Without a Doubt

Version B is the winner!

After no time at all, I could see the majority of you liked Version B so yesterday I decided to go for it (sorry, Version A people).  So I got this baby all put together and now I'm just wondering...borders or no borders?  I'm not sure what I am going to do with this quilt.  As is, it might be a good size for a baby play mat (about 42" square before quilting).  But I don't know anyone having a baby anytime soon.  Anyone?  Anyone?  Or, maybe I could sell it (if anyone is interested in just the top let me know)?  Or, I could throw on some borders to make it...Hmmm, I don't know...What do you do with a square quilt??? 

Anyways, thank you all for your feed back.  That was nice to get another 111 people's opinions!  As a little thank you, I have picked a winner for a set of my 3 new patterns.  So without further adieu, the winner is...#21: Mimi!!!

Mimi, please send me your mailing address and I'll get those right off to you!
You can reach me at: adctd2qultng@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful weekend!
~ Amber

Catching Up {with life}

Now that Market is over,

I am excited to get to some long overdue items on my "to-do list". 

First, a bathroom make-over. 

I recently bought a few items from Ballard Designs (love that store!)

like this (in black) and this (in natural).

"Before" and "Afters" coming soon.

Second, I think it's high time I read a book

I can't remember the last time I did that. 

Maybe I'll try my husbands favorite, Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

Third, my fridge is long overdue for a good cleaning.

Fourth, I desperately need to make a trip to the D.I..  Children's clothes from the last 8 years are taking over the floor in one of our guest rooms in the basement.  We want to turn that room into my husbands home office.

And finally, I really need to tackle this pile of unfinished projects: 

I've decided to start with this project, but I really need your opinion!  This Schnibbles pattern is called Hot Cross Buns by Miss Rosie's Quilt Co. 

So my question is, do you like "Version A" (which is how it was intended)?

Or, do you like "Version B"?

(And, if you say you like the latter, you will save me a lot of time and I will love you for that, but if you say you like the first, then I will have to get busy and you may not hear from me for a while.  So.  Tell me your honest opinion and then I will do what I want with it.:)

And just to make it fun, I will pick a name after you give your two cents in the comment section below and one awesome person will win a pack of my 3 new patterns (Every Which Way, Simply Sweet and Fresh Squeezed).  See, this is tricky ~ unless you have actually read this long, long post of mine, then you wouldn't know that there was a giveaway at the end of it.  So your chances may be good at winning.  Be sure to tell me "Version A" or "Version B" and what your reasoning is for liking what you like.  This giveaway will end on Friday. 

Thanks, Amber

Market Highlights

Ahhh...It's over. 

Months of preparation, anxiety attacks and giddyness. 

Days of setting up, sleepless nights, meeting new people, seeing some familliar names and faces and meeting a few idols.  Ahhh...it's done.  It was wonderful and a lot of hard work all at the same time.  And now I'm looking forward to getting back on top of things here on the home front.

REGRETS:

Not taking more pictures and

not going to the Riley Blake party like I was planning on

(I was so tired!!  But, I heard I missed out on some craziness and some dancing. And, if you know me, you know I like to let loose on the dance floor!)

HIGHLIGHTS:

Seeing all of my planning and preparation come to fruition. 

Meeting blog authors that I love and some of my followers that I love :)

Here's Vanessa and me. 

I think I told her we should hang out sometime.  Then I realized that she was probably wondering who I was???  She's much cooler than I am (sorry about that, Vanessa!)  But, I still think that would be fun ~ if you don't think I'm too much of a stalker :)  

I was so excited to run into my sweet friends, Rae Ann Nilson, Susann Evans and Sherri from (A Quilting Life). 

Judi from Green Fairy Quilts was SO SWEET and friendly.  And, I really don't think she's that much taller than me!  She was just a mad woman in heels that day!  Can you believe someone so young can be so talented at quilting?  She really is amazing.  Glad we met, Judi!

L to R: me, Amy Ellis (from Amy's Creative Side), Allison Harris (from Cluck, Cluck, Sew), Vanessa Christenson (from V and Co.) and Erin Singleton (from Two More Seconds).  These girls are in a whole other level of blogging than I am, but it was such a treat to meet them.  So friendly and sweet!  

And, thanks to THE Miss Sandy Klop for taking our picture while we bombarded her booth.  Sandy gets the award for being the most down to earth designer.  Such a sweetheart (sending people my way, giving me plants from her booth to put in my garden when it was all over, answering questions for me, playing "catch" together...  She was just chill about the whole thing and it was a joy to be kiddy-corner from her booth!)

(My SIL, Brittany and Sandy: "pretending to be best frineds for a minute", as Sandy put it).

Another fabric and pattern designer extraordinaire that we were excited to meet was Camille (from Thimble Blossoms).  Her and her mom, Bonnie (from Cotton Way) shared a booth and it was darling!  We kind of stalked their booth in our down time.  They were super sweet and I loved being able to trade patterns with them!

See that quilt behind us?  Brittany and I will be making that soon (out of the Ruby fat quarter bundle we made a mad dash for at Sample Spree).  That's the only thing we bought.  We love Ruby (and the pattern, called Swoon)!!! We're going to try to split up the fat quarters in a professional manner, so as to not break up our friendship :)

This picture (above) is just a sliver of what it looks like at the Moda booth during Sample Spree.  And, this one below is just to show how awesome it is to take a picture while you're running into sample spree.  If you're as good of a photographer as I am, this is what you might get: 

Seriously.  I'm a dork.  I was so excited.  I was jumping up and down during the final few minutes before Sample Spree started.  We were at the beginning of one of the lines and then when the guy announced over the speaker that Sample Spree had begun, I ditched my group (it's every man for himself, right?)and started running with my camera in the air, just taking pictures of whatever.  (I lose all rationale when I get excited).  So, you might want to go to other people's blogs, if you want to see some actual pictures of Sample Spree.

Me and my besty, Sabrina.  She's not a quilter, but I dragged her to Market anyways.

Brittany is the only other quilter in my whole family, except for Gigi, so we have a ball together.  She was a HUGE help, setting up and manning the booth with me.  Thanks Britt!  I love ya!  One of my favorite keepsakes - our Moda photo booth pictures (I hope I didn't break your back!)  I told you, I lose all inhibition when I get excited...

Well, that's my take on Market.  Not the best pictures, but they're all I got.

Oh, and if you're wondering where you can get my patterns, young and old, you can stop by my etsy shop here.  Bye-bye!

Fresh Squeezed

It's "crunch time" around here, but I wanted to share with you,

Fresh Squeezed.

This new pattern (and the recipe I've included for my favorite sweet lemony treat) will make your mouth water!

It finishes up at 43" x 52".

A few months ago I got on a lemony, yellow and green, fresh squeezed "kick" and a few weeks later, Fresh Squeezed was born.  She's scrappy and sweet and perfect for summer!

Borders, backing and binding are by Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda.

If you're coming to Market, I hope you'll come by and see us.  Booth #1142.

Relaxation Sewing

Sometimes you just gotta take a break from the things that HAVE to be done to do something JUST FOR FUN. 

[Seems like I'm doing that all the time...  Maybe I have a problem with anything called W-O-R-K?  Hmmm.  Something to ponder.]

  Anyways, I've been on the computer non-stop the last little while; emailing, editing, formatting.  So, I needed a little break.

This one wasn't even on my radar, but I'm just about finished with it.  Just a couple of borders and I should be able to check another one off my list.

Now, don't worry, I didn't whip up all these blocks in one day.  I actually got the blocks from my local quilt guild last year through a block exchange I was involved in.  They've been sitting in a box until last Saturday, where I decided I needed something mindless to do.  I spent a few hours on Saturday trimming them all down to 5" squares. 

And, little by little, I've been sewing the rows together.  A couple rows in the morning, a row or two in the afternoon and maybe a row at night.  Last night I finished this much.

It's been a while since I put something "on point" but I am really glad I chose to on this one.  It was super easy.  I just added on one more 5" beige square to the end of each diagonal row and trimmed them all down at the end, leaving a 1/4" seam allowance beyond each point.   

Scrappy...old-fashioned...using up fabric (the beige stuff) from my stash...  finishing up old projects...  It's what a girl needs sometimes.

What about you?  Finishing up any old WIPs today?

Good luck!

Simply Sweet

With less than two weeks till Market, it's time for a few of my new little friends to make their way onto the scene. 

Today, I'd like you to meet ~ Simply Sweet.

The perfect charm pack pattern for the perfect little baby.

Mine is made out of Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda,

but this pattern would be darling in any color scheme (boy or girl).



A little raw-edge applique gives this quilt a BIG cuddle factor.

The quilting is by Kaylene Parry from My Little Quilting Shoppe.

(Thanks Kaylene!)

...all washed up and ready to cuddle with.

Super scrappy. Super soft. Simply sweet.

[This pattern will be up in my shop soon.]