Introducing Bees 'n Blooms

KT Winner

Congratulations to Sally Hurst -

November 11, 2015 at 10:48 AM

I must make one of these for my daughter--she always says my quilts are too stiff for cuddling up.

You're the winner of our new Huggable Quilts book available later this month. Please email Jamie at lynne@ktquilts.com with your mailing address. You'll be one of the first to receive our book full of cozy, cuddly flannel quilts.

Market Introductions

I've been as patient as possible, waiting to show you my newest fabric collection, Bees 'n Blooms. In my humble opinion, it's one of the best ever! The mill did a fabulous job with the color. We opted for lighter, brighter tans in a range of tones along with my classic KT reds, navys, golds, purples, greens and black for a gorgeous spring group. This line was inspired by a beautiful floral print and a tiny bee print. Together with a diagonal stripe, tiny dots, floral vine and a swirly tone-on-tone worthy of any background, these lovely prints come together to create some delightful projects in our Bees 'n Blooms book.

There are three unique ideas in the Bees 'n Blooms book featuring precuts, layered patchwork and raw edge applique projects. The first is our Bees 'n Blooms quilt, inspired by the prints in the fabric. A background pieced from Jelly Roll strips is embellished with a garden of floral delights. All of the flowers are made with just one template - our KT Melon Template - for easy cutting and stitching. A few busy bees are buzzing around the blooms for good measure.

 Some of my favorite elements come together in a sweet Mini Table Treat. Just a few fabrics and appliques make an adorable 17" round table topper to coordinate with our Bees 'n Blooms lap quilt.

 I'll introduce more of the projects in our Bees 'n Blooms book over the next few weeks. For now, comment here to win a bag of Bees 'n Blooms scraps - leftover JR strips, etc. How fun is that!

Cozy Cottage Flannels

KT Winner

"What?" you ask? Was there a giveaway last week? Not really, because I forgot to say that whatever name I chose for the unnamed quilt would win one of the Crazy for Minis book when it comes out in January. Soooo, congrats to Diane who named it "Fair & Square". So simple, so perfect! Thanks, Diane. Please email Jamie at lynne@ktquilts.com with your mailing address. As soon as the books are printed, you'll be one of the first to have one.

Thanks to everyone for submitting names for the quilt. You guys are really good at this! My brain goes to mush when I have a dozen things to name at once, so I appreciate the help. No doubt I'll be asking for name submissions in the future.

Cozy Cottage Flannels

I've spent the last week petting and fondling my latest fabric collection, Cozy Cottage Flannels. This group has the softest, yummiest flannels ever! I used my layered patchwork technique to create simple throws with no batting and no additional machine quilting. You start with 2 Layer Cakes and charms, plus borders or a few tan fat quarters for each. With no quilting expense, these comfy throws are about $100-$150 each - front, back, binding, done! I made something similar several years ago, cutting all my own squares, called Frayed Edges. They're my kids' and grankids' go-to snugglers for TV watching and cuddling. These easy quilts were a breeze to name since they're all so huggable.  Can you guess their names?

Huggable 68x68

Snuggle Me 57x57

Cuddle Up 57x57

  The basic technique is - 1. Place 2 Layer Cake squares wrong sides together.
                                         2. Add 5" charm or 2 1/2" squares to front LC; topstitch.
                                         3. Quilt the blocks a little more for fun.
                                         4. Sew blocks together with seams on the back.
                                         5. Bind.
                                         6. Enjoy! They only get softer each time you wash them.

Here's the one I've been working on, Cuddle Up, front and back with exposed seams. (Not a great pic out on the porch, but you get the idea.) Since we started with a pinked precut there's no unraveling, just soft fraying on the back. It took me about 5 hours to put it together; now to add the binding. I think I'll do it by machine, too, so it'll be even faster. After all, these are the ultimate in "use them up, make some more" quilts your family will love. Oooooh, how about a smaller version in baby flannels?

Want to win the Huggble book with these three projects in it? Comment here to win!

Quilt Festival Gallery of Quilts

Carrie Nelson's blog (click here)If you weren't able to attend Quilt Festival in Houston, Carrie Nelson, Miss Rosie pattern designer and Moda blogger extraordinaire, posted some great pictures. Check out all the fabulous quilts from Moda owner Mark Dunn's collection, plus the special quilts made just for Moda's 40th Anniversary. I'm so blessed to be part of this great company. Can you find the Kansas Troubles strip in the selvedge quilt? Just wanted to share. Enjoy!

I love automatically receiving Carrie's blog post. Sign up to keep up to the minute on all the latest Moda happenings, too!

What's New for Market

KT Winner

Congratulations to Angelia Lanouette! You're the winner of the not-yet-available-to-anyone-else-on-the-planet Bees 'n Blooms mini charms! Email Jamie at lynne@ktquilts.com and she'll send them right out. What to do with those mini charms? Gee, I might just have an idea....

Crazy for Minis

We had so much fun with our Crazy for Pillows book we're offering the next book full of little quilts made with mini charms! It's the perfect way to taste test my layered patchwork technique on a small project - or make little quilts totally fast for any occasion. Most of these were made in 3-4 hours!

Autumn Sky - our easy layered patchwork technique makes for perfect star points every time. Done up in dreamy blues and fall tones, it's a perfect accent for your fall decor.

Spring Fling - Tiny pinwheels spin effortlessly made with mini charm triangles all buttoned up in red.

Holiday Goose - So fast & easy - 1 Christmas Mini Charm (or 2 for variety) plus  tan and black and about 2 hours to piece tops! Make one for everyone on your holiday list!

Assorted dark Mini Charm squares are layered with tan MC cut into triangles with a green wool square stitched in the center of each block. What's in a name? This little guy doesn't have a name yet. Help! Submit your suggestions to win this week's giveaway of a Sunflower Song scrap bundle.

 I'm planning a little party to celebrate Crazy for Minis in the form of a quilt-a-long. My designer friend, Pam Buda, of Heartspun Quilts is a master of quilt-a-longs and has convinced me I need to join in the fun. Are you interested? Let me know and I'll put together a mini sampler using a few different blocks to create a unique mini quilt available to you only thru the quilt-a-long.