Love & Kisses Blog Hop

Hey, everyone!  Hope 2020 has not been too harsh for you!  The world is crazy right now and I think most of us are just trying to make it to 2021 - its got to be better, right?!

 

I have spent the last couple of months really putting myself out there in the design world more than ever before and its been paying off!  Two exciting things are happening this weekend and first up is the Love & Kisses Blog Hop!  Sherry Shish of Powered by Quilting put together a signature line for Island Batiks.  I had never heard of having a signature line, but I love the idea!  Sherry has put together patterns and such to along with fabrics designed by Island Batik's in house designer, Kathy Engle.  And let me tell you, these are such darling patterns and colors and everything!  

I chose to do a table runner using a pattern that I love so much - Flowering Snowball by Ann Sandler of Stitch Supply Co.  Many moons ago, Ann put a call out for testers for this pattern and I applied!  I had never done curves before, they were a scary thing for me so I was the ultimate beginner.  Let me tell you, this pattern is so well written, the templates that come with it are so good, that I started sewing curves like I had been doing them my whole life!  I had looked at loads of tutorials over the years to try and make myself less afraid of them and actually try but just couldn't wrap my brain around them.  This pattern and the diagrams and info that Ann includes made curves make sense, made them less scary.  I always wanted to revisit the pattern so when Sherry put out a call for pattern ideas, I submitted a flowering snowball pattern and it came out so good!  

This collection of fabrics includes the sweetest swirls and hearts in the most darling colors - pinks, blues, and purples with a great grey blender color.  The swirls and curls lent themselves to well to the Flowering Snowball pattern, there's so much movement!  I chose one of each color and then Sherry sent the grey blender fabric as binding - just so perfect.

I love playing with color placement in traditional patterns to create something fun and fresh.  This table runner does just that by doing a radiating color selection.  For this pattern, you'll need the following:

Blue: 16 sides, 8 corners, 4 centers - 5/8 yard

Purple: 8 sides, 16 corners, 4 centers - 3/4 yard

Pink: 16 sides, 16 corners, 2 centers - 7/8 yard

Binding: 1/4 yard if using 2 1/4" binding strips

Look at how gorgeous these colors are! Even late at night, which is when I do the bulk of my sewing!

Just follow the pattern for the block construction and the above pictures for where I put each fabric.  Ann truly wrote an amazing pattern that I can't encourage you enough to purchase.  

Now for some glamour shots!  And some Massey, our outdoor kitty that is never too far from me when I'm outside.

These were pre-binding, I forgot to grab new pictures today while the sun was out, so catch those on Instagram.

Speaking of Insta -  over on my design page ( @andrea.arledge.designs ) there will be a giveaway!  Sherry was so generous in letting me sew for her that I want to pass that on and will be giving away the scraps among some other fun items.  The scraps are bigger pieces, not tiny scraps, I did some very careful cutting to make the most of the fabric.  I can't wait to see what the winner makes with it and see the rest of the stops on the tour - just click on the very first picture on this post to see Sherry's main blog hop post that has all the stops and info on her giveaway!

Exciting Things are Coming....

Hey, all!  Took another few months to get back here, but here I am!

I have a game plan for some pattern releases!  Though, I am having a minor issue deciding what platform I'm going to be using to sell said patterns.  My Half Square Ohio collection will be released in August, come hell or high water - these have been my babies for long enough, its time to send them out into the world.  There are three patterns in the collection right now, but I'm hoping to keep adding to it over the years.  I have an idea that I'm going to be sending to Moda this week, so if that's accepted, it'll be shared through them, if not, it will go up as a tutorial on here.  I've been selected to be a part of a blog hop - more on that later this week, maybe.  I'm also a part of a Corey Yoder quilting bee this year, and my month is September.  I'm still not sure what pattern I'm requesting, but when I get my blocks, I'll be posting here to share them!  I can't wait for that!

Hello, from 2020

Well.



It's been a hot minute.

I want to build my brand a little bit, so I'm bringing back the blog!  I still love this space, it still feels like home, so I'm back, and I'm excited to be here!  I'm going to be learning how to make this place a fun spot, a learning spot.

I have a huge goal of getting a tutorial published on Moda's Bake Shop and for that to happen I need an online presence.  A little more than just Instagram, I guess.

So, I will be here a little more.  I'm going to be back in a day or two with all the fabric totals of my inventory and some tracking sheets that I'm going to really keep track of this year.  I also want to share my goals for this year and my top nine makes for this year.  Maybe twelve.  I'm not sure if I want to focus on one project each month to totally finish or if I want to just stick with the "Make Nine" that floats around the internet and social media world.

Can't wait to share my crafty life a little bit more.  I've missed you guys!

Couny Fair Season!

I really love fairs.  Like a whole lot.  I didn't enter my crafts until these past few years that I've been living in Ross County again, but I love doing it and I'm so glad I've gotten into it.  I was due to give a talk to the Columbus Modern Quilters this past week about my experience entering fairs but baby jeep had other plans for me as I ended up spending well over a week on a tire for the front end.  So, with that being said, let's talk fairs!

I know I missed the Franklin County fair, it was July 18th through the 25th.  Licking County, which is actually The Hartford Fair, is from August 9th to the 15th.  Fairfield County is held from October 11th to the 17th.  The Pickaway County Fair was held from June 22nd through the 27th.  And, lastly Ross County is from August 8th through the 15th.  I've linked back to the local counties on those links, but if you go to this website you can find the dates of all the county fairs for 2015.


 I entered the Ross County Fair on a whim about four years ago.  I really couldn't even tell you what I entered, I didn't really know what I was doing, I just along for the ride.  I didn't expect to win anything, and I was shocked to find I did win some of my classes.  The way Ross County is set up is that there are "departments" of crafts and within each department, there are individual "classes".  So, I could enter in the quilt department, but enter five different classes based off the different sections of the class.  For example, you can enter into the Quilting - Mini/wall hanging, Quilting - group quilt, Quilting - Machine stitched, and Quilting - Hand stitched.  However, you cannot enter the same quilt into multiple classes, and you can't enter it two years in a row.  How would you be able to do that?  We have a great class called "Unfinished Object"  :)  I have entered, and won, the knitting and crochet Unfinished Object class, but then I couldn't enter it again the next year if it was finished, I would have to wait a year.  (actually, the projects I won those classes with....neither are finished!  haha).  Make sure you are entering the class/department that best fits what craft you are showing.  If you're unsure, talk to the people running the show!  I've never once found them to not be helpful in any way they can be!  Make sure that you read all the rules to your fair as well - if the quilts have to be hand bound, hand bind them, etc. 


Entering the fair isn't about winning.  Don't get me wrong, it is a major plus, especially if your fair gives out prize winnings, but to me, it is about showing people that quilting/knitting/crochet/crafting isn't for tiny old ladies in nursing homes.  We are all younger with new families and new ideas of what our crafts can look like, and we have the right to show that to people.  I can't help but strongly encourage you to enter all the competitions that you can, it is rewarding, it is challenging, it is a great and amazing thing to do to share you craft and talent with others!!  I have learned so much just by entering into the fair, it has helped push me along to learn new things, it has pushed me to actually finish things because I use the fair deadline as a reason to get sh*t done!  :)


Have you entered your local fair?  Have you entered any competitions?

Columbus Modern Quilters Bee Block

I'm requesting Anna Maria's Feathers for this month.  Please make two feathers (they make a square when put together...) but please don't sew them together.  I would like just the two individual feathers.  Please keep in mind when looking at the pattern that AMH is thinking that you're going to be doing an entire quilt of these instead of just two....but, I found this a post that helps with that.  So, be sure to check out THIS LINK before you make your block.

As for colors, please keep the background as a low volume, text would be preferred but not required.  And, for the feathers themselves, just keep them bright and scrappy, and making the two sides different of each feather would be awesome but not required.  Mix the colors as you wish, just make sure they are not in ROYGBIV color order, I love rainbows but I don't want a specifically rainbow color scheme, just want all the colors I can get.

Lastly, please have fun with it, and I'm sure I'm going to love whatever you make!  <3

2015, I got you in my sights.

I can't believe that I have let this whole year pass with minimal posting.  I love blogging.  I love having an outlet for writing and posting about Scarlett Key and such.  I have really gotten into Instagram this year and that has helped in neglecting this poor blog of mine. 
So much has changed this year too!  I got married!  I will post about that at some point.  I became a step-mom when that happened, and I will post about that later too.  I moved on to an almost 70 acre bean farm!  It has been a crazy year!  And, I promise to write about all of it....someday.  Right now?  Right now I want to talk about what's coming.  2015 is going to rock.  Plain and simple.  I did the whole, pick one word thing on Instagram and this is what I picked. 

I want to rebuild Scarlett Key.  I want to rebuild this blog and my online presence.  I want to finish building the house with my Lloyd.  I want to build myself into the best me I can be!  I mean, seriously, I'm going to be turning 30 in May, now is the best time as any to create my world the way I want it to be!  Right?! 
I will be back later with my quilty goal list, my crafty list, my Scarlett Key list, my life list, my me lists for 2015.  I work better when I have goals.  And, I'm going to set a whole flipping lot of them this year!

 

Columbus Modern Quilt Guild Bee - May Block

Girls, please don't hate me when I ask for this block.  I just love Flying Geese.  I think they are a pretty versatile tool to keep in your back pocket when it comes to quilting.  They can be done with half square triangles because they are generally half as tall as they are wide (i.e. 2x4 or 3x6 or 4x8) but traditional flying geese are not done that way.  There are many websites, books, magazines, etc that will show you how to make geese and you can pick how you want to make them.  The best website - and the one that I've found that includes all cutting measurements for all the ways to make geese is at ShopMartingale.com (click on link).  You can also check out House On Hill Road or QuiltersCache.

My personal method is flippy corner version.  I will sew on the marked seam and then sew a half inch to the right of that seam so that I get ready made hst squares from the corners - just cut in the middle so that there is a quarter inch seam for both the flying geese and the square that is left over. I've also tried various methods to reduce the seam bulk.  Pressing seams on the geese open seems to work pretty well, but there are still going to be some bulky seams where you are connecting the geese together.  I choose to nest those as best I can in the direction that reduces bulk. 

To make this block, you will need eight 6x3 geese and fourteen 2x4 geese.  Just lay them out in this layout:

Now for some guidelines on colors and such....
~ Please do the block in one of two colorways.  There is a "cool" version using blues, greens, (not bright) purples or a "warm" version using reds, pinks, oranges, yellows.  You don't have to follow these layouts exactly, they were just to give you and idea of the colorways.

~ As for the geese part, or the middle triangle, please use something dark.  A tone on tone black print is what I'm using for my block that way there is some dimension to it.
~ I love geometric prints (i.e. circles, squares, stripes, arrows, Greek key), so if you can stay away from overly floral patterns and prints, I would appreciate it but I'm not too picky as I want this to be pretty scrappy looking.
~ You're totally allowed to use the "Make 4 At a Time" method of geese, just try to not put two of the same print next together. 

As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!  My email is prajaline@gmail.com and I'm on Instagram on a regular basis under @pommesdeterres

Thank you so much!!