12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop: Frosted Flakes Quilted Runner & a Giveaway!

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop

There's an exciting event going on in Quilting Blogland and it's the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop, put together by Sarah Craig @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict.  Sarah gathered together 25 terrific bloggers to share ideas for Christmas crafts, quilting, and recipes - so you can get a head start on the holidays this year.  You can find all the blog hop stops in the list at the end of this post and also by searching the hashtag #12daysofchristmasinjuly on social media.

Today is Day 5 and I share this day with my friend Soma @ Whims and Fancies, so be sure to check out her post today too because she's teaching us how to make handmade books and bookmarks!   To top it all off, Sarah is running a 12 Days of Christmas in July Quilt Along for the delightful quilt shown below, and she estimates that with only 1 hour a day you can have the quilt top completed in just 12 days.  

12 Days of Christmas Quilt Along

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Frosted Flakes Quilted Runner

Did you ever make paper snowflake cutouts as a kid?  It has always been a tradition in our family to make them, so for my 12 Days of Christmas project, I decided to make an appliqued and quilted snowflake runner.  I'm calling it the Frosted Flakes Runner, because I used Fairy Frost fabric for the snowflakes.

Close up of a Crafted Applique Snowflake

It's no surprise that I used my Crafted Applique method to make these snowflakes. (hashtag #craftedapplique)  I didn't want any fraying and knew my method would keep the edges nice and neat, while at the same time allowing me to cut out elaborate shapes. You could also do this project using fusible web interfacing to adhere your appliques. 

   

Swirling Breeze quilting

Fabrics used - I was going for the same color as jadeite:

Very Merry by Sandy Gervais for Moda - Light Aqua - 17832-15

Very Merry by Sandy Gervais for Moda - Light Aqua - 17834-15

Michael Miller Fairy Frost in Snow

Here's another shot, this one taken indoors:

A peek at the nine snowflake patterns (I designed nine, just in case someone wants to get flakier than me):

Frosted Flakes Snowflake Applique Patterns

You can download and save the Microsoft Word document, complete with sewing instructions and all 9 snowflake patterns by clicking here:

Frosted Flakes Quilted Runner

Don't forget to read to the end of the post, because I'm also having a great Christmas in July giveaway!

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Holiday Brunch Menu

One of the other fun things Sarah suggested was that we share a favorite recipe.  Our family has so many of them!  As the kids started becoming great cooks in their own right, we all developed an addiction to trying out recipes we find on Pinterest, so that is what I will be sharing today.   I'm laughing a little at this photo.  The runner is meant to be one long hot pad, but I wasn't ready for it to get besmirched yet, so we kept all the food off of it.  :)  If you use Insul-bright batting instead of regular batting, you'll have yourself a dandy hot pad.  

  

A simple Christmas Holiday Brunch, featuring:

Ham Quiche Cups - so quick to make!

Ham Quiche Cups

Glazed Cranberry Orange Scones - we substituted fresh blueberries - yum!

Glazed Blueberry Orange Scones, Cranberry & Grand Marnier Champagne Cocktail, and Coffee

Cranberry and Grand Marnier Champagne Cocktail - we substituted Proseco for the champagne.   You can also use sparkling cider for a non alcoholic alternative.  Next time we will stick to just the simple curled orange peel garnish.  The lime slice and pomegranate seeds were a bit much.  

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I hope you will visit all the other bloggers participating in the hop!  Here is the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop Schedule:

July 14th:    Sharon Vrooman @ Vrooman’s Quilts

                   Carole Carter @ From My Carolina Home

July 15th:    Yanicka Hachez @ Finding Myself As An Artist

                   Chris Dodsley @ made by ChrissieD

July 16th:     Marsha Hodgkins @ Quilter in Motion

                    Leanne Parsons  @ Devoted Quilter

July 17th:     Tonia Conner @ All Thingz Sewn

                    Selina @ Selina Quilts

July 18th:     Lara Buccella @ BuzzinBumble - That's me!

                    Soma Acharya @ Whims and Fancies

July 19th:     Joanne Harris@ Quilts by Joanne

                    Suzy Webster @ Adventurous Applique and Quilting

July 20th:     Vicki in MN @ Vicki’s Crafts and Quilting

                    Jennifer Fulton @ The Inquiring Quilter

July 21st:     Michele Kuhns @ Crayon Box Quilt Studio

                   Jan Ochterbeck @ The Colorful Fabriholic

July 22nd:     Alla Blanca @ Rainbows. Bunnies. Cupcakes.

                    Zenia Rene @ A Quilted Passion

July 23rd:     Joanne Hubbard @ Everyone Deserves a Quilt

                    Paige Alexander @ Quilted Blooms

July 24th:     Carolyn Jones @ …by CJ

                    Tisha Nagel @ Quilty Therapy

July 25th:     Susan Arnold @ Quilt Fabrication

                    Beth Sellers @ Cooking Up Quilts

                    Linda Pearl @ One Quilting Circle

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12 Days of Christmas Giveaway!

Last, but not least, I holding my own giveaway, where THREE lucky commenters will win this wonderful red and white fabric panel:

North Woods - by Kate Spain for Moda - Fabric panel in Cranberry

It's from Kate Spain's "North Woods" collection and features a table topper and ornaments/appliques.  Perfect for a fun and fast Christmas project!  

If you'd like a chance to win, just leave a comment below.  BuzzinBumble followers, both new and old, can have a second chance at winning - just leave a second comment telling me how you follow my blog.  Make sure you also leave a way for me to contact you if you win.  There are more and more no-reply commenters these days and most people are unaware of it.   Three lucky winners will be randomly drawn on July 25th, 2016 and I will announce them here on BuzzinBumble soon afterwards.

Thanks for stopping by!  I hope you will enjoy the free Frosted Flakes Quilted Runner pattern!

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

Hands2Help 2016 & Vera's Darth Vader Mini Quilt

More often than not, when we think of giving a quilt to someone, we see it as a tangible representation of caring for that person.  Whether it be for a loved one or a stranger, a quilt is meant to provide comfort and a sense of being loved.  Quilts given in times of hardship not only fulfill practical needs, but spiritual ones as well.  

For six years now, Sarah (Confessions of a Fabric Addict) has organized the Hands2Help Charity Quilt Challenge.  Hands2Help is a chance to take part in making and gifting quilts to people who are going through very hard times. It is also a chance to help build community, both within Quilting Blogland and through the charities chosen.  H2H attracted more than 100 quilters this year, many of whom made more than one quilt! 

I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to Sarah for all she does.  She puts together a few solid months of fun for H2H participants, with tutorials, patterns, and prizes too.  This is on top of her own very busy charity quilting activities.  You just have to check out Sarah's Big Project this year!  She is so inspiring!
  
This year I'm sending my H2H quilt to Em's Happy Chemo charity.  I had to do a little disappearing act (aka stay off the computer) in order to just barely squeak in with a finish in time!  I'm linking up with the final Hands2Help Linky Party and also with Heidi's One Monthly Goal party.  

I've been calling this quilt "Sedimentary Lifestyle", but of course did not label it as such.  It reminds me of looking at layers of rock on canyon walls.

"Sedimentary Lifestyle"

It started when I bought a pack of 2.5" strips, because I loved the colors and I had always wanted to try making a jelly roll race quilt.  I originally planned to add a brown outer border, but ended up preferring the quilt without a border.  

Marcus Fabrics Strip It Pack - Earth

I used Superior Threads King Tut variegated thread #911 Flower Pot to quilt wavy lines across the width of the quilt with a dual feed foot.  I've been getting a bit better at it.  I'm hoping to someday achieve Lorna's style of organic wavy line quilting.   Practice makes perfect!  I have also been learning to freemotion quilt, but found out that too much FMQ makes me motion sick, so will save that for smaller projects.  

King Tut #911 - variegated thread

Just before I popped the quilt into the wash so it will be all poofy and clean for Happy Chemo, I tried a photo of it all rolled up.  You can see the Kim Diehl fabric backing and get a better idea of what the quilting looked like.

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I won a giveaway!

As many of you know, all this month I've been holding the Crafted Appliqué: New Possibilities Blog Hop, in celebration of my new book's publication.  If you haven't checked out the blog hop posts, I hope you will! (Just click on the above link for the schedule.)  The hop has been so much fun and you will be amazed by all the creativity!  Plus there are lots of chances to win copies of the book and other fun prizes too! 

So... what did I win?  Well 2 months ago, before this blog hop began, I had the happy surprise of finding a package of goodies in the mail.  I was the lucky winner of a giveaway from Vera, on her blog, Negligent Style!  She made a wonderful mini quilt featuring Darth Vader.  She very cleverly placed him at the center of a brilliant three-circle color wheel. (You can click on the photo and it will enlarge.) I've always loved Vera's style; especially how she uses bright colors against grey!  She also sent me a sweet child's colored card and a fat quarter of a really cute sewing themed fabric.  Thank you so much Vera!  
  

Vera's Giveaway - Darth Vader Mini Quilt

Have a Happy Memorial Day weekend if you are here in the U.S.!
Thanks for visiting, because...

  

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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.  

An Online Trunk Show - Party & Prizes!

Soma, of Whims and Fancies, has something really fun going on this week for all of us:  "Trunk Full of Quilts" is a linky party for sharing finished quilted projects in an online quilt trunk show.  What a fun idea!  

The party starts today, November 10th and runs until November 18th.  Soma has put a lot of work into making this an extra special event and has lined up a whole bunch of wonderful sponsors.  You have a chance to win prizes from some of your favorite bloggers and shops, just for participating!  So make sure to go check it out, write up a post, and come and join in the fun over at Whims and Fancies!

Soma is an amazing pattern designer in her own right.  She is especially gifted at creating paper piecing patterns and figuring out how best to draw the lines for ease of sewing, yet still capturing all the wonderful details for her designs.   She's also an incredibly sweet, funny, and interesting person.  Getting to know her and becoming friends has been one of the highlights of my blogging adventure! 

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Have you always been good about documenting your quilts and quilted projects?  I know a lot of you use your blogs to do just that, but also that many of you kept albums and journals before becoming bloggers.   

Although I have sewn almost all my life, especially since the days of 4H Club, it wasn't until 2011 that I made my first real quilt.  Pre-blog, I didn't do a very good job of documenting the quilts I made.  Usually, I didn't even take photos!  I have a tendency to give quilts away as fast as I make them too. So, when it comes to a trunk show of my own quilts, I am at a bit of a loss.   

We do still have one of my quilts in our home.  It's my very first quilt - a One Block Wonder.  I had no idea what I was doing and only knew that I loved Maxine Rosenthal's book and thought I'd take a stack and whack at making a quilt like hers. 

Here is a photo of the fabric I started with:

Ralph Lauren Lakota Paisley in Eucalyptus

And here is the quilt with its kaleidoscoped blocks:

So there it is, in all its wonky wonder: The quilt that started it all for me.  
It is made from a heavy, suede-like Ralph Lauren home decor fabric.  I didn't know any better.  It's so thick wherever seams meet up that I still haven't quilted it.  It does have batting. Ha! - Fusible batting that I accidently squashed flat and stiff while ironing.  Also, you might get a chuckle out of this, I thought bindings were supposed to be like blanket bindings, so the binding on this quilt is 2 1/2" wide.  I did put a 1/4" border on the top first though.  

Despite all that, there is something to be said for diving in and giving things a try, even if you don't know what you are doing.  This quilt has hung in our living room ever since the day it was given up on finished.  I would like to pull it off the fusible batting and get it properly quilted and bound someday. (Ohhhh Cyndy... Hahahah.  I'm just teasing Cynthia because she has quilted so many One Block Wonders that she dreads it every time she sees another one come in the door.)  

Oh! I also have photos of one more early quilt - a Wavy Log Cabin that I made for our neighbor Rita, after she lost her beloved husband Alan.  They were married for a little more than 70 years and still so in love.  He made her laugh, always.      

I really love Log Cabin quilts.  To me, they epitomize everything about the warmth and comfort you associate with quilts.  Someday I need to write a blog post about this one and share the foundation paper piecing patterns I made.  I made it with Rita's favorite indigo blue colors and she was thrilled with it. 

Rita's Indigo Log Cabin Quilt

That is just about all the old photos I have for my trunk show.  It's a very wee trunk.  More like a shaving kit.  I'm short on time right now, so am going to refer you to another page:  If you'd like to see some of what I've made since I started Buzzinbumbling around, please check out my Good and Done page.

In the meantime, I hope to see you over at Soma's Whims and Fancies!    

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Little Totoro Baby Quilt

Little Totoro Baby Quilt for Addie, all folded up and ready to mail

I have a confession to make.  I finished this quilt some time ago, but only recently mailed it to Addie.  At this point I should call it a toddler quilt, because she just turned two years old.  While I'm fessing up, I might as well also tell you that my daughter Alina and her husband Gonzo have been married for two and half years and I still have not made their wedding quilt.  Tsk, tsk.  

Last winter, when Connie, of Free Motion By the River, asked me to pattern test for her, she sent me a wonderful pattern she designed, called Blue Sapphire.  I had just purchased the fabrics to make a quilt for my cousin's granddaughter Adelaide, and decided that they would be perfect to use in making a baby sized Blue Sapphire.  Addie's parents had decided on a gray and purple nursery, so I chose the main prints from the Lewis and Irene collection called "Make a Wish". 

Blue Sapphire was a complete delight to make!  Connie writes wonderful instructions, even going so far as to give various alternatives if you prefer different piecing techniques.  She's amazing!  As many of you know, Connie is an ambassador for Island Batik.  All of her designs work beautifully with batiks, but perhaps because batiks are almost a blender fabric, you can use her patterns for any type of fabric.            

After piecing the quilt top, I felt that my smaller version, with fewer blocks, needed to be brought into better balance.  So I decided to sew an applique' in the center.  When considering cute little grey critters, Totoro won me over immediately.  

Little Totoro applique' for Addie's quilt

My son Sam got me hooked on Japanese Anime movies.  All he had to do was get me to watch Howl's Moving Castle and I became a fan.  These movies are so very different than what I was used to seeing in cartoons.  They have a depth of meaning and an innocence that really draws you in.  Although it is hard to choose, I particularly love "My Neighbor Totoro".  Do you have a favorite Japanese Anime movie?  Perhaps "Spirited Away"?  Or "Castle in the Sky"?  Those are two more of my favorites.  I told you it was hard to choose.    

I looked at dozens of Totoro pictures, but have to say that my Totoro applique was mostly inspired by a drawing by Mira Vegas.  I liked how she made hers so small and chubby and tried to recreate that.  Perfect for a baby quilt.  My favorite scene in the movie is when Satsuki gives Totoro an umbrella, so of course an umbrella had to be added.  I think the quilt, with Connie's Sapphire blocks, now looks a bit like the beginning of a dream sequence.

Little Totoro - Blue Sapphire quilt

Closer view - you can see that I did simple wavy line quilting.  I am afraid of trying anything more difficult with Minky on the back.   

A view of the soft violet Minky backing - so very cuddly

I used satin blanket binding again.  It's a real pain in the patootie, and I never get it quite right, but persist because children love it.

Okay, time for a third confession.  I recently sent another very late gift - a baby quilt delivered to another two year old cousin.  But that is for another post.  

Thanks for visiting, because...

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If you are also a blogger, she is highly likely to follow you home!

PS - Don't forget, Zenia's brand new linky party "Whoomp, there it is!" starts this Saturday.  

I'll also be joining some other wonderful linky parties, which you can find on my left sidebar.
Hope to see you there!