Just Popping In...

to wish you a happy holiday!

Thanks again for your friendship and support!

P.S.  My shop sale will continue through December 31st.  

All patterns and quilts are 20% off with this coupon code: 

HAPPYHOLIDAYS

~ Amber

Thank You

I'm so thankful for my little piece of Blogland and those of you who frequent it.  Thank you for your friendship and support. It's really a dream come true, getting to do what I love every day and sharing that passion with all of YOU!

As a thank you, I'm having a shop sale.  Everything is 20% off (including quilts).  Just enter HAPPYHOLIDAYS @ checkout.

Quilty Fun

  My week to host Lori Holt's Quilty Fun Sew Along isn't til February 24th but I've been sewing along and couldn't wait to share what I've made so far!

The first week was Apples.

 The second week was these itty bitty Twinkly Stars (I heart them).

 The third week was Courthouse Steps.

Last week was the Sewing Baskets.

And this week is the Flying Geese (which I still need to do!)  

Here it is all together on my design wall:

I'm having so much fun playing with my stash and making these cute, unique blocks.  The hardest part is picking out fabrics!  Don't get me wrong, I love putting fabrics together but it seriously is the most time consuming part!  Fortunately, the blocks whip up in no time and (unfortnuately?:) you won't want to quit making them - trust me!

Are you sewing along with us?  It's not too late to join the Quilty Fun!  Click over here to get all the details and don't forget to upload pictures of your blocks to the Quilty Fun Flickr Page.  Great prizes are given out each week!

Happy weekend!  

(Oh, and speaking of the weekend, if you're in Utah County and want some fabric fun tonight, stop by American Quilting in Orem.  They're having a Moodlight Madness Sale from 7-9:30 pm and I'll be there doing a trunk show.  Be sure to say hi if you come!

~ Amber 

It Really Is -

[via my Instagram]

I'm a happy girl right now.

I've been working hard for about a year on something I can't WAIT to show you and now I'm enjoying some down time with my family.

Thanksgiving was wonderful.  All I had to take to the family feast was a chocolate dessert.  So I chose my (new) go-to favorite Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake.  And since I didn't have to work all day in the kitchen I was able to get all my Christmas decor up Thanksgiving Day.  I even squeezed in a little nap!  I didn't feel too bad about it though since I got up at 5:30 am to hit the gym!

One of my brothers came to Utah from the Northwest so I hosted a little get together at my house with my parents, my two brothers and their families.  It felt like being "home again".  It was the perfect way to spend the holidays and I even received an early Christmas gift from my SIL!  This beautiful deer silhouette:

I honestly (honestly) have no idea how she knew I have always loved those!  And guess what - she made it herself!

She also gave me a giant safety pin for my sewing room!  

I swear I don't think I've ever verbally expressed my deep obsession with either of these two things to anyone! But thank you, Brittany!  You know me well!

Hey.  What's that you say?  The new Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine is also staring you right in the face!  Yep, that's right.  Someone sent me a copy to review and it has been such a fun treat.  I'm loving all the eye candy in it.  Love Patchwork & Quilting also has lots of modern projects, tips and ideas from some of todays most popular bloggers!  It's a great mag for all of you trendy quilting peeps out there! I'm especially loving the plus quilt on the front!  Have I mentioned that I really want to make a low volume/bright contrast quilt one of these days?  Whose with me on that? 

 

Well.  Now that I've met my deadline I actually have some projects that I can start showing you again!  I've been squeezing in a little "for fun" quilting so I hope you'll stay tuned!

 

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Finished Apple-licious Quilt

I'm just popping in to finally share this fun quilt I finished about a week or two ago.  I've been at the very end of a tight deadline (like writing instructions for 10 hours straight-multiple days in a row kind of deadline and I'm finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!  I can't wait to share what I've been working on one of these days :)).

Anyways, you  may remember from my last post that I started and finished this quilt, designed by the Miss Lori Holt.

 The pattern is from her new book titled, Quilty Fun.  And really, it WAS so much fun to make!

Each little apple is made with a different fabric. 

And ps., we still have a few kits left at Just Sew. 

Call 801-492-7929 if you're interested.  They can ship.

 I had my quilter use my favorite little swirly design in lieu of a stipple.

Even though my back is so simple, I love it.  I loved mixing the two different polka dot prints and it feels good to put some of my leftovers to use.

This scrappy border was really fun to make.  Lori's instructions for everything were so perfect and easy to follow.  And clever!  Man that girl is one smart cookie.  I would have never thought to piece it the way she tells you to do it in the book.  Clever, I tell ya.

I bound it using Vanessa Christenson's Simply Style green textured print.

It's the perfect quilt for this time of year. I've got a whole box of apples sitting in my garage just begging me to make THIS pie with!

So are you making anything apple-y these days? Do share!

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

A Finished Quilt Top and The Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour!

Did you know The Jolly Jabber is hosting a Sew Along and Blog Tour for Lori Holt's new book, Quilty Fun!?!  And (yay!) it starts today!

Grab your copy of Lori's new book, Quilty Fun and follow along with the 19 participating bloggers to make all the cute blocks for another one of Lori's amazing samplers.  All you have to do is post your sew along blocks to the Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour Flickr page each week and you'll be entered in to win one of the fantastic weekly prizes!  

I was thrilled they asked me to be one of the participating bloggers!  I just don't know if I can wait 15 more weeks to give away my prize.  I'll be giving away 1 copy of Quilty Fun to one of my lucky readers!!!  Can't wait!  

It's perfect timing because I just finished making one of Lori's darling quilts featured in Quilty Fun!  This is the only picture I've got right now of my sweet little Apple-licious quilt top (thanks Instagram!)  She's off being quilted right now (with my favorite little swirl) but when she gets back I'll for sure be showing LOTS of pictures!

And can I just say that Apple-licious was quilty and fun!  Lori's instructions were clever and clear.  I was very impressed!  

I put together some Apple-licious kits just like mine.  

They're available at Just Sew in Highland, Utah 

or you can call 801-492-7929 to have one shipped to you!

The supply is very limited so call soon!

I hope you'll join in on all the Quilty Fun.  

Be sure to stop by Lori's blog, Bee in My Bonnet for more details on her Quilty Fun Sew Along and Blog Tour and check out Kerry's blog today as she shows off her blocks for Week 1 - the apple blocks!

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Red and White Scraps Winner

Man, you guys really inspired me this weekend!  I had so much fun reading about your current favorite color combos.  Some of you made me want to run right out and start a new quilt!  I love getting your feedback to these kinds of questions so thanks to all of you for playing!

  The winner of my red and white scraps is Lynn, who said:

 

Oh the blocks are lovely. Red and white is my favorite color combination, no matter how I try other - I keep coming back to Red and white.

Thanks 

  

 I'm pretty sure these scraps are going to a good home because I stopped by Lynn's blog and was immediately taken with the beautiful quilts for sale in her Etsy shop.  She also had some other show stoppers on her list of finished quilts page.  You can stop by and check them all out HERE.

Lynn, I already sent you an email so send me your shipping address and I'll get these right out to you!  

Thanks everyone for playing!

 

Happy quilting!

Amber

Farmer's Wife Blocks [Done] and a Giveaway!

I've always wanted a red and white quilt.  So in January 2012 (when the fabric store I work at decided to start a Farmer's Wife Club), I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and get my quilt while jumping on the Farmer's Wife bandwagon!

 In our Farmer's Wife club, I got to teach different quilt making techniques once a month to a small group of women (who seriously amazed me - most of them ended up making all 111 blocks!)  I already knew how to paper-piece (a technique I used on some of the more intricate blocks) but the technique that was new to me at the time (and has become an easy, enjoyable method) was the template piecing.  I also learned new methods for making half-square triangles plus lots of other tips and tricks.  Overall, I definitely grew as a quilter and I'm so glad that I was able to be a part of the club.

 

I started off thinking I would make all 111 six-inch blocks.  But then reality set in and my plans changed.  I thought, I don't need a king-size quilt and to be honest I was getting a little tired of my red and white fabrics so I opted out at 83 beautiful little blocks to make myself a twin-size quilt.  I feel good about my decision and have had a blast farming! 

Since my last post, I needed to make 5 more blocks to reach my twin-size goal. Here they are:

L. to R.: [28] Duck and Ducklings [32] Farmer's Daughter, [51] Hovering Birds, [23] Country Farm and [27] Darting Birds

This little stack contains lots of red and white fabrics plus hours and hours and hours of love :)

Did I mention that I was getting a little tired of my red and white stash?  Well, that's where you come in!  I thought I'd share the red and white LOVE by doing a giveaway for some of my leftovers (what you see above) and maybe a pattern or two :)  Interested?  Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite color combination is right now.  This giveaway will close Sunday night and I'll announce a winner Monday morning.

Have a wonderful weekend!

[We're off to Park City, Utah for some family time!]

 See ya on the flip side!

~ Amber

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

A Happy Weekend

Man.  This little guy melts my heart.  Except he's not so little anymore.  11 years ago, yesterday, he made me a new momma.  I waited four years for God to give him to me.  A long, emotional four years.  But in retrospect, God knew what he was doing in his perfect, my-timing-is-not-your-timing kind of way.  He needed me to wait, to prepare, to learn and grow.  To depend on Him more.  To grow closer to my husband.  And when it was time, he arrived.  A 7 lbs. 1 oz. healthy, blonde baby boy.  This little guy is super smart, crazy good on the soccer field, so sweet, thoughtful, funny and well like I said, he just kind of melts my heart.  And did I say sweet?  Yeah, he's super sweet too.  I'm so thankful for him and thankful to God for giving him to me.

We celebrated with a dang good, Hot Chocolate Bundt Cake - recipe from the blog, Cookies and Cups.  My little guy loves anything with marshmallows in it (like he can eat half a bag of jumbo marshmallows at any given time) so I knew he'd love this cake.  It had GREAT flavor and it's now my official "go-to" chocolate cake recipe.  Yum.

[source]

In between birthday festivities and watching LDS General Conference I snuck in a little "me" time :)  It felt like I was preparing a football fields length of binding but in all actuality it was only half that amount - about 60 yards.

  I like binding but I have a feeling this might take a while.

 What about you?  Did you have a good weekend?  I sure hope so!

~ Amber

Quilt Sale [and a little explanation]

Hello!  

Well, geesh.  Apparently I needed a little blogging break, huh!?!  

Sorry to concern some of you.  I guess I was feeling a little overwhelmed at the time of my last post (and possibly a little hormonal :)  Sorry about that.

I hope I didn't make it sound worse than it really was.  I was in a little funk there for a few weeks and I think it all stemmed from being really busy with work deadlines, my house and every other commitment going to pot, a really good friend passing away, worries about family members and well, I just started feeling like blogging wasn't really worth the time and energy I was putting into it.  Honestly, I was starting to feel like maybe I should just bag the whole thing.

 I even started wondering if anyone was reading this anyways???  With the ease and quick paced nature of Pinterest and Instagram (which I love and am totally addicted to) people don't really seem to want to sit down and read a long blog post anymore.  Let alone leave a comment!  I guess I was starting to feel like all of my blogging efforts were in vain.  And, I'm embarrassed to admit ~ I may have even thrown myself a small pity party. 

But after some thought I reminded myself that I do this for fun.  I do it at my leisure.  I don't answer to sponsors.  I don't have a post schedule I have to stick to.  I write about what I want, when I want.  I've made some great blogging friends along the way and I LOVE being able to share my quilting passion with others.  If I can bring a little quilting joy and inspiration to those that stop by once in a while then GREAT!  So thank you to all of you for your concern, friendship and support.  I really do love sharing my love of quilting with you!

 

I'm feeling back to normal again, but I have to share these pictures of my sewing room at this very given moment.  if these pictures say anything, it's that life's been a whirlwind.  Anyone want to stop by and help sort fabric?

I have managed to list a handful of quilts for sale in the shop today.  I do hope you'll stop by and check them out.  There's a couple of my own designs plus a few others.  Our house is overflowing with quilts and it's time to make room for more :)

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

I'm here...

 I really am.  

Yet, I'm struggling with how much to say here today.  There's a lot on my plate right now. I'm happy but my mind and body are all over the place.  I'm reflecting on different people and relationships in my life, how to prioritize my commitments and how to balance everything...all while trying to enjoy the ride!  It's just normal stuff, that all of us deal with.  So instead of whining to you I will share some happy pictures before heading off to soccer games and dinner making :) 

These are kits for crayon roll-ups that I will be making and donating to the Dollhouse Festival, an organization that raises money to help abused children in Utah County.  The boutique will be held at the Provo City Library September 26-28 for any Utah locals that want to support a good cause!  

The tutorial I used (and tweaked a bit) is from the blog, 

Skip To My Lou and can be found HERE.

Also, I betcha didn't know that I jumped on the Scrappy Trip bandwagon a month or two ago!  I think I'm probably the last one to do so but I'm having fun.  I've got 16 blocks so far.  My colors are kind of funky and I'm trying to decide if they are kind of Anthropology-funky or just a really big mistake :( 

The Scrappy Trip tutorial is from the blog, Quiltville 

and can be found HERE.

Yesterday I whipped up these half square triangles so I could test out a new pattern I'm working on. 

Check out my tutorial for squaring up HST's HERE.

And last but not least, I made two more Farmer's Wife blocks the other day.  I told you I would have 7 done by about this time.  But life got in the way and two is better than zero - so don't judge :)  It was a good thing I made that goal publicly otherwise I would probably be at the same place I was back HERE. 

Block #14 Butterfly at the Crossroads and #45 Grape Basket.

Two of my favorites.

Have a great day, enjoy the ride

and spend a little more time loving your dear ones.  

Life is fragile and can be gone before you know it.

~ Amber

A SNEAK PEAK INTO MY HOME + SQUARE DANCE + A COUPON

I've been updating my family room over the last few months.  I don't share pictures of it very often.  Just little tid bits here and there.  Because, although I have about a million windows in my house, I can't seem to get enough light in to get some good pictures.  I really wish I had some better photography skills, but I don't.  Hopefully someday :)  Anyways, it's still not finished but the main parts are done.  

The two sofas, the recliner (for the man of the house), the ottoman...then the second ottoman (the fabric on the first one kept pulling the top cushion off center so we had it replaced.  It had more teal and brown in it but luckily I found another fabric that I thought worked with my color scheme.  Unfortunately, my pillows just look a little out of place now :)

 I'm loving some table space to finally be able to display more family photos.

And well.  After all this, I decided we needed a new snuggle quilt for watching TV with.

So, I decided to use my pattern, Square Dance.  I almost quadrupled the size and now it's big enough for even my 6' 3" husband.  

Minky on the back was of course a necessity.

This pattern is charm pack friendly.  And I like that although the blocks aren't huge, it still works well to showcase some of those bigger print fabrics.

If this tickles your fancy and you want to make one too...hop on over to my Etsy Shop where you can use this coupon code (SQUAREDANCE) to receive 20% off a Square Dance pattern of your own!  

*Coupon is good till the end of the month.

And hey, if you didn't know ~ I now have digital patterns available for quick and easy download!

Oh.  And did I mention that I collected so much fabric for this quilt that I decided to make up some charm packs?  There are only two left though so snatch them up soon if you're interested!

Click here to go to my Etsy Shop.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I hope you enjoyed seeing a little peak into my never-ending work in progress ~ my home :)

Happy quilting!

~Amber