Carrie Bloomston DVD Blog Party!

Well hello! 

I feel very honored to share with you my review of Carrie Bloomston's new Interweave DVD called "Art Techniques for Quilt Design"!

First off, did you know Carrie Bloomston of Such Designs has an AMAZINGLY beautiful fabric collection out? If you don't, you need to check out her look book here! 

Yeah...it's gorgeous right? 

So when Carrie posted on Instagram that she was doing a blog party, I was totally hoping she'd pick me, luckily she is kind and allowed me to do this! 

Watching the DVD

This was such a joy for many reasons.  Let me tell you why!  

First, I watched the entire video in one day, no breaks.  Why is that good?  Well, goodness I have a hard time sitting still.  Good thing for me, Carrie is energetic and speaks to you ever so clearly as she moves smoothly from one thing to the next.  

Second, she's got a lot of great inpirational words of encouragement as she takes you through her design process, and shows you how to be yourself and let your "inner artist" take control.  I wrote down several great quotes of hers just to remind myself later.  They are so helpful!  

Third, if you think you don't know how to draw, she will show you some great techniques that will help you out, I promise! I've always been an artist, so it was good to be reminded of some things myself. 

Lastly, there is just something about her that just makes you feel happy.  Did you look at her fabric collection like a mentioned earlier?  Well that should tell you something.  She has a really uplifting personality that you can't help but draw from.  In fact, I watched it again on my phone...or actually  I listened to it again...while I was working in my sewing room and it put me in the perfect mood to create!

Making the "Nest" Quilt

In Carrie's video, she teaches you how to make a "nest" quilt like the one pictured above.  She uses an appliqué technique that is not the norm! I've never really tried "painting with fabric" before, so I thought I'd give it a try to better let you know what I think.

First, I found this photo of a nest I took about a month ago for my inspiration.  I found it in my front yard, but I never thought I'd be using it for a quilt!

Next I drew a quick sketch.  Not pretty I know, but it didn't matter. :)

I had the video on again while I was making this.

Sewing on the "nest" was a bit crazy! So many pieces and threads!  I still had fun with it and used a few different colors of thread.

To quilt this, I decided to mimic the leaf pattern on the brown fabric that I used.  I drew another quick sketch just to get the idea.  

Overall, it's a fun project and perfect for a wall hanging if you want to do something small!

I really enjoyed this! I felt like a kid again, seriously!  It brought me back to the days when I would try and make something out of anything I could find.

Next I want to make something with my son's art.  I mean, look at this scorpion my son drew! Isn't it cute?  I may be a little bias but I think so anyway. :)

 I could make a quilt with it somehow, right?

Thanks for taking the time to read my review, and don't forget, if you want to give this a try you can purchase her DVD here! 

Enter to Win A Copy!

If you comment on Carrie Bloomston's blog, you could win a free copy instead! Lucky you!  Make sure you do!