Shop Updates - Sales, Kits, & More!

Hey, y'all!  Sorry to leave you hanging for a few days ... life got in the way a bit, but things are settling down.

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you probably already know what's new in the shop, but here's the rundown ...

Mimi by Chez Moi is here.  If you're a Chez Moi fan, you'll love the florals and coordinates in this line.

We have a new Curated Collection - all navy and navy + white prints.  A great stash builder as navy plays so well with pretty much all the colors!

We've restocked the Bloc Loc HST ruler and also added a 3 x 6 Flying Geese ruler.  We chose this size because its perfect for the Swoon block!  Check them out here.

And we're having a sale of baby quilt kits. These charm pack quilts and fast and fun.  The quilt pattern, designed by our friends at Clover & Violet, is totally free at the Moda Bake Shop.  Sale ends 8/4/13.

See you all tomorrow for the Holiday Hustle QAL!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Holiday Hustle QAL : Quilt Details & Supplies

Hey everyone!  Happy Christmas in July!  :)

The other day I announced the Holiday Hustle Quilt Along and I am thrilled that so many of you are excited to make this quilt with me!  This is the first "official" post in the series and we'll chat a little about what you'll need for this quilt.  Ready?


This quilt is called "Holiday Hustle" because the original version was a Christmas quilt that I made in a very short amount of time (last minute!) last year.  With that said, this quilt pattern is appropriate for any collection that you love!  So feel free to participate and stitch it up in a holiday collection or a non-holiday collection.

The Holiday Hustle Quilt is easy-to-piece and beginner friendly.  If you're an experienced quilter, I am sure you'll enjoy the quick project, too.

Requirements for the Quilt (Finished Quilt measures 53" x 60"):

• 1 Charm Pack (42 5-inch squares)
• 3/4 yard Solid for sashing
• 1/2 yard coordinating print for inner border
• 1 yard coordinating print for outer border
• 1/2 yard coordinating print for binding
• 3.5 yards coordinating print for backing
• Batting (approx 60 x 70)

We do have several kits in limited quantities currently available for the top & binding, including In From the Cold (similar to the original quilt made with Joy by Kate Spain), Aspen Frost, as well as Marmalade.  We are working on making a Winter's Lane version and a few other non-holiday versions available as well (I will update you more on that before our next scheduled post in the series). 

Holiday Hustle QAL Schedule:

• Thursday, August 1st - Piecing the Blocks
• Thursday, August 8th - Adding the Sashing & Borders
• Thursday, August 15th - Quilting & Binding & Linky Post
• Saturday, August 31st - Linky Closes for Finished Quilts & a Winner is Drawn!

That's all for now!  If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at sewlux (at) gmail (dot) com.  Also, if you are on Instagram, follow me - I will be using the #holidayhustleqal on my posts related to this project. 

Hope you'll join the fun!

Happy Sewing!  :)

Christmas in July Sewing Challenge : In From the Cold

Hey again!  I had the pleasure of sewing along with some of my fellow Sew Southers (and Christmas in July Challengers) this past weekend, including Christen of Love by Hand (host of the Christmas in July Sewing Challenge), Sarah of Stitching and Bacon (who made these cute trees) as well as Tessa of The Sewing Chick.

Photo courtesy of Tessa at The Sewing Chick

While we were hanging out, stitching, and laughing this weekend, we also got a sneak peek at this awesome project that Tessa made with the In From the Cold bundle.  And I just wanted to make sure you didn't miss it!  Check out her tutorial here.  Her work is always beautiful and the tutorial is beautifully photographed and easy to follow.  You'll love it, I promise.  

Happy Sewing!  :-)

The Holiday Hustle Quilt Along

Hey y'all!

If you're like me, you probably find yourself stitching until the minute before Santa's Sleigh comes through each year.  This year, I am on a mission to stitch more early so I can relax and enjoy the holiday with family and friends.  (We'll see how that goes!)

Anyway, last year I whipped up my Christmas Joy quilt in what I'm calling my "Holiday Hustle" pattern.  The name pretty much says it all ... a holiday quilt whipped up in a hustle.  Of course, you can make this quick and easy-to-piece charm pack quilt in any fabric collection.

Want to stitch along with me?  Stitch along and link up your finished project at the end for a $40 gift certificate.  Here are the dates you should mark on your calendar:

• Thursday, July 25th - Quilt Details & Supplies
• Thursday, August 1st - Piecing the Blocks
• Thursday, August 8th - Adding the Borders
• Thursday, August 15th - Quilting & Binding
• Saturday, August 31st - Linky Closes for Finished Quilts & a Winner is Drawn!

Can't wait til Thursday for the deets?  Order a kit in either In From the Cold or Aspen Frost here (and on sale through 7/27!).

Happy Sewing!  :-)

New Precuts

Hey there!

I'm busy preparing to go to the mountain this weekend for my Sew South Reunion weekend.  I can't wait to see my sewing girls again!  In the midst of that (and preparing to meet our Moda rep again tonight), I did manage to get the new precuts added to the shop.

 

 

Check them all out ... Scrumptious by Bonnie & Camille, Sunnyside by Kate Spain, Wrens & Friends by Gina Martin, Sweet Serenade by Basic Grey, and Bluebird Park by Kate & Birdie Co.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

A Finish : Tifton Tiles Scoot Edition

Happy Monday!

I finally finished this long overdue quilt this weekend ... of course, it didn't take as long to finish as I thought it would.  In fact, I quilted it and bound it in one evening.  But I am glad to have it done and will be turning it over to its owner very soon and know it will be well-loved.  :-)

The pattern for this quilt is my "Tifton Tiles" quilt.  You can find the free tutorial for turning a stack of 9 FQs into a quick and easy to piece (and generously sized - approx 49" x 59") lap quilt here.  The original was a quilt that I whipped out for a Christmas present for my mother-in-law on a short time frame.

Like the original, I quilted this one with a meandering stitch all over.  This goes pretty fast and is easy to do.  :)

I did try something new on this one ... machine binding!  Ack!  I followed the tutorial from Rita at Red Pepper Quilts.  The tutorial is really good, but its definitely something I need to practice more.  I did cut my strips 2.5" wide and used a slightly wider seam allowance than 1/4", which I usually do.

I will definitely try this again ... but I will use a LOT more pins.  I felt like I did a really good job of stitching in the ditch on the front - almost all my stitches were fairly unnoticeable.  But I definitely missed some spots (as seen on IG) that I had to go back and restitch.  It's not horrible, but its not perfect.  But about 90% was caught in the stitching the first time so I feel pretty good about that for about 225" of binding!  I think more pins might help or using some Clover clips between (or instead of) pins.  Going slow, lots of pins, using an increased stitch length and a walking foot are my best tips for you.  I might quilt up some scraps sometime to practice the corners. With all that said, there are some quilts I will likely still hand stitch the binding on, but if I get a little closer to perfect on this technique, I could definitely see myself becoming a convert.  :-)

In other news, I did take this quilt to my guild meeting yesterday and then wimped out of show-and-tell after several people shared much more intricately pieced and quilted projects.  Totally silly of me I am sure.  But after the one woman who appliqued a tree and all sorts of animals native to Australia all over the BACK of her quilt, I felt a little simple with my kid-friendly, utilitarian quilt.  After thinking about that more today, I feel even sillier.  This quilt will be no less loved (and likely more used) than those "better" quilts.  I'm promising myself not to wimp out in the future.  :-)

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Quilt Stats: 
Pattern: Tifton Tiles by me (Chrissy Lux) (free pattern tutorial here)
Fabric: Scoot by Deena Rutter for Riley Blake
Size: 49" x 59"

Stash Worthy

Be prepared, y'all ...

... these will be making a LOT of appearances in my future projects and bee blocks!  :-)  

Perfectly stash worthy!  Frames, Ogee, and Eyelet prints from Simply Style by V & Co.   

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Simply Style by V & Co is Here!

Happy Friday!

We just got 40 gorgeous bolts in today and Simply Style by V & Co is full of great stash building prints.  I love that this collection is mostly one-color prints, this makes them so versatile for blending in with your stash and mixed-collection projects.

Love the Frames print

And the Ogee print

And the Eyelet print.  Just to name a few!

Of course, we have single fat quarters, yardage in all 40 prints, as well as a fat eighth and fat quarter bundles available - check them all out here.  I will be putting together some Curated Collections with this line over the weekend!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Christmas in July Sewing Challenge : Aspen Frost Projects

Hey y'all!  I wanted to stop in and share the great projects that have been shared in the Christmas in July Sewing Challenge hosted by Christen at Love by Hand.

Christen contacted me several weeks ago about sponsoring the challenge and so we put together three FQ bundles (Aspen Frost, Winter's Lane, and In From the Cold) for the challenge. For each collection, two different bloggers will share a fun tutorial for the challenge. This week, Aspen Frost was up.

Christen made this awesome Present Placemat.  Check out the details and her tutorial here.

And Sarah at Stitching and Bacon made these cute Tree Trivets.  Her quick and easy paper piecing project tutorial can be found here.

I think both projects turned out so cute!  And its even more fun that I know both Christen and Sarah in real life.  We had a blast sewing together at Sew South and we'll even be sewing together next weekend with some other fellow Sew Southers!  :-)

You can also get involved with the challenge by entering your own project!  Read all the details here.

All the bundles for this series are available now and are 10% off through 7/14/13.  Stay tuned ... Winter's Lane challenge projects are up next!  :-)

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Curated Christmas Sale

Hey there!

I am really excited about our newest Curated Collections ... all holiday collections!  These Christmas bundles are so fun.  Three of them are being used in the Christmas in July Sewing Challenge Series and the fourth (bottom right) is one I just had to put together for the fun of it!

Aren't they pretty!?  I can't decide which one I want to sew with ...
maybe some of all of them!

These four Christmas bundles as well as our newest Perle Signature Samplers are all 10% now through Sunday, 7/14/13 - no coupon code is needed.  Prices will discount once the item is added to your cart.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Tutorial : Hand Quilted Journal Cover

Hi everyone!

I was recently asked to participate in a hand made series over at Clover & Violet, so I put together a tutorial for hand quilting a sketch book cover.

You can read more about the hand quilting process here at Clover & Violet.

To make the cover, I modified the Swatch Book Cover Pattern from Michelle Patterns to fit the size of a standard composition book cover.  Since I followed her directions for construction, I don't want to share them here as a "tutorial" but will give you the measurements and modifications I made to create my book cover.

Modifications to Michelle Patterns Swatch Book Cover Pattern: 

• I chose to omit the flap closure for this particular project. 
• I used a 1/4" seam to baste the lining and flap pockets together. 
• I used a 1/2" seam when I attached the front to the lining/pockets and left a 3" opening along the bottom instead of one of the sides.
• I used a 1/8" seam to topstitch around the entire piece to finish. 
• I used interfacing on the Crossweave (top and pockets) as well as on the lining, but didn't clip the corners before fusing (although I would next time to avoid some bulk).  Since I had quilted my top panel to flannel, I omitted the additional layer of sew-in interfacing called for in the pattern.
• Measurements:  Top and lining measurements are 11.5" x 16.75" presew.  Pockets were cut 10" x 11.5" (fold along long edge for a 5" x 11.5" folded flaps). 

The pattern is well-written and easy to follow and includes instructions and pattern pieces for two sizes of Moleskin Cahier notebooks.  

To learn more about how I quilted the Moda Crossweave with Perle cotton check out my tutorial at Clover & Violet. 

For this project, I used Moda Crossweave in Natural, a Honey Honey by Kate Spain print for the lining, and Perle in Medium Sea Green and Light Violet.

If you're interested, my sample is available for sale here. 

Thanks for stopping by today!

Happy Sewing!  :-) 

Spool Mini Mug Rug

Hi friends!

Did a little sewing in between continuing to sort out my stash and attempting to get my sewing room back in some kind of order.  :)

I came up with this little spool mini, which is the prototype for the mini mug rug pattern & kit included in the Customer Appreciation Goodie Bag.  The kit's design is slightly different and you'll actually have enough fabric in the kit to make two of these (colors & prints may vary) - one to keep and one to share with a friend!  :-)

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Summer Celebration : Free Kit with Purchase

To celebrate the 4th of July, we have put together a special Customer Appreciation Goodie Bag available free with qualifying orders placed now through July 5th.  Customer Appreciation Goodie Bags will have a special mini mug rug kit (including fabric & pattern) and a few other surprises!

No coupon code is needed - a Customer Appreciation Goodie Bag will be automatically added to qualifying orders of $45 (after discounts and before shipping) placed now through July 5, 2013 11:59 PM EST.

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Hop Skip & Jump BOM - Block #2

Happy July 1st!  The Hop, Skip & Jump BOM Block #2 pattern and kits shipped out today!

I love this block and think it would make a great scrappy polka dotted quilt, too!  :-)  If you're sewing along, don't forget to add your pictures to Flickr or tag them with #hopskipjumpbom on Instagram.  Want to join the fun?  Sign up for the pattern PDFs here.

Happy Sewing!  :-)