The Puppy Portraits Cross Stitch SAL: French Bull Dog

I know I'm not supposed to pick favorites - so I won't - but I have loved this one from the very beginning and hope you will too. This little dapper dog has a sweet little bow tie and a very elegant, very "old fashioned frame" with an enormous bow. I'm so excited to introduce you to the second puppy in the Puppy Portraits cross stitch a long. It's the ever loving, small - but mighty, French Bull Dog!

 

If you are new to the Puppy Portraits stitch a long, you can find out more about it in the first June post...here and more about the Aurifil company. I also had a chance to talk to Erin a bit and shared a lot about this project and why I love Aurifil. You can read all about it over on their Auribuzz blog. If you haven't signed up yet, it's never too late. You can sign up now. Reserve/purchase your patterns by filling out the Puppy Portraits Google form linked via the button below.

Just a reminder: We are not charging for this event in the traditional sense. Rather, we simply ask that participants make a donation to a charity that is close to theirs hearts or homes to offer passionate and targeted support to those in need. The signup form will require the following details:

— When and where a donation was made (donations must be dated June 10, 2021 or later)
— Donation amount (minimum of $12)
— Screenshot or other proof of donation

We’re excited to be tracking all donation totals as well as the charities, organizations, and foundations that you all have chosen to donate to. To date we have raised well over $2500! We’ll share all the details at the end of the stitch-a-long. Participant names and individual donation amounts will not be shared and will remain anonymous.

Upon signup, your name will be added to our pattern distribution list and you’ll receive a PDF download with the stitch-a-long frames. Because the registrations are being confirmed manually, the first email won't go out the second you sign up. All "FIRST" emails will only be sent on Friday mornings. If you register Friday night or Saturday morning, you may not get the first email until the following Friday. We appreciate your patience. All subsequent portraits will be arriving on the 2nd Thursday of each month for the remainder of the 12 months. The frames are numbered in the order in which the puppy portraits will arrive, so please be sure to stitch them in order as noted if you want to get ahead. When you finish your new ‘puppy of the month’, you can then continue working on the frames.

If you'd like to order the Puppy Portraits collection and your color choice of Lugana precut linen (mushroom is shown above), you can find it in my Kid Giddy Etsy shop. I currently have stock of three different linen fabrics but quantities are limited. Once they sell out it will be considered a pre-order and will ship when more product arrives. We appreciate your patience!

To all that have joined us thus far, we are so excited to have you. To those still deciding or just finding out, we can't wait to have you join the party! We truly hope you will stitch-a-long with us over this next year and feel good about being a part of this special project.

Disclosure: There are no affiliate links. Thank you.

The Puppy Portraits SAL: Mini Poodle

It's still month two (albeit late) so I'm going to share the first puppy release with you before the second one comes out in August! We released the Frames to get you started back in June. Who's the first out of the gate? None other than the Mini Poodle...the youngest and smallest of the bunch. He hasn't grown into his full color yet, but he's still as cute as can be. 

If you are new to the Puppy Portraits stitch a long, you can find out more about it in the first June post...here and more about the Aurifil company. I also had a chance to talk to Erin a bit and shared a lot about this project and why I love Aurifil. You can read all about it over on their Auribuzz blog. If you haven't signed up yet, it's never too late. You can sign up now. Reserve/purchase your patterns by filling out the Puppy Portraits Google form linked via the button below.

Just a reminder: We are not charging for this event in the traditional sense. Rather, we simply ask that participants make a donation to a charity that is close to theirs hearts or homes to offer passionate and targeted support to those in need. The signup form will require the following details:

— When and where a donation was made (donations must be dated June 10, 2021 or later)
— Donation amount (minimum of $12)
— Screenshot or other proof of donation

We’re excited to be tracking all donation totals as well as the charities, organizations, and foundations that you all have chosen to donate to. To date we have raised well over $2000! We’ll share all the details at the end of the stitch-a-long. Participant names and individual donation amounts will not be shared and will remain anonymous.

Upon signup, your name will be added to our pattern distribution list and you’ll receive a PDF download with the stitch-a-long frames. Because the registrations are being confirmed manually, the first email won't go out the second you sign up. All "FIRST" emails will only be sent on Friday mornings. If you register Friday night or Saturday morning, you may not get the first email until the following Friday. We appreciate your patience. All subsequent portraits will be arriving on the 2nd Thursday of each month for the remainder of the 12 months. The frames are numbered in the order in which the puppy portraits will arrive, so please be sure to stitch them in order as noted if you want to get ahead. When you finish your new ‘puppy of the month’, you can then continue working on the frames.

If you'd like to order the Puppy Portraits collection and your color choice of Lugana precut linen (mushroom is shown above), you can find it in my Kid Giddy Etsy shop. I currently have stock of three different linen fabrics but quantities are limited. Once they sell out it will be considered a pre-order and will ship when more product arrives. We appreciate your patience!

To all that have joined us thus far, we are so excited to have you. To those still deciding or just finding out, we can't wait to have you join the party! We truly hope you will stitch-a-long with us over this next year and feel good about being a part of this special project.

Disclosure: There are no affiliate links. Thank you.

The First Ever Ugly Sweater Block Party

Two things I love in life...Christmas and crazy fun summer block parties...are coming together in just a couple of weeks in a whole new way! You know...all things jolly, the oh so swanky Ugly Sweaters, mistletoe and Santa!...and in the heat of the summer sun, those parties that shut down neighborhood streets, go all day long, and involve laughter and all the yummy foods the neighbors can bring?! Well it won't be in person and hopefully you have A/C and can crank it so high you legit have to wear an "ugly sweater"...but here's the deal...We are having a party and we want you there. Last year I couldn't celebrate the 5 year anniversary of the Original #UglySweaterBlock while making masks and sewing medical gowns during a pandemic, so I'm celebrating now and it just won't be as fun or the same, without you.

If you missed the news on Instagram - I have teamed up with Ebony Love over at @retreatfromhome to host the very first super fun #UglySweaterBlockPARTY on July 24th! This will be an all out fun day online, meeting new friends during the mingle and jingle events, accessing the two exclusive event patterns (not available to the public until next year), TONS of prizes and AMAZING shopping discounts from our awesome sponsors.

There is also a special limited edition swag pouch for the first 200 attendees, and special goodies for the first 25, 50 and 100 attendees! You will not want to miss this opportunity to gather together for swapping fabrics, blocks and fun/ugly sweater tales while learning all my tips and tricks in my two live classes. Head over to

RetreatFromHome.com to sign up and then grab one of the “I’m attending” badges to share from my first #UglySweaterBlockPARTY post on IG or down below!

🌟If you refer a friend - make sure they tell us your name…we will be giving out a prize for the most referrals! Ok - ready - set - go! Registration closes on 🌟

 

 

We can't wait to party with you!

Disclosure: There are no affiliate links. Thank you.

Electric Quilt Company Brand Ambassador

It's really no secret at this point that I have loved working with the Electric Quilt Company EQ7 program over the past 3 (almost 4) years. It's even less of a secret that I love working in EQ8 even more. Therefore I'm so thrilled and honored to share with you that the Electric Quilt Company has selected me as one (of their two) EQ Brand Ambassadors this year along side AnneMarie Chany (of GenX Quilters). 

Last year I created four foundation paper piecing dog blocks as part of my new #DogBlockSeries. I have always loved dogs but haven't been able to have one of my own since childhood. So I have decided to live vicariously through all of my friends and family and my love of sewing. It all started with the French Bull Dog as a collaboration between Christopher Thompson, his gorgeous frenchie Edie and myself for his gorgeous Blue Carolina line. She was a smashing hit, but she was lonely and so I created the Pug Dog.

Along came EQ8, so to test it all, I created the German Shepherd (one of the most loyal dogs from my childhood) and then the Scotty Dog in memory of my late Granny. She just loved Scotties - so with it being Christmas and all, I couldn't resist the iconic Scotty with a huge bow. I learned a lot about EQ8 while designing the German Shepherd and the Scotty and was so excited about the new features and some fixes that I hoped one day would be made. (I'll share some of those favorites later...)

With those four puppies done...and more to come...I started thinking of how I wanted my quilt to look. I brought them all together in EQ8 (some I designed earlier in EQ7 - so I simply brought them into my new EQ8 file) to map out some quilt ideas. I didn't want to do a standard 12 up quilt. That could take forever since I don't have all 12 designed yet. Instead I went with a truly whimsical quilt design (using the custom layout option in EQ8) that makes you want to sing out..."How much is that puppy in the window"! Right?

What do you think? I cut up my first French Bull Dog block to make it into a cute silhouette shaped mug rug (for Christopher's awesome #theunconventionalminiquilt challenge), so I need to make another one first, but I'm excited to make this fun #DoggyInTheWindowQuilt, who's with me? I'll be sharing the details of this quilt in my newsletter next week...so be sure to sign up below!

In the meantime, I have a couple of awesome things about EQ8 to share with you. One of my favorite updates was the coloring. When I colored my blocks, and found a little line I needed to delete or decided to change, I would click back over to the coloring tab and then had to recolor everything all over again. It was as if the wind blew all of my color to the left. Sure it was time consuming but I just thought, it was all still faster than anything I could've done on my own. Now in EQ8, the program understands when you color something, and make a small change, it leaves most of the color there. If you have a block of 4 different color squares, and delete one line (so now you have 2 squares and a rectangle) it picks just one color to be from those two squares. It may not be the color you want, but it leaves the other two squares alone. So it's less recoloring, and that saves so much time!

One of my other favorite new feaures...and I just found out about it...is that you can undo when grouping patches and numbering patches. So when you are ready to print the Foundation Pattern - the window pops up on the Sections Tab. And you'll see notes on the right side, and a little box (that I usually check) that says "I want to section and number myself without EQ's help". Once you check that box to start grouping your patches...this is the screen you'll see. It says "Foundation Sections: Now click on all the patches that you want to be in the same section". And this vast empty space...

After you click on the first patch you'll see new messages added...

The first one says "To make the shaded patches into one section, click the group button. But what if you click an extra patch? I used to have to click the "Start Over" button. Every time either in the very beginning or the very end. But now, see that new second message? "To remove a patch from a section, hold SHIFT and click on that patch."!!! Do you know what that means??? It's like an UNDO button without being an UNDO button!!!! And it's not just one undo - you can click undo a lot of times. All the way back to the beginning if you'd like. It's like this new little update that slipped under my radar this whole time, and now has me realizing how much time I will save when I have all these itty bitty tiny pieces and accidentally click the wrong one. What to know what else this means?

It means that you can also hold the SHIFT key and click on the patches too when you are in the numbering tab. It doesn't say that here on the right side...but you still can. I tried it and it worked! So maybe you want to change a sequence or you accidentally clicked in a different section and that numbered it B1, when it really has to be B5 - you can undo it!

These are just a few more reasons I love the new EQ8 program and over the course of the year, I'll be sharing some tips and tricks for working in EQ8 and hope you'll come by and check them out. I also have some new patterns coming out soon and a new 12 week sew along planned for Christmas. It's a quilt I've been trying to put together for the past few years!

If you are new to the Electric Quilt company, or just new to hearing about EQ8, visit their website for even more info and tons of helpful tutorials and videos. Use the code "EQ8Kerry" to save 20% off of all your purchases (this whole year!!!)! Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. Next week I'll be sharing the Doggy in the Window Quilt measurements as I mentioned below and the pattern for this #GeoHourglass block I created for this tutorial.

Thanks always for stopping by!

Kid Giddy Sizzix Fall Fashion Maker Challenge

Hey everyone - Sizzix and I are so excited to announce the Kid Giddy Sizzix Fall Fashion Maker Challenge! Back in May I released 3 new Sizzix dies specifically for those really cute and fun 18" dolls! I've made a few outfits using the two Sizzix Kid Giddy 18" Apparel Dies and now we want to see what you can come up with! Maybe an outfit identical to a child's first day "back to school" outfit, something inspired by a couture fashion show, project runway or even a halloween costume? The skies the limit and I want to see how far you'll go! Here are the two dies included in the challenge!

The 18" Doll Apparel Tops:The pattern pieces included on the 18" Doll Apparel Tops die are so versatile you'll be surprised at how many different things you can sew with them. The project sheet includes instructions on how to make a Jacket, Reversible Tank Dress and a T-shirt. However - I'm going to show you this week some other really fun things you can make with these same pattern pieces, all very different and all very fun.

The 18" Doll Apparel Bottoms:
The pattern pieces for the 18" Doll Apparel Bottoms may only have 3 pieces (the pants panel and two different pockets) to make pants, shorts and capris, but again, I'm going to show you so many other things you can make using this same die with small tweaks.

Did you see my sneak peek I shared on social media last week? Remember this "giddy"patch I free motion quilted for fun?

You can find my Kid Giddy dies on Sizzix.com and these two new dies along with the new mini backpack die also in my Etsy shop. I have a limited number of dies here in my studio and am offering an awesome Doll Apparel/Backpack Bundle deal with a free gift (fyi: backpack is not  a part of the maker challenge) and free shipping in the U.S.! Don't miss out on this really great deal - I only have a limited number - so don't hesitate to grab it now while you can!

I truly am excited about these dies and can't wait to see all the different Fall Fashions you guys come up with these Kid Giddy Sizzix 18" Apparel Dies. Please be sure to tag me on social media (Kid Giddy: on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!) and join me here this week for tons of fun. For more information and all the details about the Kid Giddy Sizzix Maker Challenge - please visit the Sizzix blog.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Please be sure to sign up for my emails to get info about new patterns, new dies, future sales and other fun stuff.

Disclaimer: I am a Licensed Designer for Sizzix - opinions are my own and there are no affiliate links

A Foxy Giveaway

Good afternoon and Good morning depending on your time zone...

I have a fun announcement to share. Sizzix is hosting an awesome Kid Giddy Fox Die giveaway on their Facebook page. You can click on the link above for all the details. But while you are here...check out some of the awesome things the Kid Giddy Fox die can do!

The Fox die comes with all the pieces you need to make the Party fox (as shown above). The hat can be made into a witches hat, or a Santa hat too and the balloons can be sewn onto some cardstock for some cute birthday cards (or other special occasion). Of course you can make him without all the bells and whistles too (as shown below) - a perfect friend to play out in the yard with during the fall season...but that is not all.

You can also mix and match the Fox and Kid Giddy Doll die pieces to make even more combinations. Crazy fun right?! I love using the Fox arms and legs on the doll die (like I did on the Bubbles Doll below) and using the Fox body for a fuller figure (like a Santa doll). They can mix and match perfectly because the neck width is the exact same.

Here's the Santa Doll (the body and his hat are both from the Fox die).

There are truly so many possibilities with the Kid Giddy Fox die and even more when used with the Kid Giddy Doll die. So head on over to the Sizzix Facebook Page for your chance to win my Kid Giddy Fox Die!

Observer Fabric Tour: Handmade Home

I'm so thrilled to be a part of April Rhodes Observer Fabric tour, and to get my hands on her newest fabric line Observer with Art Gallery Fabrics. I'm not sure what it is - be it the color palette or the prints - that make me want to associate leather, raw wood and plush yarns with April's fabrics, but it's always there. It all just plays so nicely with one another. Don't you agree?

I was so slammed for the past month and sat staring at this stack of fabric she sent me, itching to get started on this project, but couldn't. I had a few ideas in mind but couldn't settle on just one thing. I asked my family which they would choose and the vote was unanimous.

A couple of years ago I made my cousin and his beautiful bride a nautical themed table runner and place setting complete with cloth napkins. As I shipped it off, my daughters voiced their disappointment that we didn't have our own set of "mommy made" place mats. I knew someday I was going to have to make some - but when it's "just for me sewing", I don't get to do much of it. Finally the chance presented itself and I couldn't say no.

After finding some huge leather hides at a local discount retailer shop (for only $25 each - total steal!) I knew I had to work leather into the blocks with these observer prints.

 I didn't want to have blocks with multiple sections that would require a bulky leather seam so I kept them simple. The fabric inspired me to start with either a square or a triangle in each block. Each 7" block started with the leather piece and work outward with April's fabrics, so the leather remains flat. 

  I After trimming the blocks, I then added the log cabin style border The place mats are 12" x 17" finished, which is a fairly standard size for placemats.

I only quilted the top layer with batting and decided to quilt each one with a simple echo style fmq pattern based on the leather piece in the middle. I then added the backing, right sides together, turned them right sides out and top stitched the edges.

Eventually I will make some cloth napkins to go with them and some leather napkin rings.

I had so much fun making these and each of my family members are thrilled beyond belief that I don't have to mail these babies out to someone to be photographed or to keep. These will so happily live on our wood table for a very long time. 

I love April's sweet demeanor and her fabrics exude the same feelings. I hope you will all take the opportunity to place with it too and see what it inspires you to make. Thanks so much for stopping by and reading all about these placemats as inspired by April's Observer Fabrics. For more information or to find out where you can get some of April's new fabric, visit April's website (link above) or the Art Gallery Fabrics site. Holly from @hollygetsquilty is the next blogger up on the tour tomorrow.

Disclaimer: I received fabric from Art Gallery Fabrics to design these placemats with. Opinions are my own, and there are no affiliate links. Thank you.