Christmas in July Blog Hop, Chubby Checkers, & Linda and France's Crafted Appliqué Projects

Wouldn't it be great if this year you could get a head start on making special holiday gifts, finding fun recipes, and even making a beautiful Christmas quilt well before the season arrives?  Do you always hope that this will be the year it won't feel so much like the Howlidaze and that instead you'll be able to slow down and appreciate the true spirit of Christmas with your family and friends?   Well, this year you'll find plenty of inspiration to do just that during the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop at Confessions of a Fabric Addict. 

Sarah has so much fun planned: She has lined up twenty-six bloggers to share a wonderful variety of free Christmas gift ideas, quilted goodies, and recipes.  (I'm really psyched to be a part of such a terrific group and my post will be on the 18th!)  Not only that, but Sarah will be doing a quilt along that aims to help you complete a Christmas quilt with only an hour or less of sewing each day during the hop.  Can you imagine?  She gave us a sneak peek and it's a beauty!  So pull out your Christmas fabric stash and mark your calendars for July 14 through July 25th, because this hop is going to be amazing! 

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New Projects #craftedapplique

Two more bloggers have been getting creative with my Crafted Appliqué method.   I hope you will check out their posts:

Linda @ Art in Search made cards with her batik scraps. I love how Linda did her stitching in black thread.  When paired with all the vivid colors, it gives her gorgeous work the look of pieces in an art gallery.  
                     
And France @ France Nadeau - Inspiration - Imagination - Creation is back again this week with a simply beautiful Maple Leaf mini quilt and matching card.  France has made several inspiring mini-minis and you can see all her delightful creations on her Instagram page.  

Thanks for letting me share here on BuzzinBumble.  I love seeing the new possibilities you both came up with!  It makes my day for sure!  So...

BIG NEWS!  
I finally figured out how to add a permanent linky to the Crafted Appliqué book page so that sharing and hopping will be easier for everyone.  Be sure to check out the posts for wonderful ideas and inspiration!  I've also added the posts where people made projects for the Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop. 

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Chubby Checkers

I have one last project to share with you from my book "Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities".  It's a sweet treat of a checkerboard table topper called "Chubby Checkers":

Chubby Checkers Checkerboard Quilt

This project started after I found an award winning fabric I loved on Spoonflower called "Truffle Treats" by gracedesign.  I'm a great admirer of Grace's and love a lot of her fabric designs.  Her fabric made a really fun border for the checkerboard and Grace was even so kind as to send me her color codes so I could create a matching cupcake cup fabric.  You could of course use any fabrics you wished for this pattern.  My sister-in-law Cindy finished the quilt with big stitch hand quilting in brown pearl cotton that looks like chocolate Jimmy sprinkles.  There are some really nice close up photos in the book.  We use big cherry red and bittersweet chocolate brown buttons for the checkers.  

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Taking a Break

For the next few weeks I am going to be taking a break from blogging and blog visiting.  It's really hard for me to do this, because I know I'll be missing each of you as well as missing seeing all kinds of wonderfulness!  But... the Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop took an enormous amount of time and effort and I need to recharge my batteries.  I don't really have a choice - Whenever I push too hard, which I did, my health problems all surface at once, like a crazed synchronized swimming team.  

I have a lot of catching up to do as well, as I am more than 100 emails behind in correspondence. (My apologies if you are one of the people I have yet to reply to.)  Also during this little break I hope to spend time with visiting family and focus on my Christmas in July Blog Hop project and tutorial so it will be the best it can be.   

As part of my effort to catch up, this post is closed to comments.  But even then, please know that...  

Crafted Appliqué: It's Super Quilter!, France's Cards, & Rainbow Rose Quilt Along

Today is the day that I'm announcing the two winners of Zippy Seahorse Sewing Notion Bags.  But first, I thought you might like to see another project from my book, Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities.

This project was designed and sewn by my daughter Kait.  It was her first attempt at appliqué and she did really great!  She used her design to make a sewing machine needle case, but the pattern could be adapted to any number of projects, from journal covers, to bags, to pillows...     

"It's Super Quilter" Sewing Machine Needle Case by Kait Buccella

Here's a view of the inside, fully loaded for Kait's Featherweight;

"It's Super Quilter" Sewing Machine Needle Case by Kait Buccella

The really cool back ground fabric on the cover is a Spoonflower fabric designed by Virginie Ozanon, aka demigoutte.  It's called Rainy and Criminal Night.

A really corny sense of humor runs through our family.  I figure that on BuzzinBumble there's plenty of room for being goofy, so here ya go: 

It's Super Quilter!

(Super Quilter is a slightly altered version of an image I found on Marlene Romero’s page of free superhero clip art and is used with her kind permission)

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INSPIRATION   IMAGINATION   CREATION

France Nadeau, who blogs at francenadeau.com is an artist and quilter I've always admired, not just for her skills with needlework of all kinds, but for how inventive she is and how she uses every kind of fabric and fiber in her work.  France makes use of every scrap and it's so inspiring to see what she creates!  She is also the host of the Fabric, Thread, and Yarn linky party, which is open every Thursday through Sunday.

 

Today France wrote to tell me to check out her blog.  I'm so glad she did, because she had a fun surprise there.  She figured out that she could use the Crafted Appliqué method to make cards!  She adapted "The Walking Tree", a pattern in my book, and made two beautiful birthday cards and I hope you will click on the link and go see them.  She also plans to make six mini-mini quilts using Crafted Appliqué, so be sure to check back again soon!  

It isn't always easy for me to know who is making projects, so if you make anything using the Crafted Appliqué method and would like me to share it here, please feel free to let me know.  And don't forget, you can also share your work on social media using the hashtag #craftedapplique 

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 Rainbow Rose Quilt Along

Ruth Bourke, of Charly & Ben's Crafty Corner, is holding a Rainbow Rose Quilt Along.  It's through Modern Quilters Ireland and her quilt was so tempting that I am joining in a wee bit late and playing catch-up.

I did my fabric pull today, ransacking a couple of fat eighth bundles and just about every bright and modern fabric I had.  You can see my rainbow of fabrics on the right, together with the prewashed low volume prints (silver on white) that I plan to use for the background.  I had a definite shortage of blues.  I'm excited to see if I can catch up with the rest of the group.  That's always a little iffy with me, but I'll be happy with a finish even if it's not in time.

Rainbow Rose fabric pull

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And now, the moment some of you have been waiting for.  It's time to announce the winners of the two Zippy Seahorse bags I made as giveaways for my Spotlight Blog Hop.

Zippy Seahorse - sewing notions bags

It took some thinking, but I figured out a way to use a random generator to chose the two prize winners.  Readers could comment on as many of the thirty new blog posts that they wanted to.  So many of you left an amazing number of comments, meaningful and wholehearted ones at that, and I wish I had a gift for everyone.  Twenty readers participated in the Spotlight Hop and the majority of them visited every blogger.  

To decide fair and square who would win the giveaways, I made a chart, assigning each participant a letter, A-T, based on when their comment was left here on BuzzinBumble.  Then, across the top of the chart I typed the numbers 1-30.  Then I shaded the chart, based on how many comments each participant left in the Spotlight Hop stops.  This enabled me to give every comment a name, such as "U-28".  Then I found a website tool called the "Random Name Picker" were I was able to list all the comment "names" and have the tool choose two random winners.  It might have just been easier to fold up little slips of paper and put them in a hat, LOL.   Here's the chart and two screen shots of the drawing:

  
The two winners are Kathy and Deborah.  Deborah was a "no-reply commenter", meaning that I had no way to contact her, but luckily she checked back on the post and was able to remedy that!  Congratulations and I will be contacting both of you soon!
  

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One last thing to talk about.. The list is long this week!  ;)

Today is the start of the New Quilt Bloggers Hop and I hope you all will join me in spending a little time this week welcoming and visiting this years members!

You can find the main posts here with their Mama Bees introducing the members of their hives today!

Cheryl @ Meadow Mist Designs 
Stephanie @ Late Night Quilter 
Yvonne @ Quilting Jetgirl


Thank you to all of you who took part in the Spotlight Hop!  
And thank you for stopping by today's post, because...

Click on the pup and she'll take you to the comment section.

Zippy Seahorse Bag Contest & Blog Hop Giveaway Winners!

Do you know what song has been running through my head for the last five weeks?  The Beatles' "With a Little Help From My Friends".  I wish I could sing it like Joe Cocker did, because that would make everyone laugh, coming from me.  But as an old James Taylor fan, that's the version I've been singing and humming all month!

Truthfully, I get by with a LOT of help from my friends.  I can't do enough to thank all of the friends who've helped me promote my book.  And not only those who participated and created such wonderful stops in the Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop, but all of you who followed the hop and left kind and enthusiastic comments along the way. So many of you have said what a fun blog hop this has been and how you've followed to the very last stop.  :)  If it was possible to give a standing ovation in Quilting Blogland, that is what you would see me doing right now!

So for today's post, before I get to announcing the winners of the giveaways held here on BuzzinBumble, I want to entice you with one last contest, with the goal of shining the spotlight on every one of my blog hop participants.  

I've made something special as a way to say thank you.  Actually, two "something specials" and you all can earn multiple chances to win one!

Two Zippy Seahorse Bags to Give Away!

Zippy Seahorse - Sewing Notions Bag - #craftedapplique

I made two little appliquéd bags to give away to two lucky winners!  Each bag is eight inches square and fully lined and has a zip closure at the top.  Each one also contains 50 light blue Wonder Clips.  Zippy Seahorse is a new design I came up with just for this giveaway.  I hope to play around more and develop this into a pattern.  Thank you Teresa for that suggestion.  (LOVE the paper pieced seahorse she made!)

How do you earn a chance to win a Zippy Seahorse Bag?  I'll tell you at the end of this post!  Mwah ah ah!

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Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop - Giveaway winners!

At each stop in this blog hop, participants gave away a copy of my book and they each will notify their own winner.  I've sent out quite a few books already and a few of the later hop stops still have giveaways in progress, so you might want to check them out!   

Here on BuzzinBumble, I had six giveaways, with seven winners.  I used the Random Number Generator to choose each winner, based on comment number.  Here are the results below.  Congratulations and I'll be in touch with each of you soon.  Thank you to everyone who left so many wonderful comments and shared thoughts about their favorite color combos, first quilts, and favorite book projects!   

Prize #1's winners are:

Prize #2's winner is:

Prize #3's winner is:

Prize #4's winner is:

Prize #5's winner is:

Prize #6's winner is:

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The Fun Isn't Over Yet!

Zippy Seahorse - Sewing Notions Bag - #craftedapplique

A Brand New Blog Hop!

Remember that Zippy Seahorse Sewing Notions Bag giveaway?  Well here is how you can earn chances to win one: 

By going blog hopping again!  Just check out the blogs and pages and posts linked in the list below and leave a meaningful comment there.  

Edit: This is a brand new, one week long blog hop to show my gratitude to the past hop's participants.  I hope you'll take the golden opportunity to get to know them better.  There has been some confusion about this, so I just want to clarify:
**The bloggers are the same but the posts are not. Comments you left in the old hop, while really wonderful, do not count in this new Spotlight blog hop.**  Only comments on the newly linked posts, shown in the list below will be counted.

When you are ready, just come back here to this post and leave a comment, telling me how many stops you made and commented on from the list below.  That's how many entries you will get in the contest drawing.  For instance: if you visit and comment for all 30 bloggers, you will get 30 actual entries.  

Everyone is welcome to enter and I do ship internationally.  

On Sunday, June 12th, we'll write up all the entry slips, then randomly draw two winners and verify their wins.  I'll let you all know who won a Zippy Seahorse Bag on Monday, June 13th. 

It's really important that you leave contact information if there is a possibility that you are a "no-reply commenter".  If I don't have any way to reach you, you can't win.  Many people must not be aware of the problem, because all last month there were many no-reply commenters who forgot this step and it's a real bummer.  

Okay!  Here's the new Spotlight Hop List below, in alphabetical order.  
*If your last name starts with a letter in the last half of the alphabet, you might sympathize with the people on the last half of the list and start visiting stops in reverse alphabetical order.  :)

You can click on each blog title and the link will take you to a specific post or page that's being spotlighted for this hop and where you can comment for an entry in the giveaway.  

Spotlight Hop for the Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities 

Blog Hop Participants

1. A Few Scraps - Christina Cameli   Wild Quilting - Christina makes complex quilting designs simple and straightforward in her new Craftsy class. I took her class and it lit a fire under my own quilting abilities.

2. A Quilting Life - Sherri McConnell   Pattern Launch: "Mahalo" - One of Sherri's favorite quilts, originally made by her great-great-grandmother. This one is sewn in Sherri & Chelsea's Desert Bloom fabrics.

3. Alycia Quilts - Alycia Carmen  Follow along with Alycia as she is actively involved with Quilts of Valor and her presentation posts are incredibly moving.  Check out MysteryQuilts4Military!

4. Amy Made That! - Amy DeCesare   Pattern launch: "Be My Valentine Heart Mug Rug" - so sweet and fun and if you explore further, you'll see that Amy has made a few of these and they're fun to sew any time of the year!

5. Charly & Ben’s Crafty Corner - Ruth Bourke - The start of the Rainbow Rose Quilt Along with Modern Quilter's Ireland.  Ruth has designed a wonderful quilt for this! Explore color theory and make either a Charm square quilt or a Layer cake quilt.

6. Confessions of a Fabric Addict - Sarah Craig -  Sarah's 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop is coming soon!  Get a head start this year on your handmade gift making with a sleigh full of ideas to inspire you.  There will be a little bit of something for everyone! (Including occasional extras, like yummy recipes and holiday decorating.)

7. Cut to Pieces - Angela Pingel See Angela's radiant Disappearing Rainbow quilt - the inspiration for her Craftsy class "Disappearing Blocks Using Precuts".  I took this class and it's so exciting and fun!

8. Freemotion By the River - Connie Kresin-Campbell Pattern release: "Confetti Steps".  Connie is an ambassador for Island Batik and this pretty quilt will be traveling from quilt shop to quilt shop all year. Connie's patterns are so well written!

9. Fret Not Yourself - Ann Brooks On the first of every month, Ann hosts the Kaleidoscope of Butterflies linky.  She started this as a way to bring attention to the importance and beauty of butterflies and the need for habitat restoration.

10. Happy Quilting - Melissa Corry The free Summer Solstice Quilt Along is starting on June 9th and ends on September 15th.  There will be easy step-by-step biweekly directions.  Melissa's quilt alongs are always great!

11. Meadow Mist Designs - Cheryl Brickey The free Meadow Mystery Quilt Along starts on July 7th and runs 'til April 2017.  Directions are revealed on the 1st Thursday of every month, but you can also choose to get a sneak peek if you're a good secret keeper.   Cheryl makes this a fun event every year!

12. Musings of a Menopausal Melon - Sandra Walker Pattern release:  "Blue Skies" and "Sunny Days".  Sandra's had some bona fide hits in free patterns through Craftsy and Moda Bake Shop. These lovely quilts are her very first "for sale" pattern.

13. Needled Mom - Mary Schuberg Check out Mary's amazing paper-pieced sewing notions blocks!  She meant to make only one, but got carried away, with such fun results.

14. Pumpkin Patch Quilter - Valerie Smith Valerie is an award winning free motion quilter with her latest article in Machine Quilting Unlimited.  This post shows some of the magic she works with client's quilts.

15. Quarter Inch From the Edge - Jenn Trott-Zisserson Jenn runs Throw Back Thursday, a fun linky party where you can show off quilts that are a blast from your past on the first Thursday of every month.

16. Quilt Paradigm - Judy Murphy Judy has been quilting quilts for Kat's charity Covered in Love.  This one's a woodland beauty and the blocks were made by Kat's bee mates at do.Good Stitches.

17. Quilt Shop Gal Quilt Shop Gal always shines the spotlight on others - that's what she does: shares #CreativeGoodness!  She's been discovering the delights of Creativebug and you just have to read her post.

18. Quilting is More Fun Than Housework - Cynthia Brunz Pattern release: "Spin".  Cynthia has written a pattern for a completely different and beautiful take on a log cabin quilt, just wait until you see it!  The giveaway on this post is over, but comments are welcome.

19. Quilting Jetgirl - Yvonne Fuchs Pattern Release: "High Road Low Road" quilt. Choose from six different sizes to make Yvonne's fun, modern quilt.  It's a great scrap buster and has lots of negative space for quilting fun.

20. Red Letter Quilts - Heidi Kuntz Heidi is the host for One Monthly Goal - an inspiring linky party with prizes.  Share your quilting goals in the first week of the month and then return and share your accomplishments in the last week of each month.

21. Sew Fresh Quilts - Lorna McMahon As the host of Let's Bee Social, Lorna gives many bloggers a great start.  She has been swept away with the #MMminimini challenge from Make Modern Magazine and you just have to see her cute critter blocks!

22. Sew Slowly - Kaja Zieslar Kaja is an improv quilter who follows her own creative muse with every quilt and it's so fun and inspiring to watch her work.  This post is about more play with Crafted Applique, shared at Kaja's suggestion.

23. Stitchin At Home - Cindy Pieters Cindy is a gifted pattern designer and here she's creating another beauty with lots of design potential.  She plans to write up a quilt pattern using this block.

24. Stormy Days - Dana Gaffney Every month, as faithful as the sun, Dana creates and finishes a bright and beautiful quilt for Sharon's "Let's Book It" linky party.  This month she has an extra something special to share too.

25. Studio Sew of Course - Sandra Jansen Sandra is a very accomplished quilter, with practically every technique.  Here she shares a wonderful color wheel quilt, made for one of her surprises for a friend.

26. Susie's Sunroom - Susie Zlogar This post happens to have the "Folk Art Christmas" quilt, which Susie just made and it turned out beautifully.  But, you also have to see what her clever mind came up with for repairing a worn out bag.

27. The Way I Sew It - Paulette Horn Scrappy Mountain Majesties has to be one of my favorite quilts and Paulette's is a real beauty.  I love both her sense of color and her sense of humor.

28. Triangles & Squares - Christine Sherman This Oh-So-Sweet 16 patch quilt will make your heart feel all warm and squishy.  Chris has a gift for putting together wonderful fabric combinations and making fresh and fun quilts.

29. Val's Quilting Studio - Val Reynolds Val is the host of the "Tuesday Archives" linky party.  Each week she picks a theme and you can link up and show off your quilts no matter how long ago they were made.  This week was "I Spy" quilts.

30. Whims and Fancies - Soma Acharya Soma is a very talented paper-piecing pattern designer, with a gift for simplifying designs yet creating the full effect. She sometimes takes on custom pattern design commissions too.  Visit her shop and let her know which patterns you love most!  Part of the proceeds from Soma's sales go toward her favorite charities.

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That's everyone!  They're such a great bunch of bloggers and I think you'll have a ball hoppin around and checking out everyone's posts.  I hope the Zippy Seahorse bags are an appealing incentive too. 

Usually, I make it a goal to reply to and reciprocate all comments.  I really love it when you take the time to stop and chat.  This month, with the Blog Hop and multiple giveaways in progress, I hope you will understand if I don't manage to keep up.  

You can click on the pup to leave a comment.  Good luck and thank you for participating!