Guest Curator Contest Winner

.... and the winner is ... 

Nancy from Owen's Olivia with the Coastal Waters!

Congrats, Nancy!  :-)  Nancy will receive her bundle and it will be featured as one of our December Curated Collections.  On Monday we'll reveal all the December Curated Collection bundles in the shop.

Swooning over Solids

Happy Thursday, y'all!

We just added 9 new Bella Solids to the shop shelves - most of which coordinate with either Cuzco or Simply Color.

These coordinates to Cuzco are so gorgeous.  Kate Spain really knows how to pick some colors, doesn't she?!

What color solids do you use most?  Do you stash solids in bundles or as you need them?  Do you like colorway bundles or rainbow bundles?  For those of you who shop online, how can we make it easier for you to color match solids?  I'd love to hear your thoughts!

I have a few more collections of bolts and some fun new notions to add as well, but I will share more about those soon.  :-)

I also hope to get some real sewing done in the next few days ... I have a few bee deadlines and let's not forget that Christmas is just around the corner!
(For those of you who are new around here wondering where all the sewing projects are, you should know I am a full-time teacher as well as a shop owner.  And this semester is kicking my you-know-what with a new curriculum to plan for.  :-/  Only a few more weeks in the semester and I should get a lot more of my evenings back - and I can hardly wait!) 

Don't forget to vote for the Guest Curator Contest bundle.  I am so excited about the bundles our regular curators have picked for December too. ;-)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Bookmark Worthy

Hi friends!

Moda recently reorganized their website and I wanted to share the link to a great measurements and cutting tips page.

Bedding measurements, layer cake cutting tips, charm pack cutting tips, and more!  All in one place. Check it out here.

And there are also loads of free patterns too.  Definitely bookmark worthy, if you ask me!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Guest Curator Contest Top 10 - Vote Now!

Happy Monday!  :-)

It's time to vote on the Guest Curator Contest Bundles - we finally narrowed it down to our favorite 10 bundles and I really don't think y'all could have made this any harder.  All the bundles were beautiful and we loved seeing how you would mix and match from the different collections in the shop.  But, we have ten for you to choose from and in no particular order here they are ...

Clear Skies

The Calm Bundle 

Wild Blueberry

Blue Christmas 

Winter Snow 

Cuz You Can!

Coastal Waters

Raspberry Orange Shake 

Fancy Pheasant

Rocky Road

We had so much fun with this contest and hope you did too!  It's time to vote!  There is a poll at the top left portion of our blog to cast your vote.  

Voting ends at 5 PM EST on Friday, 11/30/12 and we'll announce the winner on Saturday, December 1st!

Happy Sewing! :-) 

Cyber Monday - A Few More Hours!

Just a quick post to share that there's still a few more hours to save on fabric for your next project with our Cyber Monday coupon code from our newsletter this morning!  

Save 20% on any order of $25 or more until 11:59 PM tonight. 

Use coupon code CYBER20 at checkout at our sewluxfabric.com site.  Details here.

Happy Shopping! :-)

Top 10 Coming Soon!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  We enjoyed our weekend although our ride home from Florida today was a bit longer after our team lost yesterday.  If you're married to football fan, you probably know how that goes!  LOL

No sewing this weekend, due to our travels ... well, except for getting started on one of these.  :-)

Anyway, just wanted to share that I will be back tomorrow with the top 10 from the Guest Curator Contest so you can vote which one should be included for our December collections.

See you then!  :-)

Gobble Up the Savings!

We are so grateful to all of you for helping us live the dream of owning our little fabric shop - we couldn't do it without you!  To say thanks, we're offering a great opportunity to save on all the pretty fabric in our shop - just in time to whip up something special for the holidays. (And if you're like me, you've got quite a list of projects!)

Our sale is valid on our sewluxfabric.com website through Sunday, 11/25/12.  No coupon codes are needed  - discounts will calculate automatically.  :-)

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend!

Design Challenge : Portfolio and Wallet - A Great Gift Tutorial!

My name is Jennifer from Ellison Lane Quilts.  Today I'm delighted to be guest posting at Sew Lux today. I've had my eye on this super fun Jennifer Paganelli zebra print bundle for a while now. They just kept calling my name, and I knew I wanted to do something fun with them.

I have a problem with loose papers trailing about all over my kitchen and sewing room. I desperately needed a way to keep them tidy and accessible so today I'm sharing my portfolio tutorial with you.

LOTS of pockets and even a bonus business card holder. Great for work, home or school, this portfolio would look smashing in a variety of prints!

So let's get started shall we?



Supplies:
6 Fat Quarters in coordinating prints
1 yard of medium to light weight fusible interfacing
cotton batting 19" x 21"
coordinating thread
sewing machine
iron, scissors, rotary cutter
wallet template
fabric glue stick (optional)

1.Cut your batting 19" x 21" or at least 1" bigger than your fat quarter.  Baste your batting to your fat quarter and quilt as desired. I chose to do wavy lines.

2. Trim your quilted panel down to 20" x 12.5."

3. Now, cut the fusible interfacing to 19" x 11.5" and follow the package directions to fuse the interfacing to the batting side of the quilted panel.

4. Now, press your lining and pocket fabrics.

• Cut the lining piece to 20" x 12.5"
• Cut the large pocket piece to 18" x 20" 
• Cut the middle pocket piece to 14" x 20" 
• Cut the small pocket piece to 10" x 20" 

Fold all of your pocket pieces in half length wise and top stitch along the top of the fold. 

5. Cut three pieces of interfacing: 

• (1) 19" x 8.5" 
• (1) 19" x 4.5" 
• (1) 19" x 6.5" 

Open up the folded pockets and fuse the interfacing to the wrong side of one side of the pocket piece. 

6. Layer your pockets on top of the lining piece, making sure the interfacing panel sides are on top. 

7. Pin. Place the quilted top, right sides together on top of the pocket panel and sew around all of the edges with a 1/2" seam, leaving a 3" opening  on the side for turning. Backstitch and the beginning and end of the opening. 

8. Remove pins, clip your corners and trim the bottom seam allowance to 1/4." Your seam will be very bulky across the bottom because of the layers. Press your fabric and use a little glue stick to fold under your hem from the gap.

9. Fold your portfolio in half to find the middle and stitch a line from the top to bottom to create to halves. Backstitch at the beginning and end. 

10. Top stitch all around. Go slowly over the bottom as it will be bulky but you can do it. 

Voila! Your portfolio is all done!

Now, you can make a coordinating business card holder that easily slips in the small pocket. 

First you need to print this template. 

Supplies: 

Batting 6" x 10.5" 

1 small piece of velcro

(2) pieces of coordinating fabric 5" x 9.5" 

fabric glue stick

template- printed and cut out

1. Quilt your outer fabric as desired.

*note the location of the velcro*

2. 1" from the bottom of your outer fabric, sew on a bumpy piece of velcro.

3. 1/2" from the top of the lining fabric, sew on the soft piece of velcro. 

(I use the glue stick to hold the velcro in place before sewing.)

4. Place your fabric right sides together and pin, Trace the curve pattern from the template on the batting, remove then sew around all sides with a 1/4" seam, leaving a 2" gap on the side for turning inside out. Backstitch at the beginning and the end.

Sew around the curve leaving a 1/4" seam.

5. Clip the corners, cut around the curve, and turn inside out, using a blunt tool to poke out the corners. Press and topstitch along all edges, making sure you close the gap.

6. Fold the bottom up 3", pin and stitch along the topstitching on both sides, backstitching at the beginning and end. 

That's it! All done! 

Now you have a stylish and useful portfolio and mini wallet to help organize your life. 

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! Be sure to check out all my other tutorials and fun happenings on my blog Ellison Lane Quilts! 

Have a great day! 

Design Challenge : November's Featured Blogger

We're excited to bring you another project in our Design Challenge Series, in which we ask a blogger to come up with a tutorial using 6 FQs.  Check out the previous posts here.  

I am thrilled to introduce Jennifer from Ellison Lane Quilts to you as our featured blogger this month. You may be familiar with her blog already and some of you may be going to Sew South in March - the brand spankin' new sewing retreat that she is hosting.  Let's get to know her a little ... 

Hi everyone! I'm Jennifer and I blog at Ellison Lane Quilts. I'm also putting on Sew South, a modern sewing retreat in Charlotte, NC this March, and I can hardly wait! It's going to be so fun!

I discovered sewing a little over two years ago and boy did it stick like glue! I jumped in with both feet and LOVE it. I'm lucky to have found my passion and love that I get to be creative and crafty on a daily basis. 

What was your first quilting project?

My first quilting project was a simple patchwork baby quilt for my son and it still makes me smile. The seams don't match up very well and the quilting leaves much to be desired but it was my first quilt and it was well-loved so that makes it special. 

What kind of sewing machine do you use?

Last year I was so lucky to get a new sewing machine for Christmas, one that I LOVE. It's a Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0 and it rocks. It really is a luxurious machine and sews and quilts like a dream. 

What is your favorite sewing notion?

I'd have to say that my favorite sewing notion is Aurifil. Gosh I love that thread. It's strong but fine and doesn't leave a lot of lint. I seriously love it.

Thanks so much for joining us this month, Jennifer!  

I have been lucky enough to get a sneak peek at Jennifer's project with this awesome Super Fly Zebra bundle!  

  

The zebra bundles are in short supply, so we've made up a Simply Color Ikat Diamonds bundle as an alternative option as well.  Bundles are now available and will be on sale through 11/27/12.

Stop by tomorrow to see Jennifer's awesome tutorial - you'll want to make a bunch for Christmas gifts!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Weekend Sewing

Happy Sunday, y'all!

I am happy to report that I had a much more productive sewing experience this weekend after being in a bit of a slump last weekend.  Thank goodness too since its time to kick it into high gear for the holidays! :-)

I finished some bee blocks (embarrassingly late) but I like how they turned out.

Emily said she likes text prints so I used the Mama Said Sew Sewing Guide print in place of white for the stars.

I love that she requested bright, happy colors.  My Simply Color charm pack and Good Morning Honeycomb bundle came in handy, too.  :-)

I love this bitty star.  Cute!

I also finished up the quilting on a Tifton Tiles quilt that a friend made.  You can find the tutorial for this easy quilt pattern here.  It's easy and fast ... I whipped up the original just in time for Christmas last year.

I am very excited to introduce our newest Design Challenge blogger tomorrow and her project on Tuesday ... you won't want to miss it!

And speaking of things not to miss ... don't forget to enter the Guest Curator contest and let us know what you think we should carry in the shop in 2013!

Happy Sewing! :-)

We're all ears!

Quick post for today ... It's almost time to meet with our Moda rep and choose more collections to carry in the shop.  And we love to get your thoughts before we do that ...

... so I have set up a special, temporary page on our blog just for your feedback.  Check it and let us know what you'd love to stash!

Thanks and happy sewing!  :-)

Scattered

Hey there, y'all!  Sadly, despite the long weekend I didn't get much sewing time in.  I did see the new Bond in IMAX (which was excellent).  I had a few opportunities to sew, but wasn't inspired and didn't get a lot accomplished.  :-/  I had big plans and ideas and then just couldn't get myself in gear ... Does that ever happen to you?  (Maybe its the fact that my sewing room is a disaster zone?! LOL)

But despite all that, I've still got a few things to share ... probably more like random thoughts.  :-) 

I am really excited to be going to Sew South!  I always thought it would be fun to get to the Sewing Summit but its kind of far.  So when I heard that Jennifer was hosting Sew South in Charlotte (about 2 hours away), I knew I had to jump in!  Are you going?

Did you see that the Sew Seasonal Christmas Paper Piecing Blog Hop just wrapped up?  Some cute holiday projects for those of you hoarding those special scraps!  Also, there's a coupon code that Kristy shared for our shop for 10% off all Christmas fabric - ends 11/18.  You can find it near the bottom of her Blog Hop info post.

Kristy has some cute patterns in her Craftsy store ... I love the little song bird.  I know someone who would love one for Christmas.  (Hope you're not reading this, Mom!)

Speaking of Christmas ... what's on your list of gifts to make?  I bought a few pixel people cross stitch patterns from Wee Little Stitches to make for a few gifts.  I am thinking that will be a great traveling project next weekend.  :-)

And can I just say that I am so glad we're having a Guest Curator Contest?!  I haven't finished exploring all your blogs and commenting, but I am loving what I am seeing so far and enjoying the chance to visit some new blogs.  Y'all are some talented people!  :-) 

Well that's about all the scattered thoughts I will subject you to tonight.  Hope you are having a wonderful week!  

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Veterans Day Sale

We're having a sale this weekend!  Save 11% on orders of $50 or more (after coupons and before shipping and tax) at sewluxfabric.com. The discount will automatically calculate so no codes to enter!  Sale ends 11/12/12.

Have a wonderful weekend! :-)

Guest Curator Contest : Dec 2012

Hello there!

We've been having so much fun with the Curated Collections the past couple of months, that we decided to have a little contest for a Guest Curator for the month of December. Sound fun?  We think so!

Here's how the contest works ...

• Create a 3 x 3 mosaic of EIGHT prints or solids from our shop.  Use our Guest Curator Contest button (above) as your 9th box in the mosaic.  Mosaics can be easily made here.
• Blog about your Guest Curator Entry on your blog.   On your blog post, include a link to this entry post as well as the name of your collection and a description about your collection inspiration. (No blog?  Upload to Flickr and include your bundle name, inspiration, and link to the entry post with your photo there.) 
• Link your post to the linky below by 11:59 PM EST on November 20th. 
• We'll select our favorite 10 bundles and then put it to a vote here on the blog.  The bundle with the most votes will be featured as a Curated Collection in our shop during the month of December 2012 and the winning curator will receive his/her bundle free.
• One more detail - limit two entries per person, please!  

We can't wait to see your collections!

Simply Color

Simply Color by V & Co has some pretty awesome graphic prints. 

We love them ... And that they are finally here!  :-) 

Dotted Zig Zags 

Florals

And Ikats (I think my favorite ...)

Check our picks for the shop here. 

Happy Friday, friends! :-)

Coffee Filter Crafting

Hey there y'all!

I know most of you probably visit for fabric-related projects, but I couldn't resist this fun and easy (and cheap) craft project I made the other day ....

Its a coffee filter wreath!  Seriously, natural coffee filters, a metal wreath, and a hot glue gun.

I followed this tutorial here after at least three of my coworkers at school made one. (Scroll down to find the white coffee filter wreath tutorial.)

I used a wire floral wreath ... a 6 inch one to test it out. I didn't fluff mine up either as I kind of prefer it more fanned out around the wreath.

What do you think?  Have you ever made one of these?  I  love it.

Hope you are having a wonderful week!

Happy Sewing! :-)