Friday, March 22, 2024

New Blog Hop Signup Alert

It's always sad to see a blog hop challenge end, but there's always another one in the works.
Thank you to everyone for joining in the "Give It A Whirl" fun!

The blog hop for May is ready for sign-ups...are you ready!

On The Road Again


What's the challenge?

Make a project that shows travel vehicles of any kind.
Planes, trains, automobiles, bikes, trucks, tractors, or whatever gets us
from one place to another. Use your creative imagination to show us ways to travel.
Or, make a project showing a place to travel to.
The options on this challenge are pretty open...you can do it!

What is a blog hop? 
It's like a "show and tell" online or like joining a quilt guild without leaving home. Joan from Moosestash Quilting and I post a challenge on our blogs and those who want to join in email us with their URL blog, Instagram, Facebook info (IG and FB are new in 2024.) After we get that info, we assign a date for them to post their project. The idea is to visit the first blog and then go to the next blog/IG/FB, etc. We give everyone plenty of time to sew something, usually two months. We inspire each other with projects, tutorials, or patterns. Anyone can follow along! Projects are posted on each blog and include the other participants. 
 
These are the "rules" for being a participant:
​It is important that you post your project on your scheduled day.
You can preset your blog post to go live any time after 11 p.m. MST.
It's okay if it pops up early...that's better than being late.
If your project isn't quite done, show it anyway. 
People remember if you're a no show...we don't want that!
Above all, have fun and enjoy the sweet fun of a blog hop!
​If you're posting on IG/FB, make sure your post is live by 11 p.m. MST.
 
I know we're all busy and can't always visit ​all the ​p​articipants on the exact day,
but PLEASE visit the​m as soon as you can.
We all love to receive some kind words and recognition for our work.

April has a blog hop hosted by Joan at Moosestash Quilting...watch for all that fun next month!


Thursday, March 21, 2024

Day Four Of Give It A Whirl

 It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop!


What was the challenge?

Somewhere in or on your project you must include a "whirl".
This can be a pinwheel, Dresden, or anything that looks like it's spinning.
Maybe a merry-go-round or Ferris wheel in the fabric?

Check out all the amazing whirly projects!

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Day Three Of Give It A Whirl

 It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop!


What was the challenge?

Somewhere in or on your project you must include a "whirl".
This can be a pinwheel, Dresden, or anything that looks like it's spinning.
Maybe a merry-go-round or Ferris wheel in the fabric?

Check out all the amazing whirly projects!

Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Day Two Of Give It A Whirl

 It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop!


What was the challenge?

Somewhere in or on your project you must include a "whirl".
This can be a pinwheel, Dresden, or anything that looks like it's spinning.
Maybe a merry-go-round or Ferris wheel in the fabric?

Check out all the amazing whirly projects!

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Give It A Whirl Blog Hop Starts Today

It is time to whirl, twirl, and spin with the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop!


What was the challenge?

Somewhere in or on your project you must include a "whirl".
This can be a pinwheel, Dresden, or anything that looks like it's spinning.
Maybe a merry-go-round or Ferris wheel in the fabric?

I've always wanted to make a 3D pinwheel quilt, so this was finally the chance to do that.
Geta's Quilting Studio has a great tutorial. Geta is an amazing quilter so
check out some of her other designs and patterns.

You can find her how-to make a 3D pinwheel HERE.

The fabric is "Xanadu" by Ann Lauer for Benartex that I bought not too long ago.
I love the colors and movement in this fabric!



The centers of pinwheels can be pretty thick, but 3D ones are even more so.
I brought out my hammer, but not just any hammer. It is called "The Wacker."
It's made specifically to smash those big lumps a little flatter without damaging the fabric.
It really works!
(Yes, I know there is a snip, clip, and make them flatter version, but I can't ever figure it out.)


"The Wacker" says to steam the seam before wacking, but wouldn't you know my iron
wouldn't steam without yucky brown stuff coming out. This wasn't a manufacturer issue.
It was a "uh-oh" moment when I accidently grabbed the Best Press instead of water
to fill the iron reservoir. Don't ever do that! It's not pretty what it does to the iron.

My new Oliso iron arrived quickly, thank goodness. So pretty!
No, I did not purposely buy that color to match the fabric, but it does, doesn't it.


My old workhorse Nolting does the job for quilting my projects.
Nothing fancy with my stitching, but I love the money I've saved doing it myself.


Simple scribbles around the pinwheels worked just fine for me and kept the
pinwheels dimensional. I love how they look!


I flew to Ohio to spend time with grandkids in February.
Monkey Girl turned two while I was there...where does the time go!

She is officially one of the "Monkeys" because there is nothing she won't climb on.
Busy, busy, busy, and happy totally describes her. The Monkey Boys totally love that girl!


Check out more whirling and twirling projects!

MARCH 18 - TODAY!


Check out the "Give It A Whirl" Pinterest page HERE!

Thank you for stopping by!

Give It A Whirl Starts Tomorrow

 I think all the crazy winds, rain, and snow happening all over are trying to
set the stage for the start of the "Give It A Whirl" blog hop.

Are you ready for some amazing whirls!

It starts to tomorrow...see you there!


Friday, March 1, 2024

A New Bona Lisa Block Arrives Today

 The first of the month means a new block for Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium.
It's just Carla sharing her spooktacular talent on this month!


BONA LISA'S SWEATER EMPORIUM


JANUARY BLOCKS

Bona Lisa


Carol at Just Let Me Quilt
Repulsive Ruffled Sweater


Bona's "In Vest"


FEBRUARY BLOCKS

Carol at Just Let Me Quilt
Kickin'-It'-Up Boots

Ye Ole Homestead


MARCH BLOCKS

Take No Bull Sweater


Carol Swift at Just Let Me Quilt
Bonus Block - Down To The Bone free block



It's amazing how different it can look with other fabrics.

Do you want to join in the BOM fun? Check out our Facebook page HERE.

How does our Bona Lisa's Sweater Emporium BOM work? 

It runs from January 1st through August 31st. 

All block releases happen on our Cackling Stitches Facebook page HERE.

We even give you the fabric requirements early to help you conjure/gather your fabrics.
You can find it HERE.

It's not a mystery BOM. We show you each of our finished quilts!

On the first day of each month, we release a block pattern (sometimes it's more than one)
 that is free for the entire calendar month. After that, those blocks go into our individual 
ETSY shops where you can purchase them for $2 each. 

New and free block(s) then appear for the new month...and so on, and so on.

Beginning January 1st, the ENTIRE pattern is available in each of our ETSY shops for $15.
We've had so many people ask us if they can buy the whole thing at once, so we decided to go for it.
If you can't wait for each block release or you don't have a Facebook page, this is for you!

We hope you appreciate the time we put into creating this BOM and understand that we keep
 the costs to a minimum for you. We ask that you respect our copyrights and do not share the 
pattern with others. You're welcome to direct your friends to our Cackling Stitches Group 
Facebook or any of our ETSY shops so they can get their own patterns starting January 1st.

Just Let Me Quilt Etsy Store HERE.

Moosestash Quilting Blog HERE.
Moosestash Quilting Etsy Store HERE.

Creatin' in the Sticks Blog HERE.
Creatin' in the Sticks Etsy Store HERE.

Just Saying...You Inspire Me

In case I haven't mentioned it lately, you inspire me. I'm grateful for that! Your blog posts have kept me going through good times ...