12/17/2013

Michael Miller Baby Quilt Finish

I had several pieces of different sizes of pink and gray prints from one of my SAS fabric excursions. I put them all together to make this cute little baby quilt. I have been so fortunate to have sold all but one of my quilts in my Etsy store, so I need to get some more things put back in there. The prints are all from Michael Miller except the medium gray dot, it is Riley Blake. The inspiration for this quilt came from here at The Crafty Cupboard. I started with 6 inch squares to make the hourglass blocks and squared them to 5 inches. The print squares are also 5 inches. I was lucky enough to have a piece of the Flower Shower print big enough for backing. It's so bold and I just love it.
It finished smaller than I like, 31.5 x 40, but I didn't have enough animal prints to do anymore blocks.
I'm really trying to use up what I have on hand already and I'm happy with how it came out. It such a bad time of year to get decent pictures. There's no half great scenery around here when it is summer, much less winter. My camera is really acting up on me lately and I had to fiddle a lot with the photos to get things somewhat presentable.
This is listed in my Etsy shop. sold.
Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!
Linking to Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

12/13/2013

And The Winner Is...





Congratulations to Pat V! You have won these Sweetwater cuties!

I will be emailing you shortly for a mailing address.
Thanks to everyone for entering! Welcome new followers, I appreciate you :)

More Teacher Gifts And Nordika Progress

I don't have a lot to share this week, I forgot about the other set of teacher gifts I finished. This is for my grand daughter's teacher from last year. God bless her for her wonderful work with the children! She was a huge help for my little Abie, who has some health things that can make school a bit tough for her sometimes. We could not have asked for a better kindergarten teacher for her!
Color Me Retro by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery is such a bright and fun line. I love it for bags and pouch type stuff! Think I need to get some more before it's all gone :)

I haven't gotten a lot accomplished on my Nordika quilt yet, just a few rows.

It's so hard to see in pictures but the solid is Northcott Seafoam green, it's so pretty with this fabric line (also by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery for anyone that doesn't know)! I'm really wondering how I will ever get a good shot to do the colors in this quilt justice. I fiddled around for so long with different layouts. I had it all done and everything scattered everywhere looked way too busy. I decided to put just 2 together in each section, and that toned it down quite a bit. I'm happy with the final layout. It will go together fast, being that it is large half square triangles. I'm back to trying to do a zillion things at once, and when I do this...I get nothing done it seems!
What are you working on this week?

Linking up to Needle And Thread Thursday at My Quilt Infatuation and Finish It Up Friday at Crazy Mom Quilts

12/09/2013

Sew Mama Sew Giveaway Day!


Hello fellow crafters! This is my first year participating and I tried to get something everyone would love! I have discovered I love making pillows and I love mini charms! Up for grabs is a 1/2 yard cut along with 2 mini charm packs of Sweetwater's Road 15.

Who doesn't love Sweetwater?! This should make a great pillow cover, table runner, candle mat or whatever you choose :) I'm not affiliated or sponsored by the shop I purchased these from, but if you haven't been to Vintage Fairytale, run over here and check it out. You will thank me when you see the kind of sales she runs!
I know you have lots of places to visit so I will make this fast and easy. Just leave me a comment letting me know what you would make if you win. I would love for you to look around my blog, but being a follower is not necessary to win. Winner will be chosen by random (aka my husband choosing a number from the total amount of entries).
The giveaway will close Dec. 13th at 5 PM PST, winner will be emailed and announced here on this post by Dec 15th. If you are a no reply blogger, leave your email in your comment or a new winner will have to be selected! Giveaway is only open to US addresses due to shipping costs. Good luck!
Here is a link to all the other giveaways posted at Sew Mama Sew. Lots of great blogs to discover out there!
I'm getting lots of no reply bloggers, DON'T forget to leave your email if you are unsure!! I don't want anyone to be left out!! Here is a post from On The Windy Side with instructions on how you can check your no reply status! GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

THE WINNER IS #230, PAT V! I have emailed you for shipping details, congrats!



12/04/2013

A New Cabinet And Fabric Finds

My girls were at the JCPenney outlet and saw a cabinet cheap that they thought I may want for my sewing room. Since I am STILL waiting, a year later, for the nice big one my husband is making (it's 1/2 done), I said yes! They picked it up for me and it was waiting when I arrived in Phoenix for Thanksgiving.

It's nothing fancy and the color is much nicer than it looks in the photo. I wanted it for my precuts. I love it and it was cheap! Thanks girls for thinking of me :)


Of course my Art Gallery had to have their place along with my cute pigeon fabrics my friend Moira gave me. I'm sure there will be lots of arranging and re arranging because I have more to fit in here :) It's nice to have a place for some things, as my shelf was over filled and things were constantly falling off of it.

I have mentioned my love of SAS Fabric store in Phoenix before. At 3.99 a yard, it's so hard to not buy tons! They have so much to pick from. I got a quick trip in this time and found a few things I needed. I have been wanting the blue colorway of Modern Meadow and I was soooo happy when I spotted a piece, then 3 more! The fabric is all different size pieces and in big piles.You have to dig a bit and if I'd had more time I'm sure there were more of the prints hiding someplace. I am thankful to have found the 4 that I did. I left with 5.91 yards and it was only 23.60 plus tax. For designer prints, you just can't beat the prices. Next time I'm going to plan better and stay longer!

My 6 year old grand daughter said, "You're the best Grandma ever because you can sew. Well, other ones can too...but you're the best one." It made me so happy and other than being able to see all 5 little girls, it was the highlight of my trip :)

11/29/2013

A Walk In The Woods

This quilt was made for a customer. I'm a big fan of Aneela Hoey, so I enjoyed making this quilt.
 She originally wanted a Christmas quilt with Christmas fabrics. When she saw this pattern and fabric, she loved them both so we went with it! She told me to choose a binding and backing print. I chose red binding and pink with bows since it was for Christmas.

I love how it turned out. Even though it's not Christmas prints, it still has a Christmas feel!
We had a lot more snow than what we normally get here in this part of NM, so I had to get a few pictures that had some snow in them :)


Since I used A Walk In The Woods fabric (by Aneela Hoey for Moda, for anyone that may be unfamiliar) I thought some tree pictures seemed suitable as well. I didn't have a lot of time for the perfect setting, so the nearest tree it was!
I just don't think you can really go wrong with the Disappearing Nine Patch pattern, they just come together so great! I hope she will love it as much as I do :) The finished size is 36 x 40 1/2. I'm posting from Arizona, and I have grand kids to get back to! Hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving!

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts for Finish It Up Friday

UPDATE: They sent me a picture, they gave her a sneak peak. I had to share (with permission)! So cute seeing her look at the foxes and the girl :)

11/26/2013

Nordika :)

Just a quick post of the quilt I'm working on. The print is Nordika by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery. The solid is seafoam from Northcott.
I can already tell the green is going to be hard to photograph. These are quick pictures. I'm in a rush, we are leaving for Phoenix shortly. I get to spend a week with my girls and grand daughters :) A couple dr appointments and back home on Tues next week.
There are so many layout possibilities for half square triangles. I finally decided on the one I like best for this print.
Yep, this gorgeous panel will a good part of my backing. And the strips you can barely see at the top will be the binding. I snagged all these goodies awhile back from a sale at Intrepid Thread
I have a baby quilt finished, Aneela Hoey's Walk In The Woods, Disappearing Nine Patch. This was an order, so it will be shipped out today. I need to take a couple pictures of this as well to post later in the week. We had lots of snow (for here) this weekend and it was too cold and windy to try for a good shot!
Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone, be safe and be thankful! :)

11/21/2013

Little Red Riding Hood Finish

I had a couple charm packs of Little Red Riding Hood/Riley Blake/Tasha Noel fabrics. I put together a simple patchwork quilt.
I stepped out of my comfort zone and did an orange peel/cathedral window style quilting. I didn't mark it, I just went with it. I'm always afraid the markings won't come off...My lines are not all the same size. However, by the time I was done, I had it figured out pretty good for next time!

I used the main print in pink on the back, it's my favorite from this line :)
 

For the binding I used the red/white stripe, it almost gives this quilt a Christmasy feel.

You can see my quilting is far from perfect, but I'm happy I tried something new! It's the only way to learn, and FMQ is something I strive to conquer! I did use my walking foot on this, fyi.

It finished at 35.5 x 40.25 I believe. Because the quilting is less than perfect (I'm kind of a perfectionist, ha!) I listed this in my Etsy store pretty cheap, with disclosure of course! Sold
Thanks for stopping by!

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday 
And Crazy Mom Quilts

11/18/2013

Thanks Christa Quilts!

I have been so lucky lately with winning fabric type giveaways. I feel so grateful each time, it's as good as any gift could get! This time I won this bundle from Christa Quilts in her year of weekly giveaways.
Disregard the date imprint, much less the wrong one. My camera and I were having a few disagreements this morning...
As I was turning these lovely fabrics to get a picture, I noticed the Technicolor roll and the Kona charm pack had some similar colors. I will have to put my thinking cap on and see how I can pair them in a quilt :)
I'm sure many of you have been to Christa's blog or website. In case you haven't, check it out! christaquilts.com She offers free shipping, yay!! I'm not getting anything from posting this (and not because I won!), it's just my own thoughts. I have only been making quilts for about a year and a half now. I can do straight lines with my walking foot, that's about it. I want to learn free motion so badly (my own fault for not practicing yet). I was just thinking the other day how helpful Christa's blog is. She's so knowledgeable and I admire her so much. I wish she was my next door neighbor! Her quilt alongs are so great. Her current one, Modern (Christmas) trees is awesome. I had planned to join this one but had to go away for a few weeks and haven't even started yet. I am still going to do this one however!
Anyway, thanks Christa for this lovely bundle, I truly appreciate it so much!

11/12/2013

Sunkissed Summer Citrus Finish!


This quilt kept getting pushed aside for other things. It's now finally finished! I planned this in the summer and had hopes of getting pictures against the bright green corn fields. Well, it just didn't happen, we all know how that goes! I named it Summer Citrus when I had finished just a few blocks. It was so fitting with the colors and the fabric names Sweetwater had assigned to these pretty little guys. These shades of colors are really tough to photograph however, I did the best I could! I am a quilter, not a photographer for sure.
I used 1/4 yard cuts of the greens, oranges and yellows from Sweetwater's Sunkissed fabric line. I was so happy to find someone that had all the prints and I didn't have to spend a ton on shipping getting it from several places. I had purchased some Kona Maize for a different project that ended up not working, so I paired it with the Sunkissed. At first, like many of my quilts, I was unsure this was working. In the end, I love it.
I had seen an hourglass quilt with sashing at Modern Handcraft and loved it. She has a tutorial here if you are interested. I quilted it on both sides of the prints, just like she did. Giving it a diagonal quilting design. It was easy to do, the blocks are close enough together that you don't have to mark or tape anything. For the back I chose my favorite print from the Sunkissed line in yellow. The binding is the green stripe from the line as well.
It finished at 50x60. I'm kind of disappointed that I didn't add one more row to the bottom so it would have been longer. Next time I guess.
Thanks for stopping by!
Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday
And Crazy Mom Quilts 

11/05/2013

Catching Up, Sunkissed Finish, Vintage Sheet Finds & A Michael Miller Win!

Hello everyone! I have been out of town for a few weeks so I need to catch up on my blog. Sorry in advance for cramming a few things into one post!
I finished the crib quilt to my Sweetest Thing crib set before I left. I need to get proper photos but here are a couple quick ones for now. I just realized the quilt is photographed upside down, the birds are hanging instead of sitting...oops! I used Art Gallery Pure Elements in banana cream for the binding. This stuff is AMAZING to bind with! It lays so smooth and no annoying frays in the way to hold up the process. I love Art Gallery! More pictures and a proper post when I get pictures of the set in it's new home.

On my trip I found some vintage sheets at a thrift store. It was a total score and my collection is growing, woo hoo! I love the orange set on the right. I may cut some up for my stash and add a section in my Etsy shop the remaining pieces since I want a variety, and the sheets are a lot to have of one print. 
While I was away I received an email from Michael Miller fabrics notifying me I won their camera bag giveaway! I wasn't sure what the bag size would be. I wondered if it was a "camera" bag or a bag made with this Urbanista camera print in laminate. When I got home and opened this box up...wow! This bag is amazing and way more than I ever expected!
It is big and sooo well constructed, I absolutely love it! This is my first time seeing their fabric in laminate, and if you haven't seen it in person, you are missing out! It is so smooth and soft, not stiff at all. I will definitely be using more of this for sure. I don't know what they used in between fabric layers, but it's puffy and fluffy and so darn soft. Even my husband was like,"that is a really nice bag"!
The hardware is heavy duty, great quality stuff as well. I feel so lucky to have won this. I have went to my sewing room a couple few times just to look at it again!
Thank you Michael Miller fabrics!! I love the quality of your fabrics and now I love your laminate as well!

I quickly put together a couple teacher Christmas gifts for my grand daughter's teacher last night. A gift bag in Aspen Frost, a bookmark and a composition book cover. If you need a fast gift, this journal cover tutorial from Stitched In Color is the one I used. I know there are several out there, but this was the easiest one I found. No clasps or anything to fuss with and it fits perfectly.
Last but certainly not least, my Sunkissed hourglass quilt is DONE, yay! I am going to do a seperate post for this quilt. As long as it waited to be finished, it deserves it's own post. I need to get more pictures but here is one for now.
I officially have ZERO unfinished projects!
Sorry for the long and all over the place post, have a great week everyone :)

10/11/2013

Friday Partial Finish & WIP, Crib Set

Hi everyone, I hope you are enjoying the cooler weather as much as I am!
I have been working on a crib set. A bumper, skirt, curtains, pillow and a quilt. I am using The Sweetest Thing/Riley Blake fabric. I was unsure how this would turn out, I had to get measurements long distance and I don't have a crib to test things out on. Luckily, my measurements were almost exact to the tutorials I used and things came out just perfect! It was a bit tough to photograph, the red seems so dominant, but in person it's very cute :)
For the bumpers I used this tutorial from Vanilla Joy. I did shorten mine up a few inches in total length. This was not a hard project, just time consuming trying to wrangler 158" and keep everything straight and smooth. I had some very thick and stiff cheap batting I have been dragging around for years. I guess I must have bought it way back when I was considering sewing and not having a clue what I was buying, ha! I knew someday it would come of use and it worked great! I was worried about the bumpers being flimsy and not standing up, so I took extra precaution and used craft weight interfacing on all the outside fabrics. I used Heat n Bond from Therm O Web. It worked very nice and the bumpers are pretty stable! I'm so limited where I live in being able to purchase things, not a lot to choose from! I ended up buying a red twill for the binding and ties at Hobby Lobby very reasonable with a coupon. It also helped with the stability, being that it is stronger than cotton fabric.
The skirt tutorial I used, you may have seen flying around Pinterest. It's made in 3 pieces and tacked to the board instead of one piece. What a great idea being able to adjust the length as you move your mattress down! You can find it here. I used the bird print from the line for the skirt.
I was hoping to have enough scraps left for window valances and a pillow, and I did!
This was my first time making a pillow and I now know why people make lots of pillows! Super easy, fast and instant gratification! I used the envelope back tutorial from here. I see many pillows in my future :)
The quilt is not finished. I have my rows all sewn, now I just need to join them and finish it up.

I can't wait to see this set in it's new home!

Linking up to Needle and Thread Thursday (a day late!) at My Quilt Infatuation

Linking up to Crazy Mom Quilts,  Finish It Up Friday