SURMA Medallion Along

Hey y'all!

Last month, I shared about my SURMA medallion along with some of my friends from Sew South, and the Christmas-themed center I made for mine.

I got a pretty amazing center from Tessa at The Sewing Chick.   And when I saw amazing, its no joke ... check out this paper piecing ...

I decided to frame her New York Beauty blocks (read more about them on Tessa's blog here) with a border of polka dots (super shocking to anyone that knows me!) and then add some geese.   Making geese doesn't bother me now that I have a Bloc Loc for them.

And here it is with my finished border added on ...

I love it and wished I didn't have to mail it on.  I can't wait to see how these medallions turn out!  (Speaking of which, here's a sneak of what just arrived for me to add to!)

Happy Sewing!  :-)

EPP Mug Rug

So last month I finished up a Scrappy Mug Rug swap ... I was just going through some pictures and realized that I never posted the a.maz.ing mug rug I received ...

Robyn, at Coffee & Cotton, made this awesome mug rug for me.  I love the English Paper Pieced star on this.  It's really super fun.  I admire the people who have the time (and patience) to make all those beautiful EPP blocks.  One day, I tell myself, one day.  :-)

Look at the detail on the quilting.  Goodness!  It's really so lovely.

Robyn makes some amazing things ... check out her blog here.  :-)

Happy Sewing!

Modernista Homemade Swap Received

Happy Monday!

We had all of our "welcome back" meetings at school today ... and this year it was actually pretty fun! The school I work at is a great school and we had a lot to celebrate from last year.  Our principal and assistant principals had a big celebration planned for us to start our day of meetings... part of which included us all doing the cupid shuffle (kind of like an updated electric slide).  Just imagine your high school teachers dancing on the auditorium stage!  It was fun.  :-)

Anyway, I wanted to share the package I received from Cherie in the Modernista Handmade Swap a few weeks ago.  (I posted the project I made here.)

I got a super cute little pin cushion and fun embroidery hoop.

I love the English paper pieced star that she included.  I always love those intricately pieced stars and roses and only wish I could squeeze that into my schedule!  I also think its neat to think about how the hand piecing  (and hand quilting) ties us to our quilting ancestors. :-)

Thanks, Cherie, for such a fun package!

Happy Sewing!  :-)

Modernista Homemade Project

Hey y'all!  So far it has been an exciting week around here ...

Monday morning I finished and mailed off my Modernista Homemade swap package and then got ready for some my of my girlfriends to come over that evening ... while tidying up, I noticed a small lizard in the dining room.  Freak out moment.  Especially since my husband wouldn't be home before my friends came over.  Bigger freak out moment.  My husband's advice to "make a game of it" when everyone got there was not acceptable!  LOL  I tried to swoosh him outside, but he skittered under the couch.  I solved the problem by walking outside and asking the neighborhood elementary boys who were playing basketball next door who wanted to earn $20.  Four of them came running at me.  I explained the lizard needed to go, there should be no blood or guts on the carpet, and that the TV better not get knocked over.  A very entertaining 20 minutes later, the lizard was rescued and returned to the outdoors.

More exciting, though, was getting to see Chicago The Musical last night!  Wow!  What an incredible show.  Christie Brinkley was supposed to star, but was sick so they flew in the lead from NYC.  I am sure Christie is good, but I think we got the better deal on that one.  :-)  If you get a chance to see it, you should.

Anyway, I know y'all probably come here for fabric-based stuff, so here's some quilty stuff for you ...

My Modernista Homemade swap partner has a sewing area in the corner of her bedroom.  She likes big florals and birds and wanted a red and cream theme with accents of gray and blue and she asked for either a machine cover or a sewing organizer.  Needless to say, I felt a little goofy posting my fabric choices in the Flickr pool because (A) I was sure it would give it away and (B) well, most people wouldn't immediately associate "modern" with them.  So several "pretty, but not for me" type of comments later I had a few doubts.

I decided to use my Etchings charm pack and make it happen anyway. I bought some ruler twill tape on Etsy and added it on.

I like balance in my projects and decided to do a big center panel instead of an off-center one in the pattern that I was using.  I'm also still pretty new at the embroidery thing, so that also helped make my decision. :-)

I really love the perle quilting on this.  I am no longer scared of hand quilting since the Tiger Tape really made it pretty much fool-proof!  I found some shell buttons at the big box store and added them after I quilted the line down the sides.  This wasn't a problem, since the machine cover is completely lined when you are done.

I almost skipped the piping, but I think it adds a nice touch ... and I learned some things along the way that I will do differently the next time I use piping but overall I was pleased with it.

Overall, I really love it.  She should get it today and I am hoping she does too.  I might have been checking the tracking and the Flickr group anxiously to see if she's gotten it yet and what she thinks.

I also made a pin cushion and trash bucket caddy thing using this tutorial from Elizabeth Hartman - its called the "Weighted Pincushion Organizer." And its really easy to make.

I used some scraps from the cover project and I think it turned out pretty well.  The little bucket is removable as well.  I just thought a matching set would be nice.  :-)

I added a few other things and sent off this package. :-)

I haven't gotten anything from my secret swapper yet, but will update here when I do.

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!  :-)

Brights

Hi everyone!  Hope your week is off to a great start!

I recently joined the Modernista Homemade Swap on Flickr and apparently my partner needed some direction about my colors.  The first room we're sewing for is our sewing room/space, so I took some pictures of things in my space ...

... and mentioned that my partner probably can't go wrong if she uses bright colors!  :-)  Hope I didn't confuse her more.

Speaking of bright colors, I started some new blocks this weekend with a new flying geese ruler.  I had so much fun with my test block, I cut everything I needed for 15 more and have them waiting in the wings (couldn't resist the pun, sorry!) to sew as I get time.  (Not that I needed a new WIP or anything, right Rhonda?!)

What are you working on?

Happy Sewing! :-)

Pouch Swappin'

Hi there!  I am excited to share one of my recent swap projects with you today.

I have been stitching along with the do. Good Stitches girls for quite some time and the Faith group decided to have a little pouch swap for fun.  I got Deb and she had this mosaic on Flickr.  All the photos in Deb's mosaic were beautiful, but I especially noticed the photo of FMF.

Instead intricate piecing, I decided to go with a simple, well-constructed pouch with a little help from Michelle Patterns (Keyka Lou). I used the Inset Zip Clutch pattern and as always, the pattern was well-written and easy to follow.  In fact, I felt my first attempt at this pattern turned out nearly perfect.  And I didn't want to mail it off, but I did!

I love that the zipper sits down inside the pouch a little - a nicer finish with no crazy, bumpy corners. And fussy cutting the bouquet print as well as the seeds was the right way to go for sure.

I included a few little scraps from my left over FMF fat quarters for Deb as well as a few other surprises. One of the best parts was getting a message from her that when she got this she was so excited she was jumping up and down and telling her husband it was the one she wanted!  :-D  That totally made my day!

I got a pretty sweet gathered pouch from Jenn of Knit.Craft.Sew...

She cleared nailed it with the pink, green and dots!  ;-)  And I love this awesome lining print ...

Thanks so much Jenn!  :-)

I have a few more swaps to share about, but I will save it for another day.

Happy Sewing!  :-)