Piece and Quilt with Precuts Blog Hop - Morse Code - My Version of Dot 'n' Dash

Christa Watson, a good quilting friend of mine, just launched her 3rd book called Piece and Quilt with Precuts: 11 Quilts, 18 Machine-Quilting Designs, Start-to-Finish Success. (affiliate link)  I love Christa's books in that they take you all the way from fabric selection, through the quilt top making process, and through the quilting process too.  It is a pattern book and a quilting book in one!

Christa sent me a copy of the book and I chose to remake the Dot 'n' Dash quilt pattern with a little twist in the fabric selection and size.  Here is the book version of Dot 'n' Dash, a lap sized quilt.

Photography courtesy of Martingale/That Patchwork Place

The Dot 'n' Dash pattern is written for jelly rolls (which makes for a very speedy quilt top). I did not have a jelly roll that I wanted to use, but I had this wonderful print from Anna Maria Horner that I did not know what to do with. The print is Crossing Paths from the Lou Lou Thi Needleworks collection and it is a 58" wide quilting cotton with stripes running from selvedge to selvedge with cross-stitch patterns on them.

Instead of cutting the fabric the traditional way (selvedge to selvedge), I cut the Crossing Paths fabric along the length of the fabric so each of my pieces contained different colored stripes.  It gave the look of improv sewing a bunch of fabrics together with much less work.  I actually made the entire quilt (top, binding, and backing) with only this print and some white background fabric! I thought it was a neat touch to have the backing show what the fabric looked like before it was chopped up. 

I changed the number of blocks in the quilt to bring it down to a baby size. I am always needing baby quilts as gifts so it is good to have one finished in case I need one in a hurry.  My version finished at about 40" x 48".

The quilt top came together very quickly and easily and soon it was time to bast and quilt.  I quilted using the continuous stipple design from the book (shown on the Windows quilt in Piece and Quilt with Precuts).  Stippling is one of my favorite quilting designs, it gives great texture and is very quick.  

With so much white, I would have typically gone with a white thread, but to add just a hint of color, I used really light pink Aurifil thread in 50 wt. for the quilting.

I really enjoyed Christa's book, especially how it combined great looking quilt designs, easy to follow instructions, and inspirational quilting designs.  You can pick up a copy of Christa's book over on Amazon by clicking here (affiliate link) or buy a signed copy in Christa's store.

Follow along with the hop - There are multiple quilters showing different versions of each of the book patterns over the course of the hop, you find a listing of all the different posts over on Christa's blog.

"Machine Quilting with Style" Blog Hop and Giveaway

I am very excited to be part of Christa's blog hop for her newly released first book, "Machine Quilting with Style"!

I have followed Christa's blog forever, with her becoming a great online quilt friend over the years.  I had the chance to room with Christa at QuiltCon 2015 earlier this year.  She is just one of those people that are so easy to talk to and is willing to share all of her knowledge.  Each night we told ourselves that we would go to bed at a reasonable hour, but wound up talking into the early morning hours each and every night. 

Christa was proofreading her book during QuiltCon so I got a little sneak peek.  My favorite quilt from the book was called Rain and I was very excited that was the quilt I got to make for this hop.

Christa asked us to change up the pattern and make it our own so I tried to put my own spin on Rain.  Rain is a lap-sized quilt and so I shrunk it down by about a third to be a good baby sized quilt.  Since my quilt was a smaller version of Rain, I decided to name mine Drizzle.

In Christa's version, she used a cream background with some bold colored solids for the stripes.  I used a bunch of low volume prints for the background and used some dark turquoise solids (and one lime green print) for the stripes.  Here is the quilt as it was coming together.

For the quilting, I love to pair different types of quilting together, I quilted randomly spaced lines on the background portion of the quilt using the same straight line technique that Christa used in her version.  To give good texture but still blend in, I used a 40 wt Aurifil light cream / white thread (2021).  

I was originally going to do some swirls in the stripes but decided that the stripes needed a looser more organic feel to them so I decided to add some hand quilting.  I added 3 rows of big stitch hand quilting to each colored strip using 12 wt Auriful thread in matching colors (1147 and 2810).  I love the juxtaposition of the machine quilting next to the hand quilting.

Christa's book is jam packed with great quilting knowledge delivered in the same easy to understand way that Christa blogs.  Her book has an almost conversational tone to it, making it easy to follow along and absorb all of the tips and techniques the book contains.

Sometimes when I get to the end of the pattern there is that dreaded phase, "Quilt as desired". Christa's book really answers that question by teaching many different beginner friendly quilting patterns (including both straight line quilting and free motion quilting) and takes it one step further by showing how to quilt the quilts in her book.

I really like how the book includes some very versatile patterns, you can see all the different versions bloggers made from Christa's book patterns on the Machine Quilting with Style blog hop by clicking here!

Christa is even going to have a quilt a long from one of the pattern in her book.  You can vote here to pick which pattern is used:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WVTWMRP

You can get your copy of Christa's book, "Machine Quilting with Style" from:
Signed copy from ChristaQuilts.com

Martingale (publisher) – free e-copy with purchase of the book
Amazon

Now for the Giveaway!

You can win your own free e-copy of Machine Quilting With Style.  This giveaway is open to everyone around the world and will run until September 30th at 8pm EST.  To enter:

1. Leave a comment, any comment.  If you would like a topic, I would love to know if you have ever made a holiday quilt and if yes, for which holidays?

2. Followers of mine get a bonus entry, please leave a separate comment with how you follow Meadow Mist Designs (old and new followers welcome).

Follow Meadow Mist Designs

E-mail          Bloglovin          Instagram

Note: If you are a no-reply blogger then please include your e-mail address. If I can not reach you, you can not win.

I am linking up to Link a Finish Friday, Whoop Whoop Friday, Thank Goodness Its Finished Friday, Finish It Up Friday, Fabric Frenzy Friday, and Show Off Saturday @ Sew Can She.

**Giveaway now closed, thanks for entering! **

Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks - Volume 11 - Blog Hop

Welcome to my stop on the Quiltmaker's 100 Blocks Vol. 11 Blog Tour!

I am so excited to have a block called Outlined Plus in Volume 11 of the 100 Blocks magazine.  (I previously had my block Sewing Triangles included in Volume 10.)

I have a little obsession with plus sign blocks, they are so classic and versatile and thought this block was a cool spin on the concept.  I had a little fun playing around in EQ7 playing around with some quilt designs to give you some ideas on how the block would look in different arrangements and colors.

4x4 block arrangement using some RJR Cotton Supremes

4x5 block arrangement using April Showers by Bonnie and Camille for Moda

1x4 block arrangement with negative space using Jungle Ave by Sara Lawson for Art Gallery Fabrics

 1x4 block arrangement with negative space using fabric by Lotta Jansdotter for JoAnn

Make sure you stop by Quiltmaker's blog, Quilty Pleasures, for some great prizes and a complete list of blog tour participants! 

Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope that you have a chance to check out some of my recent finishes and come back to check out my new mystery quilt-a-long starting in June :)  If you would like to follow my blog, here are some links for some different following options: Bloglovin, Email, Instagram.

Now on to the Giveaway:

Quiltmaker's Magazine has generously donated a free issue for a giveaway!  This magazine drawing is open to everyone-international included.  The magazine will be shipped directly from Quiltmaker's.

To enter, just leave a comment telling me one quilt you plan to make this year. 

The giveaway will run for 1 week, until 8pm EST on Wednesday May 13th.  I try to respond to each and every comment I get on my blog, but with giveaway posts the numbers are usually too great to do this.

If you are a no-reply blogger, please leave your e-mail address.

Looking Glass Blog Hop - Shauna @ Shauna's World

The third stop on the Looking Glass Blog Hop is Shauna who blogs over at Shauna's World.

I also met Shauna through the New Bloggers Hop (The hop was so full of wonderful women).  Shauna loves digital scrap booking and got into quilting very seriously in 2012 when she bought her long arm.  Shauna made the twin sized version of Looking Glass using a variety of pink, red, and black prints. 

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

Please hop over to Shauna's Blog for more pictures of her quilt and a giveaway to win a digital copy of the Looking Glass pattern!

Here are all the stops on the blog hop:

Friday Nov. 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs

Saturday Nov. 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday Nov. 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Nov. 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty
Monday Nov. 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday Nov. 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World
Wednesday Nov. 26th: Debbie
Friday Nov. 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

Looking Glass Blog Hop - Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Our next stop on the Looking Glass Blog Hop is Chelsea who blogs over at Patch the Giraffe.

Chelsea is another wonderful quilter that I met through the New Blogger's Blog Hop. She has a degree in architecture with a minor in art and now teaches middle school.  Chelsea has amazing color sense, I love how she combines quilt designs with different colors and prints.

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

Please hop over to Chelsea's Blog for more pictures of her quilt and a giveaway to win a digital copy of the Looking Glass pattern!  Here are all the stops on the blog hop with many chances to win a copy of Looking Glass:

Friday Nov. 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs

Saturday Nov. 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday Nov. 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Nov. 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Monday Nov. 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday Nov. 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Debbie

Friday Nov. 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

 

Looking Glass Blog Hop - Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

The next stop on the Looking Glass Blog Hop is Michelle who blogs over at From Bolt to Beauty.

I met Michelle when she had posted her version of my Candy Circles quilt pattern I had posted on the Moda Bake Shop. I think that she might be my long lost quilting twin, we have very similar tastes in fabrics, I love all of her quilt designs, and we have very similar aged little kids.

Michelle is a self-taught sewist. She loves making bags, pillows, and simple garments. Her hobby turned into a true obsession, however, when she made her first quilt, in the summer of 2013. Now, over a dozen quilts later, she squeezes in time at her sewing machine whenever she can, recording her creative adventures at From Bolt to Beauty. 

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

I love Michelle's twist on the spacing of the rows on the front and back of the quilt.  Thank you so much Michelle for reviewing for me!

Please hop over to Michelle's Blog for more pictures of her quilt!  Here are all the stops on the blog hop with many chances to win a copy of Looking Glass:

Friday Nov. 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs

Saturday Nov. 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday Nov. 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Nov. 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Monday Nov. 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday Nov. 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Debbie

Friday Nov. 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

 

Looking Glass Blog Hop - Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

The next stop on the Looking Glass Blog Hop, is Beth who blogs over at Cooking Up Quilts.

I met Beth through the 2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop and she makes some absolutely beautiful quilts and bags.  She is also quickest tester in the country! I am honored to have her pattern test again for me.  She made a wonderful version of Scrappy Tiles which can be found here.

Here are some pictures of her finished baby version of Looking Glass that she is calling Happy Quilt.  I would agree that the quilt is very happy!  I love how she used an extra row of blocks in the quilt backing, it really is a two-sided quilt.

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

Thank you so much Beth for reviewing for me!

Please hop over to Beth's Blog for more pictures of her quilt and a giveaway for a digital copy of the Looking Glass pattern!

Here are all the stops on the blog hop:

Friday Nov. 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs  <-- me

Saturday Nov. 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday Nov. 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Nov. 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Monday Nov. 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday Nov. 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Debbie

Friday Nov. 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

 

Looking Glass Blog Hop - Lin @ Lin's Quilts

The first stop on the Looking Glass Blog Hop, is Lin who blogs over at 

Lin's Quilts (www.linsquilts.blogspot.com)

Here is a picture of her baby version using super bright batiks.  She quilted it using feathers in the white fabric areas and stars in the batik squares.

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

I had the honor of meeting Lin through the 2014 New Quilt Blogger Blog Hop. Lin has been sewing since 6th grade and quilting for more than 20 years. She owns a Handi Quilter Sweet 16 sit down long arm (which she loves) and a BabyLock Elegante.    Lin is an excellent quilter, please go check out some of her recent finishes. 

Thank you so much Lin for reviewing for me!

Please hop over to Lin's blog for more pictures of her quilt and a giveaway for a digital copy of the Looking Glass pattern!

Here are all the stops on the blog hop with many chances to win a copy of Looking Glass:

Friday Nov. 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs

Saturday Nov. 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday Nov. 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday Nov. 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Monday Nov. 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday Nov. 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World

Wednesday Nov. 26th: Debbie

Friday Nov. 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

Looking Glass Pattern Release and Blog Hop

I am happy to introduce the Looking Glass Pattern and Blog Hop today!  The pattern is very charm pack and layer cake friendly and contains instructions for baby, lap, twin, and queen sized quilts.

You can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

I had 7 wonderful women test and review the pattern for me and I am so grateful for them. To celebrate all of their wonderful versions of Looking Glass we are going to have a little Blog Hop.  Here is the schedule of the hop:

Friday November 21st: Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs  <-- me

Saturday November 22nd: Lin @ Lin's Quilts

Sunday November 23rd: Beth @ Cooking Up Quilts

Monday November 24th: Michelle @ From Bolt to Beauty

Monday November 24th: Anna @ Fresh Dew Drops

Tuesday November 25th: Chelsea @ Patch the Giraffe

Wednesday November 26th: Shauna @ Shauna's World

Friday November 28th: Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts

My original version was the baby sized quilt using the Into the Woods collection by Lella Boutique for Moda.  

For the hop, I made a second version, the lap size using some of the red and pink prints from the Greenfield Hill collection by Densye Schmidt for Free Spirit. These fabrics were from my local quilt guild and this quilt will be going to our guild's charity.  I did not have enough of the prints so I added in some Kona ash and coal.
  

I quilted the white areas in a figure 8 design and added some feathers and swirls to the print areas because I just took a feathers class and was looking for an excuse to practice them.

Remember, you can get your own copy of Looking Glass in my pattern shop (digital and print versions) and on Etsy.

Thanks and I hope you enjoy all of the reviews versions over the next week!

If you decide to make anything from a Meadow Mist Designs pattern or tutorial, I hope you will consider adding it to the use the hashtag #LookingGlassQuilt and #MeadowMistDesigns when sharing on Instagram.

Around the World Blog Hop

Welcome to my blog stop on the Around the World Blog Hop!

I got nominated by Katy who blogs at Lethargic Lass for the Around the World Blog Hop tour -- she is the wonderful blogger that I just had a fantastic swap with.

I am excited to take part in this fun hop so here are the basic questions, hopefully you can learn a little more about me. I put in a few pics of some favorite finishes to break up all the text.

1. What am I working on?

I have four main projects going on right now, running and participating in the Foothills Mystery Quilt, making a wonky court house steps charity quilt, planning my MQG pastel cotton couture challenge quilt, and writing some new quilt patterns for Camelot Fabrics for their new lines being introduced this fall.

2. How does my work differ from others of its genre?

Being an engineer, I actually love quilt math and challenge of breaking down a pattern to easily understandable and clear instructions. My quilt designs tend to have strong geometric patterns set on a crisp background. I have trying recently to step outside of my comfort zone recently by using scrappy low volume backgrounds, improv piecing, and wonky blocks.

3. Why do I write/create what I do? 

After my daughter was born I read a quote that said, "A women should do something everyday that can't be undone". Having a toddler and a new baby and working, I was spending so much time cooking and cleaning each day. These activities while vital never really got finished and I had to repeat them each day. I really needed a creative outlet to make something that would stay done, that I would not have to redo over and over. I made my daughter a quilt for her toddler bed, fell in love with quilting and have not looked back since :)

4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I usually use EQ7 and PowerPoint to sketch up my ideas before starting on the actual quilt. I am definitely a planner when it comes to quilting. I may have a few works in progress, but they are all actively being worked on. I have very few WIPs that are old or abandoned. Lately, I have been trying to branch out and try more improv and freer piecing, starting a quilt top without a clear idea on where it is going.

So now it's time to pass the baton to two other wonderful women, they will each be posting on Monday, October 6th:

-- Soma @ Whims and Fancies - Soma makes the most amazing paper pieced designs you have ever seen. I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in her College Blog Hop earlier this summer.

-- Shelley @ The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts - Shelley has a new blog but has been quilting for years. She has great posts describing her whole quilting process and her wonderful finishes.

I am linking up to MOP Monday @ Tweety Loves Quilting.

College Blog Hop

Hi and Welcome to Day 6 of the College Days Blog Hop hosted by the wonderful Soma of Whims and Fancies!   I was so excited when Soma asked me to be part of her upcoming blog hop.  I said yes before I even knew what the hop's theme.

For college, I went to Carnegie Mellow University over in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for Chemical Engineering.  When I heard the theme of the hop I immediately thought of the late nights studying and all of the 101, 201, etc classes we all took.

There are some paper piecing super stars in this hop and I have been in awe of their designs. Being a new paper piece designer, I designed a very beginner friendly College 101 block.  There are two versions of the block:

Version 1 - Block with paper pieced 101 and embroidered "College"

Version 2 - Block with paper pieced 101 (for those that do not wish to add the embroidery.

The block (both versions are included in the pattern) can be downloaded for free on Craftsy right here.

For my version, I used Kona White as the background, some shot cotton (sorry I don't remember the color) for the letters, and some gray thread for the embroidery.

This 10" (finished) block can be used as one block in your college hop quilt or separately as a pillow, book cover, mini quilt, wall hanging, or tote bag.

Please head over to Whims and Fancies to check out the rest of the patterns!