Brown Bag Mystery Quilt 2021- Double the Fun

 In 2021 I joined Karen Montgomery's Brown Bag Mystery quilt along. Karen will design an exclusive pattern and get with shops that participated in Sewposium in February to sell the bags. In the bags, your fabric is chosen but usually, they give you a hint at one of the fabrics. I joined through The Fiberology Lab. Then during Spring, the clues are sent out once a week. I am a bit of a procrastinator and did manage to finish piecing mine in Sept of 2021, but realized I never shared. My bag was black and white with a pop of color. I am very happy with my results. I do have borders to put on and quilting to do. It has joined the pile of quilts I need to quilt.

Tea Time!

This one is from a subscription service I had enrolled in for a short period of time called Plum Deluxe. I got these lovely teas from my monthly box in May. The French Tart Black Tea was very good. It was made for the box and seasonal, so you won't find it on the site but they have other wonderful teas to choose from.

Upcoming Quilt Show

I've been terrible posting things this year. My year has been hectic and I have done some sewing but not as much as I normally do. 

I do have an upcoming quilt show that I am planning to submit a quit into. Mom and I were browsing a random local magazine and found out about an Arts & Music Festival happening next weekend. It's called the Louie Bluie Festival, and they are going to have a quilt show there. Entries need to be submitted on 9/21 at the Quilt Patch in La Follette, TN. We are prepping out entries as we speak. The actual festival will be on 9/24. I am submitting the Fish Bowl quilt to the show, now if I can keep my cat off it. If you live in the area come by.

Tea Time!

I have several photos I've saved for my next tea entry. I am still picking just one. Last October I went to Ikea for the first time. It's about a 5-hour drive to the nearest Ikea so this was a special trip. I got one of their teas while I was there. I went through it so fast. I was terribly sad I only picked up one box. In my defense, I thought it was a cup at first, but wasn't mad. I have got back since and got this cute pot and more tea. The first tea I got was a rooibos. This time I got a green citrus tea. Both are really good and I do suggest picking some up. The last time I went they only had the green citrus tea and no other flavors. I also had to go to the food market area at the exit to find it.

I also bought a second basket while I was there because my cat took over the first one I got.

Halloween Bats and Boos Quilt along

Quilt Along!

 I love Halloween and any time I see Halloween fabric or a Halloween pattern I want it. I don't always finish it or use the fabric, but I always want it. I saw a series of videos by the Fat Quarter Shop that is their Bats and Boos Quilt along. They also had a cross stitch pattern made for the design. Both were free to download and very easy to follow patterns. 

I made the wall hanging with a few additions. I added sashing between the blocks and an extra corner block on the middle block. I plan to add a border of the same fabric I used for my bat wings. I just need to make the backing and I can prep it to quilt. It's small enough I think I can get that done quickly.  I have a photo of the current progress but I plan on taking a better one later.

Bad lighting but the background is not helping.

Future Plans...

Next weekend I have another craft show in Jackson Square, Oak Ridge, TN. I haven't made new things for the show because I still have enough stuff from where I prepped before. I have finally sold my Harry Potter quilt so I will have to bring another showcase quilt to hang up. I did go today and buy myself a new tent.

I had been borrowing a tent from my cousin and hers is hard to set up and half broken. I got a good deal on one from Academy Sports. I got a purple tent because I love the color purple. I was trying to decide to go with green or purple since the business name is Green Tea quilts. Purple won out in the end. I may remake my sign later, depending on how this goes. I do sometimes feel like I'm doing a lot of work for no extra return but I also have enjoyed being at the shows. No one said having a side hustle was going to be easy. 

Tea Time!

The bear logo is cute!

I stopped at Hey Bear Cafe on my way home from getting my tent. It's been over a year since I've been there due to covid and not going to that area as much. It's close to where I work but not my house. I've been working from home for a year and a half now so I don't have an excuse to go that way. The cafe is a boba tea shop that sells snacks. 

They have a lovely park on their property that they have food trucks and bands set up regularly. I didn't hang around today for the band because I didn't have my hand stitching project with me. I did get a lovely Jasmine Milk Tea with boba and custard. I love that you can adjust the ice amount and tea sweetness to your taste also. Jasmine Tea is also my favorite tea,

Finished Project photoshoot

 

Fish Bowl Quilt

I went out to the park recently to take a photoshoot of my finished Project Linus quilt. I'm naming the quilt "Fish Bowls" since almost all the blocks contained fish. Tula's book originally names the pattern "Trellis" but I'm going with a water theme here. 

I know I mentioned this before but it is from Tula Pink's City Sampler 100 Modern Blocks. If you are interested in the book I found mine on Amazon. There have been a few quilt-alongs that use this book for a pattern. Gnome Angel's 100 Blocks 100 Days challenge and Mountain Creek's National Park Sew Alongare a couple I know of off the top of my head.

I was trying to get a good photo of the complete photo of the front but most of them were not coming out how I liked. I did get an interesting photo of the back. I had a bit of a picnic with me because I stopped for drinks and snacks on my way to the park. 

I think the bench photos are my favorite but they do cover up part of the blocks. A lot of times quilts need to be seen up close for a good idea of the quilting involved, but I didn't get a real close picture of it.

The sky was very overcast this day because it was right before the remnants of Ida hit us. I got home an hour later and it started pouring rain within minutes of me getting inside.

Tea Time!

My tea for the day was a Matcha Iced Latte from Starbucks. It had been a while since I had one and I thought it would be a great treat.

Smokey Mountain Quilters Ruby Jubilee Quilt Show for 2021

This year I decided to also participate in the Smokey Mountain Quilters Ruby Jubilee Quilt Show. This was actually my first time at this show. The show is a fundraiser for the quilt guild. Mom said she had been a member of the guild in the past but neither of us is currently a member. There is a fee to enter a quilt but we do get into the show for free for one of the two days it is held. It is a bit smaller show than the Mountainfest one held in Pigeon Forge but there were several quilts that had been in that show in this one. 

I did not win anything this time, but I do know the person who won in my category and also won viewers' choice! Hunter from Mountain Creek did a fabulous job with all the quilts he entered. I am so proud of him. It was good to see him and Sam since I can't get to that shop much. Overall I enjoyed the show a lot and am glad I got to visit. The show was held at the end of July and will probably be next year around the same time for anyone interested. I also have a photo gallery here of some of the quilts I took pictures of. 

Finishing Projects

 

I have a few finished projects to share. I've been so busy between prepping for craft shows and quilt shows, I've not got that many large projects done. I did finish a wall hanging and a large casserole koozie at the beginning of August.

The casserole koozie is from a gypsy quilter precut. I used a few strips from a Tula Pink jelly roll to make it stripped. I added a few others I had leftover from another jelly roll for contrast.

The strawberry wall hanging was a pattern I got from RJR fabrics for free. It is an Elizabeth Hartman pattern from either last year or 2019. I saw it in the background of one of her quilt market videos and was so thrilled when I found it on the fabric company's website. It's when her Berry Season line came out. I feel bad I can't remember the exact date now. I've had it on my to-finish pile for a while, so I'm thrilled to have this UFO done.

The end of August was dedicated to a quilt that was supposed to go to Project Linus. I liked it so much I may keep it. The fabric bundle was from them and part of an under the sea challenge. I did give them a donation for the fabric. The quilt uses Tula Pinks' City Sampler of 100 Modern Quilt Blocks. I got this book earlier this year and had been wanting to do something with it. I finished it just last night so I don't have a final photo of it, but here is a shot of the work in progress.

Tea Time!

I have been slacking on getting new tea for the month. I've been getting my usual stuff. Here is a shot of me doing my hand piecing at Starbucks recently. I was having a nice day out and trying to relax. It was in June I think so it's been a while. I've stopped going back out since then due to the uptick in Covid cases. I need to get something to go soon and sit by the riverside with it. I'm working on a Tula Nova.

Mountain Quiltfest 2021

 With covid impacting a lot of things several shows and conventions were canceled or delayed. One of them being Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, TN. It's normally in March and was the last thing I did before lockdown last year. This year they moved it to May. This week in May to be exact.

I've always gone to shows but never entered anything. The most daring I've been, has been to enter the county fair. Because I didn't believe in myself enough to enter anything I considered a professional show. But the ladies who enter the fair are professional at what they do. Their quilts are fantastic, and until I saw my completion I just thought I'd have a better chance at the judging. 

This year I decided "Why Not!" I put my best quilt forward. I did Gravity by Jaybird Designs and paid to have it quilted. It was too large for me to tackle. I am thrilled with it. I love how it came out. I spent a week fussing over it and the little things before turning it in. 

The show started today and goes on until the 8th. Mom, being excited to see the winners called today to see when they would post them. They told her noon tomorrow but I decided to check out the website tonight. I wanted to figure out where to look tomorrow. To my surprise, they had already posted the winners.

I won second place in my category. I am so ecstatic to see this. I can't wait until I can go to the show this weekend and get a picture in front of the quilt. I have pictures of it but not in this setting. If you go to the show I'm L-16 in extra-large quilted by another!

Since there hasn't been much travel lately so my drink to spotlight is not tea. I went to a speakeasy in Knoxville and had some very fancy drinks. This one is called a paper airplane and I loved it. The bartender is a genius artist! It's in the alley next to the Oliver Hotel in the downtown area. There is a password and I don't know it right now. When we went we didn't have to give it since my friend was staying at the hotel.