Tuesday, June 3, 2014

A Perfect Picnic (with TWO GIVEAWAYS!)

The giveaway is now closed and the winners have been emailed :)

Hello, and happy blog hop day!  John and I had a really nice time on our picnic, I'm going to tell you all about it in a moment and show you some pictures (ok lots, and this was me cutting back, it may take a minute to load).  And after I share our adventure, you will have the opportunity to enter one of TWO giveaways!  One will be for US residents, the other for our international visitors.
Also, be sure to visit our sponsors for this hop:
 
&


Here are the other who share this lovely day with me:
Wednesday June 4

 
Quilt
So first off, when I caught whiff of a possible picnic hop I was very excited.  I'd been making blocks last summer with the idea of using them for a car quilt, hadn't made any more progress on it since, and here was a golden opportunity!  It would also count as a busted UFO for this year which is so nice.  At the time the hop was announced I had all the outer blocks finished, I just needed to finish the center medallion and had already cut the diamonds for one.  And I'm going to toot my own horn on my point matching, because it took me redoing one of the points 6-7 times before I finally started marking and pinning them, and here's what you get when you do that:
 
Practically perfect!

Here's the center and top all put together:
 
 
In case you're wondering, the majority of the red, white, and blue fabric came from Keepsake Quilting, then I added some of the whites and the gray from my LQS Stash, who some of you may recognize as being a featured store in the latest Quilt Sampler.  The blue came from the quilt shop in Pomeroy, WA called Rather-Be's, who I discovered when we held my Great-Grandma's 90th birthday in their retreat center a month ago.  They carry a lot of fabric especially for Quilts of Valor.
Then I created the back out of jean material donated by my Grandpa Jim, Uncle Jerry, dad, John, and myself.  I actually used up the majority of my collection to make this, but that's ok, mom has like 4 bins of jeans in the basement that I plan on raiding in the future... ha!  Like she'd let me!
 
It was John's idea to mimic the front using the dark and light materials.  To get the light star points I had to turn my jeans inside out though, but it's jeans, you can't really tell it's the insides.  And I love how the checkerboard pattern looks!  Also, really liked how quickly the 6 inch points go together as apposed to the 2.5 inch.
This quilt has a lot of firsts for me in it: fussy cut, applique, flying geese, lone star, inner and outer borders, sashing, and working with jeans.  I also used a 1 inch thick poly batting I got at JoAnn Fabrics (it was on sale, 50% off), and it was way less expensive than buying multiple precut battings ($7 vs $60, totally worth it).  I am going to write another post in a couple days that will chronicle more of the making of this quilt, so be sure to come back and visit me for a more in-depth look, and some good pointers I have for the whole Y-seam and point-matching adventure.
 
Basket
Apparently I needed to explore the Peterboro Baskets website more thoroughly because I sure wish I'd gotten our basket from them!  Especially since they are so generously offering a discount right now (20% off use QUILT as your coupon code thru September 30th) and it's free shipping in the US.  They have a picnic basket for two that I would really love to have, and will probably pick up here in the future.
We found a basket from Hobby Lobby that cost almost the same, but the quality is really lacking, especially in the strength of the handle.  However, we made do!  The post previous to this one shows how I made a reversible picnic basket liner for it.  Here's how it turned out:
 
 
 
Menu
For our menu we decided to take a bunch of snack-type food since a full meal wouldn't be a relaxing for us.  I found a mini watermelon, summer sausage, a party cheese mix that I cut up myself, we had a bunch of Ritz crackers already, some Easy Cheese for me, pretzels, carrots and homemade vege dip (I'll share the recipe in another post) and Coca Cola in glass bottles:
This Pampered Chef cutting board is the perfect size to take on a picnic, and their knives all come with protective cases too.
I may be a Pampered Chef consultant, but I do love my Tupperware as well!
It all looks so festive loaded in the basket!  Oh, that white lid is covering some M&M's I took along and never ate, I'm actually eating them as I write this post!

Picnic
Setting up on the banks of Mill Creek :)  This is the back part of my parent's land, we affectionately refer to their land as Rocky Acres.  You can see how pretty the California Poppies and Bachelor Buttons were that day.
We were concentrating really hard on getting our colas to clink hahaha

A lovely snack plate.

John splashing around, it was ~80 degrees, so this was very cooling he said.

I chose to lay on the quilt and eat some more while he played in the water.  The pillow was a good idea to bring along, next time we'll take two.

Enjoying the breeze.

Wait!  A breeze?  Why, that's why I have kites!  So we busted out this Americana one my grandmother actually MADE, and I promptly broke it.  Now I need to find a new spar, we may be in for a road trip :)

Fortunately I brought more than one kite, so we still got to fly for a while.

This was John's second time flying, he's a quick learner.
It was nice to take some time for ourselves with no plan, just to go out to the property and do what we please.  We had also brought along the cribbage board to play but it was too breezy for cards to be laying about this time.  We'll try again this weekend.

GIVEAWAYS!!
 

Giveaway #1 - United States only (see stipulations below)
OH YES!  You're seeing this right, I have for my United States viewers this very lovely, local, bottle of Riesling!  I live in Walla Walla, WA, and we are becoming very well know for our wines.
I do have some stipulations however, as shipping is pretty strict for wine.  As I said before, this is limited to United States readers.  And I am unable to ship to anyone in Massachusetts, North Dakota, New Hampshire, and Utah.  And it's very important that an adult be there to sign for it's arrival, because if it gets returned to me I'm not trying again, I will keep it and will use it to cook with.  (I understand some people view this as sinful... lol)
 
Giveaway #2-International and MA, ND, NH, UT residents
One of the most summer-rific charm packs I could find!  Bartholo-meow's Reef by tim&beck for Moda.  I think this is just too much fun, and it's both boy and girl friendly if you use the right filler colors with this charm pack.  I can't get over that walrus's smirk heeheehee!
 
OK!  Here's how you enter:
Leave me a comment with your city and state/country.  You may also feel free to leave kind words, I always love that of course.  And I shall do my best to respond to you all!  This giveaway will be open until June 10th, and I will use the random number generator to do my drawings, then contact the winners on the 11th.
 
Thank you for visiting, I hope you'll stop by in a few days for my post on making my quilt, and remember the post below shows how I made my picnic basket liner.  Have a fabulous summer, I bet I'll see you in July for some Christmas happenings!
 
~Brandy

74 comments:

Amy said...

I love your picnic blanket. It looks like the two of you really had a great afternoon. Now, I know why you recognized my pie pan. :0) Thanks for sharing your special picnic with all of us.

Scrapatches said...

I love your patriotic picnic blanket. The fabrics and layout is very striking. I also like the backing. Recycling jeans is a great idea for a picnic quilt back. Thanks for sharing your picnic ... looks like lots of fun! Thanks also for the chance in your giveaway. I live in Massachusetts ... :) Pat

Judy B said...

What a fun day, I love kites! Your quilt and basket liner are wonderful! Thank you for sharing. I live in Calif.

Mary said...

Brandy you did a fine job on your picnic quilt. I love the star, Thank you so much for participating, Oh, by the way, I live in Illinois.

Anita said...

I love your quilt, Brandy, the front is gorgeous and the jeans star on the back is fantastic! You did a great job and it seems that both of you had a wonderful time with your menu and the kites.
I live inNorway.

Carla said...

Brandy, your quilt is perfect for a picnic and the denim is perfect for the back. You have perfect taste in picnic color. I really like the ice cream cone in the corner. Thanks for sharing your beautiful picnic of rest and kite flying. I'm in Dodge City, Kansas.

Nancy said...

Brandi Your Quilt is just Stunning!! I am not a experienced Quilter by any means but I remember all those first in a Block I made for one of Madame Sams Blog Hops a couple years ago. Firsts are fun and challenging! Thaanks for sharing your Perfect Picnic with us, and so many fun things you shared!! I'll be back for that Tutorial in a couple days too. I also live in this Great State of WA! Lacey, WA

Huggs, Nancy

Charlene McCain said...

Your quilt is gorgeous and I love your basket liner. Next time I go on a picnic, I'm packing a pillow, too! Great pictures!

charlotte said...

Love love love your quilt. The back is as creative as the front.

Shari said...

Oh what a fun post. Lovely quilt! Love that basket liner too! Writing from Quebec, Canada

Debby said...

Beautiful quilt - I am partial to lone stars. All your pics of your pic-nic were fabulous. Looks like you had a grand time. So many wonderful details - I enjoyed it all!

Anonymous said...

Great opportunity to finish your beautiful quilt, and the picnic settings are just beautiful, I love poppies in every colour variations!
Thanks for the chance of winning something, who knows, I am living in Switzerland :-)
Judy

Sparky said...

Ohhhh my word Brandy...what a detailed perfect points btw, stunning star quilt....really you did an amazing job....soooo darn of proud of you...your picnic looked soooo scrumptious in every way...I bet you will be doing more picnics...thanks so much for bringing us along...we would fly with you any day...

Elizabeth Coughlin said...

Your quilt is stunning!! Your picnic looks like it was a lot of fun. I'm in MA so no wine for me lol, but thanks for being so generous!

Thearica said...

Your picnic quilt is fabulous! and flying kites looks like so much fun!

StitchinByTheLake said...

Your quilt is awesome and I love the back as much as the front - who knew you could do that with jeans! And your basket liner....so perfect. Your menu is just my style except I might be known to have more than one piece of watermelon. :) I live in Hot Springs, Arkansas and we've got some great places to fly kites too. :) blessings, marlene

Late Night Quilter said...

Wow! I would never have thought to use the lights and darks of jeans to make such a beautiful star. Your hubby is a quilting genius! I can't wait to hear the details of construction. Will you share your pinning and marking method that leftover those perfect points? I am in Lakeway, TX. It's so nice that you're doing two giveaways. So thoughtful.

Connie Kresin Campbell said...

What fun to see your picnic and using the insides of the jeans was neat! I live in Iowa.

Carol Swift said...

Your quilt is beautiful, both front and back! I love how you created the light/dark effect with the jeans...so cool! Great pics of your picnic and quilts. I live in UT.

krislovesfabric said...

Greetings from Indiana :) Fun post with a great quilt...I have a pile of jeans that I plan to make into a picnic quilt...good for you on getting it done!!

Mokki said...

Hello from Britain! The jeans side of your quilt looks great, what a nifty way to use up old jeans! Your picnic made me hungry, I'm going to go and find some cheese and biscuits!

Kay said...

I live in Lincoln, England. I love the quilt, the points really are perfect but i especially love the addition of the ice cream cone in the corner. Thanks for a fun giveaway too. x

Linda said...

Your quilt is beautiful and your day looks so relaxing!

Cotton Blossom said...

Hi, I live in Covington, GA. It is very nice to meet you. I enjoyed your post and your quilt is beautiful. I love the denim side lights and darks. Thanks for the inspiration and I hop you have a great summer!

Susie said...

Hi Brandy I live in Little Eaton, Derbyshire, England which is very pretty place to live as we have hills and moors and beautiful places to walk. Love your picnic quilt and the place you chose for it, especially the water. Thanks for the Giveaway and sharing. Susie x

Anonymous said...

Both of your quilts are stunning - especially the denim one. I live in a very small summer village in Alberta, Canada. Thanks!

Needled Mom said...

I LOVE your quilt and the jeans arrangement is fabulous. I need to try that with my old jeans. We love visiting the wineries in Walla Walla. You guys have gotten quite big in the wines and your town has really grown! We live in the Central Coast of CA - warmer weather wines.

Corrie said...

Hi Brandy, what a great picnic. I'm in awe of the levi quilt. Looks like a fun day. It must be nice to be so close to your parents.

Suze said...

What great quilts. Your piecing is amazing on the medallion. I'm not sure I'd have the patience for that. The fabrics are beautiful in it and go together beautifully. I love the jeans, too. How creative to use both sides of the jeans. Sometimes, I forget that there really is no "right" side to the fabric. When I learned to sew, there was a definite right side to a fabric - always, no question asked. And it was clear which was the right side. Your picnic is delightful complete with kites. I don't remember ever flying a kite. I had one and never had any success with it. Thank you for participating in the hop and being a great inspiration. You have me wanting to make a medallion quilt even more. You are very generous with your giveaway, too. Blessings to you!

Tanya Quilts in CO said...

Riesling is my favorite wine! I live in Montrose, Colorado

Linda C said...

Wowie on the Lone Star with pieced blocks all around it! You did a great job on it and the pieced jeans. That was the backing, right?? Great idea to tone down the color by using the back side. Looks like you and John had a wonderful time on your picnic. I must say you are making me hungry looking at the food choices, LOL. (I'm planning on heading out for mine in a few mins and didn't have much breakfast!)

Calicojoan said...

Gorgeous quilt. Your points are not nearly perfect...they ARE perfect. (even though you used the dreaded P word) Pinning! LOL!! I love the back. I have a ton of jeans myself, and just might have to dig thru my stash now too! ;-) What a great give a way. I live in Denver Colorado, and would gladly wait on the curb for the mailman to sign for it! hahahahaha Wishing you many more lovely picnics with your quilt!

Susan E said...

Can't wait to try to the picnic basket liner. Brilliant and very timely! We are in Memphis, Tn where most picnics have BBQ or fried chicken and wine is always welcome!

Unknown said...

I had to make a basket liner for a gift basket. After seeing your post I wish i had padded it, too! Oh well... yessewingisfun@yahoo.com in Chino Valley, AZ.

Gill said...

Great quilt - it looks as though you had a fabulous picnic !
I'm in the UK !

Amanda Murphy said...

You did such a lovely job piecing that quilt! Love the lone star!

Julie S said...

Hello neighbor! Well, we are in the same state, anyways--I live in Renton. Your picnic has been my favorite so far in this hop. You eat the same kind of picnic foods that I like to eat. If you come to the greater Seattle area, my favorite picnic spot is the Ballard Locks, especially on Sunday afternoon. People are coming back after boating over the weekend, and it is quite entertaining to see the variety of boats and their people who may or may not be a little giddy with the stuff of your giveaway! Or they may just be overly tired.

BTW, I love the addition of grey to the red/white/blue quilt. I will have to remember to use it in my patriotic quilts!

Chiska said...

I love both your quilts! I'm especially interested in what you have to say about the Jean quilt. It looks fantastic!

Mara said...

I love Up-cycling and you did a wonderful job on making such a beautiful quilt. I live in Kalampaka, Greece.

Unknown said...

I love the jean side to your quilt!! I always wanted to try a jean quilt (even saved all my kids jeans from 20 years ago). I am afraid it will be to bulky for my sewing machine. I am just going to close my eyes and do it. :) I am from Coquille, Oregon, USA.
craftyccain@gmail.com

Linda said...

What a super back, love the use od old jeans.

gpc said...

I love your quilt, never would have thought of using old jeans and love the way it looks. Bet it's soft, too! And what a nice picnic! I'm in Saginaw, Michigan. :)

Lee said...

I love the backing you used for your lovely quilt! Looked like a perfect day for picnic! thank you! Hello from Troy, Michigan!

Deonn said...

Brandy, this looks like such a lovely picnic! The quilt is wonderful - great way to repurpose the old jeans, too. And thanks for sharing your tutorial on the basket liner down below. What a beautiful place for a picnic, dipping toes in the stream and flying a kite... a perfect day!

Deonn said...

Oh, and I'm in Heber City, Utah!

Cindy said...

I'm picking up so many fun tips for picnic quilts on this hop and yours gives me one more - jeans for the back! What's more rugged than jeans? Love it. Great job on the lone star...perfect points. :)
I'm a fellow Washingtonian....however I hail from the wet side! :)

Doris Rice, The Quilting Queen said...

I absolutely LOVE the quilt. First it's red,white, blue and second it's a Lone Star; two of my favs! Also love the jeans backing; it's so sturdy and perfect for a picnic. Looks like you had a great time on your picnic. Mine is yet to come on Monday.

Kathy @ Kwilty Pleasures said...

Beautiful kwilt, great recycle idea for jeans. And WINE...now yiu have my FULL attention. LOL

Patty said...

what a great quilt and a super picnic. Looks like you have fun. I'm visiting from North Carolina, near Raleigh.

Dorothy said...

I am from Richland, WA! Yes, we're practically neighbors :) I have driven by Rather Be's lots and keep meaning to stop and check them out, somehow I haven't managed to do that yet. your day looks like it was a very special one, and I enjoyed seeing your quilts. I have a bunch of jeans I have been trying to figure out what to do with, I think I have found my design. (nothing beats a late harvest Reisling :) )Thank you for sharing.

Sarah said...

I am from Pennsylvania. Beautiful quilt! I love the jean back. sarah@forrussia.org

OhioLori said...

I live in Mansfield, Ohio USA Love your Quilt & you guy's had such a fun Picnic Day!!! Beautiful pictures!!

Marcy said...

All the blue skies bring out the colors in your quilt. It's a beauty and perfect for picnics through the summer with several patriotic holidays. I'm visiting from So. Cal's wine country.

Sewgirl said...

Wow! I love all your picnic items…and your photos really capture your fun day. My mom once made a quilt with jeans on the back for picnics…although not as cute as yours, but it's great fabric for a picnic quilt backing! I live in California...

Joan H. said...

I enjoyed your picnic right along with you. Such a lovely surroundings and picnic supplies. I would never have thought of using old jeans in that way. Clever girl!!

Janarama said...

Beautiful patriotic picnic quilt, both the front and the back. Looks like you had an enjoyable afternoon. I live in the western burbs of Chicago, IL.

Cloud 9 said...

Lovely quilt. The two of you look like you are having a great time. I live in Minnesota. We have some pretty good wineries here but I do remember from a trip to Washington that the wine was delicious!

Unknown said...

Hi there, I live in Atascadero ( pretty funny to hear people pronounce it ) in California. I love Riesling & I very much like your quilt!

Jetza said...

Wow, the picnic blanket is adorable, Love it! I'm from WA too, I'm not that good of a quilter but I'm eager to learn :D

Jane's Quilting said...

What a beautiful quilt...and what a great idea to imitate the front with jeans. You did a tremendous job. I live in Dresden, Tennessee. (pinsnneedles@outlook.com)

Wendy said...

what a fab picnic blanket! I love the back made from jeans - I thought you'd just make a simple pieced back but it's almost as amazing as the front!

I'm in England

Jo said...

What a great picnic blanket! The jeans are such a good idea! The few times I have sewn with jeans even using a denim needle I have really struggled with the fabric. I live in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Anda W said...

I live in beautful Ontario, Canada and am quite enjoying the beautiful spring that we so deserve after a brutally cold and icy winter! Love your quilting projects, I am jealous of your talent! awolk at rogers dot comw

Sheila said...

Love your picnic quilt. A great use for jeans! psfitzgerald@tx.rr.com

Bonnie said...

Love your quilt (both sides). I live outside of Maquoketa (fun to hear people try to pronounce this one,too), Iowa. Thanks for sharing and for the chance to win.

nicolesender said...

Greetings from Tacoma, WA! Great picnic quilt! I especially like your jean quilt design. Your picnic treats look yummy!
nicolesender(at)yahoo(dot)com

Helen said...

I especially like your jeans-fabric back - how clever! And the basket liner is so smart. I am from Manhattan, Kansas living on Tuttle Creek Lake. I think it's time for a picnic on the boat!

Anonymous said...
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Quilter Kathy said...

What a great picnic! Fantastic idea to bring kites... so fun!
Looks like you had a great time!
I'm in Ontario, Canada and am enjoying the blog hop so much!

Brenda said...

Looks like you two had a lot of fun on that picnic. You're sure you still have the wine to give away? In all seriousness, I really like the grey as an offset to the RWB in the quilt. Makes it restful on the eyes as well as bright and cheery. And the blue sky couldn't look more perfect for kite flying!

Michelle said...

Looks like a great time. Your quilts are wonderful.

Unknown said...

I love the basket liner. What a great idea.
Have another lovely day

LJ said...

I totally love your basket liner; it adds some wonderful color to the basket plus look at the added padding for the wine bottle and other incidentals! Your quilt is wonderul - the jeans fabric was perfect.

Cate said...

Hi Brandy, thank you so much for visiting my blog and leaving such helpful tips for the wedding cake I'm making, so kind of you! I had no idea about the flower spikes, I thought they would maybe just get plonked on - doh! I love the quilt you made, especially the back, how cute do those denim shapes look?! x