Stash Case for Love Patchwork & Quilting Issue 30

A few months ago, Love Patchwork & Quilting asked me to make a fabric suitcase for their magazine. I always love working with them, and it's pretty fun to have a project published, so I jumped at the chance.  It's my first time being featured on the cover of the magazine (even if it is just a small picture), so that was kinda fun for me. ;) 

My project is called the "Stash Case" and can be found in Issue 30 of the magazine. It's a really fun, quick project that's perfect to store fat quarters in, or pack your supplies in to take for a sewing date with a friend, or pretty much anything else you might need a small suitcase for. (My girls have laid claim on the two cases I made and they are currently being used to cart baby doll things around the house.)

Here is a sneak peek of the Stash Case until you can get your hands on a copy of the magazine. 

The magazine is on sale now in the UK as well as the Apple Newstand. It will be coming to the US shortly and as soon as it does copies can be found at Barnes and Noble as well as Joann, so keep your eyes out! If you do happen to get your copy of the magazine on your tablet or mobile device, you can find printable templates to all of the projects HERE.

I hope y'all had a wonderful Christmas and are off to a great start for 2016. I took some time off social media and sewing during the holidays to be with my family, but now that the kiddos are back in school I can't wait to jump back in and get sewing! 

Hope you have a wonderful week!

Happy Sewing!

xoxo, Ashley

Pro Guide to Quilting

So I am a little late to the party with sharing this now, but with our big move, I forgot to share it with you all earlier. 

This summer, I had the opportunity to be published in a bookazine called Pro Guide to Quilting. (It's kinda a cross between a book and a magazine- so it is aptly named a Bookazine ;) It's full of lots of quilty projects, tips, and ideas. Perfect for anyone who loves, or is interested in beginning quilting. 

They featured the pattern to my Isosceles Triangle Quilt. (remember the quilt along that I did a couple year ago??) It was cool to see the diagram and pattern template that they designed since they weren't able to show each of my step by step pictures featured in the tutorial on my blog! It looks so official! Love it!

 I feel so honored to be featured in the book along side two of my sewing/quilty idols: Amy of nanaCompany and Amy of Diary of a Quilter, along with a whole other slew of talented quilters! And the title- Pro Guide to Quilting- makes me smile and laugh inside, because as someone who just started quilting, let alone sewing, a few years ago- "pro" is not a word I would associate myself with... but when opportunity comes knocking at your door- you answer it, right?! ;)

The book is a publication based out of the UK and is available for purchase here. Or you may still find a copy at Joann- I saw it there over the summer but haven't checked recently.

Hope you are all having a great start to your week! Be sure to pop by my instagram to see what sewing projects I've been up to lately! 

xoxo, Ashley

Leopard print, Y-seams, and voile.... oh my!

Last week I finally finished my Field Study scrappy trip along (king sized) quilt top. I love how vibrant and bold the colors are! And the leopard print... oh my... how I love it! I tried the quilt top on my bed today- just to see how it looked. It's perfect! The colors match and it totally adds to the eclectic look in my bedroom... Now I need to quilt the beast! 

The problem is... I keep getting myself sidetracked! Since finishing the quilt top, I have started 2 other quilts. I just can't help myself... 

Sew Mama Sew had another fabulous $6 sale on AMH Good Folks Voile and I had birthday money burning a hole in my pocket so I just HAD to order some! (As if I needed any more added to my little folks stash- but one can never have too much- right?) I managed to snag enough to back a quilt and make a shirt or two. 

I started collecting my Little Folks Voile last year and have been perusing the Little Folks Flickr Group for inspiration ever since.  After hearing how slippery it is to sew with, I settled on starting with a basic patchwork squares quilt to get a feel for  working with it. Once I get the hang of working with voile, I have plans to make a Little Folks Swoon quilt that may look something a little like this beauty...

(These scraps are so beautiful I can't bring myself to throw them in the trash! ha ha)

After the Scrappy Trip Along and the X-Plus Along on Instagram came the Medallion Along. 

I couldn't help but join in once I saw this beautiful quilt! So far I have my center medallion done... Which was quite the feat given that I mixed up my templates and started sewing it together with the pieces mixed up... and then there was the Y-seams! ha ha Don't let it scare you though- if you are a responsible "template maker" and are patient, it's really not that hard! It was my first time with y-seams and they were not as hard as I thought they would be... my points are not perfect, but we are rolling with it! :)

Stay tuned for my progress and definitely check Instagram for inspiration! #marcellemedallion #medallionalong

For anyone that is wanting to make the Marcelle Medallion quilt, you can find it in the Liberty Love book by the talented Alexia Abegg or you can also find the pattern in the new Love Quilting & Patchwork magazine that just hit Barnes & Noble here in the US.

I picked up a couple copies this afternoon. It was a little surreal when I opened a magazine in B&N and saw my face starring back at me! I showed a little self control and only bought 2 copies... and I showed even more self control and refrained from showing the lady that was standing next to me! ha ha

I heard it should be available in Joann stores as well but didn't have any luck finding it in my local store... probably in the next week or so.

Hope you are all having a wonderful week!

xoxo, Ashley

A Year Full of Firsts

Do you ever have years that seem to be good years and years that seem to be not so good?? I do. So far this year seems to be shaping up to be a pretty good year so far... I feel like it as been packed full of a bunch of "firsts" for me... I thought I would share some of the fun firsts with y'all today...

Without fail, each and every year, I make a new years resolution to write in my journal everyday.... and wouldn't you know it- I have never succeeded! Until this year (so far). I got the idea from the darling Camille Roskelley to get this lovely one line a day... 5 year memory book- she is almost done with 5 years of memories! Amazing!

(another first for me this year (some of my fellow fabric junkies may have picked up on it in the picture): I splurged and bought some of my favorite Liberty Lifestyle Bloomsbury Garden fabric... Oh. My. YUMMY!! I found mine here. I bought a fat quarters of a handful of my favorite prints and I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet, but for now I am content drooling over them on my sewing table... ;)

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While I was home visiting over Christmas and New Years, I had the chance to meet one of my favorite bloggers in the world: Amy from Diary of a Quilter... To say I have a blog crush would be an understatement... more like official blog stalker! ha ha 

I have learned all of my quilting basics from this lovely lady... She is soo soo talented! And as if that wasn't enough- she is one of the nicest people I have ever met. We had such a fun time browsing a darling fabric shop called Material Girls Quilt Shop that I was visiting for the first time (I told you this post was all about "firsts") and chatting over lunch at one of my all time favorite places to eat: Cafe Rio (definitely not a "first"). It was so much fun! Thanks for taking the time to meet up with me Amy!! xoxo

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On Valentine's Day this year... I had a fun thing happen that I would have never dreamed of... I was featured in a magazine. A very lovely, inspiring, and quilty magazine based in the UK called Love Quilting and Patchwork. For those of you that are a big fan of the CrossStitcher magazine, this is made by the same company.

I have no idea why they picked little old me to be included in such a lovely magazine, but I feel lucky to be along side the talent featured within. I haven't gotten my hands on a copy yet since it hasn't made its way to the US yet, but I am told that it should be on sale here shortly (around the end of March) so keep your eyes out for meand be sure to let me know if you happen to spot it here because you know I am going to be buying one (or ten) copies when it hits the stores! ;) For anyone that is itching to get a copy sooner than the end of March, it is available on iTunes. If you download the free CrossStitcher app in your newsstand, you can buy the Love Quilting and Patchwork magazine within that app. 

Until then, I thought I would give you a sneak peek of my page in the magazine... They featured my Sewing Storage.

Of course I had to give a shout out in my article (orange box that says "blog hop") to the lovely Maggie of Smashed Peas and Carrots who inspired my mini fabric bolts. Thanks again for such an awesome trick Maggie!

I have big plans for that beautiful quilt featured on the front of the magazine by Alexia Abegg ! Maybe I will use up some of my Bloomsbury Garden stash to make it! The pattern is included in the magazine. I can't wait to get started on it! It has sparked an impromptu quilt along on Instagram- look up the hashtags #medallionalong and #marcellemedallion for some yummy pictures on Insta. Anyone else in on the Medallion Along train? 

I am quite taken with these impromptu quilt alongs on Instagram... At the beginning of the year I jumped on board with the Scrappy Trip Along and seriously considered the xplus along too! This is the first quilt along that I have personally followed along with and it is so addicting! I have had so much fun watching all of the pictures pop up all over Instagram... It is so inspiring and fun to see the different fabric combinations people are coming up with! I went with mostly Field Study fabric by Anna Maria Horner, but threw in a couple randoms too.

I am all done with all 72 of my blocks... That's right ladies and gents... I went for the long haul and made an over sized queen for my bed. I am piecing all of the blocks this week and then I will be onto quilting it... I will be sure to post pictures when I am all done!

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A couple weeks ago, I decided to try making an Oliver + S pattern for the first time. I decided to make a little Ice Cream Dress for a friend who had just had a baby. I used some darling fabric from Sarah Jane for the first time too. It is from her Children at Play line and I am in love! 

I couldn't stop with just one project in Sarah Jane fabric so I started a quilt for my oldest out of some Out to Sea fabric inspired by a quilt and tutorial by Rita from Red Pepper Quilts... here is a sneak peek from my Instagram.... I am slightly obsessed with these mermaids, girly pirates, whales, and ships- you know I have a flair for anything nautical! I have the quilt top finished and am working on the quilting today... Stay tuned!

I hope you are all having a great week!! xoxo, Ashley


P.S. For anyone that loves to sew- I am a judge of the awesome SEWVIVIOR sewing competition over at Family Ever After! The auditions started yesterday so head over and audition to be in the competition and win some awesome prizes! I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!!

Family Ever After

My sweet friend Rachel is one of the coolest, adventurous, talented, most crafty people I know! She is so good at everything she does. When I met her, I knew we would be fast friends. I just love her!

Check out her blog. It's called Family Ever After. It's so cute! I love it!

I am pretty much obsessed with this wreath she made.