Blue Ribbon Designs - Annual Sale

Visit my Etsy Shop or website for my annual sale - going on now through midnight on Monday, November 30th...pick up your favorite single cross stitch charts and pincushions for 20% off.  Plus all orders of $35 or more are eligible for a FREE GIFT.
Thank you for supporting my small business throughout the year!

Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BlueRibbonDesigns

Website: https://blueribbondesigns.com/

 

Oodles of Ornaments

It continues to be a finishing frenzy in the Blue Ribbon Designs studio...client orders are still piled across my counters and my list continues to grow. I have been super focused and productive, working around the clock to finish up the projects on my to-do tables along with preparing new designs. I have a plethora of finishing clients to take care of for the holidays (and into the new year)…and I am trying to balance it all and keep my sanity. I have been working on a variety of creative activities, including: lots of needlework finishing, pattern writing, custom sewing, custom quilting and freelance designing…plus making some gifts for the holidays…the to-do list is almost overwhelming. Of course, this time of year, I'm asked to keep many of my client finishes a secret...here is a picture album of needlework finishing that I completed over the last few weeks that I have the "okay to show" (not my designs or stitching, just my finishing work)…

Fabric shown with each was used for the backing...and the gorgeous hand-dyed ribbons, velveteen, pop-pom trim and twill tape are all from Lady Dot Creates (visit her Etsy Shop for the very best pretties and finishing materials)…

I hope you are inspired to finish some of your own holiday projects! I am headed back to the studio momentarily to work on more client (you guessed it) Christmas ornaments...it seems like the piles are never-ending. I just took advantage of the Audible Black Friday Sale (a girl can never have too many books) and have a wonderful assortment of new titles queued up and ready for listening...  

As I look forward to the Thanksgiving holiday tomorrow, I have so many things to be extremely thankful for: a loving family, a wonderful husband, AMAZING friends (who accept me, my quirks, and my crazy busy schedule!), two loveable dogs, and a career I find joy in every single day...way too many things to list. I am truly grateful for all of you who share my passions, encourage me with your comments and emails, and support my designs and creative ventures - you all brighten my days!

To everyone celebrating tomorrow - and to my many international fans and friends - take a little time to count your blessings...and a little time to stitch...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Snow Buddies - A Table Runner Pattern

Hello friends - a quick post this evening to let you know my latest quilt pattern is available in my Etsy Shop as a digital download (and will be added to my website in the near future). "Snow Buddies" is available as a high quality PDF that will print on 13 pages of standard letter size (8.5" x 11") paper.

The thirteen page digital file includes:

Page 1 - Cover Page with Color Photo 

Page 2 - Supply Page

Page 3 - Quilt Diagram

Page 4 - General Instructions and Notes

Pages 5 to 10 - Cutting and Piecing Instructions and Diagrams

Pages 11 to 13 - Applique Shapes for Tracing

This fun snowman table runner finishes 36" W x 12" H and incorporates both traditional piecing and applique...and you will want to have some basic quilting and applique knowledge. The instructions/diagrams are very thorough and I think a beginner could definitely tackle it! Snow Buddies is a great stash and scrap buster...the pattern is written to easily adapt the fabric you have on hand. I am super excited to bring this original quilt design to you...and I'm working on several more, along with some long overdue new cross stitch designs. 

I hope this new pattern makes you smile and you will want to make some Snow Buddies of your own! This pattern has been a long time in the making - I actually designed it in 2015 - I had requests for it at the time, but it just never made it center stage. It actually worked out that I had a mini creative meltdown last week - it forced me to step away from needlework finishing orders for a few days and work on something more fulfilling. I am now back in my "happy place" and in my studio working on client finishing projects. 

I do have a small pile of handmade finished items to add to my Etsy Shop, as well - a few miscellaneous (smaller) zipper pouches and a seamstress stocking...a small assortment of items I need to photograph and list in my "spare time"...I just keep adding to the pile.

I also still have that list of things to share with you here - including recent fishes, plus what I have been up to in the kitchen...and a little designer announcement that I need some feedback on...so, stay tuned, I'll be back again soon... 

Singing Under the Stars Quilt Pattern

Greetings friends! I can't believe the list of things I have to share with you - I have been adding to it daily...I will do my very best to get caught up and post several times this week. My studio has been buzzing with all sorts of excitement - I have been doing piles of holiday finishing for clients, I have been working on some new designs, I have been making gifts...and I have been sewing and quilting up a storm. I have also been doing some online learning and working on some new technical skills. Yes, I have been staying quite busy. So let's get to the first thing on my list...

I had a bunch of quilt pattern requests for the "Singing Under the Stars" quilt that I designed/created for the Poppie Cotton Woodland Songbirds Fabric Tour. Yep, you asked for it - so I have written the pattern. It is available in my Etsy Shop for digital download (and will be added to my website in the near future). It is a high quality PDF that will print on 16 pages of standard letter size (8.5" x 11") paper.

The sixteen page digital file includes:

• Page 1 - Cover page with color photo
• Page 2 - Supply page
• Page 3 - Quilt Diagram
• Page 4 - General Instructions and Notes
• Pages 5 to 12 - Cutting and piecing instructions
• Pages 13 to 16 - Applique Shapes for tracing

This whimsical quilt finishes 45" W x 60" H and incorporates both traditional piecing and applique...and you will want to have some basic quilting and applique knowledge. I am super excited to bring this original quilt design to you...and I'm working on several more, including something special for an upcoming Poppie Cotton  fabric collection.

So, if you were interested in this Woodland Songbirds pattern, make your way over to my Etsy Shop! Just a note: this quilt would look great in a variety of fabrics and I have done a breakdown in the pattern that would make it easy to convert to a favorite fabric line or fabric in your stash.

Also - you may have noticed - I have been working on my graphic design skills and have given my blue ribbon logo an overhaul! After sixteen years, it was time for a makeover...and this new quilt pattern is the first to use this new cover design art. 

Working on this delightful quilt pattern reminded me of how much I enjoy the design process and pattern writing. For me, it was the perfect project at the perfect time - just when I was getting completely burned out on holiday finishing and trying to figure out what I want to do "when I grow up", I found that little piece of joy that I have been missing. I have made a promise to myself to work on new designs - both cross stitch and quilting/sewing - each week.

So there you have it - my latest quilt pattern. I hope you will be inspired to work on something creative this weekend....and if you decide to make a "Singing Under the Stars" quilt of your very own, please be sure to share your progress with me!

Woodland Songbirds Fabric Tour:Singing Under The Stars

Happy Wednesday...and welcome to the Poppie Cotton Woodland Songbirds Fabric Tour! I am super excited to share the quilt I created with the new Woodland Songbirds fabric collection. I always enjoy putting on my quilt designing hat and working on a project with my own vision and ideas. I knew months ago when I first saw this gorgeous collection with tiny exquisite details that I would be making a quilt featuring singing birds. If you are a regular visitor to my blog, then you know how much I love to combine piecing and appliqué (and adding additional embellishments). Designing and creating this special quilt brought me an immense amount of joy - it is such a happy fabric collection! 

"Singing Under the Stars"

My quilt design was created using EQ8 Software...I spent an afternoon playing around in the software and in my studio...and this was the result. I used two traditional quilt blocks - the Ohio Star and the Nine Patch...along with appliquéd top and bottom borders. I titled my quilt "Singing Under the Stars"...which just seemed to fit. I fussy cut the centers of the Ohio Star Blocks to feature some of the beautiful details in this fabric collection (the little birdies on the toadstools are EVERYTHING!). Most of the appliqué shapes were cut using a die cutting system…I used the fusible appliqué method and stitched them down with a Blanket Stitch. I utilized pearl cotton to hand stitch French Knots for the bird eyes…and attached a handful of coordinating buttons from my stash as flower centers. The results is a nice sized quilt measuring 45" x 60"...perfect for snuggling under on a dreary day!

There you have it - my quilt design using the Woodland Songbirds Collection by Poppie Cotton. This fabric line is in shops now, so be sure to check your favorite local shop or online shop to find these gorgeous prints. I used a Woodland Songbirds fat quarter stack along with yardage from the Poppie Cotton Country Confetti Collection for my background, backing and binding.

I hope you have enjoyed this stop on the fabric tour - thank you for visiting. Could you hear my heart singing as I worked on this piece?! I am already working on a project for the next Poppie Cotton Fabric Tour in January...it is for the upcoming Dots & Posies Collection...and I can't wait to share it with you...

For more projects from the Poppie Cotton Woodland Songbirds Fabric Tour, visit the Poppie Cotton Blog: https://poppiecotton.com/poppie-cotton-blog/, where each tour stop and project is featured (and there are some INCREDIBLE pieces!).

If you make a project from the Woodland Songbirds Collection featured in this post, I would love to hear from you...happy sewing and quilting!

Striking Stitches

It's been a finishing frenzy in the Blue Ribbon Designs studio over the last few weeks. I have been super focused and working round the clock to finish up the projects on my to-do tables, while trying to manage all the curve balls that life is throwing my way. I am SO ready to work on some of my own design ideas (I have a sketchbook full of ideas that I *need to* make reality and a pile of newly finished cross stitch models), but I am forced to make paying jobs my top priority. I have a long list of finishing clients to take care of before the holidays, along with piles of customer orders that arrived after my holiday finishing deadline (and keep arriving daily) for project bags and custom pieces - it is a balancing act to get everything accomplished. I have been working on a variety of creative activities, including: lots of needlework finishing, custom sewing, custom quilting and freelance designing...along with trying to get in a wee bit of personal sewing/quilting in each day for my own sanity. This time of year, I'm asked to keep many of my finishes a secret...but here is a picture album of some of the needlework finishing (that I can show off) that I completed over the last few weeks (not my designs or stitching, just my finishing work)…

Shepherd's Bush - Liberty

Foxwood Crossings - First Noel

 Threadwork Primitives - Kringle's Crow

Design by: The Blue Flower
From: 2020 Nashville Neeelework Market
"Happiness Is Homemade" Cookbook 

Homespun Collectibles - Star Santa

The Drawn Thread - Joys of Christmas Ornaments

Elizabeth's Designs - Old Fashioned Rounds II

Prairie Schoolers - 2019 Santa (sheep) and 2017 Santa (polar bear)
Flat finishes for easel display (no hangers)

Threadwork Primitives - Quaker Clover Pinwheel

I have some wonderful sewing and quilting projects to share soon...and don't forget, I will be showing off my latest Poppie Cotton quilt finish on October 28th during the Poppie Cotton Woodland Songbirds Fabric Tour...and it is a BEAUTY! I hope you will stop back again soon...thank you for visiting with me today...

Better Late Than Never

Greetings friends! I apologize for the break in my posts...it's been a little hectic here. After our vacation in September, my husband had a major back surgery...needless to say, my schedule has been a bit tight. He is healing quite well and things are starting to get back to normal around the household...now I get to start playing catch-up with work. I had a big deadline moved up a month, so that has been my focus for the last week. It has been tough to find balance the last few weeks and I have been struggling with small increments of work time - which, for me, is super stressful this time of year! I have piles of holiday finishing calling my name, so that will be my focus as I try to "dig out of the hole." 

I have quite a bit of creative goodness to share with you, but today I thought I would catch-up with some photos from our vacation (or what I call a "trip" - in my opinion, driving all day - every day - and cooking your own meals, is not a vacation...although I do love the outdoor aspect and the mountains). We headed out to Colorado and Utah in September to meet up with friends and get the Jeeps (and one Toyota) out on the trails. We got to spend time in the snowy mountains of Colorado and the hot red rocks of Utah. Fresh mountain air was just what I needed to help with stay-at-home-itis. We spent a few days in Colorado (Ouray and Telluride) and then headed to Moab, UT for a week. We were able to drive a handful of new trails this year, along with a plethora of favorites...and we added a new couple to the group this year, as well. We stayed in two lovely homes - both booked on VRBO - with plenty of space for our group and room for the guys to work on their vehicles each night. A highlight of the trip was watching the couple we Jeep with each year get engaged on "Top of the World" (a moderate Jeep trail just outside of Moab, UT with a spectacular overlook of Fisher Valley, Onion Creek, and the La Sal Mountains). Another favorite moment was in Colorado (Animas Forks) watching herds of sheep (hundreds and hundreds of them) moving down the mountain (video below or on my YouTube channel)....it was an incredible sight - sheep as far as the eye could see on both sides of the trail! It was a great trip and the time outdoors did me well...

Our Jeep on "Top of the World"...

She said YES!

I hope you enjoyed these snapshots and video from our trip. I'll be back in the near future with photos of my latest needlework finishing and custom sewing projects...plus photos of my latest quilting designs and another fabulous piece I just finished for the Poppie Cotton Blog Tour featuring the Woodland Songbirds collection (my post will be on October 28th!). Wishing you a wonderful week...