December 30, 2012

2013 - the year of the UFO!

UFOs are taking over for 2013!! No worries - these are just unfinished objects, not the UFOs with the little green men :) I have soooooo many quilts I've started and this is the year I will finally finish them ALL! That is right - you heard me - ALL OF THEM will be done by this time next year. It is a big undertaking but someone has to do it and unless anyone else is volunteering to come over and baste/quilt/bind all of these for me... guess I should get started! :)

Here is a lovely list of my UFOs that I'd like to tackle  WILL FINISH in 2013:


Starting from the top left - next steps for each quilt:

1. Zig Zag QAL - needs pieced
2. Kaleidescope QAL - needs pieced
3. Argyle quilt for hubby - needs basted & quilted
4. Fall Disappearing 9 Patch - needs basted & quilted
5. Queen sized double hourglass - needs pieced
6. Pips Stepping Stones - needs pieced
7. Moda Film Strip - finish quilting (50% done)
8. Orange Aqua Grey Bee Blocks - needs basted and quilted
9. Botany Crazy Log Cabin - finish piecing (50% done)

So 4 finished tops that need basted and quilted, one half way pieced, and 4 more that need pieced. This is a lot to take on but I'm going to get it all done and get every last one of these 9 quilts FINISHED by the end of 2013! 

There are other pillow and purse UFOs floating around my sewing room somewhere too but I figure these 9 are enough to take on this year and I will fit those other smaller projects in around these. I really really REALLY want to end 2013 with new WIPs (works in progress) and 9 beautiful finished quilts :)

First steps to tackle: #3 for my hubby ~ need to figure out the backing & #7 - finish quilting it ASAP, it is so close to being done so this will be a quick win!
Will keep you apprised of my progress :) 

Happy end of 2012 everyone and good luck with all your 2013 projects and goals! 

2012 in Pictures

2012 has been a big year for pillow swaps ~ my favorite kind!!

Here is what I made:

Pillow Parade - 2012
Sew Sew Modern, Pillow Talk Swap, For a friend, Modern She Made, For  my Mom, Pillow Talk Swap
Here is what I received:

Swaps Received - 2012
Modern She Made, Swap with Marika, Pillow Talk Swap, For the Love of Solids, Pillow Talk Swap, For the love of solids extra, Modern she made (not a pillow but I had to get these beauties on here :))
I also was able to get a few quilts finished up and try out a few new purse and pouch patterns:

Misc. 2012 Creations

All in all I feel like I had a very productive year full of fun swaps, new skills, new online sewing buddies, and of course Sewing Summit. It is nice to look back and see what I've achieved ~ espec. since I usually give everything away and forget what I've made haha.

Goodbye to a wonderful sewing year, and hello to 2013 - a new year full of possibilities!! 

December 26, 2012

Lucky Stars Paperpieced BoM Club/QAL!


I was lucky enough to take a foundation paper piecing class with Don’t Call me Betsy (Elizabeth) and Lee at Sewing Summit this year and it was by far one of my favorite classes. As soon as I saw Elizabeth advertising this paper pieced Block of the Month club, I knew I had to jump on the bandwagon! In class we made a foundation paper pieced star block that made me realize paper piecing isn’t as scary as it looks and it was so pretty and fun, so I'm super excited to try some more!


luckystarsbuttonwhite




Until January 5th it is only $10 for the club for the year and you get a practice block as well as instructions and templates for a block each month – which I think is a great deal! On top of that, you get a fun group to learn with as well as a great instructor for questions and troubleshooting – I definitely need that haha. This was a little extra Christmas present from me to me and I’m super glad I signed up :)  Click on the picture above to go to her blog page with more information.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dontcallmebetsy/8300612079/in/pool-1732490@N25
Above is a link to the practice block she sent out today. It is so pretty and looks so scary - I'm excited to get started on it and conquer my fears lol! Each pattern comes with a 6” and 12” template which is awesome – check out her blog post for ideas on what to do with the smaller ones, love her little zipper bags with paper pieced blocks on them! I’m not sure which option I will do for the QAL/BoM club… probably 12” because I want to make a sampler quilt in the end if I’m going to spend all this time and fabric making so many paper pieced blocks.

So stay tuned as I figure out fabric choices and try out these blocks each month - and I look forward to seeing the progress of everyone else who is participating too!

(I am in no way affilitated with "Don't call me Betsy" nor was I asked to write this blog post. I'm just excited about a QAL from one of my favorite Sewing Summit teachers and wanted to share with my friends :))

December 21, 2012

A bit of sewing...

I've been more motivated lately to work on finishing up little projects and have been able to get a few WIPs completed ~ here are a few of my newest creations:

1. My main item for the Sew Sew Modern Swap - if my partner still likes it:


Front of pillow - first time using binding on a pillow


Back of pillow - love those metro circles!
 2. My in-laws came to visit us from Germany and my sister-in-law ordered some Guetermann purse frame glue for me so I was finally able to make one of these pouches from my Sewing Summit class (pattern issues in class so I never got to make mine):




I'm having some issues getting the fabric to stick strong enough to be able to hold stuff. I need to re-glue a few more places for the 3rd time but hey - that is what practice is for right? :)

3. I finally got the right interfacing to finish this Idea Pouch - another pattern from Sewing Summit, although I wasn't in that class:


Matching drawstring bag to make a little Christmas set for someone special :)

Inside pouch is great for an ipad or notebook, small pleated pouch covers multiple pen pockets


I love making matching fabric buttons!!
 4. And as mentioned in my last post - the Evelyn bag - a few more pictures just because I love it :)






And that my friends is the end of this crafty picture show. Hope everyone is able to finish up their last minute Christmas preparations and able to take time to RELAX and ENJOY the holidays with family and friends :) Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!

December 20, 2012

New Bag & Guest Pattern Review @ Sew Sweetness

I had the fun opportunity to review a bag pattern for a new sponsor of one of my absolutely favorite bloggers - Sara at Sew Sweetness. Check out her post HERE for more information on Chris W Designs and to read the reviews - there is a coupon included too if you fancy a new bag pattern as a little personal Christmas present ;-)

My fancy new Evelyn Bag - LOVE IT :)

November 26, 2012

More doorstep happiness!

I was in crafty package heaven last week! The friday before last I received my PTS9 package which was just simply AMAZING! Then Monday or Tuesday I received this incredible package from Marika ~ I had sent her some Mendocino to add to her small collection and in return she made me this:

Personal swap with Marika - so many goodies!!

Check out the detail on this Somerset pillow - hand sewn ~ she is amazing!!

Marika is a sewing godess!

And look how great her spiderweb pillow and my PTS9 go together ~ loving them on my couch!

Left - Marika ~ Right - PTS9 from Jennifer

My husband has been teasing me that as much as I love the pillows, I seem to love the little monster best because I keep playing with him ~ he is pretty awesome!!

*sigh* happiest kid EVER! Marika went above and beyond and I feel completely spoiled!

I received another package on Saturday but I'll tell you all about that once I have pictures!

Hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving ~ I had a great time hanging out with my mom and husband and having a craft day with my mom on Friday. Sure thankful to have had a few days off of work too! :-p

November 16, 2012

PTS9 package has arrived ~ O BUDDY!! :)

O.my.goodness... the best surprise was waiting for me when I got home from work today. Think of one of the top 10 worst days you've ever had at any job - and that is what my day was like yesterday. Today was surviving the aftermath - I really needed this pick me up :)

JenniferLGB of SewStitchy made me the most gorgeous pillow cover ever! This was at the top of my list of ones I was stalking from beginning to end and REALLY hoped would come to me! Ahhhh so awesome - I seriously yelled "Sqqqquuuuueeeeeeeee!!!!!!" and was dancing around the dining room when I opened it - I may have scared the dog lol.

Pillow Talk Swap 9 - From JenniferLGB

From the front to the back to the beautiful binding and awesome hidden zipper, this pillow is simply gorgeous and so well-crafted! And do you see all of those awesome goodies I got with it? Apparently I should have taken the plastic off of the chocolate bar but I was so excited to photograph it all and tell her thanks haha. And now I'm muching on that chocolate bar... hehehe

Thank you so much Jennifer, this is so beautiful and perfect for me! 

I mailed off my PTS9 and Modern She Made packages yesterday ~ one should arrive on Saturday and the other on Monday. 
This package makes me feel better about having to let my rainbow pillow go, totally worth it!

November 15, 2012

New Heather Ross Prints from Spoonflower

Did you know that with the new Heather Ross book you can upload her prints to Spoonflower and change the colors? So fun!! Since you are ordering your own prints, you get a small discount from them as well which is nice too!

When they were having their Buy 1 get 1 Free FQ deal I picked up a few prints... and some yardage too since I liked it so much :) Here is what I created and ordered:







I received my package in the mail a few days ago and I LOVE how these turned out - as lovely on fabric as they are on the screen! Ofcourse having them printed on Kona Cotton isn't the same quality as the originals but I'm happy with my new color options and can't wait to make something fun out of them!

They are having free shipping right now on Spoon Flower so if you were waiting to get any prints, now is a good time!

November 14, 2012

Joel Dewberry, you've outdone yourself again!

I didn't think I could love a fabric line as much as I do Aviary 2 but Joel Dewberry has outdone himself on Notthing Hill - simply STUNNING. I love every colorway but the orange/magenta had me the first time I saw the pictures online and even moreso in person! Swoon!!




I ordered a 1/2 yard bundle of these 12 prints today - can't wait for them to come in the mail! Ahhhhhhhhhh so happy :) - That plaid (2nd from the top) is by far my favorite. I think I would love love LOVE to use that as backing if I can find it at a discount later on - we shall see.

However ~ Is it just me or is the price of fabric going up? Or maybe it is just this manufacturer? Most stores are selling it for $9.25 - even the stores that usually have lower prices than everyone else are selling it at this price. I was able to find it pre-order at a lower price so I just had to snatch it up immediately. I may be kicking myself next week if there are better Black Friday sales but o well ~ it is mine and will be coming my way this month and that makes me happy!

This is absolutely my LAST fabric purchase of the year. It was supposed to wait until January but I couldn't wait soooo..... let's consider it the last of 2012 and first of 2013 haha. My goal for 2013 is to save more of my personal money for bigger things like traveling, a quilting retreat, etc. so I need to be a lot more frugral with my fabric purchases. This was my one last big splurge... and so worth it!! :)

November 13, 2012

Sewing Summit Recap - FINALLY!

I finally got my pictures for Sewing Summit 2012 organized a bit. I am missing sooooooo many friend pictures because they were taken on other people's cameras - but there are enough to share for now and this is overdue enough!

I started out my trip in Utah by staying overnight with a friend who I haven't seen for a few years. She is so adorable and we had a great time hanging out together. I got to meet her baby and dog and it was a great way to relax after a long plane ride. (IF you call a couple hour hike relaxing - I know I sure do after sitting soooooooooo long in a cramped plane!)
Elizabeth dropping me off in SLC
At the hotel, the first thing on my list was to find my roommates! Mia and I met up immediately and "the Canadians" made their way to our room later on - which was good because I didn't know how to find them and couldn't call and was worried they wouldn't get a key or a chance to put their stuff down before the opening reception!
Mia, Sheila, Kaye and I 
These girls were lovely to room with ~ I got super lucky!

My next item of business was to find Diane - we've emailed for months and I was so excited to finally meet her in person! She is awesome and it was so fun to hang out with her for a few days!



There was a mixer sponsored by Craftsy the first night and then a group of us went to dinner. Hoping someone has a picture I can steal from that night! Afterward we hung out, helped organize a fabric swap, and just chatted the night away.

Friday morning Mia and I both had signed up to do a 5k with a group so we got up WAY too early and headed to the lobby meet-up at 6am. It was super fun and a great way to start off the day and meet some new people! We had a yummy breakfast all together and had a good time chatting away.

(Horrible with names - if you see this help me fill in #1 please)
?, Mia, Me, Carrie, Julie, Miranda
Then it was time for classes to start - o buddy I was SO excited!!

My first class was a metal purse frame class taught by Megan. There were some issues with the pattern so I didn't get to make mine which was a major bummer. O well tho - snaphoos happen I guess! I did enjoy her instructions in class and feel like I could make my own when I have the right supplies - my dear sister in law ordered me some Guettermann glue and my in-laws are bringing it with them from Germany in a few weeks.

My second class was with Jeni Baker - one of my absolute favorite bloggers - which more than made up for the small frustration in the first class (Megan was great ~ I had just hoped to have a finish project and was sad to waste the fabric that I had brought with me by making a too-small bag for the frame :-/).

Here are some quick pics from her class - most were blurry because she is so energetic and moves so fast lol.


Me and Jeni - YAY :)
I learned soooooooooo much in her class; I will have another blog post with highlights from my notes because there is sooooooooo much I want to share and remember from that class!

At the end of the class Jeni let us know that we would all be getting a PDF pattern of her Color Wheel Quilt - YAY! - AND we got these awesome Cotton Couture Solids Color Card from Michael Miller!


I met up with my peeps for afterward lunch and then headed to the Serger Room for an afternoon of serger sewing fun!

My first afternoon class was using a serget to make an Ipad case - I really like the way mine turned out.(I will have another post soon after this with project pictures, I've delayed this one long enough! lol)
My second afternoon class was making a Maxi Skirt with Leeann Barlow

First of all, she is so adorable and such a good instructor! We made our own patterns to fit our specific measurements and I was actually able to make and wear my skirt during the class time ~ I was pretty amazed it wasn't a big mess lol. Below is a picture of Caitlin and I (partners in the class) modeling our skirts with Leeann.


I had a lot of fun meeting Caitlin in that class and making the skirt - it was not one of my top classes before going to Sewing Summit but became one of my favorite during!

A fun group including these 2 lovely laides above got together for dinner after classes that night - we went to a super yummy restaurant and had lots of fun chatting and hanging out - as always! I even had a pumpkin cupcake (after drooling over Leeanns for a few minutes haha) and o buddy was it soooooooooooo worth every bite!! Yum yum yum :)


After dinner the SLCModern Quilt Guild put on a fun mixer at a bar downtown. I didn't get any pictures because we did not stay very long but it was super nice of them to arrange, espec. the fun swag bags they gave out! Oddly enough - out of our little group, 3 of us ended up winning things in the few minutes we were there based on the raffle tickets we were given at the door. Fun stuff!

We headed back to the hotel for more chat time and went to hang out in the open sewing rooms. I wasn't very productive but I still had a good time staying up way too late with all the girls :)

The next morning started out for me with 2 piecing classes:

Shapes and Angles with Faith and Kati:

I pretended like Faith was giving me this gorgeous quilt but I couldn't quite convince her ;-)

Me with Kati

A sample of the triangles we worked on in class


(Will include pictures of my projects from this class in my next post)
Paper piecing with Elizabeth and Lee:




(Will include pictures of my projects from this class in my next post too!)


These 4 ladies were some of the best teachers I had at Sewing Summit - I really enjoyed their classes; I just wish they had been longer so I would have gotten to practice all of the techniques taught and work on my projects a little longer.

I was definitely ready for a break at lunch time tho - it is hard work sewing for a few hours straight and learning so much in the process!

I met up with my peeps again for lunch and got ready for the exciting event... Joel Dewberry was our lunch time speaker! SWOON!!! :-D



He gave a wonderful talk about how he became a fabric designer and what is important to him when designing a collection. He also had his newest fabric line ~ Notting Hill ~ there to show us along with some awesome samples of the patterns his wife creates on the other side of their business. I had my first feel of Voile fabric when I was checking out some of the skirt samples and I was amazed at how soft it is! I definitely want to make a skirt out of that material someday soon ~ just have to pick out which Notting Hill print I want for it ;-)

He is by far one of my favorite designers and it was really cool to meet him, learn more about him as a person and artist, and also to see Notting Hill in person because I'd been drooling over the online pics previously and wow - this fabric does not disappoint in person!



I was rejuvinated after a yummy lunch (yes, I ate 3 cookies, I'll admit it! lol) and was ready for more sewing fun!

My next class was a curves sewing classes with Christina ~ we made an mini from her own pattern and plastic templates and she showed us a way to sew curves without pinning which was AWESOME:



(Will include pictures of my project from this class in my next post too - almost done quilting it!)


Last but not least was a lecture class with Sara ~ I think she is the teacher I was most excited to meet from this entire conference, I just love her work and personality. She gave a wonderful lecture on bag making including explaining multiple types of interfacing that we received in a charm pack, as well as passing around samples using those interfacings and some bag hardware she discussed later on.

Me and Sara

Sara discussing interfacing

2 of my favorite bags from Sara

Wow right? She is so amazing and creative! I never would have thought to use a large quilt block as a bag like this!

Our class got out early so I had the opportunity to chat with her a bit more about pattern making, some of her bags, etc. and then we even sat out in the hall as a small group chatting which was really cool. She is adorable, so knowledgeable, and I'm so glad I was able to meet her and have some personal chat time with her.

There was a closing banquet at the end and then they set us free to chat, sew, pack, etc. A group of us ended up going down to an embroidery session put on by Rachael which was super informative for me because I've always wanted to embroider but I always forget how after I've learned! I had a good time hanging out with my peeps as well as meeting new people.

sewing summit 2012 embroidery
Me & Allegory

sewing summit 2012 embroidery
Julie and I showing off our progress

Rachael and I (Yes, I am a giant, lol)

After the embroidery session we had the longest session of picture taking EVER - we were cracking up so much and being so obnoxious in the lobby, I really thought they were going to kick us out for being annoying drunks! We were all 100% sober, just sleep deprived and sad to say goodbye! It was a lovely way to end a lovely conference! (Once I get some of the group pictures from friends, I will post them on the blog to share.)

The next morning I pushed my flight back so I had more time in SLC and less of a layover in Denver which was nice. I hung out with Caitlin and Kait for breakfast and had a nice walk around SLC, including checking out Temple Square a bit. It was a nice way to part with some new friends and enjoy a little down time before traveling so long back home.

Kait, Me, Caitlin

No conference is perfect and this one definitely had some snaphoos but all in all I had an amazing time, learned soooooooooo much from my classes, and met so many cool and fun people! It was absolutely worth the time and money to go to and I am so glad I had this opportunity!

Thanks to everyone who organized this great event, taught the wonderful and informative classes, and put up with me and my craziness :-) Miss all you girlies so much and am looking forward to seeing some of you in 2013 - whether at Sewing Summit or elsewhere ~ I'll keep my fingers crossed!