A Guided Tour

I am playing a little catch up after being in Napa all weekend. My mom is all moved in to her darling little apartment! So here is a guided tour of recent posts on the AMB blog tour.

New York, by Marsha over at Quilts from My Crayon Box.

North Carolina, by Patty at A Stitch in Time. 

Patty made a second block and incorporated it into a darling table runner. 

Rhode Island, by Tina over at Seaside Stitches. 

Tina's blog header is a beautiful hexie quilt.

Vermont, by Marsha, the Quilter in Motion, who literally quilts on the road in her RV.

Check each of them out to learn more about their states and enter the giveaways.  

It is fun to see some of the special products they have found made in their states.

I wonder if Arizona has a unique product made here???

Have to check back in June to find out.

First thing on my list this week is to go get some hugs from my granddaughter and then make a second AZ block.  I was so inspired by Patty's table runner that I have to come up with something too.

Cruising Along

We are on Day 5 of our AMB road trip and so far I am very impressed with the creativity of the bloggers I have met on my tour. 

Alabama is brought to you by Julia of Green Quilts. Julia is the author of the Hexie Blog I am following and has a very creative monthly hexie block to share.

The symbolic Pilgrim hat depicting Massachusetts is designed by Jen over at A Quilting Jewel.

The Maryland block was designed by Dawn of Spring Water Designs.

The South Carolina block is from Kristin over at The Crafty Quilter's Closet. Kristin has 3 giveaways, including a kit for her block.

The Virginia block is brought to you by the 'Voice of Quilting,' Pat Sloan. Her tutorial gives you three block designs to choose from.  I like the one with 3 Dogwood blooms.
The New Hampshire block has not posted yet, but you can check out what Victoria came up with over at  Parkhill Farm.

What have I been up to?
I have been helping my quilty friend, Cindy, accomplish her mission of making 100 quilts to gift to her stepson's Army Brigade when they disband this summer.  They are currently deployed in Kuwait.
We used a fun, fast, no fuss string quilt pattern to make the quilts.

These are two of the quilts made by Kathy and Cindy.
The blocks were made from strip sets that were the full width of the fabric, giving them a more consistent look.

Marilyn and I collaborated on this one.
These strip sets were made from fat quarters of fabric and therefore, it is very scrappy.
Interested in the technique?
Find the tutorial here.

Kathy and I used a different technique to make this one.
I saw the tutorial over at Butterfly Threads Quilting.
A little more effort, but I love the results!

We made a total of 8 quilt tops for Cindy.
I wish I had pictures to share of the red, white and blue beauties Bobbie made and a striking cheddar and teal rendition that Susan made from left over civil war fabrics.

Now I am off to help my Mother move from her home of 35 years into independent living.
Such an emotional weekend ahead.
Everyone have a safe Memorial Day weekend!

Road Trip

The AMB blog tour is off to a great start.

I love the first four blocks!

The darling Delaware block can be found at the
Blue Striped Room Blog.

The patriotic Pennsylvania block can be found at
Cheryl Lynch Quilts.

That peach of a block from Georgia is over at
Butterfly Threads Quilting.

And the spudacular block from Idaho is at
Taffy Talk.


Exciting news...
at the end of the tour, the blocks will be set into a quilt with all 50 states and will hang adjacent to the AMB Farm to Fabric Challenge exhibit at Houston Quilt Market and Festival!
YAY!
I may be visiting some friends I know in Houston!

The full list of bloggers can be found here.
Hop on over for your chance to win a fat quarter bundle of these beautiful, made in America fabrics!
I will be back on Jun. 19th with my Arizona block.

Countdown to a Road Trip!

  My cousin is a cotton farmer in Texas, and I am so proud to be part of the AMB blog tour and promote a fabric that is entirely sourced and manufactured in our beautiful country.  One week to go before we start our state to state tour.  Here is a little peek of my license plate.

Can you guess what I am showcasing?

Here it the link to the other bloggers participating:

http://americanmadebrand.com/blogtour/

Remember, a fat quarter bundle of these beautiful fabrics will be given away on each of the 50 blogs.

In addition to the patterns for each of the state's license plate, the bloggers have come up with some great giveaways of special treats reflecting what they like most about their state.

Now I am off to collect some of the items I will be including in my Arizona gift bag!  

American Made Brand Blog Tour

I am honored to announce that I was selected to design the Arizona license plate quilt block for the American Made Brand Blog Tour starting May 19th.  Designed to take you on an inspired trip across the USA, the blog tour will visit all 50 states over a period of 25 days. At each stop on the tour, the designers will re-interpret their state license plate in a finished 12" x 6" quilt block. In addition to tutorials for making the blocks, there will be giveaways of AMB  fabrics; a collection of solids both grown and made here in America.

Just click on the button in my sidebar to link to the daily itinerary. Each block will be unique and I know I can hardly wait to collect them all! I have had a sneak peek of a few of them and they are wonderful.
Check back every day starting May 19th and explore this great country of ours with AMB;
 no gas required!

I will be posting my block on June 19th, including a tutorial and links to the pattern, as well as some interesting info about my beautiful state. In addition to the fat quarter bundle from AMB, I will have additional prizes to give away.
So please come back and see what I cook up.   

Seeing Stars!

This week has involved making a ton of flying geese!

Either for star points on sawtooth stars...

Star Spangled Banner,

a sew along pattern for a patriotic door banner coming soon to TOWQS blog.

AND more sawtooth stars....

for a Dr. Seuss themed baby quilt.

Then there are those blocks for my red and green quilt...yes, I did get at least one made for this month. Three out of four goals achieved!  No complaints. 

No flying geese involved in these stars!

The final phase of my Mystery quilt.

I hope the ladies like it.