All In A Row: book review

I am so glad to have a passion for quilting!

While I was putting together my last post... I 

was amazed at how much I was able to accomplish this year...

and more importantly, I realized just how much quilting makes me happy every

single day!

I not only enjoy the creative part... when I fall to sleep thinking about the

next project... and skip into the sewing room in the wee hours of the morning...

 but also the social media aspect. 

The quilting community (that includes you) is so sweet and fun.

The fabric companies, the thread industry, along with the publishers

are all positive and genuinely kind people. 

I appreciate that so much!

I am excited to see what 2016 will bring!

Although I am still working on my

project list for next month... so I can stay on track a little better...

I wanted to share this incredible book with you.

All In A Row by Lissa Alexander

I have gone through this book... cover to cover.

If you haven't had a chance to get your hands on a copy...

you can find it at Martingale Publishers and also at Amazon.

See all those happy Moda girls...

they all had a part in the making of this delightful book.

What you will find is designer originals, skill building techniques, and they also

share row options, There are 24 rows in all!

 (all photos are by Brent Kane for Martingale Publishing)

All In A Row is divided into 3 sections: Classic patchwork, whimsical and seasonal.

It's full of ideas on how to make your quilt... or quilts, personal.

One row or several.

There are a multitude of  possibilities!

This one below with the sand pails is one of my favorites...

I already have ideas for it!

The designers royalties from the sales of each book

 will be donated to No Kid Hungry.

nokidhungry.org

The organization provides breakfasts for school children in the United States.

Big hearts!

See what I mean... it's about community.

I really do love this book. 

My local quilt shop is going to start a 

All In A Row club starting up in January. 

I'm sure the same will happen somewhere here in blogville too!

I will be back tomorrow when I get my list for January finished!

Decisions, decisions!

Welcome to the Locket Blog Hop!

I am excited to share about the Art Gallery Fabrics blog hop today!

They have put together one more pattern this year...

it's by Amy Sinibaldi featuring her new fabric line Paperie!

Everything Amy does is beyond cute... and this pattern

is too! It's called Locket

The blog hop will feature the free pattern but the bloggers

will all be using different fabrics from Art Gallery Fabrics to make theirs...

and will also do a little something different with the pattern!

That's always fun to see!

AGF's has also provided a You Tube video that you can watch here!

I loved my fabric choice so much that I wanted to be able to see 

"Locket" daily... so I made a table runner. 

The fabric I picked is called Wonderland.

The designer is Katarina Roccella for Art Gallery Fabrics.

This collection is inspired by the Alice in Wonderland story.

I chose some of the fabrics in the line that were more nature inspired.

I have loved working with these cotton fabrics...

and I love the look of this pattern too!

I can't wait to go on the blog hop myself!

(I am also looking forward to having this on my dining table through the Spring)!

Fat quarter shop has the quilt kit  available along with a backing set...

and the free pattern of Locket! Just follow the links!

Angie of GnomeAngel

Cara of That Crafty Cara

Caroline of Sew Caroline

Christina of Sometimes Crafter

Erica of Kitchen Table Quilting

Heather and Megan of Quilt Story

Jane of Quilt Jane

Jemima of Tied with a Ribbon

Natalia of Piece N Quilt

Sinta of Pink Pincushion

Melissa of Happy Quilting

Enjoy the blog hop!

2015 Photo Album

I thought I would take a moment and look back at the

quilts I made this year.

It seems that I haven't made anywhere near the amount

that I wanted to but

still there are a lot of quilts that did get made... and a few that got pushed aside.

In years past on this blog... I have given a monthly or a quarterly goal 

and kept a working list of the quilts that were in the queue.

This year, I didn't do that and I felt like I had the attention span of a 

squirrel! Between Pinterest, Instagram and blogs...

I go into overload with wonderful ideas!

This next year I think I will go back to list making.

It's the same thing I have to do for myself when I 

go shopping. 

Easily distracted!

It's got to be a syndrome of some sort...

I do have

twenty-five quilts to share though...

Here is my photo album for 2015

I managed to make an orange and black quilt

this year! My goal is to make a couple more

fall and Halloween quilts.

Great Granny Square with a twist.

A fun secret project that I made for FQS that

was in Fons and Porter Winter edition magazine.

I Lori Holt sew along mini.

Cozy Cottages.

From the Cozy Cottages Calendar by Lori Holt.

(it's on sale right now at FQS)

My blocks got put together for my Bees Knees quilting bee quilt.

I love this one... but need to make the full size next time!

The blocks were really fun to make. 

(Fig Tree pattern)

This could be my favorite of the year.

Sprouts.

I love Art Gallery Fabrics... this is the Welded pattern.

I made it as part of a blog hop for AGF and FQS.

This was a secret project I made the sample for... for FQS...

that was published in

a magazine this year.

This was another sample I made for FQS. 

My DIL scooped it up as soon as it was returned to me!

A little pattern by A Quilting Life that I made up in Batik fabrics.

I haven't used Batiks in a long time. They are so pretty... I should incorporate them more.

I loved this pattern by Thimble Blossoms... Vintage Tulips.

But now I have seen a couple other versions of this quilt made up and

I am very tempted to make it again!

A sample I made for Fat Quarter Shop. 

They take better photos than me of the quilts!

Finished.

Coastal Lily.

It won a few ribbons this year... and I might enter it into the State Fair.

Crop Circles.

A Miss Rosie's pattern!

Love it!

Sweet Brenda Riddle fabrics... it was an sample for Fat Quarter Shop.

An Art Gallery Fabrics challenge!

Sail Away! Or is it Full Sail?

The photo doesn't do this justice. It's a pattern by

A Quilting Life.

A Little Bites Sampler... small pieces... but oh so worth it!

A little Union Jack.

The full quilt is amazing but I had to share the close up photo because I love the quilting.

Here is one that I made for FQS... but didn't get a photo of before I sent it off!

This quilt I didn't start until after the IG quilt along was over... after Christmas was

over... but I'm glad that I did it! 

Thank you for stopping by to visit with me!

Happy Christmas Eve!

Wrappings and Trimmings!

Please excuse me... the week 

(shopping, cooking, cleaning,  more shopping)

has gotten the best of me...ugg!

I needed to come back to tell you who the winner is of the Great

Granny Square book by Lori Holt from last week's post!

The winner is Sandie at Crazy 'bout Quilts!

I loved reading every one's stories about their great grand mothers, grand 

mothers and how they touched their lives! 

It truly was a blessing! 

Thank you for sharing your memories!

Did you all enjoy the blog hop last week?

I couldn't get over all the fun projects and ideas everyone had 

come up with. Each day it seemed that the projects the bloggers

showed were even better than the one's the day before!

If you didn't see them all... take a few minutes to go have a look!

You can see the links on my last post! And also the video that 

Kimberly posted on You Tube for the project above!

Great Granny Circled!

If I had to pick one new project to start with from the GGS with a twist projects,

it would be from Grey Dogwood Studio.

It's adorable! 

And if the Great Granny Square blog hop hasn't gotten you

thinking about your next project... maybe you would

like to start the new year with Lori Holt's calendar.

Fat Quarter Shop is offering a discount on Cozy Cottage Calendar through

the end of the month!

Here is my version from the Cozy Cottage Calendar!

GGS Twist Blog Hop... You Are Here!

GREAT GRANNY SQUARE TWIST?!?

Do you remember when the Great Granny Square book by Lori Holt came out?

This is about a twin sized quilt.

I think it looks like confetti!

I think I had used a Kate Spain jelly roll and a few extra coordinating fabrics for the 

border.

I fell in love  with the method of making this block that Lori came up with.

I was completely addicted to GGS's!

I love the original borders that Lori Holt comes up with too!

The book has several variations of the block including different sizes.

Every single one of them is as cute as can be!

So... when Fat Quarter Shop said they were going to do a revival of 

GGS... but we were to add a little twist of our own to the block...

it sounded like fun to me!

After making my large quilt 

I had a group of fabrics already cut for a "someday" project...

so it looked like it was time to use them!

My little variation is a flipped corner to the second round out from the center.

Did that make sense? 

I stayed with a smaller quilt that I could hang up on my wall of small quilts.

This one is 37 x 37.

Can you see here how it frames the center square?

The center square is larger than the squares that surround it.

That represents my family in the center and my children's young families

circling around me. 

It was a lot of fun to make, so I thought I would continue the

fun by doing  spiral quilting on the wall hanging... since 

"the circle continues"... metaphorically, right?

It was the first time I tried spiral quilting.

Here is another photo before I got the binding finished.

(it was a rainy day... and I wasn't sure I would have a chance 

at a good photo later)

Fat Quarter Shop has a video to share with you on the GGS Twist here...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P-6y7Yy0Jg

Please go over to the Fat Quarter Shop blog, Jolly Jabber to see all the blogs 

on the hop today... and for the entire week!

Oh, and  how about a book giveaway?

Just leave a comment telling me something you remember about your great granny 

(or grandma) at Christmas. 

I will draw a winners name randomly on  Friday evening, at the end of the blog hop!

Have fun with the hop!