Welcome Welcome. I am honored to be one of the stops on the tour along with such talented people. Sweet Celebrations features projects from 21 designers or as we call them chefs. Chef is code word so that our families think we are spending more time in the kitchen than in the sewing room.
Why I am on the hop? Because I had the honor of compiling this project. However I did not do it alone. I had lots of help from Angela Yosten and Jenny Garland who helped hatch the entire project.
I also wanted to give a shout out to Chelair Etter who took care of making sure each chef had the ingredients necessary to complete their project. Thanks also to the great crew at Stash Books for putting together such a great book that can be used throughout the year.
The book was started a year and a half ago so to see the actual book and the great projects inside is such a great surprise to see how it all came together.
Throughout the hop you will see a few of the projects in the book so I am not going to duplicate those images. However I am going to show you the pages titled, Celebrate the Designers. That is really what this blog hop is all about, celebrating the designers and all the work they put into this project. I am lucky enough to have my hands on an early copy of the book. I also have many pages flagged for the projects that I want to make!
If you are a storeowner, you can meet some of the chefs at market. They will be there doing a book signing in the United Notions booth.
If you are coming to Quilt Festival in Houston, there will be a Moda Bake Shop booth, showcasing some of the projects from the book as well as all the projects online at the bakeshop.
Leave a comment telling me what your favorite part of quilting is and I will draw a winner for this little bag of treats that includes 8 different 2 1/2″ charm packs called Moda Candy.
My recipe is from a friend of mine, Debbie Outlaw. The recipe has been around for so long no one knew what it’s original name was…………so I took the liberty to rename it, Outlaw’s Pumpkin Muffins.
Yippee Yeah It’s My Day.
I hope you have been following along on the Hexa-Go-Go book tour. Tacha has outdone herself on her Hexagon English Paper Piecing book and has asked us to tell you what we think about it.
This is just once example of the happy colorful projects in the book.
Is Happy a color? It should be. If my unmade bed looked this good, Iwould never make it again.
English Paper piecing or EPP dates back to the 18th century. This method was often used to stabilize fabrics such as silk. EPP continued to the art form it is today by using the smallest bits of scraps and transforming them into today’s heirlooms. I can imagine that learning EPP was similar to the craft of
teaching stitches by making embroidered samplers.
The luxury of EPP for me is that it is so portable and requires so few tools and supplies. I even keep a small bag in my car with a clover needle threader, needle and thread, hexagon papers and scraps.
One of my favorite quilts in the book is a huge union jack quilt.
pics compliments of Stash Books
I really want to make it, but instead I started on a smaller version of the US flag quilt. I worked on this during the London Olympics, so it is kind of the same, right?
This is my table runner in progress. I ran out of time to finish the field of stars
as hexagons so I am going to quilt it to look like hexagons.
Then I am going to throw in a hexagon die and mat. You will have the complete package to aid you in this addiction to this relaxing, therapeutic form of handwork. Leave a comment and let me know what you would make from hexagons. The winner will be drawn at random Sunday night and announced Monday morning. (thank you AccuQuilt)
As you know I do love hexagons. There is something just so pleasing about it’s simple shape.
Warning: EPP does become an addiction as you will see in these pictures.
I have two different quilts started. I probably have enough hexy’s made to complete both quilts
but I keep making more.
I have even started machine piecing some of the hexy’s together.
Sneak peek on my I Spy hexy quilt for a future grand child. No one is pregnant yet and I do not want to tempt anyone to get pregnant just to get the quilt. I have a long long way to go.More on this project in a future post.
Tacha has taken the traditional EPP flower garden to an entirely new level.
The hottest trend is the new English paper piecing. Amazing how great quilters are making a craft from the 18th century trendy again.
What would the acronym for that be? NEPP
There is an old saying: Nothing good comes from boredom. It’s said that idle hands are the devil’s workshop, an old saying dating at least as far back as Chaucer in the twelfth century who called idle hands the devil’s tools.
Keep your hands busy with Hexy’s and start with Hexa-Go Go for inspiration and direction.
Thank you Tacha!
It is time for another book tour. The tour is all about Hexagons, so of course I was absolutely giddy for Tacha to have asked me to join in. Mark your calenders to follow along with designers from all over the world. Regardless of what time zone you are in, there will be a great variety of people sharing
Where was this book 20 years ago when my boys were little and obsessed by all things mobile? Now they are in their 20’s and 30’s and obsessed by all things mobile but the only difference is that it is a phone now.
Angela’s quest for boy themed projects is certainly showcased here in her new book,
Stop. Go. Quilt. Sew! Make 12 Fun projects for Boys to Enjoy.
Angela creates her own fabric for appliques by piecing various strips together. In the book she talks about creating scrap applique. This technique is perfect whether you are using scraps or jelly rolls.
I am giving away a basic jelly roll (off white bella solid) in case you are interested in
creating your own scrap applique. ( see below for info)
While we are talking street signs, I thought I would show you a few local street signs in my neck of the woods. The first sign will not actually be found on any map or google site. It is a street sign that the employees at Moda/United Notions gave to the boss. I happened to catch the moda van parked by the sign which makes it much more official.
The sign below is an actual street sign that I had never seen before until one of my kids sent me the pic.
How great is this?
Angela asked us if we had to design our own street sign , what would it say.
Of course mine is in the shape of a hexagon
but isn’t red because that would mean
STOP
and that is the last
thing on my mind.
Angela is giving away a
Book
and I am going to throw in a
Basic Jelly Roll.
Leave a comment and tell me what would your
street sign would say for a chance to win the book
Join in on a book tour celebrating Angela Yosten’s new book, Stop, Go, Quilt, Sew! The adventure starts August 6th at Stash Books and continues traveling throughout the US with one stop down under visiting Sarah Fielke in Australia. They really do have Kangaroo crossing signs in Australia!
Departure…
Day 1 (Monday, August 6): Stash Books (California)
Day 2 (Tuesday, August 7): Sarah Fielke (Australia)
I love what Karla, Lisa and Susan from Sweetwater create. They came up to me at the end of Market and handed me this wonderful print that had all the names of every collection and designer from Market. The print was tied with a polka dot ribbon and a moda charm. How did they know I love words, polka dots and moda? One gift that covers it all! Super. Did you know you can order labels from Sweetwater? I ordered some and I love them. I sew them on anything and everything I make.
When you go to Market twice a year you get to see and catch up with your old friends. I saw Jan Patek in the aisle during set up. She said congratulations on being a cover girl. I politely thanked her and went about my business. I hadn’t seen Jan for months and I just assumed she was talking about APQ October.
Well Jan had just returned from France where she was a guest teacher for Quiltmania. She had already seen issue no. 83 of Quiltmania. Guess what! There was my quilt. You can’t begin to believe the amount of time that passes from the date you complete your quilt to the date it is published. I feel as if I have sent one of my children off to boarding school and they finally have come home all grown up. Actually I had forgotten all about them having the quilt. Reminds me of when we forgot Travis at the baseball field.That is another story, he made it home safe and so will my quilt. Anyhow I was surprised and delighted!
I love this quilt. It is a double irish chain that has a watercolor or blended feel. I used lots of big prints from French Generals Pom Pom De Paris line. I even cut up the big stripe and used it as a background square.
When i start something like this that is “out of my comfort zone”, I never know how it is going to come together. I am pleased with this one. I am glad Quiltmanina liked it as well. Thank you Carol!
The only change I would make is that you got to travel with your quilt when you sent it to France.
By the way Quiltmania magazine is available at quilt stores.
During the Memorial day weekend, I was perusing through the stack of books from Market. One of my new favs is Red White and Something Blue from That Patchwork Place. Those are 3 of my favorite colors along with brown, aqua, grey and on and on and on.
Then I come to this masterpiece! Just kidding! There was one of my quilts that McCall’s had published. The entire book is a collection of quilts from past issues. So if you missed it then now is your chance.
I couldn’t believe this quilt also featured French General fabrics. I didn’t know how l much loved working with this line.
Welcome to my new guests. I am supposed to tell you a little bit about myself but I can’t do that without first telling you about the company I work for, Moda fabrics. Moda fabrics is a family owned company that sells only to independent retailers, or what is called “mom and pops.” You will never find our products in places like Walmart, Joann’s etc. The owner’s passion of supporting the independents carries through to what we do on a day to day basis. When I first went to him with the Moda bake shop concept, he said, “Sure, let’s give it a try.” now 2 years later we are celebrating Fresh Fabric Treats. (pretty creative- that I did not have to talk about myself!)
Jan 2009 the first post was by Angela Yosten featuring a travel mug. Now 2 years later we are traveling (digitally) to some of the Moda bake shop chefs homes. Today’s post I share with Rachel Griffith. She was one of the first chefs to share her talent and enthuasium so I am honored to share the day with her.
Welcome,Welcome, Welcome.
In true bake shop form my recipe is for something non edible,
cupcake tea towels and apron.
Most likely if you were coming to my home, we would all gather around the sewing machine and create some yummy projects while the men whipped up something on the grill. My parents taught all us kids to be comfortable in the kitchen or with a set of power tools, so there are no stereotypical roles in my household either. My son is cooking wings as I type this post.
SUPPLIES:
Toweling, charm squares, soft and stable fuse, buttons, and trims.
Moda’s toweling is available on a roll, hemmed along the sides. For each towel, cut toweling 28″. Apron- 1 1/4 yd. (26 for apron, 19″ for ties and pocket)
Choosing what to use is just like choosing what to add to cupcakes. There are so many choices.
TOWELS:
Trace the template pieces on the fusible interfacing. Iron them to the wrong side of the fabrics. Cut the shapes out. Please them on tea towel and iron in place. Click here for cupcake templates.
Hem top and bottom of toweling 1″. Press edge .5″, fold up again, press and stitch to create the 1″ hem. Additional options:
(many of you know I am a middle child. I don’t know if I can’t make up my mind or I like to make
everyone happy. Here are additional options to create your own cupcake.)
BUTTONS:
Use a red button for the cherry on top.
-OR-
Make covered buttons using the I-top button making tool.
(my favorite crafty tool as of late. If you did not get one for Christmas, ask for one for valentines. It is so much fun.)
If you do not have a button that is the color you are looking for, combine a fabric yo yo and a button to make a covered button that can be sewn through the button holes. (thank you Susan Fuquay for this idea)
TRIMS:
There are so many fun trims available in quilt and
specially stores that I had to add a few of them to
my tea towels. Ric rac, pom poms, crocheted trim,
and ribbons add that hand made touch. On my tea
towels I used the French general ribbons as a loop
to hang the towels. (see below) Determine how big of loop you want and add it as you hem to top section of your towel.
To add an edging to the bottom you your towel, sew it right sides facing to the top of the towel. turn the edging down as you hem the bottom of the towel. This works on the crochet trim and ric rac. Some of the trims can be sewn directly to the top of the towel.
APRON:
The toweling can also be used to make a cute half apron. Determine how wide you want the apron to be. Add apron ties as listed below. Trims can also be added to the hem on the aprons. I added ric rac as I sewed the pocket onto the apron.
Determine how wide you want your apron to be (approx 26″ is a nice size) Ties were cut approx 4 1/2″ wide by 19″ long)
You will need to buy double this amount. The additional yardage will be used to make apron ties. Cut the stripe from the toweling for apron ties. Hem and add to the sides of the toweling. Using the additional fabric, cut pocket square. Add a cupcke to the pcoket placing it along the top of the pocket. Add a ribbon loop when sewing the pocket in place. Sew a button on the apron and use the ribbon loop as a button closure.
Now that I have a cute apron to wear I had to put it to use in the kitchen.
CHOCOLATE CHIP CUPCAKES
1 box yellow cake mix, 1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1 cup sour cream, 3 eggs
1 cup oil, 1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans, 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup mini choc chips
Preheat oven 350 degrees.
Combine all above ingredients. Mix together approx 2 minutes. Fill cupcake holders 3/4 full. Bake approx 10 minutes. Cool and frost. I made mini cupcakes because these are sinfully rich and delicious.
If making as a cake, grease 9 x 13 pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 8 oz. Cream cheese, 1/2 cup margarine
1 tsp. Vanilla, 4 cups powered sugar
Soften cream cheese and margarine. Blend until creamy. Add vanilla and powered sugar. Use food coloring paste (not liquid) to add color to frosting. Decorate as desired.
Enjoy!!
Tomorrow visit Julie Herman and Sweet Water, then ….
The last stop on the progressive dinner is Jenny Garland and Angela Yosten. These are the two talented ladies that keep the Moda bake shop’s pantry full of projects for you to enjoy.
I am sure you have read about the giveaway on each of the other chefs posts. By now you should know that by memory. My favorite precuts IS ALL of them (another middle child trait) but I will choose jelly rolls. I like combining a print jelly roll and a Bella solid jelly roll for a bigger project and a different combination.
So you know the drill, leave a comment on my blog to win precuts of my choice and a Fresh Fabric Treats book. In the past moda bake shop has featured stores, projects and even recipes. If there is anything you want more of on the bake shop, please leave it as a comment. Follow me on twitter or stay tuned to my blog for insider Moda information as well as random ramblings from a middle child.
Leave a comment on all posts to be entered in the grand prize drawing.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE make sure you have an e-mail address, so we can contact you if you are the lucky winner.
