Taxi Quilt Pattern!

Here it is! My newest quilt pattern: TAXI. Thank you all so much for helping me decide which name and photo to use. I included a picture of a New York City taxi in the pattern for those who are unfamiliar with them. Thanks for all your input. It really helps to hear from you.

I've been busy making quilt patterns lately. I love doing that. The next pattern is almost done. It's a Trip Around the World variation using the tube method. It pairs low volume prints with solid red. The working title is "Tube Trip." 

After that pattern is finished, I want to make some more challenging ones. Scrappy optical illusions with spider webs and fans and tumbling blocks. Can't wait!

Need Your Opinion on This

#1

#2

#3

I'm making the "front cover" for a new pattern. This is how it will look on Etsy.

Do you prefer #1 or #2 or #3?

(In the upper left corner, Etsy puts a symbol that says "Instant Download" so I leave space for that.)

The design reminds me of taxi cabs. But I'm also considering the title: "Fair and Square."

Any thoughts? Thanks.

Gorgeous Giveaway from comfort and joy fabrics!

Yes, you could win this entire collection of 8 Tanya Whelan ROSEY fat quarters! Aren't they beautiful? 

Valerie Ralston from Washington has a brand new fabric shop on Etsy: comfort and joy fabrics.

Your Comment is your entry in this GIVEAWAY. Tell us which fabric in her shop is your favorite. That's it!

Random winner will be announced next Saturday.

Valerie will be reading the Comments this week, so say hello. You will love her. 

P.S. If you also Pin, Like, Favorite, Follow, or whatever, then you may enter a 2nd Comment.

Valerie

Clothespin Sculpture

Giant Clothespin sculpture designed by Turkish artist and professor Mehmet Ali Uysal. It's located in Liege, Belgium. This is so clever. 

I wonder how many 20-somethings don't recognize this object! I have to admit that when I hear "clothes-pin" lately, I think of fashion boards on Pinterest. And I'm glad. 

Giveaway coming soon: Gorgeous package of 8 fat quarters from Comfort and Joy Fabrics on Etsy. Stay tuned!

Colorful String Quilt

"Crow Country" by Monica McGregor. She named this quilt in honor of quilter Nancy Crow.

 Interesting how the light X blocks are surrounded with dark sashing, and the dark X blocks are surrounded by light sashing. Very nice!

Thank you to Bridget for telling me who made this quilt!

Jersey Boys Movie!

This is the best movie I've seen in a long time! Directed by Clint Eastwood, the story is so well told. 

The acting is wonderful and the music stayed with me for days. See the trailer here. 

I think the movie is better than the Broadway version. Go see it. I'm planning to see it again, 

and I almost never see a movie twice. 

Moisturize My Cutting Mat?

Have you ever heard of such a thing as moisturizing your cutting mat? I found this on Generations Quilt Patterns. Here's what she had to say:

To soak it, put your mat in a bathtub or large container (would have to be large so it can lay flat) and soak it for 15-20 minutes in a solution of 1/4 cup white vinegar to every gallon of cool water. Let me repeat, cool water. Do this every so often to help extend its useful life.

Then use a squirt of mild dishwashing soap (Ivory) and clean the mat with a mushroom brush (soft is the key word here). The purpose of this gentle scouring is to remove the fibers that get trapped in the cuts marks preventing the cuts from "healing".

Keep 'em clean, keep 'em moist, keep 'em flat and NO heat. Your cutting mat is not a coffee cup coaster!

Arm Knitting!

Have you ever seen someone arm knitting? This is a first for me! From Not Quite Snow White.

Here's a good video showing how to arm knit from Simply Maggie.

Here's another video by Maggie showing how to arm knit a blanket in 1 hour.

There are more arm knitting videos out there, but Maggie's are the easiest to follow.

Thank you to my friend Barbara at Amber Studios for finding this!

Happy First Day of Summer!

If I had to have a tattoo, this would be the one. This must be a temporary painting, with all those colors. I found it on Pinterest, but the link didn't go anywhere. Too bad. I'd like to know the story here.

Visit my Pinterest page and Follow me. I'm finding so many remarkable quilts!

Pinterest is such a rich source of inspiration for quilts (and food, gardening, travel, books...).

I hope you have a wonderful summer filled with all your favorite things.

Hugs to all the quilters down under too. 

Grandmother's Flower Garden Quilt by Masako

This beautiful Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt is the creation of Masako. It was featured on the Postcards from Panama blog. I like how the flower centers stand out. Very nice colors.

Patchwork Dining Room Chairs

Anna Maria Horner covered these dining room chairs with some extra quilt blocks that she bought a while back. See her blog for more.

Comfort and Joy Fabrics on Etsy!

There is a new fabric shop on Etsy where you can get the latest gorgeous fabrics for $4.75/ half yard! 

I just found it yesterday: comfort and joy fabrics. Valerie Ralston, the owner, is very nice too. 

The fabric in the photo is by Jennifer Paganelli.

Tiny Houses Quilt - Amazing!

Jeanneke from the Netherlands led a group of quilters in making lots of scrap house quilts. You can see photos of all the quilts at BuildingHousesFromScraps. They used rubber stamps to mark the fabrics. These houses are tiny! They measure 3" square! (Thanks for that info in your Comments.)

Helle's Crocheted Coral Garden Hat!

This crocheted coral garden hat was made by Helle Jorgensen of Gooseflesh in Australia. She loves to witness the expressions of surprise people have when they first see it. Isn't this amazing? Go Helle!

Very Red Quilt

Found on Pinterest, you can see the pattern for this quilt here. I would not have thought to combine these bright red Westminster prints with solid red. Maybe ivory, or light green, or pale aqua. But it really works. 

I love these prints. The newest batch from Westminster is beautiful too.

Unique Star Quilt

I've never seen a star quilt done like this before, and I've seen a lot of star quilts!

 I found it on Barb Vedder's Pinterest board. 

The source was Bloglovin' but there's no info about who made it. 

Barb's blog is Fun With Barb. She has great photos.

Meet Rahna Summerlin of Blooming in Chintz!

Rahna Summerlin is an artist and quilter in Florida. Her blog is Blooming in Chintz.

I love her Pinterest boards. So much beauty and inspiration! You can follow her on Instagram too. I follow her everywhere:) That's easier than pinning everything on her sites!

Rahna made the quilt above. She quilts using a quilter's walking foot. See more photos on her blog. 

Nice work, Rahna!

Pencil Socks

Haha, very clever! You have to have your shoes off for the full effect. 

See these and more at Sock Dreams. 

Do You Have OQD?

Fortunately there is no known cure. Thanks to Mrs. Bobbins at Kansas City Star for the chuckle.

Raw Edge Reverse Applique!

Can you believe this? I never thought of raw edge reverse applique! This is from The Long Thread blog by Ellen Luckett Baker. She suggests that if you're going to put this pillow or quilt to use, that you should machine stitch around the circles too, of course.

Note for new quilters: Reverse applique is when you cut an opening in your fabric in the shape that you want (like circles in this example), then place the printed fabrics underneath. Normally you'd turn the raw edge under and hand sew the opening. 

Audrey Hepburn Tutu Dress

This cute photo cracks me up! 

The Audrey Hepburn tutu dress is listed on Etsy by Atutudes.

 I found it on Amber Studio's Pinterest board, Style.

Barbara has awesome Pinterest Boards!

Big Star Quilt and Pincushion Winner!

I made this string quilt using a big diamond ruler. The larger triangles were made with the help of some paper "patterns." Machine quilted by Linda Aquavia of New Hartford, CT.

 

I couldn't resist including some cherries and a sock monkey. See the black and white print above? I put it next to the darkest darks to get some high contrast at the star points to make the star pop. 

***

The winner of the sea urchin pincushion is Liz from East Berlin, CT. (I don't already know Liz; she was random #17.) Yayy, Liz! More giveaways coming soon.

Wearable Art from Amber Studios

Barbara of Amber Studios in New Jersey is a very talented creator of wearable art. I love it.

Some of her coats were recently exhibited at the Delaware Art Museum.

 Look at her Sold Items on Etsy too. She has an extensive body of work to admire there.

Good work Barbara!

String Quilts 101

If you're a new quilter, take a look at this fun and easy way to make a string quilt. Make your block bigger than your ruler, then trim. Easy, right? Use any size ruler you like. I used a 6" square in this photo. These strips are about 1 1/2" wide but you can vary the widths.

If you like this, please Pin It. Thanks.

See more patterns here. 

Button Cookies

This is so clever! Click here to see how to make these button cookies! From: Made in Pretoria.

The photo below is from Button Lust. 

Pincushion Giveaway!

Enter the random drawing to win this pincushion. It has over 60 beaded pinsies in a cotton cushion sitting on a scalloped-edge glass dish. Pretty in the sunlight. I really enjoy mine.

Here's how to enter:

1. Visit my Patterns page. Click on any pattern to open. Click on "Pin It." (The little Pin It button is to the right of the 5 thumbnail photos in the ad.) 

2. Come back to this post and leave a short Comment, like "done." 

If you Pin more than one pattern, enter a Comment for each pin.

Winner will be announced on Friday. 

Happy quilting!