the spooktacular series.

so, do you like halloween/fall?
y'all already know i do.
i'm a fall girl. especially in the summer.
it's a sickness.
but i'm not complaining.

because of my love of all things orange and fallish, i was asked to join the spooktacular series.
what is it?
well, basically it's a week long blog hop of five different bloggers posting halloween-ish tutorials.

you know you want to join along.
and here's why: it's fun, it keeps your mind off of the heat, and there's a giveaway.
simply visit all these lovely ladies on their scheduled day.
i'll show y'all my project on friday.

the schedule:
july 29th: ellison lane quilts
july 30th: alida makes
july 31st: the sewing loft
august 1st: sew happily ever after
august 2nd: ps i quilt

so, happy hopping.

xo, rachel

fabric design contest.

connecting threads is offering y'all a chance to design a professional fabric collection of your very own.

how it works:
the competition takes place in rounds.
contestants will upload their digital submissions for floral fabrics until august 10th.
on august 14th the submitted designs will be displayed on connecting threads website for voting.
votes will be submitted from august 14th to september 2nd.
the voters will determine the five finalist.

the five finalist will be contacted by email and announced on the connecting threads blog on september 4th.
each of the five finalist will win a $50 gift card to connecting threads.
all the finalist will be required to submit 5-8 designs of supporting prints to go with their initial floral design. (by october 1st.)
a panel of judges from connecting threads will review the designs and announce a winner by october 15th.

the winner will be awarded a $2,000.00 grand prize AND a contract with connecting threads to produce their fabric collection at a future date PLUS royalties.
the winner will also receive free yardage of their fabric designs.

sounds pretty awesome, right?

to enter or learn more about the contest, click HERE.

xo, rachel

keeping promises.

remember how i made that promise to my kids and totally flaked on it?
well, this year, i'm not letting them down.
pinky swear.

stay tuned.

xo, rachel

to hoard or not to hoard?!?!

i think at some point, we've all been guilty of hoarding fabric.
it's kind of a prerequisite for being a quilter, right?
i've definitely done my fair share of hoarding fabric.
and then some.

i know for a fact, that i've had this denyse schmidt fabric for over two years.
two years that it's just been sitting there.
why?
i'm not sure exactly.
every time i think i have something planned for it, i change my mind and use something else.
i do need to make something with it, though. dang.
get it together, rachel.

so, tell me, do you hoard fabric?
if yes, why??
is it because you can't bare the thought of cutting it?
is it because you haven't found the right pattern for it?
is it because you just like to look at it all stacked up?

if you don't hoard fabric, good on you!
you're a better quilter than i am.
;)

ps. i feel my fall itch starting.
i had a pumpkin flavored protein shake a few minutes ago.
it won't be too long before i'll hit my full fledged fall mood.
so, don't judge me if you start seeing fall fabrics/projects popping up, okay?

xo, rachel

recovery.

apparently, i had so much fun on vacation, that i needed a whole week to recover.
i can definitely tell i'm getting older. ;)

we spent 3 days in south carolina, 3 days in georgia and 2 days driving.
that's 8 states in one week people.
(we drove down one way and up another.)

it was totally worth it, though.
nothing beats seeing my parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.
we're like a big, fat greek family, but without all the cooked lamb.

i have to admit, i've been SUPER lazy the past week.
it's almost ridiculous, but so what, right?
just say yes. lol.

what i haven't been doing:
blogging
sewing/quilting
hanging out on instagram
being productive

what i have been doing:
camping on my couch
stealing afternoon naps
reading harry potter and the order of the phoenix (via my kindle)
pinning things on pinterest
my daily workout

so, i'm hoping that by posting this, i'll get back into the swing of things.
although, i'm going to miss those afternoon naps.
tehehe.

oh, and because i know someone will ask, the fabrics above are THESE and are used in THIS quilt.

xo, rachel

going south.

this girl (and her family) is going down south for the next week.
hello, charleston.
hello, atlanta.
goodbye, ohio.

this trip is long overdue.
to say i'm excited would be a gross understatement.

so, y'all don't miss me too much while i'm gone.
but in case you do, i'm sure i'll be posting pics via instagram.
feel free to follow along. (@rachelgriffith)

xo, rachel

a favorite.

you know you have a favorite bag pattern when you make it over and over and over again.
not to mention, i have plans for another one. or three.
*sigh*

pattern = eco market tote by favorite things

what's your go to bag pattern?

xo, rachel