Welcome!  

Today I'm thrilled to be another stop on 

Corey Yoder's Playful Petals Blog Tour!

I was super excited when Corey asked me to participate.  I've been swooning over her beautiful creations on Instagram for some time now and her new book, Playful Petals, really caught my attention as I am OBSESSED with the petal shape right now!  After checking out my e-copy (courtesy of C&T Publishing) I was highly impressed!  The book is beautiful inside and out.  Just filled to the brim with lots of eye candy and Corey's use of color is really inspiring! 

Her book includes tons of fabulous tips on fusible applique.  She walks you through every step of the way and includes lots of great photos and options to help you become a confident appliquer.  She also includes a great section on quilt making basics, fabric selection and using pre-cuts.  I also love the fact that each of the 9 beautiful quilt projects featured in Playful Petals has a coordinating mini project!  

There were several projects in the book that I wanted to make but in the end, I couldn't resist the Rainbow Petals Pillow.  You can see Corey's version (above) which she made up in some super cute vintagy florals.  I was really taken to the sweet prints and colors she used but I decided to use up some left over Joel Dewberry charm squares I had laying around (plus a few more scraps from my stash) to make this version:

It adds a fun pop of color to my family room and I guess it's fun to see it in a more modern, darker color way.

It was really fun to make and I hope to find time to try some of the other projects in Playful Petals.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by today.  I do hope you'll check out the other stops on this blog tour to see more beautiful projects from Playful Petals.

September 15: Amy @   http://www.stitcherydickorydock.com/

September 16: Melissa @ http://www.happyquiltingmelissa.com/

September 17: Jessica @ http://quiltyhabit.blogspot.com/

September 18: Faith @ http://www.freshlemonsquilts.com/

September 19: Amy @ http://www.diaryofaquilter.com/

~Break for Weekend~

September 22: Sherri @ http://www.aquiltinglife.com/

September 23: Amber @ http://alittlebitbiased.blogspot.com/

September 24: Lori @ http://beeinmybonnetco.blogspot.com/

September 25: Amanda @ http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/

September 26: Lee @ http://www.freshlypieced.com/

September 27: Corey @ http://www.littlemissshabby.com Final Round-up & Giveaway

Happy quilting!

~ Amber

Scrappy Trip Around The World [Finish]

If you would have asked me mid-process about this quilt, 

I would have told you it was my "ugly quilt".

Somehow, when I first started this Scrappy Trip Around the World quilt (just over a year ago), I got the "brilliant" idea that I was going to use reds, golds, teals, blacks, whites and gray.  And then after I got going I wondered how I ever got on that kick?!?  Kind of a weird color combo, right?  Regret was starting to seep in but I kept plugging away at my 36 blocks.  And in the end, I like it.  It's kind of funky. And happy.

I quilted it myself using this tutorial from the blog Oh, Fransson!  

There was no marking involved so it's not perfect.  But overall I think it works. 

This quilt was definitely a lesson on letting go.  The method used for piecing the blocks may not be the best for ensuring complete accuracy but it's fun and worth trying out.  The tutorial can be found HERE on the blog, Quiltville.

I decided to keep the funk going and added a black and white 1/2" wide striped binding and I love it!

So lesson learned.  If your gut tells you to do something - go with it.  

You may be pleasantly surprised in the end.

~ Happy quilting

Amber