V and Co: 2 new patterns

 well, i finally get to introduce to you my newest pattern: Barn Dance Quilt.
there's a story behind this quilt and the inspiration that went to create it.

now that we live in iowa, i get to see a lot of barns on our trips to places. and on our trips i get to see a lot of barns that have quilt blocks on the side of them. the story behind the quilt block on barns usually represent something about the family or what they do.

i kind of love the whole idea of having a quilt block on the side of my house to represent our crazy...but i don't have a barn of my own nor do i really think i'll get one soon, so i guess maybe i'll just keep looking at all the pretty blocks on other peoples barns.

anywho.

i started thinking of barns and then that led to barn dances...yeah i know leaping all over the place.

 and i thought of how in dances usually everyone is a wall flower or kind of shy to start dancing till the first few couples get out on the dance floor. as the first blocks fall into place then the rest of the people or blocks come and fall into place on the dance floor.
if you look at the quilt you can see where the "dance" has been happening for a while, and where the "dance" has just started to get on its way.

this quilt was created and pieced by me.
quilted by angela walters.
and the fabric line used was simply color by V and Co.
finished quilt shown measures:
69" x 75"
this pattern also includes the baby version:
and the baby barn dance size is 42" by 42"

this quilt was created and pieced by me
quilted by Felicia Graves.
and the fabric line used was Simply Color by V and Co.

you can purchase this barn dance throw and baby quilt PDF pattern here.

second pattern i have new now is the go anywhere bag.

this bag is a great hands free bag and a great size. finished this bag measures: 11 1/2" x 13" and has a liner with pockets. the pattern includes the petal template and has diagramed and written instructions

the fabric for the liner and flowers is Simply Color by V and Co.

you can buy the PDF pattern here

and ahem i should mention that these projects were made on the 780 series sewing machine for bernina. cause you know bernina's rock. :)

okay so that's it for me now. i have to get my pie making going on over here before i put my hands in the turkey's butt to stuff it for thanksgiving!

we'll talk soon!!! 

V and Co: back at work

sorry so silent over here!
yes yes! we have a winner i'll announce her at the end of this post. :)
my mother left earlier this week and i had a few things i had to get done.

i've been hard at work over here.
for months now i've my little graph pad next to me at all times. i have had a couple of quilt designs come to life on paper and it is quite exciting. i am now ready to start testing the designs with real life fabric...it makes it just that much more wonderfully exciting. i hope they look as great in real life as they did in my head. usually they come out better. sometimes i have a flop but that's just a learning experience. :)

i love the creative process.
it truly is a wonderful experience and i am grateful for my love of it. :)

i have been also working on a few holiday projects, and working on finishing up the final tweaks on two new patterns that i'll release later this week. (ahem, yeah i know that means today or tomorrow or the next day, so look for it soon!)

it's taken me a little bit of time to figure out working from home.
but i'm getting the hang of it. i think.

again, it's all about scheduling out time to do certain things on certain days.
just like the chores around the house, work from home, i believe, needs to be broken down and scheduled out each week. only difference with work is that it needs to constantly be looked at to see what deadlines and things need to be done. and adjust accordingly the tasks that go with it.
sadly blogging got swept aside with all the catching up needed to be done.

a schedule does help me with the overwhelming feelings of running around and not getting any one thing done. :) so for now it works.
i've gotten emails to see my schedule. sure. okay if you wanna see it i'll post it in the near future, but like i said it's still being tweaked so that i get my grove just right...i bet i'll get it just right, right before school ends for the summer time. :) cause that's how life is.

husband photo bombing

these last two weeks  has been great to have my mom here. and no we didn't do any pandevonos (colombian cheesy bread) because we drove all over eastern iowa looking for a hispanic grocery store that would carry the ingredients we needed and couldnt find them. bummer. my kids were so SO bummed.

husband looking in the back ground like he has his tail between his legs after i scolded him for prior photo bombing

we had a blast with granny, she made my life easier with helping to keep up with laundry and getting my almost completely organized in my basement storage area. soooo close i am!
but mainly her love of my kids was much appreciated, and now i have to detox my children of all the granny spoiling...but i hear that's the job of a granny.


okay! so are you ready for the winner of sunday quilts?
thank you for all your suggestions of turning back the clock. laughter. seems to be the most popular suggestion. yup, i think we have that one nailed. :)
there was a whole slew of vitamins, and exercise and positive thinking. yup, i'm working on it. :) thanks ladies it was nice reading all the fun stuff you wrote!
okay, OKAY i'll give you the winner:

VickiT said...

I posted to Amanda Jean's blog. I've been a follower of her blog for quite awhile. And yes, I have had her book on my wish list since she first released it. I just love the cover quilt.

vicki has already been contacted through email. thank you all for playing. 

okay now i'm going back to work cause i've got some new patterns to show you! :)

V and Co: it's my birthday giveaway

well it's my birthday.
yup.
last year i turned 36 this year i'm deciding that i'm turning 29.
and then next year.
29 again.
sound like a plan?
yeah i'm excited to turn 29 i feel like it's going to be a good year :) 29 is a good year.

actually 37 isn't so bad. i feel pretty great, and it isn't till i write down "3 years from 40." that i want to throw up. seriously?

okay i'm 29. 11 years from 40. that's better. :)

these last two weeks my mom's been here and we've been organizing and cleaning. and then organizing some more.
it's been nice to place all the scraps i have in color bins. it looks really pretty even if it's not as pretty as
amanda jean's fabric box's :)
but none the less it's nice to get things organized.

btw oh have you heard of this book? yeah it's pretty amazing. and pretty to look at.
Sunday Morning Quilts by Amanda Nyberg and Cheryl Arkison has been out for a little while but i have been saving this book for a special occasion to finally talk about it and give away a copy of it.

no wonder this book has been flying off of shelves! it's gorgeous and amanda and cheryl are amazing at what they do. 

taking pretty left over project scraps and compiling them and creating a gorgeous project all on its own.

i love amanda and cheryl's style. clean and colorful. 

and never wasting your scraps.

i have a signed copy to give to one lucky winner.

AND i'm going to include some of my simply color scraps to go with the book. 

and well for a limited time i'll also include a 37% discount on all of my PDF patterns. (only PDFs)

just include the code "BIRTHDAY" at the checkout and the discount will be given! (good through wednesday 11-14-12)

okay, now for a chance to win Sunday Morning Quilt's book and some of my scraps you need to:

1. first chance: leave me a comment and tell me what you do to turn back the aging clock. (i'm just asking for a friend, i swear.) (leave a contact email at the bottom of your comment)

2. second chance: visit amanda jean's blog leave her a hello comment and that you love her awesomeness  (leave me a second comment that you did, with a contact email)

3. third chance: visit cheryl's blog and leave her a hello comment and that you think she's got great calves (kidding just tell her you love her awesomeness too) (leave me a third comment saying you did so)

three chances. do one or all three your choice. :)

but please leave a contact email where you can be reached if you win.

 (you can type it out like vanessa(dot)christenson(at)gmail(dot)com if you like. :)

the winner will be announced on wednesday! 

:) okay have fun and happy birthday to me!

V and Co: teaches in austin and meets the owner of BERNINA

before teaching my first class!

 this last weekend i said i was going to teach in austin texas at the store Sew Much More. well what i didn't write is that even though i've enjoyed interacting with my (HOLY SMOKES 3000+) students on my craftsy class, i was really kind of nervous that this was my first time ever doing a sewing interactive on the spot teaching.

 the shop is owned by a husband and wife team (hi ron and barbara!!), and they have a wonderful group of ladies that are on their staff. by the end of it i wanted to move to austin and learn all the lingo and enjoy the 80 degrees they were experiencing while it was 37 back home in iowa.

 the first night i was there i did sort of a trunk show of my patterns and of the things we would be doing in the class. i talked about my family and i talked about the colors i love, and blah de be blah blah. by the end of it i was tired of hearing about me. but it was fun to get asked questions by people and get to express things to people about your passions face to face. :)



so sure enough the night before my first class i was exhausted from traveling but buzzing with excitement on the unknown.
i got up put on my cute skirt made out of my fabric and went on my merry way...
nervous but excited...

so how did it go??

first day of classes showing off their ruffles

second day of classes waving to the camera working on their ruffles

I FREAKING LOVED IT!!!!! i had women who had been sewing since before i was even a thought in my mother's mind, i had a 13 year old who had been sewing for a few years. (yup super impressed by the looks of that young one!) and i had ages all in between that. it was fun getting to teach and laugh and help these women for the day.

IT.
WAS.
AWE.
SOME.

the ladies worked on a few techniques i teach in my book and then the goal was to walk away with at least one project finished. most of them finished at least one and a few were working on finishing a couple!
as i write this i've received a couple of pictures from a student of all three finished projects:

way to go cheryl!!!! you can see her in the second day's class on the left hand side second row.
man i kind of miss all you ladies :). i loved teaching to such a large spectrum of ages, and experiences. so so fun!

 the second day word got out of how awesome i was and the owner and staff couldnt keep the customers from chopping at the bit to come and meet me and buy my book and patterns and demanding where the fabric was...they had to keep them from rushing in a few times till the time was to open the doors.

okay i'll go to H-E double hockey sticks if i lie like that...
actually there was a crowd on the second day and they were chomping at the bit (don't mess with texan quilters man!) there was a line and the rush of women rushing in was pretty insane and exciting and they were all there to see:

the owner of BERNINA (yup as in THE owner of the company) this man is Mr. Ueltschi and he is fourth generation owner of the BERNINA company.
he was there to also congratulate the three winners of the University of Texas fashion design school winners and their designs. (you can see behind me the motorcycle outfit)
i didn't have a sewing machine to have him sign but i did get one of my patterns for his autograph.

so first set of sewing classes taught.
meeting the owner of BERNINA

such an eventful and exciting weekend!

but the most exciting thing that happened this weekend was the phone call i got at the end of the first day of teaching:

Apparently while I was in Austin, my eldest noisemaker upon trying to make fart noises with his armpit, discovered he grew his first armpit hair. He called me and said "I'm becoming a man mom."

nice. 

what a weekend.

:)

V and Co: how to: simply color ombre baby quilt

first off WELCOME NOVEMBER!!! what? okay not asking too many questions, but seriously how'd we get here already?

anyways, this is one of those projects that i've been so super excited to show off here on the blog but, has been sitting on the back burner just WAITING for the right time to make it on here.
now is that time.
by now simply color in yardage is either on its way to your local quilt stores, to your online quilt store, or they are already there. if they are already there WHOOT! if not, just hold on to your butts it's on it's way, so i've been told. :)

okay so these ombre square quilts are a great beginner quilt or for the seasoned quilter a great fast easy quilt to make for that baby shower you forgot to make something for and are all like "crap! so didn't plan to forget about that! now what? oh yeah: a simple ombre square quilt by V and Co! whoot that V and Co is so dang cool!" why thanks! i know. so happy you see how cool i am too.

for the front of these quilts we used the ombre fabric of simply color for moda by V and Co.

and then the back and binding are coordinating fabrics from the same line.
shown in these pictures are the lime, orange, and aqua ombre fabrics
there is also ombre available in  pink, navy, gray and eggplant that are not shown here. 

To make one of these 40" x 40" quilts:
FABRIC:
- 55" x WOF (width of fabric) basically just smidgen over 1 1/2 yards of ombre fabric for the front
- 1 1/4 yard of back fabric
- 10" x WOF for binding.
-1 1/2 yard of batting
CUT:
-from ombre fabric: cut 81 5" x 5" squares
-from binding fabric cut 4 strips of 2 1/2" x WOF follow these instructions to create and apply binding.

LAYOUT:
on a flat surface layout 9 rows of 9 squares across
make sure you place light and dark shades next to each other so you can see the different blocks!

SEW:
using a 1/4" seam allowance place two squares right sides together and sew your seam.
press open with an iron.
continue to do this for all 9 blocks in your row.
attach your rows together using a 1/4" seam allowance.

tie, or quilt your layers.
bind your quilt.

find a baby to snuggle your adorably simple quilt. :)

i'll come back next week with some pics of my time in austin! :)