New patterns for Spring 2015

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 2 Comments

Hi everyone!

It seems like I have been waiting for this day – the day I can share new pattern information – forever! They are back from the printer and all the distributor and Market orders have been sent. They are also up over in my shop.

I hope you like these new designs! Here they are…

First Crush is a fat-quarter friendly, twin-sized quilt that is actually a deceptively simple quilt made from just one block!

The interlocking hearts form a secondary design so it is really fun to watch it come together!

Of course, by choosing a different border fabric you can dramatically alter the look of the design…

First Crush aqua border — First Crush with the original aqua border

First Crush teal border — First Crush with a teal border

First Crush pink border — First Crush with a deep pink border

First Crush green border — First Crush with the green border

By the way, all these quits feature Carina, my first line for Benartex. I couldn’t be more excited about it and I’ll be blogging more specifically about the fabric when it ships in August/September of this year.

Next up, Bouquet, which is a really graphic lap-sized piece. Basically made up of squares, rectangles, and half-square triangles, it is super-easy to piece with just a touch of appliqué.

This was actually my first quilt that I quilted on the BERNINA Q 24, so it was thrilling! (Some of you might have seen sneak peeks over on Instagram.)

Next up is Romance – a really quick but elegant 22” table runner…

I couldn’t stop making this one – it was fun to play with the colors in the collection. I used 28 wt. Aurifil thread for the appliqué – my favorite!

And last, but not least, is Heart’s Delight.

It is my new block-of-the-month style quilt. The pattern itself is chock-full of full color diagrams to guide you. You start in the center with a heart shaped bargello design and work outward, adding borders as you go. This was also quilted on the Q 24, this time with Aurifil monofilament thread, which was trouble-free. It worked so well and saved a ton of time not having to change colors since I started quilting this two days before Market!

Do you like them? I hope so! Do you have a favorite?

So… if you are still reading (sorry for the amount of images – it is hard to choose) they are all over in my newly-revamped shop. Speaking of which, I redid my shop so I can ship internationally. I think the design is better too and hope you agree. (I ship USPS everywhere.)

Also, a popular request has been a discount for a whole group of new patterns so I created something called “The Carina Collection” which includes all four patterns. You can get them at a discount here.

Thanks for reading and I hope you have a wonderful week with lots of sewing!

Amanda

BERNINA University 2015

Posted on May 22, 2015May 22, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — Leave a comment

I’m so excited to be teaching at BERNINA University this July in Scottsdale, Arizona. (Yes, it is hot there in July, but I guess that means we will just have to stay inside and sew – it is a hard life!)

So, for all of you BERNINA dealers out there please come join me because I have a lot of special things planned for you guys. My first class is “Quilting BERNINA Style: Inspiring Your Customers” and in it I’ll give you slew of ideas on how to market the Q Series to your customers – from special store events and quick in-store projects to eye-catching displays.

In my second class, “Quilting BERNINA Style: Free-Motion”, we will explore loops, pebbles, ribbons, fishbone, paisley motifs and many more all on the new BERNINA Q 24 with Frame. Participants will be the very first to receive and quilt a panel I’ve designed designed exclusively for BERNINA to teach these free-motion skills. The training panel will be available for purchase later in the year by BERNINA dealers for their customers.

Wanna see a sneak peek?

Please join me in Arizona to explore the Q 24!

Gosh, I had better get quilting!

Have a marvelous Memorial Day weekend!

Amanda

Spring Market 2015!

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — Leave a comment

Hi everyone!

I just got back from Spring Quilt Market 2015. It was fabulous to see everyone!

This Market I debuted my first line for Benartex – so exciting! (It was also my first Market as a BERNINA Quilting and Long Arm Spokesperson. More on that later.) My quilting line is called Carina and is all about bright colors. It has a lovely mix of feature prints and blenders for those of me who, like me, love appliqué, and it will ship in August/September. I’ll be back next week with new patterns once I have them in my shop but just wanted to share a few photos.

My booth was next to my friend and fellow Benartex designer, Cherry Guidry of Cherry Blossoms Quilting Studio, so we took down the wall and had a party! (Do you think it is bright enough?)

Around the corner next to Benartex was my fat-quarter friendly new "First Crush" pattern. — Around the corner next to Benartex was my fat-quarter friendly new “First Crush” pattern.

I am launching a new Block-of-the-Month designed specifically for this line. Here is a sneak peek but I’ll be back soon with more details once it arrives from the printer.

AMD SpringMarket 2015 04 — “Heart’s Delight”

AMD SpringMarket 2015 05 — This was “Heart’s Delight” mounted on the quilt frame just two days before Market – I was still binding at the hotel! Aurifil thread for both!

Also, you might have caught a glimpse of a quick and easy graphic quilt with just a touch of appliqué – “Bouquet”.

And the last of the new patterns is Romance – a fun little table topper! I had such fun making different variations of this one!

Everything was quilted on the BERNINA Q 24, which is something I’ll be talking about a lot here! Thanks to BERNINA for giving me this opportunity! Please let me know any questions you may have so I can make sure I cover them here or at BERNINA. I’m teaching at BERNINA University this year too and I’ll be back to post about that and new patterns soon. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some videos of the Q 24 in action!

AMD_Q24_RomancePaisley

AMD_Q24_RomancePebbling

Happy quilting!

Amanda