The Details

Thank-you so much for the love! We are beyond excited ourselves for the release of Sunday Morning Quilts so we are glad that you are too. Here are the details about the book.

It will be released in March 2012 by Stash Books. It isn't available for pre-order yet, but we'll let you know as soon as it is.

This book is all about our love for scraps and modern quilts. It's been such a thrill to work together. I've got to tell you, working with Amanda Jean is incredible. She's got so many ideas, knows how to push me to work a bit faster and better, and always keeps me from going overboard. It's been a collaboration from the beginning. You are going to love the quilts, the techniques, and the scrap management system. And if you love the cover, wait until you see the photos inside!

We'll share more in the months ahead, but for now let's get back to regular posts. Again, thank-you for all the enthusiasm and for tolerating all this secret-keeping.

Big Announcement!

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Nearly Wholecloth

Unnamed

50'' by 62''

This simple quilt is the brainchild of Amanda Jean. We talked so much about quilting back in March. She said she wanted to make a nearly wholecloth quilt - just two neutrals and some fun quilting. Because she had enough of the fabric she gave me the same amounts for the top and sent me home. Over the months we talked about what we might do - hand stitching, different colour threads, backing fabrics... We went round and round. Then we both just did.

I was finally able to move forward with mine when I made this doodle. I'd made a lot of doodles, but this one stayed with me. And I think I was able to translate it to the quilt quite easily. It helps that it isn't that large of a quilt! This is another example of my "organic" quilting (too lazy to mark) but I'm really pleased with the way it turned out. I enjoy the improv aspect of it. The texture is also great.

As you can see, I went with a solid green binding. It was Rossie's suggestion. As soon as she mentioned it I knew it was the only option, despite some good choices. My initial thoughts had been blue, but I had nothing in the stash that called to me. The green is perfect! And when the girls and I went for a hike yesterday and snapped these photos it made me see how much the colours work with the landscape around me.

The back is high contrast to the front. Three pieces of very bright, multi-coloured fabric. All were fabrics I bought on-line because I loved them, then couldn't imagine how I would use them. It is a great bit of fun with the front neutral sides.

And just as we were ending our stomp through the forest I spotted a grove of trees. The Monster took this picture after she noticed that The Evil Genius matched the quilt. She made her stand there so she would be camouflaged. Well, if it wasn't for our coordinating Chucks! And she's already claimed the quilt for herself, I think the green building sealed the deal for her.

This entire quilt was a fun challenge. It was great to push myself beyond my crazy improv norm or pile of circles. To use neutrals like this was way out of my comfort zone, as was the use of that much solid fabric. Not only was it fun to do, I am thrilled with the results. Make sure you check out Amanda Jean's version.

Colour Days

The Monster is now in Kindergarten! (Yes, this deserves an exclamation point. That's how we both feel everyday.) One of the first lessons they did was a focus on colours. To be honest, we thought this seemed a little simple, but I found her looking at colour everywhere, learning Spanish vocabulary, and seeing my personality manifest itself in her. There was a great need for colour coordination during these two weeks of school.

It was completely her idea to colour coordinate her snacks.

Red-Orange-Yellow-Green-Blue-Pink/Purple-Rainbow-Brown-Black & White

At the beginning of the week or on the way to the market we would brainstorm the coordinated snack options. The only one I was stumped on was black and white cookies. For one, I was too lazy to make them right after baking brownies for Brown day. And two, while I've got no problem with sweets I didn't think she needed them two days in a row. Thank goodness for Twitter. She was intrigued by the squid ink pasta in cheese sauce, had to have blood sausage explained to her, and threw up her nose at a black bean dip. It was an easy settle on black berries and feta.

She loved sharing her snack with the class and ate it every single day. Win-win!