when skies are grey...

it's a dreary and chilly day in the big apple, but there's nothing dreary about simple and simon co.'s new fabric collection, when skies are grey.

this talented duo's second collection for riley blake designs is pretty spectacular! and right on trend with the modern nurseries i keep seeing on pinterest.

i'm especially fond of the black and white prints from this darling collection. the prints i'm most obsessed with are the rain clouds, the rain drops, and the stars. the stars! i mean, how could you not love a gold glitter star?

inspired by the the rain cloud print, i just knew i had to make something cloud related. the original plans included cloud pillows (in all the prints, of course!), a cloud mobile, and finally a cloud mini quilt. any and all would be so cute in a modern nursery!

i started by drawing a cloud template and then realized it would be too small for a pillow. after staring at it for a bit, i knew it would be perfect as an appliqué. however, the need to mix things up led me to pinterest, where i saw an adorable heart pillow that could house a sweet message.

after creating an improv mini quilt for the background, i made two clouds for the front of the quilt. similar to the construction of a fabric toy, i decided to use batting so they have just the right around of fluff. i attached the clouds to the quilt with heavy duty fabric glue (i know, i know!). leaving a 3'' opening at the top of each cloud to serve as a pocket for sweet notes to mama or baby. too cute!

i hope you enjoyed this mini quilt as much as i enjoyed making it! liz and Elizabeth have an awesome line up of makers this week, be sure to follow along.

you can also enter a giveaway here. you're going to want this collection, trust me!

cut, sew, repeat...

the tattooed quilter

heartland fabrics...

the lovely and oh, so talented amy friend of during quiet time asked me to join her and several other fabulous makers for the heartland fabrics blog tour. of course, i couldn't say no. who could resist working with these beautiful fabrics?

heartland fabrics by pat bravo for art gallery fabrics is one of my favorites from pat, creative director of AGF. with almost 40 collections in her portfolio, pat's signature florals and smart use of color shine in this scandinavian inspired collection.

i'm obsessed with her pine-tree daybreak print! doesn't it feel like a wintery vacation in the mountains? that's exactly what inspired my mini quilt. wonky log cabin blogs framed in art gallery's signature pure elements solid snow. it's so dreamy. i'm picturing a vacation of skiing, hot cocoa by the fire, lots of laughter, snuggles under a big wool blanket, and tons of cozy sweaters. pack your bags and let's go!

wonky log cabin blocks are so much fun. and placing them off-set in the background really draws attention to the details of pat's prints. in addition to pure elements snow and pine-tree daybreak, i used unn cross pine, and liten daisy field. each block, after trimming, comes out to 6.5'' finished. the perfect size to highlight these wintery warm prints. and if you prefer brighter colors, never fear, the heartland collection comes in additional colors too.

what would you make with pat's latest collection?

yesterday, stephanie from spontaneous threads shared her amazing wearable quilt with you, but be sure to check out these other awesome maker's from last week and this week:

november 7: debbie http://aquilterstable.blogspot.com/
november 8: jess http://www.craftinessisnotoptional.com/ and charise http://charisecreates.blogspot.com/
november 9: jade http://www.stitchmischief.com/
november 10: amanda http://www.jedicraftgirl.com/
november 11: kari http://craft-happy.blogspot.com/
november 14: stephanie http://spontaneousthreads.blogspot.com/
november 15: christopher (me!)
november 16: kerry http://kidgiddy.blogspot.com/
november 17: nichole https://wildboho.com/
november 18: krista http://poppyprintcreates.blogspot.com/

i also love amy's quilt she designed as part of the tour, check it out here!

cut, sew, repeat...

the tattooed quilter

p.s. a huge thanks to my lovely model, julianne! couldn't do it without her!

the denim studio by agf

earlier this year, i had the privilege of hosting the first blog tour for the denim studio by art gallery fabrics. since then, art gallery fabrics has released new prints, colors, and fabrications to this already awesomely curated collection of denim blues. sarah, from sariditty homemade, is our fabulous host for this tour and i'm up first.

inspired by amy sinibaldi of nana company's #asdesignchallenge, i decided to embrace the perfectly imperfect and create not one, but two mini quilts with some of my favorites from the new collection. the new denim prints: vice versa, fading darts, rosebud falls, arctic avens, combined with the super soft outland yarns solids in white, rose feather, deep ocean, and endless paradise make the most delicious combination. but seriously, they're all perfect together!

amy's design challenge was perfect for these minis. a large block really let's the fabrics shine! for the one mini, i made 10.5'' half-triangles, offset in the background with organic straight-line machine quilting and embellished with hand-quilting. for the second mini, i made 8.5'' half-triangles, lined up with each other and organic straight-line machine quilting. i love the combination of the denim prints with the outland yarns solids. there's just something really delicate and light with these came together.

trust me, creating something perfectly imperfect is hard. i always strive to accurately piece, starch if necessary, and only press, not iron (oh how i love to iron). but there was something magically about letting go and organically letting these two minis shine on their own. just like any art medium, it's subjective, but what i love is the romantic story these two pieces tell. anyway you hang them, there's something new and sweet to explore.