Gudrun´s World

Quilts and More....double take!

I picked up the newest Quilts and More magazine at the store the other day.

I loved Julie Herman´s cute little house quilt on the cover. 

But as I am browsing through the magazine, I had to do a double take when I spotted my Table Talk book on the Bookshelf, which is their little book review article with recommended reads!! It was so cool and unexpected!!

There is lots more fun stuff in this magazine, Camille, Joanna and Heather have great little projects made from a charm pack which are so cute. 

If you haven´t seen the Table Talk book yet, you can get it here. There have been blog posts about it here.

 

To Houston and back...

Quilt Market was a whirlwind and so have the days been since I got back. It was a great show for us, the book was very well received everywhere. I only had my phone to shoot photos with so these are not so great shots. Here are a few of my booth.

Sorry for the blurry photo, this is me and Yvonne ready for the show to open. I didn't get out of my booth much this show but one of the times I did, I caught Ty Pennington in his booth!!

He was a sweetheart and posed for a photo with me. I loved the display of ties on the backwall of his booth.

Pat Sloan came to visit on one of her sprints around the convention center. She was busy appearing in various booths, demoing and promoting her gadgets. It's always so much fun to see her, I just wish we could hang out for a few days together. Someday Pat...we'll make it happen!!

Sometimes during the show, the booth gets a little quiet. Most of the time it is on the last day....the last few hours of the show, when many people have already gone home! This time around, the last day was on Halloween. We all know that some spooky things can happen on Halloween right...

We had this cute display of cuddly characters in the booth. People would comment on how sweet they were and even pet the dog as they walked by! 

Lucky for them.....they weren't there to witness this!!!

SPOOKY!!! 

Next year, Halloween is on the day we get back from the show.....pheeww!!

Giveaway Winners

Thanks so much to all of you that participated in the weeklong giveaway. It was so fun and inspiring to read all of your comments. It gives me a lot of confidence going to Quilt Market next week to promote the new book.

The winner of the 5th drawing for the book from Friday is:

Diane L.

She said: "I would do the knicknack bed runner and pillow - so simple, but so cute."

And then for the grand prize....

....who gets all of my Fast & Furious books, 10 Super fat Quarters and the Roadtrip pattern....

The Winner is:

Brenda Pigott from Thursday's post:

She said: "My dream trip would be to Ireland and Scotland, I've heard how beautiful these places are and would love to see them. Your book looks like it will be amazing, would love to have it!"

Congratulations girls, I will be in touch with you for your shipping information.

 

Fast & Furious Family Giveaway - Day 5

This week has just zoomed by so fast. It's been so busy planning and prepping for Quilt market which starts next week. We are shipping our booth to Houston today and it is always a little relief after those boxes are gone....not much you can do after that!

The winner of the book from yesterday's blog post is:

Deb Sheffield

she said: 

"I would travel almost anywhere, but my first choice would be back to Chile, to visit my exchange student family! It's been three years, which is too long... Iceland would be interesting, too; reading your blog has sparked my interest in your homeland!"

Congrats Deb. I hope you get to go visit your host family soon.

Check out all the places you want to go:

I love the variety of your dream places to travel to and I actually share many of them with you. If I would get a free trip anywhere tomorrow, I would probably go to Iceland but on my bucket list are Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland and South America. Hawaii is definitely on my list too. I love to travel and have gone to a lot of places in Europe. I love Portugal and Greece, Italy and Spain are great as well.

Looks like we have to get busy planning some quilting trips/cruises:)

Let's check out the last few projects in the book:

Wings Of Love

I have one more cutie to share with you today. This is sweet little Nolan. 

He is only 3 months old but handled the photoshoot like a pro.

Here is another colorway of the quilt using some delightful Anna Griffin prints. Even though I love this photo, we were afraid of raising some eyebrows over having the child unattended laying on a table:)

Nolan was such a sweetie, definitely an upcoming model.

He even gave me some heartmelting smiles.

Roundhouse Runner

This is a simple runner to make and it is easy to pick colors to match any decor.

Bright and fun (fabrics are from my Super fabric line for Red Rooster) or....

....traditional and elegant.

The fabrics used are from the Curio collection from Basic Grey for Moda.

A little bit of glam is always a good thing, right?

Ripple Effect - Runner

This runner is really fun to make from Layer Cake squares. This one is out of Late Bloomers by Sandy Gervais for Moda.

The brighter version uses an older line from Lila Tueller and some of my fabric as well. The size of the runner is perfect for smaller spaces.

That's it folks! Now you have seen everything the book contains and hopefully you are itching to get started on some of these projects.

Today's question is:

If you had the book in hand, access to any fabric you would like and magically the world would pause for 6 hours so you could sew anything you wanted out of this book. Which project would you choose first?

Remember to comment to enter the drawing. There is both the book up for grabs and then the big prize which I will pull from all the comments of the week. I will post the winners on Monday. 

Have a great weekend!

PS: An answer to my Icelandic friends on when the book arrives in Iceland: Kristrún í Quiltbúðinni kemur til með að hafa hana til innan skamms, bjallið bara endilega í hana!

 

Fast & Furious Family Giveaway - Day 4

Guess who came home to Mama today? Yes, the book is here! It's always a special moment to run your fingers through it "LIVE" even though I know exactly what it looks like and what it contains. The plan is to start shipping them out tomorrow, yay!

On with the show. Wednesdays winner is:

Pamstitches

she said: 

"I used laminates years ago when my boys were babies! I really need to make your tote for my car. I am now one to the next generation and his "stuff" has taken over my back seat and my trunk! Or........get a minivan again! NOOOOO!"

I am with you on the minivan! I absolutely loathe having to drive that thing. We have one that my oldest son used to drive mostly so now that he is off to college, my husband drives it. He actually likes it.....which is fine with me....we can keep it, even though the kids are getting older. It comes in very handy when a moving van is needed....for example to pick up books from the printer! Thanks honey:)  

Today is all about the gorgeous models that make the pages in my book extra adorable.

His Or Hers Baby Quilt

You have all seen the cover of the book and this quilt is there. It might not be super noticable; I understand it is hard to see anything other than little miss Sophia's gorgeous face.

Sophia was actually not in the mood for posing that day. You would never guess that!

She was actually about to stand up and run to her mom when these photos were taken! Somehow my photographer Paula was able to snap them in the perfect moment, she really is a magician!

This is what Sophia really wanted to do with the quilt....cuddle with mom! Super cute.

Quentin or Quinn as he is called, was a little more willing to do what we were saying....after I buried some plastic bugs in the sand for him to find:)

Now, if Quentin is looking a little familiar to you, you might have seen him before....this was not his first modeling gig! He was my model for the first Fast & Furious book, posing on this sweet little quilt.

I just adore those big brown eyes. Somebody needs to get this kid an agent!

I should talk about the quilt a little, huh! The quilt is super simple and quick to make when you need a gift fast. I made both colorways from flannel so they are extra cuddly.

Dream On

This quilt is made from fat eighths or fat quarters. 

The tiny person that makes it extra special is a blond haired, blue eyed beauty. Miss Allie. 

Now, she had no problem with wanting to be in the pictures.....sitting still for them was another thing. But I just love how these turned out, she was the life of the party!

I made two versions of this quilt and Allie's brother Brady helped make the other one come to life.

He was a little too busy building a tower to look at the camera though.

Which is totally understandable when you have an impressive tower like this in the works!

I want to take the opportunity here to give these future beauty queens and heartbreakers extra special thanks. They will forever be super special to me:)

Sophia

Quinn

Allie

Brady

Wow....this roll of pictures looks like movie credits! Well, they are all stars in my eyes!

 

Please keep commenting, there are still 2 books up for grabs and then the grand prize which I will show you tomorrow;)

Today's question:

If you could travel to any country on a dream trip, whether it is a quilting related trip or not, where would you want to go?

(ps. you won't offend me if you don't say Iceland:D

Write your answer in the comments to be eligible to win. 

Thanks for stopping by.

Fast & Furious Family Giveaway - Day 3

Yesterdays book winner in the week long giveaway is:

Pamela

she said: 

"D - because that means it doesn't cost you anything, right! (Whose counting those "stash" purchases, anyway?)"

I absolutely agree Pamela, stash is free!! Money is already gone! Stash shopping is just research:)

Look for an e-mail from me Pamela, congrats!!

Wow, you really surprised me with your answers to yesterday's question. I only threw in the last multiple choice because I thought it would be too hard for me to pick one! Who knew that there are so many of us with split personality issues:)

On this Wednesday I would like to show you some of my favorites out of the book, even though I shouldn't really say that I have favorites. It's like saying one of your children is your favorite....at least you would never admit that out loud:)

One these projects is a favorite because it was so fun to make and put together, and the other one because I have used it soooo much already.

Knickknack Bed Runner and Knickknack Pillow

This is the first time that I have ever done a runner for the bed and I absolutely loved making it.

I love the fact that you can change the look of a whole bedroom by making the runner and pillow in just a few hours!! Why wait to make a bed quilt when you can redecorate in a day with something homemade! The runner calls for Fat Eighths or Fat Quarters and I used the fabric line Curio by Basic Grey for Moda.

After I was done with the runner I had all these triangles left over so I made a decorative pillow cover out of them. I love how it turned out and it completes the look of the room.

The instructions for the pillow are included in the book as well.

Grab N' Go Tote

This is definitely my most used item so far. It took me a few prototypes before I was completely happy with it but it was worth it! 

This Tote is 13" x 21" 14" and I used laminated fabric for the bottom. That makes it water resistant and easy to wipe down if you set it down in dirt, water or whatever else.

For the top part of the tote I used a Charm pack! The bag is the perfect size to load your things in when you are going on a trip; cabin trip, quilt retreat, shopping......

...or going to the beach. Just load everything in and off you go. It is so easily cleaned off so whether it is sand or snow.....piece of cake!!

My wonderful models Sophia and Quentin had fun with the bag....even though it wasn't exactly how us grownups had planned out the photoshoot. They didn't really want to do what we wanted them to do:)

Thanks to my wonderful photographer Paula, she made some magic happen.

Simply irresistable.....both the bag and the kids!!

I have been making more and more of those totes....it's hard to stop. I just found these fabrics at my local quilt shop this week and had to make one more:

Sorry for the bad photos, I just snapped them with my phone for you quickly, yesterday morning.

The bag stands up right on it's own thanks to the stabilizer used, which is really handy when you are loading it up. It's got handles to put over your shoulder but also small side handles to carry it if the load is heavy.

So yes.....I guess I will have to admit to this tote being my favorite:)

How about you? Do you see yourself using this Tote? What would you use it for? Have you been eying the laminated fabrics in the quilt shops wondering what you can make with them? You probably have because I know I have for a while now!

The question of the day will then obviously be: "Have you worked with laminated fabrics or oilcloth before?

Hope to see you back tomorrow,

Fast & Furious Family Giveaway - Day 2

Lets get right to it.....The winner of yesterdays book giveaway is:

BFromM

she said: 

"I love those boxes! So much better than the plasticy ones that are sold in stores.

I'm a big fan of pillows, because they are much smaller, and thus much quicker!"

Congratulations to you, you will be hearing from me real soon!

 

I loved hearing your comments on what you make the most and just for fun, here are the results:

My favorite answer was from Dorian though....She actually admitted to making mostly quilt TOPS!! I am sure you are not the only one Dorian....I make many every year that don't become quilts until...well later!

ON WITH THE SHOW!

Today I am going to show you some more projects from the Fast & Furious Family book. I forgot to mention in yesterdays post that we are taking preorders for the book here.

Today we are going to start with Placemats.

Fresh Blooms Placemats

The Placemats can be made from Fat Quarters or Fat Eighths and are super easy to make. The simple fusible flower along with the crisp fabrics, makes them so fresh and cheery. 

I used the Ruby fabric line by Bonnie & Camille for Moda. 

Do you see the little table runner in the background?

I used my leftovers from the placemats to make the runner. It is called Fresh Cut Runner and can of course be made with any scraps that you have. It measures 9" x 42"

Now what if you don't have a square or rectangular table? Round Tables have often been a tough one to dress because of the shape but check these out:

Fan-Tastic Placemats

I absolutely love these placemats....so much that I am actually contemplating going out and buying a round table so I can use them!

I have often been asked for a pattern for round-table placemats and for all of you that asked....here you go:) 

You only need 9 fat quarters for four placemats and some binding. I used the Hometown fabric line by Sweetwater for Moda, just the grays and blues and then the red dot out of my Super fabric line for Red Rooster which worked great with it.

Playful Charms Runner

The Playful Charms Runner is one of four runners in the book. It is made from Charm squares or leftover pieces of 2-1/2" strips. It is super fun to make and the ric rac down the middle makes it so alive and playful. For this version I used the Isabelle Christmas collection from Anna Griffin for this version of the runner. The black polkadot was in my stash and just worked great with it.

This version features a fabric line from Oliver S by Moda and the brown print is from my Flair collection for Red Rooster. 

That's it for today folks. I hope you are still liking what you see. Make sure to put your name in the pot to win a copy of the book by adding your comment to todays post. Here is the question of the day and it is a multiple choice (you can certainly pick more than one:)

What is your favorite way of picking fabrics for your projects? 

A: I like to shop for my own fabrics and pick my own color combinations that might be different from the pattern. 

B: I like to buy kits with all the fabrics already picked out because I have a hard time visualizing the final product without seeing it.  

C: I like to work with precuts (Jelly Rolls, Charm packs, Layer cakes) because of the variety and time saving aspect.

D: Picking fabrics from my stash without spending a penny gives me the most satisfaction!

E: I am a split personality, all of the above will be my favorite way at some point in the week!!!

Thanks for checking in today, see you tomorrow.

Fast & Furious Family Giveaway - Day 1

Welcome to day 1 of the Fast & Furious Family giveaway. 

Throughout the week I am going to show you all of the projects in the book and hopefully give you a little bit of behind the scenes look on how the book came together. 

Each day I will draw a winner from the comments and he/she will win a copy of the book. I will announce today's winner in tomorrow's blog post. On Friday I will also be drawing two extra names from all of the comments of the week to win the grand prizes so make sure you come back each day of the week;)

For those who don't know, this is the third Fast & Furious book that I have written. The reason for the name is the method used in all of the projects; "Quilt As You Go" which makes everything pretty quick in construction! The idea of doing a Fast & Furious book that would benefit the whole family came from the first project I am showing you today, the Fabric Boxes.

I am sure you have seen these cube shelves that are available everywhere, Target, Ikea....everywhere! My kids have them in their rooms and some fabric cubes to store their things in. When I redecorated my daughters room, I thought it would be fun to make new cubes for her shelf that would match the other fabrics in her room and so I started making these fabric cubes. 

After a few prototypes, I found the best combination of methods and products and these are the results. 

The fabric boxes come in 3 sizes and they all have one side that is pieced (Quilt As You Go). The cube is 10". 

The medium box is 8" tall, 15" wide and 10" deep. It is a perfect size for keeping magazines, knitting projects or other handwork in close range by your favorite chair.

It will also fit an 11" deep bookshelf very well, which happens to be the depth of my sewing room shelves, as storage for fabric or other neccessities. You could make one in any color for each color group of fabrics!

The small box is 5" tall, 10" wide and 5" deep. I love this box! I keep it next to my sewing machine to store all of the little things that you need close by when sewing, like bobbins, sewing machine feet, extra needles, etc....but they are out of sight so things don't look as cluttered and messy around your machine.

It will also fit a stack of fat quarters very nicely!

If you don't want a pieced look, all of the boxes can be made with a solid fabric to match any decor. The small box is a perfect size to keep a pretty collection of soaps & lotions in your guest bathroom. (You know....the one that always stays prettty....because it's never used by your children;)

Blooming Bounty Topper

This fun topper is 38" square. It can be used as a table topper or even a bed topper.

I could'nt decide if I liked it better on the dresser or on the bed so I used both photos! This topper is so versatile and actually comes together really fast.

I love the idea of adding a little homemade touch to an elegant bedroom by placing the topper on a footbench.

After making two of the big toppers, I couldn't get the idea of making a smaller version out of my head. So I created the:

Petite Blooming Bounty Topper

Talk about love at first sight!! This little cutie is only 19" and is now going to be my go to gift for all of my family & friends!! (Don't tell them;) It is so quickly put together and from fat quarters only!! God knows I have enough of those around....I could make hundreds!

The rounded corners might look a little scary to some beginner sewers....but fear not! It is just as cute when you leave the corners square!

This bright colored one will top my outdoor table next summer. I just love the fantastic, crisp colors!!

Just because I know I will get this question...here are the fabric lines I used for these projects: The fabric cubes and small box along with the Blooming Bounty Topper on the dresser are made from my fabric line Super. The medium box is from my collection of black and white fabrics. The Petite blooming bounty with the rounded corners is from Hometown by Sweetwater for Moda. The Blooming Bounty on the footbench is from Late Bloomers by Sandy Gervais for Moda and the bright colored small one has some of Sandy's fabrics as well, from a collection of lines.

To be entered into todays giveaway, all you have to do is answer this question in the comments:

What kind of projects have you made most of since you started quilting?

Your answers could look something like this:

-Lap Quilts and Bed Quilts

-Table Runners & Toppers

-Bags & Totes

-Baby Quilts

-Clothing and wearables

-I plead the 5th....this answer could incriminate me!!!

Thanks for stopping by, I would love to hear what you think of the projects.

A Week of Giveaways!

Starting next Monday we are doing a week of giveaways here on the blog:

Each day I will give you some details  on the projects in the book, share photos from the book and others that didn't make it in there:) I will also post a simple poll question which you just have to answer in the comments to be eligible for the daily giveaway. At the end of the week there will be a grand prize drawing from all of the comments from the week. So if you comment every day you have lots of opportunities to win.

I would love it if you would let all your bloggy friends know about the giveaway. Feel free to copy the giveaway photo and share it with a link back here:)

See you back here on Monday...

Have a great weekend!!

Fast & Furious Family

I am sorry for my absence from my blog lately, but there is a very good reason for it. My newest baby just went to the printer and scheduled delivery is before Quilt Market in Houston in two weeks!!

Meet Fast & Furious Family!!

I will be showing you all of the projects in the book in the coming days so check back here....

Shops are able to preorder now!!