WAW, what a week (and a link party)

Sewing along and events that people join as a group are so fun and inspiring!  

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Growing Up QAL - future blocks are coming together
2. Splendid Sampler - assembled all the rows
3. Charity quilts - no progress
4. SK project - working on next block
5. Molli Sparkle's "The Honey Pot Bee" - paused until June
6. En Provence QAL - no progress
7. Journaling into my new Jounral/Planner - loving the new format (more at the end of the month)!
8. 70273 Project - 4 blocks done
9. Book binding - no progress
10. Twilters! Bee - waiting for June
11. 2017 Pantone Quilt Challenge: my mini below!

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From Monday to Friday I featured 20 amazing art pieces for the Art with Fabric Blog Hop

Click on each link to go to the day post and read more about the fantastic journey and inspiration that these quilting artists took to create their masterpieces!

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

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And finally, let me share the 2017 Pantone Quilt Challenge: Heart of Jade

Greenery for me is not just a single color because it reminds me of all the greens in nature, thus the super scrappy look).

For this piece I tested a new pattern and technique for a friend (Yanicka) who developed this new technique to make these super cool and modern design: it is NOT paper piecing, it is much much simpler! For the pattern and more information, visit Yanicka's blog!

I had so much fun with the praire point border: I love having those 3d elements that give more depth to the piece!!

Heart of Jade, 18'' x 18''

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How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Let's start the year with a finish (and a link party)

Let's start the year with a finish!!!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. Growing Up QAL - January block(s) released (see below)
2. Splendid Sampler - no progress
3. Charity quilts - no progress
4. SK project - no progress
5. Molli Sparkle's "The Honey Pot Bee" - one block done (see below)
6. Pantone Color of the Year 2017 - DOOOONE (see below)
7. En Provence QAL - designed my version in my planner (more on this maybe next week)
8. Bullet Journaling into my Quilter's Planner - working every day on this
9. 70273 Project - no progress

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I am hosting a free QAL for 2017. I am hosting it on my other website (because this is just my personal blog)

This month blocks: two intricate designs that are actually super simple to make!!

If you are intrigued, read more at http://alidatweloqdesigns.blogspot.com/

I hope many of you will join... it will be a fun growing experience, there will be prizes, linky and much more!!

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Molli Sparkle's "The Honey Pot Bee" I am going to be a QUEEN (in March), but I decided to participate also in other months because this is such a fun community event and I don't want to miss out! So even if I have no specific plan for the quilt, no idea what color scheme to use, etc, I started with one of the blocks of this month

Scrappy/Disney strawberry! Pattern links at mollisparkles.com

I love it! So scrappy, so random, so colorful, so fun... totally me! :)

I may do the other block for January, but I am not a big fan of star blocks... we'll see!

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And last, but not least...

In this first week of the year I always like to participate into different events... and since I only have very limited time, I like to make pieces that fulfill multiple purposes.

So... this is my entry for Project Quilting (season 8) (to fit in this week theme, I used 8 praire points on each side :) )

... this is my mini for my collection of mini Pantone Color of the Year 2017 (Greenery... which for me is not just a single color because it reminds me of all the greens in nature, thus the super scrappy look)

... this is the piece I tested for a friend (Yanicka) who developed this new technique to make these super cool and modern design: it is NOT paper piecing, it is much much simpler! For the pattern and more information, visit Yanicka's blog!

Heart of Jade - 18''x18''

And just for fun, this is the lineup of all the previous year Color of the Year mini!

Emerald, Radiant Orchid, Marsala, Rose Quartz+Serenity (2013-2016 Pantone "Color of the Year")

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How about you? What are YOU up to?

Link it here and share it with me!!

An InLinkz Link-up

Many secrets revealed (and a link party)

Several projects finished early this month are ready to be shared!

The Ongoing Project List:

1. the SK project - traced next 2 blocks
2. Tea Towel challenge and PPV BOM - quilting done!! need binding
   (this will be my April project for a Lovely Year of Finishes)
3. SYS2015 future projects - half way done with second block for May project... cannot share but I am super excited about it!!
4. D wall hanging -  one little block done, central panel designed!
5. B quilt - one block designed
6. Block Swap Adventure - no news from my April partner... I guess I will skip this month
7. Sewing machine cover -  no progress

The EverythingElse List:

1. Embroidery calendar - no progress
2. Animal blocks for charity quilts - paused for a while
3. Project of Doom 2015 @ Fandom in Stitches - paused for a while
4. College Days Blog Hop blocks for tote/grocery bag -  no progress
5. Alice in Wonderland quilt - no progress
6. As You Wish -  no progress
7. Happy Halloween wall hanging -  no progress
8. Crazy optical illusion -  no progress
9. Memory quilt 2 - no progress.

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Yesterday, in this post, I shared my entry for the Pantone Quilt Challenge for the Color of the Year.

This is my little Marsala wall hanging. If you want to read more about it, just check out the previous post!
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Last week Mary, my partner for the Spring Mug Rug Swap received the package so now I can share it with you!

Patterns by Jennifer (Sewhooked)

Tea cup: sewhooked.com/harry-potter/

Butterfly: sewhooked.com/free-quilt-patterns/ (in Perennial Pleasure pattern)

Mary told me she likes tea, patriotic themed projects and the ocean, so I tried to include all these elements in the little mug rug! This was my first time doing prairie points and of course I had to make my life difficult by choosing to make them super tiny (they finish probably less than 3/4 inches)! ;) I think they turned out pretty cute: and they are scrappy and irregular like the waves of the ocean!

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Another super secret project I made earlier this month was for the wonderful Jennifer (Sewhooked).
This is what I made for her.

Stained glass wall hanging (18''x23'')

The wall hanging was designed to reproduce a stained glass piece made by her mother-in-law (who passed away earlier this year).
Jennifer shared more pictures of both works (and very kind words) in her post on Sewhooked

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Another great news is that the package of row/round counters that I ordered from the amazing Terry (Snowie44) arrived!! And it didn't just have the 5 wonderful row/round counters that I ordered, but she was so kind to add some extra cute stitch markers for me and a little toy for my sewing helper!! :)

As you can see below, Pumpkin first read the little note Terry included and then she went completely nuts playing with Fred (the Fish).

Now I am looking forward to start another crochet/knitting project to use those great little tools!!
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Finally, the little stitching that I can share, is the first block for a wall hanging for my dad: he requested a decorative piece for our house in the mountains, so I will use many "nature" inspired fabric and patterns. This is the first block

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What are YOU going to link?

An InLinkz Link-up

Marsala - 2015 Pantone Challenge

My entry for the 2015 Pantone Quilt challenge, Marsala:

 This is a little wall hanging (size: 13x14 inches)

I have a tradition of making these "color of the year" wall hanging to decorate my sewing space.

My general layout is a center block representing the "object" of the color, and a scrappy border containing different colors similar to the color of the year and with shapes somehow connected to the main theme.

So this year, the choice of the border was pretty easy: with a theme like Marsala, isn't the "Drunkard's Path" (a design makes one think of a drunkards staggering walk) just the perfect border? ;)

Some close-up pics to see the quilting (I quilted some grapes and grape leaves)

And the fabric on the back is also pretty cool I think :)

And yes, if you look close to the picture of the front you may have noticed some fabric bleeding :( :( oh, well... I will try to fix it probably, one day... but in the meantime, we can pretend it's the artistic touch of Marsala wine stains ;)

Follow THIS LINK TO SEE ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS... and in 7 days the voting will open and I will ask you to vote for me ;) (or a different one... there are amazing quilts/projects over there... but if you vote mine I would be very very happy ;) )

As a last note, these are my wall hangings for 2013 and 2014... just for fun!

Bloggers Quilt Festival - Mini - Radiant Orchid

(Don't forget to check my other entry (in the Scrappy category))

If you are new to my blog WELCOME!!
If you are a constant reader, THANKS for your support!! :)

If you are new around here, let me just point you to my main addiction: designing and sharing for free tons of paper piecing patterns :)

As you can see from my header picture I designed patterns for Disney characters, Peanuts and Snoopy, Downton Abbey, Alice in Wonderland but I have many many more (Maleficent, The Simpsons, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Betty Boop, Minions and more)!! Some of them have to be tested, some of there are tested. You can find them just navigating the different tabs or just typing the character name in the search box at the top of the page.

And my entry for this Blogger Quilt Festival is a paper pieced one (obviously) ;)

This is the mini I designed for the 2014 Pantone Quilt challenge, Radiant Orchid:

This is a little wall hanging (size: 17x17 inches)

I love scrappy projects... and I am pretty sure that one of the fabric I used is Radiant Orchid... I have no idea which one because it's hard to see the real colors on a computer screen... but I used so many different purple/pink tones that I must have picked something that is pretty close to the real Radiant Orchid ;)

And a few close-ups and the back to see better the quilting... 

It's the first time I quilt with color thread... I don't know if I like it... it's easy to see the "mistakes" but I think it's ok, considering the fact that is one of my first time I try a design different than stitch-in-the-ditch :)

If you want to make your own orchid block, the pattern is available in my Craftsy shop!!

And let me throw an additional bonus mini if you are still here :)
This is the other "Color of the Year" wall hanging I pieced: Emerald. I decided to make color of the year wall hanging for each year that I have been sewing... I don't have much backlog since I just started last year LOL ;)

Now go and check out all amazing project's in the Festival.

(Don't forget to check my other entry (in the Scrappy category))

Vote and a winner!

First of all, let me share with you the finished top for my second "Color of the Year" wall hanging quilt, inspired by last year color (probably you can guess which color was that)

The Emerald pattern is available in my Craftsy shop.
And the pattern is not just for an emerald...
change the colors and you get a ruby, a sapphire or a black diamond!! :)
I choose to include also orange (to refer to 2012 color of the year) and purple (to refer to 2014 color of the year).

And speaking about this year Radiant Orchid...

VOTING is open for the Pantone Quilt Challenge! So CLICK HERE and vote for your favorite Quilts, Minis and Just the top! If you want to vote for me, that would be great... :) but there are so many other cool entries so go and check them out. Mine is the fourth in the Minis and it looks like this

(Just a reminder that also the Orchid pattern is available in my Crafsy shop)

And last but not least... the winner for last week giveaway (charm pack from my stash and embroidery floss) is...
Number 37 - Nicole! I will be emailing you soon to get your mailing information!

Have a Radiant, Quilting and Lucky Pi day :)

This may be a pretty confusing post :)

but there are many different things to celebrate in the next few days... 

so I thought to mix them up a little ;)

Things to celebrate:

- Pi day (3/14)

- Worldwide Quilting day (3/15)

- St. Patrick's day (3/17)

- 2014 Pantone Quilt challenge, Radiant Orchid (3/14 - 3/21)

So... let's start celebrating, quilting style...

**First**:

A little Pi block

(11x11 inches)

this is a very easy block so I draw it myself... but if you are interested in the block and you don't design your own blocks, you can find a similar one in Jennifer's craftsy shop!

**Second**

A little Shamrock to celebrate St. Patrick's day

(7x7 inches)

The pattern is by Trillium Design and you can find it on Craftsy... I resized the pattern to make it smaller.

**AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE**

My entry for the 2014 Pantone Quilt challenge, Radiant Orchid:

This is a little wall hanging (size: 17x17 inches)

I love scrappy projects... and I am pretty sure that one of the fabric I used is Radiant Orchid... I have no idea which because it's hard to see the real colors on a computer screen... but I used so many different purple/pink tone that I must have picked something that is pretty close to the real Radiant Orchid ;)

And a few close-ups and the back to see better the quilting... 

It's the first time I quilt with color thread... I don't know if I like it... it's easy to see the "mistakes" but I think it's ok, considering the fact that is one of my first time I try a design different than stitch-in-the-ditch :)

Follow THIS LINK TO SEE ALL THE OTHER PROJECTS... and in 7 days the voting will open and I will ask you to vote for me ;) (or a different one... there are amazing quilts/projects over there... but if you vote mine I would be very very happy ;) )

If you want to make your own orchid block, the pattern is available in my Craftsy shop!!

And if you buy the pattern before the end of April, I will also send you the pattern for the blossoms and the instructions to add the borders so you can create your own version of the wall hanging above. If you want the extra pattern, just email me your craftsy display name and I will send you the extra pattern by email (you can find my email address in the orchid pattern).

And to conclude this long post, a sneak peek of the next "Color of the Year" wall hanging... 

I decided to make a similar wall hanging for each year that I have been sewing...

I don't have much backlog since I just started last year LOL ;)

But I think it's a nice way of tracking my sewing progress and of decorating my sewing space...

So here it is: Emerald.

The completed Emerald wall hanging will appear soon on this blog... so don't forget to follow me ;)

And now are you still reading? Yes? Wow, then you deserve a prize :)

I offer this little giveaway bundle...
45 charms (5''x5'') from various fabric of my stash and some embroidery floss.

For a chance to win, just tell me your favorite color in the comments below!
Mine is blue... or purple... I don't know, I can't decide :)

For an additional entry follow my blog and tell me how you follow (in a separate comment).
The giveaway will close on Sat, March 22nd (10 am EST)

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

* comments are moderated, so if you don't see your comment is because I need to approve it... please one comment per person
* the giveaway is open to international entries
* if you are a no-reply blogger I am not going to publish your comment, plain and simple... no email, no chance to win. If you are not sure, just write your email address in the comment.

P.S. Last night I made a Cherry Pi(e)

and a (burned) Pi(e) crust

It is burned because I was doing some calculations for a quilt back :( :(  never "quilt&bake" :)