My Entry into the Fall Quilt Festival

Have you seen all the gorgeous quilts at the Blogger’s Quilt Festival? Amazing work being displayed out there!

I was torn between two of my recent favorite quilt projects, but ultimately I decided to enter this one into the festival. I made it as part of the coin quilt piece-along earlier this year. I was a little intimidated to machine quilt it myself, so it took me until July to finally finish it.

finished coin quiltI planned to use a pattern, but as is typical for me, I cut the coins the wrong size. So I ended up making my own pattern to finish this one, and it turned out just fine. Sometimes I just not good at following directions or staying within the lines! The finished quilt measures 48-inches x 67-inches.

front side of coin quiltI love Jennifer Paganelli‘s fabrics, you know her, of the Sis Boom fame. I love the colors in the Bell Bottoms collection, which make me feel like lounging on the beach with a book and a cocktail. I haven’t machine quilted very many of my own quilts, so for this one, I wanted to keep it simple with lines in the white sashing. I added a patchwork binding with the scraps.

coin quilt backing

I was so humbled when Jennifer actually noticed my quilt and gave it a shout out.

Thanks so much for stopping by to see my favorite quilt. By the way, my etsy shop is also a sponsor in the festival so be sure to sign up to win some of the great giveaways being offered.

Quilt Festival Sponsor

I decided to enter as one of the sponsors for the Blogger’s Quilt Festival, which is Oct. 9-16. I’m so excited to be able to participate in this festival as a sponsor!

I will be giving away one of the techie bags listed in my shop. I have four different colors, so I will let the winner choose which one they want.

Be sure to enter your favorite quilt into the festival in order to qualify for the many fabulous giveaways! I will to do another post this weekend about my favorite quilt. (I’m torn between this one and this one.) If you’re not a quilter, stop by the festival anyway and check out all the amazing quilts people are making.

Art From My Swap Partner

Check out this mini quilt I received today from my Summertime Mini Quilt Swap partner Kathy! It’s called Hollyhocks in Summer.

summertime quilt

She used different types of fabrics from cotton to satin and different colors of threads.

different fabrics

Even the binding is framed with piping, which I haven’t seen before. I also think some sections of this project were handquilted.

notice the hand quilting and binding

Other sections have this cool decorative stitching, like the border on the left side.

decorative stitching

I can’t believe this work of art was made just for me. In her note, Kathy said she had been stalking my blog for awhile – how funny is that. It looks like a picture I could have taken in my garden. Did I mention she’s from Wisconsin? What are the odds of us being paired up!

the back

Take a look at the back – almost as beautiful as the front. I really love the label in the center.

the label

Thank you so much, Kathy! Be sure to go check out all the other cool mini quilts being exchanged.

Laptop Bag

Do you remember the laptop bag I made last year? (see picture below for a refresher) It was a fun project that turned out quite well. My sister like it so much that I gave it to her this summer.

Laptop Bag in AB fabrics(I added canvas handles after taking that photo.)

That meant I needed to make a new bag for my own laptop.

holding the laptop bag

I started making this patchwork project last summer with fabrics from the Drawing Room collection, but I set it aside because I didn’t know what size my new computer was going to be. (Yes, I have been dreaming about a new computer for a year.)

Laptop Bag in Drawing Room FabricsI finished making it this weekend, and my laptop fits in it perfectly.  (It measures about 13″ x 14.5″)

laptop in its new bagThe outside fabrics are upholstery weight, strip-pieced and quilted to batting to make it even more sturdy, and the inside is cotton fabric lining. I added an inside pocket with a zipper to hold the charger cord. I’ve never done a zippered pocket like that, so it was a good challenge for this prototype.

zippered pocket insideI also added simple ties to hold the bag closed.

tie closureI love this bag so much that I’m already making another one to list in the shop! I hope to add more laptop bags over the next month or two.

Remember My Candy Quilt?

Remember earlier this year when I made this quilt top? I was in a design class at the time, so I didn’t have a lot of extra time to teach myself to machine quilt this one. I shipped the quilt top off to a friend of mines who owns a long-arm quilting business.

candy quilt on the bench

In the meantime, I taught myself how to machine quilt and even do free motion quilting, so if I had been more patient, which is definitely not one of my strengths, I could have finished this one myself.

candy quilt in the grass

About six months later, I got it back! I couldn’t have quilted it this good myself, especially with those adorable little flowers in there.

quilted flower

I was anxious to finish the binding so I could use this one, just for a picnic quilt or lap quilt.

binding and backing on Candy Quilt

The chocolate lollipop fabrics remain one of my all time favorite collections. I still have a big stack of these fabrics in my stash, and I’m hoarding cherishing them.

chocolate lollipop quilt

I would love to make more projects with them, and I know where I can buy more, but I have been trying to cut down on fabric purchases. Don’t ask me why. Just because.

Friendship Bag Received

Thank you everyone for the shop love! I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful group of blogger friends. I am really excited about my new adventure, so I appreciate all your positive feedback.

Speaking of blessings, thank you to Sharon for the bag as part of the Friendship Bag Swap! I received this wonderful package in the mail this week.

friendship packageThe card was almost as exciting as the bag. Check out this cool patchwork card! It reminds me of those fabric postcards or trading cards people are making.

patchwork card from SharonWithout further delay, here is the fabulous friendship bag Sharon made for me. I love fall, and I love the fall fabrics she used, so I am going to start carrying this right away.

friendship bag from SharonNow check out these fabulous goodies she included in the package -a couple adorable ornaments, and a cute flower tee.

friendship goodiesShe even included a stack of great fabrics that I will definitely use, possibly for a handmade holiday project.

friendship fabricsThank you so much, Sharon! I love love love the bag AND the goodies.

Open For Business!

I would like to introduce you to my new Etsy shop now open for business. Please stop by to check it out! (www.patchworktrails.etsy.com)

Patchwork Trails Logo

I have been brainstorming and sketching ideas since spring, and spent the summer working on prototypes to list in the shop. I sketched the logo design several months ago, and I worked with a graphic designer to computerize it.

Patchwork Trails BANNER

I will be offering handmade patchwork gear for a day on the trails. I love to be outdoors, whether it’s hiking, skiing, kayaking, gardening or just hanging out in the backyard. That was my inspiration – the outdoors and the gear I use on my adventures.

My signature piece is the Stuff Sack.

Stuff Sacks

Use these unique Sacks to carry your stuff! Bring a snack on the hiking trail, protect your camera from sand while at the beach, store your camping utensils, or pack your camp slippers in your backpack. Also great for gathering treasures you find along the trail, fallen leaves, pinecones, acorns, a piece of sea glass, or a unique fossil. Sizes will include Small at 12″ high with a 5″ base, Medium at 12″ high with a 7″ base, and Large at 12″ high with a 9″ base, big enough to fit a pair of men’s shoes.

Next up are my Checkerboard Sets. These Checkerboards are the standard 8 squares by 8 squares and come with 24 chips and a postcard to remind you of the rules of the game.

Checkerboard set in Park Slope

Neatly tucks into a lined drawstring bag. Dimensions on the checkerboard are 16.5″ square, and the drawstring bag is 11.5″ square with a smaller 6″ drawstring bag to hold your checkers.

Checkerboard set tucks into bag

Here come the Techie Bags.

Techie Bag in Hello Betty

Use these Techie bags to carry your camera, phone or music player, with an inside pocket to hold an extra memory card or a charger cord.

Inside of Techie Bag in Hello Betty

You can’t tell me you would go hiking without your camera or phone! Zipper closure and a handle for easy carrying. Dimensions are 9″ wide x 8″ tall x 1″ deep with a 15″ handle.

Next up are Chair Pads.

Chair Pad in Blue Good Folks

Chair Pads could be handy to soften the hard seats on a picnic table at the park or the stadium seats at a game.

Rolled up chair pad

Rolls up with ties for easy carrying. This chair pad measures 17″ square.

Finally, check out my Patchwork Mat!

The Mat in Good Folks

This Patchwork Mat is great for portable napping after a day of hiking or swimming at the beach. A family of four could sit on this Mat for concerts in the park or fireworks (my sister tried it). Can also be used as yoga mat. Talk about versatile, you could even use this mat as a table runner!

The Mat all rolled up

Rolls up with ties for easy carrying. (book and snacks not included) Dimensions are 26″ wide by 66″ long.

I have four more new products in the works, so stay tuned for more on those updates.

Everything is functional and versatile, with a modern yet whimsical style. Great for any trail you take in life.

For now, everything is made out of the designer fabrics I have in my stash. I will definitely accept custom orders if you want a different color scheme. My long-term goal with this adventure is to design my own fabric to make this entire collection out of. The ideas just won’t fit in my head anymore!

Support for Your Shop

During my recent efforts to get inventory ready for my new Etsy shop,  I have been spending more time on Etsy. Not doing research, but mostly shopping in support of others selling their handmade wares.

Hello Betty patchwork

I thought this would be a good time to update my sidebar list of Creative Shops to Love, which can also include Artfire and other online shops that are not on Etsy.

patchwork for shop

If you are a regular reader of my blog, do you have an Etsy shop, Artfire or an online shop? Is it listed in my blogroll on the right? If not, please send me your shop name and link.

Good Folks patchwork

I also thought this would be a good time to update my list of favorite creative tutorials.  Have you posted a recent tutorial you would like to share? Is it listed in my blogroll on the right? If not, please send me your link.

Just wanted to recognize some of my fellow creative entrepreneurs!