Texas Roadtrip QAL Quilt Parade!!

Hi Y'all!!! Today is the final day of the Texas Roadtrip QAL, and it's time to show off the lovely quilts you've been working on. It's a little sad for me today, because I really don't want this QAL to end! Everyday I looked forward to checking instagram and flickr for any new pics that had been added, and just loved seeing how each quilt told it's own story with the fabric and all the personal touches that were added to the quilts. Along the roadtrip we had 15 stops, with a different block designed for each city, and there were a few designers that added some bonus blocks, so when it was all said and done, I believe (if I'm counting right) we had 20 different blocks!

At each stop I thought I had found my favorite block, and then I was just as excited when the next one was revealed. I loved reading about why each designer had chosen to create their blocks, and hearing their own personal stories, and finding out why Texas was important to them. I could seriously work on this quilt for the rest of my life, because is it really possible to capture a lifetime of memories and put it on a quilt in just a few months?

One thing that I feel my quilt is missing is something that represents food. I can honestly say (and I'm getting off on a tangent here) that the thing I miss most about Texas is all the delicious food--but I really couldn't make a quilt block that looked like a chopped beef sandwich, a breakfast taco, or a chicken fried steak. So I found these cute Texas shaped pancake molds and Melissa and I have decided to give one to each of the ladies who designed blocks for our QAL because, if I can't get Texas food onto our quilts, then the least we can do is give a quilter a Texas shaped food.

I hear from a lot of non-Texans how crazy they think we (Texans) are because of our overt pride, and I think the most obvious way a Texan shows their pride is to slap a Texas shape on anything and everything (ex. pancake mold). To me, these Texas quilts are a perfect testament to what our state means to us, and I just have to laugh when I think about all the people who have rolled their eyes when they hear a loud patriotic Texan preachin' about the best state in the Union, and how they'd roll their eyes again if they saw our Texas quilts all lined up.




So, how this is going to work is, go to the bottom of this post and link-up your Texas quilt. You can add the link to a Flickr pic or to your blog, and you'll be instantly entered to win a fabulous prize from one of our amazing sponsors.






There are still 2 Aurifil thread sets to giveaway, and I if you've seen these along the roadtrip you know how awesome they are--a thread color chart, a designer box of thread, and an additional pack of different weight threads in the same color.







Donna's Lavender Nest is offering up this beautiful bundle of Lecien's Old New 30's with a couple of fat quarters of coordinating gingham added in!










Lily Rose Quilts is an Etsy shop and has generously donated this jelly roll of Modern Roses by Stephanie Ryan--so sweet and pretty, right?








The Fat Quarter Shop is has given us this fat quarter exclusive bundle of the Pony Express from the newly sought-after Cotton + Steel line!







Fort Worth Fabric studio is offering up a $50 (yes, I said $50) gift card!

A Fancy layer cake by Lily Ashbury was donated by Moda. Fancy isn't released until October, so this is a good chance to make a quilt with it before someone else does!










And Urban Spools has created this custom bundle for one lucky winner!










I would like to thank all of the sponsors (most of whom are Texan I should mention!) who have graciously supported us in this QAL. We were overwhelmed by the number of sponsors who agreed to help us out, and if you followed along the QAL you know that several shops also designed blocks for the roadtrip.

To enter to win one of the lovely prizes above, just use the link-up below to show us what you made. And just so you know, your quilt tops are perfectly suitable for the link-up, and any version of a Texas quilt that you were inspired to make along this roadtrip. The link-up will close on Friday, 22 Aug, and winners will be revealed on Monday, 25 Aug. I can't wait to see what you've made!!!

And don't forget to stop by Melissa's blog, My Fabric Relish, and check out her Texas quilt. :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Downtown Small Town or Ghost Town Pattern Available

If you wanted the diagram to create your own Ghost Town you can download it here . Terrible photo below not included:)

The diagram is relatively simple and includes all the measurements; however, they haven't been tested by anyone, so if you find any mistakes, please let me know:)

If you make your own ghost town, please upload it to our Flickr group, or on instagram #texasroadtripqal. I would love to see what you make!!!

Texas Roadtrip--Camping in Big Bend and a Giveaway!

It's the sound of fighting that wakes you up. The kids have been bickering back-and-forth the entire trip over DVD's, iPads, snacks, and anything else they can think of. You are exhausted, have a sunburn on half your body from sitting in the passenger seat, and have been tormented for the last 9 hours by constant arguing, the buzzing of every-technological device known to man, and the occasional outburst from your husband yelling about slow drivers on the road. You can't wait to get there. You need this. You ALL need this. Your children have become way too absorbed in their "virtual" worlds of texting, Facebook, and video games . They need to get outside, breathe some clean air, and take the freakin' headphones out of their ears.

“Don’t touch me!” your daughter yells.

“Well then stop looking at me!” your son exclaims.

"Guys, PLEASE!!! Just be quiet--we are almost there" you beg them.

“I’m bored.”’ your youngest son whines.

“How can you be bored? You got your iPAD." And you think to yourself that it's the same thing he would be doing at home.

"But I can't get on YouTube."

“Don’t worry, we’ll be there soon. There’s going to be all kinds of fun things for you to do. We can go horseback riding, and hiking--we’re going to be roughin’ it like the cowboys. We’ll be cooking over a fire, roasting marshmallows and telling ghost stories. And that reminds me, I even read online that there’s a ghost town nearby!”

He perks up. “Are there really ghosts there?!”

“No stupid” your daughter decides to chime in.

“Thank you for contributing Casey, but don’t call your brother stupid.” Turning your attention back to your son you say “it’s an abandoned mining town with lots of old buildings to explore.”

Looking disappointed, your son slumps back in his seat. You look out the window at the landscape but there's not a whole lot to look at…mostly just dirt, a few spiky plants, and some low-lying hills in the distance. You grab your phone to text your sister. “Great, there’s no cell phone service!” you say outloud.

“Well…” your husband glances over at you with a know-it-all-look, “this is what you wanted. No technology, right?”. Unlike you, he wanted to take a vacation in an air-conditioned hotel with cable.

You want to tell him to be quiet, but you just roll your eyes. “Of course it is” you remind yourself and glance out the window again.

And then your daughter yells out again “This is so stupid! How am I going to talk to my friends out here? Is there even going to be any shopping?”

There’s not even so much as a Wal-Mart where you’re going. “Honey, I’m sure they’ll have some gift shops with some cute turquoise jewelry or something. Or maybe we can all get matching T-shirts with the name of the park written on it!”

“Seriously Mom? It’s not funny. All of my friends are going to the beach for vacation, but we’re going to some stupid campground out in the middle of nowhere and there’s probably not going to be anyone to hang out with.” You think to yourself that she is probably right. The place you’re going is one of the most sparsely populated places in the US. But that’s what attracted you to it in the first place. The only sounds you’d hear would be the sounds of nature—no constant buzz of technology to invade your thoughts. And the scenery is supposed to be breathtaking. It's the Texas version of the Grand Canyon. “And what about you guys?" she says. "You don’t even have your sewing machine.”

“Your dad and I will be fine. I have my hexies and brought along some books I've been wanting to read. " But secretly you are worried. You can't remember the last time you went more than a few days without sewing. And normally your vacations are conveniently located near a fabric shop or quilt show, but this time there's not going to be anything like that--unless you decide to drive a few extra hours. But you'll be fine, right? You really do have so many unfinished projects at home that you would have loved to finish. But you tell yourself it's okay. You are too attached to quilting. It's on your mind constantly, and this will be nice stress free break. You don't have to worry about blogging, checking instagram or Pinterest. But then the thought enters your mind, that while you're out here in the sticks, someone is probably going to come out with the most amazing design ever and you're going to miss it! You really should have taken a vacation on the coast somewhere. The kids would be happy and occupied and you could check-out the local art, do some fabric shopping, and still be able to get internet access. But it's too late to change your mind--your husband would freak out if you asked him. "No", you tell yourself, "this is going to be great". But you don't even believe the words you're thinking. And you realize you are just as bad as the kids. You turn around and look at them and they all look miserable.

You turn back around just in time to see an exit sign out for a gas station with the disclaimer that says “last fuel stop until Big Bend National Park-- 45 miles”.

You lean in to your husband and say, "I bet Galveston is really nice this time of year." And it's his turn to roll his eyes.

                                                         *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Okay, I'm not trying to talk anyone out of Big Bend, because the scenery is supposed to be beautiful, but just beware, it is really desolate, there's not a Wal-Mart (or quilt shops) and you probably won't get cell phone service. But if you like camping, hiking, nature, and kayaking this would be a great destination. And there really is a ghost town to explore in Terlingua. As for the story above--it is not true--but I imagined it probably could be. 

So anyway, now onto the quilt block. For the block I wanted to make something that represented camping--since that's what you'll probably be doing if you go to Big Bend. So I made a vintage camper. Click here to download the instructions.

I sent Melissa the instructions to test, and she sent this pic back of her camper with the cute bunting!!!

So I had to add some bunting on mine too--but I still like the arrangement of the bunting on Melissa's better:)

I also have been adding some things to the outside of my quilt, so after I read about the ghost town, I decided to make one for my quilt. When it was all done it looked more like the downtown area of small-town Texas, so now I've appropriately named it "Downtown Small Town" and it's about 8.5" x 17". If you would like to make one of your own, you can get the instructions here:) 

  

Note: You'll have to excuse my photos...it's been dark and rainy all weekend!

And now for the giveaway...

Aurifil has generously given us tons of thread to giveaway, so if you've been following along you've probably seen the giveaway a few times before. But that makes your chances of winning even better right? We're giving away a designer mystery pack of thread, and Aurifil color chart, and a sample pack of thread of the same color in different weights. The winner will get all three! So, to enter, just leave me a comment and tell me about your most memorable vacation. Also, make sure you to leave your email if you are a no-reply blogger so I can notify if you win. If you aren't sure if you a no-reply blogger, then leave your email just in case:)  

Thanks for stopping by on the Texas Roadtrip QAL!

Texas Roadtrip QAL--Quad 3 Pattern

It's hard for me to believe that we have already traveled through north-east and north-west Texas and now we are about to start Quad 3--south-west Texas. I'm am really just amazed by all of the city blocks we have made so far. The designers have really created some stunning blocks and I'm just overwhelmed with how much I love them, and how much fun I'm having making them. I also want to thank all of you who are following along and/or participating. One of the reasons I love quilting so much is the wonderful sense of community and support, so really, thank you everyone:)

I finished up my first quadrant, and I added a few trees to represent the Piney Woods area of Texas where I'm from. I always hear from people "Texas doesn't have trees!", and I have to politely remind them that Texas isn't just all tumbleweeds and Cactuses (or is it Cacti?). Texas is a big place, and the area where I'm from is covered with pine forests. So my tribute to the pine forests is--(pause for effect)--7 Trees! And one of those might be a bit oddly spaced:)

In the pic above you see the first 3 blocks: the Longhorn was by Linsey from Fort Worth Fabric Studio to represent Fort Worth. That just has "Texas" written all over it! And then the Ferris Wheel was designed by Ashley at Urban Spools for the Dallas block--and I love how it works so well with the fabric collection I'm using--the whole thing has a very whimsical air, don't you think? And as you might have seen in my previous post, the Rose was made by Colleen for the Tyler block--and I really love that she designed such a cute block for my hometown. They all really make my heart happy.

During the week I hardly have time for sewing, so yesterday I was excited to finally get to sew the blocks for Quad 2:

Aoife from thREDhead designed two awesome block for Amarillo, and so I made them both!

Amarillo Rose Block

I realized when I was almost done with the Amarillo Rose block (above) that I had all my yellows in the wrong places, but it turned out so pretty anyway that it didn't bother me at all.

Amarillo Lighthouse Block

She also designed the Lighthouse block based on the Lighthouse Rock at Palo Duro Canyon. How creative, right? You can read more about that here.

For Lubbock, Jada, @blackvelvetstitches, designed the beautiful block below to bring in some southwest flair!

When I was done with all three blocks, I realized that I really probably used too much blue/aqua, and I don't know how they'll look when the quadrant is all together, but for now, I couldn't be happier.

So, for this week, we will be visiting El Paso with my good friend Jennie of Porch Swing Quilts, and then we'll head over to Midland/Odessa with Donna of Donna's Lavender Nest--who is a supplier for my addiction (of awesome Lecien fabric!).

June 23 - El Paso - Jennie at Porch Swing Quilts

June 26 - Midland/Odessa - Donna at Donna's Lavender Nest

I'm really looking forward to making their stops on the QAL, and seeing what they've cooked up! Again, if you need the pattern for Quad 3 click here.

Texas Roadtrip QAL - Quadrant 2

Tomorrow we get our first block tutorial for Quad 2 of the Roadtrip QAL! We'll be travelling to Amarillo with Aoife at thREDhead and then on Thursday we'll be heading over to My Fabric Relish where Jada will be guest blogging and giving us a tour of Lubbock! For the Quad 2 pattern, click here.

And speaking of traveling...I had a few Texans come out to visit me this week, so we've been running all over England, and I'm a little behind on just about everything, but I had a great time, and was really sad to see them leave. Here's a few pics of the places we saw (lots of churches).

Anyway, so my vacation is over, and tomorrow it's back to the regular 9 to 5, and back to the normal (more stressed-out) version of myself. Anyway, wishing you all a relaxing lazy week:)

Texas Roadtrip QAL - Fort Worth

Hi everyone, today we are visiting Fort Worth on the Texas Roadtrip QAL, so head on over to Fort Worth Fabric Studio where Lindsey is going to be taking you on a tour of Fort Worth and showing you how to make her Longhorn block!!

These are the three blocks you'll need to make your first quadrant, and on Sunday the second quadrant will be available : )

If you want to see everyone's progress, you can see it on instagram at #texasroadtripqal. There are some really amazing Texas quilts so far!!!

Texas Roadtrip First Stop: Dallas with Urban Spools

Hey y'all! Head on over to Urban Spools for the Dallas block of the Texas QAL! Ashley made and amazing Texas State Fair inspired block. If you want to see more of Ashley's work, you can find her on instagram @amagmom. Also, make sure to come back here on Thursday to meet guest-blogger, Colleen, and learn all about Tyler and see what she came up with! See you soon : )

Update: There is one correction with the Dallas State Fair block. Add a line between A4 and A3 ! Thanks everyone!