Grandma's Lawn Chair Blog Hop Wrap Up

I am not sure where the month of September went! This blog hop sped by so fast!!! Prepping for Sewing Summit, having an awesome weekend with amazing friends, seeing a lot of beautiful quilts using my new pattern, and especially hearing all of your excitement and enthusiasm for wanting to make your own version of this, this month has been truly AWESOME! and exhausting. Thank you SO much for all of your kind comments and encouragement! I never thought creating a pattern could be so rewarding! and humbling. Thank you!!


As the blog hop comes to an end, I put together a little mosaic of everyone's quilt. If you missed any blog posts, here they are, linked to the specific post. I hope you will stop by each one!

Mon 9th - Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 10th - Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
 Wed 11th - Ginny @ Fishcreek Studio
Thurs 12th - Kelleigh - guest blogging at from blank pages...
Fri 13th - Sara @ Sew Sweetness

Mon 16th , Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 17th - Hilary @ Young Texan Mama
Wed 18th - Mike @ The Amateur Quilter
Thurs 19th - Rachael @ imagine gnats
Fri 20th - Courtney @ Mon Petite Lyons 

Mon 23rd - Jamie @ Sunflower Seeds
Tues 24th - Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts
Wed 25th - Krista @ Spotted Stones (Krista wasn't able to participate at this time. Still stop by her blog, because she is super fab!!!)
Thurs 26th - Cristy @ Sew Much Like Mom
Fri 27th - Diane @ from blank pages...

 

The first person to comment and tell me correctly which quilt matches up with which blogger will win a copy of my Grandma's Lawn Chair PDF quilt pattern! :)

Talking about winning, the winner of the PDF pattern AND Denyse Schmidt fabric bundle is...

Congrats Cheryl! I sent you an email! :)

Thank you everyone who entered and helped spread the word!! :)

I guess that about sums it up. EXCEPT...

I just finished updating the pattern!!! I added two more pages onto the end of the pattern with quick instructions for using a jelly roll! The baby quilt uses one jelly roll, the toddler size is one piece shy of needed one jelly roll, while the lap size needs two jelly rolls. The finished quilt sizes are just a little bit different than the pattern, but they go well with the adaptation of using a jelly roll. If you have already purchased the pattern, simply download it again and you should have the revised version.

There are still some giveaways going on, if you want to check out the other blogs. And if you would like to purchase the pattern, you can find it on Craftsy or Etsy.

If you make this pattern, please share it in my flickr group here, upload it and link it on Craftsy, or just send me an email! I'd love to spotlight it on my blog as well. :)

Thanks again!

Hope you are having an awesome weekend!!

Grandma's Lawn Chair Blog Hop Continues...

First I want to say Thank You to everyone who has been stopping by all the stops on the blog hop so far, entering the giveaways, and especially for all of your kind comments! I truely appreciate every single one of them. You make my heart sing! :) And a HUGE thank you to everyone who has purchased a pattern already. You rock!

Before I get into all the good stuff for today's stop, I want to announce the lucky winner of the giveaway from my first post:

Congrats Liberty!

If you are just stopping by the blog hop for the first time, be sure to check out this post to read all about my Grandma's Lawn Chair quilt pattern.

I am loving all the quilts I've seen so far, as well as the behind the scenes sneak peeks. I can't wait for you to see all the quilts coming in the next two weeks! Today I want to show you even more ideas on how you can use color to change up the pattern, and make something unique with it. I hope this will help get the wheels turning!

Here are a few ideas I share in the pattern:
(These are really rough ideas. They will look way better in actual fabric.) ;)

 Ombre effect! I like this one. 

Use lighter colors at the top, and gradually go darker as you get to the bottom.

 Two tone option 1: all vertical strips one color, horizontal strips a different color

 Two tone option 2: alternate between colors for both vertical and horizontal strips.

Warm/cool: use warm colors for one direction, cool colors for the other. (I know, purple is more of a cool color, but still.)

and of course the Rainbow quilt. :)

Here are a few ideas not in the pattern:

 Make the horizontal strips the same color as the background. Or just the vertical, using prints for the horizontal strips.

 Put two of the same color strips next two each other. Where they cross, it forms a # design. I think this one works especially well for a larger size quilt.

My good friend Krista said she wants to make a Christmas or Halloween quilt with it. I think I do too, now. :)

 I really love aqua and green for Christmas colors!

Wouldn't these make for a perfect Christmas present?

Want to come up with your own color schemes? The pattern comes with a coloring page for each size. :)

Do you know that this pattern would be even faster to make with a jelly roll??? After I get back from Sewing Summit, I want to add a jelly roll conversion chart to the pattern. Have you already purchased the pattern? Don't worry! When I update the pattern on Craftsy and Etsy, you can simply go back to the pattern page and download it again. You'll have all the changes and updates easy as that.

Everyone's been using my quilt around here. :)

The first night, Hunter asked me at least a dozen times if he could sleep with it. Sorry little dude, it's mine! mwahaha. ;)

Here's the line up for the rest of the blog hop:

(I've updated the links of previous posts so you can go right to them, if you haven't seen them yet.)

Mon 9th - Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 10th - Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
 Wed 11th - Ginny @ Fishcreek Studio
Thurs 12th - Kelleigh - guest blogging at from blank pages...
Fri 13th - Sara @ Sew Sweetness

Mon 16th , Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 17th - Hilary @ Young Texan Mama
Wed 18th - Mike @ The Amateur Quilter
Thurs 19th - Rachael @ imagine gnats
Fri 20th - Courtney @ Mon Petite Lyons 

Mon 23rd - Jamie @ Sunflower Seeds
Tues 24th - Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts
Wed 25th - Krista @ Spotted Stones
Thurs 26th - Cristy @ Sew Much Like Mom
Fri 27th - Diane @ from blank pages...

Ginny's quilt was featured on Auriful's facebook page! How cool is that?! I took a screen shot of it for you Ginny. ;)

Do you want another giveaway?! I decided to cut that first giveaway short (it originally went until the end of the blog hop). I thought it would be more fun to also have a giveaway that came with some fabric!! How does some Shelburne Falls by Denyse Schmidt sound???

You could win a PDF copy of Grandma's Lawn Chair Quilt Pattern AND a fat eight bundle of 11 prints of Denyse Schmidt's Shelburne Falls (prints shown), and enough Kona White for the background fabric. That is enough fabric to complete a baby size quilt top. (Sorry, US only, for shipping cost reason. I hope you understand. If you are international, be sure to stop by all the other blogs for a chance to win a copy of the pattern!!! If you want to help pay for shipping, I'm more than happy to ship it international.)

Use the Rafflecopter to enter:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I will announce the winner on the final post of the blog hop. Good luck!

You can purchase the pattern on Craftsy and Etsy.
10% off until the end of the blog hop. No coupon necessary!

Be sure to stop by all the other great blogs this week! 

I will be leaving on Thursday to go to the Sewing Summit! 

I am getting so excited!

and I'm planning on taking lots of pictures this year. :)

We have a winner!

Thanks everyone who has entered the giveaways for my Grandma's Lawn Chair quilt pattern, so far. :) I hope you have enjoyed seeing all the quilts so far. I know I am loving it! ;) heehee.

I want to announce the winner for the giveaway on Kelleigh's blog hop post.

Congrats Deborah! 

There is still time to enter the giveaway on my intro post HERE. It ends tonight at midnight. I'll announce the winner in the morning with my blog post. I'll also be starting up another, extra, giveaway tomorrow. And I'm throwing in something fun to go along with the pattern, so I hope you'll stop by and enter!! :)

Otherwise I am just busy busy getting ready for Sewing Summit!! It's this week, I can't believe it!! (I am so excited!) :)

I hope you've had a wonderful weekend!

Grandma's Lawn Chair Blog Hop Guest Blogger: Kelleigh

I am so excited to have Kelleigh guest blogging today! She doesn't have a blog, but is @Kelleighz on Instagram. :) She was so kind to volunteer to test my pattern for me and I couldn't be more grateful! 

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Hi! I’m Kelleigh.  I’m just visiting today to tell you all about my adventures with Diane’s new quilt pattern Grandma’s Lawn Chair. 

A few months ago, a student of mine told me that he was going to be an uncle.  He was very excited about his new niece and asked me to make a quilt for her.  Yikes, a quilt?  I love to sew but I am definitely not a quilter. I told him that I would but that it would be a simple quilt because, while I can make baby clothes all day, quilts are hard for me.  Two days later, I was presented with a small stack of flannel that he had bought with his own money.  Needless to say, I was stuck at that point.

Searching for a pattern that didn’t scare the pants off of me was not something I was looking forward to doing.  I wracked my brain trying to think of something to make with this very small stack of fabric for the very excited uncle to be.  Enter Diane and her great new pattern.

This quilt looks very labor intensive and complex but, in reality, it was so very easy. The pattern opens with beautiful pictures of the quilt in several color layouts. Over the next 15 pages, Diane walks you through everything you need to know about making this quilt including: a discussion about fabric choices, colors, sizes of the quilt, tools that you will need, cutting instructions and alternate layouts.  When I tell you that anyone can make this quilt with confidence, I really do mean anyone.  If I can, you certainly can.

Here are some pictures of my quilt (the posting of which make me only slightly more nervous than tackling the quilt in the first place).

 

The small stack of flannels, washed and ready to go.

I made the baby size quilt which was perfect for the 5 fat quarters that I was given paired with a yard of solid pink.  While this quilt is not as vibrant as many of the ones that you will see on this blog hop, I am happy with the softness and warmth that it will provide.  As you may have noticed, I did not actually quilt it with many straight lines; I just used a few to keep the two layers from shifting too much. (*HINT* don’t make one of your first quilt with flannel and Minkie; two of the stretchiest fabrics ever!!).

Thank you, Diane, for letting me test this pattern and for letting me share my experience with it.  If you are interested in trying your hand at this yourself, Diane has it for sale on her Craftsy page and Etsy shop.

Please check in on all of the other beautiful quilts on this blog hop.  I know that their quilts will show you what a real quilter can do with this pattern.

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Thank yo so much Kelleigh!! Your quilt looks beautiful! And oh so soft! I want to rub it on my cheeks. :) I don't think I would have ever thought to make this all out of flannel, but wouldn't that be so soft, and perfect for a baby?!! Thanks again! :)

Even though this post is technically on my blog, Kelleigh still gets to offer up a free PDF copy of the pattern to one of you lucky readers! 

To enter: 

Leave a comment on this post answering the question: 

What is your favorite thing you like to make (or buy) for a baby gift? Giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Deborah!

I'll announce a winner on Saturday evening.

Make sure to check out all the other stops on the blog hop! To see their amazing quilts, as well as enter to win a copy of the pattern.

Here's the line up:

Mon 9th - Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 10th - Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
 Wed 11th - Ginny @ Fishcreek Studio
Thurs 12th - Kelleigh - guest blogging at from blank pages...
Fri 13th - Sara @ Sew Sweetness

Mon 16th , Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 17th - Hilary @ Young Texan Mama
Wed 18th - Mike @ The Amateur Quilter
Thurs 19th - Rachael @ imagine gnats
Fri 20th - Courtney @ Mon Petite Lyons 

Mon 23rd - Jamie @ Sunflower Seeds
Tues 24th - Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts
Wed 25th - Krista @ Spotted Stones
Thurs 26th - Cristy @ Sew Much Like Mom
Fri 27th - Diane @ from blank pages...

Thank you so much for stopping by and joining in!

If you make something with this pattern (or any of my patterns), I'd love for you to share it with me and everyone else! 

Add it to the from blank pages... Flickr group, 

or on Instagram tag it with #fromblankpagespatterns

Grandma's Lawn Chair Quilt Pattern & Blog Hop

Welcome to my Grandma's Lawn Chair Blog Hop! I'm so excited to celebrate the release of my very first full-quilt quilt pattern. But even more than that, I personally want to celebrate trying something new and breaking through intimidation! :) And what better way to do that than have a blog hop, and loads of giveaways?!


I first doodled this pattern in September 2011. 2 years ago!

Last year I did a more complicated version of this same design, when I came up with the Weave Tutorial for the Winterkist blog hop. Then about 2 months ago I sat down one night, and put together this pattern! Before I knew it I had a handful of great testers, and I was making two quilts! It's been an awesome experience! I am SO grateful for all of the help I have received with this pattern. I couldn't have asked for better testers, and I am so excited for you to meet them throughout the blog hop.

Lap Size Quilt: all prints are Tula Pink, from a mixture of different lines

background fabric is Kona White

back is a chevron cuddle minky

While I was finishing up the quilts, I couldn't stop thinking about my grandma's old lawn chairs. Do you know what I'm talking about? They were made from a plastic webbing wrapped around a metal frame. The last few weeks have been full of fond memories of her, her home, and her beautiful garden. I loved my grandma so much! She used to babysit me a lot when I was younger, and I could go on for hours with all of my memories of her. I spent many hours outside in her yard and garden. She was an amazing gardener. She was also a quilter! She made each of her 20+ grandchildren a quilt, and every winter we pull ours out and use it! (It's made of a lot of polyester fabrics and probably weighs 100 pounds! lol.) With all of my thoughts of her, I decided to dedicate this pattern to her. Unfortunately she passed away while I was in college, long before I ever thought about quilting. It would have been fun to learn from her!

Due to one delay after another this weekend, in regards to getting this last quilt finished, I barely made it out to gets photos before the sun set. I had fun taking the pictures, but unfortunately it wasn't the best lighting for the quilts. :) Can I be fired from my own blog hop for being so late?!

About my Grandma's Lawn Chair Quilt Pattern:

The pattern finished up at 15 pages. I think the final version is a bit different from the first. Which I'm sure is a good thing. :)

Included in the pattern:
- Table of Contents
- Let's get Acquainted section. :: I kind of like this section. It's basically a walk through of the quilt and what makes the pattern work. For me anyway, knowing how something goes together, helps free my mind to be creative and come up with my own variations. I wanted to pass that onto you, so you don't feel stuck using the color schemes I used in the pattern, but rather, come up with your own!
- A few tips regarding the fabric you choose.
- Cutting instructions for three different quilt sizes: Baby, Toddler, and Lap size. The baby and toddler sizes to vary by much, but asking my testers which size they preferred, it was split down the middle between the two. The baby size is great for smaller babies, using in the car, carrying around the house as a blankie. The toddler quilt is just big enough that it would be great to keep on the bed, in a crib, or to use for years and years as your child gets older! The lap quilt is perfect for a snuggle quilt for two. Or one. :)
- Tips and instructions for using directional prints as well as directional prints for the background fabric.
- Cutting instructions also include how to cut from yardage, as well as how to cut from fat quarters (or fat eights for the baby size only).
- Piecing instructions.
- Fabric variations and color schemes, as well as a key for cutting if using scraps.
- I really like including coloring pages for my paper piecing patterns, and thought, why not include coloring pages for a quilt as well?! There is a page for each of the three quilt sizes.
- LOTS of diagrams

I really tried to pack this pattern full of anything you might need to know, without turning it into a book. If you still have questions, or something is unclear, please let me know! I'm happy to help!

Baby Size quilt: All fabrics are Simply Color by V. and Co.

I cut the ombre fabrics so the strips are lighter in the center, and darker towards the edges.

background fabric is Kona White

backing is an Amy Butler dots flannel. 

While I was making this one I laid it over Jackson to test the size. He was SO excited and honored that I would make him a quilt. "Uh, sure. I guess you can have it." So I guess this will be his.

I think this is the fastest I have ever started and finished two quilts.  If you've been around my blog a while, you probably know it takes me YEARS to finish a quilt. lol. Part of it is that I really made myself finish them, but it also helped that this really is a quick pattern! The week we were packing and getting ready to go to Utah, I cut out the fabric for the baby quilt and finished the top in two days (while packing!). I was kind of surprised. I think I'll be making a lot more of these for baby gifts.

I was also surprised at how fast people got back to me with photos of their quilts! I really hope you'll stop by and check them out! (They are really cute!!! and did I mention lots of Briar Rose?!) :)


Here's the line up:

Mon 9th - Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 10th - Julie @ Jolie Maxtin
 Wed 11th - Ginny @ Fishcreek Studio
Thurs 12th - Kelleigh - guest blogging at from blank pages...
Fri 13th - Sara @ Sew Sweetness

Mon 16th , Diane @ from blank pages...
Tues 17th - Hilary @ Young Texan Mama
Wed 18th - Mike @ The Amateur Quilter
Thurs 19th - Rachael @ imagine gnats
Fri 20th - Courtney @ Mon Petite Lyons 

Mon 23rd - Jamie @ Sunflower Seeds
Tues 24th - Alyce @ Blossom Heart Quilts
Wed 25th - Krista @ Spotted Stones
Thurs 26th - Cristy @ Sew Much Like Mom
Fri 27th - Diane @ from blank pages...

I really do love the simple basket weave pattern.

Now for the giveaway! 
Use the Rafflecopter to enter to win a free PDF copy of my Grandma's Lawn Chair Quilt Pattern!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do you want more ways to win a copy?? Stop by each of the stops on the blog hop! Everyone will be hosting a giveaway for a copy of the pattern to one of their readers. That's 13 chances!

I am really excited about this new park I found for pictures! Isn't this bridge great?!

You can purchase this pattern on Craftsy or Etsy.
During the blog hop it's on sale for 10% off. No coupon necessary.

Thank you!!

Thank you so much for stopping by and joining me!!