APQ Quilt Along 2016: Part 1

Posted on January 20, 2016January 30, 2016 by Amanda Murphy — Leave a comment

Hi guys,

Have you heard? It is time for the APQ Quilt Along for 2016! This year plus-sign quilts are all the rage and I was thrilled to be asked to join in on the fun! You can choose from one of three projects – appearing in the new Quilts and More issue on newsstands this week and the April issue of APQ, on newsstands February 2nd but shipping to subscribers before then.

But they said that we could give sneak peeks so I thought I’d show you this lovely quilt called Easy Addition, which was designed by Brenda Ratliff and will appear in the new addition of ~~APQ~~ Quilts and More.

Makes you want to quilt along, right? Me too!

I really loved all three options, but I chose this one because it was perfect for my Sparkle collection for Benartex, which has lots of bright colors plus a fun white and aqua print – it ships to stores in March/April. Easy Addition is super easy to piece. It is rather large, so I’m going to make a version with half the blocks – 24 – so I’ve chosen 12 of my favorite small quarters, plus the white/aqua blender for the background.

EasyAddition_1B — These are my fat quarter fabrics for the blocks…

EasyAddition_1C — … and the stripe in the lower right is for the binding.

For more information you can visit APQ’s site. I hope you all will join in! The more the merrier – it will be fun to see all the different variations of plus-sign quilts! Remember to post pictures using the hashtag #APQQuiltalong on Instagram!

Happy quilting!

Amanda

P.S. On the frame right now I’m quilting this Carina version for the Free-Motion Quilting Idea Sampler Facebook Group. There are really some spectacular versions of this quilt in all different fabrics going on there – be sure to join us!

Modern Elegance at American Patchwork and Quilting

Posted on December 3, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 53 Comments

Hi guys,

It is American Patchwork and Quilting‘s turn on the Modern Elegance blog hop. They aren’t set up for giveaways, so for this day you can enter right here.

Make sure to check out APQ‘s post – they did a great job coloring pages from Modern Elegance. I need to take lessons from them!!!

To enter leave me a comment telling me what you are working on in your sewing room!

Deadline will be the end of the hop – Friday, December 11th at midnight.

Thanks APQ and to all of you for entering! Happy quilting!

Amanda

Sparkle patterns!

Posted on November 17, 2015November 17, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — Leave a comment

Hi everyone,

If you are visiting over from BERNINA’s We All Sew blog where I’m talking about the BERNINA panel today, welcome! (And if you just happened onto my blog make sure to check out We All Sew!) My name is Amanda Murphy and I’m a Quilting and Longer Spokesperson for BERNINA, fabric designer for Benartex (and also OESD), and author with C&T Publishing. My latest patterns designed for my newest collection – Sparkle – just arrived on my doorstep so I thought I’d share. (The Sparkle fabric ships in March/April from Benartex (shops can order now) but I put the pattern up now in case you were doing last minute sewing for Christmas.)

First up… “Jingle” a quick and fun stocking pattern.

Next comes “Twinkle” – a 10” square-friendly whimsical modern quilt…

The third new pattern is a fun table topper that makes a great gift called, “Petals”…

Are you still with me? The last new pattern is my personal favorite – a variation on a Dresden Plate called “Firecracker”! (It actually isn’t quite here yet, but I’m expecting it by the end of the week, so I’m posting it with the others.)

I hope you like Jingle, Twinkle, Petals, and Firecracker! They are now all over in my shop. I also put together a collection so you get a discount if you are interested in all four.

Thanks for letting me share! I’ll be back on Friday with a review of a book by my friend, Christa of Christa Quilts. Have a great week, everyone!

Amanda