Gingham Girls Stationery Kit

When I was a little girl, my mother sewed clothes for me and my sister whenever she could. After getting a glimpse of Amy Smart's new collection Gingham Girls for Penny Rose Fabrics, I was almost certain that she'd gotten a peek at my childhood closet. These prints would be right at home among those handmade dresses.

Light and happy and just a touch patriotic, Gingham Girls couldn't be more perfect for summer sewing.

I haven't stitched up a Stationery Kit from my tutorial in a while, and it always makes for a fun afternoon of sewing. While I love using these projects to hold note cards and stickers, they make sweet little sewing kits with just the quick addition of a felt rectangle for needles and pins.

I especially like using them for paper piecing. That snap pocket is just the right size for 1" hexagon paper pieces!

The more I work with Amy's fabric, the more I love it. I introduced her prints to my fabric stash too and found that it played really well with the rest of my collection. The kit was an early Mother's Day gift for my mom -- and a not nearly big enough "thank you" for all the gorgeous clothes she made for me over the years. I love you, Mom! You're amazing!!

Be sure to check in at Amy's website for more stops on the Gingham Girls tour in the next few weeks!

Hair Bow Pouch

I'm guest posting over at the Fat Quarter Shop blog today for this month's Pattern Makeover post. A fun block from Fat Quarter Baby has become the sweetest little pouch for hair accessories...donut charm included. Head over there to check it out!

Modern Triangle Quilts & Giveaway

It's an understatement to say how proud I am of my dear friend Rebecca Bryan. I've known this girl since the early days back when we were both starting our blogs and chasing toddlers around the house at the same time. She has completely blown me away as she's tackled challenge after challenge in the quilting business, always inspiring others with her creative work. I can't believe how many projects she can balance at once, and she has even more wonderful surprises up her sleeve that you'll be hearing about soon, I promise!

One of her most recent finishes was a gorgeous new book for Stash Books called Modern Triangle Quilts, and it was a joy for me to have a tiny part in it.

This clever take on sampler quilts features nothing but triangle blocks -- in equilateral, right, and isosceles versions, no less. It's such a great concept, and the patterns are so interesting to make.

All of the quilts in the book are made using only solid fabrics...with three exceptions: the sample blocks that Becca asked me to make featuring prints. I had an absolute ball playing with her patterns to come up with these mini quilts, and it was a wonderful challenge to see how I could highlight different aspects of the fabric designs. The mini quilt at the top of my post is the best example of this kind of fussy cutting -- so much fun!

Instead of a typical blog tour, Becca wanted to do something special to publicize her book. She asked a number of quilters to sew a block from Modern Triangle Quilts following a predetermined color scheme, and she has pulled them all together in a lovely new pattern called the Well Wishes Quilt. The pattern is currently on sale for a limited time through her blog for just $5 right here, and everyone who purchases the pattern will be entered for a chance to win the quilt. All proceeds from the pattern sales will be donated to Living Water International, a Christian group that digs wells for communities who have no access to clean water. You can read all the details at her blog post here.

Stash Books is giving away one copy of Modern Triangle Quilts to my readers (a hard copy to a U.S. resident or an e-copy to an international winner). Just leave a comment on this post to be entered to win, and be sure to include an email address if you're a no-reply commenter! The giveaway will close on April 18th.

Be sure to visit the other stops on the tour below!

Monday April 3rd: Jessee Maloney - www.artschooldropout.net
Monday April 3rd: Stash Books - www.ctpub.com/blog/
Tuesday April 4th: Heidi Staples - www.fabricmutt.blogspot.com/
Wednesday April 5th: Felice Regina - www.sewscatterbrained.com/
Thursday April 6th: Giuseppe Ribaudo - @giucy_giuce
Friday April 7th: Christa Watson - www.christaquilts.com/
Saturday April 8th: Christopher Thompson - thetattooedquilter.com
Monday April 10th: Karin Jordan - www.leighlaurelstudios.com/
Tuesday April 11th: Kitty Wilkin - nightquilter.com/
Wednesday April 12th: Nicole Daksiewicz - modernhandcraft.com/
Thursday April 13th: Sarah Thompson - www.sariditty.com/
Friday April 14th: Amy Sinibaldi - www.nanaCompany.typepad.com/
Saturday April 15th: Rebecca Bryan - www.bryanhousequilts.com

Happy sewing, friends!

Bountiful Four Patch Quilt

The first time I saw my brilliant friend Sharon Holland's new Bountiful collection for Art Gallery Fabrics, I thought, "She drew Texas!" Over and over again as I sewed, I felt as though I was l working with scenes from my own neighborhood in the hill country. Sharon has created a beautiful set of designs that feature a soft rainbow of colors and lovely pastoral themes. I quickly decided that I wanted to go old school with my quilt, settling on a simple four patch block set against a quiet background.

I paired Sharon's prints with a pure white solid, tossing in a few cream colored squares for interest. I quilted a quarter inch from each side of every seam, and for my backing, I used prints from Sharon's Tapestry collection which blend perfectly with the colors of Bountiful.

The quilt is bound in my favorite shade of AGF linen, Adobe Clay. I love using linen binding on quilts whenever I can. It's such a nice detail and makes a great contrast with the quilting cottons.

My oldest daughter is absolutely thrilled to be getting this as her new bed quilt for the spring and summer months. It's sweet and just a bit more grown up than anything else I've made for her. I think it will serve her well in the years to come. She and her sisters had a ball taking the quilt outside for playtime yesterday. They decided that it makes a lovely spot to sit outside in the fresh spring air.

It was such a joy as always to work with Sharon's fabric. Be sure to visit the other stops on the Bountiful tour listed below!

Tuesday, April 4
Emily Dennis
Blog: quiltylove
Instagram: emily_dennis_

Wednesday, April 5
Minki Kim
Blog: Minkikim
Instagram:@zeriano

Thursday, April 6
Heather Andrus
Blog: quiltstory
Instagram: quiltstory 

Friday, April 7
Sharon McConnell
Blog: colorgirlquilts
Instagram: @colorgirlquilts 

Monday, April 10
Silvia Sutters
Blog: astrangerview
Instagram: @astrangerview 

Tuesday, April 11
Elina Temmes
Blog : elinatemmes
Instagram: @elinatemmes 

Wednesday, April 12
Kim Niedzwiecki
Blog: gogokim
Instagram:gogokim

Thursday, April 13
Katie Skoog
Blog: TheSimpleLifeCompany
Instagram: @SimpleLifePatterns 

Friday, April 14
Cindy Wiens
Blog: liveacolorfullife
Instagram: @liveacolorfullife 

Monday, April 17
Maureen Cracknell
Blog: maureencracknellhandmade
Instagram: @maureencracknell 

Tuesday, April 18
Name: Lynn Harris
Blog : LynnCarsonHarris
Instagram: @LynnCarsonHarris 

Wednesday, April 19
Anjeanette Klinder
Blog : anjeanettek
Instagram: @anjeanetteklinder

Thursday, April 20
Mathew Boudreaux
Blog: misterdomestic
Instagram: @MisterDomestic 

Friday, April 21
Alexis Wright
Blog: mysweetsunshinestudio
Instagram: @myysweetsunshine 

Sue Stone
Blog: needleinafabricstash
Instagram: @needleinafabricstash

Happy sewing, friends!