Pattern Designer: Amanda Murphy + giveaway

The Fat Quarter Shop is excited to welcome Amanda Murphy to the Jolly Jabber. Amanda now has eight new patterns that have just arrived to Fat Quarter Shop.

Hello all of you Fat Quarter Shop Fans!

I was so excited when Kimberly and friends invited me to share the new additions to my pattern line with you today. Kimberly was one of the very first shops to pick up my line when it debuted and I’m always excited to show her new additions.

Garden Paths, my best-selling design in the original line, toyed with the idea of making a quilt out of blocks that were “hidden” – where you didn’t necessarily know where one began and the other ended. I took the idea one step further with Bedazzled and Beribboned.

They are charm-pack friendly designs where the blocks seem to create interlocking chains. I use Kona, because I LOVE Kona and was smitten with how the pastel charm pack colors seemed to jump right off of the Bedazzled’s Amethyst background, but you could really use any charm pack you like from your favorite collection for either of these designs. Follow the pressing directions and all the seams lock, which make for a prettier finish.

In Beflowered, I expanded that idea to hexagons – or triangles masquerading as hexagons. In this case, BIG triangles made with the Creative Grids 60 degree ruler. Of course, big triangles need big appliqué – sort of like Blossoms. This might just be my favorite quilt. I love the angled edges and can’t wait to see what you all make with it!

Like most moms, I spend a lot of time shuttling kids around and waiting for them and wanted to design a project that traveled well.

Bejeweled is studded with yo-yos that you can make just about anywhere. (You also attach them onto columns before sewing the quilt top together, so even that step is portable.) Fellow Robert Kaufman designer Laurie Wisbrun’s Modern Whimsy fabric seemed the perfect vehicle for this quilt. I love the bright colors and had fun choosing coordinating solids for the yo-yos. But you can also use any roll-up or 10’’-square (layer cake). And the yo-yos can be made from scraps. Did I mention that directions are included for a charm-square-friendly lap-size version?

Next is Caramel and Cocoa – a modern Bargello design. This was originally a magazine quilt, but I have had so many requests for it in pattern form I decided to add it to the line. It is REALLLLLLLLY easy to put together – big blocks with no matching seams, yet it has a really sophisticate look. I have seen it made in many different color combinations and they all look unique.

Caramel and Cocoa is a great design to feature those modern large-scale prints at their best. Great for scraps of beautifully prints that you just can’t bring yourself to cut up. And it is entirely strip-pieced, so it is simple to sew.

Garden Jewels is a versatile design that showcases Veranda, my most recent collection for Robert Kaufman. But it would work in almost any type of print. Kimberly has kits for it here...

Finally, Garden Sampler may look traditional, but with its big blocks (the large rectangles are 12’’ x 18’’) it is the perfect showcase for large-scale modern prints. I love juxtaposing modern fabrics with traditional designs and vice versa!

So those are my new patterns. Thanks so much to Fat Quarter Shop for carrying all of them!

And now, to answer the serious questions:

1. If you had a mascot, what animal would it be? 
I think I’d choose a polar bear because I think they are just beautiful and I love to watch them swim when we go to the zoo, but that doesn’t really fit because I am only 5’2’’. I’d like to say a snow leopard too but, “That is not really me…” I confess as I trip three times on my way from the kitchen to the family room. Oh well, one can dream…

2. Who is your favorite celebrity?
David Suchet who plays Hercule Poirot on Masterpiece Theater. My kids would tell you that I LOVE Masterpiece Theater. I do, I do, I do!

3. If we were making a movie about your life, who would you want to play you?
Emma Thompson!

4. Who is your favorite designer, not including yourself?
Gosh, that one is hard, because I like A LOT of different styles and designers. I guess I would have to say Kate Spain. She has a lovely hand-drawn character to her lines.

And now, it's time for a giveaway! I am donating my eight new patterns for three lucky winners.
You have two different chances to enter:
1. Subscribe to my blog and leave a comment on this post saying you did.
2. Leave a comment on this post saying which of my new patterns you like the most.
Good luck!