Nesting - What's Old is New Again

Wow, I'm not sure I ever thought I'd finish this quilt. I made the top what seems like ages ago, but was really about 5-6 years ago. I used some very precious Tula Pink Nest fabric (3 charm squares) to make the top, which is a modified version of a Weeks Ringle/Bill Kerr pattern that I thought would be good to showcase the charm packs and the fabric without having to cut into them. 

I ended up just quilting straight lines across the quilt about 1/2" to 3/4" apart. I didn't measure how far apart the lines were; I just went for it. I think the reason it took me so long to quilt and finish this quilt is that I had intentions of custom machine quilting it, but I could never get inspired by a particular design(s) to dive in. So it sat unfinished. Until I decided to just put the quilt on my longarm and go for it. 

My plan is to use this quilt as a beach blanket. Some of you might be gasping right now at the fact that I'm planning on using such rare, precious Tula Pink fabric on the beach, but I decided I'm going to use and love this quilt. I put a dark print from the collection on the back that I got on clearance for about $3 a yard when the line was out at the time. 

The quilt is slightly smaller than a twin size, but it's perfect for lying out at the beach and reading a good book. I bound the quilt in the same Nest fabric as the back since I had so much yardage of it. One of the reasons I'm excited to use this quilt is that it really shows how my style has changed through the years. I love that about myself. If I was still making the same type of quilts as I was five years ago, I'm not sure I'd be quilting. I love evolving my style and trying new things. That's the joy of quilting to me. 

Giveaway Day: Nest Charm Pack

As part of Sew Mama Sew's giveaway day, I decided to part with some very hard to find fabric. For those who follow my blog, you might remember this top, which I still need to quilt.

I had four Tula Pink Nest charm packs that I had been hoarding for quite some time. I finally found the right pattern, slightly modified, to really showcase the fabric without having to cut it up. Fortunately for someone, this quilt top only required three charm packs, meaning I still have one left over to give away. 

Now, this is pretty hard to find these days and I've seen these for sale for 4-5 times what it originally retailed for. 

To enter, leave a comment below telling me who your favorite fabric designer is. 

Followers of my blog are eligible for a second entry, just leave a second comment telling me you're a follower. If you're not a follower, have a look around and stay a while. Make sure you check out the details for "Quilts for Boston" - an effort my guild, the Boston MQG is putting on to help those affected by the bombing and subsequent events. 

If you are a no-reply blogger, please make sure I have a way of contacting you if you win by leaving your email address in your comment. 

I will pick a winner on Friday, May 10th. 

Good luck!

Nest Quilt Top

I have been hoarding four Tula Pink Nest charm packs for what seems like an eternity. I never touched them because I hadn't found the right pattern.  So many of the charm pack patterns chop up the fabric until you can no longer recognize the larger prints.

After seeing a pattern in the book, We Love Color, I decided to modify it a bit.  I altered the size to work with a charm pack, removed and altered a few other elements to create the quilt top you see here. I can safely say I'm in love with this quilt.

I used Kona Champagne to outline the charm squares and Kona Chocolate for the background.  Champaign and chocolate really do make a great combination, in real life and in this quilt, don't 'cha think?

The quilt top finishes at 97" x 67" and is one of the bigger quilts I've made in a little while.  I'm not sure how I'm going to quilt it just yet, so I'll move onto quilting a few other tops that I do know how I want to quilt first.

100th Post Giveaway

As I mentioned earlier, I would like to hold a giveaway for my 100th post.  I'm a bit delayed as I had ordered 2 layercakes, one for myself and one to giveaway, but only one arrived.  It took two weeks for the shop to finally respond to me and ship out the missing, but paid, for layercake.

This past year and a half blogging has been a fantastic time.  I've become so inspired from everyone else in the blog world.  It's fantastic.  I also have enjoyed all of the support I've received on all of my projects.  I truly appreciate all of the kind words that everyone has shared with me since I started blogging.

Without further adieu, here's the giveaway...

I will be giving away 2 fat quarter bundles and a layer cake.  The giveaway will be open until next Friday, July 9th.

Giveaway 1: A fat quarter bundle with more traditional fabric

Giveaway 2: Another fat quarter bundle

And, the grand prize, giveaway 3: a NEST Layercake by the fabulous Tula Pink.

Here are the rules - You may enter up to 3 times, but you must post separate comments in order to have your entries counted multiple times.

The ways you can enter:
1. Post a comment on this blog about your favorite quilting tip.
2. Follow this blog and tell me about it.
3. Blog and about this contest and post a link to where you blogged about it in the comments.

The giveaway will be open until next Friday, July 9th.  I will announce the winners next weekend.

Good luck!