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Friday, July 17, 2015

a quilting marathon

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

I finished 5 quilts this week! 2 minis, one baby, one lap and one twin size. That's not crazy at ALL, is it? Ha! (I'm exhausted!!!)
4 out of 5 of the quilts that I finished are for my upcoming fabric line Good Neighbors for Connecting Threads. It was deadline week, if you couldn't tell. :) The fabric is scheduled to be released in early September and I'm starting to get a little excited. (And a little nervous!) I love a stack of quilts...even if just the backs are showing. It felt SO good to get these finished!!! (I'm also very happy with how the teal polka dots work for binding! Yay!)

I'm a part of the Minneapolis Modern Quilt guild and we did an optional scrap swap challenge. Last night was reveal night...and it was fabulous! I'm so glad I joined in. When it comes to scraps, it's hard for me to say no!
I made a sparkle punch mini quilt for my partner. It measures about 18" x 20". This is a pattern that has been on my "to make" list for a long time. I love this quilt and I had a blast making it! It was hard to let go, but I think that's a good sign. Right? I thoroughly enjoyed the color palette of scraps I had to work with!

(I cut the squares at 3" for this version, so the individual block pieces finish at 2.5".)
I started by quilting inside the stars, but the thread just blended in, so I switched gears and I quilted just outside the stars instead. So much better! I like the accent of big stitch hand quilting, even if the stitches aren't perfect.
Here's a little peek at the back. This print is from my upcoming good neighbors line and it was a perfect match to the front! This fabric will be available in regular width (44" wide) and in extra wide (108") for backing. I can't wait to back ALL kinds of quilts with it! I think it will be pretty all quilted up.
I was so focused on what I needed to MAKE for the scrap swap that I kind of forgot that I would get something in return. :) Colby had my scraps and made me this awesome zip pouch. I love it so very much! The lining is pink polka dots. It's pretty much perfect all around. I love that it has my initials on it, so no one else can claim it as their own! Thanks, Colby!!!
 
And one last thing for today....
I didn't make this, but my friend Cindy did. I am not sure why she thought of me when she found this license plate fabric (ha!) but I'm so glad that she did. She made me this wonderful pouch using the flora supply case pattern by Clover and Violet.
It has a zipper pouch in the middle and two sides of pockets...even some mesh pockets, which makes it harder to lose things in. Bonus! :)
Cindy is the selvage queen and she included a bunch of them on the outside of the zip pouch section. I love that!! I've already been using it for carrying around my hand stitching supplies. It's so handy! Thanks so much, Cindy, for a wonderful, thoughtful (and practical) gift!

Ok! Now it's your turn! Please link up your finishes for the week. Thanks for joining me for finish it up Friday! Hope you have a great weekend. I'm going to go take a nap!

40 comments:

  1. Wow, congratulations on such a productive week - that is awesome! And how exciting to have September that much closer. :)

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  2. I love your sparkle punch mini!! The hand quilting is just gorgeous!!! And way to crank out so much this week, Yippee!!!

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  3. That is a ton of work Amanda! Well done. I am so excited for the release of your line and extra wide backings? Yay!!

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  4. That's not crazy at all, just really productive! Congratulations on the great finishes! I can't even say how much I am looking forward to your fabric. I LOVE the ornage print there, and the backing fabric will be fantastic. Pretty sure they'll have to do a second printing! Nice work, and have a great weekend!

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  5. Oh wow what a week's work!! It all looks amazing but I almost need a nap looking at it. I love the sneak peek of your new fabric, can't wait to see more!

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  6. These are so awesome Amanda-Jean. I especially love the corner treatment with the stars -no wonder you got so attached to that one xo

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  7. What a super week for you! I am really excited about your upcoming fabric line, and your stack of backs only makes the wait worse :) lots of fun "littles" too....thanks for sharing!!

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  8. You're a busy bee...that's for sure! Love your little quilt.

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  9. That is a TON of great work! LOVE love love that sparkle punch mini and you just reminded me that it's been on my "to sew" list forever too :-)

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  10. so, so inspiring!!!

    brooke@sillymamaquilts.com

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  11. What a list of finishes!! So satisfying to have a bunch of quilts piled up. The hand quilting on your mini quilt is lovely.

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  12. What a productive week. I am looking forward to seeing the fronts of the quilts :)

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  13. I predict that your Good Neighbors line is going to be a MAJOR success! I know I want almost every one I seen so far.

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  14. Congratulations on your new fabric line! I can't wait to see it. As soon as I saw the stack of quilts, I fell in love with the backing on the top one. I will definitely be purchasing some. It sounds like you've been very busy, but I hope things slow down soon. Thanks for the great blog!

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  15. I'm glad your fabric will be available in 108" width. It will be great for backings - so pretty!

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  16. Some day when you have a little time ;) would you think about doing a post about your designing process with Connecting Threads? Is it like sitting next to one of those police artists and telling them what you want? Or do you design it with an online program? Do they have a color palette in mind, or is it all your choice?

    I love the glimpses I've had of Good Neighbors fabrics and am jealous that Cindy has selvedges from some of them already!

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  17. Awesome week! Love the sparkle mini! Cindy is the queen of selvedges and that's such a cute gift :)

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  18. Deadlines make for tough weeks!

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  19. So many finishes in a week must feel really great :-)
    Wish you a great weekend :-)

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  20. Love your Sparkle Punch mini--and the big stitch quilting is just perfect! I had the best time making the Flora supply pouch. I really love making something for someone specific--I think about them the whole time I am working on it, which makes it special for me. Glad you like it. :)

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  21. I love that you weren't afraid to bind with the same color/fabric as a star that bordered the edge.

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  22. I can't wait for your fabric!! I hope CT plans to print a lot because it's GONNA run out quick :)

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  23. so much goodness!! I LOVE your sparkle punch mini! Especially the use of different colors for the handquilting. I can not wait for your fabirc to be available. You'll let us know when it's available for order, right?! Pre -order would be even better ;-)
    Your gift bags are both wonderful as well

    happy sewing ~ Tracy

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  24. Wow, you've been busy! Congrats on all the finishes!

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  25. Wow, five finishes! My first thought was how good they look together and then I saw that they (the backings) are (presumably?) all from your fabric line ... congratulations again (it must help with the motivation for these deadlines).

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  26. You've had a great week. I love the pouches. THat fabric you've used for your mini quilt is wonderful. I'll have to look out for it as I can see so many uses for it

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  27. Oh I love that your fabric will have a backing size. Right up my alley!

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  28. Your fabrics look great! You are right about that backing fabric - I can see me buying yards and yards of that and backing lots of quilts with it! Can't wait to get my hands on some!

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  29. I am so excited about your Good Neighbors fabric finishes, Amanda Jean! Can't wait for the BIG reveal!

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  30. Congratulations on all your finishes! Did you get any sleep??? I look forward to seeing your fabric line...

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  31. What a wonderful pouch gift! As usual, I love your quilts--congratulations on the finishes! I am SO looking forward to your fabrics!

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  32. I told Jason "Amanda finished 5 quilts this week" and he said "that's crazy talk". LOL
    I love the little stars quilt. Can't wait for your fabric line to go on sale. I might spend a fortune! :)

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  33. Anonymous2:21 PM

    can't wait to see your fabric released!

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  34. Wow! You were certainly busting them out - I can't wait to see the full fabric line, I bet we will all be clamouring to buy it and use it!

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  35. What beautiful backs! And your friend Cindy's gift is WONDERFUL!!! That is truly the perfect pouch!

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  36. Anonymous9:34 AM

    The quilts look nice! And I love the hand quilting.
    Love.

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  37. Love, love, love that backing fabric!! It's much perkier than so many backings that are out there.

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  38. I love your craftsy class and so happy to see you blog. I cannot wait to see your fabric line! I am sure it will be in my stash as soon as it is released!!! Thank you!

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  39. Love your Sparkle Punch mini! Also, love the orange floral fabric backing you used on one of your quilts! Would you mind sharing the name of that fabric line? Thanks!

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