Crystal Farm – A Sneak Peek

It felt so good when I got to hold my new fabric collection, “Crystal Farm” for the first time. This group for Andover fabrics is inspired by a beautiful farm in Michigan. Sitting in the middle of rolling bluegrass hills you’ll find the charming “Crystal Farm”, is a very special place to me. Each time I visit Crystal Farm, I can’t help but to be filled with love and joy.

I hope this new fabric collection can inspire you in the same way with its wonderful variety of prints in soothing blues, sweetheart pink and chestnut browns.

Country Living is one of the free patterns that will be available with this collection. You will be able to download it from Andover’s website. We will announce when the pattern is available, and our readers will be the first to know!

Berry Patch is a smaller project with a touch of applique. I used a package of “Crystal Farm” silhouettes which will be available in October with the release of the collection.

Twinkle Star is a great example of how nice this collection compliments other fabrics, like my “Blue Sky” collection.

In Lucky Charm, the pinks from Crystal Farm add that special touch to my favorite blues.

Made in USA is perfect for a beginner quilter. I can’t wait to teach this to my friends!

Crystal Star is sure to be a show stopper. For this one, I used 2 packages of Crystal Farm silhouettes to add a whimsical feel to the center and the corners of the quilt.

When making the Barn Door quilt you are sure to enjoy mixing and matching all of the delightful prints and colors from Crystal Farm collection. I really enjoy the soft green for a background.

For a small project, I chose a pillow pattern. In no time, you will have a brood of peeps of your own!

I wish I could get this fabric into your hands sooner, but all good things come to those who wait! In the meantime, visit your local quilt store and inquire if they would consider having Crystal Farm collection on their shelves. Click here to see the catalog. Which patterns and fabrics are your favorite? I would love to read your feedback. Please leave us a comment below!

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Quilt Market 2017 – Open House

We just had the pleasure to be a part of the 2017 Quilt Market in St Louis, Missouri.

Our booth was set up  with a lot of beautiful projects from the Blue Sky collection, adorable quilts from the book “Little Handfuls of Scraps,” as well as a few samples from our newest collection of fabrics with Andover, Crystal Farm. For the full Blue Sky catalog click here.

There were a lot of charming projects with this collection at the Andover booth as well.

You could see blue skies in quilts, pillows and purses…

There were matching threads from Aurifil to go with the lovely shades of blues.

Some even like to dress in Blue Sky collection!

I was so happy and smiling, ready to see everyone.

Quilt Market is almost like an open house…

… a great group of friends came by to say hello for the “Little Handfuls of Scraps” book signing.

We talked about the cute projects in “Little Handfuls of Scraps” and everyone was so happy to preview our new book, “Patches of Blue”, coming out October 2017 from Martingale. It is full of wonderful blue and white quilts.

Our new quilt Lucky Charm was a hit!

Quilters canvas is our new fabric consisting of a “linen/cotton” mix with a printed layout for delightful applique and that is what I used for a background for the Lucky Charm quilt.

It is so nice for hand-stitching, you no longer have to trace your designs to your fabric. It is so easy to place your pieces in the right places to create stunning blocks. 🙂

We also took to market our chickens! She’s a part of all our patterns that will come out with the Crystal Farm Collection but more on that in our next blog post!

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WINNERS for Little Handfuls of Scraps Book Giveaway

There were so many amazing comments left by our readers that we have decided not to have only 1 winner to receive a copy of Little Handfuls of Scraps for them and a friend, but 12 winners and their friends!! Congratulations to the following readers. Scroll down to see if you are one of our lucky winners!

My favorite memory was getting together in my friend’s bedroom because she was the only one with her own record player! We purchased the latest popular songs on 45rpm and practiced dancing in front of her full length mirror. We had such fun laughing when we tried to learn the new dance steps but we were the best dancers at the next school dance! -Jennifer P My childhood best friend and I played “house” in my grandfathers garage. He set up an area with an old rug, benches, and a little play table. If we were lucky, my grandmother would save coffee grounds for us to do “cooking.” Our dolls and we had a wonderful time in this “house.” -Annie in PA A favorite memory is of my cousins and me playing with our grandmother’s quilts, which she had made entirely by hand with fabric from her “house dresses” and aprons. As little girls, we would lay the quilts over tables and chairs to make “tents” — our own little houses. I still have two of those beautiful and precious quilts. – Sara One of my favorite memories is of a friend & me playing in my Grandfather’s huge field of Timothy Grass (feed for the cattle & horses). The undulating & swaying blue grass was simply too much temptation for 2 little 8 year old girls & my dog Dusty. Although I well knew that we were never to go into the field we threw caution to the wind & played hide & seek all afternoon with Dusty finding each of us & happily, running around barking. My Grandfather found us in the field & said, “Girls, it is time for lemonade & cookies & a bone for Dusty”. He & my Grandmother had watched us having so much fun in the Timothy that all was forgiven. Ginny & I still laugh about escaping punishment. – Barbara Macey Great photos!! My sister and I would dress up our kittens in dolls clothes, and then push them in a little pram through the bush across the road…your photos brought this memory to the forefront of my thoughts…Thankyou Edyta! – Raelene I grew up in a neighborhood full of couples moving to the suburbs from New York city-my most favorite memories are of the labor day block party each year which included a dress up parade for all of the children. My grandmother was an expert seamstress so my brother and I had lots of great costumes- the party was held in a large vacant lot adjacent to an old shut down factory of some sort- this was a great place for exploring at other times and my friends and I spent many happy hours playing in the woods adjacent to the field. -Wendy Bynner My favorite memory is open air roller skating on a chicken house’s concrete floor. The building was destroyed by a tornado leaving the floor as the only remnant. It turned out to be a fabulous skating rink! – Charae Hemphill I was lucky enough to live right next door to my cousins and we played together every single day. From riding our bikes everywhere, making mud pies, catching minnows in the brook in the summer to sliding and building snow forts in the winter. We were the same ages and when I see them every so often now, because we all live far from each other and in different states, it makes me realize just how much I miss them, and miss those carefree days of our childhood. – Kimberly Dow Your photos are amazing and you are so blessed to have them! Keep up all the hard work with scrappy quilts. I love them all! I loved to dress up with all the neighborhood kids. My mom was so patient and would save all her old shoes, hats, gloves and dresses. We would spend the whole day dressing and redressing – we were outside from sunup until sundown.  Mardee Stover As I reached my young teens our family moved from the farm to the city, but I still spent the summers with my favorite cousins on their farm. Picking raspberries and eating them from the bushes was great, but excitement came when my cousin and I snuck in the back room and played on my aunts old treadle sewing machine- until the needle went right through my cousins nail and got stuck! We laugh about it now as we both grew up loving to sew, but have a cautious respect for it!! Out of ALL the cousins in the area we grew up in- the two of us still can’t be separated from our sewing machines and fabric for more than a day or so:) – Sally Dorer Growing up in a very small town in Indiana, I spent winters ice skating at the local school tennis court that was flooded every winter so that the kids could ice skate. The most fun was when my friends and I were allowed to ice skate during recess time during the winter school season! – Jo Matthews This book looks so interesting! I have loads of scraps to use up. Growing up, my friends all had horses/ ponies. I did not. I took lessons through Girl Scouts in the summer. The rest of the year, I would muck stalls for my friends so I could ride their ponies. They taught me how to jump( fall off and get back on the horse); ride western and bareback. Sometimes they would ride away from the stables and down to my house. That was always a treat for me! At camp we rode with English Saddles. I learned to groom horses. All so long ago. I still do not have a horse; but I have great memories of riding and learning with my friends; who were so generous with me; and I’m sure; quite patient. – Susan Waters

Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to enter our giveaway, your memories bought big smiles to my face just reading them! Lucky winners, look out for an email in your inbox from Laundry Basket Quilts that will be asking for your shipping address very shortly so we can send two books, one book for you and one to give to a friend.

Don’t forget Little Handfuls of Scraps is still 20% off list price over at our online store. Use code LIDIA to get your discount until May 31st 2017. Please pass code along to any friends that would love a copy.

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