An Apple a Day Blog Tour

Hello everyone! Welcome to day 1 of the An Apple a Day blog tour! I'm so glad you've stopped by. What is An Apple a Day? I'm glad you asked. It's a fabulous book put together by The Quilted Fish Creative Consultants Design Team. Amanda assembled the team about a year and a half ago, and I am thrilled to be a  part of it. These women are creative geniuses! 

The book features 9 different projects, ranging from simple to challenging. My contribution? A quilt.

 I am enamored by precuts. It seems to be all I order these days. I love having every print in a fabric line, because I know my finished product will look color coordinated and beautiful. My quilt uses 2.5" strips, which Riley Blake calls a "Rolie Polie."

The coolest thing about this quilt isn't the stunning top. Oh, no. It's the back. Namely the foot pocket on the back. Within the pocket are three smaller pockets where you can put foot warmers in. Now, on a day like today where it's supposed to be 100 degrees with 80% humidity, that doesn't sound so appealing. But come November, you're going to love it.

When I made the quilt, I had an extra block left over. What to do, what to do. Why, a pillow, of course!

 Cute, right? For the top, just quilt as you want. I quilted in the ditch, which made the fabrics pop a bit. I added a border around the block, and then bound it in leftover binding from my quilt. It's very matchy-matchy. For the back, I did an envelope closure. Here's how I do it:

Measure the front of the pillow. Divide the length by 2, and then add 2 inches. Cut two pieces and finish one edge of each piece. In the book, there are instructions for the foot pocket that you can use for this part.

 Place the pieces on the back of the quilted pillow front, and baste where the two pieces overlap.

 Bind using your favorite method. Mine? I like the stitch the binding by hand. I find it very soothing, and a great excuse to watch horrendous Summer TV that I just can't seem to get enough of.

So there you go. A cute pillow to go with the cute quilt you are going to make.

Now because this is a blog tour, there is a very strict rule that there must be things given away. Up for grabs is a copy of the book and a kit to make this necklace:

All you have to do is leave me a comment and tell me your favorite thing to make. Is it quilts? Is it bags? Is it knitted washcloths? Is it dinner? I really want to know! I'll announce the winner a week from tomorrow, July 9.

Here is the schedule for the rest of the tour. Thanks for coming by!!

Sunday, July 1st: Amanda's Blog & Jana's Blog <--- that's me :)

Monday, July 2nd: Julie's Blog

Tuesday, July 3rd: Sally's Blog 

Wednesday, July 4th: Candice's Blog

Thursday, July 5th: Stephanie's Blog

Friday, July 6th: Johanna's Blog

Saturday, July 7th: Jackie's Blog

Sunday, July 8th: Brooke's Blog