Smitten Quilt Along : Month One Blocks

Have you conquered the Y-seam yet? :)

I don't know about those of you who have been sewing along, but I thoroughly enjoyed making the Large Hexagon One blocks last month!  The opportunity to fussy cut in these was so fun that I got carried away and made an extra block!

One of my goals was to mix and match from my stash and all of my favorite designers and make every block one that I love. I was pretty pleased that I was able to get Tula Pink, Bonnie & Camille, Kate Spain, and Katy Jones to all play together so nicely in this one bold block with the orange outer border.

I incorporated a few favorite sewing-related text prints as well.  The top block is all my favorites ... dots, green, hot pink zebra, aqua, and low volume all mixed together.  Definitely one of my favorite color combos for sure!

Another sewing themed print and more dots along with fussy cut Tula Pink Vintage Stars.

The black and white dot print is an old favorite from Sweetwater and I'm glad I worked it in!  I cut the Daysail stripe prints (red and also teal) the same and love how the effects are different depending on how you use them in the block. 

I couldn't resist making these Cotton + Steel cats march around the exterior of the block.  No block is complete without some polka dots and I am glad I added the pop of black in there.  That green stripe is from Chicopee and it was the perfect width for these templates.

Here they all are together!  I am loving this project so far and can't wait to see how it evolves over the next few months.  See you all on the 6th with tips for machine piecing the next block!

Happy Sewing! :-)

WIP Wednesday

Happy Wednesday, y'all!  I sure am whipped after a long day of freshmen orientation at work yesterday ... but I am really here to tell you about a new work-in-progress WIP I have going on this week. :-)

Now that I am free to "sew whatever I want" with the FSU quilt done, I got to work on some fun things I've had waiting in the wings for way to long ... including a Anne bag from Clover & Violet.

I wanted to use a bigger print for the body of the bag and decided to go with a large bouquet print from the Flora line.  This fabric is just so pretty.  :-)  Since I didn't have pieces to guide my quilting, I grabbed a ruler and a FriXion pen and marked a grid on the fabric.

For the top band, I used a coordinating Flora print and made some ruffles by pulling the threads.
I had actually bought a ruffler foot some time ago when a store was closing.  I pulled it out for this project and was disappointed to realize that the shank on the foot doesn't fit my machine.  :-(  But ruffling by hand wasn't that bad.

Here's the shell of the bag all ready for the lining to be added.  I think its looking really good so far and the pattern is really easy to follow.  :-)

Hope you are having a wonderful week so far!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Progress and Plans

Hey y'all!  So, I got some great sewing time in yesterday and managed to make some serious headway on my Modernista Homemade swap projects.  Hallelujah!

My partner asked for either a pin cushion with a removable trash bucket or a sewing machine cover.  Well, I couldn't decide between the two ... and her tastes are so specific for this project I really wanted her to have a matching set.  So I am making both.

Got the cover pieced.  Loving it with some Quilters Linen, which isn't real linen.  Surprising it looks really nice with all the gray even though its more brownish.

I am using this project to get some practice with hand quilting.  Tiger Tape is my new best friend since its helping me stitch straight and with consistent stitch length.  (Edited to Add:  We'll have this Tiger Tape in the shop later this week! :-)

Still have a few more rows to do.  :-)   I did get the pin cushion set all done - just have to stuff and stitch the cushion part closed.  I'll share that later on after I've taken some photos of it.

I also reluctantly dragged myself go to the big box sewing store today for some buttons and cording to finish up the machine cover project this week.  I will keep you posted on it.  I am sure I will wish I didn't have to mail it off.

I also worked on some plans for this week.  We're having "Christmas in July" this week!  If you get our newsletter, you'll get all the details tomorrow morning.  Or stop by here for what we've got going on this week!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Weekend Sewing

Hey there!  It was a busy weekend around here .... birthday celebrations, graduation festivities, and the usual weekend stuff (laundry, etc).  But, I did manage to get quite a bit of sewing done.  Here's a peek at what I was working on ...

Finishing a mini for a swap (details in a full post later this week).  I used by charms from Kelsey's Red & Aqua Swap.  I think it turned out pretty good.  And the FriXion pen was helpful in marking my lines.  :-)

And ... the long-awaited FSU quilt got underway.

A little background on this project ... I married a 'Nole.  And he's big into Seminole sports, t-shirts ... anything FSU basically.  I went to NCSU but I've converted a little.  ;-)  Anyway ... I've been picking up FSU fabric over several trips to Tallahassee for football games.  And lately I've been getting comments like "I've been waiting 5 years" and "don't make anything else until you make my quilt" and ... my favorite ... "that's nice, but it doesn't look like an FSU quilt."  LOL

So, since his birthday is tomorrow, I officially got started.  :-)  When I came downstairs with the first row you would have thought he was 5 years old on Christmas.  So, my goal this week is definitely to finish the FSU quilt!  :-)

What are you working on right now?  I'd love to hear about it.  :-)

Happy Sewing! :-)

Vintage Modern & Other Stuff

Happy Wednesday!  I finally made it back into my sewing room today.  I probably definitely should've been doing some work instead, but I was excited to get some Farmer's Wife Friday sewing done as well as some planning for a few other things, including cutting into this ...

... for a pouch swap.  Hope that'll be ok with my secret swap partner.  (And is it bad that I just like staring at the bundle?)  :-)

Tonight while I was messing with some little FW pieces, I got an email that Vintage Modern yardage is on the way.  Woot!  Woot!  I can't wait for those houndstooth prints.  I will be adding it to the shop this weekend and we'll start shipping it out on Monday.  And speaking of Vintage Modern, we got three pretty stacks of charms in today.  This will be the last of the charms we'll receive for this line, so stockpile them if you like them.  :-)

That's all for tonight, folks!   Thanks for stopping through ... don't forget to guess my project.  I will post a winner for the giveaway on Friday!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

WIP Wednesday: Planner Cover

Hey y'all!  Hard to believe another half a week is gone already ... has it been a whirlwind week for you too?  I thought I'd stop in and share a little project that I am working on.

Recently, I bought a planner from Erin Condren.  The planner has a strong laminated cover, but I know that in and out of bags everyday it will get beat up quickly.  So, I selected some fabrics for a cover ...

So far, I have it mostly done ... just need to adjust a few things when I finally get back to my sewing machine!  LOL

What are you working on this week?

Happy Sewing!  :-)

WIP Wednesday

Hey y'all!  I thought I'd stop in and share a WIP report with you tonight.  (As if I needed any new WIPs! LOL)

Anyway ... this weekend I started working on 3 curtain panels for a friend of mine ... they're big.  As in like 60" x 90".

And a geometric and directional print just makes this more fun, right?

Good thing I had a FriXion pen to keep my cutting lines straight.  :-)

I am also getting ready to cut into this stack to make some Easter baskets for a coworker's little boys.  I will keep you posted on that project.

Of course, there are many other projects I am juggling!  Including another 60 x 90 project ... all I will say is that means a LOT of hand stitching on the binding!

What are you working on?

Happy Sewing! :-)

Weekend Sewing

Hey friends!  I thought I'd stop in and share what I was working on this weekend.

First up ... I have been working on finishing this Domestic Bliss baby quilt using the fabulous pattern Jennie posted on the Moda Bake Shop a few weeks ago.

Just working on finishing the binding now.  :)

I also went to work on some Hello Luscious charm squares.  How does 2 mini quilts/large mug rugs from ONLY one charm pack sound?  Well, I will have a tutorial for you later this week with the first of the two.  But for now, here's what I started with for mini quilt #1 ...

What did you sew this weekend?  Link it up in the comments ... I'd love to see it!

Did I tell you we're doing some shopping tomorrow (Tuesday)?  We're looking forward to meeting with our Moda rep and catching up with her as well as selecting prints for later this summer.  I'd love to know what you think of these lines ... anything you'd love to see us carry?  (Please no negative comments on designer's work ... just tell us what you love in the comments!  Negative comments will be deleted ... as your mama probably said, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.")

• Coquette by Chez Moi
• Bungle Jungle by Tim and Beck
• Ladies' Stitching Club by Oliver + S
• Oh Deer! by MoMo

Thanks for stopping in!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

WIP Report

Happy Wednesday!

Last week I posted my WIP list for this quarter and I'm happy to report I got one of them off the list already!  (Mostly because we planned to meet the recipient for dinner this past weekend!)  Anywho, after work on Friday, I whipped up 6 blocks to add to the ones I received from my Flickr group and pieced the quilt together.  Got it basted ...

Got it quilted and bound ...

And then on Saturday morning, in the daylight, I realized this ...

On my.  See that?!  Those whites aren't exactly the same white.  I think I need an OTT light.  And I need to start keeping my whites in labeled bags.  LOL  My OCD self is still nagging with my rational self that a 10-month old won't notice or care. ;-)  It's a scrappy quilt - much like the one I'm making for the Scrap Attack Strings.  And with time and loving hopefully it won't be noticed as much. And thank goodness I distributed my blocks evenly throughout the quilt (except that every intersection is like this ... yes, really).

But I was really proud of getting that striped backing on straight.  Nice work! (Pats self on back. :-)

I made a cute little tag and wrapped it up for gifting anyway. Of course, it was well-received and I am still trying not to be bothered by the mismatch mixup.

Quilt Details:  10 inch blocks, finished size approx 30" x 40".

Happy Sewing! :-)

Finish-A-Long 1st Quarter

Hey there!  I'm going to be working on a lot of projects this year, including attacking my scraps (more about that this weekend!) as well working to finish up some WIPs that have been laying around for awhile.  Rhonda has challenged us to a Finish-A-Long and you can check out all the details here.

So, for the first quarter of 2012 here are the projects I plan to finish (beleive me there were a lot to choose from! haha) ...

1. Monochromatic Castle Peeps Quilt

I made this quilt top awhile ago and when I first showed it to my mister he said "wow, when did you get that fabric?! The middle ages?!"  Whatever!  I have the backing, binding and top draped on a hanger just waiting around for quilting and binding.

2. Zoology Baby Quilt

So yea, I probably made this about a year and half ago and just need to hand stitch the binding.  Lame, I know.  :-/

3. English Paper Piecing Hexies

I got on a hexie kick and enjoyed stitching these together.  I have a plan for using these which I hope to share in a tutorial soon.  But I think these have been sitting around about a year too.  Many of these are favorite prints and this definitely represents my personal stash-o-prints. :-)

4. Primary String Quilt

These blocks are from a Flickr bee and I really need to finish this project and hand it off to special recipient.  :-)

Ok, so there you have it ... the WIPs I intend to finish this quarter.  I'll keep you posted!

Happy Sewing! :-)

Need another project?

Hi everyone!  I hope your week is off to a great start so far.  :-)

My mom and I were discussing today that we need to get a world map and some pushpins to mark all the states and countries that our customers are from.  Today we added a new location .... Greece!  We are so thrilled to be building this little once-pipedream-of-a-business and so grateful for all of you ... whether you live in Greece or here in our own county in NC ... who have supported us so far.  Thank you!

It's summertime, which for me means days with no schedule!  :-)  And the opportunity to craft or sew all day if I want to (and don't have other chores that can no longer be ignored).  I've spent some time surfing blogland lately and have come across some neat quilt alongs.  At the moment, I've been eyeballing and lurking around some of them and have started in on a few others. I hope to share a "WIP" report of my own soon .... I might actually rival Mary's list.  ;-)

Have you jumped on the Farmer's Wife bandwagon yet?  There's something about these sampler blocks and the history in them that appeals to me.  Not so much the traditional fabrics, but I love that these blocks are ones that women have been making for many, many years.  I did breakdown and buy the book about 2 weeks ago and I am still deciding on what to do about my fabrics.  I am thinking that they'll be happy scrappy.  But my scraps look like this ...

Think that's too much for this kind of quilt?  I'd love your thoughts!  :-) 

Well, that's all for now folks.  Tomorrow, I have plans to work on the biggest WIP project .... cleaning and organizing my sewing room.  Can y'all relate?!

Happy Sewing! :-)