Letters From Grace is Here!!!

Hi!  I'm so glad to be back to work, albeit part-time, it still feels great to be productive again. More on this in a bit because I am so jazzed to say that my new pattern, Letters From Grace, is ready to ship!

This is such a fun quilt to make.  I chose the unusual and oh-so-pretty Black Beauty Star block for this quilt.  Love, love, love!!!  I also love how the corners of the block, paired with the sashing and cornerposts create a secondary pattern.  Don't you love when that happens?!

The blocks are 8 inches....a nice size.

It's so fun to pair up the light and the plum prints for each block.  I promise that this is an easy to piece project.  You know my directions and graphics will lead you every step of the way.

If you're a regular reader of my blog, you know how I love pieced borders, right?!  Well, not every quilt needs a pieced border, but that doesn't mean the border shouldn't be interesting.  I chose to play a bit with the light print I used in the sashing, and created a double border frame design just by playing with the cornerposts.  It's simple and adds a lot to the quilt without a lot of work.  I hope you like it!

I made my quilt using all of the prints in my new fabric collection, Old Plum Calicos for Marcus Fabrics.  Click here to see all of the fabrics in the collection.  

Old Plum Calicos is being delivered to your local quilt shop right now!!   

My Letters From Grace pattern is ready to ship today.  Click here to order one for yourself.  If purples and plums aren't your favorite colors, this quilt will be just beautiful in whatever color you'd like to make it.  The quilt size is 62" x 75" and is Fat Quarter friendly.

As for me, well, surgery went very well.  I had a minimally invasive hip replacement just 2 weeks ago and am doing very well.  I'm finished with home visits and am now going to out-patient physical therapy.  I've had a knee replaced many years ago and know how super important physical therapy is to the success of the surgery.  I have a terrific PT who is also accredited with an osteo certification.  He sure knows his stuff!  

I'm a person who chooses to keep myself pretty busy, so two weeks of sitting much of the day in a chair was almost more than I could stand.  I did do quite a bit of hand sewing, which was nice, and read a few books, but I much prefer being back at work.  I'm here on a somewhat part-time basis depending on how much energy I have and PT appointments and the like, but it sure feels great!  

Thank you all so much for your very kind Get Well wishes sent by email and Facebook and cards in the mail.  All touched me very much and just remind me of how caring and generous the quilting community is.  

I appreciate all of you, my dear quilting friends, more than you'll ever know!

Old Plum Calicos Arriving Soon!

I'm so excited!  October means the arrival of Old Plum Calicos!


Click here to see all the prints right on the Marcus Fabrics
website.

They just arrived on my doorstep and that means they are arriving at your local quilt shop, too!

We've begun to cut our Fat Quarter and Fat Eighth bundles and they will soon be in the mail. These pretty purple, plum and violet prints are only here for a short time, so be sure to get yours before they're all gone!!  

Ask for Old Plum Calicos at your local quilt shop!  

Here's a sneak peek at the quilt I designed using all of the prints in Old Plum Calicos.  The pattern is called Letters From Grace and will be available later this month.  

Scraps of Time ~ Scraps of Fabric Update

It's been awhile since I wrote about making sure to find time to sew everyday...no matter what, and thought I'd check in with you all and see how you're doing with this mission, and share how I've been doing.  

Back in June, I made a pledge that everyday, I would try very hard to make time to sew something, or at least prepare fabrics for sewing.  I called my mission.... Scraps of Time ~ Scraps of Fabric.  (Click here to read my original June blog post.)

Sometimes, we do what seems to be a crazy thing, and just when I was admitting I have very little time to sew, I went a really did something crazy, and signed up for Lisa Bongean's Summer Block of the Week (SBOW) called Clara's Stars.  It was love at first sight.  I tried hard to resist, honest I did, but I just had to make this quilt!!  Yes....lots of blocks to make each week for 12 weeks over the summer.  

Not only are the fabrics coming weekly, but...it's all HAND PIECED....and I've never hand pieced a block together in my life!  Now that's crazy!!  So....sure call me crazy, and I'm so, so happy I did this.  I read about hand piecing and went to You Tube, and took the plunge. Jumped right in and started to sew.  (True confession time: I am not making all the blocks I'm supposed to make each week, and never intended to.  I don't mind that it will take me however long it's going to take.  I'm just enjoying the journey.)

I'm hooked!  I'm smitten!  I can't stop!!!  I cut, trace and sew these blocks, and most everything else I am presently working on in the evening while watching TV.  I prepped loads of blocks, and popped them into zip bags to take with me while I'm away from home.  I pieced a bunch on a trip to Maine, and while I was in Santa Fe, NM over Labor Day weekend.  My stitches are getting better and better with each block.

I delighted to say I'm a hand piecer now, and will likely hand piece until I can't hold a needle anymore.

I'm still working on tiny little Nine Patch blocks and better step it up because I need it completed for a Christmas gift.

Basket quilt is found in the book When The Cold Wind Blows by Blackbird Designs

And, I managed to hand applique another basket block (block 110).  Both the block background fabric and the basket fabric are from my new Old Plum Calicos collection.  Oh, and the black fabric underneath is also new from Conestoga Crossing.  Love, love, love the black fabric!!!  

How about you?  Are you making time to sew something each and every day?  I think I'm doing pretty well considering before pledging to this mission, I wasn't sewing very much at all.  

Hoping we all find some time to sew something everyday.  It's so very good for us in so may ways!  

Introducing Old Plum Calicos!

I had such a wonderful time reading all of the comments about your least favorite fabric choices!  Within your comments, I realized there are quite a few more types of fabrics that I'd have to agree would never make it into a quilt for me either.  Isn't it funny how one of us can be madly in love with a color and another never use it?!!  

I have chosen 4 scrap winners!  Here are their comments....

Judy commented.....I don't like modern fabrics or the brights! Thanks for the giveaway!

U Keep Sewing commented.....Fun to read all these comments. I can't do pinks or some of the lighter colors, some look like oatmeal.  Love red when it acts as a neutral. Don't care for the real busy fabric or the wild colors.  Thanks for the chance. 

Anonymous Linda commented.....Hi Pam, you are very generous....all fabrics have a home somewhere...but I haven't used modern prints or brights....I would love, love, love your scraps....thanks for the chance.  (Thanks for including your email!)

Joyful Quilter commented.....I have a very difficult time with purple or lavender - don't like them - but have used them when it was the only color that would work. For me to use them there has to be lots and lots of green also.

Congratulations to the winners and my heartfelt thanks to all of you whom took the time to comment.  Your comments mean so much to me and keep me writing this blog and so much more.

Winner, please email me at Pam@HeartspunQuilts.com with your mailing address and we'll have those scraps on their way to you!  

I'm so very happy to finally announce my next fabric collection is.......

Old Plum Calicos!

I happen to love Civil War fabrics in shades of purple.  The problem is, like many other colors, CW repros in plums are few and far between.  I sought to rectify that problem!  

While I do so love purple fabrics, I can't say I make entirely all purple quilts with them.  I love adding purple to scrappy quilts.  I also favor adding purples in an autumnal and Halloween quilts.  

When I'm piecing scrappy quilts, I use purples in the same way I use blues and greens in that they can have similar color values.  I honestly don't know what I'd do without purples.  

I was tickled to read how many of you don't care for purples and it's your never, ever color.  I totally respect that.  I also know that many of you love purple as much as I do.  It's my daughter's favorite color!  Of course, I've designed an all purple quilt for this collection, and she's already laid claim to it.  More about that quilt in an upcoming post as it's being made as I write this.  

I made a little video of all of the Old Plum Calico fabrics.  

(Gee, I hope this video works!  I can't tell if it will while I'm writing this post, so I'm crossing my fingers, and sayin' a little prayer that when I publish this, it will be there for you to see.  If it works, I'll be feeling like I've conquered a little part of the tech world and will most definitely be showing off to my kids....teehee!  If it doesn't work....well....I won't tell them if you don't.)

All of the Old Plum Calico fabrics are reproductions of nineteenth century fabrics from my vintage quilts.  As is always the case, the folks at Marcus Fabrics were so very dedicated to getting these colors just the way I wanted them, and I'm hoping you'll love them as much as I do.

I thought you'd like to see what the fabrics look like once they've been pieced.  After all, that's how you'll be using them, right?  

Here's a peek at two of the blocks that are in my new Letters From Grace quilt, which uses all of the prints in the Old Plum Calicos collection.  I think it's so nice to see the new fabrics in patchwork. What do you think?

If you like what you see, and you're like me and are quite fond of plum fabrics, for a limited time, you can PRE-ORDER a Fat Quarter or Fat Eighth bundle of Old Plum Calicos at 15% off the regular price.  

Click here to order a Fat Quarter Bundle at the sale price of $43.35

Click here to order a Fat Eighth Bundle at the sale price of $21.70

Old Plum Calicos are scheduled to be delivered in October, so as soon as they arrive, we'll package your bundle and send it to you mucho pronto!  Shipping is extra and is a flat rate of $7. within the U.S. only.  International orders, please email me for shipping costs to your home.

Thanks so very much for reading my blog, and I hope you find some time to sit back and sew with your favorite color fabrics!