Quilt Theory Closing Soon

You have probably heard that Quilt Theory will no longer be selling or producing patterns as of August 1, 2018 (So you have just one more day to pick up for your favorite Quilt Theory patterns).  I had such fun designing with this group of amazing women and look forward to continuing to work with them on new and interesting projects.

Here are the three patterns I made for Quilt Theory over the years.  All photography is by the superbly talented Michelle Bartholomew.  

If there is enough interest I plan on expanding on some of my Quilt Theory patterns from postcard size into full, multiple sized patterns with additional instructions and detail.

I would love to hear from you! Which pattern would you like to see expanded? What sizes would you like offered?

If you have time and are willing, you can fill out the survey below (if you are reading this via e-mail you may have to click over to the blog post) or click here.

Create your own user feedback survey

Please note:

• If you have downloaded a pattern from Quilt Theory, make sure you have it backed up on your computer and/or have it printed out.
• If you have any questions, you can email Michelle at hello [at] quilttheory [dot] com. If you have your order number handy, that would be helpful to include.

Birthday Thank You!

I want to thank everyone that wished me a happy birthday, purchased a pattern to support the Greenville Zoo, or entered the fabric bundle giveaway on Instagram.  My 40th year is off to a wonderful start!

For the pattern sale, 29 quilters ordered 60 patterns for a total of $356.50!  I decided to round this up and donated $500 to the Greenville Zoo through their "Adopt and Animal" program so that the money would be directed to the Siamang Gibbons. 

Thank you all so much for your generosity, hopefully this gets the Siamang Gibbons out of their cage-like enclosure and into the proposed huge (like 10 times the current size) new home a little quicker.

40th Birthday Celebration!!

I am now officially 40 years old so let's party!!

Going on today only:

1.  Super 40% off sale

Today only (through midnight EST), you can use coupon code 40YEARSYOUNG in my Etsy shop to get 40% off all patterns, both digital and hardcopy (the code will work on everything in the shop but my book).

You can click here and Etsy will place the coupon code in your shopping card automatically.

2.  All of my profits from my birthday are going to be donated to the Greenville Zoo

I want my birthday to have a positive impact so I will be donating ALL profits from my birthday to the Greenville Zoo.  The Greenville Zoo (my local zoo) is in the process of switching from more cage-like enclosures to more open and natural habitat for the animals.

The Siamang Gibbons' habitat was next, but then a huge storm caused the money earmarked for them to be used for roofing repairs.  I will be donating my profits money to help get them out of their cage and into a new area in the zoo.

So in addition to getting the best price ever on Meadow Mist Designs patterns, you will be helping a great cause!

3.  I'm giving away a super huge 7 yard bundle of solids on Instagram

Who doesn't love fabric, especially full yard cuts of some beautiful solids?  I will be giving away 7 one-yard cuts of Free Spirit jewel toned solids on Friday through Instagram (not on the blog).  Giveaway open to anyone, anywhere.

Click here to go directly to the IG post.

Please celebrate with me!! Thanks!

40th Birthday Celebration Coming This Friday!

I'm turning 40 years old this Friday and I want to celebrate it with you!  Please mark your calendar for my party...

1.  Super 40% off sale

On Friday, July 27th only (12:01 am through midnight EST), you can use coupon code 40YEARSYOUNG in my Etsy shop to get 40% off all of the patterns (the code will work on everything in the shop but my book).

2.  All Profits to the Greenville Zoo

I want my birthday to have a positive impact so I will be donating ALL profits from my birthday to the Greenville Zoo.  The Greenville Zoo (my local zoo) is in the process of switching from more cage-like enclosures to more open and natural habitat for the animals.

The Siamang Gibbons' habitat was next, but then a huge storm caused the money earmarked for them to be used for roofing repairs.  I will be donating my profits money to help get them out of their cage and into a new area in the zoo.

So in addition to getting the best price ever on Meadow Mist Designs patterns, you will be helping a great cause!

3.  Instagram Giveaway of 7 Yards of Fabric

Who doesn't love fabric, especially full yard cuts of some beautiful solids?  I will be giving away 7 one-yard cuts of Free Spirit jewel toned solids on Friday through Instagram (not on the blog).  Giveaway open to anyone, anywhere.



All of this will be happening this Friday, the 27th.  I hope that you will celebrate with me!! Thanks!

Hexie Snowflake Sampler ++ 2019 Quilter's Planner

I'm very excited to be kicking off the 2019 Quilter's Planner - Blog Hop!  On this first stop of the hop, I am showing the Hexie Snowflake Sampler quilt that I designed for next year's planner.

As you might remember, I had designed the sampler for the 2018 planner and was honored to be asked to contribute another sampler for 2019.  I checked and you can actually still purchase the 2018 Planner Magazine which includes 14 patterns including the sampler pattern for only $7 now.

When I spoke with Stephanie about the upcoming 2019 Sampler design we came up with a list of requirements:

1. Different looking sampler, beyond a traditional grid layout.
2. Beginner friendly, using some basic traditional piecing techniques.
3. Have enough blocks to be able to fill an entire year.
4. Look great in Bonnie & Camille's new fabric line.

I went to work and luckily created a design that Stephanie liked :)  The Hexie Snowflake sampler contains many different blocks with different shapes and sizes, all combined into a hexagon shape to make a lap sized quilt.

I designed the quilt, but due to my book being published at the beginning of the year, I was not able to make the quilt.  Sue Bishop pieced and quilted the quilt and she did a fabulous job.  Check out her ghost blocks she quilted into the background. 

Kitty of Night Quilter once again produced all of the photography for the planner in the beautiful wilderness of Maine including all of the photographs in this post.

Remember, you can pre-order your planner right here (affiliate link), the planners are shipping in September this year so you can get a jump start on your planning for next year!  (And if you pre-order, you get to choose your cover while supplies last.  The orange peel version is my favorite.)




Here is the full 2019 Quilter's Planner Share the Love Schedule

Monday, July 23 Cheryl Brickey Meadow Mist Designs @meadowmistdesigns
Wednesday, July 25 Karen Lewis Karen Lewis Textiles @karenlewistextiles
Friday, July 27 Karie Jewell Two Kwik Quilters @karie_twokwikquilters

Monday, July 30 Mandy Leins Mandalei Quilts @mandaleiquilts
Wednesday, August 1 Megan Fisher @ayragon
Friday, August 3 Andrea Tsang Jackson 3rd Story Workshop @3rdstoryworkshop

Monday, August 6 Trinia Braughton Penguin Feats @penquinfeats
Wednesday, August 8 Yvonne Fuchs Quilting Jetgirl @quiltingjetgirl
Friday, August 10 Kitty Wilkin Night Quilter @nightquilter

Monday, August 13 Isabelle Selak South Bay Bella Studio @southbaybella
Wednesday, August 15 Sylvia Schaefer Flying Parrot Quilts @flyingparrotquilts
Friday, August 17 Lee Monrow May Chappell @maychappell

Monday, August 20 Kate Colleran Seams Like a Dream @seamslikeadreamquilts
Wednesday, August 22 Shannon Fraser Shannon Fraser Designs @shannonfraserdesigns
Friday, August 24 Kerry Goulder Kid Giddy @kidgiddy

Monday, August 27 Kitty Wilkin Night Quilter @nightquilter

2019 Quilter’s Planner ++ Now Available for Pre-Sale

As you may have seen, the Quilter's Planner 2019 (affiliate link) is now open for pre-orders!  

I have been lucky to have been involved with Stephanie's planners from the beginning and am excited to give a little sneak peek of my contribution to the planner...I designed the 2019 Sampler shown on the cover of the pattern magazine that is included with all planner orders.  You can see the sampler in the picture above.

In the coming months I will be able to share some additional pictures of the sampler and show my process for designing it.


Featured Designer Camille Roskelley and Two Cover Options

The featured designer for 2019 is Camille Roskelley, of Thimble Blossom Designs (and half of Bonnie & Camille for Moda Fabrics). I have collected most of her fabric collections since I started quilting and am so excited for the planner to feature her designs.

 

New this year...you have a choice of two covers for the planner! Which is your favorite? My favorite is the orange peel version. 

 

Special Sewing Surprise

This year, when you pre-order from QuiltersPlanner.com, you will also receive a special sewing surprise along with your planner and magazine order.*

*Please note that this coupon code and special gift offer only applies to orders placed on QuiltersPlanner.com, and is while supplies last.

Hop over to the Quilter's Planner website to pre-order your planner today and I hope to quilt along with you with the sampler starting in January 2019!

Modern Plus Sampler Quilt ++ My Fabrics

I am so excited that the Modern Plus Sampler has officially begun and I am looking forward to seeing all of the wonderful fabric combinations on the Facebook Group and on Instagram (#ModernPlusSamplerQuilt).

Fabric Requirements

You can find the fabric requirements here and here (and all of the Modern Plus Sampler information and posts can be found here).  We are just getting started, I hope you decide to join in!

Me + You Batik Version

For the version of the sampler I am making along with everyone, I am using some Me + You batik fabrics from Hoffman Fabrics.  I fell in love with the vibrant colors and Aaron Hoffman was super nice to send me some to play with!

I am actually still figuring out where I am going to use each fabric.  My original thought was to use the dark blue for the plus signs that form the large plus sign (Fabric C), but I am thinking of instead possibly using the red.  What do you think?

The fabrics and their codes are:

143 646 Canyon
113 63 Rose
112 68 Indigo
100 365 Tavarua
157 15 Powder
100 3 White
115 190 Ice Blue

For my test version of the sampler I used the fabric below.  I wound up using more of fabric B than listed because I did not have much of fabric F and I really just loved that text print.

Fabric A - Free Spirit solids in gray
Fabric B - Literary by Heather Givans for Windham Fabrics - Read Aloud in Cresendo
Fabric C - Mixture of black prints - mostly from Cotton & Steel
Fabric D - Moda Bella in white
Fabric E - Kona Cotton in Candy Blue
Fabric F - Cirrus Solids in amazon

I am excited to start cutting into my fabrics, I hope you are too!

I am linking up with Let's Bee Social at Lorna @ Sew Fresh Quilts and Needle and Thread Thursday at Kelly @My Quilt Infatuation.

Professional Pictures of the Modern Plus Sampler

I am so excited to share some professional pictures of my version of the Modern Plus Sampler today taken by Amy Garro through her new company Quilt Photography Co.!

You probably have heard of Amy's work as a quilter through her quilting business name 13 Spools (and her book Paper Pieced Modern).  You may not know that in addition to being an awesome quilter and pattern designer, Amy is also a fantastic, professional photographer.  For many years, she has her own studio and photography company focusing on family portraiture.  You can check out some of her work at her company's website Indy Family Photo.

Amy has recently started a new company to combine her love of quilting and photography to offer a much needed quilt photography service through her new company, Quilt Photography Co.  Her website says it best, "You make the quilts, we'll take the photos". 

When Amy launched this new business, she selected a few quilters to be Quilt Photograph Co Ambassadors.  I jumped at the chance to help spread the word and see Amy work her photography magic on my quilts. 

Disclosure:  I applied to be an ambassador of her company because I such a fan of photographic work.  Amy provided me with the photographs of the Modern Plus Sampler for free.  All opinions are completely mine.

Nowadays, jurying of many of the larger shows (like QuiltCon and Paducah) is based on the photograph of the quilt.  Your quilt could be the most mind-blowing quilt, but if you can not take a good picture of it, then the quilt might not make it into a quilt show.  Amy provides crisp, color balanced flat shots of the quilt.

Amy also takes detailed pictures of the quilt top, quilt binding, and styled shots of the quilt.  Her photographs are perfect for quilt show entries, books, and even as a keepsake to remember the quilt long after it has been gifted away.

What do you think of these photographs?  I'm blown away how beautiful Amy made my quilt!!

If you would like more information on the packages and prices of the Quilt Photography Co, you can find them right here.

2018 Mid Year Review

I can't believe that 2018 is halfway over!  Did we skip over some of the spring months because I really don't remember some of them :)

My wonderful bloggy friend Yvonne, who blogs are Quilting Jetgirl, hosts an annual planning party to layout goals for the upcoming year. This is the mid-year check in to see where we are with goals.

2018 Goal Check-In

I have done well meeting or making progress towards my "to-do" style goals:

• Launch of the Modern Plus Sign Quilt book
• Done!!
• Host the Modern Plus Sign Sampler quilt along.  This is going to be a fun quilt along that combines almost all of the plus signs from the book into a lap sized sampler.  The QAL will kick off in July.
• Just kicked off, you can find more info here!
• Host a twice yearly Tips and Tutorials Festival with Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl.
• We hosted the first Festival in June and it was a great success, I look forward to this fall for the second.
• Make at least 4 charity quilts 
• I've made and donated two, plus I have another two that are basted and ready to be quilted.
• Host the Best of 2018 Linky Party
• Planned for December

However, my main goal and word for 2018 was BALANCE and I have completed failed at that.

I can say without a doubt that balance has not been my word of the first half of 2018.  I felt as though I was racing from one deadline to the next, never getting ahead and never being able to relax and losing some of the joy of quilting.

As a student and as an adult, I have always pushed myself to do more, take on more, and always be moving ahead.   In Meadow Mist Designs this has been no different, I admit that seeing my quilts in magazines and my first book being published was a thrill, but the pace I have been on is unsustainable.  I am at my limit and am burnt out a bit from the business side of quilting.  

In my personal life, my older child is entering middle school and my younger one is going into third grade and I still work 3 days a week.  The kids are requiring more time for homework help and after school activities.  They are my first and most important priority and I need to make sure that my quilting commitments stay in check so that I am not up to 2 in the morning, rushing to meet quilting deadlines.

I was planning on attending Quilt Market this fall, but every time I went to look at airfares or hotels I started to freak out a bit.  Market is where you go to make new connections with industry members and find new opportunities.   I simply can not take on any more commitments at this time and do not think that I could resist the temptation to say yes to working with some amazing designers and companies.  I have decided not to attend market and once I made that decision, I felt relief, I know that I am making the right call for myself at this point in my life right now.

I want to use what time I have for quilting more mindfully, spending it on creating things that bring me joy.  I love connecting with other quilters online and am beginning some projects that make me happy: starting to plan the 2019 mystery quilt, making some quilts to enter for QuiltCon, sewing some charity quilts.  I think that for the second half of 2018 you will see more in-progress posts from me as I will be doing little, if any, "secret" sewing. 

I'm excited for the next 6 months!

This was a little heavier than my usual, more light hearted posts.  Thanks for being there for me and connecting with you has always been one of the best things about quilting!!

Modern Plus Sampler ++ Yardage Requirements for Alternative Quilt Top Layouts

Paige and I have had many requests for yardages for the alternative layouts (where paper piecing and/or applique are not used) so many thanks to Paige for doing the math this weekend!

Below are the fabric requirements for the four different layouts we presented (note that only the traditionally pieced version has different fabric requirements, all of the rest are the same as the original).

I hope this helps!  If you would like yardage help for your particular colorway you have in mind, you can e-mail me at MeadowMistDesigns (at) gmail (dot) com.

Modern Plus Sampler ++ Fabric Sales and Quilt Colorways

I hope that you have decided to join us in the quilt along and are having fun going through your fabrics to figure out what colors you are going to make your version of the Modern Plus Sampler in :)

You can find out all about the fabric requirements here and all of the other details about the quilt along here.

Fabric Sales

If you are going to be purchasing fabric for the sampler, please consider shopping at one of our generous sponsors of the quilt along.

Honey, Bunny, and Doll Etsy Shop

Honey, Bunny, and Doll has a wonderful Etsy shop that specializes in Kona solids and great quilt patterns (they also carry some wide fabrics and batiks). Their fabrics would work very well in the Modern Plus Sampler.

As a special bonus in honor of the quilt along, enjoy free shipping (in the US) on your order of $30 or more through July 22 (no code needed, discount is taken automatically)!

Needle & Foot Etsy Shop

The Needle & Foot Etsy shop has a beautiful curated selection of prints and Bernie would love to help you create your own bundle to make the sampler.  (She has a ton of Art Gallery prints, one of my favorites to use because of their colors and the feel of the fabric.)

Fat Quarter Shop

The Fat Quarter Shop has one of the largest fabric selections online.  They have many different solid fabric brands (Moda Bella, Robert Kaufman Kona, and Art Gallery Pure Elements to name a few) as well as a huge selection of the newest fabric collections.  The Fat Quarter Shop offers free shipping (within the US) with a minimum purchase of $80.

Backside Fabrics

Backside Fabrics specializes in wide fabrics (104+" wide), perfect for quilt backs that you do not have to piece.  But you can use wide fabrics for fabrics used in your quilt top also (and when you do the math comparing one yard of a wide fabric to one yard of regular 40" wide fabric you will see that the wide fabrics are a great value).

Alternative Colorways

I had a great time playing around with the quilt top design, rendering it using different colors.  Here are some of the colorways I came up with.  Remember, you can find the fabric requirements and download a coloring sheet of the quilt top right here. 

Note: some of the renderings use different numbers of fabrics and different placement of fabrics as compared to the pattern so the fabric requirements would differ a little.

**Edited to add** I noticed that I actually was coloring an older version of the design (the block at the top of the middle area is different). I had to change this block with another from the Kaleidoscope pattern because I could not scale it to work with the size within the plus sign. Sorry for any confusion.

I hope these gave you some ideas!  Which is your favorite?  

Please share your fabric pulls in our Facebook group and on social media using #ModernPlusSampler

Modern Plus Sampler ++ Fabric Requirements

Welcome to the start of the Modern Plus Sampler Quilt Along!!  

I am so excited to get started and I hope you are too!

Quilt Along Intro -
The Modern Plus Sampler will run from July 2018 until April 2019 with a set of directions revealed the first Thursday of every month. The quilt is a large lap sized quilt finishing at about 63" x 78".

The instructions are published right in this post (after these few announcements) and are available in an easy to print pdf format:

Modern Plus Sampler - Pattern Intro, Fabric Requirements, & Coloring Page

(If you have any trouble with the link, you can find instructions on how to access and download the pdf file here.)  Additionally, the directions and all of the other information related to the mystery quilt can always be found on the Modern Plus Sampler Page.

We have 15 generous sponsors for this event!  You can read more about the sponsors and prizes here and find links to each at the bottom of the post.


Facebook Group - 
I encourage you to join the Meadow Mist Designs Facebook Group (if you have not already).  We now have over 3,200 members in the group and I am so excited for the members to start sharing pictures of their fabric picks.  

If you want some feedback on possible fabric choices or have any questions during the quilt along, the Facebook is an excellent resource.  You can find the Facebook Group right here.  Please share your progress pics on social media with the hashtag #ModernPlusSamplerQuilt and tag me at @MeadowMistDesigns.






And now without further ado....July's instructions...

Fabric Requirements

Within the quilt pattern instructions, the following colors will be used to represent the fabrics.  

If you change up the pattern (for example, replacing the applique blocks with traditionally pieced blocks) your yardage requirements will also change.

Please do not feel limited by these colors (or number of colors) within the pattern, feel free to use a different colorway, change up the colors used in each section, or use more or less numbers of colors and fabrics. In both Paige and my sample quilts, we changed up the colors within the quilt top using more or less colors and more or less yardage of each fabric.

Quilt Fabric Options - Tomorrow (Friday July 6th) I will be posting a bunch of colorways for the quilt top for inspiration.

The coloring page of the quilt top is also included in the downloadable pdf above to test out potential colorways.

Alternative Quilt Tops

The sampler quilt pattern is designed for an advanced beginner.  The pattern is mostly made using traditional piecing, but there are a few blocks that are paper pieced or appliqued.  We encourage you to try these blocks to gain new skills, but below are some alternative quilt top layouts if you would like to avoid paper piecing and/or applique.

Additional Pattern Notes

• Width of fabrics (WOF) for this pattern is assumed to be 41". 
• A scant ¼" (a thread width smaller than ¼") seam is to be used throughout the construction of the quilt unless otherwise instructed. 
• The pattern is written for non-directional prints. If you are using a directional print, you may have to alter the cutting instructions and need additional yardage beyond what is listed.
• Press all seams open unless otherwise instructed.

Any questions?  Leave them in a comment below or post them to our Facebook group page.  I look forward to seeing everyone's fabric selections.

Many thanks to the generous sponsors of the Modern Plus Sampler!

Honey, Bunny, and Doll | Sew Fresh Quilts | Make Modern | Aurifil

Cooking Up Quilts | Quilting Jetgirl | Quilter's Planner

Needle & Foot | Fat Quarter Shop | BackSide Fabrics | Whims and Fancies

Meadow Mist Designs | He said. She said. Quilting | Busy Hands Quilts | C&T Publishing

The next set of instructions will be published on the first Thursday of August (the 2nd).