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!

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!! :)

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.

Me & Allegory

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!

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 ;-)