Don't stick a fork in it . . .

. . . but it's done!

Don't you love a finish?

It's almost as great a feeling as when you need a certain color of fabric and you simply MUST play in your stash for a while! (Grin)

This is the lovely border fabric that I used for my "Maggie's First Dance" quilt, of the free BOM from Jacquelynne Steves. And I had enough of that cute green print to make the binding strips. Score!

I like how the green makes a gentle edge . . . sometimes I like a little more contrast, but I really wanted the pieced and the embroidered blocks to be the stars of the show.

I especially love blind stitch on the binding (above). When I started quilting years ago, I did what I think is called whipstitch, and I was not happy with how it looked. Blindstitch videos are available on youtube, so if you are just starting out, check those and you'll be happy with your binding!

This is my system for wall hangings . . . I make rod pockets on both the top and the bottom, and then slip fairly thin dowels through. I like the way the entire top of the quilt is supported, and I also like that the bottom is held down nicely. No ripples or billowing, just a nice, straight project.

And here it is on the wall! Huzzah!

I had originally planned to display this in a different room, but when I realized that the blue half square triangles were a match for the walls in this guest bedroom? It's a no-brainer! This is its new home!

So, don't stick a fork in it, but it's definitely done!

We'll have more quilty merriment soon, so stick around!

Love,

We heard about a great giveaway!

UPDATE: THE LINKIE IS FIXED!!

Whoo hooo!

We love to play in the fabric!

We wanted to tell you about a great giveaway going on over at Jacquelynne Steves' new blog -- just click on this link and you will be whisked away in a cyber-flash to where all the action is!

She's got a sweet package of goodies up for grabs . . . go and check it out, and enter to win!

You can tell her we sent you!

Love,

(and DragonDrop!)

Add this to your weekend reading

I know that many of us enjoy drooling over, er, leisurely reading our favorite quilty blogs on the weekends, and I want to point you to a lovely blog that I believe you will enjoy.

One of our generous sponsors is Jacquelynne Steves; she is a fabric designer, pattern publisher, and Truly Nice Person. She has sponsored giveaways here at the Lilypad, and we love her creative offerings!

Recently she re-vamped her blog and her online shop web site, and the new site, The Art of Home, is just gorgeous.

I think you will be inspired by her posts, whether they are about quilting, recipes, or home decor. Add this link to your reading this weekend, and I know you will enjoy it. 

Grab your cuppa and take your time. You can browse Recipes and Food, Crafting and Sewing, and check out her Crafting Tutorials, also. 

And speaking of drool-worthy . . . have you seen her new line, Kashmir? Oh. My. Word. Stunning doesn't come close. Look . . .

 I tried to make a collage of the beautiful fabrics, but this just doesn't do them justice. Head over to Henry Glass to look, or look at this post on Jacquelynne's new blog.  Yummy!

Love,

Announcing our book winner!

Who is the winner of  "Child's Play,"  the wonderful new book by Jacquelynne Steves? Let's ask Mr. Random . . .


Here we go!

It's MtnQuiltr, who blogs over at My Quilting Addiction! (We can all identify with that, right?)

And she had a yummy idea for her waffles, too!

(Personally, I'm partial to ANYTHING that has the word peanut butter linked to it!!)

Congratulations! We'll be sending your information to Jacquelynne, and we hope to see what you create with all those project ideas!

Stop back in soon -- almost have another Swoon block ready to show you!

Love,

Let's have a giveaway!

This giveaway is closed now, but thank you for your interest...stay a while and look around here at the Lilypad, won't you?

I'm ever so excited that I've been asked to tell you about a wonderful new book -- it's available as a digital book, or as a "realio-trulio-print-book" --- whichever you prefer!

Are you ready? Let's see some of the fun things inside!

Yumm! I'm getting hungry! I love waffles --- what a great idea for a sandwich! Fun for kids and adults, too!

There are great photos with the instructions, so that kiddos can help with the meal prep!

There's a section full of crafts and activities . . .
In fact, there are over fifty pages of colorful and creative things to try in "Child's Play" by Jacquelynne Steves. You'll find:

2 quilt patterns (2 colorways each)
a tote bag pattern
3 stuffed animals with clothes
2 embroidered wall art projects
kids' activity sheets and crafts
recipes

What I think is so very cool, is the ability to view the tutorial videos! Yep, you just click on the link if you are reading the digital version, and you are whisked away to a tutorial on YouTube! For the print version, you can just enter the linkie into the URL bar of your browser, and you're off to the races, er, videos. 

The digital version of the book is only $12, and if you prefer to hold a real book in your hand, that is only $15.00.  International readers might prefer the digital book -- no shipping costs!

I just have to show you my favorite project in the whole book -- check out this adorable quilt:

There are so many great projects in Child's Play, and the colors are so bright and cheery -- the projects are designed and completed in the Happy Town fabrics that we have featured before here at the Lilypad.  This is such a fun book for spring --- so let's give one away!

Just one comment is needed . . . remember that yummy picture of the waffle sandwich up there? Well, tell me how you would construct your waffle sandwich; what meat or cheese or veggies would you use? We'll leave this open until Tuesday, and announce the winner after that!
The winner will receive a digital copy of the book from our dear friend Jacquelynne!
Good luck everyone!

Love,

 

Usin' up some scraps (Updated)

Sorry about the silence for the last few days here at the Lilypad . . . some things popped up that needed to be taken care of, so bloggin' had to wait!

I'm back to my machine on my lunch hours now, so I wanted to show you what I'd cooked up! Well, I'm going to show you some of the component parts, anyway.

Dummie here (that's Snoodles) was so excited when the project was finished, that she wrapped it up in the Happy Birthday paper and didn't take a picture of it! Duh.

Remember when I showed you the ginger cat pincushion that went to live with our good friend, Sasha, and her three terrifically handsome orange kitties?  You can click here to see it if you would like to.

That pincushion is made from template in the "It's Quilting Cats and Dogs" book by Lynnette Anderson. I love that book! There are super projects in it. 

My sis made me a wonderful threadcatcher . . . there are thread catchers of all shapes and sizes popping up all over blogland, and I love the idea. And my vacuum loves less thread on the floor to try and conquer! (Grin)

So, I put the pincushion together with a thread catcher! Here is how I rolled:

I used some of the pretty stripe scraps from the Jacquelynne Steves' Happy Town line and made the bag for the threads:

Then I found a scrap of darker orange for the hanger:

Next, I re-purposed some denim from a worn-out pair of jeans for a "rug" for the kitty to sleep on......the circular stitching is supposed to make it look like a braided rug:

Then the kitty himself. Again, some pretty orange scraps from Happy Town, and appliqued paws and stripes:

I'm hoping that the recipient will send me a photo of the finished kitty and threadcatcher, so that I can show you!


UPDATE:  Here are two pictures of the happy kitty in his new home! Happy birthday, sweetheart! Mom and Dad love you with all our hearts!

  Love,

Happy Town Tutorial

Be sure to click here and enter our giveaway . . . then you can come right back and check out the tutorial!

Remember this?

This is the top of the Happy Town quilt that we are making for the Quilts for Kids effort. 

This has been so much fun . . . I want to show you how I put this together:

The middle, of course, is that cute panel from Jacquelynne Steve's line, Happy Town. 

See this print with the stripes of happy little houses and trees and cars? 

I know, I know, it's a little bitty picture . . . but here is what it looks like when I sliced it up a little!

Aren't those vehicles adorable? Here's a closer look at those happy houses. (I'm starting to sound like Bob Ross with his happy little trees, aren't I? Haha! I love those videos!)  

I trimmed the slice of vehicles leaving a quarter inch on the edge that was green -- the next color in was the same red as the edge of the panel. 
I figured (crafty, aren't I?) that you wouldn't be able to tell if I stitched a little crooked that way. 
Check this out:

I did the same thing with the row of houses across what would be the top of the playmat:

By using those lines on the fabric, I made it nice and straight! 

Now, if you would like to make one of these, and you like my letters and my "heavy equipment" you are in luck! I'm listing the links on my "Tutorials" page, and all you have to do is click on them and you'll have immediate access to the Lilypad filing cabinet --- you can print out the patterns for the letters, and for the truck and the dozer, too!

Be sure to trace the letters IN REVERSE on the Steam a Seam if you use that wunnerful product . . . . . don't ask, OK? Just do it. You can say a little frog told you. (Grin) 
Then you can apply it to the wrong side of your fabric and cut the letters out. All that is left is to blanket stitch them to your background, like these:

The little red heart can perch there on top of the letter "H". . . 
 

Here is a close up so that you can see how to overlap the hook from the tow truck, and make the truck be hoisting the letter H into place:

I stitched around all of the parts of the heavy equipment, so that this can be ready for rugged use and lots of washings!
Here is the power portion of the 'dozer:

 
I'll be adding just a little more stitching to show the treads on that bad boy, and then he's ready to roll.
Some stem stitching made the strings for the balloons and the tow lines on the truck:

 
As soon as I finish those last embellishments on the dozer, this playquilt will be ready to sandwich, quilt and bind!

Now, if you are still reading this far, congratulations! 'Cos I'm going to give you one more way to enter our giveaway! Jacquelynne Steves has a new Facebook page, and you know how it is when you do that....you can't take your buddies with you! So go and like her new page, and then leave me a comment here --- I'll add these comments to the ones on the giveaway post, and you'll have yet another chance to win!
Yay!!!

Happy Sewing!  Don't forget to enter the Happy Town contest!!

Love,