I hope you are having a lovely time getting ready for the holidays. I’ve been working on a few special projects and I’m just loving one in particular – my Figure Skater Pillow.
I love it so much I thought I’d share it with you so that you could make it for a special person in your life. (Quilting tutorial link below too!) You can download the directions for the pillow here.
I used the Cricut Maker to cut out this pillow and learned so much! Of course, you can also make it by tracing the templates directly onto paper-backed fusible web, but I thought it would be great to share what I learned about the Cricut Maker with you in this video. It is my favorite fabric cutter BY FAR now because you don’t have to starch or stabilize the fabric with anything when cutting. Which means I can use SoftFuse without starch – yay! Its teeny-tiny rotary cutter can even cut something as thin as gauze! Amazing, huh?
Once I had all the shapes cut out I fused them down and secured them with a blanket stitch on my BERNINA 780 using Aurifil cotton.
I also filmed a tutorial about how to quilt a wintry background using my Blizzard print from my Winter Games collection from Benartex on my BERNINA Q24 that you can view here.
The Figure Skater Pillow is based off of just one block from my Winter Sports quilt. If you are interested in getting the patterns to make other skaters, or skiers and snowboarders, you can order it (and the SVG files) here.
Also, I filmed a video of how I made a card to go with the presents. I’m not a paper crafter and was amazed how easy it was!
I hope you enjoy the pattern and these videos and have enjoy the holidays!
Note: This giveaway is now closed. The winner, chosen by Rafflecopter, is Jonnie Britton, from South Carolina. Congratulations, Jonnie! Thanks to everyone for entering!
Hey everyone!
Maybe you remember this past summer when we announced my Meadow Dance Panel, which features a Guide that you can use with two sets of fantastic Westalee rulers? And then it was sold out so quickly you couldn’t find it anywhere? Well, the reorders are in and it is shipping to shops over the next two weeks. To celebrate, Sew Steady, Aurifil, and I decided to do a giveaway! And it is a big one!
(For anyone new to this page specifically for the giveaway, please join my Facebook Group if you’d like to see sneak peeks of my designs and quilting tips before anyone else in the future.)
The winner will get the panel, the guide, a Beautiful Borders set of Westalee Rulers, and my Meadow Dance Collection of fantastically colorful Aurifil threads (which I used for the panel but also for my Meadowsweet applique pattern). Plus I’m throwing in a set of all of my Meadow Dance patterns!
You have three chances to win by entering here, at Sew Steady, and Aurifil. You have until next Thursday the 7th to enter in all three places. Enter in the rafflecopter below!
One more thing… in my Facebook Group I always get inundated with inquiries about where to buy things, so I had Benartex work up a list of shops that were going to be receiving panel orders in the next couple of weeks and I’m pasting it below. This list isn’t comprehensive as many shops order through distributors, but if you are looking for a place in your area to order panels or rulers, this is a great place to start.
Happy quilting!
Amanda
Shops who will be receiving Meadow Dance Panels from Benartex shortly:
ARIZONA
The French Seam, Stuttgart, AR
CALIFORNIA
Paradise Sewing, Poway, CA
Meissner Sewing and Vacuum, Sacramento, CA
COLORADO
Hi Fashion Sewing Machines, Grand Junction, CO
CONNECTICUT
Quilted Ewe LLC, New Hartford, CT
Stitch Chicks, North Franklin, CT
FLORIDA
Once Upon A Quilt, Ft.Lauderdale, FL
Sweet Darling Quilts, Lutz, FL
Tomorrows Treasures Too, Ocala, FL
Augusta Sewing Center, Augusta, GA
Sew Blessed, Hahira, GA
IOWA
Hermes Auto & Upholstery, Maquoketa, IA
IDAHO
Berninas Best, Tingree, ID
ILLINOIS
My First Quilt Shop Peoria, IL
Quilting in the Valley, La Salle, IL
Sewing Studio, Normal, IL
Threads of Time, Danville, IL
INDIANA
The Cotton Corner, Shipshewana, IN
KANSAS
Quilt Cottage Co., Hays, KS
MASSACHUETTS
Charlton Sewing Center, Charlton, MA
New England Quilt Supply, Pembroke, MA
Capital Quilts, Gaithersburg, MD
Lilies Of The Field, Easton, MD
Spring Water Designs, Columbia, MD
MICHIGAN
Country Stitches Ltd., East Lansing, MI
Mo’s Needle & Thread, Portland, MI
Stitchin At The Barn, Imlay City, MI
MISSOURI
Love To Sew Boutique, Osage Beach, MO
Midwest Embroidery Supplies, Farmington, MO
Quilts & Quilts Country Store, Branson, MO
MONTANA
Sandhills Sewing Center, Miles City, MT
NORTH CAROLINA
Foam & Fabrics Outlet, Fletcher, NC
Sew Original, Winston-Salem, NC
Sew Much Fun, Lowell, NC
We’re Sew Creative, Concord, NC
Wish Upon a Quilt, Raleigh, NC
NEW MEXICO
Ann Silva’s Bernina Sewing Ctr, Albuquerque, NM
NEVADA
“Quiltique, LLC”, Henderson, NV
OHIO
Bernina Main Street, Dayton, OH
Old Town Fabric Shop, Chillicotte, OH
Cindy’s Sew Easy Shoppe, Sheffield Village, OH
Seams Sew Easy, Fairfield, OH
OKLAHOMA
Beth’s Quilting Quarters, Blanchard, OK
The Quilted Hart, Newcastle, OK
OREGON
Aunt Ida’s Country Loveables, Hermiston, OR
PENNSYLVANIA
Danners Bernina Shoppe, Hanover, PA
Homespun Treasures, Carlton , PA
The Old Country Store, Intercourse, PA
SOUTH DAKOTA
Heirloom Creations, Sioux Falls, SD
Fabric City, Rapid City, SD
TENNESSEE
Bernina In Stitches, Johnson City, TN
TEXAS
Bernina Swg Ctr of Plano, Plano, TX
Cupcake Quilts, Spring, TX
Tomorrow’s Quilts, Waco, TX
Quilter’s Apprentice, Terrell, TX
Richland Sewing Center, Hurst, TX
Sew it Up Studio, Hurst, TX
UTAH
Daines Cotton Shop, Murray, UT
Nuttall’s., Salt Lake City, UT
Stitching It Up, Cedar City, UT
VIRGINIA
Qlt & Sewing Center of Fredricksburg, Fredericksburg, VA
Some of you are just too quick and have noticed my new line – Winter Games – popping up in stores or have written me to ask where you can find it. I’ve been so wrapped up in promoting Meadow Dance (which, incidentally, is pretty much all sold out but is being reprinted and should be back shipping next month) that I haven’t had time to introduce Winter Games properly so I thought I’d do so today.
Since the Winter Olympics are in February of 2018 I decided this fall would be the perfect time to launch a winter sports line! Then we can have lots of fun sewing prior to and during the Olympics! Are you with me? Benartex has some fun fabric giveaways lined this week on their Winter Games blog hop, so make sure to check it out each day!
The feature print Winter Games showcases winter athletes. From skaters to skiers, we’ve got you covered. (For those who ask, no I can’t do any of these sports. I can’t even do them badly on a good day. I can, however, draw others doing these sports, so I guess that is something…)
I added some snowflakes into the mix. I love how the traditional snowflake motifs contrast with the modern athletes!
Athletes need equipment, right? These skis, skates, and boots are laced with silver metallic. Just a touch…
All that activity probably makes the athletes tired. They need sustenance. Hot chocolate and lattes will do in a pinch.
Do you like the text print? I hope so! It is my favorite today.
After drinking hot chocolate, those coordinated athletes need to bundle up and go outside to continue their training. (I, however, plan to watch this on TV while sewing in my cozy house this February. How about you?)
As always, I have some blenders for you. It is important to have blenders that are fun to quilt!
One of my favorite things about this collection are all the shades of grey – it makes for so many design possibilities. This dark grey is all about drama.
When I designed this collection, I had my heart set on an applique project that allowed the athletes to really shine! So my first pattern for this collection is Winter Sports!
There is a download code for SVG files included to use with fabric cutters for all of the accessories so you can dress your athletes quickly.!
Oh my gosh this pattern was fun to quilt! On some blocks I quilted mountains, on others skating rinks…
I sewed my sample with an aqua border but I really like the grey version too!
I have three more Winter Games patterns coming for Market – I’ll be showing you a sneak peek later in the week. (No, they aren’t sewn yet – wish me luck!)
“Skating Rink” The pattern can be downloaded from my Downloads page.
And of course I have a free pattern for you all. This one features simple piecing on a dark grey background, with fussy-cut athletes appliquéd to the center of each block.
Don’t forget to visit Benartex’s blog hop this week for chances to win a bundle of Winter Games and for some great mug rug tutorials!
I hope you love this collection as much as I do! If you do, please ask your local shop to order it from Contempo of Benartex. I’d really appreciate it. If you are a shop who has bought this collection, you are welcome to post that information in my Facebook Group.
