Monday 16 June 2014

And the winner is...




which is Joanne from Rose & Dahlia! She made this beautiful quilt for charity and we think this win is karma!



Congratulations Joanne! Your $25 gift certificate from the Fat Quarter Shop should be arriving in your inbox soon.


I hope you've all got your thinking caps on for the new theme SMALL and we will be posting lots of inspiration before the link opens on 15th July! Have you started working on your small project yet? Will it literally be something small or have you got a good idea of interpreting the theme in another way?





Sunday 15 June 2014

Next up...



The theme this month is SMALL.

This is one of the most open themes I think we've ever set so I'm excited to see what you can come up with and how you interpret it!


The link will open on 14th July for your fabulous finished creations and a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to the Fat Quarter Shop.

Saturday 14 June 2014

Le Challenge #13 - Charity

Welcome to the monthly link! We know this will be lucky #13 for someone!

Here is what we achieved this month...



see more of this bright solids quilt at Charm About You

             Find out how to make a handmade Father's Day card using charity 
shops bangles on Made in Home

Check back tomorrow to find out the new theme and if you are new to le challenge find more information here.

For a chance to win a $25 Fat Quarter Shop gift certificate make sure you link up your finished projects and please remember to include the button or a link to Le Challenge in your blog post or Flickr description. 

Show us how you've interpreted the theme Charity...



Thursday 12 June 2014

More inspiration from Katie of Swim, Bike, Quilt

We are so thrilled to have the wonderful Katie share her inspiration and free patterns with us this month...



Hi! My name is Katie Blakesley, and I blog at Swim, Bike, Quilt. My blog has been a little quieter than normal lately due to a difficult pregnancy and an impending cross country move (from Virginia to Oregon); I hope you will still visit.



I’m happy to be talking a little bit about this month’s Le Challenge blog theme, charity.  I know my life is happier when I think about charity in a broad sense—trying to show a little more love, kindness and forgiveness for myself and those around me—which includes choosing to believe the best in others instead of the worst.

Since this is a sewing related post, I'm going to share a little about my experience with charity quilts, and include a few free pattern ideas that work really well for donation quilts.


If you are interested in making a quilt for someone in need, the easiest thing to do is to join in a charity quilt drive or group that is already established. Not only do you benefit from a cheering section, deadlines, a cause, and sometimes even prizes (not that we sew for prizes but its kind of fun anyway), but you don't have to do any organizing. It's already done for you!

For several years, I have organized a yearly quilt drive called 100 Quilts for Kids. It has been a wonderful thing in my life, and I’m so happy to announce that my fellow DC Modern Quilt Guild member and friend Heather Tompkins of Quilts in the Queue will be continuing as the organizer of 100 Quilts for Kids. Make sure to follow her blog as she announces 2014 dates and fun! I hope you will consider participating.

100 Quilts  = fun + easy!

1. Make a quilt.  Great time to use bee blocks, try a new pattern, practice your free motion quilting, or experiment with a design of your own.

2. Donate it to a child in need, locally if you can.  Consider donating your quilt(s) to a local foster care program, domestic violence center, homeless shelter, children’s hospital, or to a local military family support organization. You can also mail them to the DC Modern Quilt Guild if you would prefer.

There are so many great charities and sewing circles out there!! If you don’t know where to donate your quilt, try one of these organizations or quilt drives: Margaret’s Hope ChestBumble Beans Basics, do.Good StitchesProject Linus, the work done by Sarah and her Quilt Ministry, and Siblings Together.

If you are interested, here is a little information about 100 Quilts for Kids in 2013!  Check out the quilts linked up here, in the Flickr Group, and using the hashtag #100quilts4kids on Instagram.

In the past few years, the DC Modern Quilt Guild has donated quilts to a domestic violence shelter for women and kids in Alexandria, VA; a community group that supports indigent families in DC;  and the DC center that transitions children to foster care.  In some cases, quilts have been hung on walls to brighten up sometimes dreary and non-inviting spaces. In other cases, they have been given to kids who need some comfort and care.  You can’t really go wrong with that, I think. 

Free Patterns for Charity Quilts I thought I would share a few free patterns to get you started thinking about quilts for kids. If you aren’t up for making a quilt by yourself, ask a local guild, group of friends, or quilting bee to each make a block for you, or invite friends over to your house and teach some basic sewing lessons! I have done all of these--there is no wrong way to sew for charity. 



The Wonky Star Quilt 
Last year, Dear Stella donated this great fabric for a Wonky Star Quilt and a number of friends in my guild made 15’’ wonky star blocks using this tutorial. I was able to quilt and bind the quilt, and I think it was a great group effort. If you have bee blocks or sampler blocks that are just sitting around, its a simple way to use them! 



Star Bright Quilt 
I made one of my all time favorite quilts last year, and shared a downloadable free Star Bright Quilt Pattern. Its available on Craftsy or my blog.  


The LOVE Quilt
I’ve always loved this Love quilt made by Jessica for 100 Quilts for Kids a number of years ago.  Kelly Bowser has a tutorial for the free wonky letters at Sew, Mama, Sew.  


Linked Octagons 
Anjeannette Klinder has a great free pattern on the Moda Bake Shop

Giant Starburst Quilt Along 
Megan has a great Giant Starburst Quilt Along on her blog, Canoe Ridge Creations. This would be a fun and simple quilt to make!  


I hope this post helps you think a bit more about charity quilts, and that you join in on a charity project this year!


Huge thanks to Katie for joining us and providing such brilliant links and ideas! We wish you all the best with your pregnancy and move :)



Wednesday 11 June 2014

Charity {More Inspiration}

Charity... Not the easiest of theme and then again, pretty easy when you think about the possibilities. Lucy and I came from two different angles on this - she was thinking of making something for a charity (which is an amazing thing to do); I was thinking shopping - in charity shops. 

During my maternity leave I have had time to go to charity shops, a lot - they close at 5 pm, and because there are none near my work in London, it is not as easy now for me to shop there. But I do love finding gems in these shops. And believe me you can find amazing stuff, my mother-in-law found a real Mulberry purse for £8, I am not joking - I saw it, and it is the real deal. However I would not be prepared to upcycle a Mulberry purse.. 

However I have been known to upcycle jumpers from charity shops into cushions.. 
The tutorial is here
paint jars I did not like the look of, but like the form of.. 
More info on this here
 Buy a necklace, and make the wood beads more golden
More here
 Or just add interest to a chunky necklace
More here
These are not big projects, and easily manageable until the 15th ;) As for me, my entry is currently looking like this - a bit obscure but it is all in the structure... 


We hope to see many of you joining the linky party on 15th!