All Good Things....

Yes, it's true, all good things must come to an end...and so we announcing the end of our monthly Botanical Charm Bracelet Club.  Next month, October will be the last month to sign up for this bracelet club, which will finish October 2015.   But never fear...we are not one to sit on our laurels...we have two brand new monthly clubs coming in the New Year!  Get ready for a monthly fabric club and a monthly jewelry club!  Cause it's always fun to get a little something-something in the mail!
Sign up here for the Botanical Charm Bracelet Club and receive a beautiful bracelet kit every month for six months or a year!

A Little Late to the Party!

I apologize for the delay in posting the Moda Love Tour Winners!  I loved reading about what you LOVE about quilting...thank you!  Since I am late...I will send out fabric to twice as many winners!  And the winners are....

Pat Addler

Kathy Gates

Beanstalk

Michele Deedy

Diane Remmer

Barbara Woods

Becky Babcock

Tina McNamara

Please send me your address to notions@frenchgeneral.com and I will send you some beautiful new fabric to start working with!  Be sure to write BLOG WINNER in the subject line of the email.

MERCI!

Moda LOVE Blog Tour

Welcome to the LOVE tour!  This is Moda's annual September blog hop featuring all of their designers and today is the French General day!

We are excited to launch our upcoming collection, Rue Indienne... in stores any day now!  Here is a sneak peek at our collection of patterns for Rue Indienne, designed and sewn by our fabulous quilting team, including Penny, Cheryl, Deb and Kim...

Rue Indienne Quilt Pattern

When did you fall in LOVE with quilting/ textiles? 

I fell in love with textiles first!  Twenty years ago, I was traveling in the South of France and started seeing the linen sheets and old linen floral curtain panels at the flea markets.  There were piles of old fabric - and I started buying as much as I could carry back to the car. I had no idea that textiles would change my life forever and lead me down a path of collecting 18th and 19th century fabric that would eventually become the basis for our fabric collection with Moda.

Last year I worked on Michele Muska's new book, Quilting the New Classics, and was determined to learn to quilt!  I started with a sampler quilt but got hung up on the flying geese block!  Then I tried a jelly roll quilt and found that I could piece with my eyes closed...well almost!  I haven't quilted anything since but I assure you, I have a garage full of fabric and someday, someday, I will be quilting in my spare time!

Romani Bleu Quilt Pattern

 What fuels you to create? 

Besides inventing new Jelly Belly combinations, (which is the fastest way to make me feel sick - but I still love it!) my creativity is fueled by color, texture and anything old and used.  When I feel totally depleted and lacking of any inspiration, I find myself going back to my collection of old quilts and fabric and I always seem to find something I had missed...a small repair or stitched initials or an additional fabric hidden under an old quilt...it's these little details that feed me and inspire me.  

Haute Bohemian Quilt Pattern

What is the best part of your design process?

The best part of my design process is working with the people I work with...my husband JZ, the great staff at FG, the design team at Moda and the friends I have made in the quilting industry.  I never imagined I would become part of such a creative group...and I love it!

La Vie Boheme Quilt Pattern

I LOVE the color......

I think we all know my favorite color...it starts with an R and ends with a D!

Reticule Pattern

When I teach classes or workshops, I LOVE.....

Learning something new from my students!  I have taught our Indigo Workshop dozens of times, but I still love it when a student comes up with a new design technique or dyes a fabric that makes the indigo look totally modern and fresh...there is always something new to learn and teaching workshops is the best way to learn!

This project features a layer cake, charm pack or mini charm, but what is your all time favorite moda precut?

My all time favorite precut is the mini charm!  We are working on our upcoming 2015 Mini Charm Monthly Club which will feature a mini charm and a monthly project...thanks to one of my favorite quilters and FG employee, Amy!  More details to come in December!

Here is the pattern for the layer cake quilt from Moda:

http://www.unitednotions.com/Moda-Love-Layer-Cake-Quilt.pdf

And finally....leave us a note about what you LOVE about quilting...we will pick a handful of winners and send out some of our new Rue Indienne precuts!  Merci!

Be sure to visit all of the Moda designers on the tour:

SEPTEMBER 8, 2014
April Rosenthal – http://www.aprilrosenthal.com/
French General – http://frenchgeneral.blogspot.com/
Minick and Simpson – http://minickandsimpson.blogspot.com/

SEPTEMBER 9, 2014
Cotton Way – http://cottonway.blogspot.com/
Sandy Gervais – http://piecesfrommyheart-sgervais.blogspot.com/
Primitive Gatherings – http://lisabongean.wordpress.com/

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014
Bunny Hill – http://bunnyhillblog.com/
Deb Strain -  http://debstrain.blogspot.com/
Kansas Troubles – http://kansastroublesquilters-lynne.blogspot.com/

SEPTEMBER 11, 2014
Kathy Schmitz – http://kathyschmitzstudio.blogspot.com/
Laundry Basket Quilts – http://www.laundrybasketquilts.com/blog/index.php
Zen Chic – http://www.farbstoff-bridge.blogspot.com

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014
Me and My Sister Designs – http://meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/
Jan Patek – http://janpatek.blogspot.com/
Sweetwater – http://sweetwater.typepad.com/makelifesweet