Quick Curve Blog Hop from Sew Kind of Wonderful & A Giveaway!

I'm thrilled to participate in a little blog hop celebrating Curve It Up pattern and Quick Curve Ruler from the amazing ladies at Sew Kind of Wonderful. I had the chance to meet Jenny and Helen recently. I'm constantly amazed at all the ideas they keep coming up with. You are likely familiar with their Quick Curves Ruler. They also have a large assortment of patterns utilizing their ruler. They are currently having a sale that ends today, so if you have been thinking about it, now is the time!

Discount Code: BLOGHOP

I first encountered the Quick Curves Ruler (QCR) a couple years ago when I received it to make this quilt for Fat Quarterly.

I used the ruler again when I put together these quilts for my cousin. She was expecting identical twins and asked me to create quilts for her girls. My aunt had been working on some quilt blocks when she passed away unexpectedly. My cousin wanted to use her mother's quilt blocks in the quilts for her girls. The border using the QCR was a perfect addition to my aunt's blocks. My cousin's daughters just turned two, and they are adorable. I love that they have these quilts as a reminder of their sweet grandma.

Now two years later, I'm starting another project with the QCR with a very different style. In conjunction with the blog hop, Jenny and Helen offered to send each blogger something new to try. I couldn't decide between their new book or the Metro Twist Pattern. Jenny offered to send out both!

I was torn between the cover quilt on their book and the Metro Twist Design. All of their patterns I have read through appear well written and easy to follow.

I decided to make a test block from each pattern and see what I thought after that point. I love the idea of making the 1/4 circles or ovals with the QCR! It is so much easier and forgiving than a standard curved block.

I was leaning strongly toward using my stack of Field Day from Alison Glass for the quilt and felt that Metro Twist would be the best fit for this fabric. The pattern was great and guided me through the process without a glitch.

I paired it with some low volume prints from my stash.

I cut everything out. There is relatively little waste which I really like about this design. Notice the low volume prints on the left in this photo have been trimmed while the ones on the right are untrimmed. Only a small amount is cut away. The trimming portion of the pattern was somewhat time consuming, although I'm sure I made it more difficult by cutting my background pieces from 15 different fabrics vs. just one as called for in the pattern.

The blocks come together easily, and chain piecing makes them even faster. Because the curve is fairly gentle, it's fast and easy. If you've never sewn curves, this is a great place to start. The blocks do require trimming after sewing and pressing. It definitely saves time to complete each portion of the project in batches.

This is what I have completed on my (thread covered) design wall so far! I love how it's coming together!

Please go and check out Jenny’s blog and shop. You can also join the Sew Kind of Wonderful mailing list to get news of any new patterns or promotions. There will be a linky party on the Sew Kind of Wonderful blog on Friday 29 through 31 August – you can link up any quilt or block made using the Quick Curve Ruler. If you haven’t tried a QCR project yet, never fear, there’s a chance to win a ruler during the bloghop and have a go. You can find plenty of inspiration on the blog hop so please go and check out the other participants!

Monday 18 August	http://quokkaquilts.com
Tuesday 19 August	www.cluckclucksew.com
Wednesday 20 August	www.fromthebluechair.com
Thursday 21 August	liveacolorfullife.net
Friday 22 August	www.happyquiltingmelissa.com
Monday 25 August	www.greenfairyquiltsblog.com
Tuesday 26 August	http://blog.sewbittersweetdesigns.com
Wednesday 27 August	www.pleasant-home.com
Thursday 28 August	http://www.lucymade.wordpress.com AND http://msmidge.blogspot.com.au
Friday 29 August	www.dontcallmebetsy.com

The blog hop will be followed by a 'Curve it up' Challenge Quilt-a-long on the Sew Kind of Wonderful blog starting in September, so join in the bloghop, get inspired and get ready to Curve It Up!

Giveaway! CLOSED
The Sew Kind of Wonderful ladies are offering one winner a copy of their Curve it Up Pattern. They will be hosting a QAL for this pattern over on their blog starting next month! I love this pattern because it offers so many different block ideas for the QCR. To enter, simply leave a comment telling us which pattern on their site is your favorite. The winner will be chosen randomly on Monday, August 25th.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sew Kind of Wonderful. I received two free patterns in exchange for my participation in this blog hop. My opinions are based on my hand-on experience with the products.