Tuesday 21 February 2012

And the winner is....

Before I announce the winner I'd just like to take a moment to thank everyone who participated in the Accuquilt "Go Ahead and Show a Little Love" blog hop. You girls were amazing - all the projects were wonderful and I just can't wait to try out some of your ideas!

I'd also like to thank everyone who stopped by to read my blog hop post, especially those who took the time to enter the giveaway. I loved reading about all the ways you did (or didn't) spend your Valentine's Day.

And now to the moment you've all been waiting for! Mr Random Number has made his decision...


Which means that "Congratulations!" go to:


Congratulations Lee Ann! I will be emailing you shortly :)

Thanks again everyone - you made my giveaway so much fun that I might just have to do another one some time soon!

Saturday 18 February 2012

Tutorial: Valentine's Mug Rug (Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop)


Let me start by saying that I love "Flo", my Accuquilt GO! Before I had my Go! I had never ventured much past squares and rectangles in my quilts.. but now I've progressed to curves (LOVE my Drunkard's Path die!), tumbler blocks and even little Sunbonnet Sue!

For my Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop project I decided to use dies that I'd consider basic essentials - the Value die (which comes with the Go! - and is available for separate purchase with the Go! Baby) and the 2.5" strip die.

If you don't have an Accuquilt cutter, you can still make this project using your acrylic rulers & rotary cutter. :)

You will need:
Main Fabric 
Background Fabric
Border Fabric
Backing Fabric
Binding Fabric (this can be the same as the Main Fabric)
Batting

(Fabric estimates will depend on how many mug rugs you are planning to make... a fat quarter of each fabric should be enough to make 3-4 mug rugs.)

Step 1: Using the Value die cut-
  • 8x 2.5" HSTs (Half Square Triangles) of the Main fabric
  • 8x 2.5" HSTs of the Background fabric
  • 2x 2.5" Squares of the Main fabric
  • 2x 2.5" Squares of the Background fabric

Lay out your pieces, making sure directional prints are going the right way!


 Step 2: Pair the HSTs so that you have one Main Fabric and one Background Fabric per pair. Open out and press seams according to personal preference.


 Step 3: Join "square" blocks as shown below. You should end up with 6x rectangular blocks. Press seams.


 Step 4: Sew rectangle blocks together to form two columns, pressing seams as you go (quick, we need to mend that broken heart!)


Step 5: Join the two halves of your heart together!


 Step 6: Using the 2.5" Strip Die cut a WOF (Width of Fabric) strip of your Border Fabric. I have marked my die so that I can then place my 2.5" strip down the centre of my die and turn it into a 1.25" strip, but you can also do this using your WOF acrylic ruler and rotary cutter. Sew a strip to each end of the heart panel (approx 6.5" long, but I prefer to cut a little longer and then trim back). Press and then sew a strip to the top and the bottom of the heart panel (approx 10"). Press.



 Step 7: Cut your Backing Fabric and Batting slightly larger than your mug rug flimsy. Baste, and then quilt as desired. I decided to ditch stitch around the heart shape and then have a stab at some FMQ using SewCalGal's January FMQ Challenge design.

My attempt at FMQ!
 Step 8: Using the 2.5" Strip Die cut a WOF strip of your Binding Fabric. If you are using fat quarters you will need 2-3 strips. Join your strips using a 45 degree angle and press the seams open to reduce bulk. Press in half lengthwise, wrong sides together.


The bulk of the seam is spread between the two points.


 Step 9: Sew binding to the back of your mug rug using 1/4" seam. (There are lots of great binding tutorials floating around, Luv in the Mommy Hood has done a "round up" of a few different types)


Step 10: Press the binding forward, fold over to the front and pin so that the edge of the binding just covers the stitch line. I forget which blog I originally saw it on, but someone suggested using a decorative stitch to secure the binding to the front - it's fairly forgiving when compared to ditch stitching, and adds an extra level of interest to your design. I used a feather stitch as my machine is rather limited in it's stitch choices, but I liked the effect it gave.

And there you have it!

Your completed mug rug, ready to give to your sweetheart!


Mug rugs for the whole family!
Seriously though, I took one of these to school when I picked the kids up on Valentine's Day and when Blossom came out of her Kindy class I held it up and said "This is how much I love you!". She squealed with delight and asked if it was for her (which it wasn't, really.. I'd just gifted it to her Daddy!) so I said she could have one of my other ones.. She promptly showed it to anyone and everyone who would look.. the other Mums, her teachers, classmates, even the crossing guard! I did the same thing a few minutes later when I picked up Bean to a very similar response (less with the squealing and showing everyone, more with the heart clutching delight) - so I had to run home and finish off the binding on the other two mug rugs so they could have their own! They even slept with them.

I also made a matching table runner! I can post a tutorial for that if anyone's interested.

So what about this giveaway, you ask? Well.. for being so patient and bearing with me during my tutorial I am giving one lucky reader the chance to win a mug rug kit of your own! I will include pre-cut pieces to make the top including borders and the binding, all you will need is your batting and backing. Wait.. what good is one mug rug on Valentine's Day? Better make it enough for two <3

How do you win? Here's are ways you can win (you need to be a follower):

1. Tell me how you spent Valentine's Day. If you don't celebrate Valentine's Day, that's ok - tell me what you did instead! Or just leave a comment.
2. Follow me (and/or tweet about the giveaway) on Twitter.
3. Follow me on Pinterest.
4. Share this post on Facebook and/or blog it.

The winner will be selected using a Random Number Generator on Tuesday 21 February (10:00am Australian Western Standard Time) with the winner notified by email (and on this blog). Please make sure you're able to be contacted by providing an email address or making sure you're not a no-reply blogger :) International entries accepted.

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love Final Day!

So, it's the final day here at the Accuquilt Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop! I'm sharing today with Stacey (Driving Miss Stacey) and Paulette (Sweet P Quilting and Creations) so don't forget to check them out and show them a little love too :) Check out my next post for my project and a little GIVEAWAY! Woo!






In case you've missed any of the other blogs in the hop, make sure you take the time to visit them all - there are some awesome projects, not to mention a few giveaways along the way!


February 13th
Ariane (Ariane's Crafts

February 14th

February 15th
Lisa Marie (Scraps of Life)

February 16th

February 17th
Sharon (Crazee Corners

February 18th

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop - Day 5!





Today you have the lovely Sharon from Craizee Corners and Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting demonstrating their skill with their Accuquilt cutters :)

And then tomorrow.... it's my turn! Only one more sleep, people!

Don't forget to come back to check out those coming up (or that you might have missed!):

February 13
Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

February 14
Connie from Quilting by the River
Linda from Living 4 Quilting

February 15
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 16 (yesterday)
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 18 (tomorrow)
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)

Thursday 16 February 2012

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop - Day 4!




Are you enjoying the "Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love" Accuquilt blog hop so far? It's half way through now.. just a few more days to go and then it will be my turn!

But before we get to that, you have the lovely Alicia from Heirloom Quilting and Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner showing you their projects today :)

Then come back to check out those coming up (or that you might have missed!):

February 13
Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

February 14 
Connie from Quilting by the River
Linda from Living 4 Quilting

February 15 (yesterday)
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 17 (tomorrow)
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop - Day 3!




Today's line up for the "Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love" Accuquilt blog hop features Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life and  Marilyn from North Hill Quilter - don't forget to go and see what they've got in store :)


Then come back to check out those coming up (or that you might have missed!):

February 13
Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

February 14 (yesterday)
Connie from Quilting by the River 
Linda from Living 4 Quilting


February 16 (tomorrow)
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 17
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)

Tuesday 14 February 2012

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop - Day 2!



The "Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love" blog hop started yesterday with Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts and Ariane from Ariane's Crafts - if you didn't get a chance yet, make sure you drop in and check their blogs out!


Today is Valentine's Day! Do you have plans? 
You do now! Go and visit Connie from Quilting by the River and Linda from Living 4 Quilting for today's Accuquilt themed love fun!


Then come back tomorrow (and the day after, and the day after etc) to check out:

February 15
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 16
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 17
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)


Monday 13 February 2012

February Bee Blocks

I completed my very first bee blocks for the Quilt Club Australia Skill Building Bee (Hive #2) - they'll be sent up to Waverlee from LittleGuineaPigs. Waverlee lives in Geraldton, which is where I got married last year! (But no, we've not met in person... yet!)

Waverlee wanted us to make her some of those gorgeous string blocks (in red & aqua) I keep seeing everywhere at the moment, so it was an excellent opportunity to play with them :) Phillipa and I raided our stashes and pooled our fabrics for a bit more variety.

Here is what I ended up with..

Bee Block #1

Bee Block #2
Jane from Quiltjane is leading the March block and has announced that she's keen to do Dresden plates... I've never made one of those before either, but I've been dying to try them out. Bees are so much fun!

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love blog hop - Day 1!



The "Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love" blog hop starts today.. go and check out Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts and Ariane from Ariane's Crafts to see what kinds of red and white Valentine's goodies they have come up with.. and that's just the beginning :) 

Stay tuned for:


February 14 (Happy Valentine's Day!)
Connie from Quilting by the River
Linda from Living 4 Quilting

February 15
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 16
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 17
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)


Sunday 12 February 2012

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love Blog Hop - Starts tomorrow!



Love is in the Air! Can you feel it? There has definitely been a whole lot of quilty love floating around blog land in the last couple of weeks.. Valentine's Day blog hops are everywhere!


As mentioned, some of the girls from SewCalGal's Quilter's With Modern Tools list have put together an Accuquilt themed blog hop that starts tomorrow! The line up is as follows:


February 13 (tomorrow!)
Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

February 14 (Happy Valentine's Day!)
Connie from Quilting by the River
Linda from Living 4 Quilting

February 15
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 16
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 17
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)

See you soon!

Friday 10 February 2012

Quilty love...

Clearly today is a day of discovery for me! Aside from finding my Disappearing 9 Patch table runner on FaveQuilts.com (I must confess I knew they wanted to feature one of my tutorials, I just didn't know which one, or when), it was apparently also featured back in November on The Curious Quilter's "A Generous Helping of Quilty Holiday Gift Tutorials" blog post! How lovely is that?

And speaking of featured tutorials, Ebony from Love Bug Studios asked me if she could feature my Split Drunkard's Path Star block tutorial in her online magazine Blocks to Die For, which is all about ways to use your fabric die cutters (Accuquilt etc)


I was featured on FaveQuilts.com!

My Disappearing 9-patch Table Runner (that I made for the Craizee Corner's "Bonnie & Camille Week" last year) has been featured on FaveQuilts.com! How exciting is that??


Thursday 9 February 2012

This week...

...I completed my February blocks for the Craftsy Block of the Month.. this month's theme was half square triangles.

Block #3 - Balkan Puzzle

Block #4 - Chunky Chevron

My completed Jan & Feb blocks
And I ordered my backing fabric for this quilt... Julie from The Intrepid Thread has her Delighted fabrics on clearance at the moment so I ordered the Blue Mosaic & Blue Main for the backing and the Pink Daisy to bind it. I love knowing there's fabric in the mail!

I've also been working on my mini quilt for The Name Game Swap - it's nearly ready to post, I just have to do up a quilt label for it (trust me to forget to do it until after I've quilted and bound it!).. I won't show you the finished quilt because I'd hate to ruin the surprise for my swap partner, but here's a little sneak peek of the quilt top (before I did the name part!)



I've also been helping organise a second hive for the Quilt Club Australia skill building bee.. I'm pretty excited - it's my first bee! This month Waverlee's chosen a string block in gorgeous red and aqua. Phillipa and I spent part of the morning raiding our stashes and auditioning fabrics for our bee blocks. Just need to sew them up now (I could have done them tonight, but I decided to blog instead!).. My month will be later in the year because I'm thinking of doing a paper pieced block and as it's a skill builder it's better to do "harder" blocks later on so you don't scare people off, right?

While I was at Phillipa's I spent some time working on my project for the "Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love" blog hop that starts in.... 4 days! Stay tuned, people... there might be a giveaway right here on this little old blog!

Friday 3 February 2012

Go! Ahead and Show a Little Love Blog Hop - Coming Soon!


That's right ladies and gentlemen, it's that time of year.. Time to get into the mood for some quilty love! 


Some of the lovely ladies from SewCalGal's Quilter's With Modern Tools list (including yours truly) have banded together to bring you an Accuquilt themed blog hop. The line up is as follows:


February 13
Marjorie from Marjorie Busby Quilts
Ariane from Ariane's Crafts

February 14
Connie from Quilting by the River
Linda from Living 4 Quilting

February 15
Lisa Marie from Scraps of Life
Marilyn from North Hill Quilter

February 16
Alicia from Heirloom Quilting
Marjorie from Marjorie's Busy Corner

February 17
Sharon from Craizee Corners
Snoodles from Lily Pad Quilting

February 18
Stacey from Driving Miss Stacey
Tracey from The Peony Teacup (that's me!)

I hear tell that there will be a few giveaways during the blog hop (perhaps even one here?) so make sure that you don't miss out!

While all of our projects will be based on using the Accuquilt cutters, don't worry if you don't have one (yet!) - you can play along at home with your good old fashioned rotary cutters and acrylic templates!


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