Sometimes I have just too many ideas running around in my head.  I started to work on a new pattern this week.  I am using up some batiks from my stash that have been sitting on the shelf just waiting for me to notice them.  I did not have all of the colors I wanted to use so am blending in some regular quilting cottons.  Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts assures me it is okay to mix them up.  I did learn an important lesson though.  Since I prewash my regular quilting fabric I decided I better do the same with the batiks.  Oh and I am so glad I did!  The beautiful maroon color I chose was a fat quarter that I hand washed in the bathroom sink-boy did it turn the water red.  I rinsed and rinsed that piece until my water was clear.  I would have been really disappointed the first time I washed this quilt had that deep red run into the lighter farbics.

My studio is filling up with Half-square Triangles.  I admit it can get a little monotonous trimming those HST's but they are so versatile and give me lots of options for designs.  When I need to make a large number of them I tend to break them down into smaller workable groups...and then treat myself to a bite of chocolate for a job well done in between, lol.

I am loving this one, and think I will be making a version with Christmas fabrics next.  
I am also working on a Paper Pieced tree quilt...it is a simple shape and I hope to do some upcoming lessons on how I have begun to use this technique.  It really opens up doors for some beautiful designs and accurate piecing.  I have not snapped any photos of that one yet, maybe next week...

We have had some pretty cold nigthtime temperatures lately.  The chill in the air and the shorter days are bringing many of our winter birds back into the area.  I have some backyard beauties that are always around  though...

Winter also means the return of large numbers of Bald Eagles.  This one posed nicely for me the other evening.  Ken and I participate in the Winter Raptor Survey so we will be going out once a month and counting all of the Eagles, Hawks, Falcons, Owls, etc that we see on our specific route.  We have been eagerly anticipating this weekend when we hit the road to do our first survey in a lovely area to our north.  There is so much inspiration in nature, my choice of colors often reflects the natural world around me.  God puts things together in ways that often catch me by surprise-what a color palette He has given us to work with.

My first edition of Tuned into Quilting went out today. 
​ If you have not subscribed to my new newsletter yet I encourage you to join me as I share fun stuff from around the quilting world as well as my own patterns and sew along news.  Subscribers will also receive two free patterns a year.  

I hope you have a wonderful weekend and...
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I had such great response for my recent row in the Once Upon a Story Row Along that I have decided to turn it into a baby quilt.  Whether you make the baby quilt or just the original block I will be posting a weekly update with an assignment for that week and my step-by-step process for making the quilt.  If you have never given appliquè a try now is the time.

Several years ago I challenged myself to learn one new thing each year related to quilting.  I started out afraid of appliquè and stuck just to pieced quilts.  Then I started to see beautiful quilts that had both piecing and appliquè and decided I needed to give it a try.  So I started with machine appliquè.  Oh, but other quilters can be so inspiring and I began seeing some beautiful needleturn projects and I gave that a try.  I probably gave up way too soon.  I was never really satisfied with my results.  About two years ago I heard about Apliquick tools and decided to watch a few videos.  I was intrigued...this could be the answer for me.  So I ordered the tools and began to s-l-o-w-l-y give Turned Edge applique a try.  With this method the pieces are prepared ahead of time, with the edges already turned under.  It is a method that works well for either machine or hand appliquè.  There are many other methods of Turned Edge applique, but I have to tell you this has become my favorite for the beautiful results I achieve.  The Apliquick tools take a little getting used to, but with the many helpful videos I watched it did not take long before I was hooked on using them, especially for those smaller pieces like the sheep in my Little Bo Peep quilt.  The wonderful owners of Apliquick, Rosa Rojas and Olga González-Angulo, are providing an amazing assortment of their products for me to give away so stay tuned for more on that in future posts.  I may sound like an ad for using their products, but I only share with you what works really well for me.  I do not get any compensation of any kind for the products I mention on my website.  If I love something, I tell you about; that is the way I work.  To see just exactly what I am talking about here is a video of Rosa Rojas, the inventor of these wonderful tools, showing how they are used.  Of course, you can follow along with me and not use the Apliquick tools.  They are not q requirement to make this quilt.

Now without further ado, let's begin with a list of fabric I am using for my version of this quilt.  I shopped around a bit for some Northcott fabrics that would work well with my project.  I was very pleased with the fabrics they sent for us to use during Marian Pena's Row Along and wanted to really take a look at what they have to offer.  Most of the fabrics I have chosen are from Northcott's line of fabrics with some Moda and various scraps from my stash thrown in.  ​I was able to find all of these online from a couple of shops.  The wonderful thing about this quilt is how well you can just use scraps you already have on hand.  If you do need to purchase fabrics everything except for the borders can be made using Fat Quarters.

Fabrics I Am Using for this Quilt
The majority of the my fabrics were purchased through online retailers.  The drawback is many do not offer smaller yardages so I ended up with a lot of extra which will go into other projects.
For the hills and shrubs I have labeled what I am using with the piece number that will be cut from it.  I played around with laying some greens together to make sure I liked how they look before settling on the ones I chose for my quilt.  I wanted there to be a variety of lights and darks, but I wanted them to play together nicely as far as hue, shade and tone.  I also picked out a fabric for my path that stands out against the greens.
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Here I have my fabrics for the barn and the borders and sky.

And these are the fabrics I am using for Little Bo Peep.  I am still trying to decide which color her bonnet will be so you can see that #32 is laying across 2 fabrics.  The light blue is the one I will be using in the stars that make up the corners of the baby quilt

This is the list of the specific fabrics I am using.  You can download a pdf copy of this list as well as a blank one to fill in the the fabrics you choose.  You will need the PDF list of "Fabric Requirements" for the quilt to get started.  If you are using scrap this is particularly helpful as I give you the exact size piece you will need.

One item I will recommend for Turned Edge appliquè is Appliquè Paper.  I am using Hugs and Kisses brand of this water soluble, single sided fusible.  This has been the other item that has transformed my appliquè and I will be showing you how I use it as we go along.  I like the sheets as they can also be used in my inkjet printer and it saves me time tracing out shapes so I can get on with my sewing.  (The giveaway box from Apliquick includes some of their own version of this product.)  Hugs and Kisses Applique Paper is available in many shops though I have found the best price on Amazon, which I have linked to.

I know I have given you a lot in this post.  I am looking forward to sewing along with you.  There is just one more thing you will need to join me in this Sew Along.  The Pattern.  It is for sale in my shop and for the month of November you can get 50% off the regular price. 
Just use coupon code: bopeep
​Your support of me through the purchase of my patterns helps me to be able to continue to do what I do here at Tuning My Heart Quilts so I really appreciate it!

Look for your first assignment Friday, November 15th.
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Happy Quilting!

Another fun block from Jen for this month's Color Challenge.  I made myself a cup of coffee and got to work pulling fabrics from my stash for this one.  Our color for Novemeber is yellow.  That used to be my favorite color as a girl, such a bright and cheery hue.  It certainly stands out this time of year as the colors of autumn take over the landscape.

Jen chose Black-eyed Susan as the flower to represent this month's color.  So when I looked at my stash I was drawn to the more toned down yellows, the ones that have a more golden color.

I loved this one so much I made two.  Here is my yellow block for November.

And then I made one adding a touch of brown into the mix
​which reminded me of the center of Black-eyed Susans.

I did find that if I fanned the seams where all the points come together the block laid flat instead of having that bulky bump.  This did mean that on some of them I had to clip to the stitching to allow the seam to lay in the right direction when pressed.

Here you can see how I pressed the seams on the whole block.

This was a really fun block to make.  I love how you can put Half-square Triangles together and come out with so many different patterns.

​To get your copy of this month's block visit Patterns by Jen by clicking HERE.
And be sure and visit the other bloggers who are sharing their version of the block too.
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Jen Shaffer at Patterns by Jen
Kathy Bruckman at Kathy's Kwilts and More​ 
Sarah Myers at The Quilted Diary
Joanne Hubbard at Everyone Deserves a Quilt

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Be sure and check out my current free block of the month by clicking on this link:
  Just Desserts BOM
There is still time to join in the fun and each month. 
​You can find all of the blocks that have been released so far on my
Free Patterns Page. 
Each block has a blog post to go along with it as well, with tips and a recipe too.

Thank you for stopping by.  Do leave me a comment.  I love to hear from anyone who visits
and I always read and respond to them.  
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Have a wonderful November and Happy Quilting.