Christmas in (almost) July

Posted on June 29, 2013March 23, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 10 Comments

Well it is really warming up here in North Carolina, but my sewing is for the cold time of year instead! Recently I sent out a couple of projects in Holiday Bouquet to magazines. They will run them this winter but I thought I’d give you a sneak peek!

Unfortunately this is all that I can show. I have two other projects that I’ll be able to show soon – one is a pillow version of O’ Christmas Tree, my class for the Charlotte Quilters Guild on July 11th. The ornaments are REALLY fun to back with fusible, cut out, and applique. Some SKUs of Holiday Bouquet are already selling out, so if you were planning on ordering, make sure to place your order soon!

On another note, I was SO sorry to miss speaking to the people at Quilter’s Loft in Mooresville on Thursdya night. We will definitely reschedule. I wouldn’t have dropped out last minute like I did but this happened about 1/4 mile from the interstate.

I know. Apparently something hard and small punctured a hole on the inside of the tire and it completely collapsed. Thanks to everyone at Quilter’s Loft for being so understanding.

On a more positive note, there is “new baby” in our house…

The Bernina quilting frame with Quilt Motion software.

Isn’t she something? She needs a name, don’t you think? Any suggestions?

I haven’t had a chance to play on her yet because I’m on my fifth day of upgrading Windows 7. Really. It just keeps going. How many updates can one computer need? Thanks to my dad for all his help. (He set up this frame too!)

Hope you are escaping the heat and happy sewing!
Amanda

Color Essentials

Posted on June 15, 2013March 23, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 21 Comments

Several people have written to me in the last week wanting to know if it was true that I have a second book coming out in the fall. It is, in fact, true.

Color Essentials is a part-color-theory, part-quilting book with 12 projects, all of which encourage you to experiment with color. Colors can function differently depending on their quantity, intensity, and surroundings, and this book emphasizes those concepts. It is like painting with fabric! To make this affordable, both for shop owners and quilters, Color Essentials uses a range of Robert Kaufman Kona cotton precuts, including fat quarter bundles, charm packs, and roll-ups. Of course I used the Pastel and Bright palettes already on the Market, but I really wanted to have a cool and warm palette as well with which people could experiment so I went to the folks of Robert Kaufman Fabrics and asked about the feasibility of their developing such products. Here we are. Thanks so much Robert Kaufman for allowing me to pick from and make collections with your wonderful colors!

I really hope you all love working with these palettes as much as I do. Introducing Sunrise…

And Sunset…

Both of these collections come in charm packs, roll-ups and fat quarter bundles. The charm packs and roll-ups include 42 colors each and the fat quarter bundles include a subset of these – 23 colors. All the information is in the book. For those who might be a little nervous, several different background colors are suggested for each palette to get you started.

So which is your favorite?

Happy sewing!
Amanda

P.S. The winner of The Quilting Life Giveaway is Madame Samm. Congratulations – I’m sure you’ll love Sherri’s book! And for those of you who wondered the lie was #1. Sherri’s very smart grandmother told Sherri she would have to make the quilt herself so she would catch the quilting bug!

Summer Travels

Posted on June 12, 2013March 23, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 2 Comments

Hi everyone,
I hope you are having a wonderful start to your summer! We are gearing up for summer activities and projects here. Are you working on something fun? Maybe starting a new project? I hope so.

I’m going to be visiting and teaching at lots of shops and guilds this summer… If you are in the Carolinas area please come visit!

June 27th – Quilter’s Loft (Mooresville, NC) – trunk show and Modern Holiday book signing
July 10th – Charlotte Quilt Guild (Charlotte, NC) – program on ideas for embellishing Christmas projects
July 11th – Charlotte Quilt Guild (Charlotte, NC) – O’Christmas Tree class
June 13th – Quilter’s Loft (Mooresville, NC) – Improvisational Photo Album or Notebook Cover class
July 20th – Sew Much Fun! (Lowell/Gastonia, NC) – Modern Holiday trunk show and talk, to be followed by the class in the fall based on a project in the book
July 25th – We’re Sew Creative (Concord, NC) – trunk show
August 3rd – Wish Upon a Quilt (Raleigh, NC) – Modern Holiday trunk show and book signing
August 24th – Sew Original (Boone, NC) – Modern Holiday trunk show and book signing
September 16th – York County Quilters (Rock Hill, SC) – program on Modern Holiday and book signing
September 21st – Sew Original (Winston Salem, NC) – Modern Holiday trunk show and book signing