first blush blog hop - jacob's ladder pillow and giveaway

/

Hi everybody, and welcome to my stop on the First Blush blog hop! I've been patiently waiting for my turn to show you this cute pillow!

First Blush is a new fabric collection by Ruby Red Designs. It's full of florals, gingham and stripes. When Windham Fabrics asked me to join the blog hop I knew that I'd want to make something that would really capture the cheerful, vintage feeling of the prints. They're so sunny and optimistic.

I had so much fun making two pillows recently, so I decided to make another. Because can we ever have too many pillows? I used a traditional Jacob's Ladder block that I downsized to 4" using a tutorial that I created for Quiltmaker Magazine last year. You can see how I made the blocks by clicking here (the cutting and construction photos and notes are still there, although much of the blog post and block setting options seem to have disappeared). I quilted the top diagonally at 3/4" intervals, and I also quilted the backing to match the front. If you've never quilted a pillow back, give it a try! It gives you a nice plump pillow that is uniformly weighted. For the zipper, once again I used this super-clear tutorial by Jera. And then came the eyelet - it's the first time I've used trim on a project. (Why did it take me so long to discover this? Oh watch out, because now I want to try make my own piping!)

First Blush by Ruby Red Designs for Windham Fabrics is just beginning to ship to retailers now. You can see the full lineup, along with a specially designed book, ruler and block-of-the-month over here.

And here are all the other stops on the blog hop!

October 10 – Chris Dodsley, Made by Chrissie D
 October 11 – Sinta at Pink Pincushion
 October 12 -  Fat Quarter Shop
October 13- Windham/Two Blondes and a Sewing Machine
 October 14- Jennie at Clover and Violet
 October 15- Aurifil- Erin Sampson
 October 16- Tina Egner
 October 17 – Pretty By Hand
 October 18 – Allison Harris
 October 19 – Erin Cox
 October 20 – Angie Wilson Gnome Angel
October 21 – Debbie at happy little cottage
 October 22 – Heidi Staples
October 23 – Leanne Elliott
 October 24- Greg Jones Grey Dogwood Studio - me!
 October 25- Wendy Sheppard Ivory Spring
 October 26 – Stephanie Lynn Denton
 October 27 – Lisa Ruble

Now for a giveaway! And this one is pretty great. For each day of the hop, Windham Fabrics will give away a fat quarter bundle of the collection. along with a small thread box of First Blush from Aurifil for each stop of the blog tour. To enter, leave a comment with your favorite Halloween candy (I love Halloween candy!) Contest is open to all US and international entries through Thursday, October 27. Winners will be chosen randomly from comments posted on blog posts and will be announced on Friday, October 28.

maggie's first dance bom continues! and a giveaway

/

Hi there, and happy Monday! I'm back with the final batch of blocks for the Maggie's First Dance block of the month quilt along designed by Jacquelynne Steves. This month, we're making the five connecting blocks. They're super easy and quick to put together. (And as I was making them, I thought of the Twelve Days of Christmas with "five golden rings.") I was really tempted to put a print into the center square but I liked the clean, simple lines of the blocks. Here's how they'll look when combined with the other four blocks that we made earlier.

Next month, we'll assemble the top with all nine blocks and some easily pieced borders. I might have cheated and jumped ahead a bit but all I can tell you is... you'll love the finished quilt. Are you sewing along with us? The monthly patterns are free, and there's only one place to get them - that's by signing up for Jacquelynne Steves' newsletter right over here. I'm also sewing along with these other quilters and I can't wait to see their blocks this month!

And now for this month's giveaway. Christa Watson of Christa Quilts has a fun package of quilt patterns valued at $30. Just leave me a comment below. The giveaway will close on October 10 at 11:59pm Central. As always, be sure that I can reach you by email if you're the lucky winner! (Visit the other participating bloggers and Christa for seven more chances to win!) 

maggie's first dance bom starts today! and an aurifil thread giveaway!

/

Hi everybody! Today is the official kickoff day for the latest monthly block of the month program from Jacquelynne Steves. It's called Maggie's First Dance. Let me show you the first block.

I had sew much fun making this block. Jacquelynne offers a choice of three centers for our blocks - you can applique, embroider, or leave them plain. I chose to use a cute focus fabric with some happy little critters.

The piecing instructions are super easy to follow. The hourglass segments are sewn slightly larger than needed and then trimmed down to the correct size. I always love that method because then I know that my pieces will fit together perfectly. And Jacquelynne even specifies which direction to press your seams so there's no guesswork there. Really, the most difficult part was just picking out my fabrics!

I hope that you'll join me as a quilty dance partner. To get your own FREE copy of the Maggie's First Dance quilt block, just sashay over to Jaquelynne's website and sign up for her newsletter. You'll then receive an emailed copy of the pattern. How easy is that?! And then do-si-do (or two step!) back over here to my blog because we have a GREAT giveaway!

My very favorite thread is Aurifil. It's the only brand that I use for my piecing. It's strong and doesn't break, it comes in a million colors (maybe more!) and it doesn't leave a linty trail like some other brands. I do all my basic piecing with Aurifil 50 weight thread in colors 2000 and 2021. They're both white and cream shades. I'll use the colors if I'm piecing something where I really don't want any cream thread to show, and they help to create a flawless hand-stitched binding. I'm trying to push myself to try the pastels when doing machine quilting.

Aurifil is offering a box of threads valued at $46.00 to one lucky winner. Just leave a comment here on my blog. Let me know what your favorite color is for piecing. Contest is open to US and international readers. Actual box of threads will be of Aurifil's choice, and Aurifil will ship the prize directly to the winner. Contest closes at 11:59pm CST on June 12. If you're the winner, be sure that I can contact you or else another winner will be chosen.

And be sure to check out the other bloggers participating in the sew along (I need to go visit them, too, to see their blocks!). Here's who is making the quilt with me:

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I do hope that you'll give this block-of-the-month a try!

 

 

    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.)