Q3 FAL - Link up your Q3 finishes!

Can you believe it, we have made it to the end of the third quarter of the 2018 Finish-A-Long and it's time to link up your Q3 finishes.  We hope you have used the past three months to complete a bunch of those UFOs on your lists!

The 2018 FAL has a community of bloggers across the world jointly hosting and this year's hosts are:

• Marci - Marci Girl Designs - USA

• Sandra (also Social Media Director) - Studio Sew of Course - Ireland

• Leanne - She Can Quilt - Canada

• Ella - Throw a Wench in the Works - USA

• Felicity - Felicity Quilts - Canada

• Karen - Capitola Quilter - USA

• Izzy - Dizzy Quilts - Canada

• Lynne - Tinking Along - USA

Before the link up, let's give a huge thank you to our fantastic sponsors:

$50 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

$25 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$20 Gift Certificate

3 PDF Patterns

2 PDF Patterns

3 Six Month Subscr.

$25 Gift Certificate

$25 Gift Certificate

A Minikins Bundle

$50 Gift Certificate

2 PDF Patterns

$30 Gift Certificate

$40 Gift Certificate

For this quarter of the 2018 FAL, we continue tutorial week.  Here is the schedule for this quarter so you can visit them all:

• October 3 - Leanne of She Can Quilt

• October 4 - Izzy of Dizzy Quilts                                                                                                      
• October 5 - Karen of Capitola Quilter

The 2018 Quarter 3 link for your finishes is now open below on my blog and on each of the hosting blogs - you only need to link on one blog for your finish to appear on all host blogs.

Link-up "Rules":

Add one link for each finish.  If you want to link a round up post of all your finishes, use that link to enter one of your finishes and then link the rest of your finishes separately.  Please, only one link per finish, as your link is an entry into the randomly drawn prize draws. 

Please ensure that the photo (Instagram or Flickr) or blog post you link up contains a link or reference back to your original list so that we can verify your entry (make sure it is from the appropriate quarter, too). On Instagram, tag your photos with #2018FALQ3yourname (where yourname is unique to you), this makes it easier for us to match your finishes with your list, which also should have this tag.

Please become part of the FAL community.  Check out the links of others and leave a comment. We all need encouragement so let's applaud each other.  The 2018 FAL Facebook page is HERE and you can follow us on Instagram @finishalong.

Our hosts will also link up their finishes to share in the community but they are not eligible for any of the prizes.

The Q3 Finishes link will stay open from now thru 11 pm, EST, Tuesday, October 9, 2018 - as we are global, you might want to check your time zone to determine your last possible time to link (you can also see how much time is left below the linked up images on the right).  It is best to link up your finishes early and if you have a last minute one, add that one later so you don't miss out.  The prizes will be awarded as soon as we can verify all the entries and do the drawings.  We will post the winners on each host's blog.

Lastly, don't forget to start making your Q4 list as the Q4 list link opens on October 10, 2018.

Best,

Leanne

An InLinkz Link-up

Paint-by-Number Quilts blog tour

It's my turn on my friend, Kerry Foster's book tour to celebrate and share her new book, Paint-By-Number Quilts.



I have been admiring Kerry's fantastic pictorial quilts for many years, as she has shared them on her blog and on instagram. I have been excitedly waiting for Kerry's book sharing her process and some of her beautiful patterns, and now its here.

Kerry shares her process in Paint-By-Number Quilts, and it is straightforward and her explanations make it seem so easy. I expect that everyone will be able to enjoy it. There is no need to purchase fancy supplies, I have all of them already in my sewing room. And once you understand the process, you will see how easy it is to use it to make the projects in the book or even for your own designs.

This book is well written and full of clear instructions, photos to show the steps and several additional tips for success. I highly recommend it and can't wait for some time to try out the process myself.

You can buy a copy of Paint-By-Number Quilts by going here. I'm hosting a give away of an electronic copy of Paint-By-Number Quilts on instagram - go here to enter. You can also check back with the others on the blog hop to enter some of the other give aways too.

Here are links to the all the bloggers and instagrammers celebrating Kerry's new book:

Monday Sept 17 - Kerry @ PennyDog

Tuesday Sept 18 - Deirdre @ C&T Publishing

Wednesday Sept 19 – Anita @ Daydreams of Quilts

Thursday Sept 20 – Sarah @ Coopcrafts *

Friday Sept 21 – Krista @ Poppyprint *

Monday Sept 24 – Elizabeth @ OP Quilt

Tuesday Sept 25 – Wendy @ The Crafter’s Apprentice

Wednesday Sept 26 – Angela @ Heart of Charnwood *

Thursday Sept 27 – Leanne @ She Can Quilt *

Friday Sept 28 – Katy @ The Littlest Thistle

Best,

Leanne

Q2 FAL Winners!

Today we are celebrating 401 (!!) finished projects in Quarter 2 of the 2018 Finish-A-Long. So many of you are joining in and getting their UFOs or WIPs out of that dark corner, and into the limelight to be shown off as a finish. If you are in need of inspiration go on over and have a look, there were so many great makes. And of course, thanks to our many generous sponsors, we are finishing off the quarter by announcing the lucky winners!!

Without further ado, the winners picked by the Random Number Generator of the 2018 Q2 FAL prizes are:

The Q2 Winner of the $50 Gift Certificate from Fat Quarter Shop is Mary who blogs at Quilting is in my Blood.  She finished three projects in the second quarter of the year, one being this adorable baby quilt:

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The Q2 Winner of the 3 PDF Patterns from During Quiet Time is Helen who blogs at Midget Gem Quilts.  She finished a quilt she had started back in 2016, her circles quilt, which is just lovely:

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The Q2 prize of the $25 Gift Certificate from Sew Sisters Quilt Shop goes to Cheryl on Flickr as Paisley Crazy.  She finished this cute charm quilt which was her first finish of the quarter:

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The Q2 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Quilting Jet Girl is Dianne on IG @quiltova. She finished this charming baby quilt, which was her third and final finish of the quarter:

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The Q2 Winner of the $20 Gift Certificate from Sew Me a Song is Lisa who blogs at Lisa in Port Hope.  She finished a beautifully free motion quilted quilt started in 2015:

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The Q2 Winner of the 3 PDF Patterns from Happy Quilting is Jenny on IG @silverbellsandcockleshells.  She finished these cute snugly slippers:

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The Q2 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Charm About You is Donna who blogs at Faerydae Stitches.  She finished a great Double Zip Gear Bag for a retreat swap:

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The Q2 Winners (3) of the 6 Month Subscription to Make Modern Magazine are:

1.  Teresa on IG @misdosbichillos.  She finished this double zipper pouch, which was her sixth finish this quarter:

2.  Helene on IG @30hela.  She finished this gorgeous sashiko pillow:

3. Donna on IG @donnalyn18.  She finished this super cute spring bunny cushion:

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The Q2 prize of the $25 Gift Certificate from Studio 39 Fabrics goes to Kayde on IG @sewdexter.  She finished this pretty tiny flying geese lanyard, which was her 13th finish for the year (and they say 13 is unlucky, ha!):

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 The Q2 Winner of the $25 Gift Certificate from Tartan Kiwi is Gretchen who blogs at 120 Blocks.  She finished this pretty felt hand stitched Christmas holly mat:

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The Q2 Winner of the Minikins bundle from Sew Sweetness is Cheryl on IG @1strongcheryl.  She finished this gorgeous quilt that is minky backed (I bet it is snugly!):

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The Q2 prize of the $50 Gift Certificate from Mad About Patchwork goes to Danda who blogs at Northern Deb Quilts.  She finished this lovely scrap quilt which was a leader and ender project:

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The Q2 Winner of the 2 PDF Patterns from Blossom Heart Quilts is Celine who blogs at Espritpatch.  She finished this fantastic Blanche Barrel Bag for her daughter:

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The Q2 Winner of the $30 Gift Certificate from Clover & Violet is Mary who blogs at Musings of a Sometime Quilter.  She finished this lovely quilt and this is her first year participating in the FAL (yay!):

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The Q2 Winner of the $40 Gift Certificate from Bunny's Designs is Cathy who blogs at Cathy's Crazy by Design.  She finished this super sweet ABC quilt for her granddaughter:

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Congratulations to all the winners!  Thank you for playing along with us in the second quarter, and we hope you continue joining in for the rest of the year. We love to encourage you to finish up all those WIPs and UFOs, and to see what great makes will be finished next time.

Best,

Leanne

More improv, more progress

I've been working on my improv sampler, I have this much done. I need to move it to a different design area as I can't easily reach the top above my sewing machine to organize the blocks. But I do know that the space you see up to the end of the plus blocks on the far right is about what I need to fill up for a 60" square.

I cut some pieces big enough to work on the part I am doing next, then I use them up, then cut some more. I am trying to decide what kind of improv blocks to make next. This project has been so good for kick starting my quilting creativity, as I am playing with all sorts of improv. Also, I find improv with prints challenging and the lack of contrast adds even more difficulty. So both challenging and creative.

I especially like how these rosettes have come together.

And the string blocks, I have always resisted making many of these but they are so easy to make, especially when you don't bother with a foundation. You just need to remember they are very stretchy because they are cut on the bias so need to be handled with care.

Next time I make blocks like these, I will try to share more of the process for construction of them.

I am missing reading blogs of folks who share their quilting, sewing and knitting progress and processes. If you have suggestions of blogs, including your own, for me to consider, please leave me a note in the comments.

Best,

Leanne