Luminous Layers Quilt Along. - Assemble the Top

In some ways it feels like this year's QAL has been going on for a while, yet in other ways, I am surprised that here we are at the flimsy stage. Again, I apologize for the delay in getting this post to you, but real life butted in once again. Both good and not so good. More on that in a minute.

I promised you a slick method for assembling quilt tops. I learned it many years ago when I took Judy Villett's 'Shady Corner' watercolour class at Earthly Goods in Edmonton. We needed a foolproof way to keep all those 2" unfinished squares in the order they'd been placed on our design walls. I used it for pretty much all my quilts and have shown many others the method. Many lightbulbs have lit up in quilters' brains!

Skulls On Fire

Well, it took four years after buying all the fabric, but my husband finally has his very own quilt.

Does it ever feel good to have a finish on the second day of January! I'd like to thank Leanne at Devoted Quilter who is hosting TGIFF this week, for her 100 days of WIPS on Instagram #wipsbegone2021 which gave me an extra push to get this done. 

The Light Within in Make Modern Issue #42 and TGIFF

Issue #42 is here today and I am in it on page 42! Also, welcome to TGIFF!

A couple of posts ago I showed the photo of four of the quilts in the magazine, asking if you could guess which one was mine. Were you right?

Make Modern issue 42 is on sale now for just $12. You can also get a one-year subscription for a mere $50AU. (affiliate links)

Cover Girl! and A Giveaway

I am so pleased to show you another design featured in Modern by the Yard, the ezine by Benartex. I am over the freaking moon that it's the cover quilt! This is a first for me, and feels pretty good.

You can download your copy for free either by clicking the photo above, or here. You'll find not just four fabulous projects within, but also fabric bundles inspiration and a modern twist on the spool block.

Centred QAL - Blocks B2 and B3

I cannot believe that the final four blocks are out today, and the next time I 'see' you, it will be with flimsy 'in hand'! I laid my twelve blocks on the design wall today and had a little shiver of excitement pulse through me, because oh wow, it's going to look terrific! From what I've been seeing on Instagram and in the linky, yours are going to be giving that same shiver. 😍 I cannot wait to get my last four done and in position. They are half done as I type, so with any luck, they'll be in a photo at the end of this post!

Remember there is a hashtag pool for the quilt along too, which is a great way to see what others are up to. It is #centredquiltalong
It is still not too late to jump on in, now that you're seeing how easy these blocks go together, and how they fit together! The main page with the schedule and links to all the posts is here.

Stars Aligned New Quilt in Modern by the Yard Issue #13

Benartex's new issue of Modern by the Yard is out, and I have another design in it! I was so honoured to have been asked again to design a quilt for their ezine. This is actually a quilt I designed in last year's #30quiltdesigns challenge that I've hosted for a few years now.

Don't you just love how they photographed it? I sure grinned when I got the photo!

Luminous Layers

Well, I missed the deadline by hours, missed the sunshine we had this morning, but I am still very happy to have a finish to share. A deadline I did not miss is the Q2FAL, as this is one of the quilts on my list. This is the May challenge for Island Batik, who supplied all the gorgeous fabrics; 'Twilight Chic" is the line I used. This month is also focusing on Hobbs Batting, who supplied several packages of batting for us.

You may have read the finished flimsy post, which is here, but I will tell you again that this is a quilt I designed during the 30 Quilt Designs Challenge that I hosted again this year, (three years running now!). I will also tell you, though most of my readers know by now, that I love star quilts. I started to design this from the outside, working my way in towards the centre.

Black is always hard to get the light on the right angle to show the quilting, but despite the lack of sun this afternoon, and literally a half hour before severe thunderstorms hit, I managed to get a few shots that show the quilting. This one also shows the colours very well!

Modern by the Yard New Issue and I'm in it!

And it's not a quilt of the fabric kind but a block of the digital kind!

MbyY, in case you are not familiar with it, is the ezine put out quarterly, for free, by Benartex Fabrics. You can get your copy by going to their blog, Sew in Love With Fabric, where you will find the link to the ezine on the sidebar. When they contacted me to ask if I would like to design a digital block, the assignment being a modern twist on the Log Cabin block, I jumped at the chance for several reasons. First, I love a good challenge to my creativity and second, it was another opportunity to work with EQ8, and third, well, being published is always a thrill that never gets old. Fourth, I'd just played with a log cabin challenge for November's Island Batik challenge, so log cabins were still bouncing around in my head. You can see that quilt top here.

Lift Up

This is finally my finish for the June Challenge for us Island Batik ambassadors, and I believe it's my favourite quilt this year that I've made for them!

We were to create a modern quilt, using one or more elements as defined by the MQG:
The Modern Quilt Guild states, “Modern quilts are primarily functional and inspired by modern design. Modern quilters work in different styles and define modern quilting in different ways, but several characteristics often appear which may help identify a modern quilt. These include, but are not limited to: the use of bold colors and prints, high contrast and graphic areas of solid color, improvisational piecing, minimalism, expansive negative space, and alternate grid work. "Modern traditionalism" or the updating of classic quilt designs is also often seen in modern quilting.”

This is one of my designs I created while in the #30quiltdesignschallenge2018 hosted by moi in the spring. It is truly a rush to have something you drew on paper, or on a computer come to life in fabric.

Steady Sewing

This month the Island Batik challenge is to make a modern quilt. They provided the fabrics that I've used.

Quick note: a couple of you have emailed asking about DrEAMi! and it's the last Saturday of the month, which is this coming Saturday, June 30. TBT is the first Thursday of the month, which will be July 5!

Okay, full disclosure: the hardest part of these challenges for me is settling on a design! I have SO MANY ideas, and 'wannamakes'! I pulled out my graph paper notebook and leafed through it...

Postcard From Sweden Parade of Quilts Link Up

It is HERE and it is as good as Christmas IMHO! Oh the eye candy on Instagram! The teaser posts, the artful shots, the sheer joyous colour out there! Much needed on these recent grey, gloomy, rainy, and in a lot of cases, snowy, days. We even had snow flurries from time to time here this morning and about 1/4" (yep, I know that measurement well) on the patio table and deck rails, like what??

The linkup is below, but first let's visit my most generous sponsors. (note that I am not affiliated with any of the sponsors, but I am an affiliate of Craftsy).  Sponsors! I never dreamed when Helen and I started talking about making this quilt together, and I said,
me: Maybe we could put it out there if any others want to join us?
Helen: Oh, that's a good idea!
me: We could host a QAL!
Helen: You're a good organizer; you can put out the word...

Plus Playtime in Modern By the Yard

I can finally show you a quilt I worked on at the end of November and finished in early December. It is in the newest edition of Benartex's e-zine, Modern By the Yard, which goes live today, and which you can download by visiting their blog, Sew In Love With Fabric.

I actually broke into a massive GRIN when I saw this photograph! Ah how I'd love to get all my quilts professionally photographed...

Coins of the Atocha

One of my goals for this year was to submit a quilt design to a magazine.  Well I did.  In fact, it was the first design I created for the #30quiltdesignschallenge2017 that I, along with Lisa of Sunlight in Winter Quilts, hosted on Instagram from Jan. 2 - March 15.  I submitted it to Modern By the Yard, Benartex's e-zine.  It was accepted!  Not only was it a 2017 goal; it also became a Q1 FAL goal.

I am so very happy that my first published pattern is in a 100% environmentally friendly e-zine! Not one tree was killed, YESSS! AND the magazine is free.  Just head over to Sew In Love With Fabric where you can click the link in the sidebar and view it on your computer, or download it and view it at your own pace.

So!  This quilt comes with a story.  Do any of my quilts ever not? 😉 Refill your coffee or tea, and read on.  This fabric is deserving of a little of your time...it is every bit as vibrant, if not more, than what you see above! And such a unique pattern.

It started with this January 2 design, my first, as I mentioned, in the design challenge, that I called "Plus Surrounded".

Lisa Ruble, the editor of the e-zine, really liked it and asked it I could make it a rectangular quilt, and send it to her by the second week of February.  A little over a month to make a quilt?  No problem.  Meanwhile, Lisa and I had already talked about a totally different project, my Freefall Quilt Along, which I was planning to start about the third week of January and have it end on the Spring Equinox.  I decided it might be prudent to move the QAL.  Thus was born the idea of starting the QAL on March 20.  You can see the first post with the fabric requirements for that entirely separate quilt project here.

Back to Coins of the Atocha!  Lisa recommended two different fabric lines, and I chose this one, Masterpiece Mixers by Kanvas Studio.

Don't you want to, oh, I don't know, bite into one or all of these?!

The drama started when a couple of weeks went by and my fabric had not arrived.  I contacted Lisa and she did some investigating...the warehouse somehow misplaced the order and it hadn't been filled.  Lisa was wonderful and said no problem, we can put it in the next issue.  But I was pumped!  Well, I said to Lisa, I work well under pressure, so yes, I believe I can still meet the deadline.  That photo above is of the fabric just after it arrived on February 1.  I had already written up instructions to make my design so I set to work.

More drama ensued when I felt that the blue I had chosen for one of the 'surrounds' around the plus wasn't quite right.  I was drawn more to the aquamarine I had chosen for the backing.

Left to right:  the two blocks together; a couple of original choice blue surround, pretty good; a couple of blocks with the aquamarine, better

Both blues would have been fine, but I felt the aquamarine kept pace with the fuchsia's and golden's intensity.  So I started cutting like a whirling dervish:

...all the while thinking, hmm, backing...plan B...think!

This pattern sews up like a dream, and in no time at all I had a flimsy:

Now to make a backing.  Did you notice the borders on the fabric?  Cool, right?!  However, I didn't incorporate the tassel-like borders on the fabrics within the blocks as that pattern was quite different than the bubbles pattern of the rest of the fabric.  Inspiration struck along with a long-held love of interesting quilt backs, and this happened:

Yes!!  Borders in the centre, borders on both long edges--love!  Test block with lighter blue incorporated as well, woo hoo!

And now for the quilting!  If you know me, you know how I love to free-motion quilt.  A LOT.  Time was of the essence, so I reined myself in and here are the two designs I quilted in the plus

It was at this point that my good friend Julie, at Pink Doxies, coined (lolol) the name of the quilt.  I must admit I had never heard of the Coins of the Atocha, so I had to look it up.  Fascinating stuff!  Go here to read about it!  Basically:  1622.  Spanish galleon loaded with treasure.  Hurricane in the Florida Keys.  Struck a reef.  Sunk.  Undiscovered until July 1985.  Well, I am in Florida for the winter, check.  These vibrant tropical colours abound.  Add the bubbles or round motifs in the fabric, the 1" diameter pebbles in the pluses, and yep!  That is the name of this quilt.

Bella loved the quilt--when does she not love a new or in-progress quilt?!

Ain't movin' Sandra, nope. You can drape, push that quilt on me and I'm staying put.  Right here.

And relatively soon, it was done quilting.

Grabbed it off the Bernina, trimmed edges, and threw it on the cement driveway in the setting sun's rays to catch the quilting.  I did a water ripples back and forth in the 'surround' part of the pluses.  Then I did X's through the white squares as I outlined the four 45-degree angles of the block edges.  It gives the quilt an almost on-point look.

Here are all the threads I used.  I love 'em all, as does my beloved Bernina.  I pieced it with the Gütermann 100% cotton, and quilted with Sulky rayons, Aurifil 100% cotton, Mettler 100% cotton.

Here is the finished quilt, which is named "On the Plus Side" in the magazine.  I love that it ahs three names, all great ones don't you think?

A shot of the quilting.  Not quite in a tree but against one, a palm tree, of course!

The back:

That was February 12, the day I mailed it.  I think that may be a record for me for making a quilt from start to finish!   The drama did not stop there.  I mailed the quilt up to Lisa in Michigan.  Tracking showed it to be delivered on the Wednesday.  No quilt showed up, and Lisa even met her post-lady at the mailbox.  Naturally, I freaked when she emailed me...About an hour later she emailed me back: her post-lady had returned; the package had fallen behind her seat so she hadn't seen it until later in her route!  HUGE sigh of relief, from Florida to Michigan.  This quilt definitely has that Spanish 'flair' for drama, si?!

To add to the under-the-gun drama of this quilt, I only found out that I had to write a post about it this morning.  On today of all days...we will be on the road somewhere in northern Florida by the time this post goes live.  Today was the day before departure when there is not a minute to spare.  However, we, meaning I, have been very organized this year, and so I am finishing this up right before heading to bed.  Hmm, a really organized quilter should have had it written up a month ago ready for when the magazine would be published....ah well, all good. 

I will add the usual Quilt Stats once I have ... ha...A. access to wifi and B.  some time!   Meanwhile I am going to be floating above the SUV as we drive, knowing that I have been published!

Just click the cover below to view or download your copy!

Hop on over to Sew In Love With Fabric and check out the other gorgeous projects!

Do remember two things:
First, Angela Walter's show, Midnight Quilter, is coming back in a few days! Check out her announcement here.  Second, while you're there, you may want to hop over to the Craftsy site (affiliate link) for a sweet sale on supplies this weekend! Have fun shopping -- I will, sniff, miss this one.

Linking Up with:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Busy Hands Quilts
TGIFF at The Carpenter's Daughter Who Quilts
Cut and Alter for Q1 FAL Link Up

con fuoco

Like writing blog posts, naming quilts can sometimes be quite a process for this girl.  There are times, however, when a post magically almost writes itself as I type, as do some quilts magically name themselves.  This one's name took a bit to birth, but when it did present itself, on a walk (but of course, that meditative frame of mind when so many many good ideas and thoughts come to mind), it was magical, another warm tingly (no not the precursor to a hotflash) moment for me.  Just a note, there are a hundred photos here!

Note the presence of our purple iris!

Hands 2 Help Quilts Done

I am early to finish these two, but they may have spawned a third...

Hanging between Bacchus, or is it Dionysus, and another tree spirit, maybe a dryad? Jude's additions to our beloved American Black Walnut trees

A couple of days ago when I was looking for that perfect backing I knew I had in my stash for the No Bake Jolly Bar Shuffle, I came across a few other novelty prints that would be so great for kid quilts. Two of them, the fish one, and the camping one, struck me as great for boys, and so I know another quilt is asking to be born.

camping fabric left over from backing of nephew #'s baby quilt; fish bought with kaleidoscopes in mind

But let's take a look at these two sweeties, destined for two traumatized sweeties.
The first one I made is No Bake Jolly Bar Shuffle.  I saw this on Pieced Brain Denise's blog.  It was probably her pretty turquoise and grey combination that attracted me, but it was one of those "DREAMI" moments, a term I'm coining right now.  "DRop Everything And Make It."  I blogged about the flimsy here.  Interesting, because I mentioned in that post how this quilt talked to me during piecing!  It told me it was going to go to a child; I had definitely not started it with this in mind.

I knew I had a 10" stack of Amanda Jean Nyberg's Good Neighbors line from Connecting Threads, so I cut the stack in half to make my own Jolly Bars and this little quilt grew up in no time.

Here's the back:

I had no idea how I was going to quilt this baby, just had a vague meander idea, as I find meandering so relaxing.  (quilt meandering as well as brain meanderings, ha).  Loaded it, and realized I just had to do some custom quilting in those delicious blank white rectangles.  Couldn't let that go to waste, right?

And again, the quilt whispered to me...maybe I'm becoming a quilt whisperer, lol.  I seem to do better when I don't have a solid plan but let the quilt talk to me as I'm working on it.  Words.  Vibrations of love and hope and better days ahead, even though scars from sexual abuse remain.  Deep.  For a lifetime.  Some Dot to Dot in the alternating rectangles.

The sun was out, and then went in, grrr, but that lower left word is snuggle; "hugs" is visible at the top of the photo, and "play" is mostly cut off but lower right.

As I quilted the words, writing them first with a blue water soluble marker, I put my feelings into them.  I may be considered a little flaky, but I truly believe those vibrations of care and compassion will be in this little quilt for a little person.  I felt that child crumpling this quilt, snuggling with it, wrapping herself in it, saw her finding the words, maybe getting help from a caregiver to read the cursive writing.

Here is laugh and hugs

I bound this one with the Green Daisy print.  I hadn't planned on that, but serendipity struck again: the leftover backing got placed on top of the leftover green daisy print, I saw how closely the two greens matched, and that decided it.  I also stitched it down with the wonderful variegated thread that Preeti gave me a while back, and I absolutely loved it.  I tried stitching the binding to the back of the quilt and turning it to the front, trying to see which method I prefer for machine binding;I think what I did on No Bake.


Quilt Stats:
Pattern: No Bake Jolly Bar Shuffle by Pieced Brain
Size: 31 7/8 X 39.75" after quilting; 30.25X38.25" after laundering
Fabric:  Good Neighbors and Kona Snow
Batting: 100% polyester
Quilted: on my Avanté
Threads: pieced and quilted with Essentials thread in white; So Fine in the bobbin



The second quilt is Kimberly Jolly's No Bake Jolly Bar.  Tish and I made this quilt together this month.  Unofficially.  I love sewing with her.  It's really wonderful sewing with friends.  Period.  In person as well as virtually.  We each are giving our quilt away to someone in need.  I made mine smaller than the pattern because I wanted it to be the partner to the Shuffle, and I wanted it kid lap quilt size.  The link will take you to her version, also with Connecting Threads fabric.  Cat Lady!

I gave you a peek of this one fresh off the frame a few days ago.  It's meandered with three flower motifs, a daisy to echo that in one of the prints, a flower from years ago I saw in American Patchwork & Quilting, and Vicki's flower motif I saw last week, and loops.

Here is the back:

I bound this one, also by machine, with the Short Lines print from Good Neighbors, available at Connecting Threads (no affiliation).  I love the effect, but then again I do love a striped binding.

Remember I mentioned that Lotta Dots was not as soft a hand as Kona?  After washing, the same: lovely and soft.  I'm glad because I have more of it, as well as another one of their Quilters' Candy fabrics in white.

I plan to donate these to the Sexual Assault Crisis Centre here in Windsor to be given to children.  I have to call them today to find out if they do accept quilts.  For kids.  Failing that, I will give them to Children's Aid.

Quilt Stats:
Pattern: No Bake Jolly Bar from Fat Quarter Shop
Size: 36.25 X 44.75" after quilting; 35.25 X 43 3/8" after laundering
Fabric:  Good Neighbors and Lotta Dots from Connecting Threads
Batting: 100% polyester
Quilted: on my Avanté
Threads: pieced and quilted with Essentials thread in white, binding stitched down with Essentials variegated in greens; So Fine in the bobbin

Linking up with:
Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Crazy Mom Quilts
TGIFF at Fleur de Lis Quilts
A Quilted Passion 

PS I also washed and dried Blue Skies, and love how it came out.  Still no Etsy shop, but I hope to have a not-taken name and shop by this weekend!

You'll have heard about this in QBL already, and I did mention it on my last post, but there is another great deal or a hundred to be had at Craftsy this weekend on classes.  So many are on sale at 50% off or more, both recent and not-so-recent ones.  I am a self-taught longarmer, and all I learned I have learned through Craftsy classes, along with Leah Day's Free-Motion Quilting Designs. 

From these two quilts I've posted today, I would highly recommend Angela Walters' Dot to Dot, her Free-Motion Quilting With Feathers (Blue Skies), and her Small Changes, Big Variety, both of which I reviewed here.   I'm hoping to find time to watch my latest addition to my classes repertoire, Christina Cameli's Wild Quilting.  If you are just starting out quilting and would prefer to use your walking foot, Jacquie Gering's Creative Quilting With Your Walking Foot is also on sale.  Go to Midget Gem Quilts for a great review on the class.  Remember there are a ton of free classes too; one I particularly love is Mandy Liens' A New Look At Longarm Quilting.  Lots to choose from, right?  And remember there is way more than just quilting....gardening, cooking, scrapbooking, knitting, etc. etc.

Speaking of cat lady....or rather cat servant to Bella...

She is downstairs at the moment, calling me.  That's what she does at various times throughout the day...and night, erk!  Yowls.  For a 6.5 pound cat, she has one set of lungs in her tiny chest.  This was yesterday, calling me at 5:33 pm precise (date/time stamp on photo), to come upstairs and feed her.  Other times, like right now, it's, "Come down and sew, Sandra!" or "Come down and let's play!"  How can I resist?

Stepping Stones and Orange Play

I got all my blocks done a week ago for The Inquiring Quilter's Stepping Stones QAL, but haven't blogged about them.  However, I did post a photo on Instagram so Jennifer could see my progress, and enter me into the weekly draw.

Rocco surveyed the photo session this time, not Bella.  Being grey, he looks quite nice with the blocks, don't you think?  Here is a better view of the stack:

I am still unsure about these rather brown blocks...don't tell Bella!  However, it is what it is, and this fabric has languished for a long time, some of the pieces much longer than others, so better off the shelves and into a top, right?  Some is stash, some is scrap.  I am so pleased to have worked in a piece of my New York City fabric from The City Quilter.  I was in NYC in November 2007 for the National Teachers of English Conference, and it was such an incredible time, both English-wise and NYC-wise.  I need to go back.  There are scraps from Shift, from my first paper-pieced project, a chickadee minimini (waaay before the time of the current minimini rave, and pre-blog era), also a piece of soft brown floral from my Trip Around Alberta I made in 2000 as my millenium quilt (not blogged about, maybe a TBT post in the future), some new-to-me pieces, and some old ones, like both floral ivory main prints.  Man I do love scrap quilts!  Even more meaningful.

Ha, there's even a brown piece that is part of a crazy-quilt-style doll vest I improv-pieced probably around the turn of the century too, for a doll that is still bald...I am not brave where her hair is concerned, and so she sits, on the stash bookshelving, the lights glinting off her shiny, hairless head...I should make finishing her up a #bravequilter project for Julie in the near future.  But I digress.  Today is Week 6 of the QAL at The Inquiring Quilter, so I should have a top for you in the near future!  Last week it was announced that I won the Week 4 prize!  I won!  A beautiful handmade prize by Jennifer in her weekly draw for participants who post photos of their progress on FaceBook or Instagram.

Isn't this so sweet?  I had Jennifer send it to Dayna to save her some $$ on postage, and Dayna's photo doesn't do the basket justice, so Jennifer let me use her own photo.

I was able on Monday to finish up my orange row for the Rainbow Scrap Challenge at soscrappy.
Pulled all my oranges, which is not the most plentiful in my stash/scraps:

Because I ended up making a gradation row out of the purples last month, I thought I'd see what I could do here:

a few blips in the light to dark run, but I left it as is

That photo shows the centres done, a dark on the lower right, medium to the left, and on top the lightest.  In retrospect, I could've gone to the peach spectrum, but don't think I'd have had enough peaches.  Hmm, might have to investigate that a little more; the quilt is a long way from assembling!  I ringed the centre rectangles with black batiks, as a little brown or black can be added in with the orange. Angela used a Monarch butterfly photo as her April colour of the month inspiration.

split into 3 groups, light, medium and dark...ish!

And then sewn up and arranged from light to dark:

I found it quite fascinating playing with the yellow-oranges, the orange-oranges, the pinky-oranges, the red-oranges and brown-oranges.  Lots of scraps here, but a little stash too, if I'm honest.

Okay, the other fur kids want in on this post:

A couple days after we got home, took this of Bella perched on the pouffé I forgot, clearly telling me she prefers it to the prettier one IMHO I made her in Florida.

A couple of posts ago, you saw my Christmassy-looking view.  Here's the one I soaked up all weekend from our side of the duplex (that's my neighbour, Jude's stacked up patio furniture on their side). Naala soaked up some rays too, as did Rocco, not pictured, but right beside me.

Bare toes again! So nice to see this much of Lake Erie before the leaves fill in a good chunk of the view. :-)

If your blog is less than 3 years old, remember it's not too late to become a part of an awesome hop experience:

Click here to sign up for this amazing learning, growing, making new friends experience.  I know I was so tickled to find how many bloggers who I now consider friends, live within a few hours' drive of me.  You will also get such great technical advice, and I guarantee you will not only enrich your blogging life in QBL, but your real life by finding like-minded souls/spirits to share this passion. Guaranteed.  The three fabulous hosts are a wealth of resources and knowledge and help.  Not convinced? Shoot me an email (oh darn, gotta figure out how to set up new email for sandra (at) mmmquilts.com!  Eeek that makes me smile) but for now use the gmail address.

AND
Geez Louise, I thought this would be a super-quick post!  Just read Tish's post for today, which was published moments before mine (we are getting freaky in more ways than one of late, 'nuff said, lol) and she reminded her readers that Craftsy has put a whole schwack of classes on sale starting right now.  Uh yeah, if you're thinking of maybe treating yourself to a gift that will NEVER stop giving, as in you can watch it over and over and over, pause, freeze-frame, have handouts you can print out as many times as you want, keep notes right at the spot in the video you feel inclined to write something...need I say more?  btw I have never paid full-price for a Craftsy class.  Confession: I almost never have paid full price for anything for myself...which is why I have both of my patterns in my Craftsy shop as freebies, gotta give back.  Anyhow, if there is a class you have been considering, check out the link on the sidebar, or click here.  There are quilting classes as well as a ton of others on for at least 50% off - gardening anyone? My good friend Lara of Buzzin' Bumble wrote a great review post about the latest class I got, Wild Quilting.  Go here to read her post and see what fabulous FMQ Lara did--WOW!  Once I take this class, uh which is ON SALE right now, crazy-good for a just-released class, I will write up a review post too! There are affiliate links in this paragraph that will give me a small commission if you click through my link and then make a purchase, and I thank you in advance. :-) Lara's post is not an affiliate post, although she is an affiliate; she plain LOVED the class. I have Christina's second book, which I love and use a lot, so I know I will love her new class too.  It's right up my FMQ alley...but I have a couple of small quilts to quilt up this afternoon!

Linking up with Let's Bee Social
soscrappy on Saturday