Mystery Sampler Updates

Well hello everyone!

We are now starting to prepare month #3 packages for all of our 2016 Block of the Month programs and so it seemed like a perfect time for some updates here on the blog.

For more regular updates, follow me on Instagram as I post there much more often there! I am figtreeandco  !!

 

MYSTERY SAMPLER BOM

Can I say that I am already in love with this sampler and I don't even know how its going to turn out in the end?

… month #1 blocks above.

 

If you are signed up for our Mystery Sampler Block of the Month program, you just received your second month last week and hopefully you are working away at some of those fun blocks… see below.

 

I can't wait to add some orange and grey into next month's block selection!

Here are a few hints and tips on BLOCK OF THE MONTH SUCESS [this is true for any BOM you are participating in anytime]:

1. Stay current. Really. Do whatever you can in the beginning to stay current. This year we started off with more simple blocks and less of them at the beginning so that we wouldn't lose too many of you to…. well to the stuff of life! I know that life can definitely get in the way of our sewing. As it should. But that is the great thing about the block of the month programs…. you only have to do a few blocks a month and if you stay caught up, you will have something amazing at the end of the year. 
2. Set aside some special BOM time. This is especially true if you are doing several different ones. For many of us that would be on the weekend or in the evening after all the other needs and duties have been met. Find a special time that you block off and set aside for BOM time. This is good advice even just for sewing in general but certain works for BOMs especially.
3. Be organized. I can't stress this enough but i find that I fall prey to the same disorganization as everyone else. Make little baggies. Label your fabric. Keep all your scraps. Put your directions in a folder. Before that… go and find yourself a beautiful folder from a place like Staples or Target. Use this is an excuse to buy that lovely little folder that you wouldn't have any real need for before. You have a need now. So go and get one…. and then use it! You would be surprised at how many emails I get about lost and missing instructions!
4. Share. It is very motivating to share your progress on these monthly programs with others who are working alongside you… well, at least alongside you on the world wide web LOL! We share on Instagram and if you have a smart phone…. IG is very easy to get started and is highly fun, addictive and does not take too much time if you don't want it to. I highly recommend it. If you decide to join and you want to find me, I am figtreeandco .  Facebook is a bit more of an enigma to me. If any of you in the program are interested in starting a Facebook group for the BOM, contact me. I post on Facebook through Instagram but am never quite sure how best to share everything there.
5. Have fun and don't stress! We give you lots of directions and lots of fabrics but if you want to vary something, add something, make something more scrappy or make 2 versions of something… go for it. Just don't forget to share because we want to see what you are doing!!
6. A few specific tips for those of you in the program: #1- When working on the BEAR CLAW blocks, the intention of the instructions was to make 2 identical blocks, both the same color combos. If you decided to mix up the colors in a different way or did so unintentionally… great! Don't worry about it!  #2- Don't stress about the appliqué center of the Daisy block. It is not too hard, a fairly easy shape to turn and you can wait until the end if you don't want to do it now. Or you can do it with fusible web if you prefer. Just don't stress! #3- Take your time on the Sweet Sugar Swirls block. Any time angles are involved, people get a bit nervous. My best tip to you is that if you slow down, sew and cut accurately then you will most likely be fine. Remember to check if your angle is still at a 45º angle after 2 diamond cuts. Checking might be a pain but it is well worth it to catch any slipping of your ruler. If you have really never worked with angles, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that you take my Craftsy class on angles. I know that this might sound like a shameless plug, but I have had hundreds of people tell me that they would freeze when it came to angles until they took my class. This is not necessarily because it or I am so greatl…. LOL… but because it really, really helps to see someone else do it first and then try it! Here is the link if you are interested.

 Happy Sewing My Friends!

 

Joanna

 

Crossroads Quilt Along

Hello Friends!

I am so proud and happy to be a part of this project with Kimberly and the entire FQS gang! Working with Kimberly is always a pleasure and working on this particular project has so much additional meaning for me. First, getting to design the quilt itself… inspired by a beautiful vintage sampler that Kimberly uncovered… was a wonderful process for me. Working from vintage quilts as inspiration is my favorite way of designing any project!

Watch this fun video about the quilt HERE !!

 

Second, knowing that all of our work is going to benefit the March of Dimes is such a wonderful motivator for me… and hopefully for you as well… and makes the designing and now the piecing of this quilt so much more meaningful to me.

 

My daughter was born full term, as were both of my boys, but at 6 weeks of age she suddenly came down with life threatening meningitis. We lived in the NICU for the following 31 days, never going home, to be with her as she literally fought for her tiny little life. Although she was not a premie, we were surrounded by dozens of preemies and witnessed first hand the depth, length and difficulty of the struggle of those tiny, tiny little babies and their families. I will never forget some of them and when Kimberly first talked to me about the opportunity to work on something that would benefit the March of Dimes, I jumped at it!

I hope you have already joined us or if not, that you will now!!

Kimberly has a fabulous kit for the entire quilt  [including backing] from STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED or of course you can work alongside of us from your own fabrics as well, donating each month for the blocks as they are downloaded.

More info on all of the details from the Fat Quarter Shop HERE and HERE too!

A fun interview with Kimberly and I about the project on the MODA Blog HERE...

To get started, download your first block now!

 

Thanks everyone and I really hope you are joining us!

 

Joanna

STRAWBERRY FIELDS FRIVOLS

We have a limited quantity of the super cute STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED FRIVOLS TIN available.

Normally a store program with multiple kits being shipped each year, each designer is also given the opportunity to have a few of the FRIVOLS from their own collection available for sale directly from them. And its our turn!

If you haven't heard anything about the FRIVOL, then here is some info.

A FRIVOL is a fun little mini kit packaged in a darling limited edition tin that has several little goodies in each one. This is the 6th in the collection of FRIVOLS and it is called "Vintage". The quilt finishes at 47" x 57.

  This Frivol contains:

• Precut bundle of 7″ x 7″ squares of Strawberry Fields Revisited
• "Vintage" quilt pattern
• A Block pattern card
• A special "frivol" that I designed [hint: it might just be the cutest little strawberry label ever] 

Here it is…. I'm just a bit smitten with it at the moment….

The pattern and the fabrics in the tin make this quilt…. it is called VINTAGE… isn't it lovely?

Additional background, sashing, border and binding fabrics are required to finish the quilt exactly as shown. You can use your stash or purchase the required fabrics from your local quilt shop or online. We only have the FRIVOLS themselves available. Couldn't quite resist that darling little tin!

Here is what else you would need:

• Background- 1 1/8 yds. (20199 84)
• Horizontal Sashing- 3/8 yd. (20268 24)
• Vertical Sashing- 5/8 yd. (20261 14)
• Outer Border- 3/4 yd. (20264 14) 
• Binding- 1/2 yd. (20268 13)
• Backing- 2 1/4 yds.  (20266 14)

We do have the FRIVOLS in the SHOP if you are interested, click HERE.

STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED IS HERE!

STRAWBERRY FIELDS REVISITED has arrived in stores nationwide…. and is on its way to you internationally too! I know so many of you have been waiting for this collection with great anticipation and I am so happy that you love this group as much as I do. 

Surely one of the most requested of our collections ever… this new iteration is the same… and yet different… from the original STRAWBERRY FIELDS and I think that the color and print additions will make you fall in love with it all over again :-)!

If you pre-ordered a kit with us back in September, it is either on its way to you already or is being cut as we speak. We will continue to cut for the next few days and send them all out as fast as is possible… too bad we don't have our 12 DAYS OF CHRISTMAS elves to help us, huh?! All single kit orders are going out first and then the double, triple and quadruple orders after that.

 

STAR CROSSED KIT

 

LAUNDRY BASKET KIT

 

CROSS CHECK KIT- LARGE 9 BLOCK VERSION

 

CROSS CHECK KIT - GREEN SMALL BLOCK VERSION

 

MINI TRIO KIT

If you missed out on the kit pre-orders, we do have a few singles of each kit that we ordered extra. Feel free to email me if you are interested in any of those...

More Strawberry Fields info coming soon….

 

Joanna

 

Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II

UPDATE: The program is sold out as of now. We are so very sorry that it went so fast. We are trying to see if we can add any more spots but it all depends on fabric availability and how many more bolts we can find. If you are interested in a spot, please email us and we will add you to the wait list. Please understand that we are just not set up as as a standard quilt store and don't have the capability to cut, prepare and ship an unlimited amount of kits. We started these programs as a way of reaching customers that don't have a good local quilt store near them and their popularity has grown so tremendously each time that there is simply no way for us to keep up! We have already doubled and then tripled our initial BOM spots and we just can't keep up with the demand. Please don't be upset and know and understand that we are doing all we can to add more spots but we can only do so many.

I know that our new Retro Farmhouse Wool Sampler came and went so quickly on social media that I didn't even get a chance to post about it here so this time around I figured I would post here first!

Join us for our second annual Fig Tree Mystery Sampler II. A perfect project to work along on for 2016, this sampler will be just that… a wonderful sampler filled with more of our favorite blocks in sizes from 6" to 18". The sampler will have our signature "Fig Tree" feel and so even though it is a mystery… you know that you will love it!

This time around we will incorporate a few of our more "modern" or fresh blocks including some letters of the alphabet and our very popular Daisy block.

The blocks will still have our classic vintage feel, as many of them will indeed by vintage blocks… those are always our favorites!

Each month you will receive instructions for several blocks and many of the months will also include stand alone Fig Tree patterns to add to your collection. Its a fabulous deal all the way around!

The project will start in January and continue through to December. The fabrics will be mostly the ones shown from our newest collections, Farmhouse and Strawberry Fields, with a few additions. There will easily be over 17 yards of fabric!

There is just nothing better than working on a project piece by piece each month and having an amazing heirloom project to show for it when the year comes to a close. The first Mystery Sampler is potentially my favorite quilt that we have ever made and so of course we had to do it again! I sure hope you will join us. Click HERE for more info or to sign up.

Looking forward to a fabulous 2016!!

Last Chance for Free Shipping!

Just wanted to make sure that everyone gets a chance to get their STRAWBERRY FIELDS PRE-ORDER KITS with FREE SHIPPING.

Today is the last day for that offer!

Click HERE to the link to the post… or just scroll down to the previous post for all the info you will need!

Happy quilt planning!

Joanna

Strawberry Fields Revisited!

Introducing... Strawberry Fields Revisited.

Out of all of our lines, the one that is requested the most by far is Strawberry Fields. For years I have been receiving pleas and requests to reprint those lovely Strawberry Fields prints but it was just not in the cards...

We are finally happy to announce that we have redone- not reprinted- but added to and created a whole new Strawberry Fields collection and named it Revisited. With some of the favorite prints from the original collection including the original large floral, dots and the gingham, this collection is a wonderful return to the favorites and a whole new group at the same time. We have added some wonderful new fresh vintage prints including my new favorite... a tiny little daisy in almost every color way in the collection... as well as a new taupe color that grounds all the rest and makes them sparkle!

Strawberry Fields Revisited ships to stores in January, 2015.