the Modern Prairie Girl – PDF patterns!!!!

Howdy everyone!

I just wanted to stop by here at the marie-madeline blog and share with you that I’ve designed and am now selling 2 new PDF patterns!! I’m so excited with how they’ve turned out and I’d love to hear what you all think about them too!

The above pattern, Sophie Bags Crossbody & Clutch, is one of my favorite bag patterns. The crossbody is sturdy and perfect for long days, while still boasting of something pretty like the gathered eye-catching panel on the front of the bag. The clutch is one of my go-to bags. Not just because it is pretty, but because carrying it feels pretty!

Here are so more pictures of the Sophie bags!

The Reflections Quilt pattern is a quick and fun make for anyone that loves quilting (or at least wants to give it a try!). The pattern includes three sizes: twin, full/queen & king. So everyone can have one.

Read more and see more about my patterns over at my blog, the Modern Prairie Girl.

Reflections Quilt

Sophie Bags Crossbody & Clutch

Check out my Etsy shop, the Modern Prairie Girl!!!!

Thanks for letting me stop by and chat a spell. It’s been fun!

happy sewing, Abi

Quick Column Quilts Blog Tour!!

We are so delighted to be a part of the Quick Column Quilts blog tour!! The ever wonderful, lovely, and talented Nancy Zieman is celebrating the upcoming release of her newest book, Quick Column Quilts.

The book features patterns for 13 different quilts, all done 'column' style. Which makes it soooo much easier to put together! This book is perfect for those that haven't quilted before, but are ready to give it a whirl, or for the seasoned quilter that wants a fun, fast project.

We chose to make the "Carefree Column Quilt" out of Pam Kitty Picnic fabrics. Except for the sashing, binding, and backing the rest of the quilt is made with fat quarters. Always a plus, right? The quilt came together in one day with no problem. The quilt patterns are for many different size quilts (the Carefree quilt is lap size). We are thinking these would make darling baby blankets…

One of the things we loved about the book is the diagrams. Call us goofy, but diagrams really can help a body out. The ones in Nancy's book are spot on, making it a cinch to lay out!

You all want a copy, right? The good news is that Nancy is having some fabulous giveaways coinciding with the blog tour, so run on over, check out the prizes, and sign up!!! (Psst… and you can pre-order her book here.)

Be sure to check out all the other quilts on the blog tour….

Date Link

09/04/14 Nancy Zieman

09/05/14 Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.

09/06/14 Diary of a Quilter and Stitchin Jenny

09/07/14 A Woman a Day

09/08/14 Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’

09/09/14 Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama

09/10/14 Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan

09/12/14 Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day

09/13/14 Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around

09/14/14 Lazy Girl Designs and Marie-Madeline Studio

09/15/14 Always Expect Moore and Polka Dot Chair

09/16/14 Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs

09/17/14 Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side

– See more at: http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/blog-tour/quick-column-quilts-book-and-blog-tour/#sthash.usA9EAWY.dpuf

09/04/14 Nancy Zieman

09/05/14 Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.

09/06/14 Diary of a Quilter and Stitchin Jenny

09/07/14 A Woman a Day

09/08/14 Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’

09/09/14 Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama

09/10/14 Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan

09/12/14 Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day

09/13/14 Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around

09/14/14 Lazy Girl Designs and Marie-Madeline Studio

09/15/14 Always Expect Moore and Polka Dot Chair

09/16/14 Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs

09/17/14 Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side

– See more at: http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/blog-tour/quick-column-quilts-book-and-blog-tour/#sthash.usA9EAWY.dpuf

09/04/14 Nancy Zieman

09/05/14 Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.

09/06/14 Diary of a Quilter and Stitchin Jenny

09/07/14 A Woman a Day

09/08/14 Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’

09/09/14 Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama

09/10/14 Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan

09/12/14 Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day

09/13/14 Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around

09/14/14 Lazy Girl Designs and Marie-Madeline Studio

09/15/14 Always Expect Moore and Polka Dot Chair

09/16/14 Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs

09/17/14 Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side

– See more at: http://www.nancyzieman.com/blog/blog-tour/quick-column-quilts-book-and-blog-tour/#sthash.usA9EAWY.dpuf

09/04/14 Nancy Zieman

09/05/14 Quilt Taffy and Simple Simon & Co.

09/06/14 Diary of a Quilter and Stitchin Jenny

09/07/14 A Woman a Day and Craizee Corner

09/08/14 Jina Barney Designz, Lilac Lane Patterns, and Totally Stitchin’

09/09/14 Esch House Quilts and The Cottage Mama

09/10/14 Designs in Machine Embroidery and Pat Sloan

09/12/14 Happy Valley Primitives, Doohikey Designs, and Quilt in a Day

09/13/14 Quilt Dad and Just Arting Around

09/14/14 Lazy Girl Designs and Marie-Madeline Studio

09/15/14 Always Expect Moore and Polka Dot Chair

09/16/14 Amy Lou Who Sews and Riley Blake Designs

09/17/14 Indygo Junction and Amy’s Creative Side

xoxo!

Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, & Abiah

Modern Prairie Sewing: 20 Handmade Projects for You and Your Friends

Hi all! Wow! I can hardly believe it. I really can't. It's been a long few years getting this dream together, and it's been so exciting for me to see it all come together! SO! I'm super happy to tell you that I wrote a sewing book – and it's coming OUT to all of YOU this July!!!! This book is full of fabulously fun and fresh projects that'll be able to be used by everyone!!

This really easy-for-beginner quilt is found in Modern Prairie Sewing! (Who else loves that beautiful red hair?!)

My gorgeous sisters, Apphia & Achaia, show off the Turnabout Blouse. One of the 20 projects you'll find in Modern Prairie Sewing!

These are only a couple sneak peeks! I'm so excited and can't wait for all of you to have your own copy and show me what all you sew up!!! You can read more about Modern Prairie Sewing over at my blog, The Modern Prairie Girl.

Let's start sewing!

xoAbi

Color Wheels

I finished my quilt! I was jabbering about picking my fabrics here. (Which I am sooo happy with!) I didn't do any quilting to speak of last summer, because I just think of it as mainly a winter sport. It's the perfect excuse to be bundled up underneath a big quilt, right?

Oh, and that big fluff of white fur in the left hand corner of this above picture is a dog's tail. Those three dogs of ours are always curious as to what we're up to, and they were probably even more curious as to why Abiah and I were out on a windy, cold day taking pictures of a blanket.

I decided to hand quilt all the wheels with coordinating pearl cotton. There are 16 wheels total, 2 of each color scheme. So I used 8 different pearl cotton threads. This was the first time I've ever used pearl cotton for hand quilting. At first it seemed a bit more difficult to start/stop them, but once I got used to it, I loved it. It's a great way to add extra color to your quilt!

I used one of my favorite Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi print on the back, a Denyse Schmidt leaf print for in-between the wheels on the front, and this Dowry fabric for the binding (that print makes a great binding, by the way).

I'm thrilled with the finished product, and it's now happily keeping me warm at night — an absolute necessity along with my down comforter, two fuzzy blankets, and a sheet. See, I finished the quilt just in time for the cold weather to get here!

In other good news, Nanny's here! She flew in this weekend, so we have all week to play!

xoxox Achaia

A scrappy week.

Our week has been anything but normal for us. It all started….

*When our computer decided to not work last Saturday. Yep.

*It wouldn't even turn on.

*We got snow Sunday morning.

*It was freeezzzing out!

*Still freezing out Monday and Tuesday.

*By now you've probably guessed that we couldn't go anywhere.

*All we can say is that our hilly, up-slope driveway does not like snow.

*We made good use of ourselves by deciding to cart everything from the downstairs studio UPSTAIRS so we could be closer to the fire.

*We cut and sewed and ironed and quilted and laid out quilt tops for about three days straight. (We hope to get to share them soon.)

*Our living room/dining room/kitchen was a wreck.

*But we made meals on time (almost every meal).

*And we found time to read lots.

*Mom finished reading this book to us, which is just as good as the first volume. It's hilarious at times, touching at others, and real to life.

*We also found time to watch the first two parts of this for history class.

*See, we're such history nuts we sit in on class even 2+ years after we've graduated.

*And we stopped early to listen to Dad read aloud (we started this one — it's excellent).

*Then some combination of us stayed up late and watched a movie (or two).

*And kept the fire going.

*Wednesday Dad and Abi finally got out to get the computer to the repair shop.

*It came home yesterday afternoon.

*Today we are filling orders and catching up.

*The snow is almost all melted!

*Hope your week was as successful.

*Happy weekend to you all!

xoxo

it’s all for a smooth quilt back.

We like quilts. A lot. Ok. I'll say it: We love quilts. The process is exciting and fun. It's been passed down through many generations and it's so amazing for us as we listen to our Grandpa, Paps, as he tells about his memories of his own mother quilting. We four girls never were able to meet her, but we've been able to see our own Great-grandma Conwell (Nanny's mom) quilt. We have helped our Nan and Mommy lay out numerous quilts – and as we got a little bigger, they helped us lay out our own dream quilts. The quilt top we could do alone, but when it came to laying down the backing, the batting and then the quilt top … it was more work then just one person could do. So everyone would grab a corner and middle and tug the backing, and then the batting, so the special owner of the quilt would be sure to have a smooth quilt back. The other day, I passed Achaia laying out her own quilt. Unlike normal, she hadn't called for help; and no wonder. She had taped her quilt back to the floor, so that is was nice, tight, and smooth. Smart Cookie. I knew that when it was time to lay out my next quilt that that's just what I'd do. And I did it.

Try this trick out for your next quilt, and tell us how it works for you! I'm pretty sure a wooden floor would work just as well, if not better. (Just depends if you want to risk scratches when you're pinning your quilt together.) Simply pull the tape off and through it away. It's worth throwing a handful of tape away for a smooth quilt back, right?

I knew you loved quilts as much as we do.

xox Abi

a pile of color

Quilts. Quilts. Quilts have been on the brain lately (and on the floor).

I (Achaia) was diving through my fabric stacks the other day and came up for breath with a plan and a tall pile of lovelies in an array of colors. I haven't made a quilt for several years now, and, in my defense, I have not hand quilted one in simply ages. And, this go round I decided on following a pattern instead of our often scrappy quilts. I picked up the pattern from friend Alexia at Market in October and am loving it so far.

It's tempting to pick a particular fabric collection for a quilt top, but I've found that I absolutely love the two quilts that I've made more with a color scheme versus one specific collection. If you've read this blog for a long time you've seen one of them here. And, would you know that I've shown a glimpse of the other one on our blog and I didn't even remember it!

So, this one is going to be what you might term my signature colors — deep, rich, and saturated. I am loving the idea of each 'wheel' being in one color family. I had so much fun putting my scraps in piles by color and cutting all the pieces this weekend.

Now I'm on a crusade to get Mom and all the other girls making quilt tops, picking fabric with colors in mind instead of an entire line. I definitely have some of them on the band wagon, so it will be exciting to see what they come up with! We'll be sure to share them along and along.

xoxo Achaia

Under Our Needles.

A happy scrappy quilt in bright colors…..

A colorful straight skirt….

A Titanic-era dress….

Tweaking a brand new pattern(!!!!!)….

Little girls clothes….

What are YOU sewing???

xox Kristie, Apphia, Achaia, Abigail, & Abiah

wrapped in love.

We were so happy that we were able to share Sarah Grace's most recent birthday with her, and that we were able to make her something special. Mom's always said that a handmade quilt means you're wrapped in love everytime you put it around you, and we couldn't think of anything we would love better to do for Sarah Grace than to wrap her in love every night.

Sweet dreams, Gracie! We love you.

xoxo

PS– In case you are curious, the quilt is our happy scappy quilt pattern, and it's made completely in one of our favorite happy lines… Pam Kitty Morning. Oh, and we did make decorative pillows too. It just makes a bed seem finished.

Oh, oh, oh! We forgot to mention that our entire sale room is 10% off this week! xo

What our day consisted of….

Beautiful friends with helping hands + Mexican food & sugar soda pop + Joplin quilts + needle & thread + lots of laughs & chatting + pizza to round the day off just right. A very happy Monday.

xx us

Quilts: The Update

Alright— So! We have been working on the Joplin Quilts, and apologize for the silence around here about them. It's not that we haven't cared. In fact, we've been overwhelmed. So many of you (and you, and you….) have contributed so much on the families of Joplin's behalf. We were flabbergasted at how many fabric bundles we sent out and how many were returned with interest! Thank you, thank you, thank you! The quilts are truly beautiful, and we can't wait to see them given out to those in need.

We have been getting them ready as quickly as we could, sending them off to our quilting lady. As you can tell in the pictures, once they get back to our home we've been trimming and binding them as fast as possible. But, since there is only 5 of us it's taking time. We are seeing progress (yay!) and have in our minds to finish them and have them distributed by the end of the year. We'll see what The Lord has in store!

An official Joplin Quilt Project: Love Your Neighbor page is up and running now (you can always get to it through the Joplin button on the right sidebar), where we've detailed what we still could use help on, and names of all those that have given their time, energy, talents, fabric, and money into this project. If you've helped and don't see your name (or someone else's) on the list, please, pretty please, let us know! We really and truly want to credit anyone and everyone who has been a part of this project!

We're unsure as to the exact amount of quilts that we will have, but hopefully we'll be sharing that information with you very soon!

Once again, a very big thank you to all of you!

PS… We also wanted to mention that we have some Ruby by Bonnie & Camille now!! It's sooo beautiful.

Quilt making….

Along with the million and one other things we've been knee deep in this week, we've been working on the Joplin Quilt Project. Thank you so much to all the wonderful ladies who have sent fabric! We're bundling everything up right now, and hopefully will have it ready to send out next week. Kristie (Mom) worked on putting together a few ideas for quilt patterns… here they are! If anyone has any questions, please just let us know!

So sorry for the quietness around here— 50+ acres of hay does that. Lord willing we'll be back regularly soon! xxx the Long ladies