Sunday and still going strong…

Hello, thanks for stopping by to read what I’ve been up to this week…

I’m feeling just a little bit pleased with myself ,as I’m keeping on top of the quilt-a-longs I’ve signed up to, so here is where I’m at so far…

First up – Daisy chain QAL hosted by Amanda @honeybunnyanddoll this week was all about sewing together Unit A, I’m itching to find out what this will look like when its finished, so is my cat 🙂

As I’m making the Throw size, I had 39 of these traditional 4 square blocks to make

The start of March brings with it, the next in the colour challenge block, hosted by Jen @patternsbyjen,  this month is BLUE… I’ve used an array of Beautiful Blue Batiks from @island_batik, and Gutermann threads.

I’m still busy sewing along with the weekly flower bouquet hosted by Pat @quilterpatsloan, can you believe we have reached block 10 of 20 already? I’m using Gutermann fabrics from the Portofino collection for all my blocks, along with Gutermann threads

The next block in the Modern HST BOM hosted by Steph @stephjacobsondesigns, is now available, I was keeping to a bit of a blue theme this week. I’m using Island Batiks and Guterman threads

The last sew along I need to update you with, is the Mystery QAL, hosted by Tracy @itsatsweetsday, this is where we are given one particular fabric which we need to include in our final make, along with whichever fabrics we like. this quarter the fabric is an adorable mouse fabric @lewisandirenefabrics, I’ve decided to make a paper piecing project, adding some fabrics from Moda and Stoffabrics

This week I was asked to play around with some accessories from Groves, so I decided to make a few simple Mothers Day gifts, my tutorials are suitable for beginners. You can download my patterns below 🙂

 

Mothers Day Gift ideas – key fobs

 

Mothers Day Gift ideas – keyrings

 

Mothers Day Gift ideas

‘Do what makes your heart smile’

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

almost there…

We’ve almost made it, January is coming to an end, we can leave those dull, dark, wet and cold January days behind us, and we can finally begin to enjoy the dull, dark, wet and even colder days of  February 😉  Don’t get me wrong I do love the winter months, there is something quite cosy about binding a quilt on the sofa with the fire on and my cat sleeping next to me, but I do miss the longer days, in the UK its dark at 4 pm and I long for the evenings that remain light till 9-10 pm.

So until then, here is a rainbow to bring some sunshine vibes your way

If you happened to read my blog a few weeks ago, you’ll know I was signing up for lots of sewalongs, I really enjoy getting involved in these, I love to see what others come up with, and I love the social side – meeting new sewing friends

Pat Sloan in hosting a weekly sewalong, so i have four blocks to show you. I making all my blocks using Gutermann threads and Gutermann fabrics from the Portofino fabric collection… You can download all Pats blocks so far, from her website.

https://www.ilovetomakequilts.com/2019/01/pats-free-a-flower-bouquet-block-1.html

 

I has so much fun making tiny dresden plates for the #tinydresdenparty2019 hosted by Deidra at linktr.ee/quiltyobsession. I used fabrics from Stof fabrics, and have created a table topper (free tutorial coming real soon) – check out Stof’s website, its full of gorgeous fabrics www.stoffabrics.com/collection. I used Bosal double sided fusible foam, and it was really lovely to quilt on, I love the texture that the table topper now has.

 

Next up is a monthly challenge hosted by Jen patternsbyjen.blogspot.com.  Its a colour challenge, and this month its green. I teamed up some Island batik green pieces with some fabric I has left over from Northcott fabrics, they have the most amazing fabrics, check out their website by clicking the link below

www.northcott.net

and the last one i wanted to show you was #modernhstbom. 

You can find out more about this Block of the month by visiting Steph’s blog  www.stephjacobsondesigns.com.

I had great fun making this block, as it meant I got to use my new AccuQuilt cutting machine, it was such a beautiful moment, making HST and having no dog ears to trim away. I decided to use up more of my Island Batik scraps, and teamed them with some Island Batik black, and Gutermann threads.

I have loads more to share with you, but i appreciate you have things to do, and your cup of tea is finished, so until next time

I hope this post bring you loads of inspiration and ideas for what you could get involved in – happy sewing, i would love to sew along with you

‘Do what makes your heart smile’

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

Starling Quilt plus WIN a color master bundle/box…

I was so excited to be chosen to take part in making the new Starling Quilt – isnt it a beauty? Its part of the AGF Stitched Series projects.

AGF Stitched quilts use Art Gallery Fabrics and are mid-level in complexity. Starling measures 52.5” squared – so its a lovely finished quilt size

I’ve used ‘teal thoughts’ from the color master collection.

Prisma elements pearl & silver, and Prisma elements sapphire sparkle metallic.

This is the top quilt finished, i decided to alternate the slightly plainer fabrics with the more patterned fabrics as they rotated around the star

I love brown and teals together, so i wanted to grab a photo with my boots (slightly bizarre i know) but then my cat wanted a piece of the action

Color Master Giveaway

Fat Quarter Shop and Art gallery Fabrics are giving you the chance to win an Art Gallery Color Master Fat Quarter Bundle or Box, to be in with a chance of winning, simple make this quilt – pattern avalible NOW, and use the hashtags #starlingquilt and #AGFColorMaster on Instagram.

Then 2 participants at random will be chosen from the hashtags On Friday, February 8, 2019 to win an Art Gallery Color Master Fat Quarter Bundle or Box.

The deadline to enter is Thursday, Feb 7 at 11:59PM CST. They will announce the winner on their Instagram Story, (so make sure you’re a follower of theirs) on the 8^th. 

 

Thanks so much for stopping by, wishing you luck for the giveaway, head on over to The Fat Quarter shop to see all the quilts us bloggers created using a different color master fat quarter box https://blog.fatquartershop.com/agf-stitched-starling-quilt/

 Have a lovely week ahead, until next time… happy sewing

 I would love to hear from you, please leave me a comment

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

 

 

 

Get involved this January…

The best thing I’ve found for getting over the January blues, is to join in with as many sew-alongs, quilt-alongs and sewing parties as you can 🙂

Here’s what I’m up too, and the best thing is, its not too late to join in too…

 

 

1: quilterpatsloan

Let the fun Begin!!… Block #1 of Pats FREE Weekly Sew Along is ‘A Flower Bouquet’. This week she celebrates the dreams of Gardeners everywhere with the Seed Catalog. .
1- Download Pats first and second block now at https://www.ilovetomakequilts.com/2019/01/pats-free-a-flower-bouquet-block-1.html

2: quiltyobsession

It’s baaaack! Last year’s #tinydresdenparty was so much fun, Deidra couldn’t resist throwing another. So, the #tinydresdenparty2019 starts 16th january. Check out her blog today with all the details, plus links to tips and tutorials linktr.ee/quiltyobsession

3: patternsbyjen

The 2019 Monthly Color Challenge has started! The first color is inspired by the “Bells of Ireland” flower. Find out about Jen’s Irish roots came to America on her blog today and get your free block. patternsbyjen.blogspot.com

4: michaelannn

Heres what Michael says about it… Everything’s more fun with friends, so let’s have a sew along! 👯‍♀️ I’ve got those January “organize all the things” feels, and my to-sew list is full of all the pouches, zippies, and organizers – How about you?! Want to sewalong with me?
.
Here’s what I’m thinking – let’s spend the month of January sewing as many “things to put other things in” as we want/can. Use whatever patterns/ideas/tutorials you’d like! Share your in progress and finished projects to the hashtag #stashmystuffsal. Search the hashtag to discover fun new patterns and inspiring new friends! Then, you know, use all the things you just made to actually organize your stuff 😉😆 linktr.ee/michaelannn

5: poweredbyquilting

The hidden stars sew along has officially started!! Check out Sherry’s blog post today for  all the details poweredbyquilting.com/ig
#PBQHiddenStarsSAL

6: justletmequilt

This blog hop, has me buzzing with ideas, my day is February 18th, be sure to join me here to see what i make, plus there will be sneek peeks along the way. To see what else Carol has been up to, head over to her blog https://www.justletmequilt.com/

7: stephjacobsondesigns

This will be my first project made using my new Accuquilt cutting machine, i just need to learn how to use it 😉 Steph’s modern HST block of the month starts on January 1, 2019, with a new HST block posted the first of each month #modernhstbom. 

Check out Steph’s blog for all the details www.stephjacobsondesigns.com

8: island_batik

The 7th January brought with it, the start of the Island Batik Getaway Blog Hop! The Island Batik Ambassadors will be your tour guides for a full month of adventure and souvenirs ( also know as giveaways 😉). My day was the 8th January, see my previous post to photos of my Kaleidoscope quilt using the new ‘Ditty’ collection

Start your adventure today by visiting their link www.islandbatik.com/news

I hope this post bring you loads of inspiration and ideas for what you could get involved in – happy sewing, i would love to sew along with you

‘Do what makes your heart smile’

Check out my Instagram and Facebook page @creativeblonde66

~Michelle~

x creativeblonde x

This weeks catch up, plus free Christmas patterns…

Hello, thanks for stopping by…

I have so much to tell you about, this week has been so busy, and I’ve loved every minute

…Did you know there is only 29 days till Christmas?

I’m so excited to tell you my ‘SNOW’ and ‘HO HO HO’ wall hangings PDF can now be downloaded below.

For more Christmas inspiration head over to the Craft Cotton Blog

Christmas wall hanging – snow

Christmas wall hanging – ho ho ho

I’ve been busy making this months sewing bee block for the ‘siblings together’ charity.  I love this pattern and the colours chosen by Karen@weekendtextiles. 

I used Island batik scraps to create these blocks, and Gutermann threads

This week I was able to complete the final block in the #savethebees quilt, designed and hosted my Jacquelyn. I think this block is my favourite, i love the super buttons from Groves

This month also came the release of block 10 of the shared quilt-along, hosted by myself and Dawn at Honeybee Cloths.

There are 10 blocks so far, with 2 more to be released, below are the latest five blocks. I’ve used Caroline Fabric by @brengr from Moda to complete my blocks

 

And lastly this week, i got involved in a sew along called #retrosnapssal hosted by @imstudiolou. Its such an adorable pattern.

I chose to use the scraps left over from my ‘winnie the pooh’ quilt, the fabrics available from craft cotton soon

Now i just have to keep the dog away from it, its the whitest item in this house 😉

Getting ready for 2019? I’ve signed up for the following quilt-along, Im so excited to be sewing along with Sherry at powered by quilting

And the winner is…

‘Linda Cejnar’

Huge congratulations to you. Please email me your details and I will get your batik goodie bag sent out to you.

Massive thank you to everyone who entered and left such beautiful comments, each and everyone made me smile 😊

For more chances to see some more quilting eye candy and to win some fabulous prizes, head over to Facebook to take a look at the ‘my happy place’ row-along that started 4th September, please come back to see my row on the 2nd October 😊 Hosted my Marian at ‘seams to be sew’ 

Happy sewing

x creative blonde x

Looking for some sewing ideas?…

Sometimes it feels like I haven’t achieved much, but then i stop and look back, and see lots of finished projects, ones i’m super excited to share with you, in the hope it will inspire you to join in too

I have a habit of signing up for things, and I’m never disappointed. I recommend signing up to everything, its a fantastic way to see great projects and meet lovely people

First I would like to share news about my tutorial in this months Quilt Now magazine, perfect for a bit of weekend sewing, here in the UK, its a bank holiday weekend #happy days, beautiful florals, perfect for adding some colour to your home

Im excited to share the release block 4 of the #sweetestthingsampler I am co-hosting with Dawn @ honeybeecloths and me Michelle @creativeblonde66

Block 5 is on my shoulders, and should be released in a couple of weeks, stay tuned, this quilt is going to be so lovely…

The quilt blocks so far…

 

One of the sew along’s this month, I’ve joined in with,  brought to you by Partners in Design is #fallintoaqal , the reason i couldn’t resist… it was a hedgehog ! A new block is being released every 2 weeks, next one is coming 29th May

 

Another sew-along I’m taking part in is #sew6organizers being hosted by @craftylilmouse and @mycreativelypottylife I love the idea of being better organized, so surely if i have all the equipment, I will be good to go…

Every month we are choosing a project from the book ‘stitched sewing organizers’ by Aneela Hoey, here is a list of what I’ve chosen to make over the coming months

My projects will be:

Fold up pouch (May)  – see above

Triple pouch (June)

Book and tool folio (July)

Fabric boxes (August)

Fold up sewing folio (September)

Boxy pocket pouch (October)

My project choices are slightly different from the two lovely ladies hosting this sew along, but some are the same. Head over to their blogs (links above) for info on what they are making… Come and sew along

 

*** BREAKING NEWS ***

Jacquelynne Steves has just released some details of this year BOM

https://jacquelynnesteves.com/its-coming-our-2018-free-block-of-the-month/

The sponsors and prizes are amazing, definitely need to join in with this sew-along

#savethebeesquilt

Thanks for reading, hope one or all of these have inspired you come and join a sew along

happy sewing, you can follow me here on my blog, and on Instagram and Facebook

x creativeblonde x

 

Stitched sewing organizers….

Haha even as I write this title, I can’t keep a straight face, I am one of the most unorganised people, I’m more a ‘just roll with it’. But @craftylilmouse and @mycreativelypottylife are hosting a sew along, using this beautiful book ‘stitched sewing organizers by Aneela Hoey’ and I just had to get involved.

My book arrived and within minutes, I knew which projects I wanted to make, it was tricky narrowing it down to just 6, but I did it 👏

So April is all about choosing the projects and your fabrics, cutting and getting prepared… And then the fun begins

My projects will be:

Fold up pouch (May)

Triple pouch (June)

Book and tool folio (July)

Fabric boxes (August)

Fold up sewing folio (September)

Boxy pocket pouch (October)

My project choices are slightly different from the two lovely ladies hosted this sew along, but some are the same. Head over to their blogs for info on what they are making… Come and sew with us all

Thanks for reading

Happy sewing

x creativeblonde x