a guessing game.

so what does...
a quilt, a longaberger basket, a candle & a stack of nicholas sparks books have in common?!?!

can't wait to hear yall's guesses.
:D

♥ rachel

pleading the fifth.

this stack of bella solids may or may not be mine.
there may or may not be more where this came from.
& there just might be some other colors too.

until any of this can be proven, i'm pleading the fifth.

p.s. there may be a flickr group for other peeps pleading the fifth with me.

♥ rachel

postage stamp quilt along: construction work

welcome to the construction work part of the postage stamp quilt along yall.
:)



so grab all those lovely blocks we made last week.
we're gonna make a quilt top!!!

lay your blocks out in a 6x8 block layout that's pleasing to you.
make sure to alternate your a & b blocks.
easy peasy.

sew your blocks together to make your quilt top.
& we'll meet back up next week.

i can't wait to start seeing yall's quilt tops show up in the flickr pool.
:^)



just a reminder:
the postage stamp quilt along is being sponsored by fat quarter shop.

there's still time to get your two jelly rolls at 20% off!!!
just enter "PSIQUILT" during checkout.
AND there will be gift certificates awarded to 3 lucky quilt along peeps.
disclaimer: you must have a completed quilt top to go into the drawing.
*tenative drawing date is feb 1st*

♥ rachel

the one with the progressive dinner.

{comments closed.}
winner = sara
email me: rachel {at} psiquilt {dot} com

hey yall.
welcome to our moda bake shop progressive dinner.
dinner. supper. chow.
tomatoe. tomahto. potatoe. potahto.
:)



so yall come on in.
take your boots off & stay a while.



can i get yall something to drink?!?!
i have sweet tea, sweet tea & sweet tea.
*wink*

for the new peeps stopping by:
i'm rachel.
i'm 28 years old.
i'm southern.
i was born & raised in georgia, but i live in ohio now.
i'm married to my high school sweetheart.
we have 4 amazing kiddos together.
i love to create & design.
& i have a confession to make...i'm a moda-a-holic.
i mean people say they love moda, but i LOVE moda.
wanna see my moda tattoo?!?!
*kidding*
{about the tattoo part, not the addicted to moda part. tehehe.}

for my regular peeps:
*in my best joey tribbiani impression*
how you doin'?!?!
:P

moving on.

so today is a special day. a very special day.
why?!?!



well about a year ago i had a surprise package come in the mail.
it's was from the mothership...aka moda.
it contained an adorable fabric fortune cookie.

i had NO clue that that fortune cookie would lead to this...



...a book!!!
a yummy book no less.

AND not only am i officially a published author {!!!} but...

wait for it

...

...

...

i'm a covergirl!!!
yep that's me -well my quilt- on the cover of the book.
on. the. cover. of. the. freaking. book.

*insert brown paper bag*
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]

i'm extremely excited. & nervous.
but i'm okay.
really.

it's quite a feeling...seeing your quilt on the cover of a book.
i mean millions of people will be judging this book by it's cover.
the cover with my quilt on it.

*insert brown paper bag again*
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]
[breathe in. breathe out.] [breathe in. breathe out.]

phew. i'm okay now. promise.
:D

but it's SO surreal.
& i get to be on the cover with my pal kate spain. {hey kate!!!}
my quilt = her fandango fabric.
delish ain't it?!?!



to celebrate this momentous occasion, let's have a giveaway!!!
yayyy!!!

wanna win a copy of the book AND a yummy precut?!?!
leave me comment. a good one. not a "pick me" comment.
*book releases in may. precut will be from a brand new moda line*
(winner will be drawn feb 1st.}



wanna win a fat quarter bundle, a fat eighth bundle, a layer cake, a jelly roll AND a charm pack?!?!
leave all the following chefs a comment on their progressive dinner posts.

jan 19th:
moda bake shop
stash books

jan 20th:
amanda jean nyberg
roslyn mirrington
vanessa christenson

jan 21st:
john adams
monica solorio-snow

jan 22nd:
kimberly walus
melissa mortenson

jan 23rd:
natalia bonner
vickie eapen

jan 24th:
rachel griffith <--yall are here!!!

lissa alexander

jan 25th:
julie herman
sweetwater

jan 26th:
angela yosten
jenny garland



it sure was a treat having yall at the griffith house!!!
speaking of treats...yall can see all my moda bake shop goodies HERE.
{these are just a few of my favs.}

now go see miss lissa.
she's my moda mom. really.
& she's sure to have something yummy for yall.

tomorrow yall are visiting my pal julie & the sweetwater gang!!!
anticipate extreme yummy-ness.

now yall come back now, ya hear?!?!
:D

p.s. if yall want to go ahead & secure one of these yummy books now...
pre-order your signed copy HERE.

♥ rachel

be still my heart.

miss lindsey.
melting my heart.
like always.

disclaimer: i can't be held responsible for any quickening of yall's wombs or rapidly induced baby fever.
*wink*

♥ rachel

dinner is served.

remember when i invited yall to dinner?!?!
*insert dinner bell*
dinner is served.



a few of us moda bake shop chefs have secretly been working on a book.
yes BOOK.
exciting stuff, i know!!!

so hop on over to the moda bake shop for all the dinner dates.
my dinner date = jan 24th
i promise it'll be yummy!!!

p.s. do yall want one of these yummy books???
pre-order your signed copy HERE.

♥ rachel

postage stamp quilt along: patchwork

welcome to the patchwork part of the postage stamp quilt along yall.
:)



so grab all those lovely strip sets we made last week.
we're gonna cut 2 1/2" segments from them.
lots & lots of 2 1/2" segments.

tip: if yall get a little overwhelmed with the thought of cutting all 16 strips sets...
cut 4 strip sets a day for the next 4 days.
easy peasy.



aren't they purdy?!?!
:D



block a will follow this pattern:
3 color strip
2 color strip
3 color strip
2 color strip
3 color strip



block b will follow this pattern:
2 color strip
3 color strip
2 color strip
3 color strip
2 color strip



now make these yummy blocks until the cows come home.
& we'll meet back up next week.
{48 blocks total.}

tip: yall can make this as scrappy or as controlled looking as yall want.
if you want it more controlled; plan out your blocks.
if you want it scrappier; don't plan out your blocks.
it's as easy as that. promise.

i can't wait to start seeing yall's blocks show up in the flickr pool.
:^)



just a reminder:
the postage stamp quilt along is being sponsored by fat quarter shop.

there's still time to get your two jelly rolls at 20% off!!!
just enter "PSIQUILT" during checkout.
AND there will be gift certificates awarded to 3 lucky quilt along peeps.
disclaimer: you must have a completed quilt top to go into the drawing.
*tenative drawing date is feb 1st*

♥ rachel

quilt remix blog tour.

{{comments closed.}}
winner = becky
email me: rachel {at} psiquilt {dot} com



all aboard the awesome train.
today makes day 5 of the quilt remix blog tour.
so it's my turn to sing its praises.

quilt remix = amazing book.
end. of. story.
the genius behind said amazing book is my pal emily cier.
*loud applause*

emily has an artistic sense that's exquisite.
she's like someone who can tell butter from i can't believe it's not butter.
yeah. she's THAT good.



and she does it with style.

i mean look.
walking uphill...both ways...in the snow.
classic.



my fav quilt in the book is em's take on trip around the world.
me loves it. o' lot.



oh and then there's this hot little number.
it's like dresden plate gone wild.
brillant.



& i was really impressed with how she showed size options.
it's little things like that that make my life easier.
hi-5 emily.

so i had a chance to ask miss emily a few lingering questions i had.
lingering as in i'm nosey & i just wanted to know these things.
:P

what's playing on your ipod/itunes when you're
getting your quilty groove on???
no music during quilting. only really bad movies.
i don't really watch them because i'd like to not sew my fingers to the quilt but i do listen to them.
the other night was death to smoochy. i'd really like those 109 minutes of my life back.
(but at least at the same time, i got 109 minutes of sewing done!!!)
last night was a documentary about the king of swaziland.
streaming netflix is my friend.

if you had to pick one quilt to place in a time capsule for safe keeping,
which quilt would it be??? and why???
the wall-e quilt i made for my son, liam.
it's not artistic or an amazingly pieced quilt or anything.
the reason i pick that one is because it is the most loved quilt *ever*.
and i mean *ever.*
he has slept with it every nap and night for almost 2 years now.
{pictures of it are here.}

let's pretend your quilty journey became the next box office hit.
which actress would star as you???
mary-louise parker.
or really nancy botwin. (minus the pot and drug lord husband.)
just the standing there with a blank stare while holding a cup of a coffeeshop drink
feeling like the world is rushing around you and you're being pulled in
a million different directions and you have no idea what to do.
i feel like that most days.

g i v e a w a y ! ! !
leave me comment telling me what YOU have playing in the background when you quilt.
*winner will be drawn at the end of the blog tour*

other blog tour peeps: {who are also doing giveaways.}
january 10th sew katie did
january 11th pink chalk studio
january 12th jaybird quilts
january 13th allie’s in stitches
january 14th p.s. i quilt
january 15th house of a la mode
january 16th connecting threads blog
january 17th whipstitch
january 18th cherry house quilts
january 19th true up

♥ rachel

inspired by pillows.

'nuff said.

now go make one of each.
*wink*

to see all the resources to individual pillows, click the pic.
it'll shoot you over to flickr for the links.

postage stamp quilt along: leg work

welcome to the leg work part of the postage stamp quilt along yall.
:)



first things first...
unwrap those yummy jelly rolls & divide your strips into color groups.



strip set a will follow this pattern:
color
solid
color
solid
color



strip set b will follow this pattern:
solid
color
solid
color
solid



yall will need to make 16 strip sets total.
8 strip set a's and 8 strip set b's.

tip: if yall get a little overwhelmed with the thought of making 16 strips sets...
make 4 strip sets a day for the next 4 days.
easy peasy.



now make those strip sets until the cows come home.
& we'll meet back up next week.

tip: always press towards the color strips when making strip sets.
this will ensure perfect seams once we do the patchwork part.

i can't wait to start seeing yall's strip sets show up in the flickr pool.
:^)



just a reminder:
the postage stamp quilt along is being sponsored by fat quarter shop.

there's still time to get your two jelly rolls at 20% off!!!
just enter "PSIQUILT" during checkout.
AND there will be gift certificates awarded to 3 lucky quilt along peeps.
disclaimer: you must have a completed quilt top to go into the drawing.
*tenative drawing date is feb 1st*

yall are invited...

have yall ever been SO excited about something you could hardly contain yourself???
well that's me.
me = the ubber excited one.

my name is rachel & i have a secret.
it's a goooood one. promise.
only a handful of peeps know about it.
but yall will soon. very soon.

so this is me formally inviting yall to dinner.
yes dinner.



appetizers, dinner & dessert will be served jan 19th - jan 26th.
join me and 14 other talented chefs for some yummy fun!!!
yall won't want to miss this. PROMISE.

some of the chefs include:
my pal vanessa of v & co
my homeboy john of quilt dad
my chumy chum julie of jaybird quilts
my friend natalia of piece n quilt
my buddy monica of happy zombie
AND many more.

central perk...i mean park.

warning: dork moment ahead.

okay so i have a problem.
i can't just say central park sometimes.
i always mess up and say central perk.
yep. as in central perk the neighborhood coffee house from friends.
yeah. i know. huge dork, right?!?!

to my dear friend kate spain...
i love you. i love your fabric. you know that.
i'm just a friends freak that might need a stepdown program.
:)

anyways...today's objective:
turn this lovely pile of central PARK fabrics into a quilt i'm ubber excited about.
more deets later. promise.

postage stamp quilt along.

welcome to the postage stamp quilt along yall.

i've been wanting to make a postage stamp quilt for like EVER.
i really, really love their simplicity.
they're timeless yet so beautiful.

so to kick off twenty eleven...
i'm gonna teach yall how to make your very own postage stamp quilt!!!
{we'll spend the next few weeks making it.}



this week we will focus on our starting materials.
our quilt will be approximately 60" x 80"
yep. the perfect "snuggle under me" size.
:)



materials needed:
1 print jelly roll of your choice
1 bella solids jelly roll of your choice
3/4 yard binding
3 3/4 yards backing

for those inquring minds, i will be using:
a sunkissed jelly roll {get yours here.}
& moda bella solids in pure white {get yours here.}

i have started a postage stamp quilt along flickr group.
i can't wait to see everyone's quilts come to life.
:)



the postage stamp quilt along is being sponsored by fat quarter shop!!!
what's this mean for yall???

first: do yall need to buy your TWO jelly rolls for the quilt along?!?!
well quilt along peeps get 20% off at the fat quarter shop!!!
*use code "PSIQUILT" during checkout*
disclaimer: this coupon code is good towards TWO jelly rolls of your choice. jelly rolls only.

second: how about free fabric?!?!
fat quarter shop is awarding prizes!!!

at the end of the quilt along...
the peeps who finish their quilts will go into a drawing:
1st prize = $100 gift certificate
2nd prize = $75 gift certificate
3rd prize = $50 gift certificate
*tenative drawing date is feb 1st*



grab a button, join in the fun & spread the word.
i hope yall are as excited as i am.

so who's in???

my 2010 favs.

well it wasn't easy...but i did it.
i give yall my favorite projects of 2010.
{well out of the ones i'm allowed to talk about. more on that later. promise.}

i hope that yall are as inspired by my collage as i am.
i can't wait to see what unfolds for me & p.s. i quilt in 2011.

happy new year yall.