Good Hair Day Blog Hop *winner picked*

Welcome to the Stacey In Stitches stop on the Good Hair Day Fabric Blog Hop! Today I will be gushing all about Kim’s new line of fabric, Good Hair Day.

 

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When Kim showed me the line and asked if I would make something for her booth at Market, I immediately said yes! I love the sweet, sophisticated, retro look of the prints and the colors. Kim’s signature hand drawn style is so fresh and classic, and really takes the prints to the next level. Her attention to detail with color and print means that every individual pattern stands out, and all work together in a group. Paired with some of the Windham Artisan Cottons (a supple, tightly woven group of crossweaves), Good hair day is sure to make a splash in whatever project you choose to make. I couldn’t decide what to make and what prints to use, so of course I just HAD to make a little bit of everything!

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I have two FREE patterns for everyone for this line, available on the Windham website. Click here for your own copies =)

First up is the quilt Baubles. This design has been hanging around in my EQ files forever, and just needed the right line to match up with it. Good Hair Day fit the bill! It reminds me of the beach, and getting your hair braided and beaded while on vacation. I quilted the background using one of my favorite fillers, which perfectly complimented the lines and baubles. The baubles themselves are made using slice and turn applique, a super simple technique suitable for beginner quilters. I even included my quilting motif in the pattern in case you get stuck for ideas.

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Then, I wanted to try and capture the feeling of freshly cut and styled hair, that fresh from the salon feeling. Using faux cathedral windows to create the curved diamonds shapes , Sparkle perfectly visualizes that salon day feel. I quilted it using a large all over swirl that gives the impression of big, beautiful locks of freshly curled hair. I used a solid white background to make the diamonds pop, but using the blonde braid print instead of a solid white would work as well and give the quilt some warm depth.

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When the quilts were done and bound, I found myself with a few more days before I absolutely HAD to send out the projects, so I pulled out one of my favorite retro dress patterns and got to work. I used McCalls M7081 pattern and a pair of high contrasting prints. The dress turned out amazing, and I definitely need a crinoline to go underneath.

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Then I decided that a couple of bags were in order. I pulled out my copy of Sara Lawsons Big City Bags, and picked my two favorites- a the Go Go Bag and a retro style Fireside Bowl Bag. Again, I paired some contrasting and complimentary prints, and used the low volume accessories print for the lining. I love the swivel closure, and even managed to find a matching zipper for the gorgeous cherry bobby pins!

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The fabric is hitting stores this month, and of COURSE I just love every little bit of it.

Each blog is giving away a Good Hair Day charm pack, and there will be two Fat Quarter Bundles up for grabs as well, on on Kim’s Blog, and one on the Windham Blog. Be sure to pop by the other participants and see what awesome projects they have to offer.

Monday, January 11  –   Windham Fabrics / Kim Andersson – I Adore Pattern

Tuesday, January 12 –   Erin Harris – House on Hill Road / Terri Carpenter – The Quilted Fox / Cath Mosley on Instagram

Wednesday, January 13 –  Adrianne Ove – Little Bluebell  /  Kristen Takakuwa – The Needies

Thursday January 14 –  Dan Rouse – Piece and Press / Cal Patch – Hodge Podge Farm

Friday January 15 – Stacey Day – Stacey In Stitches / Amy Gunson – Badskirt

Saturday January 16 – Madeleine Roberg – Domestic Strata / Darci Alexis – Darci Sews

Sunday January 17 – Miriam Blaich – The Berlin Quilter / Crystal Chadwick – The Cloth Albatross

Monday January 18 – Pati Fried & Laura Nownes – See How We Sew / Gillian Smith –Coding Crafter

Tuesday January 19 – Casey York – The Studiolo / Nicole Daksiewicz – Modern Handcraft

 

Now for the giveaway! One lucky reader will be taking home a Good Hair Day charm pack, thanks to Windham Fabrics. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post! Easy peasy! To win a second bonus entry, share this post with your friends and tell me in a SECOND comment! Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, or however else you can think of to share Kim’s wonderful collection and possibly win yourself some fabric! I will leave the comment section open until the end of the blog hop- Tuesday, January the 19th, when I will draw the winner. Good luck and happy sharing!

 

And the Winner is: Comment #29! Janie, who said “Everything you have created with this fabric line is beautiful. Thank you for the free patterns and the giveaway.”

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Thank you Janie, and thank you everyone for the wonderful compliments!

 

Happy Stitching!

StaceyDay_Logo

Blogathon Canada Wrap-up and Winner Announced!

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Well, what a week!

We hopped all around Canada, visiting some great blogs and meeting some great people! I was so thrilled to be a part and to read all the wonderful comments people left! It was great to meet you all!

And a big thank you to Sew Sisters Quilt Shop for putting on this great event every year, and the sponsors for supporting Canadian Bloggers and Quilters.

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Now onto the good stuff! The winner of this beautiful bundle of Tula PInk Moonshine is……

Blogathon Giveaway Moon Shine in Strawberry

Blogathon Giveaway Moon Shine in Strawberry

….Number 239 Lee!! Who Said: “You have a fabulous blog!! I love Grace and Favour!” Congratulations Lee!

Winner Blogathon Canada 2014

 

I certainly had a ton of fun, and hope you all did too! Thanks you to everyone who participated for making this such a success! I cannot wait until next year!!

 

Until next time,

Happy Stitching!

StaceyDay_Logo

The Reclaimed West Blog Tour *Winner Announced!*

A huge thank you to everyone who visited for The Reclaimed West Blog Tour.

I wanted to reply to everyone’s comments, thank you all so much for your kind and encouraging words! I drew the winner of my free pattern, and the lucky number is……#25! Beezus, who said “Congratulations Stacey”. Yay!

Reclaimed West Winner

 

Welcome all to my day on the Reclaimed West Blog Tour. ( If you are here for the Blogathon Canada tour and giveaway, click here after reading all about this wonderful tour and entering this giveaway, and if not, check out both for some great fun!!) You can find all the tour dates and blogs here on the Timeless Treasures blog. They are a super group of very talented ladies, so check them out!

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I cannot even begin to describe my feelings to you all, having a design chosen as part of The Reclaimed West Tour. So a little back story might be in order.

 

I own almost every Judy Niemeyer pattern there is. She is one of my biggest influences, and it shows constantly in my work. I have made her Amazon Star in three sizes, 18″, 40″, and the full 104″. My Sapphire Star quilt, made from her Glacier Star pattern, has been juried into multiple shows across North America and even took home a ribbon from the Canadian Quilters Association. I have a private running challenge with my Grandma over who is going to finish her Pepper Dish first, and I was even able to provide an extra copy of Birds of Paradise to someone after the call went out on Quiltworx Facebook page. I love Judy and Judels work, and will even get up extra super early on sale days just to get the latest patterns.

Being a part of the launch of her new fabric line, The Reclaimed West, is a huge deal for me. Understatement of the year maybe….

I could ramble on and on about how beautiful the fabric is, the richness of the colors, the striking prints (only Judy and Judel could romanticize cows to the point where I would willingly sew with them), and the soft silk feeling of rolling around in a pile of…I mean…sewing with the fabrics.  Instead I will show you with the introduction of my new pattern:

Star of the West

Star of teh WestWhen I saw that Timeless Treasures was looking for submissions for the line, I fell out of my chair and immediately got to work playing. I knew that I wanted to do something to show the influence Judy had early on when I first started quilting, but at the same time keep true to the aesthetic that has evolved into my own style. So I started playing with the layouts and negative space. And playing…and playing… and playing.

I realized I was over-thinking things, and settled on a simple feathered star block. Then I found a color layout that I loved, and added the geese border. I wanted to reclaim that old favorite of mine, the lone star and flying geese, by adding some negative space and drawing out a little modern in the overall design. I created something that I loved, and sent it off with hope in my heart.

Stitching Enhanced

 

After I picked myself off the floor a second time, when I got the email saying my design had been accepted, I got to work drafting and writing. In true Judy style the quilt is foundation pieced. I love foundation piecing, it makes pointy points! Then the big day arrived with a box of fabric on  my front step. I crawled on up and opened it and immediately started sewing.

I finished in record time (for me) and then I was stumped. How to quilt it? The finished size is 64″x 64″, not unmanageable on my machine. But I was stuck. I simply could not decide. I definitely wanted to pay tribute to the beautiful quilting found on all of Judy’s quilts, but also wanted to keep within the modern traditional. Enter Ann Olson of Ann’s Quilt and Stuff. She took my top and turned it into a masterpiece. She delivered exactly what I was looking for, free motion triangle fillers, straight lines, and these amazing triangle feathers in a tribute to the gorgeous feather work found on an original Judy quilt. I cannot even begin to thank Ann enough.

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From start to finish, this quilt has been an incredible journey for me. To be a part of the blog tour with all these amazing quilters (almost all of which are certified Quiltworx instructors or successful business owners, or both) has been a joy and a privilege.

 

Star of the West is available from my Craftsy shop. The pattern is a PDF download, full color diagrams and pictures. The foundations are included in the pattern, but require legal size paper (8 1/2″x 14″ paper) to print. I am also giving away one of my patterns to a lucky commenter today! Just leave a comment at the end of this post. I will draw the winner on Friday, November 21 at 8pm (the conclusion of the tour). Timeless Treasures is also giving away an awesome Reclaimed West prize package here! You get an entry a day. Just visit the blogs of the day and follow the link back to enter each day.

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Thank you for stopping by and allowing me to share my quilt with you. Please visit again!

Happy Stitching,

StaceyDay_Logo

 

Welcome to Blogathon Canada! *Comments Closed*

Blogathon Canada is a week long event featuring some great Canadian bloggers. Hosted by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop and supported by a bevy of amazing sponsors, this Blogathon Canada promises to be the best yet! If you are coming over from the Sew Sisters website, you have probably already entered the great Aurifil Giveaway they have running today, but if not, be sure to click the Blogathon link above to enter and then head on back for some more great stuff right here!

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I am thrilled to be one of the hosts for BC. Not only do I get to introduce some great local Bloggers ( a few of which are fellow Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild Members), share a little about myself, and kick off this awesome week,  I get to have a great giveaway too! Are you excited? Great! Then lets get things rolling!

The dragon quilt #1

The dragon quilt #1-My very first quilt way back in the day. Being from Northern Alberta, the closest fabrics shops were a 444 km drive away! So this was made from an assortment of small pieces collected from my Grandma’s stash and larger broadcloths and cottons from Walmart.

Hi! I’m Stacey and I am a Quiltaholic! I love everything about quilting, from picking gorgeous fabrics to making tops to actually quilting and finishing some! I also design and write my own patterns, as well as do some writing and designing for a couple of great companies. I was bitten by the sewing bug early, when I made my very first quilt with my Grandma at 6 years old. I have always sewn on and off, and in 2002 my Grandma gave me her Janome 6600 for Christmas. That machine got me through college-where I earned a diploma in Fashion Production-travelled North with me when I met my husband, and then south again when I went back to school to get my diploma in Medical Radiography. I quilted on and off through all those years, but it was when I moved here, to the Lower Mainland, that I really started quilting in earnest. In the summer of 2010 I met Krista (@Poppyprint) at the Lions Gate Quilt Guild show, and she led me to the very first ever meeting of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild. It was the most amazing experience of my life, and I will always be thankful for that chance meeting. I had been a solitary quilter for a very long time, set apart by my style and age. I didn’t realize how many like minded quilters were out there until that meeting, nor the strong online presence and resources were out there. I started entering challenges and shows, having fun the whole time, looking forward every month to those VMQG meetings.

Fossilized Amethyst

Fossilized Amethyst-this beauty is my entry for the Hoffman Challenge 2014. You can read more about it here.

 

I started my blog in 2012 (it took me that long to embrace an online presence) when my son was born. I guess I didn’t feel busy enough, ha ha! I still managed to find time for sewing and quilting, and while I do have a few more Works in Progress than I might like, they are slowly being finished and given to loving homes. I do keep quite a few for myself, my quilts rotate around in my hallways (which are nice and long, perfect for hanging lots quilts!)

Sherbert at the Beach

Sherbert at the Beach- I entered this quilt into the AQS Lancaster show. You can read more about it here!

Thank you for visiting, and have a look around! There are tutorials and free patterns scattered about in here, I did try to corral them into a single tab up top, but you know how those things tend to migrate! (I can tell you there might be one here, and here, and possibly here)

Putting on the Ritz

Putting on the Ritz-This was my very first in print pattern. It can be found in Issue 16 of Fat Quarterly

Here is the list of great blogs I get to host for! Be sure to check them all out, and then come back here and tell me your favorite in the comments below.  Why you ask? Well, for this amazing bundle of Tula Pink’s Moonshine! Thats why! Yay!!! I love giving away great fabric! The giveaway is open to everyone, international friends are welcome! If you are a no reply Blogger, please be sure to leave your email in the comments so I can reach you! My partner host for today, Jessica over at Momiji Studio, will also have some great fabrics to give away as well as another list of great BC bloggers, so be sure to hop on over and keep the fun rolling!

Blogathon Giveaway Moon Shine in Strawberry

Blogathon Giveaway Moon Shine in Strawberry

Without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce a great group of British Columbia Bloggers! I am honored to know many of them in person, and pleased to make some new friends. I hope you do too!

aRt by Rhoda Forbes

Adventures in Life

Poppyprint​

Good Earth Quilting

Terry Aske Art Quilt Studio

What Comes Next?

Blueberry Patch

Grace and Favour

Fraser Valley Modern Quilt Guild

Daphne Greig

 

Happy Stitching!

StaceyDay_Logo

Blogathon Canada 2014 is Coming!

Are you ready? Blogathon Canada is Coming! 

Hosted by Sew Sisters Quilt Shop in Toronto, Canada, Blogathon Canada is an annual blogging event that showcases the talented quilters in the Great White North. There are host bloggers for each province, and the host blogger will have links to blogs in their province for hoppers to visit. Not only can you find some great local blogs to follow, there are also some great prizes in store as well! Each host will have a giveaway of goodies generously provided by Sew Sisters and the sponsors of Blogathon Canada: Aurifil Threads, Northcott Fabrics, and Robert Kaufman Fabrics. How awesome! Today as well Camelot and Timeless Treasures also have come forward as sponsors for Blogathon Canada! Even MORE awesomeness!!

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This is the third year of Sew Sisters hosting Blogathon Canada. Last year I had a great time as one of the hop-to blogs, and this year I am happy to be a host. I am all for anything that supports Quilting in Canada! If you would like to participate, just email Sew Sisters: connect@sew-sisters.com

Now without further ado…

The Hosts:

Monday, November 17

BC Stacey Stacey in Stitches (thats me!)

Monday, November 17

BC Jessica

Momiji Studio

Tuesday, November 18

Maritimes Linda Scrapmaster

Tuesday, November 18

Maritimes Linda

Stitch Lines

Wednesday, November 19

AB

Kelsey Everyday Fray

Wednesday, November 19

AB

Leanne

She Can Quilt
Thursday, November 20

SK

Heather Peace.Love.Quilt
Thursday, November 20

MB

Lori Night Owl Quilting
Friday, November 21

QC

Josée The Charming Needle
Friday, November 21

Territories

Janet Caribou Crossing Chronicles
Saturday, November 22

ON

Lorna 

Sew Fresh Quilts
Saturday, November 22 ON

Sandy

Upstairs Hobby Room

 

See you all here on November 17!

StaceyDay_Logo