Guess what came in the mail today? 

The July/August issue of Quiltmaker.  I turned to page 40 and saw…

…”Jewels of My Garden”, the very first quilt I made out of Veranda.  This is a really fun bed-sized quilt.    It is so easy to make, with just flying geese, squares, and rectangles making up the blocks.  I used the pink paisley feature print for the border to bring everything together.  I used a bright Kona yellow for the square centers, but you really could pull any color from the accent prints.

Kimberly, of Fat Quarter Shop, will be offering kits for this “Jewels of My Garden” when Veranda ships in August.

Happy sewing!
Amanda

While I’m waiting for my patterns to come back from the printer, I’d like to introduce you to another design, “Portraits of My Garden”. 

This quilt is really quick and fun to sew – probably the easiest of all the quilts in my line.  My goal was to design a piece that would showcase feature prints in large “framed” pieces, hence the name of the quilt.  I also wanted to explore having a color, rather than white or cream, function as a neutral background. 

The key is picking a fun tone on tone pint for the background, with a contrasting bolder print for the “frames”.  (You could also pick a solid for either, but we are probably too accident-prone around here to have that work for us.) 

The large feature prints are showcased framed up as “portraits”.

I love how Deborah Norris echoed the feathers she quilted down the center of the columns in each individual block.  I chose the medium green creamware print for the background and the purple and aqua geometric diamonds for the “frames” in the sample. 

Here are some other possible color combinations for backgrounds and “frames” from Veranda:

Again, Fat Quarter Shop will have this pattern in just a few weeks.  If you are a shop owner, please contact me directly to arrange an order and/or to be listed as carrying the patterns.

My friend Mary tested this pattern for me in Ambrosia.  Take a peek!
Happy sewing!
Amanda

What did everyone do this Memorial Day weekend? 

I thought I’d share a bit of mine with you.  Eric and the kids went to visit my in-laws; I am on a deadline for work and needed access to my internet and graphics tablet, so I stayed behind.  In the spirit of biting off more than I can chew – a trait I undoubtedly inherited from my mother – I decided to redo our daughter’s room as a surprise.  Between running upstairs to cover both the room and myself in paint (I am a sloppy painter) and running downstairs to do design work, it has been a crazy weekend.

It is still incomplete.  I didn’t have time to sew bedding, so I purchased Amy Butler bedding from Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  I am going to eventually supplement that with accessories in my Veranda line using the pink, green, and aqua prints, but Caitrin and I will work on that together.  I want to cover the white lampshade I bought with the green and aqua fabrics in the line.  I think Town Square will look perfect at the end of the bed when I get it back from Robert Kaufman.

They are coming home in a few hours.  I can’t wait. 

Back to work – thanks for letting me share!

Happy sewing!
Amanda