Racing to the Finish Line!

I'm going to be visiting my grandchildren in North Carolina next week, and I'm so excited to be taking the littlest grandson his new "play" quilt!

Hudson's Heroes is a finish!!!

The quilt is lying in the grass, but no sun so it looks like a black background - go figure!

For the quilting on this one, I broke out these wonderful Auril colored threads set that I won from Madame Samm during her Books About Women blog hop...

The darker red was just the right color for working inside the vehicles, while the lighter, more orangey red was perfect for outlining the vehicles in the outer border...

Look at all these gorgeous colors!!!!

I also used the yellow to outline the vehicles, after doing a little red SID inside for stability....

Don't look too close at the stitching - I didn't plan this one to be perfect LOL!!!

I used that really fun red/yellow/lime dot for the binding, which turned out really cute I think!

Stitched down by machine of course - much sturdier for a child (and quicker for me!)

Of course, one of my favorite parts of this quilt is the backing - the Happy Town panel that gives him a place to play with his own little cars!

I hope Hudson loves his little quilt as much as I do!

Linking this finish up with Patchwork Times =^..^=

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Child's Play - A Fun New Book & A Giveaway!

Have you heard about Jacquelynne Steve's new Book - Child's Play?  It is just the most darling book!

Child's Play is available in both a digital eBook ($12) and a printed hard-copy version ($15) - you pick your favorite way to enjoy it!  There are 55 pages, chock full of wonderful creative ideas and yummy recipes!

Here are a few pictures to entice you .....

CUTE little stuffed animals - and you make clothes for them too!!!
Note the little pocket baby  kitten  =^..^=

There are a couple of quilt patterns in several colorways !

If stitchery is your thing, Jacquelynne designs the cutest things!
This kitty is going to be in my stitching basket very soon!

Wondering what to feed the kids that they will enjoy and is still healthy?
There are some really fun recipes - how about Peanut Butter & Jelly Pizza?

You will also find several fun projects like this really easy & useful tote bag.
Wouldn't this make a great bag for day care essentials or a day at the beach?

Jacquelynne is really excited about the inclusion of tutorial videos in Child's Play.  For the digital version, all you have to do is click on the link, and it will bring up the YouTube video automatically! For the printed version, the link can be typed into the browser. 

Never read a digital book?  Here are some advantages to the digital version:

• You can view it as a "flippable" book or download the PDF onto your computer or device.
• Especially important to international shoppers: NO Shipping Costs!
• It looks beautiful on the iPad!
• Links are easy to use- just click.
• Print out just the pages you need- maybe a recipe or a pattern page or the kids' activity sheets. So much easier to have a single recipe page in the kitchen to work with than a whole book, right? And you don't have to worry about splatters on your book!
• Never trace a pattern again- just print it out onto inexpensive computer paper and cut the pieces out.
• To save ink when you print pages, you can choose "grayscale" in your printer options and print in black and white.
• Less expensive than printed book.

So how do you get a copy for your very own?   

Well.... how about I give a copy to a lucky follower?

Now that sounds like fun to me!  Just leave a comment on this post telling me what you think you will enjoy most about Jacquelynne's book, and I'll pick a winner by random drawing at midnight on Monday, March 25.  Not a follower - well, maybe now's the time to think about joining up!  :*D

Now, if you don't think you've got your mojo going on right now, or you'd like to grab a copy for your very own right this very minute, you can just click HERE for the eBook digital version.  Or click HERE for the printed version.  Jacquelynne will get your copy to you right away!

If you'd like to learn more about Jacquelynne Steves and her designs, here are her links:

Website   www.JacquelynneSteves.com 

Newsletters  www.issuu.com/JacquelynneSteves

Pinterest  http://pinterest.com/jacquelynnes/

Twitter  https://twitter.com/JacquelynneS 

Facebook Fan Page   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jacquelynne-Steves/543549752352215

Instagram  http://instagram.com/jacquelynnesteves 

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

Design Wall Monday - 3/4/2013

I decided this afternoon to begin a new quilt project - are you surprised?  

LOL!!!  I didn't think so!

=^..^=

I've been wanting to do more playing with the fun and colorful Happy Town fabrics ever since I got them in from Jacquelynne Steves of The Noble Wife.  My plan is to make a play quilt for our grandson, Hudson.

This little fellow is growing up and doing some serious playing now, and he loves to play with cars, like most boys do.  I went to my Planning Book - a loose-leaf notebook filled with lots of "wish list" projects from magazines, etc. - and found the perfect pattern.  And after an afternoon of playing, this is what I have created so far....

These will be little ambulances!  Aren't they just the cutest little things?  Or, at least they will be once they get some wheels LOL!!!  I found the pattern for the ambulance in the Sept/Oct '09 issue of Quiltmaker.  Rescue Squad was designed by Erin Wilcoxon.   I'm going to call this one Hudson's Heroes.


There are 3 really cute vehicles included in the pattern - as you can see from this picture in the magazine, it also includes a fire truck and a ladder truck.

This will be a small quilt, only 36" x 33", which is exactly what I am looking for.  Hudson has a "special" quilt that I made for him when he was born, but we want him to have one that he can drag around with him as he plays, which means it has to be small enough to not be too heavy for a little guy.  I mean, really, would you want to slow down this guy?

He'll be going in to have tubes in his ears in a few weeks, and I think a Grandma Quilt may be just the ticket to help him get all better... what do you think?  :*D

These are the fabrics I gathered up for Hudson's Heroes.....  stripes, and spots, and cars & trucks - what more could a little boy want, I ask you?  Most of them are from the Happy Town line with a few solids added in from my stash.

I'll use this Happy Town panel for the backing.  He can use this side of the quilt as a "road" for his cars - now how fun is that???  

Photo courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop where you can find these cute fabrics!

This project is my NewFO Challenge project for March - getting it done early!!

As I was playing with these fabrics this afternoon, I was reminded once again of the nice quality and feel of them.  And don't forget that they were created for a great cause!  You can go to my post HERE if you want to learn more about what Jacquelynne and Henry Glass had in mind when these fabrics were brought to life.  There's a quilt contest and cash prizes too - so go check it out!  There's also a button on my side bar if you want to go straight to the contest information :*)

Elsewhere on my Design Wall, I finished up another of the Starry Night star blocks....

That leaves just 4 more to complete, and then the outer part of the blocks with the floating friendship stars.  I think I should be able to complete this one at our retreat in Pigeon Forge if I apply myself to the task.  That would be great to have another finish for this year already!!!  And it will be one more UFO off my list too - whoohoo!!!

If you missed some previous posts, you can click HERE to see my post about current yarn projects, and HERE to see my post earlier today about my hand stitching projects.  And then there's THIS POST where we discuss the joys of creamsicles and the color ORANGE!

What's on your Design Wall?  Share it with us at Patchwork Times!  

We'd love to see what you are creating!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

************************************
I'm joining in on the following fun linky parties....why don't you come too!

Last Day for Happy Town Giveaway!!!!

Just in case you missed it, I have a great GIVEAWAY going on that ends TODAY!!!  

One sweet Multi-Town Quilt Panel and a fat quarter of ALL 14 coordinating fabrics!!!  

Go HERE now to find out how you can win!

(Note:  make sure you leave comments on THAT post, not this one!)

I finally found some time to play with these sweet fabrics - and I do mean sweeeet!  I LOVE Jacquelynne Steves' happy little designs - they remind me so much of my children's childhood toys :*)   And Henry Glass does a great job in the quality of these fabrics, let me tell you.  They are soft and thick, and they cut like butter!!!  Sewing them together is a breeze.  This is the kind of fabric we all love to sew with :*D

This little Preemie Quilt is the first of many little projects I intend to make with the Happy Town fabrics....

Preemie Quilt with binding applied, but not yet sewn down.

I had agreed to do a Demo on how to correctly apply binding at my Divas Guild yesterday, so I decided to make a little Preemie Quilt for one of our charitable projects that we do at my Music City Guild out of the Happy Town fabric.  I was a happy camper to be accomplishing 3 great goals out of one little project!!!

These little quilts are easily made up - this one measures about 17 inches square, but they can be as small as 12 inches square.  I started out by choosing this happy little yellow print with the dogs & cats....

and cutting out a 12-1/2" inch square .....

then adding some fun borders.... love that stripe!!!

No, I didn't miter the stripe!  This was a "quick" project!  LOL!!!

Then I couldn't resist adding this FUN dots print for the backing!

This was the perfect little quilt sandwich for my binding demo!  

As you can see, it turned out super cute!  :*D

I like to think that some mommy whose little baby is in the Preemie ward will be cheered 

by seeing her little one cuddled up in such a soft, happy quilt!

***********************************

And in case you were wondering where those beautiful blooms from my header came from....

My Valentine's Day flowers from my Sweetie!!!  

Aren't they gorgeous?  I love how they turned the water the same color as the flowers :*)

And he also gave me this Hyacinth bulb!  

I am SO longing for spring, and this will brighten up my sewing studio until I can plant it outside.  Yep, I'd say he did a great job of showing me his love this year, wouldn't you?  

I couldn't ask for a better Valentine =^..^=

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=

It's Giveaway Time!!!!

Have you seen the new fabric line by Jacquelynne Steves?

Happy Town is just exactly that - HAPPY!!!

I'm sure you are familiar with Jacquelynne Steves.  She has a wonderful blog called The Noble Wife 

- I just LOVE her Newsletter - it's always full of fun patterns, ideas, recipes and lots more!  

She also has a website by the same name.  

I'm so excited to be helping Jacquelynne get the word out about her newest line, because this is not just any new fabric line - she developed it with a very special purpose in mind!  ALL of the royalties from sales of this fabric line will be donated to Quilts for Kids, a wonderful organization dedicated to helping "volunteer quilters transform fabrics into patchwork quilts that comfort children in need."
Is that fantastic or what???

*******************************

The Fat Quarter Shop's Jolly Jabber has a wonderful "Designer Tidbits" 

about Jacquelynne and developing the Happy Town fabrics for charity.  

You can read it HERE. 

*******************************

How can you get involved in this great effort?  One fun way to jump in is to enter the Create a Quilt Contest, sponsored by the designer (Jacquelynne) and Henry Glass Fabrics, the manufacturer of Happy Town.  Time is limited, so if you'd like to make a quilt for a hospitalized child and enter the contest, go HERE now to find out all about it and download the entry form.

In addition to cash prizes ($500!), the Top 3 winners will be displayed in the Henry Glass booth at the International Quilt market held in Portland, Oregon, in May 2013!  Now that's recognition!!!  

There is even a special category for quilters under age 16.  All quilts submitted will be donated 

to Quilts for Kids and distributed to hospitals throughout the US.  

Deadline to enter is April 15, 2013, so go download that entry form right now!!!  

Yes, I'll wait.......

Cute and easy Multi-Town Quilt Panel from the Happy Town fabric line!

Okay, so you have your entry form in hand?  Good!  Now, what are you going to make?  Hmmmm?  Want some ideas?  Well, click HERE to see the full line of Happy Town fabrics.  You can get these little cuties right now from the Fat Quarter Shop - click HERE!!!  And you can click HERE to download some really, really cute FREE PATTERNS specially designed for the Happy Town line :*)

These are some of my favorites (they all go perfectly with the totally COOL Multi-Town Panel above!)

Cars & trucks & all kinds of fun vehicles!!!  In green or blue background - too cute!!!

This may be my favorite print in the line - I wonder why? LOL!!!

A really fun novelty border stripe!!!

As well as a couple of pure coordinating stripes

And DOTS!!!  We all know how much I love dots, right?!?
These come in this yummy red/green, as well as orange/blue and yellow/green!

***************************************

Now, are you ready for the promised fun GIVEAWAY!!!!  This is a big one folks!!!

Jacquelynne has generously sent me some of her Happy Town fabrics so I can share them with you!  Included in this Giveaway will be one (1) Happy Town Multi Town Quilt Panel, 

AND a FQ bundle containing one each of the 14 coordinating fabrics!!!!  

Wowzers!!!

Now what do you have to do to win?  Easy peasy....

1.   Go to the Fat Quarter Shop's PAGE of Happy Town fabrics and come back and tell me your favorite!
2.   For a second chance to win, visit Jacquelynne on her blog, The Noble Wife and sign up for her Newsletter!  Leave a second comment telling me you have done so.  While you're there you can let her know how much you love her fabrics =^..^=  This is one very talented lady!!!

The Giveaway will close in one week - midnight EST February 15th, and the winner will be determined by Random Number Generator.

COMMENTS ARE NOW CLOSED - 

WINNER ANNOUNCED HERE!!!

Thanks to all who joined in the fun!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=