For the love of cheater prints

Monday has pretty much come and gone and after a long cross country flight yesterday with my students, I am whipped!  But before I hit the hay, I wanted to (re)share an easy bag tutorial with you...

Last year, we got this awesome cheater print by Malka Dubrowsky and I love the bag I made with it.  Naturally, when her new line came out, I ordered both cheater prints from the collection. Here's the bag I made last year ...

See the complete tutorial for this quick and easy bag here. (You'll need 1 yard for the exterior and 1 yard for the interior.)  And check out the new cheater prints from Malka's new Simple Marks line here if you'd like to make something similar.

Cheater prints can really help you make something awesome in a hurry.  And I also love that if you are new to free motion quilting (FMQ), these prints by Malka are very forgiving - so have at it!

I am also working on adding lots of new Last Chance (end of bolts and odd cuts) pieces to the store as well.

That's it for now ... its off to bed!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

WIP : Jazz Hands Block

I fell in love with the Jazz Hands quilt from Material Obsession Two book by Sarah Fielke I'm doing some traveling this week and decided to take along some EPP.  Hope to get my block pieced together this week.  :-)  I will update you on my progress when I get back - or you can check it out on Instagram since I'd probably snap a few photos there first.  :-)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Shop Update : New Bundles

Another week brings new bundles to the shop!  This week's Curated Collection is a rainbow of Bella Solids in some of my favorite colors.

Over the Rainbow Bundle 

And the Curated Collection makes me think of peas and carrots!  Here's "Veggie Garden" ... quantities of this one are limited as we're almost out of some of these prints.

Veggie Garden Bundle

Happy Sewing!  :-)

WIP : Weekender Bag

Happy Friday y'all!  :-)  Do you ever have one of those days at work where all you can think about is what you'd rather be sewing?  It just makes meetings so much longer.  :-)

After going to Sew South and tacking the duffle bag and also admiring my roommate's super fun Weekender bag, I came back ready to take it on.

So far, I've done the side pockets. I did some fussy cutting with a few pieces for the centers of the pockets.  And then I had to put it aside to work on some other things.  I hope to quilt some more panels this weekend.  I am headed to California for a conference with some of my students next week and had hoped to have it finished by then, but I don't think its going to happen.  Probably best not to rush it anyway.

Have any of you ever made the Weekender?  Any tips to share?

Hope you had a great day!  I'm off to do some of that sewing ...

Happy Sewing! :-)

Introducing : Hop, Skip & Jump BOM

Y'all I am sooo stoked to kick off our very first block-of-the-month (aka BOM) program!  I mean, like, really excited!  If you follow me on Instagram, you've probably seen me share assorted photos as I have been working on the project - the design, the images, etc.  Well, its time to share all the deets!

What Are We Making?
This quilt will have twelve 12-inch blocks, some sashing, two borders and will finish at 60 in x 74 in.

You Can Do It!
First of all, this is a beginner-friendly quilt that requires no special rulers or equipment.  We'll be rotary cutting, marking a few special lines for some blocks, but y'all can do it!  There are two basic, traditional blocks that we'll be working on over the course of the BOM and we'll just add some special touches to them to jazz them up a little.

How Does It Work?
Each month from June 2013-May 2014, you'll receive a new block pattern.  Patterns will be delivered to subscribers in PDF format by e-mail.  Patterns will include step-by-step instructions, photos, and cutting diagrams to help you make your blocks. The last month of the BOM, you will also receive instructions for completing your quilt.

There are TWO types of subscriptions for our BOM program.

1. Reserve your spot to receive printed patterns and a block kit in the mail each month.  This includes all the fabric you need for each month's block, printed patterns, access to the PDF version of the patterns, and a few little surprises along the way! :-)  See all the details about this option, including the reservation fee and monthly pricing, here. Quantities are limited.
2. Or sign up to receive the patterns only by e-mail.  Sign up by 5/15 for just $10.  (Price will be $12 after 5/15/13.) 

Block kit subscribers will be making their quilt in the beautiful Happy Go Lucky line from Bonnie & Camille (yardage arrives in May - precuts available now).

Share & Connect
The Hop, Skip, & Jump Flickr group is ready to go!  You'll be able to share your blocks, ask questions and cheer each other on as we go.

Grab the button on top of the left side bar and add it to your blog!

All the complete details on signing up can be found here.  If you have any questions, please email us at sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com or leave a comment.

Shop Update : New Bundles

A quick shop update and then tomorrow its all about the BOM!

We have two new bundles this week ... our FQ Frenzy is called "Pretty in Peony."

This bundle was largely inspired by the Real Simple May 2013 Magazine Cover.

I will take one of those vases of pretties any day!  :-)

Then our newest Curated Collection is called "Beach Therapy."  Our family used to rent a house in Rodanthe, on the Outer Banks of NC, and for several years we stayed at a house called "Beach Therapy."  We enjoyed many laughs and nice relaxing hours on the decks watching the waves.

These bundles are now available while supplies last.

See y'all tomorrow as we introduce the Hop, Skip & Jump BOM!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Coming Soon!!!

Details to be announced later this week!  :-) 

Weekend Sewing : Nest HSTs

Hope you all had a great weekend!  I spent ALL day Saturday sewing and got so much done.  What a great feeling!  Among all the blocks and things I finished and started, I also worked on this ...

We are having a post-Sew South swap.  I stalked my secret partner a little and decided that it was finally time to do something with these Tula Pink Nest HSTs that I've been hoarding since like 2010.  Seriously no joke ....2010.  So, I took them out of the WIP bag and got to arranging.

I can't decided if I should make a pillow or a wallhanging.  Either way its going to be 20" square and I am super proud of my seams on this .... a little patience for trimming and pinning goes a long way.

It also helps when you have a fun pincushion ring.  Pinning is soooo much more fun.  This pin was made by my girl Susannah Kate of Art Nest (etsy when she has them available) that I met at Sew South. As you can imagine - she is super fun!

More on what else I made later!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Sneak Peek : Block of the Month

I am very excited to share that we will be officially introducing our very first Block of the Month (BOM) program later this month. I finished designing the blocks for the quilt last night and snapped a quick pic with my phone last night and shared on Instagram.

Just a little teaser for you.  :-) It will feature Happy-Go-Lucky by Bonnie & Camille.  And I will get slashing into those pretty fat eighths this weekend to make our quilt sample.

Since this is our first BOM and we love taking your opinion into consideration, I made a quick survey to ask y'all a few questions to help us as we finalize the details of our program.  If you'd be at all interested in doing a 12-block quilt with us, or you've participated in a BOM before, I'd love it if you wouldn't mind sharing your thoughts with us.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Charm Madness Winners!

Happy Tuesday, y'all!  Its time to announce the winners from the Week 3 Giveaway, the Linky Post and, of course, the Grand Prize.  Ready?

Thanks to all of you who took the time to link up a charm project on the Linky post!  I had a great time checking out your projects - including those that were inspired by Charm Madness tutorials!  The winner of a $25 gift certificate to our shop is ....

#12 Lindsay from PACountryCrafts!  Congrats!  :-) 

The Week 3 Giveaway winner goes to ... 

#13  Gill, who will also receive a $25 gift certificate to Sew Lux!  Thanks to all of you for sharing your thoughts on what you'd like to see tutorials for.  I now have lots of ideas to get working on for you!  :-) 

And ... finally .... the Grand Prize Winner.  The total number of charms used was 448.  Of the 64 entrants, 17 folks got it right.  I sorted the winners by timestamp (earliest entry to latest) and then used random.org to draw a winner - just as we would for normal comments.  And the winner of a $75 gift certificate to our shop is ... 

Sarah Norman!  Congratulations!  :-) 

Thanks again to all of you who participated by visiting our bloggers and saying hello to them, blogging your projects, and encouraging each other in our shared love of fabric and thread!

If you've been inspired and need some supplies to get your project started, hop on over to sewluxfabric.com and enjoy 10% off any order now through Friday, 4/12/13 using "charm448" in the coupon code box. 

Winners have been contacted by email with their gift certificate information. 

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Shop Updates : Bundles & Precuts

A few shop updates for you ...

This week we have a brand new Fat Quarter Frenzy bundle.  (These are limited quantity at a special price of $20 for 10 FQs). This week's bundle is called "Denim & Daisies" and has lots of great blue and mustard prints from PB&J as well as a few from 2wenty Thr3e, Comma and Bella solids.

We also have a new Curated Collection this week featuring prints and coordinating solids from the brand new Boho line by Urban Chiks.  This one is called "Boho Sweet."

The Boho yardage is also now available.

In addition, we have some new precuts - more Happy-Go-Lucky honey combs as well as other cuts are arriving today.  And believe it or not - Aspen Frost, Basic Grey's new holiday collection, is now available in precuts as well.  :-)

Don't forget today is the last day to enter the Charm Madness giveaways!

Happy Sewing! :-)

Charm Madness : Grand Prize Giveaway Post

For the Grand Prize - a $75 gift certificate to Sew Lux Fabric - you'll need to have visited all the tutorials in the Charm Madness Blog Hop and tally up the total number of charms USED in the projects.   I have referenced all of the posts below in case you missed one.  I also updated the tracker sheet here if that helps you out.  :-)

Tuesday 3/19 - Jennie at Clover & Violet

Wednesday, 3/20 - Jess at Sew Crafty Jess

Thursday, 3/21 - Rhonda at Quilter in the Gap

Friday, 3/22 - Jenelle at Echinops &Aster

Tuesday, 3/26 - Lori at Lori H Designs

Wednesday, 3/27 - Kelsey at Kelsey Sews

Thursday, 3/28 - Lindsay at CraftBuds

Friday - 3/29 - Jennifer at That Girl, ThatQuilt

Saturday, 3/30 - Stacey at The Tilted Quilt

Monday, 4/1 - Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts 

Tuesday, 4/2 - Wendi at prsd4tim2

Wednesday, 4/3 - Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy

Thursday, 4/4 - Ginny at Fish Creek Studio

Saturday, 4/6 - Leona at Leona's Quilting Adventure

To enter, you must complete the form here.  We need your name, email address, and the total you came up with.  Your email is only to contact you if you win and it will not be sold or be added to our mailing list.  (Which you can join, if you want to, using the link on the left side of our blog. :-) 

Comments on this post have been disabled - so please fill out the form here.  (This way those who didn't actually visit all the tutorials can't just "guess" by looking at other posts.  Seems only fair! :-)

ENTRIES ARE NOW CLOSED.  WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED SHORTLY!

Deadline to enter is 11:59 PM on Monday, 4/8/13. Winner will be drawn at random from correct responses and announced on Tuesday, 4/9/13.  One entry per person.  Please email us at sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com if you have any questions. 

Charm Madness : Week 3 Giveaway Post

Thanks so much for continuing to follow along on our Charm Madness Blog Hop!  We've reached the end of our hop and its time for the last weekly giveaway in this series.  (Don't forget to also enter for the grand prize drawing too - see separate post.) 

For this week's giveaway, please comment here ON THIS POST and tell us what kinds of projects/techniques you'd like to see a tutorial for.

The prize this week is a $25 gift certificate to our shop - Sew Lux Fabric!

Post your comment by 11:59 PM EST on MONDAY, 4/8.  We'll select a winner using random.org and will announce the winner on Tuesday, 4/9/13.

Comments are now closed. Winner will be announced shortly!

Charm Madness : Wrapping it Up

Can you believe that the Charm Madness Blog Hop events are nearly over?!  It's been a fun three weeks with you all and our bloggers have made and shared some awesome projects.

As we wind it all down, don't forget that today is the last day to post your own charm project on the linky post.  You can find the post here and link up through midnight tonight.

Tomorrow we will have the final weekly giveaway post. And I will also include a round up post with all the links as well as the link to enter for the grand prize - hope you've been counting all the charm squares used!  :-)

Have a wonderful Saturday!  :-)

Charm Madness : Insertion Strip Tutorial

Our final Charm Madness tutorial is ready for you!  Visit Leona at Leona's Quilting Adventure for an insertion strip tutorial using charm squares.

Stop over and say hello to Leona!

Bloglovin

Hey everyone!  I am working on switching over to Bloglovin since Google Reader is on the outs in a few months (sad).  In order to claim my blog, I had to make a quick post.

Are you using Bloglovin?

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Charm Madness : Comma Basket

Hey everyone!  I am really excited to link up today's Charm Madness project because I got to meet Ginny from Fishcreek Studio while I was at Sew South a few weeks ago.  She is super sweet and really fun to sew with!

Check out her fun project for this round tote here.

Comma precuts have also finally arrived in our shop as well.

Happy sewing! :-)

Charm Madness : Week 2 Giveaway Winner

Thanks to all of you who are following along on the Charm Madness Blog Hop!  I loved reading what tutorials you are all planning to try!  And most of all I loved reading that you are loving the blog hop.  :-) 

We drew a winner for the $25 Sew Lux Gift Certificate and the winner is ... 

... B Greene!  Congrats, B!  Look for an email from me shortly!

Happy Sewing! :-) 

Curated Collections : Low Volume

I don't know about you, but I've really been enjoying the Low Volume quilts and projects in the blogosphere lately.  So much so, that it inspired me to create a Low Volume bundle.  I had such a hard time choosing, that I ended up with two different bundles ...

Low Volume No 1

and Low Volume No 2

Now available at sewluxfabric.com while supplies last.  :-)

Also of note, some Happy Go Lucky precuts are en route to our shop.  More cuts coming soon!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Charm Madness : Double Hourglass Pouch

Happy Wednesday!

We're excited to send you over to visit Elizabeth at Don't Call Me Betsy today for a super cute Double Hourglass Pouch Tutorial.

Elizabeth used the fresh new 2wenty-Thr3e collection.  Snag a charm pack for yourself before they're gone!

Stop by and say hello to Elizabeth.  :-)

Charm Madness : Charming Chevron Tote

Hi everyone!  If you haven't had a chance to hop on over to Wendi's blog to check out this Charm(ing) Chevron tote bag tutorial, you should!  I love a chevron and I think the use of charms makes it so scrappy and cute.

I hope you are all enjoying the hop so far!

Happy Sewing! :-)

Charm Madness : Table Runner

Happy Monday, everyone!  Despite all the April Fools jokes today, this beautiful table runner tutorial for Charm Madness is no joke!

Stop by and visit Alyce to see how to make this beautiful "Simply Helixed" runner.

Simply Color charm packs are still available here.