My First Finish of the Year!

Oh happy day, happy day!  

I'm singing because it's Friday and I have a finish to share! My first finish of the year!  This is my version of Cultural Fusion's Free-form Rail Fence. And it's a big one, finishing at 112" x 112".  

I made it for my king-size bed, but it is pictured on the queen bed in my guest room.

I pulled this project from My Quilty Bucket in October, which means it took me approximately 4 mos to complete. Of course, I'd like to produce a quilt a day, but I'll take a finish whenever I can get one!

I quilted it with this lovely orange thread called Firestorm by Glide and the Malachite pantograph from Urban Elementz. 

Here is a close-up of my quilting. I'm still wobbly on the longarm but I am getting more confident in my abilities. 

I won this wide backing from Pineapple Fabrics on IG in June 2020. I was so excited to finally use it in something!  I did have to add to it to make it big enough though.

 Here are a few more pics to ogle. 

Thanks for stopping by. Until next time, Happy Stitchin', and God Bless! 

A Thread for Life

The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 NLT

Linking up at:

Can I Get A Whoop Whoop 

Thank Goodness It’s Finished Friday

Finished or Not Friday

Sew & Tell

Quilty Recap 2023

Hello Everyone! I hope you're having a great year so far.  Mine is busy and already passing quickly which prompted me to get this Quilty Recap 2023 published.  

It will be short and sweet since I only had five finishes for the year...and one of them wasn't even pieced by me.  

Without further ado...

My first finish of 2023 is one I started in Missouri in 2021 w/ Angela Walters’ Build A Quilt club. I chose the Holly Jolly colorway, which consists of Christmas/Holiday prints in nontraditional colors.   It was the first full-size quilt I quilted on my new APQS Lucey.  It has a lot of lazy and unplanned FMQ but I think it turned out great! I donated it to a silent auction at church to raise money for Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Outreach. 

The next finish is an Arkansas Traveler quilt I made for one of my pastors in Missouri. I’m pretty sure I started it in 2021 too. It was meant to be gifted for Pastor Appreciation in October 2022 but was gifted in 2023.  Better late than never right? It's quilted with edge-to-edge organic wavy lines. My go-to, lazy and unplanned FMQ. 

This next one is a big one that was pieced for me by Quilty Bestie Madonna (@sunnybunnyquilts on IG).  She drove w/me to Milwaukee on Halloween 2022 to help me get settled in. She didn't bring any projects to work on while she was here but offered to work on something for me, which I jumped on! She got it all cut out while she was here and sent me the king-size flimsy around Mother's Day 2023.  It's a scrappilicious version of a Fons & Porter pattern called Cottage Square made w/a bunch of African prints. It's awesome! And I quilted it w/an Urban Elementz pantograph called African Samba. 

Up next is a lap quilt I made for my mom.  The initial block is a simple paper pieced number called "Ray" by Jessica Dayon that finished at 6".  I only had 36 sheets, which would make a very small lap quilt, so I kept adding to the blocks until they finished at 11".  Madonna visited me shortly after I finished this flimsy, and bless her heart, she quilted and bound it for me. 

The last finish is a Jellyroll Race Quilt that I made for a dear friend undergoing cancer treatment.  I pieced it on National Sew A Jellyroll Day.  

That's it for my 2023 finishes. My current quilt in progress is a scrappilicious free-form rail fence inspired by Sujata Shah's book Cultural Fusion Quilts. It's currently loaded on Lucey awaiting quilting.

I just finished listening to One Summer in Savannah by Terah Shelton Harrison. A great story of forgiveness that I enjoyed immensely. 

Until next time, Happy Stitchin', and God Bless.

A Thread for Life

Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit. 3 John 1:2

The Party's Over

Last week I got an Account Expiration Notification email from InLinkz,  saying my subscription would soon expire.  I was surprised to learn it had already been a year since I started my WHOOOMP There IT Is Linky Party! The notice said my options were to extend my account (pay) to create image linkups or use for free as a text-only linkup.  I opted for neither, and so the party has come to an end.

 And to be honest, I'm not sad about it. I enjoyed hosting the linky, which started out as a weekly party, and later became a monthly one, but something about me and deadlines...  After experiencing both sides; host and linky-upper, I like being the linky-upper better.

Alas, a huge thank you to all who linked up and partied w/me along the way.

Moving right along...

I had a fairly productive month and have a few things to share w/you today to prove it.

One night I was jonesing for a finish. It felt like it had been forever since I'd finished a quilt.  I needed to make one and I needed to make it fast! I dug out some blocks that were given to me. Originally there were seven and they measured approximately 16" x 19". I used six of them to make this scrappy little number.  I used the quick turn/envelope/birthing method (no binding), and a combo of stitch-in-the-ditch and other straight line quilting.  And Tada! I got my fix!

I had used the 7th block a few months ago to make a pillow for Moe. This is usually where he is when I'm sewing.

This is Zebrina. A fun applique quilt from Heidi Pridemore of The Whimsical Workshop.  My grandson says Zebra's are only supposed to be black and white not "grey". He was not impressed w/mine. She's not grey though, She's made w/Sarah Watts' Shibuya in linen, from the Tokyo Train Ride collection.

I just have to add some quilting to the sky, and then she'll be hanging on the wall in my sewing room.

Oh! I also finished Scrappy Litter Blox a pattern by Lillyella. I pattern tested this before it was released in the June Stash Builder Box.

The Scrappy Litter Blox  pattern will soon be available directly from Lillyella.

And here it is in crinkly splendor after warshing and drying. I used a lot of Alison Glass' Sun Prints in this quilt.  I even got fancy and did FMQ meandering in the borders!

By the way, Stash Builder Box has been nominated for a Brassy award, which could mean $10,000 for their business if they are one of the winners. They have a great quilty box subscription program, and 20% of the proceeds go towards providing quilts for children in need.  They also have great ways for others to join in the giving - you can apply to be an Ambassador and help promote the program, or you can sign up to be a HeartBuilder and actually help create the quilts that are given out!  Go to www.voteforsbb.com to vote - you can vote once per day from now until Sunday, 10/9.
Vote now!

My last finish is from my UFO Challenge 2016 list.  It's a wall hanging for my grand-daughter and has been a wip for 1-2 years.

It'll make the perfect gift for her 6th birthday next month as it has 6 tulips on it. I wish I could say that was the plan all along, but it's simply coincidence.

The pattern is called Tiny Tulips by Quilting in the Rain. I won the pink fabric I used for the tulips from a QITR giveaway on IG! I got a little fancy w/the quilting on this one too. Anytime I say I did "fancy quilting", I mean I did FMQ in the form of meandering or a back & forth I learned in an Angela Walter's Craftsy Class. I also did my fave Faux Piped Binding.

That's all I've got today for finishes.  But I do want to mention that I'm super duper excited Katy of KatyQuilts will be spending several months in AZ!  I have all kinds of sew days and such planned for us. She's a talented and prolific quilter/blogger who inspires me immensely. Thanks Katy!

Linking up at:
Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?
Finished or Not Friday
Fabric Frenzy Friday

A Thread for Life

WHOOMP There IT Is! #30 - It's Been A While

Long time, no see. I've missed you. I honestly can't believe it's been almost a month. When I decided to start doing my WHOOMP There IT Is! linky party 1x/mo (first Fridays), I didn't intend to only blog 1x/mo!  But that's about where I am. I do plan to blog at least twice a month though.

The month flew by and even though I had a few finishes, I don't feel like I've accomplished much. Maybe because the last couple of quilts were very simple patterns? Who knows. Truth be told, I've been in some kind of mood lately and I really hope it passes soon because I don't like feeling this way.

I finished the commission for 2 baby quilts. A friend/coworker ordered a quilt for each of her grandsons who will both be turning a year old in August. She got the quilts on Tuesday and is very pleased and excited to present them in August.

And here's my other finish.

When I get to the end of a piece of fabric, 7" or less, I usually strip it down into strings ranging from 2.5" - 1".  Well one day, a long, long time ago, I got a wild hair and decided to sew all my 1" strings together (in jellyroll race fashion) and this is what it yielded. Too thin to be a lap quilt, and too wide to be a table runner, I'm calling it a bed runner. It sat as a flimsy until last month when #4 was chosen in our UFO Challenge 2016, and now it's finished!

One last thing I want to share before the party is a pattern test I'm working on. It's a pattern called Scrappy Litter Blox by Lillyella. The pattern will be included in the June Stash Builder Box.  I usually like to get all the cutting out of the way first, but not this time. I had to put at least one block together to show you.

I've quite a bit more cutting to do but the block goes together rather quickly.  I'll finish cutting tonight and hopefully get most of the quilt together this weekend. And speaking of this weekend, it's supposed to get upwards of 117° here in Phoenix! So yeah, I'll be indoors ALL weekend stitchin'!

Eeek! It's going to be a long summer. =( Maybe I can come visit one of you this summer. Anywhere is cooler than here!

So what have you been stitchin' on?  I'd love to see it!

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Thank the Host

Everyone likes to hear "thank you" and know their effort is appreciated.

Spread the Love

The more love you give, the more you get. Pick a number (mine is 5) and commit to visiting and commenting on that many link-ups. Let them know where you're visiting from and ask them to visit you. (This works well for me!)

Direct Link

Use a direct link to a specific post, not your main blog.

Link Back

In your blog post, include a link back to my post/blog and/or grab the WHOOMP There IT Is! button above and put in your post or sidebar. Thanks for spreading the love.

Follow Me ;)

Of course I would love for all you linky-uppers to be followers, but it's NOT required.

Party Hearty! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Linking up at Can I Get a Whoop Whoop?


A Thread for Life
Make Your ways known to me, 
Lord; teach me Your paths. 
Guide me in Your truth and teach me, 
for You are the God of my salvation; 
I wait for You all day long. 

WHOOMP There IT Is! #20 - It's Giveaway Time!

This post contains ad links.

Hello! It's so good to see you! If today is the first time you are visiting my blog, well then you picked a very good day to do so! It's giveaway time, and an extra special one to boot! But first I've gotta show you a couple of thangs.

I finished my custom quilt order and even made matching pillow shams! Yay me!

I'm this close to constructing one full block (1 of 16) of my Arkansas Traveler quilt and I'm lovin' how it's looking so far.  I only have a few more days to work on this project though.  It was #8 on my 2016 UFO Challenge list and the number chosen for February.  Hopefully, March's # will be for a small project or one that is almost finished so I can come back to work on this beauty.

Now we can get to the important stuff; The Giveaway!

I'm giving away a sampler pack called Shadows which consists of 20 Fat Quarters in shades of grey (not 50...lol) and black & whites (even though the description on the link says 19) AND a 5 pack Salt & Pepper Thread Set by Connecting Threads.  And this is where I have to say, this giveaway is in no way affiliated w/Connecting Threads. To sweeten it up a bit I'm including a Mojo bar and a $5 Starbucks gift card!

Another view of the prize =)

And to sweeten it up even more...I got a collaborator! Say hello to Sandra Fay of Fay West Designs!  She's a maker of gorgeous handmade jewelry that features miniature quilt blocks and fabric patterns.  I came across her beautiful jewelry creations on Instagram @faywestdesigns and ordered myself these 2 pairs of earrings over the holidays. Aren't they just lovely?!

She is graciously offering up these stunners as part of this giveaway.  Thank you, Sandra!

This sturdy pair of hand-made earrings is made of lightweight bronze findings making them perfect for the most sensitive of ears.  Each piece is handcrafted so no two are exactly alike. Attention is given to every detail.  After the colorful pattern is created, it is heated to add strength. This results in a tight and bright intricate design.  Small TILES Measure approx. 12mm square

To see more of this fabulous Mini Art Jewelry and other lovelies, visit her shop at FayWestDesigns.etsy.com.    You can also find her on Instagram: @faywestdesigns.

There are 3 easy steps to enter!

1. If you aren't already a follower, follow A Quilted Passion on Instragram @aquiltedpassion or Bloglovin'
2. Follow Fay West Designs on Instagram @faywestdesigns
3. Leave a comment on this blog post letting me know how you follow and what favorite quilt block you'd like to see on a pair of earrings.  It's that simple!

I will choose a winner next Thursday, March 3rd at 9p AZ-MST using True Random Number Generator and will announce it in a blog post on Friday, March 4th. This giveaway is now closed.

Now, let's get this party started!

<div align="center">
<a href="http://aquiltedpassion.blogspot.com/" rel="nofollow" title="A Quilted Passion" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir4YsV6nk1H6N4SoytAqIMUezG-jJS06TJG89bPQzWj8oDoAOKu5rRBose1BqbkeEz9sma3x7OI6Utq0rOLWSu4WPRISs3QZERZHGpBLoEhoqSgiUmjkQwQ_n0Tc_42uJSI6MXdeyz5qU/s211/Linky+Button+Final+Whoomp300%252C+TII+150+AQP+LP+190+Fullsize.jpg" alt="A Quilted Passion" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Thank the Host

Everyone likes to hear "thank you" and know their effort is appreciated.

Spread the Love

The more love you give, the more you get. Pick a number (mine is 5) and commit to visiting and commenting on that many link-ups. Let them know where you're visiting from and ask them to visit you. (This works well for me!)

Direct Link

Use a direct link to a specific post, not your main blog.

Link Back

In your blog post, include a link back to my post/blog and/or grab the WHOOMP There IT Is! button above and put in your post or sidebar. Thanks for spreading the love.

Follow Me ;)

Of course I would love for all you linky-uppers to be followers, but it's NOT required.

Party Hearty! 

An InLinkz Link-up

p.s. Craftsy is at it again!  Now thru 2/29/16 1159p MT, take an additional 20% off their existing clearance prices to give you great deals on their project kits and supplies for only a few days. Be sure to check out the deep discounts on your favorite brands before their Winter Clearance sale is over. Remember, the good stuff goes fast!

A Thread for Life
...if I die suddenly, my gravestone might appropriately offer this insight into my departure: "God got tired." I require lots of work.  - Beth Moore, Believing God