Summertime Roses Tote Bag & the Quilty Orphan Adoption Event Winner

Awhile back, I had a spell of being drawn to green fabrics from the Kaffe Fassett Collective.  Do you have that happen, where your eye starts being attracted to a certain color?  Where it might not even be your favorite color, but for some reason, you start liking it everywhere you see it?   

Anyway, that green fabric magnetism sure came in handy when I wanted to make a surprise for a friend who needed encouragement.  I had decided on making a bag to hold some goodies, when I learned that her favorite color is green and that she loves roses and summertime.  From there, it was sort of a no brainer: 

Summertime Roses Tote Bag

Strip piecing and pressing the fabrics.

Choosing the right colors of Kona cotton to use for trims, footer and lining.

Pockets made from leftover strip piecing.

A simple box pleated bottom

I used fusible fleece as the bag interlining and it does somewhat keep its shape.  Since I made this bag, I learned about a really neat product from Daryl, of Patchouli Moon Studios.  Daryl makes amazing bags, of every kind.  She clued me into ByAnnie's Soft and Stable, a thick lining that really holds a bag's shape and is very squishable, but bounces right back.  So I can't wait to try that out the next time I make a bag.  

I used a white, ropy curtain tie-back as the handle.  Found it at JoAnn's.

 

Summertime Roses - love those Kaffe / Jacobs / Mably fabrics!

 

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Quilty Orphan Adoption Event and the Giveaway Winner

Many thanks to Cynthia at Quilting is More Fun Than Housework!  The event is a wonderful new idea she had and I hope when Cyndy holds the next linky party in the spring, that many more people will be ready to take part.  

I've held giveaways a few times where I asked commenters to tell me about their favorite charity quilting causes.  It really makes you more aware of how many wonderful, giving and caring people inhabit Quilty Blogland!  Life is a lot brighter for so many people because of the good you all do!      

Well of course you all are winners in my book!  So I'm very glad I can use Random.org's random integer generator to choose the winner of the Rainbow Zoo Quilt Kit giveaway prize.  Otherwise, I'd never be able to decide.  

Without further ado, here is the screenshot of the winning number:

   
That's you Cecilia!  I've just sent the email off to you and also wanted to say that it was very nice to meet you during this giveaway!

Cecilia wrote:

Cecilia 9/18/15, 9:35 AM                            33

I like to make quilts for Project Linus and also for the NICU at our local hospital. I enjoy making quilts for the children. Thanks for giving away such a great kit.

Cecilia 9/18/15, 9:36 AM                            34

I'm a new follower via email.

Cecilia 9/18/15, 9:36 AM                            35

I've also visited the other blogs. :-)   


A great big Thank You to everyone who commented!  I actually made it through them all, replying and reciprocating LOL, which is a miracle this week.  
Thanks for visiting, because....

Click on the pup to leave a comment...

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

Kaffe Fassett Orphaned Quilt Project Giveaway

Did you ever have a quilting project that didn't even quite make it to UFO status? 
Did it just sit there, languishing for a few years while other ideas and plans had all the fun?  
I have one or two of those (cough!) and this is one of them.  

My project was going to look like this:

Kaffe Fassett Log Cabin Quilt

What it really looks like is this:

Looking for a good home

My plan got derailed almost as soon as I started, when the recipient moved and the quilt no longer fit in with her decor.  Well, that's life.  I still adore Kaffe fabrics, but just can't get the fire relit for this project.  My bucket list grows faster than I can sew and because I would like to pass this project on to someone else, I am offering the unfinished quilt here as a giveaway.   

These packs of precut strips could be used for many purposes really.  There are four packages of 2" wide strips in log cabin sized lengths (2" to 10" long).  Three of the packages each have enough strips to make twelve 9.5" blocks, like the ones shown here.  The fourth package has enough for nine blocks, but I will also send along the three completed blocks.   Please be aware that I was a bare beginner quilter at the time I sewed those blocks and they may not be sized perfectly, even with the paper foundation.

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If you have orphaned projects like this and would like to see them adopted too, then check this out: 

Saturday June 6th, Cyndy (of Oh Scrap! fame) at Quilting is More Fun than Housework is having a brand new linky party she calls the Orphan Adoption Event.  The Link up runs on Saturday and Sunday and is for giving away your oldies but goodies!  This is the perfect opportunity to pass along your lonesome projects to someone who would love to have them and make something of them.   

Have you ever made a quilt for charity?  If so, would you like to have a chance to win this Kaffe Fassett pre-cut quilt project, for free?  I'm aiming to "pay it backward" LOL and would like the winner of this giveaway to be someone who has made quilts for charity, although they do not necessarily have to use these fabrics that way.  

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment here and tell me about your favorite charity quilting opportunity.  Please make sure that I have a way to contact you!  Check back before the giveaway ends, because I will let you know here if I am unable to reach you.  Entries will be closed at midnight (UTC) on Thursday the 11th and I'll let the random number generator choose the winner on Friday, June 12th.  

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In other exciting news: Cheryl, of Meadow Mist Designs has started her Midnight Mystery Quilt Along.  It looks like it will be a lot of fun!  I could not resist joining in, especially after hearing about what a good time people had with Cheryl's Foothills Mystery Quilt Along last year.  I hope to see you there! 

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Thanks for visiting, because...

Linking up with Sarah's Whoop Whoop Party at Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Linking up with Laura & Linda's Crafty Comment Karma at Prairie Sewn Studios
Linking with Cyndy's Orphan Adoption Event at Quilting is More Fun than Housework

Definitely Not De-Kaffe!

Close up of string pieced diamonds

Do you LOVE color?  If you do, and you love bold design, then it is a pretty safe bet that you love Kaffe Fassett fabrics!   

A couple of years ago my daughter Kaitie spied this quilt on the cover of Kaffe Fassett's "Simple Shapes Spectacular Quilts" book. The book caught her eye from across the store, which is easy to imagine why when it comes to Kaffe Fassett.  We both loved the pattern, which he calls Facet. I never would have been brave enough to cut all those big beautiful prints into little strips if I had not seen this book first.

Facet Quilt 

It took me a year and a half to gradually collect the fabrics. There are more than 80 different fabrics: mostly Kaffe Fassett, with some Phillip Jacobs, Tula Pink, Amy Butler and coffee themed prints thrown in. It is a diamond shaped string quilt. Not hard to make at all and lots of fun to play with all those fabrics! Can you see some of your favorites in there?

The picture below is of the quilt top while it was on the design wall, before I sewed on the zig-zaggy border.  

I had a little help from my friends: Julie DeGrave (Pines and Needles Quilting) quilted the quilt in a beautiful swirling all over design and Dawn (sewnsewer2 on The Quilting Board) made the beautiful label for us. Those of you who are Princess Bride fans know what "As You Wish" means.  

Kaitie looks pretty pleased, doesn't she?!

Linking up to Needle & Thread Thursday over at 

My Quilt Infatuation

Thanks for visiting!
Lara