Sew A Modern Home Give Away!

 I have had the pleasure of working with quilt designer

Melissa Lunden

this last year on a few projects.

 I'm especially excited for her

as she has just released her first book!

 SEW a MODERN HOME

Quilts and More for Every Room

"Designer Melissa Lunden presents 19 contemporary patterns 

for sewing and quilting to refresh living rooms, 

bedrooms, dining rooms, and nurseries. 

With beginner-friendly instructions and a range of techniques, 

this collection is ideal for all skill levels."

 *Photos by Martingale/ Brent Kane

So many fun projects to choose from!

I love her clean line designs.

These projects look quite doable.

" Create pillows, place mats, napkins, 

a crib sheet and accessories, plushies, a play mat, and much more."

 Good News !

Martingale has generously allowed me to provide a 

Free e-Copy of 

Sew A Modern Home 

as a 

Give Away  !!

Leave me a comment of why you would like a copy of this book

by Friday August 22nd

and your name will be entered in a drawing  !

A winner will be announced on Saturday 8/23

 There are several opportunities to win
Sew A Modern Home  !
Make sure to visit other blogs
hosting the same contest.

Melissa Lunden is a lifelong lover of all things crafty.

 Her passion for sewing and fabric led to her starting her own sewing-pattern company,

 Lunden Designs.

 Her work has been featured in multiple magazines and at International Quilt Market. 

She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and daughter.

2013 Was A Very Good (Quilty) Year

 Can it be that we are now at the end of 2013?

Where has the year gone?

One of the nice things about keeping a blog is that

it makes it easy to go back and review what was accomplished.

I always start my end of the year search 

anticipating there won't be much to show.

And then when I begin going through posts month by month

I realize maybe I finished a few more quilts than I originally thought.

There are always twists and turns in life and

2013 was no exception.

This is my 301st Post out of 365 days for the year :)

When I started 2013, I set a goal to 

Finish UP 

quilts that had not been quilted.

You know those stacks that wait patiently in the back of a closet?

As with all good intentions,

I started off with gusto

Star Crazy

The top was completed in early 2011

*I even led an on-line group

and I just needed to meet the right person 

to have it quilted.

 My next quilt to take to Pat was

Rabbits Prefer Chocolate

which was started several years ago

The blocks were completed but the top still

needed a little assembling.

 In March my friend Lori Holt (Bee In My Bonnet)

wrote and asked me

 if I would make a pillow with 

her new Half Hexie Ruler

that had just been launched into the market.

Of course I said "Yes!"

I love everything Lori makes

and I really enjoyed playing with her rulers.

 In April I completed a 

T-Shirt Quilt

as a gift for family members

using Crooked Nickel's

easy to do

fusible technique and

Memories To A T pattern.

 May brought a very fun completion

after sewing blocks for months

following Lori Holt's (Bee In My Bonnet) on-line tutorials.

Row Along Quilt

will always have such fond memories.

Another goal I had for 2013 was only sew from my stash

and I'm proud to say this entire quilt was made from scraps.

Lori even gave us a design to make the 

cutest label!

 We were very fortunate to be with Lori during those months

because her ideas became the book

Quilty Fun

this last year!

Yay Lori!

Cross Terrain

pattern by Freshly Pieced

was made out of my red and white scraps.

                                              Then my life began to change :)

The book store I worked for 

announced they were
Closing

and 

I began to wonder what I should do next?

Pat had recently purchased 

Triangles On A Roll

and I had the opportunity to become 

Sales Manager
I began to spend hours and hours 

playing with 

all the various papers

 I also started creating my own patterns

(something I had never done before)

and a new pattern company

Cactus Needle Quilts

was launched in July

 What a wonderful 

whirlwind 

it's been since then.

I have learned a lot!

6 new patterns

came out on the market

starting with 

Christmas Pyramids

Gina is made with

the basic Half Square Triangles

 The Eyes Have It

uses Quarter Square Triangles

 Hourglass Squared

also uses Quarter Square Triangles

*even the border is made with QST's

 Baby Waves 

is made from Half Square Triangles

that are simply cut in half.

So easy to do!

 I liked it so much,

I made one in blue.

 And my favorite quilt that I made in 2013

Indian Blanket

I made

Mod Geo Cruiser

as a pattern tester for 

Kelli Fannin (Seriously I Think It Needs Stitches)

Love that it matches my new aqua Cruiser bike!

 I've also been busy writing 

Tutorials

Scrappy Chevrons

With only a little spare time

I managed to crochet to a finish in 

the last few moments of December

Moss Stitch Afghan

was a gift for my daughter and her husband.

Oh yes, and there were the monthly
Bees Knees blocks
made and sent out to various members of our group.
I learn a lot from these wonderful ladies.

2013 Was a Very Good Quilty Year:)

And I'm excited to see what 2014 will bring!

Sharon Schamber Workshop

 On Saturday I attended a Workshop

provided by our Phoenix Modern Quilt Guild

taught by 

Award Winning Quilter

Sharon Schamber 

and her daughter Christy Fincher

I learned to make a

New York Beauty block

using Sharons' 

Piec-lique technique.

Have you ever tried this technique?

It's a little bit like paper piecing

except you use a glue method 

rather than sewing on paper.

 The class was full, and it was so nice to have 

both Christy and Sharon moving between stations

to help us individually.

 We all worked away 

 Piec by Piec

 I always love these kind of workshops

where you see the same block

come alive in various fabrics.

 My favorite block was Danni's.

Sharon showed us a method where 

you can also add another insert

in the arched sections.

 My block

I still have some sections to sew together.

Of course, I had to use (Kaffe) Triangles 

for my back ground fabric :)

 The Piec-lique method is quite popular with many quilters.

Bari Ackerman (Bari J.)

is a member of our guild 

and was in the midst of making a Double Wedding Ring

using Sharon's technique.

 Piec-lique

can be found on 

Amazon.com

HERE

Sharon brought a few of her quilts

from the book.

Showing her amazing quilting

that she does on a domestic machine.

I learned so much from this class

and am so happy I had the opportunity 

to learn from one of the best

in the Industry.

Indian Blanket Photo Shoot

 As a new quilt pattern writer,

I am learning the tricks of

the trade.

One of the statistics that I have heard

is that buyers generally decide

which pattern they will purchase

within 3 seconds

after looking at the front cover.

A clear 

concise

picture 

can make all the difference.

Some designers

can afford professional photographers

to work their magic for the front cover.

 And then there are people like me

who do their own photography 

and hope for the best.

 Sometimes we rope friends and family into helping us

with a photo shoot.

The other morning my very kind friends

Paul and Niser helped me with

my latest pattern

Indian Blanket

We arrived at the Scottsdale Arizona Mall

hours before the stores opened.
It was just us and the Mall Walkers :)
We moved from spot to spot
searching for the best lighting.

We found the perfect wall

with a background that matched the quilt

and natural light streaming through the nearby windows.

Niser brought her quilt rack

which was especially helpful

because

Indian Blanket is a long

67" X 94"

Twin size

Thank you Niser!

Paul brought his fancy camera

complete with tri pod.

Thank you Paul!

Both of the Holland's have been so

generous with their time.

We desired to capture the beautiful color combinations

of the solid fabrics.

I went downstairs with my camera

 to the main floor

and tried a few other shots

on the couches and chairs in the common area.

It's always so hard to know which picture is best for a pattern cover.

For a final decision, I cropped out all of the background

and opted for the full length shot,

where the colors of the quilt

can be seen in full view.

Instructions for each Kona solid color 

within individual rows

is included in the pattern.

As a reminder,

Indian Blanket 

can be found on my ETSY site

HERE