Project Update Time!

Several blogger friends are listing their projects weekly to show off and keep track of what they are working on. I think this is a really good idea because sometimes I forget what I have coming up. Sooooo...... here is what I've got for you folks today:

1. Pillow Talk Swap Pillow - Completed ~ just need to pick out some extras and get this in the mail!

2. Modern She Made Swap - Completed ~ just need to pick out some extras and get this in the mail!



3. November Bee Blocks - Bee a (Modern) Swapper Bee - Layout started:

4. Sew Sew Modern - Due in January - Not yet started

... will start brainstorming soon since my other 2 swap items are completed

5. The Modern Stash Bee - 6 month Bee - starting in January

Not that I needed something else to sign up for but some of my favorite people were hosting and participating in this Bee so I figured why not give it a try :) I got some really great "picnic quilt" blocks from my last group so maybe I'll ask for more of those? Who knows... my month isn't until Feb so I'll brainstorm then.

This weekend I am heading down to my mom's to hang out with her belatedly for her birthday and have some girl time/craft time which will be fun! Will show you my creations when I get back! Have a wonderful weekend everyone!

WIP help needed - Heather Ross Dogs

Hi bloggy friends!

I need your help and advice today - please o please!

I have this pillow top that I started a while ago and it has been sitting on my shelf for a long time unfinished:

I just don't like it - which is probably why I never finished it - and I need your help fixing it. I love the dog blocks, I think it is the yellow blocks that are throwing me off. I thought maybe if I did some heavy lined quilting in the yellow blocks I would like it - but just looking at it makes me not want to work on it :-p 

Any thoughts?? 

Scrappy String Script Pillow is done!

I just have to share another picture of this lovely pillow - I made the coveting even worse by putting a pillow form in the cover when I finished it this week. I had to take it out right after pictures so I wouldn't be tempted to snuggle it lol.

My partner really seems to like it based off of her photo comments and I love love LOVE her work and am excited to send it to her soon. I definitely have it on my list to make myself a similar one soon - this is absolutely a "me" pillow - it just so happens that my partner and I have very similar tastes so it is very "her" too which is great!

Without further ado - here it is:

Now I just have to make some little extras for this partner and the one I'm sending the tote bag. I was thinking of making a little drawstring pouch for each with a little treat inside - maybe chocolate or a sewing notion or something. I'll probably work on those over the weekend tho - I still have plenty of time now that I have the big items finished. Feels good to not have to rush!

I'm also trying to finish up my first sample for a sewing class to propose to the store owner on Saturday. I have a few birthdays to celebrate with my friend and my mom between now and then - which definitely take priority - but I still think I should be able to get it finished up in time for our meeting on Saturday. Wish me luck!! Will post sample pictures when I get my item finished. Until then... happy sewing!!

Weekend progress report

A few things to share for the weekend...

1. Pillow Talk Swap 9
The top is finished for my "Scrappy Strip Script Star" pillow  (say that 5x's fast ;-))

 

 I am sooooooooooo in love with this and it is almost heartbreaking to give it away! However, the woman who will receive it is a pretty amazing sewer and I love her work and I know she will love this about as much as I do... so it is almost bearable to part with it for her... ALMOST :)

Just need to figure out what to do for the back and get er' done!

2. Melody Miller Color Block Pillow

This is a pillow I've had in the works for quite some time now. I finally got around to finishing it up this weekend for a friend. I really really like it and wish I could keep it too, but she is absolutely worth parting with anything I make to give her a fun present so I'm ok handing this one over :)

3. Kitten in the Cabin

I made this little mug rug for a co-worker's birthday. She likes cats and pink so I figured this was a good fit. Not sure if she is into crazy prints as much as I am but hopefully she will enjoy this on her desk none-the-less... I used some of my favorite pinks in here, including that light pink Joel Dewberry wood grain (drool! haha) She is up in Canada so we mailed a few things up to her on Friday as a belated b-day present and hopefully hurricane Sandy won't get to them before she does!

Speaking of Hurricane Sandy... take care everyone! We are in Delaware and are worried about a direct hit so close to home up in NJ. The coast is already flooding and they've evacuated a ton of people. We are about 2 hours from the DE beaches and NJ beaches but still way too close for comfort with all that wind and rain coming, espec. if Sandy hits land in NJ. Let's all pray that it blows further out to sea and becomes less intense as it works its way up the coast and inland over the next couple of days :-/

My mom and a friend already have the day off... unfortunately for me I'll be battling whatever the weather brings and dragging my wet self into work in the morning. What a bum rap... I was hoping for a day off but no power outages so I could sew some more haha ;-)

Sewing Summit posts are coming up this week - I promise! Finally getting my pictures sorted out and ready to get up here!

A little bit of news :)

I should have known I was stirring the pot last night when I mentioned "new to come soon!". I received a text message last night around 11pm from a friend in another time zone wondering what the news is... yea, you know who are you!! :) (No worries, we were still awake! hehe)

So... without further ado, on to the news!

I may be teaching sewing classes at our local Janome/Viking/Brother shop soon!!! The very kind and indulgent store owner who lets me come and try out Roxanne (more like pet and drool on her!) wants to expand their class offerings and is going to let me try my hand at teaching.

Awesome right? Scary - for sure! But mostly awesome so I'll try not to freak out, hehe. I used to teach German to a class of 20+ college freshman, I think I can handle a hand full of sewers who WANT to be in my class lol.

Sooooooo... guess I need to start brain storming what I want to teach first and making up samples! I'm thinking of proposing a beginning quilt block class as well as a beginning bag class and see if any fish bite. Hoping to pull things together to offer a class in December, if I can find a Saturday that works for the shop schedule, as well as get everything ready in time to advertise, and if I can get some students lined up.

Keep your fingers crossed for me and I'll keep you all posted!! :-D

... one step closer to Roxanne coming home with me, o yea!! hehe

***ps. Thank you SO much for everyone's comments about thread - I'm going to give Aurifil 50wt a try if I can find a good online retailer and will let you know what I think once I've had some piecing practice with it! Appreciate all the input!!***

Swap Progress

I know I owe you a few Sewing Summit blog posts and they are coming soon, I promise! Just haven't had any time to take project pictures and go through the pictures I have from the conference. I'm sure many of you are sick of them already tho ;-)

I do however have swap progress pictures to share!

#1: Pillow Talk Swap - Round 9

This is my 3rd round of the pillow talk swap and this is probably by far my best one - and will be sooooooooo hard to give it up!



This is the first half of a "Scrappy String Star" block I am making for my partner. I was able to finish the aqua, navy, and purple diamonds today so now I just have the pink one left. I also need to figure out what size to make the small setting triangles (top) and the larger ones (sides). If anyone knows how to calculate this - please do share!!

I will be using text fabric for my setting triangles - my partner and I both love color, scrappiness, and text fabric.... can't I just swap this with myself? :-D I still have 3 weeks until this is due so as long as I can figure out those setting triangles this week, I should have enough time to get it quilted and made into a pillow and out on time!

#2 - Modern She Made Swap - Round 2

I loved this swap in the Spring so I immediately signed up this Fall when I saw it had opened up again. My partner asked for a tote bag and I have to say I love love LOVE this one I made her.



The binding on the straps took FOREVER but it was so worth it - it adds so much to a tote bag! I put a small zipper pocket on the inside for a small wallet and/or keys, as well as a slip pocked on the opposite side and a large slip pocket on the outside back which will fit a pattern, notebook, etc.

I love the way it turned out and she commented and said she likes it too so here's hoping she likes it even more in person! I still have a few weeks before I need to send it off so hopefully I can get a scrappy pouch/drawstring bag together for her too.

#3 - Sew Sew Modern - this one I haven't started yet because it isn't due until sometime in January. I needed to finish these first 2 before I even start this one. I think I'm going to make a journal cover for my partner - not sure what else I will make to go with that but that is where I will start.

I love swaps... I probably would not have signed up for them if I'd known my good news earlier... but I'll share that with you in another post ;-) (No, I'm not pregnant! lol )

A thread about... well... thread :)

I'll do my best to stop calling it string - I'm pretty sure I almost got hit last time I did that lol - YIKES!

So.. THREAD... let's talk about it.

I use Coats and Clark from Joanns:

Sometimes I use the cotton covered polyester

Sometimes I use the 100% cotton machine quilting thread

Honest I just chose it because it was easy to find, affordable, and came in lots of colors, espec. when I use either style.

I've gotten soooooooooo much crap for using this thread tho - more than you would think - it is just thread right? Well, apparently not.

So my dear friends, who will give me advice and not just grief, ... what do you use for piecing? What do you use for machine quilting? Why is one brand/type better than others?

Some brands I've been checking out:

Gutterman
Sulky
Aurifil

Any advice is appreciated! I'm sure some people have their favorites but I think we can all be polite talking about them - yes? ;-)

AHHHH!!! Joel Dewberry at Sewing Summit!! *Faint*

O my goodness --- I am over the moon giddy right now!! I was just browsing the Sewing Summit blog and what did I find?

Picture from Sewing Summit Blog - click here for more information

Joel Dewberry is going to be the Keynote Speaker at lunch on Saturday!!!!!!!!

Ok for 1 - I didn't even know we would have a keynote speaker during lunch and 2 .... I love Joel Dewberry!!! No worries Mrs. Dewberry - I am simply in love with his creative fabric genius ;-)

The sound in my head when I read that on the Sewing Summit blog sounded much like "teen girl meets Justin Bieber".... gotta make sure to keep that in my head, especially at SS haha.

Seriously tho, he is one of my favorite designers. Aviary, Ginseng, Deer Valley, Modern Meadow, Aviary 2, Heirloom... love them all! The designs and the colors are all so unique - I love that he does not just repeat the same colors or styles over and over in his lines.

I also love that he is a guy - I know that sounds weird but it is so refreshing when there is a male designer or quilter who breaks into this female-dominated world of fabric/quilting/sewing and truly shines. I love his geometric patterns and drawings, which are not cutsey-wootsey but truly artistic and beautiful. I mean seriously, if you can put deer antlers on fabric and make it look artistic and not like it belongs in a hunting lodge- I'm impressed lol.

It will be really awesome to hear him speak about his creative journey as an artist and designer. I'm not sure if this is something I aspire to one day, but I still love hearing about how my favorites got to where they are today - whether fabric designer, pattern designer, quilter, etc. - and so the opportunity to hear Joel as a keynote speaker is just awesome.

After reading this news and realizing he is speaking at lunch, my next logical question is...

Who will the Saturday dinner keynote speaker be??

I'll share as soon as I know ;-)

Early end to "Pin it to Win it" - **Update**

**Update** - only the first 10 people out of at least 80 who qualified will get their fabric bundles from the below contest. I understand that she can't give away 80 bundles of fabric... but it is a little naive to start the whole thing and say "I was only expecting about 3 people to be interested - sorry everyone!"
... o well, we only wasted 2 days blogging/tweeting/facebooking/pinning some free advertising for her store. Hopefully next time it will be a bit better thought out and the original rules will stick.

*********************************************************************************

Wow - soooooooo many people jumped on Randi's "Pin it to Win it" contest. Her fabric bundles were all over pinterest, bloggy land, flikr, twitter, and facebook! It seems that she was not expecting such a big response and interest because she ended up closing the contest early yesterday at 3pm MST instead of giving everyone the scheduled 3 days to get all of their re-pins. I can definitely understand tho, 3 days would have resulted in tooooooooo many people getting bundles worth $15-70 for free.

I'll be interested to see if those of us who emailed her with our qualifying pinned bundles by the deadline will actually get those bundles in the mail sometime in the future.

Thanks to everyone who helped me repin and thank you soooooooooo much to Marika who let me know the contest was closing early so I could submit my smaller back-up bundle that already had enough pins!

Hopefully this beauty will be coming to live with me in the near future... will keep you posted if I hear anything:



Photo from Laurie Wisbrun - links back to her awesome blog!



Pin it and Win it - Please help!! :)

Hi All!

Randi of Fresh Squeezed Fabrics is having an awesome contest!

It is called “Pin it to win it” – basically you pick a FQ bundle from her shop and pin it. Then you share it – if you get as man pins as the $ amount of the bundle, you get the bundle for free! Great way to share about the lovely fabrics she has in her shop!

I’ve pinned 2 – I can only win one but I wanted a backup in case I don’t get enough pins for the Heather Ross fabric.

These need to be re-pinned within the next 3 days – by Sept. 27th - 70 times for the Heather Ross and 40 times for the Perfectly Perched. Please o please o please, help a girl out and repin BOTH of these lovely fabric bundles for me ladies!! Click on each picture separately (Perfectly Perched and Nursery Versery) to get to the pin link for each one.

Source: etsy.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Tiffany on Pinterest

Leave a comment with your pinterest link if you are participating and want me to repin yours too!!

Because I can't resist a good swap...

I was sooooo good over the summer and did not participate in any swaps - I even passed up a round of the Pillow Talk Swap which was soooo hard!!

Now that Mrs. Stitches is back tho, and the fall weather is keeping me indoors in the evenings more, I think it is time for some new swaps - don't you? haha.

So........ here are a few swaps I signed up and my inspiration mosaics for my partners:

1. Pillow Talk Swap - couldn't resist again!

2. Modern She Made Swap - this one was so fun last time, definitely had to sign up again!
This time we have to incorporate some kind of triangle into our projects for our partners so I tried to include a lot of triangle options for my partner:

3. Sew Sew Modern Swap - this is a new one that won't start for a bit but it seems a lot like the Modern She Made Swap so I'm willing to give it a try!

The first 2 swaps have a deadline of middle/end November and the 3rd one has a deadline of January so I have plenty of time for brainstorming and sewing, even around Sewing Summit.

I already received my partner for the Modern She Made Swap so I'm in the process of brain storming for that one. I think I will be making her some kind of bag/basket ... haven't quite decided what pattern yet. She might get a drawstring bag just for fun as a small extra but I need to come up with something more versatile/useful for her big item. 

I have so many patterns I've wanted to try out lately so I'm sure there will be lots of fun samples popping up on my blog in the next few weeks before Sewing Summit :) Stay tuned!

String Blocks and fun sewing time!

Today I was skimming through my google ready and came across this new tutorial from Jeni and In Color Order. She is not only amazing at color theory, which class I am sooooooo excited to take at Sewing Summit in 2 weeks!!, but she is also a very talented sewist and quilter. A while ago she shared a free Drawstring Bag pattern with everyone on her blog, and the posted the update today with the string block ideas.

I decided to give both a try because  I've never made a string block nor a drawstring bag but I've been drooling over examples of both on Flikr lately.

Here is what I came up with - the fabric I think is called Hello Betty - it is from a honey bun I've had for a long time. I think I have a couple actually. Not sure why I will do with the rest but a few strips looked great together in this pattern.

Flat bag to show string block - I love the way it looks!
 

Stuffed bag to show bag and the Moda string I used from a Jelly Roll for the drawstrings
 

Inside is an orange checker print from Denyse Schmidt from Joanns - love it all together!

I really don't like making "practice" projects so I'm glad this turned out well since I used one of my few Moda strings for the drawstring. I also really like all of this fabric together and hoped it would end up being something I can use.

I'm thinking it is a good size for a hand sewing project - like hexagons or other paper piecing. I used it as a little handbag today to show a friend but without a pocket, it would be a bit impractical for daily use. All in all I really liked the tutorials and the final project. Next time I will probably pick longer strings, I just used what I had and it works but a little longer when it is open would be nice.

So nice to just see something on a blog and be able to make it - I missed sewing sooooooooooo much!! My hubby told me today after a get-together with friends "It is ok if you want to sew some more, I know you have the bug after being away so much"... he knows me so well and it is nice that he is so understanding about my obsession haha.

Until next time and the next project... ;-)

Happy 5th Anniversary to us!!

That's right... 5 years ago today Lukas and I got married in the Chicago LDS Temple.
 

It is crazy how fast time flies and how much has changed in those quick 5 years!

I could get all sentimental and ramble on and on, and I probably will later, but for now I'll leave you with our 2 favorite wedding photos and will then go pack for our overnight trip down to the beach  - have a lovely weekend everyone!

I'm finally sewing!!! ... and a finished quilt top!

Wow - it is SO nice to sew again!! I've missed it soooo much.

... don't tell Mrs. Stitches but I can definitely see a huge difference between sewing on her and sewing on Roxanne! Roxanne is such a smooth ride and the features like the push button thread cutter would be super nice to have. BUT, I'd rather have my machine than no machine at all and she is like a comfy pair of old shoes... quirky but I know and love her after 2 years and LOTS of sewing together! :)

The quilt I promised my husband for this summer is waaaaaaaaayyyyyy overdue but I was able to add on the last row and the borders tonight. I like the way it turned out - we just need to figure out a back and I'll get it finished up sometime this year hopefully! It won't have any batting in between so that will be a little weird "quilting" 2 pieces of fabric together but he wanted something thin and light for summer since our apartment is so hot all the time.

Meet... "The Argyle Argyle Quilt"... or if you speak German, "Die geile Decke" ... hehehe

 

It sure isn't perfect but it was my first time working with this pattern and I definitely can see lots of room for improvement if I ever use it again. My husband likes it which is most important since it is his quilt. He picked out the pattern, fabric, insisted on a brown border... it was fun having him involved and I'm so glad the top is finally done!

 

I have 2.5 weeks until I leave for Sewing Summit. Don't expect lots of new projects but maybe I'll be inspired to get some WIPs and UFOs out of the way since I have the sewing bug super bad after being away for so long!!

She's alive!!! And then I met Roxanne...

Miracle of miracles… Mrs. Stitches is ALIVE!!! I got a call yesterday from the shop where I took her for a second opinion. “Your singer is all fixed and ready to go!” Uhmm… excuse me? Are you messing with me? Confusing me with someone else? I just took her in for an estimate, believing she was dead!


Nope, it really was me he meant to call and she really is all fixed! He has sold over a thousand of that same model and said he knows how to take them apart and put them back together and had no problem fixing her. He has seen that issue before in another 10 or 20 of that model and knew how to get it going again. Sooooo happy!! (And apparently my dad will be happy that I will stop "whining" about my machine being dead... thanks dad, yea, mom told me :-p haha)

My Grandma’s Janome can’t be fixed tho, which was surprising and a bummer. She sews just fine, the reverse button just doesn’t engage anymore and there is nothing he can do for it. He said they made that same model for sears for a few years and he saw a ton of them with that same problem eventually. O well, at least I have her as a backup if I ever need it.

I picked both of the girls up on the way to meet my mom at the Janome/Brother dealer. I should have just gone home… because there I met… Roxanne!

Yes, she already has a name and no I can’t afford her but I am still in love!

(She is one spicy machine with a bit of attitude, she needed a good name to go with it – I got it from El Tango de Roxanne from Moulin Rouge – one of my favorite songs from the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cx5H-49dgvo&noredirect=1)

If you are in the market for a machine I have only positive things to say about this machine. The extra harp space is wonderful, the built in walking foot is fantastic and you can even get a ¼ foot attachment for it! I never use my walking foot because I like sewing straight lines in ¼ inch intervals on pillows and smaller projects so that would be an awesome upgrade to have! It comes with a ton of feet, way more stitches than I will ever use, and she is just all in all amazing!

One feature that really sold me, other than all of the above, is the fact that I can disengage the foot pedal to free motion quilt. I tried it out and as cool as the Bernina Stitch Regulator is, I agree with other people… you don’t need it. I could def. learn to free motion quilt really well on this machine since I can set the speed and let the machine sew while I just focus on moving the fabric around at an even speed. Love that feature and it was really fun to try out.

I’m going back next week to take a few of my own projects with to try out on her. So nice that the shop manager will let me sew on Roxanne for a few hours to get a good feel for the machine and make sure she really does do all that I’d want her to. I really think this is my 10-20 year machine I’ve been searching for. Even tho I don’t need her now that I have Mrs. Stitches back, I’d want her in a couple years for sure. Unfortunately this model is being phased out and is being replaced by an upgrade… but I’m not interested in that, I want this one! :(

I shouldn’t torture myself by sewing on her more, but I will, and will let you know what I think next week :) So jealous of all you people that already have the Horizon 7700 and appreciate all your information and review you've shared online or through my numerous emails!

I'll be dreaming of Roxanne but tonight I have a date with Mrs. Stitches… I’ve missed her sooooooooooo much :)