Hi there!  I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving holiday if you live in the USA!

We did things a little differently this year and went out to eat in Deer Valley, UT. 

It was a winter wonderland there, as you can see.  We had a great time, relaxing and spending time with friends.

Over the last couple of days I have been writing instructions for a new project I am going to start soon.

I've talked a little bit about it on Instagram...

I've been wanting to make another 2-color quilt.  I made a green and white Irish Chain quilt a few years ago, ended up selling it, and have been wanting to make another one ever since.  This time, I decided to go with this Uneven 9-Patch pattern though.  I thought it had a similar vibe but it's a little more jazzy!  I have never made an Uneven 9-Patch quilt if you can believe that!

For the dark fabric, I'm using this green leaf fabric (from my Feels Like Home collection with Riley Blake Designs).  It's called Sketchy Leaves and is in stores now.  For the light fabric, I am using this cream quilty stars print that I designed for Riley Blake's Hush Hush 4 low-volume collection.  It's called Seeing Stars and just shipped to stores!

[Santa Mini Mug Pincushion was gifted to me by my friend Shannon White.]

I plan to make a king-size quilt for my bed.  I have written the instructions to include 5 different size options though so there's something for everyone!  I think it would be cute in any colorway.  2-color quilts are just classic!  I'm loving this red and white "test" block I made!

I am not doing an official quilt-along for this pattern.  I have no sign-ups, or schedule, and won't be sending any emails.  But I would love for you to make one too, if your little heart desires!  I'm starting Monday, December 2nd as a little treat to myself for getting through November haha!  Feel free to join me.   I'll be sharing my progress on Instagram.  

I'm not sure how long it will take me but I think it will be a little bit festive to work on this during December.  It's green and white so I think it will be really cute at Christmastime, but it will work in my home throughout the year too!

Click HERE for the free pattern.

Happy holidays,

Amber

Trunk Show, Pineapple Block Paper Piecing Class and a Retreat

 Hey there!  I'm so excited to announce that I am partnering with my local go-to quilt shop, The Quilter's Lodge, to bring you some fun events in 2025!  I love The Quilter's Lodge!  It's big, it's beautiful, and it's full of gorgeous fabric, useful notions, and TONS of inspiration!  They even have an awesome retreat center that I've stayed in before.  It was so fun and nice having the fabric store at our fingertips during our stay!  

Keep reading to find out what we have up our sleeves!

First, I want to officially invite you to a trunk show!

DATE: Friday, January 24th, 2025

TIME: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm 

WHERE: The Quilter's Lodge

Draper, Utah

COST: $25

Sign up HERE

I'll be talking about how I got started in the quilting industry; designing patterns, designing fabric, writing books, and of course, sharing LOTS of quilts!  I hope you'll grab some friends and join me for a fun night of all things quilting!  If you're coming, let me know in the comment section below if there's a specific quilt that you want me to bring or if you have any questions that you want me to discuss that night!

Then, the following day, Saturday, January 25th, I'll be teaching a Pineapple Paper Piecing class!

It will be an all-day event so you will have my technique down by the time you leave that evening!  Again, grab your friends and reserve a spot.  This is such a fun technique that is perfect for scraps!

Foundation Paper Piecing Class

DATE: Saturday, January 25th, 2025

TIME: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm

(lunch will be from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

WHERE: The Quilter's Lodge

Draper, Utah

COST: $95 

(includes a pack of my Pineapple

Paper Piecing Patterns, lunch, drinks, and snacks)

Sign up HERE

I've made a few Pineapple quilts over the years and even hosted a Pineapple quilt quilt-along on Instagram.  Every single one I see is just stunning and it amazes me how different they all look!

And looking ahead, we have another trunk show + retreat planned for September, 25th - 27th, 2025.

My next fabric line with Riley Blake Designs called, Honey Locust will be hitting stores in May of 2025 so we'll be focusing on fabric and patterns from that line.  I am so excited and can't wait to share it all with you there!  Anyone is welcome to the trunk show and retreat so talk to your friends and set those dates aside.

Trunk Show

DATE: Thursday, September 25th, 2025

TIME: 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm 

WHERE: The Quilter's Lodge

Draper, Utah

COST: $25

Sign-ups will be available soon.

For the retreat, we'll be spending 2 full days making blocks for my upcoming pattern, 

The Locust House Row Quilt!  This pattern was inspired by my grandma (Gigi) and I can't wait to tell you all about it.  And guess what!  I am going to design an exclusive row pattern specifically for the Quilter's Lodge retreat attendees! 

Honey Locust Retreat

DATE: Friday, September 26th - Saturday, September 27th, 2025

CLASSTIME: 10:00 am - 5:30 pm

(lunch will be from 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm)

WHERE: The Quilter's Lodge

Draper, Utah

COST: $200

(includes a 2-day class, lunch on both days, 

the Friday night trunk show, and a Quilter's Lodge swag bag!)

Sign-ups will be available soon.

I just love The Quilter's Lodge and am so thrilled to be partnering with them to offer you these fun events.  Meeting you and connecting over our love of quilting is one of my favorite things to do!  Please let me know if you have any questions or you can contact The Quilter's Lodge for more details.

The Quilter's Lodge

12214 900 E, Draper, UT 84020

(801) 576-0390

info@quilterslodge.com 

Family Ties Quilt

 Hello!  Today I want to share a quilt that I actually finished a couple of months ago.  I got some pictures of it in September but I'm finally blogging about it!  It's a free pattern that I designed for the Riley Blake Designs website called Family Ties.

You may recognize it because I shared the original version (using my Feels Like Home fabrics) HERE.

I loved making the original version so much that I decided to make another, bigger one from my stash!  

I am not much of a purple person but when I spontaneously put some purples together with some warm browns and navy blues, I loved the combination!  I pulled a lot of low-volumes from my stash as well, that had those same colors in them.  There's a bit of a modern/vintage vibe going on here which is one of my favorite styles!  I used a lot of florals, plaids, geometrics, and even some shirtings.  I love mixing different kinds of prints to give quilts an extra scrappy look!

My original Family Ties quilt (which you can see HERE) has a 6 x 6 block layout.

For this quilt, I made 80 blocks put together in an 8 x 10 layout.  

This is such a simple, classic pattern that is pretty quick to put together.

I think it would be a great pattern for gifting! 

I just so happened to have a bolt of this cream and navy blue plaid fabric in my stash.  I thought it went nicely so I used it for the back and even had the binding fabric in my stash (leftover from another project) so this was kind of a freebie quilt (#girlmath ha!)

My long-arm quilting bestie, Jen Ostler quilted it for me with the Relation pantograph by Melissa Kelley of Sew Shabby Quilting.  I like how it has a vintage/modern vibe and mimics the design of my blocks.

This quilt finished at 72" x 90".  To make this size quilt, you will need:

- 40 light print 10" squares

- 80 light print 2" squares (2 coordinating squares for each 10" square)

- 40 dark print 10" squares

- 80 dark print 2" squares (2 coordinating squares for each 10" square)

- 3/4 yard of binding (cut 9 strips, 2-1/2" x 40" each)

- 5-1/2 yards of backing fabric

- 80" x 98" piece of batting

Click HERE for the original free Family Ties pattern.

The skill level for this quilt is beginner.

This quilt would be cute for any person and in any colorway!  Do you think you would make it?

What colors would you do?

I hope you enjoy this free pattern!  Let me know if you decide to make it and thanks for stopping by!

Scrappy Holidays Quilt Pattern

I'm so excited to share a new quilt pattern with you today!
It's called Scrappy Holidays and it's available just in time for some festive holiday sewing!  I love working on Christmas quilts when it's cold (and preferably snowing outside)!  It's so cozy and sort of nostalgic in a way!

Scrappy Holidays finishes at 68" x 84" and is scrap-friendly.

The skill level is intermediate because there are some little pieces on the stockings and stars.  Plus, there are some different triangles throughout.  BUT, it's really not too bad, I promise!

When you make a stocking, (I think) you will be in love!

The patchwork is just so sweet!

And chain-piecing will make them go together pretty quickly!

I don't know which block I love more - the stockings or the trees - but both were fun to make.

Which one is your favorite?

Stars in the sashing posts add a little extra sparkle, don't you think?

I used 108" wide gingham fabric for the back.  I don't do that very often.  The selection for extra wide fabric isn't as great as 40" wide but this was perfect and it was so nice to not have to piece it together!  

The quilting was done by my favorite, Jen Ostler in Highland, Utah.  After much deliberation (I seriously couldn't decide on this one), I chose the Christmas Star pantograph by Natalia Majors for Intelligent Quilting. Jen was so patient with me, helping me find and discuss lots of ideas along the way.  I am really happy with this panto and think Jen did an absolutely beautiful job.  But she always does!

I'd love to hear what you think about my new pattern, Scrappy Holidays!

You can find the paper pattern HERE and the digital pattern HERE.

Thanks for stopping by today!

From Our House Quilt-Along

Join me in the "From Our House" Quilt-Along with Riley Blake Designs!

It starts today!

It's a classic Log Cabin quilt with a modern twist!  

Each Friday until December 6th a new block (or two or three!) will be released on the Riley Blake Designs blog.  Several Riley Blake designers will be sharing alternate 6" blocks (in addition to what you see in the pattern) so you can pick and choose your favorites!  

I designed a scrappy heart block that I'm calling, Love You.

Click HERE for the free pattern!

From Our House features low-volume fabrics from Hush Hush 4 and some of Riley Blake's new Shades Basics!  I got my hands on some of the Hush Hush 4 fabrics and I am swooning!

These are just a few of them.  There are 21 in the collection.  And guess what!  I was fortunate enough to be able to design a print for Hush Hush 4 (mine is the second one down on the left - with little Ohio stars).

I hope you'll join in the fun!  Click HERE for all of the details about this quilt-along.

Happy sewing!

Trip Around the World Quilt + Free Pattern

I loved the backing fabric from my Dawn's Delight quilt so much that I immediately wanted to use the leftovers in another quilt.  It's the black floral fabric I circled below and the biggest square I could cut from the leftovers was 4".  So what's a pattern that you can basically use any size square for?  The classic Trip Around the World pattern!  I had never made one but now I'm obsessed and would love to make more!

 I mocked up a Trip Around the World quilt with my Electric Quilt software and asked a friend if she wanted to join the fun.  I told her my goal was to not buy any fabric for this project (we could trade fabric but I was really hoping to not have to buy any).  She was up for the challenge!

We got together to look at our fabrics and did our best to plan the color/fabric placement.  It was kind of hard to envision how the finished quilt would look so I went home, laid everything out on the floor, made a few tweaks, and then once I was happy with the layout I sewed my blocks together in diagonal rows.

I had my friend Jen Ostler quilt it with a classic Baptist Fan pattern and then I bound it in this black fabric that I inherited from my grandmother after she passed away.  I love incorporating bits of her fabric into my quilts!

I added one of my favorite labels from Ever Emblem.  They're so easy to sew into the binding so I don't have an excuse to not label my quilts!  I get the 2" cotton, fold-over, sew-in labels.  If you want to get some for yourself, you will just have to pick one of their basic cotton labels and customize it from there.

In case you were wondering, I didn't have to buy any for this quilt!  I made a scrappy back using a bunch of orange remnants from my stash - which feels amazing!!!

Classic quilts are my favorite and I'm so glad I finally made a Trip Around the World quilt!

My quilt finished at approximately 70" x 80" and I have written some instructions for this exact quilt that I'm excited to share with you today!  

Click HERE for the free PDF pattern. 

Above is a digital mockup of my quilt so you can see the color placement.  I did include it in the PDF pattern (but wanted to include it here as well, for those of you that only have a black and white printer or don't want to print in color).  It doesn't use my exact fabrics but it's a very close representation of my quilt, don't you think?

Like I said, I loved making this quilt.  It's beginner-friendly, easy to adjust the square size or colors, and is just classic!  It would be beautiful in any color way!  I can definitely see more of these in my future!  What about you?  Have you made a Trip Around the World quilt or would you like to?

Dawn's Delight Quilt

 Hello!  Today I am sharing a recent quilt finish that I made just for fun!

But first I want to share with you the inspiration behind this project.  This color palette was inspired by someone I follow on Instagram named Jerina (her Instagram handle is @quiet.sanctuary).  She is a beautiful soul who shares her heart in every post!  She shares her love of crochet, quilts, antiques, family and sourdough bread!  Plus, she is an amazing photographer and writer.

[The above photo is shared with permission from Jerina @quiet.sanctuary.]

I think the above photo might be the exact photo that stopped me in my Instagram scroll one day.  I love the crocheted blanket Jerina made.  Oh how I wish I could crochet!!!  I also loved the cozy, moody, yet sweet colors that Jerina used!  The faded and worn look that she captured in that photo was so soothing to my soul!  One morning I woke up and couldn't stop thinking about her blanket so I went to my sewing room and started playing around - trying to achieve that same look with fabric.

Around that same time, I had also been eyeing the classic Rail Fence/Roman Stripes quilt pattern.

So I decided to "kill two birds with one stone" and combine that pattern with those colors.

I cut some 2" x 5" rectangles and got to work.

Each block was made with three 2" x 5" cut rectangles so the blocks finished at 4.5" x 4.5".

I did a 13 x 15 block layout so my quilt finished at 59" x 68".  This pattern is a great way to use up scraps and is beginner-friendly!  

I love to reward myself with these kinds of projects once in a while.  It's good for my creative juices to do some mindless, just-for-fun sewing!  Plus, I just love a good scrappy, classic quilt pattern!

I used my stash and scraps for the quilt top but did end up buying the back and binding fabric.

The longarm quilting was done by my friend Jen Ostler in Highland, UT.  We decided on a pantograph called Moon Phases.  I had never used that one before but I felt like it matched the vibe of this quilt!

I wanted to name this quilt something other than Rail Fence or Roman Stripes because:

 A.) It didn't feel like a typical Rail Fence quilt (because the fabrics weren't making a secondary zig-zag design).  And B.) I just don't like the name Roman Stripes!

So I asked my Instagram followers if they could help me name my quilt!  I got tons of great suggestions but I finally landed on "Dawn's Delight".  It seemed to fit my color scheme, the quilting panto, and the pattern well.  The way the blocks are rotated just seems fun and well, delightful!  So thank you Janet (@janlynnsquilts on Instagram) for the name suggestion!

I took so many pictures...but I will share just one last one.

This was a fun project and I highly recommend making one of these quilts.

I plan to wash this soon so it will crinkle up and get even cozier!

Thanks for stopping by today!