Piccadilly to the Nines, Lionel and another Soupcon trunk show

I just celebrated the one year anniversary of my blog and I've got two giveaways: a $30 gift certificate from Superior

and two yards of fabric that is ideal for fussy cutting or broderie perse!

To enter my giveaways go here. The winners will be announced on April 4, 2014! Good luck! As part of my anniversary celebration I thought I would share another story from the garden. This one is about Lionel and it was published back in August! Nice guy that he is, Lionel wouldn't hurt a fly or the sow bug on his schnoz! Want to know why? You can read his story here!

I've stitched my first Godstone Grannies block and it will be the block that is in the center of the quilt. I am very pleased with how it turned out! I couldn't get a picture that shows the colours to their best advantage but it is very buttery and caramelly and butterscotchy! And best of all there are zero calories in all that sweet goodness!

Yesterday I told you that I store my cut blocks in little bags. Some of these Godstone Grannies blocks are "unusual" in their arrangement so I printed a picture of the quilt, cut out the blocks and glued them to the back of the little paper with my block number and cutting instructions. When I'm ready to sew the block I'll have the little picture handy so I get the arrangement right!

Fingers crossed that I can get another block stitched in the next couple of days! But I'm itching to get going on the quilting of my Piccadilly to the Nines because I want to try out my new Fantastico thread from Superior.It is a bright green, lime green and turquoise variegated thread. It sounds bold but it is actually a very fresh green/blue thread! You can see it here. The quilt is pinned so it won't be long until I get started!

The Soupcon quilts keep rolling in! I am so impressed with all of the quilts. Each quilter has taken the ideas and then used her own creativity to make the quilt her own. It is so exciting and rewarding to see what everyone is doing! So how about a little trunk show? You know the routine....grab a cuppa, settle back and enjoy the picture show!

Angie's quilt is looking good! There's no doubt about it: the star is the star of this quilt! The yellow just glows and it shows off her blue star to the best advantage. I am a big fan of narrow borders because I think they frame a quilt so elegantly. Although I had planned a pieced border in between the narrow borders Angie use a batik and it works perfectly! I also like the way she has handled the little hexagons in the border! Keep up the great work Angie! Be sure to visit Angie's blog, Quilting Reader's Garden for more pictures!

Jean, Jean my Soupcon machine!!! Jean Cockburn  has posted three more pictures of her Soupcon quilts and each one is different but there is one common thread and that is Jean's ability to boldly and confidently use colour. I really believe she has a rare talent! In the first quilt she has fussy cut all of the little hexagons in the border and they are wonderful.

Again Jean has fussy cut flowers for the hexagons in the border and they are so pretty. Such strong colours but there is a softness to this quilt and it has great appeal! Be sure to visit Jean's blog When You Love Blue.

Jean's third quilt is my favourite of the three if for no other reason that blue and buttery gold is one of my favourite colour combinations. Again Jean has fussy cut flowers for the diamonds in the border. I think the effort that goes into fussy cutting pays off in spades when you see the results in a quilt.

Colleen (aka Skootchover) has completed her Step 6 border and just look at what she has done in the corners! I LOVE it! My poor plain corners are going to have to be re-engineered! This is such a delicate quilt and Colleen has done a fabulous job of personalizing it each step of the way! I can see this quilt as the medallion of a fabulous full size quilt!

Deb Sew'n'Sew has also completed the final step and again we see a unique corner treatment. I love how the lavenders used in the border pull the whole quilt together in the best possible way! This is yet another quilt that started out pretty and it just kept getting better and better every step of the way. Be sure to drop by Deb's blog, The Toothfairy Quilter.

Well I think that's it for today. I've got some sewing to do. So until I post again, happy sewing!

Karen H