add something new if I feel like it!) Since January, I've been following the Pile O Fabric Skill Builder BOM. It pushes my limits in the technique department, but I've been really pleased with the results.

 I might just have concurred my paralyzing fear of appliqué... maybe.

 Since I'm soon to be a MoM (Mom of Multiples), I've been making a lot of baby stuff lately.

I have a few WiPs floating around the studio...

There's my Plus Two quilt(s).... it's now  layered and ready to quilt. And then there's this strip quilt...

It's the last hurrah for my batik stash and is destined to be donated to my local womens' and children's hospital for their youth mental health program. I kind of have a thing for making these super easy strip quilts. They're great scrap busters!


2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?
Honestly, I have no idea. I don't try to make it different... sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. I try not to be too influenced by what's going on out there in the blogosphere, but sometimes it's fun to have the collective feeling of a QAL or a bee. One of my favourite quilt-dorky things I like to do is to photograph my finished quilts in interesting locations, often outdoors.

 Miss K's Dare

 Mr & Mrs Cousin's Wedding Quilt

Transformer

3. Why do I write/create what I do?
As I joke whenever I introduce myself at my local modern quilt guild, A Quarter Inch from the Edge isn't just a blog name, it's a lifestyle. There are a lot of days when I'm anxious or depressed and making some time to be in my "studio" helps with those feelings. Making stuff makes me happy. I don't have to be sewing - I can be organizing fabric or gathering ideas on Pinterest. It's also the thing I do that no one else in my family does. I'm the quilter. I make stuff.

Go Your Own Way 

4. How does my writing/creating process work?
Sometimes I make things just because I feel like it... I might have seen a similar project on Pinterest or someone's blog. A lot of the quilted and sewn things I make are destined to be presents, so I'll fall in love with something and think "That would be perfect for X!" Then I'll get to making it.

 Oh Deer!

Now for the pay it forward part of my post...check out these great blogs!

Anja Quilts - She's a sister member of Maritime Modern Quilt Guild well as both the real life bees to which I belong (Do Bees and Q-Squared). Lately, she's been cranking out a pile of finishes!

Jada's Quilting Adventures - Another MMQG member and a newer quilter and blogger. Her recent owl quilt is super cute!

Buttons Quilts - Lynn's a Kona lover too and not afraid of a little Truth Tea now and then!

Thanks for visiting!

J

P.S. Pop back tomorrow for a little secret I've been keeping... there might even be a giveaway! ☺

My stop on the New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop!

Welcome! I'm really excited to be participating in Plum and June's New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop. It's an annual event that showcases new, modern quilt bloggers. It's a great chance to see new blogs and share this blog that has become a big part of my life over the past two years.

My name is Jenn and I live in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. When I'm not quilting and blogging about it, I'm a Middle School French teacher at a local independent school. The most exciting non-quilty news in my life these days is that Himself (as I refer to my husband throughout the blog) and I are soon to be parents of twins. Have I started their quilts yet? Nope! Still waffling on a design choice! ☺

*A note about the smudgies in the above photo. Not smudgies, but actual Canadian snowflakes.

A few fun facts about me and my blog:

• I'm a life-long Girl Guide.
• I use a LOT of Kona solids in my projects and (one of) my dream job(s) would be to name new Kona colours.
• I have a weakness for chocolate and peanut butter - together, apart, whatever.
• I can't throw away selvages. Just. Can't. Do. It. Especially if they don't just have dots on them...
• I like to take my finished quilts to fun locations for photo shoots.
• I use nicknames for friends and family on my blog and I rarely show anyone's face. Just because I have a blog, doesn't mean they want to find themselves on it!
• I don't talk much about my non-quilty life on my blog. I figure people read quilt blogs 'cause they like quilting - not because they care what I made for supper last night or what TV show I'm obsessed with (and that would be Downton Abbey BTW).

My tip for new quilt bloggers is to keep your blog layout simple. Let the star of your blog be your lovely work showcased in big, well-lit photos. I also like to include lots of links to resources I've used to make my blog not just a fun place to visit, but also a useful one!

And my general quilting tip? Make what you love. Period. A number of years ago, my practicality crippled my creativity. I was constantly worrying about where the quilt was going to end up, what it matched, etc. Now, if I feel like making something, I make it. There's always someone out there happy to give a home to your quilty love. Lots of my "just because" quilts make their way to the local women's and children's hospital. It brings me such joy to share them.

Now, my dear readers (and blog hoppers), before you hop over to check out the lovely blogs listed below, why not leave me a comment? I'll even give you a topic (said in Linda Richmond Coffee Talk voice). Perhaps you'll even talk amongst yourselves. What's your quilt-y guilty pleasure? Discuss!

 Elli @ Lovelli Quilts

Marcie @ Marcie's Quilt Therapy

Sharon @ Motherdragon's Musings

Cynthia @ Cynthia's Creating Ark

Jane @ Jersey Jane Quilts

Sally @ Wonky Patchwork

Bee @ Pink Almond Quilt

Debbie @ Quilting Makes My Heart Sing

Leanne @ Devoted Quilter

Karen @  Capitola Quilter

J

P.S. My quilty guilty pleasure is... Robert Kaufman's Kona solids. I love organizing (and re-organizing) my Konas. They're stacked in warm and cool piles and labeled with yardage and the colour name (even though I own a Colour Card!) I even have a scrap bin just for Konas! I can hardly wait for the 32 new colours to be available!