blogger bundle GIVEAWAY!

UPDATE - GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

Yes, yes, yes! It's my first GIVEAWAY ever! I'm so proud to introduce you to the Greg Jones Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle for Fat Quarter Shop!

I was excited when Fat Quarter Shop asked me if I'd like to curate a collection of fabric. Actually, that's a huge understatement. I was completely over-the-moon excited! It's the closest that I've gotten to my "gee wouldn't it be fabulous to be a quilt fabric designer" dream. So here it is, my first group of fabrics just for you! 

My goal was to put together a collection that would give you the full Grey Dogwood Studio fabric experience. I try to incorporate dots, plaids, florals, and an occasional novelty print into every quilt project. And in the past year I've been experimenting with white-on-white and colored backgrounds. They really do add a whole new layer of interest to quilts. So of course, we needed some of those fabrics for you.

Here we have three of my favorite Moda Bella Solids in Fuchsia, 30's Yellow and Amelia Green, atop a classic white-on-white dot by Sunrise Studio / Lakehouse. Pure vintage color, just like the quilt that I WISH I would find at the flea market or antique shop.

I added in 11 brand new fabrics from Just Dreamy 2 by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake, Pam Kitty Morning for Lakehouse Dry Goods and Wildflower Meadow by Melly & Me for Riley Blake.

Ok, so here's my little insider secret that won't be a secret anymore. I chose these fabrics by scouring/stalking the designer's websites, because the fabrics hadn't even been printed yet. And I had to just hope that they'd all work together. When the first blogger bundle arrived from Fat Quarter Shop last week I just couldn't believe how beautiful they are and how well they all play together. I've already started to cut mine up and very soon I'll show you a butterfly quilt that I'm working on.

I hope that you like it as much as I do. I hope that you hop over to Fat Quarter Shop to pick up your Greg Jones Blogger's Choice Fat Quarter Bundle. (And don't forget that it's ok to buy yourself a Valentine's Day gift!)

And those lovely people over at Fat Quarter Shop have given me an extra blogger bundle to give away! All you need to do is leave me a comment here (not an email) and let me know what you would make with this bundle. No need to do anything tricky, although, of course, I'd love it if you choose to follow me via Bloglovin' or subscription (links on top right column) or even over on Instagram (I'm greydogwoodstudio). Easy, right? And make sure that your email address is included when you comment so that I can notify the winner. I'll leave the giveaway open until Saturday, January 31 midnight EST. (UPDATE - GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.)

moda modern building blocks update

How did I let nearly two months go by without working on the Moda Modern Building Blocks, Fig Tree Style? It's time to get caught up!

It's fun to receive the block-of-the-month fabric packets from Fig Tree. My challenge is that if I don't start sewing them immediately, then I move onto something else. (Kinda like magazine subscriptions, right? I'm reading January issues quickly, before the February issues arrive.)

I love watching the contrasts develop each month. I'd probably never put these colors together by myself, so in this case, it's nice that somebody else has made the fabric selection for me. These fabrics are Fig Tree's Somerset, Mirabelle and Moda Bella Solids. But I'm getting itchy and might start to shuffle some of the block colors, because, you know, I'm a quilty rebel. Haha.

Look at those two super-easy blocks! A big 'ol 6" half square triangle block in grey toile and coral dots. It almost seems like it's a cheater block because it only took 5 minutes. It should be a component of a block instead of a real block! It was a treat to sew after some of the more difficult blocks, and it gave me a chance to showcase the entire white flower.

The orange and green star block nearly killed me. I spent an entire night on that little 6" block! It was all about sew, unsew, repeat, and yet I love the finished star. I won't think about how many of those magazines I could have read in that time!

I have 30 blocks done! Just 19 to go. And the January fabric pack has new colors, like teal and a frosty green houndstooth.

Today marks my 1 year blogging anniversary! Another anniversary is about to arrive soon, along with a few milestones. I think that this calls for a celebration. Stay tuned!

(And before I forget to tell you, I added photo links to my new Blogger's Bundle at Fat Quarter Shop and the Snapshots quilt along. They're near the top of the right column. Click them for more information. More about that Blogger's Bundle soon!)

snapshots quilt along starts now!

I'm so excited today! Why? It's the first month of the Snapshots Quilt Along! I'll give you the full scoop in just a minute. But first, I gotta show you this month's block! It's a LAYER CAKE! 

Just what we need right after the holidays, right? A big piece of yummy cake. Except that this cake has no calories. None whatsoever. And we can all feel good about having our cake because the Snapshots Quilt Along is a fundraiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

On the 15th of each month for twelve months, Fat Quarter Shop will post a block pattern that you can download. The link to this month's pattern is here. The blocks represent snapshot-worthy moments in our lives, such as sewing (of course!), food, entertainment and pets. (My cats can't wait for me to hurry up and get to the kitty block!) The patterns are free, but a donation of $5.00 per pattern is suggested. St. Jude will benefit from the funds raised, and Moda Fabrics and Fat Quarter Shop will match donations, with a goal of $10,000. As I write this, donations are already at $2040, and today is just the first day!

I'll be sewing with the Snapshots kit. It features Bonnie & Camille's hot new Daysail fabric collection for Moda Fabrics. I'll also add in some of Bonnie & Camille's Miss Kate just to be a little different from the kit. The kit is available for preorder here, and it even includes a spool of Aurifil thread and some buttons for the cat and dog eyes. There's also a backing kit which has a camera block. But you can definitely get creative and use your stash or your own customized fabric collection. All you need to do is download the pattern each month and you're ready to sew! I'd love to see this done in Me & My Sister's new Bandana fabric, a grouping of Fig Tree fabrics, or Bunny Hill's new Mistletoe Lane.

Bonnie & Camille have even filmed a tutorial on how to assemble the cake block along with Kimberly Jolly from Fat Quarter Shop. You'll see that the block only looks complicated. It's easy to do when broken down into simple steps. And there's no applique and no templates!

Each month, I'll be sewing along with a group of amazing designers and bloggers. I'm honored to be included with this talented group of ladies. Be sure to hop over to be inspired by their cake blocks, too.

• Camille Roskelley of Thimble Blossoms
• Bonnie Olaveson of Cotton Way
• Pat Sloan of The Voice Of Quilting
• Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet
• Sherri McConnell of A Quilting Life
• Melissa Corry of Happy Quilting
• Thelma Childers of Cupcakes N' Daisies
• Pam Viera McGinnis of Pam Kitty Morning
• Anne Sutton of Bunny Hill Designs
• Stephanie Kendron of The Modern Sewciety
• Natalia Bonner of Piece N Quilt
• Greg Jones of Grey Dogwood Studio (hey, that's me!)
• Jessie Fincham of Messy Jesse

Even more details can be found here, along with a preview of all the upcoming blocks! I do hope that you'll join us. It will be fun for a good cause!

christmas in january?

It's a little weird to work on a Christmas quilt in January. It seems appropriate since this quilt has lots of little snowmen prints. And it's c  o  l  d here in NYC. As I write this, it's 13 degrees in Central Park (3 blocks from my home) and it feels like NEGATIVE 3. It's going down to 7 degrees tonight. I'm one of those crazy people because I love winter and snow and snowmen and ice! (Ok, the sleet on Saturday was not fun.) 

This blurry pic was taken with my iPhone this past weekend. I always like to do a test layout before I sew my blocks together. I originally planned to have my strips of geese flying in opposite directions. But when I did that it just looked like a confused, directionless mess with no visual focus. Carrie Nelson's pattern is perfect just the way it is. The individual pattern seems to be out of print, but it can be found in the book A Touch of Rosie, which is what I'm using. It's full of good stuff!

So here's the look that I'm going for. Mostly. I'm going to simplify the border slightly.

These prints still make me happy! Anne Sutton's Bunny Hill Designs prints are always fun. This collection is Winter Wonderland, and it completely reminds me of candy canes. Anne has another Christmas collection coming out this month that I've already preordered! And Anne is offering a free monthly ornament pattern on her blog here. Just wait till you see her cute appliqued, embroidered snowmen angel ornaments.

And now the geese get sewn into strips! Lots of simple sewing, just perfect to do while listening to iTunes and drinking hot tea!

playing dressmaker

Nine happy, springy dresses are all sewn into the quilt center! The best part has been coming up with each color combination. Really, it's hard to go wrong with these Pam Kitty Garden prints. I love how the For The Frill Of It pattern requires NO sashing! The blocks all nest together perfectly with no seams to match. Love that.

And now it's border time. The pattern has a scalloped, postage stamp style border. I'm just trying to decide on my fabrics so I can get them ordered! Aqua? Pink? Red? Decisions! The kit features red, white and blue borders... but I might go with pink and fuchsia. Or maybe scrappy? 

At least my dresses aren't all black, like the dresses that I saw on exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in NYC this past weekend. Let me explain.

Death Becomes Her features a century of dresses, accessories, illustrations and photos related to mourning. Thirty outfits are displayed, representing the impact of fashion on mourning attire from 1815 to 1915. It was fascinating to learn about the informal rules governing how women dressed, starting with simple black crepe and gradually adding touches of white, grey, lilac and embellishment. There were even shops that sold only mourning apparel and accessories! Mourning gowns worn by Queen Victoria and Queen Alexandra are included. The exhibit runs through February 1. (It's actually been there for a few months, but who wants to see mourning gowns during Christmas happiness?!)

for the frill of it

It's finally here! I am so excited that the new Pam Kitty Garden fabric has arrived!

How perfect is this? The colors and patterns seamlessly coordinate with all the previous collections by Pam Kitty Morning. But now she's added AQUA to the lineup. I love those cute little bluebirds with umbrellas. (I'm sure that they are singing in the rain.) And then there's the vintage seed catalog with an overprint of flowers and tiny strawberries. The plaid will be the perfect binding fabric. Pam Kitty Garden comes in two colorways, Aster (aqua/red/yellow) and Pansy (navy/pink/green).

Ok, so now what to make with it?

How about For The Frill Of It by It's Sew Emma?

This pattern features 9 dresses in two different styles - a wrap top and a sundress. Maybe if Diane Von Furstenberg made dresses in Pam Kitty Morning's fabric they would look like this. (Or maybe I'm just crazy, or perhaps I've been overly influenced by Diane's reality tv show "House of DVF" that just wrapped last week. Haha. Get it?)

Where was I before that digression?!

Oh, the other dress! It's a sundress.

As I was sewing the sundresses, I cracked up at how funny the partially completed blocks were... see, it looks like I was making something else, right?

I used a solid Kona White background for all my blocks. The plainness feels fresh right now. Most of my recent quilts have had print or white-on-white backgrounds.

I also really like how the navy prints help to cut the sweetness factor, and I used them sparingly.

The pattern is fully pieced, with stitch-and-flip corners. No triangles, no templates and no paper piecing either! I found that they were much easier than I had expected... especially the sundresses.

All nine dresses have been made, and now it's time to stitch them together into the top. I also need to order some fabric for the pieced border, once I figure out which prints to use!

Meanwhile, I'm already working on a second, secret project with more Pam Kitty Garden fabric! There are LOTS of half-square-triangles. Here's just a sneek peek. I'll have the full quilt to show you in late January.

Pam is also working on a few projects using her new fabric. Have you checked out her blog here? She always has something entertaining going on!

When I was writing this up, I discovered that Fat Quarter Shop has even created a kit for this same quilt, which will be available to ship in January. It has the same fabrics as mine, but different placement, and my border will probably be different colors. Or of course, you can use your stash and personalize your dresses.

In case we don't have a chance to talk tomorrow, Happy New Year! Have fun and be safe! I'll be at home watching tv - New Yorkers don't go anywhere near Times Square! I used to live on West 43rd Street, RIGHT THERE IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. Now I like seeing it... from afar! (The ball was installed today! Here it is!) 

Happy New Year!

merry christmas

me at 2 years old... probably hoping that santa brought Crayola crayons!

May your Christmas be merry, bright, and joyous!

snapshots quilt along!

I've joined the Snapshots Quilt Along! I will be sewing twelve novelty blocks that capture life's happy snapshot-worthy moments! We all take pictures of our pets and our food, right? Well, this quilt includes cat and dog blocks to go along with cake, ice cream and picnic food! We'll also create some outdoor-inspired blocks, such as a hot air balloon, bicycle, sailboat and Volkswagen.

All twelve blocks, borders, binding and backing use Bonnie & Camille's hot new fabric collection for Moda called Daysail. I love the happy aqua, red and navy in this collection. And look at the cool white-on-white print! Would I be weird if I said that the white print reminds me of sequins? Here are some of my very favoritest prints in the collection.

But maybe the best part is that the Snapshots quilt along will benefit St Jude Children's Research Hospital to help advance cures and preventative measures for children's illnesses. Fat Quarter Shop and Moda Fabrics will match up to $10,000 of the donations that are received during the quilt along. I love that, and I'll be making monthly donations right along with everybody else to help reach this goal.

So here's how it works. Fat Quarter Shop will post a pattern pdf which can be downloaded on the 15th of each month. There will be twelve monthly block patterns. The first pattern will be posted on January 15 and will be a yummy, layer cake (y'all remember my cake obsession, right?!) A donation to St Jude of $5 is requested each month when you download the pattern, although, of course, you may donate whatever you wish. And trust me when I say that these highly detailed patterns are well worth your time and donation. I've already started to work on the layer cake. Everything is rotary pieced! Here's a little peek!

You can use your own fabric! So get creative and clean out your stash! Or go ahead and sew with the Daysail Snapshots kit to make a quilt that looks like mine.

I'll post my block each month on the 15th, along with a link to the pattern. Fat Quarter Shop will also have a fun, tutorial video each month to help you sew your blocks. Here is a link to an introductory video that Kimberly Jolly taped with special guests, Bonnie Olaveson and Camille Roskelley to introduce you to the quilt along. (It is fun to finally hear Bonnie and Camille speak!)

I will be sewing along with a great group of talented designers and quilters. I'm honored to be a part of the group, and I can't wait to see their fabric combinations. Find even more detailed information about the Snapshots quilt along (and a preview of all the blocks) here.

I do hope that you'll join me!

(Do you see how I've loaded so many links onto this post? That's because my new computer works quickly and efficiently!!! Yay! Adding posts to my blog is fun again!)

snowman stars

Hi everybody! I have been busy in the past few days finishing up those red and white flying geese for my Due South quilt. And they're done! Whew! I was so happy to be able to move on to the stars. But... to make these eleven stars, I first needed to make another 44 mini flying geese!

Flying geese. Hummm. I really like interesting birds. I even went on a boat to a deserted island in Maine to see puffins! But not pigeons. There are waaaay too many pigeons in this city. I'm not surprised that quilters don't have a 'flying pigeon' block!

I also decided on a setting which will be slightly different from the pattern. My geese are going to fly in different directions that represent my own migratory pattern. I promise to explain that very soon!

The stars will alternate with the geese, like this.

In non-quilty news, my new laptop computer arrived today! I am sure that this will make it more enjoyable for me to write my blog. It will replace a 7 year old laptop that has become slow and unreliable in the past few months. Most of this post was written on my phone. I hope that my next post will be done from the new HP touch screen! 

bring on the snowmen!

I love red and white quilts at Christmas. And I love the Winter Wonderland collection by Bunny Hill Designs for Moda with happy snowmen, stars and trees!

I bought a fat quarter bundle when it first came out several months ago. But I had no idea how to use it! Most red and white quilts seem to be in solid fabrics, or else they're in vintage turkey reds. I searched though photos from the Infinite Variety show of red and white quilts in NYC a few years ago. That didn't help... most of the quilts were done in solids. Then I bought several patterns but none of them were exactly right. Finally, while reading A Touch of Rosie Quilts by Carrie Nelson, I came across this quilt.

I thought that this might look like shattered peppermint candy if it was done in red and white prints. And of course I love peppermint candy! So I had my pattern. 

Once again, I'm using the Fit To Be Geese ruler to create accurate flying geese. There is very little wasted fabric when using this ruler, and even the trimmings look pepperminty!

Winter Wonderland sold out quickly. There is some on the Bunny Hill website, and there is plenty of it on Ebay. If you're lucky, you might even find a few bolts at your local quilt shop. I'll need to buy yardage for my backing before it disappears!

The quilt will need 212 geese, and I've finished 152. The repetitive sewing and trimming is actually a nice break from my previous quilt project - no thinking involved! Just cut, sew, trim, repeat! The quilt will also have a sprinkling of twinkly stars.

Oh, and in case you thought I just made 152 geese instead of sleeping, well, I didn't! I've been quietly working on these over the past few weeks, in between other projects.

A Touch of Rosie might be out of print, but Carrie has just reissued Due South as an individual pdf pattern. It can be purchased for download on her website. 

december finish! have yourself a quilty little christmas

Yay! I've finished piecing Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas! Now I really want to take it off of my design wall and have it quilted! 

The stocking and wrapped candy just might be my favorite block. I spent awhile auditioning fabrics. The pink candy fabrics were easy. But the stocking has several seams so I stayed away from large prints. That meant pulling every single red fabric out of my closet. And then putting them all away. I love the dimensional hanging loop.

Now can we talk about the border? It took days to piece! It's made of four-patches mixed with alternating squares. The four patches measure 2" finished. It's constructed in a really interesting way - I didn't actually sew 1 1/2" squares. It started with a large pile of small squares...

And a few days later, four borders were finished and attached! I love this border with scrappy, controlled fabrics and 360 pieces. 

Now for the specifics. Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas was an online quilt along designed by Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet. It measures 34" x 46". Many of the block patterns are in her book Quilty Fun. The specific Christmas-themed blocks were designed just for this quilt along, and the instructions for those blocks were posted by Lori on Instagram. They do not appear in a print version. You can find the free instructions for the tree, present, gingerbread cookie, stocking and ornament by checking Lori's feed on Instagram (it's @beelori1) or by scrolling through #haveyourselfaquiltylittlechristmas. It was fun sewing along with many, many other quilters. We all encouraged each other, and I think that it became competitive, but in a fun way. There are lots of different interpretations of this quilt, and they all look fabulous.

My fabrics are a big mishmash of everything in my stash! The only new fabric that I bought was a fat quarter bundle of Sugar Rush by Josephine Kimberling for Blend Fabrics. I used just six of those prints, but they established the mood. So there's plenty of everything else from my stash. I added anything that matched! 

Ok, I'm ready for my next project!

fig tree mini stems quilt

I started and finished another Christmas quilt... in two days! It's the Mini Stems quilt by Fig Tree and Co. It measures just 19" x 25" and it can be made with a 5" charm pack and some additional background and border fabric. There is also a full-sized Stems quilt pattern that uses a jelly roll to create the leaves. I knew that the mini quilt would be the perfect way for me to test the pattern without a major time commitment. As an additional incentive, the mini quilt was this month's quilt along project hosted by A Quilting Life and Pink Pincushion. 

I've mixed red and green prints from several different Fig Tree collections. I used Strawberry Fields, Avalon, Tapestry, and the current Somerset collection. Everything I needed was already on my shelves. I didn't need to buy anything!

Each of those little leaf units measures 2" x 3". The corners are made with a stitch-and-flip construction, and I squared up my corners (with a square Omnigrid ruler and rotary cutter) throughout the process. This helped to ensure that my stems would grow straight up. I did not want wobbly stems! I tweaked the pattern slightly so that I could cut my borders from a fat quarter instead of buying yardage. It worked perfectly. My border is a taupe houndstooth Somerset print. It reminds me of wicker or rattan, and I think it's an elegant way to tone down the reds and greens. 

And Happy Thanksgiving to my US readers! I think that many of you know that I live in NYC, and today I went to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I LOVE this parade. It's magical to see those balloons in real life!

I've attended the parade several times over the years. There are the happy balloons that we all know so well - Snoopy, KoolAid, the fireman, the stars, as well as the newer balloons like Hello Kitty and the dragon from How To Train Your Dragon. The bands play as they march, and thousands of clowns throw confetti at the crowd.

But here are some things that you might not have known. The musical acts perform right in front of Macy's, and only invited guests can watch them. So the rest of the 3.5 million viewers (yes, really!) see floats go by with bundled-up anonymous performers. I didn't even see Kiss, even though they performed at the Macy's stop. And seriously, I am ok with that. After all, I saw Cookie Monster, Elmo and Oscar the Grouch dancing in their house. I saw Mr. Peanut waving from his peanut-on-wheels. Who needs anything else?

Oh, and more details that you don't see on tv. There are metal barricades lining the parade route, and police shut off many of the streets. The bomb-sniffing dog was next to me while helicopters circled above. And yet, the crowd is cheery and friendly. While many people arrived as early as 6am to claim their spaces, I got there just as it was kicking off with Thomas the Train and I saw everything just fine. It snowed and I shivered. Should I mention that there are no bathrooms? But it's really a priceless experience. If you ever have the opportunity to see this, be sure to go, because I can assure you that you and your kids will remember it forever. Happy Thanksgiving!

quilty christmas update

I'm making progress on the Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas sampler!

These blocks are SO MUCH FUN to sew. Once I pick out my fabric (and you know how that can take hours!) the blocks go together in no time. Well, except for Mr. Cookie. He took a little longer since I'm not used to working with ric rac. I learned that ric rac isn't scary at all.

I'm a little obsessed with my gingerbread candyland theme here. It all came from that one candy print.

And for my spools, I selected fabrics that would look like ribbons and lace trims. I'm going to be really sad when I run out of this red lacy Flower Sugar print!

And even more ric rac, now on an ornament!

There is still time to join in on the fun! Details for the sew along are posted almost daily on Instagram by Lori Holt, with several new blocks created just for this sampler. You'll also need a copy of the Quilty Fun book. 

And before I leave you today, I want to say thank you for all the happy emails and comments about the upcoming blogger bundle of fabric that I selected for Fat Quarter Shop. I really appreciate it, and I will share more information and projects when the bundle arrives in the shop.

sneak peek! blogger's choice bundle for fat quarter shop!

I am SOOOO excited to share this sneak peek of my upcoming Blogger's Choice fat quarter bundle for Fat Quarter Shop!

I almost couldn't believe it when Fat Quarter Shop contacted me and asked if I would like to put together a selection of my favorite new fabrics for you. And once I got over the happy shock, I immediately started pulling fabric swatches.

I knew that I needed to have all of my favorite types of prints. I started with a floral focus print, and then added medium-sized blender prints. I then tossed in my absolute essentials - dots and plaid! A white-on-white dot livens up classic white. I finished up with three classic solids that I just cannot live without - hot pink, leafy green and buttery yellow. 

The bundle contains fabrics from some of my favorite upcoming collections:

• Just Dreamy 2 by Zoe Pearn for Riley Blake
• Pam Kitty Garden by Pam Kitty Morning for Lakehouse  Dry Goods
• Wildflower Meadow by Melly & Me for Riley Blake
• Sunrise Studio by Holly Holderman for Lakehouse Dry Goods
• Moda Bella Solids 

These prints are so new that they aren't even in the shop yet! The Greg Jones Blogger's Choice fat quarter bundle will be available in January 2015. I'll share more about these fabrics when they become available, and I CANNOT WAIT to start sewing with them. I'll share some fun, fat-quarter-friendly quilts and maybe even some other projects. 

I do hope that you like the bundle. Maybe you could even give Santa a hint that you'd like this as a post-Christmas gift! Would you like to be notified by Fat Quarter Shop as soon as the bundle is available? Or just want to see more details about the exact print? The bundle is already on their website here. 

have yourself a quilty little christmas

I've joined the "Have Yourself A Quilty Little Christmas" sew along!

Lori Holt of Bee In My Bonnet is hosting the sew along on Instagram. It's a fun way to use the Quilty Fun book to make some cute, quick blocks for Christmas. This might surprise you, but I had exactly ZERO Christmas themed fabrics in my stash! I quickly ordered a bundle of Sugar Rush fat quarters. I don't normally use novelty fabrics, but I'm breaking free of that and I'll have a retro/vintage/kitschy Christmas!

That's my little gingerbread house! I love the easy simplicity of making just one of each block. The fabric placement is the best part. I'm mixing nearly anything in my fabric stash with the Sugar Rush fabric - Bunny Hill's Winter Wonderland, Lori Holt's Flower Patch, Bonnie & Camille's Miss Kate, Pam Kitty Picnic... anything that works together. No rules!

Lori even created a special Christmas tree block that isn't featured in the book. I just had to use the blue and green swirly peppermints here!

Many of us are sewing along with Lori, with absolutely no idea how many blocks we'll sew or how large the finished project will be. That's a lot of trust, but it's been fun so far! And you can join us! Specific block info can be found on Instagram by following @beelori1 and under #haveyourselfaquiltylittlechristmas. While you're there, be sure to see what I'm up to by following me at @greydogwoodstudio. 

scrumptious 100 patch quilt

Remember the fat quarter bundle of Bonnie & Camille's Scrumptious fabric that I bought at Quilt Festival? (I know that you didn't forget about it!) I carried it onto the plane rather than putting it into my checked suitcase. I'd rather lose my clothes and shoes than my new fabric!

Well, it didn't take me long to open it up and start cutting.

I knew immediately what I was going to make! It's a 100 patch block as seen in the Sept/Oct 2014 issue of QuiltMania magazine. It was shown in deep, rich colors, but I knew that it would take on a much fresher look with lots of bright citrus colors. Each square is 1", with a finished block of 10". You won't believe how different this quilt can look with a color makeover.  

QuiltMania magazine Sept/Oct 2014 issue 103

The big question was which background fabric to use. I considered the Scrumptious white-on-white bias stripe (you can see this in the background behind my blocks), but I only have a few yards in my stash, with no idea how much I'll really need. I have a whole new bolt of Kona Snow. Perfect!

It's completely strip pieced, and each fat quarter will make two blocks. I have enough fabric to make this much larger than the pattern! I might add in some Miss Kate scallops (the "sundae" print) just because they're so cute, and they'll add another textural element. I'm also thinking that I might alter the pattern by adding some sashing, which would help to keep the focus on the fabric within each block. The blocks are super easy to sew, but they take me awhile because I use a billion pins to keep them flat. 

Just imagine this quilt in your favorite colors! I bought the QuiltMania magazine at a local newsstand, but it's also available here. 

tale of a quilt festival survivor

I did it! I went to the International Quilt Festival in Houston for the very first time! Do you have a few hours to hear all about it? I'm kidding. Sort of!

I didn't take photos at the convention center because I wanted to enjoy the show without worrying about taking pics, and because many of the booths and quilts cannot be photographed. But I promise to share pics of my purchases!

I've wanted to go to Quilt Market in Houston for several years, but it's for the trade only and not open to the general public. Quilt Festival IS open to the public. (Quilt Market ran from Oct 25-27, and Quilt Festival was from Oct 30-Nov 2, both at the George R. Brown convention center.)

Last week I received a few messages from other quilters asking if I would be attending Festival. Well, why not? So very late one night last week, I booked my flight, hotel room and the festival admission ticket. 

I arrived on Friday night. My host hotel was buzzing with activity. There were quilters everywhere, including in the room next to mine. (Ladies, I heard every word that you said through the wall but I won't repeat anything!)

On Saturday morning I boarded the shuttle bus to the convention center. It runs all day, every 10 minutes. That's how many quilters are there! I was a little nervous. Could I handle this much quilt activity all at one time?

I eased into the Festival by visiting the exhibitions first. There were SO many quilts! I loved the more traditional quilts in the section sponsored by the book 501 Traditional Quilts.  I was especially drawn to the quilts made of tiny hexagons and the Baltimore Album quilts. The center of the space was dominated by "Ruby Jubilee," which was an interpretation of the Infinite Variety red and white quilt show in my NYC neighborhood a few years ago. 

This is just the retail space!

Now it was time for the selling portion of the Festival. Ok, time to take a deep breath or two...

The selling space had 18 long aisles. Every sewing machine and longarm manufacturer was there, and you could try their machines. There were many, many regional quilt shops and vintage quilt dealers, plus a smaller assortment of stuff that probably didn't belong there - who buys vacuum cleaners and massage chairs at a quilt show?! I saw a few quilting all-stars: Eleanor Burns posing for endless photos, Alex Anderson promoting The Quilt Show, Kim Diehl and Sandra Dallas signing their books. Edyta Sitar popped into her Laundry Basket Quilts booth at the end of the day. 

And I got to meet two of my own quilting all-stars - Kimberly Jolly from Fat Quarter Shop, and Jocelyn Ueng from It's Sew Emma patterns. I've shopped at the Fat Quarter Shop for years, so it was a treat. And I've gotta tell you that they're just as lovely in person as they are on the Jolly Jabber blog and in their YouTube videos.  Here's me and Kimberly in a photo taken by Jocelyn.

And get this - there's a "husbands lounge" with a big flat screen tv, newspapers and magazines.

By now I'm sure that you're saying "WHAT DID YOU BUY?" so let's get to it! 

Attachments for my Brother sewing machine. There's the scary-looking ruffler contraption, and a new 1/4" foot. I know, not too exciting, but hopefully I'll turn into a ruffle-izer.

I picked up a copy of the Penny Candy quilt pattern at the Primitive Gatherings booth, which was oddly staffed by three men with beards and shorts.  

I bought a new tumbler template at the Marti Michell booth. It can be used for finished tumblers ranging from 2" up to 5 1/2", and I like how it has notched corners so that the tumblers are easy to sew together. And they gave me another corner trimmer after I told them how much I use it!

Two quilt books from It's Sew Emma, Simply Fat Quarters and the new Fat Quarter Style. Lots of fresh, happy quilts here! 

And finally, are you ready for this? A fat quarter bundle of Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille. You should have seen me trying to be all poker-faced when I saw that it was half price! I didn't even think that this line existed anymore!

The fat quarter bundle was just $5 more than the fat eighth bundle! How could I pass that up?!

It was a long day, but SO much fun. I think that you know where you can find me at the same time next year!

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And now, an Around The World Blog Hop update! Last week you learned all about my work style. Please visit my quilty friends on Monday, November 3 to read all about what inspires them and how they create their quilt projects. I'm sure that they'll have some interesting stories to share!

Rebecca at Cheeky Cognoscenti

Donna at Donna's Lavender Nest

Cynthia at Dream Quilt Create

thursday finish - homestead!

The Fig Tree "Homestead" quilt top is finished! I'm so happy to be able to share it with you today. This is one of those quilt tops that turned out far better than I had expected!

Homestead measures 63" x 75" finished. The pattern is available here, and there is also a kit with alternate fabrics. The houses were really fun to sew once I figured out a trick. There are a few points that need to match on the window/door/roof unit. I had difficulty matching them exactly, and then Pam suggested basting the pieces together, checking for accuracy and then re-sewing them. That worked perfectly, and from then on it was all blue skies and green grass. 

Speaking of green grass, the original pattern used just one green print. I wanted more variety, so I pulled several greens. Fabrics used in this quilt are from two of my favorite Fig Tree collections - Strawberry Fields and Avalon. I loved mixing in the navy and aqua prints.

I'm sure you know all about my dislike of sewing borders onto my quilt tops. But I did it! To make it easier, I buy extra border fabric and cut it on the lengthwise grain. Yes, it means that I buy more fabric than I really need. But it means that I don't need to worry about matching the print when joining shorter strips of fabric. (The leftover border fabric is now in transit to another Fig Tree fabric collector!) What makes this quilt interesting is that the borders on the top and bottom are slightly wider than the side borders. It sounds odd, but it does enhance the horizontal houses. 

Now I need to piece the backing and binding and have it sent out to be quilted. I cannot wait to get this one back! And now I'm free to work on Christmas quilts!

around the world blog hop

Hi everybody! Today, I will be sharing more about myself and my creative process as a part of the continuing blog tour that has hopped around the world in the past few months. I'm happy that Rahna from Blooming In Chintz asked me to participate. We have followed each other on Instagram for awhile, and she has made many fabulous quilts. I love the way that she selects fabric for her quilts. So what I am going to do is answer four simple questions about Grey Dogwood Studio. But you will soon find out that those simple questions have complex answers!

What am I working on?

Quilts! I have several projects all going at the same time. I'm sure that's not a surprise. For many years I focused only on one quilt at a time. But having a few projects gives me a choice every day. Do I feel like listening to the radio while appliqueing 6" Dresden plates?

Or maybe I'm already dreaming of a White Christmas, so I make a cup of tea in a Santa mug (yes, in October!) and work on red and white flying geese. These are made of Bunny Hill's Winter Wonderland, and I just started them a few days ago. 20 done and 192 more to go.

And each month I look forward to the Moda Modern Building Blocks-Of-The-Month from Fig Tree Quilts, and I start sewing the very day that the package of fabric arrives.

I've spent a considerable amount of time avoiding the borders that need to be added to my Jumping Jacks quilt! The borders are cut and just need to be pinned and stitched. 

And the Fig Tree Cherry Pie quilt still needs borders, too. I stall forever when it comes to borders!

And for course, the Quilty Fun birthday cake quilt that I made last week also needs borders! Have you download your copy of the cake pattern? It's free and is available here!

Quilty Fun birthday cake pattern by Lori Holt for Fat Quarter Shop

Why do I create what I do?

Humm, why does such a simple question have such a complicated answer? Most importantly, it is the joy of making a quilt. I love being able to have something that I made. I've always been crafty. Can you guess what my favorite toy was when I was little? That big fat box of Crayola crayons with the built-in sharpener. I loved the metallics the best: gold, silver and copper. When I quilt I create something artistic that's also useful - all squishy and cuddly and comforting. I like knowing that I am creating something worth leaving behind, something that will make people want to learn more about me. I'm always pushing to learn new techniques, such as template piecing, working with 1/8" measurements (cut on the bias, even!) and hand applique. Sometimes I enjoy the process and wonder why I postponed it for so long. And sometimes I learn that I dislike a technique, but at least I've tried it.

The best example of boundary-pushing was the Farmer's Wife quilt along a few years ago. I saw the Farmer's Wife book at the bookstore, and it scared me. What, no rotary cutting instructions? I put it back on the shelf. But each time I went to the bookstore I found myself drawn back to it. The very difficulty of the quilt was what made it so compelling. And then the online sew along groups started and I knew that I had to get over my fear of paper templates. I enjoyed making those blocks so much that I kept going and made it king sized! It's probably my favorite quilt ever, and well worth the intense effort. 

How does my work differ from others?

Ok, let's address the big, pink quilted elephant in the room first. I'm a male quilter. I'm definitely in the minority. Each time I visit my local quilt shop I see more men shopping for fabric, and that makes me really happy. But I live in New York City. It's amusing when I visit quilt shops in small towns around the country. People look at me like I'm an alien, and I usually have to tell them that I'm a quilter. And then I head to the shelf of pretty vintage-inspired prints. Aha! That's another way that I'm different. Many male quilters work with darker fabrics or bright solids. Not me. Bring on the florals, dots and ginghams! The fabrics that I return to again and again are by Fig Tree Quilts and Bunny Hill (for soft, mellow vintage), Tanya Whelan's cabbage roses, and almost anything by Pam Kitty Morning and Lori Holt. I also like to mix in whimsical Japanese prints from Lecien.

I'm fairly consistent with a modern-vintage style. I'm very much influenced by vintage quilts of course, plus 1940's, 50's and 60's kitchenware from the flea market, cookbooks, British porcelain, tartans and menswear fabrics. Cakes, pies and candy are a great source of color inspiration. I'm happiest when sewing with bright prints mixed with pastels for balance.

Did you see the cookbook by quilters Amy and David Butler?!

How does my creative process work?

Interesting question! Fabric, patterns and social media all factor into my work. 

I'm like lots of other quilters in that it's all about the fabric. I'll fall in love with a new collection and then spend months trying to find the perfect pattern to show it off. When I see teaser photos of an upcoming fabric collection online, I'll start to think about how I can fit it into a quilt. For example, I'm already thinking about how I can mix the upcoming Pam Kitty Garden and Fig Tree Aloha Girl collections with my existing fabrics. By thinking this way, I'm sure to come up with a quilt that will have my own unique color imprint. I also prefer to work with controlled scrappy fabrics. What might appear to be random is actually very thought out. I try to always include a variety of visual textures and print sizes. 

I also hoard quilt patterns. I buy far more patterns than I'll ever use. Sometimes I just want to see how a block is constructed, and I'll learn a technique that I can apply to a future project. Learning about how that twisted ribbon border was constructed can be useful. I enjoy thinking about how to customize patterns to create something unexpected. For example, Lori Holt's Quilty Fun sampler quilt was designed with a large bee medallion. I reduced the bee to half size and made four of them. And in this quilt, I also challenged myself to include black fabric.

Quilty Fun sampler by Lori Holt

I like to transform patterns for wall quilts into bed quilts by doing the quilty math (with graph paper and a calculator!) - my birthday cake quilt began with just one block and I decided to turn it into a larger quilt. I also like to take patterns and completely change the fabric assortment. For my Butterscotch Tart quilt, I took the pretty, muted color palette shown on the Fig Tree pattern and shifted it into a completely new direction with bright reds, whites and blues from mostly Pam Kitty Morning and Lori Holt. And then I tossed some pink into my patriotic quilt, because, well, why not?

Butterscotch Tart by Fig Tree Quilts

And quilting should be fun! I'll usually try a few test blocks. If it isn't fun, or I don't like it, then I don't proceed. There's too much great fabric and too little time to make something that isn't enjoyable! I recently tried to do a strip pieced quilt. It was so easy that it bored me. That was the end of the strippy project! Sometimes, I need lots of little HSTs or tiny flying geese to keep me interested.

Whit by Carrie Nelson

I love to fussy cut my fabric to highlight special motifs. I'm not afraid to waste fabric if it means that I'll get the look that I'm aiming for. Here, I've cut Lecien's Flower Sugar to give a lacy effect to the mitten cuffs, centered the large floral on each mitten, and centered the yellow floral stripe on the outer border scallop.

Social media is definitely very inspirational. I love to see what everybody else is working on. But for me, the challenge is to be inspired without copying others. We all get to learn a little about each other. We share vacation, food, family and pet stories. It's like having a whole big group of quilting friends all around the world! We encourage each other. And its a great way to quickly get opinions and feedback from my virtual friends, such as "help, which background do you all think is best?"

Thanks so much for visiting with me today. I hope that you've learned a little more about Grey Dogwood Studio. It's been fun (and challenging!) to have to think about who I am and why I do what I do. 

And now, it's my turn to introduce you to the next three bloggers on the Around The World tour! 

These three talented quilters will all be sharing their stories with you next Monday, November 3. So be sure to visit them, ok?

I love the way that Rebecca Grace at Cheeky Cognoscenti works through her quilting process. She explains in detail how she decides on block sizes, alternate blocks and colorways. I always learn something from her. I discovered her blog while doing a search for information about Singer Featherweight sewing machines. I've bookmarked this entry - it's loaded with good tips! 

Donna Moore at Donna's Lavender Nest has a sweet vintage inspired blog, full of my favorite retro prints. She also has an online shop with those hard-to-find Japanese prints, and they're available as individual fat quarters or as custom bundles. And her packaging is lavender!

And my friend Cynthia Horst at Dream Quilt Create is also going to share her story with you, too. I've followed Cynthia's blog for several years and I am a big fan of her quilts. We have similar taste in fabrics (we both love to collect Lori Holt's fabrics) and we really bonded while doing a Quilty Fun sew along together! 

Grey Dogwood Studio is on Instagram! Follow me at @greydogwoodstudio to see all my latest projects, plus the occasional cupcake and cute cat photos!

moda modern building blocks - the first 18!

Yay! I've completed 18 Moda Modern Building Blocks, Fig Tree style!

This month's blocks all featured the Fig Tree Somerset orange with cream dots and Moda Bella ivory solid. It was like making creamsicles!

I have a tip for you when sewing with bias cut triangles. I love using the Marti Michell Perfect Patchwork Corner Trimmer. It gets rid of dog ears before you sew your pieces together, and it helps to make sure that your pieces line up correctly. It's an inexpensive gadget that really works. And it's only $5 from Marti Michell's website. I had one in my sewing box for years and then it mysteriously disappeared, so I recently ordered a new one before I started this project. I used it on all the orange triangles on this square-in-a-square block. 

I can hardly believe that Grey Dogwood Studio is going "modern" with this quilt! But I love the way that the blocks look when they're all combined. I really hope that next month's fabric shipment from Fig Tree Quilts has some red!

And now for some fun news!

Be sure to visit me on Monday because I'm the next blogger on the Around The World blog tour! You'll get to learn more about me, my projects, work style and why I'm different from other quilters. Ever wonder about my inspiration? How I put fabrics together? All that and more!