:: ...introducing 'Bespoke Blooms'

It's coming in May!

Just in time for spring to be in full 'bloom'... & summer knocking on the door...

Bespoke Blooms will arrive in May! (I'm so excited!)

There's a little story behind this special line - starting with the fact that its making it's debut a wee bit later than I originally planned - but because of my broken wrist at the end of 2014 - I wasn't able to use my hand to draw & couldn't get all the artwork completed in time for the mill to have enough time to prepare it for Fall Market 2015.

So - even though it will be a bit late for the all the spring lines debut (that's Fall Market) - I'm still very excited about the timing of it's arrival. Right around May - we are all itching for fresh air & all that is crisp, clean & airy to fill our days, & I think that the prints in Bespoke Blooms will 'fit the bill' perfectly!

The term 'bespoke' refers to things that are specially made & the Bespoke Blooms collection is specially made & perfect for lovely quilts. The small scale makes them perfect for the quilts I like to call 'littles'. The sweet floral prints & coordinating tone-on-tone prints, stripes & classic ginghams create a wonderful palette for quilts ranging from  lovely 'littles' to everything bigger, charming home decor, & even sweet garments.

 

I've had a lot of fun creating the new patterns for this line - each with a larger version of the quilt design & a 'littles' or mini version as well.

The first one is 'Bailey'... it's an updated version of my earlier 'Bailey' quilt (...named after my favorite fluffy little man). It comes in sizes ranging from 80"x 80"  down to a 'little' 15" x 15"!

Next is Mills Cabin - another updated pattern for several years back. We've gotten so many requests for it (& ran out of stock!) that I thought is best to update it & also add a 'little' version(!) You will notice that for the larger quilt (68" x 68") I used the latest 3 Sisters line 'Larkspur'... (I love this line!) - & for the 'little' version (17" x 17") - I used my Bespoke Blooms fabrics.

Inspired by a vintage quilt (as so many of my designs are!) - Stepping Stones is special because I have a soft spot for nine-patches. (sigh). There's just something about their simplicity that I just love. (... this would also make a wonderful almost-beginner quilt!) It features two colors & a background fabric - adding to the clean fresh look. The large quilt is 78" x 78" & the littles is 26" x 26".

The final pattern is Ella. Sweet Ella. This is one of those designs where you can feature a few colors - or go real scrappy... Ella is definitely sweet that way. The large quilt is 72" x 72" & the littles is 22" x 22".

All of the patterns (paper & PDF version) will be up on the website early next week.

And there's more!...

Coming mid-March, a sweet little booklet - filled with 'littles'... classic quilt designs - all in miniature versions (littles!)... (I'm so excited about this!) More about these 'little' lovelies soon!

Moda reps are out on the road(s) - showing my Bespoke Blooms collection to quilt shops all over - so be sure to let your local quilt shop know that you would like to have Bespoke Blooms nearby for you!

♥ Bren

:: Moda All-Stars All in a Row blog hop!

A little over a year ago, I was so pleased to be asked to be a part of this wonderfully fun project… a book that Moda & Martingale Publishers were planning called ‘Moda All-Stars All in a Row’.  We were each asked to design a row & the book is filled with all those rows as well as wonderful ‘filler’ rows designed by Moda’s own Lissa Alexander. 

I chose a spring theme & my row is called Garland Knot. I made mine from my Ambleside fabrics & it was so much fun to make!

A fun part about this blog hop - is that I also get to make someone else’s row… & I got to make the adorable row by Carrie Nelson… called Row Houses! This is Carrie’s row…

… & this is mine! (…in process!)

I’m making mine from my upcoming line, Bespoke Blooms, & I’ve made mine with three houses (or as my friend called them ‘beach houses’!) - so that I can finish it to fit on a smaller wall that leads to my kitchen area. That’s the fun of these rows & this book - is that you can make them to fit you (…&/or the person you want to make a special treat for!)

If you decide to play along with us… & make my row (Garland Knot) - or - if you decide to use any of my Moda fabric lines - Ambleside or Windermere  - for your row quilt - be sure to share it & tag it on Instagram with #garlandknot, or #rowbyrowAmbleside, or #rowbyrowWindermere, or @brengr, (or you can email me (brendariddledesigns@comcast.net) a photo of your row(s) if you aren’t on Instagram) so that I will be sure to see it! Then on March 15, I will draw for a prize from all the entries! I can hardly wait to see what you do!

One of the very special things about this book is that all proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to No Kid Hungry, an organization dedicated to ending childhood hunger in America. You can find more info about them here:   https://www.nokidhungry.org

Also, just to hep you get started…. if you leave a comment to this post - I will be drawing the name from all comments & someone will win a copy of Moda All-Stars Row By Row! I will draw a name on Saturday, January 22 & send your book to you. (Please be sure that your comment is not listed as a ‘no-reply’ email listing! I need to be able to email you!)

Be sure to see all the other rows & the fun from the makers! Here is a schedule of the hop:

January 18:  Brenda Riddle (here!)  & Carrie Nelson

January 19:  Corey Yoder  &  Janet Clare

January 20:  Me & My Sister  &  Barbara Brackman

January 21:  Pat Sloan  &  Edyta Sitar

January 22:  Camille Roskelley  &  Kathy Schmitz

January 23:  Sweetwater  &  Blackbird Designs

January 24:  Anne Sutton  &  Laurie Simpson

January 25:  Lisa Bongean  &  Joanna Figueroa

January 26:  Betsy Chutchian  &  Jen Kingwell

January 27:  Kate Spain  &  Sandy Gervais

January 28:  Kaari Meng  &  Kansas Troubles

Besides this fun blog hop… Martingale & Moda have a super contest that will start as soon as this blog hop ends! Here’s a bit of info to peak your interest!

 It’s a Beauty of a Contest 

#allinarowquiltalong

·    Contest entries will begin February 1 and runs for 6 weeks. Contest ends March 15 

·    Participants will need to buy the ‘Moda All-Stars All In A Row’ book, make your   

favorite row(s), join the Facebook group #AllInARowQuiltAlong and post a picture with your quilt top of rows joined together. 

                One row= one entry. 

                Two rows=two entries, etc. 

Your Facebook name is the name that will be entered into the contest. (open only to US entrants) 

·    For every row in your entry - you get an entry in to the It’s a Beauty of a Book Contest. There will be 5 prizes - like the five finalists in a pageant—plus weekly random drawings for related “beauty” prizes. All will be drawn from entries from above.

THESE PRIZES ARE OUTSTANDING, SO EVERYONE WILL WANT TO JOIN IN!! 

All In A Row Quilt-Along Queen (first prize) - FQ pack every month for 9 months (April to December 2016) + two new release books of the month for 9 months (April to December 2016) from Martingale. Company to determine which fabric/book, but May book will be Moda All-Stars Scraps Made Simple for anyone winning that month’s prize! 

All In A Row Beauty Book first runner up (second prize) F8 pack every month for 6 months (April to August 2016) + two new release books of the month for 6 months (April to August 2016) from Martingale. Company to determine which fabric/book. 

All In A Row Beauty Book second runner up (third prize) Layer Cake every month for 4 months (April to July 2016) + one new release book of the month for 4 months (April to July 2016) from Martingale. Company to determine which fabric/book. 

All In A Row Beauty Book third runner up (fourth prize) Layer Cake each month for 2 months (April and May 2016) + one new release book of the month for 2 months (April and May 2016) from Martingale. Company to determine which fabric/book. 

All In A Row Beauty Book fourth runner up (fifth prize) one Layer Cake pack (April 2016) + one new release book of the month for April 2016 from Martingale. Company to determine which fabric/book. 

THERE WILL ALSO BE SOME OTHER PRIZES! -  

Weekly Drawings from weeks 2-3-4-5: 

• Miss Congeniality: (wait for it) 2 Charm Packs and 1 Book 

• Talent Winner (hidden or otherwise): 2 books and 2 Mini-Charms

• Stash Accumulation Award: 1 Mini Charm, 1 Charm Pack, 1 Layer Cake + 3 books 

• Social Media Butterfly Award: Carrie Nelson's House Row See!! This is gonna be a lot of fun!

See!!! . . . This is going to be a lot of fun!

♥ Bren