Thursday, May 30, 2013

Shop Updates : New Bundles

Happy Thursday!  Just a quick post to share what's new in the shop.  I've been busy all week packing block kits - can't wait to mail them out tomorrow!


Very excited to share that we have these Diamond Rings prints from Flats in stock.  These are such great stash builders and the colors are perfect.

And I couldn't stop myself from putting together some new Low Volume Curated Collections.


This one - Low Volume No 3 - is all black and white or black and grey.


And this one "Colorful Language No 1" is low volume with color.  A great mix of styles and colors in this one. :-)

Just added some new FQ Frenzy Short Stacks, too!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Kate Spain Blog Hop


Save the date, y'all!

When Alyce asked if we would participate in the Kate Spain Blog Hop that she was putting together, it was a no brainer!  We LOVE Kate Spain ... in fact, one of the very first collections we ever stocked was Kate's Fandango collection.  Right now, we have several of her collections and are waiting for her newest holiday line, In From the Cold, due out in June.

Here's the schedule ... we're just days away from the start!

Monday June 3rd - Interview with Kate Spain at Blossom Heart Quilts
Tuesday June 4th - Jane at QuiltJane
Wednesday June 5th - Christa at Christa Quilts
Thursday June 6th - Kimberly at Fat Quarter Shop
Friday June 7th - Laura at Quokka Quilts

Monday June 10th - Chrissy at Sew Lux
Tuesday June 11th - Lynne at Lily's Quilts
Wednesday June 12th - Julie at The Intrepid Thread
Thursday June 13th - Kristy at Quiet Play
Friday June 14th - Link up your favourite Kate Spain project! 
Monday June 17th - Gemma at Pretty Bobbins
Tuesday June 18th - Heidi at Fabric Mutt
Wednesday June 19th - Melissa at Ms Midge
Thursday June 20th - Jess at The Elven Garden
Friday June 21st - Janice at Better Off Thread

Monday June 24th - Diane at From Blank Pages...
Tuesday June 25th - Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts
Wednesday June 26th - Kara at Me And Elna
Thursday June 27th - Readers' Q&A with Kate Spain at Blossom Heart Quilts
Friday June 28th - Link up your blog hop projects!

Of course, there are prizes!  Read more about it over at Alyce's here.
Happy Sewing! :-)

Monday, May 27, 2013

Tutorial : Sending a Little Sunshine Mug Rug

Happy Monday!  It's time to share the Sending a Little Sunshine Mug Rug Mini Quilt tutorial.  Ready?

Supplies Needed:
  • Three aqua 5-inch charm squares
  • Four yellow/gold 5-inch charm squares
  • One white 5-inch charm square (this won't be seen, so it can really be whatever color/print)
  • One 6-inch orange square
  • One 6-inch square of lightweight interfacing
  • 2 x 12 inch square batting
  • 12 x 12 inch square backing fabric
  • One 2.5 x WOF strip for binding (I used a turquoise print)
  • Dresden ruler or template (I will link up a template file shortly.)
  • Basic sewing supplies (machine, thread, pins, scissors, etc)
Kits are still available here while supplies last.  :-)
Note: if you purchased a kit, please trim your yellow, aqua and white fabric squares to the appropriate size - we cut our squares a little wide. :-)

First step ... make a four patch.  

Then, cut and stitch your dresden blades.  Cut two blades from each of the four yellow 5-inch charm squares.  I am using the 5-1/2 inch line at the top of my blade. 

Then chain stitch the blades as shown.  Fold in half right sides together and stitch along the top edge. 

The clip the corner - don't cut the seam!  Press and then turn right sides out and re-press.  (Photo shows progression of this step.)

Then arrange them in the order you would like and start stitching them together.  (Line them up right sides together and stitch - backstitching at the top.)

Once you have all 8 pieced together, its time to pin to the background four patch unit.  Follow my placement - points of blades are about 3/8 off the edge and about 1-1/2 inches from sides.

Pin the dresden unit down.

And stitch about 1/8 inch from the edge.


Next, grab your interfacing and place it on top of the white corner.  Use a marking pen to rough out your sun shape.  I changed my mind a little - you see I have a lot of lines!  :-)  Draw the curve how you like it.

The fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of your orange square.  (I rotated mine a little to get the pattern of the print going in the direction I wanted.)  I do Fraycheck the edges of my appliques.  This is optional.

Pin your sun center in place.

Next, put your machine on zig zag and make the stitch length shorter and narrower.  Here's my settings on my Bernina. 

Using a coordinating thread, stitch the orange center down.  

A few tips .... (1) Keep the needle in the down position.  (2) Use a clear foot if you have one so you can see where you're going a little easier.  (3) You want the needle to come down just on the outside of the piece you are appliqueing. (4) When you need to turn or pivot, stop with the needle down on the outside of the piece, lift the presser foot and turn your fabric a little.

It should look like this when you finished.

Looking good!  Now, its time to trim away some of the background.  Carefully cut away the bottom layer to reduce some of the bulk. 

It should look like this (below).  (I also trimmed away the white, but forgot to take a picture.

Layer your top, batting, and backing and pin.

Quilt as desired and then trim to 9.5 in x 9.5 in.

You can see my quilting a little better here. 

Fold your binding strip in half right sides together along the long edge to make the binding. 

Start in the middle of one of the sides, leaving a tail, and attach the binding. 

When you get back to the beginning, fold one edge under and tuck the other inside. 

Pin and then finish stitching it all down. 

Note:  I wouldn't normally finish the ends of my binding this way.  But for a mini/mug rug its quick and easy.  :-)  More detailed info on binding here.

Press the binding open and hand stitch to the back.   If you prefer to attach your binding completely by machine - go for it!

Here's the finished project. 


How about another color way?

Since I went scraptastic on this, I used a solid backgound piece instead of a 4-patch. 

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial!  If you have any questions, please ask in the comments or send me an email.  If you make one, please link up - I'd love to see it!

Happy Sewing!  :-)  

Friday, May 24, 2013

Memorial Day Weekend Sale

Just a quick note to let you know about the special sale we have this weekend ...


Save 10% on all Bella Solids as well as an extra 10% on all Sale Collections and Last Chance pieces now through Monday, 5/27/13.  No coupon code is needed - prices will automatically adjust when you add items to your cart.

Can't wait to share some recent sewing with you tomorrow. :-)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Monday, May 20, 2013

Shop Updates : Happy Go Lucky & More

Happy Monday!  There's a lot going on in the shop today .... here are the highlights of what's new ...


First up ... Happy Go Lucky yardage is now available.  Many of the prints are limited stock due to the great response we have had to our BOM.  Once we get our block kits cut, we may be able to make some additional yardage available.

Speaking of the BOM ... there are a few more spots left as well as finishing kits now available.

More FQ Frenzy Short Stacks this week as we're making room in our FQ bin.  These flew off the shelves last week!


Apsen Frost by Basic Grey  ... LOVE this Christmas line!  Grab a bundle or your favorite yardage.


And a new Curated Collection called "Quilter's Independence" - perfect for your next patriotic project!  :)


And did I mention there is a kit for the Sending a Little Sunshine Mini?  I've put together a group of similar fabrics and we'll share the tutorial/pattern free here on the blog next Monday.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Shop Update: BOM Kits & New Markdowns

Hi again, y'all!

Just a quick update to let you know that we have been able to open up a few more reservations for the BOM in Happy Go Lucky!  If you've been on the fence, you might want to consider snagging a reservation while you can.  It's not likely that we will be able to get additional yardage of this collection so once we sell out of the new bunch of reservations, we won't be adding any more.  There are also still a few Honey, Honey and PB&J versions as well.

Don't forget that if you sign up by the end of May, we'll send you a bonus block pattern.

Bonus Block Pattern for Hop, Skip & Jump BOM 

In addition to that, we've got some new bolt ends and some additional collections added to the $5/yard list.  Check 'em out!

Over the weekend, we'll be adding Aspen Frost yardage, Happy Go Lucky yardage as well as a few more colors to our Bella Solids collection.

Please email us if you have any questions!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Friday, May 17, 2013

Sending a Little Sunshine Your Way

Happy Friday, y'all! It's nice and bright out today .... a tease for what is supposed to be a stormy weekend.

I thought I'd share a special mug rug I made last month for a woman I've never met. She had sent us an email to let us know how much our packaging brightened her day at a time when she really needed it. I was reminded that a little bit of attention to detail can mean so much.

I was inspired to make this little mini ... compelled really, to create a little something for her.


I really loved this little piece and am working on putting together a tutorial to share with you all in hopes you'll spread a little sunshine as well.  :)

If you're in our Moda FQ club, you'll get a kit for this (in similar fabrics) as your bonus mini kit for the 1st quarter.  Hope you like it!  :-)

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Hop, Skip, & Jump: Happy Go Lucky is En Route!

I don't think excited is really a big enough word for what I felt when I saw that this collection has officially been shipped our way!  So thrilled that our order plus almost all of the extra I ordered is now en route to our shop.  Oh. My. Gosh. Y'all!! I am so excited for two reasons ... (1) I love this collection and (2) I can start cutting kits and those of you on the wait list will get to cut and stitch with this stuff, too.  Hip hip hooray!  So, if you are on the wait list ... check your email!

If you already have a reservation (for any or several of the three collections), be on the lookout for a very important email on Monday with monthly kit payment details as well as the opportunity to order border/binding and backing kits - they will be in limited supply.

We'll have yardage for this collection available on the website later this weekend as well ... I will update y'all here when its all set and ready to add to your cart!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Hop, Skip & Jump BOM - More Options!

Great news to share with you today...

I cannot tell you how excited I am about this block of the month program!  It is going to be so much fun stitching along with you all.  I can't wait to send out the bonus block pattern for all subscribers tomorrow - who's ready?!

We've been overwhelmed at the response to our BOM. Since this is our first one, we really just didn't know if anyone would sign up.  (Silly, right!?) Well, while we are still very hopeful to add more Happy Go Lucky kits in the next few weeks, we have also opened up monthly block kits in two additional collections - see below for the prints included in these kits.  Spaces are limited, so if you've been on the fence, now is the time to join!



And if you have a stack of pretties in your stash that you want to use, the patterns are still $10 through tomorrow (May 15th, after which they will be $12).

Happy Sewing!  :-)


Monday, May 13, 2013

FQ Frenzy - Short Stacks

Happy Monday!

Our FQ Bin is bursting at the seams!  So this week we decided to grab 'em and group 'em for some limited bundles at great prices - just $2 a FQ!

These bundles are one-of-a-kind .... so there's only one of each available at these prices.  Most bundles are from an entire collection, while some are mixed from a few collections.  Some include the last chance FQs as well.  See them all here.

We'll add to this new section of our shop occasionally and will update the blog when we do.

Happy Sewing! :-)

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Happy Mother's Day Y'all!

I hope you've all had a great Mother's Day and weekend.  :-)

We had a great afternoon with my mom - hanging around on the back deck, selecting bolts for projects, and dinner together.

A favorite picture of me and my mom - at my wedding in 2007.

In case you didn't know, Sew Lux Fabric is a mother-daughter business and it has been so fun sharing this entrepreneurial adventure with my mom since we took the plunge in the Fall of 2010.  I am feel so lucky to run a business with her - she's not only my mom, but also my friend.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Friday, May 10, 2013

Hop, Skip, & Jump BOM Update

Hey there friends in fabric!

Just a quick update for those of you participating in our Hop, Skip & Jump BOM program.

Everyone should have received an "official" email from us by now with confirmation of your pattern only subscription, your kit reservation, or an update on our wait list. If you have not received one, please make sure (1) is isn't in your junk/spam folder and (2) that you've added "sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com" to your contacts.  If you've checked those two things and still don't have it, please email us and we'll check it out.

You're going to want to make sure you are getting our emails because you'll find a bonus block pattern arriving in your inbox on the 15th!  So get excited!!!

Not signed up yet?!  There is still time - get your PDF Patterns only subscription for just $10 through 5/15 ($12 after the 5/15).  Or email us to get on the wait list for the kits - we are working on making more kits available (more on that on 5/20/13).

It's going to be a lot of fun!

Happy Sewing! :-)

Thursday, May 9, 2013

S is for Susanna

Today I wanted to share a project I finished several weeks ago.  A college girlfriend of mine received the sweetest Christmas gift back in December ... the birth of her little girl (after two boys).  I was super thrilled ... most of my friends have boys and y'all all know I love me some pink and polka dotted fabrics.  :-)

My friend has had me make Bible covers for her two little men and, of course, she asked me to make one for her sweet little girl, Susanna.


I pulled some pretty pink and green paisley from my stash for this and added some dots from Cherry on Top, some green from Trade Winds, and a little pink honeycomb from Good Morning.


I always applique their initial on the front and I hope she'll grow up loving her personalized cover.


I always machine applique with a zig zag stitch.  I used to make lots and lots of letter shirts for my sorority, so after thousands of omegas, curves don't scare me anymore.  :-)  I hand drew the "s" and used a cup for the center circle and eyeballed the second circle.


Fortunately, when it came to the moment of truth, it fit perfectly.Whew!

Do you ever machine applique?  If its something you'd like some tips on, let me know and I will work on some tutorials this summer.

Happy Sewing!  :-)