Piece, Love, Applique Under Way!

The P,L,A Block of the month is underway! There are over 10 people participating, and I've run out of the right fabrics to kit up any more in similar color ways. (although I can see this quilt in other exciting colors, so don't worry if you are still wanting to join I can make you up a fantastic kit!)
You can view the pictures as they come into me on the shop's Facebook page. Just search for "The Crazy Quilter" on Facebook to find me!
I also promised to give tips, hints, help, etc. for those of you who are participating. Since you have received blocks 1 and 2 so far, and 3 is being sent next week, here is a tip to save you time:

Block 1: The pattern tells you to cut 2.5" squares and then sew them all together individually. Instead, try cutting one light strip 2.5" x WOF, and two strips from a dark fat quarter 2.5" wide. Then, sew the dark strips to the light strip and place the dark strips against each other but not overlapping when the first one runs out. Then, you can sub-cut this unit into 2.5" units, cutting around the middle where there is a break in your dark strip.
This strip piecing prevents you from having to sew a bunch of little squares one by one. You can use this technique throughout the quilt top whenever you make checker board units. It also saves time later, because you will have leftover strip sets to cut more 2.5" units from for other blocks!

You can use the tag at the end of this post to view the rest of the Piece, Love posts if you need to.

Happy Quilting!

Piece, Love & Applique Up and Ready to Order

I'm so excited to share that I've finished my new BOM quilt! I will have pictures of the complete quilt some time this week, when I get my mom to help me hang it for a good shot. In the mean time, I am really excited to say that I've figured out pricing, and I think it's an awesome deal!
After finishing my quilt, I went through my notes and totaled up how much fabric I actually used. This leaves plenty of room for personal color choice and scraps for mistakes, yet doesn't leave a lot of extra yardage for no reason. What I came up with is a cost of only $10/month! The quilt is about 62x82, so this includes significant fabric for a substantial project. But the best part? For only $10 you also get your backing!
Yep, that's right, I was able to include the price of backing and keep the quilt super affordable. I just love it when you have a matching backing all ready to go with your quilt top and don't have to make another purchase or hunt down the perfect fabric months after starting your project!
Here is a link to the ordering page I've created for this project. Monthly kits will be available starting in August. Piece, Love & Applique link

Final Blocks of Piece, Love & Applique

Here it is, the final block of the newest BOM at The Crazy Quilter! This quilt is gorgeous, and if I can stay awake long enough tonite I might finish the applique on the borders.
In fact, today was my last day of work at my "real job." (to some people, owning and operating the quilt shop is just a "hobby" and not worthy of being a "real job." ha, ha)
So, technically I can sleep in as long as I want tomorrow. Not really, since my husband has a wild hair you-know-where to drive to Kellogg, ID and drool over some Dodge Challengers tomorrow, BUT, if I really wanted to I could sleep in.

At least telling myself I could sleep in tomorrow might just get me to stay up late enough to finish the applique on the borders of this quilt. Then it will be ready for the quilting machine! Can't Wait!

Piece, Love & Applique Blocks 7, 8, 9, 10!

Here they are, almost the entire remainder of the new Block of the Month I've been working on. I'd better be careful, or I might actually finish something on time!






Here is a quick refresher on this quilt:

Block of the month (BOM) to begin at The Crazy Quilter in August 2010.
Finish your block each month and receive the next pattern for free!
Finish you quilt top at the end of the year and win the chance at great prizes, including FREE quilting!
Approximate costs will be $8-$12 dollars per month (plus $2-$5 shipping if applicable). This is only an estimate, based on the materials I've used so far in my quilt. I'm contemplating including backing so you can have a truly complete quilt kit.
Each kit will be different, and allow for individualizing through fabric choices. Share pictures with me and I will post them online so we can all have fun looking at everyone's interpretations.
Opinions or questions? Please comment!

Piece, Love & Applique Blocks 4 & 6

Here are the pics I promised earlier today of the Block-of-the-month. This starts officially in August, you will be able to see the real deal on display in the shop in July when it's done! Just a note, not all the kits will be like mine, you will have to trust me, but they will all be gorgeous!
Here are blocks 4 & 6, there are more on the way but I need to take pics of them first!

Don't let Block 4 scare you, the appliqued basket is not nearly as difficult as it looked. I promise, I was a little aprehensive but it went really fast. Plus, that is it for month 4, so you don't have to worry about any additional piecing that month!

Here are blocks:

Crazy Updates!

Don't forget to keep checking the New Additions page, as I continue to add in new stuff from Market. A lot of the things I found I had to order, so as they arrive in-store they will be added to the website.

Also, if you're at all interested in Block-of-the-Months, check that category out and watch for new additions. I have a few more programs to add to it, and all of them are available by mail as well as in-store. By the way....I saw the newest kitty at Market, and it's a fabulous broccoli cat. It's so new it's not even on the website yet!

I have lots of new pics of the Piece, Love & Applique quilt, which I worked on a lot this past holiday weekend! I am nearly finished with the quilt center, so watch for pics later today.

Also watch the News and Classes page, as I am updating it for Summer this week, complete with a Summer class schedule including a Kids' Quilt Camp in July!

And, now for the best part.......

Are you ready??? It's really good......

After June 11th, I am officially unemployed again.

What, you say? How is that a GOOD thing??
Well...OK, it's not. At least, not if you're my checkbook.

And, I must admit, it wasn't an easy decision, and there are a lot of factors that led up to it. Many of which won't fit into this blog post, and all combined wouldn't fit into a made-for-tv movie.

BUT......it's a very good thing if you're a Crazy Quilter customer! It means more projects, more products, more classes, more quilting, more website updates, and more blogging.

I have lots of great, fantastic plans for the shop. And yes, I know I always have great, fantastic plans, many of which fizzle and die, or crash and burn. Yet, I continue to make more plans. I know, I'm a sucker, or a glutton for punishment, or just plain stupid. However, I can't help myself.

Watch for a Crazy Quilter newsletter soon with some new details on classes, BOM's, and such. If you're not on the mailing list, shame on you! You should sign up right now!

Surivor..........or Sewing

I had high hopes of getting a lot done tonight in last minute prep for the Shop hop this weekend. I planned to finish blocks 3-6 to display 1/2 of the new Block of the Month this weekend. I also wanted to finish my Caulipuss wall hanging. But, when 8 o'clock rolled around I was done for....or so I thought!

I popped a big bowl of popcorn, poured a bigger glass of wine, and settled into the couch for some fantastic vegging in front of the T.V. So, here I am, thinking I'm done sewing for the night cuz it's time for Survivor, when the phone rings.

It's G, my husband C's cousin. And when G calls, it's usually so he and C can discuss and solve all of the world's crisis in the world's longest phone conversation. (They're worse than a couple of women!) So, after sitting long enough in front of the paused, Tivo-ed, Survivor to finish my popcorn, I gave up and hit the sewing machines again. And before the world's latest crisis was completely resolved, I managed to finish a few things up!

First, my Caulipuss wallhanging. Finally, my own Garden Patch Cat for the quilt shop!

So, I moved on to some more Piece, Love, & Applique. Blocks 4 and 6 are done!

And then there's Block 5, which happens to need red fabric for a big basket of flowers. Red fabric that I don't have at home, so for now it's a big block of background.
I am officially 1/2 done with my Piece, Love & Applique quilt (minus the missing red fabric). Here's a picture of the top half.

BOM Blocks 1 and 2-Piece, Love Applique

Well, it turns out this BOM is very quick to put togther, and with only a couple of evenings after work I have churned out Blocks 1 and 2! Here are some pics for you to enjoy:
Here is "block" 1. With this project, they're more like sections than blocks.


Here you see two shots, one before and one after I've button-hole stitched the fusible applique. I went with my favorite method, fusible applique and machine button-hole stitch.




Here is section 2, the first try.


I didn't like how light the green of the leaves turned out, so I switched fabrics. Here is my final block, before the buttonhole finish:


So, I'm off to finish the button hold and section 2 will be done! Perhaps you'll find a picture of sections 1 and 2 attached to each other later tonite!

New Block of the Month-As Promised

OK, so I promised at Moda University that I would post pics and info about the new block of the month idea I've been cooking up. Here are the basics, about 90% organized and decided upon in my head. I'm still fine tuning the details, and won't be starting it until my sample is all but quilted, so you have some time to ask questions, get details, and think about how much fun you'll have participating!

First, the quilt. A pattern I picked up in Salt Lake City at a quilt shop about 2 or 3 years ago. Not exactly a new pattern, but one that I loved and have been saving for the right time and fabric.

Next, my idea of how this will work:

1. A 12 month block of the month. Pick up your pattern by the 10th of each month. First pattern section is FREE as long as you pay for each month's kit for the entire 12 months! You will get a fabric kit with a variety of fat quarters and a background fabric that will make the entire top. I don't know prices yet, as I'm making mine first to determine how much fabric you really need.

2. On months 2 thru 12, bring in your finished block so I can take a pic, OR email me a picture of your block if you are not in my area. This is meant to be fun for everyone, no matter where you live! I want to share all of the different quilts and different fabric combinations, so pictures will be posted either here or on the shop's Facebook page for everyone to view. Even if you get the same fabrics as someone else, you're bound to pick different fabrics for different blocks, so no two quilts will be the same!

3. If you complete and bring/email a picture of your block each month by the 10th, you will get the next portion of the pattern for FREE!!! (Do you all love FREE stuff as much as me???) If not.......sorry, you will have to buy your next pattern to continue.

4. I will post tips, tricks, and pictures of the steps my quilt goes through each month to help you construct yours.

5. After you receive the 12th month's instructions, submit a picture/bring your quilt in by the 10th of the 13th month to be entered into a Grand Prize Drawing!!! Number of prizes is yet to be determined, and will depend on just how many people are participating. The Grandest of Grand Prizes??? FREE (yes, another FREE thing!) Quilting for you quilt top! If you get your quilt, back, and batt to me I will quilt it for FREE! If enough people participate, I might even quilt 2 for free, and will also include a second and third place prize.

Questions, suggestions, and/or general comments? Please reply, I'd love your feedback!