Tuesday, June 30, 2015

A big finish! Well, a little one . . .

. . . in terms of overall size, that is! (Grin)

Check out my finished quilt from the Jacquelynne Steves' block of the month "Sew Sweet Simplicity." Yes, I know, everyone else finished theirs long ago.

But I DID finish!



I'm really happy with how this little quilt turned out. I decided to use it as a "practice slate" for some of the design elements I have seen others use in their free motion quilting. In the block centers, on two I went around the embroidery a couple of times, and then moved on. The other two were pretty heavily stippled, like this:


My Aurifil thread (40 wt white on top, 40 wt pink on bobbin) flew through the needle with no issues. I love how Aurifil performs -- no snarls, tangles, or breaks!

For the large stars, I did straight lines on some and loop-de-loops on others. Just trying to learn how to regulate my speed, and therefore my stitch length. You know we "keep it real" here -- you will see bloopers if you look at these photos! But I learned a great deal, and that is going to be important for other quilts that I work on.

 

You'll notice that I used charm squares from my thirties stash to go around the center (used colors that were in the blocks), and some scrappy strips were called in to play for the binding.


I'm over the moon happy with the one shot of blue I put in . . . there is something about blue that makes my soul sing. Does your favorite color do that to you?


Here's a shot of the back; it's a pink blender fabric from my stash. I tried to get some contrast so you could see the quilting:


Here is the quilt folded to show off the scrappy binding:


Hope you are joining us in the current Block of the Month from Jacquelynne! You can click on the badge up there on the right if you'd like to learn more about it.

Love,


Monday, June 29, 2015

Another Pet Show sponsor! Check out these prizes from Fat Quarter Shop!


Now, calm down, Padsworth, the show doesn't start until August.....

But we sure are going to have a great show! Lots of pets, lots of quilts, and lots of great prizes to win!

The Fat Quarter Shop is joining us again!


They are providing not one, but TWO gift certificates for $50 each! TWO lucky winners will go on a shopping spree!

Wonder what they will choose?

Will they click over to the "What's New" area and choose a bundle of Kate Spain Christmas love?


Or will they see some Harvest colorway Cultivate by Bonnie Christine?


Maybe some elegant, chic Reel Time by Zen Chic:


Or perhaps our winners will have had their eyes on a kit they would love to work on:


Fat Quarter Shop also has wonderful notions for us!

Aurifil thread (it's a must-have, here at the Lilypad!) can be yours individually, or by joining the club!

Or a pack of WonderClips or a special ruler . . .
 

All of these things and much more are waiting for you at the Fat Quarter Shop! You might be one of our lucky winners in August!

Thank you, Fat Quarter Shop, for sponsoring our Pets Show!

Love,

Sunday, June 28, 2015

A post for Sunday contemplation

I've been enjoying stitching up some more of Jenny of Elefantz's designs lately; check out this post for some that I showed before.

I love the one that I just finished:


Truly a comforting thought, is it not?
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  (Matthew 10:29-31)
 

Have a blessed and restful Sunday!
Linking up with the Stitchery Linky Party over at the lovely Super Mom No Cape blog!

Love,

 


PS: Update - Jenny has provided this pattern to help a ministry that is dear to her heart. If you would like to help, go to this link to learn more about it.

Monday, June 22, 2015

We have a winner!


Well, Mr. Random Number Generator had to try, try again, but on the third time, he pulled someone's name out of the hat that was not a no-reply commenter!

Yay! A special thanks to all of you who stopped back by and left your email addresses, and also to those who checked and changed their settings. You don't know how happy you make us, when we have a giveaway, and try to contact the winner, and we can just email them and say, "Congratulations!"

I hate to have to choose again....I get sad thinking about the first person who could have won. (Sniff)


(Pass me a Kleenex, will ya?)

OK!
Nothing but happiness, now! We have a winner to announce!

Mr. Random chose:
It's Shiny New Thing, who blogs over at Too Many Hobbies, Not Enough Time!  Wow, love that blog name . . . very familiar situation!

Congratulations, Shiny New Thing!
Enjoy your prizes!


Hope the rest of you are working on blocks one and two of our Cozy Afternoon project! If you haven't started, just hop over and sign up at Jacquelynne Steves'. . . . it's free!

Love,


Thursday, June 18, 2015

IMPORTANT UPDATE TO GIVEAWAY POST!!

This giveaway is closed, now....thank you for your interest!
I was trying to reply to all of the lovely comments on our giveaway post (scroll down to see the fun) and realized that out of the last ten comments I'd looked at, NINE of them were no-reply bloggers!!

Help!!!

Y'all want to win, don't you? If your settings are on no-reply, I can't email to let you know you have won!

Click on this tutorial and see how to change your settings so that I can reply to you!! Or, worst case, put your email into your comment like this:

                 name(at)gmailoryahooorwhatever(dot)com

I'm going to open up this post for the giveaway as well as the one below. (You're actually going to have another entry in the drawing!! How sweet is that?!)   Leave a comment on this post and make sure I can respond!

Maybe you will be our winner!!

Love,



Monday, June 15, 2015

Kicking off the new BOM! Cozy Afternoon! and a giveaway!

This giveaway is closed now, thank you for your interest! 
 
Yay! It's time to start the new BOM from Jacquelynne Steves! It's called the Cozy Afternoon Block of the Month and it's adorable! You are going to have so much fun!
 
Let's get started, OK?
 
Today is the day that the first blocks are sent out . . . have you received yours? The center of Block One is a teacup filled with blooms:
 
 
 I love the fabrics that Jacquelynne is using (check hers out at this link to her blog), but I raided my stash and came up with scrappy loveliness . . .
 

 
It's summer time, and these colors make me think of yummy sherbet!! OK, fine, it doesn't take much to make me think of sherbet, but these do the trick! (Grin)
 
I did have a teensy problem on one set of strips -- I think I had lost my focus and my quarter inch seam. Just keeping it real here:
 
 
Yep, I did. I made one strip a little narrower to make things fit. I'm hoping there will be so much else to look at, that no one will notice!
 
 
Block Two has a cute teapot!
 
 
I took this photo before I added the stitches for the bee's lil' trail.
 
 
Same great colors, just different placement, and love those squares in rectangles!
 
 
One more of the whole block, just cos I love it!
 
 
I sure hope that you will join us in this fun Block of the Month party! It's easy to get started; just go to Jacquelynne's blog and click on the link to sign up!
 
And today we have a giveaway! Two wonderful quilt patterns! I've worked with Jacquelynne Steves patterns before, and you will not be disappointed! Great instructions and clear photos and drawings make it easy to put together a quilt top very quickly!
 
 
Leave a comment on this blog telling me what colors you are creating your Cozy Afternoon blocks with . . . and if you are not yet signed up, hop over there fast!!
 
We'll leave our giveaway open for a week and then ask Mr. Random to draw a winner!
 
Be sure to check out the other bloggers' blocks, too!
 
                                         Heidi at Red Letter Quilts
                           Julie at The Crafty Quilter
                        Teresa at A Quilt and a Prayer
                            Kathryn at Kathy's Quilts
                             Bev at 44th Street Fabric
 
Good luck!
 
Love,
 
 

Saturday, June 13, 2015

Check out the giveaway over at the Victorian Motto Sampler Shop!

Wowser!

As a stitcher, as well as a quilter, I am in love with color! Look at the yumminess here:


There are 80 beautiful, 20 yard skeins . . . 1600 yards of floss there! If you would like to have the opportunity to win those lovely, hand-dyed colors to use in your stitcheries, just head over to the Victorian Motto Sampler Shop and enter to win!

Pardon my dust . . . I'm going over there right now! (Grin)

Love,



Tuesday, June 9, 2015

A new sponsor for the Pets Show!

Please put your paws together for our newest sponsor for the August Pets on Quilts Show!!


Hi everyone! Padsworth here! DragonDrop and I want to tell you the latest update on our show!


Many of you know our lovely friend Barbara at Bejeweled Quilts. I've followed her for so long that I probably qualify for froggie stalker status . . .  She creates lovely quilt blocks, quilts, table toppers and more.

Many of her great designs draw on her life experiences -- having spent a year in Samoa, there's a special place in her heart for the beautiful Samoan fabrics. There is something about them . . . they can take just two colors and make such beauty!

 
Barb creates lovely quilt blocks,

 

quilts,


and so much more. You'll find totes, burp cloths, Tree of Life quilts, and table toppers showcased on her blog, Bejeweled Quilts by Barb.

Barb is an Island Batiks ambassador, too, and creates lovely things with the batik lines that they offer. You should hop over to her blog and tell her that Padsworth sent you!
 
Inspiration alert!  (Grin)  She has oodles of great patterns for you to choose from in her Craftsy store!
Click on this link to see --  I'm warning you, you will love what you find, and you'll be adding things to your to-do list!
Things like this:

 
And this:

 
Or maybe this:


Barb is sponsoring our show for the first time! She is offering one lucky winner this package:
                     
          Two patterns from her shop
        Batik squares: 40 assorted 5" squares

We're so excited and happy to have Barb sponsoring our show that we almost fell off the Lilypad!
(Waving) Thanks, Barb!!

Love,