B is for Blocks

NOTE: This post is from October, 2014 -- it somehow never actually got published; I must have been waiting for something, but I'm not sure what! Sorry for the delay!

Hello, lovlies! Here's a quick post of what I've been working on lately! The weather is starting to cool off here in WNY, so it's back to the sewing machine! September was the last month of the SMQ3 bee. While I really enjoyed participating in that bee, it's nice to have one less monthly sewing commitment. Also, I don't think I've mentioned it yet: you will be seeing bee blocks soon for 'Bee's Knees'. This is a new bee I actually started and am running via facebook. Most of the members are RMQG buddies. We've had 3 great blocks so far and I'm really enjoying the camaraderie. 

SMQ3 blocks for Brandi - Sept.

SMQ3 blocks for Olivia - Sept.

Bee's Knees blocks for Beth - Sept.

Bee's Knees Millefiori blocks for Jill - Oct.

Bee's Knees - Disappearing 4 Patch for Kelly - Nov

Improv bloom blocks for RMQG charity quilt

Messing around with some triangles.

I know it's not sewing/quilting - but it is knitting season finally! 

A little something for myself: mittens! Featuring soft 100% Peruvian wool in the most gorgeous shade of aquamarine. Love love love!

Francesca

Sunday Stashin' #9 - Autumn Woods

I'm squeaking in a Sunday stash post last minute; it's 10:40pm here where I am! I really don't have much to show. I snagged a layer cake and an yard and a half of Autumn Woods by Kate and Birdie for Moda. I am crushing on this line hard right now. Something about the sunny yellows and pale orange that just feels so fresh and light to me right now as we progress in to winter. I like the tans and blues in the line too. I got a really good price on all of it, and bought it for a specific quilt I sketched in my design book several months ago. There's no intended recipient for the quilt yet, so I probably won't work on it until after the holidays, probably not really until late January or beginning of February as I have 3 instagram swaps in January that I won't start until after all the Christmas sewing is done. I have been working on LOTS of handmade gifts, but since I'm not sure exactly who follows the blog these days, I don't want to ruin any surprises so I won't share anything here until after it's been gifted...stay tuned!

Sorry for the lame night time pictures!

Yay for my first layer cake!

The yardage is an awesome texty print...I think it's called 'handwriting'. I got it in both colorways and it says "acorns leaves fireflies woodland autumn" over and over...so precious...can't wait to dig into the layer cake...like I said, love love love the yellow and orange.

Francesca

Sunday Stashin' #8

Sometimes I worry that my posts are too wordy. I'm going to try to 'talk' less and show more pictures. What do ya'll think? ((Fabrics are from recent guild shop hop and my LQS))

"Shain's stash" as he calls it. Soon to be curtains and pillows for the camper

Kona muslin, Kona Breakers, Kaffe Fassett dots

Lotta Jansdotter, V&Co x 3 (loving the ombre)

Heather Ross...more love

Stripes that I thought would be cool binding, fishies for nephew's Christmas presents, holiday FQs for/from swaps

Batiks for a special commissioned quilt...stay tuned for more on that soon!

Keep calm and shop on!

Francesca

200th Post Giveaway -- WINNER!

Thank you so much to everyone who commented on our 200th post! It was so nice to read all your kind words! I purposely did NOT link that post to any of the big linky parties because I wanted, as much as possible, the winner of the giveway to be someone who acutally follows SGQ. We had 25 comments and I had my fiance pick a number between 1 and 25. He chose 23! So our winner is Tammy!

Congrats, Tammy! I sent you an email for your address so I can send you the prizes! I can't wait to see what you make with them!

Thank you again to all of our readers and followers, and everyone who supports us Swink Girls! 

Francesca

Baby Quilts

Catching up on some blog posting and looking back through my pictures I see not one but three   baby quilts!  This first one was a gift for a co-worker of my husband.  I had a very cute scrap piece of fabric with a camping theme and so I pulled some complimentary fabrics and cut  bricks.   The piecing is simple but super cute.  I did a mod improv type free motion quilting pattern  which I think turned out pretty nice.  I think the recipient liked it but to tell the truth I never really heard from her.

Next is the baby quilt that the Swink Girls plus my Aunt Marcia put together for my cousin who is expecting in a few months.  My Aunt requested a "bee" theme so we went with hexagons (honeycombs) using Francesca's Hex 'n  More ruler.  The bees are applique using artificial flower petals for the wings....so cute!  The quilting features bees and flowers and really pops on the soft minkee dot backing.  I think the new momma will love it!

And last but not least is the quilt which started out as the MQG Micheal Miller Cotton Couture Challenge until I realized the rules specified use of any other Michael MIller Solid in conjunction with the pastels and I used a print (aqua houndstooth)....arghhh!  Oh well, at least now I am prepared for the next baby shower!

Meadow Quilt Finish

A few weeks ago I was fortunate to attend Lizzie House's Meadow workshop sponsored by my local quilt guild (Rochester Modern Quilt Guild).  It was pleasure to meet Lizzie in person and while the pattern is challenging, having her there to provide tips and tricks made it seem less so.  

I was stalled for a few weeks during the piecing process as I waited for more material for the center of the flowers.  I used a beautiful golden shot cotton that I stole from Francesca's birthday bundle!

I was also stuck for a while on the quiilting.  I knew I wanted  my quilt to be unique so I had to come up with a design that had not been used yet.  I went ahead and loaded the quilt on the Innova and waited for some inspiration and then dove right in.  I used a combination of ruler work and FMQ designs including some floppy feathers.  The texture is really amazing! 

The quilt is backed in a flannel houndstooth print that my husband picked out.  He really has a knack for selecting backing fabric!  It is so soft and shows off the quilting beautifully (almost as pretty as the front!).

The quilt inspector - Zorro kitty.

#handmadeornamentswap

My third instagram swap was handmade Christmas ornaments, just in time for the holidays! I had a lot of fun putting this swap package together and making my ornaments. I was originally planning on sewing, quilting or embroidering to make my ornaments, but I ended up going in a completely different direction...buttons! After I made the first one and posted it to IG, I discovered an awesome hashtag I wasn't aware existed: #buttonart. Check. It. Out. Some seriously beautiful stuff there. With out further chit-chat....some pictures!

button wreath

button snowman

button tree

close up of the cutest penguin FQ ever!

complete swap package...3 ornaments, 2 FQ, 2 sheets of stickers, a lip balm, a chocolate bar and a card :)

Here is the awesome package I received from @aficke:

The most adorable hexy snowmen, a candy cane FQ, 2 rolls of washi tape, and the coolest 'chalkboard' labels with chalk markers...they are seriously so cool and I love them!

One of the rolls of washi tape was glittery snowmen...LOVE!

That's all for now...keep calm and Christmas decorate on!

Francesca

Completed Palette Bag!

I'm so happy to say I finally finished my palette bag! I used Jinny Beyer's pattern, with some modifications, but I selected my own fabrics, rather than using her batik line for RJR fabrics. I absolutely love this bag. I have been using it a ton already. It is a great size and I made the lining white, with a green pocket, so it's really easy to see inside and find things. I'm also really proud of the construction; I feel like I did a good job and this tote bag is well made and will stand up to use. I used cotton webbing for the handles and I think that will help with durability as well. Lastly, I just really love the colors and patterns of the batiks I used. The piecing on this bag just really makes the 'rainbow brite' part of me sing with joy!

The paper-pieced panel for the sides

Close up of some quilting

I took this before I top-stitched along the very top rim...it looks better with the stitching

Francesca

Follow us on Bloglovin!

334aq97kf9y  (ignore that...it's to get bloglovin to recognize us)

Speaking of...thanks to a great suggestion in the comments on our 200th post giveaway, I've "claimed" our blog on bloglovin. Feel free to follow us there if that's what you use!

Keep calm and blog on :)

Francesca

200th Post Giveaway!

September 6th was our 2 year blog-iversary. October 29th, we reached 20,000 page views here at Swink Girls Quilts. Today (November 26) we are at our 200th blog post...woohoo! So, to celebrate these milestones, we are going to do a little giveaway to thank you guys, our readers!

Leave a comment on this post telling us how you follow SGQ (instagram, blog lovin', facebook, etc) to be entered to win these lovely prizes:

Zippy bag prize pack: 3 fat quarters (one Heather Ross!), 7" zipper, pink button/embellishment, small spool aurifil thread

Winner be will randomly selected and contacted via email 12/5/14 (make sure to leave your email address if you are a no reply blogger!) 

Thank you to all for your quilty love and support...here's to the next 200 posts!

Francesca

Halloween Mini

I don't really do much holiday crafting. I'm not that girl on your IG feed who has made 6 pillows, 4 bags, a throw blanket, 2 baskets and some bunting out of her never ending supply of 'Boo Crew' fabric. I mean, it's one day, people. If you want to make and post something cool; make your kid a costume! Anyway, a few weeks ago Kimberly gave me this skeleton fabric scrap, so I gave in and decided to make one Halloween mini quilt. Especially after I realized the fabric glows in the dark!!

I drew the lettering on freezer paper first to make a template. I used my Bernina and some green aurifil for the applique (which came out better than I expected considering I applique about once every 3 years). I'm glad I spent the money on an applique foot, though.

I used a fun orange bubble fabric for the binding...and voila...I now own one Halloween decoration. Muahahaha!

Francesca

Edit: I received this little kitty plushie in my #kittyminiquiltswap package, so I now own two Halloween decorations!

The extent of the Halloween decorating at my house (:

Around the World Blog Tour

Just over a week ago I was nominated by Jennifer of Sewhooked.com and FandomInStitches.com to participate in the Around the World Blog Tour. I was really flattered to be tagged by her as I am such a huge fan of all of her work, especially her dedication to charitable efforts. I also love that Jennifer shares my affinity for all things Harry Potter. I am pretty sure I have read an Around the World post on almost every single quilting blog I follow (about 15-20 blogs) so I was really excited to be nominated myself! You can read Jennifer's Around the World post here...now on to the questions!

1. What am I working on? && Where can you find me?

I usually have multiple projects in the works at all times. These projects will range in type, size, and what stage of the process they are in. I'm just not the type of person to get one thing 100% finished before moving on to the next thing; I like to have a range of projects to pick from depending on how I'm feeling or how much time I have. Right now I have a handful of WIP quilts and a few bags. I'm also in a few monthly sewing bees and signed up for a handful of instagram swaps in the next few months (:  Other than subscribing to this awesome blog, you can find Swink Girls Quilts on facebook, or follow me personally on instagram: francesca8788

Blocks for a bee I'm running on facebook.

Blocks for the current RMQG charity quilt.

A koozie that went in an IG swap package.

2. How is my work "different"?
I don't know if my work is different, per se. I really just focus on making what I like. A wide variety of colors and styles appeal to me. I lean towards more modern/contemporary colors and prints, but quilting has a rich history and wonderful traditions which I can't and won't ignore. One thing I like to do that has become rather popular lately is to make "traditional" blocks or patterns with modern fabrics or colors. It can be really fun to combine multiple styles to get a fresh look.



3. Why do I write/create what I do?

My mom, Kim, taught me how to sew and quilt, and she co-authors this blog with me as well. I don't think I would have gotten in to sewing at all if it wasn't for her, but I'm so glad I did because I enjoy it so much. I love being able to create things with my own mind and hands. It give me such pride and a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Blogging is a way to document and share those accomplishments with people from all over the world. I love how the online sewing/quilting community is SO generous with information: patterns, tutorials, general advice and support....I just love being a part of it.





4. How does my writing/creating process work?

I find inspiration all over; blogs I follow, show and tell at my local MQG, instagram, nature, and some things I just dream up in my head. Every new project gets an entry in my trusty notebook. I love this notebook because one side of each page is graph paper and the other is lined...brilliant! Here I'll make sketches, list ideas, play with colored pencils, do quilty math, etc. I like to date my entries when I first start the project and also mark it DONE with the date when I finish, just for fun. I tend to make a lot of notes during the process so I can come back for reference; even if it's just an idea and it never gets further than that, I like to be able to look through my notes, combine ideas, etc. I take pictures along the way with my cell phone (and occasionally my digital camera) and share most of what I create right here on this blog or on instagram. 

Here's a post card I made for a guild Halloween post card swap (it glows in the dark!):


































5. Three bloggers I want you to meet (and who I'm tagging to participate in this tour):

All three of my nominees are local quilters that I met through the Rochester Modern Quilt Guild. They are all extremely talented and wonderful quilty friends.

First is Amy of Created Through Inspiration. Amy is a mom of three cuties and she shares all kinds of wonderful things on her blog, very often with a tutorial (or recipe). I love seeing the wonderful toys and playthings she makes for her kiddos. She is also a very health conscious cook and I love the way she substitutes in things like yogurt and coconut oil...so cool!

Amy's post card

Second is Pat of Color Me Quilty. Pat actually participates in both the Rochester and Ithaca MQGs and she is a wonderful quilter. I love Pat's sense of color and her overall enthusiasm for quilting is really catchy!

Pat's post card

Third is Sherri of The Creekside Quilter. Sherri is an amazing free motion quilter. I am always wowed by her quilting. She has a wonderful modern style and her projects are always very fresh and fun. Sherri's background as a graphic designer has probably impacted her quilting style; I love seeing what she makes!

Sherri's post card


That's it for this stop on the Around the World Blog Tour! Thank you so much for stopping by; please take a moment to leave me a comment to let me know you were here!

Keep calm and quilt on!

Francesca