AMB Tour Winners!!!

WoW!  What wonderful state blocks.  Did you see Rhode Island block yesterday, by Sea Side Stitches?  What about Maryland's sail boat block by Spring Water designs?  If not, you totally  need to check them out!  Well, perhaps you should wait until I announce the winners of the AMB tour give-aways...
1. Fat Quarter Bundle. Winner is S. Clark. of Pennsylvania.

2. 6.5 inch Squares and Aunt Maggie's Sweet Corn Bread. Winner is M Brach of Georgia!

3. Fat Quarters, Embroidery Floss, Needles and Cromer's Roasted P-nuts. Winner is.. S. Alvarez of California!

All winners will be contacted by Email!
Okay now off with you!  We have more states to check out.
Todays AMB Tour stops are. Simply Sandy of Kentucky, and Confessions of a Fabric Addict by Tennessee!

Now What?

Okay.  Let's say, "hypothetically" you are following along the AMB Blog tour and you like what you see.  It's Just.  Well, it's just you don't really want to make 50 blocks.  Say you want to make just one block. Your state's block.  Great.  A block.  What are you going to do with that?  Added it to the 100's of others you have saved, stored or stashed away.

Most certainly not.  Today I am going to show you what I have done with my 'test' block.  I get a little OCD, on occasion.  This project happened to be just such an occasion.  I made a test block from fabric I had laying around, just to make sure everything was going to turn out as planned.  Just be thankful.  It could have been a real disaster.  I digress.  So this test block.  I had it sitting on my cutting table, staring at me.  "look at me! look at me!"  What in the world was I going to do with it? Throw it away? I think not.  Save it in the bin with all the other random blocks I have.  Ah, No. I guess I could make a pillow out of it? or a journal cover?  Then I was struck upon an idea so simple I was amazed I hadn't thought of it sooner.  My Wreath.

If you are scratching your head right now, let me let you in on a little project I worked on 2 or 3 years ago.  If you look at the page titles at the top of the blog UP THERE.

You will see a heading labeled Wreath.  Basically I made a simple wreath design from grapevine and artificial greenery.  On the wreath I attached 2 clothes pins with which to hang quilt blocks.  I made a different block each month representing a holiday, season or special event.  I liken it to those 12' X 18" garden flags people have in their yards, only much more specific to quilters.

I sandwiched my block with batting and backing.  Simply echo quilted the block around the South Carolina State Image and then bound the mini-quilt. Well, it's been 3 years and that wreath was getting pretty tired looking. I swapped out the greenery for something fresh and new.  Added safety pins to the back of the block.  Threaded floral wire through the safety pins and tied the wire to the wreath to hold up the quilt block. (instead of clothes pins)  And TA-DA.  My new and improved wreath.

Be sure to check out todays stops on the AMB Tour.  Up today is Pat Sloan (Virginia) and Park Hill Farm (New Hampshire) It could be your state!  Soon you could have your very own state inspired Wreath.

AMB Tour Day 4- South Carolina

South Carolina State Block Tutorial

Hello All!  Or should I say, Welcome Ya'll to South Carolina!  I am Kristin of The Crafty Quilter's Closet, Day 4 on American Made Brand Tour. I am sharing Today with Spring Water Designs in Maryland so be sure to pop on over there and check out her block.

Being chosen to design a block for South Carolina was simultaneously exciting and scary.  Not being a Native to South Carolina, I felt a TON of pressure to do this wonderful state justice.  Since moving to the state 6 years ago, we have learned a lot about this place we call home.  One of the things we've learned is South Carolinians have fierce pride in their State.  Nowhere is this pride more evident than in the their flag.  The South Carolina Flag can trace it's roots back to the Revolutionary War.  The Blue of the Flag representing the blue of the uniforms worn by the troops warn in the war.  The Crescent, which most people wrongfully assume is a moon, is actually a gorget.  A gorget was originally a protective military throat covering, although over time it has become an ornamental military piece.  The palmetto tree on the flag was not added to the flag until 1861 as a reference to 

Colonel William Moultrie's defense of Sullivan's Island.

Fort Moultrie, Sullivan's Island, SC

Fort Moultrie

The significance of the flag and the broad use of the palmetto tree and crescent throughout out South Carolina made including them into the block a no-brainer.  I wanted to add something to the block that made the block evident to other's, who may not be as familiar with the South Carolina Flag. Thus the pieced block in the shape of the State was born.  As part of the criteria for the Block set forth by AMB we had to include the name of our state.  South Carolina is quite a long name to try to add to a 12"X6" piece of fabric, but I managed that with a little embroidery.

You can download the hand embroidery images Here .You can get the South Carolina Block directions Here

Now for some free stuff!

I have 3 give-aways today.  You heard me!  Three!

First is a lovely bundle of Fat Quarters Solids from American Made Brand. Oooo. Ahhh.

Second is this beautiful stack of 6.5" x 6.5" solids.  Also American Made Brand.  (Did you see that coming?) But wait there's MORE.  The winner of this stack of fabrics will also be sent A package of Aunt Maggie's Sweet Corn Bread Mix.  A produce of the Gullah Gourmet Inc., made right here in Charleston SC!

Third, and sadly, Final winner will be sent One Royal Blue and One White Fat Quarter, White and Blue DMC floss, a package of 22K Gold-Plated needles!  GASP!  (did she say Gold?!) and That's not all.  Included in this prize is a bag of Cromer's (Guaranteed Worst in Town) Roasted p-nuts!  A Columbia, SC original since 1935.

You'll have just one week to leave me a comment telling me what state you're from and something fun you like to do there to be entered.  Make sure if you are a No-reply blogger that you leave someway for me to contact you.  If I cannot email you, I will have to pick another winner. Sorry. Winners will be announced May 27th!

Only US residents or those with a US mailing address are eligible for this giveaway.This giveaway is now closed.

AMB - blog tour

The AMB Blog Tour

Are you following along?
Do you see where you belong?
Doesn't it make you want to quilt all nightlong?
Ah, time to stop the rhyming, ding-dong.

If you checked out the first two days of the tour you've seen the wonderful quilt blocks created by
Blue Striped Room (Delaware) ,  Cheryl Lynch Quilts (Pennsylvania) ,  Butterfly Threads Quilting(Georgia), and  Quilt Taffy (Idaho).  If you haven't, Well get moving!  We don't have all day! Besides Today we have 2 more wonderful states to stop by. green Quilts (Alabama) and A Quilting Jewel (Massachusetts). We are getting around!  Blogs may be a little out of order from the original post, a few of the tour stops have had to do some switching around due to a Typepad glitch.  (ah, technology) Don't worry if you get lost along the way, you can always stop for directions over at The Works.

And don't forget Everyone of these blogs is giving away FABRIC!  You heard me.  A chance to win free fabric.  (And some of the bloggers are giving away food too!)  Fabric and Food.  Pinch me I must be dreaming.

Stop back tomorrow and check out my quilt block.  And a chance to win more Fabric and maybe some food too.  You'll just have to wait and see.

Seriously,
This quilt is going to be amazing!

American Made Brand Blog Tour

Tomorrow!

It all starts tomorrow!  Get ready it's going to be Great!

American Made Blog Tour May 19- June 20

The American Made Brand is, well, American Made.  100% Grown, Milled, Woven, Dyed.  All Right Here in the USA.  Each stop on the AMB tour will stop at one of the 50 states.   2 States each day from May 19 - June 20. Each Blogger will be designing and sharing a 12" X 6" block featuring their state.  This is a great way to celebrate the USA and make one rocking' quilt in the process.  Plus!!! There will be give-aways.  Each blogger is giving away one of the fat quarter packets shown below.  (US residents only)  50 Chances to win fabric?  Totally loving this.  There might even be some special State Themed give-aways, but you'll just have to stick around to find out!

Go Buckeyes!

Over the last 7 years I have had the privilege of quilting many Ohio State Quilts.  I am always excited to see what type of design layout the quilter has chosen for any type of sports quilt.  This design is one that is so perfectly OSU that I cannot believe I haven't seen it before.   For those of you that don't get follow College football here is a picture of the OSU helmets.

As I understand it the little stickers (buckeye leaves) are given out to the players for various 'good' plays, tackles etc.   

Now here is the quilt.

Brilliant, Right? 

I quilted this sports quilt with basic straightly horizontal lines every 2 inches.  Then I turned the quilt and quilted strategical place lines vertically down the quilt.  Now you see I don't have those little wheel locks that a lot of long-arm quilters use to keep the lines straight.  So how did I do it?  

Little tiny clamps I picked up at Harbor Freight of all places! You can see these clamps are only about 2 inches long.  The perfect size for clamping onto my wheels and keeping the machine from moving forward and backward.  This leaves only the rollers moving left to right, thus a straight line!  Awesome.  I must admit that this wasn't exactly the best case scenario, but in a pinch it worked.

A Quilt for Faith

Last week I had the pleasure of quilting this beautiful quilt for a beautiful little girl.  This new quilt will be her for her "big girl" bed and I think she will love it!  The only criteria for the quilting of this beauty was that the quilting be 'girly'.

I used a continuous line design with a leaf in one block followed by a flower.

Then alternated the following row flower then leaf.  Overall I think this design turned out beautifully.
This beautiful quilt had machine embroidered flowers made out of fluffy soft minky.  How Lovely!  The texture it flowers added was the true inspiration for the quilting.  I think the design flows so well throughout the quilt.

I used a small leafed vine pattern to run through the center of the quilt and echoed the embroidered flowers.  The backing was made of Minky and to be honest I wasn't sure how it would quilt.  I have used Minky before on baby quilts but never on a quilt so large.  All that Minky is HEAVY.  Winding the backing on to the machine was quite a task.  Minky quilted perfectly, even if I did have to clean out my bobbin casing quite a bit more than usual.  I have heard of people having thread breaking issues with mink, I however did not have a problem.  I did use a heavy #40 weight thread which I think helped.

the back

It is always a surprise to me to turn the quilt over and see how the back turned out.  I think the free motion flowers and leaves turned out just perfectly for this girly quilt.

Ah..life.

I don't know what it is, but as soon as I get really, really busy with all of my mom/wife duties, I get flooded with creative ideas.  All I really want to do is sit down and quilt, or sew, or knit or anything but laundry.  Sadly, this is how my week has been.  I have squirreled away a smidgen of time to work on my block for the American Made Blog tour.  But that's it.  Nada, zip, no-more free time for me.  And it is driving me CRAZY!  For now I'll just have to settle for writing down my ideas.  I will give you a teeny tiny little sneak peak at the design I have been working on for my Block.

Sorry you'll have to wait until May 19th for the full reveal.

t-shirt quilt {finish}

Hooray! It's done and off to it's new owner..
Here are a few pictures to celebrate this finish.

American Made Blog Tour - Blog Roll

 50 States in 25 days.  O' the excitement!  O' the Give Aways!  O' The Quilting! 

Mercy Me, I just might swoon from all the goings on around these here parts. (She says in her best Southern Accent.) Set yourself down on the porch sugar, and I'll pour ya'll a glass of sweet tea.  Let's join the fun there is room for all.

American Made Blog Tour Blog Roll--

DAY	DATE	STATE	STATEHOOD	BLOG
Day 1	19-May	Delaware	Dec. 7, 1787	Blue Striped Room
	19-May	Pennsylvania	Dec. 12, 1787	Cherry Lynch Quilts
Day 2	20-May	Georgia	Jan. 2, 1788	Butterfly Threads Quilting
	20-May	Idaho	July 3, 1890	Taffy Talk
Day 3	21-May	Connecticut	Jan. 9, 1788	Jump Cut Arts
	21-May	Massachusetts	Feb. 6, 1788	A Quilting Jewel
Day 4	22-May	Maryland	Apr. 28, 1788	Spring Water Designs
	22-May	South Carolina	May 23, 1788	The Crafty Quilter’s Closet
Day 5	23-May	New Hampshire	June 21, 1788	Park Hill Farm
	23-May	Virginia	June 25, 1788	Pat Sloan’s Blog
Day 6	26-May	New York	July 26, 1788	Quilts from my Crayon Box
	26-May	North Carolina	Nov. 21, 1789	A Stitch in Time
Day 7	27-May	Rhode Island	May 29, 1790	Seaside Stitches
	27-May	Vermont	Mar. 4, 1791	Quilter in Motion
Day 8	28-May	Kentucky	June 1, 1792	Simply Sandy
	28-May	Tennessee	June 1, 1796	Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Day 9	29-May	Ohio	Mar. 1, 1803	Olive and Ollie
	29-May	Louisiana	Apr. 30, 1812	Fleur de Lis Quilts
Day 10	30-May	Indiana	Dec. 11, 1816	No Hats in the House
	30-May	Mississippi	Dec. 10, 1817	Life as a Quilter
Day 11	2-Jun	Illinois	Dec. 3, 1818	A Sentimental Quilter
	2-Jun	Alabama	Dec. 14, 1819	Green Quilts
Day 12	3-Jun	Maine	Mar. 15, 1820	Quilts of Love
	3-Jun	Missouri	Aug. 10, 1821	42 Quilts
Day 13	4-Jun	Arkansas	June 15, 1836	Sew at Home on Pine Ridge
	4-Jun	Michigan	Jan. 26, 1837	Crafty Blossom
Day 14	5-Jun	Florida	Mar. 3, 1845	Flourishing Palms
	5-Jun	Texas	Dec. 29, 1845	The Caffeinated Quilter
Day 15	6-Jun	Iowa	Dec. 28, 1846	Kindred Quilts
	6-Jun	Wisconsin	May 29, 1848	Freshly Pieced
Day 16	9-Jun	California	Sept. 9, 1850	Cali Quilter
	9-Jun	Minnesota	May 11, 1858	The Curious Quilter
Day 17	10-Jun	Oregon	Feb. 14, 1859	Sew Mama Sew
	10-Jun	Kansas	Jan. 29, 1861	Lilac Lane
Day 18	11-Jun	West Virginia	June 20, 1863	Coop Crafts
	11-Jun	Nevada	Oct. 31, 1864	Inventive Denim
Day 19	12-Jun	Nebraska	Mar. 1, 1867	Renaissance Sandi
	12-Jun	Colorado	Aug. 1, 1876	Sew Incredibly Crazy
Day 20	13-Jun	North Dakota	Nov. 2, 1889	Terri Stegmiller Art Quilts
	13-Jun	South Dakota	Nov. 2, 1889	Moneik Quilts
Day 21	16-Jun	Montana	Nov. 8, 1889	Why Knot Kwilt
	16-Jun	Washington	Nov. 11, 1889	Bloomin’ Workshop
Day 22	17-Jun	New Jersey	Dec. 18, 1787	Studio 78 Notes
	17-Jun	Wyoming	July 10, 1890	Excessive Compulsive Sewing
Day 23	18-Jun	Utah	Jan. 4, 1896	Fireball Quilts
	18-Jun	Oklahoma	Nov. 16, 1907	Hollyhock Quilts
Day 24	19-Jun	New Mexico	Jan. 6, 1912	Dora Quilts
	19-Jun	Arizona	Feb. 14, 1912	So Many Quilts, So Little Time
Day 25	20-Jun	Alaska	Jan. 3, 1959	Quilt As You Go
	20-Jun	Hawaii	Aug. 21, 1959	Barbara Bieraugel Designs

American Made Brand Tour - Coming soon

The Crafty Quilter's Closet is proud to be joining 49 other US blogs to bring you the American Made Brand Blog Tour. There will be History, Quilting, Give-aways and More.  Stay Tuned the fun starts May 19th.

t-shirt quilt

the layout

finished top

college of choice added to backing

The past few weeks I have been working on a t-shirt quilt for a soon to be graduating senior.  I love graduation quilts.  They are filled with such sweet memories of the past and such hope for the future. This quilt is working it's way towards the long-arm machine.  It's battling for my time with the stomach bug I have been trying ever so hard to discard. Sigh.  I had hoped to have it finished today,  so that binding could commence this weekend, but sadly no.  But soon.  I hope.