Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup - May 2019

Welcome to May's Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup!

I have been busy organizing the sponsors for the upcoming Mosaic Mystery Quilt Along which kicks off on Thursday, July 4th (you can find out all of the information about the quilt along here), but I did find time to make a few small finishes.

As an Aurifil Artisan, I had the opportunity combine some of the new Anna Maria Horner fabrics along with Aurifil thread.  Each of us received 3 fat quarters and a coordinating Aurifil spool.  Here were my supplies:

I decided that these saturated, large scale prints would work perfectly in cathedral window pincushions (and for those that know me well, you know I have a little obsession making them :)

I made three pincushions, so each print was used as the center print for one of the pincushions and the outer print for another pincushion.  I did wind up using a white Aurifil thread for the topstitching to the white framing fabric. This one was my favorite of the bunch.

Ready for the party?  

Here is a reminder of the party details:

• The linky party will open at 12:01am EST on the last day of the month and will be open for 5 days, through the 4th at 11:59 pm EST.

• You can link up both blog posts and Instagram posts to the party.

                Marci Girl Designs has an excellent tutorial on how to link up a Instagram post to Inlinkz.

• If linking a blog post, I ask that you please add a link back to the party (and the button graphic if you would like).

• Please visit at least 3 other links (and preferably leave comments) to share the love and celebration :)

I hope you join in by checking out the posts or linking your favorite finish of the month!

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

More Meadow Mist Designs Kits at Connecting Threads

I am excited to show you today some designs I have created for Connecting Threads kits over the last few months.  I usually start my designs in blacks and whites and then add in colors and prints, so working with Connecting Threads and starting with fabric collections has been a fun challenge.

Here are all of my designs offered as both kits right now (which contain all of the quilt top and binding fabrics) and as digital patterns:

Broken Frames using the Cascade Meadow fabric collection

Twin size quilt kit, Pattern

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Ohio Star Brigade using the Hometown Americana fabric collection

Kit has sold out, Pattern

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Flock of Geese using the General Store fabric collection

Lap sized kit, Pattern (this fabric collection is one of favorites)

Photographs by Connecting Threads

English Trellis using the Drawing Room fabric collection

Lap sized kit, Pattern

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Sea Star using the Drawing Room fabric collection

Lap sized kit, Pattern

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Plaid Plus using the Sweet Splendor fabric collection

Lap size quilt kit, Pattern (I loved making a plaid quilt design using a plaid fabric)

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Diamonds and Pearls using the Jardin de Nicolette collection

King sized kit, Pattern

Photographs by Connecting Threads

Have you ever purchased a quilt kit or do you prefer to pick your own fabrics?

Projector & Projection Screen Reviews

As I have gotten more into teaching quilting (you can find all of my lectures and workshops here), I have decided to purchase a projector and projection screen so I do not have to rely on guilds to provide them.

A few quilters have seen my setup and asked about my equipment, so I thought I would share them on the blog in hopes that they help someone else.  I think that these recommendations would also work well for a guild.

Projector

After much research, I went with a ViewSonic PA503S 3600 Lumens SVGA High Brightness Projector. There are so many projectors on the market from $50 to $5,000, it was difficult to figure out what type of projector I needed. The ViewSonic was middle of the price range (it was $280 when I purchased it), a brand name in the projector world, and had really good reviews. A lot of the reviews mentioned how easy it was to set up, how good it was for presentations, and how it displayed colors well.

After using the projector many times now, I am very pleased with it. It is nice and light and travels well in the case I bought for it. The projector is bright enough that I do not need to dim the lights and hooks up easily with an HDMI cord to my laptop (I had to buy a HDMI cord separately).

You can find the ViewSonic projector on my Amazon page.

Projection Screen

I bought a projection screen recently because I decided that I wanted more control over my equipment for presenting.  It reduces my teaching nerves when I know how to set up my equipment and know that everything will be how I am used to it.

I did a lot of research into projection screens and found that most of the 80"-100" diagonal screens, folded up, are over 7 feet long and 30 pounds.  I needed something that would fit into my Civic so all of those were out.  I finally found this very interesting screen by Celexon.  It is basically a tripod system (you can see the back in the picture above) and a canvas that fits into the 4 hooks that go to the corners.  At $79.99 it was the perfect price too!  The full product name was Celexon 90" Tripod Projector Screen Ultra Lightweight, 4:3 Format, 11 lbs Weight, Projector Screen Size: 72’’ x 54’’ and it is also included on my Amazon page.

The whole system has a nice carrying bag and fits in the backseat of my Civic (it does not fit in the trunk) and weighs less than 11 pounds!  The projection screen is perfect for my needs and is super easy to set up and take down (I can do it by myself in just a few minutes).  It is super light so I would definitely not recommend using it outside where there is wind.  Here is a picture of the screen in my front hallway so you can see how big it really is.

(Don't mind the mess behind the projection screen, we were getting new carpet upstairs so everything from the bedrooms was downstairs.)

You can find these and other items I recommend in my 

Meadow Mist Designs Amazon Page.

Spinning Stars Quilt

Today I would like to share a finish from a few months ago that I had not blogged about yet, Spinning Stars.

I originally created Spinning Stars for Modern Quilts Unlimited.  Right before I was about to mail to MQU (I was literally hand sewing the last side of binding), I got the sad news that Modern Quilts Unlimited was shutting down and that no more issues were going to be produced.

The editors from Modern Patchwork had contacted me the previous week asking about submitting some quilt patterns to them.  I offered Spinning Star to them and shipped it off the next day :)

Spinning Stars appeared in the November/December issue of Modern Patchwork.  Unfortunately, Modern Patchwork shut down at the end of last year and that issue wound up being its last.

A little about Spinning Stars, it is an intermediate level, paper pieced, lap quilt.  I designed the quilt using EQ8 and then selectively removed blocks and elements to wind up with the diagonal line of stars. 

Many thanks to Robert Kaufman for the Kona Cotton Solids, Aurifil for the piecing and quilting thread, and the Warm Company for the Warm & White batting. 

My version of the quilt was made using Kona Cotton Solids in cornflower, copen, storm, kumquat, and white.  I just love the combination of the blues and orange.

Here is a picture from the magazine (photo credit: Modern Patchwork Magazine).

For the quilting, I used an allover large paisley design using Aurifil 50 wt in white (color 2024).  This was one of those designs I had a difficult time figuring out what to do and whether to go with a custom design or an allover.  In the end, I just wanted to give the quilt some texture so I went with an allover design.

Here is where the quilt lives now, on the couch (or more commonly the floor) in our living room.

This picture above is the best representation of the colors in the actual quilt.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Mosaic Mystery Quilt-Along Announcement!!!

I am very excited to announce that the next mystery quilt, the Mosaic Mystery Quilt will begin in about two months on July 4th! 

The Mosaic Mystery Quilt is a free quilt-along that will run from July 2019 through April 2020 with a set of directions revealed the first Thursday of every month.

We will kick off the quilt-along on Thursday, July 4th with the fabric requirements and some helpful hints to pick fabrics and colors (you will have an entire month to gather fabrics before the cutting instructions in August).

Here are some more details about the upcoming mystery quilt...


1. Quilt-along instructions

The monthly instructions will be posted to this blog as blog posts (and can always be found on the Mosaic Mystery Page).  I will be attaching a link to the downloadable, easy to print, pdf versions of the instructions right into each monthly instruction blog post.  There is no need to sign up to get the instructions, they will be posted here each month.

To make sure that you do not miss any posts, make sure that you are subscribed to the blog (here are some links for following... Bloglovin, Email).

2. Prizes 

We will have prizes, so many great prizes! Prizes will be given out randomly to quilters who submit finished quilts or quilt tops to the reveal parade in April 2020.  I am working with sponsors to finalize the prizes and will be posting more about the sponsors and prizes as the start date to the mystery quilt approaches.

3. The un-mystery quilt 

Want to join in the fun but making a mystery quilt is not your thing? I totally understand and offer a sneak peek of the design!

If you would like to see the final pattern to decide whether to join in or to help pick colors, you can sign up to receive the Un-Mystery Quilt Sneak Peek.  The sneak peek will be sent out on Thursday, July 4th and will contain the sneak peek, multiple colorway renderings, and a coloring page.

Sign up to receive the Un-Mystery Sneak Peek

The only rule is that you have to keep the design completely to yourself as to not spoil anyone else's surprise.

(Note:  this sign up is only for a sneak peek and will not be used for sending out instructions.)

4. Facebook group 

We have over 3,300 members in our Facebook Group (Meadow Mist Designs Facebook Group) sewing together! Join the group today so you can share and see everyone else's fabric, progress pictures, and finished quilts.

5. Previous Mystery Quilts 

The instructions for my previous mystery quilts are located in the Mystery Quilt tab above (and are always available so you can start them at any time).

6. Questions? 

If you have any questions regarding my mystery quilts you can e-mail me at MMDmysteryquilts@gmail.com or leave your question in a comment below.