Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup - June 2020

Welcome to June's Favorite Finish Monthly Linkup!

I hope everyone had a good June, it is getting super hot here in South Carolina.  We are using the summer break to learn some new recipes and kitchen techniques.

My favorite finish this month was my Bee Quilt and being part of the Greenville Center for the Creative Art show, the Modern Design Lab Quilt Invitational.

Here was my mini finish that I made for the group photo challenge.  You can see more pictures and read more about the mini here.

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.

• For instructions on how to link up blog, Instagram, or pictures from your computer (new - there is now a way to just upload a picture without a web link) to the party, click here.  

• 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

Morewood Mystery Quilt ++ Sponsors & Prizes

Only two weeks until the kick off of the Morewood Mystery Quilt Along!  I am so excited and I hope you are too!  You can find out all about the quilt along here including dates, the non-mystery quilt option, and Facebook group.

Check out all of our generous sponsors and the prizes they are donating.  All prizes will be given out randomly to those that enter the monthly and reveal parade link parties.

I want to thank all of our fifteen (15!!) sponsors for generously donating prizes with a total value of over $1,000 for this quilt along!  Without further ado, here are the sponsors in random order...

	Quilting Jetgirl 3 winners of 3 pdf patterns eachYvonne of Quilting Jetgirl is back as a sponsor for the fourth year in a row! Yvonne blogs at Quilting Jetgirl. She has been quilting for 20+ years and credits quilting with helping her feel balanced and connected to both her local hometown community and a larger global community. Her patterns are available through her shop.
	Whims and Fancies 4 winners - each winning the Trio of Star patterns - Twilight Star, Shattered Star, and Sunburst Star Soma of Whims and Fancies is a software engineer by trade. Aside from math and science, she has loved painting and photography since she was a child. Soma started quilting in 2012. Within a couple months of that, she started writing quilt patterns. Soma blogs at Whims and Fancies and her patterns are available through her shop.
	Sew Fresh Quilts $100 worth of pdf patterns Lorna is a modern quilter, pattern designer and the author of the Sew Fresh Quilts blog. Lorna uses traditional piecing methods to create a menagerie of animal quilts and an occasional block design. Lorna's patterns are available at her Etsy shop.
	Cotton Cuts Cotton Cuts Classic, Modern Maker, or Java Box (US shipping only) Cotton Cuts is a fabric subscription box that delivers designer quilting fabric based on your preferences.
	Fat Quarter Shop $50 gift certificate The Fat Quarter Shop features high quality quilting fabric for quilting, sewing, crafters and fabric lovers of all ages. They have all of the latest prints as well as a huge selection of solids, patterns, notions, quilt kits.  Free shipping on orders over $80!
	Aurifil 12 large spools of thread collection Aurifil is a favorite of quilters for their high quality, wonderful colors, variety of thread weights. I love Aurifil's thread colors and weights (and my machine loves Aurifil thread)! Aurifil thread is made from the finest cottons grown in the Mako region of Egypt and manufactured in Milano, Italy.
	Needle & Foot $50 gift certificate While Needle & Foot has been around since 2014, Bernie began stocking fabric in January of 2017. She strives to carry a wide variety of quilting cottons.  In her Etsy shop, you will find a large selection of small fat quarter bundles, an affordable way to have a collection of pieces from one line without having to buy the entire fat quarter bundle.  Also, Bernie has recently expanded and now carries a selection of voiles and stretch knit fabrics for sewing garments. Providing individual help is a pleasure for Bernie so don’t hesitate to contact her with questions or concerns when selecting fabrics.
	Bear Creek Quilting Company Reveal parade prize: $50 gift certificate The Bear Creek Quilting Company started in 2011 as a family business based out of Lebanon Oregon. Over the years they have grown and the online shop now has thousands of yards of fabric available. Bear Creek Quilting Company offers a flat shipping fee, quick shipping, and every order includes a surprise gift; everyone loves something exciting and free.
	Busy Hands Quilts 3 winners each winning a $25 gift certificate Myra of Busy Hands Quilts makes custom quilts and designs quilt patterns. Her patterns include instructions for all sizes from wall to king, including two lap sizes, whenever possible. Clear instructions with easy-to-read charts and diagrams are also a part of her patterns, as well as fabric requirements using yardage and precuts when applicable. She ♥ strip piecing because it saves time, and she includes directions for strip piecing if it works for the pattern. You can find her patterns in her Etsy shop, Busy Hands Patterns.
	Backside Fabrics $50 gift certificate Christine Scholz, is the owner of BackSide Fabrics, an internet only, family run business, and is located in the Lake Norman area of NC (near Charlotte). They specialize in a large selection of wide quilt backing fabrics that are both beautiful and affordable, and Quilters Dream Batting.
	Cooking Up Quilts 2 pdf patterns Beth from Cooking Up Quilts is a quilter, pattern designer, DIYer, blogger, wife and mother. She shares her passion for creating on her blog Cooking Up Quilts.  You can find her patterns in her shop.
	Quilting by Anne-Marie $108 voucher for longarm quilting of mystery quilt Quilting by Anne-Marie offers custom and digital edge-to-edge long arm quilting services to quilters nationwide. Whether you're modern, traditional, or somewhere in between, I will work with you to select a design to complement your quilt. I strive to provide excellent customer service in a timely fashion. Prize details: $108 will cover many designs of edge-to-edge longarm quilting of mystery quilt (or equivalent size quilt).  Winner responsible for shipping (both ways) and batting.
	Sew Colorado Quilting, LLC Voucher for longarm quilting of mystery quilt At Sew Colorado Quilting LLC, I'm focused on collaborating with quilters to finish quilts through digital edge to edge quilting designs. Quality at a reasonable cost is my priority and I love working with a variety of experience levels. I've quilted for fabric designers, first time quilters and every level in between. Prize details: Voucher will cover many designs of edge-to-edge longarm quilting of mystery quilt (or equivalent size quilt) and batting.  Winner responsible for shipping (both ways).
	Make Modern 2 winners each winning a six-month subscription Make Modern is a wonderful digital quilting magazine that is stuffed full of great modern patterns for quilts of all sizes and other quilted items. I have been honored to have been able to contribute a number of patterns to the magazine through the years.
	Honey, Bunny, and Doll 3 yards of a cotton solid A family affair! Honey, Bunny, and Doll Patterns are designed by a mother (Lori) and two daughters (Alison and Amanda). While it is hard for them to live in three different states, their mutual love of quilting keeps them close! They aim to design quilts that appeal to a wide variety of quilters and designs that work well with a range of different fabric styles. We also offer a limited selection of kits and precuts in our Etsy store, as well as a variety of 108" wide backing fabrics!
	Meadow Mist Designs   3 winners of 3 pdf patterns each Cheryl Brickey of Meadow Mist Designs focuses on producing innovative patterns with clear instructions by combining her technical writing and math skills with her love of quilting. She loves teaching computer aided quilt design and basic quilting skills to others. You can find all of her patterns in her shop.

Questions about the quilt along?  Please ask any questions in the comments below.

Connecting Threads Part 2

I have had the pleasure of designing for Connecting Threads for their kit program and am playing catch up with sharing them on the blog.  Here is part 2 of the Connecting Threads patterns and I kits available right now (you can find part 1 here)...

All photos courtesy of Connecting Threads

Chloe

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Irish Corners

Quilt Kit (sold out) - Pattern

Check Plus

Warm Quilt Kit - Cool Quilt Kit - Pattern

Raindrops

Quilt Kit - Pattern

The Quilt in the Hat

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Snail's Trail

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Note:  Some of the links are affiliate links, which do not change your price, I just earn a small percentage of the purchase price.

Connecting Threads Part 1

I have had the pleasure of designing for Connecting Threads for their kit program and have not had the chance to share them here on the blog.  Here is part 1 of the Connecting Threads patterns and I kits available right now...

All photos courtesy of Connecting Threads

Ohio Stripes

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Blossom Star

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Row Row

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Royal Memories

Quilt Kit (sold out) - Pattern

Green Mountain Regelia

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Trumpet Horns

Quilt Kit - Pattern

Note:  Some of the links are affiliate links, which do not change your price, I just earn a small percentage of the purchase price.

Morewood Mystery ++ 1 Month Until Kickoff!

The Morewood Mystery Quilt, a free monthly mystery quilt along will kick off in just one more month on July 2nd! 

The Morewood Mystery Quilt is a free quilt-along that will run from July 2020 through April 2021 with a set of directions revealed the first Thursday of every month.

We will kick off the quilt-along on Thursday, July 2nd 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 Morewood 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 many 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 2021.  I will be posting about the sponsors and prizes in two weeks.

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 2nd 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.
• This sign up is only for a sneak peek and will not be used for sending out instructions.
• This is a fresh signup so if you want the sneak peek you need to sign up, even if you had signed up for last year's sneak peek. 

4. Facebook group 

We have over 5,000 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.

Modern Design Lab Quilt Invitational at GCCA

I am part of a local small quilting bee which calls themselves  Modern Design Lab (you can see the quilt we made for QuiltCon here).

Some exciting news is that our group, along with some guest quilters, is having an upcoming exhibit at the Greenville Center for Creative Arts called the Modern Design Lab Quilt Invitational.  The show is supposed to start at the beginning of June, but this might be delayed due to the virus.  You can see the announcement and all of the quilters here.

In addition to having some of my modern quilts I have made throughout the years on display, we have each made a mini quilt measuring 15" square based on an inspiration photograph of an old Greenville mill.  Here was the inspiration photo:

Woodside Mill by Mark Mulfinger

I had a difficult time coming up with what I wanted my mini to look like. My eye was drawn to the lines of the building so I decided to work with that.

The other design constraints were that we could only use white, black, and gray colors along with a grass green color (we were allowed to use prints, but I chose not to).

My first design was this:

It was a paper pieced design I designed in Corel Draw.  I did not love the design and found myself procrastinating making it.  After finishing all of my book quilts, I needed some sewing that was more free and less precise.

So I went back to the drawing board and decided to create a piece with the same feel, but using improv piecing.

I first creating a number of fan like strip sets:

Then I arranged them in a mostly decreasing size order to help get the feeling of perspective.  I will admit that I was not loving the mini quilt at this point.

Then I quilted the mini using matching 50 wt Aurifil thread in a dense switchback design in each of the gray squares and diagonal lines in the background.  

After it was quilted and bound I was much happier with it.  The mini measures 15" square finished.

I hope that if you are local, the show does open and you get a chance to safely be able to see it.