APQ Quilt Along 2016: Part 2

Posted on February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 by Amanda Murphy — 2 Comments

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to let you guys know that the instructions are now on newsstands for all three quilts in the APQ Quilt Along. They can be found in the current issues of Quilts and More and American Patchwork & Quilting.

I made some progress on my Easy Addition quilt (featured in Quilts and More actually) earlier this week. I’m sewing it in Sparkle, my holiday line for Benartex – which should arrive in stores in March/April. (If you are working on this project remember to follow along on Instagram using the hashtag #APQQuiltalong !

APQ_photo3_favoritecolors — My favorite Sparkle color combination…

APQ_photo2_favoritecolors — I like it so much I made it twice!

APQ_photo5_favoritecolors — Another favorite…

APQ_photo8_wreaths — But maybe I just like the wreaths?

Easy Addition is made in such a clever manner – all four outer corners are cut from one simple square-in-a-square block which you pre-piece and then cut. Which means, if you are using directions prints, that you get all four corners with the prints oriented in the right direction automatically!

Also this year in APQ they are running a quilting series where Angela Walters, Leah Day, and I all show you ideas for quilting a particular block. This month it is the split rail fence. Fun to see that everyone comes up with something very different and unique!

Finally, a lot of people have been joining our Free-Motion Quilting Idea facebook group, which is awesome! We are talking about all things quilting over there. I try to loosely screen membership requests to make sure are all quilters or at least crafters so, if your membership request hasn’t been accepted, chances are that you might need to change your settings so I can see something about you – or message me so I know who you are. If your feed is in another language that is ok, but just make sure that I can see some pictures or posts that indicate your interests so I can tell you aren’t a spammer, ok?

Also, I had so much interest in my last quilting tutorial on swirl feathers that I’ll be working another free quilting tutorial for you all in time for Valentine’s Day – stay tuned!

So that is it – I hope you all have a wonderful week and get in a few minutes of sewing along the way!

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

Introducing Sparkle!

Posted on October 29, 2015November 2, 2015 by Amanda Murphy — 88 Comments

Note: This giveaway is now closed. The lucky winners (by random number) are Ruth B who liked the red/blue/green snowflakes on white and Alicia Key, who like the stripes! Congratulations, ladies! Please send me your emails. For more a chance to win The Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book, follow along with the blog hop November 2nd – 12th!

Hi everyone!

I just returned from a very wet Market (record rains in Houston) where I shared the Contempo portion of the Benartex booth with my good friend Cherry Guidry.

Contempo Fall 2015 Market Booth — Contempo Fall Market Booth 2015 – Cherry’s designs are on the left, mine are on the right around the tree. Sarah Vedeler’s fabric is in the front on the left and Michele D’Amore’s is on the right.

Despite the weather, we had a lovely time and really enjoyed catching up with all the creative people at Market. This Market was pretty exciting for me because I had three new books debuting with C&T Publishing, as well as the BERNINA panel, new patterns and embroidery collections, and a fabric line with Benartex!

Today I wanted to introduce, Sparkle, my newest line for Benartex. It is called Sparkle and is a crisp and bright holiday line.

SparkleFabric01_1542 — The original prints that inspired the Sparkle collection – the light tossed snowflakes and the wreaths. I think the red wreath might be my favorite print in the collection right now – but I like the softness of the blue wreath too!

SparkleFabric02 — These ornament prints were developed later on in the process, but they also function as feature prints. And I found while sewing it was quite nice to have the darker shade of blue with which to work.

SparkleFabric03_1544 — These are the supporting prints that gave “Sparkle” its name. They are fun to play with, vivid, and make FANTASTIC binding!

SparkleFabric04_1549 — … and here are the coordinates. They are great for appliqué or to contrast with the feature prints. Note there are three swirly leaf prints and three petal prints – the third being barely visible as the white background white light blue line work. I always think it is so useful to have low volume prints.

SparkleFabric05_1550 — And last but not least a fun stripe print. It makes a great binding too!

There are four new patterns for the Sparkle collection and they should be available in about three weeks. I’ll talk more about them then, but here is a sneak peek…

There is also a panel print for the Sparkle collection. (I designed two complimentary patterns to work with this panel, but I’ll save them to show another day.)

OESD has already digitized embroidery for Sparkle. It is available now so you can ask your local shop to order it. Writing a complimentary pattern to make these gift bags is on my to-do list this weekend.

SparkleEmbroidery__1535_SM — More Sparkle Embroidery

SparkleEmbroidery_1539_SM — Sparkle “redwork”

I’ve already talked about the Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book and Quilted Celebrations, but my coloring book for C&T, Modern Elegance, arrived on my doorstep while I was at Market, so all three books are now in my shop.

Is anyone (but my mom) still with me? If you are it is time for the giveaway! Benartex gave me a stack of 10” squares and a stack of 5” squares to give to you guys and I’m throwing in Modern Elegance too. We’ll have two winners – one wins the 10” squares and one the 5” and both win coloring books. To enter leave a comment telling me what Sparkle print you like best and please leave your contact info. One entry per person please. The deadline will be this Monday, which is actually the kickoff for my Free-Motion Quilting Idea Book blog hop over at C&T. (There will be giveaways of that book on different blogs for two weeks.)