Hey Quilty Friends, it's been a busy couple months, and I have not had much time to share my journey, so lets catch up!! 
Sew.... we bought a new home just North of Austin Texas, in beautiful Lago Vista, we are just a short walk from our own private park on Lake Travis and we are officially done with moving boxes.  We closed on our home March 1st, and for the next several weeks we had the home builder send out his crews to customize my new sewing space.  We had some bumps, as many construction projects do, but we made it through them, and I am officially sewing and taking new orders!  My studio is filled with IKEA furniture, and lots of natural sunlight!  My hubby hung curtains, and peg board & dry erase boards, my son helped me put together endless shelves to store my fabric, and I painted cabinets!  It was a team effort for a few weeks, and gosh my back hurt and my head throbbed, but it's DONE.  The batting has been delivered, and new clients have already stopped by to drop off beautiful projects.  I even had friends from Montana stop by :)  I got to do some super secret sewing for The Fat Quarter Shop, and well, lets just say, some Lori Holt creations may or may not have been in my room.  There are so many projects I can't share yet, but I have a few that you might like to see.  Wanna see my room?  

Ok, so I still need to hang some new fun things on my walls and add a few personal touches, but the big stuff is done! 
You wanna see the down and dirty ones from the messy part, well sure you do!! Oh gosh y'all, it was a such a mess! LOL    

So I decided we should celebrate the new room, and give YOU some freebies!! 
That means, I will be offering one FREE pantograph for the first quilt you send to me for long arm service.  So if you have seen some really awesome pantos out there lately, you just tell me what you'd like, and I will do my best to get the panto for you, then we can finish your quilt together!  You still have to pay for the long arm service of course, but you get to pick the edge to edge design from Urban Elements!!
So click those green letters you just passed up, pick out your favorite panto, let me know when you ship me your quilt, and lets have some fun!!  

Oh wait... I almost forgot.  Now that the cat is out of the bag and you already saw my Lori Holt Farm Girl 2 Sampler pictures, I can totally encourage you to go buy the book.  This quilt is soooo fabulous!  I mean really fun, and you totally need to add it to your list!!  
Here's the link, just in case you'd like to check it out....
Lori Holt Farm Girl Vintage 2 Quilt Kit 

Thanks for checking out my new sewing room, feel free to stop by if you are in the area, just text me and let me know first, so we can make sure I'm not sewing in my pj's (it happens LOL) Or, if you are not in the area, I would love for you to mail your quilts and trust me with your creations! Visit my Long Arm Quilting tab here on my website for more info...
Happy Sewing Y'all!  Thanks for all who have supported my journey!
Gina Tell

In honor of Worldwide Quilting Day my friends at The Fat Quarter Shop asked me to do some long arm quilting on a very FUN & FREE pattern to celebrate, so of course I need to share the love and all the details with all my quilty friends!!   
**Here's the FREE Pattern to give to you to commemorate our favorite day of the year. The pattern is called the Piece, Love & Quilting Quiltand we made our versions using Bella Solids by Moda Fabrics. We also have kits for the Mini Piece Love & Quilting Quilt (top) and the Lap Piece Love & Quilting Quilt (bottom) to help you make Piece, Love & Quilting quilts like ours (picture below)!

How to Participate:
ANYONE is eligible to participate in this contest! All you need is the FREE Piece, Love & Quilting Pattern and some fabric and you’re ready to go! The challenge will run from today, March 16, 2019, to Sunday, March 31, 2019. The wall hanging finishes at 22.5″ x 26.5″ and you can leave as a wall hanging or take a creative spin and turn it into any project you’d like!
How to Submit:
Your Project PhotosYou will need to have your Piece, Love & Quilting project made, photographed and uploaded to this Dropbox by noon (12PM) CST on Sunday, March 31 to be eligible to participate. The linkwill expire at 12PM CST on Sunday, March 31, 2019.

Click the link below for the full details on The Fat Quarter Shop Blog! 
Here's the LINK  :)
Have Fun, I can't wait to see all your creations! 

Hey y’all, we have been knee deep in packing boxes, tape, and ibuprofen lol!
We bought a new home in Lago Vista, you’ll soon be able to find me in the North portion of Austin Texas,
right on Lake Travis! It’s a beautiful area, and I hope you’ll stop by and visit when my new shop is done if you are local! But, in the meantime, I’ll have to take a little break from sewing 🙁
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I can’t wait to show ya my new sewing room though, so I hope you’ll stick around for some great giveaways to celebrate the new location! I’ll be in touch soon.....

I thought I'd share a few of the new pantographs that I have available and let you see a few pictures of them in action!  I still offer custom quilting, and I will always love the personalized touch it gives a beautiful quilt, but I have to admit, the edge to edge panto's are really fabulous!

I stock the following digital pantos by My Creative Stitches:
Caramel by the Sea 
Holly-n-Ribbons
Moon and Flowers 
Songbird
Sea of Stars ​
​But.... you can visit mycreativestitches.com and look through more designs and let me know what I can stock just for you!

I stock the following Urban Elements digital pantos:
Abacus
African Heat Wave
Beaded Orange Peel
Cute Curls 
Easy Orange Peel
Exquisite
Fronds
You can also visit Urban Elementz and look around, if you'd like me to stock a design just for you, let me know!

I am so excited to announce that I have finally upgraded my Handi Quilter Long Arm machine, and I will soon be able to provide computerized long arm quilting service!!!  This means in addition to my custom long arm service, you will be able pick a computerized design and I will be able to pass on great pricing to you! This is so awesome!!  

I will be doing to some training with Handi Quilter experts over the next several weeks to make sure I can provide great designs with fast turn around times!!  

I'm pretty excited, because I was asked to be a sewer for the book, so the blocks in the book were made by me, and now I finally get to show you my Bella Beauties in a completed quilt!!  ​

Since I am also a long arm quilter, I got to have some fun with circles for this one!  All my circles here were quilted on my Handi Quilter Long Arm and they were all done freehand, so no pattern was followed.  I thought it looked great with the Ombre Confetti Metallic by V & C backing fabric, this quilt is just so innocent and fun, don't you think!!  If you'd like to use some of the Bella Solids that I used, here are the links... 
Pink Bella Solid Tea Rose
Yellow Bella Solid Goldenrod
​Geen Bella Solid Leaf 
Blue Bella Solid Seafoam 
Background Bella Solid White 

These blocks are really fast and fun, you could likely get these sampler blocks done in a weekend, if you set your mind to it.  I hope you'll try it!!

​Here's how it works!  It’s Sew Emma has created 16 fabulous quilts featuring the Perfect 10 Ruler from Creative Grids and the beloved 10” square precut, the Layer Cake. With full color diagrams and clear instructions, this book is truly a “Perfect 10”!  You can order the Perfect 10 Combo Pack to get both the book and ruler!

This sampler quilt is a beautiful combo of all the quilt blocks from the book, so it's a great way to try them all out!  Download out the full Fabric Requirements HERE  and the finishing pattern here!
We will be making blocks every Tuesday (#perfect10Tuesday) from October 9 to December 4! You will need the Perfect 10 book and Perfect 10 Ruler to help you complete the sampler quilt. Or you can get the Perfect 10 Book and Ruler Combo from The Fat Quarter Shop, it will get you all set up for the quilt along!

We’d love to see your Perfect 10 Sampler projects, share your blocks on Instagram or Facebook using #FQSPerfect10 so we can see!  You can also check out some other talented bloggers sewing along too, there are some fabulous fabric being used for this one!
Greg of Grey Dogwood Studio
Heidi of Buttons and Butterflies
Jennie of Porch Swing Quilts
Kim of Persimon Dreams
Melanie of A Bit of Scrap Stuff
Pam of Pam Kitty Morning
Sinta of Pink Pincushion
Sondra of Out of the Blue Quilts

Find me on social media, I'd love to see what you're working on! 
Instagram 
Facebook 

Happy Quilting!! 

Hey Y'all!  
I am so excited to invite you to come check out my next LIVESTEAM, Kimberly Jolly, owner of The Fat Quarter Shop will be joining me in my tiny little sewing room to do some FMQ (free motion quilting).  The live quilting fun starts at 9am CST Nov 29th, on YouTube or Instagram.  But, if you miss it, that's ok too, it will be on YouTube forever, and you can scroll down to the bottom to watch.  You should also subscribe to The Fat Quarter Shop's YouTube channel so you don't miss future updates, or become a paid member to get access to new top secret stuff, great discounts and lots of other goodies.  

The last LIVESTREAM we did earlier this year we talked all about quilting on a long arm, but many of us do not have the space for a long arm, so it's great to learn to quilt them yourself.  I quilted on my domestic machine for many years before I got my long arm, and it's a great way to really understand the entire process.  It's also really great if you are on a budget, or if you need to get a quilt finished in a hurry!   So put your feed dogs down, and lets get started!  

I always get questions about tension, and this diagram has always been very helpful for me as I sew.  You might like it too!! :)

The first thing we need to do after we have our quilt top and backing all finished, is to get the 3 layers basted.  The best way that I found to do this is on a tile or hard wood floor, or a large table if you have one available. 
​Here is what you will need....

I like the 505 Basting spray best, I have tried others in a pinch and nothing works as well as this one, in my opinion.  You can order it on Amazon or get it from Walmart of most craft stores, it's great because I have never had the needle get all sticky like other sprays do sometimes.  You will also need curved safety pins, and some duck tape, red is my favorite color so that's what I use. But, I hear Fat Quarter Shop is going to stock some snazzy colors soon, so you can get that when you order your safety pins, needles and Aurifil Thread.  OOOh are you getting excited?  

Ok, so I lied, this part really isn't exciting, it kinda sucks, but it doesn't take that long, and you will be so proud of yourself when you are done!!  I never could afford to use a long arm quilter when I first started quilting, so I taught myself how to finish them myself.  I think it's important to do at least one or two quilts all the way through, just because you really get the feel goods when you can say you did it all yourself!  If nothing else, it will make you appreciate all the requirements that the long arm quilter has.  
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***OK First, I put my quilt backing on the tile floor with the pretty side facing down, then I put my batting on top of that.  Make sure your backing and batting are at least 4-5 inches bigger on all 4 sides than the quilt top, because it will shrink up unevenly around the edges after you push it around the machine.  
***Next, you need to lay your quilt top with the pretty side up, in the center of your batting, and you now its time to watch the video.... 

So once you let your spray dry for a few minutes, you will then need to secure the quilt with the curved safety pins.  I put some on all 4 corners, then throughout the center in several spots, the more spray you use, the fewer pins you will need.  So here is what it looks like after I added my pins.  

Here are a few of the other items you will need to get started....
The Aurifil 50 Thread works great in my machine with the 90/14 quilting needles, so that is what I would suggest.  Fat Quarter Shop has a fabulous selection of quilting supplies with lots of new items stocked every day to help you.  The 80/12 needles are sometimes too small and I get skipped stitches or uneven tension.  But you might do some testing with your own machine and see what results you like best.  I also use painters masking tape when I quilt, it's great to lay from one side to the other to get straight lines with your walking foot.  The quilt clips here are good to hold the rolled side of the quilt while you work.  Then no FMQ (free motion quilting) is complete without some kind of quilting gloves or tips.  These will just help you get some traction when you push your quilt under the needle. Since you are moving the quilt not the needle, it helps to be able to get a good grip.  I hope you will check out my LIVESTREAM for all kinds of tips and tricks to finish your quilt on your domestic machine.  

When you need a quick quilt with a FREE pattern and video tutorial, a Shortcut Quilt is your best friend! And luckily, the Fat Quarter Shop LOVE Shortcuts! 
There are over 20 quilt patterns, click here to see some previously made shortcut quilts! 
But today, we are going to talk about the newest shortcut quilt, and I know you are going to love it!  It's call the Layer Cake Custard Quilt, and it's great for beginners, or quilt pros. 

​There are a lot of fun fabrics that would look great with this pattern, but since sofa snuggling season is upon us,  I decided to really dive into some fun fall colors for this quilt.
I really love fall, but only because I live just outside Austin Texas,  Fall around here is beautiful, we still get mostly warm summer like days, with a mix of a few cool ones here and there.  I hate winter, but I do love to snuggle up under a nice "krinkley" (I love that word ha ha) quilt, with my bulldogs. 

The great thing about these shortcut quilts is you don't have to worry about what to buy and how much you need, or if things are going to match.  These are very straight forward patterns!  When I first started quilting, I had a hard time deciding how much to buy online and sometimes after I got the fabric, it didn't look as good together as it did in my head. That wont happen with these shortcut quilts.

So here's what you need to do, easy peasy....
1) Click here to search The Fat Quarter Shop layer cake selection... 
2) Pick out your favorite Layer Cake, you'll only one.
3) From that same collection pick out 3.5 yards for the background fabric,
    7/8 yards binding, and 5.5 yards for the backing .
4) Peek out the window and watch for the mailman LOL :)

Best of all, you know it's gonna look great because there are several bloggers that did this same pattern, and you can go check out pictures by searching the hastags #layercakecustardquilt on Instagram!  Oh, and I hope you will follow me too @gina_tell_threadgraffiti
​I am a blogger, pattern tester, and long arm quilter for the Fat Quarter Shop, so I get to post so man fun new things, with a few bulldog pictures in between, come say hi! 

I always tend to enjoy more modern fabrics, and for this quilt I picked out
Meraki BasicGrey for Moda Fabric for my layer cake and backing, and I used some grey Grunge for my binding.  Meraki is a colorful mix of bright reds & oranges with some gold, blacks, and brown, and it all has great florals and shapes, it just screams fun to me! ​

Since I am also a Long Arm Quilter, I get excited about the quilting designs too.  I only do custom freehand work right now, so I decided I wanted a modern rounded square for the stitches, and I really like how it turned out.  I am alway up to take custom orders from new clients, so feel free to post a comment, follow me on social media, or shoot me a text.  :) 

Thanks for stopping by my blog.  If you want to make one like Kimberly made here in the video you can order the kit here.  We'd love for you to share your creations with us on social media, please tag us by using  #layercakecustardquilt and #shortcutquilt !!  

It's an exciting day, its Throw Back Thursday!   I got to show off the tote bag last year, and I think its equally great this year!!  The Jolly Braid Tote Bag pattern is available at Fat Quarter Shop and it uses one Jolly Bar Precut to make it, so fast and easy!  

The pattern is available from Fat Quarter Shop.  You’ll need a Jolly Bar package, yardage for the sides and liner, some Annie’s Soft & Stable, one-inch polypro strapping for the handles, and a roll of “Fat Jelly Braid” Triangles on a Roll paper.  

The Triangles on a Roll paper made it very easy to make the bag, it takes the guess work out, and it's a great technique if you have never made a bag.  I decided to use True Blue Jolly Bar by Zen Chic for Moda Fabric for the braid portion of the bag, and I used Fragile Mustard for the liner, because I love a pop of color, this collection is from last season, but there are so many new and fabulous fabric collections you can't go wrong, Fat Quarter Shop has it all!  ​I also made a little zipper bag to match since the pattern didn't add any inside pockets.   It was super easy to make, because I just added a few more strips to the "triangle on the roll" paper as I was making the main braid portion of the bag.  Then I used left over mustard fabric from the liner and added a zipper.  Super Cute!

I had some questions about the back of the tote bag on Instagram (follow me @gina_tell_threadgraffiti), and I wanted to let you know that the back of the bag is also braids!! The braid portion of the pattern is one big piece, so it folds and gives you braids on both sides.  You can really have some fun with the fabrics you use!

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The Fat Quarter Shop has a tutorial video to help you make your own bag!
​You can also find great pictures on Instagram by searching  #jollybraidtote and #jollybraidtotebag.  This is a great pattern that is easy to follow, and I look forward to making more!

Being part of the Fat Quarter Shop quilty friends is so much fun, and I am always so grateful and excited to start a new project with them!  I get the opportunity to work on so many amazing sample quilts and be involved in pattern covers, and new books, and perfect designer projects, it truly is my dream come true!!  I hope you will take a few minutes and click the link below to visit Longarmer of the Month blog and check out the interview we did.  I got to talk about how I got started quilting, share pictures, and tell some of my favorite silly stories. Thank you Kimberly, and all the talented staff behind the scenes at the The Fat Quarter Shop for inviting me to be part of such projects this year!!