Beyond Neutral Book Tour Stop + Giveaway!

When John Adams, aka Quilt Dad, asked me to be a part of his blog book tour for his new book, Beyond Neutral, I didn't hesitate for a moment. I instantly knew I absolutely wanted to be a part of it as soon as I saw the cover of the book. I know you should never "judge a book by it's cover," but I can't fight love at first sight when it comes to quilts. It's just not possible for me.

Initially, I had misread the title of the book and for a hot minute I thought it was titled, "Beyond Nature," and a few of the images inside kept me thinking that was the title until I took a second, longer look at the cover. And it's definitely titled Beyond Neutral.

Katmai quilt image courtesy of Martingale. Photographed by Brent Kane. The quilts are so beautifully presented in a coordinating natural environment, it's hard not to love all of them. 

Cayucos quilt image courtesy of Martingale. Photographed by Brent Kane.

This book is full of stunning quilts that look incredibly dynamic, if not challenging, but John's instructions on how to use standard piecing methods, good design elements and out of the box fabric placement make all of these quilts far more approachable to the average quilter than you might think they are when you first look at them. He even makes room to show you how the quilting can really set a design apart and be the star, not just the pattern design or the fabric choices.

Pinnacles quilt image courtesy of Martingale. Photographed by Brent Kane. I am still totally head over heals for book cover quilt, Pacific Crest. It's my favorite quilt in the entire book, and there are some great winners in here.

 

Pacific Crest quilt image courtesy of Martingale. Photographed by Brent Kane.

And then I spotted the Triton Cove quilt and I found my favorite fabric combination that John put together.

Of course, out came my Tula Pink Neptune scraps.

I bugged John to find out what the greenish shot cotton was that he used in the Triton Cove quilt. It's Kaffe Fassett's Woven in Spruce. John is a master at mixing designers and fabric collections. I tend to stick with making my quilts from one fabric collection, but John really challenged my standard process here and it was a nice break from the norm for me.

I pressed my Neptune scraps to see what I had on hand to work with.

The sewing was quick. In no time I had a pile of HSTs (aka Half-Square Triangles) ready to go onto my design wall.

And up on my design wall they went.

This quilt design and fabric combination has the amazing ability to flow around the room when you look at it from different angles.

I was also super-flattered by John's shout out to me in the acknowledgements of his book. It's no small honor to find your name in print like that. It truly means the world to me, John.

And John really challenges you to reconsider quilt background fabrics other than whites, cremes and other neutrals. He demonstrates an incredible skill for fabric placement throughout the book. It's fun to simply page through it and daydream about your next quilt project.

Glimmerglass quilt image courtesy of Martingale. Photographed by Brent Kane.

---- And you can win your own Beyond Neutral eBook!

The Rules

1. Leave ONE comment to enter. Make sure your contact info is in your profile or that you leave it in the comment.

2. In your comment tell us which Beyond Neutral quilt you're inspired to make from the book.

3. Comment entries must be left on this blog, www.jaybirdquilts.com, to be valid. Comments sent via E-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or any other social media will not be counted.

4. Simple as that!!

You have till 9PM PST on Wednesday, September 24th to enter. 

Winner will be selected by 

True Random Number Generator.

Good luck!
© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

#ParkBenchQuilt Block 4 - Sing-along

Early this year, my latest Block of the Month (BOM) design, Park Bench, hit stores, and I've started a series of posts showing off the blocks you're making of each design. Each of the blocks is named for favorite memories and moments in parks. Block 4 is Sing-along. There's harmony in the points of this block that's meant to be shared.


I've been collecting pictures of blocks as quilters have been sharing them on Instagram. I'm loving how your blocks are coming together and the fabrics you pick to make your quilt unique.

Have you noticed how the blocks differ with shifts in fabric placement? What do you like or not like about how a quilt changes as fabric placement changes?

Post pictures of your blocks, top and finished quilt using #ParkBenchQuilt and you might find your work featured in a future blog post.

Do you have a favorite sing-along moment?
Share a favorite fabric placement moment or a favorite sing-along memory in the comments!

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/

I'm Selling Some Quilts to Benefit Alex's Lemonade Stand

I'm putting a dozen quilts up for auction, to be exact, to benefit the Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation. I've never sold my quilts myself before. I've donated a few, very few, to auctions and fundraisers that are deeply meaningful to me, but I've never sold them myself for the purpose of raising money for charity, until now.

This Sunday, September 7, kicking off at 7pm, you'll be able to bid on eBay for these 12 quilts.

If you're new to the blog or Jaybird Quilts, something you may not know is that I have a young and mighty nephew who's winning his battle with leukemia. Elijah was diagnosed with cancer in December 2010 and he finished his treatments just last month. He's starting second grade and doing great. There are some great organizations out there that did a lot for Elijah and his family while he was in treatment for the past 3+ years, and Alex's is one of them.

You'll be able to bid on my Carnival pattern cover quilt.

This is Chubby Logs, from my book, Skip the Borders.

Now that Elijah is on the path to wellness, I decided the time was right to put some quilts out in the world and raise money for a good cause. I was inspired by a poem Colleen shared during Quilter's Affair this summer:

Listen. By Colleen Blackwood

Listen.
Your quilt has a voice; it carries a story for those meant to hear.
More than technical skill and time of origination that archeologists will admire,
Our quilts take us in fabric folds and stitches to destinations beyond imagination.
Whose quilt is this?
The soul who's shoulders wear its' warmth,
The sewer who put pieces together to fulfill the need of creating with purpose?
Quilts can belong to both.
They can make a difference:
On a cold night
On a lonely afternoon
When someone needs a hand
When we need to help another.
Quilts can have a say:
I love you
You are not alone
I am your grandmother
All is not lost
The sewing room closed and gone dark,
These quilts will light our way for others to know who they missed
          "I colored within the lines, I ran with scissors, I like intricate designs, I like patterns that repeat themselves"
          "I made quilts with love and gave them away"
We give ourselves away, so others may know of our courage, kindness and generosity.

My Dance Floor pattern cover quilt, one of the first three patterns I published for sale in quilt shops.

This is Dot Dot Dash, also from Skip the Borders.

Another pattern cover quilt. This one is Firecracker.

Floating Triangles is from Skip the Borders.

The largest quilt up for auction is Holiday Ribbons. She's a full sized quilt and was featured in the November/December 2010 issue of McCall's Quilting.

This is Quarter Log Cabin and it's the oldest quilt in the auction. I started her in October 2009 and she was featured in the Fall 2010 issue of Fon's & Porter.

And the final Skip the Borders quilt included in the auction is Square City. Can you guess what the working title of my book was? (Hint: keep scrolling to see the label)

Next up is Teacups.

This version of Teacups has a cool binding flange.

And Varsity.

I love her scrappy backing and framed quilt label.

And last, but certainly not least!, is Chopsticks!

Every quilt will be listed on eBay with a detailed description, including size and fabric collection info, plus additional photos. Each quilt will also ship with:

Certificate of Authenticity created and signed by me

Quilt washing and care instructions

3oz of Scentless Soak courtesy of Soak Wash

A copy of the quilt pattern it is featured on, or my Skip the Borders book, signed by me

Thanks so much to our friends at Soak Wash for supplying us with the cutest travel size (airplane friendly!) bottles of Scentless Soak!

The auction starts at 7pm EDT Sunday, September 7 and runs for 5 days, ending on Thursday the 11th at 7pm EDT. UPDATE: The auction ends FRIDAY the 12th at 7pm EDT. One extra day to bid!

It's a unique collection on offer of loved and published designs. They are all quilts that I designed and pieced. A few I quilted myself, some I sent out to be quilted by others. They are all made with love and are meant to be loved some more in good, caring homes.

Which quilt do you hope to bid on? Or have you ever put your quilts out into the world, through auction, gift or otherwise? Tell us in the comments.

Thanks for checking out the quilts available for auction & please check out Alex's Lemonade Stand!

© Blog post written by Julie Herman
For more information visit http://www.jaybirdquilts.com/